Learn How To Mush!

I’m yearning to take an all girls long weekend break. I admit, I’ve never done this before, but when I heard about Wintermoon Summersun Adventures in Brimson, Minnesota, I made it my goal to recruit three girlfriends and my two daughters and see if we could all agree on one weekend, not a small feat, where we would get together, have fun, and learn how to mush.
“I went on a weekend’s dogsledding adventure and fell in love with the dogs, the outdoors, and bonding with the women,” says sled dog breeder and trainer Kathleen Anderson. “That was 20 years ago and I was 37 and aware that I had slowly been changing my life, but I had no intention of owning 37 dogs and running trips for women!
“I think it’s important to try some activities that take us out of our comfort zone. I know I wasn’t encouraged to participate in sports growing up, but I really enjoy and benefit from physical activity that enables me to push myself and take risks in a safe and supported way,” continues Anderson. “When women take risks, the experience transfers into other parts of their lives.”
The 37 Alaskan huskies are part of a team working together and they respond to verbal commands, which I can’t say about many of the people I know. As you can imagine, guests develop an immediate bond and rapport with the dogs. It’s really neat to connect with another species and have that respect and total involvement with each other. Part of the experience at Wintermoon Summersun is learning how to mush but everyone also helps with the care of the dog team: watering, feeding, hooking the dogs up to the gangline, and driving the sled.
All guests stay in the home Anderson built herself, totally off the grid with solar power, wood heat, an organic garden, and a Finnish sauna for bathing. I thought the hardest part would be finding a weekend to fit everyone’s schedules and coordinating flights, arrivals and departures. I was surprised when my first girlfriend I invited said no, the trip didn’t appeal to her. My daughter lifted my spirits by responding to the invitation, “Way to go Mom! This sounds great!” I believe sharing this environment and the joy of mushing with my daughters and friends will be a fantastic winter weekend getaway and an experience none of us will ever forget.

Wintermoon Summersun Adventures (3388 Petrell Rd., Brimson, MN 55602; http://www.wintermoonsummersun.com; wintermoon@brimson.com;

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Flabuless Travel

The greatest part of traveling is the people I meet. When I was in New York, I met Amy Pedersen, from Atlanta. She’s a writer, I’m a writer, she immediately started telling me all about her brand new product, Slimpressions®, which is underwear.
I guess I looked like I needed some help. I had just been in Atlanta, and was about to tell her about this phenomenal restaurant I found there, The Flying Biscuit. Their friend green tomatoes are almost as good as mine.
But no, Amy wanted me to know more about her premium line of everyday shapewear, for sizes 2 – 22, designed to reconfigure women’s figures, specifically aimed at jelly bellies, arm flab and back fat. Amy then gave me a demonstration. She held her arms out straight on either side of her body and did a little wave action that reminded me of the Queen in her motorcade. One of Amy’s under arms jiggled and one didn’t. The unjiggly arm was covered in a Slimpression sleeve and the exposed arm was, well, exposed.
Next Amy (partially) unbuttoned her shirt and showed me her undergarment.
Doesn’t everyone make friends like this? “Here, watch me jiggle and now I’ll show you my underwear?” Undergarments, with sleeves, are called “The Haves,” sleevage plus cleavage control top, or “The Have Nots,” sleevage control without cleavage control — an open-front torso with a little pushup effect.
I said I had to have one. Amy is tall and thin. I’m not. I needed to know if Slimpressions would work for me because I definitely have a jelly belly, and arm flab. Somehow I’ve escaped the trauma of back fat, not to be confused with fat back.
I ordered a Have Not, and a Tanks a lot, which fits like a tank top but with a lot more support. There’s also Tanks a Little, but I figured I’d be better off with more, not less, of whatever there was to get.
I wore my new Tanks a Lot under a really cute t-shirt that is ordinarily too snug. I met a friend for a walk on the beach. The first thing she said to me was, “That’s such a cute t-shirt. I remember when you bought it.”
“Yes,” I replied oh so smugly, “but until today, I never wore it without a jacket because the glub around my midriff made me look like I was carrying around my own personal spare tire.” But all was smooth and lovely over my Slimpression, and no, I chose not to be as forthcoming as Amy had been with me. I did not show my friend my before and after jiggles or jelly belly.
The super bonus was that it reduced my bulk all the way around. I have a black linen shirt that I wear open over multi-colored tanks because it won’t button up. However, thanks to my tanks a lot, my black linen shirt actually buttons without my going on a diet.
The worst part of wearing the garment is taking it off. I made the mistake of standing in front of my bedroom mirror as I disrobed. The directions are to step in, slide up, and slim down. To take off, just step out of it. As I pulled the garment down, inch by inch, side by side, it was like releasing the Pillsbury dough boy from a can of biscuits. When everything’s in place, it’s just flab-u-less. And it rolls into a ball for easy packing and traveling.

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