Tag Archives: Walt Disney World

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Retirement Joy

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Day 291 in making life changes to be healthier in mind, body and spirit when I meet up with Mickey Mouse at Magic Kingdom

Today’s plan was to submit my letter of retirement at work.  I am retiring from my job as secretary at St. James Lutheran Church.  Here is part of my retirement letter:

As you may know, I have recently been through a bout of cancer. In the process of being diagnosed and treated, it was found that I have several other health issues. These issues make it impossible to perform my job in a timely and efficient manner. So it is with some regret, but with more hope for the future, that I wish to retire from my position as Church Secretary as of December 31, 2015. I turn 60 in December, and I wish to spend my “golden years” writing and pursuing opportunities to volunteer as I am led.

Wow!  This is huge!  I believe with all my heart that this is the Lord’s leading.  I feel such a peace about it.  It’s nerve-wracking because our health insurance is through the church, but I will pursue our options and keep praying about it.  I never suspected when I became a card-carrying Democrat supporting Obamacare, that I might soon be using it. 🙂  I sure am glad it’s in place!

I so look forward to not having to drive to and from work in the snowy, icy winter weather.  AND I have three book ideas, that I am anxious to have the time to work on.  I am so excited about what God has in store for this next phase of my life!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: I have the most supportive husband!  He is my soul-mate, my best friend, my true love.  He is an amazing man of God, and I am so grateful for him!  Thank you, Jesus!

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Trying to Tidy

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Day 290 in my attempting to not sit on my can all day, so I can be healthier when I meet up with Mickey Mouse at Magic Kingdom in October (4 months and 18 days to go)

Today’s goal was all about getting ready to organize  and keep a tidier house.  A friend of mine has agreed to clean for me one day every two weeks.  She will start the day after tomorrow.  So today Mikie-mio, my dear one, and I went to Ace Hardware and stocked up: broom and dust pan, mop, dust mop, dusters, new toilet brush, cleaning products for kitchen, bathroom and the rest.  We hadn’t done a good cleaning product shop in 20 years at least.  Now we’re ready for my friend Diana to come and help me out.  Yay!

I picked up the book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo.  The only thing I really know from the book so far is one of the guiding principles: When you are tidying, if something does not still bring you joy, then out it goes.  Isn’t that a simply wonderful concept?  I believe this could make it much easier to get rid of stuff that I’ve been holding on to for years.

I’ve already done my spice shelves and medicine shelves and my canned goods selves.  They look so neat.  And today when we got home from our shopping spree, Mike put up hooks near our pantry wall that hold the mop, dust mop, dust pan, broom and dusters.  It’s looking good!

When my daughter, Emi comes for a visit one week from today (YAY!), she is going to help me clean out some stuff.  In particular: my bedroom closet, my shoes and my cookbooks.  Those three things are gargantuan tasks, and I will feel well on my way to a simpler, cleaner lifestyle once they are done.  Here’s hoping so anyway.

I’ll keep you posted as I progress.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: Thank you to those who gave their all, so that we can live free. Blessed Memorial Day to all.  As we remember those we love, may God be with us with his comforting presence.

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Sabbath Joy

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Day 289 in my pilgrimage to meet up with Mickey

Today’s plan was to (1) go to worship to praise the God who loves me, (2) give a sister in Christ a new copy of Birnbaum’s 2015 Walt Disney World: The Official Guide and (3) have a family of four who are new to our church over for brunch.

  1. Today our summer schedule began: one service each Sunday at 9:30 am.  The service was such a blessing!  Since today is Pentecost Sunday, our first reading was from the Second Chapter of Acts.  This chapter is all about the coming of the Holy Spirit.  We heard verses of it read in ten different language, including Greek, Hausa (a Northern Nigerian language), French, Catalan, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Latin and Hindi.  It was very powerful.  And then during the Lord’s Prayer, each of these readers recited it in their language.  Awesome!
  2. Melinda Voelcker is a dear sister in Christ.  She was the Worship Leader at our Cafe Chocolat Retreat.  Then she filled in for me as director of our contemporary band, Damascus Road, while I was recuperating from my recent surgery.  She and her husband are taking their two daughters to Walt Disney World in October for the first time. I told her she needed what I consider to be the definitive guide:Birnbaum’s 2015 Walt Disney World: The Official Guide, so I picked one up for her. I’m so excited for them!  They will have a ball, for sure!
  3. We had a lovely few hours with the Bakfwash family: Yakubu, Diana, Faith and Teyphyra.  How wonderful to hear of their lives and to share ours with them.  I look forward to getting to know them better as we continue to worship together.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Busy and Blessed

