Yoga is Not Easy

So after a really busy day at work yesterday I didn't feel like dragging myself to the gym. Mr. B and I did a yoga DVD that I've had for eons, but never used. It's called beginner's yoga so I figured they'd go easy on us...I was so wrong. I was sore before the workout even ended! The lady running the class was uber annoying too. She had this fake, I'm-trying-to lull-you-to-sleep voice and these stupid comments. I like the lady on On-Demand yoga much better.

Maybe it was so hard because I've really only been doing weight lifting and some cardio. I definitely need to increase my flexibility because I couldn't even get my heels to the floor in downward dog position. The other girls on the video were insanely flexible--I was jealous. I'm surprised that I'm not that sore today. Just in the legs a little bit.

Today's my sister's 21st birthday! I feel so old! I'm supposed to meet up with my parents and her at The Landmark by her school for some drinks. I have class tonight, so I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow. I just hope we get out a little early...

Another busy one...

So Friday Mr. B and I did our Trash the Dress session with Rob Medina of Medina Photography and we had such a great time! Rob was great to work with and the pictures look amazing! We met Rob over at the Navy Yard at about 10am and he had already found a good place to shoot some pictures. I was so paranoid the entire time that we were going to get arrested or in trouble for shooting by the ships...LOL. The session lasted about an hour and a half and I was exhausted by the end. Rob even said that I kind of looked like Whitney, the ANTM winner from Cycle 10.

That night I went out with the girls for Mexican food and bowling. We ended up only bowling one game, but it was still a blast. I came in second to last...woo-hoo! That night Mr. B was out with some friends in Manyunk for a friend's semi-bachelor party. I think he got sick and now I feel like I'm coming down with something :(

Saturday, we both pretty much hung around the house until noon or so and then we went for pizza and out to Home Depot for some more supplies for the bathroom remodel. The tab was a little higher than I expected, but we got just about everything we'll need for this weekend. I'm probably taking off Thursday to start ripping the bathroom apart and getting the walls ready for paint. We picked a tan-green color that I think will look nice with the tile and the espresso vanity.

Saturday afternoon we went to a baby shower and then we headed over to my parents for my sister's family birthday party. It was fun...we had some good chinese and watched the Phils clinch the NL East Division. We didn't get home until way late :(

Sunday we cleaned and then we went to the Phils last game of the season with my family, some of my sister's friends and one of my friends. It was fun, but I was disappointed that it was the second string playing. I was kind of hoping that they wouldn't win Saturday so the decision making game would be on Sunday...at least they won!

Here are a few more TTD pics:

So Exhausted

Ugh...going to class at night is really draining me. Especially after working a 10 hour day. Our professor expected us to sit and work on a homework problem for 15 minutes at the end of class last night. My brain was mush and I felt so bad because he made us work in partners and I was of absolutely no help. I didn't get home until almost 8:30. Thank God Mr. B is so supportive--he made my lunch for today for me and he had the house all cleaned up.

I only have a half day tomorrow, so I'm going to go get a pair of rain boots for our trash the dress shoot just in case we do it in the rain. I guess I should pick up a golf umbrella too. I hope it's just spotty showers. I also hope that it doesn't rain on Sunday. We're going to the Phillies game--last one of the season! We went last year and it was so much fun...too bad it's not right on my sister's birthday like last year.

So this weekend, like every other weekend is packed with things to do. Friday is the TTD session and then I have a Dr's appointment. Friday night Mr. B is going to a semi-bachelor party and I'm going to Mexican with the girls and then out bowling. Saturday we have a party to go to for one of my preggers friends--it's a non-baby shower, LOL. Sunday is the game and then I guess cake and presents afterwards. I think BUNCO is Monday too. I'm definitely considering taking of Thursday so we can have a long weekend and focus on getting the bathroom completely done.

I just hope with all of this running around that we don't get sick! So many people at work are sneezing and coughing and calling out. That might be my excuse to come in late on Monday ;-)

Remodeling

Mr. B and I pretty much just hung around all weekend. Friday night we decided to go over to the driving rang and hit a few balls. I had no clue what I was doing, but about 20 balls into my bucket I was actually able to hit the ball and get some distance--I was pretty proud of myself.

Afterward we picked up two movies at Blockbuster, The Cube and The Bank Job. I've seen Cube before and thought it was alright. It's a pretty messed up movie overall. The Bank Job was really really good! I love me some Jason Statham!!

