Why hello again

It looks like May was an even bigger failure than April, doesn’t it?

There are about thirty blog posts written up in my head, and tons of (weird, according to Gilles) pictures stacked up on the camera, ready to make the jump from mental and physical, to the virtual world.

Of course, in order to access those pictures I must be at home and ready to upload them onto the computer, and that doesn’t seem to be happening.

SO instead, I give you a couple old pictures, and a run-down of how wedding planning is going.

Oh, hey! Who is this cutie??

This is a picture of Gilles from roughly grade 2 (I didn’t write the grade down).

 

When I was at the farm a couple of weeks agao, my mom and I sat down together and put together a list. Because – quite frankly? I was starting to freak out. A little bit of OhmygodsomuchtodosolittletimewhatamIgonnado going on.

I came up with the following (crossed off items are now complete):

1. Wedding favors –

buy mints

put mints in tins

buy labels

cut/stick labels

2. Gift table

paint wagon

3. Advice board

find/buy board

buy cute sticky notes/pins

decorate boards (2/3 complete)

4. Church

get baptism certificates

set up mtg with saskatoon priest

meet with priest (do & send paperwork)

meet with Fr. Jos

 – decide on:

• alter servers
• readings (who? what?)
• music (what? how?)
• decorations / reserved signs (not allowed)
• unity candle holders
• unity candles
• pictures (allowed? where?) > contact photographers
• choose ushers
• ask ushers
• make programs
• print programs
• buy / sharpen pencils
• talk to Caleb (guitar)
• talk to Levi (video0

5. Caterer (confirm numbers)

6. Wedding transportation “just married” sign

7. Put ribbon on shoes

8. Dance classes (3/4)

9. Confirm flowers

10. Rent cloth napkins

11. Phone seamstress

12. Get dress > Waiting on phone call! (EEK)

13. Get liquor license

14. Get marriage license

15. Get wedding ring (will be in soon)

16. Find out how much wedding cake will cost (phone back Lucie [provide Lucie with topper])

17. Buy gifts for bridesmaids, groomsmen, donation for alter servers, Ed, priest

18. Discuss/write speaches

19. List of photos want taken

20. Buy Gilles pants/shoes

21. Arrange/throw Gilles’ stag

22. Finalize numbers for wedding

23. Food #s and plans *By June 15*

24. Buy bridal jewellery (waiting on dress)

25. Buy lingerie

26. Finish wedding slideshow

27. Vases: finalize numbers, sizes, beads.

 

Need to take a breath?

Okay… here’s another picture.

This is me in Grade 4.

 

Anyway, you would think that this would be my entire life right now right?

Well, believe me, it is seeming like it. Except, I’m still going to movies with friends, I’m still going to the gym 3x/week, I’m still working full time, and I’m still working on my garden and relaxing a bit.

This week will be crazy. Tomorrow morning is my convocation ceremony, my parents and Memere are over tonight and all day tomorrow, and there is a BBQ in the evening. (The celebration for friends will have to come later. Like, in August.) Then Friday I work all day, and then that evening is my (2nd) bridal shower. (Oh yeah, I’ve already sent out the thank-you cards for the first one… but that’s about as far as I’ve gotten… the gifts are still sitting in the guest room). THEN, Saturday is my stagette. I’m told it starts in the afternoon sometime. That’s about all I’m told.

On Sunday I’d really like to get the wagon spraypainted and figure out what readings we will be doing etc. for the mass, so that I can make the programs.

But honestly?

I think I’ll likely spend most of the day asleep. (And/or hungover by what small hints I’ve been getting from my MOH).

Whew. Is it any wonder I haven’t been posting much? I haven’t even gotten into the priest being an ass, or my dress still not being here, or finding out last minute that I need new copies of our baptismal certificates, or realizing that there may be almost 100 fewer people at the wedding than I anticipated.

Have a headache? Me too. Here’s anothe picture. This one is of Gilles and I when we were first dating in high school – Michael decided to take it when we came home from Moose Jaw later than we were supposed (about 1am)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marriage Prep Course

This weekend Gilles and I completed our Catholic Family Services Marriage Prep Course – a requirement for getting married in the Catholic church.

