Tag Archives: Walt Disney World

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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!

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Date with a Dude

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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!

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Luxuriating in Lake Bluff

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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!

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My Demon: Sugar

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Day 74 in my assignment to assimilate a better life-style to meet up with Mickey

I’ve been asked, “How did you completely go cold-turkey and give up sugar if you were such an addict?”  Well…that’s just it.  I haven’t completely given up sugar for the rest of my life.  The thought of never having sugar again for the rest of my life is daunting indeed!  It makes me feel deprived and more than a little sorry for myself.  So,  I’ve just given sugar up for today…and for yesterday…and I plan to give it up for the day that is tomorrow.

I have a date with sugar.  A one day date.  Not to go crazy and eat anything and everything in sight.  Believe me, I’ve been there and done that.  But on Halloween my morning treat is going to be a vente, decaf skim-milk pumpkin spice latte, no whip.  Starbuck’s speak for a sugary, delicious Halloweeny treat.  Then my evening treat will be a Halloweeny cupcake from Bent Fork Bakery.  Mikey will join me in this evening treat.  (It turns out he likes cupcakes.  “Something plain,” he said, when I asked him what kind.  If you know him at all…it figures.)  These treats will replace my usual treat of several bags of Halloween candy: candy corn, marshmallow pumpkins, chocolate bars, and whatever else caught my eye at Walgreens.  🙂

We will purposefully and completely savor our Halloween treats.  And then on November 1, I plan to go cold-turkey again.  You see, after 73 days of being sugar-free, I like what I see and feel and hear, and taste and even smell.  Things just seem clearer and brighter and more intense when I’m not living under the shroud of sugar.  Confession time:  My name is Donna, and I am a sugar addict.  (The appropriate response is, “Hello, Donna.”)

My plan for today is to share this truth with you.  Meet you at the Kingdom!