Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

This was the theme I chose for a good friend's bridal shower on May 20th.  This post is several weeks delayed seeing as how the wedding is in one week, but better late than never I guess.

I wanted to make this day special for the bride-to-be and I had a lot of fun planning and preparing for the party.  I planned a brunch and like I always do,  made way too much food.  I asked all of the guests to bring their favorite "old" recipe for the bride to "borrow" to start her collection.  My gift to her was a personalized recipe binder to hold the recipes from all of her guests.  I received one of these at my shower and every time I look at it, it makes me smile and remember all of the people who attended my bridal shower.  Hopefully it will have the same effect on her.

Everything turned out exactly how I wanted it to and it was a wonderful day!

Blue mason jars inspired the color scheme

Party favors and place setting

Who doesn't love a mimosa bar?

Personalized water bottles to reflect the bride's future name

Dessert bar

Not to toot my own horn, but these were SO GOOD!

The recipe tree

30 What?!

Recently, I had an epiphany.  I'm pushing 30.  Okay, okay, I know I'm only 27 but I can see 30 on the horizon.  I turn 28 one month from today which means that 30 is only two years away.  GASP!

The reason for this realization is my butt.  Yes, you read that right.  My butt!  I don't know when it happened but somewhere along the line I lost my tight little tushy and it's become overwhelmingly full of dimples.  Not only on my tush, but they are creeping down the back of my thighs!  Ack!  Ladies, I'm sure most of you can relate?

Every morning I look in the mirror and analyze the ever-expanding dimple clan.  When did this happen?  I acknowledge that I'm no longer 95 pounds and a size zero but I'm not a large person and I'd prefer it if my butt didn't resemble a golf ball.  I've dropped a few pounds this year and overall I'm very happy with my appearance and current weight.  I just need to tighten up a bit.  This is something I've been working on, but the dimples don't seem to be dwindling.  I blame this on the fact that I'm pushing 30.  You always hear people say results take a lot longer to get the older you get.  I always figured this was true, but in my mind I'm still 23 so the results should be immediate.  Why 23 is the age I'm stuck at in my head?  I have no idea.  All I know is that the toning needs to occur at a faster pace than it is.

So a few weeks ago I decided that this little issue of mine called for drastic measures.  I work in a high-rise building in downtown Portland.  32 stories or 576 stairs to be exact (not including the additional 4 stories or 76 stairs of the parking structure).  I know this because every day for the past four weeks I've decided to climb my ever-so bumpy butt all the way to the top and back down again.  Holy moly!  It's so hard!!  I'm definitely noticing some results though.  On. My. Fingers......My fingers!  My fingers of all things are becoming noticeably thinner and my wedding ring keeps sliding around.  As for my butt?  Nadda.  It still looks the same.  It's just not right.   I guess I have many days of stair climbing ahead of me, which I might add, is an art form.  I had no idea! I realized that when I climb stairs I only use the balls of my feet and push off from there.  This was making my quads extremely sore and doing nothing for my butt which defeated the point entirely.  I concluded that when I climb the stairs I have to make a conscious effort to push off with my entire foot while squeezing intently, and only then does it actually work my butt.  I'm sure I look totally constipated.

Have you noticed how you climb stairs?  I challenge you to pay attention.  It's harder than you think.

Coincidence? Or Does Someone have a Sense of Humor?

An awkwardly placed advertisement next to today's breaking news! Pretty fitting I'd say!

Think Positive. Think Positive. Think Positive.

This is the mantra I've been chanting to myself lately because this has been a rough couple of weeks emotionally.  These days, I pretty much have weekly appointments with the fertility specialist.  After the appointment with my doctor on Monday I tried to remain optimistic.  However today was another appointment and I'm trying to dig deep for some positive thinking.  I'm pretty bummed out right now because it's official.  I have a very laaaazzzzzy ovary.

We've been working with a fertility specialist for the past few months, and so far all of my tests have come back great.  This is good news and bad news.  Good news because there is nothing glaringly wrong with me that they can fix, but bad news because clearly one of my ovaries is not working well, if at all, and they don't know why - other than the whole Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome mumbo jumbo - which I'm still not fully convinced I have.  But anyways, last month my doctor put me on a new medicine and it worked beautifully.  I actually had my first "normal" cycle in over a year.  Yay!  However, based on past evidence we knew this month would be more difficult, so she doubled my dosage.

