October 16th was National Mammography Day. According to the American Cancer Society Guidelines for the Early Detection of Cancer, annual mammograms are recommended for women age 40 and up.

Mammograms save lives. Please help spread the word and encourage all your female friends and family members to schedule a mammogram, so we can all celebrate a world with more birthdays!

…and just think, a world with more birthdays means more weddings, too! 

This has been a public service announcement brought to you by Periwinkle Blossom.

My wedding day was by no means perfect, but it went perfectly in my mind. My family was amazed by how calm I seemed about everything when things were going wrong, expecting me to be a ball of frazzled crazy bridezilla nerves yelling at everyone.

What helped me keep my cool and enjoy the day even when things were completely off track? What helped me achieve wedding day zen?

from http://www.chroniclebooks.com/

My wedding day mantra helped me! I just told myself, “Nothing can ruin my day. I can let things ruin my day, and I choose not to let anything ruin my day.”

The necklace I made using my grandmother’s pearls broke, my shoes weren’t the perfect off-white, Calla Lily Dude was wearing white socks (given to him by the formal wear rental place), we were completely off the time line, some decorations didn’t make their way to the venue…

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For those who know me, I’m infamous for my love of food, but also my wacky diets. If you’ve heard of a diet, I’ve probably tried it. I must say most of them actually do work. I wish I would just be good at maintaining a healthy eating habit, but it’s just too hard when there is just so much yummy food out there! Plus, it doesn’t help when the future husband has as many cravings, if not more, as me. Of course, he rarely gains a pound regardless of how much he eats. The man once finished 11 full size muffins in one sitting, no joke.

Anyhoos, I am fortunate in that I do lose weight pretty fast. However, I think that’s also why I’m a victim of fad diets and yoyo-ing since I always have it in the back of my mind that I can drop the pounds fairly quickly. My latest go around: The Cookie Diet!

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May 24, 2009 finally came…. I will try to describe this day in as few words as possible but it was such a wonderful day it is just hard to put it into words. To see all our wedding photos, you may go to our wedding site.

Myself and the girls (bridesmaids and moms) head up to Hotel Charleston for a nice breakfast and Spa Day.

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I have already shared my pre-wedding wellness routine here.  I feel like the wellness routine is most important for beauty, so read that first!  I also wanted to share the products I use on my skin, which have worked very well for me.

Morning:

Philosphy’s Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash buffs away dry skin for a healthy glow.

From sephora.com

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We all know that with a wedding coming up, it’s a great time to really kick up your wellness routine in order to look your best on your Big Day.  With the added stress of wedding planning, it’s easy to put off little health and beauty routines that can really help us get through the stress.  I thought I’d share my plan with you because so far it’s done me well!   I’m sure you know by now, but I am not medically trained, I just stick with tried-and-true practices.

1. Drink Water

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From guacharela.blogspot.com

So, this isn’t exactly a wedding post, but more of a marriage post. Life doesn’t stop when you’re getting married, and the last couple of weeks has definitely been testament to that. Background info for this post: I am ~3 months away from finishing my PhD… raise the roof people!! (Do you remember when raising the roof was cool?!?! Those were the good ol‘ days!) This means that in addition to planning a wedding, and more importantly, a marriage, I am working around the clock analyzing data, writing chapters, banging my head against my computer (hello shaken computer syndrome!!), and occasionally, crying!

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An important part of looking good is feeling good, and who doesn’t want both for their wedding day?!  In the interest of full disclosure, it’s likely I might be the most non-athletic bud in the garden.  BUT, even a couch potato like me understands the importance of some good old fashioned exercise…

www.CartoonStock.com

For the past few months I’ve opted to walk a few extra blocks to and from work instead of taking the subway.  At 0.6 miles each way, it’s not a lengthy or difficult walk but it adds up to an extra 6 miles of exercise for me per week!  And, although I’ve *tried* to watch my food intake I’m not what you would call a disciplined eater (full disclosure: I’m a sucker for the rainbow chip cookies at work and just can’t seem to pass them up when I walk by the dessert bar) and considering I’m not exactly a frequent gym visitor I think I have the extra walking to thank for the recent looseness of my pants!

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With only 80 days left til the wedding(!!!), we are about to be bombarded with tons of tiny things to do.  All of the details come together in these next few months…but today, I took a break.  That’s right.  I read my magazines and books that didn’t have to do with weddings!

These are all the of magazines I sat down and read before we got engaged.  It felt great to get my mind off planning and dream about crocheting, baking, and DIY projects for our new house to do after the wedding.

Have you taken a break from planning?

PS- Craft has some super cute wedding and party planning ideas…I tried to ignore,but couldn’t.

I realized that it is now less than 200 days until our wedding!  I’m definitely happy that Lotus Dude and I decided to have an engagement that was a little over a year long.  When we got engaged in September, my parents were pushing for a Summer wedding.  It’s not that I don’t think a wedding can be planned in a short period of time.  I’ve been to wonderful weddings that were planned in less than six months.  But the length of our engagement has allowed us to incorporate breaks in our schedule.

From uis.edu

Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed or burnt out, I have the luxury to take a deep breath, step back, and pause until I’m ready to do more wedding planning.  It’s helped to keep the process fun for both Lotus Dude and I.  And it’s allowed us to continue with our pre-engagement, non-wedding lives.  We’re having our anniversary celebration (it’s been 4  years) this weekend, and it will not include any wedding planning!

Even if your schedule doesn’t allow for breaks whenever you want/need them, I would definitely recommend that you and your fiance pick an occasional day that is a no-wedding planning zone.  It will be good for your relationship and your sanity!