Float-a-Palooza 2012

Early on in the honeymoon planning, Sam and I joked that our honeymoon was a going to be a big "float trip". Our college friends have a tradition of going on float trips. Basically you get a group of friends together, drive to Missouri, camp, drink, and float down a river in rafts- that's float trip in a nut shell.

(Float Trip 2010)

So our honeymoon cruise had all the makings of a new and improved float trip. We had a great group of friends, we traveled to FL (which is nicer but further then MO), we get to stay and sleep on the boat, and of course there were drinks to be had. 

However, we couldn't call our honeymoon a "float trip", because well it's not; so we had to come up for a name for our cruise... we came up with "Float-a-Palooza 2012".  Here is how float trip compared to Float-a-Palooza-

Our "Raft"

 Float Trip 2010 vs. Float-a-Palooza 2012

&

Our "Camp Site"

Float Trip 2010 vs. Float-a-Palooza 2012

 (Our stateroom- we got a balcony room!)

I have to say Float-a-Palooza was a lot more comfortable and had a lot less bugs to deal with. And you got to love went you don't have to worry about steering away from rocks (you just have to hope your captain is worrying about it).

However, float trips are all about the people who were there and the stories you left with. And like every other float trip, Float-a-Palooza didn't disappoint when it comes to good stories. But you'll just a have to wait to hear them! (Got to keep you wanting more!)

Questions: Have you ever been on a real float trip?

Post Honeymoon Weight-in

So before I let you see the my current weight, may I first ask "Have you ever been on a cruise?". If the answer is yes, then you'll understand my current weight. If the answer is no, let my paint the picture for you (well show you a picture)...

Cruises are all about food and more food. There are places on the boat to get food 24/7, and it's always all you can eat. This picture was taken within the first hour of being on the boat, and yes the burger and fries in front of the picture was my plate.

So with that said, there should be no surprise that I gained some weight while on vacation. Also, it probably didn't help that I wasn't able to workout the week before our vacation because I had so much work to get done before we left. Finally, I had the best intentions to workout while on the cruise, I even brought my workout clothes, but that never happened. Opps.

So here's the damage that my awesome honeymoon caused to my waistline...

So I'm up about 3 pounds from my last weight-in. I have to say it could have been worse, but I really would have like if I had maintained the weight I was at. Oh well.

Being that today was my first day back in the gym in almost 2 weeks, I kept my workout on the lighter side today.  I did 30+ minutes of cardio, and 50 crunches. I know it's not a great workout, but at least it's something.


Question: Have you ever been on a cruise? If so, where did you go?

The Honeymoon is Over

Hi Everyone!

I'm home from our honeymoon and I have to say it was one of the best times in my life. Even though I understand inviting your friends on your honeymoon is pretty odd, however, Sam and I wouldn't have had it any other way. In total we had a 9 of our friends join us on our honeymoon cruise, and it was a prefect sized group.

Out of the group- we had two group of friends mixed in there. Our friends from high school and our friends from college. Our college friends are crazy fun, so we weren't worried about people not getting along or dealing with any drama. I think this was one of the best combination of friends that we could have had join us.

Also I think we picked a pretty awesome cruise to go on. It was a 5 day cruise with stops in Belize and Cozumel, Mexico. I think the length of cruise was prefect and the ports worked out pretty well.

I hope to do a more in depth recap of honeymoon later (once I get my hands on some more pictures) but here a snapshot of how it went down.

Friday- Drinking in Ft. Lauderdale
Saturday- "We're on a Boat!"
Sunday- Lazy Day of Football
Monday- Cave Tubing & The Game Show
Tuesday- Beach, Sun and Fun
Wednesday- Shows, Shows, and more Shows
Thursday- Sweet Home Chicago

Now it's back to reality. Back work, back to house hunting, and back to going to bed early.

Question: Would you invite your friends on your honeymoon?

Weekend Fun!

Many weekends you'll find me hanging out, and just relaxing from a long work week. However, this weekend I decided to act like I was in my 20's, and have some fun this weekend.

Yesterday started off by sleeping in, and going house hunting. I have to say house hunting was pretty successful, because we found a house bigger house on a bigger lot that is in a better location that both Sam and I really like. So we pulled our other offer off the table, and today we hope to put in a new offer on this new house. (I'll post pictures if we are lucky enough to get this house.)

After house hunting, Sam and I stopped off for a quick lunch before he had to head to work. It was nice to just sit down and talk about the different houses we saw, and how the houses compared to the first house we made an offer on.

Once Sam left for work, I decide I needed to get my workout on because I'll be on my honeymoon in less then a week! I would have had a new weight in for you today, however, the scale at the gym wasn't there. I've known that scale was broken because you could get on the scale it would say one weight, step off and get right back on at it would read another weight. So I guess I'll have to use the scale at the gym by my mom's house for this week's weight in.

After a quick workout, I got ready to head out for a "Girls Night Out". First stop, dinner at Flat Top Grill.

If you never been to a Flat Top, it's a make your own stir fry place. It was good, and it was nice to go some where a little different from your average restaurant. For me, I had them bring me "lettuce wraps" with my stir fry, however my only issue was the lettuce was soaking wet. So I had to shake off each piece before I could use it.

After dinner we were off to see our friend Tommy's band play at a local bar. Tommy has been a staple in our group of friend since he was in Jr. High, and he was even one of the groomsmen in my wedding.

