Catching Up!

So much is going on right now, and I've been wanting to write an update for some time!  Two weeks ago, my mother and Marjorie hosted a shower for me here in NYC that was so much fun!  They held it at Marjorie's apartment (site of my 40th birthday party, and it actually looked very similar, which was so nice) and there were 23 friends and family members over for a lovely brunch! 

 

With my aunt

 The room!

 My friend Susan, with my mom

 With two of my oldest besties, Brooke and Nadia

 Marjorie picked some lovely bubbly.... Perrier-Jouet in the cutest packaging

 Kristen & Susan!

 One of the best parts of the shower was a game that we played!  Marjorie had one of her partners depose Steve (in true litigation style) on tape.  He answered 20 questions (I had no clue about this -- no one peeped a word!!).  At the party, I was given a sheet of the 20 questions and had to answer them -- and a prize went to the person who correctly guessed how many Steve and I got right (i.e. had the same answers on).  

 

Here Steve is on the "deposition" tape!

 The funny thing is, Steve was being a gentleman, so he fudged the answers to two of the questions... "Where was your first kiss" and "What is Catherine's favorite joke"....  HOWEVER, I didn't know he was doing that, so I totally outed us for smooching at his parents' house on New Years' Day 2011 .... and had to say, in a room including my mother-in-law-to-be, that my favorite joke (which I seriously have told about 9,000,351 times) is....

Q:  How do you make a hormone?
A:  You don't pay her.

I know... a total groaner, but somehow, it always pops into my mind whenever people are talking about hormones, which happens more than you'd think!!  Anyway, the game was a ton of fun -- though Steve and I barely got any answers right!! 

Me, opening presents!  I have some very generous friends!  All those Scully bags and a few Tiffany boxes practically had my eyes popping out! :)

 

Opening a beautiful nightgown and peignoir from my mother 

 It really was such a great day.  I think everyone had a wonderful time, and it was very touching to me to have so many friends and family members go through so much effort just for me.  We did keep the shower pretty limited to just local friends and family, since I would not expect people to travel for both the shower and wedding, so it was a nice small group, and a great chance for people to get to know one another better before the big day in June!

In other news, I finally (!!) finished all of the invitations (which I made myself) and got them all mailed, with the last few going out on Monday.  We've started getting in RSVPs already, and it's a lot of fun to receive them in the mail!  I'll post photos of them soon -- I just want to redact all the personal information before putting them on the Internet, and haven't had time to do that yet.

One other thing I wanted to mention is that I've been trying to up my workouts to include an extra day per week, and I haven't been having much success there.  Too many other conflicts keep me from doing it, but I'm being good about getting in a solid 3 days of hard workouts. 

This past weekend, Steve moved in to my apartment (kind of a big event to drop almost in a footnote, eh?!), and I did two long spin classes (the hour-long "Soul Survivor" rather than the regular 45 minute class) before spending the rest of both days moving boxes and furniture.  I was BONE TIRED by the end of both days.  I also didn't really want to go on Sunday -- I was tired and sore from the day before, but I forced myself to go. 

At the beginning of the class, I was just not feeling it - - and suddenly a picture of my 230 pound self popped into my mind.  I thought about how I never could have done that workout at 230 pounds, and how I would have stressed about what to wear and felt really self-conscious among the scores of thin, toned Lululemon-ed in the room, if I had dared to go at all.  So, I sucked it up and kicked a$$ in that class, in honor of my old self and in gratitude for how far I've come, and how much my life has changed in the past 4 1/2 years.  I can not believe how much things have changed, and how much that change has been for the better.  It's amazing and humbling, and I thank God that I was able to get the help I needed to get my weight under control.



Mini-Bachelorette in Houston!

For Easter weekend, I went to Houston to see my dad and step-mom, and for a mini-bachelorette party with my best friend from college, her sister (who is also a very good friend of mine), and our friend G, all of whom are a complete blast!  

The weekend started out with some really great family time -- a day of shopping with my step-mom, followed by dinner with my dad, step-mom and two of their friends at my favorite Mexican restaurant in Houston! 

The next morning, we went to the 2nd b-day of my step-mom's granddaughter at.... Chu-c-k E C-h-ee-se.  OMG..  It was sensory overload, but the kids had a fantastic time, and I did, too!  (Can you just imagine me climbing into this truck at my start weight??  I nearly broke it as it was!!)

That night (Saturday) was my Houston bachelorette party!  Grace picked me up in the afternoon, and we got to catch up a bit and get ready before we met up with our other two friends to head to the hotel!

 

A little pre-dinner bubbly at our hotel... 

 Cabbing it to Uchi, which was nothing short of fabulous.

 

 Dinner was amazing!  I definitely recommend checking out Uchi if you are in Houston.  The ham and egg (pork belly roll with a yolk dipping sauce) was out of control, and their caramelized Brussels sprouts were incredibly delicious (and I don't even usually like Brussels sprouts)!

 Most of all, though, it was so nice to see my friends.  They seriously spoiled me!!  I was so touched that they had planned such a great night for me, and had so much fun celebrating and catching up with them!  The wedding is getting so close ... just 2 1/2 months away!  And my shower is next weekend.  :)

Group photo!