End of Summer

"There is no word for end-of-summer sadness, but the human spirit picks up the first of its approach. We see it in the slant of the sunlight, in the autumnal blue of Cape Cod Bay. We hear it in the drone of the cricket chorus from the salt meadows. Six weeks til frost, six weeks til frost. Suddenly each day because precious, something to be hoarded like candy in a child's pocket." -E. B. White

Today is officially my last day of summer. It has been spent tutoring, running errands/getting organized and tonight I will finish it off with a serious spinning class. Not too climatic for the last day of summer, but Eric started school today and the rest of my friends have jobs that they actually attend on Mondays ha ha. I am both excited and sad for school to start. I am not really mentally ready for the crazyness that the school year brings. But I do always carry that hope that this year will be better, that the kids will all behave and everything will fall into place. However, if their parents are any indication things will not be good- I've already received two phone calls from parents who did not receive my open house letter, one of whom admitted she actually just forgot to check her mail when she got home from vacation. Now I have to make special exceptions for their children to come in during an already busy week. So...this could be fun is all I'm saying.

On a positive note, I hit the JACKPOT at Target today...

Those are all pre-portioned Edy's 1/2 the fat ice cream. YUMMMM. They are 180 calories each and they cost $1.19 which I realize is not cheap but they are 10 cents cheaper than the Ben and Jerry's ones and also 40 calories less. Plus, if you know me and ice cream its well worth a little extra to not eat half the gallon of it. Also I am hoping in the end it saves me a bit because I go out for ice cream less. We'll see...

In honor of the last day of summer here are some summer memories...(I'll try to do never before posted pics, but if some are the repeats, sorry!)

Me and Ash, Katie's Bachelorette, June 09

Me and Katie, Katie's Bachelorette, June 09

Me, Courtney and Shannon, 4th of July Parade, July 09

Me & a bunch of the cousins, Sunapee, July 09

Me and Eric, Sunapee, July 09

Eric and his friends, Brian's birthday party, July 09

Me and Caroline, Falmouth Triathlon, July 09

Me and Eric, New Hampshire, August 09

Me and Cassie, Paul & Chrissy's Wedding, August 09

Katie and the girls, Katie's Wedding, August 09

Me and Jake (my brother), Dinner at the Cape, August 09

It's been a fantastic summer, but hopefully it will be a wonderful school year as well. Just a little bit of end of summer sadness to get through.

What's Your Story?

This weekend, at the Cape with my family, I noticed how everyone in my family makes it a priority to work out, even when we are away. This got me to thinking about having an active lifestyle and how much our family's attitude towards sports and health impacts our adult lifestyle.

When I was little I was a very active child. I had one friend in particular who loved to "chill out" and take naps in the afternoon. Much as I liked this girl, I had no patience for TV, sitting around etc. I was always biking riding, rollerblading and running around outside. My family was also very active. We took bikes on vacation and even though my dad claims he had to drag me down the bike path at times, we went for some pretty long bike rides. All of us were also involved in soccer, ice skating, and all sorts of different sports when we were young. Over the years I have participated in organized versions of the following sports: ballet, gymnastics, soccer, figure skating, basketball, softball, modern dance, ice hockey, tennis, swim team and golf lessons. I was never particularly great at any of these things (better that some more than others haha), probably because I was focused on too many different things and never put a ton of effort into any one place.

There was a point though when I got kind of sick of all the active things and just kind of wanted to hang out with my friends and relax (sometime around middle school/early high school). I remember I told my family I was born into the wrong family because everyone in mind like to do too much! My dad told one of his friends who said later on I would realize I was actually born into the right family (meaning, thats a good way to be!). It was towards the end of high school that I got more into going to the gym and working out. By then I didn't play any more organized sports and I needed to be active in some way. While I did work out fairly often in college (and particularly when I was studying abroad in Australia- thank god because I was eating TERRIBLY), I was never in a great routine with the gym/working out until after college.

As an adult I have come to truly enjoy being active and healthy. I find it difficult to go a long time without working out even when I am busy or I have an injury. I know a lot of adults find it hard to stay active without organized sports, but I actually prefer it. I am very self motivated and I don't like to be on a schedule of a team, and have the pressure of being good for the team. If I have a bad run, or can only spend 15 minutes of the elliptical, the only person who is affected is myself and I don't mind :) I am more competitive than I'd like to admit but not quite competitive enough to put the effort into team sports. I like to have my own accomplishments like my 5k and the triathlon. I do better with something to train for or some kind of goal to reach, but I am currently struggling with what I can do because my knee is still really bothering me despite direct following of the doctors orders. I do really enjoy working out now, and make it a big priority in my life. I guess I was born into the right family after all!

