Today I'm continuing our wedding story - the getting ready process & the ceremony. {I stole all these photos from friends on Facebook - I will share our professional ones once they arrive}

After the rehearsal dinner on Thursday, I slept like a baby which I wasn't expecting at all! To be honest, during this whole process I have never once been worried or nervous about being married to Nick - all the worry and anxiety came from making sure everything worked out logistically! My anxiety woke me up around 5 am and around 7 am I started to get everything ready for my 'maids to arrive to start getting ready.

A few of my maids and I stopped at Panera for a quick breakfast and iced tea (this is a must) before the hair and makeup artists arrived at 10 am. 

The whole morning was very relaxed - we had one hair and one makeup artist so the getting ready process was slow but this was the first time we had all been in one place for the first time since college. There was A LOT to catch up on! 

For part of their gift, I ordered these adorable and super comfy robes from Etsy (missing two more maids in this pic). Throwing our sorority sign :) I thought they turned out GREAT and I love wearing mine around the house now.

I can't tell you how much I miss spending time with these ladies. It brought me back to so many times in college when we would blast music, practice doing each others hair and makeup, and act goofy before a night out. I love that when we all get together, it feels like nothing has changed even when everything else has - when you're blessed to find friends like these, hold on for dear life!

Over the course of the morning, the flowers were delivered and the photographer arrived to take getting ready photos. There were only a few hiccups during the day and I was really the only one who noticed so overall, things when very well.

The 30 minutes before we left the hotel were probably the craziest - getting dresses on and directing everyone on where to go next.

When Nick and I got engaged, I knew I wanted to attempt the mismatched bridesmaid trend. I'm really not a matchy-matchy kind of gal and for some reason I tend to reject most of the popular wedding designs for dresses - satin, tulle, taffeta, etc. My friends all have totally different body types and I wanted everyone to feel comfortable and beautiful! Plus, we are all fresh out of college. I wanted them to purchase dresses and shoes that they could wear again ("You can shorten it and wear it again.")

Before the ceremony, Nick and I decided to do a "first look" which we were super hesitant about. In order to maximize our time at the reception, we got 75% of our photos done prior to the ceremony and I'm so glad we did!

We ended up have two spectacular, unique moments - the first look and the walk down the aisle. I highly recommend doing so! I felt much more relaxed and at ease knowing a lot of the pressure was off yet I still felt all the emotions of seeing Nick at the altar when I walked into the church.

After lots of photos at a location in downtown Cincinnati (the P&G Gardens), we headed to the church to get ready. Here's the finished product!

The ceremony was beautiful. We had a full Mass which apparently bothered a few people (really?) but we were so happy with how things came together. Two of my bridesmaids are Jewish and they did just fine! 

One of my favorite parts was the music! Our cantor sings beautifully. The bridesmaids processed to Canon in D while I entered to the Prince of Denmark March. During the prelude the cantor sand Ave Maria which is one of my favorites!

Prior to the wedding I was trying to decide who would walk me down the aisle. I decided that I didn't want to try to fill the role my dad would have filled so I walked alone. I talked with my mom and others and they supported my decision. That part of my life is super complicated - my dad's family didn't attend the wedding which I think bothered me more than I was willing to admit. Their loss.

One of most emotional times of the ceremony was when my grandpa (along with my aunt and grandma) brought the gifts forward to the priest (the eucharist and wine). My grandpa has always been a huge part of my life and a big source of inspiration for me. (He has had Multiple Sclerosis for over 40 years - one day I'll write his story). I was so happy to have him part of the wedding! 

The ceremony went a lot quicker than I imagined it would. Before I knew it, we were MARRIED! 

More pictures!

One of our adorable flower girls!

All of the flower girls! What Nick doesn't know: this is foreshadowing a future family photos - we're only having sweet little girls when we start a family (maybe ONE boy).

Mr. and Mrs. for the first time! 

