Married!

We're married! It was an amazing day! We are heading to our honeymoon tomorrow morning and I still have to pack :) I'll be back with lots of photos soon! via Joe Elario Photography (best photographers ever!)

Sickness, Wedding Planning and Rehearsal Dress!

Hi everyone! It's been a while. I was sick for most of the weekend and finally sucked it up and went to the doctor yesterday. He put me on antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection and told me that I can't work out. Dang it! I suppose it is better now than during the wedding or honeymoon!

On Sunday I did a bit of research and decided that since my symptoms were mainly above the neck, I could go workout at the gym. I hopped on the treadmill and was feeling really good the first mile. All of a sudden it hit me and I could barely keep up a jog. I got off after 2.5 miles and tried some strength training but then decided it was probably better to rest. I guess it is a good thing that I tried to work out, as it gave me the impetus to get to the doctor. Do you guys have a hard and fast rule for when/when not to work out when you are feeling off?

On Saturday I had my final dress fitting! We are getting married in 11 days; craziness! I found some fun stuff for the out of town bags, including Saratoga Salsa Co. Bloody Mare Mix (saratoga is horse country!) and Saratoga hot fudge. I am also going to include water, vitamin water, tylenol, saratoga potato chips, sugar cookies, candy and maps of downtown. Here are some of the other last minute deets I am working on:

• dance lessons with my father. My stepmom really wanted him to get them and it is actually kind of fun, haha.
• seating chart. We have approximately 181 adults and 9 children attending.
• Place cards. Sooo excited for this (YUCK).
• Table card numbers. I've assembled pictures of Bailey to use and my co-worker is going to put numbers on them for me.
• Schedule last minute spa appointments.
• Order food (sub platter/bagels) for the suite for the bridal party while they are getting ready.
• Day of schedule? Not really sure if I want to be this anal but I need to coordinate 12 women getting their hair done. Yikes.
• Programs for the ceremony. To do this, we still need to pick out three readings. Nothing like procrastination at its finest :)
• Pack for honeymoon!! :)
• Book excursions for honeymoon. I booked the luau, but we are also diving two of the days, going on a hike and taking a sunset catamaran cruise. Yay Hawaii!

I did get a big check off of the list this weekend: my rehearsal dinner dress! I have been on the lookout for quite some time now, to no avail. Anna mentioned that Ann Taylor Loft had some great spring clothes in so I headed over to check them out. Success! I purchased this dress:

to wear with a gorgeous necklace. I am going to rock my neutral shoes that I wore to the shower with it. Yay! What do you guys think?

I'll be back later this week with a guest post from my guy (on his definition of fitness) and whatever else I can fit in during this crazy time. I hope that everyone is doing well, and know that if I'm not commenting, I'm still reading your fantastic blogs! Happy Tuesday! :)

Thumbs Up Thursday- Who Got the Booch?

Hola bloggies! Happy Thursday...the weekend is almost here! Does anyone have any fun plans coming up? I'm heading to a dance lesson tonight with my dad and stepmom so we can work on our father daughter dance, which is too funny. I think my dad is nervous about the dance, which is why my stepmom is insisting on lessons. I think. In any event, I am torn between two songs- Tim McGraw's "My Little Girl" and Billy Joel's "Lullaby (Goodnight my angel)." Then my dad mentioned version of "What a Wonderful World" by Katie Melua. It's beautiful! We may end up going with that one. If you're married/getting married, what father/daughter song did you end up choosing?

So today brings us to the first edition of thumbs up (or down) Thursday. I have been trying some new products that I want to share my experience with. Today's selection: Kombucha! What is kombucha? It's pronounced kom-booch-a, so whenever I think of it that song from the nineties (who got the hooch? baybaaay) always pops into my head. That's an annoying aspect of it :) The company describes kombucha as "a handmade tea that is delicately cultured for 30 days. During this time, essential nutrients form like: Active Enzymes, Viable Probiotics, Amino Acids, Antioxidants, and Polyphenols. All of these combine to create an elixir that immediately works with the body to restore balance and vitality."

Hmm, sounds good to me. Apparently, Kombucha also supports digestion, metabolism, immune system, appetite control, weight control, liver function, body alkalinity, anti-aging (all over that), cell integrity and healthy skin and hair (sign me up!). Basically, a miracle in a bottle. I don't know how much I buy into it but I was intrigued enough to try it when I saw it at the health food store the other day. A few other bloggers have raved about the booch on their blogs so I finally bit the bullet and dropped the $3.99 for a bottle of it.

