Update

Isn't that the name of all my posts lately? I feel like it is and I guess when you only post once a month, that is all you are really able to do.

--Craig and I spent Thanksgiving in Ohio, as we always do, just the two of us. It was awesome. I did a turkey trot that morning (5 miles), got a nice warm starbucks latte while calling one of my favorite gals to wish her happy birthday and then went home to heat up the quiche I made the night before and get all the food ready. I got the bird in the oven right before the Packers' game and then about an hour after the game it was all ready :-) Perfect! Friday C had to work so I got up when he did and did a little holiday shopping, mostly at craft stores :-) I didn't stand in any lines and I found it really relaxing. I came home, watched the 3rd Twilight movie and then the LSU game...and crafted a bit. Saturday we didn't do much at all and Sunday we did even less because the weather was gross here!

--We have decided to renovate our kitchen. It is SO SMALL! The actual size of it isn't bad but there are only cabinets on one wall and no counter space. We are going to knock down the deck (the stairs are so steep) and then we are going to pop the kitchen out 8ft (which will include having a new room below the kitchen since it can't just be a second floor) and build a new deck around it! YIKES. It feels like a huge undertaking! We had been talking about it and decided to have the guys that did our bathroom come out to give us some ideas...well, they pretty much are going to give us an awesome deal because they don't get much work in the winter in OH. I was a little concerned about the house being open but they build the whole outside and then knock down the inside...how cool huh. Anyway, so, we might be crazy paying for a kitchen renovation of this size and a wedding in the same year, but it looks like that is what we are going to do. I am going to have to start saving the pennies :-) It will all be worth it though because we will have 2 to 3 times the cabinets and about 4 times the counter space! We will also get a breakfast nook (great for little ones to eat where there is not carpet)

--Wedding planning is pretty much at a stand still right now...we have done most of the big stuff and now it is down to the details. I am having a craft day in Jan with the OH girls to help me make all the flowers and other stuff for the wedding, I have ordered some paper products and we are doing save the date/xmas cards. My sister is going to throw me a shower so she is already starting with all those questions (though it is 4 months away). Craig decided that he has no interest in registering (he may regret this later) but that I can "show him stuff if I want". HA! I sort of feel like a loser going to a store to register by myself so I might take Ali or I might just do a lot of it online. We don't need stuff like china because we have his grandma's so it will probably be a lot of kitchen stuff that I want and C will benefit from when he gets good meals.

--I have injured my groin...what? Ugh. I don't even know when I did it. I just remember that when C and I were getting ready for vacation (Oct 7th) I said that a week of from running would help it feel better. I guess it probably did for a little while but then it started hurting again and when I ran on Thanksgiving it hurt pretty much the whole time. I have never been one of those "rest" people when it comes to injuries but this one was really hurting. Normally my injuries hurt when I am not running but warm up and don't bother me when I am running so I just keep on running. This time was different and after it hurt the entire race on Thanksgiving and was super sore for days after I decided to take a break. Yesterday I went to the Dr. and he said groin strain...no running for 3-4 weeks and then evaluate :-( No zumba (which I think aggrevated it) for 2 months...oh well. But, the good news (to someone who likes to work out and gets cranky when they can't) is that I can still do the elliptical and the bike...plus most of my p90x DVDs. Yay...doesn't my groin know I have a wedding to get in shape for? Less than 6 months!!

--On that subject...I still struggle to lose my stubborn weight that mostly came on in about 6 months a couple years ago...it is always lose a few lbs, gain a few lbs, over and over again. I was looking at pictures of Craig and I on vacations when we first met and it was pretty depressing...I was at least 15-20lbs lighter...yikes! So, I put a chart up on the fridge where C can see it and I have been trying really hard to stick to my proper eating. I didn't include my actual weight on there but I have boxes for lbs lost and then weeks across the top and my goal by the wedding in gray...I am down 4lbs in 4 weeks. Slow but like Drena said, slow and steady wins the race and I am not looking for a quick fix. I am looking for meals that I will like and continue to eat. I am not doing any diet per se, but I am logging my food at SparkPeople. I like that website because it doesn't tell me I need to eat 1000 calories a day to lose weight...it actually gives me a normal range and when I do it, I lose so it works. I just have to constantly do it and when I travel it gets hard.

--I got the go ahead yesterday to FINALLY rent out my condo in Atlanta. I am sure that none of you know anyone looking for a one bedroom in Midtown, just in case, if you do, let me or Drena know :-) I can't wait to get it rented out (hopefully by Feb) and have a little extra dough each month! I am going to sign the papers before they board can change their mind.

--In crafty news, my headbands have been doing pretty well on etsy. I find it really funny/weird that they sell almost exclusively to people in the Midwest...My mom took them to the craft show that she did in Gainesville in Oct and not a single one sold in 3 days but I have sold them online...so weird to me. I might do a craft show here in April. Ali said she would help me so I think that it might be fun. I also learned how to use my sewing machine to do embroidery. I have made several things and I am loving it. I made little shirts for my niece and nephew...I really need to post pictures of those...they have a GT (stupid tech fans) and then their names underneath. I love that I will be able to make handmade gifts for future babies of friends or kids or my own little one one day...love it!

--This Friday C and I are having a Christmas Vacation party...I am sort of excited because I like hosting get togethers. I was busy on pinterest looking for all kinds of yummy goodies to make. I usually make goodies and send them to work with C so I sort of have a reputation for making yummy treats for all his coworkers. That is mostly who will be at the party (they are mostly our age) so I feel like I have high expectations of what I am going to make!

I think that is about all that I have been up to lately...it doesn't really sound that exciting when I sit and type it all out.

Pictures

Wow, has it really been over a month since I wrote anything here...yikes.

Anyway, just a quick line (and promises to be a better blogger) to show you all the engagement pics we just had taken.

Go Here and click the wedding gallery box and then on the next page, client proofing at the bottom of the page. powersengagement is the password. you have to use your email to log in but they don't send you anything.

Favorites?

Update

Hmm, what have I been up to? Not much really. Just boring, being in town stuff...

I did the Air Force Half Marathon last weekend and I got my best time ever for a half marathon so I was pretty pumped about that. It felt really good to make a goal and then accomplish it. The funny thing is that I didn't really do that much running between my last half a month ago and this one. I did exercise a lot but not necessarily running. Good to know that I don't lose the running ability even without running all the time. I enjoy mixing it up a bit and I enjoy racing so I am glad to see that I can do both.

Other than that I have just really enjoyed my time at home. I get to see and talk to Craig on a regular basis, I get to go to the gym and try new classes (like Zumba and real Pilates), I get to go to trivia on Wednesday nights and actually do stuff with my Dayton friends. I almost can't believe it. I really needed the break. I worked entirely too much this summer. I can barely name anything I did and now it is going to be cold here in a couple months. That makes me so sad. I have been trying to work on my work-life balance lately. I think that when I am out of town it is so easy to work until all hours of the night to try to get things done but I just can't do that on a regular basis. It sucks. Since I am home now I usually start work at 8am (not a far commute from the bed, across the hall and to the desk) and I normally don't take a lunch (cause what am I going to do) unless I exercise during the day so I am trying to make myself stop working after 8 hours. Sometimes it is hard because my job is all about problem solving and if you have ever done a crossword puzzle where you only have one or two clues left, you know how hard it is to just put it down and walk away. I have come up with creative ways to make myself stop and most of them involve crafting or exercising :-) HA!

I finally started allergy shots a couple weeks ago. I have in my head that these will be the miracle that will allow my to not have to take Claritin every day of my life but we will see. I am only a couple weeks in. It sucks cause it is an hour and 20mins roundtrip, twice a week right now. Bleh. Oh well, it is only for 6 months or so and at least it gets me out of the house in daylight! They are quite the cocktail and I have to get 2 each time I go. I had them put it all in there...all plants, dogs, cats, dust mites...you name it. I did hear one lady on the elevator today tell a kid she had to get 3 shots so at least there is someone who has worse allergies than I do. These suckers are pricey so I hope they work...looks like I will be doing a little figuring of how much I need in my FSA account next year. Yikes.

