Lightspeed ahead to a healthier you! April 2016 WISH challenge... all are welcome!

[Oneanne]

That is neat to have another quilter in the group. I machine quilt many of my lap quilts. Nothing fancy but a lot of stippling. I do hand quilt larger ones. I have a carpenter star that I am hand quilting now with perle cotton. This is going to my niece who got married in Dec. I am also making a signature quilt for ds1's wedding in AUg. Right now I am only making the squares and the guests will sign them instead of a guest book. I am using rainbow colors since the bride loves Wizard of Oz. I will put it together after the wedding. Then I have another niece who is my Goddaughter getting married in Sept that I want to make a quilt for and then ds2 is getting married next April so there is another quilt.

It is cool to find out there's another quilter! I also belong to a national women's glamping club, Sisters on the Fly, which has a FB sub-group of quilters. The club has a collection of traveling quilts that are checked out to those going thru chemo, then returned when treatment is complete. The quilts were originally being put together by one of the club founders, but we chipped in and made several tops. I consider myself to be an advanced beginner and have already learned a lot from contributing blocks to the club efforts. I seem to favor scrappy styles, but of course they never actually get made from scraps on hand, fabric shopping is always required. I'm just now getting interested in English Paper Piecing, and starting to think what I could do in that style that would go with my log cabin.

How wonderful that you are making all those wedding quilts... What a wonderful gift to start a new life with!

 

[Oneanne]

Well.... I guess if some of our friends here can go all "Gilmore Girls" on us last month, the rest of us can go all "Little House" on them!

My love for LIW is legendary here. I can actually REMEMBER receiving my first book in the series from a Scholastic Book order at school.... owning a book was a RARE treat.

I was an early reader, several grades ahead from Kindergarten on, so I think I probably devoured the entire series before 2nd or 3rd grade. And I have never looked back. It has been, without fail, my favorite book series since then. I've read the entire series more times than I can count and still own MOST of the ones I had in elementary school. I also own a set of "bathtub books".... a tattered set that I found for free somewhere and I use them when I want to read in the tub without risking ruining one of my other copies. I've also collected EVERY book I've ever seen/found by or about LIW. I even bought a copy of a cassette recording of a radio interview she did late in life..... hearing her actual VOICE gave me goosebumps.

My DD is named for LIW.... first and middle name..... but it was a nice coincidence that LIW and I shared a middle name!

I've had one lifelong dream regarding LIW and that is to visit ALL of the homesites.... but the main one was to visit her homesite in Mansfield, Missouri. I finally decided it was time to "fish or cut bait" and I planned a trip there for DD and I in 2006. IT WAS WONDERFUL! And so glad to have DD along. She isn't the SUPER FAN that I am, but she totally understands and appreciates my love of all things LIW and was totally supportive when I teared up at every corner around the homesite!! Also brought flowers to her grave when I was there..... it made a HUGE impression on me.... like visiting the grave of a long-lost loved one for the first time. Can't really explain it.

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( May 2006: BTW, I had lost about 20 of my eventual 86 pounds at this point.... so not my biggest, but no where near goal.)

The second LIW dream is still just a dream.... but I WILL make it happen. That will be a visit to the homesite in South Dakota (and seeing Mt. Rushmore while I'm out there!). I've planned this trip in my head SO MANY TIMES! Some day....

Anyhooo..... I loved the TV show when it first started (and I was pretty young), but the story line of the show went SO FAR AWRY of the actual story and got a little nutty..... so I NEVER watch it any more, other than the pilot, which followed the story in the book pretty nicely.

Anyhow.... that's my LIW story!

Went outside and sowed some peas.... better late than never! Also swept the back deck and raked out some flower beds, but the blackflies were getting bad, so I couldn't stay out any longer.

Not sure what we are having for dinner, but since it is 5:30 I guess I had better figure it out! It's kind of a "recovery" day here for us after so many hours in the car Friday and yesterday.

BB in the morning to chat!..............P

I didn't love the tv show either, for the very same reason. I'm hoping the movie currently in the works is true to the books and not a remake of the tv show. When I lived in Chicago I thought about going to the homestead in SD, but never did it... Might have to put it back on the list.

And true confession... In my dream life I call my BF Manly. Now if I can just find the guy in real life...

