and the first shall be last

Last week for our ten-mile walk I was boasting about being the first person the entire walk, well this week karma caught up to me and I was the last person in today. But that's okay because I completed 12 miles! This is only the second time in my life I've walked that much, so I'm proud of what I accomplished, even if I can barely sit or stand without moaning.

(this was very early in the walk)

To say that today was easy would be a complete lie. I don't know what I hate more, hills (okay, I personally think they were more like mountains then "hills"), or wind. It doesn't matter which I hate, because both were a pain in my butt today.

(anticipating water!!!)

(mmmm....water!)

I also don't like walking without an end in sight, and this course was just a looooong, windy road with absolutely no end in sight. Just when you think you're done conquering a hill another one comes and swoops up at the next bend. New Mexico is a gorgeous place to live, work (out), and play, but I'm not a fan of how desolate it feels while walking 12 miles...ugh.

("Kicking the dam in its crotch!")

But, with all that whining I did finish and I actually finished just around three hours, which is great! I'm still hesitant about doubling that mileage, so I think I'll just take it one step at a time.

(conquering six miles; it was [almost] all down hill from there)

I know that picture above is tiny, but it's the elevation of the Jemez Dam route we were on (click the link to read more about the route).

Friday Poll

Well, this poll was somewhat of a flop because there was no clear result:
I guess the one clear thing is that my readers don't like Spring, and who can blame them? Now that March is here, the weather in New Mexico has definitely stormed in with wind, blizzard-like conditions and gloomy days.

Now for this week's poll....

Do you have a camera phone?
*Yes
*No

Take Two Minutes...

Videos like this get me every single time. Gah.
Have your tissue handy and don't say I didn't warn you!

What a Difference a Day Makes

When I lived in England I fell in love with a singer named Jamie Cullum. I found him a few months before I found Michael Buble, and now whenever I listen to them it takes me back to my days riding around rainy Britain.

I bring this up today because, boy, what a difference a day makes.

Yesterday I was most definitely having an "off" day. I had a pounding headache that felt like a woodpecker was constantly tapping the right side of my head, I was overly exhausted for no good reason (i.e. I got the same amount of sleep as any other night), and I was bloated, oh was I bloated; my size-and-a-half-too-big engagement ring was having a hard time coming off my finger.

I took some trusty Midol and even though Woody The Woodpecker took a short hiatus from my head, a nagging headache still remained. Thankfully the amount of caffeine from the drugs allowed me to get some work done and join the rest of humanity, but I still didn't feel normal.

Until this morning. What a difference a day made. I woke up sans headache and with the usual energy I'm used to. And best of all, my engagement ring is once again too big for my finger, which means the bloating has left my body.

I share all of this mostly to get to this point: PMS is really a giant annoyance in my life and if there was one thing I could wish for it's that men would have to spend at least two months in a woman's body so they can experience the crazy and sometimes bi-polar emotions that we have to deal with.

In The Clear

Fear can keep us up all night long, but faith makes one fine pillow. ~Philip Gulley

I'm sure most of you know the story of my dad's diagnosis with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He was diagnosed May 5, 2005, and that anniversary is coming up pretty fast. After you're diagnosed cancer, patients continue seeing an oncologist on a routine basis. First it's every couple weeks, then every month, then every three months, six months, and so on. Two days ago my dad went in for a six-month check up.

Before every visit he's a nervous wreck, which is understandable, and this visit was no different. Luckily the doc told him and my mom that he's still in remission - no sign of cancer or anything they need to be worried about. It's such a huge sigh of relief for all of us.

My thoughts and prayers go out to families who aren't receiving such great news, and I hope they have a fantastic support system in place for them.

short weekend w/ lots going on

It's been a long weekend. Long story short, here's what went down:

Saturday
* Team in Training fundraiser all day - made about $50 :)
* Met with a very potential photographer
* Hearty pasta dinner

Sunday
* Walked 10 miles and kicked the course's butt! It was a great walk and I had a fast and consistent pace the entire time.
* Went to Albuquerque The Magazine's Wedding Showcase in the afternoon. Started out wearing heels and quickly changed to flip flops.
* Signed the contract with my day-of coordinator!

now I want to sleep. I'm exhausted.

