The Dress!

Last weekend, I went dress shopping with my mother, grandmother, and maid of honor.  It was such a wonderful experience at David's Bridal.  My consultant was so nice, and I had an amazing time.  My maid of honor was so helpful in calming my nerves and helping me put gowns on.  I don't know why I was so nervous...but I was!  Trying on gowns made everything a lot more real for me.

I tried on about 7 gowns.  I bought gown #4.  Nothing compared to it, and every time I put it on, I loved it more and more.  It has what I was looking for... a SPARKLE factor!  =)

I purchased the gown, the veil, the head piece, my shoes, and all the undergarments that make the dress look good!  I was also able to pick out colors that my girls are going to wear.  I am so excited to go back with them to try on their dresses.

Yesterday, the wedding photographer that we chose to photograph our wedding met with us at Harkness Park on the CT shoreline.  It is such a beautiful park, Scott and I love it there.  He took some engagement shots of us, and we developed a great relationship with him.  He is an awesome guy, very easy to get along with.  He's laid back and down to earth, and it's a perfect match for us.  I cannot wait to see the pictures.  We have had so many pictures taken of us, it will be cool to see something a little different!

I'm still on WW, losing weight slowly because I've slipped quite often lately.  With all the stress I was dealing with a few weeks ago, I have not lost much weight.  I need to get back on track.  Sometimes, it's hard to find the motivation... but I will.  I want to be perfect on my wedding day.  Perfect to me, is loving what I see in the mirror, and how I feel about myself.  I'm not there yet, but I will be.


Keep Smiling,

Karla =)

I'm about to have TONS of lemonade!

WAY too many lemons in my life at the moment.

- my car is in the shop
- it was pretty expensive to fix it
- weddings are VERY VERY expensive, which I find out more and more as I complete more and more of my planning..
- bills seem to be larger than income!  AH!
- work made me mad the other day..
- I'm sick.
- I have a lot of homework.
- A LOT.


With that said, at least I'm alive and .. sort of well, health wise. AND, I'm about to have me a HUGE, COLD, REFRESHING glass of lemonade with all of these lemons I've been carrying around lately.

Once I feel better, I hope to have a nice weekend, including... meeting with my wedding coordinator, going to dance class, going to several birthday parties.. one of them being for my gorgeous Bridesmaid, Marisa!! Happy Birthday, love!  =)

I also intend to go to the Durham Fair.  I can't wait to see how Scott and I placed with our photos.  We look forward to it every year.  We never made it to the judging, so we will be surprised!  I hope I feel well enough to enjoy all the delicious fair food.  Mmmm..  Nice weekend splurge...  but that it's back to the grind!

Speaking of that.. things are well... 2 pounds lost already this week!


Keep Smiling,

Karla =)

9 more months

I cannot believe our wedding is only 9 months away.  In wedding time, that's more like 9 minutes.  It's crazy how fast the time goes.

I believe I mentioned that I had chosen a photographer.  He is awesome, by the way.  He wants to have an engagement session with us so that we can get to know him a little bit better.  We have had so many "engagement" pictures taken of us because I am friends with a lot of people who are interested in photography.  So, why not a few more? lol  So our engagement shoot will be in early October when there is color in the trees and it isn't too terribly cold yet.

I have a date picked out to go wedding dress shopping with my girls and my Mom and Grandma.  I so badly want my Grandma to be a part of this day because she is paying for some of the wedding.  She is excited about it and so am I.  More on that later when the actual date comes.

This weekend, Scott and I are putting photos into a contest at the Durham Fair in Durham, CT.  Scott and I met at the Durham Fair and we have been putting photos into their photo contest ever since.  I picked 2 photos that I thought were contest worthy and he picked 2 as well.  It's so much fun to see how they place... or if they place.  Last year, Scott beat me and won a third place ribbon for one of his photos.... lucky for me, the photo was a picture of ME!  HA!  I'll let you know how things turn out this year.  The fair isn't until next weekend.  Hopefully, we will watch the judging of the photos on Sunday.  I have always wanted to see how they judge them.