I haven't seen Tommy play in many years, so it was nice to go out and support a friend in what he loves to do. Also, I have to say I was really impressed with the band. They were really good.

Other then the ringing in my ears this morning, last night was a good time with great friends!

Recap: The Wedding Rehearsal

I realize I've been married for over 2 months, but I never really did any recapping on what happen. So I figured better late than never.

In true girly fashion, the day of the rehearsal I went with a few of my bridesmaids to get our nails done.

(The girls got gift cards to get their nails done and the guys got flasks)

It was nice to take a break from the wedding craziness. One of my friends had just gotten in from Florida the day of the rehearsal, so she also came with us to get our nails done. It was nice to get to hang out with friends and just enjoy our time together. 

After getting our nails did... it was time to start getting ready to head to church for the rehearsal. With my bow bouquet (which I made) in hand, we were off to the church.

I'm not sure what a "normal" number of people would be at a rehearsal, but we had at almost 40 people at ours (including family and guests). So needless to say to took awhile to get everyone settled and started.  But we got it together, and they got us to the alter.

I don't know how common it is to do your real vows the night of the rehearsal, but our pastor had us do ours that night. And this wasn't the first time she made us do them. The first time we said our vows was at one of our counseling sessions, so by the time the wedding day came around it was the third time we had said them.

Once we got through the vows, we did our walk out and then we were off to dinner.

The rehearsal dinner was so close to the church that we could just walk down the street and we were there. It was set up buffet style with pizza and salad so everyone could have their pick of what they wanted. However, I think we under estimated how many people were going to be at the rehearsal because by the time my family, Sam, and I got to dinner there were no places for us to sit.  Oops!

Of course the restaurant was nice enough to bring in another table and chairs for us. Also, we had to have them bring out more pizzas because we had a lot of hungry people who beat us to them.  (Even though I didn't eat a thing that night.)

After dinner, it was a race to finish to get everything done and ready for the next day. (Which you can read all about here.) However, I had a great group of girls who were all willing to help.

We spend a few hours on getting the centerpieces done, the candy buffet ready, and just everything packed so it could be moved in the morning to the different venues. However, once that night was over, I woke up that next morning with just a little stress, but more excitement that the big day had finally come!


Have you ever seen people say their real vows during a rehearsal? (because I did think it was pretty strange)

My First Week of 2012

Well 1 week down, only 51 more to go till 2013. So far 2012 has kept me busy and a bit stressed.

Work has been CRAZY! I had a student end up crying in my office because she so stressed about school. I had a student call me 13 times in a 45 minute span. And I left my office yesterday with more work to do then when I walked in. I just hope next week will clam down (but I highly doubt it) and I'll be able to get caught up on all my work before we go on our honeymoon (which is in less than 2 weeks!).

Other than work keeping me busy, I have kept up on my New Year's resolution and I made it to the gym 6 times this week. Success! So what were the results of my hard work...

Not too bad, I'll take a 1.6 pound decrease. I need to keep this up because I have to go swimsuit shopping next week.

Also with the new year, I'm trying to make better choices when it comes to what I put into my body. Both Tuesday and Wednesday I had a salad with my lunch.

 (Wednesday's lunch- salad with egg white, carrot, mozzarella cheese, 1 slice of ham and turkey & leftover chili)

For a girl who could get through a side salad just a few years ago, this is a big improvement. I used to hate the taste of lettuce. However, as I got older, I found out there are many different types of lettuce (not just iceberg) and with the right toppings, a salad can be pretty tasty. Now if I can only find a dressing other than ranch that I like it would make for a lot healthier lunch.


How was your first week of 2012?

Hello 2012!

As a new year begins, I have to say I'm excited for the what 2012 may hold in store for me.

• Finding my routine at my job- now that I have worked one full semester
• Buying a home- which is scary and exciting all at the same time
• Getting used to "real" married life- considering we are still in the same routine we had before we were married. 
• And of course there is always the unknown- the things you can't plan on happening. Hopefully we can roll with any punch that is thrown our way. 

With the ending of 2011- I decided to host a little New Year's Eve gathering at Sam's house. I really do enjoy playing host, and I made sure there was a small spread of goodies for my guests to enjoy.

There was BBQ meatballs & lil smokies, chili-cheese dip, chips & salsa, a party mix, and a veggie tray. However, my friends are great and brought more dips, cookies, and brownies. There is still a ton of food left over; however with a 15 year old boy living in this house- the food doesn't stand a chance.

I also put the Christmas Pineapple to good use.

Did someone say party drinks?

I decided that I couldn't just throw out the pineapple- so I put it to good use. This year the Christmas Pineapple was soaked Malibu rum & triple sec. It was really good. Mix it with strawberry banana orange juice and you have a perfect topical cocktail. (Side note: 20 days and counting till we are on our topical cruise honeymoon!)

It was also great to hang out with my girls. Poor Sam spent most of the night with all girls. Luckily one of his groomsmen stopped by for a bit to cut the amount of estrogen in the room.

Here is the last picture of Sam and I in 2011.

Just before midnight, we opened some champagne and gathered in front of the tv for the New Year's count down. There was no New Year's kissing for anyone at my party. Sam was sick, and everyone else were girls- but a cheers was shared by all, and memories were shared and made.

I'm off to the gym- I can't slack on this resolution the first day out.  I hope everyone has a good New Year's and best wishes in 2012!


What are you hoping to do in 2012?