Real Simple Wedding Magazine 2011

As you all know, I'm a huge fan of the Real Simple Wedding Magazine. I reviewed the Real Simple Wedding Magazine 2009 and the Real Simple Weddings Magazine 2010 edition. And now as almost a newlywed of one year, I get the pleasure of reviewing the 2011 edition of the Real Simple Wedding Magazine.

The one thing that as a bride and now wife, I can truly appreciate about the Real Simple magazines is their simplification of processes. As any bride knows, the storm that arises the minute you say "yes" can be overwhelming. One of the first things brides do is start scouring the internet and looking at bride magazines. Seeing as I still get many of those popular bride magazines I can honestly tell you that one thing that separates the Real Simple Wedding Magazine from the rest is the pure and simple fact that every chapter is helpful. Especially for the newly engaged. It is pretty much the best gift to get any new bride.

The contents cover everything from budget, location, dresses, flowers, decor, food and more.

Each chapter covers a "getting started" section, top 10 common questions,

Many chapters cover images and examples and the best part, between each chapter there are REAL weddings with REAL brides and REAL details.

and the best part, a Planning calendar that really breaks it down.

My biggest complaint with other magazines is that the substance is repetitive, minimal and completely lost in the sea of advertisements... Real Simple Weddings Magazine has hit the nail with really helping brides simplify things and how to get started (especially if you are newly engaged). The focus is on substance. The focus is on Real. The focus is on simplifying things... In essence, its the magazine every bride wants.

I would definitely recommend any bride in any stage (or those who just love weddings) to check out this magazine. It is on stands near you and worth every penny...

**Excuse the shoddy pics, I'm still recovering so had to use my cell phone to take these pics... the quality of my photos really don't show the beautiful feel of the magazine, the images and even the smallest detail - paper quality.**

Stop and Smell the flowers

... and I did on our wedding day. It was caught by our wonderful Photographer Jordana, Hazelnut Photography... and I just discovered that our fabulous florist had posted about it on her blog, Flower Allie Style.

One of my fave pictures as well...

but seriously, the details of my bouquet and my bridal party are pretty stinking fabulous... Gray and Yellow with navy accents... She hit our decor on the bull's eye!

and my flower girls in motion

And the details of our ceremony site...

**sigh** I am so happy with what Allie did with our space. She is fabulous. So if you haven't gone over to check out her stuff, hit up her blog, Flower Allie Style - she's got some pretty awesome weddings highlighted there!

The Spending Diet ...ala

And Then she saved Blog.

CNN Money recently highlighted Anna Newell Jones and her blog, And Then She Saved and I was inspired.

One particular post spoke to me, and I do think that her blog will become one of my daily visits b/c she is inspiring.

The Spending Diet: 

1. Make list of my NEEDS. These are things like: shelter, phone, food, utilities, mortgage/rent. See my original Spending Fast Needs list here. I'm going to re-do this list. Re-evaluation is a good thing.
2. Out of my NEEDS list figure out where costs can be reduced. 
3. Stop spending money.
4. When a NEED from the NEEDS list pops up I'll spend money on those. Those are NEEDS. Those are okay.
5. Since this is the Spending Diet and not the Spending Fast I am allowing myself a $200 $100 limit on "non-needs" for the month. Things that go into this section are things like: clothes, make-up, entertainment, dinner out, other random "non-needs" stuff. I'll follow this criteria for purchases so I don't go buck wild buying corn dogs and bubble gum. 
6. I'll keep a running monthly tally of the money I'm spending on "non-needs" and once the $200 $100 is hit then that's it. I'll stop spending money and go into the Spending Fast mode for the remainder of the month. 

Now, that is inspiring. Could I do it? i could certainly try. Right now I need to go through my NEEDS list and make sure i've got it written down and then see where costs can be reduced. That is my goal before spring.

Wish me luck!

I'm alive!!!

Firstly, I want to say thanks to everybody for the kind words, comments, emails, texts, facebook etc... It's so sweet and I really felt pretty dang good despite the physical pain knowing I had so many people out there sending me good thoughts.