I have a confession to make.

I did about 200 crunches... 50 leg lifts on each side, and a nice "dance" workout on my Wii the other day.  I woke up yesterday morning feeling like I had been punched in the stomach a bunch of times.  Wow was I in pain.  The pain escalated throughout the day at work (picking up kids..etc) and by the time I got home from work, I was in bed, all curled up in a ball feeling like I was going to puke.  I thought I was sick at first, but I had an appetite, so I knew that it was just my tense and very sore ab muscles.  I have never in my life felt that much pain.  I should have eased into such an intense workout.  What was I thinking?  Clearly, I wasn't.

I haven't worked out since that day (Wednesday) because I have been in so much pain.  Today was a little better, but still sore in some areas.  I would like to be able to workout later tonight.  We shall see.  I don't want to over do it.

So glad it's Friday.

Enjoy your weekends!


Keep Smiling!


Karla =)

It's been difficult to remain faithful to this blog.  Sigh.

It's been a difficult month, but I will say, I've been smiling through it all.

I have an amazing fiancee who supports me, holds me, gets me through the tough stuff, and reminds me to smile every single day.

The move was, tough.  It took a lot out of me!  More so than I planned.  It threw my wedding planning off a lot.  It's been difficult to get into the flow of our new rent and getting things squared away financially for the wedding.

Before I knew it, it was back to school, and adjusting to a hectic school and work schedule.  I feel like I'm never home, and when I am home... it's to do laundry, cleaning, dishes, cooking, homework... and blogging comes last!  Such is life.

Then a few weeks ago, I find out that a family member of mine is sick.  Real sick.  I will be visiting him in the hospital on Friday.  I'm nervous.  He is on the mend... but for awhile, we were all unsure if he would make it.  I'm praying, everyday.  And trying to smile.


In better news, I found a photographer for the wedding!  Scott and I love him.  He's so awesome and I feel like he's a perfect match for us.

I have yet to really try on dresses.  Yike..

Soon!  I'm hoping late September, early October.  I'm not a real picky person and I have high hopes of finding a dress on the first try, so I am not too concerned about running out of time.

As far as weight loss goes... I did lose quite a bit when I first started WW in July and I've gained some, not all, of it back.  It makes me want to scream!!  But, this happens, and has happened before.  My weight always fluctuates...  It's not the number that matters to me, but how I feel.  I feel alright, but I want to feel gorgeous on my wedding day.

I will get there.


Dance started up again.  I'm SO happy about it!!



As Mrs. Lathrop would say,

Keep Smiling!

-Karla  =)

Weekend Overview!

I'm back to following the WW plan after a long weekend of going way beyond my daily points.  Let's see... on Friday, there were cupcakes for my birthday at work.  Luckily they were all eaten before I could have one!  I was happy about that!  They went fast!  That night was cake at my parents house... it was nice to see them and my other family.

Saturday, Scott woke me up and said that we were going to the beach for my birthday.  So, as soon as I got my suit on, the sun decided to go away.  He mentioned the Cheesecake Factory as a Plan B and so I enjoyed a nice meal there with him.  He told the waitress it was my birthday and she gave us a slice of cheesecake with Happy Birthday written on the plate in chocolate syrup and sprinkles... luckily she spared me the embarrassment of being sung to by a million other Cheesecake Factory employees.  =)

After lunch, we took a stroll down to Charming Charlie's.  It's a rather new jewelry shop in CT.  It's all the talk at my job and ever since my first time there, I have wanted to go back.  Scott bought me a few things there and then we went home.  A few of my friends came over to see our new place and to wish me a happy birthday and then we were back out again to celebrate at night.

Sunday, I spent half the day finishing all the unpacking and organizing and when Scott came home from work, we had a party with his side of the family.  By this time... I had had SO MUCH CAKE.

