Currently- Vol. 3 (Wedding Edition)

Currently- Vol. 3

Loving: Patrick. He's been my rock throughout this whole process. He's helped when I've asked him to and he's allowed me to plan the wedding of my dreams.

Reading: Nothing other than the guest list to make sure I haven't missed anyone for the seating chart and place cards.
Watching: Wedding related movies. Father of the Bride, 27 Dresses, Bridesmaids, Bride Wars, etc.

Anticipating: Being Patrick's wife. I absolutely cannot wait to be married to him. That, and the honeymoon. It will be nice to have it just be him and me for a week.

Planning: Nothing. The planning is all done. The only things left to do are pretty simple.

Working on: Not stressing. I keep over thinking the ceremony and feel overwhelmed when I do that. I hate being the center of attention and am worried I'm going to mess up our vows in an epic way.

Wishing: That the day of could last longer. I know it's going to just fly by and I don't like that. I also wish it was here already. I'm done waiting.

Thankful Thursday- Vol. 14

1. I am thankful that I am able to listen to my iPod at work. It's nice to drown out certain other noises.

2. I am thankful that we are under budget for our wedding. It was one of my top concerns that we would end up going over, and we would have if everyone had RSVP'd yes. But thankfully we are sitting pretty with some money left over for our honeymoon.

3. I am thankful that our dance lesson went well. We are definitely going to need to practice, but I'm glad I won the free lesson and that Patrick was willing to do it.

4. I am thankful that the wedding is almost here. I really don't have much left to do except little things. To be honest, I'm a little bored and a little worried that I'm missing something. Shouldn't I be stressed and crazy at this point?

5. I am thankful that I have an amazing support system. The only thing that I'm concerned about wedding related is being the center of attention. Nothing I can change about that.. I'm getting anxious about it but I'm able to talk to Lorien and Patrick and they are always able to bring me down before I go crazy.

Weigh In #7

Weight:

Today's weight: 165.6

This weeks +/-: +0.2

Total weight +/-: -1.2

 

Still going in the wrong direction. Yes, it's only a 0.2 gain, but it's still a gain. I need to do something about this now because I really don't have much time before the wedding and it's starting to get a little late to do damage control.

 

I'm not one to take drastic measures to lose weight, but at this point it might be time to cut carbs from my diet. Not all carbs obviously since there are carbs in things like fruits and veggies, but the bready ones like pasta, oatmeal, rice, bread, etc. I didn't want it to come to that because I love my carbs, but I think I can make it work for the next 15 days so that my dress fits on the day of the wedding.

 

We'll see how long it lasts though. Once I say I'm not going to have something then it's all that I crave. But I need to do this because I don't want to be uncomfortable at my wedding and I really don't have the option of trying the dress on until that day.

Dress For Success- Day 4

I'm going to say this is another successful day. It feels really good to be able to get everything together the night before and have it ready to go. It makes it so much easier than trying to scramble to put things together in the morning. I am loving this challenge and the improvement to my self esteem is definitely noticeable.

Yesterdays outfit got a lot of questions from my co-workers asking if I was going on an interview... Guess maybe I'm getting a good handle on dressing professionally.

Necklace.

3/4 spandex pants.

Dress and sweater.

Strappy wedge shoes.

After.

Put together.

Dress: Marshalls
Sweater: Target
Pants: Kohl's
Shoes: Target
Necklace: Kohl's

When all else fails.. Shop!

And just purchased the following from Kohl's. I am currently in love with Lauren Conrad's collection and cannot get enough of her adorable designs!









I did my best to limit it to what I can afford. Thankfully the 30% coupon started today and I had $10 Kohl's cash. After making my purchase I received another $20 Kohl's cash that starts next week.

I'm thinking I'm going to give my mom the $20 Kohl's cash because I should not spend it.. But then again I may go into the store and look at their jewelry because I'm looking to expand my collection. Plus if I spend less than $20 then it's all good and I'm not spending any extra.

Decisions decisions...

I also got this dress which was on clearance from $90 to $18. I couldn't pass it up!



I cannot wait for them to be delivered so I can try them on and come up with some cute outfits for Dress for Success!

Dress For Success- Day 3

I went a little fancier today. More business than casual.

