////////// cLEAN & tidy monday \\\\\\\\\\ *w/pics*

Hey ladies, I am home from the weekend! We had SUCH a good time this weekend! All of our meetings went so well, and now I cannot wait for my wedding! Just about four months.

Collin was very well behaved on his way down on Friday. Here is a picture of him asleep with his blankie on his head...
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On Saturday, we met with our violinist Leslie Erickson with Club Violin. We picked out all of our music and she played for us -- brought me to tears!
www.clubviolin.com

Then we went and booked a florist. Since my favorite flower, peonies, are really expensive, I am having a bouquet of white hydrangeas and pink peonies, handtied with pink satin ribbon. The boys will wear small boutenniers of sand dollars and star fish.

We also went to walk thru the house that we have rented for the wedding/honeymoon -- it is GORGEOUS and so so so big. Here are some pictures...
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Collin and the silly frog on the front porch

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Kitchen

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HUGE dinning table

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Living room

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Pool (it will obviously be uncovered in May); Behind the pool, you can see the walkway leading to the beach/aka my "aisle"

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The stairs leading down to the beach -- THIS VERY square of beach will be where I get married!!!

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View from the beach up to the house/stairs

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Collin misbehaving on the beach

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Collin threw a fit until I bought him these sunglasses, and it took him less than 18 hours to break them
 
As for the dress situation..... I went back to David's, spent about 2 1/2 more hours trying on about a dozen more dresses. At the end of the day, guess which one I COULDN"T BEAR to leave the store without? THE ONE I ALREADY HAVE!

So I am home, with the same dress. I feel 110% confident that it is MY DREAM DRESS, I guess that is what it took for me to be SURE. I feel like an ass for putting my family and friends (and Bridal Consultant) thru all of that, but I have never been more sure of my decision!

Thanks for all of your support with this whole dress thing!!
 
Katie, The house is amazing!!! You might be convicing me to check that out for our summer vacation... Collin is too cute! Glad you're happy with your dress too! Good for you!
 
Kate, thanks!! The Outer Banks NC is a beautiful place, and it is very laid back as far as beaches go. Not a whole lot of night life or partying, just a bunch of people who love the beach! Definitely check it out for a vacation sometime! I'm sure you would have to fly, but it would be worth it! Luckily it's about a 4.5 - 5 hour drive for me.
 
Good morning, another day off of work for me -- YAY! Collin has to go to see his ENT this morning, but other than that, we should have a lazy day.

Eating this weekend was pretty awful, I need to get it together today. Don't have many groceries in my house, need to do that today too!

This is week 4 of my Leg Blast rotation -- not sure where I am going after this. I am considering doing a 5th week, then I may move on to Slo-Mo with Amy. Any input? Is Slo-Mo too similar to Gym Styles to be effective?

Workout today will be Step Blast -- I really love this one!!

Will check back in later with menu!
 
Morning ladies.

It's always a good Monday when we don not have to work. The house is beautiful Katie and the wedding is going to be outstanding!. It's funny how you kept the 1st dress maybe you just needed to be sure. I've never seen a funny looking bride in a weddding dress, but I have seen some crazy bridemaid dresses. :D

Even though it is my day off I have a lot to do. Sunday was really a laid-back day for me. Once I finish my coffee I'm going to do GS Chest and tri. This is the 4th and final week of Gym Style and I'm not sure of what to do next month. The GS has made me stronger and I really loved it. Next week I going to do one or two circuits with light weights and some cardio.

I'm thinking of maybe doing an upper body rotation, with Amy and Cathe. I have not done kickboxing all month and I really miss it. I'll check out the different rotations later on.

I like Amy's slo-mo but the leg w/o you may have to modify it because it hurts my back. I just stand straight instead of leaning over to do the leg work.

b-oatmeal
s-fiber one
 
Katie, It's so nice to have a day off after a vacation to get things back in order. What is ENT?? Have fun w/ Step Blast!

Robin, Day off for you too! yay! Good luck w/ the push ups today!! I switched from GS rotation to Circuit City and I'm loving it. I know I got good results from GS but I wasn't enjoying the way the rotation was put together.

Tonight's workout will be HSC - yikes! I'm gonna sweat!

menu:
b - cheerios crunch, apple
s - banana
l - salad w/ gr. chicken & salsa (homemade!)
s - ??
d - making pizza for fam. It will be tidy so I may have a small piece with some salad

In light of Katie's upcoming wedding I've got a question of the day!
Q: How many weddings have you been a bridesmaid for and did you like any of the dresses?

I've been a 'maid in 3 weddings. 2 of my dresses I LOVED (if we ever go on a cruise again I'm taking them for the fancy nights!). The dress my SIL picked out was so unflattering and yuck! I had just had Isabel so that didn't help my body confidence issues either! She also had/made us buy these terrible ugly super-high platform shoes and get them dyed to match the dress. I should've not bought them but hate to make waves. LEsson learned, I guess.

bbl...
 
Good Monday and happy day off!

Its not a holiday here, but i'm off til Thursday on stat days! Have a doc appointment today, haircut tomorrow, so why not.

I'm sorry i didnt get to check in yesterday, got back from the hotel at about 10am, did classical stretch, cleaned up a bit, then pretty much slept all day!!! Lazy or what?

Thank you all for your birthday wishes! It was fun. The poshest Toronto hotel though...way overpriced. Lots of girl chat, and dinner, clean! i had the macro green salad with grilled tempeh, and a few bites of vegan carrot cake (3 of us shared), could have been so much worse....i did eat all of those malt balls though :)

Katie, the pics look awesome! I'm so glad the dress situation is resolved too!

