OK people, this Sensational Sunday was/is an uphill battle. First, I was coming off Saturday’s overeating bonanza, which really wasn’t that big of a deal. As I said, I faced it and I’m moving on (notice I keep telling myself that – I totally believe in [...]]]> *sigh* Ya ready? This is a long one….

OK people, this Sensational Sunday was/is an uphill battle. First, I was coming off Saturday’s overeating bonanza, which really wasn’t that big of a deal. As I said, I faced it and I’m moving on (notice I keep telling myself that – I totally believe in repetition, by telling myself something over and over I will change my perception. How many times do we do the opposite? Tell ourselves negative things? Sorry, total side bar.)

So I started my day with one of my famous non-traditional breakfasts. My Mom has always made fun of me because I love dinner leftovers for breakfast. This time is was some of my Roasted Veggie Soup with Black Beans and Bulgur. It’s even better leftover and became really stew like.

Anyway, after breakfast, the toddler and I mustard up enough energy to do a bit of clean up and jammed out to some of our favorite music. As soon as I was getting REALLY motivated I opened the mail from yesterday to discover my appeal to Kaiser Permanente was denied. I didn’t fill you in on this saga, but I was denied family health coverage for a preexisting condition I don’t even have. At least I don’t think I have it! Long story short it was just one of those "gosh darn it, another thing on my long list of things to take care of" things. What I hate worse is that I can’t take care of it today, or at least try to. I have to wait until Monday to start making calls.

Instead of getting angry about it I decided to go for a run. My heart wasn’t completely in it so I only did 20 minutes but afterwards I felt SO MUCH better.

Then I checked my email before taking a nice long shower. Last night I posted my relapse post and I expected some comments. Any time you bare your soul a bit you do. One in particular stood out and I replied. The original poster and I continued our conversation in email and it did not end well. Let’s just say I was called mean, angry and nasty which can be nothing further from the truth. I refuse to post the correspondence without her permission because I feel it would be unfair. However I want to bring up the topic of unsupportive or "negative" comments.

Most feedback I receive is positive but I’m not naive. I know everyone does not agree with me or the choices I make in this life. Just like you I’m a human being and I have a lot, if not more, flaws then most. And I realize as I throw my life out there on the "interweb" I will receive all types of feedback. Some people think I’m crazy, some relate and thank me and some have complete opposite opinions on life and health, which I value.

However, there is one thing you have to keep in mind about personal blogs. This is my house. I’m the host of the party and I will respond to these type of comments swiftly. My goal on this site (and BlogToLose) is to foster a positive environment where people can feel as if they can share their perceptive without persecution. So many of us bottle up these feelings of body image and emotional eating which is part of the problem I’m trying to overcome. You may not agree with the lifestyle choices others make but there is a right way and a wrong way of interjecting your opinion. Telling people they "convinced themselves" of one thing or another is condescending (and throws me off the deep end). Assuming someone will fail is also downright negative. If you choose to leave those types of comments please understand I will respond and if you like we can continue the conversation on or offline. I’m open to good constructive conversation where both parties can respectively share their insights and come to a compromise of views or agree to disagree. If you don’t want to have the conversation then please don’t bother to comment, move on to one of the 100 million other blogs out there that may share you perspective. My blog is a representation of me and how I choose to live my life, I’m open to feedback but please leave it constructively, don’t insult me or my readers and not expect me to defend myself.

Enough said, moving on. :~)

After my shower the toddler and I were off to a local farm to pick a pumpkin and go on a Hayride. Well, my poor little guy wasn’t feeling too well and got sick in the car, on two different occasions. I felt so bad for him but he was a trooper, choosing the pumpkin hunt over going home. We salvaged the day and got one mother of pumpkin!

Since he didn’t feel too well we came home and watched some old episodes of Scooby-Doo. He started to perk up and we decided to have some fun in the kitchen. We made Delicata Steak Fries, Butternut Fries and decided to roast the seeds. Just look how cute he is!