Oddly, I was pretty excited for the surgery for the fibroid and cyst removal. I think knowing I was going to get Freddie and Bert out, was a big deal to me. I was confident in my Dr's abilities and knew that even my worst case outcome was still not an awful one. I kept the faith... so to speak.

We arrived at the hospital about 10am. After checking me into admissions, we headed to the surgical waiting area.

My snazzy admissions bracelet. Personal info blacked out LOL

We weren't there too long before they had me in a room, took my vitals and had me undressed into a hospital gown and some pretty cool socks .

Here I am... The husband didn't know I was taking a pic, so he's mid-sentence ... and my snazzy socks.

Before long, they had an IV catheter in my arm, antibiodics pumping through. The surgery before mine ended early, so I was on the table about 1230. I came to about 1:50. Fought to fight the grogginess. Just wanted to use the bathroom.

Then they put me in a special waiting area and when I went to the bathroom and returned, there was no bed - just my chair. They wanted me upright and brought me juice. Before I knew it, the Husband was with me and we were just chillin'. The juice was sweet, so i asked for some water - probably not a great idea. It made me nauseous. I was ready to go home... but i was groggy and nauseous.

The nurse recommended I try to throw up b/c i would in the car if i didn't. I tried. I tried. I tried. Finally a little bit of water came up.  I got dressed, she gave me a little more nauseau meds via IV and i was in a wheel chair and falling asleep before I even got in the car. We made it home in 30 minutes and I was laying in bed.

The pain was mild, maybe a 3 or 4 at most. I had my pain meds but the sensation to want to pee was great. I would get up and try and nothing would come out b/c i hadn't drank anything all day. But when I did, i'd get nauseous. So after a couple hours of this, i finally started forcing myself to drink little more water at a time. By about 7pm, I was up and while the sensation to urinate was there, I also was ready for some food.

The food and liquids helped to curb that awful desire to urinate with no relief. And i then realized, WOW - how awful if you always felt like you had to pee and would go but that sensation never left... and thanked the stars above that #1 it went away and #2 that was my only serious complaint from the surgery.

So i'm home now. Laid up but moving around. Even made it to our local CVS a couple blocks away. I'm really surprised at how much i progressed in a few short hours last night from achey to fine... and feel so blessed!

Just wanted to give you an update. Maybe TMI... but for anybody else going through a hysteroscopy resection and / or Cyst (laparoscopy surgery) removal... I just wanted to let you know, if you get that i have to pee feeling from the pressure on your bladder, the best thing is to drink liquids even though its really hard at first. And it does pass pretty quickly.

Thanks again everybody for being so supportive. I'm recovering well and quickly and am in good spirits! I did get pictures but need to scan them, so for those who want to see, I will be posting a link to them later on this week :)

Goin' Under

So i'm headed in for my out-patient procedure. Getting both Freddie the Fibroid (hysteroscopy resection) and Bert the Cyst (laparoscopy surgery) out of my body. Lucky and happy that got me in last minute and so quickly. I should be home later this evening.

My big concern, no water or food until surgery since last night midnight. I drank so much water last night I was peeing every hour. Then i had a dream i was eating and drinking water and i screamed "Ahhh, i'm not supposed to be eating right now!" Oh dear...

Wish me luck that I survive this no-eating order by the Dr. I'm already ready to gnaw on my own arm LOL. (yes, i'm a drama queen).

And thank y'all for the support and well wishes. Additional thoughts and prayers appreciated!

Not Preventing vs. Trying to conceive

Question of the day: at what point does "not preventing" pregnancy mean that you are "trying" to conceive? Does going off the pill automatically assume you are trying to conceive?

We spend so much time preventing or controlling the ideal time to when we'd like to start a family in society, that it seems that when you stop preventing it, the automatic assumption is that you are basically trying to conceive... but is that really the case?

Is there a period of time that when you stop preventing pregnancy, that you really are not "trying" to conceive? or is "not preventing" automatically put you in the Trying To Conceive category?

For the Husband and I, we were in the "not preventing" stage (just entered that stage) but many of our friends assumed we were "trying" - when in fact, we weren't "trying" but just wanted to let nature take its course. But does that mean we ARE trying?

A total random thought that floated into my head this weekend, that is really a trivial matter, but curious to see what you think?

