love/hateLove: vacation days for no particular reason!
Hate: Starbucks 'revised' their gingerbread latte this year and changed the name to gingersnap...what they failed to do is warn their customers that the new & 'improved' version includes CHUNKS of candied ginger - this was not a pleasant surprise when I sucked a chunk up through my straw while enjoying my first GB latte of the season. YUCK!
Love: our engagement pics! I can't stop looking at them!
Love: all of your super nice comments about our pics!
Hate: chocolate & donuts...well not really, but I hate that people keep bringing them into the office and forcing me to eat them! (Ok, they're not actually forcing me - but my will power is not very strong these days.)
Love: that I found a wedding coordinator who's just starting out and is offering her services for free! I meet with her Saturday!
Love: free Husky Football tickets! Hopefully we'll actually beat UCLA this week.
Hate: my lack of motivation for WW and working out - I have GOT to get with the program!
Love: Twilight the movie comes out next Friday! I'm counting down the days!
Share your loves/hates!
Happy Friday! happy halloween eve!So I decided that a real blog post was in order since my last one was just a bunch of pictures - even though they were pretty fabulous if I do say so myself.
Things have been crazy lately. I'm not even sure where to begin, so I'm just going to share a quick rundown of the past few weeks. - Work Sucks. With the economy as bad as it is, my company has laid of almost 1/2 of the employees, many of whom I was pretty good friends with, and it was really sad. It happened on the 15th and things are still pretty somber around the office. I dread going in every day...but I should be thankful that I still have a job. It's just hard sometimes to be positive in such a difficult time.
- Jason and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary on the 20th. We are heading to Ocean Shores this weekend to celebrate - that and his birthday which is on the 2nd. I still cant' believe he's going to be 32!
- My 10 year high school reunion was a few weekends ago and it was SO much fun! I have 3 best friends still from high school and we are rarely all together at the same time (they all live in San Diego). We spent the WHOLE day together, just the 4 of us and no significant others or other friends. It was great! Such a fun weekend. I felt like I was 18 again!
- WW is not going well. I broke my plateau a few weeks ago with the 'high protein' days and was really "re"motivated. That was 3 weeks ago and I have now gained back 2 lbs! Ugh! I know I need to stick with it, but it's really hard sometimes - especially since I've been so stressed...now I know for sure that I'm an EMOTIONAL EATER!!! :)
- I just finished reading Twilight and I am HOOKED! I can't wait to read the next book and my sister and I already have a date to see the movie on the 21st!
- Our wedding website is almost done and I can't wait to get it up and running!
- Oh...and we've changed our wedding colors...more on that later!
That's about it. I can't believe October is over tomorrow and Thanksgiving is just around the corner...which means Christmas is just a stone's throw away. This is my favorite time of year and I am definitely LOVING the fall. engagement pics!!!This past Saturday we had our engagement session with the FAB Jenny GG. It was SO much fun and we are really happy with the results.
I'll let the photos speak for themselves...
 
 sick dayI came home early from work yesterday sick, and am home sick again today. Not sure what I have, but I feel like crap.
A few things have helped me to feel slightly better:
1. Sex and the City the series on DVD...I'm almost done with season 4 and I've got to say...I LOVE Aiden (especially with his new haircut!)...SO HOT!
3. Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches
Ok, so I'm obviously not really keeping track of WW points today, but my pb&j sandwich was SO good.
If only I had some Oreos... i said yes to the dress!That's right...I found my dress!
After trying on 50+ different dresses and not really 'loving' any of them, I finally found my dress.
Here it is... and the back... I absolutely LOVE it! It's silk satin and feels like butter to the touch...sigh. It's a Maggie Sottero dress and the name of the style is Nadine.
It was a little more than I had expected to spend, but worth the extra money. Plus, I'm buying the dress off the rack and they gave me a nice discount.
I found the dress at Lady Margaret's in Puyallup. It's a small boutique dress shop and so nice...nicer than any of the other places I had been. I would highly recommend it.
It's funny how it's totally not what I thought I wanted...I was dead set on lace, no side gather, a pink sash and pure white. This is all satin (with the exception of some chiffon), no lace, side gather, no sash and ivory. But...it's perfect.
