New MOTW ...drum roll.. Annie (pghannie)

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-06-2006
New MOTW ...drum roll.. Annie (pghannie)
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Sun, 12-10-2006 - 8:47am

Starting tomorrow (Monday 12/11), Annie will be our new MOTW (Member Of The Week)


Everybody start asking her questions.. we all want to know this great

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Avatar for saej72
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2003
Mon, 12-11-2006 - 2:10pm

what diet/system/exercises are you doing to lose weight?

what is the wildest/strangest diet, you've tried in the past.

Sara
342/278/200
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/s/samanthagrace/
http://saej72.extrapounds.com/

Sara  

342-300-200

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-01-2006
Mon, 12-11-2006 - 3:12pm

Hi, Annie!

And a few more questions:

What's your favorite weight-loss tip (diet, exercise, or other)?

How old are your children? What sort of things do they like? Are they thoroughly Americanized yet?

Still hung up on the Hong Kong thing >;) What were you doing that would have sent you there? Do you still do this?

Thanks!

Misha
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 12-12-2006 - 9:03am

--what diet/system/exercises are you doing to lose weight?

Well, after so many failed attempts with big changes, this time around I'm trying to focus on limiting my caloric intake to around 1200 to 1500 a day and concentrating on exercising, mostly walking or Nordic track. I have to admit that I've really been doing poorly when it comes to exercise. Yikes.

--what is the wildest/strangest diet, you've tried in the past.

In college I spent a couple of miserable weeks on a matzoh and yogurt diet. Three yogurts a day and three matzoh squares a day. The only other allowed thing besides water was black coffee. The first day for this then 18 year old gentile was not too bad. Who knew that matzoh tasted like the world's best saltine cracker? Certainly not I! My friends and I got excessively drunk on the last night and I woke up with a crushing hangover. (On the plus side, it took care of the horrible constipation and I went from 152 to 145...until I took my first non-yogurt/non-matzoh bite!)

A
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 12-12-2006 - 9:27am

--What's your favorite weight-loss tip (diet, exercise, or other)?

My body just doesn't lose or maintain weight without regular exercise. (3 - 5 hours per week minimum) I wish it could say that it was something I really enjoy, but moving is key. My metabolism adjusts to whatever limits I put in place diet wise--don't even ask me how badly I do on low-carb--but it's no match for exercise.

--How old are your children? What sort of things do they like? Are they thoroughly Americanized yet?

DS is 7 and DD is 5 (excuse me 5 1/2!) We brought them home from Moscow in August 2002 and even DS who had just turned 3 has no lasting memory of Russia. For the longest time he'd freak out if he heard someone speaking Russian, much to the disappointment of our kind Ukranian neighbor. LOL They are amazingly bright and alarmingly beautiful children. (Not that I'm biased in any way...) She is now obsessed with animals and is lobbying for a dog. Several times a week she says: Mom, did you know that I really like animals? He's just recently mastered reading and is reading everything in sight but loves math. When he doesn't want to do homework we bribe him with the option of doing extra math problems! (His career aspirations, however, are to play professional football.)

--Still hung up on the Hong Kong thing >;) What were you doing that would have sent you there? Do you still do this?

I am an organizational development consultant (fancy name for an HR weinie) and I was rolling out a new performance management program for a big soda pop company. I not only had to pass on going to Hong Kong and Shang Hai but Dubai and Sydney. Double ouch! It was a pretty high-pressure job with lots of hours and lots of BS from corporate executive babies, but I truly loved it. Lots of travel, lots of new people, and every new project felt like a new job so it never got tedious.

When we decided to adopt the kids I quit cold turkey. Ever see that movie Family Man with Nicholas Cage where he goes from a high-profile career to a simple family life? Well, that's what it felt like. I worked and schmoozed through my last day of work and 10 hours later I was on a plane to get our kids. I still do free-lance work in the same field now, but I can't imagine doing that again with the same intensity. I'd never see my kids and they'd grow up with a nanny to warp them instead of me. :-)

A
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Tue, 12-12-2006 - 10:01am

What made you decide to adopt from Russia?


Was it a difficult process?


My friend is thinking of adopting from overseas, forget exactly where she said, but she wants to adopt a little girl and she says it is easier to adopt from overseas than it is from here!!

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Angela







 

Angela

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 12-12-2006 - 5:08pm

--What made you decide to adopt from Russia?

