Wedding Dresses and Evil Hips

Hello again.

Last weekend was wedding dress shopping. Man that's an ordeal. I did find something I liked but it is tres $$$. If nothing else, I found style elements that worked well for me (strapless, sweetheart neck, no duchess silk, etc.).

Am thinking of going to a dress sale that benefits breast cancer patients the weekend after next. It is nearby and the dresses are used but not older than 2009 (I think). I'd hate to be too concerned about messing up my expensive dress (like hell I'm only drinking the white wine at my wedding.... the red is gonna be the good stuff).

Oh, the evil hips... Well, it turns out that I really do need to order a dress by the end of November if I'm going to have one made for me. That means in a month the first set of measurements are taken and BOY did my hips make trying some of the dresses on difficult. So, in an effort to make as much progress as I can in the next month (except for thanksgiving of course) I'm trying to be really good.

Now that I'm on my own (boot camp and trainer are both over) I've really got to push myself to work out frequently and its pretty clear that I need to work out in the mornings. I'm too hungry by 5:00 pm to run off to an intensive workout. So I finally went back to spinning today (my last spin class was when I lived in Bethesda, MD... not recent). I was not really enjoying it but that could be because I was uncomfortable on the bike and I think I could readjust a little bit if I try again, It was a challenge and I didn't really feel like I went too easy on myself at the end (a common problem)... so I should probably try it again. Perhaps there is a more motivating instructor - although this one was pregnant... not huge but significant bump... that is actually pretty impressive/motivating right?

I've actually succeeded at my first significant dress trial, that being the bridesmaid dress I am wearing for a friend's wedding on November 17th. I bought a dress probably 2 sizes too small and now it looks ok. However, the rest of the bridesmaids are super tiny and I'm guessing my escort will be as well so I'm going to do an at-home juice cleanse the week before (3 days) just to get as close to them as I can, and also justify eating a full Chinese wedding feast the day of. (see not crazy). I found this plan online and it seems pretty doable (not 1000 ingredients to manage and overbuy). I've already gotten my raw cashews. I'm really looking forward to that drink... although maybe I will make a thinner version. The recipe calls for a whole cup of nuts. that sounds INTENSE.

Last note: in my continued effort to dress better I went through my clothes again and made little outfits. Unfortunately I realized that none of my shoes went with them so I had to go out and get another pair. I really like these and they go with everything!

Total weight lost: 27 lbs - time to kick it up!

Ok, back to work I guess... that's a whole other story but a much less interesting one.

Morning Snack

Just checking in today over my morning snack of coffee and banana bread. Its pretty delicious actually. I used the somewhat healthy recipe here but skipped the millet and ground cloves. Mark said it could be his favorite banana bread ever but would benefit from some nuts.

Working out has picked back up after my few weeks of travel (mostly without working out). I spent last week paying the rather immobile price for over exercising my quads. Overall I'm in much the same place as my last post but who knows what lies ahead :).

I've also been making an effort to be a bit more presentable fashion-wise. Been shopping mostly second hand, so it's taxing my creativity a little bit. Here's a picture of what I've done for today (please forgive the self picture).

I've gotten on a kick to make over Mark too and took him shopping on Sunday for like five hours. He was a trooper. I'm most excited about a pair of shoes he got. I tried to get him in some boots but the Al Bundy impersonator that was helping us was more on Mark's anti-boot side than mine. Can I just say how ridiculous it is that a boot seems to be anything that covers the ankle.... So limiting!

Coming soon: Wedding planning more or less begins.