Now, Pump It!

I love watching infomercials at night when I can't sleep. They're so interesting, and I wonder why people waste their money on these things. Well. I have to take my hat off to Turbo Jam, because it really is an ass kicker!

I didn't actually stay up until 2 am and call in, my cousin somehow burnt me a copy, and voila, I have Turbo Jam! I was a little skeptical at first to try it out, but my wedding dress guilt crept up on me, and I threw in the Learn & Burn DVD. Right there, hooked! I was actually tired when I did this, and actually got in a good workout! The next day, my abs were sore!!


I've done the 20 minute workout, and that is a nice workout if you really need to work out but don't have much time. However, I've learned with Turbo Jam (and Chaleene tells you this), you get what you put in. So, if you aren't shakin and groovin, punching and kicking with the effort you could/should be putting in, don't expect quick results.

I did the Turbo Sculpt for the first time the other day, and my booty got kicked! 45 minutes of working out pretty much evey muscle in your body! I knew I worked hard, but didn't think I had really given it my all, until I woke up the next morning and my arms and legs were aching! I'm so hooked. Losing 40 pounds is definitly worth good pain like that!

Another workout that I'm a fan of is the Ab Jam. I do that after I do either the Turbo Sculpt or the 20 minute work out. I do it the Ab Jam for even more of an ab workout. In all of the DVDs Chaleen does an ab workout, but since my tummy is one of my problem areas, I want to put in as much effort as I can!

However, I am sad to say that I have yet to try the Cardoio Party. Maybe I'll try it some time this week. Cardio really scares me for some reason! I was a competitive swimmer since age 8, and stopped in high school to start playing water polo. It's not like I have no cardio, I dunno, if I'm not swimming, I don't have it. I have never been able to run, and the thought of running just makes me want to find a hole and crawl in.

On top of the wonderful Turbo Jam army, I've been going to the gym if I'm not doing Turbo Jam, so I'm staying pretty active. I found out our gym offers some great Pilates, Yoga, PiYo (Pilates & Yoga) classes, so I've been taking advantage of those.

Must. Lose. Weight! Maybe as motivation, I'll take a picture of myself from the front & side everyday and see what type of progress i make/don't make.



Happy Exercising!

I Found It.. My Dress! THE Dress!

Update!!
My dress comes in October 16th!! I'm not going to get my hopes up though, I'll give the dress shop a few weeks leeway. As long as it gets here! I can't wait! Ugh, the girls there might be a teensy bit upset when they see how much weight I lost! If I lose it. I can! I can! But anyhow, yay for dress updates!!


It is official! After trying on at least 15 gowns, I have chosen this dress as "the one" that I will be walking down the aisle in. I can't believe it, I really can't belive I have found my dress. I actually never thought I would have a dress with beading and lace and so much to it, but I absolutely LOVE it! Before finding this dress on, I tried on dresses that were covered in lace, completely sleek with no detail, dresses with no train, and nothing with a fitted bodice at all! I thought I didn't want beads, a fitted bodice, or a long train to lug around the reception. Little did I know know, huh?!




What makes this dress even more special to me is that it was chosen by my MOH, Ms. Nebraska, whom I have been best friends with since we were 3 years old in pre-school. The boutique we went into handed us booklets full of the dresses they currently had in stock to try on, which we found very helpful. We didn't have to search through dresses and look at them, wondering what they looked like on an actual body, nore did I have to try to explain to them what I wanted. I appreciate people like this, I just love that they waste nobody's time! Anyhoo.. Ms. Nebraska was thumbing through the pages and suggested I try this dress on. The picture really doesn't do it justice, so I was a little hesitant, but she pulled the "c'mon, friends forever, pleaaaase." bit, so I did. The moment I put it on, I was in love. I couldn't believe how much I loved the dress!



The angled detailing on the dress is my favorite part, but I really do love the beading all over; which is surprising, because every time anything with beading was suggested I turned it away! I also love the side pleating (see 1st pic). It makes the dress feel like there is more structure and dimension to the dress. I also really love the way the dress hugs my body. Although the dress I tried on was small for me, I'm on a weight loss mission and plan to look ultra svelt on wedding day.

The other part that really surpirsed me about the dress that I love is the train. I never thought I would want a train on my dress because I didn't want to carry it around at my reception! That said, I thought the solution would be to buy a cute, short, reception dress, but boy am I wrong! When I put the dress on, I didn't want to take it off, and I can't imagine I will want to throughout the entire celebration! It also looks really cute with the bussel/bussle/busel (spelling??), and I was sold!

