Werk!

 

(Musical theater nerd reference to Hamilton!)

After my meltdown last week, this has actually been a good week. My husband and I agree that just when we reach the end of our ropes is when we have a breakthrough that makes us realize everything is going to be OK.

This semester, Marlena has been working incredibly hard preparing for a few performances. It all has come together the past couple of weeks: she did a fantastic job on her Rent solo at her school concert. Then this past weekend, she did her first concert with the Allegro Music Company, the pre-professional choral group at her arts center. After a couple weeks with that group, she said her goal for the year was to get one solo. So far, she's gotten *two* solos with them, and performed the first on Saturday. It was fantastic! And most importantly, she was happy with it. She was also thrilled to be featured on the program cover! 

This is a really great group of singers and dancers, and Marlena is having a great time getting to know them. Not only are they talented musicians, but they are some truly kind kids who are supportive to each other and good influences for the younger kids.

It is an amazing feeling to see your child work hard and consistently, and reach a goal they weren't sure they *could* achieve! I, of course, was confident in her the whole time, but it's most important that *she* believe she can do it. We are incredibly proud of her! 

(Goofy music nerds letting off steam after the concert)

Self-Acceptance Wake-up Call

Do any of you read Andie Mitchell's blog? I have been a fan of hers for several years, and her latest blog post really hit home with me.
Why Self-Acceptance Matters

It's such a timely topic for me. It just hit me this morning, with true intensity, that I have been punishing myself again. I am down on myself about pretty much everything right now, doubting all my life choices on an hourly basis. The past five mornings, anxiety has woken me up at 4:30am, with my heart pounding and gut-churning worry until I go ahead and get up. My self-talk has been critical and mean. Eating has sometimes been simply to fill that sinking feeling in my tummy. That, combined with Thanksgiving, has added another five pounds to my scale, rather than the 10 I planned to lose.

I could go on and on about all the mistakes I've been making, but the bottom line is: I'm blaming myself for all my daughter's problems, and I'm punishing myself for it. All the regular Weight Watchers self-talk feels false. When the shrink tells you to lock up all the knives and medicine to keep your child safe, "if hunger isn't the problem . . . blah blah" feels like a crappy platitude.

So I needed this reminder today to be kind to myself. I promise I will practice telling myself, "You're doing the best you can," and even more importantly, I will strive to believe it.

What happened??

I got a bad surprise last week. I normally track my weight in My Fitness Pal on Thursdays. I vaguely thought, "Hm, I don't remember tracking that last Thursday, so I guess I'll have two weeks to enter." Imagine my shock when I logged in and realized my last weight check-in was September 10 - five weeks without logging my weight! That hasn't happened since I began WW in 2008! I have been weighing most days, so I had an idea of the number. But it's no accident that when I looked through my food tracker, there were many blank days where I had completely forgotten to even log in and track my daily food or exercise. Notice a pattern??

The ugly truth is I picked up 11 pounds during my anxiety meltdown and sad spell over the past five weeks. The heaviness I felt in my day-to-day life wasn't just in my chest - it was also in my gut and thighs. Boo! This photo was taken yesterday, and thankfully with the autumn clothes, I don't feel like it's noticeable.

Last Thursday, I just woke up feeling more like myself - I don't know how else to describe it. I also realized I'd forgotten to check on a fairly important work task over the same period - it just completely slipped my mind. I have had anxiety spells before, but I don't recall ever losing five weeks of my life before. This was the first time I felt unable to fully function most days, and it's something I feel I need to address with my doctor.

The situation that has been making me sad is pretty much resolved, except in my worry brain. There's nothing I can do to make it better, and I honestly think I'm the only person who is still worrying about it. Isn't there a Buddhist teaching that says something like, "Suffering comes from refusing to accept a situation?" That's so me, and I cause myself a lot of pain with my inability/refusal to just let go. I have this thing where, if a life event doesn't make any sense, I just work and work it over in my mind, until suddenly the truth sifts to the surface, and resonates with a loud "dong" in my mind. I'm not there yet, but I know when I get there, I will be at peace with it.

