Hoarder!!

I am amassing quite a collection of white milk glass vases to use at the wedding.  I have been trolling eBay like crazy over the last few weeks and now finally have ordered close to the 80+ vases that I'll need for the wedding.  Don't worry.... I'm not going to become a hoarder.... though I do immediately throw out every scrap of packaging this stuff comes in, since I assume the sellers are all reforming hoarders with bugs!  (OCD much?!)  :)

 

Here is part of the collection

It's been really fun to gather this stuff together myself.  I love it that the pieces are not all the same, so every table and every arrangement will be a little different.  I'm also psyched because I am totally going to resell all of these vases on eBay after the wedding, which will substantially reduce our overall flower costs!  I'm planning to sell my dress, too.  I will remember it in photos, and I don't need a giant gown that I'll never wear again (no matter how gorgeous) taking up a foot of my NYC-sized closet!

Happily, after Steve's cousin had to drop out due to a work conflict, I found a local florist who seems great.  Actually, it was a relief when she dropped out.  Her level of GSD (Get Sh*t Done) and mine were not compatible, and I was getting increasingly p*ssed that I couldn't get her to focus on the project and give us a budget for the flowers (she had offered to gift us the labor, we were to have paid the wholesale cost).  Heck, it took four months of e-mails to even get her on the PHONE.  I'm much happier to be paying an arms-length professional, even if it will be more expensive.

 This is the general idea for the flowers.... little arrangements scattered down the tables, though we will only have pink, hot pink, white and green flowers -- no purple or yellow, like here.

In other news, I finished designing our invitations and have started printing them! I'll post photos when I can get them together.  I really love how they are turning out.  I also designed a map for the insert and an RSVP post card, which I'm still tweaking.  It's exciting to finally have a wedding invitation project that I am doing be for my own big day!

Winter Weekend!

This weekend, I had occasion to reflect on my life today, and what it's like in relation to my pre-band life.  I wasn't just comparing it to the obese years, but also to the years when I just didn't feel good about my weight (i.e. all of them since about 3rd grade) and wasn't generally that physically fit.

 

Warming my feet before the fire!

Steve and I went up to his parents' house in the Adirondacks and brought 7 others with us for a really great weekend.  I went skiing for the first time in 20 years (and before that, I'd only been skiing one other time... in second grade).  A few things worth noting.....

 

 

1.  I had to write my weight on the ski equipment rental equipment.  AND I WROTE MY REAL WEIGHT, without feeling embarrassed or wanting to hide it!   I never, EVER, thought I'd see that day.

 

Sledding with my sweetie!

2.  On Sunday, we went sledding, and Steve brought out his vintage toboggan, which was at least from the early 70s, if not earlier.  It was so awesome, and we had a fantastic -- FAST! -- ride down the hills of the club property where we'll be married this summer!  The toboggan fits about 4 people, and when one person said that the way we should do it was with "the heaviest person in the back," I knew that I'd be in the middle. 

 

Here is the old skool toboggan we used -- it was amazing and sailed like a dream!

This reminded me of a day when I was still dating PP, and we had to cram in the car with a bunch of friends.  On the way there, I was in the back -- and it was such a tight squeeze -- but on the way back, I wound up taking the front because, the fact was, that I was by far the biggest person and that was the best use of the space.  I was humiliated -- but glad not to be squished in the back, being worried that my friends were all resenting me for taking up so much space.  That isn't something I ever worry about now.  I may not be the smallest girl in the universe, but I'm a healthy, reasonable size and I feel good.  No -- it's more than that -- I don't feel like sh*t anymore, and I don't feel badly about my size, my body or my weight.  And, even better than that, I was excited to try a day of skiing (P.S. I sucked and ate sh*t like 900 times... I am so bruised... not sure it's for me!!) and to do sledding, running up snow covered hills, and just playing around like a kid.  It was awesome.

 

 Dinner with friends at the house on Saturday!  I made salmon in a Thai sweet chili maranade with salad, couscous and sweet pea tendrils & sugar snap peas.  Yum yum.  Pie for dessert....

Snow Storm!

We're in for a big snow storm on the east coast today!   My office is closing early, which probably doesn't actually mean anything for me.  But, I can wear jeans, so it's all good!

 

I noticed yesterday that the dress I had on (a very fitted sheath) seemed a little tighter than usual.  I knew that I was on the high side of my comfort zone, so I didn't think too much about it.  In fact, I took my secretary out for barbecue for lunch and ate a bunch of delicious pork and a bit of mac and cheese (it was so delicious), then had a dinner out last night.  Actually, the dinner was very cool because they had a mind reader guy there, and he did all of these fantastic tricks that were really incredible!  But... the point is that I got on my scale this morning and it was UP FOUR POUNDS!!  Ack!!!

 

I know that I can't actually gain 4 pounds overnight, any more than I could really lose 4 pounds overnight at my current weight.  So I assume that the food I had yesterday was salty and I"m retaining water, but I do know for sure that the scale is up a little bit.  And, that is why I weigh myself every day (or nearly every day -- I probably forget 1-2 times a week).  Just keeping on top of this before it becomes a big deal goes a very long way to keeping me at maintenance.

 

Admittedly, I was momentarily freaked out today to see the highest number on my scale that I've seen in months.  But I also know that I'll rein it in and be back at a better number within the next few days.  I've got my weekend workouts booked and will be more careful to make good food choices until everything is back where it should be.  It's not a big deal -- it just requires a little attention.  That pretty much sums up maintenance for me.  It's not that hard -- but that's mainly because of the amount that I work out.  If I wasn't burning extra calories at the gym on a regular basis, this would be a lot harder.  (And it definitely shows on the scale when I slack off...)