Well, as predicted by the roller coaster of a day I’ve been having, we burnt the seeds. The toddler was so disappointed as was I. I really started to feel like everything was stacked against me this Sunday.

We salvaged what we could from the cookie sheet and relaxed on the couch. Right now my little man is enjoying an ice pop before bed (I’m just trying to get fluids in him) and the husband and I didn’t get half of what we wanted to get accomplished today.

But you know what…

It was STILL a Sensational Sunday. Even with insurance issues, a sick child, unsupportive comments and lack of productivity, I’m checking negativity at the door. It’s all in the way you look at things. The toddler and I spent quality time together, I felt very in control of my food choices (honestly, I wasn’t hungry today at all-I really tried to listen to my body), I got a run in, and overall I’m feeling really good, a little tired but good. Tomorrow’s a brand new day and I’m looking forward to it and what adventures it might hold! :~)

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

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You’ve had a great day. The toddler is a joy to be around, playing with a friend, helping you around the house. Dad is out mowing the lawn. Then it’s time for dinner.

I make pork chops, rice and asparagus. The husband and toddler’s favorite type [...]]]> Only other moms will understand this one.

You’ve had a great day. The toddler is a joy to be around, playing with a friend, helping you around the house. Dad is out mowing the lawn. Then it’s time for dinner.

I make pork chops, rice and asparagus. The husband and toddler’s favorite type of meal, all separate with nothing touching anything on the plate. (BORING) We sit down and begin to eat. The toddler downs a glass of chocolate milk like it’s going out of style and asks for more.

I say, "No, you aren’t going to fill up milk without eating dinner. Have a some chicken first."

That’s not a typo, we call our pork "chicken". We also call our fish "chicken" and of course our chicken is "chicken". Why? Well, to the toddler it’s all just "chicken". I got tired of arguing.

Anyway, this started a bit of a crying fest.

"*snif* *sniff* but I want chocolate milk"

"Then have a bite of chicken."

"Chocolate milk!"

"CHICKEN FIRST"

You can see where this is going. So I decided he knew what the deal was and it didn’t warrant any more discussion. The husband and I had a conversation trying to ignore the crying.

That lasted all of about 5 minutes until I couldn’t take it anymore. I decided it was time for the "Green Chair."

We have a large green chair in our living room that I use as a cool down chair. It’s not our time out spot that’s somewhere different. The green chair is a place for the toddler to cool down when he’s upset, crying and/or having a tantrum.

Well he DID NOT want to sit on the green chair. So for the next 5 minutes I kept getting up and placing him back on the green chair all the while he is crying and screaming…

"I DON’T WANT TO SIT ON THE GREEN CHAIR!"

Up

Down

Back

Forth

At this point he is carrying on like someone is stabbing him in the eyes with sharp pencils. I finally decided I needed to sit right by the green chair and reinforce that he is not allowed to get down until he calms down. I got down to his level, made eye contact, the whole 9 yards.

What ensued was a 20 minute display of pure toddler craziness. Arms flailing, legs kicking, tears streaming. Really not that different then this example except all happening on the green chair.

Intertwined in the crying was…

"I DON’T WANT TO SIT ON THE GREEN CHAIR"

"I WANT TO EAT DINNER"

"MOMMY LET ME DOWN"

"DON’T HOLD ME"

"LEAVE ME ALONE"

I’m NOT kidding. My three year old was in the middle of a complete meltdown.

Now I pride myself on not giving in. EVER. Since I said he was not allowed to leave the green chair until he calmed down, he was NOT to leave that chair until the crying subsided and he was able to rationally speak with me.

He finally did after a few counting sessions and distraction methods. Seriously the boy needed some help it was like he was possessed with the devil himself. At one point I laughed out loud because the whole thing was completely ridiculous.

After the calm down, the first words out of his mouth are… "Chocolate milk, please".

LMAO

To which I replied… "After you have a bite of chicken."