Dude, it's a blog hop!!

One of my new fave blogs is Nini Says and it's on her blog that I joined my first Blog Hop... so Hop on in and join the fun!!

It was a Five question Friday but i'm doing it for the weekend... here goes:

1. Where did you meet your spouse and did you instantly know it was love?
We met in law school and I did not instantly know it was love. He had some sort of hold on me, but i couldn't put my finger on what it was...

2. What is your favorite room in your house?
Well since we live in a 1 bdrm condo, I'd have to say my whole condo b/c its not very big LOL.

3. Can you wiggle your ears?
No but the hubby can and it makes me laugh hysterically

4. What is your evening ritual?
Aside from the whole washing up thing, I like to farm (i'm addicted to farmville), check my facebook and email one last time, turn the Computer off. Say good night to the pups and have my hubby tuck me in...

5. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?
I can function on 6 hrs but prefer 8 hrs a night...

Getting to know my body

While ultimately this is all done for baby preparation, I've recently begun on this journey to get to know my body better. After the episode of July with the irregular cycles, I started to use my menstrual app to chart things: Girly things... like spotting, periods, sexual activity, migraines, and other pms symptoms. Because I did this, I had an easy handy dandy reference when my ObGyn would ask me a question when the drama began a month ago.

I'm very Type A, as I mentioned before and I like to research things and be thorough... so I purchased a basal Temperature thermometer and began charting in December. I started this b/c I knew that it could help us on that fateful day when we decide "let's try for a baby" because by then (hopefully), I would know my body's cycle and be aware of the pattern it was in...and knowing is half the battle, right? I also assumed that with my previously jacked up cycle, it would take months for me to even see any clearly defined pattern. 

I didn't realize how helpful it would turn out to be until the episode of "pregnant for a day" turned up... and I realized that I'm doing things right. 

*one thing to note, the days where the temp is exact same were days I missed. I just added them in to try to fill in the blank.

Because i missed a few days, the ovulation date is either on the 30th or the 3rd or 4th. But this is the general chart. You will see the red dotted lines that indicate when ovulation occurred and that my temperature continued to increase and that on day 13, is when i had my first positive blood result. On the 18th, it dropped (the day the HCG levels Dropped) and on the 19th it plummeted indicating the pregnancy disappearing.

It is so interesting to me... Basically, as you chart, on the first day you see a spike that stays consistently high for about 3 days, the last day for the low temp is the day you ovulated. It's that Easy.  I mean its not, b/c there are any factors that can distort your numbers and change things, but in essence - that is what tracking your temperature can do.

Do i need all this info to survive? Not at all - but for my own sanity and my personality type, I love knowing that I can easily see things on a chart. And now that I'm in the habit of doing it, i find it interesting and intriguing to see what my body does and how my body temperature can reveal that. I'm not ready to do the cervical mucous stuff yet, so for now... bbt charting will have to do

I use the free version of Fertilityfriend.com and the Iphone App comes in handy.

Things I've learned:
1. Always take it at the same time in the morning before you do anything throughout that one cycle.
2. Make sure to get three hours of sleep (i was getting up to pee in the middle of the night, but i guess b/c that was consistent every night, it wasn't a changing factor)
3. Always chart it right away. I always forget the number by the time i wake up again (or if i let 5 minutes pass)
4. Denote if you had drank the night before or anything that changes your pattern, it helps to explain irregularities.
5. It may take months before you get it down.
6. The charting lessons from Fertilityfriend.com that are free ARE very helpful.


Have any of you tried this? Has it been helpful or hurtful? What has been your experience? Are you doing this solely for baby production, or has this also revealed getting in touch with your body as it did for me? What tools have you used to help you on this journey to get to know your body or to have a baby?

Fibroid vs. Cyst - What's the difference?

Since I've discovered the "state of the union" so to speak about my body (Read about that here) I have been doing a lot of online "research". Some call it self-diagnosing, I call it "research". It's a good thing b/c a lot of my friends and family have been asking me "What's the difference between a cyst and a fibroid?" or "Wait, you are having two surgeries?" or just "Huh?"

So for any of you else out there who are a bit confused, I think i'll break it down in charts...

