In case yo missed it we joined a CSA

And The Husband’s Fathers days gift got delivered…

We nibbled all weekend on this fruit basket. Nothing makes me happier to get good healthy food in my boys.

Saturday started with a trip to the gym. I finally got back to my boot camp class. It felt great!

Then we were off to Little Guy’s T-Ball game. Which has turned into couch pitched ball. He did awesome! Can you see it? The ball I mean…

It was the last game of the season and we had a blast. Look how stinkin’ cute he is. I hope he wants to play again next year.

After baseball we came home, made lunch, took naps (well, I did anyway. ;) and then got ready for soccer. It was the last game of the season for that as well. Unlike baseball, if he never played another game of soccer again, I’ll be happy. I’m just not a fan. Although, he look cute out there as well.

Saturday night ended with dinner out at Outback (loving their new light menu items under 500 cals). I stuck with salmon and veggies but over did it on fries from the Little Guys plate.

Sunday was just as jam packed as Saturday if not more so.

We decided to do an early morning showing of Toy Story 3 instead of braving the crowds later. I was betting a Sunday matinee was just about on everyone’s agenda who has kids. So we headed to the theater at 9AM. It was neat to be there at that time. Parking spots galore, no line for popcorn and we had out pick of seats.

The new Toy Story was a hit with all 3 of us. As I said on Twitter…

Toy Story 3 was TOTALLY AWESOME! I laughed, I cried, I even jumped @ 1 point. Pure movie pleasure. Even little man got up & danced @ the end

After the movie we hit Barnes & Noble’s, picked up a few new books and went out for a Fathers Day lunch at Chili’s. They also have the "lighter" options that make ordering easy. I went with a Sante Fe wrap, dressing on the side and steamed veggies.

By getting the dressing on the side I can decide if it’s even needed. Sometimes they are perfect without. I also save some calories by ripping off any extra wrap that’s not necessary to hold it together. Just look at how much extraneous "bread" there was.

What’s that? 1-2 points? Seriously. I didn’t even miss or want it either.

After lunch we did a little shopping then came home and tended garden.

We grew some pepper plants from seed that needed to be transplanted and are getting buds on the tomato and zucchini!

The rest of the day we played and relaxed. We read our new books, played Frisbee in the back yard, watched golf and ate dinner. Little Guy also practiced his photo taking skills….

Like I said it was a fabulous weekend and I’m not going to let my stupid hormones tell me otherwise. I just put Little Guy to bed, lunches are made, running clothes are on and I’m totally ready to go to straight to bed after The Next Food Network Star. I’ll feel better after a good nights rest and a morning run. I really want to get one in before I go to work.

So there you have it, my weekend and Sensational Sunday. Are you ready for the week?

Quick post tonight. Very tired. Fighting a little funk. Here’s my food journal. . .

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator. Follow live @RonisFood

All these feelings get mixed up and intertwined with. . .

Yup.

You guessed it.

Fat.

I’m catching myself having fat thoughts. Eating more because "I might as well." Thinking I’ll "start fresh tomorrow." Coming up with every excuse in the book not workout. Not to run. Not to do the things that I know make me feel good.

I thought by going to bed early last night it would help but it didn’t. Again I have a choice. I can feel sorry for myself and succumb to these ridiculous thoughts that do me no good or I can stop making excuses, stop feeling sorry for myself and simply snap out of it!

So here’s the deal. I’m going running tomorrow morning before work. I’m NOT waiting till Monday. I don’t know what’s up with me but I miss the way I feel when working out regularly and I plan on getting back to that place. It’s why I set my running goals for the year. How in the world am I going to reach those goals if I don’t work at them.

I’m also going to start counting points again. I feel like I’ve been letting my diet slip. I’m sneaking bites here and and adding extra cheese there. I’m not watching portions and I’m unconsciously eating.

I’m hoping this little bit of structure snaps me out of this funk.

Off to bed. Got to pull out the running clothes and charge up the ipod!

I’m in Limbo Land. I accepted a new job but it doesn’t start for another month. I’m trying to sell this house but showings have been decreasing. They are breaking ground in 2 weeks on the new one and I’m freaking out. I want to get into a new routine but I know everything is going to change soon so why bother.

*sigh*

All of this spawns smaller discontents. I’m tired of being woken up by the toddler. I’m tired of making every meal. I’m tired of paying bills and having to pinch pennies. I’m tired of fighting the healthy fight. I’m… just… tired.

I can feel the pendulum start to swing in the other direction and it’s scaring me. I really believe in life inertia. Good choices lead to other good choices and once you move in the general direction of healthy (happy), momentum will keep you going. Getting a good night sleep prepares you to wake up early for a run which leads to a healthy breakfast which leads to a better choice for lunch, which leads to cooking dinner at home which leads to an evening family walk. You get the idea, right? Well my bad choices are starting to outnumber the good. I’m staying up later, snacking my way through late night TV, going to bed without even brushing my teeth. I wake up with good intentions only to have a small thing throw me off my game.