I’m not kidding, he gets up from the green chair, walks to the table, sits down and eats the pork. LIke the last 1/2 hour never happened!! We continued with dinner (now cold) and had a conversation about school. The rest of the evening he was a pure joy.

Ahhhh parenting, nothing beats it!

Normally an event like this requires some serious carbs. I’m ‘sort of’ kidding ;~) but tonight I felt good. Hmmmm "good" may not be the right word. Strong? Proud? In control? I’m not sure how to describe it. If this happened yesterday or Sunday I would have reached for some kind of food medication but today I was fine.

Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you about my last two days of bingeing madness. It started Sunday with opening a bag of baked Doritos and ended last night when I polished off the bag. That’s right, I ate an entire 12 serving bag of Doritos in 2 days. I was on Autopilot. I can’t describe it, I was conscious of what I was doing but yet unable able to stop. Well, I guess I could have stopped but I didn’t. Do you know what I mean? Anyway I don’t want to get too deep tonight, I just don’t have it in me but I needed to confess because it would be all too easy to pretend it didn’t happen.

Moving on. Here’s today’s food journal. I’m off to take a bath!

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I’m very torn about this, it’s weird. On one hand, I’m so excited about this school and all the things he will be learning. Plus being an only child I think it’s really important for him to be around the [...]]]> Oh My! I sent my little guy off to preschool today! Full day preschool!

I’m very torn about this, it’s weird. On one hand, I’m so excited about this school and all the things he will be learning. Plus being an only child I think it’s really important for him to be around the other kids. But he’s my little buddy! I’m going to miss him SO MUCH!

However, I feel I can finally get enough hours in the day to get all my work done where I don’t feel like I’m torn between spending time with him or getting accomplished what I need to. Now the mornings and evenings we’ll have no interruptions. Overall, I’m happy to have a consistent schedule this fall where I’m not doing a complete balancing act every day. All summer I just felt as if I was living day to day with no structure or plan.

So I didn’t post yesterday, except for my Note to Self. Like a typical weekend, my day started off GREAT and by night fall I’m snacking my way until bed. However, we did have an very active weekend. I got a great run in on Saturday and then Sunday the family when for a hike/picnic. We packed sandwiches and hit a local trail. About a milk into it the toddler was exhausted! So I ended up carrying him about 1/3 of the time. He’s just about 40 lbs and let me tell you, that’s a workout! My arms felt like spaghetti string by the time we made it back to the car.

The husband offered to carry him but I wanted the extra workout. Plus he was in one of those mushy moods. You know, where they want to rest their heads on your shoulders. I just love that and I know in a few years he won’t want to find comfort in moms embrace anymore. So I’m taking advantage now.

After the hike we ALL took naps. Man did that feel good. Then it was time to make dinner which I recorded for GreenLiteBites video of the week. I took my hand at Beer Butt Chicken and it was TO DIE FOR! The husband has already claimed the leftovers for lunch!

Other then that, I’m trying to get ahead today with a ton of work. I hope to be posting at least one of my book review today as well as record an Ask Roni video.

Oh! and the husband and I are took the initial test for hundredpushups.com! I’ll fill you in more later on this but he concept is to follow the program so in 6 weeks you can do 100 straight pushups!! We’ll see, I’m just happy the husbands into it.

Hope you all have a great Monday!

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It’s HARD to wake up everyday get out of bed and start your morning off healthy. Yes it would be easy for me to turn on the TV, throw a pop tart in the toaster and call it breakfast. Are there days I was to [...]]]> I wrote this today after fighting through a morning funk.

It’s HARD to wake up everyday get out of bed and start your morning off healthy. Yes it would be easy for me to turn on the TV, throw a pop tart in the toaster and call it breakfast. Are there days I was to do this? YES!! Are there days I come close, YES!
That’s why I don’t buy pop tarts. ;~)

It’s HARD to shut off the TV and come up with something the family can actively do together. I don’t want to say it’s hard but it is, compared to the mindless act of a family sitting in a room in front of the glow and temptation that energy sucker in the den seduces us with.

