What are you up to tonight?

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Those six words. Those 27 characters. That one question mark. They all led to a discourse that began on Twitter and has continued for 2 full years.

In May 2010, Mister Man and I began our journey. First things first. Did you know we met on Twitter? It’s fact. We started talking back and forth through the tweet machine, and we eventually scheduled a doggy play date with our beloved pups. On May 21, 2010, Casey send me a Direct Message that contained those words – “What are you up to tonight?” My plans had just been canceled earlier that afternoon, and I was excited to finally meet the man behind the tweets.

We went to Edna’s. Have you ever been there? If so, you know we enjoyed our share of lunchboxes. We also enjoyed each other’s company. I remember the point when it dawned on us that we were, in fact, treating this meeting like a first date. And then it dawned on Casey that this wasn’t an acceptable first date spot. He asked me to go on a real date 2 hours after we first met.

The next evening, a Saturday, Casey attended a wedding for one of our dear friends. At 12:02AM, he sent me a text saying, “Now that it’s officially a full day after we met, I can say hello. Hi.” We saw each other again that afternoon. And then again on Monday. And again for 7 straight months. Our streak was broken only by a trip he took with his dad to Green Bay.

On our 1st anniversary (May 21, 2011), we touched down in Barcelona, Spain. It was a vacation I will never forget. And no, we didn’t really plan for it to fall on that day. It just worked out for us that way.

Nine months after that anniversary, we added another anniversary to the mix – our engagement on February 13, 2012. It was a snowy day, and you can read about it here.

In 4 1/2 short months, Casey and I will get married. In 138 days, I will be Casey’s wife. Woah. Just to think, 2 years and 1 day ago, I didn’t have any idea about who was walking into my life.

Read, Currently Reading, To Read: 9

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Here’s the synopsis from Goodreads:

From the author of “Kiss My Tiara” comes a funny and poignant collection of true stories about women coming of age that for once isn’t about finding a date.

My take:

This book was a great, quick read! I really enjoyed the walk through her life. From the time she was a quick-witted four-year-old all the way until she was married and living in Switzerland, her stories were often fun and whimsical. I really enjoyed it!

Currently Reading 

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg

To Read

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer Annie Barrows

* This is a continuation of a series. To see the first books, please see #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8

I’m a grown up.

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I’m 28. I have owned a home for 3 years. I’m getting married this fall. My car and college degrees are paid off. I have had a full-time job for 6 years now.

And I still use shampoo I buy at the grocery store.

That’s right. Here’s what’s currently in my bathroom.

I’m shaking my split end-covered head right now.

So, friends, what say you? My hair is stick straight, fine and there’s a LOT of it. Do any of you have similar hair and absolutely LOVE your shampoo/conditioner?

Work it, girl (follow up)

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Okay, this chubby bunny has made some decisions about her workout regimen (thanks to the tens of comments that came pouring in about this post). I’m going to do the following things. And I’m looking to you, accountability partners, to keep me going.

From here until the end of June – Stay at the Y. I mean, Y not. (I’m ridiculous). Also, I have a membership there, so I might as well give it the old college try. And by that I mean… I don’t know what I mean.

In the month of July, I shall do yoga. Ommmm.

During the sure-to-be SQUELCHING month of August, I will be nice and cool in my Barre3 classes.

In September, I’ll round it out with pilates.

In October, I will eat wedding cake and gain back all of the weight I had lost.

And then in November, I will stick with the one thing I really, really love. If I love it, I’ll want to do it all of the time, right?

Read, Currently Reading, To Read: 8

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Bossypants by Tina Fey ★★★★✰

Here’s the synopsis from Goodreads:

Before Liz Lemon, before “Weekend Update,” before “Sarah Palin,” Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey’s story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon—from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we’ve all suspected: you’re no one until someone calls you bossy.

My take:

All of the chapters were phenomenal sans the one about the creation of 30 Rock. While it’s a show I love, I’d rather not have the inside details… much like unicorns and rainbows.

Currently Reading 

Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress: Tales of Growing up Groovy and Clueless by Susan Jane Gilman

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg

To Read

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer Annie Barrows

* This is a continuation of a series. To see the first books, please see #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7

 

Work it, girl.

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Here’s the deal, ladies. I tried on wedding dresses all day Saturday. You know what that means? It means I stood in  a dressing room with 4 separate ladies in nothing but my strapless bra and my skivvies. It’s hard not to be self-conscious about my body when put in that situation, and it put things in to perspective. I’m just not happy with the quick decline my muscle tone has taken over the past year.

Here’s my quandary. I have a membership to the Y. As you probably know, one Y Membership allows easy access to any of their multiple locations. I prefer the Midtown Y due to its convenient location for me. The issue is getting me there is a daily struggle. I just can’t seem to find the time (read: I’m so unmotivated by treadmills or their twice-weekly yoga classes that I don’t actually want to get there). However, it’s only $38/month. And, you can’t really beat that. I’m shopping for a workout regimen, and I need you to help!

After reading about CooperHouse’s redesign of Urban Core Pilates Studio‘s website, it sparked a little something in me.

I did no fewer than 3 semesters of pilates in college, 2 mat classes and 1 reformer class. I absolutely loved it, and my body never looked so toned! Problem with this, my wallet is a little tight (you may have heard, but I’m paying for a wedding AND we bought a house), and pilates ain’t cheap. Going twice a week would run me $136/month. However, it might just be worth it if I actually go. It’s a few miles from my work/house, so I could see that being another barrier.

Next option – Barre3 in Classen Curve. My friend, Brigette, posted about it here.

I’ve been to probably 20 classes of Barre3. I absolutely love it, it’s close to my house, and it’s a great workout. However, it’s pretty spendy, too. For 10 classes (2-3 per week), it’s $160.

Final option – yoga. I work PT for Beautiful Day Images, and we recently did a shoot for a local Bikram Yoga studio. 

One, how awesome is this photo? Two, the flexibility these people had was INCREDIBLE. They were incredible agile and so, so very toned. (And keep in mind that bikram is hot yoga done in a studio that is upwards of 100+ degrees, and this shoot was done in February when it was 25 degrees. Brrr.) While this studio isn’t open quite yet, there are several great studios in town. Cadence Yoga is probably the one I would head to. It’s super close, and it has a variety of classes. Also, my first week would be free, the first month (since I’m a newbie) would be $60 for an unlimited amount of classes, and from then on it would be $100/month for unlimited.

With all of that information, I need your help. What say you, peanut gallery? Is there one that you find that fulfills your every fitness need? 

My first house

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YOU GUYS, I bought a house! Well, I bought a house in March of 2008. After spending about 2 months of looking at over 20 houses, I found one that seemed perfect for me. It was a cute little 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 car garage home. It was listed for $80,000, and it was pretty much the perfect starter home.

With the house came some FANTASTIC neighbors. A far cry from Roy, Jeff & Rita, Joe, David & Susan, and Francis were the best neighbors I could ask for. Jeff & Rita, in particular, were there to act as my adoptive parents. Any time I would need help with something, Jeff was the first one to show me how to do it. Unfortunately, the world lost Jeff  in December of 2008. But, Rita and I banned together to take care of each other.

Owning a home definitely had its own benefits – I could paint it how I wanted, I could get a dog, I could change all of the pulls and knobs on the cabinets. Something as simple as customizing my home was something I hadn’t experienced before. As you can see if you’ve followed through all of my other posts, I’ve had a ton of roommates. Not having a roommate and learning how to take care of my home by myself was somewhat empowering. And it was something I enjoyed for a full 3 years. But then I met a boy…