But as we waited for the call [...]]]> This morning we were on overdrive. The house needed to be ready for a showing. The toddler and I cooked breakfast (recording ourselves while making banana pancakes) and then cleaned up while the husband shoveled snow. We had a great morning! And my house is spotless! :)

But as we waited for the call from the buyers I started to get worried, depressed, overwhelmed. Thoughts about the house not selling started swimming through my head. Wondering if we made the right decision. You know, all the normal "what did I just do" worries.

Then the call came.

Immediately Excited!

My emotions dropped down again as I found out it was just an agent. Not an actual buyer coming to the house. :( On my way to dropping the toddler off at school and heading to the gym I was glum and for some reason, hungry. Thankfully I had some nuts in the car. Now my thoughts shifted to my weight, training and eating habits. I’m wondering if I’m not eating enough but I don’t want to give myself permission to just go crazy because that’s how "it" starts. I fought the urge to hit a drive thru or buy one of those crazy shakes at the gym.

Now I’m feeling good again. Working out with another one of the trainers clients. We were having a blast! I started thinking about how far I’ve come. I’m very proud of my current fitness level. My trainer calls me "diesel" and it just puts a smile on my face. :) Now my drive home I’m on cloud nine. The workout endorphins are in full effect. I come home and make lunch for the husband and I (note: HE wanted fast food the day AFTER we committed to not eating out. GEESH!)

I then started to get some work done. Prepping the video I recorded earlier and working on the new blog. I finally decided to take a shower (ahhh the joys of working from home) when the phone rang. The toddler got sick at school. Doesn’t it suck when your child is sick? I hate it only because there is nothing I can do for him. So we came home, cuddled on the couch and watched The Backyardigans. We all fell asleep accept for the toddler, of course. He was actually starting to feel better.

Me? I hate taking a nap mid day. I always wake up groggy and pi$$ed that I can’t keep sleeping (unless it’s a day I have no responsibilities, but when does that ever happen?!?)

After nap we were all about dinner. I made some sauce this morning so all I had to do was boil some water for pasta. I love eating dinner as a family so now I’m happy again. Until… I just couldn’t stop eating. I swear I could have eaten a pound of spaghetti myself. I did stop at about 4 oz but boy I was fighting off cravings for bread big time. I just wanted to "dip." Thankfully I didn’t have a loaf of Italian bread or it’d be gone too.

Post dinner we played the Backyardigans Game (sensing a theme?) and a Thomas Matching Game with the toddler. He’s just so much fun at this age! :)

Then the husband took him off to bed. Time for me to get some work done. I get all camped out on the couch with my laptop but ten minutes later we hear a cry. The toddler got sick again. :( Poor guy can’t hold anything down. Now at 8:30 I’m cleaning up puke, and calming down a sick three year old.

We finally get him back to bed and it was time for LOST! Loving it this season. I chatted for a bit on BlogToLose while watching and the toddler needed to be settled a few more times. Once all was calm I was hit by a snack attach. I wasn’t even hungry I just wanted something. Did I stop at one bag of crisps. NOOooooo I went for bag number 2. Now I’m feeling a bit over full and disappointed in myself.

*sigh* This too shall pass. Tonight my goal is bed before 11. So I gotta RUN!

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Oh my… I think my heart palpitates every time I think about it.

I want to be super excited. I really do. But I just can’t. There are so many variables. Will our house sell? [...]]]> We did it. Decisions been made. We are signing a contract this week to build a new house.

Oh my… I think my heart palpitates every time I think about it.

I want to be super excited. I really do. But I just can’t. There are so many variables. Will our house sell? If it does, will we get enough for our down payment? Are we getting in over our heads? Spending too much? Will the rates go up by the time we close?

I could go on and on here. This is how I work. I’m an over planner. I like to be in control. I feel out of my element. I can’t control the rates or the market and that’s, well… scary for me.

All of that being said I really am excited. This is the area we want to be. The new house would be close to schools and shopping. We would be walking distance to a new library and a park. There is a farm around the corner yet we are closer to the city for commuting purposes. It’s just… well… perfect. Which is another reason I don’t want to be too excited. I hate getting my hopes up when I know so many things could possibly go wrong.