 

[DisPup75]

OK kids! I'll have one last quick WI before we dash out to the airport but I'm officially in vacation mode!! Ears packed. Tiaras packed. Sunblock packed. Location of the croque glacé marked in my phone. Instagram posts may be forthcoming (maggielee75).

I had the misfortune of seeing that cursed sandals pledge on Facebook a few minutes ago so now I'm sitting here waiting for my toes to dry so I can go to bed and sneak a quick 5 hours of sleep before the alarm goes off! And I'll jump out of bed faster than lightning for a change!

The good news about the wet toenail polish is I've got the May thread up and ready to go!

http://www.disboards.com/threads/healthy-living-from-the-inside-out-may-2016-wish-challenge.3504700/

So, recipe has been posted! You can find it here: Eggplant Mykonos

It is from a vegetarian cookbook that I have been using quite a lot recently called "Moosewood Restaurant Favorites". It really inspired me to eat less meat over the recent months! I can only highly recommend this cookbook! Here is a link to it on Amazon: Moosewood Restaurant Favorites

That sounds yummy. One of my favorite cookbooks too!

Similar to others my evil things are stress, boredom/loneliness, sadness and then also on the other side when I do socialise with friends and there is food I am always a sucker for the yummy less healthy options. Also just the dark side in me that says just eat it even when I KNOW it will sabotage myself!

This is an off topic vent that I know my fellow Disney lovers will understand - it has been quite windy here today and earlier an unexpected gust came through the front door and blew 2 frames flying - one a big one with lots photos of our So Cal trip survived as it is not glass but Perspex but it knocked off our Splash Mountain souvenir frame from Disneyland it is currently in 5 pieces - I have bought some super glue and am hoping to patch it together. I am devastated - seriously - got all teary.

Check in - 55.8% - of goal - Still need to keep working on getting more active.

Oh that is devastating. I have a whole series of family trips on Splash when I was a kid on the wall of my den. I would be so upset if they got hurt!

Oh... it is really disappointing to be let down by someone you are close to, but I imagine when it is a sister and a TWIN it is extra hard. So sorry about this.

The coloring/embroidery thing sounds like FUN.... please tell me more about it later! And SUPER DUPER thank you for stepping in yesterday! I appreciate it so much!!! It was a whirlwind day and I was feeling badly that I didn't get a QOTD posted but I should have KNOWN this group would take care of each other!



Grrrr..... if you can't get it together, try calling WDW merchandising.... you may be able to order a new frame from them.

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Hi friends! I'm back! It was a LOT of "butt time" in the car, but the last college choice was toured and now he can make an informed decision. I'll probably arrange to have a phone appointment with a few of the schools tomorrow or Tuesday and see if we can get ANY more money from them in the form of grants or scholarships. Otherwise it will just take them completely out of the running.

Anyhow, we drove 7:30 pm - 12:30 am Friday night (with a stop for gas and two stops for coffee) and arrived within an hour of the school. Stopped into the aforementioned "cheapo" hotel for a quick sleep and not-terrible-but-not-terrific free breakfast..... drove 50 minutes to the school and toured for 2 hours.

The men indulged me with a quick detour to the Almanzo Wilder Farm Museum (from the Little House book series) I am a HUUUUGGEEE fan of the books/author (it equals my Disney fandom level) and DD took me to see this particular home about two years ago on a Mother/Daughter trip, but we were LITERALLY 3 minutes away yesterday.... so I asked to stop for a few minutes. They were patient and understanding.... it was a nice stop.

Then we stopped a few more times for pictures on the way home.... upper NY state is a really pretty area (although I think it is a poor area economically).... there are a few windmill farms and there is a small Amish community, so I was delighted to see a few Amish buggies. Also stopped for a few groceries since there is a Market Basket along the trip home. By the time we got home and I put away the groceries and we had a quick light dinner (one slice of pizza each because we had lunch at 4pm!!), it was after 9pm and I was too tired to come on here! Sorry!!

SOOO many great progress reports here!!! I am SO impressed!! You guys are doing wonderful this month!!Keep those reports coming!! I'll get the Results post done tomorrow

Anyhow.... I am officially on April school vacation, but if you know me, you know that I have so many chores and projects planned in my mind this week! But I may take today as a relaxation day... I'll see how I feel. I do want to get my peas planted.... better late than never!

