I've decided that since I can't seem to do anything and stick to it unless it's written down, I'm going to plan out my workouts for the coming week in my blog, and that way you guys can hold me accountable and yell at me via the Internet when I don't comply. Sound good?

I've been feeling pretty miserable and fatty all week, and it's a waste of precious time. I should be pumped about having things like arms and legs and lungs that can jump around and do stuff. Instead, I just spent my Friday evening eating homemade peanut butter and Reese's pieces cookies*, reading magazines, and playing Guitar Hero instead of going to the gym.

Here are my workouts for the coming week, beginning tomorrow...

Saturday, March 7:
-Running 45 minutes (intervals)
-Abs

Sunday, March 8:
-Running 45 minutes (incline)
-Upper body strength training

Monday, March 9:
-Mixed cardio 45 minutes
-Lower body strength training

Tuesday, March 10:
-Rest Day (Maaaaybe easy cardio, like a walk, if I'm feeling it)

Wednesday, March 11:
-Running 45 minutes (intervals)
-Abs

Thursday, March 12:
-Running 45 minutes (incline)
-Upper body

Friday, March 13:
-Cardio mix, 45 minutes
-Lower body

Brutal. Let's see how this goes.

*recipe for best and easiest cookies ever:
-1 cup peanut butter
-1 egg
-1/2 cup sugar (I used Splenda, because I like chemicals!)
-a handful of yummies (optional)...can be chocolate chips, M&Ms, Reese's Pieces, Smarties, etc.

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Mix all ingredients.
3. Drop batter in spoonfuls 2" apart on a cookie sheet.
4. Flatten cookies with a fork.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. OM NOM NOM!

+My fiance doesn't know about this blog. He comments once in a while that I spend a lot of time on the Internet. He'll come up behind me when I'm online and be all, "Whatcha dooooin'?" and will see that I'm reading a blog, and then says "You're so nosy", and goes back to playing Street Fighter 4 on Xbox or whatever he was doing before. It's not that I don't want him to know I'm blogging, and it's not that I'm posting about things that I wouldn't discuss with him. For those of you with significant others, what's the deal? Does he/she know you're blogging? Do they like your blog?

+I'm trying to lose a little bit of weight, about 10 pounds, and it's really difficult for a number of reasons. Number one is that people are not encouraging. Number two, I looove to eat. Realistically, I know I don't need to lose weight for health reasons. I'm 5'6" and, since this post is all about disclosing secrets, I weigh 126 pounds. My BMI is 20.3 which is nicely within the healthy range, yet I think about my weight and my body almost all the time. I would like to get to about 115 pounds for the summer, which puts my BMI at 18.6. 18.5 is underweight. Being right on the cusp of underweight sounds just about perfect. I lost a bunch of weight in the past year and a half or so (I was about 145 at my heaviest) and have maintained my current weight since the summer, but I feel softer or mushier now, somehow. I think when you're losing weight and seeing progress and then you plateau, it feels like you've actually gotten bigger since you're in maintenance mode and not actively losing any longer. I just want to be able to get dressed and not worry about how big my ass looks or whether my arms are soft. I compare myself to other girls all the time and I'd like to be able to stop...it's exhausting.

+If I could have any job in the world I'd be Carrie Bradshaw, except my column would be online as well as in print, so I could interact with readers through social media. Blogging for a living sounds pretty ideal. When I wrote for the Tribune-Post my favourite thing about the job was writing a column. The other reporter despised writing columns and loved the fact that I was always happy to do it. Give me a topic and I guarantee I have an opinion on it.

+Growing up, I thought my family was poor because my mom didn't work. I figured that because we were a single-income household we were roughly 50% as rich as my friends. It wasn't until much later in life that I understood she didn't work because she didn't have to.

I logged in to my marthastewart.com wedding planning page today and realized that in 230 days, I'm going to be married. That seems like a long time, but it's less than eight months! Let the freaking out commence.

Here's the budget I created, with much help from e-Martha:



1. Food and beverages piss me off the most about that budget. I'm frustrated that I'm looking at spending four thousand dollars wining and dining a bunch of relatives who probably wouldn't spring for a coffee at Tim Horton's for me. We are looking at ways to trim those costs without being cheapskates--lunch vs. dinner, one buffet option vs. three, and so on. Obviously, we aren't having an open bar--we're thinking of placing a couple bottles of wine or champagne on the tables or designating a signature cocktail, hooking everybody up with one drink, and then making it a cash bar for the rest of the night. I have some serious alcoholics in my family that would literally rack up hundreds of dollars EACH in booze, easy.

2. We plan on paying for our bridesmaids' dresses and groomsmen's tuxedo rentals. As we see it, we invited people to be in our wedding; why should we make them pay for outfits they'll never wear again? I've been checking out J Crew a lot for bridesmaids' dresses, as well as Alfred Angelo. I'd like to choose something people would be able to wear again to another formal event, not something super prommish.









I think if I pick one of the brown shades I'll opt for nice bright, bold flowers, like an all-red bouquet. If I go for red, the flowers can be a little more muted. The more I look at these pictures the more I like the brown dresses, actually.

3. Our flower estimates are pretty conservative because I'm not paying a florist :) The plan is to get flowers from Superstore--big bouquets--and put them together with my mom that morning.

4. For centrepieces, we'll likely do candles in glass canisters, fall leaves, and baby pumpkins/gourds. I know how it's easy to go overboard with table decorations and we want to make sure things are pretty and festive, yet simple. Glass vases can be picked up pretty cheaply at stores like JYSK or even the dollar store. My mom grows Chinese lanterns. Farmer Clem's is great for baby pumpkins, both orange and white. I think the table decorations should come together pretty easily and cost-effectively and will most likely be under budget.

5. H2B and I already have matching platinum bands that we wore even before we got engaged, just because. We might have them engraved on the inside rather than buying new rings.

6. For favours, we'll likely have big jars full of candy from the Bulk Barn so guests can help themselves. It'll be pretty easy to match the candy colours to our colour scheme (hello, JellyBelly!) Plus, we both love Reese's Pieces best of all so those will be featured for sure!

I haven't chosen a colour scheme yet but I'm leaning pretty heavily toward a red/cranberry shade. The runner-up is a chocolate-brown or mocha shade.

We still have a ton to do but things are starting to come together, slowly but surely. Everything that gets ticked off our to-do list is a huge sigh of relief. Our to-dos for March include:

-picking a colour scheme
-booking our photographer
-meeting with our officiant
-confirming our ceremony and reception times
-figuring out what our venue has for ceremony music options (piano? organ?)
-finalizing our guest list