Saturday we went and looked at some granite for the kitchen. We picked out a lighter color with darker streaks of color in it. It's fairly cheap too and they're coming out for an estimate on Thursday. Mr. B and I pretty much decided that we're going to wait a little bit to do the countertops though. We'd like to get the other bathroom done first. Yesterday we ended up buying a fridge at Lowes and then heading over to Home Depot to buy a vanity, tile, and a faucet. Next weekend we're going to pick out the paint color and get a mirror and light fixture. In two weeks we asked my dad to come over and help us install the tile. I'll make sure to post some before and after pictures on here.

We're so excited for a fridge that actually works and doesn't suck up electricity like crazy! Our fridge now has been leaking water out of the drip thingy underneath the freezer and generally not working well. It's so annoying! I feel like things go bad so fast. We're coming in about $300 under our budget for a fridge and $1100 under budget for our windows. We'll use part of that $1100 for the guest, Mr. B's, bathroom. We picked a pretty cheap ceramic tile, but I think it will look much nicer than the ugly, stained linoleum tile that's down now.

I'm so excited to do some renovations!

Girls' Night

So I have a group of friends that I met on the internet. I really don't even consider them 'internet friends' at all because we have so much fun together and have gotten to know each other pretty well. We met up at one of the girls' houses last night for pizza, beer and wine, and to just hang out. It was so much fun. I ended up staying much later and drinking more than I should have.

They're just all such a great bunch of girls. No one is catty or snarky and we all get along so well. I feel like we've all known each other for years. It's nice to finally have some 'girl' friends that I know aren't going to stab me in the back or use me. I feel like I've always had a problem having girlfriends and I really don't know what it is. It just seems like at some point in our friendship the tables turn and things change. I guess that's just part of growing up and becoming who you are...people grow apart.

It's just nice because we're such a diverse group of girls as far as ages and stages in our lives. Some of us are in our twenties and some are in their thirties. Some already have kids and some are pregnant now. Some of us are married, some of us are engaged and some are single.

My Little Baker

I love Mr. B....he is so cute! Today, some of the girls at his work are hosting a bridal shower for one of the girls he works with. Mr. B offered to make a cake for the shower. Yes, that's right, my husband offered to bake something. He made his speciality last night, French Toast Cake. It's about the third or fourth time he's made it and I think he's getting the hang of baking.

I helped him out a little with the ingredients and the directions. Not having baked before, he takes everything so literally. To him, when the directions ask for a cup of something, he wants to get exactly a cup of something. To me, a cup is a cup--more or less. Baking isn't that exact, at least to me it isn't!

The girls at his work must be so jealous that Mr. B is such a renaissance husband. He cooks, cleans, and now he bakes. I am so lucky :) I'm going to the shower today too, so I'll have to rub it in how good Mr. B is. He always says that the women at work get all P.O'd when he talks about everything he does around the house.

Weekend Festivities & Activities

Such a busy weekend! I feel like I didn't sleep a wink! Friday I quick ran to the association to get our window color approved. I'm on the association board, so the manager knows me. She didn't say it, but she was like why the hell did you even bother coming down here? If it matches it matches...LOL. Oh well. After that I sped to the grocery store to stock up on goodies for my dad's birthday dinner and my mom's pre-surgery dinner. Then I ran home, unpacked, got dressed for the gym and hauled my fat arse over to LA Fatness. I did a quick workout, came home, showered, got dressed and waited for my parents to pick me and Mr. B up.

We went into Philly to go to a family friend's art show at the Philadelphia Cosmopolitain Club. Of course, it was pouring--I feel like we just bring the rain with us wherever we go nowadays. The show was nice. His stuff was really good, actually. I was surprised. I was also surprised by the pricetag. The cheapest piece was $400 and it was the size of a stamp. Ok, not literally a stamp, but maybe the size of a piece of paper. That's a little much for me!

Afterwards we went to Bellini Grill, which was right around the corner. The food there is absolutely amazing. I could eat there for eons. My mom had the crab ravioli, which was delicious. My dad had some kind of chicken in a blush sauce and Mr. B had some kind of beef stuffed with more meat. I had the pasta special--homemade spinach fetuccini in a blush sauce with rock lobster, clams, calamari, and scallops. It was so tasty! Everyone but my dad had cannolis for dessert. They are so good there!

Saturday, Mr. B and I cleaned the entire house because my parents and sister were coming over for dinner. So I had to cook, clean and I made it to the gym. I was so exhausted that night. We had chicken stuffed with ricotta and spinach, roasted red potatoes, balsamic marinated asparagus, dinner rolls and a salad. For dessert, my mom made her famous pound cake and it was probably the best I've ever tasted :)

Sunday we ran errands like crazy. Food shopping, Target, BB&B, Wegman's, BJ's and then back to Wegman's. We've been watching this new HBO show called True Blood--it's about vampires. It's pretty good and I think I'm getting hooked.