I'll BBL to chat!..............P

I love Little House too! The museum in Missouri was one of my all time favorite road trip stops

 

[4Mickeys]

OK kids! I'll have one last quick WI before we dash out to the airport but I'm officially in vacation mode!! Ears packed. Tiaras packed. Sunblock packed. Location of the croque glacé marked in my phone. Instagram posts may be forthcoming (maggielee75).

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

 

[DisPup75]

Final check on for the week (and the month)! Down 4.5 or 90% of goal!!!!

Yay! I really hoped to see Onederland this morning but was just a smidgeon over. If I could have slept until 7:00 rather than the inhumane 3:30, I would have made it. Oh well, I'll settle for my triumphant return to overweight.

Now, I am sitting bleary eyed at DCA with 20 minutes to go until boarding starts, contemplating a breakfast sandwich filled to overflowing with British style bacon. So, so sad. I was looking forward to it but I only do crispy. I guess it is a sign that I need to go back and get the yogurt and fruit I should have gotten in the first place.

 

[CruisingKate]

REPORT - lost a pound
1/2
50% of goal

 

[pjlla]

Good morning and WELCOME to your LAST MONDAY of the April challenge and your QOTD for 4/25/2016:

Star Wars weekends at Disney.....while (sadly) they appear to be gone forever, we have the new Star Wars Land at DHS to look forward to!!



First part of the QOTD: Did you ever attend a SW weekend? Tell us about it and share a picture!

Second part of the QOTD: How do you get yourself back on track/on plan with your eating and exercise after a vacation or a weekend away?

 

[pjlla]

Good morning all! Love the LIW chatter here! I makes my heart happy! I feel like those "traditional" books get very overlooked in the schools these days in favor of more recent books/series like the HP series (admittedly worthy of the attention), Rick Riordan books, and other more "sci-fi" types. I make an effort to ALWAYS read a bit of a LIW to any class I am in (especially 3rd-4th grade) to get the kids interested in the books (my personal mission I guess).

I had some fairly healthy frozen pizza last night and embellished it with a bunch of sauteed veggies (onions, peppers, greens). It was delicious and I SO wanted to eat more than planned, but I'm proud I stuck with my plan and ended the day right at 30 SmartPoints! WOOHOO for hitting my daily goal exactly!

Okie dokie friends.... off to be productive today!! I'm planning to GUT DS's room.... pulling out EVERYTHING except his desk, computer, and bed. He has been warned!

If I don't return by bedtime, call out the National Guard.... that room is a DISASTER of epic proportions!..............P

 

[bigsis1970]

Thank you all for congratulations! We still feel it's a bit surreal as we've been wanting and waiting for this to happen with big disappointments for the past 2 years.. We take our homebuyers class this weekend so that means we'll work all week, take class Sat and Sun, work all of the next week then we'll be on a stay-cation! (hubs had a use or lose week to take before May 17, we had been saving it to visit friends who live in Celebration FL but just couldn't swing a trip) We'll use the time to pack up non-essentials..

Looks like there were lots of good WI and WOW the amount of steps is crazy good! Keep it up friends.. Enjoy your trip @DisPup75

 

[4Mickeys]

First part of the QOTD: Did you ever attend a SW weekend? Tell us about it and share a picture!

Second part of the QOTD: How do you get yourself back on track/on plan with your eating and exercise after a vacation or a weekend away?

No have never been to a Star Wars weekend. We are hoping to make it back in a few years after Star Wars Land opens sons are mad Star Wars fans - good mother that I can be sometimes I slept in the car for 3 hours so they could be at the midnight opening day sessions last year - it was too far to drive home and back again lol - I was not the only parent in the car park doing that. It was in 3D otherwise I would have joined them - but 3D does not agree with me.

Well we don't get away very often - but I find especially if we have eaten cheaply (usually takeouts) whilst away I am actually looking forward to getting back on track once home and being able to have home cooked food! So I do think that getting back to usual routines and restocking the fridge after being away can get you back on track. I think that if you aren't away all that frequently its ok to indulge a little with your food when you are - maybe enjoy that decadent desert you would never have at home - often they are too rich to eat alone anyway and so sharing means you have cut back already Also, it depends on the holiday I have actually found on a few holidays that I have eaten better, been more active and actually lost weight!

