8 days to go!

I am blogging after my third glass of chardonnay.  God help me, but…I’m feeling more relaxed than I’ve felt in WEEKS.

For lunch, I resurrected the egg puff!

With cheddar cheese, a yogurt mess, and a multigrain bagel.

I took cookie Friday to heart.

I don’t remember the last time I’ve had a plain old cookie out of a store-bought box.  Crazy! 

I skipped the gym today.  It was pouring.  I’m sore from lifting yesterday, and I’m not sure what cardio I’d do because my shin is still twinging. 

Came home and immediately poured this times three:

Cheap chardonnay.  Not good, but it got the job done.

Dinner was take n’ bake pizza.  It’s all about balance, friends, and today tipped towards the “unhealthy” side, and I don’t so much care.

Tim helped me open a fun package!

A whole bunch of Cascadian Farms goodies from the good folks at My Blog Spark!  Cereal, granola, and granola bars.  I can’t wait to try these.  (Note: they sent these to me for free.)

 

I’ll be reviewing these after the wedding most likely, but we dipped into the Cinnamon Crunch cereal while waiting for the pizza to bake and mmmm…it was seriously addictive!  I can’t wait to try everything else!

Also, Tim’s very sweet co-workers gave us a wedding gift!

 

A bread maker!

There is a long and tragic story of bread makers in the Fit Bride household, but this is not the time or place.

Tonight, I will sober up and make some escort cards.  Good times.

Also, 10-day forecast, you suck.

What foods do you indulge in on not-so-healthy days?

9 Days to Go!

The ten-day forecast says….

In other words…perfect.  Let’s hope it stays that way!  I specifically wanted to get married in May because it’s not hot, but not chilly either, and really, I can’t ask for more than mid-sixties. 

So, also, I bought this dress in Napa and I think it’s super cute.  So I took a picture.

It has some cute pleating on the shoulders.  V-neck wrap dresses are my absolute favorite clothing item ever—I’m pretty sure they flatter EVERYONE, and they’re so comfortable.

Anyway, work was kind of crazy today.  I had to be at an event from 12-1 (my normal lunchtime) BUT I still wanted to go to the gym at lunch.  So, in the morning, I had some Chobani with strawberries and GoLean Crunch before I left.  Then, I went to the gym and did some lifting.  I WANTED to run today, but, strangely, I woke up this morning with shin splints (mostly in my left leg).  Uhh…okay.  After a rest day?  That makes sense.  So, weights it was.  In no particular order…

• Squats: 3 X 12 @ 115 lbs.
• Overhead shoulder press: 3 X 12 @ 30 lbs. 
• Deadlifts: 3 X 12 @ 70 lbs.
• Upright row: 3 X 12 @ 40 lbs.  (an increase!)
• Underhand grip pulldowns: 3 X 12 @ 48 lbs.
• Wide grip lat pulldowns: 3 X 12 @ 48 lbs.
• Chest press: 3 X 12 @ 50 lbs.

This was kind of a quickie because I was short on time—I had to rush off to a 2 o’clock meeting! 

Luckily, it was a phone meeting.  So had some delicious, delicious spinach with this:

I really love Newman’s Own salad dressings!  They are super yummy and the ingredients aren’t scary.  I have to say, I think this one is my favorite.  I also had a multigrain bagel with the salad.  (And yes, I keep a whole bottle in the work fridge now.  It’s easier.)

And, for an afternoon snack, name that bar:

 

Came home to some fun wedding presents!

A roasting pan!  I predict many, many chickens going in this one.

And the ice cream maker attachment for our KitchenAid Mixer.  Oh yes.  With summer coming, I will make my own ice cream at least once SO HELP ME GOD before it gets cold again.

 

No box is safe in our house, though.

We’re down to the last two delinquent RSVPers and Tim is going to call them tonight.  It’s been a nice, calm day wedding wise, thank goodness.  I’m really excited to see everyone coming into town for it!  I made mani/pedi appointments (and I’m REALLY nervous about getting a pedicure, what with my black nail and the like), and that’s about it.  We’re getting close, folks!

What’s your favorite salad dressing?

It’s the final countdown

Arrested Development, anyone?

 

This morning…I got to sleep in an extra hour!

It was to go to the gynecologist, though.  Oddly, this is something I don’t mind, probably because my mom worked for OB/GYNs for 20 years, and I worked there after school in high school.  I’m kind of desensitized.

Fun fact: My old gynecologist is coming to our wedding!  (I switched because of the move, obviously.)  She’s a family friend.

