Ode to Frosted Flakes: Lori Visits a Nutritionist

For those that know me, they know there are two things that I REALLY dislike:
1.  Washing my hair
2.  Cooking

Number one really doesn't seem to affect anyone (although sometimes Heath scoots a little farther away from me at night than usual), but Number two is starting to be a problem. 

For the most part, my recipes involve two steps:  Pour into bowl/add milk  OR order the food/then pay.  But believe or not, I have two growing boys that actually want to eat what they call "real food".  Or in other words, "food they get when they stay with either my parents or Heath's".

If that wasn't bad enough, I am beginning to take notice as well.  Since I was fortunate enough to be chosen as the runDisney mom on the Disney Mom's Panel this year, I have been running more races than ever.  In addition to the races, I have actually started enjoying running on my own...even when Jeff Galloway isn't telling me to on my race training calendars.

And so,  I thought for sure that by July 24 of this year, I would look exactly like this.  Oddly enough, that hasn't happened. 

My oldest son is turning 12 on Wednesday.  I figure that 12 years is probably MORE than enough time to get rid of those extra baby weight pounds, so I decided to do something about it.  I have a friend who looks awesome (even more awesome than she already did) after signing up with a personal trainer, so I decided to give it a shot.

After all, since my boys are now 9 and 12, I need to stop using them as an excuse of not having any time to work out.  Coincidentally, I have discovered that they really were never a good excuse anyway.  There is a girl in my town that I swear, ran a zillion miles a day up until the day she started pushing her babies out.  And now she has two toddlers that she runs around in a big ole' double stroller.  AND she recently smoked my butt in the run part of a triathlon, even though she went almost a mile longer because she took a wrong turn!  (did I mention that she had already swam and biked, and I was on a team doing ONLY the run???)

I say all this because part of my package with the personal trainer is to see a nutritionist.  My appointment is tomorrow and I am supposed to bring a list of my favorite foods.  Off the top of my head, my list looks like this:

1.  Frosted Flakes
2.  Cinnamon Toast Crunch
3.  Rice Krispies (with lots of sugar!)
4.  Olive Garden breadsticks
5.  Fazoli's breadsticks
6.  Little Caeser's Crazy Bread
7.  Bacon
8. 9. and 10.  Diet Coke

My personal trainer and his wife follow a Paleo diet, which is probably why she looks like this and is an Indianapolis Colts cheerleader.  The nutritionist is rumored to be Vegan, so I am pretty nervous about what they are all going to think about my list.

Since I know it's going to be frowned upon, I went ahead and finished off my box of Frosted Flakes tonight....and decided to send them off with a poem. 

My sweet and crunchy little Frosted Flake,

I agree with Tony that you are grr-r-r-reat!

But I run and I bike

much more than I'd like

and you are keeping me from losing any weight!

Wish me luck!!!

What Your Donation Can Do....

So we begin week 2 of our fundraising effort to literally Give Kids The World.   We have reached 13% of our goal of $15,000 for the Give Kids The World Village in our very first week!  That is so exciting!

I hope you were able to read my first post about the Village, and what we are trying to do.  You can also "Like" the Disney Fans Give Kids The World Facebook page.  To donate, you can go to our First Giving donation page.  

I sent out a challenge of getting 100 of my friends to donate $10.00.  I am so happy and proud that I have so many friends who have already donated to this cause.  It is much appreciated!

I think the best testimony for this Village comes from those that have been there.  I am copying a letter and some photos from Jason Sperry.  One of my fellow Disney-Loving Fans was fortunate enough to have met the Sperry family as their daughter, Sereena, was spending time at GKTW.  Please see below:

Hello. My name is Jason Sperry and I just want to try to give you a little bit of what Give Kids the World has meant to me. My youngest daughter was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia in September 2010.  This was the worst day of my life. My beautiful little princess who I cared for and protected from all of life's terrible things was now in a situation that I had absolutely no control over. I was devastated to say the least but I knew I must remain strong for my daughter.