 

[bigsis1970]

Good morning and WELCOME to your LAST MONDAY of the April challenge and your QOTD for 4/25/2016:

Star Wars weekends at Disney.....while (sadly) they appear to be gone forever, we have the new Star Wars Land at DHS to look forward to!!

View attachment 164483

First part of the QOTD: Did you ever attend a SW weekend? Tell us about it and share a picture!

Second part of the QOTD: How do you get yourself back on track/on plan with your eating and exercise after a vacation or a weekend away?

Sadly I am a huge Star Wars fan thanks to my dad but never made it Star Wars weekends.. I also can't ride Star Tours as I get motion sick very easily.. I always say I'm going to take Drammine and brave it but I have been a chicken so far..

Like @4Mickeys said after eating out (mostly fast foods when on vacation) I too am looking forward to making home cooked more healthy type meals.. However that being said it's always hard to cut the carbs back down - my weakness ..

 

[piglet1979]

Good morning and WELCOME to your LAST MONDAY of the April challenge and your QOTD for 4/25/2016:

Star Wars weekends at Disney.....while (sadly) they appear to be gone forever, we have the new Star Wars Land at DHS to look forward to!!

View attachment 164483

First part of the QOTD: Did you ever attend a SW weekend? Tell us about it and share a picture!

Second part of the QOTD: How do you get yourself back on track/on plan with your eating and exercise after a vacation or a weekend away?

We have never been to Star Wars Weekends. We booked a bounce back offer to go this year to SW Weekends. With them cancelling it we almost canceled the trip. Thankfully we didn't and we are so excited to go.

In the past I had already been off track by the time we went on the trip so I didn't start back up when we got back. This year will be different. I am not sure what I will do. My plan for right now is on Monday (first day home) is just jump back in with a workout.

 

[Dr Gunnie]

Never did the Star Wars weekend.

After a weekend where I was a little higher on calories, I usually start off on Monday was a low calorie day - maybe something in the 1,000 to 1,200 range just for a day and go with one of my more difficult cardio workouts to kind of jump start my week. My routine for the last few weeks has been to make my weekend basically a rest period where I do maybe 10,000 steps and one practice 5k run. During the week I usually average around 25,000 steps with a practice 5k, a couple 30 min elliptical runs, a sprint day, and an incline walk. It's been working pretty well so I'll stick with it.

Off topic: My issue now is steps vs heart rate. First, I don't feel like my fitbit charge hr does a great job with the heart rate monitoring. There have been times where it says I'm at 120, but do check my pulse and I'm not even close to that. I feel like it's counting my arm movement as beats. I've started to focus more on heart rate and less on steps. I can walk 30,000 steps in a day, but if my heart rate stays low, what's the point? If I knew that the Apple Watch did a better job measuring heart rate, I would switch in a second, but my guess is it's probably a lot like the charge hr. Not sure what to do. Ideally, I would like to spend less focus on step, maybe avg in the 15,000 range and look at more heart rate/calories burned as my target each day. Anyone else have issues with the charge hr? Thoughts?

 

[dsnyfn1022]

First part of the QOTD: Did you ever attend a SW weekend? Tell us about it and share a picture!

Second part of the QOTD: How do you get yourself back on track/on plan with your eating and exercise after a vacation or a weekend away?

I never got to do SW weekend but it's not the time period that I prefer to go and it sounded busy.

I usually crave veggies when I get back from vacation. So it usually isn't too hard (now) for me to get back on track. Before, when I wasn't eating healthy at all I would eat veggies like a day or so after retuning and then go back to the same habits.

 

[Oneanne]

Good morning and WELCOME to your LAST MONDAY of the April challenge and your QOTD for 4/25/2016:

Star Wars weekends at Disney.....while (sadly) they appear to be gone forever, we have the new Star Wars Land at DHS to look forward to!!

View attachment 164483

First part of the QOTD: Did you ever attend a SW weekend? Tell us about it and share a picture!

Second part of the QOTD: How do you get yourself back on track/on plan with your eating and exercise after a vacation or a weekend away?

I do F&G every year, so inadvertently end up at SW Weekend as well. Not enough of a fan to geek out, but I love it when I'm just milling around and get swallowed up by marching Storm Troupers... It's happened almost every trip.

