Meet my Bridal Pary

Tonight I finished my killer of a summer class. I could not be more happy or relieved to have had this day over with. Now I can relax, breath and enjoy what's left of my summer. And I now I have time to blog about my upcoming wedding :-)

Choosing my bridal party was a lot more difficult than I had wanted it to. Choosing my maid of honor was the easy part. I have one sister and she's my best friend in the whole wide world. She knows everything there is to know about me, even more so than my fiance :-) But the rest of the gang was a bit more difficult. I wanted a smaller party around 5. We have 7. I felt that it was necessary to include LC's two sisters since he's their one & only brother. And I wanted to include my only female cousin on my mom's side. So we're up to 4 girls, just family no friends. I've been BFFs with the same group of girls since I was 12. How can I pick just one? So I chose 3. Originally, I had chosen 2 childhood friends, and one college friend to complete my remaining 3. Well, within the past few months, the college friend and I had a big falling out (long, long story) and her and I are no longer talking. I was going to keep it at 6 but then decided to ask a good friend of mine, who I kind of lost contact with in college, but she was that friend that I knew I could call and she would listen to me or be there for me in whatever situation I was in. A true friend.

So here are my leading ladies! I could not be more happy and content with my decision in who I asked to be standing next to me on one of my most important days.

MOH-Melissa (my sister)

My sister. Best friend. Therapist. Travel Buddy. Hotel on drill weekends :-). She's got the most amazing heart and a truly genuinely good person down to her core. We still get in our spats, but I would be one lonely (and spoiled) child without the girl in my life.

Alli-Bridesmaid/Cousin

She's my only cousin on my mom's side and my godfather's daughter. My wedding day just wouldn't be complete with out this little ray of sunshine :-) She's hilarious, and was always the funny/entertaining granddaughter when the 3 of us were together.

Cristen & Kelly-Bridesmaids & future SIL's

Cristen is LC's youngest sister and child of the clan and Kelly is his younger/older sister, if that makes sense to anyone. I'm very happy that I've been blessed with two wonderful future sister in laws. Kelly's a teacher in IL. and Cristen is currently working on her education degree.

Bax-Bridesmaid/BFF since 7th Grade

I can't really pinpoint how this girl and I became such great friends, but she has been a great friend to me over the years. I love her because she's so honest and not afraid to say what's on her mind. I'm looking forward to standing up in her wedding, September 18th.

Rachie-Bridesmaid/BFF

Rachel & I met in 6th grade. We became fast friends through our love for the YMCA :-) When my mom first met her, her hair was green and she wasn't too fond of that fact, but Rachel quickly won my mother's heart with her bubbly personality. We've seen each other through a lot and I know I can count on her for anything. She's a wonderful person and has a very kind heart.

Dani-Bridesmaid/BFF

BFF. Both born on the 2nd of a month (that's how we became such great friends). Troublemaker. Partner in crime. Stolen cars. This pretty much sums up our friendship. I love this girl because she keeps me laughing, and although we lost touch for a while in college, we always picked up right where we left off. Dani has shown me the true meaning of friendship & that's why I love her so much!

A Week and One Day...

Until I have my life back. After much consideration and thought about what I want to do with the rest of my life, I've decided to go back to school to be a physician assistant. I'm hoping to get into the program at Northwestern University. Healthcare is such a booming industry, and I want a rewarding job where I can feel good knowing that I am helping people. Because my original major was PR/Advertising, I failed to take any of the required science classes that I need for this program.

So this summer, to help speed along this process, I decided to take my first science class. Anatomy and Physiology. This one class has consumed the majority of my summer. I have had little time for anything else, including training for my half marathon which is coming up next Sunday. My sister and I are running together and she's been super busy too. At this point we're both praying that we don't die and that we can cross the finish line. The longest I've ran during this whole "training" process has been 5 miles. Fail. I can't wait until this class is over next Thursday. I can't wait to read "for fun", workout, and get some wedding planning done. Oh, and spend time with my wonderful fiance before he deploys :-)

A year ago Today...

