Tag Archives: Magic Kingdom

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Busy Days

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Day 86 as I dine to be healthier to meet up with Mickey

Today is just plain busy.  I have work all day at the church and then I have  a meeting tonight back at the church.  So my plan for today is to keep my nose to the grindstone, move around as much as possible today at work, then go home and cook a delicious, nutritious meal for my hard-working man and me.  I think baked salmon and baked sweet potato with plenty of fresh veggies with ranch and/or hummus dip.  It makes me salivate to think about it.  Tonight we dine in style!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Day of Rest and Remembrance

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Day 85 in my trip toward meeting up with Mickey

God created the whole world in six days, and then he rested on the seventh day.  So, me too.  My plan for today is…me, too.  So I thoroughly enjoyed my extra hour of sleep last night, got up this morning for church and went and rested my spirit in the House of the Lord.

We had a Damascus Road service this morning.  (Our contemporary band) During the Hymn of the Day, congregants were invited to walk up front and light a candle for those that they love who have passed away.  So as we sang “For All the Saints,” that is exactly what happened.  Each family lit a taper off of the Paschal Candle, then placed it in a sand tray.  The tray is a beautiful, wooden octagonal tray handcrafted with loving care by…Mike Jarvi, my darling husband.  As this procession happened I couldn’t help but think about Mike’s dad Eino.  He handcrafted 2 crosses and 2 sets of loaves and fishes which hang on the walls at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Champion, MI.  (One set for inside the church and one set for outside the church.)  I thought about the circle of life, and I thought about the saints who have come and gone in our lives.

Then during communion I sang the first verse of “Shall We Gather at the River” a cappella as a solo.  As the other members of the band came back from communion, they joined in.  First an alto, then a tenor, finally a bass.  By the end of the song there was beautiful four part harmony, and it was glorious!  It’s like heaven, right?  There are voices there now singing God’s praises.  And every day, every minute, another voice joins the choir up there.  And the choir just keeps getting bigger and bigger and louder and louder.  Holy wah!  My mom and dad are up there singing.  I can hear their voices now.  Dad–loud and proud on melody.  Mom–harmonizing in her sweet soprano.  It makes me weep tears of joy!  I look forward to singing with them again someday.  God is good, all the time!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Errand Girl…Errant Girl?

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Day 84 in my mission to mingle with Mickey

Errant Girl: My Pumpkin Spice Latte and my Pina Colada cupcake yesterday were yummy!  So tasty.   BUT I definitely experienced the inevitable post sugar-ingesting crash.  The sugar from the latte contributed to an early afternoon sugar coma/nap.  The sugar, from the cupcake at dinner, helped keep me up until 1:00 am.  I felt sluggish and and listless this morning.

So today’s plan was to get a bunch of errands done…Errand Girl.  And I did!  Here’s the list:

  1. shower and wash my hair
  2. clip my nails
  3. pluck my chin hairs (I hate this part of aging!)
  4. do some laundry
  5. pick up a few groceries
  6. input the music for a new Lamb of God on “Sybelius” for the congregation and for Damascus Road to use during Advent through Lent
  7. write bills for this pay period
  8. go to the post office, buy stamps and mail said bills
  9. figure out our tithe for 2015 and prepare our pledge card for Commitment Sunday (November 9)
  10. plan our menu for the week
  11. write a store list for grocery shopping tomorrow
  12. help prepare dinner
  13. do the dishes.

Whew!  Sure beats sitting in my chair all day, eating junk food and slipping in and out of simple-carb comas/naps.  Winning!!

So, gentle readers, there is progress being made.  And by the grace of God,  I have left sugar behind me again until Thanksgiving Day.  I will most likely have another sugary latte and a piece of pumpkin pie.  But I will follow it with a 5K walk on the following Saturday.  (Well, as far as I can make it anyway…)  🙂

Meet you at the Kingdom!

 

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Ode to the Pumpkin Spice Latte on Halloween

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Day 83 in my destiny to dance with Mickey

“O Pumpkin Spice Latte, I love you.  I do.  When October winds blow, my mind turns to you.  When I’m freezing my patootie off, you warm me right through.  O Pumpkin Spice Latte, I love you.  I do.

O Pumpkin Spice Latte, I love you.  I do.  You’re a cinnamony, gingery pumpkin delight, with just enough sugar to give me a fright.  Today I savor you without any fear, then leave you behind until Thanksgiving is here.

