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Retirement Joy

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Day 291 in making life changes to be healthier in mind, body and spirit when I meet up with Mickey Mouse at Magic Kingdom

Today’s plan was to submit my letter of retirement at work.  I am retiring from my job as secretary at St. James Lutheran Church.  Here is part of my retirement letter:

As you may know, I have recently been through a bout of cancer. In the process of being diagnosed and treated, it was found that I have several other health issues. These issues make it impossible to perform my job in a timely and efficient manner. So it is with some regret, but with more hope for the future, that I wish to retire from my position as Church Secretary as of December 31, 2015. I turn 60 in December, and I wish to spend my “golden years” writing and pursuing opportunities to volunteer as I am led.

Wow!  This is huge!  I believe with all my heart that this is the Lord’s leading.  I feel such a peace about it.  It’s nerve-wracking because our health insurance is through the church, but I will pursue our options and keep praying about it.  I never suspected when I became a card-carrying Democrat supporting Obamacare, that I might soon be using it. 🙂  I sure am glad it’s in place!

I so look forward to not having to drive to and from work in the snowy, icy winter weather.  AND I have three book ideas, that I am anxious to have the time to work on.  I am so excited about what God has in store for this next phase of my life!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: I have the most supportive husband!  He is my soul-mate, my best friend, my true love.  He is an amazing man of God, and I am so grateful for him!  Thank you, Jesus!

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Trying to Tidy

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Day 290 in my attempting to not sit on my can all day, so I can be healthier when I meet up with Mickey Mouse at Magic Kingdom in October (4 months and 18 days to go)

Today’s goal was all about getting ready to organize  and keep a tidier house.  A friend of mine has agreed to clean for me one day every two weeks.  She will start the day after tomorrow.  So today Mikie-mio, my dear one, and I went to Ace Hardware and stocked up: broom and dust pan, mop, dust mop, dusters, new toilet brush, cleaning products for kitchen, bathroom and the rest.  We hadn’t done a good cleaning product shop in 20 years at least.  Now we’re ready for my friend Diana to come and help me out.  Yay!

I picked up the book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo.  The only thing I really know from the book so far is one of the guiding principles: When you are tidying, if something does not still bring you joy, then out it goes.  Isn’t that a simply wonderful concept?  I believe this could make it much easier to get rid of stuff that I’ve been holding on to for years.

I’ve already done my spice shelves and medicine shelves and my canned goods selves.  They look so neat.  And today when we got home from our shopping spree, Mike put up hooks near our pantry wall that hold the mop, dust mop, dust pan, broom and dusters.  It’s looking good!

When my daughter, Emi comes for a visit one week from today (YAY!), she is going to help me clean out some stuff.  In particular: my bedroom closet, my shoes and my cookbooks.  Those three things are gargantuan tasks, and I will feel well on my way to a simpler, cleaner lifestyle once they are done.  Here’s hoping so anyway.

I’ll keep you posted as I progress.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: Thank you to those who gave their all, so that we can live free. Blessed Memorial Day to all.  As we remember those we love, may God be with us with his comforting presence.

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What to Pack for a Disney Trip

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Absolutely love this article . Thanks to seconds tartotheright!

OOPS!  My bad.  The WordPress site that shared this article is called: neverland2001.  I love it and signed up to follow it today.  Disneyphiles, check it out.

FamilyTravelEscapades's avatarSecond Star to the Right Disney Blog

Each time a trip to Disney approaches I get anxious about packing. I don’t want to forget anything and have to pay quadruple at Disney or forget something that can’t be found there (such as medicines). We have been enough and go frequently enough that I actually leave some things packed so as not to have to unpack and re-pack everything. I wanted to give a few tips that may help people in packing to make this part of the trip a little less stressful.

I first set the suitcase out a few days before departure and start putting things in as I think of them. The things I leave packed are: airline-sized toiletries (shampoo, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste, hairspray, hair gel, dry shampoo, first-aid kit, mouthwash, facial cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen). I also leave feminine products, Advil, fanny pack, sun visor, tote bag to use at park, magic bands and…

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Sabbath Joy

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Day 289 in my pilgrimage to meet up with Mickey

Today’s plan was to (1) go to worship to praise the God who loves me, (2) give a sister in Christ a new copy of Birnbaum’s 2015 Walt Disney World: The Official Guide and (3) have a family of four who are new to our church over for brunch.

