Wedding Wednesday: Jewelry & Checklist

Happy Wedding Wednesday and Thanksgiving Eve!  We will see if I make it out to the bar tonight but I most likely won't.  I have PT after work and then will be in baking mode for hours, which will probably leave me pooped by 10pm (and the time that my friends usually head out)  :)

 

I want to get up early tomorrow and try to get a 4 mile walk in.  I wasn't able to yesterday and most likely won't today during lunch since it's raining.

 

Anyway, 5 months and 1 week until our big day.  Time is FLYINGGGGGGGGG!

 

I've been thinking about what jewelry to wear.  I might skip a necklace but after the ceremony I might put on my *new* initial necklace that I purchased months ago.  It's my new monogram - rTa

 

I saw the idea on Pinterest and thought it was cute, to put it on after it's official!

 

I'm thinking I'd like simple teardrop earrings and a bracelet.  I don't have it in my budget to spend a fortune on said items so I might head over to a local costume jewelry shop to look for something.  Hmm, maybe I'll do that on my lunch today.  I think I could find both for around $60.

 

I'm loving all of the planning and things to choose from but it is a *bit* overwhelming as there are SO many options.

 

All of the major things are checked off!

 

Venue

Photographer

DJ

Florist

Dress and veil

Shoes

Favors

Cake Topper

Invitiations

Hair and make up girls

Bridesmaids dresses

Paper products for venue

Place cards and holders

Honeymoon

Rehearsal Dinner

 

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

 

 



This or That: Thanksgiving Edition

Happy Tuesday!  It feels like Thursday though, woo hoo!

 

I'm linking up for "This or That" today!

 

 

Stuffing or Mashed Potatoes

 

Definitely both.  Bring on the carbs!

 

Homemade cranberry sauce, or Store bought cranberry sauce

 

I didn't like cranberry sauce until maybe last year.  Yes, I'm almost 30.  Definitely homemade!

 

Pumpkin Pie, or Pecan Pie

 

Pumpkin Pie!  Another thing I didn't like until last year.  Now, I cook a ton of things with pumpkin at this time of year.  Pecan pie is yummy but so sweet it makes your teeth hurt, ha!

 

Cooking all day, or Cleaning up all night

 

Cooking/baking all day!  Cleaning up is the absolute worst.

 

Thanksgiving Day Parade, or Football game

 

Thanksgiving Day Parade!!!  Festive, traditional and fun.

 

I will definitely NOT be shopping on Thursday OR Friday (online on Friday doesn't count, lol).  The craze of Black Friday gives me anxiety and I don't like it.  Plenty of deals are to be had from the comfort of my couch, in my PJs.  I sound like my mother.

 

Do you go out and brave the Black Friday Madness?

Call Me Betty Crocker

My cousin (and Matron of Honor) is hosting her first Thanksgiving this year and I offered to make the desserts.  I was telling my coworker about it and he was like "Where are you buying the desserts from?"  LOL.  No, no.

 

Here's what's up on the dessert menu:

 

Toffee Crunch Caramel Cheesecake

(This one is a little intimidating.  Springform pan, in a roasting pan, and add water while it bakes?!)

 

Luscious Layered Pumpkin Pie

 

Traditional Apple Pie (one with nuts, one without)

 

I am planning on baking Wednesday when I get home from work.  The night before Thanksgiving has always been a big "going out" night with friends so we will see on that.

I think I will make the cheesecake Thursday morning.

 

I know I always say this, but the Holidays really seemed to creep up QUICK this year.  Only 4 more weeks until Christmas!  Also only 27 more days in my 20s!  Yikes.

 

Do you like to bake or cook?  Both?  Neither?  :)

Hug Six Times a Day

It's Thursday already..woohoo!

 

 

Last night we met with a priest who is able to marry couples outside of the Roman Catholic church.  He's a priest but more modern and willing and able to marry couples outside of the church.  We sat with him for close to 2 hours and we both really liked him.  He's in his mid to late 60s and is from Chicago.  He has done 102 marriages so far this year and he teaches at a local university.

 

I wanted to write down a few things he said so I figured, why not on the blog?

 

1.  Hug at least 6 times per day.  Once in the morning and at night and 4 times in between.

 

2. Spend 10 minutes per day talking to each other.  It can't be about work, money, TV, movies, phone, internet, friends, family, etc.  It can only be about the two of you and how you're currently feeling in the marriage. 