It’s HARD to make a home cooked meal almost every night of the week instead of choosing take-out or my favorite food, pizza. Yes, dialing the phone and having 20bucks ready is much easier then planning slightly ahead, dirtying the kitchen and cooking something healthy while entertaining a toddler.

It’s HARD to do what you say you are going to do, isn’t it? How many times in my own life I’ve said a lot of things with good intention but then didn’t follow through. How many in yours? It’s easier to talk a big game then to actually commit to something and perform the required tasks it may take to do that thing you set out to do.

It’s HARD to feel like you are the one keeping the wheel going. To feel as if you don’t continue to make these hard choices the easy ones will begin to slowly take over.

Why don’t I just give in? Why don’t I just take the easy road? Why don’t I just sleep in, run through the drive-thru, keep the TV on, and talk about doing things I’ll never do.

Good questions. Today I think I experienced the answer.

I spent this morning cooking zucchini bread and dancing with my son. But we started off slow, the TV was on, I was on the computer and as the toddler asked for breakfast I realized I was about to take the easy way out.

So I turned off the TV, put on the radio and we cooked together. We danced to fun music, rolled around the living room floor and just had FUN. I even did a somersault, something I haven’t done in 25 years! In the middle of our fun-fest the toddler kissed me and said "I love you mommy", unsolicited.

That, my friends, was all the motivation I needed to make the hard decision again tomorrow.

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There he is, the toddler in all his morning glory. He is the reason I changed my lifestyle and perspective on health and life. He is my ultimate motivation and inspiration. And I am proud of [...]]]> Warning: Bragging Mom post ahead!! Do NOT read if you can’t stomach a mom bragging about her son.

There he is, the toddler in all his morning glory. He is the reason I changed my lifestyle and perspective on health and life. He is my ultimate motivation and inspiration. And I am proud of not only the breakfast I have made for him but for the fact that we ate it together.

Studies show numerous benefits when it comes to eating meals together but most people focus on dinner. I say let’s combine the fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day with family time and make breakfast a non-negotiable commitment to a healthier lifestyle.

This morning we each ate a 1 egg omelet. I paired mine with a whole wheat English muffin while the toddler enjoyed a leftover whole grain waffle (made from this pancake recipe) toasted right out of the freezer topped with low sugar jelly. We are out of produce as I haven’t hit the grocery store yet so our normal addition of fresh fruit was supplemented with a little watered downed 100% juice and I had some nice green tea.

Really I don’t think I could have started my day any better!

/End Bragging Mom post. ;~)

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phew What a day! My Sensational Sunday almost didn’t happen. Did you ever have a slow morning? A morning where you have to make that conscious decision to get up and get moving or you’re going to lose the day?

That’s what we had today.

Once I got out the door [...]]]>

phew What a day! My Sensational Sunday almost didn’t happen. Did you ever have a slow morning? A morning where you have to make that conscious decision to get up and get moving or you’re going to lose the day?

That’s what we had today.

Once I got out the door and towards the grocery store I was fine. The toddler and I hunted for new healthy snacks and fresh produce for the week. Then we headed home for lunch, picked our first crop of green beans from the garden, and headed for nap. Well the toddler did. I worked feverishly on this new site. Tagging old posts, fixing broken links, etc.

After nap it was off to run some errands. The husband (remind me in a few days to tell you about his workout/weight strides) and I decided on Panera for dinner. I really didn’t have it in me to cook. When we got back home we played Chutes and Ladders AND Candy Land, two of my all time favorites! After the toddler went to bed it was bill paying time, the husband and I’s *cough* favorite activity and then a little more work on the site. All in all, a productive day, which is a great day in my book!

I also did well on the food front. I say well, because as usual, I succumb to some night time munchies. More on that later. First, I have to do one of my update lists. I feel as if I have so much to tell you!