Friday Poll

I had to edit this poll a bit because I couldn't copy it straight from the site, so it doesn't have the neat highlighted percentages. With a little prodding, 13 people voted this time around and the overall winner for this poll was the last option: The Whole Shindig. I debated whether or not I wanted to even include that one because I wanted to see what - besides the whole thing - people like the most. Maybe I'll do this question again in a few months.

Okay, on to this week's poll...dun dun dun...

What's Your Favorite Season?

*Summer
*Spring
*Fall
*Winter

And just when you thought I managed to get away without talking about the wedding, think again. Eleven months from today I'll be tying the knot!

It's Time to Slow Down

I really need to take some time and breathe; my life is flying by and I'm trying very, very hard to hang on by tiny threads.

It seems as though I'm never home anymore. If I'm not meeting with a potential vendor (venue and photographers are taking up my time now, and I especially love it when they stand me up and no show), then I'm doing my best to hang out with my friends or make it to some of the magazines after work functions (I missed one last night - boo!). The work load is definitely picking up at the magazine, so I'm also doing my best to juggle things there.

My weekends almost always are gone as fast as I can blink. This weekend I'm selling hot dogs at a Team in Training fundraiser (ask me about it if you're in town this Saturday), trying on wedding dresses at a "trunk show," run/walking 10 miles, and stepping into heels and a pretty dress for the Wedding Showcase. Whew. Just writing that all down makes me tired!

I keep telling myself that things will calm down soon, so I'd love to see the light at the end of that tunnel sooner rather than later. On the docket for today: already worked out for 40 minutes, I'll pick up a large coffee from Dunkin' in an hour, interviewing restaurant owners at 10, working more on the never-ending DateBook, Burger Taste Test #3 this afternoon, meeting another potential wedding photog at 5:30 and then celebrating my friend's birthday after that. I need to remember to:

Eight Miles: Uphill Both Ways

Whew. Today's training took a toll on me. Truth be told, I didn't warm up and stretch nearly as much as I should have, but still, when you're literally going uphill (both ways!) it's hard! My lower back was sore after just four miles, I could feel blisters forming on feet, and my legs were way passed feeling like Jell-O. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Albuquerque area, let me break it down for you. (My comments are highlighted in yellow, try clicking the picture!)
All in all it was very good practice for me. The one fantastic thing about training in in Albuquerque is that these hills that are making my legs and bum so sore now are going to feel like an ant hill in San Diego. I started doubting my ability to complete a full marathon (26.2 miles) in a little more than two months, but I know I have the support of my friends and family, so I'll do the best I can.

P.S. The only reason you're getting a post tonight is because Jenna begged for one, so you can thank her for my whining :p

Pint-sized Cupcakes

Fact: I love all things tiny, cute, and not overly sweet.
Fact: Putting on my adorable apron doesn't make me a whiz in the kitchen.

But sometimes if I see something I REALLY like I'll be more inspired to stay motivated in the kitchen. Well, I think these little bites are cause to keep my drive alive. Seriously, how cute are they? And they actually seem pretty easy to create.

When a recipe begins with the word "easy," as in these Easy Cupcake Bites by Bakerella, it means there's actually a fairly good chance I can follow the recipe. AND, when that recipe has step-by-step photos to accompany the easy recipe (like here at The Pioneer Woman Cooks), it means my chances of screwing up decrease even more!

Now I'm not expecting my bite-sized cupcakes (cuppies?!) to ever turn out looking like the very first picture (shoot, I'll be happy if you can even tell they're supposed to look like "cupcakes") but I think these are too adorable to not attempt to make.

Before I bust out the apron, the next question is what flavor of cake mix should I buy?

Friday Poll

Well, eleven of you voted last week and eight of you think my colors should be light pink and brown! Thanks for all of you who voted - who knew that I had that many people reading this! I'm still up in the air on what colors I'll pick; I'm still leaning to a pale pink and black.

