Fun part of wedding planning

L. and I recently discovered that one of the fun parts of wedding planning is figuring out the alcohol to serve at the reception. Our facility is restricted to wine, beer, and champagne only, so no yummy hard liquor concoctions, but we've had a good time with the other tastings.

After our research, we've decided on the following selections:
Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay, Columbia Valley 2006
Columbia Winery 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale
Redhook's Blonde Ale and Black Hook Porter

The cool thing is that Columbia Crest, Columbia Winery, and Redhook are all local here in Washington. Buffalo Bill's Brewery is in California, so it's the only one from out of state, but it's so good that we just couldn't pass it up for a fall wedding!

We got the Chardonnay and Pumpkin Ale today. We ran out of room in the car, so we'll have to get the Cab Sauv tomorrow. We'll also get the Redhook tomorrow, when they have their Micro Monday special, where you buy one case and get the second case at 1/2 off. Every little bit of money saved helps. L. about died when he figured out how much we were spending on alcohol alone, but it will be worth it. Plus, any leftovers will come back to our house, so we can use the rest at another time.

Mad Men illustrations

If you're a fan of the show Mad Men, check out some illustrations of the show: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nobodyssweetheart/sets/72157606178887453/detail/.

Very cool. Love the idea of having some of the scenes as illustrated wallpaper and such. What a great show. It's one of the few things I actually watch that has substance to it.

Good quote

Read on my friend, A.'s status line in Gmail:
"53% of white women are now for McCain. 47% of white women are embarrassed."

Slip, sliding away

So, I'm done with the 20/20 program now and I need to schedule my last appointment for lab work and final meeting with my 20/20 doctor. Overall, it was a great success. I lost 46 pounds, 40 of which I've maintained.

However, now that the program is over, I am struggling a bit to keep up with everything. I think part of it is due to the fact that the wedding is a month away, so everything seems to be going faster and faster. But part of it is because I'm not really following the lifestyle, so a lot of my cravings and such are back. It's very frustrating. And now my workouts with my trainer are down to once per week, since I decided to hire J. to keep pushing me with the weight training and keep me accountable. But maintaining the other two to three days of working out on my own is difficult.

I felt pretty desperate tonight when I broke into both the popcorn and hot chocolate. We've been eating out a lot, and I'm not making great choices. I really need to get myself back on track. When I make smarter choices, the cravings do start going away and I of course feel better about everything all around. So, I just need to remember that. Tonight, I made a healthy lunch and packed everything up neatly in the fridge. I'm going to try and get up early enough to make some eggs, and toast with peanut butter so that I at least have a healthy breakfast and lunch squared away. And I've got to get the carbs back down to 200 calories a day or less so that I get rid of some of this water weight.

So, tomorrow is a new day and I know that the next few days are going to be a bit miserable again while I work back off of the carbs, treats, and such and I'll need to devote more time to cooking and planning my eating again so that I don't get off track. Here we go again...

Mmmm, cake

If you've never heard of the Cake Wrecks blog, you should definitely check it out. It had L. and I laughing until we were crying. There are just too many to list here, but I think my favorite (to this point, anyway), is this one: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/05/this-made-me-laugh-til-i-cried.html. And this one is a close second: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/05/when-brides-have-no-budget-or-taste.html.

Enjoy!