The boutique didn't allow pictures until you put a deposit on the dress (designer rule?), but we put the deposit down today and I am going again on Saturday to try it on again and take some pics.
The best part is that the dress in stock was my size and with the lace up back it's very forgiving. The salesgirl told me I could lose another 10 or so pounds and not need any alterations...if I lose more though I'll have to have it taken in...which is totally fine with me...I'd rather have to take it in than have it taken out!
So there you have it...one more major item checked off the list! fat tuesdayWelcome back to our regularly scheduled programming!
Ok, so life has been crazy busy lately, hence the lack of blog posts, but I still have not missed ONE Weight Watcher meeting! Tonight was no different.
I've been stuck in a rut lately between a total loss of 13 and 15 pounds. My dad told me I should eat high protein and less than 70 g of carbs for 2 days and it would break my plateau.
Well, what do you know...Dad was right!
This week's loss: -2.2 Total loss: 17.8
I can't believe I'm only 2.8 lbs away from 20 lbs!!! I have never stuck with it this long...I guess a wedding on the horizon is just the motivation I needed! book a photographer...check!We can officially cross one more MAJOR item off our wedding checklist.
We found our photographer.... Jenny GG. I mentioned her before, after we met with her the first time, and I can honestly say I can't WAIT to work with her! Her pictures are great and her personality is awesome.
We have our engagement pictures scheduled for October 18. I know it's awhile before our actual wedding, but fall is my favorite season, so I really wanted some fall pics. Jenny is so great and really willing to work with her clients...we are meeting her at 3pm and she told us not to make plans that night! Most of the other photographers I found only included a 1 hour e-pic session!
I'm super excited and can't wait to go shopping for some new 'e-pic' outfits! dresses, dresses...so many dressesThis past weekend my mom, sister and I had our first "dress shopping" experience.
I have to say, I loved it! It was so much fun and I can't wait to go again! While, I'm definitely not ready to buy a dress at the moment, it was fun to see what's out there. I found 2 that I really like and am considering. Ideally, I'd still like to lose another 25 pounds or so, but that's neither here nor there.
The only complaint I have is that of the 4 shops we went to, David's Bridal was the only place that had dresses in multiple sizes. So really, it was most fun to try dresses on there because they actually fit.
The other 3 shops only had one size of each dress and most were too small. I can't even explain how uncomfortable it is to be zipped up and sucked into a dress...or to have them clip the back closed to your bra!
Now the moment you've all been waiting for...pictures!!!
This is one of the front runners. I love that it's all satin with just the block of lace on the torso...and it has no beading, which I do not like. Now, I know it's a little tight, but keep in mind it was about 2 sizes too small. It would not be so form fitting (especially in the stomach area) and the skirt would be more a-line and come out more at my waist. The sash would also be pink.
This was one that my mom really liked and wanted me to try on, but I ended up really liking it. I think it's a little too "sophisticated" for a summer wedding, but I do like it a lot. The bust area needs to be taken in a LOT...
 ...and I absolutely love the back of this dress! It has a really low cut back, but my hair fits it perfectly!
This one is also a front runner. I really liked that it's all lace with no beading and the bottom foot or so of the skirt is soft and laceless.
So...tell me what you think!
i've come to realize......summer is over! What?! Where did it go? ...fall is just around the corner! Woo hoo!
...I have a blog!?
...we have less than year of wedding planning left.
...I absolutely LOVE trying on wedding dresses...I honestly have never felt prettier.
...I have got to get back on the ball with WW.
...my 10 year high school reunion is in a month!
...carpooling to work rocks!
...that I need to update you guys on what's been going on! another busy weekendThis summer has been so busy...we've pretty much had plans every single weekend! This weekend is no different with plans to see the AMAZINGLY TALENTED Jack Johnson at the Gorge in eastern Washington. The concert is tomorrow night and we have plans to camp over at Sun Lakes for the rest of the weekend.
For those of you who are not from the Seattle area, which is probably most of you, eastern Washington is like the Palm Springs of Washington (except in the winter). It's HOT and, for the most part, very dry in the summer. I seriously can't wait! This will be one of most relaxing weekends thus far this summer...with an itinerary of listening to great music, enjoying the sun, swimming in a lake and generally having fun!
