SSNM

I am glad I found this thread on NFP. Does anyone know of anyone in the Greater Toronto Area to get more direction on this? I have never taken the pill before and I do not want to start due to the potential side effects. I just bought the book by Toni W. and will start to read it. I will be so happy if this works. One other question: What does TTA and TTC mean? I am guessing it means "trying to conceive" and "trying to abstain"? Does that sound right?

BTW Pooshek, I also commend you for getting up that early. I am trying to aim for a respectable 7 am but I struggle even with that!

Geez, my last update was Nov 2, 2009. Okay time to catch up: Nov 3, 2009: Legs, calves, and 35 minutes cardio Nov 4, 2009: Chest (did not get in biceps, or cardio, or abs ) Nov 5, 2009: Rest Day; was too busy to make up for yesterday and didn't want to wear myself out Nov 6, 2009: Back, abs, and 35 minutes cardio Stay tuned for today...

DAILY REPORT: Yesterday was all-round a good day. I cooked my meals, packed them, and ate them throughout the day (even the less-than-palatable salad I made). I did cheat with a few cookies, two of which were 300 Cals EACH!! I could not believe it when I read the label. That is basically the equivalent of two meals for me! Talk about calorie dense/nutirient poor! Anyway, needless to say they will be removed from my list of allowable cheats. Other than that, the only thing I will have to work on is the eating timing (i.e. every 2-3 hours; 4 MAX). I may have to set an alarm to make sure that I eat on time. I got in my full workout yesterday; Back and 35 minutes of cardio. The intensity was adequate considering I didn't work out my back last week due to being sick. The cardio intensity was not as high as it could've been despite increasing the resistance by 25% but it wasn't too low so still effective. I finished with some lower abdominal exercises off a bench. It was a chunk of my day, cooking, working, and working out. But I did finished the night with watching a movie at home with FI and some irish cream (oh yeah, my other cheat)...and a small bag of chips (and that cheat ). I'm still happy because I this has definately been one of my better off season days. Hopefully I keep up the trend.

Oh believe me, I did multiple weigh ins that morning and it was the same; 129.2 lbs. Was completely wierd!

Have a great week Ash! I was really disappointed to see that insane amount of weight gain but then I weighed in this morning and I was 126.6?? I think my scale is acting up. I weigh myself at the same time of day, in the morning before eating. I dunno, maybe I had a really good purge between then and today! Anyway, I am going to be a bit more transparent with my exercise/diet. I wasn't particularly good last week partly because I went out with my MOH. Since then, the diet has been a bit better until Wednesday when I had a nice evening planned with my FI. Today I got all my meals packed for the day so it should be a good eating day. And I will be hitting the gym this evening after work.

I just wanted to say for the kids meal, that I had heard of a bride paying as little as $5-10 for the kids menu as all they ate were burgers and fries. It was my understanding that the half price for children was if they were eating the same meal as everyone else. That was on the Dreams message boards. I asked Deyanira about this and although she was a bit vague at first, she said she could look into the pricing for me.

I think Nat already mentioned it but I was going to say you could find some really classy ankle/foot slaves that you could wear if you didn't mind going the barefoot route and still have a really gorgeous looking foot. I am considering doing that as it lends itself well to south asian traditions. I was also thinking of getting hand slaves to match.

Oh, that. That is basically extra skin/fat that will only go away once the fat is burned off. Unfortunately, unless you do liposuction, there is no way to spot reduce. Diet is going to play a huge role. A few postural changes will also decrease their presence too. I would pay attention to the lat workouts as those are the muscles underneath those areas and having some tone in those areas may help. Plus when you build and flex the lats, it gives you a nice 'V taper' that gives the illusion of a tiny waist. I am horrible about taking pictures of myself, but when I get a camera and my FI around, I will show you the difference.

Don't even talk to me about Christmas. I have no idea what I am getting people, but the last two years I was pretty good about getting nice gifts that didn't break my budget and they were very creative. The most expensive gifts were for my nephews and that was basically $20 in a card because I did not know what to get them. I also tend to spend quite a bit on FI, but that will stop as of this year as we clearly got bigger plans to come. One thing I may try to do it with my family this year is to just draw names out of a hat and then everyone just gets one thing for one person -- basically a Secret Santa but in the family. I think that is much more cost effective and everyone gets a gift. Christmas can be way over played sometimes.