Part III is coming soon!

Any questions or comments, leave them below!

 

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Hello everybody! Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday!

Please go check out my sweet co-hosts!

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

 Erin @ She's A Big Star

Happy Wednesday, WIW family! Things are looking up around here - we're finally settling into our new life and routine & my motivation is better than ever after a few rough days.

This morning I did something I've haven't done in a few months now...I woke up at 5 am and I attended November Project! Now that I live about 20 minutes outside of downtown Indy (as opposed to 5 min or so) I've pretty much found every excuse not to attend since the end of April. 

Where's my head?

This week I've been doing a lot of "soul searching" and I realized I make A LOT of excuses. For some reason I have to have an explanation for everything instead of just letting my actions speak for themselves. I don't know where this desire to justify things came from but I do know that the excuses are coming to an end. Enough, already.

Just for fun, this week I took a fitness personality quiz on Bodybuilding.com. According to the quiz, everyone fits into one of four fitness personalities: the thinker, the feeler, the socializer, and the provider. Similar to the Meyer Briggs assessment. Here are my results:

• 50% Feeler
• 15% Thinker
• 10% Socializer
• 5% Provider

Clearly I'm a FEELER. After the quiz, they give you a neat little pdf that describes your personality type and how it relates to your fitness training. I was AMAZED at how accurate the description is - it describes me to a T. 

Feelers are extremely in tune to their environment and operate based on the "feel" of things - how they feels, if the situation is right, emotions and interactions with others, etc. I can't tell you the number of times I've felt so overwhelmed by the environment at the gym, the music, people around me, that I've just left mid-workout. I choose the foods I want to eat based on cravings and how I feel that day. I make half hearted workout plans and then change them based on what I feel like doing that day - it really is crazy and very ineffective.

Labeling the behavior and acknowledging it somehow legitimizes how I feel and makes it easier for me to identify when I'm actually doing these things! I hope by realizing how I'm responding and internalizing my environment, I can cut down the excuses and stick to my plan.  Here are a few of the "obstacles" Feelers may encounter:

• Staying Positive - You are easily discouraged and get down on yourself.
• External Influences - Because you're sensitive to your environment, external events can easily impact your motivation. Things that happen at work or with your family can hinder what you do in the gym and sway what you choose to eat.
• Comfort Eating - You tend to eat or drink out of comfort - snacking is a big problem. Feelers tend to have emotional ties to food because they associate food with positive memories and experiences {a million times yes!}
• As an aside, I can tell you that I have planned binges based solely around foods my dad enjoyed - frozen pizza, chips, ice cream, etc. I call them "Remembering Dad Nights.". This part hit really close to home and made a lot of sense to me.
• Hesistancy - You feel self-conscious or intimidated in fitness situations. You're afraid to extend yourself and try new things. 
• Inconsistency - When you're enthusiastic, you train hard - maybe too hard. When you're not enthusiastic, you struggle to get to the gym at all. {YES!} Your approach to training is trial-and-error rather than a systematic plan {I rarely follow the plan}. I would also add that I'm definitely an "all-or-nothing" person.

I'm working on breaking these habits. My first challenge to myself to stay consistent with training and eating and rely on myself, not the environment, to dictate what I choose to do. At the end of the day, no one else can motivate me to do what I know needs to be done.

November Project and those stairs - they mock me.

So back to November Project! Today was race day where we do a prescribed workout as fast as you can while trying to improve from your last race day.  Today we did:

-up and over (up one side of the monument, down the other side, and back...a shit ton of stairs) -50 sit-ups -up and over -50 push-ups -up and over -25 mountain climbers -up and over -25 burpees -up and over

 I'll post my time when our leader posts it! It felt so good to be back in action - now I need to start to recruit classmates and friends to go with me. So far I haven't been very successful which has been disheartening. There aren't a lot of crazies out there that want to workout at 6:15 am but I remain optimistic. You really can't beat a FREE workout full of positivity, hugs, and high fives though!