O Pumpkin Spice Latte, I love you I do.  And to your sweet taste I will always be true.  I can’t drink too many, my blood sugar is the cue, but Pumpkin Spice Latte, I love you.  I do.”

Ahhh…I am enjoying my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the year.  (I ordered a venti decaf skim Pumpkin Spice Latte with no whip.  Yum!   Starbucks could make a fortune if they would just create a “Skinny Pumpkin Spice Latte.”  Their “Skinny” drinks are made with skim milk and sugar-free syrups.  I have tried Skinny Vanilla Lattes, Skinny Hazelnut Lattes, Skinny Caramel Lattes and my personal favorite Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Lattes.  They are delicious!  Come on, geniuses, invent!!!  How hard can it be to take the sugar out???

Anyway my plan for today is to savor my drink and pick up a cupcake for Mike and I for our Halloween treat tonight.  And I really do want to get out there and take that walk on the wild side.  It is freezing here in Lake Bluff with gale force winds, but no snow accumulation yet.  PTL!  Pray I don’t blow away, or become the victim of a “Widow Maker.”

Happy Halloween, dear readers!  Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: Mike worked at a sawmill for a bit when he was working his way through college.  They called very windy days Widow Makers, because in the woods limbs could snap off at any time and come crashing down on the workers, thus making their wives widows.  How’s that for a macabre Halloweeny thought?  🙂

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Salad and Conversation

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Day 82 in my attempt to accomplish something everyday to be as healthy as I possibly can be when I go to the Magic Kingdom to meet Mickey next October

This evening, after a full day of work and before a contemporary band rehearsal tonight, I get to meet up with some dear friends at the Silo, our local watering hole.  Some of these friends I blessedly get to see often, and some of these friends I seldom get to see.  What a treat!!  What a joy!!

So here’s my 2-part plan for today:

  1. Rather than ordering pizza (the best deep-dish pizza in Chicagoland in my very prejudiced opinion), I will order a salad.  Now before you feel too sorry for me, this salad has spinach, romaine lettuce, steak, roasted garlic, red onions and bleu cheese crumbles.  Huh?  And it comes with warm bread.  I will either split this with my honey, or take half of it home (if Mike wants pizza or a something else).  Ahhh…YUM!
  2. I will focus on the conversation and the company, rather than my usual pattern of zoning in on the food (and making the company second best).

So today’s plan is very do-able, and I need that today.  Tomorrow we are predicted to have gale-force winds, rain, and snow flurries.  Instead of cowering inside, I want to take a walk on the wild side and get out there in the elements.  It may be one of the shortest walks in history, but it will be a walk.  Stay tuned to see details on how that turns out.  🙂 And due to the weather, I may put my celebratory Halloween cupcake off for a day.  I hate driving far in nasty weather!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, dear friends, and thank you for your support.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

 

 

 

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Harsh Realities and Happy Planning

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Day 81 in my migration toward meeting Mickey

Well, I danced like no one was watching last night.  It was fun…and tiring, but it was good to do it.

I don’t know how hard is too hard to push myself physically.  As soon as I push through the pain to walk further, my hip starts aching something fierce, my knees start snapping at me, my back throws in the towel and my upset stomach rears up.   I end up so sore and feeling so lousy that I am absolutely discouraged, so I end up taking several days to recover enough to be able to do it again.  I haven’t “listened” to my body for years.  Now I am hearing it loud clear.  And it is saying, “Slow and easy wins the race.  Rome (nor this gargantuan body) wasn’t built in a day.  Patience is a virtue.”  I know, right?  My body speaks in clichés…who knew?  But it is very clear to me that I need to take it slowly.

So today’s plan is to spend some time putting together our dates for the trip to Walt Disney World.

  1. What date can I call and book our rooms at Old Key West (11 months prior to check-in)?
  2. What date do I make our dinner/lunch reservations?  (180 days prior to check-in)?
  3. What date do I book Mickey’s-Not-So-Scary Halloween tickets?
  4. What date do I reserve our Magical Express ride from the airport to Old Key West and back?
  5. When do I purchase my Tables in Wonderland discount card?  (A discount dining perk that saves 20% on most meals)
  6. When do I register for my Fastpass+ choices? (60 days prior to check-in?)
  7. When shall I book our flights?

Much to do, but it’ll be fun research while I wait for my spine to quick clicking when I walk.  This getting older is not for the faint of heart.  🙂

Meet you at the Kingdom!

 

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Best Laid Plans…

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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!

 

 

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Dancing Queen

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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!

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Worship and Wandering

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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!

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Cleaning House–Inside and Out

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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!