New and Now

It's been 2 years since I last wrote a piece for my blog. It's not that I didn't have anything to say-- in fact I can't type fast enough because I'm brimming with things to share --but I just ran out time as I was busy moving and then...my favorite part...I became a mom to the most sweetest baby girl I've ever known.
But I won't start with mom blogs --there'll be plenty of time for that. Lets start on a topic that's super close to me since I'm currently aiming to get those last 5 pounds of baby weight off: fitness and health.
I became more health conscious when I moved to New Jersey almost two years ago because everywhere I looked there was a pizzeria, rich Italian food and heavy white bread jersey subs everywhere and honestly...I just got sick of looking at it all. Now -  had I lived in Manhattan, I probably would have gotten my share of uber health nut food and drink but...we came across the Hudson to a less figure-conscious society so I had to make my own amends.
Anywho - healthy eating is a huge part of my life now and while I didn't have to try hard as a single girl living in Charlotte, I do have to make a conscious effort as a woman with a family. There's still desi dishes to be made and there's still the occasional chocolate mousse dessert but for the most part - cleaner eating is where it's at for me.
Currently I'm obsessed with my Nutribullet that I use every day to get more fibrous greens, nuts, fruits and booster seeds into my diet. As a mom, it's not the best use of my time to cook 3-5 different types of greens on a daily basis but it sure is easy to toss into my new gadget and guzzle it all down in a matter of seconds.
I have a bunch of "nutriblast" recipes to share AND I've got plenty of new fitness routines to write out for you all. So if you want to change your life for the better health wise too - stay tuned for my upcoming blogs...I'm renewing my love for writing and will be back in touch.
Today's Nutriblast for nursing moms:
Swiss Chard
Grapefruit (cuts fat and adds vitamin C)
Boiled fenugreek seeds (increases milk production - DO NOT add unboiled raw fenugreek seeds as they are rock hard and not ready to be extracted - boil a bunch in advance and store them in the fridge for up to four days with most of the leftover liquid thrown out)
Strawberries
Oranges (optional)
Chia seeds (brain food)
Walnuts (omega 3 and brain food)
Water

Fitness routine: 75 min total body cardio and strength workout with weights. Abs included! Legs, cardio, chest, arms, back, shoulders and a super sprint at the end to torch some residual fat.

We Got Jipped

I was on the airplane on the way back from a week of home cooking, family events, parties and of course - no working out. So I was catching up on some new "Women's Fitness" exercises and fitness programs I could put into my workout when I got back. The magazine was full of research topics on beans and berries and only had about 3 pages of "butt burners" and 4 pages on "how to step up your running" which I feel like I read in almost issue of this magazine or Health or anything other mag targeted towards women. I didn't really find anything amazing and I didn't feel like tearing any pages out and taking them to the gym with me. I also didn't think "Ultra Trim" was the only way I could get skinny so I opted not to buy 30 pills for $19.99 either.

I came home and was organizing the magazine and paperwork the Hubster piles around the house and I picked up a copy of his "Muscle and Fitness." Mostly because there was a hot dude on the cover but shhh don't tell him. Anywho...once I was done "reading" the cover, I started flipping through the pages and I felt like I'd discovered the fountain of eternal fitness! Sure there's a Muscle and Fitness "Hers" but to be honest...I'm sick of trimming my rear! I want to move onto another body part now PLEASE editors!

12 pages on "Smarter Ab Training" with large, clear pictures of how to use all of the equipment in your gym (turkish getups with weights, cable chops, etc.)
4 pages of "No Prowler, No Problem" showing me how I can FINALLY find an alternative to my prowler exercises by using the simplest machines I use every day!
5 pages of "Metabolic Workouts"
4 pages on "Conditioning your Body Better"
2 pages on "Kinesthetic" (I don't even know what Kinesthetic is????)
41 complete workouts inside!