Please NOTE: This is specific to my case, it is not information used as Medical advice and this is my own research. I highly suggest you keep researching on your own, and merely use my information as an example of ONE case.

SUBMUCOSAL FIBROID Solid growth located in the muscle beneath the endometrium of the uterus and distort the uterine cavity; even small lesion in this location may lead to bleeding and infertility (sourced Wikipedia) About 1" big Benign growth Very common Not all women are effected even if they have a Fibroid, depends on location.

CYST Semi-solid growth attached to the right ovary. Most likely a Dermoid Cyst (dermoids are composed of mature skin complete with hair follicles, nail, and/or teeth) or a Chocolate Cyst (also known as an endometrioma - a cyst composed of old blood) About 3+ inches in diameter Most likely Benign Pretty common

Complications from

SUBMUCOSAL FIBROID  Can cause heavy menstrual cycles, frequent urination, and painful intercourse. This type of fibroid can prevent conception or implantation because it messes with the uterine lining; or even cause infertility. Can cause miscarriage, bleeding, premature labor or effect position of fetus.

CYST The size and location of the cyst can cause complications. My cyst is 7.8cm. Anything over 5cm in size is considered big and should be removed. Depending on location, sometimes the whole ovary it is attached to needs removal too. Can create complications for pregnancy in terms of labor and giving birth.

Removal of in my case

SUBMUCOSAL FIBROID  a device is put in through the cervix that will scrape the fibroid off the uterine wall. Depending on if the fibroid is on a stalk or not, will depend on what happens next. Recovery is about a day since there is no incision made. The uterine lining will be given estrogen to help its healing. Dr. feels comfortable with about 1 full cycle before attempting to let nature take its course.

CYST an incision is made into the belly button area to take look see. Other devices are then inserted with other small cuts into the body to assist in removing the cyst. The cyst, due to its size, will most likely be cut into pieces and removed.  Worst case: they have to make a bigger incision to remove the cyst as one piece, highly unlikely Recovery from the laproscopy is about a week, full recovery 2-3 wks.

Ok, hopefully this spells out the biggest differences in most cases, but specifically my case. I may have left out some other things, but not b/c it is unimportant but rather b/c it may not have been relevant to my case. If you are curious to know more, i suggest doing your research - I looked at forums, boards, pregnancy sites and wikipedia. In no way, is my research all inclusive or applicable to everyone.

Did any of you have a different experience? or anything to add? I'd love to know!

Pregnant for a Day

ok... well maybe more than, but to me - since I've only known about it for a day as a possible real options, I feel like i was ONLY Pregnant for a day.... and I'm sure you are wondering what i'm talking about.

After Thursday's meeting last week with my specialist about my Fibroid and Cyst, I received a call on Monday morning to the effect of "your blood test is positive. Seeing that you are pregnant, we may not be able to proceed with your surgery. We need you to go your ObGyn's office to get a beta test so we can confirm b/c your HCG levels are a low but definitely showing that you are Pregnant." I just dropped everything. Whaaaa??

I'm sure you can imagine, me running around like crazy. I didn't know what to do first. Do i call my Husband? Do i tweet it? What to do... So first thing I did, I squatted... i grabbed an EPT and I tested. Since I already knew she said my HCG levels were low, I didn't know if my EPT would show a positive...

But this is what I got:

See how the second line is VERY faint, almost unphotographable but it detected something

So, it was faint but considering my HCG levels were at 22 on thursday, It shouldn't have been THAT faint... so a test was in order.

So I got in the car, stopped off at the Husband's work - showed him the EPT. Explained the situation. His response "Super sperm!!!".

Of course we were thrilled, scared and excited. We weren't "trying" yet, and only went off the pill in December (figured Id have to adjust for a few months first), and hadn't even had a full cycle and he hit the bull's eye... The egg has been fertilized. That was a big deal b/c I didn't know if i had any eggs, were they dropping, am i fertile? etc... normal things us older woman think about, right?

At 4:45 AM tuesday morning, my alarm goes off to take my BBT. I woke up and it had dropped from 97.61 to 97.27. When I saw that, my heart sank. It had steadily been increasing and I knew this could mean one thing, the fertilized egg wasn't implanting itself. It makes sense of course. I have a fibroid. A submucosal fibroid does this... prevents conception. I had a hard time falling back asleep.

