Death of Spring Break, Birth of Fitspiration

Spring break is officially over. It's after midnight and I have school in the morning. *Sigh* Why can't I be 4 years old forever? My mom stayed at home until I was sixteen and this past week I got a taste of that again. My husband and my dad worked all week but since my mom works for the school district she had the week off. We spent every day together. We usually bicker -a lot- but this week was different. Maybe it's because we weren't as stressed? Probably. We went shopping, I got her a pedicure for her birthday, and we had fun. But spring break went by way to fast and I seem to be just as behind as I was before spring break.

My plan to organize my closet? HA. Get ahead on my homework? HA.HA. Was it much of a break? HA.HA.HA. I have no idea where my mini-vacation went. Between the Nowruz parties, khooneh takooni (remember, house shaking/cleaning), Chaharshanbe suri, being a wife, and homework, I was unable to do anything that I wanted/needed to do. Except for one thing.

My new workout plan. My husband goes to the gym every single day. He is determined to lose a few pounds of fat (maybe 10) and gain as much muscle as he can without looking like a freaky bodybuilder.

Uh, I'll pass, thanks.

So we are starting a new plan tomorrow. A bodybuilders plan. A lean meat, complex carb, 3 protein shakes a day plan. I am so ready. Mentally and physically. I've lost 15 pounds already, I have the mindset down. I love going to the gym and I love lifting weights; I also love sitting on the couch though. This time is different. He is really serious about his training and I will be too. I'm so excited. I know he'll push me the way he pushes himself.

I needed a little thinspiration FITspiration I don't wanna be skinny. I wanna be lean and look like JNL.

She is so sexy and not gross like some bodybuilder women.

Jennifer Nicole Lee -JNL

JNL used to weigh over 200 pounds. Do you believe that? I want to be her. I want her body. And her boobs. I want to be a fitness model. I may not ever pose in a bikini for thousands to see but I wanna have the ability to do so if I please.

So, with the help of my FITspiratin and the new motto I learned, Strong is the new skinny, I am on my way. I never wanted to be skinny, and I'm already pretty strong, so here's to reaching our goals and never straying from the path. Cheers. (with water of course, gotta get my gallon in. ^_~)

Chaharshanbe Soori

The Festival Of Fire. The last Wednesday Eve (or they could just call it Tuesday night) before Nowruz. Or is it Nowrooz? Nowrouz? Norouz? NoRuz? I'm not sure how to spell it... but whatever. BTW Persians, hear me out, can we please come to an agreement about to spell Persian words. Thank you.

As I was saying. The Festival of Fire was last night and it was FUN! We got there late. Not Persian Central Time late, like really late. Everyone had already jumped over the fire and they were dancing around the pavilion like drunken idiots the adorable people they are. So I told my Amoo Joon, my dear uncle, that I didn't even get to see a fire and he made me one. A small, very special fire. We chanted zardi-ye man az to, sorkhi-ye to az man, literally my yellow [sickness] is yours, your fiery red color is mine.

I spent time with the people I love, avoided the people I don't, I ate salad olivie and cutlet and hot chai. Perfection.

Eid is just around the corner, we're invited to about 30 parties this weekend. We are going to 1, maybe 2. If we can get to the first one early enough to leave early then maybe we can make it to the second one. Ooh, that reminds me, I should go to bed so that I can get up and go Eid dress shopping. Or maybe I'll just go to sleep and not wake up in the morning because it's spring break and I don't care enough about a dress to actually wake up early. Hmm, I must either be sick or not Persian.

From Shahzadeh to Shah.

From Prince/Princess to King.

I live in Texas, when I say I'm Persian, people are like, "What?" Persian, like Iranian "Where's that?" Or better yet, "Iraq?" No, it's the country that we are currently NOT at war with, it's next to Iraq and twice as big. "Oh" is what they say with a big stupid look on their faces. Once, some guy was bitching about "Terrorist and Iranicans" I was like, Stop, do you mean IRANIANS "Yeah, whatever those people are called" It's pronounced Iranian not IraniCAN and I'm one of those people. "Oh" I don't mind when people don't know what/where Iran it. It surprises me but it doesn't bother me, but DON'T be rude about it jerkface.

Now everyone who watches Bravo will know, or at least have some idea, of who Persians are. Whether that's a good or bad thing has people complaining/arguing/straight up fighting about Shahs of Sunset and the impact it will have on the Persian community.