• The new site. It’s getting there and I love that you guys like it. I spent more on it’s design then I think I ever have for one of my sites. GreenLiteBites didn’t even take this long! I am still updating old posts and fixing broken links. If you happen to get an error page have no fear, I will be notified and if you give me 24 hours, it will be fixed. It’s getting there and I’m SO happy I decided to move. I have so much more flexibility and control over the site now that it’s in WordPress and not Blogger.
• What will happen to WeightWatchen you ask? well, I don’t plan on taking it down anytime soon. There is so much info up there that I didn’t/couldn’t transfer and some recipes that are not yet on GreenLiteBites. So I will be leaving it up for Archival purposes for at least the next few months until I can get everything transferred. I will not, however, be posting anything new there.
• RSS/Subscriptions. If you are on my email subscription list, you SHOULD get them as usual just with the new name. If you subscribe via RSS you may have to re-subscribe. Sorry. :(
• New/Old Features. If you’ve been with me awhile you may know about my site crash where I lost EVERYTHING. Well before that time, WeightWatchen was my outlet for all food/diet posts. I had recipes, tips, journal entries, food finds, etc. Much like now but more vast. The crash had me compromise a few thing. But just as someone pointed out in my comments, everything happens for a reason. I don’t think I would have created GreenLiteBites if the site didn’t crash. Now I have an outlet just for my food/recipes and I love that. It’s great for me to archive them. Why am I going down this path? Well, my new plan is to start posting food related posts here as well. I want to bring back my produce picks (maybe even move some over from GLB). I haven’t quite figured out which posts will go here and which there but I’m leaning towards only posting recipes on GLB and everything else here. So in essence GLB become just an interactive cookbook. OK, now I’m just thinking out loud, although I’d love your opinions on that one.
• Funderwear. Ok, enough new site talk! I want to update on Funderwear Day! I’m happy to report the toddler took to “big boy underwear” like a ‘butt to a potty’. Sorry, bad joke. Seriously, he is doing well, dry at night, and no morning accidents after the first two days. I’m ECSTATIC! We even came up with a song that I had him record, if I have time I’ll post it. It goes something like…. “We go…. Pee pee in the potty, pee pee in the potty. No more diapers! No more pull-ups!” LOL you need the melody or it just sounds goofy! (Ok, I’m crossed the line into straight up parenting craziness! )
• MizFit/Hungry Girl ShoutOut. If you happen to get the Hungry Girl Newsletter keep an eye out for MizFit’s Video link. I love both these gals and it’s fun to see some cross ‘weigh loss site’ intermingling.
• Workout/Runing front. I don’t think I’ll be running for awhile. My swelling is still pretty bad BUT I WILL BE GOING TO THE GYM tomorrow for the first time in almost 3 weeks. (yelling at myself, I really need to go). I plan on doing upper body with free weights.
• Backlog. This whole new site has set me back a tid bit on new posts and email correspondence. I’m behind on my blog reading, especially on BlogToLose, and my comment replies, even on my first/new post! I hope to catch up by the end of the week.
• A Weigh In. I’m in desperate need of a meeting/weigh in. But I’m going to be honest. I’m scared. Yes, scared. I don’t want to see the scale. I know it’s going to be up in a range I haven’t been in a long time. The swelling, the lack of workouts, the EATING! Ohhhhh I don’t want to think about it. You know, the times you don’t want to go are the time you NEED to go. I’m committing to a Wednesday meeting this week.

Ok, I “talked” your ear off enough! I think I can go on and on. I leave you with my food journal. Two days in and feeling alright. Although I used more weekly points then I would like this early in the week.

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Can you tell I have a toddler? :~)

Funderware is my made up term for the day we moved to “big boy” underpants. That’s right ladies and gentleman we are in the midst of potty training!

Taking the advice of many a mom, I scheduled a day. [...]]]> That’s right, Fun-derwear! As in fun-underwear.

Can you tell I have a toddler? :~)

Funderware is my made up term for the day we moved to “big boy” underpants. That’s right ladies and gentleman we are in the midst of potty training!