Everything was confirmed when I got the Beta test results later that morning and my HCG level had dropped to 19. In essence: The Egg was "FRY"ed but the plate to serve it on is broken. Good news, the stove was ready to go and is working... What we had was a case of a "chemical pregnancy", in short a miscarriage of sorts. Basically your body reads like its gonna be pregnant, high HCG levels, but for whatever reason... the pregnancy disappears.

Don't worry y'all, before you feel too bad - we are both being very positive about this and here is how I'll break it down.

Good News I have Eggs!!! (unless of course that was the last one dropped but i'm staying optimistic) The Husband's sperm is... well "super sperm" Aforementioned Egg and sperm seem to connect. I can drink for a few more months (I wasn't ready for a jackpot on first try, so i was kinda sad that I hadn't had my farewell toasts to alcohol - dumb, but honest).  I can drink on my FL trip.  I can drink on our anniversary trip.  I can remove the cyst without being pregnant. Typically they wait til 2nd trimester to remove the cyst if its this big, so now I won't have that to worry about that scenario Since Fibroid can cause complications with pregnancy, not being pregnant can actually be a blessing Can still do Weight watchers and get to a healthier weight pre-pregnancy Gives us more time to become more financially ready and get our tiny condo ready for a new guest should it happen

Bad News I am not pregnant! We got excited at the idea and now that it's not happening, we are a little sad - but its making us even more excited and less fearful of the prospect.  Now we need for a flow and a negative pregnancy before we can proceed with any procedures. We may have to do procedures separately instead of together.  Can't eat to my hearts content LOL

But the worst news is that the baby would have been due mid-September to End of September which would have made him/her just in time for ... Halloween and their costumes.


So ... I was pregnant for a day. Chemically I could still be pregnant, since Monday was a 19 HCG level and that's more than "below 5" HCG levels, but in my mind b/c I know its not going to implant, my pregnancy started yesterday with that phone call and ended today with the knowledge of the beta results. But i'm not gonna be sad, but rather focus on how this IS for the best ... and that is something I don't have a doubt about.

Encouraging words are always appreciated. ^.^

Family Planning {Part 1}

Being the Type A Personality that I am, is it any wonder I am approaching babies like I would any other major event in my life, with extensive planning and research. I guess not a surprise but its still a bit foreign to me as I'm not really sure how I feel about my own children.

Until I was married (and ever since I was a young girl), all i wanted was babies. Forget the husband, I just wanted babies. I always feared that my body would give out before the time would come for me to have them.

Now that I am married and children are more of a realistic near future, I'm scared sh*tless. I won't lie. I am a Type A. I plan and i prepare myself for the loops, bumps and turns that life throws at me. But, because I know you can't plan everything, I do my best to think of all possible scenarios and outcomes. That way, I'm prepared.

But come on, moms out there are laughing at this point thinking... nothing prepares you for children until you just have them. There is no point in planning ... or planning to the extent that I am thinking this through.

But please humor me. I'm a planner. It makes me feel better. It makes me pretend that I may actually have some semblance of control of something I know I won't have control of... and perhaps that is what freaks me out.

Doggy Conjunctivitis

So my lil' one was diagnosed with conjunctivitis this weekend... (what is my world coming to? First me, then the lil' one). Luckily, I caught it early enough where its not gonna be too damaging. And Conjunctivitis is not contagious between dog and dog or dog and human, so while Kota may get it in his right eye too, he won't spread it around to other dogs or to our Juneau.

Friday night, i noticed this mucous buildup cornering at his eye.... the white gooky "eye burger" that we all sometimes get, except his was white-ish, yellowish... and after I'd clean it with a warm damp cloth, the crustiness would be gone, but i could already see more around his eye and looking like it was ready to come out some more.  I've seen conjunctivitis on people... I mean, it's pink eye, but our lil' one has small little Asian Eyes like his mama. So you can't really see the whites in his eyes. So little Kota has doggy pink eye. :(

My diligence paid off and after a quick trip to our local Vet, and about $100 bucks later - I have eye drops for Kota's Eyes. Our vet is thorough, so she did an eye stain to make sure there was no damage to his cornea or anything like that.

