Sometimes even I just don’t feel like talking. I know… hard to believe. :) So I’m doing many links and few words this week…

• The Seduction of a Binge. I can so relate right now.
• New Means For Fighting Hunger Cravings? Maybe this will help?
• Weight Loss WooHoo! – Sometimes I need to remember how far I’ve come and what my motivation is.
• Maybe a good laugh will help and MarJo had tears coming out of my eyes on with this comment.
• No new contests this week but I do have the Sensible Portions winners…
  • Patty Jennings,
  • Annie Timbello
  • Joanne Bruno
  • Brittany Dobbins
  • Ami Self
• Need your contest fix check out the Smooth Fitness Sweepstakes and Divine Caroline’s What’s favorite product find?
• GreenLiteBites news… Check out Tropical Pineapple Core Smoothie, Pinto Bean Soup, Simply Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Spinach and Angel Hair, Moroccan Inspired Beef Stew with Orange and Couscous and this weeks video where the toddler and I do some pancake taste testing. (ok… can you tell I was a bit obsessed with food this week?)
• On SkinnyMinnyMedia I posed a question about links opening up in a new window (notice I still don’t open them in a new one – if you like them to, right-click and decide for yourself) and I posted about Gravatars (little profile pics in blog comments.)

ok, I’m out. Night. :)

P.S. I can hardle belive it myself. This may be the shortest Thursday Thoughts ever!

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What a day! I’m jumping right in this tonight…

• First of all I had a chat, a webside chat if you will, with Mr. Jack Humphrey. He should have the podcast posted sometime tomorrow. We talked about blogging and all my sites. It’s kind of funny, I never really think I’m doing that much until someone points it out to me. I appreciated the talk, because being a blogger is surprising lonely. Not in a bad way, per se, just that you don’t go to an office and mingle around a water cooler. I really think that’s why things like twitter are so cool. It gives us lonely work at home people an outlet to connect. Anyway, I’ll post the link when it goes live.
• You MUST read this article about running and body image EB sent me. MUST! It captures my thoughts on running exactly and it’s why I fight tears when I cross a finish line looking over at the toddler cheering me on. Or when he says "Did you have a good run mommy?"
• Need a different type of motivation? Check out this video Alisha sent. We have No Excuses. RIGHT?!?
• Back to sappy… Now, I realize this video is a little odd as it has customer service undertones but that aside I found it touching. And of course… I cried. (I’m trying so hard to embrace my sap-hood, very hard.) LOL I’m such a subscriber to the "do something special" mindset.
• Blogging for weight loss is something I’m very passionate about. I feel so strongly about it, I created BlogToLose! And I’m not the only blogger that credits the act of blogging as a huge part of her success. Shauna, aka Dietgirl does as well. She’s been publicizing her new book stopping here a few weeks ago and more recently being interview on the CBS Morning Show. How cool is THAT! Congrats again Shauna!
• Chocolate time!! You guys know about the RonisWeigh code for Vitalicious products right? Well they are running an even sweeter Valentines promotion. Use the code EVDY3ZZ9 and get 15% off you own Valentines chocolate pack! That’s 24 VitaTops for $27.63. Pretty sweet, right? Maybe we should rethink Valentines Chocolates for our sweethearts this year. ;~)
• How about the moms? Any moms out there looking to lose the "baby weight?" Honestly, I hate that term. I mean I get it, you gain weight during a pregnancy but it’s not any different if you gain weight not being pregnant. Right? Am I the only one that feels that way? Either way I was asked to review The Baby Fat Diet. Besides the name (and the fact that it ends in "diet" another one of my pet peeves but I’ll save that for another time) the book is really cute and offers some great advice. Ignore the title and the cheesy cover the contents are very educational and support the lifestyle change approach to living healthier (not just a diet.)
• Speaking of "lifestyle" I posted Lifestyle is Not a Dirty Word, my last guest post for Diets In Review. I was their featured guest writer this month. It was fun, but honestly I welcome one less thing to do this weekend. :)

Other news…

• I’m making progress on the new blog. Dare I say I may be ready to go live this weekend? I’m not sure I want to commit but I am getting there. In preparation if you have any techie or blogging type questions feel free to ask them here. I want to the new blog to be mostly content you guys drive as I don’t know what you don’t know about blogging! Does that make sense? ;~P
• GreenLiteBites this week was all about leftover chicken breast. I made a humongous Guac Chicken Sandwich and a Roasted Red Peppers and Spinach Salad with Leftover Chicken and Flaxseeds. And the toddler and I recorded ourselves makin’ Banana Pancakes, one of our favorite breakfasts.
• Training is going… ummm.. ok? My running dropped off this week but I’ve been keeping up with (what I think) is equivalent cardio. A little ice storm and knee worry can really throw you off.
• As for the house… we had one showing to a couple of agents and they said they want to bring their client in next week. I’m not getting my hopes up but it’s a bit comforting that someone wants to see it.
• In the works… I have NO idea. I have a few thoughts (get it? get it?) but I really don’t know what I’m up to next week. :)
• Oh! and I’m totally behind on email but I’m still taking the night off. I’m in the mood for some mindless television tonight and 11th hour is on. I’m starting to like that show.