I ordered my dress on July 6th and am so excited for it to come in! I've been busting my bum to work out at least 4 times a week and Mr. is really trying to help with my diet. I'm such a picky eater, and will admit that I am a brat, but he is so patient and puts up with me and the brattiness. My weight loss goal is 40 pounds (okay..maybe 30 pounds) to be lost by the time the dress comes in or by the time my final fitting comes around. I have roughly 6 months left to do this, and I'm already down 5 pounds. Not a whole lot, but it's a step in the right direction! I know that may sound a bit extreme, but when I first met Mr., I was 135-140 pounds, I now weigh...drum roll please...180 pounds. Well, 175 pounds now, but still. That is way to much weight! I want to look great for the best day of my life (thus far), and also look smokin' in my wedding pictures. I'll do a post a little later on what I'm doing to work toward my weight loss goals. Let's just say, my arms and legs hurt badly today, thanks to yesterday's workout.

The Ol' Switch-a-roo!

So.. over the course of the past few days, we have decided to completely change our wedding colors, which causes us to change almost everything else!

Our centerpieces, although beautiful, don't fit in very well with our whole brown, yellow, and white theme. Although we could use yellow calla lilies, we thinks we're going to have a wedding full of sunflowers, but we plan on jazzing them up a bit to make them seem not so summery and bright.

That said, we've also had to change our bridesmaids dresses to brown. Which they all seem to really like, so there's no problem there! Also, the attire for Mr. and his buddies seems like it will be a lot easier to find.

As soon as we changed our colors, I knew I wanted sunflowers to be the main focal point, only to find out that they don't grow in the winter!! But, I knew there had to be a way around that, and there was... The Grower's Box!! They are a comlete life saver! Not only are they well priced, but their customer service is great! I spoke with a guy named Jonathan, and he was more than happy to help! Also, the shipping isn't even that bad! To Hawaii and Alaska, shipping is roughly $25, but to anywhere else in the country, it's free!! Anyhoo.. Jonathan was able to tell me that they would be able to get both the large and small sunflowers with the brown centers in January without a problem. That said, I now have saved us at least $1,000 by buying our flowers online and making the centerpieces ourselves, which should be fairly easy, and cheap! I actually think I may be ordering too many flowers, but for the price, I'm so comfortable ordering more, rather than cutting it too close.

I have yet to blog about my dress, don't I! Hmmm.. perhaps my next post. Toodaloo!

Bridesmaids Dresses

Wow, it has been quite some time since I've posted anything! I've been a little busy going to the gym everyday, then hitting the beach to get a nice tan. I haven't gotten a lot done, but I feel like I've taken some baby steps!

The first step, and one that I feel is a pretty big one, is that my bridesmaids have all, except for 1, been fitted and have made a deposit on their dresses! It took a little while of going back and forth with one of the bridesmaids, we'll call her Ms. Vegas, until we found one we both liked. From there, I showed it to Ms. Nebraska, Ms. London and Ms. Japan, they all approved, and we all went to get them store to get fitted and to try on the sample! It's Alfred Angelo, style 7002, and with tax and shipping came out to around $175 with tax and $25 for shipping (which is the cheapest we could find on Oahu.. frustrating!) The dress is below, what do you think?

I wanted a dress that was classy and elegant, but something that was age appropriate. We're all in our early 20s, with the oldest of us being 26, so I didn't want to stick them in something long and uncomfortable. My other reasoning behind a short dress was because I wanted them to pay for something they would wear again. I mean, it's bad enough that they have to pay for their own dresses, so of course I wanted to pick something they could maybe wear again to go out for drinks or dinner. We're thinking of shortening it just a tad, but that decision is on hold until the dresses actually come in and I can see them on the girls.

As for Ms. Vegas, it's a slight challenge in getting her measurements, because she's not here! As her name shows, she's currently in Vegas, finishing up her last bits of school. I'm pretty sure she'll be home next month, so we'll get her measurements then. I called her earlier to give them, plus her credit card info to me, but I'm in no rush.

Why, you may ask! We're ordering the dresses from The Bridal Boutique, and their specials monthly, and this month, their special is for wedding dresses, so I'm waiting to see what the special is for July. Hopefully it's a good one. Last month, their special was buy 3 bridesmaids dresses, and the 4th was free! We're all crossing our fingers for that one.

As for my dress, I think I've narrowed it down to two dresses. I'll be sharing in my next few posts the dresses and some other little tasks I've been up to. Cheerio!