Here is my little guy Friday afternoon. He loves to just stare out windows and since we live in a condo, I created a little window ledge for him so he can just stare out the window. And you know me, I'm a big fan of reflections.... so I tried to capture a few images of him with his own reflection.

He often falls asleep with his head up, trying to resist ...

And here he is after his visit to the Vet and his two drops of eye medicine once we got home. 

The good news is, the vet visit revealed that Kota has lost 1.2 lbs. He is now 28.2 which is great since he's a slightly more muscular Shiba (muscle weighs more than fat, so that's why he tips the scale - thats our story and we're sticking to it)... YAY!

Hopefully my lil' one will be back to new in no time at all.

Weekly Scoop

• Rent the Runway, the leading online destination for dress and accessory rentals,continues its rapid expansiona with Rent the Runway Weddings, a natural nextstep in the online rental business. The new site will cater to the bride, her bridesmaids, and wedding guests by offering exclusive bridesmaid collections, bridal accessories, and styling services. The bridesmaid collections have been designed exclusively for Rent the Runway Weddings by top designers Badgley Mischka, Robert Rodriguez and Nicole Miller. Additional non-exclusive styles will be available from Shoshanna and Calypso.
  
  To celebrate the launch, Rent the Runway will be offering a week’s worth of prizes from brands such as Fresh Cosmetics, Spanx, and Blueprint Cleanse.
  

• A new app for Iphone or Ipads... 101 BRIDAL GOWNS takes the guesswork out of finding the perfect dress for the big day! Categorized by up-to-the-minute bridal trends, the app presents gorgeous gowns styled alongside luxe handbags, fancy footwear, and beauty loot fit for even the savviest of shoppers. To browse even more bridal gowns in each trend, simply rotate the iPad to landscape mode and search away. Get inspired by 101 BRIDAL GOWNS and if you want a second (or third!) opinion, share your top picks with friends and family via email and Facebook. And for those gotta-have-it accessories in the app, just tap the link and snap them up on the spot!
  
  101 BRIDAL GOWNS 1.2 is $1.99 and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Lifestyle category.

• A new modern bridal expo called Wedding Wise, taking place on Sunday, April 17, 2011 in San Diego, Calif. for editorial consideration. Wedding Wise is the first of it's kind in San Diego, and unparalleled in Southern California, with it's highly creative, artistic and personal approach to weddings.
  
  Where tradition is thrown out the window, and DIY is the norm, Wedding Wise will showcase more than 70 exhibitors at the historic 15,000-square-foot Culy Warehouse built in 1914. With 1,000 brides and friends enjoying a day of ideas, wine tastings, fashion and finding that hard-to-find vendor, Wedding Wise inspires the contemporary wedding.
  
  Find them at weddingwiseshow.com and twitter.com/weddingwiseshow.
  
  General admission to Wedding Wise is only $5 at the door. Entrance to the event is along the Sixth Avenue side of Culy Warehouse, steps from the heart of the historic Gaslamp District.

• DIYva Designs has already started planning for our 2011 weddings
  and events. The annual wedding brochure is currently viewable online RIGHT now... check it out...The brochure can be accessed here http://issuu.com/sugarb/docs/diyva2011.

A Nation Full of Wusses??

When I first heard the governor of PA say that when they cancelled the Philly game, I laughed and agreed. However, I did think due to the mass amounts of snow - the upper decks at the stadium and the craziness when the fans left would be just plain dangerous since it snowed so much...

but recently, the phrase popped into my head again while reading this article by Amy Chua "Why Chinese mothers are superior".  Now I know many of you don't agree with this article. In fact The Husband already told me he didn't agree with a lot of it... but i couldn't help but nod in agreement or comment "my mom Sooooo did that too" while reading the article (everything italicized is directly from the article).

