Tag Archives: Magic Kingdom

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My Jam for the Journey

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Day 98 in my musical march to Mickey

My plan for today was to get my i-pod shuffle re-synced and ready to use at the Health and Fitness club.  I chose the pop-iest of pop songs with a good dose of Christmas music for good measure.

  • Shake It Off by Taylor Swift
  • What a Glorious Night by Sidewalk Prophets (love, love, love this song)
  • Baby by Justin Bieber
  • The Bell That Wouldn’t Jingle by Tijuana Brass
  • Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer
  • Let It Snow by Gloria Estefan
  • American Dream by Rhythm and the Doghouse
  • Baby Face by Rhythm and the Doghouse
  • Baton Rouge by  Rhythm and the Doghouse

And more.  It was a fun task picking out light songs that make me want to move.   I boogied my way through the music, and I am now anticipating my first trip to the track.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: Happy birthday, dear Julie, happy birthday to you!!

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In the Sweet Spot

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Day 97 in my exciting adventure toward my date with Mickey

My plan for today was to meet with my Health Coach, and I did.  My two goals for the next four weeks are:

  1. Try out walking at the Lake Bluff Health and Fitness Center sprung track.  It is right on my way home from work, so no excuses to not drop in there.  The sprung track will make walking easier on my sore joints.
  2. Research and adjust my holiday recipes, so they are more nutritious and not so filled with empty calories.

Friendly little facts that are making my life exciting:

  • I always weigh myself before I talk to Alex, my heath coach.  And…tan-ta-ta-a-da…I made my 30 pounds this morning!!!  So exciting! I’m very happy about that.
  • OMGosh…Starbuck’s has a Skinny Peppermint Mocha.  I got one yesterday with decaf.  It might be my favorite treat EVER!
  • Jake & Emi (our kid)s, Eliza and James (their spouses), Mike (my amazing husband) and I are booked into Old Key West for our vacation in October.  I have our 5-day Park Hopper passes in hand.  And they are all connected up on “My Disney Experience.”

So right now, gentle readers, life is very good at the Jarvi household. Meet you the Kingdom!

BTW: Shout out to Chris, my wonderful work partner.  (Prayers coming your way, my friend! )  She fell and broke her wrist yesterday.  If you have a sec, offer up a quick prayer for her today.  Thanks, all y’all!

 

 

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We’re Booked!

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Day 96 in my dash to Disney and Mickey

What shall I post about today…hmmm…what’s new and exciting around here?   GAH!

Today’s plan was to call Member Services at Disney Vacation Club and book rooms at Disney’s Old Key West Resort for our trip in October.  AND I DID!  WOOP!  We are booked for a 3-bedroom grand villa for 8 glorious nights.  The villa has a full kitchen, dining room, living room, the aforementioned 3 bedrooms with 3 accompanying full bathrooms,  washer, dryer and a hot tub.  Personally, I think we should just move there.  🙂

Man, I am so excited.  I made sure to only drink one cup of decaf today.  I have had no caffeinated food or beverages today, and I am still all jacked up.  This stuff is gettin’ real!  Woo hoo!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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A Bum Peg

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Day 95 as I sashay toward Mickey

Best laid plans, people, best laid plans…Last Sunday I spent 2 hours walking and shopping at Sam’s Club.  In the process I lifted some pretty big and heavy things into and then out of my cart.  (Aren’t most things that you buy at Sam’s Club big and heavy?)  Then on Monday I helped load up a minivan with food for a homeless shelter.  Again, some of that was very heavy stuff.

Well, yesterday the effort came home.  My left knee is pretty swollen and wracked up.  It wasn’t too bad when I left for work yesterday, so I left my cane at home.  By the time I got through the day and back home, I was in excruciating pain.  I popped some Alleve, plopped into my recliner and elevated my leg.  Mike waited on me all night, like the champion he is.