All I can say is… well, we have our certificate.

Both Gilles and I are planners and talkers. We didn’t learn anything about each other we didn’t already know.

Next, to get new copies of our baptismal certificates so my priest here will actually send our marriage prep certificate.

Bad Blogger

I still haven’t remembered to put up the craft pictures. Bad blogger!

But, I do have some other things to talk to you about.

First of all, and foremost in my mind at the moment, look at this!

Crikey batman, I think the sun may have finally stopped being quite so shy of us. Could that actually be… melting temperatures? Catch me now.

Okay, but seriously. I wanna garden. 🙂

In other news, I am a huge success and an utter failure so far. Ain’t it dandy?

We’ll start with the depressing failure news.

I like food.

(I bet you thought it would be something a little less obvious, right?)

The problem is, I like food way too much. So much so that not only have I not lost any weight since my last update here, but I’m back up to 186 lbs.

Heavens to Betsy.

BUT.

I’m not giving up yet. Gilles and I are getting a Saskatoon Leisure Pass after work today, and we are exercising. Like for real, not just a palsy walk. We are going to gym it. And I am going to stop carb-loading. That is my biggest problem – I love me some pasta. And I don’t know when to stop. Tummy hurts? Shift your weight so you can fit more lady, cuz that’s some good food right there!

I am back on the mostly veggies and only allowing myself healthy meats when I eat meat at all diet. I will still make Gilles seperate food, because he gets really mad when I starve him. (He does work a much more physical job than my computer typing after all). But there is a lot of broccoli and fish in my future.

I am finally giving myself the right tools to do it though. Gym? Check. Vegetables that don’t break the bank? Check. (We bought a Costco membership Sunday). Healthy cooking options? Check. (Dad gave us their old bbq Saturday, and I do own a steamer.)

I don’t wanna be a fat bride.

So what is the good news you say?

Well, I am now employed full-time, permanent.

Thank-you West Wind Aviation!

I am now officially a gradumicated working woman. Hurrah!

(Oh, and more news on the kitten sitch coming soon!)

Shopping and Politics

Wedding planning continues to trek on schedule, with lots of new discoveries along the way. (Did you know that you have to get blood-typed in order to obtain a wedding license?) Hopefully I am discovering all the little extra bits that need to be done now, so that I am not overwhelmed (and panicked?) the day of the wedding.

Last week I went out for a movie (Megamind, cute!) with my two bridesmaids, and afterward we partook in a little bit of Dollarama shopping. We left with 11 vases and some stones to put in the bottom of them. Over the weekend Lindsay texted me, telling me that the Dollar Store not only has more vases (hopefully in a different size?), but also has rolls of plastic tablecloth! I guess I’ll be doing some more shopping this week 🙂

On Sunday I went to mass at Holy Spirit for the sole purpose of catching the priest after mass. I have been running into some problems with getting married in the Catholic church – specifically that in order for them to marry you, you must have completed a marriage prep-course, which would be fine except we live in the Saskatoon Diocese and are getting married in the Regina Diocese. So, I have to make arrangements with my Saskatoon priest to fax the paperwork to the Regina Diocese, so that they may approve the paperwork and fax it to the church at which we are getting married. This is all made more complicated by the fact that we don’t want to take the marriage prep course through my church in Saskatoon, which offers courses that are 1 hour/week for 6 weeks – we would instead like to take our course through Saskatoon Family Services, which offers a 2 day intensive course. (Get it over with, right?)

Well, I talked to the priest and he said that this is fine, and to go ahead and do the prep course. He told me to make an appointment with him after we complete the course, so that he may send our paperwork to Regina. He also mentioned that as he was not the priest to baptise us, we must obtain new copies (within the last 6 months) of our baptismal certificates from the churches we were baptised at, in order for him to be able to send the paperwork. (The originals that we were given when we were baptised apparently aren’t good enough). So, I’ve got one leg in one hoop to get the paperwork down to Gravelbourg, another leg in another hoop to actually get us into a course, and both arms in a third hoop to get copies of our baptismal certificates (I pray that the churches kept good files!!)

