I just want to give the few people who follow my blog a heads up that I'll be off line for a next few days or so.
One of my groomsmen has had a true tragedy happen in his life yesterday. We have rounded up our friends to support him and are doing what we can.
This is going to be a hard and long weekend for all over us.We are a close group of friends. When one of us hurts; we all hurt.
Prays and good thoughts are needed.
Thanks.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Wedding Workout / Weight Loss - Part 2
When I go to the gym, I almost never step on the scale. I try to measure my success more by how I feel and how my clothes fit then what the number on the scale reads.
I started my "Wedding Workout" two weeks ago (if you missed that post- read it here) and I feel like it's going pretty good. Could I have worked out more? Yes. Could I have worked out harder when I was at the gym? Yep. But in the last 14 days I've worked out 8 of them. So that's a start.
With that said... the weight in....
So when I walk into the gym I got on the scale it read- 178.6
When I got done with my workout the scale read- 179.0
Odd?
So I got off the scale and stepped right back on, it read- 178.8
The scale isn't consistent with its measurements (awesome); so for the sake of the weight loss tracking, I'll go with the middle reading- so I'm down almost 1.5 pounds. Like I said, it's a start.
I know if I plan on really losing some pounds before the wedding I need to average more then 4 days a week. So the plan for these next two weeks is to kick up the workouts when I'm there.
Today I did...
Yeah- almost an hour of cardio! Now just got to keep this up.
What is your favorite thing to do at the gym?
(Me-I love me some cardio. It's a great mindless workout)
I started my "Wedding Workout" two weeks ago (if you missed that post- read it here) and I feel like it's going pretty good. Could I have worked out more? Yes. Could I have worked out harder when I was at the gym? Yep. But in the last 14 days I've worked out 8 of them. So that's a start.
With that said... the weight in....
So when I walk into the gym I got on the scale it read- 178.6
When I got done with my workout the scale read- 179.0
Odd?
So I got off the scale and stepped right back on, it read- 178.8
The scale isn't consistent with its measurements (awesome); so for the sake of the weight loss tracking, I'll go with the middle reading- so I'm down almost 1.5 pounds. Like I said, it's a start.
(Picture from our high school prom- in our skinnier day. I hope we look this good in our wedding photos.)
I know if I plan on really losing some pounds before the wedding I need to average more then 4 days a week. So the plan for these next two weeks is to kick up the workouts when I'm there.
Today I did...
- 32 minutes on the elliptical -which is the length of the "Weight Loss" workout setting
- 25 minutes on the StairMaster - I mixed that up by adding leg lifts while I stepped
- 3 sets of 50 crunches
Yeah- almost an hour of cardio! Now just got to keep this up.
What is your favorite thing to do at the gym?
(Me-I love me some cardio. It's a great mindless workout)
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Making the List, and Checking it Twice
The shower invitation are out and the RSVPs are starting to come in. So now, I've been given the green light to start getting the wedding invitations out. However, my guest list is getting looked over one more time before the ink hits the paper.
Sam's grandma and aunt are writing the names and addresses on the invitation because they both are calligraphers. With that said, they need the guest list to be very detailed with all the names of everyone we are inviting. That sounds like it would be an easy enough job, but it's taking a lot longer then I originally thought. Making sure everyone's name is spelling right, making sure I have to most current addresses, and making sure we didn't forget to invite anyone.
I hope these invites will do done in the next week or so. Wish me luck!
Sam's grandma and aunt are writing the names and addresses on the invitation because they both are calligraphers. With that said, they need the guest list to be very detailed with all the names of everyone we are inviting. That sounds like it would be an easy enough job, but it's taking a lot longer then I originally thought. Making sure everyone's name is spelling right, making sure I have to most current addresses, and making sure we didn't forget to invite anyone.
I hope these invites will do done in the next week or so. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Family Time and More Family Time
Being away from the blog for a full week seems like a really long time. If you missed me, I apologize for being gone but my real life has just been pretty busy these last 7 days.
Here what you missed...
Thursday: I worked both of my jobs. Got to love the double life.
Friday: I went to two floral appointments for the wedding.
Currently, I'm still on the hunt to find the right price for my flowers. The two florists I meet on Friday, for similar arrangements- one quoted me $900ish and the other $685. May I add, these where just on the flowers for myself, my girls, the guys, and the key family members. If I want centerpieces for the reception, that will be at least additional $1,000. Needless to say, my search continues. I have another appointment set for Sunday, so we'll see how that goes.
Saturday: My soon-to-be brother in-law's 8th grade graduation party.
It's strange because when I first started dating Sam, his brother Jimmy was only 4 years old. I can't believe he'll be in high school in a month from now.
