My "bad" habits

I’ve  been thinking of this “weight loss journey” (I must admit I find that term so corny) as less about losing weight and more about improving habits.
Everyone does many things by habit. Maybe when you were a kid, you learned to eat all the food in your plate which means "clean your plate". Maybe you always have some chips and mix nuts or popcorn while you’re watching a movie. Maybe you grab a dozen of chocolates and arabic sweets in every occasion or event. Some habits are harmless, some are beneficial and some are harmful.

I thought it would be helpful to clearly acknowledge my bad habits and then eliminate them and replace them with better habits. This is an ongoing process, of course. It takes some time to discover these habits. Often they seem so natural, you just don’t even think about it.

These are some of the big bad habits I decided to eliminated during my journey:

• eating when not hungry
• soda( standard, diet or even zero)
• fast food
• empty calories
• chocolate before bed
• eating larger than necessary portions
• skipping breakfast
• looking in the mirror and criticizing
• adding salt to everything
• snacking in the evening
• eating out for lunch most work days

 I’m sure there are more, but I am taking care of the biggest ones. Line them up and knock them down.
You must be saying now that surely I will face time in which i would feel deprived by not having these "luxuries. But i will try to always remember the aims of my journey hopefully it would work for me.

Weight Loss Journey

I already admitted in a previous list that one of my goals to be achieved this year is "loosing weight' ( the grams i gained during my pregnancy and the ones gained through 3 years of marriage ).

Since I came back from my maternity leave which I spent the most of it in Lebanon craving delicious foods  and putting more weight, I decided that it is the time to start my ' weight loss journey ' , NO EXCUSES this time !

First , I went to a specialist who customized a diet program to follow . It worked the first 3 weeks , dropping around 4 kilos , then it stopped . Nothing happended . I went back to her and she only reduced 100 kcal of my daily calorie intake . Again , my body refused to respond.

One day , i was discussing this issue with a friend of mine who recommended me to try the Atkins Diet. At that time, i had never heared about it .So i googled it. The researches led me to the website of " Marc's apple daily " and  " The three new leaves" blog  which their main aim was to spread the " Primal / Paleo" lifeStyle.

After a lots of reading about the primal  way and seeing alots of proofs,I have to confess that it really touched me and i am really convinced this time, i can feel it already. I am feeling happy, relaxed and the most important i stopped being hungry all the time, and that's really awesome !!!

I will let you know more about this journey in the further posts .

I Wish ...

Today, like every morning,  i was stucked in traffic while driving to work. I was already late because earlier i had  an appointment at the French embassy to submit  the visa application for my trip to Paris. I waited and waited for the signal to turn green but nothing happened . All the other directions were suequently working except the direction i am coming from !!!! deep inside me i saw it happens , really i did . When i took the begining of the road , the scene crossed my mind. And when the signal stopped working, i remembered that i saw it happens from few minutes ago !!

It was a weird feeling , i felt like with a little bit effort and concentration , in 2 years, I would be on national television announcing my own list of predictions .LoOoL.

Anyway back on track , while waiting the policemen to come and manage the situation , i wished i have  a hidden power that allows me  by a finger click to bypass the cars , the signals and all roundabouts .That made me thing of all the thing i wish i had , but can't have . For example :

I wish i had my sister & her family live a couple minutes away compared to 7 hours and thousands of miles away . I live in Qatar and they live in France, if the distance didn't seperate us , it would be awesome to hang out with them and be part of my nieces' lives as they grow .

As well , I wish i could go back in time and relive my life . I would correct the many errors o have made and make better decisions throughout my life. (of course I would not have been able to find them errors until they were made ).

Things most people don't know about me ( Part 2 )

• I hate drinking soda from a straw .
• I 've never threw up during my whole pregnancy period not even once .
• I've never seen a Star Wars movie.
• Most of the clothing in my closet is 1) black, 2) purple or  3) gray .
• I sometimes sleep to avoid things .
• I keep listening to my favorite songs and repeat them untill i get sick of it .
• I am too lazy to even change the CD player in my car ( nancy ajram CD still running since last August ).
• I am obssessed with MBC group channel and especially MBC4 .
• I  watched " Friends" episodes over than 50 times..just can't help myself .

(to be continued...)