 

3.  Don't let resentment build up over silly things.  Like leaving clothes all over the floor or leaving the cap off of the toothpaste.  Being that we already live together, I know what he means and I told him I KNOW and admit that I have annoying habits (leaving shoes out for everyone and their mother to trip over).  Our house isn't big by any means so I feel that it's more work to keep it tidy and looking neat.  I've been working on this lately.. like not letting dishes pile up or letting mail pile up on the kitchen table!

 

4.  Communicate.

 

5.  Trust is THE most important thing.  Seems obvious but it's true.  In 6.5 years, I can confidently say that I've NEVER once doubted Saro or not trusted him. 

 

 

6.  Do NOT stress about a wedding rehearsal.  If we do end up having him do our ceremony, he most likely won't be at the rehearsal, LOL.  He says it's unnecessary stress and worry and that no one even pays attention to it anyway. 

We are planning on doing a quick walk through (with or without him) followed by a dinner.  Plus, we have a crap load of stuff to drop off at the venue.  The dinner is more to add to the fun of the whole weekend which I'm looking forward to.

 

He also asked each of us why we want to marry each other.

 

If we choose to "hire" him, we'd like to meet up a few more times to chat and get to know each other a little better.  He lives close to us which is a plus.

 

_____________________________________________

 

Pile on the miles update: 42.06 miles since 10/27.  10 more days to go!  I'm planning on 2 during lunch today and 2 after physical therapy, on the treadmill.  Since I'm off two days next week, I'm shooting for 4 miles on each of those days.

 

Have a good day!

Weekend Recap

The long weekend was great.

 

Friday, we hosted Friendsgiving at our house.  We made turkey breast and mashed potatoes and everyone else brought a side dish or dessert.  LOTS of laughs and plenty of food.  We had a great time.

 

Saturday, Saro and I went for a nice long 4 mile walk (10.42 miles total between Sat, Sun and Mon!).  Then, my cousin and her husband came up and stayed over since we were all heading to CT for our uncle's surprise party on Sunday.  We went out for Lebanese food which was yummy!

 

Here's the gift we put together for our Uncle.  A bloody mary basket! 

 

 

He loved it.  He was SO surprised.  He stood in the doorway for a good 5 minutes beacuse he was so shocked about the party!

 

Yesterday, Saro and I were both off and I had that dreaded doctor appointment that I mentioned on here last week.  It was pretty much what I expected to hear.  They were all very nice there.  I had a bunch of blood work done and I need to go back for more on Friday (since I'm in the placebo week on the pill and it's the best time to test hormones).

 

At this point, we pretty much know that if we REALLY want a baby, it would have to be via egg donor or adoption.  We aren't sure if we want to do either one.  It's a lot to consider mentally, emotionally and financially ($20,000 or more).

 

The blood work is basically to find out why this happened at such an early age (autoimmune disorder, chromosomes, etc.)  I cringe at blood work - not because of blood OR the needle but because I hope I don't get a hefty bill from it all.  That's the last thing I need to worry about right now but, it is what it is and needs to be done.

 

I also had an ultrasound which confirmed that my ovaries aren't visible at all.  No ovaries = no eggs.  It is very strange and rare but not impossible.  It will be nice to hopefully get some answers in the next couple of weeks.

 

Lastly, here's me swinging at the park yesterday after a 4 mile walk!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Update: Pile on the Miles

 

...Is going very well with minimal pain.  I'm still doing PT 2x a week and experiencing hip pain on and off.

 

I'm counting my miles starting from Oct. 27th because that was the same week as Nov. 1st.

 

Since then, I've walked 25.61 miles.  That's an average of 1.50 miles a day or an average of 2.13 since I'm not walking daily.  So I've almost walked a marathon, ha!  My goal for the month was 60, so I need to step it up a bit - literally ;)  I need to do 2.19 miles per day or more if I skip a day.

 

Since we're talking mileage, I just added up the miles I ran or walked from 4/29/2012 until today = 362.64.  That includes training for the half marathon.

 

My goal is to lose 10 lbs. before my wedding.  I've been slacking a little bit lately (having more carbs) but still not terrible.  I use MFP DAILY to track exercise and what I eat.  I've logged in for over 300 days in a row.  It's actually more than that but last Christmas, I forgot to log in, so it started the count all over - gah!