This office was a little odd.  There were lots of teddy bears in the room:

And a shelf of old-timey medicine bottles…and more teddy bears.

Anyway, take this as your reminder to get annual pap smears.  (finger wag)

Unfortunately, I have a cyst of some kind that’s going to have to be monitored.  But, the doc says it’s nothing to worry about and I trust her.

There was no workout today.  I was late to work because of the appointment, and there was a going away luncheon for someone at work.  BBQ was on the menu—I skipped the sides and just had a sandwich with barbecue beef. 

I also had about half of a small slice of cheesecake. 

Around 4 p.m., I snacked on my Greek yogurt that was in my lunch (I forgot about said luncheon and brought a lunch anyway).  I knew I’d be getting home late tonight!

 

Because of my final dress fitting!

I have a wedding dress hanging in my house now.  Whoa.

Unfortunately, I felt kind of dumpy and gross in it tonight.  Apparently, every other time I try on my wedding dress sucks…so, that means when I put it on in ten days, it will be great!  It’s hard not to see the other super-skinny brides in beautiful dresses and say “I wish I looked like that” or “Her dress is prettier than mine.”

I am doing my best to chalk it up to the fact that it was a long day at work, I was tired and didn’t feel like being there, and I didn’t have any of my accessories/veil on. 

I got home, and another wedding gift!

Ramekins!

Unfortunately, klutzy me actually managed to drop one on the floor and break it while I was unwrapping.  So…now we have 7 ramekins, not 8.  Luckily, they are only $2.50 and easily replaced.

Julia asked in the comments to yesterday’s post how I was feeling, so I thought it’d be a good time to discuss my mental state.

I think the best way I can describe how I’ve felt for the last week is like I have perma-PMS.  I am moody.  Some moments I am over the moon happy and excited, but in a moment I can snap and feel like taking someone’s head off.  Last night I had a full-out breakdown—I deal with stress by crying, and I tend to let small things build up and let them all out at once rather than deal with things one at a time.  Basically, what it amounted to is that I’m overwhelmed.  I keep getting questions from wedding guests and family members, I’m juggling emails with the florist, the photographer, the hotel, the pastor, and the reception venue, and I’m….overwhelmed.  And coming to the realization that even though I’ve heard it over and over, I can’t really make everyone happy.  And I feel guilty for feeling this way, because I feel like I should be giddy and giggling and radiating glitter.

And those four people?  Still haven’t RSVPed.

I am ready to be done and be married.  I’m sure the wedding day is going to be awesome, and ultimately, I am very thankful for my friends and family that care so much about me and Tim.   But…right now the last minute things still have to get done, and they’re stressing me out.

Hopefully I will get a ton of stuff done this weekend.  Until then…I’m breathing.  And putting one foot in front of the other, and keeping my eye on the prize.  It will all be okay.

Lunchtime Warrior

11 days to go!  We’re almost in 10-day forecast territory, dudes.

I thought about photographing my lunch, but it was the same as yesterdays: pineapple pre-workout, spinach + balsamic, Chobani + strawberries + Kashi GoLean, and a multigrain bagel. 

Once again, over the lunch hour, I hit the gym.  0.4 mile run there, 3.5 mile run on the treadmill, 0.4 mile run back.  Whee! 

My iPod was dead today, so I did some thinking while I ran.  I am certain these shoes (the Brooks Defyance 2s) are not THE shoes for me.  Aside from the blister issues, I’ve had various knee/shin/ankle pain, and today, my hips were complaining too!  Ugh.  My orthotics are in (but I keep forgetting to make an appointment to pick them up—it’s a little hectic right now), and I think I’ll head back to the ol’ running store to get a new pair.

Here’s my dream shoe wishlist:

• A wide toe box.  I think the blistering on my forefoot is because these shoes are just too narrow thanks to my awesome bunions.
• I also like the idea of a wide width shoe—I tried one for a few weeks earlier this year, but it was a stability shoe, and didn’t have enough cushioning, so I got shin splints.  I’m curious about what could happen in a wide neutral shoe with plenty of cushioning.
• A larger size.  I’m pretty sure my feet swell when I run.  A lot.  I’d ideally like to be measured, run on the store treadmill for awhile, and then be re-measured, but they probably don’t want me jeopardizing it all day. 