Monday when I went in for my mid-cycle evaluation to see how I was responding to the medicine we determined that the response was less than stellar.  There was nothing of notable size.  She could tell that there were eggs in there but they were taking a vacation.  (Maybe they wanted to be back in Arizona?  I know I sure do.)  They looked nothing like what they expect them to look like halfway through a cycle.  She looked at me with a look of dissapointment and asked if I was okay.  Okay?  Of course I'm okay.  I had a feeling this was going to happen.  I was hopeful the medicine would work this month but I tried not to get my hopes up.  I know my body pretty well and my ovary is tired.

That was Monday.  I was still feeling pretty optimistic because she said we'd give it a few days and check again on Friday.  Well, today is Friday and there was no change at all. They said I could go back in next week to check again but most likely this month is a waste and I will not ovulate.  This sucks.  I know that's not a very descriptive, blog-worthy word but it's the truth.  It just sucks.  Not to mention, each one of these appointments costs a few hundred dollars and insurance doesn't cover any of it.  This is an expensive month and I have nothing to show for it.  Not even hope.  Did I mention this sucks?

I don't mean to come off negative.  I'm just really disappointed which translates into crankiness so I apologize to anyone who's experienced uptight Emily lately.  Like I said, I've had to dig deeply for some positive thinking.  Through writing this blog and reflecting on our situation I've come to realize the silver lining is that I have six good months out of the year where we can try for a baby.  And I'm still young...ish.  I'm only 27 and I still have at least eight really good baby-making years left.  Some women don't have that luxury.  I'm thankful for the time I have, since time is what we need.

Are You Pinterested?

I am! Everyone is talking about it.  Pinterest.com. Have you heard of it?  Its an amazing little site.  I'll fully admit that it took me a while to figure out why this website was gaining so much popularity.  So you just "pin" things to your "boards" and then people can see what you like?  What's the point of that?  LAME.  Clearly, I didn't get it.

After more friends urged me to try it, I gave it another shot.  Okay, this is kind of cool.  There are SO many good ideas on there.  About EVERYTHING.  Recipes, shower ideas, workouts, decorating ideas, fashion, how to's, and the list goes on and on and.....on.  Time and time again, I have found things online that I have liked and when I try to go back and find it, I can't.  Pinterest is now the solution to this problem.  You can "pin" ideas from different websites onto your idea boards so everything is in one central location for you to reference.  Pretty cool I'd say.

As with everything, this website isn't without its downfalls.  The biggest bummer about this new craze is that there are no original ideas.  You throw a party with a certain theme or decoration and inevitably someone says, "Ooo, did you get that idea from Pinterest?  I saw that on there".  It kinda stinks because secretly we all want to take credit for these great ideas and now we can't because all of our friends saw the same idea.  Meh, its still worth it in my opinion.  I guess if you think about it, there are no original ideas.  Even before Pinterest, someone would see an idea from somewhere, copy it, and then someone else would copy it.  Its just the way things operate.  If you ask me, Pinterest needs to come up with a "private" board setting so that people can pin in secrecy.  What if you are throwing a surprise party and the guest of honor is on Pinterest and has access to your boards?  Its not much of a surprise party if they can see all of your ideas!  I'm on a quest to get Pinterest to give you the option of private boards.  Who's with me?  Unless they already have this option and I'm just dense?  If that's the case, then someone should fill me in. 

Below is a decoration I made courtesy of Pinterest.  Its so simple, yet I wouldn't have ever known how to do it without seeing it on Pinterest first.  So yes, I am Pinterested!

Supplies:  10 pieces of tissue paper (I find the glossy kind works better), scissors and pipe cleaners

Stack the paper and then fold width-wise, accordion-style

Tie a pipe cleaner around the center

Cut the ends off.  Can be rounded or jagged. 