Monday I took off work because my mom was having surgery. She was scared, but I think she was glad that I was there. I just hope that her recovery goes smoothly!

Wedding Album

Mr. B and I picked up our wedding album from our photographer last night. It looks absolutely amazing! Jordan had it all sealed up in this cute little pine suitcase-looking box. It must weight at least 15lbs. The colors are beautiful and the flow of the book really tells the entire story of the day. Thank god he threw in something for all of the business we gave him and all of the money we spent on him--he printed up a nice portrait of me free of charge.

I'm so glad that we went with him, but I just wish we could get our damn pictures on a DVD so we could print what we want to print. I guess that's what happens when you don't read the fine print and don't know to ask. Oh well, what's done is done and now we have a gorgeous album and soon we'll have a DVD slideshow of our pictures--so excited for that! We picked out a few songs to put on there--they're not your typical lovey-dovey, wind-beneath-my-wings songs either, so we're interested to see how they turn out.

Seeing the album makes me so glad that I don't have to go through all of that stress again, but I'm also kind of sad because I want to enjoy the party again. Now I can live vicariously through the next couple weddings we go to and the wedding I'm in next June.

Westy's is the Best-y's

So Mr. B calls me sounding quite frantic on Tuesday. He wants me to take off of work so we can go down to the shore and hang out with his friends. He's leaving right after work, but of course, I have a meeting the next day and I have class on Tuesday nights until 8pm. After the phone call, I ran around to get the meeting pushed up :) Success! I asked my boss if it was ok and he said yes. Another sucess! Class got out 20 minutes early so I sped down 295, picked up some Wawa for dinner, shoved it in my mouth, packed a bag and flew down to the shore. I made record time even though there was construction!

I met Mr. B and his friends at Westy's bar in N. Wildwood. Being that it's the middle of the week and summer is over the place had all of 6 people in it including the bartender and 3 of Mr. B's friends. They were playing shuffleboard, so I grabbed a beer and joined in. Mr. B and I went 4 for 4 and beat all of the challengers in the bar.

We met some pretty interesting people Tuesday night. And there was some very interesting activities going on right before I walked into the bar. Things that shouldn't be done in public....ahem. The one guy we met is the owner of a bar in Wildwood called Goodnight Irene's. Since we helped him out with a problem (ie--falling down drunk 'friend') he said that we could go to his bar the next day and the tab was on him.

We ended up staying until about 2am. When we got outside the local cops were just sitting there in their cars waiting for us to grab our keys and drive home. We decided walking a few blocks was better than a possibly getting pulled over. After a quick stop at Wawa and a glass of water I slept like the dead...being up for 22 hours will do that to you.

We went to the Vegas Diner the next morning -- lots of coffees and greasy food to be had by all. Afterwards we went to Mr. B's friends' condo and watched some good old Maury Povich and Jerry Springer...while drinking of course. We went swimming in the condo pool and just as we got out the sun decided to show up. We went to Goodnight Irene's to take the guy up on his offer and it was a bust. The place was nice...good food too, but the guy's brother wasn't there and he didn't call us back. Oh well.

I wish we could have stayed the entire rest of the week, but Mr. and Mrs. B both had to get back to work. If only we could have gotten some nice beach time. Being a grown up sucks sometimes.

Busy, busy B's

I can't believe how busy Mr. B and I are. We are booked solid until December. Really. I'm so glad that we decided to put house hunting on hold for now. That would just be one more stressful thing to juggle.

Between now and the end of the year we have 5 weddings; only 4 of which we're attending and one is in Pittsburg. I'm taking a graduate class at night and Mr. B is taking 3 (one online and two in person, I think). We're going to Spain in November and the week after we come back is Mr. B's birthday, his class reunion and Thanksgiving. I think we have one free weekend in there somewhere.

I just hope I can save up some time and take a long Christmas break. I'll need some time to relax after a whirlwind year like the one we've had.

NYC Trip

This weekend was pretty busy. Friday we had a window estimator come out and look at our craptacular windows. The quote was about $800 cheaper than the last one we got and he made us realize that the first window company forgot to tell us some things. We're awaiting a window vinyl swatch so we can get it approved by our association.

Saturday we braved the elements and went to see Young Frankenstein at the Hilton Theater in NYC. The play was really funny and our seats were great. We were in the Dress Circle (1st balcony) second row from the front. Dr. Frankenstein was played by the guy who was the pharmacist on Desperate Housewives, but Igor definitely stole the show.The weather held off until we got out of the theater. It was raining cats and dogs and the streets became rivers. I can't believe how wet we got.