One thing that makes me feel better is at least I have picked back up with my exercise in the past week, and I've been filling all three circles on my Apple Watch most days. My food choices haven't been terrible, but they have been excessive pretty much every day. Both bread and sugar have welcomed me back with open arms, and neither react well with my system. 

Time to act and eat mindfully again. Time to get honest about my intake. Time to walk the walk I always say: "If the problem isn't hunger, then food isn't the answer." 

Musical Autumn

I can't even tell you how happy it makes me to be back in the swing of Marlena's musical life this autumn. Here she is with her Allegro Voice Company, part of the pre-professional division at her arts center. This is her first year with the group, and I love hearing about the talented, fun kids she's meeting there. It's at the same arts school where she takes tap and ballet.

We were all sad when her community theater group imploded, and she decided to not audition for any shows this fall. She is stage managing her school play, and having a fantastic time with that. We've also attended a few shows, and been really into musical theater soundtracks lately. I will admit that on our evening walks, she usually sings at least one Broadway number, sometimes with choreography. I'm sure our neighbors think we are insane, but it's harmless fun.

A couple weeks ago, we saw the musical Heathers with our longtime family friends. The photo above is the Broadway cast, but the community production we saw was fantastic! It was one of the first regional productions of the show, with a tiny budget, but featured fantastic singing actors. Even the ensemble was completely tight. The musical version was a bit less dark than the movie, although still not appropriate for 8th graders, but we all enjoyed it a lot. My girlfriend and I laughingly gave ourselves Bad Parent awards for this choice.

Then last week, we went with the same friends to see a high school production of Shrek The Musical. Marlena's Allegro friend played Fiona, and she did a fantastic job. It was the complete opposite end of the spectrum from the community theater we're used to. I cannot imagine the budget for this production: the costumes looked like the Broadway costumes, and every set change made my jaw drop. It actually made me really sad for the state of the arts budget at our public school.

And lastly, I am now completely addicted to the Hamilton soundtrack. Have you heard it? Wow, it's amazing! I won't even try to describe it, but I will share the review that led me to first listen to the soundtrack: Jamie Lee Curtis Hamilton review. Seriously, it's on Spotify - listen to at least the first seven numbers (through Jonathan Groff's brilliant King George number) and tell me what you think!

Sometimes Half-Assed Is Good Enough

I thought I would find my Apple Watch super motivating for my activity. I do really enjoy having one device on my wrist that tracks both my heart rate and my steps. But in the few days since I got it, I've gotten the distinct impression that I've been half-assing my workouts. And you know what? It's OK. This morning I did 35 minutes of a 70-minute kickboxing DVD. Then I shut it off, fixed breakfast, and got on with my day. It was good enough. This year, I'm scheduling five early-morning workouts every week, of about 35-45 minutes each. I'm usually doing one HIIT, one steady-state cardio, two strength training, and maybe one metabolic conditioning workout. This is down from six 60-minute workouts I did a few years ago when I was trying to maintain 15 pounds lighter. 

At this point in my life, I am dealing with the beginnings of peri-menopause and helping my daughter deal with her mental health. I am lucky if I get one good night's sleep each week. I am keeping healthy food on the table, and my daughter and I take a 30-60 minute leisure walk-and-talk almost every evening, purely for relaxation and to unwind. Nothing is forever, and this is a temporary season of life. My weight is staying pretty steady, my clothes fit, and my food is pretty automated. I am content with this right now. Even on mornings when I can barely drag myself through a workout and my heart rate is pitifully low, it is OK. I feel like as long as I am getting on my workout clothes and doing *something* for 30 minutes a day, everything will be OK.

In other news, Marlena and I had the best time at the Kacey Musgraves concert on Friday. Marlena talked the rest of the weekend about how great the concert was, and what a nice, relaxing atmosphere it was. Two nice bonuses from the concert: we discovered a new band we love, Humming House. And we had a great time visiting with the dad and daughter who sat with us. It was just lovely having such a relaxing evening out with my kiddo, and watching Marlena enjoy live music with every fiber of her being is always an experience.