Thank God, the leg is not so sore today.  However, I brought my cane to work anyway and loaded up with Motrin before I left for work this morning.

So, here’s today’s plan: I will pamper my leg and not do anything too taxing today.  I will however do “sit down” Tai Chi when I get home.  It will help to alleviate the work-day stress, while not putting any pressure on my sore peg*.   (*See BTW below)

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW:  My great-grandfather had a peg-leg, because he lost a leg in WWI.  (The war to end all wars…really?)  That’s why my mother, whose given name was Elizabeth, was nicknamed Peggy.  She would walk around behind her grandfather imitating his walk.  Today, I am imitating them both.  🙂

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Pay Day–Weigh Day

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Day 94 in my Mickey-meeting journey

My plan for today was to weigh myself.  I keep trying to not have any expectations, so I won’t have any disappointment when I step on the scale.  After all, that’s why I’m only weighing myself once a month.  The scale depresses me, in general, so weighing less often is better for my psyche.

But let’s get real.  I was hoping to be 30 pounds down when I stepped on the scale today.  What I found when I stepped on the scale is that in the last 94 days, I have lost 28.6 pounds.  And instead of being elated that I’ve lost 28.6 pounds, I was a little disappointed that it was not 30 pounds.

I guess after 40+ years of dieting, it’s just my human nature to want more.  But here’s the thing: I already feeling the difference.  I feel it in the way my clothes fit and in my ability to be a better employee and in the improvements I see around my home.  I just plain have more energy.  I owe it all to nutritious foods and more movement.  I quit “dieting” and I am down 28.6 pounds.  Halle-j-lujah!

And so I press on, dear readers.  Thank you for taking this journey with me.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: I really owe “it all” to the God who loves me, who considers me precious and keeps me close.  A God who is the King, which makes me a princess…a princess who is 28.6 pounds down.  🙂

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Rewarding Manuel Labor

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Day 93 in making my way to a healthier me to meet up with Mickey

My plan for today is to help to load up the food for the PADS program at work/church.  PADS is a non-profit organization that provides temporary shelter for the homeless.  Once a month our church, St. James, takes on the task of providing the dinner meal, along with food for breakfast and a sack lunch the next day to a PADS site.  Today is PADS day, so I will:

  1. roll the cart with the non-perishables, out to our volunteer’s minivan
  2. unload the non-perishables
  3. roll the cart back through the building to the kitchen
  4. load up the perishables from the refrigerator and freezer
  5. roll the cart out to our volunteer’s minivan…again
  6. unload the perishables into the minivan
  7. give the volunteer a hug.

I like the idea of being helpful, rather than sitting at my desk and typing while she does all the heavy lifting.  It’s good to have some energy to be able to help.  Thank you, Lord, for nutritious foods, and thank you for the ability to be moving more!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

 

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Evidence of More Energy

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Day 92 in my run to rendezvous with Mickey

Wow!  I can hardly believe I’ve been at this for 92 days now.  What an interesting and rewarding quest this has been so far.

My plan for today was to go to church and worship the God who loves me.  I am so-o-o grateful for Jesus.  And for a Father who would sacrifice his Son for me (for us!)  And for the Spirit who dwells here among us in this world that can be so difficult to live in.  So, I went to church this morning, sought forgiveness for my daily sins, sang praises and experienced the peace that passes understanding.  Thank you, Lord!

Mike and I have played/sung in church for the last six weeks.  Here’s the rundown:

  1. October 5–we played with Damascus Road at our home church St. James
  2. October 12–we played with our bestest besties, the Carlson family, at their home church in Ishpeming, MI.
  3. October 19–Damascus Road again
  4. October 26–we were asked to provide special music at the early service at St. James on Reformation Sunday (We did Paul Baloche’s Mighty Fortress–fantastic song!)
  5. November 2–Damascus Road again
  6. November 9 (today)–Damascus Road again

Whew!  I’m tired just thinking about it.  92 days ago, I would never have agreed to play 6 weeks in a row.  92 days ago I wouldn’t have had the energy to get through it.  I am so grateful to be 92 days in!

