Yawn .... morning everyone I'm gearing up for a little cardio and pilates and thought I'd say hi and get us going. This week holds nothing but promise ... by the time we get to the end of it, it will be APRIL. Whoopee. OK treadmill, here I come!

Hello everyone!

A belated Happy Birthday Rabbit I hope your party went well

I am re-commiting to the D word! I'm cardioing every day now - 15 minutes interval training every lunch time on top of other things, I think it keeps me mindful of the rest of the day! I will try and sneak in 15 minutes a day on weekends too, that's when I REALLY need the help!

I spent Saturday trying on wedding dresses (for pics see "Blushing Bride in the UK Thread and pander to my ego ), then spent Sunday in Brussles eating! I read American Shape on the train back though and it brought a few things home to me... Like do I like the idea of losing weight or am I commited to losing weight?

I am COMMITED now! I'm planning a trip to the farmer's market next weekend to stock up on yummy fruit and veg and wholefoods and organic meat.

all - here's to a great week!

Good morning! I'm back, and rushing out the door. Sunburned and fatter.
Belated Happy Birthday, Rabbit!
Thanks for starting the thread, Robin.
Fru, I'll check out your pics later. I'm sure you are gorgeous! I like that line about being commited vs. liking the idea.

Full day today, starting with an appointment in a few minutes with my rheumatologist. A week of "sort of" rest hasn't improved the tendonitis in my arms, but I can't really ever rest my arms. I only did a leg workout weightwise, but daily living uses my arms

Gotta run,

Mel

Hello everyone,

This weekend was kind of hectic and didn't actually get to go to the gym. Yesterday, I did go on a small hike.

Frus, when did you say you are getting married?
I'm curious as I kind of have a small dillema, well I guess it is an issue of differing opinions. I've always thought you get engaged when you decided you want to get married, 1 to 1.5 years before the actual ceremony. My BF on the other hand thinks you should get engaged a few months prior to actually being married (6 months or less). I don't want to plan a wedding until I'm engaged but I also don't want to push the engagement too much. We've tentatively decided for next spring(april/early may). We are also thinking of a honeymoon in New Zealand.

I'm not quite sure what to do. Do I tell him that I think we should get engaged soon? Do I tell him to feel free to get engaged whenever he feels like it but I'll start tentatively planning the wedding? Do I tell him feel free to get engaged whenever he feels l ike it but I want 9 months to a year to plan the wedding? We've already started looking at rings and I know because I'll need a special order ring since my size 10 fingers won't fit a size 7 ring, which will take a couple months. I'm confused, I don't want to push him but he also tends to procrastinate.

I also think he thinks that I just want the ring, but its not all about that. I just want to be able to plan everything. I also don't think he knows that it may take a couple months to get the actual ring. I know I am overthinking everything but I enjoy planning, a lot. I also would like to be engaged for a year prior to being married, I also thought it was nice to have some time to be engaged before having to plan the wedding.

Any advice would be appreciated.

We'll have been engaged for 4 years almost to the day when we are getting married. We're getting married in November.

I think engagements usually come before wedding plans! IMHO it's just a bit strange if you start planning the wedding, looking at cakes, dresses, flowers, then have to go shopping for an engagement ring in the middle of it all! BUT people do get married without being officially engaged or getting a big sparkler!

I'd personally wait for him to pop the question, then chill out, then start talking weddings. You may find that the venue you want is booked a year or so in advance anyway. We started looking in Feb and the next available date was August, then the next after that was November so we have enough time to stress over things!

I guess that is part of my frustration Frus in that he has a general time frame for wanting to get married and wants an engagement based on that date. I think you should get engaged then pick the date, not the other way around. MEN!

Well in that case, tell him you really need to start planning a wedding now and go ahead and start planning - with his help. Then wait for him to pop the question. Sounds a bit @rse about face to me... but there you go! At least you know he wants to get married and isn't getting cold feet and that's why he's stalling!

Lucky you guys off to New Zealand! I'd like to go there but apparently, "There's nothing to do!!" Cos you know, he'd know, having never been there! So we are staying in a cottage in Scotland in the middle of no-where with the bustling metropolis of a tiny hamlet to keep us amused!

I don't think anyone ever told him that you don't go on honeymoon to "do stuff" at least, not outdoors... Well unless you're feeling frisky

I dunno, nelie. I eloped. Actually, I guess I was engaged for 2 days because that's how long it took to buy rings (no big sparkler involved), get a license, blood tests, and find someone who would marry us. Our invitations consisted of calling a few friends and family and saying "Hey, what are you doing Friday night? Want to come to a wedding?"
Looooong time ago!

