I'm so far behind...

With training, wedding planning, work and all of those other things, it's easy to see why I haven't updated in months.

I think an update, albeit a condensed update, is overdue.

- I've made a bit more progress in my training. I'm down another 7 lbs. with 13 more to go to reach my goal. More pictures to come.. I promise!

- Wedding progress is being made:
*Reception venue booked - Contemporary Art Center of VA at the oceanfront
*Photographer booked - Scott Hayne Photography. He's ridiculously talented!!
*DJ booked - DJ on the Side
Many thanks to Becky & Mike for introducing us to Scott and Ryan with DJ on the Side. Their wedding rocked, so I know ours will too!
*With my type A, OCD personality, I'm obsessed with saving money and having my hands in
just about EVERYTHING. So, I created a boutonierre and designed some monograms for our
invitations and possibly our cocktail napkins. Take a look:

Exciting, right? I'm seriously trying to get a good chunk of things done before classes start in.. oh.. 5 days. Here's to Sugar-Free Red Bull, Starbucks and a good night's sleep!

New Pursuit

For approximately 2 months now, I have been training with the goal of eventually competing in a fitness/figure competition. Granted, it's a long way off, but so far I am impressed with my results. While I couldn't compare myself to those amazingly beautiful women yet, I am pretty confident that I am ready for bikini season - a feeling I have NEVER had! About this time 2 years ago, I was almost 30 lbs. heavier than I am now. The weight loss has been, at times, achieved in an unhealthy way. With the support of my amazing fiance, I am healthier. I have also been blessed to meet an amazing friend - Brandon - who is an amateur body-builder. His guidance in the gym is unbelievable!

For the first time in a very long time, I am happy working out 6-7 days a week! Normally, I am completely humiliated at having anyone other than Steve see me in less than shorts and a tshirt. I still have slight hesitations in having anyone see my progress (in a bikini, no less), but I have been encouraged to take progress pics. So, here they are. At least the love handles have taken a permanent hike! Trust me, you could never be a more harsh critic than I am for myself. Forgive the blurriness .. I suck at using this new camera!
Progress: 2 months

Test anxiety!

It's a terrible thing to be worried about a test that I'm not even taking until this summer or in the fall. I am currently searching for a great test guide for the Biology Praxis II for my license and good lord.. most of these books cost upwards of $50. We aren't even talking about a huge, all-encompassing biology review guide with multiple sample tests and thousands of tips and tricks (something that Kaplan provided me for my GRE preparation). That huge chunk of change will buy me a 180 page book with ONE test composed of 125 questions. Have the people making these books completely lost their minds? I venture to say that the answer to that is "yes." Scary, isn't it?!

Textbooks can tell a similar story. Most textbooks put you out $200 (with a return of $20 at buyback time) and you use maybe 50% of the entire book throughout your courses. It's ridiculous!

I will likely be able to get a fee waiver when I actually have to take the test, which is fine. It will make up for the ungodly amount of money I have to shell out for a book just to take that damn test.

I don't sound bitter about it at all, do I?

The Bridal Circuit

For those who have not yet had the pleasure of joining/viewing this group, it consists of every type of bride possible - the Bridezilla, the Submissive Bride (and by this, I mean the bend-over-and-let-everyone-else-decide-your-day type of person), the Type A Uber Organized Bride and the Indifferent Bride. Dana, God bless her amazing Maid of Honor soul, drove down from Manassas to attend the first of many bridal shows to come. Together, we stepped into the world of this unusual, yet somehow off-putting, group of individuals.

I like to consider myself as falling in the Type A organized group of brides. After all, I have been extremely Type A my whole life (hello.. Virgo!). Even upon visiting the first potential reception venue, I had a 2 1/2 page list of questions for the coordinator. Organization will be my true best friend over the next 15 months. I am trying my hardest to get things done in as timely a manner as possible. The ungodly amount of choices make this task far from easy. There's an endless amount of entertainment options, cake options, favor options, invitation options, photographer options, videographer options, song options.. You get my point.

That being said, a bride's true colors will inevitably show when faced with any of the above options. I can't even count how many times I could hear the "But they won't take pictures how I want them to" or the endless whines of "That cake is absolutely disgusting. I would never have that at my wedding." It's pretty incredible how bitchy a woman becomes in the event of a wedding. Amazing..

Of course, I now have a greater respect for the mothers of the bride, the maids of honor and the bridesmaids that have to deal with the bullshit that brides can put out. God willing, my type A personality will allow me time to keep the stress (and the Bridezilla) under control.

A pat for myself on the back!

It's not such a bad thing, is it? I mean we all deserve a little praise for our accomplishments from time to time, do we not? Oh yes, we do!

I apologize right away for making this out to be like I did something terribly exciting or praise-worthy. Forgive me, but I tend to get slightly excited when I meet workout-related goals. The "feat"? I ran for 30 minutes straight for the first time since becoming deathly ill a few weeks back. Obviously I'm exaggerating that "deathly" part, but seriously.. it was bad!