Powerful Article On An Important Topic

There's Always More To Say

I read this article at work earlier this week, and found myself choking back sobs at my desk. I am so very lucky to feel that my struggles with depression have been mostly mild to what Roman describes. But the way he describes his experience and feelings? That feels familiar to me, and reminds me to be more compassionate for what my daughter is experiencing now. 

It's amazing to me how you never know what people are dealing with - we can be pretty good at putting up false fronts. I discovered Roman's fitness blog a few years ago, and something about his writing always touched me. I actually follow his blog, and never fail to be interested in his Facebooks posts. At first glance, my middle-aged suburban mom life has nothing in common with this witty young bro, and my fitness routine is miles away from being as hardcore as his. So I have always had a hard time explaining the appeal of his writing to my friends and family. But after reading this post, I *get* the connection I feel to him. To Roman and all my friends and family who share these struggles, I do know that feeling of being in the hole of depression, and know how much effort it takes to simply reach out a hand for help. But know that if you are my people, I will always be here to grab hold of your hand, hard, and I won't let go.

My New Preciouusssssss

Ha, that video cracks me up every time I think of it!

But seriously, since 2009 I have wanted a fitness tracker that will show me heart-rate, calories burned, overall daily activity, AND track my steps. I have loved my Polar heart-rate monitors, but never wanted to invest in a separate pedometer. 

So when I found out Apple was coming out with a watch that did all that *and more,* I was sold before I even laid eyes on it. I am an incurable Apple junkie, and have loved every single Apple piece of hardware I've bought. I've been saving my Christmas and birthday money in anticipation, so when I didn't hear anything terrible about the Apple Watch, and my WW buddy Lindsay loved hers, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered one. 

So far, so good! True to my life, my daughter "helped" me set it up out of the box, then wore it all evening. At this point, I know about 1% of what all it will do, so I'll have to convince Marlena to give me tutorials on all its features. 

(calling Dad on the "spy phone")

(my step workout this morning) 

I am really looking forward to playing with it more. I anticipate a completely dead battery by this evening!

Love, Actually

 (Oh my goodness, doesn't this scene just kill you?!)

The mom of a teen girl told me yesterday, "Can you imagine? 15 years old and thinks she's in love? *laughs*" I smiled politely, but yes, I can imagine. I may have forgotten most details about being a teenager, but man, do I ever remember the intense crushes I had. It was certainly different than the "tested for-better-for-worse, married with kids and a 30-year mortgage" kind of love. But as the parent of a new teen, I see through adult eyes that the positive side of teen love has such sweetness, trust, and purity. It makes my heart hurt because I see through jaded 44-year-old eyes that once someone has been hurt by a first love, they'll never have that exact experience again. 

Who are we as parents to belittle our children's emotional experiences? Why should I have any doubt that my child, who has always been securely attached and sweetly loving to our family, shouldn't also love her friends and boyfriend? After all, I've taught my child that loving new people doesn't mean we lose the love we feel for those already familiar to us - our hearts expand endlessly to make room for all those we love. I try to carefully vet the people we let in our family circle, but I believe that love and human connection are essential to her well-being. Maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic - after all, one of my all-time favorite movies is Love, Actually, and I'm an optimist who loves romances. But I do truly believe in all kinds of love: parents, grandparents, extended family, friends, and I do believe that the love teens feel is real. 

(With the caveat that I believe in supervision, responsibility, and am teaching personal respect and boundaries. I'm not endorsing Romeo & Juliet behavior, and have no desire to be a grandma for many years! And this post is not meant to violate anyone's privacy - it's merely my  reaction to a comment that was probably well-meant.)

(Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell was the best book I've read all summer. I highly recommend it!)