Hope you have a great evening and wonderful Friday! :)

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It feels like forever since doing a Thursday Thoughts post. I’m going to hop right into the random goodness! ;~)

• First, you guys are going to TOTALLY think I’m making this up but believe me, I’m not that clever. A few weeks ago as a joke Charlie sent me this link about age and memory after I made a comment that I can’t seem to remember anything anymore. Well… wait for it… wait for it… I FORGOT to include it in my last Thursday Thoughts post. LOL Is that ironic or what? Wait… did I use ironic right? Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Whatever, I think it’s funny. LOL
• Now for a giggle. A few weeks ago (can you tell I’m still trying to catch up) I asked everyone on twitter if they had any advice for me regarding "the cat" digging in my plants. I received a bunch of great advice and actually haven’t had a problem since (although she did kill my aloe plant. :~( Anyway, along with the great advice I received this link that cracks me up every time I watch it. What is so funny about throwing a cat of it’s guard?? It just cracks me up!
• What do you see when you look at Halle Berry? I’ll admit it, in my younger days I wish I looked like Halle. I wish I had her body, her physique, her confidence in a swimsuit. Little did I know she also struggles with body image. Revealing recently that her body image role model is Kate Winslet! WHO (is someone else I also admire) struggled with body image issues herself! Saying recently "…once a fat kid, always a fat kid." Let’s think about this people, really. Even the women we see as being the most gorgeous, thinnest, confident women in the world struggle with body image. We as "normal" folk either hate or want to look like the actresses and models we see in magazines and on TV. While the actresses and models are struggling themselves. If anything this should be eye opening. Love who YOU are. Don’t compare, don’t be jealous, don’t envy. It’s not worth it. Life is way to short.
• So let’s focus on health for a minute, instead of losing weight. Most of us are infatuated with being thinner that we forget that it has to be about getting healthier. One way I focus on healthy is by trying new and fun produce. Last year I did a pomegranate produce pick. It was the first time I tried the interesting fruit and now I’m hooked. As well, I should be, it good for me! If you are scared to try this intimating produce, check out the video the toddler and I did showing just how easy it is to clean it. We recorded this before I was made aware of the POM Fresh Fun contest! Darn it! I entered anyway but if I knew before hand I would have at least showered for the video! LOL
• Since I already made the transition to GreenLiteBite links, I have to add I barely did anything on the food front this week. Besides my healthy lite Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe and this weeks video where the toddler and I make dinner, nothing else post worthy has been going on in my kitchen. Well, that’s not entirely true, I’m almost done finalizing a new oatmeal recipe for a Quaker contest they extended to us bloggers AND tonight I’ll be experimenting with red rice for a friend (does anyone have a good red rice recipe they want to share as I research?!? I never made it before.)
• While I’m talking about GreenLiteBites I should also mention I added a new product to the store. A few people mentioned that the aprons where a little dry just having a logo on them so I designed a new kids apron using our friend the Mr. Broccoli. I also added a dark shirt with the famous broccoli on it. Yesterday I met with the designer and I have 3 more ideas in the works! I can’t wait to share them with you when they are done. Let’s just say the next few will be in honor of the toddler!
• Let’s see… other then that, I think I can honestly say, nothing else is really going on (unless I’m forgetting something, which is probably the case.) My plan is to spend the next week or 2 organizing myself, my house and getting ready for Thanksgiving. I may have 13 people over for dinner! YIKES! It’ll be the first time I’m hosting a Turkey Day at my house! Monday I will be launching a new giveaway. I’ve made no significant progress on my cookbook since losing my last version (NOT thinking about it) and right now, my stomach is growling. I think it’s time to hit the kitchen for an early lunch. Which reminds me, I have two product reviews in the works as well! Ok, so maybe my “nothing else really going on” statement was a bit premature. :~)

Have an awesome Thursday!