I'm starting a new poll for this week (vote on the right):
What's your favorite part of a wedding?
*ceremony
*reception
*flowers
*dresses
*photography
*food
*drinks (alcohol)
*dj/dancing

I think I'll have a new poll every Friday. I'll close them Thursday night and post a new one the next day. Feel free to give me ideas for different polls (they don't need to be wedding related!)

Some day - when I have free time (ha!) - I'd like to go all the way back through my archives and label all the posts. There have been some interesting things I've covered, so it'd be nice to have those easily accessible with labels. Anyway, that's the latest "do" on my to-do list.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone!

P.S. typin' away with jesstagirl hit more than 2,000 total visitors this week since I started! Very exciting.

Training Recap

my walk team from Sunday

I know I've been preoccupied with wedding plans on here, but I wanted to give you an update on my marathon training with TNT. This past Sunday I walked six miles and I'm gearing up to walk eight this coming Sunday. I'm really enjoying walking. I feel like I'm exerting less energy by walking, but I'm going faster than when I ran so I end up having more energy in the long run. Granted, now that we're getting into the longer walks I'm getting tired after, but I feel good. I've also been averaging 2-3 miles three days a week at the gym.

Now that it's getting warmer I'm going to start walking outside. I've been getting several checks in the mail, and hopefully those numbers will be reflected on my web site soon. I have a couple fundraisers coming up and I'm excited to see what type of money they bring in.

Now for wedding stuff! I'm meeting with my future mother-in-law today for lunch (La Salita!!!) to go over the wedding plans. I think we're getting really close to signing for our ceremony and reception site; I'll be sure to post about it when that happens. This afternoon after work my parents and I are meeting with a potential photographer...keep your fingers crossed that I won't have to sell my arm and/or leg to have them shoot our wedding!

In sad news, my camera is still MIA. I know where it is (left it at the house in the photo above), but I haven't had time to take pictures. I was doing so fantastic with taking a photo everyday, too! I'll pick back up when I get it back.

Inspired!

I think I found my inspiration for this wedding, and I think Kenny may approve, too!photo from Mrs. Lovebug over at weddingbee
If you can't tell, L.O.V.E. is spelled out with typewriter keys!

I stumbled upon this over at Weddingbee (my new hangout) and I immediately fell in love. This is was the inspiration for her wedding: It pays tribute to her love for writing - or let's be honest, it was probably her love for typing (!!) - combined with liking all things vintage (that's where Kenny would come in) and then she tied it all together with hues of light pink, black, and cream. Like I said, I think I'm in love.

I've always loved vintage typewriters, and I especially like the way the type looks on paper. Wouldn't it be cool to have vintage-looking invitations and/or a typewritten guestbook?

It wold also fit in perfect, because Kenny's been attempting to make me a Steampunk Keyboard for the past year and a half. One day he may actually finish it...

A little romantic, a little vintage, and (hopefully) pretty unique! So what do you think?

Ouch!

I get pretty offended when people don't love my city as much as I do. Granted, it took me a couple decades to appreciate it, but now I can't get enough of this place.

Emily Blunt (from The Devil Wears Prada) was recently in the Duke City filming a new movie out called Sunshine Cleaning. In the movie, they filmed at a trailer park, and she was quoted by the New York Daily News as saying this about filming in Albuquerque:

"It takes some getting used to. We actually were given great accommodations to live in, but we also got a real sense of Albuquerque. It is a bit of a shock on the system - it's rather a bleak place, and everything was beige. I ate a lot of Mexican food, though, so I was happy."

If only she filmed her during the spring or summer when things are actually not just beige, but have hints of green everywhere. If only she mentioned how gorgeous it is to have a mountain range to see everyday, or how amazing it is to see the sun set against the backdrop of volcanoes on our West mesa. I understand that, compared to England, Albuquerque can be a bleak and very beige place, but I wish people saw Albuquerque for all its glory.

Then again, at least Blunt liked our food, unlike other starlets filming here.

My Big Fat Hispanic Wedding

Sorry I've been MIA lately, I've wanted to take a teeny break from all this wedding talk. Okay, truth be told - I may have stopped the talk online, but it hasn't slowed down outside the blogosphere.