Anyway.  Moving on.  There was a birthday celebration at work this afternoon, so I was planning on having cake as an afternoon snack.  (Yup.)  Buuut, I went, and it was white cake with white frosting—booooring, and not worth the sugar binge.   I went back to my office and opted for a Luna Bar instead.

I’m not a white chocolate fan AT ALL, but I really like these.  Huh.

Came home.  We got a wedding gift!  Hello, new salad bowl.  May I fill you with spinach?

 

I also got a very fancy candle as an early wedding gift from a co-worker today!  Totally sweet.

I looove candles (and so does Tim) and this one smells awesome.  It’s orange/vanilla scent, so think grown-up creamsicle.

And for fun, Tim and I get 8904543 mailings a week from the Missouri Bar Association.  We got one today that we both laughed at:

We’re down to four RSVP stragglers.  Come on, guys!

What’s something that made you laugh today?

Lunchtime workout

So, lately…I’ve kind of been resenting the gym a little bit.  I have STUFF to do at home, what with, y’know, the wedding and all.  I also admit that the combination of our upcoming nuptials and being so busy/traveling so much have me feeling like a clingy koala bear and I want to spend as much time with Tim as possible.   If I go to the gym…I don’t get home until 6:30, have to shower, and basically make the quickest dinner possible.  Normally I don’t mind, but I just haven’t been feeling it lately.

But, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to work out.  Au contraire!  I’ve been craving a good workout all weekend.  So, today, I randomly decided to work out over my lunch hour!  My gym is only 0.4 miles away (according to Google) from my office, and the weather was nice. 

So, I had a little snack around 11:30:

And at noon, I changed in my office, ran to the gym, and worked out!

I ran the 0.4 miles to the gym, then 1.5 miles on the treadmill.  (I decided to keep the run short to see how my knee/leg felt.  It felt awesome!  I’m going to try longer tomorrow.)  Then, I hit the weights and did…

• 3 sets of 12 squats at 95 lbs.
• 3 sets of 12 shoulder presses at 30 lbs.
• 3 sets of 10 overhead lat pulldowns at 60 lbs
• 3 sets of 10 underhand grip pulldowns at 60 lbs
• 3 sets of 12 upright rows at 30 lbs.
• 3 sets of 10 deadlifts at 40 lbs.

And sprinted the 0.4 mile back to my office.  All in all, it was quite a good workout—I think I’m going to keep this up, at least for the foreseeable future!  Obviously it won’t work for longer runs, but it’s definitely do-able, especially while the weather is nice.

I do need to make sure to bring some kind of powder for my face, some kind of body spray, and a change of undies for next time, though!  (I already keep deodorant and face wipes in my desk.)

I promptly devoured the rest of my lunch. 

Spinach with balsamic…

A multigrain bagel…

 

And Greek yogurt with strawberries and a little GoLean crunch.

 

Around 4:00 I snacked on a Chocolate Raspberry Luna Bar.  Is it just me, or are they getting smaller?

All in all, I was home and showered by 5:45.  Love the new routine!  I felt nice and cozy and worn out all afternoon, too, rather than antsy and eager to get up and move.

In wedding news, my mom sent me a picture of the flower girl basket she’s devised:

And we are still waiting on six RSVPs.  Yaaargh.  This is seriously driving me nuts!  DUDE.   

What time of day do you prefer to work out?

Good eats

I feel like I spent all day in the kitchen today!  But it felt GREAT.  I’ve been gone from home and busy the last several weekends, and it was nice to do some baking and cooking again.  I can’t wait to use all my new pots and pans, though!

Lunch was leftovers from last night.  I’m usually a plate cleaner, so I’m glad I saved half this time!  (It was shell pasta with marinara sauce and about half a meatball.)  Please note the floor plan for our reception in the background!

Re: the seating chart.  We’re still waiting to hear from ten people, but our count right now is 94 yes, 99 no.  We got a surprise “yes” from one of Tim’s old college friends today, which I’m really happy about.  I’m antsy to hear back from everyone else so we can run some hard numbers and figure out our final upgrades!

I stopped at the grocery store for a few things, and they were out of my beloved cantaloupe.  But, giant pineapples were on sale for $2.99, so I risked it!  I got a ton of chopped up fruit out of it for us to munch on all week.  It was really good!

 

I also had to do some baking.  I work at a university, and during finals time, the faculty and staff all bring in treats for the stressed students.  I decided to bake two things, and send some to work with Tim.

Peanut butter brownies…

And the return of the infamous cake balls!

