The "I Love You" break

So my mom sent me some wedding readings from The Offbeat Bride, and I loved them! I've compiled those, plus others, into a list I'd like her and my FMIL to choose from for our ceremony.

Anyhoo, before I knew it, I was poking around the site for other stuff, too. I found an entry called Weddings for Shy People here.

One of the things they mentioned, if either bride or groom is nervous at the ceremony or reception...is to take an "I Love You" break. Basically, create a signal with your other half. When one of you makes that signal, excuse yourselves if you're in the middle of a conversation and grab the other person's hand. Then look into his or her eyes, and repeat "I Love You" until the nervous or shy feeling passes.

According to the blog, most people won't think anything of it, and they'll think it's adorable. For me and Will, this just might work! We've been teasing each other about nerves all along, since he's not very social. He got himself buzzed at my third cousin's wedding because he didn't know anyone in my extended family....and he's joked about carrying a flask in his pocket at our wedding.

I think I'll tell him about the "I Love You" break, in case we need to use it. For all I know, I may be all jitters around his side too. Especially since I've only met his immediate family.

Bottom line: I lurrrrrve this idea!

Productivity, thy name is Kitty Bear

Lately we've been getting lots of stuff done. By lots, I mean most of the tux stuff is now taken care of, among other things. Will got measured yesterday at the MW near Millenia, our dads' info is in their system, and the groomsmen have been given our group info.

On a DIY note, Mom and I started making the wedding menu cards last weekend. Hopefully we'll be able to finish the menus in the next week or so. If I remember, I'll take a pic of a finished one when I'm at her place for my shower. I'm really excited about them: they're turning out better than I ever thought they would!

We started on the guitar placecards, and our table "numbers" too. I'll post a pic of the guitars, too...but I'm keeping the table "numbers" secret from most of the guests. We have a cute little idea for them that I've never seen before :D

Most of the invite stuff has been dealt with, too. There were a few address changes, but my cousin is aware of that, and now she has the updated info(as of yesterday). Since my aunt is coming to FL for the bridal shower, Jenny will send a sample with her. I can't wait to see the invites in real life! They're gonna be awesome!

Annnnnd finally, I started designing our ceremony program. I think, once I order the rest of the raffia fans we'll need, Mom and I will get some keychain rings to attach the programs to the fans themselves. That way we can be sure everybody gets one of each. The programs will really get going once Will and I finish deciding on the structure of our ceremony :) I can't wait to put it all together!

I guess the girls on the boards are right: time probably will fly from now on. I feel like I should have a seatbelt at my computer! I feel like something's suddenly going to kick into gear, and then everything will follow along..

My take on...5 Min. Cake-in-a-Mug

After reading Kim's recipe she found online, I decided to try the 5-minute cake for myself :D It looks unappetizing because it's dark (I used Special Dark mix when the recipe called for cocoa.)



I tried to surprise Will with it, but he was still asleep when it was done, so he refused! (Incidentally, he did the same thing with scrambled eggs I made, last year. I told myself then I wasn't going to make him anymore "surprise" food...and I guess I forgot yesterday. Oh well! I ate it myself and it was quite yummy.)

See if he gets anymore 5-minute mug cakes from me...refuse my baking, will ya...LOL

Purple People Shredding Monster

I have taken some days off from the Shred since I started it on May 5, so I lost count of my days so far. I Shredded myself last night, though..and the night before. It was strange, though. I had to compromise a little, and do it in the bedroom.

I didn't use the DVD, since Frasier was on, and I love that show!! I tried my best to go for 20 minutes with the following:

jumping jacks
sit-ups
"jump rope" (Jillian's version)
chair squats and v-raises
bicep curls and static lunges

I think I did pretty well. Will bought Siren:Blood Curse for the PS3, and it took forever to download, so that's why I used our room. Luckily, we have a bigger bedroom, so I could watch TV and exercise/stretch at the same time.

Today I did the Shred this morning before he got up, so I used the DVD and got my space back! Am still on Level 2..but it'll get easier just like Level 1 did.

On a purple note, I gave the tux info (for our dads) to Men's Wearhouse this morning. So....everyone has the info now, except 1 groomsman, I think. Regency and platinum from the MW Tuscany collection are the only 2 colors that match our scheme. Will's dad chose to wear a platinum vest and bowtie originally, but today he emailed me asking if he could change his color to purple. So, both dads will wear purple at the wedding. Quite matchy-matchy, but it'll look great in pics! :)

Now it's off to see about getting Will's glasses fixed. He's masquerading as Harry Potter lately, since his earpiece cracked off last week. Hopefully it's an easy fix--most places want him to buy a whole new pair!