I have a close friend who is very active herself. She loves team sports and plays on a couple of different adult teams. She also works out herself. Her family is not active at all and she is always trying to encourage them to do healthy and active things. I wonder how she became so active without the role models that I had, but I'm glad she did! What about you, did your family encourage being active when you were child? Were you always involved in one sport or another? How has that shaped your lifestyle now? If you have kids, how are you attempting to pass on your active lifestyle?

A Shred Butt Kick

Back in March I got on a health kick and I bought Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred. I never did it for 30 days in a row, but I did it 3-4 times a week (on days I didn't run) until about mid May. I loved it because I did feel like I got a good work out in 20 minutes and I was definitely sore after. I stopped doing it in mid May because I thought it was probably not helping my knees with all of that squatting. Fast forward to now when I just signed up for a kettlebell class at my gym with one of my friends from work. I haven't been *the best* about weightlifting lately and I figured to avoid insane soreness after my first class in a couple of weeks I should probably get back into it. This lead me to Shred again yesterday. I only did Level 1 and it definitely was not as hard as the first day I did it. Afterwards, I take a shower and go about my day completely forgetting about doing the shred at all. Last night I wake up in the middle of the night and I'm like WHAT DID I DO TO MY ARMS?????? OWWWW! I forgot, but that Jillian Michaels really kicks my butt! I am definitely going to have to keep up with that for the next couple of weeks (and next year during wedding dress season haha). This morning I think I'll take it easy on the elliptical and maybe not do the arms part but then tomorrow or Monday is back to my good friend Jillian.

Speaking of good friends, I spent all of yesterday at Katie's looking through pictures from the wedding and catching up on multiple weeks with no hour long phone conversations. We got ice cream for lunch and just hung out all day. We almost never have time to do that anymore so it was wonderful. Also on the good friends front, my college roommate Ash is back in town (you may remember her from other posts, despite living in Chicago she's been back in town a lot for different events). She has a wedding at the Cape this weekend (at the same church the Kennedy's go to...exciting haha). We knew her flight was getting in late (plus she had to drive to the Cape from Boston) but her plane ended up getting delayed so I don't think she got in until 3 in the morning. SO basically she is upstairs sleeping in my sisters room but I haven't see her yet haha. Tomorrow she and I are going to drive back to Boston so she can try on her bridesmaid dress and get measured and all that. Plus she'll have to get back to the airport boo. The weather down here this weekend is terrible (which is even more sad because I have two friends of friends getting married this weekend down here...boo), we are getting tropical storm some boy that begins with a D which I forget right now, but we are getting him (Danny?). I am hoping to get in a good work out, get some work done and maybe see a movie while Ash is at the wedding this afternoon/evening. I hope everyone has a great weekend and hopefully is having way better weather than us!

Check and CHECK.

I had a SERIOUSLY productive day today, and it was fun- which makes it the best possible kind of day. I woke up bright and early because I had blood drawn. Apparently my liver function test was off last time so I had to have it redone. I was supposed to abstain from alcohol for the past 4 weeks, but frankly I had two weddings so that did not quite happen. However, I rarely drink as it is so I am pretty sure my liver is not having problems because of my massive drinking habit. Hopefully this one will come back more normal.

After a quick snack I headed to spinning class. This class is shorter than the one I went to on Monday and SO much easier. It was nice in a way to have a break but I have to try to get to that Monday night one more often, it is so intense. I'm feeling a little bad that I brought my friend from work to that one for her first time since that was by far the hardest one I have been to. Oops. I just got Self, Fitness and Body and Soul October in the past two days so I am going to have to do some work outs that can involve magazine reading. I have a rule that magazines can only be read if I am walking on the treadmill or the elliptical or in some way exercising. Eric's school had a magazine fundraiser last year and teachers got a huge discount so we went a little crazy :)

Post work out I decided to clean the house. This summer I have been very lucky that Eric has done most of the housework but with him at football til all hours, I think this fall the housework is going to fall back into my hands so I wanted to get a head start. As much as I do not enjoy cleaning, there is definitely a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when it's done.

