Just over five weeks to go!

Til the BIG DAY!!! I don't know if I'm nervous, more just excited I think as we've thought about it for so long off into the future that now that it's so close it's a bit weird now!!! lol

We met with our celebrant on Sunday afternoon. She's a really lovely lady and made us feel very relaxed and comfortable with her right away which is great. We did our paperwork and all that kind of thing and this week I've printed out heaps of different vows, ring exchange wordings, etc that she emailed me. Just have to get Doug to sit down for half an hour to choose things he likes. I've done that already, some just seemed like the perfect choice straight away so it wasn't hard. I hope he likes the same stuff!!! I'd hate for us to have our first ever big argument over the wording of our wedding vows!!! lol

I've gotten almost all the flowers I want for my boquet and for Cass and Lusi's as well. Because I really want to wear the yellowy ivory dress I've gone for cream coloured lillies, peonies, cabbage roses, etc plus whatever else I see between now and whenever I do up the boquets. Cass and Lus will have fuschia-dark pink orchids, lillies, etc. The flower girls have their dresses so that's something taken care of. I've still got to work out what the boys will wear, probably just dress pants and a button up shirt or something. Lachie still wants a full penguin suit and I still can't talk him out of it!!!! Something will have to be done about that boy!

I've got the styrofoam dummy cake layers to use as a stand for my cupcake mountain thing. That will be a fun job the day before the wedding and another reason I'm using artificial flowers cos I don't want to have to do two big jobs the day before. I've also found cute little pink and white butterfly sprinkles at Woolworths that don't have any nasties in them (very rare indeed!) so they'll probably get used. I bought a pack of 100 white bakery sized big cupcake papers at Spotlight last night so I'll put them somewhere safe (e.g. on the moon if I don't want Caeligh to get them!!).

I've been trying so hard to be good and focussed on the weight thing so that the dress will fit. I tried it on at Cass's place this week and it zips up but it's really tight across my bum and tum - look like a very classy rolled roast!!!! lol But I know it won't stay like that. I'm sticking to my 1200cal/30g fat per day diet which for me has been really hard. I'm an absent eater and I just pick up stuff and eat without ever adding it all up. The food diary has been the best thing for me, writing down every single thing as I eat makes me realise how much I ordinarily would have had. Even a couple of chocolate biscuits here and there or a handful of chips or a couple of slices of pizza all add lots of empty calories to the total and I can see how all my habitual snacking has made me gain so much weight cos I just eat without a second thought as to how much is in all of it and if I'm not exercising then it's far more than I can use up. I've had a good weeek at the gym too, working really hard, pushing myself. I did a pump class on Tuesday night which felt like it was going to kill me and by Wednesday afternoon I thought it might! I even got up Wednesday morning and went to the gym for a half hour on the treadmill so I wouldn't get that awful post-heavy exercise agony but because I'm sitting 8 or 9 hours a day to type it's happened anyway because I'm not moving during the day. At least in the shop I'm up and down and moving around alot but not doing that enough at home. I had a personal trainer session with the v.cute Liam yesterday morning. We did boxing!!!! I'm a bit unco so learning the moves was fine but putting them together in different combinations of punches was hard! Then the sprints up and down the training room weren't fun either but I got through it okay and then he cheerily says to me "okay now you can go do your cardio for the day!!!". I was sweating, puffing, exhausted and quite sure I had done all I had to do!!! lol So onto the treadmill for half an hour again but feeling better today. I can see how people can be discouraged though - I've lost 2kg but nothing for a couple of days now despite the extr hard work in the last few days but I can definitely see my body shape continuing to change even though the scales aren't moving. I can only assume that I'm adding some muscle mass as I lose fat so that's why it's balancing out. I can't wait to try the dress on again next week and see if it fits a little better. All the trainers at the gym are being amazingly supportive and they all know why I'm there and what I want to achieve so they often come over, ask what the plan is for that day and offer suggestions to up it a bit or they spend some time doing things like sit ups/crunches etc with me as I HATE doing those. I'm still quietly amazed that I haven't fallen off the wagon yet as normally I would have but I did ask for God's help in this, to improve my health and to fit into the dress I had bought and again He's come through with extra resolve for me at a time when I thought I would be worried and stressed and freaking out about every little thing but that hasn't happened either. I'm feeling calm and relaxed and figure everything will sort it self out and I can only do what I can do and if some things don't get done like little details then most people won't even notice I bet.

