The letdown

Exactly 4 months from today's date we will be getting married. 4 months is not a long time. We have succeeded in getting many of the wedding projects completed and are currently working on some craft projects which will be completed soon. I feel like I have accomplished a lot in the 8 months we have been planning our wedding.

We've accomplished a lot, however, there is one area that I have not accomplished my goals in. Not even close.

I would love my body to look like this for the wedding and honeymoon.....

I realize if I worked out everyday for 8hrs a day for the next 4 months, I might accomplish that. BUT, who has 8 hrs a day to work out? Not me. Not when I'm working 9hr days. *sigh*

My confession: I have never been skinny or thin. Ever. Well, maybe once, when I was a baby, but not since then.

I was at my "personal thinnest" right before the Man and I began dating. I know the weight I was at isn't considered "skinny" for my height, but having struggled with weight my whole life I couldn't remember a time when I was that thin before, and quite frankly I was feeling great. I was eating right, not drinking alcohol, working out a lot and *it* showed. Not only did it show, but I felt strong and healthy.

I'll admit it, I have gained quite a bit of weight since the man and I started dating 3 years ago. I'm lucky he's in love with me, and not my size. Going out to dinner on dates, eating red meat more often(the man's fave), drinking on the weekends with him, not working out as much and the eventual not working out at all- had a toll on my body and all added up to a chubby girl once again. In the midst of everything I also switched careers and my new job was a more passive one- one where I sit at a desk all day long- not something I was used to.

It happened gradually, and I really didn't realize it at first. I was happy and it had been a long time since I had been happy. It started as a couple pounds here and a couple pounds there. Since I no longer worked out in my free time, not only had I gained weight, but all the muscle I once had from working out, was now gone as well. And then one day, I realized those couple pounds here and there had all added up. Actually, it didn't happen like that. It wasn't a magical moment where I just realized that I'd put on some weight. I had seen a recent picture of myself from a friend's birthday party and then I saw a not-so-recent picture of myself from several years ago, and it made me realize how much I had gained. The camera doesn't lie.

I hated how I was looking and feeling (tired, sluggish, unmotivated). I decided it was time to lose the weight I had gained over the last three years.

I began my weight loss journey last January.

I decided we needed to start eating healthier which meant less red meat. Even though the Man complains about leaner meats, I think it is important to our health for us to eat more lean meats than red meats. I also introduced the Man to ground turkey instead of ground beef. He actually likes it! I stopped drinking beer on the weekends with the Man which wasn't hard because I don't really like beer. We got one of these:

and I began working out. Every day. At first I didn't see a huge difference in weight being lost, but I was losing inches. Although I knew I was losing inches, it was always nicer when the number on the scale dropped. The weight wasn't dropping very fast (which is good because you aren't supposed to drop it fast), but I was getting quite discouraged. I began working out longer and harder and that is when I saw the difference. I began dropping weight faster, well, faster than I was.

I ended up losing 15lbs between January and June. Not a HUGE feat, but 15lbs none the less. Then I hit the dreaded plateau. I was stuck at that plateau for a LONG time. I got annoyed because I just couldn't seem to get over the plateau.

Summer had come and we were out on the lake all the time, and not eating as healthy as we were/I was. Cookouts, lots of pasta salads and carbs, and lots of red meat and parties with our friends. I managed to maintain my loss for the rest of the year, although I didn't lose anymore. Maintaining is just as hard for me, if not harder, than losing, So I was quite proud of that.

This year my focus isn't on just LOSING weight but on becoming a healthier person. It's more of a lifestyle change for me now. I know my vises and I'm trying to eat those in moderation or not at all. My problem isn't so much in snacking as it is in portion control and carbohydrates and especially portion control with carbohydrates. I bought a food scale so I could portion out my food, and I know EXACTLY how many calories I'm eating

Since I can't do it on my own, about halfway through last month I began tracking my food on Livestrong , previously known as the daily plate. I believe that it helps keep me honest about what I'm eating, and it also helps me realize when I'm eating too much. When I don't count calories it's like a free for all.

I also quit drinking diet soda. I weaned myself off it slowly. It had been a main portion of my liquid consumption everyday. I cut myself back to 1 a day which was hard to do, and then eventually about 3 weeks ago, I cut the diet pepsi out of my life too. I still like it. Nothing beats a cold diet pepsi in a can on a hot day, but I'm trying to make water beat it. I've began drinking a lot more water during the day and at night I have a Diet Arizona Green Tea (which is so good The Man drinks it on me and he's not an iced tea kinda guy).
I also have to bring working out back into my life. It's hard for me to get motivated to work out, but once I do and I get in the zone, it's hard for me to NOT work out every day. I began adding the work outs into my routine again in the beginning of March. I began walking during my half hour lunch break and can get 2 miles in if I push myself, and I was trying to work out on the elliptical at night. My toe problem had me out of commission for a few weeks so now it's time to really step it up a notch.

