Laughable

Wow I must say things are truckin' right along in wedding planning land. We (Jen & Matt and Barry & I) all got our Save the Dates (STDs) out to our family and friends. I laugh every time I think about sending STDs to all those people. Anyway it might just be me but I need a good laugh in the mist of all this wedding planning. After sending STDs it is fun to watch the counter on our wedding website climb up as I know people are checking it out but they are still not ready to sign our fun guest book. Anyway that is a HUGE check in my book.

Some other HUGE checks involve the ever dreaded wedding dress. Last night Jen stepped up to the plate and ordered her most beautiful dress. I cannot wait until it comes in and I am sure she is pretty excited as well. As for me I have found my dress and this Saturday (as in tomorrow) will be going to the bridal salon with my mom and grandma to bite the bullet and make one of the biggest purchases thus far in the wedding planning process. It is kind of crazy how far in advance one needs to order something wedding related to have it in enough time to not add any additional stress as the big day approaches.

Speaking of the big day Jen & Matt only have 246 days left until they are officially Mr. & Mrs. Elias. Another thing that I think is fun and makes me laugh is that my wedding invitation might be the last piece of fun mail Jen gets with her maiden name on it. Once again anything in wedding land that makes you laugh I say run with it.

Another thing that made me laugh (unfortunately it did not make Jen laugh) was a story Jen told me about their wedding day transportation. “Sorry were booked.” Only for a wedding do you need more than 246 days to book a limo. Jen was not happy about those three little words because so far in the planning process neither of us had heard it before. But I did have a good laugh because there is some CRAZY bride out there who thought about booking a limo more than 250 days out from her wedding and unfortunately or fortunately (how ever you want to look at it) Jen was not that CRAZY bride.

Next up for me is trying to find a DJ for our lovely event. One who will keep the dance floor full, not be too cheesy, be easy to work with, show up on time, and most importantly not break the bank. I think it is easier said than done.

My something PINK?

xoxo
britt

5 years and starting over...

Happy Anniversary Barry!!! 5 years ago today we made a commitment to each other and haven’t looked back. I am not going to sit here and say we are a perfect couple with a perfect relationship because that would be a big FAT lie. But I can sit here today and say with 100% confidence that I am more in love with you today than ever. We have had our ups and downs but at the end of the day I would rather fight with you than love anyone else.

Today also marks an end to celebrating this “dating” anniversary. Next September 24 will be just like any other day but I promise to remember how much we have grown as individuals and as a couple in these last 5 years. I look forward to what the next year has in store for us and with you by my side I know we can conquer the largest of obstacles and celebrate the smallest successes. I love.

Award of Excellence - Las Vegas

xoxo
britt

Love Chub

If you pay any attention to fashion, the media, or even just the general American public you are well aware of the growing waist lines. You see I fell victim to this as well. Since I started dating Barry I have packed on what I like to call “love chub.” It is the extra weight you put on when you fall in love and you go out to eat more than you should and don’t watch what you eat or in my case stop exercising all together as well. Barry tells me I am beautiful every day multiple time s a day so there has never been push to get my butt in gear.

Once we got engaged I thought the pending wedding & honeymoon (hopefully on a beach) would give me a swift kick in the ass but it didn’t because on our wedding day & on the honeymoon the only person who matters already thinks I am beautiful and makes sure I know it. My

encouragement wasn’t a white dress or a bathing suit but it was a man in a white coat. Yep the man who got me to realize that I needed to take off this “love chub” was my doctor. In March he looked at me and said you are obese. What obese, are you sure I’m just not overweight (because in my mind that is much better)? Well he then went on and explained about issues I and we might face as we got older in life and wanted to start a family. So with that visit we (yes Barry too) started a diet.

By just watching what we ate and how much of it we ate we both dropped about 30 pounds (he dropped his a lot faster) but 30 pounds is a lot. Barry has met his goal weight and is currently just hoping to maintain this weight from here on out but me I have hit a plateau. So since I can’t make portion sizes any smaller it was time to get my booty to the gym and start working out. Lucky for me I have a brother who knows his way around a gym and loves to run me through a lot of exercises that kick my ass. I have been going to the gym for about 3 weeks now and although the scale is not dropping like I want it to I feel better. I have more strength and energy and I just have an overall better attitude about myself. I don’t know if I will ever love going to the gym but I must say it is a lot easier to walk in there now than it was 3 weeks ago.