AAACCCKKKKK!

(Breath Roni, breath.)

Anyway, the stress *may* have lead to me to overeat a bit at lunch. While we were wrapping up with the builder a friend of ours called and asked if we wanted to go out to meet at our favorite restaurant. It seemed a perfect way to celebrate. And celebrate is what I did. The only problem? My celebration left me feeling overstuffed and disgusting.

When will I learn my lesson?

After lunch it was nap time for the toddler. After a little clean up I joined him. I needed it. I was exhausted. My own fault for staying up too late. Again, a lesson I’m having a hard time learning. :)

Post nap I fought with motivation. Following my training schedule, I was due for a 3 mile run. But it was dark, cold and I was groggy from the nap. Somehow (thanks to my friends on twitter and facebook) I mustered up the energy to get out the door. :)

However… my iPod crapped out on me half way. :( Which sucks because I’m running in a challenge for the Nike+ BTLers on BlogToLose and I really needed to track my miles! They are kicking my butt!

Either way, here’s the first half of my run. I don’t think I quite ran 3 miles but I’m proud I got out there.

Chart taken from the Nike+

So this Sunday was Sensational not because I was perfect but because I made a hard decision, recognized my stress eating, compensated for it the rest of the day and went for a run even though I wasn’t feeling up to it. Oh! and I snuck in a nap. Every Sensational Sunday should include a nap. :)

Other then that the toddler and I hit Aldi’s to stock up on healthy food for the week and my house is almost ready to be listed. Almost. :) The toddler and I will be finishing the clean up tomorrow. FUN! lol

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Today started off with NO TV. I swear, if I put it on first thing I lose at least 1-2 hours to shear nothingness. It’s unbelievable! Today we started with the radio instead. It really makes all the difference for [...]]]> One day I will run out of Sensational Sunday titles, now won’t I? :)

Today started off with NO TV. I swear, if I put it on first thing I lose at least 1-2 hours to shear nothingness. It’s unbelievable! Today we started with the radio instead. It really makes all the difference for us. We then made breakfast and cleaned up. The toddler and I played a few games while the husband…. slept! Of course. He’s the sleeper of the family. I don’t even try to get him up with us anymore. It’s not worth the aggravation. :)

Then it was time to get ready for our guests! My friend was coming over with her son for a play date. I decided we would make pizza with the kids and Lynnea brought blackberries! So we decided to make Black and Blue Dessert cups for a sweet treat! The were was so good! After lunch we played the Wii until the kids started to get cranky. Well, my kid… Jackson was a little angel. :)

During the toddler’s nap I decided to drive down to a possible home site (we *may* be attempting a move if you haven’t heard) and run in that community. Not only did I fall in love with the area I’m spying up (again) I had an AWESOME 3 mile run.

Running Graph taken from Nike+

It was almost effortless, mostly (I think) because my brain was preoccupied with possibilities of moving. I’m in love with this location and will be making some decisions this week. The only thing that worries me is getting all excited and then let down if something goes wrong. I guess the roller coaster of emotions I’m going through is pretty normal. I’m just supper exited of the possibilities at this point and having fun dreaming.

When I got home the husband declared he wanted out of house! (poor guy worked all day) So we decided to (yet again) drive to the "target" area and hit Panera for dinner. As you can tell by my menu I made some pretty good choices. Panera really is one of my favorite semi-fast food places as the husband actually enjoys it AND I’m just thankful it’s NOT Burger King. :)

Now? Well now I’m sitting in quite a messy house even though I cleaned all morning. I have to write one more post before bed and I’m getting hungry. I’m thinking of making some bean dip, maybe a new recipe using my new food processor! :) So I’m signing off to make my snack, straighten up and get ready for tomorrow to end my Sunday in a truly Sensational way, by preparing.

Stay tuned for another podcast tomorrow, I should have it up by then. Have a great night and I hope Monday treats you well! :)

P.S. Join me tomorrow for lunch in the BlogToLose chat room! Hope to see you there!

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It all started with toddler breakfast time. My favorite part of the day and [...]]]> Today was one of those crazy days where I just kept doing things. Kept checking things off the list but the list wasn’t getting any shorter. Like I wasn’t making any progress. Even so, it was still a Sensational Sunday!