  1. Today our summer schedule began: one service each Sunday at 9:30 am.  The service was such a blessing!  Since today is Pentecost Sunday, our first reading was from the Second Chapter of Acts.  This chapter is all about the coming of the Holy Spirit.  We heard verses of it read in ten different language, including Greek, Hausa (a Northern Nigerian language), French, Catalan, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Latin and Hindi.  It was very powerful.  And then during the Lord’s Prayer, each of these readers recited it in their language.  Awesome!
  2. Melinda Voelcker is a dear sister in Christ.  She was the Worship Leader at our Cafe Chocolat Retreat.  Then she filled in for me as director of our contemporary band, Damascus Road, while I was recuperating from my recent surgery.  She and her husband are taking their two daughters to Walt Disney World in October for the first time. I told her she needed what I consider to be the definitive guide:Birnbaum’s 2015 Walt Disney World: The Official Guide, so I picked one up for her. I’m so excited for them!  They will have a ball, for sure!
  3. We had a lovely few hours with the Bakfwash family: Yakubu, Diana, Faith and Teyphyra.  How wonderful to hear of their lives and to share ours with them.  I look forward to getting to know them better as we continue to worship together.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Busy and Blessed

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Day 288 in my striving to be healthier to meet up with Mickey in October at Magic Kingdom  (4 months and 20 days to go)

Today’s plan was to take care of some personal business.  I first drove back to the church where I work, because I wore my computer glasses home yesterday, rather than my everyday glasses.  My computer glasses are only effective at the distance from the computer to my chair, so they make it difficult to read, drive, watch TV, or anything else outside that range.  Since it is Memorial Day weekend, I chose to get my glass so I can see properly to enjoy the long weekend.

Next I treated myself to breakfast at Eggsperience, in Bannockburn.  I had an egg white and veggie omelet with mozzarella (I ate about half of it and took the rest home), one piece of rye toast with butter and a skim cappuccino.  Wow!  A healthy and delicious start to a busy day!

Then I went to Bent Fork Bakery in Highwood.  We are having a lovely Nigerian family of four over to brunch tomorrow after church.  Mike (my sweetest) will make kropsua, a Finnish pancake.  (It’s actually a lot like Yorkshire pudding, except you cook it in butter rather than in beef drippings.)  We will also have fresh cut-up fruit, sausage, juice, coffee, sweet rolls from the Bent Fork (for my guests and Mikie, not for me) and bacon.  (Speaking of bacon: it is really hard to find bacon without sugar in it.  I was shocked!!  I finally found some that claims to have not more that 2% sugar, so I grabbed that.)  I’m looking forward to visiting with the Bakfwash family tomorrow!

Next I went and knocked off our weekly grocery shopping.  This was a huge undertaking for me, as I continue to recover from major surgery.  My doc told me to listen to my body and if something hurts, I should quit doing it.  So with that in mind I moved at a turtle’s pace through the store, and when I felt my tiring, I skipped the last few items on the list.  A lovely Heinens worker helped me to the car and loaded the groceries for me.  (In the course of our visit, I found out he will turn 20 on Monday, and wants a cookout for his birthday.  Luckily Heinens is closed on Memorial Day, so he is off.  Isn’t that a wonderful policy?  I dig it!)

Then I went home where Mikie unloaded the groceries.  (I am not supposed to lift more that 10 pounds for 16 weeks at least.)

Whew!  A productive and beautiful (thank you, Lord, for this glorious weather) day.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Friday Night Feast

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Day 287 in my becoming healthier to meet up with Mickey in October

My plan for today in eating healthier was to try out a new recipe.  I turned to my current favorite cookbook Betty Crocker 30 Minute Meals for Diabetes.  I decided to try Steak Marsala .

Prep time: 20 minutes  Start to finish: 20 minutes  4 servings  Carbohydrate choices 0

Ingredients:

  1. 4 beef tenderloin steaks, 3/4 inch think (about one pound)
  2. 1/2 tsp salt
  3. 1/4 tsp pepper
  4. 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  5. 1 Tbs drained capers
  6. 1/2 cup Marsala wine or nonalcoholic wine

Directions:

  1. Sprinkle both sides of each beef steak with salt and pepper.  Rub with garlic.  Spray 10-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat.  Add beef; cook 6 to 8 minutes, turning once, until desired doneness.  Remove beef from skillet; cover and keep warm.
  2. Add capers and wine to skillet.  Heat to boiling over high heat.  Cook uncovered 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until liquid is slightly reduced.  Serve over beef.

It was delicious!  Like close-your-eyes so you can really appreciate the taste and texture delicious!  There is a bit of sticker shock on this though.  I ended up paying $28 for the steaks.  I justified it by realizing that it is four steak dinners for the price.  I had a small leftover baked potato in the refrigerator, which I fried up.  Then I made us each a large romaine, green pepper, yellow pepper and broccoli salad.  Mike topped it off with rye bread and butter.  Tonight we feasted like royalty!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Fangirl

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Day 286 on my way to hug Mickey in October

Today’s goal was to be as productive as possible during my four hours at work while trying to listen to my body and slow down as necessary.  I did work very hard today, but I pushed it a bit too far again.  I’m starting to wonder, if I’m ever going to be able to work a full day.  I am exhausted!  Yet I am encouraged, too.  It feels good to do normal things a bit more.  I will keep praying for patience and for strength to see me through.