The Shred: Days 4 & 5: 5/10 and 5/11

I took 2 days off from the Shred last week, since Friday night was my night to spend with Will. Then Saturday, he and I went to dinner with my dad, in Sanford. I started back up again on Sunday (Mother's Day) after Mom came to visit. I'm glad I gave myself a little break, 'cause I felt seriously refreshed when I "shredded". I think I really powered through it, and the rest helped :D

Yesterday night I forced myself to move up to level 2...and it wasn't that bad! I haven't exercised continuously since mid March (when a project in my Fiscal Management class took over my whole existence), but I love that feeling of accomplishment I get, at the end of that 20 minutes. I'm glad to be exercising again, and it's the perfect stress-reliever too.

I still have my note on the bathroom mirror from my first day, but I added an extra incentive. I took my bridal shower dress out from my closet, and hung it in my office near the computer. I'm usually in here checking my email before I do the Shred, so it's good for me to look at if I want to chicken out for a day.

We're gonna get a dog!

Okay, okay. Eventually. Will says every time I see a dog on TV, I ask if we can get one. It's definitely true, but he says I ask too much. The other day, though, I started talking to Jessica (his sister) about Brittanys. His family has three orange-and-whites, and they've gotten them all through breeders in Alabama or Georgia.

I've looked them up online: they're gun or bird dogs, originally bred for hunting, of course. However, they generally make great pets and wonderful companions. (Will can handle them, and from my experiences in Auburn, I love them!)

I did some breeder research, and at first it discouraged me. I couldn't seem to find any in Florida! I kept at it for another day or so, and I found places in Alabama, Georgia, Dunnellon (a dog rescue) and the Clermont area (closer to us). I'm still talking to Jessica about it, but I figured that in a year or two, a dog might be an okay investment. Since Will would need one that doesn't shed much--he's allergic to pet dander---dogs like Labs and Goldens are out. But one Brittany would be okay. (Poor guy sneezes every day when we're in Auburn!)

I didn't want to bring it up to Will at first, because I wanted to surprise him. That's the ideal situation, right? In the next year or so, research, find and purchase a dog, and surprise my then-hubby with a puppy :) What does that mean? In my true do-everything-early fashion, I mentioned getting a dog in year or so. I told him about the breeders in Clermont and Alabama, and the rescue I found in Dunnellon. And he agreed to it!

So.........I think he's receptive to the idea of a dog, after we get married and settled, and work for a while.

The Shred--Days 2 and 3: 5/6 and 5/7/09

I'm proud of myself: counting my first day on May 5, I've gotten through 3 whole workouts of the 30 Day Shred! Yesterday I tried Level 2, just to see what it's like. Some of the moves weren't too bad, but others really got to me.

So I think I'll stick with Level 1 for the rest of this week. Will and I went to dinner at Brio (Mall at Millenia) yesterday, and bought some Godiva, so I was planning to take the night off from the Shred. Lo and behold, he chose yesterday to become a better partner, though!

We spent our usual few hours watching TV, but when I mentioned taking a night off, he told me, "You're not supposed to take a break, Kitty! Nope."

So I sat and watched TV for a while after that (when he was online playing games)..and I tried to tell myself I deserve a night off. I even tried to tell myself it wasn't good to exercise every day. But I kept hearing his voice in my head, and seeing myself in my bridal shower dress. So I got off the couch and put in the DVD.

It means I'm proving to myself I can keep up with my plan.

30 Day Shred...Day 1 5/5/09

I started the h-e-double hockey sticks that is 30 Day Shred yesterday night. (Interesting that I started it on the day that marks exactly 4 months until the wedding!)

I think I'm going to like doing it after dinner, and a couple hours of relaxing. I'm only on level 1, but yesterday when I was finished, I was really sweating, and tired! Made it sooooo easy to sleep! My legs and shoulders are sore, but it's the good kind of pain, that makes me feel like I've done something.

I only have one complaint so far: Will. He bought the DVD for me, and I made a deal with him for it. Since he bought it, he doesn't have to DO it with me, but he does have to be my motivational partner. He kinda sucks at that, though. I was proud of myself for getting through the first day yesterday, and he never said anything! I'm not looking for compliments every single day, but it would be nice if he took the *hint* and said he was proud of me.

I really want to look my best at the wedding, AND for my bridal shower. I think Will's going to come around, but in the meantime I've started putting motivational Post-Its in my office, and my bathroom. There is one on my mirror from yesterday already. It just annoys me that he's not following through on his end of the deal. It's harder now that I'm out of UCF and I don't have my friend Laura (whom I used to hit the gym with) to work out.

But I think I can do it. One more TV show for tonight, and then I'm shreddin' it up again! I'm gonna try to do it every day during the week. I'll probably end up with 2-3 times per week, but like the saying says,

"Shoot for the moon. You'll land among the stars." :D