Thank you!

I didn't know how sad my yesterday's post was until I got some of your messages, calls, and comments. I really appreciate your concern. I feel better today, still not in a perfect mood and still can't get some of the things happening around, but I'm trying to be wise and forget about it. 

Thank you, my friends!

Sometimes I wish I could just press rewind!

Don't you wish that sometimes? I'm not sure if I would do any better but I just wish!! I have nothing much to say today. Feeling down, sick, and not in the mood :(

Anyway here are some updates:

• I'm trying to get back to work on my research.
• Still watching my weight. I lost a couple of pounds in the last week.
• Thanksgiving break was OK. Lots of ups and downs, but I was so glad to have my husband and kids around all the time.
• I thought finding a good friend is hard, but discovered that keeping up friendship is much harder.

Weight Watchers and I

As I promised previously, I'm posting about my weight watchers (WW) plan. I started the plan about 10 days ago, and I lost about 5 pounds so far. BTW, I'm not enrolled in WW, but I'm using their points system. If you're not familiar with WW, it's a weight loss plan that is based on calculating daily points for the food you're consuming everyday. Every food or drink has a certain number of points. You can eat whatever you choose as long as you stay under your daily points. .

As I mentioned in a previous post, I gained a lot during pregnancy (about 50-ish). I lost some pounds after delivery but I still need to lose about 30 - 35 pounds to get in shape. My daily points are 32 points (including 10 points for nursing). 

I find myself sometimes can't count the points for some meals, especially the ones I cook from our middle eastern kitchen, so I count how many points left for this meal and try to guess how many points in my plate based on the ingredients. I use this website onemorepound.com to calculate how many points each food deserve based on calories and fat. I find it so helpful! I also use it when I eat out to check the restaurant's menu and see how many points in the food I'm ordering.

When you follow the plan, you will find yourself picking healthier food. You will trade small chunks of fatty high calories food with bigger full of vegetables plates.

 

My dinner the other day(this is btw an oven-baked chicken breast)

Summary:

Previous weight:161 lb

Current weight (as of 11/23): 156 lb

Another random update!!

While some of you are still celebrating Eid, our one-day Eid is wrapped up and everyone is back to work/school. The girls and hub enjoyed having the day off. We went to the prayer in the morning and then had our breakfast at the Islamic center. The girls enjoyed their new clothes and money gifts from dad. Later that day we got the chance to see our friends and have dinner together at one of the girls' favorite restaurant. 

For me, I was not happy that I couldn't fit in any of the nice clothes I was planning to wear for Eid. Still, I managed to wear something else and it looked okay.

Talking about getting back in shape, I'm starting my weight watchers (WW) plan. I know that I will lose the pregnancy weight eventually, but I wanted to get faster results. I was motivated by some blogger friends who really got good results. I thought sharing this with everyone would be like those WW meetings where you need to show others the results you got. This will make it more serious and will make me stick to the plan. I will be posting another post regarding my WW later on.

Now, let's talk FUN. I went shopping last week. I got  to buy myself some gifts!! Yes, it was my birthday last month which happened to be few days before the baby delivery which also happened to be couple of weeks before our anniversary, so my hubby wanted me to pick the Birthday/anniversary/baby gift(s) by myself.

My Birthday cake

 

Our anniversary cake

I got to pick whatever I want, so I got this handbag and those sunglasses from Bloomingdales (I still need to pick one more thing):

So when I was not able to enjoy my clothes, those were great because they fit just FINE :)

I hope you all had a great Eid.

Have a nice pre-Eid weekend, everyone!

Are you busy getting ready for Eid! I bet you are!! Just wanted to wish you all a good weekend. Don't forget me from your prayers in these holy days especially on Arafa day.