It all started with toddler breakfast time. My favorite part of the day and our daily tradition. Today he chose pink and blue cereal with Cheerios. Translation: Frosted Mini-Wheat’s Strawberry Delight mixed with Frosted Mini Wheats Blueberry Muffin mixed with Cheerios in a bowl with milk. I believe this is his first "recipe". :) He also had an egg and some fresh blueberries. I had leftover Chocolate Banana Pancakes with Easy Blueberry Topping. Just as good the second day!

After breakfast we got dressed to look at a house. The husband and I are kicking around a possible move. We love our house but it would be nice to be a little closer to city. We aren’t too serious about it just yet but I love the hunt. I swear sometimes I think I should have been a real estate agent.

For lunch we stopped at McDonald’s. Guess who’s choice that was. :) I stuck with a salad and my usual nibbles of fries and nuggets. When we got home it was nap time. Not for me, of course, for the toddler. I got some work done and went for a quick run. The first of my training (which I updated).

Running Graph taken from Nike+

For the run I made a new crazy play list. I’ll try to publish it this week. After the run more computer time, while doing the laundry. Then dinner. See… I kept doing things but they are just menial tasks. Right now I’m sitting in a disaster zone, with 3 more loads of laundry to fold and bills to pay. YUCK!

YET! It was a Sensational Sunday. I know because I made (overall) good choices, got in a run, organized the toddlers clothes and cleaned out his drawers (desperately needed to be done), started on my new tech blog AND the toddler declared that it was a GREAT day while eating dinner! That’s somethin’ right? :~P

So I think I’m going to sign off, watch Nostradamus, get the rest of this laundry done and possible pay the bills. We’ll see. For me a Sensational Sunday is defined by starting the week off on the right foot and I’ll feel so much better if I wake up tomorrow with all those things done.

Oh! And I am hungry right now. I may make myself a snack. I’m thinking tortilla pizza! :)

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We started going to [...]]]> The husband does it again. I know he means well but he always seem to pick the worst times to want to go out. It’s 2 days into the New Year, I’m finding my groove again and he wants to go to carb central, the Japanese Steak House. Unbelievable, right?

We started going to this particular restaurant a lot when the toddler was "the baby". They cook in front of you at the table, Teppanyaki style. It’s perfect to distract babies and toddlers of all ages. Plus it’s louder there so you don’t have to worry about the occasional child outburst. :)

I love it. I really do. The food is delish. They cook right in front of you so you know what you’re getting and there are lots of lean protein options (salmon, tuna, chicken breast.) The only problem is the portions are out of control. Really, they are insane. Each entree comes with soup, salad, appetizer shrimp, hibachi vegetables, noodles, rice, hibachi ginger sauce, and white sauce and that doesn’t include your protein source. To make it worse most people get combos like steak and chicken or shrimp and scallops. Seriously, by the end of all the courses there’s enough on you plate to serve 4. (and don’t think there haven’t been times I didn’t need a doggie bag)

Like I said, we go a lot (and that’s not going to change) so I needed a strategy.

The restaurant we go to has a complete sushi bar. Now I was a sushi virgin until this year but I have to admit I fell in love. It’s totally a texture thing. Your basic California roll has about 35 calories a piece (250 for the entire roll that’s 6-8 pieces). It’s very satisfying and fun to eat. Seriously, I was scared of it for years and now I love it. (side note: This site has a great table of nutrition information for your sushi basic rolls)

Sorry, that was a total side bar.

Where I was going with that is I order sushi instead of an entree. Normally an avocado, California or spicy tuna. The husband get’s his usual Habachi Shrimp and (here’s why my frugalness comes in) we order a child’s portion of Habachi chicken or Shrimp for the toddler.

Now you have to realize the child portions at this place are no different then a regular portion. I swear (well maybe a tad bit less.) It’s insane. So I figured out the toddler and I could share (he’s not going to finish it anyway) and we save money and calories! Double bonus!

So tonight I ate the soup and salad (1 WWPs), an avocado roll (3 WWPs), and fried rice with shrimp from the toddlers plate (estimated 8 WWP). The toddler ate the noodles (his favorite.) I had fun, wasn’t overstuffed, totally satisfied and saved about 20 bucks. Can’t beat that!