However the most exciting part of the day comes NEXT :) I BOUGHT MY DRESSSSSSSSS!!! wooooooooo! I decided to go with Dress #2 (Eric don't even think about clicking on that link, I'm serious!) which I had a more immediate love for. It was on sale today and it was already cheaper than Dress 1, so that was happy. Plus I just really felt more comfortable in it and it was more what I pictured for myself on my wedding day. I also found a beautiful veil to go with it and everything is ordered and done. I also love that Priscilla uses NORMAL sizes, so it's not like those gowns or bridesmaid dresses that I have to order twice my size. I know size is not a reflection of anything but it just annoys me anyway and I feel like its a bad marketing scheme because girls always want to feel good about themselves, duh! I also went to check on my bridesmaid dress situation. I forgot if I told you guys this, but when I looked at my bridesmaid dresses online they did not have the pink color, NOOOO. Anyway I went in today and it turns out the lady in the store mixed up luminescent chiffon and iridescent chiffon. So my dress is LUMINESCENT, not iridescent but fortunately there is still a very similar pink color so all is right in the world.

For dinner I decided to get some serious nutrients in my body. This summer I feel like I have not been getting enough veggies or meat, so tonight I decided to remedy this with some rice and beans (okay not at all meat I know). I mixed rice, black beans, carrots and peach (aka my temporary obsession right now). I have a picture but blogger is not letting me post it, what's up with that?

Time to go hang out with Eric while he is actually home. I think I already hate football season.

Yesterday was a busy day so I did not have time to blog until this morning. I have to go get a blood test this morning so I am trying my hardest not to eat anything until 8...that's tough for me! haha. I finished up with one of my tutoring kiddos yesterday so I received a little gift.

I used to really not be a flowers person, but with all these weddings I've been acquiring a lot of flowers this summer and I am really starting to enjoy having them around. I am also getting more informed about different flowers and starting to have favorites, including basically anything pink especially roses and zinnias. Although they were not pink I did get orange roses and zinnias in my flowers. Plus Eric was happy because he loves hydrangeas. How can you not really?

Last night Eric and I went to the Red Sox game with my parents. We hadn't been since June and we saw an awesome game. At the beginning there was a tribute to Ted Kennedy, with a moment of silence.

It was cool too because all the players came out. You almost never see that except on opening day.

Obviously since I live in Massachusetts, the Kennedy's are a big deal up here and of course they are big Red Sox fans. Also, every time they show Hyannisport on the news, that is basically a five minute drive from my place at the Cape. I feel bad for that family who has suffered a lot of loss these past few weeks. I am really not one to get emotional about people I don't know though, I am always amused by the dramatic facebook messages when Michael Jackson and others have passed away the past couple of months. Of course it's sad (in some cases), but I leave true mourning to their family and friends.

The Sox game itself was a great one. We played the White Sox and it was a very close game. All of our runs (3) were scored on home runs. The final home run was scored by Ortiz who hit a walk off homer in the ninth. I love being at exciting games!

Eric and I were also there...I don't know why I wear hats.

So that was fun. Now today is the big day of dress decisions between Dress 1 and Dress 2. I have an appointment at Dress 2 store because they are having a sale this weekend. So...I am either buying one or the other TODAY. I am leaning towards dress two. But first I am going to go to spinning class to get some mental clarity. Or be too exhausted to think about it...

DRESS SUCCESS.

Today has been an extremely long day. I was at school this morning at 6:15 am because I wanted to be fully prepared for my 9 am open house where the kiddos can come meet me and see the classroom for the first time. You'd think I'd be used to it by now but ever year I am SHOCKED by how little the kids are. Not only do all K kids get bigger by the end of the year, but then in the summer I usually work with 2nd and 3rd graders, so the jump is huge. My kids seemed good so far, except for one who was literally OBSESSED with the fact that I didn't have computers for the kids in the room. However, I will say that one of the most awesome kids last year cried hysterically through open house- so I don't make any judgments too soon.

But the most fantastic news of the day is that I found my bridesmaid dresses today! Me, my mom, my sis and Tiff went into Boston for some more searching. First I tried on my favorite dress (for me) at a place I went to a couple of weeks ago. Then we went to a new place where I found what is now being called Dress #2. I am now debating between Dress 1 and Dress 2 for myself, which still feels successful because I know ONE of them is going to be MY dress. I made an appointment at the second place for Thursday because they are having a sale beginning on Thurs and I can get 10 % off. That means I have to decide by then which I like because I won't debate about it for weeks (which I do tend to do!). After finding Dress 1 and Dress 2 for myself, we looked at some dresses for my girls and found NO good colors. Finally we went back to a place we went to a couple of weeks ago because they have Watters dresses, and Watters dresses have a BEAUTIFUL fushia color that I (being a pink freak) love. I randomly pulled this dress off the shelf and Caroline tried it on and LOVED IT. And bam, that was the dress. It's not 110 percent yet because I'd like my other girls to try it, but here it is if you want to check it out. You'll have to picture it in bright bright pink haha. YAY.