Wedding planning is still going well...I had a minor freakout today because the hotel that I had blocked rooms at has changed names and I wanted to make sure our contract was still valid because that is the weekend that the convention is here but I called the other day and they said it was. Then I started to panic because I realized that I didn't block enough rooms (and the hotels are sold out) but I looked on the actual hotel's website and you were able to book rooms directly, guess they aren't switched over in our work travel database that still had them as a Doubletree. I booked a room for Craig and I and noticed that the rates were a lot lower than the blocked rooms so I sent an email to the sales lady asking to drop the price and if we can add more rooms (since apparently it is not sold out).

We are trying to narrow down our honeymoon choices. If you know me, you know I love a good deal and if we book by Oct 14th then we can save a bit of money so I want us to decide by then. Here are the finalist:
Ireland
Italy
Holland

I have been to Italy but not Tuscany and I have been to Holland (which I really liked). I would be happy with any of them so we just need to pick one. I think that Craig is leaning toward Ireland or Holland (cause you get to ride a barge down the river and it is a little more "city" like than the other places). He knows that I would probably rank them as Holland third but I would not be disappointed with any of them. I loved Amsterdam when I went with Erin 10 years ago and the Ann Frank House is by far the most moving museum I have even been in, EVER. Plus, Holland would be less flight connections :-)

Other than that, I haven't done much of anything...I feel like I don't talk to anyone anymore...guess everyone is busy with fun fall activities!

Favorite Weekend

What did I do you ask? NOTHING...or at least nothing with a set agenda. I have not had a weekend like this since APRIL! APRIL people...not a single weekend since then that I was home and didn't have to pack to go out of town or really that I was home without a million things to do. It.feels.awesome. I spent Saturday watching college football and sewing some headbands. I fit in a little workout. Sunday was more of the same...crafting, organizing crafts, etc. Today, yep, right back at it :-)

I did manage to get my coupons all organized on Friday or Saturday, I can't remember which.

I have only been home for 10 straight days but it feels like a lifetime (in a good way). I was traveling so much and having such a stressful time at work that I couldn't relax even when I was home. Now that I have been home for 10 days I feel so much better!!! I have been eating well, I got exercise in almost every day and I just can relax without having to worry about flights and reservations and auditors!

Wedding planning is also going awesome. I have to admit that doing it pretty much on your own is hard. I don't think that I realized how hard it would be but it is starting to all come together. We booked our caterer after a lot of back and forth. We really liked the food at a local restaurant in town but the display is probably not as "pretty" as the other place that only does catering...the problem with the second place was that I didn't love the food. The stuff we were going to have was ok but overall I was not impressed. I don't get it because it is one of those places where every raves about it...eh. I tend to be turned off by those kind of places in general.

My mom and Alyson came up last weekend to go dress shopping. I had 2 appointments with different bridal stores in the bridal district in Reading and then one other place that doesn't take appointments. We went to the first place and I was a bit overwhelmed. Everyone that lives in Dayton seems to get their dress there so I thought it would be a little different. Everyone warned me of the big dressing room where everyone changes together but that didn't bug me in the least...those of you who lived with me in the sorority house remember I would walk around in a bra to go iron my shirts....don't care. When we got there there was some consultants that I didn't feel like I wanted (they were older and didn't appear to have any fashion sense judging by what they wore), luckily we got a cute, younger girl :-) After you get assigned a person you are taken to look at the dresses and pick out what you want to try on. I sort of thought it would be like "Say Yes to the Dress" where they would look at pictures you bring in and then pick stuff out for you...not so much. I didn't know how to spot what the dresses looked like while they were in a bad...how could I tell what the cut was?? UGH. Luckily I had several pictures so my sister, mom and I just looked for the sweetheart neckline that I thought I wanted. I also gave my list of pictures to the consultant. She pulled a few on my list and when we had about 6 or 7 I was ready to try on. She had pulled one that I had on my list but when I looked at it I thought it had too much beading. The first few dresses were good and I liked them but when I tried on the dress that I had claimed had too much beading, I LOVED it. It really looked good for my curvy body shape :-) It was sort of funny since I hadn't even wanted to try it on. My mom and sister loved it too. I tried on a second one by the same designer (which is the same designer that Morgan's dress is so had it not been for her, I wouldn't have looked at this designer and found my dress) but with less beading and I still liked the shape but the combo of the beading and the shape is what made it look so good on me. I tried on a few more dresses of different styles and some that I had on my list but I didn't like this or that about them. The consultant offered to pull more but I told her I wanted to put the beaded one back on...and then I didn't take it off for the next half hour as we did the veil and all that...I am really happy with my choice. So happy that I cancelled the other two appointments and an hour and a half after we walked in the first store, we were done! HA! The rest of the weekend we did other wedding stuff (saw the venue, made paper flowers, etc). The weather was gorgeous in Ohio (as it has been since minus Friday and Saturday this week) it was sunny and 75 with no humidity...ahhhh. If anyone is interested my dress is Casablanca 1957. I am not going to post any pictures of me in it. The arm workouts have begun :-)

We also made our appointment for our engagement photos. I can't wait. I need to find an outfit. We are doing them Oct 25th. It will be chilly here by then so if you guys (Meghan) have any good ideas as to cute outfits I could wear, let's see them. Remember, I am not skinny so it needs to be something that would look good on someone with some curves. Craig will probably just wear jeans and a plain t-shirt (he wears the more fitted ones and it will likely be black or blue). I haven't decided if we will do anything other than casual outfits yet.

Sorry it was so long! Hope everyone else is enjoying their weekend.

Wedding Wednesday

Lots happened in the wedding planning this week :-)

Dresses: I went to David's Bridal on Saturday with my sisters and my mom and I definitely learned what I liked as far as silhouette goes. I didn't really love the consultant that I had...she wasn't very good and didn't really listen and didn't bring me half the dresses I wanted to see. Oh well. I have decided that I probably want a fit and flare dress with a sweetheart neckline...the more rounded the better. There was one dress that I really liked but I am not sure about it completely. Next weekend my mom and Alyson will be up here and I have 3 bridal places to go to in the bridal district in Reading...including the largest shop in the country...yikes. I looked up designers the other day to find ones that had what I liked and in my price range...am I crazy to not want to spend a ton of money on a dress I will wear once? I mean, I want to look good but I don't want it to be a huge chunk of my budget. We picked out the bridesmaid dresses...so cute!!

DJ: We met with another DJ and then decided to book one we met with a couple weeks back. I think he was my favorite but I went through the process and let Craig decide :-) Luckily he picked the same one I liked (isn't it fun when you are on the same page...it is the little things).

Food: We had another tasting tonight and I must say that I wasn't the hugest fan of the food. It was ok but this is the place that everyone talks about and I think that the hype is more than the food. It is supposed to be fancy (and people need to stop telling me that because it makes my expectations too high) but I thought it was bland...the things that we would get for our wedding were good but I didn't like the other stuff. We also went to a wedding (Craig's ex) in March that used them and the food was just ok. She said they didn't get what they were supposed to have and the lady that they had worked with wasn't even there but then she told me to use them...weird. They are known for their displays and how pretty everything is so that is something to consider. I think that we are going to see what the quote comes in at. If it is close to the other place then we might pick them but if not we will go with the other place. I liked the other place better anyway.

Ceremony: I researched and sent Craig's sister all the information to get ordained to marry us :-) She was very touched that we asked and I like that she will be included. Also, Craig has decided to have people now (not sure if I wrote on here about how he didn't want any groomsmen). He decided to have his (our) friend Adrienne in the wedding on his side and then one of his guy friends. It is a little non traditional to have a girl on the guy side but she really is his best friend in Dayton so it makes sense. She is going to wear the same dress as my sisters but in black and will be on his side.

Decor: So, I think that this whole time I have been struggling with what exactly Craig envisioned...he kept saying he didn't want "formal" but then when we talked to DJs or caterers he was saying things that would make me think formal. So, I finally had to get a definition...he doesn't want the ceremony, invitations or reception to be real formal and "stuffy" as he put it but he does want us to have an elegant wedding in the decor and all that...sort of hard to explain but is it sad that I get what he means? It helps me tremendously with all the decorating and my dress and all that so I am glad I got that figured out.

Next up we have to figure out times and whether we will do a cocktail hour and stuff. Then we have to figure out the whole engagement photo deal. We are going to do them in Oct because the leaves are gorgeous up here so I still have some time. Everyone we have told about our photographer that is a wedding vendor LOVES him and raves about how good he is...I am glad that we (I) decided to splurge on him :-)

I have been busy and am SO CLOSE to having all the major stuff done! YAY!