Skirt.

Button up shirt.

Shoes.

Earrings.

Ring.

Necklace.

After. I decided not to post a before because they are just awful...

Put together.

Skirt: New York & Co
Shirt: New York & Co
Shoes: ???
Necklace: Caffe Aroma
Earrings: ???
Ring: ???

Dress For Success- Day 2

Picked out my outfit again last night. It makes it so much easier to get things done in the morning. I've really been enjoying putting things together. It's fun and I really can tell a difference in my self esteem by doing this.

Dark jean/dress pants.

Undershirt, Button up shirt, Necklace.

Shoes.

Ring.

Earrings.

Before (I apologize again..)

After.

Put together.

Pants- New York & Co
Undershirt- Target
Button up shirt- New York & Co
Shoes- Bass
Necklace- Caffe Aroma
Earrings- ???
Ring- ??? (From my mom)

Dress for Success- Day 1

I have no excuses as to why I wasn't dressing my best. To be honest I got to the point where I just wanted to wear whatever fit, whatever could cover my body the best. But I wasn't happy. I didn't feel confident.

As fate may have it, I guess other people on the weight watchers message boards were feeling similar. Unhappy with their bodies and with what they were putting on it. So in an attempt for us to boost our self-esteem we have started a daily post/challenge. We are attempting to spend more time working on us including doing our hair, makeup and picking out outfits that make us feel good and present us in the best possible way.

I ran out of time this morning to post pictures. It's something I'll need to work on in order to continue this (getting up earlier to get everything done in the mornings and not feeling rushed).

I picked out my outfit and accessories last night:

Black pants

Blue top with lace

High heel shoes

Earrings

Ring

Bracelet

 

Did my make up this morning:

Before (I apologize. I had just woken up.)

After

 

And was ready to go:

Top: Forever 21
Pants: New York & Co
Shoes: Kohl's
Bracelet: Caffe Aroma
Earrings: ???
Ring: ??? (My dad found it years ago and gave it to me)





Seating Chart

Since the response cards are due today I decided to make the seating chart with what we have. We are only waiting on one more response card for four people.

The seating chart took maybe a total of one hour combining both last night and tonight. Everyone has a place. It was a lot easier than I anticipated. If the previously mentioned people respond that they will be coming then everything will change, but for now it works and I'm calm and relaxed.

It was suggested that I use a poster board and post its to set up the seating chart so that if something changes then it will be nice and easy to move people around. That's exactly what I did and it worked out really well.

Wreath Making Party

To celebrate the start of Fall, Isabel was invited by a class mate to a wreath decorating party. For the past two weeks we've been collecting leaves, pine cones and other miscellaneous items for our wreath. I also purchased some silk flowers to add some color.

We almost didn't go to the party because I had to work and my mom (who watches Isabel when Patrick and I are both at work) wasn't going to be home. When I told Isabel that we wouldn't be able to go she gave me the puppy dog look. Those big sad eyes with tears welling up and the lip sticking out. The thing that got me was the sad, pathetic "But why?" It wasn't a whine, but a true question.

My heart broke. I'm normally not so soft, but I couldn't handle it. So I went to work and asked my boss if I could come into work early in order to leave early. My boss tends to be very easy going as long as you work the right amount of hours and get your job done.

So I got into work this morning at 6:15am and left at 3:15pm in order to pick up Isabel and make it to the party on time.

She was so excited to be able to play with all of her friends from school. And to be honest, I was pretty excited to meet their mom's. You see, I don't have many friends. Don't get me wrong. The ones I have are the best you can find and I would much rather have a handful of life long friends then too many acquaintances, but at the same time it would be nice for both Isabel and myself to have some friends with kids in order to start having play dates.

It was supposed to be the kids project to make the wreath, however they were too busy playing with each other to actually make anything. So the mom's (and one dad) ended up making the wreaths. They all turned out so well! It's amazing to see all of the different ideas people have. They all turned out so different, but each was unique and beautiful in it's own way.

Our fall wreath.

Weigh In #6

Weight:

Today's weight: 165.4

This weeks +/-: +0.8

Total weight +/-: -1.4

After the week I had I couldn't ask for better results. I was seriously anticipating a much larger gain this week.