Today is a great example, I was planning on getting up early, running and starting my day on good note. Then the toddler woke up before me. At first I thought ok, I’ll get breakfast in him and then hit the pavement. Three hours later here I am writing this without an ounce of desire to run or do anything for that matter.

I’m trying. I’m really trying.

Wait… a… minute…. The wise words of Yoda just popped into my head… “Do or do not… there is no try.”

How am I trying? By feeling sorry for myself. No no no. I must just DO! Ok, here’s my plan to fight this funk TODAY!

I will do this. I can do this. I MUST do this. I’m tried of feeling crappy. Control what I can control, that has always been my approach to life, why am I letting all this get to me so much. Ok, I’m off. I need to shut off the TV. I’ll post updates when I can throughout the day!

Join me in making today a great day?

I’m pretty much couch bound with my heating pad and I’ve been on the computer the whole time but I am completely unmotivated to actually get work done. I’m hoping by writing this it snaps me out of the slump. I can’t believe I missed the question of the week AND Thursday Thoughts!

OK… That’s it… It’s time to make some Lemonade. I’m tired of feeling sorry for myself. You know what will cheer me up?

Giving away $100 Bucks!! It’s time to pick the winner of the Living Greener and Healthier giveaway that was sponsored by SunChips

…And the winner is

Alison of Think Pink!

Congrats Allison!! So.. what are you going to do with the 100 bucks!?!? Curious minds want to know!

See… now I already have a smile on my face. :~)

Let’s see. What else would me me Happy? Oh yeah!

Did you see my joke about Oprah? I’m not kidding, I got a call from one of her producers. I almost crashed the car when I answered my cell. Apparently Oprah is considering doing a story about WeightView, the site where you upload a picture and they show you what you look like at a lower weight. I posted about their site last year in the Question of the Week Post: Do You Visualize Your Weight Loss?

Oprah’s producers saw that I contribute to their site (I recently posted about spring time recipes) and that I lost weight. They wanted to know if I used the service. Since I didn’t (already lost the weight before I knew about them) they didn’t seem that interested in me at all. Oh well, as my friend said "At least you are in a Oprah’s filing cabinet somewhere."

That made me smile. :~)

You know what else made me giggle? This…

and this…

Here’s the story. I received an email from Helen asking if I was in a new commercial for Yahoo. So I did a search and immediately found this…

I knew it had to be the one she was talking about. After I posted on twitter to get opinions (if the actress looked like me) Marc (@babymakes7) made the side by side shots. This totally cracked me up.

And made me smile. :~)

See.. that really helped. Sometimes just talking a moment and thinking about things that make you smile can give you just what you need to ward off a funk. So as I sit here with my heading pad and the massager my friend just dropped off, I’m feeling a bit more motivated. I think I’ll go work on the cookbook. :~)

• Every Day Life Stresses
• Lack of Sleep
• Change of Season
• Feeling Overwhelmed
• HORMONES

Pick and choose or add your own, we all have our own reasons for being in a funk. We also all have our own ways of dealing. For me it seems to be…

• Eating
• Staying up late
• Getting Lazy

Those are the things that I tend to do when in the funk. Funny thing is I should be doing the opposite to get out of the funk. It’s a vicious cycle as doing them actually sends me deeper into Funkville.

Case in point… Yesterday I skipped the gym and last night after dinner I ate. And ate. And ate. It was a mindless, constant pacifier for my funk. It started with a bit of peach sorbet. When I say "a bit", I mean the ENTIRE pint. Then a handful (more like 2 handfuls) of peanut M & M’s grabbed from the pantry on my way to bathroom. On my way back I picked up the bag of pretzel sticks and proceeded to stuff them in my mouth handfuls at a time to the point of uncomfortable fullness. Finally I said "ENOUGH" and as I headed to bed early I had to fight the urge to bring something with me. I was totally ready to search the pantry for another snack.

Needless to say, this morning I feel poo poo. It’s the morning after. Part of me wants to skip breakfast. Fast away the mindless calories I ate last night. But I know where that road leads. That’s the wrong move. It continues the cycle. No No No Instead I’m going to face the funk head on…

• Poured BIG glass of water
• Shared an orange with the toddler
• Read my own Fighting the Funk Posts
• Wrote this post (writing is totally therapeutic for me)
• About to make a healthy breakfast
• Accomplishing something off the "to do"
• Going to the GYM!

That’s my morning plan. I’m halfway thru and I’m starting to feel a little better. These are the kinds of days that can turn in weeks or months if you let them. The most important thing I learned about the weight loss and maintenance thing is you keep trucking. The only way you fail is by giving up. Even though I want to veg in front of the TV all day I know from experience that making the harder choices in life have a greater reward.

YOU WEREN’T EVEN HUNGRY!

What ever this funk is that you are in get out of it. Get out of it now.

Tomorrow’s a new day. Get out and run. Clear your head. Prepare for the week. And get a good night sleep.

Saturday I thought the gym was open until 8 when actually it closed at 7 so I didn’t get to lift. I tried to run instead but I my heart wasn’t in it. I ran, maybe 20 minutes. I’m not sure, as I didn’t bring my Nike+ because, again, I thought I was going to lift.

