Sorry For Being MIA - And A Book Review

I've been MIA lately and I'm sorry. I promise I have been keeping up with your blogs, I will do a better job with commenting and posting my own blogs. Life has just been busy. Wedding planning is still going well - and we found a photographer!! Yay! So I'm not freaking out so much.

Weight loss has been... eh, not so great. I gained a couple of lbs back. But this week I am back at in full force. I'm sick of busting my @ss in the gym for nothing. Speaking of that, we recently found out our gym doesn't have air conditioning. It's awful. I don't mind lifting weights in the heat, but running (or any cardio) is completely miserable. I literally am soaking wet by the time I leave and it's gross. Honestly, I don't think I would have joined the gym back in November if I knew about the no air conditioning. Not sure what I'm going to do as it gets even warmer outside. However, I have kept up with the running. The most I have run at one time is 2 miles... but I have been mostly sticking with 1.5 mile runs and trying to increase my speed a little.

Onto the book review.

I love to read, but haven't had a whole lot of time for it lately. But, I've been hearing a lot of good things about this book...

And let me tell you... it did not disappoint. I picked it up Friday and was done with it yesterday morning. I would definitely recommend it!

Hunger Games takes place in a country called Panem. Panem consists of 13 districts - the 13th district was destroyed when all of the districts tried to rebel against the Capitol (the government). In order to deter the people from future rebellion and as a reminder of the control the Capitol has over the districts, "The Hunger Games" are held every year and are televised for everyone to see.

Life in District 12, the poorest district, isn't easy for 16 year old Katniss Everdeen. Her father died several years ago and Katniss now spends her days saving her mother and little sister Prim from starvation by hunting on forbidden land.

Worst of all is reaping day when the government chooses (by lottery) a boy and girl between the ages of 12-18 from each of the twelve districts to compete against one another in "The Hunger Games." When Prim's name is called, Katniss exchanges herself without hesitation to compete alongside the baker's boy, Peeta. The goal of "The Hunger Games" is to survive - to kill or be killed. The last person standing is the winner. As a prize, the winner receives a life of luxury back home and has more than enough food to feed their family.

Slightly creepy, right? This book is classified as Young Adult... but it's GOOD. It's the first in a trilogy. I plan on getting my hands on the next one, Catching Fire, soon! And the third, Mockingjay, is to be released August 2010. You can bet I will be reading that one, too.

If you're looking for a good read, pick up this book!

Wedding Plans

Amanda asked about wedding planning. Thanks for stopping by, Amanda. How interesting... we have the same wedding date.

Wedding planning is... well, it's going. I am obviously not the typical girl when it comes to planning a wedding. Honestly, I would rather someone else do it. I find it stressful and a little annoying at times. September 25 is our date by default since we originally planned on getting married in Mexico. We booked our trip for October 2 but then our parents had major issues with us not getting married at home. So everything changed and now September 25th is the date - we are getting married at my parents' house in their backyard.

I refuse... refuse... to spend $20,000 or more on a wedding (and I wouldn't even allow my parents to spend that kind of money, either... I think it's ridiculous). I don't care if some stranger walked up to me and gave me the money, I certainly wouldn't use it for a wedding. Neither M or I want a big wedding. At least for me, I think this has a lot to do with being poor for so long. I worked full time while going to college and while my dad and stepmom did help pay for some of my loans once I graduated (and I am SO grateful for that!!) I had to work my @ss off while I was in school. There were times when I literally only had cents in my checking account. While M and I are much better off now, I am still very careful about my spending. Crap, when I bought my car last year, M basically spent the whole time calming me down - I was ready to have a panic attack every 5 minutes talking about car payments, etc. Even if I had a money tree growing in the backyard, I would still probably freak every time I had to spend a large amount of money.

Anyway, things are coming along. I have 5 bridesmaids and all of the dresses have been ordered. We are only waiting on two more to come in. My dress is ivory and their dresses are chocolate brown... each bridesmaid has a different style dress. The guys will not being wearing tuxes. They will wear khaki pants with ivory shirts.

