Honeymoon! Honeymoon! Honeymoon!

This has been my mantra of late.  Anytime I get stressed or nervous or anxious or frustrated with the wedding, I repeat that over and over again (in a fun little singsong voice) until I feel better.  Because no matter how crazy things get, on September 6, Ari and I will be getting on a plane and going here.

That's Club Med Turkoise.  Everything is already paid for (except tips).  Air is booked and they take us to and from the airport.  I expect my hardest decision all week to be whether I should drink my pina colada by the beach or the pool.  And bonus points for being an adult-only resort.  I love kids, I really do, but I don't want to have to deal with them on my honeymoon.  Oh yeah, and did I mention I will be doing lots of this?

Only I won't be sticking my ass out like I'm terrified of leaving the board.  Shoulders back, hips forward!

Cos they have a flying trapeze there kids.  I haven't flown in almost two years and I miss it so badly.  I am beyond excited.  I really hope the safety belts really are that gold color, because then I will totally pretend I am Wonder Woman.

I am predicting a very good week.

on the docket

So with 45 days to go, things are coming fast and furious.  Some of the bigger things have gotten left later than they should have (thank you blog overload and massive indecision!) but it means they all start happening pretty rapid fire.  On the agenda for today is ordering our ketubah, booking our honeymoon and ordering my veil!  That means I'll actually have a complete outfit, the ability to have a ceremony and a week of total bliss full of booze, beach, flying trapeze (we're going to club med - so excited!) and my new husband (husband!).  This thing is really happening!

Finally, right?

I'm back.  Finally.  Really.  It's been for-effing-ever (sorry Stefie!).  Most of the last month has been spent back East with the family catching up, watching my sister graduate, alternatively throwing and attending parties and whipping this wedding into shape.  I'll try to flesh these out into their own posts (goodness knows they deserve them - sidenote: I always say "goodness" instead of "god" because I just don't like to talk about religion or god that way when my feelings change about it all the time, but I just realized that goodness makes me sound like I'm 87.  I guess I'm ok with it.), but my mom threw me the loveliest bridal shower where lots of family and friends came from pretty far away and just around the corner to celebrate my happiness!  I was just blown away.  And instead of obnoxious shower games, we made my chuppah!  Well, started.  I'll post more about that when it's closer to being done and I have pictures for you.  And we ordered our invitations (which should arrive tomorrow or the next day!).  Let me just tell you, they rule.

But, before I went away to lalaland, I promised to post about working out.  At this point it's either hypocritical or entirely appropriate to talk about since I worked out a grand total of once the whole time I was home.  In any case, it's what you're getting.

I never played sports.  My high school didn't even have teams (except for chess, we were national champs all four years I was there I think- Go Murrow Chess!).  The only real hobby I've ever had that was physical (not including my knitting, of course ;o) was circus arts.  If that sounds unusual, it's because it is.  But I loved it, I still do.  However, no matter how much I would love to spend at least half of every day flying on the trapeze, it's expensive and not easily accessible (read: no rig anywhere near where I am).  When I spent a summer teaching trapeze, I loved it and I worked out six hours a day.  Not step aerobics or spin class, but climbing a 30 foot ladder and holding on with one leg, catching kids that decided they didn't need to hold onto an apparatus 15 feet in the air, pulling safety lines or acrobatics training during a period off.  My clothes were falling off of me by the end of the summer.

Best office ever.

I guess the point of all that is to say I don't like working out just for the fun of lifting dumbbells in the air over and over again.  I get bored.  So really, the secret, for me, to working out is motivation.  I have a few things that keep me motivated to keep going back, and I think I'll tackle talking about each of them, some in greater detail over the next few days.  Here's what you have to look forward to:

• Podcasts.  Hands down my biggest helper.  Two in particular have made the elliptical my friend rather than my enemy.
• A workout I like, that I've put together with future goals in mind.
• A nice place to work out in.  If your gym sucks, or it's far, or it's whatever, it's that much harder to go.
• Boredom.  The job hasn't materialized yet, so I'm still home alone all day.
• My wedding dress.  I didn't plan to lose weight for the wedding, and I don't have a crazy goal, but the better I look in my everyday clothes, the better I look in the photos that will hang on the wall forever.
• And lastly, good clothes.  Never underestimate the value of pockets and a decent bra.

Catch you on the flip side, children.

Inspiration Board: Brought to You By the Letter C

Yesterday, after seeing an amazing performance of Cirque du Soleil's Alegria*, I forgot where I'd parked my car, called my parents and told them. Well they didn't pick up the phone when I called to say I'd found it (after 20 minutes of parking lot searching) and then forgot my phone in the car. They called the police who showed up at my door 2 hours later. Saying that having the police tell you to call your parents is embarrassing is a gross understatement. Nevertheless, I am fine.

But after my little run-in with the law (well, campus police), I made another letter board, which the site I use to build them, did not save. There are not enough words to say how annoying this was. So I rebuilt it this morning, but I wasn't happy! Let's just say, when "E" rolls around, it won't be my favorite board.

So anyhow, here's "C." It's brown and orange and totally 70's with a little bohemian. More of a weekend theme than a wedding for me, but hey, different strokes, right?

Credits: Jose Villa, Silvana Di Franco

*I realized I breezed over Alegria. To say it was amazing is selling it short. It opens up with the most incredible swinging trapeze act, I mean, I want to be this woman when I grow up and get over my fear of the good swinging trap tricks. Then, the tumble track. Holy crap. Someone threw a triple backflip. I spent the whole act going "Oh man, oh my god." And the clowning was actually funny! That's the one part of Cirque shows that usually leave me cold, but these guys were just great! They're on tour right now with the show so if you have the chance to see it, GO!

I forgot I never said this here, but it makes my circus obsession make more sense. I learned circus arts as a teenager and practiced for a few years. Last summer I taught full time as a camp counselor. Flying trapeze is my favorite and if I ever do get the chance, I really will run away and join the circus.