Tag Archives: Disney World

Uncategorized

Best Laid Plans…

Leave a comment

Day 80 in my journey to join up with my favorite mouse, Mickey

Confession time again: I did not dance when I got home yesterday.  I barely walked when I got home yesterday.  It was a crap day!  Everything I touched turned to ashes.  It was a difficult day at work.  Then I preheated the oven last night to cook my brown rice and mushroom casserole.  When the casserole was ready for the oven, I slipped it inside and promptly turned my oven off.  Of course, I didn’t realize I had done this until about 45 minutes later when I went to give it a stir.  ARGH!  x#2@t*s!m=%!!!  (Think Charlie Brown swear-speak!)  So we had dinner an hour late last night.  I was in such a bad mood when I got home, that I stress ate my banana with almond butter and some Skinny Pop popcorn, then I sat and cursed the darkness.

I know what you’re thinking.  “If you had danced, it would have improved your mood and beaten back some of the stress.”  I know…I know, but I was too PO’d to do the right thing.  Does that ever happen to you?  The good news is I didn’t stress eat candy and chips.  That is progress.

Today’s plan is to try again.  I want to dance today.  So no excuses.  I’ve planned a quick and easy dinner (Salmon filets, a Starbuck’s brown rice salad, with a cup of Mexican bean soup).  I can dance with abandon, and shake what my momma gave me.  🙂

Meet you at the Kingdom!

 

 

Uncategorized

Dancing Queen

2 Comments

Day 79 in my dance toward Disney

I love to dance!  I was that girl at the 7th grade dances with the spotty complexion, the cat’s-eye glasses who carried around about 30 extra pounds and was at my full height of 5 feet 9 inches, but I was still the first one on the dance floor for every fast tune.   I love to dance!

So my plan for today is to go home, put my dance game on the Wii, and dance away my Monday/workday tension.  (So You Think You Can Dance?…you betcha!)  Dancing seems to do a pretty great job of helping to strengthen my leg muscles.  Plus it just makes me happy!  I dig it!

BTW: I was only asked to dance one slow dance in all of Junior High and High School (Thank you, Pete Stagliano!  Crimson and Clover, over and over…)  But now I have a dream dance partner who danced his way right into my heart.  (Love you, Mikko!)  And props to Dr. Carlson, who ties with my dad, for my favorite polka partner.  🙂

Meet you at the Kingdom!

Uncategorized

Worship and Wandering

Leave a comment

Day 78 in my pilgrimage to the land of the Princesses and my buddy Mickey

My plan for today was to go and give thanks and praise to the God who chose me.  The God who chooses and loves us all.  It is Reformation Sunday, the day when I really feel my Lutheranism.  Mike and I were asked to sing at the offering today.  We sang Paul Baloche’s “Mighty Fortress.”  It is a wonderful new take on a treasured hymn.  The Holy Spirit showed up, as he promises he will, and the song and the service were a blessing to us.

There were six Finnish cousins in church today, cousins who live in Finland.  Not my cousins, and not Mike’s cousins.  One of our parishioners who grew up in the U.P., her name is Carole, they were her cousins.  So Mike and I got to chit chat and use our paltry Finnish language today.  It was a treat.  (A good change–instead of avoiding new and interesting people, I embraced them today.)

Then we attended the Knollwood FireDepartment’s pancake breakfast.  Usually I would get 4 pancakes, 4 pieces of sausage, 2 cartons of chocolate milk, coffee and dessert.  (cupcakes)  Today I had 2 pancakes with sugar-free syrup, 2 sausage patties and a cup of coffee,  It was delicious and it was enough.  I made the best choices available to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast.

So…mission accomplished.  I am thankful for forgiveness, and for changes and for a God who loves me and wants what is best for me.  He is ever faithful, and he holds each of us as precious.  Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Uncategorized

Cleaning House–Inside and Out

4 Comments

Day 77 in my expedition to  Walt Disney World and my dear pal Mickey

I’ve been picking away at projects today around the house.