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Day 288 in my striving to be healthier to meet up with Mickey in October at Magic Kingdom  (4 months and 20 days to go)

Today’s plan was to take care of some personal business.  I first drove back to the church where I work, because I wore my computer glasses home yesterday, rather than my everyday glasses.  My computer glasses are only effective at the distance from the computer to my chair, so they make it difficult to read, drive, watch TV, or anything else outside that range.  Since it is Memorial Day weekend, I chose to get my glass so I can see properly to enjoy the long weekend.

Next I treated myself to breakfast at Eggsperience, in Bannockburn.  I had an egg white and veggie omelet with mozzarella (I ate about half of it and took the rest home), one piece of rye toast with butter and a skim cappuccino.  Wow!  A healthy and delicious start to a busy day!

Then I went to Bent Fork Bakery in Highwood.  We are having a lovely Nigerian family of four over to brunch tomorrow after church.  Mike (my sweetest) will make kropsua, a Finnish pancake.  (It’s actually a lot like Yorkshire pudding, except you cook it in butter rather than in beef drippings.)  We will also have fresh cut-up fruit, sausage, juice, coffee, sweet rolls from the Bent Fork (for my guests and Mikie, not for me) and bacon.  (Speaking of bacon: it is really hard to find bacon without sugar in it.  I was shocked!!  I finally found some that claims to have not more that 2% sugar, so I grabbed that.)  I’m looking forward to visiting with the Bakfwash family tomorrow!

Next I went and knocked off our weekly grocery shopping.  This was a huge undertaking for me, as I continue to recover from major surgery.  My doc told me to listen to my body and if something hurts, I should quit doing it.  So with that in mind I moved at a turtle’s pace through the store, and when I felt my tiring, I skipped the last few items on the list.  A lovely Heinens worker helped me to the car and loaded the groceries for me.  (In the course of our visit, I found out he will turn 20 on Monday, and wants a cookout for his birthday.  Luckily Heinens is closed on Memorial Day, so he is off.  Isn’t that a wonderful policy?  I dig it!)

Then I went home where Mikie unloaded the groceries.  (I am not supposed to lift more that 10 pounds for 16 weeks at least.)

Whew!  A productive and beautiful (thank you, Lord, for this glorious weather) day.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Friday Night Feast

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Day 287 in my becoming healthier to meet up with Mickey in October

My plan for today in eating healthier was to try out a new recipe.  I turned to my current favorite cookbook Betty Crocker 30 Minute Meals for Diabetes.  I decided to try Steak Marsala .

Prep time: 20 minutes  Start to finish: 20 minutes  4 servings  Carbohydrate choices 0

Ingredients:

  1. 4 beef tenderloin steaks, 3/4 inch think (about one pound)
  2. 1/2 tsp salt
  3. 1/4 tsp pepper
  4. 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  5. 1 Tbs drained capers
  6. 1/2 cup Marsala wine or nonalcoholic wine

Directions:

  1. Sprinkle both sides of each beef steak with salt and pepper.  Rub with garlic.  Spray 10-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat.  Add beef; cook 6 to 8 minutes, turning once, until desired doneness.  Remove beef from skillet; cover and keep warm.
  2. Add capers and wine to skillet.  Heat to boiling over high heat.  Cook uncovered 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until liquid is slightly reduced.  Serve over beef.

It was delicious!  Like close-your-eyes so you can really appreciate the taste and texture delicious!  There is a bit of sticker shock on this though.  I ended up paying $28 for the steaks.  I justified it by realizing that it is four steak dinners for the price.  I had a small leftover baked potato in the refrigerator, which I fried up.  Then I made us each a large romaine, green pepper, yellow pepper and broccoli salad.  Mike topped it off with rye bread and butter.  Tonight we feasted like royalty!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Fangirl

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Day 286 on my way to hug Mickey in October

Today’s goal was to be as productive as possible during my four hours at work while trying to listen to my body and slow down as necessary.  I did work very hard today, but I pushed it a bit too far again.  I’m starting to wonder, if I’m ever going to be able to work a full day.  I am exhausted!  Yet I am encouraged, too.  It feels good to do normal things a bit more.  I will keep praying for patience and for strength to see me through.