Marking The Good Times

I started a post yesterday when I was having an extremely down-feeling day. Just one of those days where nothing particular had happened, yet my anxious brain was telling me I was doing everything wrong. My daughter is back in school and doing well, but I had this leftover feeling of dread from one final summer meltdown last weekend.

When I got home, my family was in a great mood and it turned my mood around. My daughter and I took a very long walk to a local park, and we had the best talk. My goal on our walk-and-talks is always to listen to what's on her mind, and ask good questions to elicit her feelings about what's going on with her. I can't even express my relief and happiness that she's on an upswing right now. While we were at the park, it started drizzling, which she absolutely loves. Luckily we didn't get soaked!

The sun started setting as we crossed the bridge on the way home, so we stopped and talked about all the colors of the sunset for a few minutes. Then I turned eastward, and noticed there was a complete rainbow in the sky! It was so beautiful, and lasted all the way until dark. We all went to bed early, and I had my fourth good night of sleep since May.

I am normally quite an optimistic person and able to trust there's good in most situations. My current anxiety and depression are temporary, and I will get through them. I remembered something my wise daughter said recently about "marking the good times," so she has them  stored to remember when she's having a sad day. I'm going to do the same, and last night will definitely be one of the good times I mark.

Last Day of Summer

Today is the last weekday before Marlena returns to school on Monday. It has been the longest summer of my life, so I'm ready for school! I don't guess the kids are ever ready, but I know the routine will do a world of good for Marlena and her friends.

The end of the summer has been all about music. After an illness and injury during the spring musical, Marlena was ready for a break from singing for a while. She's done some really cool arts camps this summer: oil painting, film, a brief stint at pottery, an amazing dance intensive, as well as some dance classes. But after a lot of deliberation, she signed up for an a cappella camp the past two weeks, and she says it was probably the best extra-curricular she's ever done. She sang a solo in "Over The Rainbow," and helped organize a quintet to sing "Run To You," a very difficult Pentatonix song, in four days. The kids were so proud to pull that off!

It has been a summer of many changes, learning about ourselves, learning to trust, learning about relationships, learning to let go a little, and most of all, learning that parenting a teen is more different from parenting an elementary-aged kid than I could have imagined.

I have also learned that even if I loosen the choke hold on my diet a little bit, I won't suddenly balloon back to 300 pounds. It hasn't been that difficult to maintain my weight this summer, thank goodness. My gut-churning anxiety is still around, but I finally made a doctor's appointment to get it checked out. Probably the best part of my summer has been taking evening walks with Marlena. I'm sure the extra activity has helped offset my more moderate diet. I'm mostly grateful for the opportunity to listen to her thoughts and keep our lines of communication open.

The Only Way Out Is Through

We Americans like shortcuts, don't we? I know I do. I'm always looking for the quickest, most-efficient way to do pretty much every task. When I was in labor, the hospital doula told me something I've never forgotten: "The only way out is through." Holy cow, that pretty much summarized childbirth for me! But I've realized since then that it applies to many other life situations. I found it very true with weight loss and fitness. *Feeling* feelings, which I used to eat to numb.

Grief is a big one. I remember going through a period of about 10 years where I simply didn't cry much. But boy howdy, did I eat! No coincidence that was the time period where I experienced the biggest gains of my life.

My family experienced a big loss last week. My Pa-Pa (my mom's father) passed away at age 94. Although his health hadn't been great the past few months, he was able to be home and driving until the last four days of his life when he had a sudden illness. The speed of his illness was very hard on my mom, but we are all happy he didn't have to give up his independence, which was one of his defining personality traits. He was the smartest man any of us ever knew, and in reminiscing this weekend, I realize I get so much of my personality from him.

I spent the weekend being strong for my mom and helping as much as I could with all the arrangements. My husband and I played and sang at the funeral, which was the first time I've ever attempted that. So much being strong, and today I am completely spent. Truthfully, I have been running on fumes all summer - my husband and I had a long discussion where he thought last summer was the worst ever, but I think this one has been. Constant stress and worry about my daughter has left me feeling gutted every day. We're doing everything we can, and as the school year approaches, we're seeing signs that she's returning to herself.