It was nice to see Sam's whole family and neighbors. Almost everyone who was at the party will be invited to the wedding, so now I maybe able to place some more faces and names together when the wedding comes around.
Sunday: My mom's family reunion- in Michigan.
I really do enjoy going to my mom's family reunion. This year was no different. I got to visit with cousins and enjoy good country food.
When I say country... I mean it. Look at the view we got while we had our lunch.
I would hate to be those guys bailing hay in the 90+ degree heat.
Also my mom, my sister and I went and spent some time with my grandma from my dad's side of the family. If you drive 3 hours to Michigan and 3 hours home, you better believe we try to squeeze in as much as we can into that one day.
Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday: Work and work related stuff.
Got to love job hunting... not. Job searching can easily become a second (or in my case third) job. However, I'm trying not to stress out too much. Things have a way of working themselves out. (Or at least I'm trying to tell myself that.)
Question: Does your family have "Family Reunions"?
- I think that maybe also be a "country" thing. I don't know many other families that have them. Heck, our family reunion even elects a "President" and a "Secretary", then they holds a "business" meeting. In the meeting they mostly talk about births, deaths, and marriages; but they still make sure that they keep records of all that information.
Here what you missed...
Thursday: I worked both of my jobs. Got to love the double life.
Friday: I went to two floral appointments for the wedding.
Currently, I'm still on the hunt to find the right price for my flowers. The two florists I meet on Friday, for similar arrangements- one quoted me $900ish and the other $685. May I add, these where just on the flowers for myself, my girls, the guys, and the key family members. If I want centerpieces for the reception, that will be at least additional $1,000. Needless to say, my search continues. I have another appointment set for Sunday, so we'll see how that goes.
Saturday: My soon-to-be brother in-law's 8th grade graduation party.
It's strange because when I first started dating Sam, his brother Jimmy was only 4 years old. I can't believe he'll be in high school in a month from now.
It was nice to see Sam's whole family and neighbors. Almost everyone who was at the party will be invited to the wedding, so now I maybe able to place some more faces and names together when the wedding comes around.
Sunday: My mom's family reunion- in Michigan.
I really do enjoy going to my mom's family reunion. This year was no different. I got to visit with cousins and enjoy good country food.
When I say country... I mean it. Look at the view we got while we had our lunch.
I would hate to be those guys bailing hay in the 90+ degree heat.
Also my mom, my sister and I went and spent some time with my grandma from my dad's side of the family. If you drive 3 hours to Michigan and 3 hours home, you better believe we try to squeeze in as much as we can into that one day.
Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday: Work and work related stuff.
Got to love job hunting... not. Job searching can easily become a second (or in my case third) job. However, I'm trying not to stress out too much. Things have a way of working themselves out. (Or at least I'm trying to tell myself that.)
Question: Does your family have "Family Reunions"?
- I think that maybe also be a "country" thing. I don't know many other families that have them. Heck, our family reunion even elects a "President" and a "Secretary", then they holds a "business" meeting. In the meeting they mostly talk about births, deaths, and marriages; but they still make sure that they keep records of all that information.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Friends Honeymoon
Sam and I have been together for almost 10 years and we have been luck enough to have gone on many vacations together. With that said, we have decided to invite some of our friends with us to our honeymoon. I know that may seem kind of crazy but hear me out...
Last year Sam and I went on a cruise with his family. They took us on the cruise as a graduation present, and that also happened to be the same vacation that we got engaged! While we were on the cruise, we kept talking about how much fun a cruise would be if we had friends with us.
We knew we wanted to do a cruise with friends, but planning a big group vacation can be difficult. Getting everyone schedules organized, getting everyone to agree on a place, and getting everyone to agree on a price/budget; doing all of this would take a lot of time, energy, and conversations to have all of it work out.
Sam and I knew we were going to have a honeymoon, but we really didn't have any place we wanted to go in mind. The idea of going on another cruise got brought up and we both liked the idea. However, as we realized last year, it would be a lot more fun if we had people come with... so the "Friends Honeymoon" trip was born.
Being that it is our honeymoon, we did all the plan and picking out what cruise we are going on. We did ask around to make sure people would be available and wanting to go, but past that we really just picked what we wanted. So we'll be going on a 5 night cruise to the "Western Caribbean".
There was a few things that sold us on this cruise; one being that it's on a really cool ship and the other being interesting ports-of-call. Sam and I went to Cozumel, Mexico last year on our cruise and it will be a fun place to explore with friends. Also we are already planning for our day in Belize to go on a shore excursions, which includes tubing through caves and waterfall lagoons.
