Love Bed Bath and Beyond!

I must say before registering I took my cousin's advice in checking out Bed Bath and Beyond, they have rave reviews about the return policy unlike Target... You can do a quick search and find many people discussing the multiple issues they've had. Plus Target is continuously rotating their stock so often items are out of stock or not in stores any more. So in going through this process I decided to check out Bed Bath and Beyond and what they had to offer. Can I just say they've been amazing! So far I've been there twice. The first time Tim and I went together and looked at the major stuff, pots n pans, knives, etc. We ended up spending a couple hours there but every area we were in, people often offered up help making sure we had everything we needed. We originally registered at the store at The St. Louis Mills Mall, which is a smaller store. The next time I went back we went to the Brentwood store. After the first bout of registering, Tim was done... so I recruited the assistance of my aunties and sister and went back. Again I ended up spending a few hours there but really knocked out a bunch of stuff! Changed the pots and pans, made a few other adjustments and picked out some everyday plates, etc. We had a girl that was helping us, her name was Storm and she was amazing. She walked us through all different ensuring we had everything we needed. The bonus of the Brentwood store is that is much a bigger and has more dishes, etc for you to look at. I can't say enough good stuff about BBB! I'm not sure if we'll register anywhere else. Maybe I guess gotta discuss that with the honey!

10 lbs

Ahh I knew I would remember something I wanted to share... So far after 11 days of South Beach I have successfully lost 10 lbs. I am thrilled, shocked, and amazed!! The main things I've missed during Phase I are fruit and yogurt. I totally love fruit! I love to snack on fruit, have it with breakfast, eat it as a snack in the afternoon. I do miss the convenience of sandwiches, however I think in Phase II I will be add tortillas which will help with that longing hopefully. I have been able to eat a fudge bar ice cream thing every night, which has been awesome! I've bought some ricotta cheese to try a few of their other dessert recipes. So this is the update on the South Beach diet... so far I'm pleased with the diet. I do not feel hungry to the extent that I did previously, which is great, maybe I'm a little more conscious of this, who knows? One thing I am sick of eggs for breakfast everyday, but adding the yogurt should be helpful.

I just hope that I can sustain the weight loss.

DSL FIXED!!

And I'm back, after a week of DSL problems and waiting from my noon to 4 pm slot today (luckily they came around 1:30ish, impressive!) So now the DSL is fixed and I'm quite thrilled to say the least... I had many thoughts of what I was going blog about once I got my net back but they are all escaping me at the moment.

There's been a lot going on this week, work wise as well as in general. I have received the paperwork from Complete Music and I will send it back with our little profile of what we'd like, etc. Otherwise not a lot has been going on decision wise this week. I think I might take a small break after all the exhaustive decision making last weekend! Tim and I started checking out houses as well, all of this is incredibly tiring! Well one big excitement for the month is that hurling officially starts this weekend. Can't wait!

I promise the next post to have more excitement!

Checking things off the list :)

So life has been crazy busy lately... however Tim and I talked through a few things today and offically have check some things off this list. One of these being our music/DJ. Upon careful decision, many phone calls, and emails back and forth we've decided to go w/ Complete Music. They seem to be the cheapest (quite persistent, they called multiple times) but over all a pretty good deal. I was highly considering the DJ vs the ipod however opted for the DJ. The main reason being that I wanted to have an emcee and just not have to worry so much about the music. My amazing brother wanted to handle everything but I wanted to ensure that he would be able to enjoy his time at the reception. So woo hoo, check that off the list!

Also decided this week is pretty much the florist. I will be going with St. Louis Blooms. My uncle is a friend of the florist and in speaking with her over the phone, she knows my family very well. She knew and loved my mother and will make sure we make a special memorial for her. So with that being said, I was done. Book 'em Dano! I am still awaiting my bid from her but I'm sure it will be the best. Check that off the list too!

So overall I feel incredibly accomplished! All of these items coming in or a little below budget. HECK YEAH! There are still a few items that I'm working which include our cake, limo, and more work on the registry... things are going good.

I think that the last couple weeks have not only been stressful at work but also at home. My sisters restaurant opening, while exciting I missed her a lot... I know she worked her butt off! Anyways, when it comes to weddings you end up making so many decisions. Its tough because a part you is worried that you might miss out on a good deal if you book to late, or that place/person/vendor/venue, etc. will be unavailable, but than there is another piece of you pushing you to look further find a better deal. I end up feeling incredibly torn about somethings. On these items Tim and I have discussed them thoroughly and have left a majority of that to his judgment call. So many of these other wedding blogs I read mention how nothing ever truly goes as planned in addition to that a lot of the details you focus on people hardly remember. Truly that day you should just try to enjoy yourself. So I'm trying to keep that as my focus and not let the little things bother me. It just feels wonderful to check stuff off the list. I also think once all the big stuff is done, the small things will fall into place. (let's hope so!!!)