I want to share about some absolutely fun greeting cards that I found.  There was a blurb on Facebook about them, so I clicked to take a look.  They are by Emily McDonald.  Google her to take a look.  Some are a bit too racy for me, but some I love!  For example:

  1. One more chemo down! Let’s celebrate with whatever doesn’t taste disgusting.
  2. You’re like a sister to me. Except I never hate you.
  3. I promise never to refer to your illness as a journey. Unless someone takes you on a cruise.
  4. Well, this just sucks.  I wish I had a better way to say it, but my brain feels totally stuck right now.  But I just want you to know that even though I might not always have exactly the right words, you will always have me.  I’m not going anywhere.  So I hope you’re cool with that.  Because I love you.

Fun, right?  She sells bags and other things, too.  I’m a fan!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Good Days and Bad

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Day 285 in my trek toward Mickey

My goal today was threefold: (1) Go to work for four hours and give it everything I’ve got, (2) take a shower tonight (this is a major effort right now) and (3) stay sugar-free and eat three healthy meals today, being mindful of my portions.  Done.  Done.  And done…except I stayed at work for 5 and a half hours.  It was too long.  I hit my pain threshold and am suffering the consequences this evening.  Live and learn.

I need to go and get some sleep.  Here’s hoping tomorrow’s a better day,

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Keeping On

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Day 284 in my recovery progress as I make my way to Mickey

Today’s plan was to go to work and to try to have the most productive four hours possible.  Done deal.  After being away from work for the better part of three weeks, I have a ton of things to do, and yet, my doctor only OK’d four hours a day.  So I feel a bit stressed.  However, my doctor was right.  I am so burned out after four hours at the office, that I just go straight home and crash.

I went home today and crashed, then woke up and put together a Weight Watchers’ chili for dinner.  It feels pretty good to be getting my energy back bit by bit.

I stayed sugar free today, and even have started drinking my coffee black.  Bye-bye artificial sweeteners.  I find they can give me cravings for sweets, so I want to leave them behind whenever possible.

Moving around a bit more feels good, too.  Just in the course of a work day, I tend to walk a lot more than I have been for the past three weeks.  On the good days, it’s so wonderful to not be in pain most of the time.  I find I can breathe more deeply, and I can exhale and relax.  Praise God!

Peace to you, dear readers.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Let Them Eat Cake

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Day 283 in progressing toward meeting up with Mickey

Today’s plan was to get up, get ready and go back to work.  My doctor cleared me for four hour days this week.  It did feel good to get back to something more normal; however, the four hours really kicked my butt!  But I did it!!  Woo hoo!  First step on the way back.

Yesterday at church, we received new members.  These are people who attended several classes about what it means to be a Lutheran, and particularly what it means to be a member at our church St. James Lutheran Church.  It was so wonderful to see these four new families with eight kids between them joining the fold.

After the service, there was a reception for them with CAKE!  It was half chocolate and half vanilla, all frosted in vanilla.  When the pastor announced the reception with cake, I promptly turned to Mike (my Sweetie) and said, “I am having a piece of cake today.”  He burst out laughing.  He so can understand what I’ve been through, and what I continue to go through as I heal.  And how very good I’ve been in my eating.

When we left the sanctuary, I ran into a sweet, little, tow-headed four-year-old girl named Isabella.  She promptly turned to me and said in Cookie Monster‘s voice, “There is cake!  I want cake!”  Isabella’s mother got her a piece of cake, and she settled down at a table to indulge.  As she ate she kept saying, again in a Cookie Monster voice, “Nom, nom, nom, CAKE!”  Then she would chat with me for a little bit.  Then she would say, “I want more cake!” and dive back in to her piece of cake.

I had to laugh.  Here was the personification about how I feel about cake, particularly white or yellow bakery cake with extremely sweet frosting.  I have had this love affair with cake since I was a very little girl, even younger than Isabella.  Yesterday, I ate four bites of my piece of cake and gave Mike the remaining four bites .  It was so delicious, and I enjoyed every bite as I watched Isabella savor her piece.  Then I walked away and didn’t look back.  I immediately went into cold-turkey mode and left sugar behind again.  People, this is huge!  I have never walked away from my piece of cake.  It’s just too tasty; I just like it too much.  It felt good to walk away and not let the cake decide how much I should eat.  I decided: four bites and out!  This is a mini-miracle for me.  Thank you, Jesus!

Today is my dear friend Jean’s birthday.  Happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday, dear Jeanzie!  Happy birthday to you…and many more!  I love you, Girl!  I hope you have cake.  🙂

Meet you at the Kingdom!