So it was good that I found The Candle in the back of the closet today. I usually forget to get it out and we end up burning it after the fact. It’s the birthday countdown candle.

I had one when I was growing up and remember it well – so I’m hoping our little tradition of doing it for her will be remembered.

Except today I looked a little closer at the 1950’s scenes depicted on it. Like this:

Sharing a soda with a boy at the age of 12? Over my dead body, girl!

I do appreciate the graduation shown at the age of 18 – but what about the subsequent college graduation? Huh? Girl is going to graduate. It does show a possible marriage partner at age 21 – kinda scary. Happened that way in my life – but that’s because I met a Mr MIP. What if she meets Mr DeadBeat? What if she share a soda at 12 and he’s a dumb kid who has no goals in life?

Sorry girl, mommy’s putting this candle away ’til next year.

(By the way – this kind of candle is a great baby gift. I don’t have a specific place to get it from, but if you google “birthday countdown candle”, you’ll find plenty of options.)

Mental Floss magazine. My brother got this for me for my birthday and I love it. It’s a magazine full of trivia and cool articles filled with information. Unfortunately for us women, most magazines think the most we can handle is 250 words on how walking will shed pounds (it doesn’t). So I’m always excited when I can find a magazine that actually has articles to read…actual, real words! Check out their website for more info and definitely consider gifting this to any trivia/reading/information buffs on your Christmas list.

Goody “ouchless” hair elastics. I should have taken out stock in these. I have left a trail of ponytail holders behind me since 1923. I buy them all the time and they magically disappear.

Pens! I buy pens all the time too. Mr MIP openly mocks me for it. Oh well, he has no idea what it is to be addicted (except to poofa popcorn).

(I’d put a picture of my favorite pen here – but I can’t find it…or the pen! There’s a certain, specific type I have to have. Anything else is just…not a pen.)

PopChips! Have you tried these yet? You might as well! They are all natural and not baked or fried. I’m in lurv.Their site: PopChips.

Anything by Daphne DuMaurier. I generally avoid romantic trivial books, but for Daphne, I allow exceptions. Right now I’m reading The King’s General. It’s just about the depth I can handle right now with all our busy-ness. Yes, it’s trite and a romance, but it’s Daphne!

What are a few of your favorite things?

1. Nobody Cares About You: A major reason for not wanting to go to a gym is because you’re all constipated about what others will think about you. Same rule applies in the gym as it does anywhere else in the world: People are so concerned about themselves, they aren’t giving a second thought to you and what you’re doing. Now, that being said – they might give one short little thought to you and, in a gym, it will be one of two things. Either 1) they look down on you and how out of shape you are, in which case, yay for you! You just did a good deed for the day by making someone else feel all better about themselves! or 2) they look at you and wonder how you got so cute in your workout stuff (This has never ever happened to me, trust me), in which case: yay for you! You’re an inspiration!

2. Nobody is going to hit on you: This does not happen in the real world. Only in movies and Seinfeld episodes and to my one friend who is Barbie’s twin. (Okay, I lied – it does happen, but I wanted to lie to you so you’d go anyway.)

3. Nobody cares how fast or slow you’re going: see explanation under point #2.

4. Ask for help and wisdom and opinions: I know I drive people crazy with my questions. But don’t ever be afraid to ask for help! They can claim your email went to their junk/spam box if they’re tired of you.

5. One mile burns one hundred calories: As far as my research has shown, one mile is 100 cals. That being said, it doesn’t matter how fast or slow you went that mile – if you go a mile in ten minutes, you burned 100 cals…it took you twenty minutes? 100 cals. Now, going faster means you can be more efficient in your workouts (you could burn 300 cals in half an hour while someone else might take an hour to burn that same 300) and they won’t take as long…but who cares? If it takes you longer, just be ready to devote more time to working out. (Yes, there are a couple more factors involved – but this is the basic truth.)

6. Starving yourself by eating “only celery today!” does not help you lose weight.

7. Slow and steady wins the race: I’m nowhere near my goals and I’m still fighting losing battles – but I also have become more realistic with myself. I have other things going on in my life that might not always make working out possible, and my kids are always always always more important than me getting me time in. And medications sometimes mess with your system – so don’t go so much by weight…go with feeling better and getting in shape.

8. Fit your personality: If you’re a go-by-the-plan person, sit down at the beginning of the week and write down when you’re going to workout. If you’re more laid back about schedules – just write down goals that are more general.

9. Find a buddy: I have a Long Distance Workout Buddy that I am always free to email, whine, text, call and cheer for. It has helped IMMENSELY (because I need that kind of stuff – if you don’t, don’t worry about it!). I am always up for being your Workout Buddy – just email me! And if you like a more general, not so personal place to be inspired, try Spark People. I keep track of minutes worked out on there and love it (because I love charts and numbers and goals…). I do not use their nutrition part of the site, but it is very thorough and very helpful. Spark People link.

