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!
 The 'gym in a bag' So, there are many brides out there who are helping to motivate the rest of us bloggers to get fit and fabulous for our wedding day, and here is the latest edition!! I was waiting to be the official owner of the TRX system before I endorsed it on the internet, but I have actually been using the system with my trainer for the last month… ladies, this is serious business!!
 Who wouldn't want to be able to do this?? Continue Reading
Getting my arms toned for the wedding is the most important thing in my book when it comes to fitness. My upper body has never been a struggle for me, but having a little muscle in my arms couldn’t hurt.
 From mackieshilstone.com Women that did 6am bootcamps were always a little crazy to me…well, last week I became one of them!! Two mornings a week I am getting up before the sun rises and running down to Urban Jungle to get a little butt kickin’ by Michelle for an hour. Michelle’s bootcamps are tough, lots of weights, squats, kick boxing and tons of ab work. I actually love it! And best of all, I am going with one of my bridesmaids, Kelli.
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I’m officially within the 8 month countdown point until my wedding and I’ve started executing on my beauty regimine. I remember the days when I was young and how everything just stayed nice and healthy naturally. Those were also the days when being pudgy actually made you even more adorable.
I must admit that I still don’t put enough effort in taking care of myself, but I am trying my best. First, I am watching what I eat. I do well during the weekdays, but the weekends are tough as I love to just gorge on everything. My plan is to start doing some hot yoga and continuing my healthy eating to shed around 10lbs before the big day.
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 From http://flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/287666827/ I feel very fortunate to have lots of different technologies at my disposal to assist me in my fitness and nutrition goals. I’ve already mentioned SparkPeople as a great resource and way to track your food and workouts. But I have more hi-tech suggestions in my arsenal.
- Great tunes are essential for me to be motivated to do my best. I love the pink iPod Nano that I got from Plumeria Dude for Christmas this year. My old Shuffle is nice but I wanted the added flexibility to change up playlists on the fly and store more on the device. Continue Reading
This is a quickie, but a goody: Collage Video
I am personally a huge fan of Cathe Friedrich.
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I’m sure everyone reading this has some kind of plan to either lose weight, exercise more, eat more healthfully or just plain look better in your wedding dress. All of the holiday eats have been creeping up on me. Just the other day I nearly fainted when I saw the number on the scale. But it’s OK– I have a plan.
 Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/10413717@N08/2843730015 What is this plan, you say? Well, a few years back I joined a free site called SparkPeople and lost about 30 pounds. It has tons of resources– like a calorie counter and an exercise tracker — as well as recipes, message boards, motivational articles and exercise demos. Basically you can set whatever type of goal you like and the site gives you the tools to achieve it.
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I consider myself a pretty good dancer and I definitely enjoy getting my boogie on when the time is right. Plumeria Dude mainly dances when I drag him onto the dance floor, but he usually has a good time.
 From http://flickr.com/photos/indi/3146307988/ However, we are utterly clueless when it comes to partner dances. Sure, I love watching the awesome routines on So You Think You Can Dance every summer but I’ve got no real world skills in that area. Plumeria Dude and I have no plans to recreate any famous movie scenes, much as I love the trend.
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I’m not the type of person to take random quizzes to figure out things like “What’s your bridal style?” or “What kind of groom is he?” but I found myself taking the “Are you a Bridezilla?” quiz on TheKnot. Here are my results:
Yup, you’re a Bridezilla!
How can we put this gently: Somewhere along the way from “Yes!” to “I do,” you’ve lost your subtle sensitivity. Your admirable ambition to create the best possible celebration for friends and family has turned into somewhat of a crusade, and those around you are suffering. It’s time to relax a bit and probably take a little break from the planning. Go for dinner or drinks with your guy and your gal pals, and don’t talk about the wedding – not even once. Because remember, once you’re married, these people will return to being your family and friends — not members of your wedding party. Cut people a little slack.
Amazing, I never thought I would be a Bridezilla, but I can see how others might think so based on some of my answers to the questions… I am a hands-on, detail oriented bride and I want my wedding to be as near to perfect as humanly possible, but I also can’t walk all over others to make that happen…
To avoid being a Bridezilla, I propose the following tips (that I will start working on this instant!):
1. Practice healthy habits and reduce stress. Eat a sensible and balanced diet, get regular exercise, get your beauty sleep, and chill out. Massages are a great way to reduce stress and pamper yourself!
2. Plan wedding-free time–be it an hour, a day, weekend, or week–where you do not talk about the wedding at all. If you slip up and start in on wedding talk, do something nice (and un-wedding related!) for your fiance.
3. Avoid making sudden decisions. Take a step back and sleep on wedding decisions so you don’t make any rash choices or hurt your friends and families in the process. And don’t forget to value input from the appropriate parties in matters that affect them.
You can get more advice on avoiding becoming a Bridezilla here.
So, if you have any Bridezilla tendencies, you don’t have to give in… And if you already have, like I apparently have, you can always turn the tides and be a civilized bride again!
Whether you are single, engaged, or married, we all need a little girly time here and there. At this point in my life, my preferred method of relaxing is going to the spa. Nothing sounds better than a mani, pedi, and massage when I’m stressed! The thought of being able to actually sit down with a magazine, or five, and a glass of champagne sounds AMAZING! I recently heard of the traveling spa idea and thought it could be a wonderful idea for a girl’s day with friends. They come to you! Kick your man out of the house one day – possibly a Sunday (tell him to go to a friend’s house or the bar to watch the games, he won’t argue) – and invite the girls over for a day of pampering!
Have any of you ever done this or anything like it?
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