Yesterday I was planning on my first ever 60 minute run before my relay in the Baltimore Marathon this weekend but it didn’t happen. My running partners backed out and it took all my motivation and energy to get out the door. Which I did, but when I got to the route I realized I forgot my iPod. *sigh* I was starting to feel like everything was stacking against me. That’s the funk talking. You know, the "world is against me attitude" the "why is it so hard for me" mentality. That funk can have a pretty good hold but I decided to get out and run anyway, or at least I tried. But again, my heart wasn’t in it. With no music and no NIke+ I could again, only run for about 20 minutes. I guess I found my music-less running limit. I’m not hard core yet, I can only last about 20 minutes without the distractions of my favorite tunes! :~)

Today I did better. I feel better. I made it to Boot Camp, had a great warm-up run keeping a 8:49 pace for .7 of a mile and worked my tail off in what the instructor called "House of Pain". It was basically random exercises from squats to dips for abut 30 minutes. Fun, right? :~)

So here’s the food journal today. I’m working on a version 2 of Tweet, Eat, Post where you can enter a date to generate your journals. It will helps fix the after midnight problem that some of use night owls face.

Oh! and Carrie discovered that you can actually post workouts and subtract points simply by adding a negative (-) sign in the parenthesis like so…

Food: Boot camp (-3)

Pretty cool, right!?! Anyway, here’s mine for the day, I’m off to bed…

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

While trying to get myself out of the funk, I decided to organize my pantry. It’s in desperate need. In doing so, I found a box of stale chocolate chip cookies. These cookies are a huge weakness of mine. They are big, full of chips, and soft, in my opinion, all the best qualities a cookie can have. Well, even after discovering they were stale I STILL proceeded to chow down. WHY? Because I’m in a funk and that’s what I do. I try to “cure” the funk with food. I’m not quit sure why, but I do.

This time though, I caught myself and I TREW THEM AWAY. Then I proceeded to eat a nice big bowl of homemade chicken soup. I figured it would fill me up (I’m not really hungry, mind you) and be a much better choice to cure the funk craving.

Well it worked for awhile and then my brain started turning, “Hmmm it’s football saturday, we can order a pizza, yeah. That would be good, a PIZZA. Maybe we’ll get a side of those chicken tenders too. And I’ve always wanted to try one of their new desserts.”

Ok, I’m not kidding, that’s EXACTLY what when through my head. That is the way my brain works when I’m in a funk. It’s like I start to scheme and plan how I can consume the most frivolous calories. That’s my solution, I guess? Or maybe it’s a symptom. I’m not sure.

Anything can start the funk, feeling sorry for myself, mad at someone, lonely, ugly, fat, distant, really it could be anything, but the cure I always seek out is the same. Food.

My logic, sane, self (she’s able to somehow stay afloat in my funk-afied brain and I hear her more and more the longer I’m on this journey) realized early there was no way I could pick up the phone to order that pizza. It would be a disaster. So instead I decided to make what I wanted out of what I had. I made pizza.

Does that make sense? Let me explain.

Now I’ve said this before. For me, the actual act of cooking food starts to satisfy the craving. I think there is something about the short delay in preparing the food that helps. If I just grabbed a bag of chips or ordered the pizza I’m instantaneously satisfy the craving. That’s too easy. I don’t want to make it easy on myself, I’d rather go with hard. Hard decision are normally better for me in the long run. If I have to work for it then the time I’m planning, preparing and cooking all lead to the satisfaction.

So instead of ordering a pizza that’s made with hordes of full fat cheese, greasy meats, non-nutritious white flour I decided to make my own. Today I went all out and made my Thin Crust Whole Wheat Pizza Dough but I could have made Tortilla Pizza, or English muffin pizza. I could have made in on a pita, in a crepe, in a wonton, as a salad or even on top of eggs. Even when I don’t have sauce I make do and sometimes a craving can turn into some quality family time. Can you tell I have a pizza addiction? All these ideas came from curing pizza cravings.

My point here is (and I swear there is one) the next time you are confronted with a funk, a craving, or a “I just want something” mood, get creative. Don’t just give in and and take the easy way out, Make What You Want out of What You Have. I think you’ll be ultimately more satisfied if you do.

I wasn’t going to post this but I made a commitment to journal for my 8 week challenge, so here you go. I’m really making an effort to do what I say I’m going to do.

Want a food journal like this for your blog? Try the table generator.

I didn’t make it to the gym, I wasn’t up for a run, so I took a nice long walk alone with my headphones. It was great! AND much better then watching TV for that half hour (which would have made the funk a lot worse!)

I realize my blog has turned into a self help outlet but boy did I need it. I’m taking 3 days off this week and heading to the beach with the toddler. I’m hoping a few days away will snap me out of the ‘you know what’. I’m not going to even say it again.

Tomorrow I plan on posting the question of the week and then I’ll be signing off until the weekend.

Hope you all had a funk-less Monday!