10. Wash your hands: ick. Enough said. I’ve learned to overcome the germaphobe thing in the gym to a certain extent. Gross. Ugh. Shiver. Still working on it.

11. The best time is the worst time: Think about what the worst time of the day to workout would be. This comes down to: 2-4 p.m.; after 9 at night; anytime after 2 p.m. on a Saturday and all afternoon Sunday. If you want to go when hardly anyone is there – go during these times. Seriously, I watch the football games on Sunday afternoon at the gym – it’s me and one or two other people in the whole place. I see the games, and I didn’t eat a zillion calories laying on the couch. Does it stink having to drag myself out to the gym at 2 on a Sunday afternoon during naptime? Yep.

I’ll stop preaching. Just do it.

Edited to add: this is in response to a comment below. It’s a re-post of something I wrote about two and a half years ago when the kids were still very little and I was at the height of exasperation.

Determined to get on that treadmill for at least 30 minutes today, I’ve been plodding around in sweatpants and old t-shirt, waiting for my opportune moment. This opportune moment happens, oh, say, once every 54 days, so I grabbed an inopportune moment and started away. I thought I’d describe my 30 Minutes o’ Treadmill Fun.

Minutes 1:00-5:00 go by with no interruption. I use the treadmill time to pick up an easy reading book I keep down there.

5:01 – A small rubber bouncy ball is dropped by 4yo and gets sucked into the tread on the mill!! A Crisis! We stop the treadmill, we cry loudly! We rescue the bouncy ball.

5:02 -7:43 – Tread is moving again. All is well.

7:44- 7yo is working on a puzzle about Groundhog Day. She can’t figure out how to unscramble the word “February.” She asks. I hint. She asks how to spell it. For the next three minutes, I spell F-E-B-R-U-A-R-Y… No… F-E-B-R-U-A-R-Y… over and over until I realize I’m yelling it.

10:45 – February is spelled. Bouncy ball still safe. Mom resumes reading about a mom who is overwhelmed with having a 6 month old baby. And Gasp! having to feed it lunch.Whatever.

13:48 – Fight erupts! Mother barks orders from treadmill to end fight. Fight ends.

15:09 – 2 yo seems to be out of bed and not napping. I hear talking. I yell up..determined NOT to get off that treadmill until I do my time. “Get in bed, please!”

15:15-19:15 – I discuss with my daughters the benefits of picking up after one’s self. It’s not going over well. They find a lot of benefit in Blaming Others. I realize I can talk without huffing and puffing, which, according to one magazine is a sign of being at an appropriate level of exercise. And, according to another magazine, means you are a wuss and should be going 10 mph faster.

19:16 – 24:00 – wow. Peace. I read.

24:01 – We finally allow 2yo to get up. He comes downstairs and adds to the noise level in my own personal basement gym. We notice a strange smell emanating from his behind. I refuse to stop working out. Must… do… exercise.

28:04 – Phone rings. Everyone gets excited. But I ignore. Must… keep… going.

29:23 – I note the green eruption slowly smearing up 2yo’s back. Must reach 30 minutes!

30:00!!! I have hardly made any progress in walking to Wrigley – but I’ve done it! I’ve done 30 minutes of exercise!

And we go up and bathe my little green poo monster.

I’ve done a thoroughly scientific research project on the elliptical machine in my approximately forty hours I’ve spent on that stupid machine and I thought you might want to know my findings. The elliptical gives you a reading of the calories you’ve burned. Now, whether that reading is right or not is the question. But since I was always using the same elliptical, I compared my calories burned on the same machine, therefore, my science project is totally and completely valid.

In a half hour, I burned:

180 calories watching Food Network, but 270 calories watching Man Vs Food (the one where he eats those huge plates of food…disgusting and strangely motivating).

140 calories listening to Seth Godin (Marketing Guru) read his book, “Tribes” (great book, btw), but 230 calories watching the marketing of bedding sets on QVC.

230 calories watching the Cubs implode vs. 380 calories watching any football game. I don’t even care who’s playing, watching football is always better than watching slow baseball.

210 calories listening to Michael Buble sing his little soul out to me vs. 400 calories listening to my workout playlist which includes:

Skillet – Hero
Linkin Park – New Divide
Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers – Spider Fingers/Tempus Fugit
Beyonce – Single Ladies (Yeah, I said it…)
Michael Franti – Hey Now (I Love You)
U2 – Magnificent

What’s my lesson and truth to you? Don’t watch Food Network. Let Michael sing to your soul in your car. Skip the stupid Cubs, watch those cute football players and listen to loud music.