My sister and her boyfriend are joining us which is exciting because we haven't been camping together since we were kids!
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In other news, my friend K's wedding was SO much fun last weekend. I will post a recap with pictures sometime next week.
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I'll leave you with a picture that just exudes summer! I took at it at Lake Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula last weekend. I have to admit that I'm pretty impressed with my photography skills...
P.S. I did edit it a little in iphoto (antiqued & blurred the edges).
fat tuesdayI set a goal for myself to lose 15 pounds by my friend K's wedding...which is this weekend.
After the past weekend in Canada eating and drinking myself silly, I was not expecting a loss...but more likely a gain.
Well, the weight loss gods have smiled down on me today.
This week's loss: -1.2 Total loss: 15.4
GO ME! :) crunch timeToday is exactly ONE year before our wedding date. Aah! I can't believe we've been engaged for 6 months already! It's flown by...and I'm sure the next 12 months will be gone in the blink of an eye.
While we do have the venue booked, which is probably one of the biggest items, we still have a TON of stuff left to figure out.
So, stay tuned for lots more wedding planning, weight loss results and random bits of craziness.
Have a great weekend! I'm off to Whistler, BC! my current wedding obsession: garden rosesI love peonies. They are probably my favorite flower and had I known that they were COMPLETELY out of season in August, well, I may have voted for a different wedding date...
I have said from beginning that I do not want any roses in my wedding flowers - not in my bouquet, the girls' bouquets, the bouts, the corsages, the ceterpieces - nowhere. They are just so...common.
Imagine my surprise when I saw this...
Behold the garden rose...I am completely smitten. While it may be a "rose" and not a peony, it's SO fluffy and pretty...just like a peony! Imagine a bouquet of these fluffly beauties! Oops...the above photo came from here. fat tuesdayEven after ALL of the crap that I ate and drank this weekend, I surprising lost weight this week! I was only down .4, but I had set a goal that I wanted to be at a total loss of 15 before my friend K's wedding, which is next weekend, and I only have .8 to go! Go me!
This week's loss: -.4 Total loss: 14.2 surprise!Tomorrow my stepdad will be 49. His birthday is August 5, and our wedding next summer is August 8...which doesn't leave much room for a 50th birthday party. So, my mom decided to throw him a surprise 49th birthday party!
She told him it was an engagement party for Jason and I so that he would help her get the house and yard straightened up. It was pretty funny...he was really into making sure that "our" party was great.
I even wrote a poem for the invitation:
J.R. will soon be 50
Of this he is aware
And we wanted to surprise him
With all of you folks there.
But our daughter’s getting married
In August of next year
So a 49th birthday bash it is
With lots of food and beer!
So keep mum, don’t let it slip
On him we hope it doesn't dawn
We’ve told him it’s an engagement party
With hopes he’ll mow the lawn!
To get him out of the house, Jason took him to get some beer growlers filled at a local brewery. They were gone for about an hour and as soon as they left it was like a mad dash to get all the "birthday" paraphenalia out. My mom and I were running around like chickens with our heads cut off!
Anyway, when he got home he was SO surprised! It was great. There were a few moments when we thought he was on to us, but he wasn't. It was such a fun party! Even if I did have a few too many drinks...and was nursing a nasty hangover yesterday. Totally worth it though!
Happy Birthday J.R.! fat tuesdayAnd so begins week 16 of Weight Watchers.
I am still only down 13.8. Today's weigh in was neither good, nor bad, I stayed the same. The funny thing was at first I had gained .2, but then the lady weighing me told me take my sunglasses off (they were on top of my head) and back down I went.
I'm frustrated, but have no one to blame but myself. I've been eating crap on the weekends and drinking beer. Plus, I haven't really been working out. I really need to step it up!
I'm going to start setting small goals for myself each week. This week I'm going to focus on water. I need to start drinking more of it. My plan is to drink a whole Nalgene bottle (32 oz) before lunch, and another after. Then I'll just drink a glass or two when I get home with dinner.
This week's loss: 0 Total loss: 13.8 love/hateLove: that we have 2 BBQ's to go to this weekend! One tonight and one tomorrow! We are p-o-p-u-l-a-r!
