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Keeping Busy

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Day 112 in my efforts to stay more active until I meet up with Mickey.

My plan for today was to go and take a walk at the COOL 5K/10K Walk/Run.  (A benefit for a local food pantry that is organized by some very good friends of ours.)  Best laid plans…  As I lay still awake at 3:00 am, I started to rethink that plan.  I was still glancing at the clock at 5:00 am.  It was just one of those inexplicable things.  There was no reason for me to be sleepless; I just was.  The next time I looked at the clock it was 10:00 am, and I’d slept through the beginning of the Walk.  Bleh!

So instead I’ve filled my day with a series of errands, walking extra steps in each place.

  1. First, off to Walgreen’s to pick up some cash and some vitamin B12 for Mike.  He was clean out and his doctor has him taking it every day.  I lapped the store on my way to the checkout counter.
  2. Then off to Aldi.  Have you ever been?  It’s a discount grocery store where you bag your own groceries in bags that you bring along.  The one I visited in ParkCity, Illinois, was not too busy, but a study in humanity.  We were a hodgepodge of every color and persuasion.  I was there for gift certificates for the Bethel Christmas Program at our church.  Every year we get the opportunity to shop for gifts, including food gift certificates, for people who then can purchase these gifts at a significantly reduced cost in a needy neighborhood in Chicago.  Those who have no money for the gifts can work in the Bethel Christmas Store to earn enough for what they wish to purchase for their families.  It’s a wonderful program, that is not perceived as outright charity, but as an opportunity to provide Christmas for your own family.  Anyway, I had to go to the checkout counter to buy the gift certificates.  When you walk into the store you must walk all the way through the aisles to get to the counter.  So again I lapped the place, humming the Christmas tunes that were playing in my head.
  3. Third, off to Heinen’s to shop for a few groceries.  I was picking up the ingredients for Barbecued Meatballs for our Advent Dinner at church tomorrow.  This year, for the first time, I will substitute Splenda and low-sugar catsup in an effort to get the sugar out.  I made sure to lap the store and even added extra trips up and down the aisles to get some extra steps in.
  4. Finally I am making many trips up and down the basement stairs doing laundry.

Busy, busy, busy…but it feels good to have a bit more energy to get it ll done.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Nesting Up & Resting Up

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Day 111 in my journey to Mickey

Today’s plan is to rest up.  I find I am tired out today.  We made rather merry yesterday, and I stayed up ridiculously late last night.  So after writing the bills for this payday, finishing cleaning up the kitchen, putting clean sheets and new pillows on the bed and doing some laundry, I am giving myself some time to watch some favorite Thanksgiving movies.  I especially like, “An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving.”  Such a beautiful period film about a family trying to make ends meet after Papa dies suddenly.  I highly recommend it.

BTW:  Eliza and Jake found sugar-free pumpkin spice flavoring for coffee.  And, as if that isn’t enough, Eliza brought over her espresso maker and her milk steamer and made me a sugar-free pumpkin latte yesterday.  Sheer bliss!  And this morning I had a sugar-free pumpkin spice coffee in the comfort of my own home.  Take that, Starbucks!  🙂

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Giving Thanks

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Day 110 in my turkey-trot toward magical Mickey

Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers!  May we be truly thankful for all of God’s bounty.  God is good all the time, all the time God is good!

If you find yourself alone and/or heartbroken this Thanksgiving, then I pray that the Holy Spirit himself be there to wrap you in love, to let you know you are never truly alone.  He is ever faithful and holds you near and dear.

My plan for today is to enjoy my Thanksgiving day and dinner with Mike, Jake and Eliza.  I’ve taken out the sugar and some of the fat from my favorite recipes.  Now I will start with reasonable portions, eat slowly while enjoying the company, and I will stop eating before I am uncomfortable.  After all, it’s not about how much I can stuff in, as much as it is about tasting a bit of everything.