In happier news, the invitations are currently at Staples being printed. I expect them to be done on Wednesday, at which point I will buy some envelopes and stamps, roll up my sleeves, and start addressing. If all goes well, I should be able to get the invitations out Friday. (Cross your fingers!)

I’ve also been doing some web scouting.

I found another ‘inspirational’ picture for flowers:

It’s not so much the caucophony of colours that I like about this one, but the variety of shapes and sizes, which keeps the texture interesting.

I also found a few pictures that I would like to do similar things as for the wedding shoot:

I like the top picture best in this set, although they are all great.

This one I like specifically for the bottom picture. I can imagine us taking this picture at the back of our wedding car, on either side of a sign that says ‘Just Married’ like this. It’s like, what did I just get myself into??

This picture is actually of something I want to do at the wedding as well. It is expensive enough for everyone to come down to the wedding and what not, and I don’t want anyone passing around a hat for monetary gifts at the reception (as it is supposedly tradition to do). Instead, we have decided on having a ‘marital advice board’, advice given in leiu of cash gift, as seen above. We’ll see how it goes. It could go really well, or it could be very dangerous.

This one is cute. The reason why I like this one is because it is like they are trying to get away from it all, have some time for each other on their big day without venturing so far as to be missed. The way it is captured looks both touching and innocent.

All in all, I think I’m still ahead of schedule. I still have to talk to my DJ (erp!) and figure out what to do for a video, and find a projector, and a screen… but other than that? The big stuff is taken care of. I think.

Here, here!

Sometimes I wonder…

… whether the torment is worth it.

I’ve noticed my weight loss in my face, definitely, and in my… mammories… Haha!

I haven’t noticed a significant change in my clothes however, and I haven’t lost many pounds.

Every day I eat either the white of a boiled egg or one package of oatmeal for breakfast. By 11AM by body is crying for food. That puts me between 50-150 calories for the morning. I try to keep my lunch small, 500 calories at the very most. Usually about 300. I’ll have an apple or an orange for a snack in the afternoon, and then go to Curves (or soon, the gym) for 30 minutes after work on week days. (I take the weekends off for exercising to give my muscles a chance to recuperate). Then I go home and have a small supper, limiting myself again so that I’m at no more than 1300 calories in a day.

I don’t get it. The weight should just be pouring off. Am I doing something wrong? Am I destined to stay this size forever? My primary goal is only 15 lbs away. There is no reason why I shouldn’t be able to do that. I want to be no more that 165 lbs on my wedding day. My secondary goal, which would be amazing, is to reach 140 lbs. I probably won’t do it by then but I want to try. I’m tired of being self conscious about my weight. I was a lot bigger before I started dieting (the first time), true, but I have a long way to go still.

I will be the skinny girl, damnit.

Sick of Curves…

My journey with Curves has officially lasted two weeks today. And guess what?

I am so sick of it.

I really don’t look forward to going there. It is boring and I don’t feel any different afterward.

I am leaving the office and going straight to Curves today of course, and tomorrow, and…

All I can think is Thank God I didn’t buy the full year membership and opted for a 1 month free trial instead.

My Curves “membership” ends February 12. February 12 I am going to start at the YWCA, and pay for a month there. Maybe that will keep my attention.

All I know is that I can think of 1 000 000 other ways to use my time, and if I wasn’t so damn set on losing weight, going to the gym would not even be on the first handful of pages. If I’m bored there to boot… Well. There goes my only grasp on motivation.

You’re Invited…

A wedding invitation has many elements that must be the same from card to card to make it work. Sure, some invitations are card-style and some are not. Yes, there is a vile trend toward e-vites right now. (I get that you’re trying to save some trees and money, but come on, it’s a wedding. I want something tangible). And yes, many of the invitations no longer follow a traditional style. There is also the wording. You need to tell them it’s a wedding, who’s getting married, what date, where, and what time. But after that, it’s pretty much a free for all.

This is what my invitations look like right now (there are two different cards side by side, as laid out on my screen. The top portion right now is the back, the bottom the front):

This is the inside, again two cards but as you would see it:

 

So far, so good. I just need to switch out the photos so that they are the actual rather than the sample, and photoshop my shirt in the first invitation so that the colour doesn’t clash quite so badly.

My question is this now though: What insert cards should there be?