I think this post was like 1 long sentence of total excitement but I am so happy to be moving in a forward direction with these dresses!

On a totally different note I went to spinning last night with one of my friends from work. It kicked my butt! Has anyone noticed that guy instructors tend to be way more intense than female instructors? I was actually a little sore today from spinning. While I always feel like it is a good workout, I'm never actually SORE!

The August Breakdown

Ever since I was five years old, August has been a time to prepare for the upcoming school year. When I was younger I enjoyed going back to school. Sure I didn't want to sit in class or do work, but I enjoyed seeing my friends and I LOVED back to school shopping. Nothing was as awesome to me as a bunch of new pencils and a shiny new binder. Three years ago I stopped being excited about the first day of school and instead began what I have now termed, "The August Breakdown."

The first August Breakdown was particularly noteworthy. I actually managed to convince myself that my neck pain (clearly stress related) was in fact Easter Equine Encephalities, also known as Tripe E. This particular illness is passed by mosquitos, and did you know it was first discovered in Massachusetts in 1831? So, it wasn't TOO much of a stretch, I mean...I DO live in Massachusetts right.

The second August Breakdown involved several sleepless nights in a row culminating in my total breakdown at 1 am to poor Eric who had simply asked me, "are you awake?". During the third August breakdown I called my health insurance company to find out what their coverage was for seeking the help of a mental health professional (but I did never hire one, because it's only the August Breakdown, in September I can handle life haha).

Previously all August Breakdowns occurred on Labor Day Weekend so since school begins before Labor Day this year AND Labor Day is technically in September I thought I was in the clear. But no, the August Breakdown returned this weekend in the form of INSANE ANTSYness. Yup, that's right I could not sit still- the whole idea of sitting at all drove me absolutely crazy all weekend. At first I thought it was because we had some plans for the weekend that we couldn't do because the weather was not great. Then I thought maybe it was because I didn't go to the gym in the morning. But today I woke up and managed to crank out 40 minutes on the elliptical and my PT exercises and still be totally restless the whole day. Since I have gotten into running and biking outside, I really have not been able to deal with gym machines for long enough to actually get a work out. But today if my stomach had not been growling I could've probably managed to stay on that elliptical all day long. Plus I finally found an elliptical that does not bother my knee at all. Of course it was at the Cape so I hope they will have it at my home gym. Here is the beauty:

I am hoping this week I can transfer this nervous energy into some seriously good workouts and POWER dress shopping opportunities. I know once I get back into the routine I will be fine, but it's scary to go back into the insane schedule and a new class (which God only knows what that can bring!). The good news is, Eric is not reconsidering his proposal because he has his own version of the August Breakdown every year, particularly this year because he is starting football coaching tomorrow (aka have no life and not a single day off for several months). He was just stressing a few minutes ago and I said "at least you don't have Triple E..." and he said "I'll take Triple E, sorry- can't coach, I have triple E..." Haha. Anyway, I must go get ready for my tutoring kiddos tomorrow. I don't know why I think it's going to be such a big transition this year with how crazy this summer has been. But then again, fear of the unknown...

Rehearsal Dinner Spot

Eric and I are very close to narrowing down our rehearsal dinner spot. We are completely sold on the beautiful ocean view and the delicious food. We just have to get someone to actually call us back to discuss how they do private parties (they do not have a private room) and what the costs involved will be. Somehow I have managed to go there twice and still not remember to take a picture of the view. But basically, one entire wall of the restaurant is windows and ALL you can see is ocean from one side to the other. It's pretty amazing. The only thing better than the view is the delicious food and presentation of the food. Check out the bread:

Those cracker type things sticking up are SO crunchy and delicious. The french bread is great too. It is served with a bean paste and chili sauce that you can kind of see in my picture in the lower right hand corner. Last weekend I split the lobster with my mom, all I can say is mouth watering.

This week I still wanted the lobster but I didn't have my mom to split with me so I went for one of the "smaller" plates, lobster and asparagus pizza...

Normally I don't eat pizza at restaurants because cheese tends to bother my stomach. However, my stomach has been hurting this week even when I eat stuff I am normally fine with so I figured, if my stomach was going to hurt anyways- might as well eat something delicious! After all that, my tummy was fine after dinner. Go figure! (I did only have 3 small pieces, so it was probably just happy I didn't stuff it full!)

Eric also went for pizza this weekend with the chicken and goat cheese...

One thing is for sure, even if we don't use this place for our rehearsal dinner- I will be back. Yum.

Break Into Your Own House Lately?