Robin, KB is my favorite, i couldnt go a month without it.

Kate, I dont have HSC, i want full reviews! I dont have a high step, so i never entertained that series, but i would love to.

I'm just getting in the shower, then heading out for a bit. I'll be back!!!
Steph
 
Great question, Kate! I have NEVER been a bridesmaid! All of my friends from college are just now starting to get engaged, so maybe some time in the future. My best friend is getting married in April, and like me and Chris, she and her fiance are not having any attendants -- makes it so much easier!!
 
Steph, What is a stat day? Glad you had a lazy day yesterday. I'm hoping to do Clas.Str. today. Haven't had a chance to try it yet. HSC is lots of fun and the music is great! Worth the purchase of a high step. There are 5 cycles to it - cardio, leg, upper body. You are THOROUGHLY worked at the end of it. Much more fun than HST, though I did enjoy that more than I remembered. btw, the stair story is posted yesterday if you need a laugh! Enjoy your days off this week!

Gina has no school today so hopefully we'll have a fun day. They're buried in their barbies and pollies right now!
 
Hey Steph, you snuck in on me! Glad you had a good birthday!

Kate, an ENT is an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor -- Collin had tubes put in his ears about a year ago after 5 or 6 ear infections in 5 or 6 months. He has to go get them checked every 6 months.

Eating breakfast right now -- one Kashi waffle and apple slices.
 
I agree Kate I love HSC because your heart rates stay elevated for about 1/2 hour and it is worth the money. I have the other two HStraining and HScircuit, but my fav is HSChallenge.

I just finished my w/o and I added 10 min ab pilates. I have not done pilates in a long while maybe I put it into my rotation for next month.

I've been a bridemaid 2 times and both times I hated my dress. This was back in the late 80s and mid 90s. Back then you could not wear those dresses to the laundrymate because they look so silly. When I was married my bridemaids pick out a long party dress in the same color. I had a church service but the dinner was unformal (informal).
My next wedding will be in Los Vasgas, maybe I have Elvis marry us.
;-) ;-) and I going to wear pruple or RED. LOL
 
Robin, I was thinking about getting HSCircuit..you talked me out of it. DH thanks you! Challenge is by far the best one. The ab pil. sounds nice.

Katie, Sorry about Collin! I take it the Kashi waffles are good?? Are you eating it just plain???! I love some pb on a warm waffle....mmmmm:9 :9 :9
 
Hey I'm glad your DH agrees but it will always be another DVD to buy and I may not talk you out of that one.
HSCircuit is really intermediate level.

Right now I'm eating PB on rice cakes :9 :9

Thanks so much Shirl for the info. on how much water I should be drinking. The quiz asked very interesting questions, such as my climate and temperature, do I drink alcohol, etc. I guess all of these factors come into play. I should be drinking 2.5 Liter when I'm eating healthy and 3.1 liters when I'm not getting water from veggies.

Jenn what's the plans for this new week. You go girl I know that you will bounce back.
 
Good Morning Everyone!

I am so jealous that Robin, Kate and Steph are off today. I am at work but hopefully it will be light since the government is closed and all my meetings have been postponed. I have been a bridesmaid 3 times and only liked the dress I wore in my sister's wedding. I would need to get it altered to wear it again since I have lost weight.

Katie, love the pictures and I am glad you got the dress thing resolved.
Robin, Slo-Mo legs is a lot different than Gym Style, but the upper body is pretty close.
Kate, glad the girls are enjoying their barbies. Have fun with HSC.
Steph, what is a STAT day? Is it another excuse to give you a day off after your birthday?

w/o was Parts Upper and Lower premix and HLD great premix
b: oatmeal w/ almonds
l: tbd
s: blueberries w/ yogurt
d: flounder w/ veggies

Colleen
 
Robin, I need to check out rice cakes - your new fave?? I should do the water quiz too, though I can't imagine I don't get enough.

Colleen, I wish I were "off"! I'm furiously getting paperwork done and the girls are playing in the Basement. In fact DH needs me right now...yummy menu, btw!
 
Hi ladies,

I too have the day off and tomorrow. I love federal holidays. It's like a mini vacation.

Katie glad you had a great trip I love all the pictures. The house looks awesome and the beach looks amazing. Your wedding will be absoulutely beautiful. I'm also glad you got your dress figured out.

Steph glad your bday was fun.

Robin I'm not sure of my plans exactly for the week. But portion control is one of them. And a 5 day workout week is also one of them.
I think I'm going to take the water quiz also.

Colleen maybe you can skip out early if it's a light day.

Kate I haven't done HSC in a while. It is fun one it will definetly work you out.

I have only been a bridesmaids once. My sisters wedding we didn't wear dresses. We had tops and long skirts they were a dark silver gray color, we all picked out our own combos but all wore the same color. I didn't have any at my wedding. My sister and my uncle were are witnesses in LV.

menu:
B-100 cal english muffin with cc and 2 slices of bacon
s- ?
L- soup or tuna fish.
s-?
d- I'm thinking of making baked ziti
s-?

w/o- upper body + cardio workout.

I also have to go to grocery store.

By the way Hungry Girl is giving away free samples of simple harvest and fiber one's new cereal.

Jenn
 
Hi Kate,

Yes it is a website:

Hungrygirl.com

She has a lot of neat stuff. Check it out.

Yes I got a forearm workout yesterday bowling. At least didn't fall on my butt which I have done before.:7

Robin I took the water quiz it says I need 3 liters per day.

Shirl thanks for the link to about.com.
 

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