I want to share about some absolutely fun greeting cards that I found.  There was a blurb on Facebook about them, so I clicked to take a look.  They are by Emily McDonald.  Google her to take a look.  Some are a bit too racy for me, but some I love!  For example:

  1. One more chemo down! Let’s celebrate with whatever doesn’t taste disgusting.
  2. You’re like a sister to me. Except I never hate you.
  3. I promise never to refer to your illness as a journey. Unless someone takes you on a cruise.
  4. Well, this just sucks.  I wish I had a better way to say it, but my brain feels totally stuck right now.  But I just want you to know that even though I might not always have exactly the right words, you will always have me.  I’m not going anywhere.  So I hope you’re cool with that.  Because I love you.

Fun, right?  She sells bags and other things, too.  I’m a fan!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Let Them Eat Cake

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Day 283 in progressing toward meeting up with Mickey

Today’s plan was to get up, get ready and go back to work.  My doctor cleared me for four hour days this week.  It did feel good to get back to something more normal; however, the four hours really kicked my butt!  But I did it!!  Woo hoo!  First step on the way back.

Yesterday at church, we received new members.  These are people who attended several classes about what it means to be a Lutheran, and particularly what it means to be a member at our church St. James Lutheran Church.  It was so wonderful to see these four new families with eight kids between them joining the fold.

After the service, there was a reception for them with CAKE!  It was half chocolate and half vanilla, all frosted in vanilla.  When the pastor announced the reception with cake, I promptly turned to Mike (my Sweetie) and said, “I am having a piece of cake today.”  He burst out laughing.  He so can understand what I’ve been through, and what I continue to go through as I heal.  And how very good I’ve been in my eating.

When we left the sanctuary, I ran into a sweet, little, tow-headed four-year-old girl named Isabella.  She promptly turned to me and said in Cookie Monster‘s voice, “There is cake!  I want cake!”  Isabella’s mother got her a piece of cake, and she settled down at a table to indulge.  As she ate she kept saying, again in a Cookie Monster voice, “Nom, nom, nom, CAKE!”  Then she would chat with me for a little bit.  Then she would say, “I want more cake!” and dive back in to her piece of cake.

I had to laugh.  Here was the personification about how I feel about cake, particularly white or yellow bakery cake with extremely sweet frosting.  I have had this love affair with cake since I was a very little girl, even younger than Isabella.  Yesterday, I ate four bites of my piece of cake and gave Mike the remaining four bites .  It was so delicious, and I enjoyed every bite as I watched Isabella savor her piece.  Then I walked away and didn’t look back.  I immediately went into cold-turkey mode and left sugar behind again.  People, this is huge!  I have never walked away from my piece of cake.  It’s just too tasty; I just like it too much.  It felt good to walk away and not let the cake decide how much I should eat.  I decided: four bites and out!  This is a mini-miracle for me.  Thank you, Jesus!

Today is my dear friend Jean’s birthday.  Happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday, dear Jeanzie!  Happy birthday to you…and many more!  I love you, Girl!  I hope you have cake.  🙂

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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What a Pollyanna!

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Day 282 in my attitude adjustment, as I try to grow, while I wait to meet up with Mickey Mouse at Magic Kingdom in October

Today my plan was to get up and go to church. I planned to open my heart to whatever God had for me there; whatever healing, whatever mercy, whatever message, whatever.  I went; God showed up, as he promises to do every time.  I am feeling blessed.

I want to share a saying I saw on FaceBook and Pinterest today: “I really just want to be the warm yellow light that pours out all over everyone I love.”  It is credited to Melissa Garcia from her Pinterest site called Quotes and Things.  Check it out.  I looked at her Pinterest site for 20 seconds and I was hooked.  I am now a follower.

“I really just want to be the warm yellow light that pours out all over everyone I love.”  I love this!  I hope and pray to be that for those I love.  I have some GREAT examples in my life: my brother Gene and his lovely wife Patsy, my cousin Lyn, my daughter Emi, my friend Shelly and many more. They have a gift for seeing the positive side of things, of seeing the good beyond the bad.  They are real silver lining, glass half-full people in my life and I am so grateful for them!