The next  8 months went by at a snail's pace. We started with weekly visits to the hospital for chemotherapy and slowly advanced to bi-weekly and then to every 3 weeks and finally we hit the maintenance phase of only going in every 4 weeks. It was at this time that Make a Wish approached my daughter Sereena and asked her to think about the one thing she would really like to do. It took her all of about 5 minutes to come up with the answer of going to Disney! After all she is a princess! Well the plans were made and the date was set. All we had to do now is hope that her blood counts would stay good enough to keep her out of the hospital and we would be on her dream trip.

The day for the trip came, the blood counts were great and the limo was waiting. Sereena's smile lit up the city that day. I was so happy that we had to drive to an out of town airport instead of the one that was only 20 min away because as Sereena put it "all modern princesses travel by limo!" We got to the airport, hopped in the plane and were off to a place we knew little about. We had seen the brochure and looked at the website but nothing could prepare us for what truly is the most amazing place on earth, Give Kids the World Village.

We pulled into the village and were greeted promptly. The volunteers were amazing from the start and only got better as the week went on. This was the first time the trip turned from Sereena's into the whole family's. They stressed that this week the whole family needed to take a break and not worry about a thing. Anything we could want or need was only a phone call away. They weren't kidding! The volunteers at Give Kids the World are the best.

Ice Cream for Breakfast!!

We stayed there for a week and did all the things that most visitors do. We went to the theme parks! This is the reason we went in the first place. Well I'm here to tell you that after 2 days of theme parks little miss Sereena was wore out. She didn't want to leave the village again.  Now is when the magic of this place really started showing up.  We went to the ice cream parlor we had heard so much about. Unlimited ice cream all day long. Who doesn't love that?  We went to Dino putt-putt. Yep, Sereena beat me pretty bad that day. We went to the arcade and did the horse back riding. The all access pool and water park was one of her favorites. Mayor Clayton's birthday party and even Village Idol! We did everything the Village has to offer but there is one building in the village that I am forever thankful for because it brought such joy to my daughter! The Castle of Miracles! Sereena would have stayed in here from sun up till sun down every day of the week. She had a nail salon, all the coloring books and crayons she could ever want, a tree that was magic and could make pillows, a wishing well, a ceiling full of stars with names,  and to top it all off there was even a carousel to ride on! Ya, Sereena was in heaven at The Castle of Miracles and so was I just seeing the joy it brought to her. 

Sereena's Star for the Enchanted Castle

I will forever be grateful for the wonderful and truly inspirational time that we had at Give Kids the World Village. This one week of care free life that was given to us after the 8 months of total chaos that we went through before hand was such a relief. Talking to the volunteers and other guests really gave me that extra push I needed to be strong for Sereena in her final 17 months of chemotherapy. I never knew a place like this existed and now that I do I will never forget it! We are planning a return trip there, only this time we will be volunteers and will hope that Sereena's story of survival will help some other families at Give Kids the World Village who just need that little bit of positive reinforcement.

Forever grateful,

Jason Sperry

Give Kids The World

    In the Beth Moore book, So Long, Insecurity,  she advises you to identify what makes you scared or insecure, and see yourself getting through it.  Because I am definitely a planner, I think that is great advice.  I have imagined myself on the other side of Heath having an affair (boy, would he regret that!).  I’ve seen myself living through his death, my parents passing away, a personal illness, and many other scary scenarios. 

    However, there is one fear I have that is just too great to even imagine.  I cannot imagine either of my boys facing a life-threatening illness.  For all of the things that I take for granted in my life (food, shelter, clothes, love) that is the one thing I remember to thank God for every single night.  In fact, I like to imagine that God has my two boys enclosed in a safety bubble.  And even as I try to control so much of their lives, I am fully aware that I really have no control at all.

      I try to imagine what life would be like if my world was turned upside down, and our every minute was spent wondering if our son would live or die.  If all of our financial resources were used trying to give him every chance to live.  If our days were spent visiting doctor after doctor instead of playing soccer and tennis and baseball.  If my precious baby boy had to endure the physical pain of being sick, along with the poking and prodding that came with all of our attempts to make him better. 
   
    Millions of families face this every day.  And while there is no way for me to know exactly how they feel, I can imagine that all they want is to see their child happy.  They can’t control the actual illness, but they can try in every possible way to see their child smile and laugh and be carefree...the way all children should be. 

