The Husband Survey

One of my lovely fellow blog stars had this survey on her blog, and since I am suffering a little writers block I thought I would give it a go too. Check out her blog too, especially if you are having a destination wedding http://thethaibride.blogspot.com.au/

 

How long have you been together: Since March 2004, so just over 8 years now.

How old is he? He is 24!

Who said I love you first? He did, certainly took me by surprise but was very nice to hear.

Who eats more? He does for sure!!! I am a very small eater, so most people would out eat me...unless it was a chocolate eating competition haha 

Who is taller? He is just....he has about 2cm on me!

Whose temper is worse? Me!!!! He is relatively calm, I have an ability to crack it very easily.

Who does the laundry? Usually a joint effort, I might do the washing, he will do the ironing.

Who sings better? Darrren does, he does a great Livin on a Prayer by Bon Jovi, I wish I could sing..

Who is smarter? I dont know how to gauge that, when it comes to finances and business definitely him, when it comes to science and mathsy (yes I am so smart i created a word lol) stuff probably me. So we have a pretty good spread.

Who does the dishes? I wash and he dries and then we put them away together.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do!

Who pays the bills? He does, he is the accountant not me haha!

Who mows the lawn? hahaha nobody? Nah he does occasionally.

Who cooks dinner? Whoever feels like it the most usually, depends what it is, if its pasta/parmas its me, meaty stuff like steak is more likely to be him

Who drives when you are together? Alternate, I drive when we drive west, he drives when we drive east lol....seriously..

Who is more stubborn? Definately me again....If I make a decision I stick to it, whether I know its right or wrong later on haha, But im a girl thats my perogative right?

 

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?  We are never wrong haha, we both say why we believe we are right and accept it.

Who has more friends? I've had a lot more jobs/sports/activities, so prob thru that Id say me, but he has some fantastic close mates who have been mates for ever!

Who has more siblings? Same!!

Was it love at first sight? Well I dont really know if thats the right way to describe it, but he says when he first saw me he looked normally than he would at a girl, and I did vice versa, but we both had crushes on other people at the time, but the attraction was there and we were best mates for a year first.

Everything happens for a reason

I really do believe everything happens for a reason. Whether it seems good or bad at the time there always seems to be something that comes up to show why it happens. For example with my job. I was devastated when I didn't get the job at foods and thought I'd have a lot of trouble finding something new. However now I am even better off with a job in my home town. Massive career prospects and most importantly time!

So I am being a bit philosophical today in my post but I feel that sometimes people need to apply this to their wedding. Weddings are notorious for late minute issues, cancellations, things not going to plan...

However some people don't cope with that well. There are hundreds of things I woulda loved to have at our wedding, for example an acoustic player at the ceremony, more people at the ceremony and even a videographer but sometimes that just can't happen.

So what am I saying? I think all brides and grooms need to remember that getting married is the main part of the day. Not the dress, not the cake. Simply a statement of love and commitment

9 months to go!

YAY only 9 months today until our big day!!!! wooo it seems closer now! I am so excited!!!

So its Saturday which means its size 8 update day! I have done muh better this week! I havent had any take-away which I am very proud of, I also managed to stick to my one block of chocolate over the week! A massive achievement for me. And I slowly eased back into the exercise. I am being careful with my lungs as I have had a bit of a cold and don't want it to become pneumonia again!

Thigh: 56cm
Waist: 69cm
Butt: 99cm
Arm: 30cm
Clothing Size:10
Weight: 70.1kg

So there has been a slight change already which I am absolutely psyched about. Hopefully this next week I can add in the exercise full scale as well! Starting with a PT session and massage tomorrow.

So what else? Have you heard of the Ashy Bines Bikini Body Challenge, This has taken facebook by storm with amazing results from those trying it out, and I really wanna give it a go! My problem is money, with every last cent going straight onto the wedding or honeymoon at the moment.

http://www.cleaneatingdietplan.com/ check it out if you are interested! Its not overly expensive and like I said people are getting some absolutely amazing results from this! I am hoping maybe by end of next week I may have the $69 to start this!

Anyways its time for me to head off and get ready for netball. wish me luck xx

Most Amazing Proposal

Moving and a Shaking

So I was going to post last night but I got interrupted by an earthquake here in Vic which stole my attention for the remainder of the night, and also most of today. I find earth quakes so fascinating and love why they occur, I don't like quite so much my whole house shaking though, so I think if thats the strongest quake I ever feel that I will be ok. The one that hit close to Moe last night was a 5.2 on the richter scale, much more than that and we might have been in a more procarious situation.