I watched the Shahs of Sunset and I loved it. Wait till I say why I loved it before you jump me. I loved it because it was a bunch of really rich, stuck up people, having fun with their friends. It was NOT about Persians doing normal Persian things living a normal Persian life. (No one with that much money lives a 'normal' life compared to the rest of us anyway.) To me if Persians are good at one thing it's just being Persian, and that's different to everyone. It's about heritage. So whatever you do, you do it right and you say, "Uh, hello? I'm Persian!" I heard someone complain that no one ever says that, Uh, I do. I justify everything I do with I'm Persian.

In fact I'm more Persian than most. I'm do rageh, literally 2 veined, I'm only half Persian. But I grew up with a father that always said, "eeven dough ve are in Amereeka, my eyes are esteel in Iran" which I always thought to meant his heart was there, too, and we were gonna to things Iranian style. We did. Oh, and my mom, who's Mexican-American and grew up in a very traditional home? She swears she was Iranian in a past life - no really, she says it all the time. Why does that make me more Persian and not less? I moved to Iran my Senior year of high school, came back and got my GED, then I went back again for 4 more years when I married my childhood sweetheart, I try to be the best Persian wife I can be, and my Farsi is perfect, (people tell me it is and I have no accent.) But I know plenty of Persian kids that don't every try -at all- to speak Farsi even though their parents only speak Farsi with them and when they try they just sound sefid (white) and butcher it. When I was a child I hated being only half, because the other lil Iranian kids didn't accept me but now everyone does, not that it even matters to me, but there were some of those Iranian women that didn't like the non-Iranian wives... they didn't always include my mom, but because of who I've become, she's in. I think it's stupid but at least she doesn't feel left out. [Not that we care that much.]

So where am I going with this? I understand why the Iranian community hates this show. I do, really. BUT do you think everyone who is from Jersey or Italian American acts like Snookie or the Situation or those other people on the show who whose names I don't know because I don't watch it? No. In fact I know that (a large percentage of) Italian Americans are Catholic and traditional and great people, who in fact love to eat and love big families and lots of friends. That last part sounds familiar. Persians love to party, they love being with the people they love, family, friends, and anyone that's fun. Oh, they LOVE to drink and make kabob and play poker every Tuesday night. (Or that poker thing could just be my dad and his friends.) When I watch Shahs of Sunset I see a lot of the people I know in them. Not as ridiculously rich, slightly less conceited, and in Texas but I see good friends, that fight sometimes, but that have each others backs, and just wanna party all the time when they are not working. I know these people. They are usually drunk at party's and they dance all night; the women talk dirty when the men aren't around. There's always good food, and there's always a party Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night and sometimes Sunday afternoon. These people are rich, not Shahs of Sunset rich but big-house-on-the-golf-course or big-house-on-the-lake rich. Seriously, I'm 24 and I cannot keep up with these party animals. Anyway....

Another reason a lot of Iranians don't like it is because there are still plenty of conservative and/or Muslims who don't wanna hear the things their kids [might or might not] do. "OMG, he's GAY! Voy, khak bar saram, ma gay nadarim... " (Dirt on my head, we don't have gays!) Yes he is, yes we do, and whether you agree with it or not you should still accept him. I don't care if you thing gays are gonna go to Heaven or Hell or whatever, they are still people who deserve to live a normal life. "Sex, they said sex on TV, they are PERSIAN, ve do not talk about SEX" Yeah, you're right, we don't. Not in front of our parents at least and NOT on TV, but they don't care, they have too much money to care about things like not talking about sex. They are very liberal and have lived in Beverly Hills their whole lives and they are just people, who happen to be Persian, and happen to have a show on TV and happen to be rich. Besides, a bunch of "normal" Iranian Doctors, Lawyers, Business owners, and housewives would not be as entertaining reality TV.

I try to look at the bright side of everything, at least people will know that we aren't ALL terrorists and that some of us are rich and love to have fun, and hopefully anyone watching the show will use common sense to know that it's reality television, no body believes that it's 100% real. Even if that's what it was supposed to be, everyone changes in front of the camera.

So, people hating on Shahs of Sunset, it's just a TV show. And I love Reza Farahan he is all kinds of awesome. And seems pretty real. He took the time to have a twitter conversation with me, that say's something.

Oh my.