What is great about this trip is that it's our honeymoon, so either our friends will make it work and come, or they won't. (But I know many of them will be coming.) We set up the trip through a travel agent so the collecting of money and other planning details can go through her. It's always nice when the stress of a trip can be put on someone else (who knows what they're doing). All I know is that, Sam and I have our deposit in and our room picked out; so we'll be going on our honeymoon no matter what.
If you ask me what the best part of our honeymoon is... its not immediately after the wedding. I never understood leaving right away to go on a honeymoon. There is so much stress when it comes to planning a wedding, that planning a big vacation at the same time just seems silly to me. Plus, we'll be getting married in October but we'll leave for the honeymoon during the winter. It will be so nice to go on a vacation and leave Chicago during the coldest time of the year.
I'm very excited about the "Friends Honeymoon" and it should be a great time.
Question: Would you prefer to go on your honeymoon right after the wedding? Or give yourself a buffer and go on a honeymoon a few months later?
Last year Sam and I went on a cruise with his family. They took us on the cruise as a graduation present, and that also happened to be the same vacation that we got engaged! While we were on the cruise, we kept talking about how much fun a cruise would be if we had friends with us.
We knew we wanted to do a cruise with friends, but planning a big group vacation can be difficult. Getting everyone schedules organized, getting everyone to agree on a place, and getting everyone to agree on a price/budget; doing all of this would take a lot of time, energy, and conversations to have all of it work out.
Sam and I knew we were going to have a honeymoon, but we really didn't have any place we wanted to go in mind. The idea of going on another cruise got brought up and we both liked the idea. However, as we realized last year, it would be a lot more fun if we had people come with... so the "Friends Honeymoon" trip was born.
Being that it is our honeymoon, we did all the plan and picking out what cruise we are going on. We did ask around to make sure people would be available and wanting to go, but past that we really just picked what we wanted. So we'll be going on a 5 night cruise to the "Western Caribbean".
There was a few things that sold us on this cruise; one being that it's on a really cool ship and the other being interesting ports-of-call. Sam and I went to Cozumel, Mexico last year on our cruise and it will be a fun place to explore with friends. Also we are already planning for our day in Belize to go on a shore excursions, which includes tubing through caves and waterfall lagoons.
What is great about this trip is that it's our honeymoon, so either our friends will make it work and come, or they won't. (But I know many of them will be coming.) We set up the trip through a travel agent so the collecting of money and other planning details can go through her. It's always nice when the stress of a trip can be put on someone else (who knows what they're doing). All I know is that, Sam and I have our deposit in and our room picked out; so we'll be going on our honeymoon no matter what.
If you ask me what the best part of our honeymoon is... its not immediately after the wedding. I never understood leaving right away to go on a honeymoon. There is so much stress when it comes to planning a wedding, that planning a big vacation at the same time just seems silly to me. Plus, we'll be getting married in October but we'll leave for the honeymoon during the winter. It will be so nice to go on a vacation and leave Chicago during the coldest time of the year.
I'm very excited about the "Friends Honeymoon" and it should be a great time.
Question: Would you prefer to go on your honeymoon right after the wedding? Or give yourself a buffer and go on a honeymoon a few months later?
Monday, July 11, 2011
Wedding Workout / Weight Loss
For the past few weeks Sam and I have started to getting into the habit of going to the gym a few times a week. Being that the wedding will be here before I know it; I'm finally trying to buckle down because it never hurts to lose a few pound before the big day. So off to the gym I went today.
Sam has set a goal to try lose 40 pounds before the wedding. Sam is a bigger guy all around, so if he works out really hard for the next 3 1/2 month, he may be able to make that goal.
As for me, I'm not sure if I really want to set a goal. If I lose a few pounds great, but if I don't I don't want to bet myself up about it. However, I realize that working out isn't just about losing weight, it's about giving myself a healthier body. So I happily went to the gym.
Before going into the gym... no one wants to see an after picture. It wouldn't be pretty.
However, even though I don't real want to set a weight loss goal (well not yet at least), I do want to try to be accountable for keeping up with my new gym routine. I plan on using the scale at my regular gym to keep track of any weight loss. So here the number that no girl ever wants to admit...
My weight today: 180.2 pounds
For as long as I can remember, my lowest weight was 140 pounds. I achieved this during my freshman year of college. I wanted to look hot for my boyfriend who was away at college. I guess it didn't matter too much because he's still with me even though I'm not as thin as I used to be.
Before that, I always weight around 150 pounds. I remember being that weight from 8th grade to senior year of high school (which means I was a cubby 8th grader and thin out as I grew taller in high school).
