When you can't stick to the plan...

you blog about it.

So here's the thing.
I'm getting married in 10 months. And I really would like to slim down a bit before then. Not because I want to be a bridezilla or will look at my wedding photos and gripe about my chins. Although it is true that I wouldn't mind showing the photos to my grandkids and reminiscing over how beautiful and thin I was back then.

The thing is, then: I love my curves. I am 5'7 and 165lbs. That is, from a BMI point of view, I'm overweight. Just a teensy bit, mind you. 6 pounds down would bring me into the 'normal' range. I don't particularly mind being overweight, because I'll have you know, I look fantastic naked. Just FYI.

But I would really, really love to be able to pull on a pair of jeans without worrying about whether they will show off my muffin top . I would kill to have a pair of pants wear out at the knees before they wear out where my thighs rub together. I'm not saying I want to be 110 pounds or anything. I just want to worry about the jiggle a little bit less.

As an almost-nurse, I also know the value of core strength and want to build in that way so that I do my best to avoid back injury.

And god dammit, I'll say it: I want to wear a strapless wedding gown without the chicken wings. There you go. I'm vain that way.

Another reason I want to lose some weight is that one day, maybe not so very far away, I want to have kids. and I want those future pregnancies to be happy and healthy and leaving me afterwards with a body which, while maybe not the same, is still something I can be happy with. Also, I am very afraid of the dreaded number: 200. At nine months pregnant, the last thing I want is for that number to be staring me in the face. Because if that happens, there will be a fight. And I already know, the hormones will win.

These thoughts have been fluttering around in my head for ages and ages, and I just can't seem to get started. I have my crazy summer work schedule partly to thank for this. The rest of the credit can go to the raging sweet-tooth, carb-loving maniac who lives inside me. Thanks, maniac.

I don't honestly know where to start, or even what my goal is. I think a realistic thing would be to go for 10%: 16.5 lbs.
I've had some past success with weight watchers (I used to be 15-20 lbs heavier), but I can't afford that business right now. But I do need to be conscious about my eating habits and oh, I don't know, get moving a little more. Which means ending this blog post and getting the eff outside.

Recipe Cards!

I have been wanting to find some sweet recipe cards for such a long time. Following a much-loved recipe from a pretty card just feels so much better than searching it on the internet or scrambling for that peice of paper you filed........ somewhere.

So thank you to Vale Design for creating these lovelies, and for making them free!

Embellish

Bird

all I need to do is print on cardstock, trim, maybe laminate, and use!
I feel the need to bake some pretty things now.

(found via Twig & Thistle)

Stuff I want to wear.

I love to wear dresses. I own more dresses than I do pairs of pants. Not pairs of jeans, mind you; pairs of pants. Period.

I am out of things to wear for fall. And I'm thinking:
Rather than suffer the indignity of trying to find a pair (or several) of jeans for a girl with hips (and a bum, and thighs, oh and a belly too), why don't I just keep on wearing my dresses? What if I just pair them with tights and sweet sweaters and coats and boots?

Which lead me to mod cloth, of course.

Some of my faves, which I might just buy:

Pottery Studio Dress, $49.99*

Chamomile Dress, $52.99

Perfect in Pinstripe Dress, $117.99

Antique Trellis Dress in weekday, $59.99

Imbibtion Dress, $49.99

I tried to pick only dresses that I knew I could and would wear any day of the week, and which would suit my body shape. But really, it was horrible to make me choose only a few to share. You should really be ashamed of yourself.

Also, does anyone out there have a suggestion for best pair of leggings in the entire world? ones that are thick enough to stay warm in yet don't bunch up, durable, and actually stay up? Black is a necessity, other colours are a bonus. (Available in Canada would be a bonus, too)
Footed and footless candidates may apply.

*all prices in USD. Because even though I'm not American, this is the language of the internet, yo**.
** I NEVER say that in real life. Well, okay; only when I'm drunk.

On self-discipline

Thou shalt walk the dog before checking the 6000 blogs you read.
Because you do the latter first, the former won't ever get done.

The thing about hound dogs is...

I love my Luna Looney-tunes. I really do. I mean sure, I could do without the howling at anything that moves, but she's a sweet dog and a good one and will be with us until she's old and grey.
But the thing nobody ever told me about hound dogs* is that they shed like motherfuckers**. All the time.
Enough that dusting and vaccuuming EVERY ROOM is a daily necessity at our house. Miss a day, and we literally have tumbleweeds of dog hair floating around the house.
Every room, every day. I used to be a weekly(ish) vaccumer, so this was a big change for me. We have a furbuster and a shedding blade, which are supposedly two of the best grooming/shedding tools out there, and they keep things to a minimum for a day or so (while I've heard others say that they only have to use the shedding blade once a month and the furbuster once a season), but the dog hates them so much that it's hardly worth the effort.
Does anyone out there have any further tips to help me keep my sanity a little bit?

*Actually, we live in a largeish city in Canada, so nobody really told me anything about hound dogs, because nobody has any. I had no clue what I was getting into!
**I tried and failed to think of a better word to use here... sorry, mom.

I'm sick.

The past couple of days, I have been more tired than I have ever been before*. More tired than anyone in the history of the universe.

I have a summer cold. And everyone knows, a summer cold is the lamest possible type of cold. Luckily, Victoria has been rainy and grey for the past few days so I'm not missing too much.

But still, I imagine all the things I could do. all the tidying I might have the energy to do, all the little house projects I had planned for my days off. But all I can do is sleep, and it sucks. The poor dog is going crazy.

Yes, please. Lace and flora via FFFFOUND!

I'd gladly stay in bed all day if my space looked like this. It wouldn't be sleeping the day away, it would be more like sunbathing or Catnapping, both of which are much more graceful than just sleeping.

*I beleive this every time I get sick. It's funny, my main symptom of sickness is usually exhaustion rather than various other forms of misery. I'd much rather hack up a lung at a functional level of energy than become exhausted from tiny little things like showering**.
**true story.

Judging the book by its cover.

In one of my 512 alternate personalities/universes, I would design packaging.

Because then I could take credit for pretty things like this:

Pavel Gubin*

Jamie Conkleton Red Tettemer
Tub Gin website here

However, I will settle for having these products in my Liquor Cabinet instead.

*I can see this bottle as the subject of a great many inappropriate facebook photos.