Getting back on track after Texas was more of a challenge than I anticipated. WDW is usually the downfall of any pre-trip dieting, and I think the fact that I was dieting not eating healthfully is probably more of the problem than vacation. Even when I've eaten out of control, I only come back with a couple extra pounds because I'm so active.

This upcoming trip I know my food intake will be much higher than normal, my plan is to choose healthfully. I can already see in the weather forecast that it is going to be too hot and humid to do my 35,000 step challenge, so instead I am going to do 20,000+ per day, including early morning walks around Hourglass Lake, where I can power walk and get heart rate up. When I get home I'll just need to work at getting back on track knowing that it will be an interative effort.

 

[Flossbolna]

Progress report: 60% towards goal

I hoped I would get further, but 60% is better than 0%, so I take it. I am also now at a BMI of 25.1, so getting very close to no longer being overweight! Unfortunately the last weigh in is most likely going to be a bad one as timing with TOM just is going to work against me...

How do you get yourself back on track/on plan with your eating and exercise after a vacation or a weekend away?

I have never been to Star Wars Weekends, so will stick to the second part of the QOTD:

I am afraid I really don't have any trick besides that it has become a routine for me. The one thing I do might be to go and get a load of veggies and fruit to have them at home to motivate me to actually eat them.

Off topic: My issue now is steps vs heart rate. First, I don't feel like my fitbit charge hr does a great job with the heart rate monitoring. There have been times where it says I'm at 120, but do check my pulse and I'm not even close to that. I feel like it's counting my arm movement as beats. I've started to focus more on heart rate and less on steps. I can walk 30,000 steps in a day, but if my heart rate stays low, what's the point? If I knew that the Apple Watch did a better job measuring heart rate, I would switch in a second, but my guess is it's probably a lot like the charge hr. Not sure what to do. Ideally, I would like to spend less focus on step, maybe avg in the 15,000 range and look at more heart rate/calories burned as my target each day. Anyone else have issues with the charge hr? Thoughts?

I have no idea about problems with measuring heart rate correctly, but have you checked if you are wearing the fitbit correctly? When I used a heart rate monitor a long time ago, I had one with a breast strap (or whatever that would be called?). And I know that if I was wearing it too losely, it was skipping a beat. I am wondering if you are wearing it loosely or too tightly and that is why it can give you a wrong reading?

Have you tried the fitbit help forums? I have found some good answers there for problems with my fitbit.

 

[Dr Gunnie]

I have no idea about problems with measuring heart rate correctly, but have you checked if you are wearing the fitbit correctly? When I used a heart rate monitor a long time ago, I had one with a breast strap (or whatever that would be called?). And I know that if I was wearing it too losely, it was skipping a beat. I am wondering if you are wearing it loosely or too tightly and that is why it can give you a wrong reading?

Have you tried the fitbit help forums? I have found some good answers there for problems with my fitbit.

And that lies most of the problem. It says to wear it loose around the wrist and to wear it a few finger widths below the bone in your wrist. Well, if it needs to be a little loose, there is no way it's going to stay on that part of my arm - it just slides down when I start moving.

The only solution I can think of is to wear a sweatband or something around my wrist which wouldn't allow the Fitbit to slide down... but that will look pretty odd.

 

[Oneanne]

Slightly off topic... I'm really perplexed about Jungle Book. I liked it - a lot, even tho the whole time I kept thinking the Puma is how my black cat Mike sees himself in his dreams, so that was a little distracting. But the part that really had me flummoxed is that Mogli set the jungle on fire, just like mankind does. The Wolf mantra was working with the pack is the way to success, so is the message that Mogli helped the Elephants so they became part of his pack and helped put out the fire?

This actually kept me up last night... This and three glasses of iced tea.

 

[JacknSally]

And that lies most of the problem. It says to wear it loose around the wrist and to wear it a few finger widths below the bone in your wrist. Well, if it needs to be a little loose, there is no way it's going to stay on that part of my arm - it just slides down when I start moving.

The only solution I can think of is to wear a sweatband or something around my wrist which wouldn't allow the Fitbit to slide down... but that will look pretty odd.