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I went to post, realizing I totally forgot an intro! Oh well, I’m jumping right in…

• With all this Food Network Star talk I set off to test my cooking knowledge. LOL I’m not sure I have what it takes BUT I was happy to find out I know quite a few essential kitchen techniques. What a great and informative post, by the way. The videos were clear, the write ups descriptive and I loved the illustrations.
• Another thing we talked about this week was Charlie’s Book. It got me thinking about men and how I totally disrespected their weight loss struggles. So I thought I’d spread some link love to some of the guys in the weight loss blogosphere like, Mr. Meltdown, John, Rob and Israel all men, all struggling, all at different stages on the journey.
• The next little link nugget came from TwinToddlersDad of Little Stomaks. Check out his post about Food Labels in the UK. The idea is to color code the nutritional information so we can see immediately if the levels of fat, sugars, salt and so on are "Green", "Yellow", or "Red". I don’t know about you, but I think this is genius! Anyone work for the FDA? Can we get this on the agenda? :~)
• Another thing I thought genius…. Hally left a comment on GreenLiteBites and I checkout her blog. She has a cloth diaper touring the world and I think it’s AWESOME! I’m going to admit, I was a disposable girl myself. *No lectures, PLEASE* I kind of wish someone sent me a cloth diaper with instructions. I may have changed my ways!
• I received a plea from MaryB on BlogToLose. She’s worried that a lot of you don’t know about our forums, and I think she’s right! So I gave them a bit of a facelift, Took some advice from Stacey, added a food finds category and I’m mentioning it now. Here’s the deal for those of you who may not know. BlogToLose is the community I set up for those that want to find and give support on their weight loss journies. The name is a bit of a misnomer because you don’t actually have to blog unless you want to. You can sign up, leave comments for others blogs, participate in the forums and chat, even find and start your own sub groups. The idea started because I wanted to give people an easy way to blog and find each other but it’s grown to so much more. So if you haven’t already, please check it out and join me on the forums and chats!
• Ok, since I’m already talking about my own sites, I’ll mention what happened this week on GreenLiteBites. (like that transition? :~P) Earlier this week I whipped up a tasty, quick lunch with Ramen noodles again. Sometimes I love when I run out of food in the house! I also posted about bugler and how I used it yesterday in an idea I had for Fried Bulgur with Peas and Pomegranate. The pomegranate came from the hard labor of the toddler, as I put him to work in this weeks video, eating pomegranate. And finally, I had to use canned pumpkin for something, it IS october after all! So I whipped up some pumpkin pie oatmeal.
• OH! Here’s some more self advertising! :~) I FINALLY launched a simple store from some logo t-shirts. It’s not that extravagant but I have to start somewhere. I have tons more ideas but for now, I posted simple logos and some cute "the toddler" and "the husband" shirts. The cool thing, everything is completely customizable, so if you want to add your own text or graphics, feel free! Even change the style of shirt!
• Other news… STILL working on my last 2 giveaways, STILL have to edit my second video session from last friday but I do feel as if I accomplished something this week. What? I’m not quite sure. Tonight is pumpkin carving night, tomorrow I have a wedding (don’t ask), my in-laws are coming in, my house is a mess, and I’m having a get together for the Notre Dame/Pitt game on Sunday where I will be cooking for 6 plus the toddler. Good times! Always an adventure! I better sign off! :~)

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It’s only my second week of Thursday Thoughts and I’m already late! I meant to get this post done this morning but my day’s been crazy!

Let’s get to it…

• Robyn emailed me an awesome recipe site for Weight Watcher Friendly ideas. I haven’t spent nearly as much time a I want to on the site but it seems to be a great collection of recipes. I can’t wait to explore it some more!
• I was also contacted by PhysicalFitnet asking if I’d like to embed any of their workout videos. At first I rolled my eyes as I get a request like this pretty much daily but when I checked out the site I was pleasantly surprised. They have a host of different exercises for different body parts each illustrated with a quick video! I may put together a few routines and embed the videos to show you what I’m doing at the gym!
• Alexia found a disturbing image of a 12 year old hamburger. Yikes! I don’t know about you but I like my food to biodegrade!
• MizFit posted an interesting post about the keys to weight loss. You’re thinking reduce calories and exercising right? Well guess again! There is an interesting conversation happening over there in the comments. Go add your 2 cents! I did. :~)
• I’ve been a little less active on GreenLiteBites this week, just not having time to come up with new ideas (plus I’m *trying* to focus on the book!) but the toddler and I did record a produce pick (prickly pear) Monday morning and today I posted a fun lunch box alternative to the boring sandwich.
• Speaking of the toddler, he’s been an angel since his meltdown the other day *knocking on wood* and yesterday we played an old game I made for him when he was just "the baby". I may revisit it again now that he’s older and learning his letters. He loved the fact that you could hold down the keys and make the colors change really fast and hear the letter start over and over again. Mom wanted to bang her head against the wall loved it too. ;~P
• What I’m working on… A product review for a probiotic bar, a food find for prunes (yes, you read that right, prunes) and t-shirt designs! I hope to launch a little t-shirt store front in a few weeks. I’ll keep you posted!

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