All day I simmered a giant roast in the crockpot.  This couldn’t be easier—about a two pound roast, some beef broth, a few cloves of garlic, and let it go on high for about 6 hours.  Pull the roast apart with forks as soon as possible!  We made sammiches out of it.  This was Tim’s.  (Mine was smaller, on a sandwich thin!)

And now we have dinner for at least the next two nights!

I decided to be a little creative with the side dish.  The other day when I went out with my boss, we had wonderful Portabella “fries.”  I tried to make my own version today, and it turned out pretty good!  We only had regular mushrooms, and they were about to turn, so I’m glad I got to use them.  I didn’t measure—I just grilled them on a griddle with a little EVOO until they softened up, then dipped them in an egg wash, then dipped them in a mixture of Italian breadcrumbs, whole wheat flour, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper and put them back on the griddle until they’d crisped up a bit..  They turned out great!  Tim even asked for seconds.   I’ll definitely make these again!  I love all things mushroom.

I also managed to finish up a last minute DIY project for the wedding.

Directions: raid Michael’s cheap flip flops.  Buy lots of ribbon.  Remove ugly tags and tie together with pretty ribbon.  Spray paint clearance basket from Michaels.  Attach ribbon and sign with glue dots.  Enjoy.

I don’t know why I did this other than that I think it’s cute. 

Anyway.  I’ve got a fridge full of delicious shredded beef, pineapple chunks, and sweets.  I’m a happy camper.  Normally, I’d at least try some of the sweet stuff, but I’m on my absolute best behavior until the wedding—it’ll be a scoop of fro-yo for dessert for me tonight!  Also, I’m happy to announce I’ve been coffee and Diet Coke free for…four days now, I think?  Not going to lie, I’m craving both here and there, but it helps not keeping it in the house.

I got really excited today when I realized that by the time our gallon of milk expires…we’ll be married.  See?

I’m off to finish getting ready for my last full work week before the wedding—we’re officially getting married next week, y’all!  I can’t wait to get back to the gym this week—I hope hope hope my leg feels better so I can get some running in.  I feel lazy!

What things do you bulk cook? I love making a full roast or chicken on Sundays to eat all week, and usually cut up fresh fruit too.

Big primpin’

It is SO NICE to be home for a day just so I can get things done!  I’ve been so incredibly productive.  It’s wonderful.

I went to the salon for a manicure, brow wax, and hair color.  My normal hair color is a plain jane dirty brown, and I’ve been putting some kind of reddish tint in it since…2002, I think? 

The manicure color is much prettier in person.  I love it!  I’ll obviously be getting another one before the wedding, but hopefully this will keep my nails nice in the meantime.  The nails…

And the hair/brows.

 

I took a portrait of Tim making his angry face after he took mine.

 

We went out to dinner using a Groupon we’d gotten a few weeks ago!  If you have Groupon in your area, I highly recommend signing up for it—we ended up getting $15 off our meal, and it was very good! 

In other news…I finished our programs!  They are super duper cute.  But what a pain in the ass!

Wedding room has reached epic stages of messiness.

 

Sorry so short, I’m off to figure out upgrade stuff.  Bah!

Happy Saturday!

2 weeks to go!

Fourteen days.  Shitballs.

What’s been accomplished this week (brought to you largely by my mom):

• We have a cake serving set.  Thanks, mom.

These are Darling Point by Kate Spade, and they say Mr. and Mrs. on the handles.  Simple, and cute.  Me likey.  (Source!)

• We also have toasting flutes.  Thanks, mom!

  These are Vera Wang Duchesse pattern from Macy’s.  Just like our sad formal china pattern that we took off the registry.  Sniff, sniff.  At least we’ll have these two.

• I wrapped gifts for the wedding party.

• I found some great cheap flip-flops at Michael’s and am making them pretty.  They’ll go in a basket labeled “Dancing Shoes” at the reception.

• Programs have been printed…they just need to be cut and assembled (the hard and annoying part)

• Investigated possible upgrading options with our venue.
• Getting my final hair color/brow wax.

