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MagicBand Mischief

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Day 172 in my ruminations on all things Disney as I wait to meet Mickey at the Magic Kingdom.  (8 months and 16 days to go!)

I’m so excited to get home today.  When I ordered MagicBands for everyone for Christmas, I was careful to order a different color for each of us.  When I attempted to register our MagicBands on My Disney Experience, the green band would not register.  I called the powers-that-be to find out what to do.  They had me call the Disney Store people to straighten it out.  I was instructed to throw away the unregistered band, as they would send me a new one.  Now, it has arrived.  So today when I get home I will register this last band.  That’s my plan for today.

I do realize that this whole thing has been an exercise in futility, as Old Key West will ship us bands with our names in them, and they are the ones we will use on the trip.  [I found that out when I called Disney.  🙂 ]  However, it can’t hurt to each have a back-up band, right?  And besides its been fun to do a little research on My Disney Experience.

So glad this trip is actually scheduled now and coming up this year!  Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: I have lost the half pound that I had gained back, and a bit more.  My body has definitely slowed down, and I contribute it to January!  Oh, well,  I will keep on going just the same.

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Pease Porridge Hot

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Day 171 in my eating my way to a healthier me for meeting Mickey at Walt Disney World (8 months and 17 days to go!)

Holy wah!  Can you believe it?  I’ve been on this journey for 171 days.  I know it’s been over 5 months, but 171 days.  Who’d a thunk it?  🙂

Today’s plan is to travel home after work on this gray, snowy, January Monday and make a delicious pot of pea soup for dinner.  We’ll have it with plenty of fresh veggies, and some crusty bread.

I remember when my mom would make a big pot of pea soup, and just about every time I’d say. “Eeeww, pea soup?  Can’t we have something good instead?”  Then I would sit down to a first and second helping.  🙂  What’s not to like?  Peas, carrots, onions, a bit of ham and seasoning.  Sounds pretty darn good to me today, I’ll tell you what.

Bring it on.  And Mom, thanks for the recipe.  (Miss you.)

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Sunday Fun-day Again

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Day 170 in my quest to reach Mickey at the Magic Kingdom.

Today’s plan kind of came together on the fly.

  1. First, I would go to church this morning to worship the Lord of lord and the King of kings.  While there I was sent a message loud and clear,  “I love you.  I’m with you.  Relax and don’t be so hard on yourself.  Enjoy this journey.”  I physically felt myself exhale, and the stress release was evident.  It was a blessed morning.
  2. Next, choose wisely at breakfast.  I had a ranchero omelette with lots of veggies and only a little cheese.  I ate half and will finish it for tomorrow’s breakfast.
  3. Third, shop for ingredients for the week, so I can come home from work every night and put healthy meals together quickly.
  4. Eat a treat of a dinner without racking up too many calories.  We had a piece of baguette with sauteed vegetables, olives and a bit of brie cheese, bunged under the grill.  (translation: put under the broiler)  It was scrumptious, indulgent and thoroughly satisfying.

So quite a day.  Now I can kick back and watch Downton Abbey. Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down

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Day 169 in my stumbling toward Mickey at the Magic Kingdom in October (8 months and 19 days to go)

My plan for today was to get through this morning.  I sang at the funeral of a friend.  It was a beautiful celebration of a life will lived.  Betty is a person who definitely heard the words. “Well done, good and faithful servant,” when she arrived in heaven.  Her son shared part of a dream that he had last night.  Betty visited him to say, “I have no more pain.  Heaven is beautiful.  God is real.”  What an amazing message for family and friends from this truly beautiful woman.  She is an inspiration.

Betty was planning to lead our St. James women’s retreat this spring.  My tribute to her will be to step in and run the retreat.  I will think of her fondly on the day.

However, when I came home from the funeral service I had my first HUGE eating fail since I began this quest five months ago.  I had doughnuts with a full sugar latte from the land-of-Dunkin. I don’t know why  did it.  I just did.  Then I promptly fell into a sugar-coma nap and woke up feeling sick to my stomach.  Lesson learned.  It was NOT worth it.

Now when I’ve failed to make good choices in previous diets, I’ve usually thrown in the towel.  I had blown it anyway, so what was the difference.  I’m not doing that this time.  I will have a healthy chicken and brown rice dinner with plenty of raw veggies for dinner.  And then I will keep make the best possible choices for my body.  I want to continue to eat to live and not to live to eat.

Thanks for reading, dear friends.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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A Date with a Mermaid

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Day 168 in my quest to meet up with Mickey

Today my plan is to spend some quality time with The Little Mermaid.  This is my chosen Disney movie for the week.  It has been an extremely stressful week, so I am taking a little down time when I get home from work today and kicking back with one of my favorite Disney films.  The seaweed is always greener in somebody else’s lake…

Nothing too major today.  But I will stay sugar-free and will prepare a warm, healthy meal for us tonight.  I think maybe Surprise Package Casserole.  I hope you get to chill after work today, too.  TGIF!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Life Gets in the Way

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Day 167 in my planning to be healthier when I meet Mickey at the Magic Kingdom (8 months and 21 days to go)

Confession time: I have not been very active lately.  I have been sitting through most of my day at work; then I have been going home and sitting to watch TV.  I blame it on the January blahs.  The skies have been gray for days, the weather cold and damp, and worst of all Christmas is over.  I know.  I can just hear you saying, “Get over it!”  Believe me, I’ve said it to myself over and over again.

Now here’s the conundrum: if I was exercising, I would feel better about all if this (exercise is an instant mood exhancer) AND I would be using the best tool possible to fight the stress at work.  Doh!  Can you say, “sabotage?’