You’ll burn off that evil Portillo’s before you know it.

You didn’t see it, did you? Mr MIP put a cute little bug in my wreath and it’s been there for the last month or so.

Classy.

And here are my Halloween Cuties (A Snow Princess, Alice in Wonderland and Darth Vader):

And look at me, getting all creative with the Mummy Dogs:

It cracked me up to see the kids’ piles of candy. The firstborn had hers all neatly organized into type/brand of candy.

Middle Child had hers all in a pile- no organization:

And SuperBoy had a little of both – organized piles where Big Sister convinced him to organize, and piles everywhere else.

DIY Cream of Chicken Soup

(To make the equivalent of two cans)

2 Tbsp butter
6 Tbsp flour
1 C Chicken Broth
1 C Milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Melt the butter and add the flour and stir to make a roux. Don’t be scared. Roux is just the French way of saying melt the butter and add the flour. It just sounds fancier in French. Like how I sound fancier when I play the piano in German. Last night I played Leichte Beweglichkeit im ruhigen Staccato. I know, right? Impressive! Actually it’s just a rather dull technic exercise in “light motion in quiet staccato.” Oh, but you should hear my Gleichheit in Doppellaufen.

So, make the roux. I even kinda messed it up tonight and all was still well. I don’t speak French fluently, ya know!

Remove from heat and slowly add chicken broth and milk. Return to heat and bring to slow boil. Lower heat and mixture will thicken – keep your eye on it and stir every once in a while. Add salt and pepper to taste and there you have it!

Staying:

Somerset Inn and Suites – Straightforward hotel room. Nice! Just north of Ephraim.

Where we stayed this time: Ephraim Guest House – Nice suite with living room/kitchen/bedroom. I think they have two-bedroom suites, too (would be nice for a family). There was a little bookcase stocked with classics, including Patrick O’Brien books. I’m just sayin’ – I coulda stayed there for quite some time quite happily. Located in Ephraim, about two blocks from the water.

Eating:

Summertime – located in Fish Creek. Get the ribs. Not necessarily recommending anything else.

Old Post Office  – Ephraim. Great place for breakfast. Plain ol’ good breakfast food. Right across from the water. Always makes me feel like I’m on vacation.

Inn at Cedar Creek – popular place you hear about in Sturgeon Bay. We stopped there for our last meal on the way home. I don’t think we’ll go back. (Sorry)

Trattoria dal Santo – get the walleye. Yum-o. Located in Sturgeon Bay.

Sweetie Pies – Sells full pies or pie by the slice.

Wild Tomato Pizza – we stopped there and had to wait for a while to get in, but it was worth it. We had fried cheese curds and a sausage and mushroom pizza. I’m not going to say it was the best pizza ever but it definitely hit the spot on a chilly afternoon. We also spent a lot of time wondering if we were eating two tables away from the Bodeans. Yep. Fur realz.

We’ve also eaten at The Cookery (which I remember loving),  and The Bistro at Liberty Square in Egg Harbor.

Shopping:

My favorite is Maxwell’s House in Egg Harbor.

JC (my friend) found two great bead shops: The Perfect Bead and oh dear…I forget. Another bead place. She’s into that stuff. This is what the guys did while she shopped:

I’ve gone to The Rusty Rabbit before and liked it.

Places:

Firetower and lighthouse in Peninsula State Park

Cana Island Lighthouse

Ferry Ride to Washington Island and then on to Rock Island – very fun

What are your recommendations?  Let me know!

But then I saw this…

And, yeah, this little number…what AM I doing?

Ooohhh….*Wince*

I’m such a letdown to the family…

I kinda felt bad when I noticed those pictures. Couldn’t I have behaved a little more grown-up? Mature? Door County-ish?

Nah. You know what? I think I did just fine.

P.S. And, yes, as a matter of fact, I did make them make a pit stop.

Since it was 2/3’s first time, we showed them all the typical stuff you just have to do when there. Like:

Climb Cana Island Lighthouse:

Take pictures by the shore of Cana Island:

Discover Mrs 1/3  – otherwise known as JC – takes great scenic photos just like Mr MIP does! Yay!

Meanwhile, I can sit and relax while Mr MIP and his travel buddy take pretty photos of every bloomin’ leaf on the island.

“Hm…I really could use a travel buddy.” thought MIP.

On from the lighthouse, we stopped by Gallery Ten in Gills Rock to view our friend’s photos which had been displayed all summer and fall. Here’s me and Mr JC checking out Jim’s photos and looking for the deeper meaning in it all. (Secret: There is no deeper meaning.) If you want to check out Jim’s awesome photography, check his site at Points of Light.

And, of course, take a picture of this famous swishy road. (Swishy?)

By then, we were starving and had to…just HAD to get some food.