I've been so busy. Between throwing a baby shower, midterms, and a bridal shower I've been exhausted. Throwing a baby shower will take it out of you, let me tell ya. And so will midterms. And so will a bridal shower with 60 grown Persian woman (translation: a bunch of children trapped in the bodies of middle aged women, eh voy!)
Let me tell you about this stupid bridal shower. A dear friend of mine threw a shower for the beautiful wife-to-be of her friends' son. In the end the bride was happy and that was all that really mattered. but trying to get these women to be quiet for even 4 seconds was impossible. We played 2 games. The "don't say bride" game, which was actually the, "don't say bride, groom, or wedding in English or Farsi" game that I had to explain to everyone that walked in the door twice. And the "toilet paper wedding dress" game. Big mistake. Trying to get 6000 women to SHUT UP long enough for me to explain the game is HORRIBLE! By the end of the day, when I was trying to get everyone to help me decide a winner, I was starting to lose my voice and I'm sure everyone could here the distress in my voice even though I was trying to sound as sweet as possible. HORRIBLE!
We decided to never host a bridal shower for so many Iranian women again. Ever. Never. Again.
Anyway, my diet is going good. I'm still eating real food. My skin is so clear. I don't have a lot of blemishes to begin with but I do have oily skin and I feel like my skin is blotchy. I have red around my nose and mouth. My skin is less oily and less red. Yay. That makes me feel good. I lost another pound and a half too with is faaaaabulouuuus.
So now it's Spring Break, Nowrouz (Iranian New Year), I have a lot of home work and khoone takooni (literally: shaking the house, or as we say in America, Spring Cleaning) left to do before I go back to school on Monday the 19th.
Speaking of khoone takooni I need to stick my clothes in the dryer, finish my math homework, and maybe start organizing my closet.
Oh, you should also check out my new favorite blog, especially if you're Persian. Or a woman. Or alive. http://sexandfessenjoon.com/

Staring over.

Hello there. I was reading a blog the other day, I wish I could remember who's, and she wrote that she loves leap year because it was like a fresh start, an extra day, a do it over and try again day. So I took her advice to heart.

On Feb 25th I got the flu and I couldn't keep any food down, I lost 6 pounds in couple days, my stomach shrunk because I wasn't eating, and I kicked my coffee habit. Why did I, someone who never gets sick, let alone the Flu, get sick now, when I was just about to start my diet? I am the kind of person to find the good, the light, in every little thing. Even the Flu. So I was feeling better by leap day, I was on the computer reading about all sorts of diets (I hate that word by the way) and different types if healthy food life changes. I said to myself, "Sasha, to lose weight you need to lose that fat girl thinking." What is fat girl thinking (FGT) you ask? It's the "need" for a candy bar when you have a craving. It's buying cookies at the store because you didn't eat lunch and eating them all in the car before you get home so your mom doesn't see the wrapper. It's not taking care of your self nutritiously. It's not loving your body.

Yes, I know I always say I love myself. I do. I'm smart, beautiful, funny, and everything else that the people around me say I am. But do I truly love myself? I had to think about that. I kinda do. I thought I did anyway. Until I decided to stop FGT. So I did. I said enough is enough. I'm going to treat my body right. I'm going to listen to my stomach. I eat slowly so that I can actually tell when I'm getting full and I stop. If I get hungry in another hour I'll eat, but I haven't been getting "hungry" in an hour, I get hungry in 4 or 5 hours.

I decided the best way to lose weight and to be healthy, because the latter is much more important, is to real food. Yes, you can argue that all the food we eat is "real" but I mean REALLY real. Like, if I can't pronounce it, I ain't gonna eat it. Of course, I can't just throw out everything in the house and start over, I'm not wasteful, but I'm starting. I try to only eat processed when I need to and less processed, the better. I'm avoiding HFCS, and corn syrup solids, and any other corn sugar crap, and all sugar in general except for fruit sugar.

Your liver does a couple things, protein synthesis, breaks down insulin, stores vitamins, and DETOXIFIES YOUR BODY. So doesn't it make sense that the less it has to detox, the more is can do GOOD for your body. I think so and so does this video I watched on BeyondDiet.com. You have to pay to be a member, but I watched the free video and it gave me a little incite, so I did some research of my own. I've been counting my calories and I noticed that on the days that I have more processed foods I tend to lose less weight in the morning, even though I'm drink more than enough water to make up for the extra sodium intake and I'm have about the same number of calories and carbs. Interesting right?

Yeah, that guy that did the Twinky diet lost weight but he probably would have lost is faster if he was eating the same amount of calories in fresh vegetables and lean proteins. And his liver and everything else would probably be healthier, too.

So back to the beginning, I started over around Leap day. And I'm doing good. It's more than just calories in-calories out, it's about being healthy and treating my body right. No more FGT. Just love. Oh, and I lost 8 more pounds since then. Go me! I'm 14 pounds less and I've just started to scratch the surface of what is within me.

Sasha