After debating the many flavors, I purchased the synergy organic and raw raspberry flavor. I shook it up (big no no) and it proceeded to explode slightly in the car. So far, the booch was a major fail. Anyway, I got back to the office and realized duh, you aren't supposed to shake it. I tentatively sniffed the drink and was overcome by the scent of vinegar. At this point I was highly skeptical. I took a few sips. The verdict:

Two very enthusiastic thumbs up! After the initial shock from the vinegar-like smell, the drink became incredibly refreshing. So much so that I mosied on over to the health foods store today to purchase four more bottles. I am currently drinking the strawberry serenity flavor and it is even better! This habit is going to get expensive!

Drink stats (per bottle):

• 75 Calories
• 16 grams of carbs
• 8 grams of sugar
• 25% daily folic acid requirements
• 20% Vitamins, B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12
• Tons of Probiotics and Antioxidants

Has anyone tried Kombucha? Would you? Any thoughts on all of the drinks claims?

Have a great rest of the week! :)

Race Schedule!

Hi everyone! It's been quite some time. Things have been sooo hectic lately! I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm getting married in oh, seventeen days :) There are tons of last minute deets to work out. This past weekend my mother and sister in law threw me a bachelorette/shower in Philly. My matron of honor and one of my bridesmaids came and it was super fun. Oh annnd I'm marrying the greatest guy ever. When he realized my mom couldn't come to my shower in my hometown because of weather, he secretly arranged to fly her in (from California) for the shower this past weekend. I was very shocked when she walked in the door, to say the least! She left her house at 2 AM on Saturday morning to get to the airport and fly into Philly. Thanks so much for coming mom! :)

The bachelorette party was hilarious. My mom was like the paparazzi. When she emails me the photos I'll post some- there is nothing too crazy... right, Kristin? ;) There was a bit of drams at one point but Christina (my matron of honor) handled it like a champ. She rocks!

When I got back on Sunday night, I immediately drove to my co-workers house. She and her family are in Florida for the week so I am house/petsitting her golden retriever for her. Her internet connection isn't working so I don't have any time in the evening to blog/upload photos. So that, coupled with the fact that I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off, has led to my lack of blogging. Once I get home this weekend I will be back to posting and commenting :)

Before I get into my race schedule, I have to talk about my favorite gift of the weekend:

The Breville Juicer!

Don't get me wrong, Bri and I got sooo many amazing gifts. However, I was ecstatic when I opened this one up. After seeing some of my bloggers post their amazing juice concoctions, I knew I had to get one. Do you juice? If so, have any recipes for me? :)

Okay, enough randomness from me- onto the race schedule! In the past I had mentioned partaking in a triathlon this summer. After thinking about it, I decided that I'm not ready for that yet. I would like to focus on my running and get into half marathon shape! So, here is the plan:

May 14-15- Ragnar Relay! I haven't been assigned my legs yet, but I'm hoping it's nothing too crazy. There are a TON of hills on the course. I've never really hill trained so I need to get on it!

June 5- Freihofer's Run for Women 5k- I'm hoping that at this race I will be able achieve my goal of a sub 30 5k!

July 15- Boilermaker 15k- I've heard that this race is super fun, and I know some fellow bloggies have mentioned that they ran it in the past. If you're planning on running this, let me know! We can meet up afterwards :)

And lastly, the big one, which Molly of I'm a Sleeper Baker clued me in on:
The Mohawk Hudson River Marine Corps Half Marathon on 10/10/10! I didn't even know that there was a half marathon in my hometown around the time that I was looking to run one- this works out perfectly!

I am very excited for all of the upcoming races. I am going to continue my weekly workout schedule until the wedding (run 3x week, body sculpt class, jillian michaels circuit workout, yoga) and then start training for the 15k (I will likely follow the same training plan as my 14k) mid-April. I will throw hill workouts in there for Ragnar and speed workouts for the 5k. Then, once the 15k is over, I will transition into full on half marathon training. I am excited! What is everyone else's race schedule like?

One last thing... even though Jillian sold out (sooo disappointing) I still have to admit that she is hardcore. Or maybe I'm a sucker, because as soon as her new yoga dvd came out I wanted it! My mom ordered it for me (yay!) and I am anxious to try it this week. I'll let you know how it goes. Have a great rest of the week!

I Think I Should Go Play the Lottery

Happy Friday friends! Blogger ate one of my saved posts (my race schedule- grrr!!). Ah well, I will rewrite and post it sometime this weekend. I have a lot of fun races in my future! I made it to the gym in the morning yesterday and got in a 3 mile speed workout- it was awesome! The funny thing about this waking up super early business is now my body is getting used to it! I woke up naturally this morning at 5:37. I contemplated going to the gym but today is typically my rest day. So I went back to sleep and had strange dreams. I would have been better off at the gym!