The South Beach Diet

Ok folks, as all brides of course I would love to look fab the big day. In my recent trips to the doc I mentioned something to him about how I had been working out 3-4 days per week and seeing no results. He looked and me and said "you may not want to hear this but to see any significant loss you will have to kick it up to working out 5 times a week, plus I would suggest a South Beach type diet"... So this is day 2 of my South Beach diet. Please understand I am actually truly anti-dieting all together however was frustrated enough to try the docs advice. So I'm currently eating lean proteins with some low fat cheeses and nuts, can have some salad but I'm not able to eat any bread or fruit. Luckily sugar free fudgesicles and jello are allowed for some sweetness. I have read a portion of the book and there are some wonderful recipes in there. We will see how this goes. I really wish I had more time to go through the book and actually pick out some recipes to prep. I find this is my biggest struggle daily. Having the food prepped for lunch at work. I'll tell you lately things have been a crazy mad house! I actually feel like I'm a hamster on one of those wheels just running around but getting no where.

This is really the first diet I've ever actually been on. I do find myself snacking a little less but part of that is possibly me being conscious of this. The nice thing about South Beach is that at least I can have some snacks, I don't feel like I'm starving (except tonight because I just had a snack and no true dinner, too tired!), and unlike Adkins they do focus on the leaner meats, etc. I'll keep you posted on my progress!

Vertigo, vertigo, go away!

So I've been absent for a bit since I was recovering from a bit of vertigo. For those who don't know what that is I'll give you a brief overview... Essentially you feel a dizzy upon standing, but it interferes quite a bit w/ your day. So I was dealing w/ that for the last week and a half. It for the most part has finally subsided, yeah!

The last couple of weeks have been busy, but I'll be posting more soon!

Happy belated valentines day to all!

Bridesmaid dresses, check!

So I've started checking things off the the list, and wow it feels wonderful! So I've landed on bridesmaid dresses and I'm quite thrilled about them. The girls will be getting them from Town and Country Bridal which is located in Plaza Frontenac. I believe I mentioned previously how surprised I was that they were one of the most reasonable dress shops of all the places that I had checked out. So they'll be wearing the black version. I think all the ladies will be stunning in them. Here's a link to the site which a preview for those interested!

http://www.jasminebridal.com/J_2_1_1_1.aspx?sqno=JPN2008092511091&j_style_no=STYL20080821001&j_line_no=LINE20080821003&j_line_season=B

I would like to mention how easy I hope this process will be. For those that live out of town, they'll send them a form with how to do all the appropriate measurements and a thing they can fill all their credit card or payment info on and handle it all for me. I'm sure most dress shops handle this, but thin that's nice they'll handle it all for you. Plus they only charge you a $5 fee, no extra shipping and other random crap. Yeah!

CHECK!

Flowers, flowers, flowers

So I've come back to the budget and had forgotten a few things and had to go over some stuff (thanks for the help Aunt Nina). Actually I hadn't really looked at the budget much lately. Probably not the best idea. So anyways, I'm still currently in search of a florist. I have a few suggestions and meetings coming up with some others. I just feel like only getting one quote it totally insane. How can you take one person's word/price? So I'm searching for the perfect and most reasonable florist that I can find. I am open to suggestions and have gotten a few word of mouth. The only issue I have come upon is that fact that a majority of these florist are booked up solid of appointments until March! According to my timeline (well a few of the websites that have timelines, I should be getting this lined up this month or sealed the deal...) I know that most everyone else probably wants and evening or weekend appointment but geez, I'd just like to have a few meetings. Especially since for my 20% off with Artistry ends sometime this month. Details, details... Keep you posted!

Emotions and Stress

So I think I had one of those days this weekend when you feel all sorts of impending doom and just stress. As you read in books, blogs, etc they talk about having fun with everything. A lot of this planning stuff is a lot of fun. Picking colors, figuring out various things. But some of it can be stressful, how do you choose a florist? How do you pick a bridesmaid dress that everyone will approve… list goes on. Laura and I went on Sunday to the swanky high tea at the Coronado ballroom, which is absolutely beautiful. Before my Mom passed we had brunch there and she walked Tim and I and showed us how amazing it was and I think she really wanted me to have my reception there. Well reality check, they have an 18k min and well were just plain rude and slightly obnoxious in their reply to us. So I would not suggest them as a vendor just based on their interaction w/ us. As Laura and I sat there drinking tea and being served some nice little foods I thought about how much Mom would’ve loved something like this. One thing about my Mom was that prior to chemo, she loved the tea. She would drink it all the time. Funny how tea could bring tears to my eyes. Anyways I also thought about how I felt like Mom would know how to do everything. What’s the proper etiquette for this and who must I invite and who can be left off the list. All the Mom things that she knew. I know because of her I’m an amazing strong woman, but this was the first time it really hit me hard how much I missed her in this process. I know others are helping, however no one is the same as your Mom. So the rest of the day was just an emotional blah day. So that’s where I was this weekend. Lovely eh? I do know I have wonderful and loving family and plenty of help for everything and anything I need, its just the one person you wish could help you with something is a little unavailable. Big time bummer!

So I'll keep trucking on... I know somehow things will fall into place. They always do. I might just have to take a lil break from everything for a week or so. Maybe that'll help!