TRAVEL TIPS: FINLAND

DANNIE-THIS IS FOR YOU! 

   

ICE SCULPTING  LESSONS

PUBLIC SAUNA

       Planning trips is one of my favorite hobbies, I have spent hours and hours and really years creating my ideas of the perfect vacations. I don't just find the activities, foods and hotels that would give the best overall experience of a particular area but I also price them out! I have a huge book filled with all my 'planned trips'. I have at least one hundred travel books and I subscribe to several travel magazines. When I heard that my fellow life lister was going to Finland- one of the places in my top 10 I knew I had to share with her some of the things that I want to do in Finland. Dannie - I know you will have the best time lucky girl!!!! *I included links under each picture.

SAMPO ARCTIC ICEBREAKER CRUISE

REINDEER SAFARI

SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

DOG SLEDDING

STAY IN AN IGLOO

ICE FISHING 

SANTA'S VILLAGE 

KARAOKE TAXI

juice tuesday: answers

Many people have asked me the following questions-

What kind of juicer do you have?
I do love our juicer. It was $100 at Meijer the brand is
  JACK LA LANNE'S POWER JUICER EXPRESS


Are you getting enough protein?
 Well, not from the juice alone, I get my protein from the following each day, a little of each

hard boiled egg whites
cheese
peanut butter
cottage cheese

I personally do experiment too much with different fruits and veggies- I like to follow 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' motto when it comes to food. I cannot say that I am very adventurous. But I will tell you that my Aunt will 'juice' veggies, then heat it up and add a little buffalo meat to make soup-I think that's a great idea that I will try soon.

I would like to mention that spinach is wonderful to add to your juice cocktail-I do not find that you can really even taste it but spinach is so high in nutritional value I try to add it to each drink. The vitamins and minerals found in spinach fights heart disease, cancer, macular degeneration, cataracts and so on. You can purchase a ounce bag of spinach from Costco for less than $5. Although, you do need to add A LOT of leaves in order to get enough juice out of it. Generally I add about 3 handfuls.

Love my sister

Before we hit the expressway we stopped at Dunkin Donuts, which I learned on this trip is Helena's favorite place in the world. One of the jiggers I enjoyed so much on this trip was that I had the opportunity to learn so much about my sister that I didn't know, such as her weakness for cheap coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Similarly, she commented about her observations of me-she said that she didn't realize that I require constant stimulation, incessant self assurance and that I exaggerate profusely. Yes, I do need to be stimulated frequently-and by that I mean all the time. I do like to be reassured, I'm not going to lie, I like it when people say nice things about me. But I was shocked when she said that she didn't realize how much I exaggerate---WHAT!? I don't exaggerate, I don't need to! I have some really great stories that I like to animate when telling. I asked for some elaboration and she said "Well, like last night, someone asked you how many drinks you had had and you said 'Ugh-14 million!' and then while we were dancing I said this is great we are burning so many calories and again you responded 'ugh MILLIONS!" That's true.... when it comes to numbers do not expect accuracy from me.

While we were in Dunkin Donuts it dawned on me how much I really like my sister, I have always liked her and of course loved her but now it's on a much grander scale so I turned to her and said "I like you double...I'm going to write a poem about you on the way home." Here is the poem I wrote her on our trip home which was a total blast, we laughed even more and even harder than we did on the way there.

I like you double
You're my favorite person to be with in the car- 
I like you double, double than when we were at the bar.


I like it when you drive for 16 hours and I only drive for two-
I like you double, double what I used to.


I like it when you look at me mischievously-
I like you double, double than I did previously.


It made me laugh when you talked about hot dogs with Jose-
I like you double, double than I did yesterday.


It was funny when I woke you up after two hours of sleep-
I like you double, double and more deep.


I really enjoyed all the things we did-
I like you double, double than when I was a kid.


During the ice storm thanks for not making me walk fast-
I like you double, double than in the past.


I laugh when I think of your old lady voice-
I like you double, double by choice.


Thanks for saying my magic hat was chic-
I like you double, double than I did last week.



Next time we take a trip let's fly-
I like you double, double than days gone by.


Quite simply Helena-
I like you more, more than I did before.




Taking this trip was one of the greatest things I've ever done, and I am so happy I got to know my sister better, we got to bond and connect and we'll have these amazing memories forever. 


One more thing....
While we were driving home I looked out the window and said "New Hampshire really is so beautiful."  Helena- "This is Massachusetts."


MAINE - THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE.

Weigh in Wednesdays

TODAY              178   !!!!!!!!!
Last weigh in        184

October 2010      261

TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS - 83 POUNDS

Thank you JUICE! In the 170's!!!!! I am thrilled! I cannot believe it, this is such a milestone. My clothes are getting so baggy, I look so frumpy but I don't want spend a lot of money buying new clothes since I have been so successful in my weight loss but when I get to 175 I am going to buy a new pair of jeans- it's necessary, I need a size 12....this time last year I weighed about 230 and bought a pair of jeans....size 16 !!!!! That was such a low moment for me but I am so excited to be where I am now.

How I have lost 83 pounds
Breastfeeding for 16 months
I walked 5-10 miles/day for 4 months
I rarely eat carbs after 5h
I have been juicing for 1 month

I have lost this weight so easily, it was not difficult-it simply took effort. I was eating terribly up until about 5 months ago so I think had I been eating well for the past 16 months and exercising I could have really dropped the lbs!