The reason I am able to write about my struggle with weight is because I am secure with myself and my body. I do not find myself looking at models photos wanting to be like them and when I was younger I found away to deal with the teasing that I endured on a small level. But I recently read a news article (click here to read it) about models at fashion week up from a size 0 to now being a size 2-4. This is great but in reality they are still really skinny and do not represent the general size of an adult American woman. This article was trying to pat the fashion industry on the back for coming more inline with the average woman (which study show is somewhere between and 12 and a 14) but in reality all they did was showcase the issue again and give young women a size 2 to aspire to become. For me I will never be a size 2 or heck even a 4 for that matter but I can get myself healthy and active not because I have fallen victim to wanting to look like the women I see in magazines but for myself and for my future husband and our future family together.

xoxo
britt

PS: the girl on the top is a "normal" model while the girl on the bottom is a "plus size" model.

Productivity at it's finest!

This weekend was full of fun and productivity. Saturday was a great day for any and hopefully all U of A fans. Not only did our beloved wildcats beat the UCLA bruins but the scumdevils of that second rate Arizona University lost to the Georgia Bulldogs. Overall Saturday was a good day to be a wildcat fan. While watching all this football I was also very productive while Barry slaved away at the bank. You see I finished up our Save the Dates and as I type this they (all 51 of them) are sitting in my car waiting to go to the post office to be sent off to their respective final homes. I put a lot of love into them and I hope everyone enjoys them and more importantly they get to you safely and unharmed.

On Sunday we woke up and the only thing planned was to meet Barry’s dad, step mom and little brothers at the movie theaters to watch The Dark Knight. Since we were going to have to go to the mall anyways we decided to go a couple hours early and register and get my ring cleaned. I wasn’t looking forward to the whole registering aspect of the planning process because we are not the type to need/want fancy cookware or fine china so it was an interesting experience. There are a couple things we are excited about but there are also a lot of things that we have taken off already because it just isn’t us. So I am happy to say we can check registering off the list of things we have to do. After the mall and the movie we worked on the wedding website which hopefully will provide tons of useful information for all our guests if they are traveling or not. The website is not 100% done but I think we do have all the really important things up there like where people can stay and what airports to fly into along with dates and contact information if they have any questions.

Overall this weekend was nice, relaxing and productive. I am really looking forward to this week mainly Wednesday, who would have ever guessed I am looking forward to hump day.

xoxox

britt

The Day John McCain Lost My Vote

The day when John McCain lost my vote is when he did not vote for a bill that would have made waterboarding an illegal tactic for the CIA to utilize.

Mr. McCain, a former prisoner of war, has consistently voiced opposition to waterboarding and other methods that critics say is a form torture. But the Republicans, confident of a White House veto, did not mount the challenge. Mr. McCain voted “no” on Wednesday afternoon.

I have seen various videos of individuals being waterboarded and it is most definitely torture. A State Department official once stated that he wanted to go through it before he supported it or opposed it. After he went through it, he said it was the most terrifying experience of his life and it is indeed torture.

How can Senator McCain abandon one of his strongest beliefs that the United States should not torture? Has he forgotten the days when he was tortured? I do not think that is possible, but I think he wants to win votes in his party rather than stand for a human rights issue. He has said he would rather win the war than win an election. Apparently, he would rather win the election than outlaw torture.

After World War II, the United States prosecuted Japanese soldiers who water-boarded others. We ended WWII with such a high moral authority and now it has been eroded.

Additionally, as started by President Clinton and used by the Bush Administration, the CIA uses extreme tactics such as extraordinary rendition.

The Wikipedia definition: the apprehension and extrajudicial transfers of a person from one state to another, particularly with regard to the alleged transfer of suspected terrorists to countries known to torture prisoners or to employ hard interrogation techniques that may rise to the level of torture.