Once I went away to college is when I put on the extra pounds. Mac-cheese isn't the best food for ones waist line. Or pizza, or booze, or working at a banquet hall where you can eat all the time.
However, if I had to set a goal, I would be happy to be back at 150 pounds. I don't need to be model thin to be happy, I just want to feel healthier. Do I think I can reach that goal by the wedding? No, but that's ok. My dress fits great right now, so anything I do lose will cause me to make an alteration to the dress.
When I did lose the 10 pound freshman year of college it took around 6 months to lose that weight. I didn't change my diet, just added exercise. So if I start watching what I eat more closely, I hope I can lose 10 pounds faster then I did before... but we'll see what happens.
Question: Do you think it's better to set a weight loss goal? Or is it better to just workout and see where the number falls?
Sam has set a goal to try lose 40 pounds before the wedding. Sam is a bigger guy all around, so if he works out really hard for the next 3 1/2 month, he may be able to make that goal.
As for me, I'm not sure if I really want to set a goal. If I lose a few pounds great, but if I don't I don't want to bet myself up about it. However, I realize that working out isn't just about losing weight, it's about giving myself a healthier body. So I happily went to the gym.
Before going into the gym... no one wants to see an after picture. It wouldn't be pretty.
However, even though I don't real want to set a weight loss goal (well not yet at least), I do want to try to be accountable for keeping up with my new gym routine. I plan on using the scale at my regular gym to keep track of any weight loss. So here the number that no girl ever wants to admit...
My weight today: 180.2 pounds
For as long as I can remember, my lowest weight was 140 pounds. I achieved this during my freshman year of college. I wanted to look hot for my boyfriend who was away at college. I guess it didn't matter too much because he's still with me even though I'm not as thin as I used to be.
Before that, I always weight around 150 pounds. I remember being that weight from 8th grade to senior year of high school (which means I was a cubby 8th grader and thin out as I grew taller in high school).
Once I went away to college is when I put on the extra pounds. Mac-cheese isn't the best food for ones waist line. Or pizza, or booze, or working at a banquet hall where you can eat all the time.
However, if I had to set a goal, I would be happy to be back at 150 pounds. I don't need to be model thin to be happy, I just want to feel healthier. Do I think I can reach that goal by the wedding? No, but that's ok. My dress fits great right now, so anything I do lose will cause me to make an alteration to the dress.
When I did lose the 10 pound freshman year of college it took around 6 months to lose that weight. I didn't change my diet, just added exercise. So if I start watching what I eat more closely, I hope I can lose 10 pounds faster then I did before... but we'll see what happens.
Question: Do you think it's better to set a weight loss goal? Or is it better to just workout and see where the number falls?
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Beautiful Weekend
Here in Chicago we have been blessed with another beautiful weather weekend! With the nice weather, I try to take full advantage of it while it's here.
You have to love a beautiful Friday, where you can be pool side and enjoy a nice cool glass of wine.
I love that one of my best friends has a nice pool that I can enjoy on a weekend like this. ( BTW- a glass door works great a mirror on a bright a sunny afternoon.)
Got to make sure I wear my strapless bathing suit top all summer because I really don't want to have tan lines in my wedding pictures. (You always have to think ahead on these types of things.)
I wasn't the only one who likes this weather... meet Pete!
My friend is dog sitting for the next few days, and Pete is one pool loving dog. To bad for him, he wasn't allow to join us. So he just sat on the side moping.
And there was that birthday cake... it was so good.
You have to love a beautiful Friday, where you can be pool side and enjoy a nice cool glass of wine.
I love that one of my best friends has a nice pool that I can enjoy on a weekend like this. ( BTW- a glass door works great a mirror on a bright a sunny afternoon.)
Got to make sure I wear my strapless bathing suit top all summer because I really don't want to have tan lines in my wedding pictures. (You always have to think ahead on these types of things.)
I wasn't the only one who likes this weather... meet Pete!
My friend is dog sitting for the next few days, and Pete is one pool loving dog. To bad for him, he wasn't allow to join us. So he just sat on the side moping.
Sorry Pete. I don't make the rules- it's not my pool.
Yesterday (Saturday), I enjoyed spending the day with the soon-to-be in-law's extended family. It was one of Sam's little cousin's birthday yesterday, so I enjoyed some good food and a lot of wedding conversation. I can't believe it's only a few months away.
And there was that birthday cake... it was so good.
Note to self... get one of these cakes. I love me some strawberries and whip cream frosting. SO TASTY!
Today, I'm having a nice lazy Sunday. I went to my mom's, did some laundry, and went to lunch with my mom and friend Cathy. Nothing too exciting, but that's the way to wined a weekend if you ask me.
I hope everyone has a great week!
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