Dress Shopping

Obviously I have not kept up with the Wedding Wednesday but since I don't think people read that much anyway, it is ok if break my rules :-) I have been beyond busy at work...the kind of busy where you are working and starving and you look up and realize it is 2:30 and you haven't eaten and the cafe is closed or when I think that I will run downstairs for a mid afternoon latte to wake me up and the store is closed because it is 6...good times. I think that I added some stress to my days by trying to meet up with friends here in Atlanta...I probably would have been a little less stressed if it weren't for that but then again, I like to see my friends :-)

With all of that going on, I have not had a ton of time for wedding planning lately but I have somehow made progress. Craig and I have talked to two DJs (one of which emailed us later and said they had another client they had already met with that was interested in our day and I talked to her yesterday and the other client booked). For some reason I don't really believe her...I think they didn't like us for some reason (though we only met with them for 15mins) but maybe not. We have done two tastings. The first one was this place where I went and picked up a pan of food that we were supposed to put in our oven to heat back up and try. It was everything all in one pan...I am not a fan of my food touching and usually eat one food at a time :-) Oh well, the food was ok...the potatoes tasted like a mix and so did the mac and cheese. C loved the mac and cheese. All the chicken was sort of rubbery tasting and a lot of it tasted salty. There were a few really good things in there though so all was not lost. The second place is an actual local restaurant in town and we really liked that food a lot and the lady was super nice. The first guy reminded me of the soup nazi but for catering. We have one more caterer and one more DJ this Monday and Tuesday and then I think we will have those two things set.

On Saturday I am going to David's Bridal with my mom and my sisters. I am excited but part of me is a little nervous. I have never seen myself in a wedding dress and something about it makes me nervous (not in a scared way, more in an excited sort of way). I picked out a few dresses online and I have sent them to a couple people...it is so funny to see the responses cause everyone tells me their fav (which I love) but I think between everyone at least every dress has been picked once :-)

I also have gotten a mock up on the centerpieces...most people like them but my mom and sister didn't like the gray colored ball and my other sister didn't love the yellowish one. I honestly think that it is because the picture is one I was trying to take really quick...the gray one looks dull and the yellow one is reflecting the flash. The good news is that I will not have to make as many flowers as I thought I would...good news because we really didn't make any at the beach and I am not so sure I am actually going to have any help with this little project like I thought I was. I still have the visit in two weeks from my mom and sister so maybe we can do it then. Other than that I am going to try to have a party with some of my OH girls where we have wine and make them...they said they would help. I just feel awkward because a lot of people say they will help but then how do you bring it back up again without being rude? When they come over how do you just start the craft portion of the evening. Hmmm, I guess I will have to figure that one out. At least they are not quite as time consuming as I thought.

We also think that we have the favors picked out. We are making them and did a trial run at the beach...now we learned a couple things and are going to do another trial run when my mom and sister come to OH.

So, everything seems to be moving right along :-)

Wedding Wednesday

For the makeup, I think that I am going to go with the airbrush. I am doing a practice run of both the hair and the makeup before the wedding so I will know what everything looks like. I also heard that you can go to Sephora and get a make over for a $50 giftcard. I am sure there is $50 of stuff I would get a Sephora or I could use it as a gift. I am not going to do that for the wedding but thought about doing it for the engagement photos (which are actually going to be in October because I really want pictures of us in the fall and I am never going to ever get Craig to agree to pictures after the wedding). HA!

Today's theme is centerpieces. I am using the picture of the white pomanders as my inspiration sort of..I like the multiple balls. I am thinking of doing them in different colors though and different sizes (like the group of orange balls). These are all made out of tissue paper!! I love how they look and at about $5-8 a piece it is way cheaper than having them made out of real flowers and it gives me winter project :-) If I see you any time between now and then I might just recruit you to make some with me :-) You cut the tissue paper, and then fan fold it and tie wire around it (see the picture with the green, that is after they are folded and with the wire around it). Then you fluff it up and make it into a flower (see orange flower) and then you use the wire to stick them in the styrofoam ball and it turns out like the picture :-) Perfect. My mom actually used to make these flowers when she was young and they made floats out of them...she should have never told me that, HA! I am going to get the stuff to try a trial run at the beach in a couple weeks. I already ordered the tissue paper so I just need to get the balls and the wire. After we make the sample, I am just going to work on the folding until it gets way closer to the wedding...no need to have all those pomanders all over the house, I don't even know where I would put them!

Don't worry girls, I don't have the tissue paper with me in Atlanta so I won't have everyone making them this weekend at the beach...though part of me thinks it would be pretty hilarious to see what they would look like with all the liquor Molly purchased today! HA!

I also think that I know what the favors are going to be but I might want to keep it a secret...I can't decide yet.

Other than that, I emailed 3 DJs the other day, one is booked for our date so we have 2 to meet with and I have another one that we could meet with and a couple friends that know people who do it or have been married in Dayton. C has finally agreed to go meet with them so we will do that in a few weeks.

C also decided that he doesn't care about going to taste the caterer's food because "of course whatever they make for a tasting is going to be good, but that doesn't mean the wedding food will be good" HA! There are basically three choices for our location (there are 6 preferred caterers but one is just sandwiches, one is German food, and the other is something too casual too). Of the three left, one is a little fancier in the prep and the other sounds a little more like us so we will see. They are all basically the same price so that doesn't even really help. I guess I will try those out on my own and then we can pick out what we want.

Light at the end of the tunnel

I can finally see it...I think??

Work has been insane lately and by insane I mean that I work 10hrs a day and don't even realize that I have worked that much because I don't look up the whole time. I am not even sure I went to the bathroom today. I know there are lots of people who work more than 10hrs at a time but it just feels like this is so intense and it is the first time in a long time that I can't actually get everything done by the deadline...and that includes delegating out every single piece that I am allowed (sometimes it HAS to be me that does the work). Because of all the drama lately, they have me in Atlanta to help for the next few weeks. On the one hand, it is nice that they know I will figure out the problem but on the other hand, it sucks that I will be out of town for 6 weeks straight. Eating out that much certainly doesn't do anything for the waistline :-) I got to Atlanta on Monday and actually don't have a flight home but I think that I will book it for next Friday (was hoping to come home on Wed but it doesn't look like that is happening). That will be 12 days straight...it might be the longest that Craig and I have been apart :-( I thought that it would drag on but I have already completed two days and it seems like I just got here. I think that the saddest part is that we had a bad storm at home yesterday and lost power so all the food I bought C to eat while I was gone is probably bad now :-( It was out for 12hrs.

I have squeezed in a tiny bit of wedding planning, didn't get to post last week because it was Friday before I realized that I didn't post but I will save all that for tomorrow.

This weekend is a beach trip with some of my ATL ladies and I am pretty excited about it. I have to confess that part of me was sort of sad because it meant being away from home for so long but now I know that going to the beach with the girls will be way better than going home and trying to rush around and get stuff done in the 2 days I am home. I will relax so much more at the beach and plus, I haven't seen some of these girls in months (or years!!). I can't wait!! I think that work the way it is lately, I can appreciate a week of doing nothing (not normally my style at all, I get so antsy). Now to figure out if one of the bathing suits I packed when I came to Atl is actually appropriate to wear in public...yikes!

Wedding Wednesday

This way for the people who could care less about wedding stuff...you can skip Wednesdays :-)

The planning is FINALLY starting to be fun. I am starting to make some progress and that seems to be a bit helpful.

Hair and Makeup- I made my appointments while I was at the salon getting my hair done on Friday. My hair dresser told me to go ahead and do it...I think that our wedding is near proms here and I think that she probably just wanted me to make sure I got a time that I wanted because she has regulars that book up her Saturdays. I felt like it was a little premature but then again, I know I am going to have it done so why not. I was shocked when she said that I would need to do it at 11am as the LATEST. Ugh, I thought with a later wedding I would sleep in and enjoy my morning coffee...not so much. I am pretty sure that I want to wear my hair down but pulled back from my face and curled. She said I needed to wait until I got my dress cause what if it would look ridiculous with the dress...I guess I can't see how that it possible...maybe one of you could explain. I also was a little annoyed because she was engaged for 2 years and then broke off the wedding like 2 months before she was supposed to get married. She also bought a wedding dress about 1.5 before her wedding and then didn't like it (and couldn't fit into it anymore). Not exactly the person I want advice from. Oh well, I think I know the style I want so we will see...I can't imagine how my hair would look "ridiculous" just curled and pulled back no matter what dress I got.