Granted that most of the pages were geared toward getting bigger pecs, eating more to build mass (THAT would never show up in a women's health mag) and ads with massively huge men promoting 14-pack abs and shoulders the size of boulders (hee hee). It IS a men's magazine after all. But there was some really good information about eating clean, pages and pages on what foods build mass and which vitamins burn fat (D and calcium..bet you didn't know huh?)

As women, we're totally getting played out. The same old same old lunges and "modified situps" mixed with 2-3 stability ball exercises and 5 pages on white bean soup are really starting to make me mad! I feel like I had a 3-hour session with a personal trainer and a diet guru after reading this and all "Health" made me do was want to nap. I'm sure writing to the editors of ladies magazine isn't going to make them change their minds in the next year or so or stop them from putting puny 5-lb dumbell workouts in their magazines because they know that's what the majority of women want to read. As for me and my home, we shall only read Muscle & Fitness from now on. Vin Diesel-esque dudes on the cover every month AND actual information on my fitness? Don't mind if I do!

(If you're not seeing the pics I post with these entries, visit my blog at maddieq.blogspot.com)

Free At Last! Thank God Almighty, I'm Free At Last!

I've been planning each and every weekend for the last 18 years of my life (hats off to the parents for planning the early years around my brother and I.)

First I had weekends off from school to do stuff I couldn't do on school nights. Then came weekends off from work and getting in all of that stuff I couldn't do because I worked too late. Then came weekend wedding planning that was chock full of errand running, gas-burning, food-testing, cake building, makeup trying, stage selecting, invitation writing, dress designing goodness! As if all that wasn't enough, then there were the last month-full of weekends spent commuting back and forth to North Jersey, buying furniture, organizing the new place, kitchen stacking, box crushing, clothes organizing, curtain hanging, computer wiring, cable connecting, IKEA shelf-building MADNESS! It was always something that we couldn't finish before nightfall and we'd just throw our hands up and say "ugh..I'm so hungry! Let's finish it tomorrow!"

But yesterday, something odd happend. At about 2:00 PM Eastern, my husband and I sat on our new couches and he looked at me and said "So what do you want to do today babe?" Flashbacks of a thousand weekends went through my mind and as I opened my mouth to list off a bunch of errands...I went blank. Mouth agape...I had nothing to say. Nothing to clean, nothing to buy, nothing to drop off, and nothing to remember to grab from the grocery store. Just...nothing.

Was I having a senior moment? Did I just forget? There has to be SOMETHING I needed to do right? Right!?!? No! I suddenly realized that all of my life I've crammed my weekends with things I've been working toward building, doing or being and today - I was free. Free to do anything in the world that I wanted. But what would I do? I've spent so long doing what I HAD to, that I now I don't know what I WANT to do. I can paint, go for a walk, download music, go help the needy...anything! I don't think I'll have very many more of these "free days" once I land a new job (inshAllah soon), but until that day comes...I'm going to live like a kid again and do something crazy with my free Saturdays. So if you see someone zooming by on rollerblades or a random desi painting in the park...look again because it just might be me!

My first night out in NYC

So...technically it wasn't my VERY first night out...but it felt like a first "proper" night out. Dinner reservations at someplace fun, a broadway play, lattes in the cold weather, the works.
"Catch Me If You Can" is my first Broadway play in NYC (I've seen Wicked at the Victoria Theatre which was aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawesome. We had a great dinner of seafood paella and shredded beef then moved on to the show! It was fun of singing, dancing, fun effects and good dialogue but I would give 3 stars out of 5. Now keep in mind that I'm not a licensed theater critic so take my opinion with a grain of salt. No, it wasn't because the lead wasn't Leo - that would be too shallow of an opinion. The lead of "Frank Abignail", played by Tom Wopat held our attentions as he is a superb actor. Singing for 2 hours straight, Tom is charismatic, funny and charming. He'll definitely be around for a while and I'm sure we'll see him again.
I saw the movie on the big screen and with a plot that centers around a teenager who changes MICR numbers on checks, glues airline plane stickers onto badges and doesa million other DETAILED things to forge who he is...a play just didn't capture those details that are really important to the true story. The lead role of "Brenda", played by Kerry Butler was quite bland. Yes she had a good voice, but she just didn't capture my attention...sorry but she was pretty boring.
The next play I'd like to see is "How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying" with Daniel Radcliff playing the lead.
And now...for something a little more important (joking)...off to the Garden State Mall. =)

