Coming Out of Retirement

It’s interesting to think that it’s wedding season again for this girl.  I’ve already been through this once, where everyone around every corner was getting married.  This was in my mid-20s when a wedding meant a fancy dress and a big party.

Now, during round 2, it’s amazing to see the transformation of what I’m seeing for weddings.  I am seeing that the more mature (but not at all old) bride is throwing a fabulous less intense wedding… and she’s keeping it smaller than the first shindig.  She’s picking destination weddings over traditional ceremonies and throwing picnics and barbecues celebrate.  Frankly, I like her style!

Something else that’s interesting is that I’ve officially come out of bridesmaid retirement.  I’ve been in EIGHT weddings (mostly in my 20s) and I decided a while back that I’d be ok being an honored guest in the future as opposed to standing at the alter.  The reality:  It’s awkward to walk down the aisle with a permasmile, I ugly cry in front of an audience and (subtract a few months) no one likes to be the chubby girl in the wedding party.

Well, I got a call from a dear, dear friend of mine last weekend… asking me to be in her wedding and I couldn’t help but abandon my retirement.  I am SO flattered that she’d ask me to be a part of her special day.

Back in 1999, I had the honor of being one of her bridesmaids during her 1st trip down the aisle.  Between you and me, I was sort of a misbehaved bridesmaid.  Keep in mind, how was I really supposed to behave myself in front of an audience standing next to my closest and silliest girlfriends???  We may have started laughing during communion.

The great news is that she still decided to have me.  Angela and I have been friends for going on 17 years.  She and I have been through just about everything together… pledging a sorority together, sharing the same major in college, and becoming fabulous grown-ups together.  She’s one of the constants in my life.  Whether she was living just down the hall in our dorm or thousands of miles away as she is today, we stay connected and we always make time to catch up.  That’s the way we do it, and I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

She’s a coach, a teacher, and soon to be a doctor.  I’m certain she wears a cape most days.  No human could possibly work as hard as she does and accomplish as much as she has.  She’s a rockstar, and I’m so incredibly proud of the woman she’s become.  She’s seriously impressive.

In June, I’ll be so honored to stand by her as she says her vows to her fiance at their Las Vegas ceremony.  I can’t promise I won’t laugh if they mention anything terribly serious like communion… but wait, as my best friend, she already knew that going in.

Love you, Ang!

PS… Would have loved to have included our biker babe pic from college, but you likely have the only copy of that bad boy.

What a shame!!

 

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A Few New Treats on Monday

Weekends always go by so stinkin’ fast!  I spent my Saturday rushing about from store to store running errands and picking up dry cleaning.  Before I knew it, the day was gone.

My house was also a hot mess.  I spent some time getting it back under control as well.  For some reason when I get home from a trip, I am REALLY good at destroying the place.  Clothes everywhere and just all around laziness.  I think I have everything in check now… but keep in mind, I leave for Missoula tonight, so it will all start over again.

The other thing I feel like I did this weekend was EAT.  I’ve been eating more lately, I think.  Not really losing weight…. And everything I’m eating is light/lowfat and on the healthy side, but there’s just a lot of it.  More to come on this topic later in the week.

I’ve (once again) vowed this week will be better!  So, stay tuned to hear about the results.  In the meantime, I’ve tried a few new things that I wanted to share.  You’ll notice a not surprisingly peanut butter theme below.

MULTI-GRAIN PEANUT BUTTER CHEERIOS

I remember tweeting about these, but I don’t remember if I shared them with you.  Have you tried PEANUT BUTTER CHEERIOS!?!  Holy cow!  These are hands-down the most delicious O’s I’ve ever tried.  If you haven’t tried them yet… you really ought to.

 

As a peanut butter lover, the bowl of PB yumminess is worth every single one of the 110 calories that you spend eating them per serving.

WEIGHT WATCHERS NEW FROZEN BREAKFAST OPTIONS

I’ve whined before about my breakfast limitations.  I don’t eat eggs, so I’m sort of limited by normal breakfast cuisine.  My sister-in-law Beth told me about the new Smart Ones options, and I had to try them.

I picked up the Pancakes and Turkey Sausage breakfast and ate it on Saturday morning.  It was so good!  Now, of course, I added a little PB2 to the cakes to make them extra delicious.  REALLY good.  I’ve missed sausage (and bacon) and it was nice to have some!

SALTY SWEET GOODNESS

I went to Target this weekend to pick up some Fiber One 90 Calorie Peanut Butter bars, and found a new treat on the shelf – - Fiber One 90 Calorie Caramel Pretzel bars!  Wow!  Such a nice treat.  They seemed to have a slightly mocha flavor… and the pretzel is so tasty!

I also found a new LUNA bar to enjoy as well.  Have you heard about the new Peanut Honey Pretzel flavor??  Really good.  I don’t eat Lunas often, but I just had to try this one too.  Also delish!

GREEK YOGURT DIP

The first time I tried Greek yogurt.  I hated it.  There, I said it.  I know that all the healthy living bloggers SWEAR by Greek yogurt… but I didn’t like it AT ALL.  Judge on, folks… judge on!

I decided to give it another shot last week, buying a container of Fage Plain Yogurt and mixing in a pack of dip seasoning.  I’m not sure what I ate the first time when I hated it, but I LOOOOOOVED it the 2nd time around.  Fage + Hidden Valley’s Harvest Dill is AWESOME, and I’ve eaten so many veggies ever since!  YUM!

What have you found out and about that’s tickled your tastebuds this week??  Do tell! 

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