I, of course, like every bride, want to look great on my wedding day and I have truly ment to lose weight along the way. It didn't happen. I was carelessly putting it off until the next month, over and over again... telling myself I have "plenty of time" to drop some pounds and tone my arms. As the wedding draws closer and closer I get more nervous about not fitting into my dress.

You see, I got my dress back in October. It came in in early February. I tried it on, it fit, but was snug. Really snug. I told myself I would lose at least 10lbs before the wedding and it would fit perfectly.

I have not lost 10lbs since February. I have gained 7lbs since January. 7lbs since I gave up my nicotine addiction for good.

I know quitting smoking was something that will benefit me in the long run, but I can't help but get annoyed at the weight gain that occurred since then. I have not eaten any more than I used to. I am not consuming more calories per day than I used to, it just is what it is. And it is not making me happy in the least bit. Sometimes I feel like it's a never-ending battle of the bulge and the bulge is winning.

I know I am not going to meet my weight loss goals that I had wanted to meet. But I DO still have 4 months to change a little. I originally had wanted to lose 30lbs before the wedding- over the course of the year.... and obviously that didn't happen. It took me 5 months last year to lose 15 lbs, and I only have 4 months left to go so now I struggle with the added pressure of losing at least the 7lbs I gained and hopefully a few more so my dress can fit a little looser.

Anyone else realizing maybe they aren't going to meet their fitness goals before the wedding? Did you revise your plan so it is a little more attainable?

Egg-cellent Choice

For those of you Catholics out there, you all know Easter is coming up on Sunday. The other day I can across an excellent tutorial on dying Easter eggs. Now, it's not your typical "Pals dye in a cup" job, these eggs are super cool and sound quite easy to make(I haven't actually made these yet myself).

I can't help thinking that they would make for a unique and amazing centerpiece for anyone having an Easter wedding who is embracing the holiday into their decor or for anyone who is planning on using eggs in thier decorations. The end product depends on the silk you choose to use when dying, so the results are all in your hands. Play around with different silks until you create the colors and design you want.

So go ahead, head on over to the tutorial and enjoy creating some masterpieces of your own, you can thank me later.

Check out these pretties:




all photos taken from ourbestbites.com

It's Toe-riffic!

About 2 weeks ago, give or take a few days, I blogged about waking up with a "stiff toe," for lack of a better term. My toe just plain felt funny. It hurt, I couldn't bend it, and every now and then it would tingle, and oh how it hurt to walk on it. I originally thought it was from smashing the foot pedal on the drums for "rockband" too hard, but have since changed my mind. I vaguely remember doing it. I smashed my foot right into the stairs. I remember it hurting like it had never hurt before.... and then I went to bed and woke up the next day with the toe problem.


On Saturday I was convinced it was broken, as I was walking around a lot that day and in a lot of pain. However when i googled broken toe images, mine didn't look like those. It also wasn't bruised which is a sign of a broken toe. I decided it wasn't broken but that something was def. wrong with it and I had better take it easy for the week.

I have been being lazy and not working out at night because my toe hurts to walk on it so I definately can't run on my elliptical.

What this means is that instead of working out after work like I've been trying so hard to do, I have been playing around with wedding crafts. Table numbers in particular. I know it's a long way off, but I'm trying to get the small details out of the way now so when spring finally comes around I won't be stuck in the house.

At first I was thinking of making Table number illuminaries, but since I couldn't find the right cylindar vases and they were more $$ than I wanted to spend when i did find them, that I would try something else and see how that came out.
I was trying to have table numbers that were different than the normal paper number.
Here is a prototype table number that I made:

yay or nay?

Are you working on your little details yet? Have you stumbled across some good ideas for table numbers?

I'm a Homebody

It's true. I'm a homebody. More specifically I'm not just a homebody, I've never left the Mother Country, and by Mother Country, I mean the United States. The Man is also a homebody, as he has never left the U.S. either.

I have always wanted to explore the world, but financially was not able to. So when it came time to pick our honeymoon spot, leaving the country and exploring some place new was not only something I wanted to do, but something I needed to do.

I have learned that more often than not, you can't predict the future. Life throws you curve balls and sometimes, even with the best intentions of accomplishing something, you don't always get the chance or opportunity to. I wanted to make sure I got to leave the country and go to another one at least once in my lifetime.