Today was a weird day. It started with me heading to the gym for my second to last 30 minute cycling class of the summer. I am an easily bored person so I love the 30 minute class, but they only offer it on Thursday mornings at 8:30 when I'm always at work. I've only been to it once before (because most of the summer I still had work then) but I was ready for it today. Turns out the instructor was away and they forgot to get a sub. See? That's why I pay the big bucks for my gym haha.

I didn't have my ipod but I decided to grab a magazine and try to do the elliptical. I used to be fine at making it through 30 minutes on the treadmill, elliptical etc. I can't handle it anymore! It's SO boring. How do you guys do it? Back in February when I started doing the 30 day Shred and running outside, I just got impatient with boring work outs and now I can't handle them anymore. After 15 minutes on the elliptical I'm barely even sweating, and I can't jack up the resistance because it hurts my knee. Oh man...so seriously, any tips on not dying of boredom during a gym work out?

Eric and I also left for the Cape today. Since Eric just accepted a position being a Varsity Football Coach, this is our last weekend together at the Cape for the summer- and probably our last full weekend together for awhile. Apparently they have practice or games every single day of the week, even Sunday. Eric's parents are coming to the Cape with us this weekend so we can show them our wedding spot and scout some rehearsal dinner locations. I'll keep you posted.

One of the more eventful aspects of our day happened when we left for dinner. I walked out of the house without my keys (apparently I left them next to my duffle bag instead of on the counter where I normally leave them). Eric, always the diligent house sealer, had already locked the doors before I noticed so BAM- we were locked out. Since my house key and my car keys are on the same chain, we really could not go anywhere and after searching the usual spots for an extra key we decided there was no extra key. So we had to get creative. Eric started to work the screen on one of the open windows.

So one window is open. And so begins breaking into my own house...

Yes, one neighbor did walk by at this point and asked is this like the Gates case, should I call the police? Haha- pretty crappy robbers who take pictures as they break in. Needless to say we got the keys and made it to the Olive Garden in one piece. Of course OG was delicious, but my stomach was absolutely killing at the end. Nothing I eat this week seems to make my stomach happy and I guess it is still recovering from the nerves surrounding the wedding last weekend. My stomach does not like any stress at all but unfortunately I'm an easily stressed person so it's going to have to get used to it. I did take some acidophilus (a probiotic- like in yogurt) when I got home and I swear that stuff is like a miracle cure. If anyone has any problems with their stomach what so ever, try it, seriously.

We will be major tourists and wedding planners this weekend so I'll be sure to update. Please leave any and all advice on the gym. I have to pay $5 to use it down here so I have to be good and get my money's worth!

One more pic from last weekend. So cute :)

Engagement Party Invites

If you read my blog often, you know about my mixed opinion on weddings. I like them, but sometimes I think there is a bit too much crazyness surrounding them. One bit of crazyness in particular is the "bridal shower." Though I think they are great for some people, I definitely do not think they are my thing. I hate opening presents in front of people, particularly household items that I am not excited about at all. I am pretty bad at being massively fake and that is what it would require. Fortunately, my mom completely agrees. Therefore, Eric and I decided to do a great big engagement party instead (even though we got engaged like 9 months ago, oops). This way, people can have fun and not watch us open presents the whole time.

For some really dumb reason I decided to take on a big project for our invitations. I basically fell in love with these Save the Dates that Amber made, but decided that our Cape wedding would not be connected enough to the Red Sox theme. So instead we decided to recreate these for our engagement invites. They were a lot of work but they came out really cool. For those of you who saw our engagement pictures, you will now see why we took a bunch in Red Sox shirts :)
Even though I stole all of the ideas for this from Amber, who really has the coolest stuff EVER for her wedding- they were still extremely time consuming. My mom has all sorts of opinions on wedding invitations, so I'm hoping she can take them over completely since I have no opinions on them :) I really love how these invitations came out, but mostly I'm just pumped to cross something off my list!

Can't Help It If I'm Lucky...

Bonus points if you can name that 90s song that has "can't help it if I'm lucky" in the song lyrics haha.
The title refers to the fact that I went to the gym today to join permanently, and for some reason my summer membership had been extended to next July. I don't know how or why, but I am feeling very lucky :)
Today at the gym I did 1000 yards in the pool and I decided swimming IS really growing on me. While I was swimming I thought about how swimming compares to running.

Similarities Swimming & Running:
1. After 30 minutes of both swimming and running I am tired and feel like I got a GREAT work out.
2. Both have the same monotony that allow me to zone out, or be alone with my thoughts.
3. Both sports can make me out of breath.
4. Swimming and running have a proper "form"- which I could probably improve in both sports.