Korean Fried Chicken

Since I'm going to be living on my own soon , my mom has started passing her delicious recipes on to me.

I'm going to make Korean Fried Chicken for dinner tonight as a "Congratulations Dinner" for Mr., so I'll post pix and the recipe later.


Update!

Being new to this whole blogging thing I completely forgot to take pictures while I was in the process of cooking! I'll try to remember next time I do one of these things things.. Anyway.. on to the recipe!

What you'll need:
1. 1/2 cup Aloha shoyu
2. 6 tbsp. white sugar
3. 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
4. 1 clove garlic, finely minced
5. Chopped green onions (optional)
6. 2 lb. chicken breast
7. salt & pepper
8. Flour
9. Canola oil (used for frying)

Directions:
1. Cut chicken breasts into strip, season w/ salt & pepper. Set aside.
2. Mix ingredients 1-5. Set aside. Stir occationally.
3. Place chicken strips into container, add enough flour to coat all pieces.
4. Shake container until chicken is fully coated.
5. Pour oil into pan, about 1/4 inch. Heat.
6. Fry chicken until light brown. Remove from pan, dip in sauce several times while still hot.
7. Place in shallow dish. Repeat frying chicken and dipping in sauce.
8. When done, pour remaining sauce over chicken.
9. Mix gently.
10. Serve and enjoy!

On the Fence

Mr. and I are moving to Maui soon, and I'm not quite sure what to do. Seeing that I've just graduated college, I'm not sure if I should be ferociously hunting for a job, or if I should be enjoying this time in my life where I'm not working. I mean, I have the rest of my life to work, right? Besides, I have a whole wedding to plan, and seeing that I have been bitten by the DIY bug, I have even more to do now!

It's an internal battle I have with myself on the constant. For the past 2 years I have worked in one the top resorts on Oahu while finishing up school. School is now done, we're moving to Maui, now what? Should I take some time off and enjoy life? Or should I keep working to keep building my resume and my personal brand?

Right now, taking some time off looks really good. This isn't the lazy side of me talking, it's the realistic side of me (with some nudging from Mr.), telling me that I need/deserve a break. I busted my booty to finish up school in 4 years, when I had originally planned to take it easy and finish in 5-6 years. Upon meeting my fiance, my goals changed and I kicked it into high gear. 16 credits one summer, and some crazy hard classes back to back. While taking crazy classes, I worked on weekends and interned after school, often late into the night. Thus said, I had no me time, no fun time, and gained 30 pounds from sitting at work, sitting at my desk doing homework, sitting at my computer and typing papers, and more sitting and sitting for school or work.

If I were to get a job, I would be doing the same thing, sitting. I wouldn't have time to work out and lose those disgusting 30 pounds or to dedicate as much time as I would like to, to the wedding. Plus, I've always wanted a dog, and Mr. has surrendured to me wanting a little Yorkie Terrier, so I wouldn't have time to play with him if I were working! And, Mr. said that if I don't work, I get to decorate the house however I want! All in all, he just wants me to take a break and have fun. Love him.

Hmm.. that said.. I think I opt for taking a break and maybe doing some part time/on-call, fun things. It's time for me to enjoy life and all it's blessings. Now, let's just hope the job I interviewed for and am supposed to be having a second interview with, doesn't call. *fingers crossed*

Inspired & Motivated

I'm here at work today, killing time by looking at wedding things. Usually it's just a day full of looking at random things and gathering ideas of what I want to do, but for the past two days I have just been completely inpired and motivated to be a DIY Bride! Whether or not I can do it is another story, but I'm going to do the best that I can.

All of my inspiration, motivation, and the flowing of my creative juices has stemmed from this blog, Road to the Aisle. I've come across her blog a few times in the past, earlier in the planning, but this weekend I seem to just be completely loving it. The blog owner's name is Heather, and she is just a crafting genius! She has DIYed her aisle runner, invitations (pocket folds!), save the dates, jewelry, and made a photo card box to name a few things. Plus, not only does she create things for herself, but for others too! Ahh! Here are some pictures of her work:

Her DIY Aisle Runner

Her DIY Wedding Invitations... Pockefolds too!!

I have decided that I want to have a go at making our invitations, creating a banner for the ceremony that reads "Here Comes the Bride", a photo-frame box, a shadow box, and our own monogram. But see, now, these items come from the inspiration of just this one website. I have also been inspired to make our favors and a few items to be featured on our candy buffet, but I'll save that post for another day. Or maybe I'll do it in a few hours/minutes, I'm pretty darn bored.