Several posts ago, I posted that we booked our Honeymoon destination- Jamaica. I can't even put into words how excited I am to go there. However, there is a little somethin' somethin' on my mind.....

I don't have one. The man doesn't have one. We are getting closer and closer to August.

We took so long deciding where to go and I wasn't quite sure if we'd be needing these babies, so we haven't applied for them yet. With 4 months left, I am a little worried about getting it in time. I am pretty sure that the wait time is a lot quicker than it used to be, but I'm not really sure what I'll do if it takes longer than 4 months to get!

The Man had gone to see a Travel Agent when we first started looking at places and the Agent told him about something new that New York State was offering called the Enhanced Driver License.

The travel agent told the Man the requirements of getting an enhanced license and told him that it was good for travel between the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Carribean. The Man was all about getting these instead of passports because they are quicker to get, and also cheaper than a passport. The applications have been sitting here for about a month and a half. I hadn't really done anything with it, mostly because I hadn't had time to go to the DMV.

Secondly, I was a little ify about getting one of these for travel out of the country. I have a fear of being trapped and not allowed back into the U.S. if I used this for travel.

Because of my gut instinct telling me I need a passport to travel, I did a little more research on the enhanced Liscence and here is the deal: It is good for travel by LAND or SEA between the U.S, Canada, Mexico and the Carribean. There is nothing saying that it is good for AIR travel to or from the Carribean. Therefore, it looks like we will be in need of passports afterall. I'm glad I realized this now so that hopefully we'll have enough time to get our passports!

Has anyone gotten and used the Enhanced License for travel? How did it go?

Thanks, for Nothing.

This past weekend I had my meeting with my make-up artist. If you remember several posts ago, I was quite undecided if I should spend money getting a make-up artist or if I was going to do my own make-up day of.I found an add on Craigslist and promptly replied to it. The stylist sounded like everything I was looking for, and she traveled to your hotel room so you did not have to go anywhere. Plus, she did hair and was willing to do updo's for all the girls. She actually sounded like a dream.

We spent several weeks e-mailing and setting up our meeting date. She was going to do my make-up trial and I was quite excited about it. I had never had my make up done by anyone before. I spent some time collecting pictures of make-up looks I wanted to go for and I sent them to the Stylist.

Friday I hadn't heard from her to confirm, so I took the initiative and contacted her to make sure we were still on for our appointment as I had made it several months ago. She seemed excited and said we were on and she was actually going to contact me to confirm later that evening. She also told me I would need 50% of the total for services we'd be requiring for a deposit. I had taken a poll of my girls and the deposit would have been at least $200, which I was fine putting up, but I hadn't asked the Stylist about one thing.... a contract.

After thinking about how I'd be putting so much money down to hold the date, I asked her if there was a contract, because I wouldn't feel right putting down that much money without one. She said she didn't have one. I promptly voiced my concerns about putting so much money down (virtually to someone I didn't know) and not having any kind of proof of services to be provided or proof of payment. She told me she'd invoice me and it would serve as our contract and proof of payment. I was still a little leary, but figured I was a pretty good judge of characture so I'd be able to tell when I met her if she was legit or not.

Saturday morning came and I got up early and got ready, sans make-up. I saw the Man off as he was going home for the weekend and I waited for the Stylist to arrive.

I waited, and waited and waited.

She never showed up. At first I thought she must be running late and our road is easy to miss. I had given her my phone number and told her to bring it with her in case she couldn't find me. She never called.

After an hour, I knew she wasn't coming and I got pissed off.

After another hour, I knew she wasn't comming and felt relief.

Relief for what could have been a bad mistake. Relief that I didn't put down that much money just to have her not show up on the day of my wedding. Relief that my girls wouldn't be sitting around on the day of the wedding waiting for her to come and make them pretty and have her not show up.

I also felt annoyed. Annoyed that I had spoken to her the night before and she said she would be there in the morning. Annoyed that she couldn't even call and tell me she wasn't comming. Annoyed that I sat around waiting for her all morning on such a georgeous day. I also had a slight thought of perhaps something bad happened. I called her home(the number she gave me) and was going to leave a message to make sure she was okay, but someone answered. They were not very nice and informed me that if there was an emergency, they would have been called and would know.

So there you have it. My make-up trial that didn't happen.

I look at it as a blessing in disguise.

Rest & Relaxation- Part II

Since the Man and I decided on the Carribean, but didn't have a set destination, I decided to start doing some of my own research.

The first Island I liked was called Dominica. However, it's not your typical Honeymoon Island.