Weigh In Time

Weighing In

Height: 5'8"

SW: 236.2

Last week: 206.0

This week: 204.6

Change: -1.4

Total Loss: -31.6

Not a big loss, but a loss none-the-less. Nutrition continues to be my hamartia. We've had wedding food leftovers hanging around here which I finally decided to freeze and hide after indulging in one too many bites of mac and cheese. 

Speaking of nutrition, I have never been much of a Shakeology fan until now. My aunt sent me an almost full bag of it that she didn't want and I just decided to give it another try. The secret is to blend it with ICE. I've tried it just with almond milk in the past and it wasn't good AT ALL. Tastes change and I'm a big fan of this!

Shakeology Iced Mocha

1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology

1 cup of brewed coffee, cooled

1/2 c unsweetened original almond milk

1 c of ice 

blend and enjoy!

I don't see Shakeology being a daily event - I prefer eggs with veggies for breakfast but after a hard workout or when I'm on the run, it will be perfect! I'm so glad I gave it another shot!

That's all for now! More wedding story to come tomorrow but for now, enjoy another sneak peak! {I want my pictures already!} 

Do you like to workout alone, with a partner, or a group?

What is your fitness personality?

Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready?

As you all are ALL aware by now, the last few months have been super crazy for us - I haven't been around much, mostly because of school, partly because I don't prioritize my life properly, and also because I was getting married! 

For those of you who aren't familiar with Mr. Nicholas and I, you can read our engagement story here & a fun little relationship survey here. 

We are high school/college sweethearts - it was all just a matter of time {7.5 years later!}. Despite our long-term relationship, it feels like there have been so many unique "phases" of our relationship that things seem to always be evolving and changing. We graduated from high school together (separate schools), moved away from home together, graduated from college together (Go Hoosiers!), etc. all while growing and changing into who we are today. We've been through A LOT together and I couldn't be happier or more optimistic about our future together - best buddies for life! 

The weeks leading up to the wedding were hectic to say the least. I finished school and exams at the end of May so I had about 3 weeks to get everything finalized before the big day! During that last week, I decided to run another half marathon which I talked about here. (Thank you all for your kind words on my last post. I realize now that I was pretty hard on myself and I'm thankful that so many of you pointed out that finishing was something to be proud about and not a reason to get down on myself.)

Through all the stress of moving and planning, I managed to have a lot of fun, too! Two of my very good med school friends live down the street from our new apartment with their fiances and we already have some friends from college in the area so family game nights are a go!

Transitioning our lives from Cincinnati to Indianapolis has been really, really great thanks to our friends and family. Despite the fact that both of us would one day love to move back to Cincinnati to raise our family, I think we fit in nicely here. It helps that Indy and Cincy are very similar cities - large enough to have everything you could possible need (entertainment, sports teams, shopping, etc.) but with a small, hometown feel. I'm biased but I still think Cincinnati is the best :) 

{Great med school friends at L's Bachelorette Painting Party - Wine & Canvas}

We started receiving a lot of wedding presents in the month or so before the wedding and this was one of our favorites! You know you're getting old when you get excited for dishes and vacuum cleaners.  

The week before the wedding was craft time! For our favors we decided to do mason jar drinking glasses with a fun kraft paper tag. It was surprisingly easy (though time consuming!). I purchased a personalized stamp from Stamp The Envelope on Etsy and the rest I put together all by myself!

This is the finished product - no I'm not super crafty and I'm sure someone else could've done much better but hey, I'm free labor. 160 mason jars. It's safe to say I'm crafted out for a while.

Also had to make sure I got my bridal beauty routines in! (No, I'm not naked)

On Wednesday before the wedding, I finally made the trek back to Cincinnati to run a bazillion errands including picking my rehearsal dinner dress up from Macy's and meeting with the DJ/Paper lady to pick up our programs. Whew! Things went by SO QUICK and before I knew it, it was time for the rehearsal at the church and dinner!