Differences Swimming and Running:
1. Swimming is easier on my body
2. Running is easier on my time. Even though I can only swim for 30 minutes and be happy- I still have to get to the pool.
3. Running does not involve me smelling like chlorine even after a shower.
4. Swimming is working my arms.

That's all I came up with, but comparing the two sports did entertain me for about 20 of the laps I did today. Then I was thinking about how I used to come in last during every swim meet when I was on a swim team when I was little. I was thinking maybe I should take a stroke improvement class before I jump into joining a team. I may look into that.

After I did my work this morning at school and tutoring the kiddos, I went on a little dress shopping adventure. Hmm...does that make it sound like I enjoy these adventures? This time I brought Tiff, who was FAR more excited than me. I did find a bridal gown that I really liked a lot, which I can't post because I forgot the style number, but when I figure it out I'll show everyone. We also look at bridesmaid dresses and found a few relatively promising ones. I just have the hardest time picturing how a dress is going to look in a different color and actually fitting the person. Did anyone else have this problem planning a wedding? I am not good at imagining...

WEDDING!

Before I get into the wedding I just want to say I received a beautiful blog make over from Leslie and I love my new look :) Leslie is a teacher also, and uses the money she makes from blog designing for her classroom. I know how much money teachers spend on their own classroom, so I can tell you you'll be giving to a good cause! Go here if you would like her to design your blog to check out her packages.

so....WEDDING TIME. This wedding was a couple of day extravaganza for me including a bridal luncheon, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, all day getting ready party and the wedding itself. Of course I like the wedding itself part the best. On Thursday after the rehearsal dinner I stayed over at Katie's house because my job was to make her sleep. All I can say is I did make her sleep, but only for maybe 4 hours because of course we were chatting and too excited to sleep. Oops.

Friday was spent getting hair and make up done with all the bridesmaids. I haven't gotten my hair done since prom and I hate full updos (on me, particularly in pictures where it looks like I have no hair at all) and I've really never had my make up done so I was a little nervous. I gave the hair stylist this picture:

And this is what she did to me-

Pretty good huh? Haha. So anyway, we get to the church and my first nerve racking job was to walk down the aisle by myself. Everyone else walked down with a groomsman (and Katie with her Dad) but the Best Man was up with the groom, so therefore I walked by myself. For some odd reason this ended up being the scariest thing I had to do all night- not sure why. I think if I had to do it again it would not be as scary. Plus when you think about it, it's a pretty important honor. Katie looked beautiful coming down the aisle...

Even if she was crying :) Once she got down the aisle I was the boss of her dress. I am not a detail person, so basically unless your dress is sticking into your underwear, I probably won't notice. But I didn't want anyone out in the pews, particularly my mom, to be thinking oh my god her dress is so messed up so I tried to take the job seriously. Maybe a little too seriously. But hopefully when the professional pics come back it will be a perfect dress from the back haha. Katie, Adam, the best man and me were the only ones up on the alter- but the priest was good about whispering or using hand cues to tell us what to do. Everything went perfect during the ceremony.

The grooms parents got a trolley to take the bridal party and our dates to take pictures and then to the reception.

The trolley was a fun touch, especially for the Cape- but the whole idea that I just paid a million dollars to get my hair done was not making me excited about my hair blowing in the wind. We went to the beach to take some pictures of the bridal party...

Then we took a few more at the reception site. My next big job came when it was time to bustle Katie's dress. Luckily the seamstress understood that I think on a kindergarten level, so she color coded everything I had to tie making my job easy, yes! After that we all got introduced and it was time for the speeches. As Katie's dad said his welcome I went to my seat to grab my speech and take a drink of water. As I am drinking the water I realized I am spilling half the glass RIGHT on my dress, and I have to get up and give a speech in less than a minute. It was one of those moments where you realize you have too choices- panic and then cry, OR laugh and then make a massive joke of how you peed your pants as soon as you get up so that everyone is aware of the situation right away. I went for Choice #2. Eric was proud haha. Look closely at the bottom of this picture to laugh at my "pee" stain.

Overall I think the speech went well. I felt more comfortable giving it than I did walking down the aisle, and I even got a few laughs. One of the laughs I got was NOT when I was actually trying to be funny, oops! I was trying to explain that I had never known Katie without Adam and I said that when I met Katie she had already been dreaming ahead to today. I didn't think this would be funny but everyone thought it was hilarious because indeed Katie has been planning her wedding since before I met her haha. I didn't realize every person there knew that!

After the speech was over I was able to enjoy the night more and hang out with some of my favorite people in the world that I don't see nearly enough.

This is my BC Crew. The hand on the side is the other BC grads trying to jump in.

Which we eventually let them do...

