#214 - wedding dress

i arrived in hawaii yesterday for my aunty's funeral (thursday). it feels like i was just here so i don't really have a long list of things to do, plus there are a lot of funeral-related family events going on while i'm here. the only thing i really want/need to do is go to the beach and surf.

so i arrived about 2:30pm and the first thing we did was pick up my sister and go to three bridal shops. this was my first time to ever step into one of these places. whoa, it was weird. i've never been one of those gals who dream of their wedding and the perfect dress, etc. i don't think i'm going to become one either. luckily for me, she had already done some homework as to what she wanted. she took us to the three stores and had a few dresses picked out at each.

when she put on the first dress and walked out, it was like another person. this can't be my little sister!! it was a beautiful woman about to be married! oh my, it was weird. she looked awesome in all the dresses she tried on, even if they were samples and not the right size for her. the dresses ranged in price all the way up to $1400. i was like, omg that is way too much for a dress you are only gonna wear once!! but i guess it's your special day and if you can afford it, why not splurge?

the dresses she liked all had varying amounts of bead work and shiny stuff on it. totally not my style. i had to keep reminding myself, "this is not your wedding/dress/day!" it is kind of easy to get caught up in the glamour and idea of weddings and for me to fantasize about my own future wedding and what i want and don't want. i am so not there yet but i doubt i'll be throwing down anything in four figures for a silly dress.

so back to the dress. the one she finally chose (but had to sleep on) was a pretty, simple, a-line strapless dress with a corset looking tie in the back. it has a little "bling" but not over the top. it also has a chiffon layer and not too big a train. i think it's gonna be my job as maid of honor to fix that thing when it gets all messed up so i'm glad it's not too big/bulky. the worker who was helping her was a bit pushy for a bigger more poofy dress but none of us liked that style. she was a nice gal but i think she had her own conception of what the perfect wedding dress was and was trying to force it on us. i don't want my sister to have a bubble butt on her wedding day!

her wedding isn't even till june 2011 so i'm like, wow this is early. but i guess you have to get these things in order ahead of time. knowing me i'll end up in vegas getting married by an elvis impersonator! i am excited for her though, and she is excited too. i hope she doesn't become a bridezilla...

#213 - sick

Sucks to be sick. I'm in bed right now, trying to blog and rest. I have a raging sore throat and overall malaise. Luckily I don't work till friday but I have tickets to see Elton John and Billy Joel tonight! It's in ten hours so hopefully laying in bed for that time will help me feel better. I don't wanna miss it! My whole house is sick in one form or another. One has a sinus thing and the other kind of similar. I'm trying everything to get rid of this thing, lots of water, tea, salt water gargle, soup, vitamins, oj, superfood, and rest. Oh and hot showers.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

#212 - bodybuilding

i decided it's time to become serious about getting the body i want by weight lifting and good nutrition. i've been thinking about for a long time. i have been weight lifting since 1996 when i had knee surgery in high school. i was forced into the gym at school to rehabilitate my knee back to basketball form. that knee got stronger and i realized that one of the reasons i got hurt in the first place was because my muscles were weak and i was a weakling. our high school basketball team training did not include weight training, which is a real shame. although i resisted a little at first, i came to really enjoy lifting weights. i've been a gym rat ever since and it even led to my degree in exercise and sports science. i've taken lots of classes on exercise and related topics like exercise physiology, motor skills, and even weight lifting. i learned the different techniques, about reps/sets/volume, and about periodization. it was all geared towards training an injured athlete but the same principles apply. i still like to read and learn about exercise.

in college we had all-access to a really nice gym and i really hit it hard. i remember the first time i went to the gym. i was so excited, worked out hard for two hours and puked my guts out. it was great! after that i controlled my workouts and learned to create plans. i experimented with different variables and even got pretty strong by doing heavy lifting sessions with my buddy ALQ. we worked out a lot and were pretty active. if there wasn't so much partying going on i probably would've had a pretty nice physique. HA! beer and unlimited cheap food at my disposal led to weight gain. since graduating in 2003 i have lost about 20 pounds. i think i have lost some muscle as well because although i've been "going to the gym" i haven't really been serious about following a plan. or about my nutrition.

i have never been one to "diet" but if i am not conscious of what i am eating then i overdo it. the dictionary says it is "the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group". well i am an organism and i am keeping track of all the food i consume. what it consists of is 5-6 meals a day. lots of veggies, egg whites, lean chicken breast, protein powder, cottage cheese and water. i have been reading up on nutrition, especially in the bodybuilding community, and it is all pretty similar. it is a pretty healthy way to eat. the biggest problem is time. it's hard enough to fit three meals in a day. imagine trying to do 6. so there is a lot of prep going on. yesterday i spent 2 hours in the kitchen preparing my foods for the week. look up "clean eating" and this is essentially what i am doing. avoiding processed crap and going for stuff with lots of nutrients. i have about ten different veggies in my fridge right now. it's great!

nutrition and exercise go together. i've got my nutrition all planned out and have a few different workouts that i planned as well. i'm trying to workout 5-6 days a week, with three of those being weights. i just wanted to blog a little about it to be accountable. i'm keeping track of everything in this little notebook and i'm pretty excited to see what will happen!