Then Sunday night, by parents saw our place for the first time and we made dinner for them.  It was great!  I love when they come up to visit.  =)


Now what is in my fridge?  Leftovers.  Not just any leftovers either....

LEFTOVER CAKE!



Ughh.....


Scott and I meet with a photographer tomorrow night!  So maybe I'll actually post my first blog post about actual wedding planning...aka... what this blog is supposed to be all about!!


Smile!

-Karla  =)

Ok... so that took longer than I had hoped!

I'm on my way to my parents house but I thought I'd squeeze in a quick update.

Positives-

+ Moving went well!  Scott and I are glad to be in our new home!!
+ We had SO much help.  =)
+ We love it here!  Everything has gone smoothly so far!
+ This week, though hectic, has been lovely..  =)


Negatives-

- This move was even more crazy than I thought it was going to be.
- I wasn't prepared for it!!
- There are still little piles of stuff that needs to be put away.
- We have downsized so it's been difficult to fit all our stuff in this smaller (yet still large) apartment.
- My parents are coming up Sunday to look at the new place and I am not ready yet!!



Anywho-  I got as much done as I could.


Tomorrow is my birthday!  So, I will be taking a break from unpacking, putting things in new homes, and organizing.  I usually have tons of plans for my birthday but this year has been different.  With the chaos of the new apartment, I have not even thought about my birthday.  It's funny that what once meant so much now means so little.

I would just love a nice relaxing day.  =)



Everyone enjoy your weekend, and I'll be back on Monday!


Remember to,
SMile!!

-Karla =)

Moving in Early!

We are able to get the key to our new place earlier than I thought.  We will be starting to move things in tomorrow!  I'm glad because Scott has to work all weekend and I recruited my brother to help me.  This way, we'll have a lot more time.  I'd like to be completely moved in by the end of this weekend.  I think that goal is fairly reachable now.

Scott and I have been restoring old furniture for a few days now.  I'd say we are getting pretty good at it.  We should start our own business!  Scott does the sanding, and I do the painting!  I think I have the easier job!

Anyway, we restored an old hutch that was Scott's when he was little (he used it as a dresser and the top part as a way to show off his model cars!).  We turned the hutch into an entertainment center.  Scott gutted it of all the drawers and shelves and put in our own shelves.  Then, he sanded everything down and I painted it.  All of the furniture in our living room is black, so we painted the entertainment center black as well.  It looks so modern now, I love it.

We are also restoring an old bookcase that we found in Scott's basement.  It was filthy and covered in spiders and cobwebs!  Once we got it cleaned, Scott sanded it and we painted it white with a sea foam color for the interior.  It's now a very bright and modern 2 toned bookcase for our sun room!  We also have a desk for the sun room, since that is where we are putting the computer and all my school books.  We painted the desk white as well.  I am also working on making this beaded chandelier... isn't it cute?  It's very me.  I cannot wait to finish it.  I love it!
 

Scott thinks it looks a little cheesy and cheap... but I think it will look so adorable in the sun room right over the desk.  We'll see if I can change his mind!


I am super psyched to get out of here and move!  This weekend will be both stressful and exciting all at the same time.  Forgive me if I don't post much at all until we are settled in.  I won't be able to have internet until Monday or Tuesday.  I will be taking tons of pictures of course and will post them here as soon as I have Internet.

I have been feeling kind of under the weather lately.. WW has taken a backseat because of that.  I have not calculated my points yesterday or today because I have not been eating very much.  My stomach is doing somersaults and I'm not sure if it's because the stomach bug is going around in my classroom or if I'm just nervous and stressed for this move.  I'm guessing it's a little mixture of both.  I hope I can keep it together for the weekend.

Wish me luck... and strength!!! I'm going to need it, our furniture is heavy!!

Til next time...



SMILE!

-Karla =)