T minus 1 week.. are you KIDDING me? I don’t know about you guys but I’m still wondering what happened to September. Fall is flying by!

We are heading straight into holiday season and you know that that means…

food… food and more FOOD!

Now I know what you’re thinking….

Why bother?

Why bother "being good" with the holidays looming ahead?

Why bother continuing to exercise when it’s getting cold and your diet can’t be "perfect" anyway?

Why bother when the New Year is just around the corner?

I might as well wait till then. Right?

Come on.. Fess up… You’ve considered it. The thought has crossed your mind.

Well let me tell you, there is no "perfect" day, New Year’s or not. There is no better time to "start". There is only the choice that lies in front of us at this very moment.

That choice, for me, right now, is to plan my Thanksgiving dinner! I have one week to get my new house is order. Figure out where to fit 14 people and plan our healthy meal.

First things first, I’ve decided to start a new family tradition. Have you guys heard of a Turkey Trot? It’s a race normally held on Thanksgiving morning and there’s one the YMCA is hosting pretty close to us. This one is a 5k with an optional 2k walk for the non-runners. Mom and the husband are going to take the kids in the 2k and I’m going to run the 5. I hope others will join us but it’s ok if they don’t. I’m not into forcing anyone to run with me I just like the idea of doing something non food intensive on that day. Who knows? Maybe in the next few years I can get the husband and the child to actually run the whole thing with me! (Shhhhh that’s my goal. :)

After the run I’ll be preparing the feast!

On the menu…

• Turkey (of course)
• Creamy Mashed Potatoes (Click for recipe)
• Crock Pot Sweet Potatoes (Click for recipe)
• Roasted Asparagus with Pearl Onions and Bacon Bits (Click for recipe)
• Corn
• Cranberry Sauce (we are a canned family)
• Low Fat Crescent rolls

This year I’m skipping the stuffing (click here to see how I made it last year) and my friend is bringing her famous chestnut stuffing. THANKFULLY! as I find the stuffing the most labor intensive part of the meal.

As for desserts… I pass the responsibility to my guests. Mom is bringing her homemade apple pie and pumpkin roll. And if my Uncles come from brooklyn I may have to ask then to bring some NY deli Italian Cookies. The holidays just aren’t the same with out them. :)

So there you have it. One week today I’ll be running 3 miles, cooking a big meal and enjoying my family. Just thinking about it makes me smile. :)

Notice I’m not focusing on how I’m going to "stay on plan" or "make it thru" the holiday. This is my 5th Thanksgiving (HOLY $HIT) since changing my lifestyle and I’m here to tell you one day, one meal, is not worth freaking out over.

You aren’t freaking out, are you? :~)

Instead of freaking out search for a Turkey Trot in your area. Not a runner? How about a game of catch in the back yard? An after dinner walk? A trip to the park while the bird’s in the oven?

Anyone have any other healthy active Thanksgiving traditions or ideas to share?

Update: After realizing this is my 5th Thanksgiving I traveled back in time and plucked some posts around the Thanksgivings of the past..

• 2005
• 2006
• 2007
• 2008

A few weeks ago you may have noticed that picture on twitter. I had the unfortunate job of taste testing a couple of margaritas for a review on the site. I know. I know. It totally sucked. I mean who wants to spend a night in with their husband sipping margaritas and watching netflix movies.

Ahhhh Who am I kidding. I had blast!

Here’s the deal… Baja Bob shipped me Lime Margarita Mix and Mango Margarita Mix, both were a box of 10 pack singles. I made one of each. Ok, ok, maybe 2 of each. ;~)

Both flavors were good. My only complaint would be the mild sugar free after taste but that’s to be expected… the mixes ARE sugar free. To me it’s a small price to pay for 0 calorie margarita mix. That’s right you heard me.. ZERO CALORIE.

Your average restaurant margarita is at least 300 calories. They are normally gigantic and full of sugar. Using a sugar free mix the only calories in this margarita will come from the tequila, which I believe is about 70 calories an ounce.

Not too Shabby for a cocktail!

Now… due to a mix-up in shipping I received extra boxes of each flavor. I’d love to give them away. Just shoot me a comment below if you are interested and I’ll pick a random winner this Sunday. It’s coming from me so I’ll ship anywhere.

Oh! if you are interested in the ingredients click here for original and here for the mango.

I’m off to bed… getting up early and going for a run tomorrow before work!

My weekend offline was FANTABULOUS! I have to admit I felt a little disconnected without my computer and now I feel a bit behind but it was totally worth it. I spent uninterrupted time (minus a few twitter updates) with my mom and myself. That was a much needed break for me. :)

Here’s a short pictorial tour through my Nutrilite Optimal Health Weekend…

Mom and I arrived the "The Pike" Friday afternoon after a long uneventful plane ride.