On the docket for today's blog is the guest list. Oh. My. Word. I've always known that my family resembles that from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but after putting together a very rough draft of our guest list it's confirmed.

Let me just lay it out for you. On my dad's side of the family I'm the fourth fifth youngest out of 27 cousins, and most of these cousins are now married and have kids of their own. Now add up all the aunts, uncles, friends of the family who are like family, my friends, coworkers...and you get the idea. Easily, without even trying to contain numbers, my side of the list is well over 125 people. This would be a great time to mention that Kenny and I wanted a "smallish" wedding - 150 people max. Kenny's side will probably barely hit around 50 people, and that's with him trying to scrounge up people.

Since I'm not willing to part with some of the names on that list, I think our "smallish" affair is turning into a mid-sized event. I'm okay with it, and as long as Kenny is okay with it. Now we just have to try to get the price down on the venue we're eying, because fifty bucks a head plus everything else for this wedding comes out to a pretty hefty number!

At first I was a little worried about my side having three times as many people as his - I didn't want this to turn into "Jessica's wedding." I want it to be "Jessica and Kenny's Marriage," and that's when I realized that yes, I do have a large family, but they're all going to be part of his family, too!

So, how do I decide who makes the cut and who I have to cut out?

Pink and...?

Since I'm now addicted to anything and everything related to weddings, I found this site called Polyvore that lets you put inspiration boards together. What's an inspiration board, you ask? Well, it's basically a collage of images to inspire you.

I'm considering having pink and brown as my colors, so these are some of the images found on the internet that I really like (if you click the image it'll show you the sources for all the images). I wish mine looked as fun as the two below, but like I said, it was my first time!

As for the other colors I'm debating over, those are light pink and black:

Source: Snippit & Ink

Source: Snippet & Ink

Now head to the right, take the poll, and tell me which you like best!

Possibility

I was at Whole Foods today and they had Gerbera Daisies in several vibrant colors. These are the flowers I'm thinking of having at our wedding. They just seem like "happy" flowers!

I'm still debating what my colors will be. I think I'll have light pink for sure, but now I just need to figure out what color I want with it. I paired these lovelies with some dark red daisies, but I don't know if I'm feeling it now. I may just stick with pink and brown as my colors...

Buzzin' Around the Office

This morning I somehow made it out of bed and into the gym at an earlier time than usual. I hit the treadmill at full speed (ok, it was only really going at 3.7 mph) and walked for more than 45 minutes. I'm learning how to keep an endurance pace so that I can actually complete a marathon without feeling and looking like I'm about to pass out/die at the end. So far so good. Can you believe that at one point during my workout this morning I actually had enough oxygen and energy to sing - outloud! - with a song that was playing?!

My walk this morning set the tone for a good day, and I think that good days (ok, bad days, too) deserve a treat. I stopped at my local Dunkin' this morning and bought my daily fix, a cup o' french vanilla joe with a little cream.

Ah. Bliss. Not only did the caffeine start it's magic work right away, but I was able to be more productive than I've been in awhile (i.e. I was able to "just say no" to browsing wedding web sites/blogs...I'm addicted). It's been a couple hours since I had my coffee and I can still feel it in my system. And don't worry, I'm still being productive - I just had to take a break to eat lunch, so I'll be back typing away at work stuff in just a few minutes.

I love the smell of coffee in the morning.

Oh! And I bet your glad this post had (almost) nothing to do with weddings, huh!

March Quote

When I walked into work this morning I got to flip my calender from February to March. I love changing the months because I get a new quote to stare at for at least 28 days :)

While I like this quote, I still don't agree with it 100 percent. The way I've always seen it, God doesn't put anything in front of you that you can't handle. Life can sure throw some curve balls that make us twist from our plan, but I personally believe God is the one who helps you get through it all.

Blogover

It was time for a makeover. It happens ever-so-often, and it just felt like time. So what do you think?

Before:


...and after:

I think I like.

edit: the only thing I'm not a huge fan of is how small the text is in the post section; I'm gonna have to try fixing that.