Weight Loss Weigh-In Week VIII!

Weigh-in number seven was yesterday and it went great!  I lost another three pounds this week!  I am sooo surprised because this past weekend was my second bachelorette weekend!

To start the night we went to Nada, a mexican fusion restaurant downtown.  Not only did I eat FLOUR tortilla chips and guacamole to start, but I also DRANK two mojitos.  I then ate two of my three grilled chicken tacos.  Yum.

After dinner some of the ladies and I went to a local bar right across the street.  We sat outside, a good choice considering the theme of the bar is western, bull included.  I drank some more (rum and diet cokes) and people watched.

Alex picked us up and the bachelorette party pretty much ended at that point.  We went to a local bar down the street from our house and relaxed on the patio (while some drama ensued).

I would say that the party was a success, I got to eat something not on plan with JennyCraig and drink for the first time in months!  The best part?  No hangover (really)!


Despite last week's gluttony, I have managed to lose 16 lbs!  That's two more than the average bride loses and I still have one more week to go!


As always, FOLLOW MY BLOG!  The more followers, the better! (I'll be your best friend?).

Back Deck Staining Project

When we moved into our house a new deck had just been put on, but never stained.  We waited and waited, weeks and weeks for a 24 hour period of NO RAIN.  It took nearly two months, but we finally got cracking on staining the deck.

Here's the deck.  It's pretty standard, a little small, but it'll do just fine.

Notice the water?  I wasn't lying.  It rained A LOT this summer.

We picked a stain that was pretty natural looking.  I didn't want anything too red or too brown.  Notice our huge, oddly shaped/sloped yard?  It's a swampy situation.

Here comes the stain!

You have to start with the rails if you want to stain it all in one go.  Painting the posts, banister, whatever-you-call-its is the most time consuming part of the job.  Our deck is only about 120 square feet and this part took a good two hours.

After the posts were done, I painted the actual deck (while Alex pretended he was a photographer and snapped pictures of me painting.

Note: Do not use a roller to stain your deck.  You will get air bubbles in the stain and die.  In my defense, the roller was all Alex's idea.  Also, start your staining in one of the back corners and work your way to the front.  This ENSURES that you won't have to step on your work.

The finished project!  The deck is still wet in this picture.  The stain didn't dry this shiny.  The next weekend we purchased a new patio set and repositioned our grill to complete our outdoor living space!

While I was hard at work, Alex snapped some photos of the annuals in our yard.

Pretty, no?  the boy has skills.

Also, did I mention that my wedding present came early?  Well, it did and I have a brand spankin' new Canon EOS Rebel 2ti to prove it!

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Isn't she pretty?

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I think I'm in love!  

Thanks for stopping by!  As always, leave comments and SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG!

Jenny Craig Weigh-In Week VI!

Hey there,

Another week, another weigh-in.  I am happy to say that despite my fried food binge, I lost 1 lb.  Chances are, I am still retaining a lot of water weight from all the salt and fat, so next week I (hopefully) will have a bigger drop.

Another pound brings me to a total of 13 lbs!


The wedding planning is going strong.  I have so much to do any only 2.5 weeks left to do it all!  I had my hair trial yesterday and I have my final dress fitting today.  I'll let you know how the arm-pit fat is coming along!

FAIL

Oh God, I just ate hushpuppies and fried fish......

Jenny Craig Weigh-In Week V!

Well, as ya'll may be able to tell, Wednesdays are my standing Jenny Craig weigh-in days.  I went yesterday and after having what I call a "fat week" (just a week when I'm not feelin' the weight loss), I lost another solid 2 lbs!  This puts me down 12 lbs overall in a mere 5 weeks!  Yippee!


For those of you that like visuals, 12 lbs is:

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ME

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Anyways, I have something to admit.  I haven't updated in the last week or so because......I SLICED MY FINGER OPEN. I'll spare everyone a photo of my frankenfinger.  All I was trying to do was make my hubby a yummy marinade.  Who knew scoring a lemon could be so deadly?  A trip to Emergency Care and two, TWO stitches later, I am proud to say that my left pointer finger is looking......gross.  I get the stitches out in a week or so, which means I only have two weeks for my poor finger to heal before the big day!  I might need someone to teach me how to strategically place my hands for the wedding :(.

Alex and I are going to GA for the 4th weekend.  We're taking Opie and Addy (it's her first time) for some fun in the sun and water!  Have a SAFE and happy holiday weekend.  And be careful using those knives!

Our Home: Part I

Alex and I purchased our first home this past February.  It was a complete rehab property that was brought back to its former 1910 glory, with modern amenities.  Crazy me decided that two weeks after moving in, we would have a housewarming party........WRONG!  I must be nuts, but I pulled the house together in those two short weeks (while studying, wedding planning, etc.) just in time for the party!  Not to toot my own horn, but many of my friends and family were impressed by my prowess for interior design.  Some even insisted that I create a blog so that I could showcase my home to the masses...HA.  Well here it is ladies and gentlemen, our home, in all its glory.

The front porch is my homage to the south.  See the ferns and the lazy rockers?  The house has three livable floors and an unfinished basement (or the place I call the dungeon when threatening Addy after she does something BAD).  We have three bedrooms, one and a half baths, and a fully finished attic.....sans air conditioning :(  Anywho, here is our main floor!

Right when you walk in the door, our dining room is on the left.  I glazed and reupholstered some dining chairs that I found at a local thrift store and paired it with a table that Alex finished all by himself!

In one of the corners of the dining room is the sweet little antique chair and rustic bike!

Here's our mantel with some of our  my favorite things.  The frame on the right holds a canvas calendar with our wedding date singled out with an embroidered heart (it used to be a bag but Opie got ahold of it)....

Our living room!  It is filled with light!

I filled the bookcases with various trinkets and some of our books.  Alex's favorite part....the TV!

Our teeny tiny kitchen complete with granite countertops and no counter space!  See that curtain?  I made it.  Aren't I crafty?

Hope you like our home!  The upstairs is yet to come!

Jenny Craig Weight In Week IV!

Hello there all.  I tried to write a post about our fabulous home yesterday but blogspot decided it didn't want to co-operate.  Anywho, yesterday I had my fourth weigh in at Jenny!  I lost another 1.8 lbs. bringing my total to around TEN lbs!  Jenny also does measurements every month to see the progress you have made in your overall physique.  After all of the hard working out, dieting, walking, etc.  I have lost 8 inches off my body.  That's almost a foot yo!

I still have the 20 lbs goal for the wedding so i'm kicking it into high gear!  As of yesterday we only have 1 MONTH to go!  With so much going on and all of my DIYing, don't be surprised if you don't hear from me as often = SAD FACE :(

What better way to celebrate your one-month-until-your-wedding anniversary than by going to your second dress fitting!  Last time I went to go see the gown it was NOT pretty.  Nancy and the seamstress basically had to brace themselves with the wall to get the dress zipped up.

Exhibit 1: BACK FAT

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 Okay, okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, but for realz.......IT WAS BAD!!!

WELL, after the weight loss.....there is ZERO back fat (and even if there is, you better not say anything to me about it at the wedding)! 

EXHIBIT 2: ARMPIT FAT

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Girl, I feel your Paaaiiiinnnn.  Unfortunately, the armpit fat still exists.  It's better than before, but it could use some work.

EXHIBIT 3: THE SKINNY ARM POSE

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Yes, it is a way to minimize the armpit fat.  No, it is not how I want to be walking around on my wedding day.

Other then that, the dress fits like a glove.  In fact, I lost so many inches off by body that the dress "dropped" and so it has to be hemmed again!

Anyone have any tips to get rid of that pesky armpit fat?