Now what's happening in the scrapping world? I haven't heard about Masters but heard that final decisions also haven't been made yet but very soon so fingers crossed for all us shortlisted girls. That would make a nice wedding present though wouldn't it??? nudge, nudge, wink, wink if Casey and Krys ever read this!!! lol

The shop is still busy, the October offer is really popular which is great. We just keep getting in more and more stock all the time and we're seriously running out of room. Good thing Cass is an organisational genius!!! She's there alone at the moment while I'm at home typing and I miss our chatter and deep and meaningfuls over the paper racks when it's quiet. I also miss that time to just get layouts done. I haven't done that all week at home but Cass and I are getting together tonight to do some scrapping for the shop so I won't be completely deprived!!! lol

Doug ended up winning tickets from Triple M to the Indy this weekend on the Gold Coast so he's taken a day off work to go down. Blayd is on an excursion to Australia Zoo and I've had to work so Doug left Caeligh with his mum (we might take her tomorrow or Sunday) and he and Lachlann and James have gone off for the day. I made him promise me he would get them both ear plugs. I don't care if he doesn't want to take care of his own hearing but the noise as soon as you get close to the track down there is just amazingly loud so ear plugs are an essential! Doug's more into the V8's than the champ cars but today he'll get to see both. It will be a big experience for the boys as last year we thought James was a bit small to go so we didn't take any of them and Doug and I just went by ourselves but this year I think they'll all be better able to handle the noise, crowds, etc. The passes he won are for the whole four days so he's going today, maybe tomorrow and we're not sure about Sunday, which is the big race day for the V8's and the champ cars. He also won tickets to the Indy Fest concert on tomorrow afternoon and into the evening. He has very kindly donated those to Cass and I if we want to go down as he's not into the whole concert thing and he knows we'd probably enjoy it more. Small Mercies, Kiss Chasey and Good Charlotte are playing and I'd love to see them so we'll see logistically how that works out as I have to work until about lunchtime tomorrow. This year the tickets he has won include flexi-seating as well along the track. Last year we just won paddock passes which meant you could get in and wander around all day - yep like cows in a paddock but there was no seating anywhere!!! So he's excited to have a place to sit down and watch for a while this time. He's made off with my camera and his old crap digital camera as well which I think he said he was going to let James use. Jamie is turning into quite the camera buff, taking mine every chance he gets and he's not got a bad eye either! Maybe for Christmas he will get a cheap low end Kodak or something for him to practise his photography skills.

Is anyone else doing anything exciting this weekend? It's getting towards the end of the year and Christmas shopping is upon us again. Thank goodness the shops aren't all decked out just yet. My kids never get it that actual Christmas is so far away from when the shops get decorated. Caeligh and James figure Santa is coming any day now and I have to keep saying that Santa is frickin ages away yet!!! But they look at all the shopping centres done up and say "but it's Christmas -look at all the trees and the lights!!!". It's hard to explain commercialism to little kids.......it doesn't make me feel festive, just annoyed that they peak soo early these days.

Okay I'm going back to my typing (the work kind!!!) and I'll try to get some pics up of the invitations and the flowers etc next week cos a couple of you asked to see them. Thank you to everyone who has emailed or commented and left congratulations for us. It's a reminder of how not alone we actually are and I loved reading everyone's kind words. I think some people who know Doug and I are more excited than we are!!!! lol

Have a fab weekend and thanks for visiting. Lotta love, Lu