So far, I have a white sari with all-over gold work. I have a video of it, but it looks like a shapeless cloth wrapped around me as the lady fitting me was only doing it for effect. I want to have a gold dupatta (read: veil) with a gold sequence border and crystal work done on it to match. I will also be sporting a wedding dress though, so I am not sure how I am going to work two outfits. Maybe the sari for the legal day and the dress for the DW, or the sari for the ceremony and the dress for the reception/TTD.

Gorgeous dress Jocy! You carry it well

Wow, after all that, it actually dawned on me that you wanted to work your "lower back" and "middle back"; not 'lower half of upper back' :-s Okay so here are some lower back exercises that I think are good and can do at home: 1. superman: YouTube - How to Do Superman Exercises 2. Birddog (really good video here but my only variation would be to do a 'thumbs up' with the arm extension to minimize shoulder pinching on the rotator cuff muscle): YouTube - Six-pack abs are achieved with birddog exercise 3. Plank: YouTube - Planks I don't like weighted exercises for the low back as it puts too much pressure on the intervertebral discs and can cause them to wear down or even herniate. Working them as above should be enough as they are pretty small muscles anyway.

Sure do! Your lower, middle back...that would be lower traps, lats, and paraspinal muscles. Some good exercises that don't require a gym include: 1. supine overhead dumbbell pullovers with arms extended YouTube - Dumbbell Pull Overs Lats, Chest, Triceps Exercise 2. reverse push ups (I had a hard time finding a good video for this, surprisingly. I put two here because there was another version that I have never done before as a back strengthener, but I do feel it and it requires no equipment; just strong wrists. The other video with the bar is what I was thinking though you would have to have something sturdy in your home that lends itself well to it). YouTube - Amanda - Supinated Reverse Push Up - Women YouTube - Fitness: Reverse Push Up Exercise Challenge 3. rows (especially high rows) with a workout band or a weight YouTube - High Rows with Resistance Tubing YouTube - How to Do Bent Over Row Exercise 4. Lat pulldown with bands (I would pull my arms a smigit wider too get some more adduction into it, but the way she is doing it is fine). YouTube - Back Exercise #3 - Seated Lat Pulldowns Anything that uses a dumbbell can easily be replaced by any object that has weight to it (i.e. bags of flour, water/bleach jugs). Workout bands are something that should be in the house all the time; it saved my butt from missing a workout this past Sunday when I had my cousin over for the weekend. There are a tonne more, but those should be a good start. Here are a couple of other videos that looked pretty good for doing upper back at home: YouTube - Pantry Item Exercises : Pantry Item Exercises: Bent Over Row YouTube - upper back exercises Okay, time to hit the gym!

Congrats on graduating boot camp Pooshek! That is awesome! All those 6 am workouts are great accomplishments! My update: Nov 1st, 2009: Did my shoulders and triceps with my workout bands at home at 11 pm (almost didn't get it in but I did!). I missed my cardio though Nov 2, 2009: Rest Day Today is leg day so hopefully I get it in.

To answer your question, I think some people's suggestions were great where you'd put in the invitation something like "join us for dinner and have 4 drinks on us!" or something to that effect where it clearly states what you are paying for. You don't need to go into "we're poor so we can only give you 4 drinks" type of deal-- not that you would say it that bluntly, but you don't have to justify or explain anything to anyone. A statement like the former gives adequate information of what they should expect as far as alcohol goes.

Everything I would have said was already said. I will second not feeling obligated to host a alcoholic binge fest just because some tactless uninvitees say they think it's tacky. I think expecting to be able to drink yourself stupid at a wedding is tacky; that is not what you're there for. I also think 4 drinks is quite generous and, honestly, may become equivalent in price if not more so I may look into the unlimited beer/wine option or the timed bar and compare the pricing. Finally, you must consider who you are inviting; are they beer/wine drinkers? If not, maybe the other two options are ideal.

I would like to second doing the wedding you want regardless of their presence. You may really resent them if you change your plans on their account, especially if you are questioning whether their refusal to go is solely for financial reasons or for just not wanting to go. Talk to them and feel it out and if you are comfortable footing their bill or part of their bill, then it wouldn't hurt to help them out.

Quote: Originally Posted by AMH wow!!! I wish I had of read all this before. I am looking to book my wedding in November of 2011 but I have dealt with Crystal before. I was employed by one of the companies that supplied Crystal with her flowers. Because she never paid for them (they were sent COD and all the cheques she wrote were bad) I am unfortunately in a very bad situation at work and have been demoted. I am just starting to look for destinations for my wedding so if anyone has any suggestions for me I would greatly appreciate it. I am feeling quite overwhelmed. OMG AMH, that is horrible! I have been silently following reviews on this company and she really sounds like bad news. I am so sorry to hear that you got a demotion as a result As for your possible destinations, really the sky's the limit, but it depends on what you are looking for. I see you are from Toronto and so am I! I am strongly considering Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Costa Rica and they all have their pros and cons. Keep perusing the forums for info and PM me whenever if you'd like! Sorry for the thread hijack.