For the makeup I was going to go with regular but she really encouraged me to do the airbrush (just foundation and blush). She said that it would look amazing in pictures. After some research it seems like everyone loves it so I might do that...has anyone done it before?

Venue - I finally got the lady to get back in touch with me (she ignored me it seemed after the contract was signed but she is back) and we are going to be allowed to get in 2hrs before the wedding...YAY. This means that we will be able to get the awesome pictures that our photographer wants to get. He was really concerned with us only being able to get in an hour before because he said people will start to trickle in around 45 mins before (not me, I am normally getting there like 10 mins before but whatever).

Dessert - We decided a while back not to do a cake. Neither of us really loves cake so it is just an extra expense that we didn't really want (buy the cake, pay to have it cut and served, etc) so I think that we are going to have the local custard (like ice cream only way better) come and do sundaes :-) Custard is pretty famous in Wisconsin as the birthplace (think this depends on who you talk to) and since Craig is from there and we LOVE custard, I thought it was would be a lot more appropriate...plus we only pay per sundae eaten (not that this was the deciding factor). I am pretty excited about this ...yes, I am a dork.

Music - this is the part that I am most concerned about at the moment. Craig is beyond picky about music and he doesn't seem to want any fun songs played at the wedding (and I am not even talking about the electric slide or the chicken dance (which will NOT be played)). He says that the music is the most important part for him (other than the marrying part) and I am trying to be really respectful of that but while his musical taste is really good, it is not appropriate for a wedding unless we want people sleeping. We chose to have a later ceremony time because we wanted the party to go to midnight...you have to keep people awake. He has a really good friend that is a DJ (or was one) and he is going to talk to him tonight at trivia and I am hoping that will help him realize that at a party/wedding you have to play what other people know and like. I know it will work itself out but it seems to be a tough thing right now...

Invitations - I am not crazy and ordering them now or anything but I was trying to find what direction we wanted to go in so I started looking around. I found some that I liked and then had to show them to C...he is the type that likes to see ideas and then let them roll around and think about them so you have to start early with him. I was so glad that when I showed them to him he liked them. He said that he doesn't want any "script or fancy" writing on them. I think that is about right...if we made them look fancy it would make the wedding look fancy and I don't think that is the case. Anyway, here are some pictures of ones that I like...what do you guys think? I think that one with the Y on it in the top right is my fav...I just don't know if it would look as good with our colors....oh, and C doesn't like the ones with borders...he says they look like certificates :-) HA!

Hair Pictures

I am not really sure you can tell and I don't have a lot of pictures of myself recently with the blonde hair but I found this one from our trip...to me it seems really different but I am not sure if other people will really notice. I am trying to grow out my hair a little bit and she cuts it a lot when I go and with the blonde I have to go every 8 weeks, hoping that with this color I can really stretch it out. I don't wash my hair daily and I don't use heat or product that much (hair dryer) so it doesn't really get damaged and need an inch and a half off every 8 weeks.

Summertime

I can't believe that it is already the last weekend in June!! Where did the time go?? This was the weekend that Craig and I were supposed to do the century (100miles) bike ride but since it literally rained EVERY DAY of April we got really behind on our training and didn't think it was the kind of thing we could just wing (pretty sure it would be the equivalent of just running a marathon with no training). Tomorrow is supposed to be gorgeous though so I am hoping we can do a really long ride and make up for the fact that we can't do the century ride. Other than that, I am going to start working on some blurb books on Sunday when it is supposed to rain because I have Groupons that I need to use. I bought two and I am a little worried that I won't get two books done so if anyone needs one, let me know and we can work it out.

I have been doing the whole exercising and eating right thing...trying to drink all my water and eat all my veggies. I can definitely tell a difference in the running. I really need to start training for my first half marathon of the season :-) I have 4 (!!!) scheduled between now and the wedding. If doing that doesn't get me in shape, I am not sure anything could. HA! I guess I actually have to train for them though, huh! Maybe I will try to get in a long run this weekend. I have been running more in my neighborhood (which is really hilly) so I think that is helping me to get faster when I run on the flat places...

Today I went and got my hair done. I was a little bored with the blonde...feel like I have had it forever and I didn't like the way it was growing out because it just looked yucky. I wanted to go dark, Craig wasn't really a fan but I think it is just cause he can't picture things. All my OH friends were all on board. I went today and she said it would take too long (longer than our appt was scheduled for) to dye it all one color and then do some highlights so she gave me the option of coming back another day for color or just putting in low lights instead of highlights and then touching up the highlights on the top of my head. I went the second route since it was more economical :-) I really like the outcome. It is more like my natural color but a little bit warmer and there are still blonde highlights but they are actually highlights and not just blonde all over...I think it is a nice change because it isn't really dramatic but it still feels different to me (pretty sure no one else will notice).

Wedding planning is coming along...it still feels a little overwhelming at times but I got the hotel blocked out and I am working on the colors and music and other stuff. Drena and Morgan have been sending me little ideas and it is so fun because they know me so well that literally they send me the exact ideas I was thinking of...ah, warm fuzzies. I think that in order to not only talk about wedding stuff (since I am sure some of you could really care less), I am going to just sum it all up on Wednesdays and have Wedding Wednesdays...how fun :-)

I have a new little craft project that I need to share with you guys...it is super cute and has been EXTREMELY popular here in Ohio!! They are little headbands for exercising (or running errands) that are nonslip and made of ribbons...you can seem them in my Etsy Shop HERE. The girls that ran the Flying Pig with me and I bought some for that race (we all had pink ones in different patterns) and then I figured out how to make them so I started making them for my friends here (all runners and all play soccer) and their teammates starting asking for them and they really just took off...highly recommend them if you exercise or just want a cute way to wear your hair while running errands (I wear them on some of the days when I don't wash my hair). I even recommend them even if you buy them from another person on Etsy...they are just awesome!

That is about it for me lately...work is starting to get crazy so I am going to try to relax this weekend and just chill.

Hamvention

What is hamvention you ask?? Well, here is link for you. Also, it has completely booked up and sold out the hotel that we were planning on blocking rooms at for our wedding. I just happened to decide to check that off the list since there are two hotels that are within walking distance of the venue...no driving...yay! I figured since it was something I knew I was going to do, I might as well get it done since pretty much all of our guests are from out of town. I am really sad about the hotel being booked up because it was such a good price ($89 a night) and it was where C and I had one of our "dates" when I was here on business...thought it would be fun to stay there again when we got married...no such luck. I guess I will go ahead and block out the other place that is downtown (since there are only two). It isn't like it is ridiculous or anything, only $115 but still, it just makes me sad...oh well.

Other than that, not much else has been decided...my mom and sister are coming in August to look at dresses and we are going to try to look at bridesmaid dresses then too to get some color ideas :-)

Wedding Plans...Help!!

So, to start with, the above picture is of me after Warrior Dash...I am completely covered in mud and this is after the rinse out...that shirt was a pretty pink color before the race...ewww
. It did some clean!

Now for some pictures of the wedding/reception site for Craig and I...I need help with deciding on some colors. There are a few colors in play already and I don't necessarily have to match them but I also don't want to pick out something that will completely stick out and look bad. My sisters and I were discussing light blues and yellows. There are just so many great places to take pictures there so I don't want to miss out on that...


These are the doors that the guests will come in and the main entrance way...outside those doors are the columns that are on the front of the building. I LOVE these doors, they are so tall and full of detail (on the other side).

If you turned directly around you would be facing this staircase and these walls are really more yellow than they are showing up on the computer for me but I am not sure how they are showing up for you...the photographer has some amazing pictures of some of his clients on these stairs...
As you can see in the picture above, if you keep walking you will be in the room where we will be getting married and have the reception. For the ceremony everyone will be sitting at their tables and the aisle will be the dance floor after the ceremony...it was a little weird to me at first but I got over it. So, you can see that there is a yellow and blueish/greenish/grayish color on the walls...the carpet is dark green with a pattern on it (and a seal in the middle of the room...you can see a better pic of it down below). There is also a balcony above and a big rotunda. The bench is permanent so it will be staying. We have the option to cover it with a drape in front of it but I am thinking we will either just leave it or put something on the front (not on it but like fabric or lights that are hanging down in loops...omg, I am bad at describing). The rotunda is the next picture with the same colors.


