Special Request

I had lunch with Lulu the other day, and she requested that I blog about my impending nuptials. I realized that she's right, I haven't really written about anything wedding-related! So here you go.

So far everything has been going well. (OK, sorry, here I have to interrupt to note that my co-worker is loudly talking on the phone about how a catheter irritated his bladder. Volume control, please! There are actually some things a newsroom should not know.) Anyway, we got a lot of things done early, and now we're basically down to the fine details. The last big thing on the list is meeting with the DJ, which we're doing on Saturday, to set the playlist.

What I'm tackling right now is the fact that I can't take a deep breath when I have my dress on. The alteration lady advised that I lose 5 pounds. I already lost 6 before I went in for the fitting, so now I have to shed 5 more! She actually repeatedly reminded me not to lose more than 7-10 pounds, or the dress would be too loose. I was like, don't lose MORE than that? I really don't think that's going to be a problem! So here I am, fiendishly dieting...and by that I don't mean I am starving myself, I mean that when faced with an item of food, I have to ask myself: "Do I really need this?" Most of the time it's no. If I'm hungry, I eat a snack or some fruit. Lean Pockets are great for lunch, and I can usually have a normal dinner. For afternoon snack I have a cereal bar (because we have a TON left over from our Appalachian Trail trip). I've also been eating breakfast religiously, because I've read in numerous places that eating something within 2 hours of waking up jumpstarts your metabolism. So I usually have cereal with almond or rice milk, or oatmeal. (Recently I discovered a nice concoction: heat up some regular oatmeal and stir in a spoonful of peanut butter and a little sugar...good source of fiber and protein.) Wow...long paragraph on my eating habits. But anyway, NO soda -- not even diet -- and occasionally I'll have a little ice cream, but usually some nuts or some fruit for dessert works. Whatever I'm doing is working, because I've lost the 6 pounds. I'm also pumping a little iron, and will soon focus very intensely on the abs.

Whew. OK. What else...we already picked the cake and we're designing our own cake topper. It will be a little Lego bride and groom, each sitting at a computer, because that's how Ryan and I met (hooray, Match.com). I designed the invitations and response cards, got them printed and my sister is in the process of addressing them so they can be mailed out. I'm pretty sure I've got the favors picked out, and I've shopped a little for bridesmaids gifts. The limo is booked, and everything is set at the hotel for out-of-towners. I met with my family friend last week about the flowers, because she is a flower arranger, and everything seems pretty set on that front.

Oh, Lulu found this interesting, so I'll share. The flower girl is actually not a "girl." She is the same age as me. She has been begging me for years to be the flower girl when I get married. Originally, a friend's twin daughters were going to be the flower girls. But then I had to fire that friend (from my wedding, from my life, etc. -- long story), so that also ixnayed the flower girls. When Ryan and I met with our officiant, he was writing out the order of the ceremony and asked who the flower girl was. I said I didn't have one, but joked that a friend my age really wanted to do it. He looked at us for a moment, then broke into a smile and said yes, we should definitely have her do it. So voila, I now have a flower "woman." She will have a cute dress and a little basket and everything.

Tuxes, done. Bridesmaid attire, done. Still need to do: programs, seating chart, order the favors, finish shopping for attendant gifts, figure out what the heck I'm doing for my bachelorette party! Oh yeah, and lose 4-5 pounds before my next dress fitting!

That's it for now. I probably have more to write, but I have to run out the door...