8/31/2012

Five for Friday ~ 8/31/12

1. You stop at Micheal's for wedding supplies almost every day to take advantage of the coupons.

2. You offered to come home early from a bachelor party so we could get up early and run.

3. You're sure it'll all work out so I shouldn't stress.

4. You came to my softball game even though I wasn't playing.

5. You told me to stop worrying about the scale since I look & feel thinner.

August 2012

8/24/2012

Wedding Update

There's been a lot happening in our wedding world!

We did a mock up of our cocktail hour center pieces.  It took a lot more beads to fill the large martini glass then I anticipated so we've decided to stick a styrofoam ball in the middle to take up some space!  Now we just need to keep stopping by Michael's daily to buy the glasses at 40% off.

Our wedding bands were delivered!  For some reason this made the whole thing very real to me.  I'm not sure why, we've been doing all kinds of planning and buying for months now but the arrival of the wedding bands hit me.  We're really getting married!

Joe has been a ping pong painting fool.  He stopped at a local bagel place and asked if they could save their large egg cartons for him and though they were probably curious as to why they said ok.  Now he can paint 20ish balls at once!

 


The wedding is starting to really take over our house.  At first we were keeping everything in the dining room but after arrivals of boxes like these things are creeping into the living room now.  We're trying to box up the finished projects and put them upstairs in our spare bedroom but there are so many projects that are only 1/2 finished because we need to wait until closer to the date to finish them.

 
My bridal look is almost complete!  In the last week I've picked up my veil and bracelet.  I sort of stumbled across the bracelet, Joe & I were wandering around the Tropicana one evening and I stopped in Swarovski to look at all the sparkly goodness.  We ended up both really liking this bracelet with heart shaped stones and it wasn't terribly expensive so we bought it.  

I already had my dress, two pairs of shoes, earrings and rings.  I wasn't going to wear a veil but then Randy said a bride without a veil is just a girl in a white dress...  
My mother and I returned to David's Bridal with the plan of checking out different veils so I could find what I'd like, then she would make it for a fraction of the price.  I didn't take long to decide on a cathedral length veil with ivory ribbon trim.  We gave the consultant an excuse about needing to return the following week to purchase it and headed for the door.  She stopped us on the way out to let us know it was discontinued and she couldn't guarantee it would be there next week.  We said we'd take our chances but then she pulled out the big guns, it's was 50% off...  My mom weighed the cost of materials and her time/patience to sew the ribbon trim and decided the price was good enough to buy it instead.  She's still making a couple of enhancements but you'll have to wait for the wedding to see them.  All that's left is to find an accessory for my hair once I take off my veil for the reception and I'll be finished!

Last but not least, I had my make-up trial this past Tuesday.  I'm using a woman named Noreen from A Bridal Beauty that was recommended to me by Nicole's sister-in-law.  I am using Jessica, my regular hair stylist for my updo but she doesn't work with airbrush make-up.  Noreen came to my home and was in and out in less then an hour and she did a great job!  I made sure to take pictures of myself from all kinds of different angles and in different lights and I like them all!  Between Jessica & Noreen there will be 6 hair styles and 8 make-up applications the day of our wedding, they've got their work cut out for them!

Is that even possible?