Here’s the final menu:

  • turkey
  • stuffing
  • mashed potatoes
  • mashed rutabaga
  • cranberry sauce
  • a rosemary carrot dish
  • a Brussel sprout, cauliflower, chick pea dish
  • challah bread
  • custard pie

Whew!  It will be a feast for sure.  We are cutting the candied yams and the gravy out for this year.  But with all that bounty, it does not seem like a sacrifice at all.

May God bless and keep you, gentle readers.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Of Mice and Thanksgiving

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Day 109 in my planning for a healthier me when I meet Mickey at the Magic Kingdom.

My office stinks…literally.  We are having a mouse infestation at the church.  Anderson Pest Control takes care of us, so they have had to come out nearly every other day for the past twp weeks.  As I type, the efficient Anderson Pest Control Guy is removing the dead carcasses that are stinking up my office.  (And my work partner Debbie’s office, too.)  Whew!  I will not miss that smell.  🙂

I sure hope that Mickey is not too insulted that we are having a mouse-massacre at St. James.  Four more have bitten the dust in the last two days.  (2 in my office and 2 in your office, Debbie.)

I love me some Mickey Mouse, but the other kind freak me out, and I know why.  I remember it like it was yesterday, but in reality I was three years old…a good 55, nearly 56, years ago.  I was sitting on the toilet feeling very exposed and vulnerable, when my mom and dad heard a blood-curdling scream.  They rushed into the bathroom just in time to see the tiniest baby mouse run back under the water heater.  Ever since then, I have an absolute irrational fear of mice.  And an equally irrational love of Mickey.  Hmmm…go figure.

Anyway, my plan for today is to prepare for tomorrow.  I need to get my recipes out tonight and plan ways to cut some of the fat out.  The only sugar will be in the custard pie.  I will allow myself a Thanksgiving celebratory piece-o-pie.  (Mike, my amazing husband, is the pie maker, and he’s really good at it!  He learned from the best, his mom.  Love you, Estella!)  Mike has agreed to only make one pie, or if he makes two, then he will bring the second pie up to the shop for the guys on Friday.  I’m telling you, people, Mike Jarvi is a good guy!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, dear readers.  May your holiday be filled with family, friends, good food, parades, football (That’s for my brothers; Mike and I watch movies instead.) and lots of fun.  I am truly grateful for each of you in my life!  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Motivated at the Mundane Today

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Day 107 in my motion toward Mickey.

Today’s plan is to be active at the office.  I will:

  1. Set up a table and set up the display of the Advent devotionals in the church narthex.  FYI: The narthex is the entrance room to the church building.
  2. Put away the boxes of paper that were delivered to the office weeks ago and have been cluttering up my work space.
  3. Service the coffee machine.  Check coffee, decaf and chocolate supplies and top up the machine.  Check the water supply and restock the cups.
  4. Tidy up the ushers stand, print and put out the attendance sheets for Sundays, Advent and Christmas.
  5. I will walk to my work partners’ offices with messages and questions today, rather than emailing or phoning them.
  6. I will find a home for some Women of St. James files and items that came into the office today.
  7. And whatever else I can think of to keep moving.

The day will be a feel-good-about-my-moving day. And I, dear readers, will meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: For some reason Old Key West is really calling my name today.  I just LURV that place!  🙂

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Staying on Track

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Day 107 in my wandering toward Mickey

Well, it’s that time again.  I have 3 days to really focus and be on track, then Thanksgiving Day hits.  We got our shopping mostly done last night, and I finished it off on the way to work this morning.  It will be nice to have a four day weekend at home.

So today my plan is to eat very carefully, being sure to choose low fat proteins and plenty of vegetables with some fruits thrown in for fun.  Salmon tonight, I think, with a big side salad and just a taste of sweet potato soup.

I want to make my plans to prepare the healthiest versions of our chosen foods for our Thursday feast.  I want the day to be about giving thanks to the Father who loves us every day.  More thanks and praise to God; less thanks and praise to my full belly.  🙂

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Enjoying the View

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Day 106 in my reverie to a reunion with my favorite mouse Mickey.