I am now only 63 pounds away from my LIFE GOAL WEIGHT when I began this journey I was 146 pounds away from my goal weight! WOW.

juice tuesday: the beginning

Ok, I know what you're thinking...is the act of drinking juice really worth writing about???!!! Allow me to explain myself---

When we were in Maryland my Aunt kept telling us how she was going to start 'juicing' which is a 'diet'  where you only drink fruit and veggie juice. I didn't think too much of it other than it would be difficult to not eat anything. This brainstorm came from a documentary call SICK, FAT AND NEARLY DEAD. I only got to watch 2 minutes of this dvd and we were so inspired that the day we came home we bought a juicer and have been at it now for 15 days.
           My ears perked up when this guy said he lost 100 pounds in 4 months and this other woman said her migraines totally disappeared. If all you're ingesting is fruit and veggies your body is not only detoxing and getting rid of so many chemicals and other terrible things but you are 'eating' nothing but good calories and nothing but vitamins and nutrients. This is not meant to be a long term diet, you do slowly reintroduce food. I personally am taking in actual food because I am still nursing and need the fat and proteins and I begin to get shaky if I don't eat any carbs, but I am eating very little and mostly it's my daughter's leavins. I drink 2 glasses of juice each day and the food I eat is all unprocessed like organic eggs, and broccoli. In each glass of juice I add 3 fruits and 2 veggies. They actually taste REALLY GOOD! I do not drink juice normally, I think it tasted like nothing but sugar but fresh juice is so delicious-it instantly makes my innards feel so good and fresh. It makes me hyper and I was totally surprised at how filling it was!
   I've lost 8 pounds in 2 weeks with eating some foods every day and my husband has lost 25 pounds only eating one small meal every 4 or 5 days like a sub or a hot dog. We both physically feel incredible. This really is life changing. My Aunt has been doing it for 8 days and she has lost 12 pounds!

LIFE LIST: FANCY PICTURES AT HOME DOING REGULAR THINGS

When: December 2011

Where: Chez moi

Why I wanted to do this: I got the idea years ago when we lived in our first apartment we had this hideous  couch that someone gave us and I thought it would be funny to take a picture of us sitting on this ugly couch in a ballgown and tuxedo and then blow it up real big and hang it over said couch. This idea developed into pictures being taken of us super dressed up and just hanging around the house doing regular things. I thought it would be funny. I figured it would be even better to do them for our holiday photos.

Cost: $70 for everything-the sitting fee, 57 proofs and the disc- JEN CELLI PHOTOGRAPHY 
CAN'T BEAT THAT PRICE FOR PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY!!!

How I paid for it: Used the money my husband makes this weekend bartending 'fingers crossed'.

What would I do differently? I would have worn a black bra, bought more bobby pins for my 'stylist' who came to over that morning ( I totally felt like such a celebrity, this is not the first time I've compared myself to a celebrity) the photographer wishes she would have brought her big light thus I should have mentioned that our apartment is not well lit. Also, my husband was not into it, so that was really disappointing. I would have liked to have been skinnier too...next time I will be!

Will I do it again? O yes, I'm doing this again. And again, and again and again. Her new clients are going to wonder why she has so many pictures of me and my family.

Something I would recommend? Certainly. And I recommend you use this photographer-Jen Celli does a great job, she is patient, professional, and quick to get you your pictures-not to mention very affordable.

Good gift/surprise? Actually this would make a wonderful gift for anyone-I think very few people even consider hiring a professional photographer because the cost can be astronomical but if you are lucky enough to find a good one who is just starting out-take advantage of it!

Life changing? Yes. In many unexpected ways. Most noteworthy-I have these wonderful pictures that I will have for the rest of my life.

LIFE LIST: SPEND CHRISTMAS AT THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWNS

When: Christmas Day 2011

Where: Arlington National Cemetery

Why I wanted to do this: I wanted to spend Christmas with my Aunt and be somewhere special.
 These men are here 24 hours per day in the cold, rain, heat, snow, wind, Holidays...always- they never leave or deter from their duty no matter what. Obviously the honor lies not only with the volunteers who guard this tomb but of course with these soldiers who lost their lives for us and we don't even know who they are-"known only to God". I felt that there was no better time to support these guards and these lost soldiers than on a day that is directed towards celebrating self sacrifice, love and peace.

Cost: No cost to enter the cemetery of course, the trip ended up totaling $405

What I would do differently? Well, I wish I could spend  an entire day here, I think if I lived in the DC area, I would spend an abundance of my time here. I just think it's a good place to go to focus on something other than yourself. It was difficult to be in the moment whilst chasing a 1 year old but I when we arrived and they were changing the guard and I did have about two whole minutes of complete concentration while my little one was sitting quietly in her stroller.

Will I do it again? Probably not, I think we'll be staying home for Christmas from now on.

Something I would recommend? Absolutely.

Life changing? It was. As much as I love Christmas and presents and the idea of being with family it really makes me want to spend my most favorite days of the year doing something truly special and meaningful, not just to me but to others who deserve it. These guards who dedicate their lives and these soldiers who have lost their-they don't get to spend Christmas with their families...I really feel like we were there to support them. The responsibility of the tomb guards does not end when their 'shift' is over, they have to adhere to a strict set of rules not just while working-they are not allowed to drink on or of duty or curse for THE REST OF THEIR LIVES, they spend hours each day just preparing their uniform, and in order to even be given the opportunity to walk they must recite 7 pages of Arlington National Cemetery history verbatim. These are just a few of the obligations of a tomb guard sentinel and it is viewed as the highest honor in the military.

"GOD AND A SOLDIER ALL PEOPLE ADORE
IN TIMES OF WAR BUT NOT BEFORE-
WHEN WAR IS OVER AND THINGS ARE RIGHTED
GOD IS NEGLECTED AND AN OLD SOLDIER SLIGHTED"