    This is where you and I come in.  There is a place in Central Orlando, called Give Kids The World Village.  It was founded by Henri Landwirth, a hotelier in Orlando who was known to help sick children fulfill their dreams of visiting theme parks in that area.  As a hotelier, he helped countless children fulfill this dream, until one day, a trip took too long to plan and a little girl named Amy died before ever getting to see her wish come true.  He decided that should never happen again and he went to work.

     Today, thanks to Henri, there is a whole Village.  It is a 70-acre resort with over 140 Villa accommodations.  It has entertainment attractions, whimsical buildings and plenty of fun that is specially designed for children with special needs.  Because of generous donations and sponsors, Give Kids the World Village has been home to more than 115,000 families from all 50 states and over 70 countries.
    
      In September, I am going to visit the Give Kids The World Village with a few other of my Disney-loving friends who also happen to be on the Disney Moms Panel with me.   If you know me, you know that Disney World is a very special place to me.  I have so many wonderful memories of fun times there with my family, and that is why I am teaming with my friends to try and raise funds so that families facing really bad times will be able to have a little bit of magic in their lives.  Magic and fun that they otherwise could not afford. 

   

Amberville

     TODAY IS LAUNCH DAY FOR OUR FUNDRAISING EFFORT!  OUR GOAL IS $15,000.  

We chose today because on April 18th, 2012, Give Kids The World will celebrate more than 2 million volunteer hours served!  That is an amazing achievement and also a testament to the dedication of those that feel passionately about the mission of the Village. 


     I hope that this has touched your heart and you feel led to help us reach our goal.  93 cents of every dollar donated will be used to fulfill a child's dream.  All donations will be tax deductible and you will get a receipt for it no matter how you choose to pay (online or by check). 


To make a donation, visit our Giving Website .  You can also read more about Give Kids The World and learn about some really exciting prizes and drawings that will be happening in our efforts to raise money.

Also, be sure and "like" the Disney Fans Give Kids The World Facebook page!

Join our conversation on Twitter!  #DisneyFansGKTW

      Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!  I really, sincerely appreciate it.  I would like to share the words of one mom whose family visited Give Kids The World.  This and so many other testimonies are in the book “In a Perfect World” that is available at the GKTW shop online.....

    “When you are faced with the heartache of watching your child die, you wonder why the world still continues on, oblivious to your pain.  Some days are good, others are really, really bad.  For 6 days, at a Village made for kids like him, we did not wonder what tomorrow holds.  We lived each day, oblivious ourselves to our son’s condition.  We felt no pain, cried only tears of happiness, and for one week, we were normal and the rest of the world was different.” 

WATCH A VIDEO ALL ABOUT GIVE KIDS THE WORLD VILLAGE

To see more photos of the Give Kids The World Village, click here!

Please read about how each child that visits Give Kids The World Village gets to make a wish on their very own star  to be given to the Star Fairy and then placed on the ceiling at the "Enchanted Castle of Miracles"...

Does a Princess Pee in the Woods?

I am not a “Girly-Girl”.  I don’t really enjoy dressing up, painting my nails or fixing my hair.  My TV is solidly tuned in to ESPN.  I don’t watch any Real Housewives or Bachelor shows.  Heck, I can probably count the number of times I shave my legs during the winter on one hand!  (yes, my husband is proud)  However, there is one thing this girl does not even pretend to want to do...and that is to go camping.  I like my air-conditioning, television, internet, hot water and flushing toilets.  So, it comes as a surprise to myself that on any given race morning, all thoughts of modesty and cleanliness are thrown out the window as I hide behind trees and other people to pee “one last time” before the race begins.  It happens at every race, and like a good potty joke, it makes me laugh every time.  It seems even more ironic when it is at the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  When lines for porta-potties are 20 deep, you will find me and countless numbers of other princesses holding firmly to their tiaras while dropping their sparkly skirts in the bushes, trees, woods, and sometimes just on the side of the road!  It isn’t pretty, proper, or majestic, but it always happens and I, for one, think it is very funny!