In the midst of the funeral planning, my massage therapist called to book an appointment for my expiring Living Social coupon. Mentally, I know I need it now more than ever. I'm feeling guilty about taking the hour away from home, when I've been gone for 5 days, the refrigerator is pretty empty, the laundry not done, the house not clean, and I've seen my daughter very little. But I am talking myself into going anyway, because Lisa is one of the most healing, peaceful people I know, and I have a feeling this is the jumping-off point to dealing with my own grief, and starting the "going through" process that can't be skipped over.

Food Truck Friday

Does your town have food truck gatherings? I find them fun once in a while, and we've even visited food trucks when we've been on vacation. This month, the St. Louis Art Museum is having a film series on Friday nights, where they have food trucks all evening, then a movie outdoors after dark. We went this past Friday, and it was a really nice time. My daughter brought a friend, and they had the best time exploring the museum all evening.
For me, the only downside to food trucks is that it's sometimes hard to find food that feels like my preferred variety of healthy. But I got so excited when I saw the Revel food truck there. I've never eaten at their cafe, but my husband said it was delicious. They actually received a write-up in the New York Times this spring.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/travel/restaurant-report-athlete-eats-in-st-louis.html?_r=0I had the "“caulichilada” which tasted completely amazing! Now I've been craving it all week! Then I had a paleo chocolate cookie from the coffee truck for dessert. I was completely satisfied, and it was all so delicious.
I realized I've talked a lot lately about following moderation and being more flexible with family meals as a good example. This situation was the best of both worlds - it was a rare opportunity to have it all!

Modeling Moderation

I hope everyone had a very happy July 4th weekend! Our 4th was nice, but having July 5th on a Sunday was my favorite day in a while. The weather was perfect - high 80s but not too humid. Every place we went in St. Louis had little to no crowds. This is Art Hill in Forest Park - normally it would be packed on a beautiful day like yesterday. We went to the pool, the Art Museum, did a little shopping, and tried a new-to-St. Louis ice cream parlor.

Oh, and Marlena did my face for me. I always love the way she does it, and she frequently asks if she can apply my makeup. I just ignore the wrinkles, ha! 

If you ever get a chance to try Jeni's Ice Cream, I highly recommend it! Marlena was cracking up that she somehow got hot fudge all over her arm! 

But the ice cream brings me to my topic: Modeling Moderation. 

Moderation has never come naturally to me. Honestly, I didn't lose 150 pounds by eating/exercising moderately. As the mom of a daughter, I have tried to never ever say negative things about my body, but there have been many times I've said things like, "I *have* to work out!" or eaten different meals from my family to stay On-Plan. From everything I've read, I have internalized the message that "being hardcore" is the most efficient way to maintain. I try to follow most of Dr. Barbara Berkeley's rules from "Refuse To Regain," including weighing and exercising daily and keeping gains to a bare minimum. A couple years ago, though, I made a choice to eat more treats with Marlena, solely for the purpose of modeling moderation. I'm OK with my extra 15 pounds that resulted. 

In the past six weeks, though, we (Marlena, my husband and I, and a couple adults close to her) have become concerned about her vulnerability to eating disorders. It goes hand in hand with her other emotional issues, and it appears to be widespread among a group of her friends. At this point, her food intake hasn't changed, I don't think her weight has changed, but she's begun tracking her food on My Fitness Pal and worrying about her weight and what she eats. She's also begun running, and continues to love dance. My mama gut instinct tells me she does not have an eating disorder, but we are watching it carefully. My gut also tells me that her running is probably 50% for her mood, and 50% for her weight. 

I have always been very open with my family that the main reason I exercise daily is to maintain my mood. So I shouldn't be surprised that, from the list of 100 Ways To Self-Soothe her therapist gave her, she chose exercise. She's been watching Mama self-soothe with exercise for 8 years! 