Happy Eid preparation :)

Postpartum Therapy

OK, Baby Abdurahman is four weeks old. I'm feeling much better el7amdellah, and baby Abdurahman is much bigger. However, I still feel overwhelmed! Still can't get back to my pre-pregnancy well-organized life! Too many things I need to start working on. No motivation to do anything though! I'm sure the first thing to jump to your mind as you read this are the postpartum hormonal changes I'm going through. It surely is :(

To overcome those symptoms I decided to have some therapies :)

First, a message therapy. I have a bad pain in the neck and shoulders area that is going to kill me. I guess this makes me in need for such a therapy. I'll try to make an appointment for next week.

Second, some retail therapy! I guess it's the ladies favorite therapy. Shopping is always soothing! I enjoy shopping either in stores or online. I have been surfing the web recently looking for nice boots.

Because I had swollen feet during pregnancy, and due to the fact that I was not able to wear anything except for my Kate spade flip flop (which turned to be so ugly due to excessive use and weight), I really miss shoes, real shoes, especially those yummy high heels :)

However, I'm thinking about getting one of those tall boots with low heels since they are so trendy this winter. Some of the boots I found online and I really like are those UGG boots in the pictures below.

Those low heel boots for a stylish look.

Or maybe those for a funky look!

Or maybe those if I decided to go with wedge boots.

On the other hand, I really like those peeptoe booties which were so trendy in the summer. I'm not sure about getting one now but maybe next summer! I like those Guess booties. So stylish :)

Awesome, I feel better already  :)

I'm going shopping this week. I need to get the kids new clothes for the Eid, and some stuff for me (including the boots). Keep tuned to know the winner boots!

Eid Mubarak in advance!

Random

 

كراوية

• I made this caraway dessert for my friends who came to visit last weekend. It was so good!
• Today is our 9th wedding anniversary. I'm simply still in love :)
• Baby Abdurahman is still consuming most of my time.
• I have not left the house for three weeks (except for doctor's visits and dropping or picking my daughters).
• I miss shopping so much! I'm planning to buy a new boot, coat, and handbag next week! I've already found what I want online and can't wait to go to Bloomingdale's to get them :)
• I'm drinking more than 2 liters of water everyday. I feel thirsty all the time!
• Still can't fit in my old clothes! I'm on track though.
• I'm still looking for a nickname for baby Abdurahman. Any suggestions? Don't suggest Abboud please! :)
• It's getting really cold and I'm not liking it.
• I desperately need a vacation.
• I will cook okra (bamyeh) today :)

Fenugreek cake (حلبة)

This is traditional dessert from the Palestinian kitchen. Fenugreek frequently used by lactating women to increase milk supply and since I'm currently nursing my son I thought it's going to be a good idea to make this dessert. It's really delicious!

You will need:

For the syrup:

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups water

few drops lemon juice

For the cake:

3 cups semolina or cream of wheat

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup veg. oil

2 tsp yeast

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup fenugreek seeds

2 cups water

Directions:

• Mix semolina and flour in a big bowl. Add all the oil to the mix and set aside to rest (about 1 hour). You need the semolina to absorb all the oil.
• Meanwhile prepare the syrup by adding water to the sugar in a medium saucepan and mix it well with spatula. Heat the mix until it boils. Once it boils add the lemon drops and set aside to cool down.
• In another saucepan add the 2 cups of water to the fenugreek seeds and boil it on a low heat for about 20 minutes until the seeds are big and soft. The water will decrease to about 1 cup.
• Drain the seeds and add them to the semolina mix. Keep the seeds water to add them to the mix later. Add the yeast, baking powder, and salt. Then add the water gradually while making the dough. You might not need the whole cup of water.
• Lightly grease a 9x12 baking dish with tahini sauce. Pour the dough in the baking dish and smooth with hand. Cut it into diamond shapes with a butter knife. You can decorate by placing an almond in the center of each diamond.
  
• Cover the baking dish and set it aside to rest for about an hour.
• Preheat oven to 400 F (200 degrees). Bake on the lower rack for about 40 minutes until it is gold. Remove from oven and immediately add the warm syrup to it.
• Leave aside until it cools down and then cut and serve.