Taking the advice of many a mom, I scheduled a day. I’ve been building up Funderware for over a week now. We wrote it on the calender and every night we’ve been counting down. Last night, we picked out our fun pair. The toddler? Diego. Mom? Flowers & stars. Dad? Shamrocks.

This morning the family proceeded to put on their selected underwear and the festivities began. By 10AM we were on our 4th pair and I was regretting my decision. But by lunch two successful trips to the potty and by dinner he was telling me “No potty now, later, I’ll tell YOU!”. LOL “I’ll tell you”?!? He never did, but he started to go every time I took him. Right now he’s diaper-less and sleeping. *sigh* I shutter to think what I have in store for me tomorrow morning. :~)

Sorry for my parenting detour, it was just a big part of my day. On the diet front, I’m doing OK. Being home has it’s pros & cons. On the good side, I can grab a healthy snack when I’m hungry. On the bad side, I can grab an unhealthy snack when I’m hungry. Today I chose healthy. I do LOVE the fact that I get to eat breakfast with the toddler (the husband has a hard time getting up), then lunch and dinner is with the whole family. We sit and eat healthy food together and it’s nice. I mean real nice. So nice it makes me smile. :~)

Even with all the Funderware Day festivities, I made great strides on the new site. I think I’ll be ready in two weeks but don’t hold me to that! :~) I also got ahead on a few client projects. However, now my inbox is a mess. I seem to be able to tackle one or the other at any given time, email OR project work. Today I chose work.

Tomorrow I’m at my client’s office again, so it’s off to bed for me. I have a busy morning!

Oh! and on the recover front. I’m doing well. I actually feel more sore today but it’s not unbearable. Just tender to the touch. Swelling is still bad but it’s not AS bad. I’m really still waiting to see the results. With all the water weight it’s hard and the worst part, it can take months for the swelling to subside. Some say it can be 6 months before I see the actually results. So much for plastic surgery being a quick fix, huh? ;~P It is its own journey. I truly believe everything we do is.

Here’s the food journal, until tomorrow…

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The day started with a bit of sauce making.  Notice my little chef in training and his FABULOUS play dough meat balls! It way my way of keeping his eager hands out of the raw meat. Worked like a charm! We even “baked” his in the microwave [...]]]> The title pretty much sums it up.

The day started with a bit of sauce making.  Notice my little chef in training and his FABULOUS play dough meat balls! It way my way of keeping his eager hands out of the raw meat. Worked like a charm! We even “baked” his in the microwave (no heat of course) and pretended to eat them. ;~)

I did not go to the gym today BUT I worked my tail off, cleaning, moving furniture, organizing.  I love starting the New Year off right so I spent some time just taking care of nagging household chores.

I also got ready for a small get together I’m having tomorrow night.  I’m doing a bunch of finger foods, hummus, shrimp cocktail, baked chips & salsa, fresh veggies.  I love hosting because I’m in control.  I’ll post all my updated recipes and maybe my whole party spread on GreenLiteBites in the next couple of days.  

Now on to this snack attack.  I don’t know WHAT happened between 10 and 11PM but I just wanted something sweet. I couldn’t shake it so I splurged on some sour patch kids.  I probably ate too many but at least it was better then those gosh darn smidgens.

For those wondering, a smidgen is a local candy company’s evil joke of putting the most creamiest, glorious peanut butter in the most smooth, milky, silky chocolate you have ever tasted.  Thanks GOD the husband has almost knocked them off and I know I can get some guests to indulge tomorrow.  I know, I KNOW it’s bad but more for them is less for me and I’m cool with that!

No menu today, I didn’t really jot anything down so it would be from memory anyway.  Check back tomorrow as I post my New Years goals and I have a surprise on the 1st!  

Talk to you tomorrow!

Update:I CAVED and had a few smidgens right before bed. Man they are TOO good! I must get rid of them today! ;~P

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