After church today we went out to breakfast with Jake (our son), Eliza (our daughter-in-law) and some of her family.  It was such a lovely time together!  Feeling blessed!

Then we went to Sam’s Club to shop and I spent 2 hours walking and shopping and in motion.  I am whipped, but 92 days ago I wouldn’t have had the energy to do it.  So I am going to snooze in front of the TV for a while now.

Meet you at the Kingdom, dear readers!

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My Crush on Bill Curtis

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Day 91 in my waltz toward the land of Walt and my favorite mouse Mickey My plan for today is to take a walk.  We are going to the local high school for a 4:00 pm event put on as a fundraiser for the local historical society.  The event will feature a Q & A with Bill Curtis and his lovely wife Donna La Pietra.  Now those of you who have lived in Chicagoland for long enough will remember that Bill was the anchor of the channel 2 news for a while.  My personal favorite anchor ever.  And Donna was the producer of their broadcast.  They have worked together ever since and have produced some amazing in-depth programming. I kind of hope to redeem myself by remaining cool, calm and collected.  When Mike (my main man) had some of his pieces featured in an art show at Navy Pier, Mike’s boss threw a lovely dinner event in his honor.  Bill Curtis was one of the attendees.  He came over to our table to chat with Mike.  He said, “Hello, I’m Bill Curtis.”  I could have been so cool and acted above this situation.  But being me,  I blurted out, “Yeah, you are!”  Then I promptly turned 50 shades of…red! So today I will remain a safe distance away from Bill and Donna.  And I will reign in my “groupie” tendencies.  🙂 Then when we get back to the farm, I will walk home…in the dark…in the cold…just because I can. Meet you at the Kingdom! BTW: I’ve decided to walk outside until it gets too icy to manage.  Then Lake Bluff Health and Fitness, here I come.

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Tooth Matters

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Day 89 in my moves to be healthier when I meet up with Mickey

My plan for today is to go to the dentist and have them work on making my smile healthier.  I leave work today at 2:30 for a dentist appointment.  Ironic, right?  2:30 & tooth hurty?  As a pre-diabetic, oral hygiene becomes rather critical, because any type of  infection takes much longer to heal.  So I will go to be poked and prodded and scolded and cleaned and humbled.  But my teeth will feel better (with a little time) when I’m done.

How is your smile, gentle readers?  I’m convinced that the world needs more smiles and less suspicious glances.  Let’s just do it.  Let’s just be so grateful for all God is and does that we smile more.  🙂

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Warming Up Inside and Out

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Day 87 in my migration to the Magic Kingdom and Mickey

My plan for today is to cook.  I have a simple dinner planned for Mike and I tonight.  Nibbles and bits and plenty of fresh veggies.

Then after dinner I plan to make a lovely Wild Rice and Veggie Chowder for tomorrow night’s dinner.  The Spice Merchant, a new shop in downtown Lake Bluff, has soup packets ready to go.  Here are the ingredients for the soup: wild rice, parboiled brown rice, potato flakes, peas, carrots, tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, onions, celery, Savoy cabbage, garlic, chives, tarragon, parsley and chervil.  Sounds good, right?  And soups are just so much better when they’ve had a day to sit, don’t you think?

Mike has friends who are pheasant hunters, but they don’t like to eat the meat.  Luckily, we do like to eat the meat.  Mike cooked up several birds last night in the oven.  I will take what I need to supplement the soup, then we will use the rest of the meat for pot pies.

In the pot pies, we use little salt and just some chicken or vegetable broth for moisture rather than gravy.  Onions, potatoes, peas and carrots in a whole wheat crust.  Mmmm, mmmm, good.

Comfort food (soup and pot pie) just sounds so good as the weather turns cooler and the nights get longer.

Meet you at the Kingdom!