Weekly update?

You may have noticed that I haven't given a weekly update. Well, it's been cold outside. And I've been out of town a lot. And I've been fighting off a cold.

I haven't really exercised much lately. But that's about to change.

You see, Calvin called me this morning to let me know he'd been able to track down this:

Image found here.

This is a BIG deal. We've spent the last 6 weeks trying to track one down, getting up early on Sunday mornings only to be told that we missed our opportunity by 18 minutes. And now, I'll be able to exercise from the comfort of my own home.

Only trick is, I've never actually owned a video game system before (my old school Gameboy is not quite the same), and I'm really bad at video games. I know that Miss Bubblegum, Miss Hummingbird and Mrs. Snow Pea have already blogged about the Wii.

For those of you out there with Wii experience, do you have any tips for me? Anyone want to share their favorite Wii workouts?

Registry take 3: the "fun" stuff (and a weekly update)

Having after considering kitchen gear and regular household items, it was time to consider the "fun stuff."

Since before we were officially engaged, Calvin has wanted to register at Crate and Barrel. While I like the store quite a bit, Calvin really likes it. And after registering at our other places, we had not yet seen everyday place settings (dishes and flatware) that we liked.

After all, our current dishes are a mix of china that Calvin got at a huge yard sale for $4 (a real hodgepodge- think 11 plates, 3 bowls, 12 cups and saucers, 7 smaller plates in a really ugly pattern) and a set of dishes my grandmother got on clearance at Marc's when I was graduating college. Our flatware? A current mix of spoons, knives and forks with fake wood handles and various utensils permanently borrowed from our undergrad dining hall and the various college houses in which we lived.

A not great picture of Calvin's yard sale china from here.

We've been thinking that it's time for a bit of an upgrade. So off to Crate and Barrel we went.

The people at Crate and Barrel were friendly and helpful when we needed help, but for the most part we were left on our own, which works for us. After much debate between us, Calvin acquiesced and we did not put square plates on our registry. (Seriously. This was a months-long debate. Calvin wanted square, white dishes. While I would have preferred colorful round dishes, I was willing to get white, so long as they were round. Square dinner plates strike me as being a bit too trendy, and as I have mentioned before, once I decide on something, I have it forever.)

Here are the compromise plates:

Aspen Dishes

It was a compromise, and Calvin did put a square serving platter or two on the registry:

Entree Square Platter

Rectangle Large Plate

We also registered for flatware, glasses, and smaller kitchen items, as well as other serving dishes (and an ice bucket! How much easier hosting parties will be!). Overall, we've been pretty happy with Crate and Barrel; the online registry is much easier to use than Macy's or Williams-Sonoma, and the selection is pretty decent.

I am curious, though, to find out if anyone else had a situation similar to our square/round plate debate. What compromises did you make with your partner about what to put on the registry?

(Weekly exercise update: I did at home strength training one day, ran once, and swam once. Not great, but I've got great aspirations for this upcoming week- and my pants are starting to fit the tiniest bit looser. How are you doing?)

Weekly check in

It is Wednesday, which means that it's time for an exercise update. (After last week's post, there was some interest in a weekly check in, so here goes.)

I successfully ran two miles on Thursday (and by successfully, I mean I ran everywhere the sidewalks/roads were plowed;' there was maybe a quarter mile where I walked because it's just too hard to run in 8 inches of snow.)

Friday was some at home strength training, and I did more of the same on Monday.

Not to shabby considering the sadness/craziness of the past few days.

More on that will come. (Perhaps a compare/contrast of weddings and funerals, since the same people attend both? Or why everyone at a funeral wants to talk about wedding planning? Or how cute the ring bearer and flower girl will be at the wedding of "Aunt Fun", the nickname I was given after we made pillow forts together in the basement of the funeral home?)

How else has everyone fared in their exercise plans for this week?

Starting off the new year right

After Miss Jasmine's post about resolutions and Miss Bubblegum's post about Wii Sports, I thought that I would share one of my New Year's resolutions.

Normally, I'm not a huge fan of New Year's resolutions (why do you have to wait for a new year to start self-improvements?), but this year it seems like just what I need to get my butt in gear for the wedding. And by butt, I also mean thighs, abs and back.

You see, I had my first dress fitting last week, and it went really well. With my shoes, the dress is the perfect length as it is (anyone else who will be in the 5'11"-6' tall range with shoes getting a Jenny Yoo dress: you need the extra 3", but not the extra 6".)

Being made of silk shantung, the dress doesn't weigh very much compared to many other bridal dresses; the downside to the lightweight material is that all bustiers/corset/strapless bra contraptions show through the dress. At the recommendation of the seamstress at the shop, I'm getting cups sewn in and am using fashion tape.

This fashion tape is available here. It eliminates any possible wardrobe malfunction.

So how does this relate to New Year's resolutions? Well, over the summer, when I ordered the dress, I had lost 7 pounds. May not sound like a lot, but I've gained it all back since then. (This is what happens when you quite the gym cold turkey. Sighs.) This also means that the dress is a little bit tighter in the midsection than I would like. If it fits well there when I go back in March, I will not need any other alterations.

Over Christmas break, Mr Dahlia's mom mentioned that she was training for a half marathon (scheduled a few weeks before the wedding) following this plan. Since she always wants Mr Dahlia and I to run with her when we're in Cleveland, I told her that I would train as well, even though I won't be running the half marathon. Nice thing about the plan is that it only has 3 runs a week, with 2 additional days for cross-training. Works out well for me, since I've already scheduled in 2 days a week to swim this term.

Image found here.

To kick things off, I ran for 25 minutes this morning.

Anyone else trying to get in better shape? Want to do a check in once a week? I'd be happy to share my progress if you would be willing to share yours.