I had the Polar watch to measure heart rate which came with a chest strap and it felt pretty accurate. I have the Charge HR now and like you, I don't feel like it tracks my heart rate accurately. I also don't feel like it tracks my sleep accurately. Of course those were the 2 main reasons I went with this model. The majority of my walking is also on the treadmill and since both hands are almost always on the computer while I walk, I usually just loop the Fitbit through my shoelaces so it's reading steps. Basically I paid extra for a glorified version of the One. Haha. I've come to the conclusion that the HR monitoring really isn't super important to me, because I really don't need a device to tell me if I'm exerting myself. My body tells me that on its own.

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No SWW for us. Also don't have a good answer for part 2 of the question, because I didn't stay on track after our vacation. Like really really really didn't.

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My dog is super smart. SUPER smart. He knows that he's mommy's puppy and he can pretty much get whatever he wants from me. He doesn't do this with my DH AT ALL because he knows better, but when it's just me and DPup at home, he's gotten into this habit. When we take him outside, he gets a small cookie when he comes back in. With my DH, DPup goes outside, does all his business, comes in, gets his cookie, and behaves. With me, he goes outside, goes #1, comes back inside, gets a cookie. Eats the cookie, then throws a fit to go back outside so he can go #2. Then he comes back in and I kid you not throws a fit for another cookie. I, of course, give in, largely due to the fact that I know he absolutely will not calm down until he gets his second cookie. Way to manipulate the system, kid.

I feel like there's a good QOTD/metaphor in there somewhere. How many of us find ways to "manipulate the system" and find loopholes in our diets/exercise plans that technically make sense on paper but we know it's not what was intended? A good example that comes to mind is the "I can eat this and still be within my calorie goal" excuse. We all know that if you're on a 1500 calorie meal plan, yes technically you CAN have 1300 calories of cake and ice cream every day and still be "within calorie", but that's not really the intended purpose of your meal plan, and you know it. Haha.

Anyway. Happy Monday! Happy April 25th - the perfect date! Don't forget your light jackets!

 

[JacknSally]

Slightly off topic... I'm really perplexed about Jungle Book. I liked it - a lot, even tho the whole time I kept thinking the Puma is how my black cat Mike sees himself in his dreams, so that was a little distracting. But the part that really had me flummoxed is that Mogli set the jungle on fire, just like mankind does. The Wolf mantra was working with the pack is the way to success, so is the message that Mogli helped the Elephants so they became part of his pack and helped put out the fire?

This actually kept me up last night... This and three glasses of iced tea.

Sorry for any potential spoilers, for anyone who hasn't yet seen it!

What I got out of it was that Bagheera spent the whole movie telling Mowgli he couldn't be himself in the jungle, that his "tricks" weren't welcome there and he had to play by jungle rules or get out... Then at the end, Mowgli and his "tricks" are exactly what they needed. The message I got out of it was knowing who you are and using your talents, whatever they may be and no matter what anyone else in the world tries to make you be. Kind of a nature vs. nurture, I guess. He worked with the pack, but he worked with every pack, and showed the entire jungle that man is not always the enemy, and showed Mowgli the kind of impact that man has on the natural world, even if completely unintentional (he took the fire out there to rid the jungle of Shere Khan and create a better and safer environment for his family... in doing so, he completely unintentionally set fire to the jungle. He showed the animals, though, that not all man is evil, because he worked with the elephants - who the other animals don't normally work with - to correct the damage and restore the jungle. He also earned and learned a new respect for the jungle and a new understanding of man's impact on their world.) The animals all hated and feared man (for good reason) but Mowgli showed them there is good in mankind.

To me, it was all about finding your role in the bigger picture using whatever strengths you may have and working together for the betterment of everyone and everything involved.


The above interpretation aside - I thought it was a good movie, but I definitely prefer the animated (and the mid-90's live action that played on the Disney Channel all the time! So many people hate it but I loved it). I just didn't like Bill Murray and Christopher Walken in it. It was jarring to hear their every day voices come from those animals, and really took me out of the movie. The Shere Khan scenes were also SUPER intense, which I didn't really expect. I know he's the baddy, but goodness. I also personally couldn't stand the kid who played Mowgli. The whole movie kind of felt like it dragged on until the final battle with Shere Khan. Just my $0.02, for whatever they're worth!