Wow it was a doozy of a week, I don't think I've ever meant TGIF more then today!  I have been so busy, I feel like I haven't been home at all.  Just take a look at our calendar, my stuff is purple, Joe is blue, workouts are green, wedding stuff is pink and this is just the afternoons!
I'm proud to say I've been sticking with my workouts!  I met with the trainer on Monday & Thursday (and learned that I have extremely weak inner thighs) and I'm up-to-date on my 1/2 marathon training runs!  Joe and I have actually done the last 4 together.  I feel bad I haven't been able to run with Mandy and Shana but it's pretty rare that Joe has an entire week full of open evenings!  They haven't been my fastest runs, but at least they're checked off the list!
After all those workouts I was almost looking forward to getting on the scale this morning.  I hopped on before getting ready for work and was a little confused by what I found.  I GAINED 2 pounds!  I was on the edge of a minor meltdown when the screen changed to my body fat percentage, it dropped from 33.9% to 26.8%, that's a 7.1% drop!  My first thought was, it that even possible?!?  I posted that very question on Facebook and MyFitnessPal in hopes that one of my trainer friends will have an logical explanation...nothing yet.
You may have noticed I made a change to my goal chart.  Instead of burning 1000 calories a day I've decided to put my faith in MyFitnessPal.  I set my goal to lose 2 pounds a week and now I'm just checking to be sure I achieve their calorie goal for me as opposed to doing all the calculations on my own.  It's also helping that Joe has signed up for MyFitnessPal, it's so much easier to behave when we're both trying to keep our numbers in check.

Looking ahead to the weekend, we have 2 runs to get in, a 3 mile and a 5 mile.  We're going to the Phillies game tonight which always challenges my eating.  Joe is working Saturday and then going to a bachelor party which leaves me on my own for lunch & dinner.  Sometimes this is a good thing something it's not, I'm going to do my best to only eat when I'm hungry and make healthy choices.  On Sunday, some of our bridal party and family are coming over to work on DIY wedding projects.  I've promised them wine & pizza as payment, maybe I'll order myself a salad?

Five for Friday ~ 8/24/12

1. You run with me instead of ahead of me, which is hard considering your legs are like a foot longer.

2. For the first time in 5 years we spent the tubing trip floating together.

3. You took me out for dinner because my make-up trial couldn't be wasted on dinner at home.

4. Even though I left all cake flavor decisions to you, you asked if I wanted to pay extra for red velvet.

5. You asked me to go to the Phillies game with you.

August 2012

8/17/2012

What I'm Eating Wednesday

I swear I've been planning on posting all week!  I had this all set for Wednesday but then I got busy.  I'm hoping to get a bunch of posts up this weekend so we can get caught up, there's been a lot going on around here!  Such as, I've been working out at the gym with a trainer for two weeks now!  Mind you I haven't lost a pound, but Joe swears I look leaner...  
I also started 1/2 marathon training this week.  So far I've only done two 3 mile runs and the first was technically a walk/run but I'm working on it.  Yesterday I met Shana & Mandy in Brigantine to run around Mandy's neighborhood.  I almost took one walk break but Shana talked me out of it!  Joe and I are planning to run 3 miles again tonight when it's a little cooler and then 4 miles on Sunday before our 5th annual tubing trip.

I'm excited about the tubing trip for a couple of reasons.  The first being, it's always a good time.  I mean how can floating down the river with a bunch of friends while enjoying a cocktail be a bad thing?  Second, I want to try out my new LifeProof iPhone case.  Our underwater camera broke back in February and we have a new one on our wedding registry but since my shower probably won't be until October that doesn't help with taking pictures in and around water this summer.  I've already water tested the case and installed it on my phone, everything seems to be in working order.  I know Joe's going to give me a hard time when I try to bring it in the tube but I'm hoping after a few beers he'll forget about it.

Ok, now I'll get back to the main part of this post, food.  I haven't been taking pictures of everything I eat, just the sort of interesting stuff.  Plus I downloaded the LabelBox and Phonto apps onto my phone so I've been having fun labeling everything!

We'll begin with my new favorite summer meal.  Watermelon & Feta Salad.  It's SO good and crazy easy to make!  I literally had it for dinner 3 times last week.  I used 2 cups of arugula, topped that with 2 cups of cubed watermelon and 1/4 cup of reduced fat Feta cheese.  For the dressing, I mixed 1 tsp of honey, 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar and 1 tbsp of lime juice.  Total calories for the whole giant plate of food = 209!