Other then dinner not much happened today. I had a great workout with the trainer this morning. The toddler and I ran some errands. We even bought a booster seat. I guess my baby’s not a baby anymore. :( Soon he won’t even be the toddler! He’ll be "the child." …. OK, I can’t think about it. Time flies WAY too fast when you have kids.

Here’s the menu today. I’m not tracking Activity Points right now. I’m just getting a total for my day and keeping tabs. It works for me in maintenance. Unless, that is, it doesn’t than I’ll go into "loss mode." (Full fledge Weight Watchers)

Oh and P.S. Eat with chopsticks! It slows you down!

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Just a quick video of the toddler and I last week showing off his new shirts!

Other designs…

Here’s some snap shots of the toddler wearing my other favorite designs. He’s starting to be that bratty 3 year old that won’t let me [...]]]> Use the code ZAZZLE10GIFTPULGJHWA for $10 off your order!! Expires 12/31/08

Just a quick video of the toddler and I last week showing off his new shirts!

Other designs…

Here’s some snap shots of the toddler wearing my other favorite designs. He’s starting to be that bratty 3 year old that won’t let me know snap photos. So they are him in is "natural" environment (translation his hour of TV watching.)

I have ideas for more products but you know how it goes.. Too many ideas…. Not enough time. :)

A few people have been asking me about the cook book. I have to admit after I lost my latest additions I took a break. I’m getting back into it and it’s on my to do for 2009!

Click here to check out my Zazzle store for more Roni t-shirt and apron ideas!

Use the code ZAZZLE10GIFTPULGJHWA for $10 off your order!! Expires 12/31/08

Use the code ZAZZLE10GIFTPULGJHWA for $10 off your order!! Expires 12/31/08

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This weekend’s quote inspires me on a few different levels. I think that’s [...]]]> OK, guys, a bit late with the weekend quote but I HAD to post one. Admittedly, as I prepare for my audition tomorrow, this may be more for me then you, but I hope you find it inspirational all the same.

This weekend’s quote inspires me on a few different levels. I think that’s why it works so well, you can apply it to your specific goals, no matter what they are, weight loss or otherwise. Being someone who tried repeatedly to get control of my diet and now someone who is attempting find her way in a new career I simply find it encouraging…

In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time. ~Anthony J. D’Angelo, The College Blue Book

It’s another, "let’s try to change our mindsets about failure", type of quotes. This is why I get so worked up when people use one "screw up" as an excuse to go off plan and quite all together. We have to stop that mentality and look at it as a learning experience. Why did you pig out? Why didn’t you stop at 1, 2 or even 5 cookies? Why did you order the fried crazy appetizer, a complete meal and continue to eat until stuffed? Why’d ya grab the bag of chips instead of measuring out a serving? (again, all things I did/do) When we do those types things, and let’s lay this out on the table right now, we WILL do those types of things, it’s inevitable. Don’t use it as an excuse to give up on the day, week or even month. LEARN from it so you are more prepared next time. Don’t think of it as a failure, think of it as a learning experience, as one of the 10,000 things that didn’t work. :)

Now, and as usual I’m trying to kill too many birds with my one little stone. The toddler asked me to read one specific book tonight. Which made me remember that I have tons of footage from my Roni’s Day in the Life video series still to edit. This will all make sense in a minute, I promise. This specific book is my absolute favorite Dr. Seuss story of all time. Like the quote above, you can really apply it’s message to anything you want, dieting, career goals, whatever, as it’s just about life.

So here’s a preview of the footage from my N96 Trial, A Day in the Life video series (coming soon-hopefully this week). I’m skipping to this later in the day video considering it’s pretty relevant as I get ready for tomorrows audition.

I’m NOT lying when I say favorite time of day AND favorite book. Seriously. I read it to him again tonight, just like this and tonight, it was his choice, which made me smile. :)

Ok…I’ll be twittering from New York tomorrow, can’t wait!! Now… Off to get the train schedule!

P.S.Contest winners will be announced tomorrow night along with a surprise!

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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! :~)

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