This last picture is the room where the buffet will be for everyone (bar will be at the bottom of the stairs). This carpet is the same as the other room and you can see the yellow on the walls a little better here too.
So, who is good at all this and can help me...we aren't going for super formal or anything...it will be under 100 people (still working that out from 50) and it will later in the evening because we want the party to go late but it will not be formal just because it is late so we want to sort of keep that less formal theme. Less formal doesn't mean it shouldn't be nice though :-) I will probably do my own centerpieces so I have a couple ideas there but I think that I want some suggestions on colors...will the yellows and light blues work?? What won't work??

Craig said that I am planning way too much in advance and he is probably right but my work schedule is about to get out of control and I will not have time for anything so I think that I am trying to get a head start on it all so I won't be stressed about it later...I know I will have all boring, cold winter to do stuff too, but I can't help it...it is fun now that we have a place and everything :-)

Date, Place, and Photographer

I feel like I might jinx myself a little bit because I haven't signed a contract with the location and I haven't actually talked to the photographer because he had weddings all weekend but hopefully if both places were busy that means that no one else could book either :-) I am so excited about the place and the photographer!!!

The place is called the Old Courthouse and here is a link to it. It is a Greek revival courthouse that is located right downtown. The inside is gorgeous!! It means we will have to stick to a small wedding but we were sort of planning on that anyway. I love all the fantastic places to take pictures. It is also located about a block from a couple different hotels so all out of town people will be within walking distance if they stay at one of those hotels...and why wouldn't they when it is under $100 a night :-) I also love that it is only a block from the paper's old building where we met at work...it has an awesome front and even though the paper has moved, there is still a sign that says Dayton Daily News so I want some pictures there...I think that is cute.

Photographer will be Mark Garber. He showed me a whole album of beautiful pictures that he took at the courthouse and he was the one who recommended it to me when I was telling him that I was looking for :-)

I feel so relieved to have all of that done! There are a couple more things for day of...like the DJ and Caterer but at least the courthouse provides the alcohol so worst case scenario is that we will have drinks and no food. HA!

I took a break from all the wedding stuff this weekend and did Warrior Dash and then went on a bike ride with Ali today. It is so nice to have the hard parts done and get to relax a little bit!!

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Let me know if the links don't work because I am on my iPad and still learning how to do the links :-)

Locations, Part 2

So after you guys responded yesterday I was feeling better about the farm (by the way, there is a barn but it is a working barn, as in animals in it, so there is no wedding in the barn). There is also not really air conditioning but we could have window units that she will provide if it gets hot in the house...other than that it would be an all outdoor wedding with a later ceremony so the sun is not beating down on people (though not black tie or anything, just later to work with the light and heat and blah, blah, blah). Here is the link to the website for it. There aren't that many pictures of it and I am actually thinking of offering to go to her farm a couple times this summer and take pictures for her (maybe she will give me a discount, maybe not) because I think that it would help her and I think that I would like to see some of the different ways she sets it up. Anyway, I was feeling good about it and then when I came home last night and talked to C, he was a little iffy on it...UGH. He said he wasn't sure it was as refined as he wants...what???? This is the boy that didn't want anything fancy. I think he is doing it to drive me insane...every time I decide on something he changes his mind :-)

Before I was at peace with the farm yesterday I sent a few more emails and made some phone calls so we will see if I hear back from them.

I did get one response yesterday and I like the place...I thought it would be way more expensive than it was so now it has entered the race :-) We are going to see it tomorrow. Here is the link to them. It is an old car dealership from the 1900s :-) They only have the 26th available so we would have to do it Memorial Day weekend.

I talked to my Dayton girls last night and they said the photographer I was meeting with tomorrow is the shit! I know he is going to be expensive but that is where I want to splurge on the extra money. Plus, one of my friends here used to date his son so I am going to see if mentioning that will help me out at all...I doubt it but it can't hurt. Here is his website...AMAZING!!

Thanks for listening to all my rants...it is a little harder when it is just Craig and...it is much more fun to talk to your girlfriends about stuff like this.

Wedding Planning

So far, I pretty much hate everything about it...seriously everything!

We went and looked at 3 places this weekend and this is after I feel like I have been to every website and list of locations to get married in Dayton (and some toward Cincinnati) and have asked people who live here for suggestions. The first place we loved...it is totally me...very urban with exposed bricks, beams on the ceiling, etc. BUT, the upstairs rooms that we would have to use for our small wedding has blue carpet and it has HUGE stains on it...gross. In the reception room I think that the stains would be covered by tables, chairs, the bar, and the buffet but the other room was open while we were there and there were quite a few stains in there. That is where we will be having the ceremony and since our wedding will be small, there will not be that much to cover it all up. UGH! I don't know what to do about stains on a carpet and I have no creative ability for that kind of stuff.

The same place has a downstairs space with concrete floors that we also love! BUT, it is made for weddings that would be twice the size of ours so we would have to pay a lot more for it (if they even let us do that). So much for saving money by having a small wedding. :-( I have an email in to the coordinator there to see how much more the bottom room would be.

Then there is the second place...yeah, so no one even showed up for our appointment for that one...not very professional so I left them a not so nice voicemail about that but said they could call if there was some sort of emergency and that is the reason no one showed up (which they should have called) so we will see. I have heard nothing but good things about this place but I am not thrilled by the fact that they didn't show up when they should be on their best behavior (before we signed the contract) so how will they act later?

The third place is a family farm that is sort of out in the middle of nowhere. C really liked it. I liked all of the outdoor stuff...they set up tents on a big patio and gazebos and stuff and have lights in the trees and tents. They actually have real animals and they will give tours. The farm is a real farm from the 1800s so that is really cool. BUT, with that one you have to use their house to use the bathroom and the their decor certain leaves something to be desired. It is sort of a rustic, southwest theme. I can't even explain it. Like the room I would get ready in has that southwest diamond pattern bedspread with a buffalo on it. It isn't like we would be hanging out in the house or that the decor reflects on my decorating skills but I just don't love it. I don't know though because the rest of the grounds are so nice. Does the house matter that much since you only go in to pee??? Oh, and there is a port a potty that will be back around behind the barn but I just don't plan on telling anyone about that (other than you guys) cause you won't see it and I don't think we would need it with such a small wedding. She told me that usually the boys use that and the girls use the house...so that is another small thing too.

So, in all that typing the place that didn't show up called me and said that she is sorry, she was really busy and just missed the appointment...um, hmmmm. I guess I will see what Craig says about that one...she offered to let us see it again this weekend right after an event.

Other than the places, I met with one photographer yesterday and I liked him. He edits stuff a little more than I like on some of his stuff but oh well. I have another meeting with one on Thursday and I have one more that I am going to set up a meeting with. The problem (I guess) with them is that being the photography snob that I am, I want someone really good and as we all know, someone really good costs a pretty penny. I know that it will be worth it in the end but when you add up the venue being more and then the expensive photography, I feel like a budget is going out the window.

I would love opinions. I know I sound like a psycho person planning this far in advance but a lot of the places are already booked (I started with 5 places on my list and one of those final 3 only has one Saturday all spring) so I just want the place, the date, and the photographer. The rest of the stuff is fun to look at but I don't need to do any of that until the end.

Anyone have good DIY ideas for other places to cut money on things that don't matter as much (I don't mind paying for things I care about but I hate paying for things that I could care less about).

Ahhhhh...I'm Engaged!!

I am not sure it has totally set in yet...we have been in this little vacation bubble for a week do I don't think I have realized it. We spent a lot of time hiking on this vacation! A LOT! I think that we estimated today that our total miles had to be around 30-40 so far! One more day. When you do that much walking you need downtime at night so i used that time to do a little research on photographers and wedding locations in Dayton. I think that Craig thinks I am crazy but give a girl who was surprised by a ring some downtime and a best friend also planning a wedding and I am not sure what he expected :-). Plus, I just don't want us to have to settle and if I left it up to him then he wouldn't even think about it until 8 months from now :-)

Found out some more things about the planning of all this (some I knew the other night but forgot to write about them). Apparenty Morgan was in the know about all of this because Craig emailed back and forth with her. I have to say that I talk to Morgan daily by a least text if not email and she never let me know anything. Then there was the time after the Flying Pig race where he kissed me goodnight (at like 9 because I was to tired) and he kept telling me tomorrow was the big day....I was so tired but I remember thinking that was weird and asking what he meant. He just kept telling me not to worry about it. The next day was the day he picked up the ring. There were two times when he talked to someone and was telling me about it and would say "and then we talked about other stuff" and would laugh...once was his mom. Later he said that he had told them. He thought it was funny to have these moments that he could laugh at later. Ha!

