The 'Get In Shape, Girl!' Post

c/o someecards

basically.

c/o reactiongifs.com

I recently went for some routine blood work (routine! ha! It was the first time I had blood drawn in 18 years and it was an ordeal. You can ask Joel for more details...) and while everything came back normal, my doctor reported that I had slightly elevated levels of bad cholesterol. Exsqueeze me? Bad cholesterol? "Isn't that what older people experience..." I naively thought. Does this mean I'm an older person?!

It was a surprising result as I usually pride myself on being "healthy". I started to get interested in running as a hobby when I was a junior in college. I lived right by the beach and I would run right along the coast. I eventually had to move from that oasis, but I kept up my running habit, slogging miles almost daily. I also was an active member of the gym, taking spin and kickboxing classes. When Joel and I moved in together, I kept up the healthy habits. I signed up for Bikram yoga and half-marathons. I was on a health roll. 

Then last year I started a strenuous job search process that took a lot out of me. I would go to work for 9 hours, come home and immediately work on cover letters and lesson plans. My free time was consumed with job hunting. When I landed my dream job, all the hard work I was putting into the hunt was channeled into my work. I love my job and I want to do my best which often means 9.5 - 10 hour days on campus, plus more work when I get home. Working out just isn't on the agenda. While I love to cook for Joel and myself, we tend to love the comfort foods: lots of cheese, pasta, creamy soups and well... more cheese and pasta. Oh, and tacos. And dessert. And wine.

I want to look AND feel my best every day, including my wedding day. Being active and eating healthy make me feel better mentally, plus there's the added bonus of looking fly as well. I know that I can still commit 1000% to my job while making more time for myself. It's going to take some planning and commitment to follow through, but that's an important habit to develop. 

The best way to get back in shape? Make a plan and post it on the internet to keep yourself accountable! Here's my current plan:

Workouts:

• Sunday long runs: I have a half-marathon in April I'd like to not collapse at...
• 2 other run days: 1 day of sprints and 1 day of a casual jog of at least 3 miles
• 1 day of Body Attack at the gym (which means only putting in an 8 hour day at work)
• 1 day of Saturday boot camp OR 1 day of Bikram yoga

Eating:

• Oatmeal for breakfast! The commercials tell me it's supposed to lower your cholesterol, and I listen to my TV.
• A salad or juice a day to up the veggie intake
• No carbs at dinner and fruit for dessert only
• Wine only on the weekends... we'll see how that one goes

Seems like a pretty reasonable plan...just kidding, this is going to take a while to get used to! But with a dress hunt outing approaching and our engagement shoot in April, I want to feel a little better about myself and just working out more often will at least trigger some happier feelings in my brain, tricking myself into thinking I look better! Let's check in in 6 months and see how it's going. Hopefully I'll have some positive results to report.

Are you 'getting in shape for the big day'? Or are you happy with what your mama gave you, no need to add additional stress into wedding planning?

Another Easy Choice: Our Photographer

Continuing with our theme of going with our first instinct, our photographer was a super easy decision for us to make. It all actually started with Joel (he says he doesn't remember this, but it's true!) About a year ago, Joel sent me a photo that was from a couple's engagement shoot. It was at the Boardwalk, and Joel and I gushed about it, thinking that someday it could be us.

c/o Michael James Photo Studio

I was smitten! For the next year, I diligently stalked this guy's blog. I fell in love with all of his photos and his style. It was the perfect mix of photojournalism, which I wanted, with a touch of whimsy, which Joel wanted. The light Michael uses is beautiful, the colors are rich, and everyone looks like his/her best self. 

c/o Michael James Photo Studio

 c/o Michael James Photo Studio

 c/o Michael James Photo Studio

c/o Michael James Photo Studio

When we first got engaged, I knew I had to have Michael photograph our wedding. I did my due diligence and looked around at other Bay Area photographers, but none of them grabbed my attention the way Michael did. Plus, he was close to fitting in our budget (ha ha, sorry budget...)!

c/o Michael James Photo Studio

 c/o Michael James Photo Studio

The funny thing is, when I first emailed Michael and told him where we were planning on getting hitched he was ecstatic! He said he had just shot an engagement shoot at the Boardwalk and a wedding was taking place at the Grove the same day. He said he always had wanted to shoot at the Grove and hadn't had a chance yet. I was like, "Guess what, Michael?! Joel and I are your key to photograph there!"

Michael has been awesome to communicate with via email and has been very thorough in answering all our questions (high-res vs full-res? what does that mean?!? do we need it?!?!) plus he's very warm, even through online communication. That's not easy!

c/o Michael James Photo Studio

c/o Michael James Photo Studio

I am really excited to work with Michael. Our engagement shoot will be sometime in the spring. I am not very photogenic at. all. and as much as I'm dreading an hour of trying to take a good picture of my face, I think Michael is going to do an amazing job!

Did you have a photographer 'crush' from before you were engaged? Or did you have a huge search to find 'the one'? 

Now Where Are We?...

It's official! We have 363 days until our wedding! Or as you may say:

A year always seemed like the perfect amount of time to plan a wedding, and I think most of the folks in the industry agree. Over a year is hard to plan because some vendors don't book that early and less than a year (6 months) has vendors all booked up and feeling rushed. Our Rabbi flat out told us that he wouldn't marry us if we came to him 6 months before. Yikes. I certainly don't want to rush anyone! My planning mantra as of late has been: pick something you like, don't ask questions or compare, and get the 'ish locked down in a contract ASAP!

Jean Ralphio is like, 'Girl, celebrate! You just signed away another $2000 deposit!'

In the past month we have gone pretty far in our relationships with some of our main contractors. Here's where we stand:

• Venue is booked! 2/15/15. We're still working on squaring away the timing because here's my other theme of this wedding (sing it in a sing-song voice): logistics suck! Trying to figure out when we can start decorating and getting set up and when the door should open for guests and when I'm actually going to walk down the aisle is proving to be more tricky than I ever imagined. I foresee some spreadsheets and flowcharts...
• We have a deposit and contract ready to be sent to our caterer! This is a caterer who frequently does weddings at our venue, so I was like, 'Cool. Sign us up!'. They're affordable, reputable, nice, they have tasty buffet options and I think they will be awesome at organizing the dreaded buffet logistics. May the odds be ever in their favor. 
• We'll be meeting with the floral/decorating company that is recommended by our venue in March. I can't wait to hear how expensive all my floral desires will be during my Valentine's Day weekend wedding...
• We have a photographer! Another easy choice that probably deserves his own post. Joel actually showed me his pictures first a few years ago and I've been smitten ever since. So like any good animal of prey, I stalked him and then lunged, and wouldn't you know it? He's been looking to photograph a wedding at our very venue. It was written in the stars... the photographer would be OURS.

I feel pretty ok about where we are right now in our planning process. I have the week off from school to get some more plans into motion. I need to see if we can get a videographer ready, pick out some save the dates, schedule our engagement shoot and maybe look into a DOC. Through all of this planning kerfluffle, what am I using to organize all the appointments and deadlines?

The Holy Grail: My May Book

The May Book has been a godsend in terms of recording all of the appointments and how they collide with both Joel's availability and my work availability. Usually, I'm a 'keep it in my head' girl, but wedding planning is a whole new ball game. It's my crucial piece of sporting equipment, like a helmet or a jock strap, that protects me from loosing my cool. My next post will go into more of my 'A Beautiful Mind' organization methods. 

Did you have any big vendors that you KNEW you wanted to use, so you just booked 'em? No second glances or comparisons? Should we have compared more?! ::gulp::