The CIA “renders” a person to a different country (often a country that uses torture such as Egypt and Syria) in order to interrogate an individual. The is one story where an Islamic guy was “rendered” because the CIA interpreted one of his phone calls wrong. The CIA believed that the guy was talking about airplanes to a friend. He then was rendered for 18 months or so. This guy was not talking about airplanes, but rather tires. The words for airplanes and tires are similar in Arabic, which tirat means tires and tairat means airplanes. This sounds more like an “erroneous rendition.”

This practice violates the spirit of the United States and numerous international treaties, which when signed and ratified by the United States, the treaties are just as significant as the United States Constitution.

Now would John McCain continue this process to win this war that he cares so much about?

- Jen

Sarah Palin Hates Polar Bears

Sarah Palin sued the Bush Administration for adding the polar bear to the endangered species list because it would interfere with the oil industry. And she is the one who fought the big lobbyists?

We have had 8 years of defending and helping the oil industry. We do not need another individual who is too friendly for the oil industry.

The polar bears have existed a lot long than cars have and she thinks that oil is more important than this beautiful creature.

And Alaska is right in the middle of this battle: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080825210415.htm

An aerial survey by government scientists in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea has recently found at least nine polar bears swimming in open water – with one at least 60 miles from shore – raising concern among wildlife experts about their survival.

Not only that - she does not believe that climate change is person-made. I did not know she was also a scientist. Even President Bush has admitted to this. We do not need another administration that is stubborn about the science and international communities. We can not fix the problem if one can not find the source.

This does not sound like change. Seems like more of the same with the Bush Administration. At least President Bush wanted the polar bears on the endangered species list. This is more change than what Sarah Palin would bring.

How could you hate this guy?

- Jen

Why University of Arizona is Great

Because we have David Hasselhoff and his daughter.


Find more videos like this on David Hasselhoff Social Network

With this ring...

Planning a wedding is a lot of work. I think if I could take 6 months off from work to plan the wedding it would be well worth it. Sense that isn’t going to happen we are planning when we can and working full time. Unfortunately or fortunately however you look at it there are many, many websites to help plan a wedding. These sites give you time frames on when certain things should be done and some even send you reminder emails (as if I forgot that I have TONS of shit still to do). With that being said we are NOT sticking to their timelines. In fact we already have our CUSTOM made wedding bands in our possession and they have been in our safe box since about April, which is about 15 months before the wedding for those who are counting. So since we LOVE our rings I thought I would share with you what they look like (these aren’t the actual rings but you get the picture). Since my engagement ring is a single solitaire I knew I could get a diamond eternity band and it would not take away from the lovely ring Barry picked out for me. Also my wedding band will look just as nice with my engagement ring as it would all alone. Barry didn’t really know what he wanted when we started looking. But he quickly realized he wanted something plain and simple and not too thick. Lucky for us we have a great jeweler who was able to custom make exactly what Barry and I wanted. I cannot wait for the day that I can slip that ring on Barry’s finger and say our vows in front of our friends and families.

xoxo
britt

How Sweet It Is

I had a great teacher in high school. His name was Father Stapp. Yes, he was my religion teacher. Others in my high school would probably roll their eyes at this, but I really did take a lot away from his class.

He was unique. He taught us about religion through a different lens. He taught that God lives in the smallest acts and things. He showed us pictures he took every day.

He showed me how beautiful dandelions could be or how beautiful a dairy cow could be (his favorite at the time was named Sue). He could take an average rock and talk about it like it was a diamond. He had something special, to see beauty in such average looking things.

One lesson that I carry in my life from Fr. Stapp is to buy lemonade at every lemonade stand ran by little kids. He told us it does not take much time or money to make a big impact.

Matt and I did this the other day. We were in a hurry to drive to our house and then down to Tucson for the University of Arizona football game. We drove by the lemonade stand at first and I knew we should stop to buy some. On the way out of town, we drove through again and bought two cups of lemonade and tipped them. The two boys were so proud of their effort and of their profits.

It was a simple act, but it was a great act, even though we dumped the lemonade out of sight of the boys. I am so glad we took the time to go back to their lemonade stand and pay them 2 dollars. They proudly told us with our money they made 11 dollars that day.

I am happy I can still live out some of Fr. Stapp’s simple, yet great life lessons. Just imagine if everyone could do one small act of kindness everyday...

- Jen