I have tried to ask little questions to see what he is interested in doing for the wedding...one of the things was the number of people..he was thinking 50 TOTAL! I have a close family and the minimum there is 33. Guess I am going to have to figure that out. I think that I got it up to 75 but it will not be a big wedding at all I don't think...we will see if he changes his mind!! I am sort of hoping that he just doesn't realize how quickly people add up....

THE story....

So I know you all expect a bug engagement story, I mean he had 5 years to plan it :-)

Last night we were in Springdale, UT and it was like any other night...we did that really long hike and were just worn out. We had seen a Mexican place that looked good for dinner so went there, had some beer and went back to our hotel...the whole walk back Craig seemed really disengaged, like it wasn't hearing what I was saying...it was weird and I commented on it several times. Let me back up.....so I was really hoping that he would take the opportunity on this trip to propose but I don't think that I ever thought it would actually happen. Craig hates airports and hates security even more...I didnt think there was anyway he would bring a diamond ring through security!! We even had to step away from our bags during the process and I would have thought he would have been nervous about that....nope. I didnt notice a thing! I did always think that he would like to propose on a trip because it is our quality time and w eare usually in remote places but again with traveling with the ring, so then I had scenarios where he would ask without a ring but knew that wouldn't happen cause he would be so excited to show me :-)

So, anyway, we are relaxing and he asks if I want to take a walk by the river so I relunctantly say yes (we had already walked 10 miles that day and it was getting cold). We walked around for a while and I noticed he had his hand in his coat pocket...weird but he could be hiding the shape of the cigarettes pack since I had pointed that out earlier....then a while into it he stopped, pulled it out and said "I don't really know how I want to do this so I am just going to give it to you". To which I replied "are you serious??". Then I opened the box and was just speechless. I LOVED it...so pretty and I couldn't have iced it out better myself. I think that I don't remember any details (which is what every email back wanted) because I was so shocked...him just handing it to me is so Craig...so non traditional and nervous like but the whle bringing it on the trip was not. I literally was just shocked!!

Later he told me all these ideas that he had and how he had almost done it earlier in the day when we were in a ghost town but then a tour bus showed up and there were lots of other ideas too. In the end he just got nervous and just handed it to me but it was so "him" that I love it.

He went on to tell me all about it and his whole process he went through and the research and I was floored...this man spent hours in a jewelry sotore in town...mr. Non social!! He was so proud of all he had done and it was so sweet....he showed me the final three and he chose the best one.

The worst part is that we had 0 cell reception at our hotel...nothing but e wirelss we could get on our iPads and I couldn't find anyone's email cause I don't have my contacts...so if you didn't get an email you haven't emailed me lately :-). I couldn't wait to tell people so I did it in email instead of phone...it is the modern times, right??

So, I havent announced it on fb, craig said I couldn't until the trip was over....we will see. I am thinking that we might be doing it next spring...to much going on this fall and I hate winter!!

Happiness Project: April Recap

I am going to be proactive and post this before the end of the month this time.

This month was my month to work on my relationship. I am not sure that I really concentrated on it as much as I thought that I would. I found it hard to work on it in general. It seems like with us, I don't really feel like we have that many hot button issues (other than the smoking). I think that when I think of working on a relationship, I think about working on recurring issues. Those are the things that you either figure out or you don't. I didn't travel that much this month so I didn't really get to work on the goal of connecting better when I travel. That one will have to move to another month.

I also didn't do a great job of having "fun" dinners but we did eat out a lot in NYC so maybe that counts.

I did set up a checking account for us to use on trips and included in next month's goals will be to establish a travel budget :-)

I did let the teasing go a little more than normal but I think that I still need to work on that part.

I think that one of the most important things that I learned this month was about C and travel. Almost every time we go on vacation the first day is really rough. He seems to be in a bad mood from the time he wakes up until the time we get to our destination. Since a lot of our trips involve connections and 4 hr flights, this is not a fun part of the trip. In the past I thought that maybe it was something that I was doing (though I could never figure out what), but on our trip to NYC it hit me. He HATES airports. It has nothing to do with me at all. He just hates the whole process of going to the airport, going through security, listening to all the announcements on the plane, and dealing with stupid people around us. Security in Dayton is beyond ridiculous...no idea why but it is much more severe than any other airport I have ever been in and they regularly just make up new rules (even when I flew every week and would get the same person and didn't have to do whatever it is they claim you have to do at any other airport). I think that the whole thing just sets him off and he is like a child in that once he gets in a bad mood, there is nothing you can do to help it. He usually is snappy (NOT his normal laid back self) and he gets annoyed by little things that I do that normally don't bother him. Once I had this Ah Ha moment, I was able to easily ignore it. I get on edge sometimes, we all do. I am more of the type that will tell him so he knows not to push any buttons but he just isn't.

Sure enough, as soon as we landed in NYC he was back to his normal, joky, fun self. I am glad that I learned this as I think that it will make future trips a lot easier. I will just listen to my music and ignore him and his complaining until we get to our destination :-)

Birthday Weekend

Thanks for all the birthday wishes...and the phone calls and texts...you guys are awesome.

Friday we just went to Lowe's to get the accessories for our bathroom (they finished it!!)

Saturday I went to do a 5K with Ali in the am (that is our 3rd one in 4 weeks) and it was pretty chilly...I did ok in it but we think that the clock was messed up. They didn't have a clock at the start and we both had a minute less on our Nike+ at the end. Oh well, it was for a good cause and it was their first one so they will learn. After the race Ali and I went to the farmer's market here. It is in an old train depot maybe??, anyway, I love these pretzels that they have there...they are huge and they are delicious! We got come mochas and pretzels and then walked around tasting other yummy breads and cheeses. Then the rain came :-( Craig and I went on one more trip for our bathroom stuff and then I spent the rest of the night being sort of lazy.

Sunday was beautiful here!! When we went out to do our bike ride it was 74 degrees and a little over 2hrs later it was 85...that is pretty hot for April here. Don't worry it is back down to 60 today :-) I think that I have talked a bit about the clipless pedals that I have on my bike (sort of misleading since you clip them in but the name has to do with the lack of toe clips like in the old days). Anyway, you basically have a cycling shoe that you wear with a little medal thing on the bottom that clicks into the pedal on your bike and then you have to move your foot in a reverse clicking your heels together motion to get them back out...you can't just lift your foot up to take your foot off the pedal. That means that at every stop you have to remember to do that little foot action or you will be laying on the ground with your foot still attached to the pedal. I tried this last year without knowing what I was doing and I couldn't get my left foot out (got the right one out) and fell to the left hitting my knee really hard on the pavement. I don't know how many of you have skinned your knee since you were 10 but it HURTS and then it dries and cracks when you bend it and hurts in the shower and on top of all that I bruised it really bad. I was just not interested in having that all over again so I was too chicken to try it. On Friday I had practiced the motion to get my foot in and out of the pedal. Sunday I decided that I wanted to ride 32 miles for my 32nd birthday and that I was going to clip in my shoes. Luckily my fear subsided long enough for me to do it and I didn't fall at all! There were a couple close calls when crossing streets and a couple times where I had to stop suddenly that weren't fun but overall, I think that I did really well. When you are clipped in you are 20-30% more efficient then when you aren't. When we started our ride I couldn't believe how easy it was to pedal!! I am pretty excited now to get better on the bike.

After we biked we grilled out that night and then went and got custard...it was a nice relaxing birthday (with a hot 2hr bike ride in the middle).

Happiness Project - Month 3

This month my concentration is on mine and Craig's relationship. It will be our 5 year anniversary of our first date this month and it is also the month of both of our birthdays. I haven't come up with super concrete measurements for this month yet but here are a few.