We are using fall colors and I want the arch to look something like this...

I haven't decided on flowers for me or my bridesmaids yet, but I think I will stick with the sunflower/fall theme. Same for the center pieces. My stepmom and I are going to look at some flower ideas this Friday.

So far we have the minister, DJ, caterer, and videographer (this was my parent's doing... they want pay for a video of our wedding as part of their wedding gift to M and I) booked. The photographer is up in the air. A friend of ours was going to do the photography, but was recently in a motorcycle accident and will probably not be able to do it. I am so incredibly glad he is ok - but you have no idea how stressed out I am about trying to find a photographer with a little over 4 months until the wedding.

Since we will be having a bonfire when it gets dark (I HOPE it doesn't rain!), these are our favors, hot cocoa mix...

Oh, and here are what our invitations look like...

For the bridesmaids, I am buying them necklaces to wear on the day of the wedding. I also bought them these... I would like to find one more thing for them as a thank you gift. I also have something special in mind for my sister in law (my matron of honor) who is already making plans for my bridal shower and bachelorette party. By the way - I am SO excited about the bachelor/bachelorette parties. We are going on an overnight trip to some wineries in the Geneva area. It's going to be a blast!

So it's all coming together. I still need a bustle/alterations on my dress. All of the bridesmaids will need alterations. We still have to figure out exactly what the guys are wearing. We know where we are getting the wine/beer from, it's just a matter of buying it. M needs to decide on gifts for the groomsmen. M & I need to come up with a special gift for my dad and stepmom who are helping us out A LOT with the wedding. My stepmom is helping me decide on flowers this Friday. And we need a PHOTOGRAPHER!

Did I forget anything? I think I pretty much have it covered. I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off. A lot of the wedding planning is already done, but I know there is still so much to do!

I've Got Nothing...

Seriously. I have been in such a funk lately.

What do you guys want to hear about? Any blogging suggestions??

I Made It Through The Challenge...

I haven't been so good at blogging lately. Work has been busy... and so has life, in general.
Yesterday was my last day on the Advocare 24 day challenge. The results? I lost 10 lbs. That's right kids, I'm barely in the 170's weighing in at 179 lbs as of this morning - but it's still exciting. I gained a few lbs towards the end when I started running, but they came off within a few days.

My thought on the Advocare challenge? Well... I lost 10 lbs in a little over 3 weeks. Not amazing, but not bad. I'm glad I did it, but I'm not sure I would do it again. However, I do have to say, I know I lost some inches. I did my measurements before I started the program and again half way through and I was surprised. I have do my final measurements today, but I'm pretty sure I will be happy with the results. Bottom line is, if you eat the way they tell you to eat on this program, you are going to lose weight anyway, even without the supplements. And let's be honest... I did have a couple of cheat days while doing this.

Now, I think I'm going to continue to watch my sodium intake and go back to only weighing myself every 2 weeks. I'm still running... and dare I say, gasp... I actually look forward to it. I've been running almost 2 miles 3 times a week and I think I will stick to that for now and try to improve my speed. I also usually hop on the elliptical for 10-15 minutes. It seems like cardio gets done so much faster with the running and I feel like I have been getting a better work out. No shin splints... yet. I hope I didn't jinx myself!!

Moving on...

Did anyone see the Rielle Hunter's interview with Oprah? What a joke. Not that I really care what Hunter has to say, I was just kind of curious as to the stupidity that would be coming out of her mouth and what kind of comments Oprah would have. What a hypocrite, seriously. I had to laugh when she tried to justify her relationship with John Edwards. Not only is she delusional, but she's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. And the pictures of her from GQ magazine with no pants on in her kid's bed?! Creepy!!

Happy Hump Day everyone!!

Post It Note Tuesday

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Post It Note Tuesday.