  1. I straightened and reorganized the bookcase in my living room.
  2. I worked on reorganizing our DVDs.
  3. I changed our bedding.
  4. I put aside some clothes for Good Will.
  5. And I put some time in cleaning up my roll-top desk and purging old books and papers.

It feels so good to work on things that have been so neglected for, well, years really.  There is a feeling of accomplishment.  It is satisfying to be a good steward of all God’s blessings.

It made me think…I have not been a good steward of the body that God gave me, not for years…maybe not for all my years.  And now that I am  making healthier choices and moving more, maybe these stomach issues that I am having are my body’s way of purging toxins.  The empty calories that I forced into my body for years, are evacuating the premises now.

Change is often painful, visceral.  But when you know it’s the right thing to do, you just have to stay the course and trust that God is in control of the details.  So my plan for today is to think about these deep thoughts, and to pray for God’s help and guidance.  He is ever faithful, and I am ever grateful!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: Mike, my love-of-my-life husband, had his one year post-cancer checkup last Thursday.  There is no detectable cancer.  Thank you, Jesus!  We are over the moon!

Uncategorized

Date with a Dude

4 Comments

Day 76 in my undertaking to be as healthy as possible, for a woman my age in the condition I’m in, when I meet Mickey at the Magic Kingdom in October 2015

I have a date at 3:30 today with my personal Mayo Clinic Health Coach.  I have been blessed to meet with Alex by phone four times already and I have two more complimentary sessions.  As always he will want to hear any measurable progress, so here is what I have for him today:

  1. My emotions appear to be on a much more even keel.  I like living without the sugar highs and the inevitable lows of sugar crashes.  I find I have more patience with others and even with myself.
  2. I have more focus at work.  I can formulate plans and then follow through to accomplish tasks much more efficiently.
  3. I have more energy than I have had in a very long time.  I used to be exhausted at the thought of doing anything outside the norm.  Now I actually get excited about deviations from my schedule.  I think, “Ooh, what does God have for me today?” and I am more open to new ideas.
  4. And as a side-effect of making healthier choices, my scale says I’ve lost 24.8 pounds as of this morning.  But oh, what I have gained!

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

Uncategorized

Luxuriating in Lake Bluff

Leave a comment

Day 75 in my amble to the Magic Kingdom and my friend Mickey

My plan for today is to take a walk.  I hope to take a twenty minute walk after work today.  It is a beautiful day here in Lake Bluff, about 60 degrees and sunny.  There is a gentle breeze and plenty of fall color left to enjoy.

The merchants in town had an event yesterday from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm.  They stayed open late , had free samples, and most things were 10% off.

  1. So I stopped after work at “Spice Merchants,” a new shop in town.  I picked up some powdered cumin, and they even had powdered white vanilla that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else.  Whoop!  They also had some pre-packaged soup mixes, so I picked up a couple of those too.  This shop is a wonderful addition to our community.
  2. Then I wandered over to “Wisma” to shop for dinner.  What a great shop!  Gourmet foods made with organic ingredients, and oh by the way, the food is delicious!  Mike and I had butternut squash soup with pretzel rolls and chicken with polenta for dinner.  Plus I added plenty of fresh veg with Ranch dip.  What a feast!

So today I am going to stop and smell the fall in Lake Bluff.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

Uncategorized

Revisiting the Start

3 Comments

Day 72 in my return to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and my dear friend, Mickey

As I continue to fight this bug, it’s time to revisit why I started this blog…

I’m Donna and I have a delicious goal.  I want to work to be healthier and in better shape for my trip to Disney World in October 2015. There.  I’ve said it.  It’s down in black and white.

I LOVE Disney World.  I become a little girl again, and it is such a blessing to share this experience with my family.  There are 6 of us…until the grand-babies start to come along.  🙂 My husband Mike, my son Jake and his wife Eliza, my daughter Emi and her husband James and me.

“You’ve got tons of time,” you think.  But here’s is my dilemma.  I am 58 years old and morbidly obese.  If,  I can’t turn myself around, then I will not be able to walk enough to truly enjoy the parks.  I do not currently have the mobility, nor the flexibility, to become that Disney child again.