Programs!

Last minute guestbook table decor from Hobby Lobby!

On Thursday it was rehearsal time so we had our bridal party meet us at a bar down the street from our church in Mt. Adams for snacks and so everyone could finally meet! All of my bridesmaids were my sorority sisters in college - I'm an only child and don't have any other females my age in the family so they were all natural choices and my best friends! Nick, on the other hand, had a wide variety of groomsmen - his brother, best friend from grade school, cousins, co-workers, and college roommate. Everyone got along great though despite never being all together before that time! 

Church rehearsal took about 45 minute and then we headed to Nick's parents house for a big family bash! Lots of fun appetizers to eat including a MASHED POTATO BAR in little martini glasses. Are you kidding me??? Clearly they know me well!

Presents from thoughtful friends! An old bottle that was turned into a drinking glass! Go Bengals!

Two of my bridesmaids!

I wish I had more pictures to share but a lot of them haven't been posted yet :) I stole these from Facebook!

After our rehearsal dinner, it was time to go our separate ways for the night. I stayed downtown with a few of my bridesmaids at our hotel and got some much needed sleep! I didn't have much trouble falling asleep but I certainly woke up bright and early the next morning...

In the weeks leading up to our wedding I was finalizing a lot of details - timing with the photographers, transportation, church, etc., picking readings & music for the ceremony, coordinating programs and people, moving to a new apartment, and also preparing for my second half marathon.

I'm known for making impulse decisions in the heat of the moment which is why immediately after completing the Flying Pig Half Marathon, I decided to register for the Indianapolis Women's Half on June 6 -- one week from our wedding! 

I've read that once you are trained up for a half or full marathon, you might as well complete another one. The first one can be used a training run and most people will do better on their second half/full as a result. Why not? Runner's World offers their suggestions here

I also love the idea of all-female races - girl power or something. Plus it's more acceptable to bust out my pink accessories. Really, I just thought the medal was kinda cute. {Isn't that why we all put ourselves through this?}

Here's the part where the cookie crumbles. After my first half, it took me two weeks before I was able to confidently run again - my knees felt very unstable so I stuck to weights and elliptical training. Then the excuses started piling up - exams, moving, wedding planning, PURE LAZINESS - I didn't feel like running. I ran maybe three times TOTAL between May 4 & June 6 (not including workouts where I ran on the treadmill for like 10 minutes at a time).  NOT SMART.

I look pretty happy for someone who knew they were going to struggle. By the time the week of the race had rolled around, I was committed to my plan of zero long runs. I was afraid that if I attempted a long run too close to the half, I wouldn't recover in time and be screwed for the race. I decided to go rogue.

Long story short, the race was rough - mentally more than physically. There was walking involved. There was "why am I so stupid" and a variety of other less PG friendly phrases involved. Basically, I mentally kicked my ass across Indianapolis for 13.1 miles - why did I do that to myself?

The first two miles I thought "Surely this gets better." By mile 6, I realized that it did not and would not. By mile 9, I had developed a nice patch of chub rub under my arm and had decided to alternate run/walking the rest of the way home. Mile 11 marked BONK central. I was pissed. I had two miles left...you can do anything for 2 more miles, Heather. By this point I was walking more than I was running and I was starting to get really, really down on myself. Tears. Very hot out. Old ladies kicking my butt. 

Eventually I started to see the finish line and then I saw Nick who looked way more excited than I did. I booked it to the finish line and I was DONE. DONE. DONE. I wasn't dead but I felt defeated. At that moment I made the impulse decision to never mess up my training again. Then we went home and I drowned my sorrows in Lay's Potato Chips & a "soothing" ice bath. 

All things considered, I did FINISH so I consider that to be a victory. Lessons were learned and now I know how important it is to stick to my training. I should have been a hell of a lot faster than my first race - Indianapolis is FLAT. There are no excuses.