Hate: when I told Jason I was making fat free brownies for tomorrow's BBQ, he picked up a box of regular brownies & some frosting to make his own "full fat" brownies..."because construction workers won't like fat free brownies".
Love: we are camping tomorrow night! Just the two of us! We haven't camped AT ALL this summer, so I'm really looking forward to it!
Hate: that I have been living out of my suitcase for the past few months. Since I stay at Jason's most of the time (make that ALL of the time), but don't officially "live" there, my clothes are still at home. I just have a sampling of my wardrobe at his place...mostly summer clothes now, but it still sucks to not have my own dresser. Oh well.
Love: MYSTIC TAN! I went for my first time a few weeks ago and LOVED the way it looked (not so much the way it smelled). I bought a 10 tan package, so I'm going again next week and a few days before my friend K's wedding...and they don't expire so I can use them whenever!
Hate: working...can't I just make planning my wedding a full time job? And get paid for it?
Love: my new cell phone! I got the new LG Dare from Verizon. It's a total iphone knockoff, but since I don't wnat to switch to AT&T, I have to make do with what Verizon offers. I seriously love it though...it's the best phone I've ever had! I still need to figure out how to set up email though... a picture's worth a thousand wordsLast Sunday we met with our first photographers.
The first one was a husband/wife team whose web portfolio I've been drooling over since I went to the wedding expo in April! They are definitely on the HIGH end of our photography budget, but we still decided to meet with them anyway.
What a disappointment.
We only met with the wife and she just made us feel uncomfortable. First of all, we met at their "home" studio, so just to start off it was kind of awkward. What really sealed it for us though was that she was very quiet and didn't really tell us anything about them! She showed us some albums and gave us a price list. And, after looking through the albums I wasn't nearly as impressed as I had been previously.
So we left there a little discouraged.
Our second appointment was with Jenny GG. I've heard really good things about her on The Knot bulletins. I had talked to her a few days prior on the phone and she was SUPER nice, so that was encouraging.
Anyway, we met her at Starbucks - a totally "neutral" place and she was GREAT! We loved her personality...she is probably one of the nicest people I've EVER met! And her prices are SO affordable!
We haven't officially decided if we're going with her yet, as we have a few others to interview, but she's DEFINITELY on the short list!
So, what would you say is the most important thing when it comes to photography (and the photographer)?
*Update*
I should have elaborated a little more on what kind of package we would be getting with Jenny. It includes FULL wedding day coverage (up to 14 hours!), an engagement session (3-4 hours!), DVD's of each session (wedding & engagement) with high resolution images that are ours to use however we want (print, post, etc.), an online gallery/slideshow with online ordering for our friends & family, a photography assistant (who also takes photos), an album, some prints (which seems to be uncommon with most of the othe photographers I've researched), a $300 credit toward additional prints, albums, etc....AND, if we book her before September 30, we save $250! What a STEAL! :) Oh yeah...and did I mention we LOVED her personality?! fat tuesdayYeah, I've been a bad blogger...not posting...not commenting...not even reading! I'm sorry! This summer has been SO busy and we're starting to get back into the wedding planning. More on that tomorrow.
This past weekend was my friend K's bachelorette party...it included a day of wine tasting in Woodinville and then a night of music at Chopstix piano bar. It was a blast, but my gut was NOT happy with me on Sunday. After tasting at least 15 wines, 3 pieces of pizza and some late night CHEESE FRIES, I was not planning on losing any weight this week.
Well, my theory of having a loss after a gain held true. I lost 1.4 this week! Now if I can just lose 1.2 this coming week, I will be at a total loss of 15 lbs!!! Please keep your fingers crossed for me!
This week's loss: -1.4 Total loss: 13.8 fat tuesday (a day late and 1/2 lb heavier)So I gained...again.
Only .6 this week, but still not a loss. I'm done being hard on myself though...I'm just telling myself that I'm going to lose and I'm going to gain...it's not easy. And, I'll lose next week...so far my pattern has been that if I gain one week, I will lose big the following week...
So here's to next week!
This week: + .6 lbs
Total loss: 12.4 lbs a sweet dress for a sweet priceHow freaking cute is this dress?
I was downtown today running a work errand and looked up and saw this dress hanging in the window of Ann Taylor. I quickly ran across the street to check it out and, as luck would have it, they had my size.