Anyways so whats new with me? My job hass been confirmed and starting July I will be a full tiem quality coordinator! What is that I hear you say? Pretty much I have to make sure the people who work in the factory are wearing the correct uniform, upholding the correct hygiene and manufacturing practice, it also means I get to do some environmental testing, check a whole lote of paperwork, but hopefully more than that I get a long term career option...close to home!

Other than work I haven't been up to much, I have a dinner planned this weekend with my main girls regarding my hens and bridal shower to hopefully get that planned and invites out ASAP so that people have time to save up for the deposit.

Only a short one tonight as I have to head back to work very soon to meet with the night shift crew!!!

The First Dance

The First Dance has become a pretty important aspect to the wedding ceremony these days. The first dance as husband and wife is maybe not as important to me, because Darren never dances with me anyways, so it could possibly be the only wedding dance of our marriage haha, but thats ok, I prefer dancing with my girls anyways.

So these days couples might just do a traditional slow dance or waltz, however it is becoming increasingly more popular to surprise the audience with a range of dances. I actually spent a whole night on youtube watching videos of couples first dances. Some of them are absolutely amazing for fully choreographed affairs, to couples making there own music videos, the brides surprising the groom, and the gromm surprising the bride and vice versa. Its fantastic. So today I am not going to go on about it or tell you what my plans are, because I actually aren't that sure of what I am going to do yet. So here are some amazing first dance videos to check out.

Time to check in

OK so it has been one week!

Unfortunately for me, nothing has changed, but then can you really expect it to in just one week? I am hoping by the end of week two there may be more noticeable results.

So did I pass or fail? I had numerous KFC cravings and managed to avoid it, which I am very proud about, as for McDonalds I even managed to say no to my boss offering to buy me some so I have done well on the fast food side of things.

As for chocolate, big FAIL I ate 3 blocks this week! Gee that sounds so bad doesnt it? I am addicted!!! I can't help it. Exercise FAIL but not due to my fault, I have had a minor ailment which has meant exercise hasn't been an option for me this week but I have been stretching instead and hope by tomorrow I will be up to the exercise again.

I also had what turned into a pretty big night last night with two of my besties, we decided making our own cocktails and playing black jack would be fun, turns out it can be pretty lethal haha. I had 4 cocktails over the 4 hours and was wrecked! Absolutely off my face, which doesnt happen often for me, my head was spinning when I went to bed and I am pretty sure I was still drunk when I woke up....

Anyways I am feeling ok just a bit tired from a mammoth day yesterday, 12 hour work shift and then up to 2:30am drinking! Today I have cleaned the house, cooked my muffins for brekky next week, done the washing, visited my granny and also checked in on my parents dogs as they are away. So tonight now I am off to a lab dinner with my work buds and then check on the puppies again and then bed and a lazy sunday to look forward to!

Happy Saturday!

Best Wedding Ceremony Ever

Wedding Invitations

There is so much traditional etiquette when it comes to invitations. There are so many do's and dont's that I have heard when it comes to doing my wedding invitations, its nearly as difficult as writing the guest list, and that has been a mammoth task!

So let's get first things first.

Save The Date Cards
This is a great way of letting your guests, in particular guests who live quite far away, this gives these guests plenty of time to organise flights and accommodation. Easy Weddings reccommend that you should send these out 5 months before and no later than 3 months before. My opinion? Don't waste the money. If there are certain guests who live interstate, give them a call, let them know when the date is and its a great excuse to have a chat. Also you have to be certain you want to invite these people you send the save the dates too, because it becomes a bit awkward if you change your mind later on.

To include a dress code?
To avoid numerous phone calls I would say this is definitely a good idea. I haven't included a dress code on my invitation, instead I have provided a link to our wedding website. On the wedding website I have example dress ideas, directions and much much more, this is something I would recommend doing. Less room used up on the invite, and a great way to document your day! Easy Weddings have a great tol to do this.

Is it ok to ask for money?
Of course this is ok, we are living in the modern world now people! But it is recommended to include a seperate wishing well, flight centre or bird cage card in with your invitation. Also I recommend saying the most important gift is the guest attendance. I have again included gift ideas on my wedding website, and I have opted for a bird cage and will be adding a bird cage card in with my invitation.

RSVP timeline
This one can be very specific to your caterers and venues so make sure its a question you ask them, most places need final numbers before two weeks of the date. I would reccommend at least a month, because you want to allow for those friends who you know are always a few days late on getting back to you on things.