On February 26, I ran in my third Disney Princess Half Marathon.  It was also my 3rd runDisney half marathon this calendar year.  Representing runDisney on the Disney Moms Panel has allowed me to do some really cool things!  This particular trip I got to meet 20 amazing fitness bloggers.  They were there on a social media trip and I am in awe of how plugged in they are to people around the world.  It was also really fun to see them at different places along the race course.  Running is so much more fun when you have people to talk to!

I also got to speak at the runDisney meet-up event.  Other speakers included three Olympic caliber athletes: Jeff Galloway (1972 Olympics), Suzy Favor Hamilton (2000 Olympics) and Rachel Booth (current Disneyland half and Disney Princess half winner,and also qualified for this year’s Olympic trials).  So, of course, I fit right in with that group!  I am sure that the only reason they run is to take pictures with Cinderella too, right???  My son was quick to point out that Rachel Booth’s time for the half-marathon was less than half the time it took me!  Thanks, buddy!!

Suzy Favor Hamilton at the Expo.  She is amazing!

Two other fun things happened during this trip---I finally got to eat at Cinderella’s Royal Table in Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom.  Obviously, that is always quickly vetoed by my two boys when we take family trips.  But this time, I was hanging out with fellow moms panelist, Laura Munkel, and we had a great time dining with the princesses!  

Posing INSIDE the castle at Cinderella's Royal Table!

I also got to be there when my sister-in-law, Stephanie, finished her first half marathon.  She did a great job, and she is already planning to sign up for another one!  At Disney, of course!

Some highlights from the Princess Half Marathon:

AND WE'RE OFF!

 


Loved being serenaded and proposed to around mile 9!  He even found my glass slipper=) 

The gospel choir at mile marker 13 makes me soooo emotional!  Good thing there is just .1 of a mile left!

My Biggest Fans!

I have the best parents in the world!  I know--a lot of you are out there saying, “No way, because I do”.  Truthfully, I wish that every person felt that way about their parents because that is how it is supposed to be.  But, with all that being said...I REALLY do!

During my school days, I would wake up to my bowl of Rice Krispies with the perfect amount of sugar on top already poured for me by my dad.  Milk on the right, Diet Pepsi on the left.  If it was cold outside, he would have already started my car to warm it up.  When I would mysteriously run out of gas, here he comes with his lawn mower gas can to get me home.  Tampons? Mydol?  A quick call to Dad over at Stultz Pharmacy and he would bring them home.  I was gently chastised, but then given a hug when my discovery of the awesomeness that is “Target” ran up quite a bill on my new college Visa card that was for “emergencies” only. (although, in my own defense, I STILL think that cute-colored plastic containers ARE emergencies)  On our home videos, you can hear him choking back sobs as they announce my cheerleading squad as national champions, and you can also hear him whisper an expletive when he thought I stepped out of bounds at college nationals.  And when my wedding budget didn’t exactly budget, he never said a word...

For those of you that know my mother--you are well aware that she is and always has been my biggest fan.  As her famous (infamous?) mustard-yellow nightgown with a duck so cleverly stated...my  mother “does not do mornings”!  And yet, week after week, year after year, she loaded me and all of my crap up at the crack of dawn for baton contests, dance contests, cheerleading contests, beauty pageants and so on.  She never missed a game and rarely missed a practice.  She drove my whole squad to Memphis every year for camp and spent hours walking around Lexington to find a heads-up penny for luck while I was in try-outs at UK.  I am positive that she cried longer than me when I had my first broken heart.  And when it became obvious that I neither knew nor cared what flowers, food, candles, etc. I wanted for my wedding, she planned the perfect day for me.  And now that I am on the Disney moms panel she is constantly promoting me on Facebook and even joined twitter to tweet about me!  She also traded in her yellow nightgown for a cute, pink Minnie Mouse one that also states “I don’t do mornings”!

This is my official request to have both of these Willed to me.

So, it comes as no surprise that last weekend when I was running the Tinkerbell Half Marathon by myself at Disneyland in California--it was those same two people that were cheering me on.  Sure, they were a full country away from me in their much-deserved retirement life in Florida, but they were still right by my side. Only this time it was through my iPhone.  I had signed them up for runner text alerts so they could follow my progress during the race.  Not that they asked me to, but I did it anyway!  I was not feeling well during this particular run, so the text messages they sent me truly kept me going. I was getting messages like, “You’re doing great!”...”Great pace!” (it really wasn’t, but they ARE my parents) ...“We’re so proud of you!”... and “Watch out Flo Jo!”...