I really miss Photo Albums

It seems like only yesterday my Mom would put together a new photo album. We would all get really excited about it, taking turns flipping through the glossy pages of memories. This experience was often the first time we got to see the pictures.

Back then you had to wait for the roll of film to be completely used up (often times spanning months, it was not unusual for a roll of film to contain a birthday, a school performance, and 1/3 of a new year evening). Once the roll was finally used, it had to be driven to a studio store where they would take at least one week to develop it. Then, you finally got to see all the pictures that didn't come out. How I miss those :( 

It is amazing how photos have become the complete oppposite of what they used to be. You can now immediately see your picture and judge whether you need to take another one. Now you don't even buy or develop film EVER. You have hundreds if not thousands of available pictures as opposed to 36. And in place of photo albums, we now have the slideshow. 

Times are changing, and to be honest, I don't know how I feel about it. I miss having a physical picture and a photo album that won't change for decades. I can still see my parents photo albums if I want. What are our grandkids going to do? Plug in a USB drive? !!!.

Having all my photos on Facebook and saved on my computer makes me feel kind of vulnerable. For instance, what if hypothetically Facebook crashed and everyone lost years of memories? Ever think about that? Or what if my computer and hard drive are stolen? .

There is no use fighting the digital wave. We must ride it or be left behind, and it pains me to say that I must continue without my old friend the photograph. But we are the last generation to know what it was like. Savor it my friends.

Things most people don't know about me (Part 1)

• I'm terrified of sneezing while driving, because I'm convinced that split-second of having my eyes closed will get me wrecked somehow.
• I am not shy just prefer not to talk most of the time.
• When I say "I don't remember " or " I forgot " it is most likely I'm lying .
• I hate wearing rings or any kind of hand accessories .
• I am aweful when it comes to the feeling expression .
• It is hard for me to make friends .
• I have never smoked a cigarette or shisha.
• I hate the taste of water (sometimes i add to it some drops of  rosewater)
• I hate all "Harry Porter" parts .
• I prefer staying home alone for ages instead of  hanging out with people i don't like.

(to be continued...)

Saving accounts for your little Ones

Lately, my husband and I have decided starting this year and every year from now on to add a little amount monthly in term of saving for our daughter. We also plan on depositing most money our daughter receives for birthdays/holidays into that account too when she gets a little older but doesn't "need" her own money.

In other hand, I believe kids should do their own savings too. Start with a piggy bank when they are small and move up as they get older. In this way, this might help them understand the value of money.

From few days , I read an article for a financial planner highlighting some ways to how you teach your kids to learn saving-starting from when they are really little. One of these ways is to give them half of their age in dollars/ (currency of country) every week. Then to have three cans for each of them: 1 for spending, 1 for savings, and 1 for charity. So you would decide how to help them split it up. I believe it is a good math lesson for them too. Anyway , each one of us might have his own way to apply it ... and for me , i feel it is a good start ...

~~~Still Missed ~~~

1 ans déjà!

Un père comme toi ça n'existe plus.. Un homme si aimant on en voit plus.. Pour toujours tu as disparu..

Il ne reste que des photos à admirer.. Et des souvenirs je dois me contenter… Dans mon coeur tu resteras… Jusqu'au jour où l'on se retrouvera... Je t'aime papa !!

Bye, bye ...2010 !!

What i can say about 2010 !!! well , I spent half of it or even more " pregnant",  preparing for parenthood and for the little life we were going to bring into the world. I was thrown beautiful gifts by people I love. I celebrated my husband’s 28th birthday and three years of marriage.

Leana’s birth in August topped anything I could have ever imagined. At 10:48 a.m. on August 11th I became a mother. A mommy. Lulu’s mama. That moment redefined my entire life because suddenly, someone’s life depended on me. It gave me purpose like I had never felt before.

August through December has brought me joy, tears, happiness. I have learned patience, acceptance, hell, I learned to change  a lot of poopy diapers. diapers and give someone a bath . That’s a pretty big deal. I got peed on a few times. More than a few times ;)

I shared holidays with people I love and watched my squishy little newborn turn into a real live girl who is so much fun. I also learned I could survive and function on very little sleep. Very little.

The events of the past year have shaped my life permanently, and I say goodbye to 2010 and my 24th year with a smile.

Happy New Year, everyone!