I’m thinking a card with a map on one side of it and accomodations on the other for the out-of-towners. Also a small card that invites guests to the gift opening on one side, with information about gift registries on the other.

I’m also going to be the annoying one and put confetti in them 🙂

I don’t want an RSVP card… because I don’t want people mailing me their RSVPs.

But other than that… do I need anything else in there?

Let me know if you think of anything 🙂

Weddings, weddings, weddings.

It’s official, the whirlwind has begun.

My biggest task right now is the invitations, which are almost done… I just have to swatch out the photo, change the file type, and make the little insert cards, then find out how much Staples would charge to print them vs. how much would it cost me to print at home, then actually do the printing, get the rest of the addresses, actually address the invitations, get the stamps, and send them.

Err… but I made the invitations?

I’m also starting to put together some pictures of bouquets that I like, to give Monique for inspiration. These are the ones that I have come up with so far:

Not very single minded, but I’ll get there. I do know that I want the bridesmaid bouquets to be tied with navy ribbon though!

I’m also piddling around, looking for wedding pictures that I like for the photographer to look at, looking at decorations, and trying to sort out the knotted mess that is the Catholic political system.

They alway say that booking weddings is a big job, but then you see all the brides that leave everything ’til the last minute. It really is a lot of work though. There is so much to think about!

Engagement Photos

The following weekend, (Dec. 18/19), we headed down to Assiniboia once again to get our engagement photos taken. The photographer is the sister of a friend, so I already knew some of her personality but I was very happy with how well it went. She read Gilles’ personality perfectly, and started teasing him right from the get go. He reacted well and energetically.

The pictures turned out great. We bought five prints and a disc with the pictures to print on our invitations. These are our favorites.

My 'Beauty shot'

Angled from above

Gilles' 'Beauty shot'

This one makes me feel like I'm pregnant...

Oh my!

Diagonal shot ❤

Melinda did a great job, and we are looking forward to having her as our photographer. The only seam that I am seeing so far is that she is going to have a baby 2 months prior to the wedding (and thus will be rather distracted), but her sister will be there to help, so I’m hoping that it will take care of itself!

Whirlwinds

A lot has happened this weekend. Some of it I’m very happy about, some… not so much.

But first, I have to show you this:

How excited are we! Haha…

Of course, this isn’t the same weight ticker that I showed you last time. After the last weight ticker I gained a bunch of ‘I’m too tired to cook lets eat pizza or order chinese food’ weight. This ticker is from the day that I got engaged (October 30th), to today (November 22). The end weight is where I would like to be by July 9 for the wedding.

I do have a long way to go, admittedly. But I’m actually losing weight again, and boy does it feel good. (In addition to being annoying that nothing quite fits me right!) I’m noticing a definate slow-down in loss though; I’m going to need to add exercise to my weight-loss regimen soon.

ANYWAY – I was so excited about that I had to share it. But now moving on.

So far I haven’t told you a lot about the actual wedding. A lot of plans have already been put in place. Mom and I are emailing back and forth constantly all day.

The first step was to make sure that we could get the church. I will be getting married in the Cathedral in Gravelbourg – this beauty:

That in itself will be gorgeous. The Cathedral will require very little decorating work, which is nice.

I have decided on Carnations for the wedding flower. The colours will be white and red, with blue as a focal colour. We will have to be very careful not to make it look American. The bridesmaids will wear a deep cherry red (they will each get to pick their own dress within my set restraints) and will hold white bouquets tied with blue ribbon. I will be holding a red bouquet with white baby’s breath and white ribbon. The groomsmens’ ties will match the colour of the bridesmaids dresses, and the only thing differentiating Gilles from the groomsmen will be that he will have a white carnation in his pocket, while his groomsmen will each have a red carnation.

As I mentioned, the church is booked. As is the priest, the cateror for the supper, the bartenders and the reception hall. I am currently working on the photographer, the hair stylist, the make-up stylist, the DJ, the… well you get the picture. The plan is to get the place and people booked and then take a bit of a break from wedding planning to get ready for my finals.

Oh, and I asked my bridesmaids and bought a dress on Saturday! I’ll tell you more about that the next time I get a chance to write 🙂