So hopefully that helps with any questions that any of you might have. As for our invitations they will include out parents names as the hosts, our names, the venue and times, RSVP date and link to wedding website. Additionally in the invite we will also include the bird cage card which entails a rhyme and an RSVP card which we will add our address and a stamp to before sending for ease.

Party Party Party

Today I got an invite to my cousins hens night, I have never been to a hens night before so I am pretty dam excited for it, she is a bit of a wild one, so I bet there will be a lot of twists and turns in the night. I feel like I am a bit of an expert on hens nights at the moment, not that I have even been to one haha.

There are so many great things that you can do, the obvious being strippers, but there are day spas, cruises, girls nights in, chocolate tours, winery tours, pole dancing classes, burlesque classes...

So whats my plan? I am thinking about doing a bridal shower and hens day in one. I'm not a fan of the bridal shower games, I find that sort of thing pretty corny, but for those who might be interested, heres a few great game ideas:

Bridal QuizContact the groom and ask him 20 questions about the bride. At the shower, each guest and the bride answers the questions. The guest with the most correct answers (according to the groom) wins. The bride's answers are then compared with the groom's out loud.

Bride's Comments
Have someone write down the bride's comments as she opens each gift. Read these back to her as if they were comments she was to make on the wedding night - eg "I love it, but it's too small", "Mum uses hers all the time"

Clothespin Game
Everyone is given a peg at the beginning of the shower and then rules are nominated. They may be for the group or everyone has their own rule. Rules can include 'you can't play with your hair', 'you can't say wedding', etc. Each time someone is caught breaking a rule, their peg is stolen by the person who caught them. The winner is the person with the most pegs at the end of the shower.

Design a GownEveryone is divided into small groups and given a number of toilet paper rolls. A time limit is set and each group must design a gown using the toilet paper and any items they have in their handbag. At the end of the time, the "gowns" are judged for funniest, most stylish, etc.

Do You Know Me?The bride fills out a facts sheet about herself and then each guest must try and guess what the bride would answer. Questions could include Favourite food, Favourite band, First kiss, etc. The person with the most correct answers wins.

Famous CouplesCut out pictures of famous couples and paste them on a large board. Cover them all up. Remove the cover from the bodies first and have the guests guess who the couple are. Once it has been guessed correctly, remove the cover on the faces. Move onto the next couple. Whoever guesses the most correct, wins.

How They MetWrite out the story of the bride and groom met then take out the key words. Fill in the blanks by asking the guests for verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc then read the new story back to everyone. 

Trivia QuizThis is best if the questions relate to the bride and groom, love, marriage, etc. Questions could relate to theme of the shower. eg A 'Month' Shower could have questions such as What month did the couple meet?, What month was the groom born?, What month is diamond the birthstone for?The honeymoon is in Cairns. What is Cairns' rainiest month?, etc.

As for me, I am thinking of a pretty easy going brekky locally for everyone to have a great feed and cacth up and then get transport to the races, being that it is caulfield cup day, everyone can get dressed up, have a bet and enjoy the day...providing victoria gives us a warm October day!

Long Weeekend.

This weekend my fantastic fiance' has been smashing out some reno's to our home. I can't really explain it, but we have created a new room and its starting to look exactly how I pictured so I am pretty stoked with that. As for me I spent the day doing fun stuff, like dishes haha, and cleaned most of the house which was good, I always feel so accomplished. I also made some yummy banana weetbix muffins for my brekkys for the rest of the week. How great is it that it is a long weekend!!!

Yesterday I played netball and we won! In fact we smashed it! I scored 33 of 48 goals for our team which is a PB for me, and the other team only scored 9, so it was a pretty fun victory. I was also excited that I got to be the stand in captain for the day and we came out of it with a win which was fantastic. Netball is such a fun part of my week. I play in a great team, I love the girls, I have learnt so much and feel like I finally do something that I can be proud of, and its a great way to keep fit asd well..

Today I also started my healthy eating and exercise plan and I am happy to say day 1 has been a success, I have eaten really well, I have done a bit of exercise and I have also had my massage which has me feeling great! and the best thing is I still have tomorrow to do whatever I want, so we have planned a little BBQ before the footy starts. Before that however we are gonna try and get up early and get stuck into the house a little bit more, Daz has some plaster to put up and I have a couple walls to paint, whether or not we get up and actually do it could be a different story though haha!