It is more of an "Adventure Island," with lots to do including: hiking, snorkeling, canyoning, scuba diving. I thought it would be the perfect spot for the man. Plus it was oozing with waterfalls, lush green rainforests and one of the only boiling lakes in the world(you hike up a mountain to see this). It sounded like it would be a lot of fun and I could see it being romantic as well. I saw great reviews on the beauty and friendliness of the Island. The only downfall was that it is a little underdeveloped in terms of what you'd expect for a hotel or nightlife. You aren't going to find a pampering 5 star luxury hotel here. It also didn't have a lot of beaches, but I was okay with that.

The Man vetoed Dominica once he saw that it didn't have a lot of beaches and told me the complete opposite of what he told me before, he wanted beaches. He also thought they might not have a very active nightlife, which is something we wanted as an option. So Dominica is out for our honeymoon, although I wouldn't mind going there someday. After all the positive reviews I read, it is supposed to be the "undiscovered beauty of the carribean," and I would like to check it out someday.

Next stop, Aruba. Aruba has some beautiful beaches and some amazing sunsets. Aruba has scuba diving, snorkeling, boating, historic caves, casinos, looked like it had a great nightlife, and it is not in the hurricaine belt(which is super important during hurricane season).

But, the Man found some reason to hate on Aruba too.

We were seriously considering Antigua for quite awhile. BUT, the Man decided the water wasn't "blue" enough for him and I found a horrible article on a couple that was killed while honeymooning there. I'm not gonna lie, that article killed antigua for me.

The we saw beautiful Punta Canna in the Dominican Republic.

And they had everything we were looking for in a place, but the Man, once again, found something to not like.

Are you getting tired of our indecisiveness yet? At this point, I was really getting annoyed. I wanted to find a place that we both would be happy going to, and it seemed as if the Man had become the most pickiest man alive. I would have been happy going anywhere in the Carribean with the Man, and I told him that. I left it up to him to find a spot since he was so unhappy with the choices we were making. He did a lot of research, and after finding spots and looking up reviews and prices, we finally found the "One."

We are going to Sandals Negril, located on the island of Jamaica. Yes, I know, it's in the hurricane belt during hurricane season (what are we thinking?). Don't worry, we got Travel Insurance through the resort and if anything should happen we will get a refund or get the chance to rebook our honeymoon at a later time. Secretly, I think the Man has high hopes of ridding out a hurricane together-- he's just crazy like that.

Photos of Negril-

Look at this sunset!

We chose Sandals because it is all inclusive and couples only. I'm so happy we finally settled on a place!

We tried to book through Orbitz (they have the cheapest package), but encountered a problem. We ended up calling Sandals and they matched the price that Orbitz had on thier website.

Oh August, you can't come fast enough.

Rest & Relaxation: Part I

The man and I had a seriously HARD time choosing a honeymoon location. We both wanted different things. Very, very different things.

While the man was daydreaming of Alaska, cruises, deep sea fishing, and bear hunting,

I was thinking something more like Hawaii, the tropics, romantic sunsets, beaches,and snorkeling.

Usually we agree on things, but Alaska was not the spot I wanted to go to after the long, COLD, snowy, hard winter we just had here in upstate NY. Not only that, but I didn't want to go on a cruise for our honeymoon. We have a boat that we go out on often in the summertime, and I sometimes feel trapped on it and I didn't want to have that trapped feeling out in the middle of the ocean. And while I think Alaska would be a beautiful spot to visit, I wasn't willing to go on our honeymoon. I do hope to go to Alaska someday and take in it's stunning beauty, just not this August.

The Man told me he didn't want to sit around on a beach all day, which I understand and had no intention of doing. I wanted to go somewhere different to explore it, not to park my butt on the beach the whole time we are there. Don't get me wrong, there will be some sort of relaxation on the beach, just not every second of every day. Once I told the Man I wasn't going to lob on the beach all day, he was totally down for a warmer vaca. Hawaii is somewhere I have ALWAYS wanted to go. Unfortunatly, since we are paying for our own wedding, Hawaii was slightly out of our budget -so it was out too. So there you have it, our top 2 choices, gone.

I made some other suggestions of different places but the Man didn't want to fly over the whole ocean to get to Italy, Greece, Ireland, or Australia(he has a fear of flying over the ocean and crashing). There are wars going on in Mexico which makes it uber unsafe for tourists right now.... so we were left with the dilema of where to go for rest and the ultimate relaxation.

We FINALLY narrowed it down to the Carribean, and in case you can't tell... that wasn't really "narrowing" since there are so many islands to choose from.

How easy was it for you to choose your honeymoon spot? Was your number one choice the same as your Significant Other's?