After we checked in I saw the list of other bloggers that were in town and was ecstatic to see Jannette on the list! We caught up and she joined Mom and I on a walk. We decided to have some fun and get our hair done at a trendy salon.

It was a TOTAL blast and a much needed salon trip for me. :)

Afterwards, Mom and I went to Sharky’s and headed back to the hotel. Both of us passed out and got a much needed long night of sleep.

The next morning we were off to the Optimal Health Center for our physicals. We got blood drawn, stretch tests, bone density tests, the works! Unfortunately all these things take some time to process so our results will be mailed to us in about a week.

Once our tests were over we had some breakfast and went on a tour. Here’s a sign you see upon entering the building.

Mom and I at breakfast.

A couple of other signs that caught my eye…

After the tour we settled in for a morning of very interesting presentations. I took a few video clips that I hope to edit for you guys. We heard from a doctor, a trainer, a professional athlete, and so many more fascinating people! It was very fun and informative and when I have a little more time I will fill you in!

Once the presentations were over we had lunch and headed out for some exercise. I was planning on running with the group but ditso here forgot her running shoes! yup… forgot the old sneaks. So instead I strolled with walkers and snapped a few pictures on the new camera.

Seriously doesn’t Jannette look like a starlet! She’s breathtaking!

Mom and I in front of the Queen Mary.

Me being a goofball.

Later on we went out for sushi, ate too much and then walked about town a bit. Here’s Mark from MyFitnessHut with Mom and I.

That was pretty much it for us on the weekend as we headed out early today to fly home. Overall it was an AWESOME weekend and I can’t wait to share the results of our physicals and some of the knowledge I learned from the informative presentations.

I have to cut this short as I need to get some sleep before work tomorrow. I’ll end with the whole gang. Everyone was super friendly and Nutrilite was a fabulous host.

All the bloggers are in green. Here’s everyone’s links from left to right in the photo.

• Steve - http://iwannagetphysical.blogspot.com/
• Sarah - http://rxironman.blogspot.com/
• Me and Mom. :)
• Jannette - http://www.pastaqueen.com/
• John - http://www.johnisfit.com/
• Mark - http://www.myfitnesshut.blogspot.com/
• Isreal - http://www.fatmanunleashed.com/
• Evita - http://evolvingwellness.com/

Hope you all had a great weekend and feel prepared for the week. I’m a little behind myself and although I feel I ate WAY too much the past few days I’m still ready to start my week off right. Lunches are packed even though I’m not unpacked yet. :)

The experts behind NUTRILITE, the world’s leading brand of vitamin, mineral, and dietary supplements*, would like to offer you an exclusive health assessment. We will evaluate your current health and wellness by analyzing blood work and conducting a variety of physical tests.The physical examinations are 100% confidential and conducted with trained experts who will then design a customized nutrition and fitness plan with lifestyle tips and supplementation recommendations just for you.

I was honored to be invited to particpate but I wasn’t sure I could swing a trip to California. I’ve been so busy at work I really cant afford a day off. Plus I feel pretty good about my lifestyle right now. Do I really need a supplement regiment?

Then I mentioned it to Mom. She thought it sounded like a wonderful opportunity. See, Mom’s been going through quite a stressful time and like many of us she’s been battling her weight. I mentioned her situation to NUTRILITE and asked if she could get the assessment as well. In exchange we will follow Mom’s progress here on Roni’s Weigh.

I’m not going to get into Mom’s specifics now. I’ll wait until we each get our assessment. Here’s what they are going to test for us…

• Body fat analysis
• Flexibility
• Height and weight
• Blood pressure
• Grip strength
• Bone density
• Blood draw
  • - Vitamin D
  • - Cholesterol
  • - LDL Cholesterol
  • - VLDL Cholesterol
  • - HDL Cholesterol
  • - Triglycerides
  • - Cholesterol/HDL Ratio
  • - Insulin
  • - Glucose
  • - Serum Iron
  • - Iron Binding Capacity
  • - Percent Saturation (Iron)
  • - Serum Ferritin
  • - Unsaturated Iron Binding Capacity
  • - GGT (Gamma-glutamyl transferase)
  • - Homocysteine
  • - Folate
  • - Vitamin B12
  • - High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein
  • - TSH

How cool is that? I’m totally psyched! For both of us.

All of this is going to take place at the Nutrilite Health Institute Center for Optimal Health in Buena Park, CA. We fly out tomorrow morning.

In honor of the "Optimal Health" weekend I’m taking the next 3 days off. That’s right… you heard me… TOTALLY off. No computer on this trip. I decided to take advantage and just walk away for a few days. I think it will be good for me. Sometimes I feel too attached to the computer.