We really considered adopting domestically. Frankly, I can't imagine a child from anywhere of any race, any background, any disability etc. that I couldn't love as my own. We started TTC in '94 and stopped the madness on 9/11/01 with yet another failed infertility treatment. (Yep, that 9/11.) At the time we had several friends who had been terribly hurt in both private adoptions and foster to adopt situations. Neither of us felt capable of handling another crushing disappointment so we turned to international adoption. After screening a lot of agencies we settled with the same one my brother and SIL used to adopt our niece--also from Moscow. (We set out to pick the best agency and go to whatever country they supported because it truly didn't matter to us whether it was Eastern Europe, or China or South America or Vietnam. Just wanted to be parents.)

--Was it a difficult process?

Yes and no. As I mentioned we had a terrific agency that made it really pretty painless. DH and I are both doers so we slammed the paperwork out in no time. The homestudy process is a little like being locked outside your house in your underwear--you feel very exposed, very inadequate, very abnormal but if you can keep a level head you can get through it. LOL The hardest part was adopting them both at the same time, especially with a 3 year old who didn't speak English.

--My friend is thinking of adopting from overseas, forget exactly where she said, but she wants to adopt a little girl and she says it is easier to adopt from overseas than it is from here!!

Adoptions from Russia are a bit slower right now and there is usually a longer wait for girls. When we adopted our interest in adopting an older child was helpful. It took less than 7 months from the time we first met with the agency to the day we brought our sweeties home.

A
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-12-2006
Tue, 12-12-2006 - 7:19pm

Annie, here are a couple of q's.

If you could have one of your favorite non-diet friendly foods made magically fat-free, calorie-free, and just plain super healthy what food would it be?

Do you have a personal reward in mind for when you reach your weightloss goal? What is it?

Gabbie

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-06-2006
Wed, 12-13-2006 - 7:55am

And the superficial Mary kicks in with some questions..


What do you look like?


What kind of clothes do you usually wear?


Do you wear any makeup or jewlery?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 12-13-2006 - 7:58am

--If you could have one of your favorite non-diet friendly foods made magically fat-free, calorie-free, and just plain super healthy what food would it be?

This is a hard one Gabbie. Most things that I really like you can make healthy but I just want to eat them to excess. LOL (Like pizza, pasta, burritos, etc.) I guess I would pick Cheetos--a food that I have to go cold turkey on or when I treat myself only buy in a single-serve bag. Somehow no matter how big the bag is it transforms itself into a single-serve bag. Hmmm.

Do you have a personal reward in mind for when you reach your weightloss goal? What is it?

You know, I've kicked this one around since I started TTL (trying to lose. Ha!). I guess I'm just not real reward-driven because I struggle with what would make me feel rewarded. The smaller bum, smaller clothes, increased energy, health benefits etc. would be tremendous rewards in themselves. Who knows, by the time I'm done my hooters might be resting on my knees so I might go for a boob job. :-)

A
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 12-13-2006 - 8:14am

--What do you look like?

Well, I'd be such a pretty girl if only I were thinner! LOL (Ever have an aunt or insensitive stranger hit you up with one of those?)

I'm just shy of 5' 7" and have dark brown hair, blue-green eyes, and really white skin. (So very pasty!) Fun fact about me: At my advanced age (44) still no grays. I'm holding out against the hair coloring thing for as long as I can.

--What kind of clothes do you usually wear?

Most days since I'm a SAHM I wear jeans and a sweater or nice shirt as I refuse to give into wearing sweats and looking like I'm wearing pajamas all the time. I do miss the feeling of being "put together" that I had when I was working, but it's just not practical to dress for the kinds of days I have.

--Do you wear any makeup or jewlery?

I put on a little make up every day and never leave the house without lip gloss or lipstick. Kind of falls in line with the clothing choice. At this weight it is so easy for me to feel dumpy, and if I put some thought into my clothes, hair, and make up I feel better and don't feel like people are so quick to judge or stereotype me as some fat chick who doesn't care about her appearance.

I'm best with jewelry that I can put on and not play with like earrings and brooches/pins. (I can't keep my fingers off of bracelets, necklaces and rings so I keep them simple.) I love jewelry made from non-precious and semi-precious stones and beads. I hate feeling like I'm wearing something expensive that I have to worry about losing or breaking or looking over dressed wearing. (I have a few things like that and never end up wearing them.)

A

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