 

I'm thinking about trying the Advocare cleanse that I've seen many people talk about in the blog world.  In hopes it'll leave me less bloated than I've been feeling.

 

A lot of exercises irritate my hip and/or back so I figure I'll stick to walking and lifting my 5 lb. weights at home, to tone my arms and back a little bit.  I'd like to try to strenghten my core so I'm considering a plank challenge starting December 1st!

 

Happy Thursday!

Wedding Wednesday: Colors

 

People keep asking what our wedding colors are.  The answer is "I don't know."  Ha.  The girls are wearing guava and I'm wearing ivory.  That's all I know.  As for my bouquet, I don't want white flowers because I feel it blends in with my dress.  I want a very colorful bouquet.  What colors you ask?  Anything except BLUE.  My something blue is my new monogram sewn to the inside of my gown.

 

I'm thinking the girls should have an ivory bouquet because it'll pop with the dress color.  We haven't secured those details yet though, so we will see!

 

I love this idea for my bouqet:

 

 

Do you have specific colors that you're tying into the bridal party, centerpieces, decor, etc.?  Is everything "matchy matchy" or not?  Like mine, ha!

 

Happy Hump Day!

Make Money Shopping Online!!

Good Morning all!

 

I'm sure I've mentioned Ebates on the blog before (Thanks to Mean Ang for introducting me to it!) but I wanted to share this link in hopes that you'll sign up.  If you sign up via the link below, you can then invite your friends to sign up and make some extra $ for the holidays (and/or after, to pay off your bills!) 

 

Last year, I received $97 cash back just for clicking the mouse and shopping through Ebates.  It couldn't be easier.

 

I also received $125 cash back for booking our honeymoon through Ebates on Travelocity.  You can't beat that!  There's no fine print or "catch."  They will either mail you a check every 3-4 months or you can have them deposit $ directly into your Paypal account.

 

Sign up today!!!

 

 

 Happy Holiday $hopping! 

 

 



Long Post: Part Two

Happy Monday, all!  I'm looking forward to a busy week, a half day Friday and being off next Monday!

 

A couple of months ago I wrote this post about not being able to conceive children.  I belong to a support group on Facebook but lately I've been thinking about checking out local meetings, if they even exist.

 

I know right after we get married, the questions will arise about having a family.  I've just been thinking about the word family.  To me, Saro and his girls are already family.  Add in our cat and dog and bam, a bigger family.  Ha.  I know they're not the same as a human child, really I know but for ME, they're like my kids.

 

I just wonder how other people have handled a situation like mine.  Some people might not know they cannot conceive until after they get married and are actually trying.  My case is pretty extreme - to find out at the ripe age of 16.  Not exactly "normal" - whatever that means.  I try to avoid using the word normal.

 

Anyway, I'm going to see a specialist next Monday when I'm off.  I'm not looking foward to it because I'm partially in denial and just don't want to deal and partially because it's an extremely long appointment.  I know I need to find out if I have ANY eggs at all but I most likely already know the answer, so why waste the time?  Stubborn, I am.

 

I know that people GENERALLY marry to have a family.  Not always though, I'm aware and it's obviously not the case with us. 

 

I'm already thinking about what my response will be when people start to ask me when we're having kids.  Do I say "well, I can't have kids?"  I don't want to make people feel bad or uncomfortable but it is the truth.  For some, I won't be able to dance around the question forever.  Like coworkers, etc.

 

I also keep telling myself that everything happens for a reason.  I told Saro maybe we are meant to be world travelers!

 

If you made it this far, thanks for reading.  Have a good week and if you're off of work today, I'm jealous ;)  Enjoy!

 

 

That time I signed my fiance up for another 13.1

That happened last night.  I told him he should run the NY half marathon on March 16th - with or without me (most likely without).  He shrugged his shoulders and gave me the go ahead.

 

I'm not calling him an idiot.  I am one too :)

 

He had to apply to get in, so we'll see.

 

He was considering the NYC full marathon next November but it's hard to get in to that one unless you're Speedy Gonzalez and can run 26.2 miles in 3 hours.  His time for his first half was 2:15.  It's crazy how fast these people can run.  My joints hurt just thinking about it.