Peel back from center, layer by layer 

Done!  Hang from ceiling with fishing line

It Happens to Men Too

My husband called me today to give me a good laugh.  He took his dry cleaning into our old neighborhood cleaners in Portland and was asked a question about his weight.  I can relate, as I'm sure most women can.  Women get asked these types of questions all the time.  "Whoa it looks like you've put on a little weight.  It looks like you've lost weight.  Do you want some jelly with those rolls? How many cookies have you been eating?" No? No one else has been asked that last question?  Well I have.  I love cookies and sometimes it shows.  HA!  But anyways, this sweet lady at the cleaners has a memory like an elephant.  We haven't lived in Portland in over four years but she remembered my husband quite well.  She looked at him while patting her belly and said, "Ohhh, it looks like you've lost a bit of weight since I last saw you.  No more belly."  HAHAHAHAHA This brightened my day.

A Little Rest and Relaxation

Last year the rainy weather got the best of us so we decided to take a weekend getaway to a resort called The Boulders, located in Carefree, Arizona.  We loved it!  After an amazing time, we decided this was a trip that needed to be repeated at least once a year.  Usually we don't like to repeat our vacations but for some reason, this place is different.  If nothing else, it's great for a quick weekend retreat to escape our crummy Pacific Northwest weather and recharge.

Keeping our promise to one another, this year we planned four wonderful days at The Boulders over Mother's Day weekend (oops).  Luckily, our mom's understood (next year we will be sure to plan the trip another weekend).  Needless to say, the trip was amazing!  We were even asked if we were on our honeymoon which is a question I always love getting asked. When I responded that it was just a vacation, the people looked at me inquisitively and said, "You're not on your honeymoon?  But it looks like you guys still really enjoy one another."  Although it made me feel really good, I couldn't help but feel a little sad that our society views relationships in that way.  Just because it looks like you enjoy one another's company it must mean you are newlyweds? No wonder the divorce rate in our country is so high.  I can't imagine being married to someone who wasn't my best friend and favorite person to hang out with. Yep, we still like each other and Yep, we LOVE spending time with one another.

We didn't do much while we were there which is what we enjoy most about this trip.  Its truly a vacation to decompress and soak in some vitamin D which we did quite well.

Oh ha! I almost forgot. We did have something happen that neither one of us had experienced before and would be okay never experiencing again.  At the end of the trip, we boarded a shuttle to the airport. My husband and I were seated in the very back row of the crowded bus.  Two seats in front of us sat a kid and his mom on the right side and a group of people directly across from them on the left.  They all faced each other while we faced forward towards all of them.  All of the sudden, with no warning whatsoever, the kid starts projectile vomiting all over the bus and the people across from him.  BLEHHHHHHHH!  So gross!  I kid you not, once he was finished, about three other adults right next to us started gagging and dry heaving.  It was like a chorus of people about to vomit.  Holding our bags on our laps and picking up our feet, my husband and I sat squished next to one another trying to breathe through our mouths and hoping no one else would spew.  I'm happy to report that we got off the bus vomit-free!  I'm pretty sure we were the only ones though.  So glad we chose the seats that we did.

Here's some of our favorite pictures from the trip.  Ahhhh Arizona.  We love you so much - even with the vomit express.  Until next year.....

At our favorite restaurant - "Alberto's" - Too bad he was in Italy this trip.   Maybe we'll see him next year.

Pretty much the equivalent of an Arizona pigeon.   So much prettier than ours.

Bunnies everywhere.

Pretty clear why they call it "The Boulders".

Heh heh heh 

I love rocks.  

Maybe we'll actually golf on this beautiful course one of these trips.

Until then, it's all yours bunnies. 

Ian's not amused by my incessant picture taking.  Note the sunscreen in his hand?  Yes, we were very responsible.

Black Mountain.  Our dream home will be built there someday.

Goofing around on "The Gilli-monster".

I look in control now, but I'm about to hit the bottom hard.  Ouch.  There's a reason kids where diapers.

As evidenced by Ian's arms and giant grin, he enjoyed the slide - and unlike his wife, he actually landed on his feet.

Carefree town square - Population 2,500 + 2 more.

Be careful where you step.  These guys are all over the place. 

Look closely.  That's a hummingbird.  I love my new camera.

This guy lived outside our casita.  Again, I love my camera. 

More rocks.

One of two pools.  This one's our favorite.

View while floating in the pool. 

My favorite view.

Scratch that.  This is my favorite view.  ( Ian.  Not the bald big guy. ) 

Ian's favorite view.

Fat and happy.  See you next year!