Both my Dad and Katie's dad went to BC too. It's definitely one of those schools where multiple generations tend to go there. Here are just my BC girls- minus my favorite roommate in the world Ash :(

Cristina is making us all look pale with her spray tan. There was also a lot of dancing, which is my favorite part about weddings.

So now I am completely exhausted and not ready to leave my vacation behind at all. It's back to some serious work on Monday. Do not even think about saying "At least you have summers off..." because I had one, count them, ONE week off this summer and yet everyone still says that to me. Grr. Although on a positive note, it will be good to be back in a routine, my stomach has been bothering me so much because God only knows what I've been eating and exercise has been off, sleep schedule etc etc. There is definitely something to be said for routine.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

A Tribute to Katie, the Bride!

Thanks for all of your support on the 50 laps of swimming. It takes me about 30 minutes, which I like because I have to pay $5 to visit the Y down here, so it seems like a waste of $5 to just jump in the pool for 15 minutes, which is what I was doing before.

Last night I had some hilarious "nightmares" about Katie's wedding. Yes, I've never been in a wedding before but I've certainly watched people in weddings and I can tell you they are not expected to do NEARLY the amount of things I was making myself do in these dreams! All of a sudden it was the rehearsal and the priest was telling Katie to move to the back of the church, the front of the church, the side of the church- and for some reason I was supposed to follow this ridiculous dance around the church. Then, in my next dream- I was supposed to be putting on my bridesmaid dress AT the church, and I don't just mean like 30 minutes before at the church, I mean WHILE the other bridesmaids are going down the aisle. My mom was helping me and I was like QUICK, get the shoes! zip it up! Um...yeah so we are starting to get ready at 9:45 in the morning for a 3:30 ceremony, I THINK I have ample time to actually PUT on my dress!

Hmm...clearly I need to take it down a notch! Despite my insane dreams, I am actually very excited about today and tomorrow. Katie is my bestest friend AND she has been planning and dreaming about this wedding since I met her 7 years ago (and yes, she was dating the same guy haha). Unlike me, you never hear Katie saying she hates weddings. I would say there are even very few things she dislikes about them haha.

I don't want a give away my whole maid of honor speech 36 hours before my debut "performance" (obviously my dreams tonight will have something to do with me having to give the speech while standing on my head), but I will say Katie is pretty awesome. And, we have been through some "rough" times together...

Parasailing in Aruba...I know it doesn't sound rough, but it is for those of us who get motion sick.
St. Patrick's Day falling on a Wednesday...I know, tough life
A New Years of terrible decisions (not hers, all mine haha)
Of course during our 7 year friendship, times were not always "rough", they were also great! Like when Katie finally turned 21 (the two of us were the last of our friends, not cool).

The night that I met Eric...and by met I meant sort of met and then Katie put my number in his phone and then forced me to hang out with him the next weekend saying you COULD be missing out on the love of your life (insert eye roll here). As is usually the case when I roll my eyes at something, it ends up being right.
Dressed as 50s housewives...
Time at the beach
Supporting BC
and so many more.
Katie, I hope the next two days are all that you dreamed they would be and maybe the best of your life so far. But definitely not the best of your life to come :) I love you! And I promise I will not give my speech while standing on my head!

Vacation!!!

So I didn't get back to the gym yesterday to swim because I had work but today I managed to bust out 50 laps, which is 1,250 yards. It may not seem like a lot to actual swimmers, but considering that I never did more than 30 laps training for the triathlon, it's a lot to me. Swimming is really starting to grow on me and I'm not noticing the lingering chlorine smell even after taking a shower as much as I was before. Best of all, it doesn't seem to be bothering my knee much as long as I remember to push off with only my right knee, ha ha.

Since this is supposed to be Eric and my "vacation" this summer- we decided that today would be a touristy day once we got back to the Cape. I would say above anything else Eric and my favorite things to do involve being a tourist at new places we have never been. You'd think after spending the better part of 5 summers (minus working haha) at the Cape we'd be out of things to do, but no.

Today we took a river cruise on the Bass River. The Bass River separates the towns of Yarmouth and Dennis and leads out to the Nantucket Sound. Eric and I both love boats, but I have a tendency to get sea sick on the ocean so I decided a river cruise would be a good way to experience the boat but not get sick. Since the company we used also rents kayaks, I would say most of the younger people tend to rent kayaks (which I may have considered if it didn't look like it was going to pour at any minute). We were definitely some of the only people under 60 on the boat, but that was okay with us.

Basically the boat cruised us down the river, pointing out wildlife, houses and other areas of interest. Since we don't visit Yarmouth or Dennis too often there was definitely a lot to learn about the area. Plus, since the houses are beautiful, waterfront estates lots of famous people own or once owned them.