It's a good reality check to stop this destructive behavior now before it gets any worse. I have to fit into a beautiful white dress in 3 weeks. I can't do that if I continue on this path.

So I'm back at it again today. I'm not saying I'm going to be perfect and I'm not saying this is the last time I get back on the wagon, but I feel confident that I can make this work for the next three weeks. I am confident that I can still indulge and not go overboard. I am confident that I can get the support I need as long as I ask for it.

I don't really have much of a plan other than to workout and eat better. Pretty simple.

September Goals- Check In

1. Walk and/or run 100 miles.
This is going to be a success. I'm already at 78.69/100.

2. Schedule workouts for the month in writing.
Well, I did schedule the workouts in writing, however I haven't been sticking to that schedule. So technically, I did succeed in the goal, but I failed in following through.

3. Make dinner at least twice this month.
I have made one dinner so far this month. I ended up making dinner for Patrick and my parents. It turned out pretty well. Thank you Emily Bites for your Bubble Up Enchiladas.

4. Track 100% every day on My Fitness Pal.
I have not been tracking 100% every day. I would say I have been tracking about 80% of the time, and believe me I can tell the difference between tracking 100% and 80%.

5. Go grocery shopping every week.
Another fail. We've only gone shopping once so far this month.

6. Work on our budget.
We've discussed things and we both have room for improvement. We are taking a break from building up our savings in order to work on our debt. Then we'll jump right back into saving again. We are also looking into paying our bills differently and I'm learning patience in when bills get sent.

Halloween Costume

Kohls.com

In true Halloween spirit the search for a costume begins early. Normally for Isabel, but since she changes her mind a few times a day we are waiting until we purchase something.

This year Rachel and I are running the Rock N' Roll Los Angeles half marathon on October 28th. Obviously it will be Halloween themed being so close to Halloween and costumes are encouraged.

The search began and I knew I wanted something that I could easily run in. Then Lorien sent me the above photo and the search stopped. There is no need to keep looking. In fact, after calling my mom for the 20% off coupon code, I purchased it and will be a Rockford Peach from A League of Their Own.

I could not be more excited! A League of Their Own is one of my favorite movies of all time.

All I will need is spandex shorts for underneath and to find similar knee high socks.

Running Recap- 9/15/2012

Today was our 11 mile run, which turned into 11.5 miles.

I can't give a break down because I pause my Garmin at lights and kept forgetting to unpause them. No worries though, we still did the mileage.

It ended up getting to at least 102 degrees today. Good thing we started early today. The course was a pretty good one. It took us on the Simi wash, which I don't mind running on, but Rachel hates. I can understand her feelings since we've run on the wash multiple times. The view can get old.

There was a little elevation as well, which can be exhausting, especially in the heat. By the end of the run my water was hot, which didn't help anything.

And my knee... What a pain in my backside.. After the lower body workout I did on Thursday my knee started acting up. I wore my brace today and iced it both last night and today after we got home. I'm planning on resting completely tomorrow and icing it some more. I cannot risk an injury.

My favorite thing about today's long run was that it brings me to over 73 miles for the month. Every month I make a goal to walk and/or run 100 miles. Some months I make it, others I'm under. It doesn't matter either way, but it's really nice to reach that goal. Today is the half way point for the month and I am thrilled with how hard I have worked to get to this point. Normally if I get ahead I tend to slack the rest of the month, but I'm not doing that this month. I'm getting in 100 miles and then some.

Wedding Centerpieces- Take 2

I picked up the new centerpiece from the florist today.

I could not be happier.

I was a little nervous that I was going to go and not like it again. I don't want to be "that" bride. The kind of bride where nothing can make me happy. Flowers, cakes, music.. oh my! It's beginning to get overwhelming to be honest.

But today there were all types of rainbows and glitter and unicorns as I was handed the sample centerpiece. I could not stop smiling and I got excited. I knew that this was the perfect combination of flowers in the perfect vase and that it would be perfect in the middle of the table at the wedding. I could picture it there with the mason jars, the candles and the chalkboard table number. That's how I knew it was right.

She took out both the lilies and the large roses. I love it so much. It is absolutely perfect!