I've been making a real effort to use all of the fruits & veggies we get in our farm basket each delivery.  I really enjoyed the Low Fat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread but didn't love trying to figure out how big of a slice constituted a serving so I decided to make muffins!  For about a week straight I ate a muffin topped with a tbsp of peanut butter with a banana = 361 calories.  Unfortunately, the muffins dried out quicker then the bread and I ended up having to throw out 5.

To the left is just a heart shaped chicken nugget I grabbed out of Jack's lunch at Wendy's last Saturday.

And to the right a sandwich I had for lunch on Wednesday from the cafeteria at the hospital.  Only 430 calories.


 And since I didn't post this on Wednesday like I planned to you get to see pictures from our dinner out at Lamberti's last night with Lorie & Rob.  We went out to celebrate Lorie taking her boards that morning.  Fingers crossed she passes and never has to study for another test ever again!
The waiter won us over with his description of their special, whole wheat linguini topped with clams, mussels, calamari, shrimp, scallops and a pound of lobster.  Joe and I went with the white sauce while Lorie and Rob went Fra Diavlo.  It was tasty and plenty of food for two especially since we added a small marghertia pizza as an appetizer.
Last but not least, my breakfast from this morning.  A scrambled egg, laughing cow wedge and 2 slices of deli ham on an english muffin.
Wish me luck this weekend.  I always have such a hard time eating right and keeping my calories under control Friday night - Monday morning.  I'm hoping the runs will help burn enough calories and I'll keep my willpower strong...

Five for Friday ~ 8/17/12

1.  You suggested we have a quiet night at home instead of seeing Batman.

2.  You asked if it was hard to ride over the bridge and believed me when I said it was.

3.  You didn't complain that I had a jam packed week and we barely got to see each other.

4.  You have no issue hanging with the girls.

5.  You were congratulated me on my 35min 3 mile time.
July 2012

8/10/2012

Five for Friday ~ 8/10/12

1.  You started the laundry after our trips.
 
2.  You're as annoyed as I am that your schedule for the middle to end of August isn't available yet.
 
3.  You're going to the doctor.
 
4.  You have another interview.
 
5.  After talking to Katie you came around to the benefits of a DOC.
May 2012

8/06/2012

GOALS!!

Happy August!  Can you believe the summer is almost over?  I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of excited to be done with this super steamy weather.  But...I've got way too much wedding stuff to do so I should really be hoping for things to slow down!

I didn't do so well with the goals in July :-(  I think there may be something wrong with my spreadsheet/chart though because I tracked my food every day and it's only showing as 90ish%.  Even though I didn't accomplish anything except the tracking I'm proud that I didn't quit.  I still opened the spreadsheet up every day and added the data.
I'm making goals again for August and I've got a good feeling about them.

1. track my food - I tracked every single day in July so I know I can do it again in August (I even logged everything when I was at conference (post coming soon))!  I think I'm up to 50 days straight on MyFitnessPal!  Don't forget to friend me, I'm LFdimples.

2. drink 64oz of water a day - Healthy people drink water, I want to be healthy, therefore I must drink water.

3. 1000 calorie burn - I crashed and burned on this one in July so it's time to try again.  I have big plans for being more active this month which should make it easier.  In fact, today I hired a trainer, I'll be working out with Brian 2 days a week for 10 weeks.  I'd love to lose those 15 pounds for the wedding by the time I'm done with him!  Plus he's on MyFitnessPal and planning to check my logs so I'll really have to behave!

4. run 50 miles - Shana, Mandy, Joe & I are starting our 1/2 marathon training on 8/14.  If I complete each training run scheduled I'll have 44 miles under my belt by the end of the month, I just need to squeeze in 6 more somewhere...

5. 10,000 steps - this was my second highest score last month.  I know that when I add in the 1/2 marathon training runs I'll totally get there!

