Who are you anyway?

I’m Jennette Fulda. For over six years I blogged here using the name PastaQueen, but have since moved on to a new domain name and a new alter ego at JenFul. PastaQueen was a weight-loss blog that chronicled my journey as I lost 200 pounds, a story I eventually expanded on in my book Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir. After that I got bored of just writing about weight loss, so I started telling stories to the Internet on this blog about my life as a smartass, author, chronic headache sufferer, and overall nice person (who is silently judging you). After awhile I decided the name PastaQueen didn’t represent who I was or what my blog was about anymore, so now I post at JenFul.

PastaQueen lives on as an archive. Comments have been turned off because spammers are chatty. There’s some good stuff to be found here, like the time my mother handed out condoms in front of my office, thoughts about the mysteries of the universe, my never-ending desire to stuff my face with cookies, and the headache I got in February of 2008 that has never gone away. Yeah, that last part kind of sucks, and so do you if you send me advice. (Just a hug will do.)

In addition to Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir, I wrote a second memoir called Chocolate and Vicodin: My Quest for Relief from the Headache that Wouldn’t Go Away. I am a full-time freelancer, available for hire to write pretty words or make pretty blogs via my company Make My Blog Pretty. If you want to throw money at me, I will catch it if you contact me. Everything else relevant about me can be found at JennetteFulda.com

Oh, and I occasionally smile angelically in fields of grass for absolutely no reason at all.

Can you give me the run down on this amazing weight loss thing?

I entered this world weighing 8 pounds 5 ounces and came close to leaving it at 372 pounds. After several false starts, I started working my ass off (literally) on January 15, 2005. I blogged about it along the way because typing burns calories. In February of 2007, I officially lost 186 pounds, half my weight, and had a party in my fat pants. During a period of depression caused by my chronic pain, I gained back about 50 pounds.

Didn’t I see your pants in the bookstore?

Yes, that’s me and my fat pants on the cover of the book I wrote about my weight-loss experience, Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir. It was published by Seal Press in May 2008. Everything related to the book—reviews, media appearances, publicity pics, and more—is covered on my official book site.

Has your blog been mentioned anywhere that makes friends and family proud and enemies jealous?

Why, yes it has! My blog, my book or I have been seen (and sometimes heard) in places like The Today Show on NBC, The Early Show on CBS, Runner’s World, Women’s Health, The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Shape, Glamour, The Globe and Mail, and other media. You can catch up on my work at JennetteFulda.com, assuming I have not been too distracted to update the site. Ooh, look! Something shiny!

How can I contact you?

By reading my contact page. And then actually contacting me, of course.

You are such an inspiration. Did you know that?

So I’ve been told, but I’ve never set out to be anyone’s inspiration. I just set out to be me. I still like to steal cannolis and cake and I’m not ashamed. Also, while I’m over a hundred pounds lighter than I used to be, I’m also over fifty pounds heavier than I was at my thinnest. If that bothers you, I suggest you go somewhere else. I’m not your Weight Watchers leader.

So, about that headache, have you tried-?

Yes. Yes I have.

Has anyone suggested you might have-?

Yes. Yes, they did.

Well, there’s no reason to get snippy.

I’ve had a headache since February 2008. What do you expect?

Why are you called PastaQueen? Are you on some weird pasta-only diet?

Uh, no. My internet handle has always been PastaQueen, but it has nothing to do with the consumption of pasta. In high school I was nicknamed Jennetti Spaghetti. This turned into Jennetti Spaghetti, the Queen of Pasta. When I had to make a free e-mail address to use at a summer camp in 1997, I decided to use PastaQueen and I’ve been using it ever since. I do still eat pasta, just in moderation.

Anything else?

Sometimes I give noogies to Elvis.