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We are officially 1 year away from the big day! I really can't believe that we have been engaged for almost 8 months now. I took the dogs for a walk yesterday and we went past the spot where J and I got engaged (I haven't been there since he popped the question). I must have looked like such a fool...i was just standing by a fence with a big, dumb grin on my face and misty eyes. But oh well...I'm a bride I'm allowed to get sentimental!

In the park...popping the question.
My response: "Shut up..you're joking...shut up"


Even though I never really wanted an engagement longer than a year...I have to say it has been kind of a blessing. I am so far ahead of the game at this point that I can hardly believe it...here's the recap of everything we've done so far:
-Booked the ceremony site
-Booked the reception site (which books up so far in advance, so a long engagement was a really good thing)
-Bought my dress
-Bought my veil and hair pieces
-Booked the photographer
-Booked the "photobooth"
-Bought the printing supplies for the invitations
-Met with the pastor (more on that later)
-Picked out our colors (more on that later too)
-Asked most of our bridal party

But...(there's always a but) the list of things yet to do is 10 times as long...so I shouldn't get too cocky. Ah well...i still have a year!

Thin Thursday

I've decided to try something new on this blog..."Thin Thursday." Thin Thursday is the day where I break down my weight loss progress for the week. I figure if I am at least accountable to something (even if it is just my blog) I may have better luck trying to lose weight.

Problem...this past week was a bad week to start being accountable. It's finals week which means I have been living in the library and living on a steady diet of junk food and caffeine. Yeah...not such a good week. I'm pretty sure that I've actually gained a pound or two. But on the upside, I have one last marathon study day today, my last final tomorrow from 10-12 and then I am free (sorta...I still have my MCAT in June). Starting tomorrow I should be able to get myself into somesort of work out routine. I'd better since I'm going to be competing in a triathlon in September!! But more on that next week...

So much time and so little to do...

Wait...strike that, reverse it.

Lately my wedding planning has been kind of bumming me out. Well actually it's the lack of wedding planning. For the past few weeks most of my wedding planning has been put on hold because of school and it's been getting me down. We're about a year away...and yes, I know I still have a lot of time to plan and I already have a lot done...but I want to do more!

I'm really anxious to get started designing my invites and save the dates plus there are a million other crafty things I want to get started on. But it's all been put on hold because of school. Finals are next week, MCAT's are in a 6 weeks and my internship starts in 3 weeks. Once the MCAT's are done I'll be able to really get going on the planning and crafting. For now I'll just have to settle for my 15 minutes a day of perusing the wedding blogs and bookmarking pictures.

Oy vey!

I got a very exciting letter in the mail today...it was a letter from my dress shop letting me know that my dress has come in! I am so excited and can't wait to go and try it on agian!

But...with this excitement has come the realization that I have to walk down the aisle in this dress, everyone gets to see me in this dress, I have to get photographed in this dress. Which is way today, that letter, was the motivation for me to start working out and getting in shape.

A few months ago I heard about Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred from some girls on the The Knot and I thought I'd give it a try. I ordered it and then it sat on my shelf...until today. I decided that today was the day to try it out....

Oy vey!

Now yes, I am very out of shape right now, but even so that video kicked my ass. I didn't know that a 20 minute work out could be so hard. My legs are already jello (going up the stairs just now was painful) and my arms and shoulders are already getting sore. But if it doesn't hurt it isn't working right?

So the plan is Shredding 3 days a week, looooong walks with dogs 3 days a week for the first week. The second week I am going to add some yoga into the mix...the third week, I'm not sure yet; I need to see who the first two weeks go.

disappointed

J just got a text from Pastor Dave (i love that his pastor texts) saying that he forgot that he had conformation classes tonight and had reschedule our meeting for Monday. It's not a big deal, but I was looking forward to getting to sit down and figure out some of the ceremony details. Oh well...Monday isn't that far away.

Going to the chapel...

I'm not sure if we are waaaay ahead of the game on this one, but tonight is our first meeting with the pastor who will be marrying us, Pastor Dave. I know it seems really early to be doing something like this, but it one more thing that we can get out of the way early.

Picking the pastor who was going to marry us was the hardest decision we've had to make so far. Originally we were going to have J's stepdad, an ordained minister, marry us, but I knew that my parents, who are very religious would want us to have a minister do it. I grew up in a Lutheran church in West Bend and J went to a United Church of Christ in the Milwaukee area. Having the wedding at my hometown church just wasn't an option, since I didn't want to have guests make the 45+ minute drive from ceremony to reception site. Plus, I haven't really been active in that church for some time and I don't know any of the pastors that are there now. So my church was out all together. This proved to be the first spot of contention with my parents...they really wanted us to be married by a Lutheran minister.

J's church on the other hand, is located in a Milwaukee suburb and the pastor that he had growing up was still with the church, perfect! Convincing my parents that this was going to be ok, was a bit tricky. Mom and Dad wanted us to go check out a bunch of Lutheran churches in Milwaukee to see if any of those pastors would do it. But J and I stood firm. We both knew that we wanted to be married by someone why had ties to at least one of us. And that's Pastor Dave! After explaining that to my parents, they finally go on board (I think) and we are ready to go!

So tonight we get to meet with Pastor Dave to hammer out as many details as we can. I'll let you know how it goes!

Go Go Gadget Gocco

I am so excited about this next piece of the wedding puzzle...my Gocco printer! I had heard little bits and pieces about Gocco printers while on Weddingbee.com (the girls over there are Gocco crazy) and I was intrigued. Finally one Saturday I sat down and did some serious research about with this little machine was, how much it costs and what it can do for me.
After just a little while I was hooked and I had to have one. Yes, it was going to be an investment (because Gocco's are from Japan and because they are actually no longer in production getting your hands on one can be a little tricky and expensive) but I realized that with all this little machine can do I would be able to do even more DIY, including printing my invites and save-the-dates. I talked it over with J and he green lighted the whole thing and we were off. I was lucky and I found a girl on Weddingbee.com selling a full set-up, plus supplies for a reasonable price. So I snatched it up!

And the other day...it arrived!!!! I was so excited (I may have skipped class to stay home and unpack it)!

Here's the package, I almost kissed the mailman when it brought it! (pardon the messy bedroom, I was so excited that I woke J up just to show him....he was not amused)


Here it is!



Ummmm...that's a lot of stuff. Does any one know how to work this thing?



So now that I've got my fabulous new Gocco I need to figure out how to use it. I'm a little, ok a lot, intimidated by it but I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out.

So far I am planning to use it to print:
Save the dates
Invites
Custom cocktail napkins
Wish tree cards
Place cards
Dessert buffet cards
Bar Menus
A few gifty things for my bridesmaids

I know that as time goes on I'll think of more stuff. And I'm pretty sure that by the end of this whole thing the printer will pay for it self...plus I can resell it once I'm done.