You know why...

Crunch time, baby.

It's weird, I hit the two month mark back in May, and that's when the anxiety really took over. That's when the "I can't wait for this to be OVER!" began. Well, then came the bachelorette, the shower and now we're four days away and I'm feeling like, wow, this IS almost over. The stress is lifting, mostly because the weather forecast, the last unknown, is looking great. Humid, but great. My mood was rainy last week, but now I'm partly sunny!

My family is all arriving this week, the budget turned out to be completely on point, I've met with all the vendors, and now everyone is just eagerly awaiting the weekend. Here's the plan.

Friday: Drive down to RI in the morning. Stop at the Providence Place Mall to get my ring cleaned, pick up bridesmaid Meg at the train station, stop at the tux shop and then head down to Newport. Meet for the rehearsal around 1, then the girls go for mani-pedis. Then rehearsal dinner/welcome party at 6 p.m. I can't wait to start seeing all the guests then!!!

Saturday: Up not too early. Hair/makeup appointments around 1. Back for pictures starting at 3:30. Around 5 head over to reception venue. Six oclock get married. Then, party.

Sunday: Mom hosting a day after brunch for out of town guests. Go back to Boston with Meg and Troy... catch our flight to London!

Monday - Thursday: London.

Thursday- Friday: Chipping Camden.

Saturday: Liverpool.

Monday-Tuesday: Edinburgh. Fly home.

Then Paul McCartney when we get back!

I know I didn't get a chance to write too much about the shower but you can check out my album on facebook. Needless to say it was awesome, and I have the best bridesmaids in the world. 

Not sure if I'll make it back to the blogosphere for a bit, but I plan on giving you the full recap when I get back!!!!!!! 

Gave ya 20

Well, here we are, faithful blog readers, 15 days away from... you know.

And I know I've left you on the edge of your seat in regards to my battle with the bulge. Last time we spoke, I was at a post-holiday weight of 154. I had started at 162, so down eight pounds, my goal was 137 -- aka 25 pounds total.

Well, I'm happy to say that I've progressed, and while I'm disappointed I'll fall short of that goal... 20 pounds lost is nothing to sneeze at!

I went to my first of five personal training sessions exactly five months ago -- in February. She took some stats at the first appointment, and we did an update today. Some changes after five months...

Weight (2/09/09): 152

Weight -- Today: 142

Difference: Ten pounds lost! It's tough, because I think when you have your heart set on a number (in my case -- 137) it's easy to feel disappointed in yourself. But every once in a while I have to say to myself, "Self, you've lost 20 pounds. That is NOT easy. Going to the gym 5-6 times a week is NOT easy." I'm also down from a tight size 10 to a super tight size six (haha) or a comfortable eight. Not too shabby.

Body Mass Index (2/09): 26.9. This was in the "overweight" zone of 25-29.9.

BMI today: 25.1. So close to "normal"!

Body Composition -- aka percentage of my body which is fat (2/09): 25.4 (this was in the moderate zone of 23.1-29.0)

Body Composition today: 22.8. This is under the header of "Optimal". 2.6% of my body fat is gone!

I tried to cobble together the best "Before and After" shots I could find.

The left is from May 25, 2008 -- the night we got engaged. The right is from June 27, 2009. I think you can tell the difference right?

This isn't going to end for me after the wedding. I really want my goal -- and beyond. 130 sounds really, really nice. And after you've lost 20 pounds, 10 or so more doesn't seem so bad, right?

For the people who like this stuff...

Some wedding things we finished up and I'm proud of. 

I'm marrying sort of  a crafty guy. He knows his way around photoshop, can handle a pair of scissors, so when  he told me he'd take care of the favors (CDs also posing as escort cards) I had faith he would produce something fantastic (just wasn't sure WHEN it would be done). Well he finally mocked up a prototype and needless to say, I'm quite proud!

The front.

The inside. The CD is laser-imprinted with some of our engagement photos and our wedding date, cool huh?

Here's the final track list, for those who are interested :)

1. Queen -- You're my Best Friend

2. Barry Louis Polisar -- All I Want is You

3. Arctic Monkeys -- Baby I'm Yours

4. Joshua Radin -- Only You (Our wedding song!)

5. Old 97's -- Question

6. Frankie Valli -- Can't Take My Eyes Off You

7. The Moths -- Wild Birds

8. Bob Dylan -- I Want You

9. Michael Jackson -- The Way You Make Me Feel

10. The Beatles -- Here, There, and Everywhere

11. Frank Sinatra -- The Way You Look Tonight

12. Jack Johnson -- Better Together

13. Alicia Keys -- No One

14. Neutral Milk Hotel -- In the Aeroplane Over The Sea

15. Marvin Gaye -- How Sweet it Is

16. US -- Can't Help Falling in Love

17. Belle & Sebastian -- Another Sunny Day

18. Al Green -- Let's Stay Together

19. Colin Hay -- I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You

20. The Beatles -- Something

21. Alanis Morissette -- Head Over Feet

22. Adam Sandler -- I Wanna Grow Old with You

23. Kenny Rodgers -- Through the Years

Also, what I like about these favors is that they have the person's name on it. So if at the end of the night, they leave them behind, I can come to their house and say "You didn't like my freaking favor?" and throw it in their face.

I think that would be good for Christmas time, don't you? No?

Other stuff done this weekend: wedding programs and menus. I can't claim any credit for the menus, which were masterminded and put together by the world's greatest Maid of Honor, Katie. The programs, also Katie's creation, were done in about 4 1/2 hours yesterday. By using materials we already had, as well as some free stuff I got on the sly, these two projects probably only cost $30? Maybe a little more for the print cartridge. They don't look super polished, but who cares? I like that comfy feel.

The terrible pics don't really do them justice, but a lot of you will see these in person in 19 days anyway!

Got this in my email the other day...

Super stoked. Yay for extended honeymoon in Fenway!