My plan for the day was to be more active.  Every hour I wanted to get up and move around for five minutes, just to keep the blood pumping.  And if any opportunities came up to pitch in and get physical to help anyone out, I wanted to be on board.

I did OK with getting up and moving for a bit every hour.  But there came a huge opportunity to help out three people who were setting up the Fellowship Hall at church for a funeral luncheon on Saturday.  I wanted to be there.  I wanted to grab that job and run with it.  However, my plate was very full at work today.  I had to:

  1. finish and run Sunday’s bulletins and announcements, and then stuff the announcements into the bulletins
  2. finish and print 250 funeral bulletins
  3. finish and print the February newsletter, stuff the newsletter with two inserts, fold the newsletters and seal them with tape
  4. label the newsletter and prepare for mailing.

So today, life got in the way of my plan.  I’ve heard it said, “God laughs when we make plans.”  I think he may have had a chuckle today at my expense.  As tough as that is to take, I kind of like the idea of making God smile.  🙂

Meet you at the Kingdom!

 

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It’s a Matter of Portions

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Day 166 in my run toward meeting my favorite mouse, Mickey (8 months and 22 days to go!)

Today’s plan is to be more aware of portion control.  Too much of a good thing…well, is not such a good thing.  🙂  I think my portions have been inching up again.  So today I am going to pay particular attention to the portion sizes in all my meals and snacks.

My mom was an English war bride from WWII.  Her sister Phyllis visited us often and was a delight to spend time with.  Every time she was in the U.S., she would mention the massive portion sizes.  “No wonder everyone is so full blown here.  You people eat too much.”  I love her!  And she is basically right.  According to FRAC (Food Research and Action Center) 68.5% of American adults are overweight or obese.  34.9% of American adults are obese.  Something is just not right here, folks.  Between portions sizes and caloric make up of the foods we eat and lack of physical exercise , many of us have the balance wrong.

So today I will think on these things and determine to become more aware of them everyday in my life.  No one is going to do this for me.  I have to take control on my body.  I have to move it through space.  I have to feed it the right fuel in the right amount.  I know, I know, it sounds like me…me…me.  But really I need to love myself enough to stay on this.  I need to love myself, so that I can love others in the same manner, a healthier manner.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Craving

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Day 165 in my journey to meet Mickey

Today I am craving sugar something fierce!  I want sweets in the worst way: cake pops from Starbucks or Dunkin’s doughnuts or  even a tasty cupcake from Walgreen’s.  I want sugar!

So…my plan for today is to just say, “NO!”  I won’t give in to sugar.  Not today.  I can fight it for today.  I am hoping against all hope that this craving passes soon.

I am a bit down today.  Having just lost a treasured friend, and having to prepare her funeral bulletin in my role as church secretary, has me a bit blue.  Even the weather is gray and unforgiving today.  My usual M.O. is to eat my feelings away.  It’s what made me the big girl that I am today.  If I eat enough sugar, then I just don’t care about things enough to hurt.

This is a new way of life.  This experiencing and walking through my feelings without medicating (in my case with sugar) is still very new to me.  But I know it is a healthier way to live.  I want this way of life.  I want to quit avoiding, and learn to face life as it comes.  It’s tough, but I really believe it is doable with the help of God.

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

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Capital “L” for Loser

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Day 164 in my rambling on as I wait to meet Mickey

I took a Disney quiz on Facebook today.  There were 10 questions on Disney movies.  For every question there were three true statements and one false statement.  I thought it would be a piece of cake.  (mmmmm…cake…)  Anyway, I took the quiz and bombed every question.  I did not get a single right answer.  Unbelievable!  The law of averages says I could have guessed at least one correct answer, right?  Nope.  Bomb-ola, ma-dola!

So today’s plan is to study up!  I have to find out more about this thing called Disney.  I am going to commit to watching at least one Disney movie a week until our trip to Walt Disney World in October.  I’m going to watch with purpose and determination to get myself juiced up and excited about all that I will experience on our trip.  I’ll consider it research and I’ll enjoy every minute.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW:  Still staying sugar-free.  What a trip!

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My Disney Experience

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Day 163 in my learning how to do this new Disney thing for when I meet up with Mickey in October

Today’s plan was to investigate “My Disney Experience” and that is what I have done.  It is a wonderful site with a plethora of information on all things Disney.  It is an amazing resource for preparing for a trip to the most magical place on earth.  I found out about all sorts of experiences that are new since we’ve been to Florida.  There is something called the Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks Dessert Party.  No, seriously…who would not want to try this out?  You watch the fireworks over the Magic Kingdom while sampling desserts and drinks…AND you have a seat to take it all in.  After a day of tromping around the parks, I can’t imagine a better scenario.  🙂

My Disney Experience is a fantastic resource for plotting out a trip to Disney.  You can investigate restaurants, attractions and experiences there.  And since it is a Disney site, the info is current.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: I purchased 5-day park hopper passes for everyone in our party as a Christmas gift this year.  After  I purchased them, info started to come out about MagicBands.  So I ordered us each a MagicBand from The Disney Store.  It just seems like such a cool way to access everything: open our door at Old Key West, get into the parks, pay for meals.  It’s just the coolest thing.  I got the bands and went into “My Disney Experience” to register them.  Then I run into trouble with one of the bands.  When I call to get it all straightened out, I am told, “Oh, those will be spare bands.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“You’e staying on property so your MagicBands will automatically be sent to you with your names inside them.  *(pause)*  But, it’s good to have a spare in case one gets lost.”

“Doh!” I think.  Wasted about $60.

Live and learn, my friends, live and learn.