Hm.. 10 more miles of running and I'm set for the half marathon in September! Word!

Yet another reason to love my friends..

On the subject of what makes a pizza a pizza:

Pat: "But when pizza's on a bagel, you can have pizza anytime."
Eddie: "Fuck a bagel."

Book Log - 2008

There aren't many upsides to being sick with the flu. I'm missing the Massa's famous Super Bowl party today. I can't work out at the gym. I didn't get to see Omah this morning (She STILL hasn't seen my ring). On the other hand, I can make great use of my typing skills and the fact that I'm stuck in bed for an extended period of time. So, I'm taking this unfortunate opportunity to start a log of the books that I will be reading throughout the year - those required as part of my curriculum and those read solely for personal pleasure (or based on the encouragement of friends). Here goes...

1. Plague Maker by Tim Downs
- I'm a bit of a whore for science-related suspense novels, so when I came across this book in the bargain bin at ODU's bookstore, I had to snatch it up. I started reading this novel during a work shift at the Ted and immediately had a hard time putting it down. It plays on our recently instilled fears of terrorism and underhanded biological warfare. While the interplay between characters often comes across as shallow and silly, the overarching plot of the novel and the number of twists and turns are substantial enough to draw the reader's attention away from those relationships. I, for one, will never look at a flea in the same way. A lover of science would be a lover of this book.

2. The Joy of Laziness: Why Life is Better Slower and How to Get There by Peter Axt
- Recommended to me by my friend, Daniel, I instantly found the title laughable. You see, I am not a slow person. There aren't many things that I hate more than being lazy and feeling unproductive. My schedule has never been empty. I have never held fewer than 3 part-time jobs at a time. I rarely find joy in doing nothing (with the exception of a good vacation here and there, but I still love filling vacation time with things to occupy my time). Two chapters into this book, I found myself still laughing. Not only does the author attempt to discredit recent studies done to show that exercise benefits heart and lung health; they also attempt to validate decades old studies showing that inactivity does more for heart health than a good cardiovascular workout. Overall, this book aims to encourage individuals to create "energy stores" by sleeping longer and avoiding physical over-exertion as much as possible. My question is then posed: What happens to those energy stores once you die? Do you honestly think you can carry them into the afterlife? I much prefer using my energy to live life to the fullest rather than sit on my ass and waste my time away. I love sleeping as much as the next Joe Schmoe, but I'd rather get my butt out of bed and experience what the world has to offer.

3. The Fifth Vial by Michael Palmer
- This is the 2nd book of the year to play to my science-based thriller interest. Steve's mom read this at the end of last year and gave me a copy as a Christmas gift. It proved to be another book that I had a hard time setting down. The Fifth Vial documents several individuals and the twisting events surrounding them, all which seem completely unrelated until the last few chapters. This book plays on the urban legend of the stealing of organs, making it both believable and terribly frightening. For the most part, I really loved this book. As any good fiction writer should be able to do, Palmer gives several characters a dual identity and has you trusting in the good before reverting to the bad. It's almost eerie how well he is able to accomplish this. The downside? That famous saying "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" is seen in protagonist Natalie Reyes. After a while (getting the boot from med school, getting shot, having a lung removed, exposing her one healthy lung to a fire, losing a confidant to murder... the list goes on), the negative events become monotonous and boring. The action is enough to keep the reader entertained and the book will certainly leave you thinking about the ethics of stealing organs.

4. July, July by Tim O'Brien
- O'Brien is, without a doubt, one of my favorite authors. I had the privilege of hearing him speak and meeting him during my freshman year at ODU. After hearing him read an excerpt from The Things They Carried, I immediately bought a copy and read it within 24 hours of his lecture. July, July was read in about the same manner. You could never accuse O'Brien of being a happy-go-lucky writer. After all, being a veteran of the Vietnam War himself, one would (hopefully) not expect O'Brien to produce books about rainbows and butterflies. I hate war movies - ask anyone - so being intrigued with books regarding the Vietnam War is out of character for me. O'Brien makes it easy to delve into the lives of the veterans he introduces and attempt to understand their post-war thoughts, behaviors and feelings. July, July follows several Darton College alumni as they meet for their 31st reunion and as they reminisce on life's occurrences 31 years in the past. Though only 1 character is actually a vet, the war has clearly influenced each character on a different level. As a 20-something, I had a hard time placing myself in the shoes of the reunion attendees, yet still had an easy time feeling pity, guilt, remorse etc. for each individual character and their circumstances. The book is touching, even though I have no clue how the Vietnam War and 1969 could affect a person. Perhaps I'll read this one again when I'm in my 50s.

I'm currently reading Savage Inequalities by Jonathon Kozol so I'll update once that is finished.