Tinkerbell Half and Coast to Coast medals!

With two sons of my own, it is now my turn to play taxi driver, soccer mom, baseball mom, waitress, maid, nurse, chef, teacher, and so on...and that’s OK!  I love my life and my kids and would not want it any other way.  Running races is something that I do for myself.  I hope that it inspires my boys to be active and to set goals for themselves.  Running is not easy for me, so I hope they also see that sometimes you have to work hard to achieve things.  I love the friendships, the trips, the finish lines and the medals.  But I would be lying if I didn’t also admit that another thing I love about running a race is that for a couple of hours, I get to be the kid again.  There are people lined up all along the course cheering for all of us runners.  But the loudest cheers I hear, whether in person or through text messages, will always be from my mom and dad.  Sometimes my husband will mumble something about me “thinking I am a princess” or “me being spoiled”.  But I know that what I have really been is blessed!  Blessed beyond measure!  Now, I just wonder if my mom would be willing to pull out her "lucky hat" again for my next race...

The lucky hat at the Kentucky high school state basketball tournament.  She was also both of my brothers' biggest fan!

Go! Pack! Go!

   So, I know the Green Bay Packers are out of the playoffs...and I know that my beloved Brett Favre is no longer a cheesehead, but I still thought I would use one of my favorite chants to title my blog about packing (C-A-T-S, CATS, CATS, CATS-- just didn't work).  Also, it's really hard to find a clever and interesting title for a blog about something that some may consider to be a boring, yet necessary part of going on vacation.  

    For myself, and the other type-A Disney planners on the Disney Moms Panel, however, packing is one of the many highlights of any Disney trip. 

      Every good packer always begins with a list.  For your viewing and packing convenience, I am sharing my time-tested list with you.  Feel free to print out, highlight, and check-off to your heart's content!  You can even make copies and laminate them for further use.  Please don't judge me...it just makes me happy...

**Diclaimer:  All great packing sessions are better with magical Disney music playing to create the perfect ambience

      My two boys are going with me to Disneyland for the Tinker Bell half marathon next week, so I decided to enlist their help.  I simply told them that we were going to Disneyland and we will be there for 3 days and they will be running a 5K during that time.  Not surprisingly, this is what they determined was necessary for their trips...(who doesn't need a vuvuzela to make a trip special?)

Packing for Disneyland if you are an 11-year-old "Type A" boy:

Packing for Disneyland if you are an 8-year-old "Type Z" boy who generally forgets to put on his undies and wears his socks with the heels flapping at the toes:

BONUS PACKING TIP:  I always pack an extra (empty) bag that I can either check-on for my return flight, or use as a carry on.  You ALWAYS end up coming home with more than you left with-- especially when you attend the awesome Fitness Expos! Definitely leave space for your new "This Isn't Sweat, This Is Liquid Awesome" shirt...

***Be sure and print out your race waiver and packet pick-up information for the Tinker Bell half marathon!!  

See you at the finish line!!!

Liquid Awesome

 

       One of my favorite things about runDisney are the amazing Health and Fitness Expos that they have during race weekends.  They have everything a person could possibly need and even more of everything that a person could want.
        You can find running gear, recovery gear, race shirts, medal displays, protein bars, gels, drinks, jewelry, car decals and more.  You can register for future Disney races and other races, often at a discount.  You can meet celebrities like Sage Steele, Jeff Galloway and Tony Horton.  You can have your photo taken on a green screen, then turn around and get health insurance advice.
      All of these things are great!  However, my very most favorite thing to do at the expo is to read the shirts with slogans that so clearly express what I and many others are actually thinking during the running part of the race weekends...some of my faves from this year:

*If you see me collapse, pause my Garmin

*This isn't sweat---it's liquid Awesome

*WTF---"Where's The Finish?"

*This seemed like a good idea 3 months ago...

*I'm only doing this to post pictures on Facebook

*Does this shirt make my butt look fast?