Calories

On Wednesday I met a friend for lunch at Mimi's Cafe. I haven't been there in a year or so and was looking forward to a relaxing meal. My quest for relaxation was shattered when I opened the menu and discovered that Mimi's is now posting calorie counts for each item they serve.

Oh. My. Goodness. Gracious.

My first thought was that I am not going to be able to eat anything for lunch. Even soup. Even salad. And forget about a sandwich or an entree. The calorie counts were through the roof! The smallest count on a sandwich was more than 700.

I frantically searched the menu for the "petite" or "half-size" portions. I literally was thinking "what am I going to eat?" when I finally spotted the soup or salad/half sandwich section.

Believe it or not the lowest calorie half sandwich was a BLT. It came in at 255 calories. Everything else was higher. Some were much higher. The garden salad was listed at 67 calories and the Caesar salad was 157. The dressings, of course, are on top of that.

I decided to order a half BLT, Caesar salad, dressing on the side. I really don't eat much dressing with my salad and I never eat the croutons. I don't like the "spiky" lettuces they put in the garden salads these days, so I thought I'd just stick with the Romaine in the Caesar salad.

Decision made, I sat back and waited for my friend to arrive. I couldn't wait to see her reaction.

After exchanging greetings, she opened the menu and I dropped the bombshell. "They have the calorie count on every item on the menu!" Her response as she scanned the menu, "oh my!"

As she exclaimed over the high calorie count on the soups and salads, and pointed out in disbelief that the BLT half sandwich had less calories than the half Turkey sandwich, I empathized. She finally ended up ordering the same sandwich, but with the garden salad.

We decided in the long run that this is a good thing. We begrudgingly opined that we hope every eating establishment starts this practice. I think I remember in the back of mind hearing that they all have to comply by January 2014. But don't quote me on that.

Our lunch was great, the conversation was uplifting, and we left having enjoyed our time together.

However...

Mimi's is now off my list of places to dine.

One Hundred Twenty Days...

When I opened my Christmas blog this morning I saw that there are 120 Days until Christmas. Yippee! I always strive to have a stress-free holiday season. I have a tried and true organization method that I use year after year. Some years I do better than others. This year I'm on track to be done with Christmas well before Thanksgiving. I have my shopping about 1/3 completed. Each gift I've purchased is wrapped and placed in storage until the day after Thanksgiving when I affix bows/ribbons.

I'm' thinking about my Christmas Card List. I think this may be the year that I bite the bullet and delete names from my list. I love to send Christmas cards, and I also enjoy receiving them. As I'm sure you know, less cards show up in my mail box each year. As I sit down to address my cards each year I think "should this be the year I pare down my list?" And each year I don't do it. I think it's time.

We may be moving into a new home in October, so I don't waste any time thinking about Christmas decor at this point. Until we get moved in and I decide the function of each room, I won't know how I'll decorate.

I have a list of goodies I'll be making this year.And I will definitely be pulling 11 angels off of an angel tree to purchase gifts for this year.

If you're on Pinterest, you've already seen the explosion of pins for the Autumn Holidays and Christmas. I get so inspired by some of the crafts, decor, and goodies I see on there!

So even though it's August 27, it's not too early to start thinking about Christmas, and making the best use of the next 120 days so you'll have a stress-free holiday!

The Last Day, the First Day

Last Tuesday marked the end of Sunny and Thunder coming to Grammy Daycare together. When Sunny arrived that morning she announced "this is my last day to come to your house". Well, yes and no. She is so excited to be moving to her new pre-school and I'm excited, too. It was cute though as she left that night with Katie. As they were walking down my sidewalk to their truck I heard her say to Katie, "I really miss Grammy!" Aww...

Sunny and Grammy on her last day

Before heading off to pre-school, Sunny and I got to have a day together last Friday. We made a special day out of it: baking cookies, going to the library, out to lunch at Freddy's with Gramps, reading books, lots and lots of cuddling!

Sunday afternoon Katie dropped Thunder off for his first "only him" sleepover at our house. He was a little apprehensive at first and kept asking for "Sissy". But by bedtime he was reveling in his "alone-ness"! He did great overnight and we had a fun play day on Monday. When he came over on Tuesday, he didn't mention Sissy at all until it was time for us to go pick her up at pre-school. He was very happy to see her then!

Playing trains with Gramps

He is very deliberate in his play

When Thunder was down for his nap yesterday, I spotted Minnie Mouse either trying to escape into or out of the laundry room...

SSMT #16

As we approach the end of August, school has started here in the Phoenix area. Although I no longer have kids to send off to school, this is still the time of year I start to get "fall fever". Which is ridiculous because we'll have 100+ degree temps for at least six to eight more weeks! But, in two weeks I'll start to decorate my home for Autumn and try to deceive myself into thinking it's getting cooler. What does that have to do with the verse I've picked for this time around? You'll see...

James 1:22 NET
But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves.

Tattoos, Greats, and a Rainy Day

In my quest to keep the summer fun, I decided to have Tattoo Day with the grandkids. I bought a book of girl tattoos and a book of boy tattoos by Melissa and Doug at Target. Tattoo Day was a great success. Thunder was a little dubious at first, but he did get into it. Sunny enjoyed choosing her tattoos, deciding exactly where to place them on her arms/legs, and supervising my application of the designs.

This week my folks came over to play one day. It was probably the best play date we've had so far. They played two rousing games of Hide 'n' Seek, read books, played with the wooden train set, played with the Kitty Cat dress up set, and did the Hokey-Pokey. Mom and Dad were probably exhausted when they left and the kids took a really good nap!

Yesterday it rained at my house. First time this summer we've had a slow soaking rain. Now you have to remember I live in the dessert. Rain is a relative term here. For most of you what we had yesterday would be considered sprinkles. But if the ENTIRE patio looks wet, it counts as rain. The best think about the rain is that the temps were held down. I told the kids they could play outside for the first time since early June. Sunny: "but it's raining!" Me: "that's OK, it's fun to play in the rain". They were tentative at first, but by the end of their play session Sunny declared "I love to play in the rain!"

Next week brings a big change to Grammy Daycare. It will be Sunny's last week to come regularly. She got into a pre-school program at one of the local high schools and will be starting school on August 19th. I am so thrilled for her. She really needs to go to school as she is extremely bright and needs more a more challenging learning environment than I provide. Plus, I'm really looking forward to having some one-on-one time with Thunder. We're going to work on colors, counting, animal names, singing, and potty training. My main goal is to teach him to sing "Jingle Bells" by Christmas. I will pick Sunny up two days a week and have her for an hour or so, and of course I'll have her on holidays. But this is the end of her toddler days and the beginning of her school days. My, it happened fast!

SSMT #15

August 1st. The year is flying by as usual. Back to school sales dominate the airwaves. My teacher daughter heads back on August 7th. Some districts have already started here in the Phoenix area. When my kids were at home, I was immersed in back to school activities and starting to think about Fall. I'm still not used to the fact that I don't have to deal with all of that anymore even though it's been seven years since I sent a child off to school!

For my verse this time around I'm calling on one of the many promises found in the Bible. Throughout my life God is faithful, His promises are reliable, and He is my shelter; no matter what. I hope that you will claim this promise today!

Psalm 18:30 NET
The one true God acts in a faithful manner;
the Lord's promise is reliable;
he is a shield to all who take shelter in him.