Lookin' Good, Kid!

Here’s something I haven’t talked about yet: health. All things considered, I am a pretty healthy person. Of course, this is very important if you want to look good, and I mean really good, on your wedding day. You want to glow, not look like you had a crash diet and are about to devour the wedding cake. So, what do I do?

Goals, Weight, and Being Realistic. First off, let me say that I weigh about 120 pounds. It fluctuates, but 120 is pretty average these days. The first thing you want to do when you decide to get healthy is figure out a good weight for yourself. If I want to starve myself, I can easily be 100 pounds. However, that would not look good. At all. Some girls of my height (4’11”) have the slight, waifish frame to pull that off; I do not. I need my curves. Once you embrace a healthy weight, it is much easier to stay there. I know that my body likes to be about 120 pounds, as it has stayed near that for the past several years. (There have been times that I’ve been closer to 130, but I also realized that I couldn’t allow myself to sit around and eat chocolate, as much as I would love to.) So, set a goal. Since I don’t want to look like a skeleton (and I think only anorexia would get rid of my big mama thighs!), my goal is to lose inches and not pounds. This comes from exercising, with a focus on toning, and by eating right. I have a pretty good habit of snacking on healthy things (such as carrots and peanut butter), but I don’t ban myself from anything. If I want chocolate, I’ll have chocolate, but only a piece. If I had a reasonably healthy breakfast and lunch (ok, maybe I ate too many Frosted Mini Wheats!) I won’t beat myself up if I have a burger for dinner. For me and my body, it’s about moderation and balance. I don’t need to lose weight, but I do need to be careful that I don’t indulge too often (which is sooooo easy to do). (Note: obviously if I needed to lose weight, this would be a different story. But I’ve been doing pretty well.)

Getting Fit. I try to exercise at least three times a week. I go to Pilates and two all-over body toning classes at my gym, and each class is one hour long. This is done on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with my little sister/MOH, The Koala. On Mondays I like to work out at home and watch Bones (which TOTALLY makes working out from home worth it!). I have a small weight set and an old stationary bike. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are up in the air- if I work out then great. If I don’t, well, I don’t worry about it. Balance, remember? I am doing exercises that are the most effective. NEWS FLASH: You don’t have to do and hour of cardio every day, followed by an hour of weights! By taking the classes that give me a full, and fun, work out, I am targeting areas I may miss by sticking to the same routine. I have also learned moves that I can do easily at home. That, coupled with some research, has let me develop a routine that is fun, varied, and shows results. Why classes? Because health shouldn’t be a solo thing. You need motivation from others who are also on the journey toward health. It’s also fun: I go with my sister, which is great, and one the instructors is a riot. He is Hispanic, with a thick accent so half the time you don’t know what he’s saying, and he likes to sing to the music and tells you to stick your booty out. It’s also gratifying to leave a workout all sweaty, knowing that the people around you feel like you do: stinky, but happy. Plus, the instructors get to know you. Both of my instructors know I have a wedding in June, and they are confident that by then I will be in super shape. Another cool thing? Last week my sister and I had stood at the front of a class, and we were both used to demonstrate exercise moves. NOTHING motivates you to do an exercise well and correctly than showing 20 other people how to do it.

The face, the face. I started going to a dermatologist a while ago, and I am glad I did. The products and pills I take may cost more than other products, but they are great. I rarely break out, and Olay’s products are good for the cleaning and moisturizing part of my daily regimen. I am confident that, since I have something that works right now, I won’t have to worry about my face breaking out or getting blotchy or being dry on my big day. With so many other things to worry about, this is one less thing! Gotta love it.

So, my top tips in summary: Exercise. Set a reasonable goal. Take care of yourself. Start now, to develop good habits.

Oh, and if you’re going to indulge, don’t regret it. Otherwise, what’s the point? It’s an indulgence, not a sin.

Compatibility

RoyBoy and I are very different. For starters, our brains work on totally different levels. He is a rocket scientist- the ultimate engineer (in my opinion), and consequently he views things very factually and realistically. He explains things that make sense to him and other engineer-types. And then he gets frustrated if you don’t understand, because it is so blatantly obvious to him.
While I have science in my genes and I am a pilot (very science-filled), I could easily have done something more liberal-artsy: photography, writing, early-childhood education. I am creative. Thus, I see things very differently from RoyBoy, which makes our relationship interesting. Somehow we always seem to want the same thing, but we understand it differently and that can create confusion, then frustration, then realization that we’re saying the same thing but arrived there two different ways.