1. Try to have one "fun" meal a week. We don't eat out a lot so maybe this would be a night where we would eat out or a night where I would make dinner and dessert and we would have wine with it all (something we like but just don't do a lot of).
2. Find a better way to connect while I am on the road. We barely talk because neither of us likes to talk on the phone. I want to come up with a topic each day that would help open up the lines of communication. Sometimes we just don't have anything to say about our days.
3. Establish a checking account that we use for trips and other fun stuff. I think that sometimes I hold back because I HATE having a huge credit card bill. I like to smooth things out throughout the year. I think that having an established account that we contribute to every month will help me not to get so uptight about money on vacation.
4. Let the teasing fly....Craig is a teaser and he is constantly repeating things that I say in a funny voice, trying to tickle me, or making fun of something I say. I often get frustrated with this because I think that he isn't taking me serious. Honestly, I am sure that is not what it means at all and I really should try to be more silly with him...what could it possibly hurt. Maybe I can just try to encourage at a time other than when I am trying to cook dinner (not a good time for tickling) or when I am trying to have a serious conversation.

I think that those things will be enough for now...maybe I will think of more as I go :-)

Running and Cold Weather

UGH...have I mentioned that I am SICK of winter??? The high today...45, and sadly that sounds warm to me. This is so ridiculous that I am considering asking you guys to move our girls weekend to March next year and going deep into Florida so I can escape this cold. Normally it is only Mid Dec -Mid March but not this year...Dec 1st was the first snowfall and it is still freezing.

I ran a 5k last Saturday where the starting temp was 24 degrees...that is WAY below freezing and honestly I couldn't feel my legs or thumbs for the first mile until my body warmed up. I was still moving forward so I assumed my legs were still running. I got my best time since I moved to Ohio and started keeping track. It was nice. I had to redeem myself from the week before. The week before my 5K didn't go well. I realize that Drena and maybe Carrie, might be the only people who find this funny but I will tell you anyway. Two weekends ago when I did my 5K I wasn't feeling 100%. My stomach was just "off" and it was going to be Day 1 of my "friend" visiting...not a good combo for a 5K. Let's just say that about 1.5 miles into it I had to ask the people along the route (through a neighborhood) if I could use their bathroom. Not my proudest moment but not much you can do...and that severely altered my time! Ali told me that I had to redeem myself and run another one with her last weekend so I am glad that I was able to beat my time.

Yesterday I ran almost 2miles and I had a good time for me so I think that I am starting to overcome my mental block on the running. I have completed two full runs without looking at my nike+ or stopping to walk...hopefully this will continue and not just be because it is cold and I can't feel my body.

In other news, Craig and I have decided to train for a Century ride...100miles on a bike. I think that I might be insane...of course we had planned on training by now but the weather has had other ideas :-(

I have been in town for 2 full weeks now and I think that I will be here next week too. It is so nice to be in town, spend time with C, exercise, and eat right :-) I love it. Unfortunately I know that it will change soon but I am still going to enjoy it while I can!!

Napa

Last weekend (almost two weekends ago now) Leslie, Terah, Morgan and I headed to Napa for a few days of some sun, wine, and friendship. We accomplished 2 out of the 3 (and a little of the 1st).

Us at the Golden Gate Bridge on our way to Napa from the airport. You would think that it would really simple to get someone to take a picture of us but it wasn't at all! This was our 4th or 5th attempt with different people and we were laughing so hard by the end that I am surprised that this picture even turned out at all. Good times.

After that we headed to Sausalito for some lunch...yummy! and some catching up. It had been about 10 years or so since we were all together. I can't even believe that was true but it is darn close! Sad. After that it was off to Napa where we checked into our awesome little house and spent the next several hours just catching up...it was so nice! Then it was time to walk around downtown Napa and get some Grub. We picked Tuscany as our restaurant of choice...again, yum!

The next day we headed toward some wineries...stopped at the Oakville Grocery on the way to get some sandwiches, cheese, bread, and cookies...all the essentials for a trip to Napa and some wine drinking. After the first winery we hit up a second one. I didn't take any pictures from the first one but the picture below is at the second winery and right before we (I) were pretty tipsy. After this visit we waited out the rain in the car with our lovely picnic lunch.


Last stop of that day was the bubbly :-) This place was really yummy! All of the sparkling wine/champagne was really good. So good in fact that we bought a bottle for dinner that night (with the plans of cooking a healthy plate of pasta to go with it).
We got back and got lazy though so we ended up just ordering pizza. Things were also not going so well for Morgan :-( Somehow Morgan ended up getting a little sickness while we were there. I think that at first we all just assumed that it was too much wine that day but it turned out to last much past just that night or that next day. I think it was several days before she was back to normal. It was so sad! This was her idea and a little send off to her singledom :-( We left her in bed the second day (after getting her gingerale, applesauce, saltines, and coke zero) and headed out for a tour of Napa on bikes...it was awesome! It was 16miles total and our booties were sore by the end but we really had a good time. I love incorporating a little activity on vacation.The trip was just one of the most awesome times I have had. Everyone was so happy to see each other and we just fell right back into our old times...Leslie performed routines from SNL for us, Terah and I shared a bed and chatted way into the wee hours of the night and it was just really fun to see everyone all grown up and married and kids and all that but still able to be our "college" selves. I really cherished the time I got to spend with Terah because she was one of my best friends in college, I was her maid of honor (9!!! years ago) and then we haven't gotten a chance to see each other as much since, at least not for that long of a time. When I think about it, we have definitely seen each other a good bit considering she has lived in about 5 different places and I have lived in 2, but it was still nice to pick up right where we left off. I also loved see Leslie and seeing that she can still make Morgan laugh harder that I have EVER seen her laugh! I think that I even snorted a few times. And, Morgan...she was my Atlanta going out buddy for so long and now neither of us lives there and even though we make a lot of effort to see each other, it is usually a quick dinner here or there or a lunch around Xmas time when we try to get the boys together.

I can't wait until next year!!

Happiness Project: March

Um, yeah. Well, since it is almost mid-March already and since I failed miserably at my Feb goals of getting organized, I am going to do a redo.

I have kept up with the Jan goals pretty well and even have kept up with my vitamins. I also did some of the cleaning and organizing that I said I would do in Feb but my email still has 2000 messages in the inbox. UGH. I think that Feb was the month that was the best example of how I have such good intentions in life and how my life is so much smoother when I am in town. Once I started traveling, it all got crazy. I was working crazy hours and just was drained. I really need to find a way to balance that out. It is the thing that is the hardest in my life. My eating was a little worse when traveling, it became harder to do p90x and I got off schedule, and I didn't have time to organize. All these are excuses but I just haven't found a way to not make excuses. When I work from 8:00 to 10:30pm including eating lunch at my desk and dinner at the hotel desk (room service), I am not sure when I will have time for much else.

My new boss asked me an interested question the other day when we were talking about my work and I casually mentioned that when I am out of town I work a lot. He asked if my deadlines were self imposed or whether they were real. I realized that it was some of both. Some of them are real deadlines and there is no getting around that. But some of them are just my work ethic. I want to be the person that responds to questions timely, I want to return emails without someone emailing me 3 times, I want to return phone calls and I want to get things done quickly. Maybe I need to step back. Maybe I need to realize that not everyone is putting this pressure on me and maybe I need to relax it up a bit. This is easy when I am home. As soon as Craig gets home, I am done so I can spend time with him. On the road it is a different story. The other night I was in Albany and at my hotel at 6:15. I worked out and then didn't know what to do with myself. Normally I would have booted up my computer and finished some of the work from the day but this time I made myself leave my computer in my bag. Instead I got out the iPad and looked at photography websites. Not quite as productive but a lot more relaxing. I sort of felt guilty for doing that but I am not sure why. I am hoping that it will start to go away and eventually I will learn a better balance. I think that it would reduce a lot of stress in my life.

I am going to continue to work on it through this month and maybe I will get a list of goals up in a few days and then I think that since next month is my relationship month, I will make a real effort in May to work on the work/life balance in my life.

I am off to Cali tomorrow with Morgan and Leslie...we are meeting Terah out there and all going to Napa for a few days. I am so excited (especially since we got a couple inches of snow last night). I am not taking my work computer and I think that it will be a nice little break!

We signed a contract yesterday to redo our bathroom. I took some before pictures and we spent 2 hrs in Lowe's last night picking everything out. They are going to start on Wed when I get back. I can't wait!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend, hopefully I will have lots of awesome photos to post when I get back.