Larry asked me to be his wife. And of course, I said YES (or else this blog would not exist)! I had never anticipated that our engagement would be this long, but the past year has gone by very quickly. I originally had wanted a winter 2010 wedding, but God had other plans for us. After we got engaged, Larry got word that his unit would be deploying overseas for 6 months, interfering with our winter wonderland wedding. So, we moved the wedding to the summer of 2011 and decided that we would get married on the same day that we got engaged, July 3rd. So next year on this date, I will be a wife and no longer a fiance. I'm looking forward to planning the all the details of our wedding, both big and small. We already have all the major things booked: Church, reception hall, photographer and DJ. I pray to God that the time he's away, will go by quickly and that he gets home to me safe and sound. We've done this before, this is nothing new to me, but it never gets any easier.

E-Pics are In

After going on a rant yesterday about our photographer, I woke up to find me tagged in a number of engagement pictures. And they look great! After speaking with her and voicing my concerns, my faith has been restored in her and we're staying with her. She honestly does great work, and after looking at other photographer's website, no one has the creative eye that she does. So after a month of waiting, here are a few of our engagement pictures! I love them all.

Happy Friday!

I love Bethenny Frankel. She's real, she's funny, and her show is the only reality show that I can get LC to watch with me. When I heard that she was coming out with a drink line, I was pumped. Except that you can't find it anywhere in Chicago or Milwaukee. So I special ordered it just in time for my wonderful sister's visit. This weekend consist of Skinnygirl margaritas, pool/fun in the sun, street festivals, Carnivale, and my sister!!! Happy Friday!

Fit Bride (To Be)

From as far back as I can remember, I've always had a constant battle with my weight. I've never been one of those girls that could just eat whatever she wants and not have to worry about gaining weight. I look at a cheeseburger and I can feel the pounds being added to my body. I was overweight most of my grade school life and have been the center of jokes. I wasn't severely overweight, but let's just say I carried my "baby fat" up until high school.

The summer of my sophomore year, I lost 40 pounds in 3 months. That's about 3.3 lbs a week! I was active, I was motivated, I was starving! My BFF and I had decided that summer we were going to kick our butts into gear and lose weight together. We were tired of being the "chubby girls". We ran almost every day or night and instead of the summertime water-fights that our other girlfriends were participating in, we were at the Y working out. We also started the "one meal a day" diet. We would eat a piece of fruit for breakfast a big midday meal and very little if anything for dinner. We were on summer-break so this was very easy to sneak past our mothers. And when school started in the fall, a piece of toast for breakfast, yogurt and 1/2 a sandwich for lunch, and a normal sized dinner (so our mothers wouldn't notice). I'll never forget when my mom said that I was almost too skinny and that she didn't want me losing anymore weight. Success in my eyes. And now here I am, 10 years later and the 40 lbs have found me once again.

In college, I started to notice the pounds being put back on slowly but surely. That's when my mom told me about Weight Watchers. I followed the plan, worked out and the pounds came off, but nowhere near what I was in high school. I graduated college, moved to Chicago, and became very comfortable with my now fiance. Then came the "happy love" weight. Beer and wings over football season, cocktails and hotdogs at Cubs' games. Hello the rest of my 40lbs.

Which brings me to today. After stepping on the scale this morning and realizing that it was 3lbs more than it was on Thursday and not having my favorite pair of black work pants fit me. I logged onto my computer and signed up for Weight Watchers before I was out the door for work. I refuse to be a fat bride. And it's not just for my wedding. It's for me. And for the rest of my life. I feel so much more happier and confident when I'm losing weight. When my confidence and mood suffer, my relationship suffers. You know what they say, happy wife happy life! So here I go again, back on the Weight Watchers wagon. Hopefully this time I'm strong enough to stay on.

The Proposal

Larry and I got engaged July 3, 2009. It happened after a Cubs vs Brewers game. We got back to my apartment and I went into the kitchen for a glass of water. I turned around and there he was in the hallway, down on one knee. He gave his, "will you marry me" speech. I laughed and then I cried, and then I said yes! We have set our wedding date for July 3, 2011. I didn't want such a long engagement (2 years) but with Larry going overseas this summer with the military, and the cost of weddings, it's just the way it worked out. So here we are, almost a year out. This past year has gone by so quickly. I can only imagine how the next year will go. So here it goes, planning a wedding two hours away from where we live and documenting every last bit along the way. Happy reading!