We had dinner at an authentic Spanish restaurant called Sangria 46. The food was delicious and the sangria was amazing. I had a strawberry and peach sangria and Mr. B had a traditional red sangria. As appetizers we got shrimp wrapped in bacon and a grilled portobella mushroom with smoked salmon topped with a yummy cheese. The portobella was as big as the plate! Soo good! For our meals, Mr. B got a seafood mixture in a garlic sauce and I got a seafood paella. Both were pretty tasty, but I wish mine had a little more flavor. The dessert menu was so-so and we ended up getting Fast Breaks at the news stand at the train station.

I highly recommend taking the express train from NYC into NJ. The trip seemed so much faster going home and the train was newer and nicer. We were so glad to get home Saturday night and so exhausted. We both took nice hot showers to try to shake the cold, wet clothes we had to sit in for a couple of hours. It was worth it though. I just hope that next time we go we can avoid all hurricanes and tropical storms!

Trash The Dress

I'm so excited that we're doing a Trash the Dress session! I wanted to do one, but couldn't justify the expense. Luckily a local photog is trying to beef up his portfolio and he offered to do them for free! For those that don't know what TTD is, www.phillyttd.com

We're using Rob Medina of Medina Photography. It's going to be so much fun! We had our engagement pictures taken at the Philadelphia Naval Yard and we're planning on taking some of the TTD pictures there too. We both love that industrial feel/look and it's right on the water. After the Navy Yard, I think we might head over to FDR park and maybe Penns Landing.

I'm picking up my dress from my mom tonight and I'm crossing my fingers that it still fits. It's been about 3 months since the wedding and I've definitely gone up a bit. I think Mr. B is just going to wear something pretty casual, but still dressy. Now I'm on the hunt for the perfect accessories.

Grad School

I forgot how boring going to class was. I had my first grad class last night after work. It's a three hour class, which means that I'm basically at work for 13 hours every Tuesday night. The professor went over 30 minutes, which kind of ticked me off because I didn't get home until 9pm. That meant that I didn't get dinner because I didn't want to eat and then go right to bed. I didn't want to eat and stay up either because I had to wake up at 4:30am today. I know, I'm whining, but I like my sleep and my food!

Good news is that I'm getting three of the four courses that I took at Stevens transferred to PSU. Now my degree should only take me 2.5 more years instead of 3.5. That's good in a way, though because we've already decided that we both want to get our Masters before we even start to think about having kids. 2.5 years should give us plenty of time to save up, find a house, save up some more $$ and then maybe try for some kiddos. That's a LOOONGGG way off...

Goodbye Summer...Hello Spain!

I'm so upset that it's almost the end of summer. I hope it stays nice enough so we can still enjoy the beach, tourist free. This summer flew by! I feel like we were busy just about every weekend. I'm kind of looking forward to winding down in the fall, but our schedules are filling up quickly.

We're both taking classes this semester for our master's. We have 4 weddings in the next 4 months and we're going to Spain in November for a work conference. The conference is in Cadiz, which is right on the very end of Spain. It's supposed to be Europe's oldest city. We were looking at hotels last night and we're trying to stay in smaller hotels in the heart of the cities. We'll be in Jerez de la Frontera for a day. Our flight comes in there, so we'll stay a night and check out the local sherry vineyards and some flamenco. Then, we'll be in Cadiz for 4 days for the conference. On the last day of the conference, we're heading to Sevilla, which is supposed to be amazing. I'm so excited to taste the tapas and see the sites! We'll be in Sevilla for 3 days and then we're finishing up our tour de Spain in Madrid. We'll take the 2.5 hour train ride through the country side from Sevilla and spend a day/night in Madrid. Our flight is the very next day, so we'll take a whirlwind tour of Madrid.

The best part of it all is that work will be paying for the majority of my stay plus airfare. Yay second honeymoon! We'll be sure to take tons of pictures to post.

...and We're Married

The wedding is finally over and I want to do it all over again. I miss the planning and the researching that occupied my life for so long. Mr. B is glad to have me back to normal and out of planning/bridezilla mode. Yes, he was afraid that I would be permanently stuck in bride brain mode.

About two months after we got married, I got this itch to buy a house. I also convinced Mr. B that it was his itch to scratch also. We went to one Sunday's worth of open houses and decided that we didn't have enough money to even start looking because the houses in our price range were a mess. Now we're just going to do some work to our current place and hope that brings the sale value up a bit.

Our plans are to replace the windows, which are 20 years old and aluminum--meaning that they're as good as nothing. We also want to redo the guest bathroom, which entails a new vanity, flooring, paint, mirror and light fixture. On our 'Like to do' list are the kitchen countertops and flooring for the rest of the house.


I'm so glad we're married and can get on with living our lives together!