To be clear, I still think it's a perfectly good idea to complete multiple half marathons or any time of races back to back but you must give yourself time to recover and you MUST stick to your training plan. I know for sure that I will not be attempting a full marathon until I am 100% confident I will stick to my training (as well as being faster and lighter - I'm not going to drop hundreds of dollars for a marathon until I am more confident as a runner). 

My next half marathon goal isn't until November - Monumental Half Marathon in Indianapolis. The next few months I will be increasing my fitness, leaning out, and getting faster. 

In August, I will start my half marathon training again - knowing that I CAN do it will take a lot of the anxiety out of training. Not knowing what to expect from my first 8, 10, 12 miler made me really dread training - I was super scared.  Now the mystery is gone. It is so empowering to KNOW I can do it - now I just need to do it BETTER. 

This a caution to all you new runners out there - you have to put the work in, even when you're scared and even when you feel lazy. Here's to learning from our mistakes and continuing to improve! 

Have you ever bonked during a race?

Do you have any training tips?

 

<a href=" http://www.prettystrongmedicine.com " target="_blank"><img src=" http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g30/cheerxflip9/WIW-2014.jpg " width="240" height="350" alt="Weigh In Wednesday"/> </a>

Hello everybody! Welcome to Weigh-In Wednesday!

Please go check out my sweet co-hosts!

Ash @ A Step in the Right Direction

 Erin @ She's A Big Star

I'm a married woman, y'all!

{I love everything about this}

Can I just say how HAPPY I am right now? The biggest stress of my life so far is over - everything went swimmingly and now we're back to "reality."

Reality hit HARD this morning when I weighed myself.  Starting with the rehearsal dinner and ending with tacos, fake cheese, & homemade margaritas last night, the past week has been a wedding-related free-for-all when it comes to food choices. 

I'm just going to leave this here.

Yikes.

Weighing In

Height: 5'8"

SW: 236.2

Last week: 201.2

This week: 206

Change: + 4.8

Total Loss: -30.2

You will notice I'm using a new scale {wedding present}. I'm compared it to my old one - that one has me at 204 (I've compared before and I'm always 2 lbs heavier on the new scale). Regardless of which one is right, I'm going with the new one. It's probably more accurate.

The weight gain I expected - that part doesn't bother me because I know I can lose it. Feeling bloated, fatigued, and having tummy issues for the past few days has NOT been worth it, however. It's amazing how much BETTER you feel when you are eating clean and working out. Right now I feel like a big ole blueberry.

Today is a new day - the hubby, husband, Hubs, whatever - is back at work so it's time I get back to work as well. Eating clean and good old fashioned hard work. 

{Good-bye friends}

{Good-bye Creamy Goodness}

This morning I went for a quick run - just a mile to gauge how my knees were feeling - it's been 1.5 weeks since my last half marathon and while the soreness has subsided, my knees are not feeling too friendly. Over the next week I'll be working back up to 3m-5m runs and sticking there for a while. No more long races until I start mini training up again in August.  

My next big goal for running is the Monumental Half Marathon here in Indianapolis on November 1st.  I plan to start training again at the beginning of August so for the next two months, my goal is to really LEAN out so I will be faster and lighter for my next half. I know carrying extra weight is killer on my knees and I want to be able to run for a LONG time.  Lots of cardio, lots of weight lifting, and some yoga/flexibility for the rest of the summer.  

{I should really work on my background choices}

Stay tuned for our wedding recap starting tomorrow - I have lots to share!

What are your fitness goals for the summer? 

How do you bounce back from a big gain?

I'm officially a Mrs.!

I CANNOT wait to share all the details here over the next few days! For now, we are getting settled in our apartment and enjoying one last day together before Mr. PSM goes back to work.

See you tomorrow for Weigh In Wednesday! Tell all your friends :)

{A sneak peek}