I know there are those who would say, “What a Pollyanna attitude!  What a bunch of Pollyannas!”  Have you every seen the Disney movie, Pollyanna?  It’s such a great portrait of what a positive attitude can do in life.  Here’s what Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has to say about it: “A young girl comes to an embittered town and confronts its attitude with her determination to see the best in life.”  Holy wah!  Is that cool, or what?  The movie has a great cast including: Hayley Mills, Jane Wyman and Richard Egan.  Check it out, if you can find it.  I love it, and will watch it again soon.

So I have decided to own being a Pollyanna.  I am going to revel in it.  I am going to wallow in it.  From now on, I choose to believe the best about people and about situations.  God can use every person and every situation to His glory.  I claim it, and I believe it.

Jump on this bandwagon with me, dear readers.  Let’s let God be the light that shines through us to others.  Woop woop!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Addictive Sugar

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Day 281 in my sugar battle on my way to Mickey

Today I want to think about my personal addiction: sugar. I came across something on FaceBook and Pinterest today.  It said, “FOOD is the most abused anxiety drug. EXERCISE is the most underutilized antidepressant.”  That one hit me right between the eyes. That has been my life-song in a nutshell.  God is walking me through this painful process of withdrawal from my addiction.  280 days ago when I began making a conscious effort to eliminate (as much as possible) sugar from my diet, I went through a week of headaches, fuzzy-headedness and some mild nausea.  It was not fun facing daily life without my drug, and for awhile I experienced some very scary lows.  Now I know chemically my blood sugar was trying to adjust, but at the time it felt like the lows of depression.  I wondered if I could gut it out.  But by the grace of God and with his help, I got through those early days.  My sugar addiction truly is an addiction, because some days it’s even too hard to take it a day at a time.  Sometimes I have to tell myself, “For the next hour, I won’t eat any sugar,” or “For the next ten minutes, I won’t eat any sugar.”  And then I have to tell myself that again and again and again.

Last week on the Today Show, they said that Americans are eating three times the daily recommended amount of sugar.  We are consuming twice as much sugar in a day as we were in the 70’s.  They went on to say that too much sugar leads to heart disease in adults, and it leads to diabetes in kids.  And doctors are finding a large rise in non-alcoholic, fatty liver disease.  These statistics were from added sugars only, not fruit sugars.

Isn’t that astounding?!?  There is so much sugar being added to our foods to enhance the taste that it is making us sick.  Sheesh!

Those of you who have been following for a while now, know that my dad was a high-functioning alcoholic.  He did a terrible number on his liver, because of his alcohol consumption.  I was so determined not to do the same, and so to this day I rarely take a drink. I have seen what alcohol can do to a home, and I was determined to not raise my kids in that environment.  YET, I did exactly that.  My liver numbers are good, but I was basically doing my best to destroy it with sugar.  And my household was just as affected by addiction.  My dad hid booze; I hid candy.  My dad would look for ways to drink in private; I would look for ways to eat massive quantities of sugary foods in private.  Same thing all over again.  I was so busy trying to avoid his addiction, that I ignored my own to my body’s detriment.

Whew!  Kinda heavy today.  But it’s all cathartic, and I always feel better when I get these thoughts out and quit harboring them.

Thanks for reading! Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Random Thoughts

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Day 279 in my mind bending way to meet up with Mickey

Today I want to share three separate and independent tidbits.

  1. I think our kitty was a raptor in former times.  She prowls our place testing the compound…and she remembers!  She is looking for ways out.  The problem is if she ever finds a way out, I’m not sure she’ll come back because (1) She is just that independent, (2) She has no front claws to defend herself, and we live where there are hawks and coyotes, raccoons and foxes.  I’m afraid she looks like a tasty morsel.  Today Mike had to repair a screen in our porch, because it was loose, and Kitty kept pushing it out little by little.  She would have escaped soon!
  2. The old adage goes, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”  Bullroar!  I have been eating apples daily for the last nine months, and it did NOT keep said doctors away.  As a matter of fact, I have just come through a bout of cancer and a rather painful operation.  (Of course, I ate hardly no apples for the first 58 and a half years of my life…hmmm…I might have to rethink that one.)  🙂
  3. Love is kneeling down in front of someone to put their shoes and socks on them, because they can’t reach without pain.  My Mikey has been doing this for the past three weeks everyday.  It couldn’t be any more romantic if he was Prince Charming and it was a glass slipper.  Feeling loved!

So what does this have to do with me eating better and getting more exercise to prepare to visit Walt Disney World in October?  Well, let’s just chalk it up to mental health and the need to vent.  Thanks for reading, dear followers!  Meet you at the Kingdom!