And the things I need to do in the next week or so:

• Get our final count.  This week is going to be the week of heckling people to RSVP.  We’re still missing about 30 people’s RSVPs!  So annoying.  I don’t think I’m personally going to make any calls, because my mom and Tim’s mom know the people better, have more time on their hands, and have offered to help.  (I will never, ever, ever be a bad RSVP-er.  EVER.)
• Relating back to the previous point….make and finalize the seating chart, so I can make…
• Escort cards!
• We need to decide how we’re upgrading our package when the final numbers are in and let the venue know.
• Still need to do the timeline.  Part of the problem is that I don’t know how long crap takes.  Hmm.
• Get my engagement ring cleaned and dipped.
• Continue my no-Tooth Stainy Things Crusade.  So far, so good—three days without any coffee or red wine or Diet Coke. 
• Pick up my wedding dress on Wednesday!
• Write thank you notes to the wedding party and our parents.
• Make a packing list.
• Start the Crest Whitestrips on Wednesday.
• Keep my nails nice!  I’m moisturizing constantly—if I don’t, I get hangnails.  I may get another manicure next weekend just to keep them looking good.
• And a million other things I’m probably forgetting!

It’s crunch time, folks!

Playing it by ear

Thank goodness it’s Friday!

Today did NOT go according to plan…but in a good way!

My boss owed us all a lunch out, and she announced that today was the day!

So I abandoned my packed lunch in the fridge in lieu of lunch out.  Hooray!

I had a soup and salad combo—chicken noodle and Caesar (easy on the dressing.)  I also had one or two of the appetizer she ordered for the table—Portobello mushroom “fries”!  They were pretty awesome.  The chicken noodle soup was great—it was really different.  It was almost more like a chicken tortilla soup because it was spicy, but I liked it!

No pictures because I’m camera shy at work (when my office door is open.)

My boss came back late…because she’d stopped at a bakery to get us all chocolatey desserts!  What a lady.

I wasn’t really sure what mine was, although it was mildly phallic.

Alas…

It was kind of like a fancy pants Three Musketeers bar.  I had two bites and tossed the rest—it was good but not great.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty easy.  My boss has specifically stated that I’m not going to get assigned anything TOO in-depth until after the wedding.  Apparently I’ve looked a bit frazzled lately!

I was prepared to hit the gym after work, but then I got an e-mail…the gym was closing today at 5 for a special “thank the gym employees” event!  So, home I went.   It’s probably for the best, because my left shin has been complaining intermittently all week.  STILL.  Ugh.

We decided to celebrate the weekend with an animal photo shoot.

 

Please ignore my godawful roots.  I’m getting my hair dyed tomorrow!

This is the big project this weekend:

Programs.  They will be done this weekend if it kills me.  And it might. 

Anyone else get a fun surprise today?

Eat dirty.

It seems like the latest trend in dieting is Eating Clean.  Capital E, Capital C.

Disclaimer: I’ve read none of the Eat Clean books.  From what I understand, the plan seems pretty great–eat lots of complex carbs, veggies, fruits, legumes, organic dairy, et cetera.  All things I like.  I’m sure Tosca Reno is a nice lady.

(Source.)

But for the life of me, the phrase “Eat Clean” makes me want to go on a stabbing rampage.

Why?

Clean.  What’s the opposite of clean?  Dirty.  Dirty is bad, and shameful, and wrong, and lurks in vans with candy and chloroform.

My completely unscientific opinion is that women, especially those who are seeking out “diets” (the original book is entitled The Eat Clean Diet, so obviously, gonna attract dieters), are guilty enough about food.   We stash the ice cream under the bananas in the shopping cart.  We never clean our plates in public and compare our plates to the other women at the table.  If you’re like me, you raid the fridge when your significant other is away.  (Not anymore.  But I did.)

Calling it The Eat Clean Diet means that when you’re not eating the recommended foods, you’re dirty.  And bad.  And doing it wrong.  Hey, awesome, let’s throw another complex on the pile of women’s various psychological hang-ups!

Why do we need to place a qualifier on foods?  Good, bad, clean, dirty, healthy, unhealthy.  They’re all food.  There’s a time and place for all of them.  Even the Double Down.  Yes, we should eat more vegetables than Twinkies.  But should we skip the Twinkies altogether if we find them delicious and really enjoy them?  NO.

I also think that the “clean” versus “dirty” distinction smacks of…arrogance, maybe?   (Note: I’m not saying that people who eat clean are arrogant.)  What I AM saying, though, is that someone saying “I eat CLEAN” to me would automatically make me think “Yikes, I must eat DIRTY then” and feel all self-conscious and whatnot.   I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again–there is absolutely NOTHING dirty, wrong, or shameful about eating a slice of apple pie made with real butter, sugar, and apples.

My objection is this–do we need to go there?  Why can’t this be called “The Back to Basics Diet” or “Don’t Eat Things You Cannot Pronounce”?  What do we GAIN from these terms?

What do you think?