So no wedding planning going on this weekend, but I am sure I will start to get into the grind again soon.

The Weigh In

Ok, so I am about a week late on my weigh in! I feel like I have been incredibly busy all week! I think working 5 days again is messing with my brain haha! Anyways as well as cooking, cleaning, playing netball and balancing friends then this week has been hectic! Nevertheless here I am to give you my first official weigh in and details on where I wanna get too.

Height (obviously not going to change): 178cm
Weight (Not fussed if this changes cos muscle weights more than fat): 71.2Kg.
Making my BMI 22.8, smack bang in the middle of the "considered healthy" chart. However I don't feel as healthy as I should be, well not in my opinion. I am tired all the time, I am always coming down with something, and I'm always suffering from joint aches and pains so its time to turn this around.

As for the key measurements
Thigh: 57cm
Waist: 69cm
Butt: 100cm...how big does that sound?
Arm: 30cm...muscly? haha
Clothing Size:10

I don't particulary have any aims to lose weight, but I do want to tone up, feel healthier, have more energy and I would love to fit back into my size 8 jeans for the honeymoon, not that I will be wearing jeans.

So what am I gonna do about it?

1. Food Intake: I am going to go back to http://www.calorieking.com.au/ This is a website I really enjoyed using. You can put in the weight you wish to get to, or even the weight you wish to maintain, and this will help show you what calories and kilojoules are in the food you are eating. It can be very helpful, because sometimes you can eat more calories than you would expect.
2. Exercise: I am going to do at least 45 minutes of physical activity everyday. I am going to rotate at night doing pilates, taebo and using my exercise bike, also combining with netball and netball trainings. I am also considering the worth of buying a bike to ride to work everyday, good for me and good for the hip pocket too.
3. Fortnightly Sports Massage: This is something I try to upkeep regularly due to past injuries, I also find its a great stress release and great for recovery.
4. Having a bath at least once a week. Baths are great for getting the blood flowing to the muscles and clearing out cells, its also great for the mind.
5. I am going to conitnue trying to write my blog once a day, getting all my thoughts out definitely helps me sleep better at night, and its been proven the better you sleep, the healthier you are, including brain function, energy and even weight loss.

So what am I going to eat?

1. I am making banana weetbix muffins for breafast, a quick and easy option that should see me eat in the morning rather than skip. Additionally a glass of apple and strawberry juice to start the day to get the sugars flowing.
2. Lunch, I am going to have a wholemeal sandwich with lean meats, such as honey ham and salad
3. Dinners ofcourse wont always be set, but these will also include a small serving of meat for protein and an array of vegetables
4. Dessert will be a couple rows of cadbury chocolate because no matter how hard I try this is a habit I simply can not kick.

So this is it, between today and the wedding I am no longer going to eat McDonalds and KFC. I am going to limit myself to a block of chocolate per week (I can eat a block in about 40 minutes). I am going to take up every opportunity to exercise and I am also going to take every opportunity to relax.

So here we go....I'll let you know how day one goes tomorrow...fingers crossed for a win today in netty xx

Op Size 8 update!

Well its pretty fair to say I have fallen off the band wagon here. I haven't at all been focusing on my diet as I had planned. Actually I am sitting on the couch with my feet up eating teevee snacks as we speak. But I am lucky enough to work in a job (or 2) which requires me to be on my feet all day, as well as netball training and game day I would quite easily do plenty of exercise, which is enough for me to have lost a couple of kilos over the last couple of months.

However I haven't been feeling healthier because I am back to eating KFC a little to much, back to eating piece of chocolate after piece of chocolate and I blame Cadburys new marvelous range for that one haha. However I think it is time to make the change, nothing drastic, but instead of a homemade banana choc chip muffin for breakfast I am going to swap in some weetbix with honey, and for lunch, I am usually pretty good and have some yoghurt, pretty much because it is free and at tea time I need to up the vegie and salad sides and focus on them instead of the parma, the sausage or whatever the attraction of the meal is.

I also want to be able to go back to the gym. I am hoping I will be able to afford a gym membership shortly and start going before work at 7am for an hour, come home, eat brekky and head to work. But we are depended on some more job security before that happens.

I thinking eating well and exercise is the key to how stressed people feel, how well they deal with things and most importantly how well you function on a day to day basis and I have always been great at telling people what they should do to feel healthier but never take the advice myself.

So thats it, starting tomorrow OPERATION SIZE 8 is back on! I will post my key measurements and start giving you all updates along the way! Have a great weekend xx