I'm thinking that I should go play the lottery today. Why, you ask? I won TWO awesome giveaways from two fantastic blogs! The beautiful Skinnyrunner (btw, you should totally check out her blog- she is super funny and wicked speedy) was hosting a giveaway on her blog to celebrate the amazingness of billion hits (or half a mil, who's counting). I won a ten dollar gift certificate to chocomize chocolates! I am super excited because I think I may use the chocolate bars as wedding favors. The site looked so awesome that I ordered a chocolate bar before winning. I will be trying their dark chocolate/oreo/marshmallow combination. I emailed the company and they told me they could give me a sweet discount and customize the labels and whatnot. I am thinking of creating a his and her bar- half of the guests will get a chocolate bar "Katie style" and half will get one "Brian style." I encourage you to check out their site! What chocolate creation would you purchase?

I also won the gorgeous Shannon's Fashion Friday giveaway! Yay! That girl is one serious fashionista. I love her outfits! I am excited for the yoga subscription, nut butter and tea assortment. I am feeling pretty lucky today! Do you consider yourself to be lucky?

Does everyone have fun weekend plans? I am heading to lunch with my Matron of Honor to give her her gift for being in the bridal party- I can't wait to give it to her! :) Then I am meeting my little brother at a local wine bar to meet his new girlfriend. So cute. Tomorrow I heading to the Philly area for my bachelorette and bridal shower take two! Bri's sister and mother are throwing me one so his side of the family can attend some festivities. How lucky am I? Annnd, I get to see Bri! He is driving up to see me since he couldn't make it last weekend due to the weather. :)

Starting today I am implementing Photo Friday, where I post one of my favorite pics. My photographer recently posted this one on his blog. Have a great weekend everyone!

Exciting News!!

Good morning everyone! I hope your Tuesday is off to a swell start. Mine definitely started off on the right foot- I bounded out of bed at 6 AM (okay, dragged ass is more like it, work with me) to hit the gym for a 5k tempo run. I warmed up for a quarter mile at 5.5, then upped it to a 9:40/mile pace until 2.8 miles, where I finished the remaining .3 miles at 8:00/mile pace. Total time for the 3.1 miles: 29:40. Yesssss. I am definitely going to meet my goal of completing a 5k (race) in under 30 minutes!

In all of my excitement, I forgot to grab my pre-packed lunch AND dinner that I put out on the counter. I won't even be able to salvage it! I made a huge batch of my shrimp/whole wheat penne/creamy nutmeg concoction on Sunday to have for lunch and dinner on the run. I am volunteering tonight so I wanted to be frugal and meal plan ahead- I have savings goals in mind! I also won't get to enjoy my eggplant/roasted red pepper/goat cheese/tapenade on foccacia for lunch. Boo! Ah, sometimes even the best laid plans can't help you. Do you meal plan? If so, what's your strategy? The good news is that my favorite cafe has my favorite sandwich as their special today- turkey and cheddar with sliced apples and a maple glaze. I'll get over forgetting my food :)

Speaking of saving, for eight months out of the year last year I tracked my finances to the last penny using pearbudget. I cannot say enough good things about pearbudget! It essentially is a budgeting program where you set the budget, input your daily expenses and track what you are doing. There are monthly analyses/charts/all that good stuff. It might seem a little anal to some but it really helps to keep me accountable to my savings goals. Their customer service is top rate. A few weeks ago I emailed pearbudget to let them know that although I loved their service, I was no longer tracking my finances, and would they be willing to refund me my $30 (my subscription renewed automatically after a year)? Charlie from Pearbudget emailed me back less than ten minutes later letting me know that my account had been refunded. Then, a few days ago I decided that I was going to start tracking my finances again as of March 1. I emailed Charlie yesterday to see if they could "recharge" me and he got back to me within 5 minutes, suggesting I utilize their free month (there is no initial charge to use pearbudget- you try it for a month to see if you like it. If you do, it's thirty dollars for the year or three dollars a month) and go from there. How awesome is pearbudget!! So, if you are interested in budgeting/tracking your finances, check it out! **By the way, I am not affiliated with pearbudget at all, nor are they offering me anything to spout my praises about them. I am just a really satisfied customer! :) Do you follow a budget? Does it work for you?

Okay, what was the point of this post? Oh, right, exciting news! A few weeks ago, my good friend Laura indicated that her husband Jim was looking for some runners for the 12 person Ragnar Relay being held in New York the weekend of May 14-15. I have read about Ragnar in the blogworld and it definitely piqued my interest! In any event, Jim contacted me on Sunday and as of right now I am set to be on the Ragnar relay team! Eeep! The Ragnar Relay is a 12 person overnight relay race across 178 miles. Each team member runs three legs of the race, each with varying difficulties.

source

I am really excited for this challenge but also fairly nervous- I don't want to let anyone on the team down! Have you participated in the Ragnar Relay? Would you? My friend Laura is coming along for the ride to provide support- I am excited!

I hope that you have a great Tuesday. Later this week I'll post my new race schedule and a full bridal shower recap. Have a good one!