Thanks Guys!

Thanks for the running suggestions. Unfortunately it is raining/sleeting/snowing today but I might have to make it to the gym later to at least give the interval one a try. I would still love more ideas but I am going to try these so far:

1. Intervals one day a week...I will do 10mins/1min. I think that will be plenty and eventually I would like to work up to 20/1 because most races have water stops every mile to every 2 miles. I think that it is beneficial to walk through the water stops so you can get more water in...I have learned that I need to drink early because by the time I am thirsty, it is too late. I think that I might try the intervals on my long runs.

2. I will pick a couple landmarks around my routes that are the only places I will be allowed to check my watch. I think that this might still cause me to fall into the pitfall of getting down if I am not faster but I am going to try to not let that happen by picking places that are well past when I normally start to feel the urge to walk.

3. I also read somewhere else that this guy used to slow down to a VERY slow run and see if he could maintain it instead of walking. He said that he would concentrate on trying to run slow and then his body would recover and he would be back at his normal pace. I think that would work for me because running slow is still way faster than walking.

If you guys think of anything else, let me know.

Running Mind Games

So, I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about my running. The p90x has definitely made me stronger and physically I am definitely able to run longer, harder, and with less tiredness. Now my problem seems to be my mind. I tried to explain this to Craig the other night (and I think that I might have even talked about it here at one time or another)...I have a mental roadblock that I am not sure how to get over. It is a roadblock that seems to tell me that if I am getting the least bit tired, I should stop and walk and I hate it. I went for a fairly short run the other day (outside) and it happened about a mile in. I stopped and walked...then I asked myself why I was walking and started running again. I don't know where the mental block comes from and I don't know how to fix it. C's answer was just to not walk. Yep, I get that but how do I "just not walk" when my mind tells me that I should. How do I make it be quiet? I think that it is hard for someone who doesn't have this issue to understand. Some people can just decide not to do something and they won't. C is that type of person and always has been. I am not. I think that this is evidenced by my need to have a race to train for in order to regularly run or p90x to regularly do toning/weight lifting and by the fact that I know I shouldn't snack but still do. Just saying I won't do it doesn't work for me. I need another plan. I looked up mind games and running and found that I am not alone in this little problem. One person described the feeling so perfectly that I felt like they were inside my own head. They talked about the logic mind and how it knows that you can logically and physically do the run. I KNOW that. I KNOW that I can run 13 or even 26 miles. I have done it no less than 6 times (13 miles) and 3 times (26 miles). It isn't as though I can't do it. They also talked about how the emotional mind is always trying to argue with the logical mind (you should slow down because you will get worn out, is that my knee hurting, am I breathing right, am I sluggish, did I drink enough water today, etc). My biggest trigger/obstacle is time. I am not sure I can adequately explain this because C certainly didn't seem to get it the other night. I can't NOT look at my time. I can't run without knowing how far I went and how long it took me. I also can't seem to stop looing down at the ipod (and Nike+) to see what my time is as I go...this causes me to figure out my pace an whether it will be possible to "do well" that day or not. I get so distracted by it that I think I end up doing worse. I think that I look at it before I have really warmed up and get disappointed and then sort of give up before I have really gotten a chance to get a good run in. I have tried to tell myself that I can't look at it until a certain point (5 songs in, etc) but it just doesn't work. I cheated the other day and looked at it 3 songs in and was a little disappointed. If I don't take it at all, I will not have the motivation because I will not know if I am improving. C and I decided that I should put a piece of tape over the display where the time will show up. Then I can know how far I have gone but I can't know my time. If I don't know my time then I will maybe try to push to get the best time that I can because if I feel good, I will assume I am doing well.

I know you guys probably think I am insane after writing all of this and I know that some of you are naturally good runners and fall into the "just do it" category but for those of you who don't. What sorts of mind games do you play with yourself while running (or exercise in general) that help you to check out so you don't focus on the fact that you are running? I am thinking that I might try to get some new music and focus on that but it doesn't come naturally to me. Music to me is the soundtrack of my life. Even though I might be singing along, I can rarely tell you what song I just sang. It isn't a conscience thing that I focus on like a lot of people. I think that a running partner would help a lot of this but I am too much slower than Ali and Mel so I can't run with them...they win our age category in races for goodness sake. I might try to find someone else but not sure who. I did join the running club so maybe I will find someone that way. I need someone a little faster than me but not so much faster that I can't keep up. One other idea that I read was as simple as starting to count your steps. The author said that by counting the steps they stopped focusing on the running and by the time they knew it their run was over. That sounds like something that might work for me...funny.

It is currently sleeting here but if that lets up I might try out one of my new theories later today. If not, I think the weather should be better tomorrow. Would love any suggestions that you have!

Updates

I am finally starting to see light at the end of the tunnel and I have feel like I have had a couple "wins" lately.

- The weather got into the 60s yesterday and today...and there are no 30s in the 10 day forecast. This might not seem like much but my yard has been a solid white since Dec 1st minus two days. I am ready for spring. I am ready to run outside and I feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the winter tunnel.

- I think that I have worked out a deal with C about his smoking. I won't go into any details but he does plan to quit by the end of the year and we have reached a compromise for the weekends and our trips (the times when I have to be around it and smell it). I am super excited about this!

- I got a new boss at work. SO.OUT.OF.THE.BLUE. Whatever. I like the guy so I am not really sad about it but I do have some concerns. The group that he is in and his peers don't really work with the field at all. There is a HUGE wall up between the field and corporate and a lot of my job is to help one side or the other scale that wall...now I am sort of scared that the task will become even harder. Also, his boss operates in what I call 'panic mode'. As in, she came by my office when I was in Atlanta two weeks ago and asked about something. I spent almost a full day during my busiest time getting it ready for her and overnighting it to her because she had to have it. I haven't heard a word since. Not good. I need you to acknowledge when you get something I worked hard on and don't act like something is a fire drill if it really isn't. I also found out that the other 7 people they were going to have report to me was a no-go because of the new group they put me in. I do get to replace the employee I lost (YAY) and some of the other things are still being decided. Craziness!!

- Week 4 of P90x ends for me today. I do not see a lick of difference in my body, the way my clothes fit or the scale. Grr. If I hadn't of read a lot about it online and saw that most women do not see anything until the second or third month, I would be extremely disappointed. Actually, I don't think that I would be THAT disappointed because I definitely saw a change in my running and I am undoubtedly stronger. I think that I just wish some of it would SHOW! Oh well, gonna stick with it. It does give me a bit of confidence at least.

- Our company did well this year so I am going to get a bonus...that makes all the travel and the hard work worth it. At least I am compensated well for the stuff I put up with. We are thinking about redoing our master bath...it really is a tiny bathroom but when C started doing some research it seemed like it was going to cost a lot more than I was hoping to spend...does anyone out there have any cheap hints or ideas? We are probably not going to have this be our forever house but the bathroom needs an upgrade if we want to get a good price when we do sell. We sort of tackle one project a year...I just don't want to put a TON into it when I know we will not be here long. It is also not big so we pretty much have to keep everything where it is (sink, toilet, shower) and just need to get new everything...I think that keeps it cheaper too. Any advice it appreciated :-)

Other than that, not much else...last week was terrible but that deadline has been met so on to better things!

First 5K of the season

Today Ali (still drunk I think from last night) and I ran our first 5K of the season. We are going to try again to run one every month. We did it last year with only skipping August, Sept (but we did the half) and December. Last year we started in March, this year Feb...maybe next year we will be brave enough to do it in Jan and Dec. It is just so cold! I found out today that she will run as long as it is above 20 and she said that with the right gear she even gets hot...I am not sure about that but I might have to give it a try. I did wear tights and a fleece and gloves and a headband today and got hot. Of course it was about 45 degrees but I still didn't think I would get hot in that temp. I felt really awesome during the run. It was extremely windy here today (as it is any time we have a big temp change...weird) so I think that was working against me. I am normally at least 2-3 mins behind Ali but today I was just a minute behind her. Not bad. My time was 30:08 but I think that the wind slowed me down...her time was about 2 minutes slower than normal so I can't help but wonder how I would have done without the wind. Starting in March we are going to try to do the same ones we did last year so I am going to try to beat my time. I think that I am slowly getting better at this whole running thing (finally huh!).