All this is just to say that there's a reason I've been eating ice cream this summer, even when I'm not really in the mood. My kiddo and husband absolutely LOVE ice cream! It completely breaks my heart to watch Marlena talk herself out of an ice cream because she thinks it has too many calories. So when she says she wants it, I cheerfully walk her to the ice cream parlor in our neighborhood, and we enjoy the heck out of those ice creams. I enjoy the heck out of our walk & talks. And I say "f- it" to the ice cream calories, because showing her it's OK to be moderate is one of my most important jobs right now. 

The Long Rainy Summer

In an effort to focus on the positive, here are some good things that have happened recently:

My anxiety backed down to more normal levels, thank goodness. I now feel able to be a more effective parent. My appetite is still pretty blunted, so my weight has stayed down. And my hair dresser is going to love all my new grey hairs, ha! 

We've had some nice family outings. We attended the Young Artist Center Stage concert at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, which was fantastic. This is the same young artist program I attended 21 years ago, and I can tell you these artists were head and shoulders above my level of singing at that age! Marlena seemed to really enjoy it, and was especially tickled at my and Sasha's complete opera nerdiness. Ha, little does she know we were only about 25% of the way to opera nerds that night - that was completely mild! 

We also attended Pride St. Louis as a family, and Marlena met some friends there. 

Marlena has done a couple of arts camps, because it's good for her to stay busy. I am so amazed by her creativity and talent in so many different arts. She did an oil painting camp and a "movie musicals" camp, where she sang the lead in numbers from Les Mis, Into The Woods, and Legally Blonde. Next week is pottery wheel class, then a two-week a capella camp at the end of the summer. She's also taking tap and ballet classes this summer. She's taking a break from anything competitive, and we're just focusing on enjoying the arts this summer. 

As a family, we have eaten some pretty awesome ice cream so far this summer. Sasha and Marlena are the real ice cream lovers, but if it's really *nice* ice cream, I do enjoy it. Oh my goodness, we have a place called Serendipity in our neighborhood. It's locally handmade ice cream, costs a tiny fortune, but it's phenomenal. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams has also opened a parlor in St. Louis (!) but we have yet to try it. So far, that has been our "vacation" ice cream place, and it will still need to be a special occasion treat.

I'm looking forward to seeing my family over the July 4th weekend. 

I hope you all are having a nice summer!

Anxiety sucks

"Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth . . ." repeat.

This has been my mantra the past couple of weeks. It has been tough, I'm not going to lie. 

At the beginning of this year, I briefly mentioned some trouble my family has been dealing with, specifically my daughter's struggle with anxiety. After months of therapy, then adding very mild meds, things were stabilized. But as soon as school let out for the summer, her mood took a nosedive. Last summer, I felt able to cope and be strong for her. For whatever reason, this time it has triggered my long-dormant anxiety, so now I feel like I'm barely hanging on. It has been probably 20 years since my anxiety has been this bad. Can't concentrate, can't sleep, racing heart, feeling snappish with everyone, and unable to separate my feelings from hers enough to help her cope. 

For me, it feels harder because I'm so introverted and unwilling to share my struggle with friends. My daughter is so extroverted she only feels like her feelings are valid when she's sharing them with others. She's also completely stubborn and not very cooperative with therapy. I feel like we're a toxic combination right now, when I should be able to be her strong support.  Add to that the guilt I feel that she inherited this from me, and I'm feeling pretty crummy and alone. 

I'm also going to have to put away my scale. She has become friends with several girls with eating disorders, and is starting to show signs of worrying about her (completely fine) weight. 

We have another therapy appointment tomorrow, so I'm hoping she finds a little relief there. And being the grownup who's been through it before, I will keep working the steps I know will help me feel better. 

Universal Studios - Day 2

Today was our second day at Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure, and our last day in the theme parks. We toured Hogsmeade again, then rode the Hogwarts Express to Universal Studios. It was cool to see the Knight Bus in the flesh (metal?) 