Some real quick news before I go…

• On GreenLiteBites I posted Pomegrante Scallop Idea, my mom’s egg cream recipe and tonight dinner, The Frozen Chicken Slow Cooker Experiment.
• On SkinnyMinnyMedia you’ll find 5 Tips to Finding your Blog Voice.
• I’ve also been making progress on FitBloggin. I will have some news soon about additional sponsors and speakers!
• As for my day job, I wrote a fun article for SpeakHealth where I picked out some interesting health articles called… This Week’s Finds – Retiring, Placenta Teddy Bears, Men Suck, Healthy Ice Cream, and a Rabbit Penis.

Other then that I’m proud of myself for getting out and running this morning before work. I know if I drag my butt out there a few times it will become habit again. I just need actually drag my butt out there! I’m so glad I asked this week’s question. All your answers were super motivating!

OK, so I’m signing off. I’ll, of course, tweet now and then but I’m making no promises. The only other device I’m going with is my new camera. :)

Have a great weekend and do something just for you!

On one hand I’m EXHAUSTED and I’m wondering if I want to get up a half hour early just to run. On the other hand, I KNOW how great I feel when I start my day doing something for myself. Something that allows me to clear my head and set out on the right foot.

So as I listen to arguments from the little angel and devil on my shoulder I ask you this… Why do YOU Exercise? Is it for Weight Loss? Mood? Training? Toning? The way it makes you feel?

You know this… now go do it.. and gosh darn it… BRUSH YOUR TEETH.

Also unexpectedly the child allowed me to sleep in an extra hour. It was wonderful! I snuck out of the house to hit the gym before he even woke up.

My return to the gym was amazing. I haven’t been since before the move, like 4 months ago. Life was just too crazy and I had that little race looming over my head. You know this one. :)

I decided to workout with "the trainer" again. It’s a little pricey but totally worth it. We are going to meet just once a week (all I really can afford and have time for) to do a boot camp style full body workout. This is going to sound strange but my reasons for signing up isn’t really for the exercise, I can do that myself or take a class. No, it’s more then that. It’s an hour escape where someone else is taking care of me. Pushing me. Motivating me. I love showing up not knowing what we are going to do and then getting the most awesome workout ever. He always delivers. Today we used the kettle bell, the rope (like the thick mariner rope), the bands, and had an hour of non-stop movement. I love it. Strange, I know. :)

When I got home I made a batch of egg muffins and ate breakfast with the husband and child. We decided it was too nice a day to stay in so we got dressed and headed out to run some errands. One of those errands was to get me a new shiny camera! I decided on the Canon EOS Rebel T1i. It’s been my one big purchase for my business this year.

It was time for me to upgrade. I’ve been taking all my photos for the sites on an old 4 MP point and click that I’ve outgrown. Right now the Canon is too much camera for me but I hope to be up to speed with it in a few weeks. Here’s a bit of a photo journal of our afternoon.

Of course my first subject was the child. Here he is eating lunch and watching… wait… let’s play a game… maybe you can figure it out. It’s is favorite cartoon at the moment and I’m more then ecstatic as it’s one of my childhood favorites as well.

Figured it out yet?

While the toddler was eating I made myself a tomato pizza on light flat out bread.

It was a cross between Quick Tortilla Pizza and English Muffin Tomato Pizza with some leftover chicken. DELICIOUS!

Next we were off to the park!

The husband was having too much fun. :)

…and so was I. Especially with my new "toy." (Note: That’s how I normally look on a weekend… no makeup and messy hair. oh who am I kidding… It’s how I look most of the time. :)

After the park we took a stroll, come home and made dinner.

Seriously.. how fabulous a day was that?

Is my inbox bursting from the seams? You bet!

Do I have about a million things on my to do? ohhh yeah.

Is the house completely spotless? HA! not even close.

BUT…

I had a great day with family. I prepared for the week by cutting up fresh veggies, making lunches tomorrow and pulling out stuff for dinner tomorrow (gonna experiment with the crock pot.)

That, my friends, is what I call a Sensational Sunday!

I’ll leave you with this shot…

The child inherited my old camera and he couldn’t me happier! He’s pretty good with it too…

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Here’s the food journal.

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Oh! and the winner of the soup was Regina! Congrats! Can’t wait to hear what you think!

This weekend I’ve been reflecting.

I am happy. I am calm. I am grateful. I feel… completely… content.

Comfortable in my skin.

me.

I peak in the kid’s room and see this…

I get out of the shower and see this..

I smile.

It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else’s eyes.

Sally Field said that and I can relate. It’s taken me a long time to get to this place. This place of peace. This place of happiness. This place where I know I am good enough no matter my weight or pants size, regardless of what people have told me.

I hope you all have a wonderful WONDERFUL Saturday. Tonight’s poker. Tomorrow the gym. Weekends are the bomb! :)