Welcome ashore BDW fellow Torontonian and Dominican Republic bride! I was thinking to get married around the same time. We should talk

Quote: Originally Posted by Debs As long as it's at least 2 days AFTER yours I wouldn't have a problem with it. Here's the thing. All your guests won't hang out with each other every day they are down on the trip. Everyone has their own thing going on, like activities and excursions, I wouldn't expect (or want) people looking to me for something to do the entire week, as I'm there to have a vacation too. I would draw the line at planning the thing together though. I mean your wedding is your wedding. As long as she's still planning her own thing and not latching on to all your plans it wouldn't bother me. Besides, 10 years is nothing to sneeze at. I would feel like a beotch by saying they couldn't celebrate it just because they happen to be away at your wedding. I agree with Debs. I too would feel like an ogre if I told my friend she could not celebrate her wedding because she was at mine. And I do agree it should be after yours, not before.

Wow, I can completely see both sides. A few thoughts: 1. If there are common guests, they may be hard pressed to choose between two events to fly out to if they couldn't afford both. 2. It may be difficult for your friend and her husband to fly out twice for their ROV and your wedding and so they are trying to consolidate their expenses to be able to attend your wedding and celebrate their marriage. 3. The wedding is typically 1-3 days at the most and then the rest of the week is free. 4. An ROV with just the two of them should have no bearing on your wedding day, and thus should be allowed. 5. An ROV with them and a few common guests should be split apart by a few days. 6. I would suggest to her that she NOT plan any other events during the week other than her ROV as you put in the majority of planning the trip and other guests should not be over-burdened with too many functions during their vacation week. This way, it doesn't take away from your thunder and she still gets her ROV.

If I can be honest, I don't think you owe your aunt anything just because she gave you a big gift -- other than a thank you card. She gave it because she wanted to, felt comfortable to, and you didn't ask for it. If she gave you $2, you would be expected to be just as greatful as if she gave you $2000. If you are comfortable incorporating her son into some other area of the wedding, then you can do that if it will make you feel better. I have a friend who had a Man of Honor as well and I would like to second the idea of mixing men and women on either side of the bridal party to have him closest to you. You can have the two girls as bridesmaids and they should understand that you want your close family member to have the honor role. I also want to second the advice to not stress yourself crazy over this as it really shouldn't be stressful -- it is your wedding

Quote: Originally Posted by kerrij Wow 200 people! I was surprised by how expensive a wedding is at an AI. we have about 50 people coming with us, at $2000 a person, you would think they wouldn't charge us for every single thing! i'm going the cheap route at our AI, GBP, and have lucked out that our wedding, from the ceremony to dinner to dance/DJ, steel drums and photographer is going to be about, $5000 for 50 people. You'd think since my group is bringing in all that money they would do weddings a little cheaper...and i'm going the cheap route. not complaining, just took me a while to overcome the costs as we decided on a DW to save money. lol happy planning! that will be so nice to have so many people celebrate your day with you! Hi Kerrij! 2 questions: 1) Does your $5000 wedding include rings, attire, gifts (i.e.OOT bags, favors, BM/GM gifts, parents gifts, bridegroom gifts, etc), and airfare/accomodations? 2) At the risk of exposing my ignorance, what is GBP? (I am guessing either Grand Bahia Principle, which makes sense, or Great Britian Pounds, which doesn't make sense )

Quote: Originally Posted by jh17 I was having the same issue finding this information. I want to add my maiden name as a middle name and take my husband's name as my last name but apparently to do that I need to legally change my middle name.... who would have thought it would have been this difficult and confusing?! I am not sure what I am going to do now b/c I don't want to drop my maiden name completely and I don't want to hyphen my last name but changing my middle name will also change my birth certificate (so my last name will show as my middle name and my last name on my birth certificate....) plus to legally change your name in Alberta you need to go for fingerprints, etc. thanks for all the info! No problem! Actually, I am just going to tack my FI's name onto my own without a hyphen. That should not require a formal name change. Although I will still have my original middle name, I plan on using my maiden name professionally and my FI's last name in all other context. Officially, though, it will be as if it was hyphened without it being hyphened.