Good chest workout considering I haven't done one in two weeks and my doc shot cortisone into my elbows this morning. Then 45 minutes of intervals on the elliptical.

Time to shower and head back to work

Mel

The personal trainer session went really really well on Friday. I had been sick all week and finally got to the gym on Friday to warm up. I liked her style right away. She asked questions and listened, in fact for the first 20 minutes she mostly listened and then made some suggestions about what I had been doing and what I wanted to accomplish. Then we spent about a half hour on the weights and ended with some stretches. The saying If you always do what you have done, you will get what you got or whatever comes to mind.

Anyway, we did a new workout routine of supersets and I could tell I had worked some. Not too bad on Saturday though I did coast through the day with a walk around the reservoir. Should count it as work since I ran into, not literally, two different people who asked work questions. DH just kept walking.

Has anyone ever weighed their weights at home?? DD is 7 and all about the numbers so she was weighing my handweights on the scale, I think they are light!!! What a shocker. She is trying to add up all the handweights and the number on the scale isn't matching.

2Fustrated - You could wear the track bottoms to your wedding especially if there were flowers sewn on them.

RABBIT - Happy belated Birthday.

My goals for the week are to get to the gym each morning, Concentrate on the cardio, my belly is still flopping around in a most disgusting manner and I hate the tshirt stretched across it, continue the supersets I started and to meet with the trainer again on Friday. Full week.

Trying on gowns, so glad my mom made mine, I found the groom and she did the rest of the wedding, was really really nice.

NELI E- I don't have a clue on any advice, DH asked me one year from the first time we met again (we were in high school together and remet (?) at the reunion, then got married one year later - he picked a date I could remember. And as you see above, my mother planned my wedding, so as a bride, I sort of showed up - my big thing was the invitations, I was all over the paper and that was what I loved doing.

Whatever happens have a wonderful engagement whether it is one year or one day.

An hour and ten minutes of legs today. Feels awesome!
Welcome back Mel!

Mel, I wanted elopement... problem is, our parents are on two opposite coasts and have never met eachother. So, the answer is to have a small (super small) wedding.

Frus, I love penguins, way before the movie "march of the penguins" and I've always wanted to go somewhere that has them in nature. There is a city in southern new zealand that has penguins and they even have penguin crossing signs! My BF also wanted to go to new zealand and we kind of think of it as an unusual honeymoon. I think we'll have a blast but we would going anywhere.

I know I should just relax... Let things happen I guess all our conversations from the past weekend confused me especially someone thinking they might get engaged over christmas and plan an april wedding!

Nelie, sometimes the very best laid plans encounter a hitch in the git-along. Twenty years ago, DH and I decided in June that a Christmas wedding would be just the ticket. We hadn't really started to do much of anything about it when he told me that his parents were coming from Indiana to California for a visit in July, and he noted that his dad was not in the best of health ... so we planned a wedding in 30 days. I hand-wrote the invitations; found a caterer; looked pleadingly at my best gal pal, who promptly gave us her backyard as a site; and found a dress off the rack. We worked rings in somewhere along the line. It was a wonderful day, and yours will be, too.

Hi Mel, welcome back. Sorry to hear about your elbows. And SusanB, good job on those legs. Sugar, your PT session sounds great. Ooops ... there's the phone.

There's PENGUINS in New Zealand??? COOL! Damn I want to go now! I'm sure we'll make it another time!

Got in two workouts yesterday, some sprinty intervals and kickboxing. Planning the same for today, weights on Wednesday.

Eating's been ok yesterday and today, doing good... Need to nurture my mindset for the weekend!

Ok off to get some drinkies and a tiny snack, breakfast seems to have not filled me I might nibble on something small!

Good morning!

Gymn was good yesterday. And so was the 65 minute walk in the wind and drizzle just now (listening to the BBC World Service on the iPod).

Frus - you could nibble on something big like a bag of salad, rather than something small. Might not hit quite the same spot though.

I'm still not quite right after the clocks went forward at the weekend (we're in British Summer Time now, not Greenwich Mean Time). I suppose I'll come to eventually.

Hope your day is a good one.

I had my laughing cows

I eeked them out till "snack time" so it's ok! I'm still feeling hungry though! I will fill up on some Pepsi Max then it's just an hour and a half till run time!