Newborn Wife Life

Hello Friends!! I've missed you all very much. Sorry I haven't written very much but I'm starting a new chapter in my life and have been quite busy. I wanted to start blogging fresh with my experiences as a new wife and continue to tell you all of the non-private things I'd like to share. I debated writing because you all know how superstitious I am and how I'm deathly afraid of nazar. But I juuuuuust can't hold it in! There's so much to tell!
Well to be honest - being married is (Mashallah se, Allah ka shukar, nazar na lage) pretty damn good. Now don't get me wrong...we've had our battles over shoe space (I got a whole closet for them), dishwashing (we share), room temperature (I'm always freezing and he usually sweats) but there's some pretty awesome stuff too. For example, I never have to get a chair to reach the tallest cabinet anymore - wha-hoo!
There's help to hang curtains, he crushes all the big boxes and saves my shoes from damage and the other day....I waited a whole 2 hours to open the cabinet because I saw a bug inside and I sure wasn't gonna kill it.
Now there's also so much to tell about setting up a place. First of all...boy is it expensive! I have to urge to become like those uber-coupon savers and only buy 20 boxes of maccaroni for 20 cents on Wednesdays for dinner! There's alot of organizing and cleaning going on lately so I'll tell you about my favorite products and some I'm not impressed with. While job-hunting, I've been cooking so the hubster has something to eat and in a small apartment...desi cuisine sure is smelly! In comes Febreze and Lysol air sanitizer to the rescue!! These 2 have become my saviors.
And then there's the hardwood floor cleaning supplies. I waited 2 weeks to buy a swiffer wet and you know what? I'm not impressed at all. Its really not a good "grabber" and I've already had to change the pad 3 times in 2 weeks...could our floors really be that filthy?
I also really like the Renuzit air freshmer and Mr. Clean Magic Erasers as well as the square plates from Ikea...I've had them for a few years now and I still think there super chic and pocket-friendly. Ok...I'm getting a little sleepy-eyed for now...talk more soon. Missed you guys!

My Ten Cents

I hate Desis sometimes. I'm sorry but I really really do. They just do the dumbest stuff that just rubs me the wrong way and I have to do everything in my power to control myself from grabbing them by the shoulders and shaking the bejesus out of them!

I had to go to the post office today and before I mailed off my goods, I needed to make a photocopy of a receipt I was turning in just in case the mail got lost somewhere and I was left without any proof and backup. Strategically attached to the post office is a printing & packaging store - today run by a hijabi desi auntie. Oh, you know where this is going...

Now - let me just tell you how completely meaningless this visit to the printing store was supposed to be. All I needed was a copy of my receipt for which I'd give the auntie a whopping total of 10 cents and move along my merry little way. That's it. 10 seconds, 10 cents aaaaaand done. But here's what happened that chapped my ass so bad today, I could have released every Urdu curse word my mother's ever used at us! The auntie takes my receipt which is 3x5 - about 1/4 the size of the sheet of copy paper it was supposed to be printed on. The auntie makes me a copy and gives it to me asking for her $0.10. I look at the copy and notice she's cut off the bottom of my receipt which should easily have fit - no question. I point out that she's cut off my receipt upon which she looks and says "oh, I'm not sure why. Would you like me to make another copy?" at which point my blood boils.