We did a little more shopping in Diagon Alley. I got a cool sweatshirt/jacket, and Marlena got an awesome Gryffindoor leather phone case.

We ate lunch at the Leaky Cauldron again, simply because of proximity. I actually like the food better at Three Broomsticks, but this was still completely above-average theme park food.

We rode so many rides today! We also did a couple character meet & greets. Sasha was so thrilled to meet a Decepticon. Quite different from the nice Disney characters and Spider Man - he just snarled at everyone, ha! 

By 4pm, we were completely worn out, so we took off for Whole Foods to pick up some dinner. Have I mentioned how much we love the Orlando Whole Foods. Actually, we have kind of a family tradition of stopping at the Whole Foods food bars whenever possible on vacation. So many yummy, healthy options! 

Sasha and Marlena went to the pool after dinner, while I collapsed in the A/C and uploaded photos. 

I forgot to mention that the reason we've booked this particular condo twice is its view of the Disney fireworks. So we watched the Magic Kingdom Wishes fireworks one last time, then went to bed.

Steps for today: 17,093. We were spent. The funny thing was: when Marlena got back to school, she asked her gym teacher if she needed to submit a makeup log. He said, "Yes, please." She said, "OK, I'll write down that we walked x number of miles last week." He replied, "OK, never mind the log - that will do!"

Epcot - Day 2

Epcot today was fantastic, as always. Beautiful beautiful perfect weather.

Walked around World Showcase most of the day, just shopping, people-watching, and pin-trading.

Lunch at Tangerine Cafe again. Should I be embarrassed that the host recognized Marlena and me, and told us "Welcome back"? We love that schwarma!

Marlena also had quite a few yummy treats.

We walked through World Showcase a couple of times and felt like we'd seen pretty much everything we wanted by mid-afternoon. Still, I choked up when we left - I was incredibly sad to be leaving Disney for our last day. Vacation always goes too quickly!

For dinner, we met my husband's dear work friend at Raglan Road in Downtown Disney. She happens to be friends with the manager, who seated us at the best table in the place! We had a great view of the singing and dancing, and the food was really delicious. I had Shepherd's Pie for dinner, then an unbelievable bread pudding for dessert. Oh man, I love bread pudding, but the portion was so huge I was happy to share with Sasha and Marlena!

We walked around Downtown Disney for a while, then went back to our condo.

Steps for this day: 19,342. Believe it or not, it felt like a much lighter day than previous days. I know the gorgeous weather helped so much!

Magic Kingom - Day 2

We had to get up super early for our Be Our Guest breakfast. We were so lucky that Sasha was able to snag that reservation, because I keep hearing how impossible it is. Watching Marlena frolic on Main Street in front of the castle with no crowds was a highlight of our entire trip!

Breakfast was good - food was mediocre, but enjoying the empty park before Rope Drop was worth every penny.

Check out this empty street in Fantasyland. It was insane to see it completely empty.

We rode rides all morning, had another relaxing lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus (Sasha and I brought some rotisserie chicken and veggies,) and basically just enjoyed all the little delightful sights we don't often slow down to enjoy.

We all stayed for the Festival of Fantasy Parade, and Sasha was right: it was incredible! Every character waved and/or talked to Marlena.

We met a college program cast member who's from the town where I work, and visited with her before the Electrical Parade. Such a sweet girl, and so knowledgeable about Disney pins and merch. Marlena and Sasha get really into pin trading as our trips progress.

After the Electrical Parade, we did a little Main Street shopping, then took the ferry back to the parking lots. We timed it exactly right, so we saw the Wishes fireworks from the ferry. Seeing the fireworks reflected in the lagoon was truly magical. We decided we liked that experience so much more than being packed in with tens of thousands of people on Main Street - just a beautiful experience!

Steps this day: 22,762. 

My sore foot was pretty much done by this day. I was reduced to wearing my oldest, most scuffed-up Dansko clogs, because they were the only shoes that didn't kill my foot.