6. blog - I don't want to disappear on your guys!
This morning I filled in my spreadsheet for August so far.  Not terrible, but not great.  But in my defense I was out of town the first 4 days of the month and they were busy days that didn't leave any time for working out/running.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to be hurting a lot this month but it'll be worth it if I can get back to that place where I feel good in my own skin again!  It also doesn't hurt that our engagement photos are on September 9th, I'd love to be down 5-10 pounds before them...

8/05/2012

I need your help.

I'm hoping you all can help me out.  I'm looking to earn my new Fall Thirty-One Kit and I need $500-$1000 in sales before 8/15 to receive it.


If you're interested in ordering any products please let me know or feel free to order at www.mythirtyone.com/LaurenFields!  There are numerous patterns and styles being retired at the end of this month so now's the time to pick up that bag you've had your eye on or complete your collection.


Please see our August special below and you can view our summer catalog here: http://www.thirtyonegifts.com/catalog



8/01/2012

Xmas in July

You may have caught on that we had an Xmas in July party last weekend.  But before I get to the party let me tell you about the rest of the day because it was jam packed!

Joe was officially on vacation which of course means he had to go into the store on Saturday morning.  After breakfast at Fitzpatrick's he ran out to the store and while he was gone Jack & I took a walk to ShopRite to pick up some ingredients for holiday themed goodies.  Joe had mentioned to Jack earlier that morning that we were out of bird food and that kid doesn't forget anything Joe says.  The entire time we walked around the grocery store he kept reminding me to get bird food...we did.
When Joe got back a little while later we headed over to the beach to meet up with Vic, Tammy, Luke, Matteo, Mark, Kate & Anna.  All of the boys flock to Joe and he doesn't mind in the slightest.  It works out quite nicely because Joe's not good at sitting still and relaxing so he plays with the kids and I get to read!
After the beach, while Joe was putting up Xmas lights out back, I sorted through Stephanie's Thirty-One show order that had been delivered on Friday night.  It was the biggest show I've had so far so there was a lot to sort through!
Before  we knew it guests were starting to arrive.  We had quite the turn out, almost 20 of our nearest and dearest came over to celebrate the made up holiday in their holiday best.
There was lots of delicious food!  I tried to keep it healthy and made veggie-full red & green appetizers of all different kinds.
Of course there was lots of dessert.  Sarah made this totally adorable chocolate cherry log, pumpkin roll and mulled cider!  Angela made super yummy sugar cookies and Maria brought cinnamon rolls.

Carol even stopped to get a Happy Birthday Jesus cake.  Unfortunately everyone was super stuffed so there was a lot left over.  Don't worry I pawned all the leftovers off on Nicole yesterday!
Another big hit were the Candy Cane Martinis that Kat made.  They were strong!
We had a really great time (perhaps Jack most of all) and will most definitely be making this an annual event!

101 in 1001 - July update

Another month is over!  I didn't do a whole lot to be proud of in July but I definitely made progress with the ongoing goals...

Thursday, March 1, 2012 - Thursday, November 27, 2014

Food & Drink
14.   Try at least two new recipes a month. (10/66) - 1 - Chicken Rollatini w/Prosciutto & Cheese. 2 - Cheesy Zucchini Rice
26.   Try 10 totally new foods. (1/10) - 1 - Octopus Sashimi
Entertainment
39.   Dress up and go out once a month. (5/33) - Went to the Mann Center for The Music of John Williams
40.   Have a double-date with friends once every other month. (3/16) - Tokyo Mandarin, Crab Trap & Charlies w/Kat and Mark
Lauren
82.   Read at least 100 books. (10/100) - Finished Stephanie Plum #5

Five for Friday ~ 8/3/12

1.  "We'll just move invitations to the top of the list."

2.  You got up early with me so we could spend extra time together before you left.

3.  "We have to be dedicated this month."

4.  You did a great job decorating the deck for Xmas in July.

5.  You checked in from Vegas via text because you knew I'd be asleep when you landed.
July 2012