Another thing that is very different about us are our attitudes toward life. I am very optimistic and a chronically happy person (odd, because I had clinical depression for the majority of my childhood and early adolescence; apparently anti-depressants had a permanent, lasting effect). Even my “down” days are only slightly less enthusiastic then my regular days. I can’t stay something other than happy for long: I am rarely angry, as my frustration peaks quickly then simmers to passiveness; my sadness is fleeting, because I quickly turn to hope. I am perpetually happy and hopeful (it’s almost disgusting, since I can’t wallow in self-pity for long)- I just can’t not be happy. Then there’s RoyBoy. RoyBoy is very realistic, as well as pessimistic. He’s about the only person who can bring me down, but only because I hate when he isn’t happy and I want him to be hopeful like me. He doesn’t see the hope like I do, only that failure has been the norm and why hope when fate has it out for you. I try hard to encourage him, but it’s hard to keep that up.

However, he says I make him happy; it’s what he likes best about me. Because we are so opposite, we balance and complete each other. We are very compatible. It’s pretty interesting.

I look forward to seeing our life unfold with our different viewpoints.

Hooray, Cake!

The baker of my choice, DBBC, is staying in the business! They are even renovating their store so that they can focus on baked goods, breads, and specialty cakes. I’m so glad! Of the three bakers I met with, DBBC was my top choice. The owner/baker was just so fun, and I liked that the delivery cost was included. I went to see him on Saturday and placed my order. He was very intrigued and excited by what RoyBoy and I want, because it’s not your standard wedding cake…
Like I said in a previous post, RoyBoy and I liked what EC&TC did for their dessert: Several cakes, different types. RoyBoy and I are doing something similar. We are going to have two 10 inch cakes: One will be Red Velvet (hopefully with cream cheese frosting) with the fancy, swirly frosting all over it and one will be a Devil’s Food cake with chocolate shavings. Oooo decadent.
Then we will also have a cake that we will cut into: A two-tier yellow cake with raspberry filling and a smooth vanilla frosting. There will be little frosting dots on the bottom of the first tier and on the “seam” between the two tiers: One line will be yellow, one will be orange. There will also be little pink dots all over the tiers. The cake topper is going to be amazing: It will be a biplane. I sent him pictures of the WWI Fokker biplanes, and RoyBoy will be in the gunner’s position while a little me will be the pilot! I am so excited for this. It’s so cute, and so unique to us. I love biplanes and the role they played in WWI and then the Barnstorming era. I really like the Fokkers because I did a report on them and the Red Baron in my high school Aerospace Studies class. RoyBoy and I are also of German heritage, so that works as well.
For the rehearsal dinner, RoyBoy requested a German Chocolate cake. These days the Groom’s Cake is something special that incorporates their hobbies. DBBCOwner and I thought that we would make a stack of books with rocket-themed titles… but when I talked to RoyBoy, he mentioned that part of what he really liked about German Chocolate cake was the frosting, with its caramel-like taste and the toasted coconut. You can’t make book titles with that. Since RoyBoy is really not a cake fan, but he does like this kind, I think that he should have a cake that makes him happy. It was a great idea… but now we have the biplane topper, so I’ll be satisfied with that.
Hooray, Cake!

Coming to a Mailbox Near You!

It's done! I have printed all the invitations and the inserts: directions from my home state to the ceremony, directions from the recommended airport to the hotels I have blocks with, directions from the hotels to the ceremony, and the R.S.V.P. cards. They are lovely! I am a big fan, because I did a lot of work on the. I made the borders with the dots and daisies by myself, and I will hand hole-punch the invites and put a sticker on them. Plus, I made the directions from the airport/hotels doublesided, so I saved paper!

AND, not only is this such a great DIY project, it was cheap! It cost me $64 and some change for all the printing. What? I didn't spend hundreds on embossing and printing and foil and all the fancy junk? Nope. Just a lot of time, effort, and care. I wanted them simple, and they are. I wanted them cheap, and golly they are. And I didn't have to compromise, because I made them. (Well, RoyBoy had his input, but he chose from options I gave him. And he didn't care that much anyways.)

Since I am a Staples Rewards member, I will also be earning 50% back! I plan on using this money to make small business cards with the wedding website on it, so that people have more info.

EDIT: You know what's funny? I misspelt "Marriott." Whoops!