Plus, it was on sale...HUGE sale...originally $148 marked down to $69.99! What a steal! I'm thinking of wearing it to my friend's rehearsal dinner (now that I don't have to find a dress for the wedding itself).
I do have to ask for some advice though...what kind of shoes should I wear?
*Just for clarification...the sash is not as red as it appears in this photo...it's more of a bright pink! fat tuesdaySince Tuesdays are my weigh in day for WW, I thought I'd start a new weekly post appropriately titled "Fat Tuesday"!
After drinking my weight in beer this weekend and eating enough Doritos to nourish a small village, I had to go to my weigh in tonight. Believe me...I was nervous!
Well, apparently when I stress the most is when I lose more than usual! I was down 2 more pounds this week!
This weeks loss: 2 lbs Total loss: 13 lbs
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In other blog news, have you seen this new website called Wordle? No fewer than 3 of the blogs I subscribe to had links to it yesterday, so I thought I'd post about it too!
It's actually a pretty cool site. You can put in any combination of words, or type in your blog url and it makes a word cloud that you can then customize with various fonts, colors and layouts.
Here's Moments of a Blonde "wordled"!
happy birthday america!I thought I'd post a quick update before the long weekend, as I will be out of town with no internet access.
I am currently frustrated with WW and the $300 worth of food we bought last night for this coming weekend isn't going to help. Last night at my weigh in I was up 1 POUND! UGH! Why am I fluctuating? My sister is losing at least a pound or more a week and I'm stuck with losing mere ounces, or even worse gaining!
It could have been the weight training I did last week (supposedly when you lift weights and your muscles are sore they are retaining water)...but I only lifted weights one day...I am still slightly sore though.
It also could have been the gyro, strawberry lemonade and strawberry colada I consumed on Sunday...but nevermind that.
This weekend we are heading our cabin down at Mt. Rainier with friends. I'm looking forward to the 3 day weekend and getting away from work and the city. We'll do a little hiking, some swimming, sunbathing, golfing...and lots of eating. Did I mention we spent $300 on food last night?!?! Granted $50 was just in beer...
Anyway, tomorrow is a short work day...off at 3 and then heading to the mountain. Hope everyone has a fun, happy & SAFE 4th of July!!! walking down the aisle...as a bridesmaidI have a friend who's getting married this summer and I have been SO excited with all of the wedding festivities leading up to it...the shower, the bachelorette party, etc.
We have been friends for awhile (met through mutual friends), but I would never have expected her to ask me to be a bridesmaid...and when she didn't ask me I wasn't disappointed. She did ask me to do her hair & make-up, which I happily agreed to. And she's invited me along to all wedding related outings...including the rehearsal dinner.
Over the past few months we have gotten a lot closer. We're doing WW together and what brings friends closer than being starving & losing weight together? Our fiances have become friends and we do double dates often. Jason and I joke that they are our Deacon & Kelly (from King of Queens...if you don't watch that show, you totally won't understand that)...let's just say they are our go to friends when we want to do something fun with another couple.
Well, last night we went to dinner with another friend, who is a bridesmaid in the wedding, and K told me that she had a question to ask me and that I could say no if I wanted to.
Then she asked me to be a bridesmaid! She told me that she feels that we have become such good friends that she would really like me to be more of a part of her wedding.
I feel so honored! While the wedding is less than 2 months away, I've been involved in all the planning with her and am MORE than happy to stand next to her on her special day!
I can't wait! summer is FINALLY here!Summer has finally reached Seattle! This last week of June is forecasted to be great weather, which is a welcome change from the crappy rainy weather we've had during the first 3 weeks of June.
It's SO nice that it's actually warmer outside than it is inside (doesn't happen very often here) and today I spent my lunch break basking in the sun!
This weekend it is supposed to get up into the 80's and my plans include lounging by the pool at my condo with my sister and going to an outdoor festival on Sunday. I can't wait! I'm actually counting down the days to this weekend as if it was a vacation!
I'm also looking forward to getting a little color on this pasty white skin that hasn't seen sunlight since LAST June! And, now that I've officially lost 12 lbs (I was down another .4 last night), I can feel a little better putting my bathing suit on!
Anyone else looking forward to a relaxing weekend?
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