 

On another note, I'm shopping for personalized labels for our wedding favors and I'm wondering why it costs $45 for 168 stickers.  I know I could print my own out by purchasing labels but I don't have patience for fancy borders and colors, so why not pay someone to do it for me and then complain about the cost?  Ha.

 

Geesh, this crap adds up quick.

 

Happy Thursday!

Wedding Wednesday: Open Air Photo Booth

 

 

I don't think it's a decision we'll regret - a photo booth at the reception!

 

Our DJ could have provided us with one but it was close to $1,000 and while they're so fun, we didn't think it was worth that much on top of everything else.

 

A few weeks ago I saw a Living Social deal for an open air photo booth.  Two hours for $299.  We decided to add an additional hour, so it's a little more but still reasonable!  It'll be in the reception room, so people can start using after the first dances.  3 hours will be perfect.  I like the open air concept because a bunch of people can fit in and not have to squeeze.  They also provide the props!

 

I also like the idea because it's something else to do besides dance.  BUT, I hope everyone dances too!

 

Here's an idea of what it looks like:

 

 

Photo booth - yay or nay?

The Lunch That Wasn't: Office Problems

This is partially funny but partially annoying because my cheap ass thrifty self had to pay $7.99 for a salad for lunch yesterday.   See also: saving for the wedding problems.

 

Yesterday around this time, I was all excited to heat up my spaghetti squash and homemade meatballs for lunch.  What I found was my container looking like it had been through a tornado, complete with tomato sauce dripping down the sides and all over the fridge and floor.

 

Huh, this isn't how it looked this morning, I thought to myself.  As I looked even closer, I noticed a meatball was missing!  You see, I packed three, not two.  Well I certainly wasn't going to eat it now that I'm assuming it all fell out and someone put it back in the container - LOL.  Or, they ate one of the meatballs.  Or, just one meatball fell out and they discarded it.  It's a mystery!!

 

So off I went, to purchase a salad.  God forbid I skip a meal, ha!  Maybe then I'd lose a few lbs!

 

I work with about 100 people and as I'm sure it was an accident, I won't know who caused "the lunch that wasn't."

 

That's all I've got on this fine Tuesday afternoon.

Pile On The Miles: Day 4

So far, so good!  My doctor says walking is "okay" but I need to focus on PT and lots of stretching.  Running right now is out of the question as well as the Jillian Michaels workouts (too much jumping, lunging, etc).

 

My left calf was cramping really bad last night.  I swear, my whole left side is screwed up.  Shoulder, hip!

 

Yesterday I decided to walk at 4 mph (sounds easier than it is, I was dripping sweat - and it was cold out!), for 45 minutes covering 2.62 miles for all of those who did 26.2 in NYC yesterday.  I live in a hilly area so it was pretty tough and I'm feeling it in my shins and quads, which is good - it means it's working.

 

 

 

Did you watch any marathon coverage?  I was glued to the TV for 3 hours watching.

 

The guy who came in 1st, ran it in 2 hours and 8 minutes which was about Saro's time for the HALF marathon.  That's a 5 minute mile for 2 hours straight - insane!!  The woman who came in 2nd for the women, threw up while running but that didn't stop her!

 

On a random note, Saturday night I was feeling really sick, like I was coming down with the flu.  A friend suggested tea with honey and to swallow a whole garlic clove.  So I did that, plus took Emergen-C and felt much better the next morning.  Try it if you feel like you're coming down with something!

 

Have a good week!

Pile on the Miles; November Challenge

TGIF!

 

I hope you all had a nice Halloween night.  I came into work and saw this on my desk:

LOL.

 

Since Saro worked late, I hung out at my Mom's, knowing she's really into Halloween and gets a lot of trick-or-treaters.  She had over 100!

 

I left a bowl of candy out and came home to this:

I just hope it wasn't one group of kids that took almost all if it!

 

I'm joining Monica over at Run Eat Repeat for this November challenge.  At first I said I'd do 60 miles; 2 miles/day but I know some days I won't be able to as November is a pretty busy month.  So I still plan on 60 (or more) but I'll be walking, not running.  Maybe towards the end, I'll be able to jog one or two.  I've been doing my 5 lb. weights at home and trying to strengthen my core which is probably the worst part of working out.  I find it very difficult and with my hip pain, it's not easy to do a lot of ab exercises.

 

There is still time to sign up on her page.  Check it out!  Have a great weekend.