My first favorite house had FIVE master suites. Yup, five.

My second favorite house had NINE bathrooms. If Eric and I ever decided to quit teaching and get rich, I think our mansion would probably have nine bathrooms.

The best part about this house though (besides the nine bathrooms) was that the guy who owned it decided he did not have enough space, so he bought the house next door for an "entertainment center" and a little space even beyond that for a library. WHAT?!

The most random part of the boat ride was when we were going past a family fishing on a dock. All of a sudden I realize I know them- I taught both the son and the daughter and there they are fishing. I had the son my first year teaching and the daughter last year, they were both awesome kids but definitely invented the blank stare. I was afraid if I called out to them I would just scare the whole family and they may not be able to tell who I was out on the boat. I'll have to tell them when I see them around school next year.

After returning how we decided to continue to enjoy the cloudy, but still not rainy day. We order take out from our favorite Japanese restaurant and ate it on the porch. I got shumai (shrimp dumplings), miso soup and some rice with teriyaki sauce.

I love Japanese food because it's delicious but you don't feel disgusting and full after eating it.

Now I'm off to take it easy tonight because tomorrow is the beginning of Katie's wedding festivities, wahoo!

Delicious Restaurants and Exercise Controversy

Hi everyone, I'm still down at the Cape for a little bit. We have been checking out restaurants for our rehearsal dinner, and just enjoying Cape food so I thought I'd post some pictures.

Last night we went to Cape Cod Sea Grille in Harwich. We are considering it as a Rehearsal dinner spot and my parents had tried it out and recommended it. It's pretty close to the water, but I wouldn't say it has a "water view". It does have a great inside, fun decor and really nice waitresses. I got the Oven Roasted Cod. Look how delicious...

It was served with basal rice and a pineapple salsa. And here is Eric's filet mignon...

And his side of peach risotto. I am really hoping he attempts to recreate this at home.

I am totally sold on this place for a rehearsal dinner spot, but they only fit 35 people...and we can only do that if we have less readers then I wanted to, and do some other rearranging. So, I'll check out some other places before I have to take any drastic measures :)

Tonight Eric and I were aiming for Japanese food but the place was closed so we decided to hit downtown Hyannis again. We ended up at a place called Asa Grille. We have been there before only for drinks (which were delicious) so we thought we'd give it another shot for food. I got Cod again (I know it's amazing how adventurous I am) but it was so different and ALSO delicious.

This time my Cod was served on whipped potatoes and green beans. Mashed potatoes was probably my favorite food when I was younger, but now that I can't have butter it's not as exciting. This was probably filled with both garlic and butter, but I ate it anyway. I don't feel amazing tonight, but it's also about 100 degrees and humid so it's hard to tell if I can really blame it on the mashed potatoes. If you ever find yourself at the Cape, I'm highly recommending both the Cape Cod Sea Grille (Harwich) and Asa Grille (Hyannis).

In other news, have you guys read this new Time article? Way to stir up problems! Basically this article argues that exercising does not help you lose weight, for several different reasons including the ever popular, "I went to the gym today, so I can eat this cupcake." They don't say exercise is not healthy (although they do suggest that perhaps we just need to be moving throughout the day without actually spending an hour on the elliptical machine), but just that it is not helping us lose weight. Of course there has been a lot of rebellion against this, including this article by Runner's World.

Now, we all know I am a huge fan of exercise. I come from a very active family and my fiance's job is to teach kids to be active. However, I PERSONALLY have never found it to be a good tool for weight loss. When I was studying abroad in Australia, I went to the gym 6 days a week (far more than I ever made it to the gym when I was at BC), but I also gained nearly 10 pounds because I was eating like absolute crap. For me, losing weight has always been about changing my eating habits. But, I think things might be different for someone who eats unhealthy and does not exercise at all, and then begins doing both. Or things might be different for people who are just not me.

On the other hand, I clearly do not think exercise is useless. For most people, the point of weight loss is to be healthier and to look better. Exercise will do both of those. It will add to our cardiovascular health, and help us build toning and muscles which will make us look leaner. So while you may not see a number on the scale, you will most likely see a difference in your body if you take up exercise. I think Jillian Michael's Shred is a great example of this. Most people I know who have done the Shred have not lost the many pounds promised on the front of the DVD, but everyone has seen a change in their body, often proven by a change in their measurements in the waist, chest and hips area. Plus exercise keeps me sane and makes my stomach function a lot better. So I won't be giving up my treadmill or my gym membership just yet. What do you think?