Had this been ANY other place - the clerk would have said "sorry, let me try again", whipped around and properly placed my receipt in the right area and printed it the right way. But no - not this auntie...of course not. I tell her I'm not sure why she didn't print it right but yes, "I'd like to her try again." She tries again - unsuccessfully - and I know that she's just placing it wrong but I'm running out of time and I've got my mail on hold at the Post Office counter behind me and I just can't take the idiocy anymore so she laughs and smiles like its some joke and I say "nevermind, I'll just write the last numbers on the bottom with a pen" and I dig into my purse searching for a dime when she looks at me and says..."20 cents."

TWENTY CENTS?!?!? You didn't even do it right you idiot woman who's wasting my time while people are getting angry in line behind me because my package is on hold at the register and had you just placed the receipt the right way - it would fill the 8x10 piece of paper with all of the information that I need instead of stupidly cutting it off and you have the nerve to charge me for a copy that YOU effed up to being with?! ARE YOU SERIOUS? I HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE DESIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ugh...if it weren't for the nihari and sparkly outfits - I'd denounce you my own culture altogether and go join any other race in the entire world instead so I don't have anything to do with this type of ludicrous behavior! I take a deep breath, lower my voice and firmly ask "you're going to charge me for a copy that didn't even print right?" to which she matter-of-factly replies "yes, because you know it took a whole sheet of paper to copy." Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! Why, why, why??? I don't care about the 20 cents - here take a DOLLAR...but you're an idiot and YOU messed up my copy so why are you making me want to choke you????

To deter myself from committing assault & battery and getting sentenced 5-10 years in prison, I put a quarter on the counter. And while the typically oh-so-desi/penny-pinching/no goodness in their hearts/can't own up to their mistakes/biggest waste of existence/no wonder our country is drowning in its own self-serviance auntie SLOWLY fumbles in her drawer for my nickel in change I yell "Please! Keep the change!"

If I EVER see this woman again, I'm going to toss her a C-note and tell her I'm making a donation to the "How to make a proper printer copy" class she obviously needs to take!

Work Ethic

Everything in life that's worth anything requires work. And sure, everyone knows it. Your resume requires work, the way you "market" yourself to the world requires work, your career requires work to get to your goal position, your body requires work to look good, your cooking requires work to taste good, your family requires work to keep the bond tight, your friendships require work to maintain contact and involvement in each others' lives, your relationship requires work to keep it exciting and strong, your car requires tune-up work to run properly, your eyebrows require work, keeping your teeth white requires work, your nails require work, your image requries work, jotting notes and becoming a good presenter requires work, heck even taking time out FROM work to NOT work requires work.

But I think the one thing we aren't taught as kids is that, while getting to your goals requires work...maintaining them requires...well..maintenance. And lots of it. Its true that the hard part is in the achievement of the goal, but so many of us (myself in this group at times) forget that the ongoing is just as important.

So why am I bringing this up? Because I've made a recent vow to myself that while I may mashAllah se have a lot of things I'm priviledged and blessed enough to come by, I'm going to make it a point to revamp my work ethic. Because if I don't, I just might not get to feel this grateful for very much longer. I'm going to take small steps and figure out what work I need to do before I haphazardly throw out lofty goals that I won't be able to commit to.

I'm committed to adding little pockets of work into all of the categories of my acheievements and my relationships and fill those pockets with things I need to always do to help me appreciate them more. I'm going to try my best not to yell "GET A REAL CAREER AND STOP WASTING MY MONEY!" every time my brother tells me about his music major activities in college (try, try try.) I'm going to start small and make an effort to remember just one thing that happens in my friends' lives that we don't really discuss and make a point to be conscious of it - knee injuries, family deaths, broken relationships...whatever it may be. I'm going to have a cheerier disposition at work and remind myself how lucky I am that I have a job that I love and how priviledged I am to have it. I won't bore you with the details on all of the work I've got cut out for myself. But I hope that you notice it in the very near future and I hope I have the good sense and ethic to always work this hard.