Tag Archives: healthy eating

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Digging Deep

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Day 123 in my trek to the Kingdom that is Magic and my friend Mickey.

Today’s plan is to take good care of my self:

  1. I went to the doctor’s this morning and had some blood drawn.  I am doing my best to stay 2 steps ahead of diabetes.  I am prediabetic and controlling it well with diet and exercise.
  2. I had a salad and a piece of fruit for lunch today.
  3. We are eating dinner out tonight, and I will once again have a salad.
  4. I am planning to get up early tomorrow and head to Lake Bluff Health and Fitness to walk before work.

Christmas is just 2 weeks away, and I want to dig deep and be as good to my body as possible.  Maybe it will help me to make healthier choices on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, too.  Here’s hoping!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: All prayers are being accepted for my brother Gary who is going through some major health issues right now.  Please lift him up in prayer with me.  God bless!

 

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KISS

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Day 122 in my strategies to spend time with Mickey

This is my busiest time of the year as a church secretary.  I have extra bulletins to prepare, extra lessons to prepare, extra just-about-everything to prepare.  I am definitely more stressed about work than at other time of the year.  You know that picture of the kitten holding on for dear life as he hangs from a rod?  Yeah…that’s me this time of year.

So my plan for today is to keep it simple.  I will go home after work and prepare a dinner of baked chicken breasts with vegetables.  If Mike or I crave a starch with dinner, then we have a delicious multigrain bread to go with it.  KISS–that me today.  Keep It Simple, Smartypants.  🙂

Back to work.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Just Another Manic Monday

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Day 121 in my adventures in preparing to meet Mickey in October        (10 months and 5 days to go)

Ahhh…another Monday.  A new beginning, a chance to have an even better week.  So my plan for today was to get up early and go to Lake Bluff Health and Fitness to walk on my way to work.  I did it..again on a Monday…in icy cold drizzle under gray skies.  It does feel great to have my plan for the day accomplished early in the morning.  Tonight we will have a veggie filled, delicious dinner, and I will put this day to bed in a sugar-free, exercised, healthy day-way.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: Is anyone out there watching The Red Tent on Lifetime?  It was off to a great start last night, and tonight it wraps up.  Very interesting.  It’s on at 8:00 CST and 9:00 EST.  It’s worth the watch.  The two hour program called, Women of the Bible, was really good last night, too.  It was a nice break from all the Hallmark Christmas movies.  🙂

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The Choices We Make

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Day 120 in my journey to better choices until (and after) I meet up with Mickey at the Magic Kingdom

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Donna.  She loved the month of December.  Her birthday was in December.  Her brother’s birthday was in December.  New Year’s Eve was in December, and the holy of holies, Christmas was in December.  (And later her other brother and sister-in -law were married in December.)  At her house it was party, party, party all month long.  For the entire month there were amazing goodies in the house: chocolates, Christmas cookies, birthday cake, ice cream, nuts, flavored popcorn, Lifesavers books, candy canes, soda pop, homemade coffee cakes, etc…  It was a month of sugar highs and, of course, the crashes that followed those sugar highs.

The little girl grew to be not-so-little as she indulged in all the available goodies.  By the time she made it to Junior High, it was a real problem.

My plan for today is to spend time thinking about the choices that I have made in my life to gain the weight that I carry today.  And I will continue to seek new choices for a healthier lifestyle.  In past years I would have gained 2 to 5 pounds so far this holiday season.  With another 2 to 5 added by New Year’s Day.  I know I haven’t gained weight this year; I can feel it.  I don’t know if I have lost weight, but I’ll let you know on Thursday, my next payday-weigh  day.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

Going deeper: I was a little girl who developed very early.  My mom took me to JC Penney’s when I was in third grade to get my first bra.  (blush)  Even at that very young age, I would overhear people talking to my mom about how quickly I was developing.  I didn’t like it.  I really do believe that subconsciously I decided to pad myself to hide how quickly I was developing.  Hmmm..interesting.

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Practicing New Behaviors

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Day 119 in my pilgrimage to party with Mickey

Today was all about changing past patterns.  We had our Annual Women of St. James Cookie Exchange today.  Usually that meant chipping in something that was easy, like coffee cake or juice.  arriving late, leaving early, and piling cookies in a box to take home.  Then once again at home I would put the cookies in the freezer with the best intentions of leaving them there until Christmas Eve.  Then I would proceed to nibble away at them until there were hardly any left for Christmas Eve.

Today I got up early to cook 96 mini-quiches to bring along.  I arrived at the church early.  I volunteered to share a story book with the ladies.  I helped to plate cookies for the bake sale tomorrow benefitting a local food pantry.  Then I left for home with no cookies.  I decided the best way to not eat a bunch of cookies this year, is to not have them in the house.  We are going away for Christmas this year, so no need to serve up Christmas cookies here on Christmas Eve.

I did, however, come home with a box of oranges from the high school band fruit sale.  I think I’ll go and enjoy one right now.  Have a lovely day, dear readers.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Doing the Hard Work

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Day 114 as I walk toward Mickey at the Magic Kingdom (10 months and 12 days to go!)

Today’s plan was to get up early, head to the Lake Bluff Health and Fitness Club and walk before work this morning…and…mischief managed!  I did it…on a Monday…in single-digit wind chills.  That’s a bit of a miracle.  Hallelujah!  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Philippians 4:13.  To God be the glory!

I step on the scale again on December 11.  I’m so curious to know how things went over the Thanksgiving holiday.  I did adjust the menu and some of the recipes to make them healthier.  Then Mike and I went to an Advent Dinner at church last night.  Again I chose carefully at the buffet table, and instead of loading up my plate with several of the scrumptious desserts on display, (like I have in years past) I only had a bit of Carol Bennett’s famous rice pudding with boysenberry sauce.  What a treat!  Carol, you never cease to amaze!

I like the way I feel.  I just feel better, healthier, more energetic.  Sore, too, from walking, but even that is a good sore.  It sure beats the soreness that was setting in from sitting too much!

Thank you so much, dear readers, for all your encouraging words.  I appreciate you more than you will ever know.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Happy New (Church) Year!

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Day 113

Today’s plan is two-fold:

  1. Go to worship the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with our St. James family.  What a wonderful way to celebrate the Sabbath!  Happy New Year everyone!  As today is the First Sunday in Advent, it begins the new church year.  It’s a time for new beginnings, and, for me, it’s another opportunity to recommit myself to living a healthier lifestyle.  It is the life God wants for me, and because I want to serve him, it’s the life I want for me, too.
  2. Make a healthier version of a Barbecued Meatball recipe that has become a favorite at the Advent Dinner at St. James.  (Props to my sister-in-love Julie for the fantastic recipe!)  I will substitute Splenda for the sugar and use low-sugar catsup.  I’m so excited to take the sugar out, and get to still enjoy these delicious meatballs.

Peace to you all as we begin this hectic season.  My family has decided no Christmas gifts this year.  Our gift will be time spent together (Facetime with Emi and James) and sending some money to charities, such as: ELCA World Hunger & Heifer International.  Friends and Family take note: No Christmas gifts from or to the Jarvis this year.  🙂  May the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord!  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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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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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!