So here is my plan.  I want to do one thing every day for the next 14 months to get ready for Disney World in October 2015.   Today is Day 1, and I am starting this blog.

Can I do it?  We’ll see.  Maybe, by the grace of God and with some hard work every day, I can revel in each minute of our Disney vacation…

And so now, I am on my way.  I’ve come so far in 71 days, and I have so-o-o far to go.  My body is adjusting to the changes in diet and movement.  It’s tired and sore and upset, but I will carry on.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

 

Uncategorized

Domestic Goddess

2 Comments

Day 70 in my travails to meet Mickey

I woke up completely depleted and tired out this morning.  So my plan for today is to completely enjoy a day off from work at the church, and I am working around the house for some physical activity today.

  1. I took a shower and cleaned myself up this morning.
  2. I cleaned up my bedroom.
  3. I am doing laundry.
  4. I just put a “Mexican Bean Soup” in the oven to keep simmering until dinner tonight.  (Gotta keep my amazing man eating healthy, don’t I?)
  5. I will make a cornbread for us to enjoy with the soup, hot out of the oven.
  6. I will help clean up after dinner.
  7. And all day long I will stop and take deep, cleansing breaths and savor this day at home.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

Mexican Bean Soup: 3 cups of pinto beans, 2 carrots (cut in 2 inch pieces), half cup of zucchini (cut in 2 inch pieces), half a cup of corn, diced onion, diced garlic and spices ( cumin, chili powder, pepper, salt).  And because my Mikey is such a carnivore, I added a half pound of ham.    Mmmm-Mmmm good!  Thanks to “Recipes to Lower Your Fat Thermostat” for the recipe!

Uncategorized

Taking Steps to Change

Leave a comment

Day 68 in trucking toward Mickey

Yesterday’s plan was a success!  The VHS tape that I was looking for is titled, “The Lean Body Workout” with Cynthia Kereluk.  It was put out by Sybervision Systems.  It’s a lean body aerobics workout.  It has plenty of cardio with gentle movements for someone of my girth.  (I can properly use the word girth because the distance around my circumference is rather significant.)  🙂

It wasn’t where I thought I had last seen it, but Mike went into the maze that is our basement and came upstairs with it.  He’s just the best!  So…tomorrow you can pretty much guess what my plan will be…

Today, however, my plan is this: I want to go for a twenty minute walk after work today.  Maybe I’ll stop in town on the way home and walk there.  The fall colors are really blooming in Lake Bluff this week, so I will revel in their beauty as I stroll through town.  I may wax poetic here, but the truth is I will be sweating and huffing and puffing my way up and down the blocks.  But maybe, just maybe, I’ll be whistling a happy tune in my head, too.  🙂

Meet you at the Kingdom!

Uncategorized

Efforts to Unearth the Past

4 Comments

Day 67 in my amble toward a meeting with my favorite mouse

Yesterday was interesting.  I did remain sugar-free.  Yippee!  And I looked for a dance tape that I have from years back.  Yup, straight up VHS.  It’s from a program called “The Neuropsychology of Weight Control” by SyberVision Systems.  The program was really good, and talked about the “glycemic index” long before I had heard it anywhere else.  It suggested a cookbook called “Recipes to Lower Your Fat Thermostat” by LaRene Gaunt which I have used often in the last 20 years.  And it came with an exercise VHS with a really pleasant woman, who talked you through several levels: beginner, intermediate and hard core.  I CANNOT remember the name of the tape.  ARGH!  But she even counted down one time in Finnish, the language of half my peeps.  So cool…and motivational!

So today’s plan is to continue the search for my awesome VHS cardio workout.  And to remain sugar-free.  And to make the best choices I can today.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: My goals for yesterday were accomplished.  And I did a 15 minute McDonald’s cardio workout DVD for the dance portion of my workout, followed by a five minute cool down walk.  I still miss Emi, but it’s good to get back to the routine of work and daily life.