Greetings from the top of Christmas Mountain.  Today we pack up and head home.  It has been a wonderful, whirlwind of a weekend.

Today my plan is to enjoy the view.  It is a gray morning here and there is a mist in the valley below us, but it is breathtakingly beautiful.

Then when we get home, we’ll go and shop for our Thanksgiving feast.  I’m going to skip the candied yams and the gravy this year.  We’ll have turkey, mashed potatoes, mashed rutabaga and a half batch of stuffing.  Eliza and Jake will prepared the Brussels sprouts and salad.  I’m sure Mike will bake a custard pie.  It will be a feast for sure, but with a little healthier twist this year.

That’s about enough for today.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: I highly recommend Wisconsin Dells in the off-season.  There is still plenty to see and do, but the traffic is way more do-able than in the summer.  Between all the walking and swimming we’ve done, we’ve all managed to get plenty of exercise, too.

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Christmas Mountain Village Part 2

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Day 105 as I sashay sassily toward Mickey at the Magic Kingdom.

Wow, dear readers, we are in a paradise!  Christmas Mountain Village is lightly snow-covered.  Today is the first day the ski slope is open, so we can watch the skiers schussing down the hill.

After breakfast this morning we went and walked around some of the shops.  So fun!  The six of us (John and Joan, our lovely besties, Jake and Eliza, our lovely nearby kidlings, Mike, my birthday-boy husband, and I went to Sprecher’s Brewery for lunch.  They had an amazing grilled chicken “pub” salad, on which I feasted.  I had 3 delicious cheese curds as an appetizer (we split a basket between the six of us).  Then the birthday boy chose a white chocolate creme brulee for his birthday dessert.  We each tasted 2 spoons of that and then Mike finished it up.  Sheer indulgence!

Mike and the kids went to Top Secret, Inc, which is the “White House” (upside down), with a T-Rex coming out of the side.

Now we’re relaxing at the Townhouse.  (But Jake and Eliza are heading to Wizard Quest to play a bit more.)  Then tonight I swim…again!!!  You guys, I had so-o-o much fun last night!  I walked in the pool for close to an hour and came out pruny and happy.  I will do so again tonight.  What a delightful and surprising weekend.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Christmas Mountain Village

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Day 104 in my backstroke to be in Mickey’s backyard

I am at Christmas Mountain Village!!  It is so beautiful here.  We Mike, Jake, Eliza, John, Joan and I) will have a wonderful (Mike’s) birthday weekend here.  We had lunch at a place called Moosejaw in town.  I had a delicious soup and salad lunch with beer batter bread.  Yum!  Tonight we’re off to celebrate a huge Wisconsin tradition: Friday Night Fish Fry.

So my plan for today is to go and walk in the pool until I am a wrinkled prune.  🙂  It will be so fun and so refreshing.  I can just feel the tension slipping away as I partake in the beauty of this winter wonderland.  Loving this!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Packing for Success

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Day 103 in my marathon to better moves for meeting Mickey

Today’s plan is to pack for success.  Mike and I are going away for a few days with our very dear friends and our very dear son and daughter-in-law.  So today I will pack in such a way as to improve my chances of staying the game.

  1. I will pack my swim suit and hope to get into the pool at least twice while we’re away.
  2. I will pack some sensible snacks for the townhouse in which we will be staying.  (yogurt and fruit, for sure, and maybe even some Skinny Pop for an extra treat)  Do you know Skinny Pop?  It’s a great story and a delicious, low-cal treat.  (Thanks for doing an article on it, Jake!)
  3. I will pack good walking shoes, so when we walk around looking in the shops in town, my feet will be up for the game.
  4. And since this is the Great White North, I will wear a warm winter coat, gloves, scarf and hat.  Sheesh!  What a winter…already!

I will do my best to blog while we’re away, but it all depends on if they have good wi-fi.  Meet you at the Kingdom!