Ms. Chua starts off with
"A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what these parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it. Here are some things my daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were never allowed to do:

• attend a sleepover
• have a playdate
• be in a school play [unless it was to sing or play an instrument]
• complain about not being in a school play
• watch TV or play computer games [but we got a few reprieves after everything else was done]
• choose their own extracurricular activities [we had to agree upon it as a family, i ended up doing gymnastics, ballet, jazz, ice skating]
• get any grade less than an A
• not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama
• play any instrument other than the piano or violin [i played the flute and clarinet, but that was in ADDITION to the piano AND violin]
• not play the piano or violin.

Health: Fibroid & Cyst {Part Deux}

So I went to my surgery consultation today (for fibroid and cyst we found in my body last week) and all went well. The past few days since I've been openly discussing my health concerns, my mother has been really worried... but from what I understand (and have read all over the world wide web) is that fibroids and cysts are both normal for many woman and in fact, the removal of is also a standard type procedure.

So here is the outcome of today's consultation... I explained what was going on. He showed me a photo of how the Fibroid is removed, basically a device is inserted into the body and the fibroid is "scraped" off the uterus lining. Because the Husband and I still want the options of baby on the table, the Dr. will then put some estrogen and antibiotics to ensure the uterus lining does not infect or scar too badly that conception is impossible.

The cyst, being the bigger growth also needs to be removed. The Dr. said that when the fibroid is removed, we can laproscopically go in and check it out... I interrupted him and said "I Just want it out... it may have teeth" at which point, he kinda seemed to chuckle...

Luckily, the Dr. sensed my urgency in wanting this growth removed - i mean, even if it had teeth or a couple of tooths, its not gonna bite me, but i'm still grossed out by it LOL. So today they drew blood - pre-op blood work and cancer testing blood work, on the very very slim chance it is a cancerous tumor. I go in next week for my pre-op appointment for the rest of the info and hopefully soon, I will undergo outpatient surgery to remove the 1" sub-mucosal fibroid and laproscopically have the 7.8 cm cyst taken out.

Because it will be done laproscopically (if all goes as planned), the Dr. believes that i'll be out of work for a week at most and back to doing my "normal routine" about 2-3 weeks out  :)

My mom is concerned of course and wants to know if she should come out. if the surgery is a work day that means the Husband will have work. Since i'll potentially be out of work, I'm wondering if maybe he should just focus on work and let my mom come help...

What do you all think? I'm pretty resilient so i'm hoping for a quick recovery. I mean i'm still trying to get past week 4 on Couch to 5k, so i'd like to stay on track... am i being too optimistic?

I'd love some input with anybody who has first hand or bystander experience to these types of out patient surgeries :)

Oh and if I wasn't already pleased with the great service and concise explanation by my Dr., he also said he'd take pictures of my cyst and i could get a copy - so I'll let y'all see if you are interested. (don't worry, i'll just post a link to the photo and not post the photo itself)... what a cool Dr. So far my experience with the new Dr's have been awesome!

Awesome Photobooth

Our photobooth was pretty awesome. We used Cheesy Photobooths and not only did they take care of every little detail - they made it so much fun for my guests. Not only did we get to pick the backdrop and customize our banner, each guest got two copies - one for our scrapbook that Cheesy photobooths put together and shipped to me later and one for the guests to keep. We also got an electronic copy of all of it! :)

My SIL and I went days before to find the little props we were going to use and that in an of itself was tons of fun. Then to see them in action...

Friends Just having fun

Cousins

I love this one b/c that bottom corner one looks like Kota is coming at you

More family... they had so much fun, my uncle removed his fake tooth in one of the photos!

My nephew loved it... he took like 5 sets of solo pics

My niece also took a few solo!!!

My nephew also jumped into random people's photos... he did not know my friends. LOL

My Maid of Honor with my nephew!

Even the pups took photos!

And finally a photoset of us with our moms... oh and Kota!

Did you do a photobooth? Have you ever tried it? This was one way we memorialized our day and we still love to look through scrapbook and the online photos and just giggle at the memories!

Spotting, Fibroids and Cysts... Oh My!

ok, ok... i'm a bit dramatic... but all i can think about is that i don't feel right. My mom of course would chalk it up to me not having children yet and so my hormones are revolting against me. Who knows? maybe there is some truth to that.

The short of it is, after months of just not feeling right, my hypochondria was confirmed to show that my insides aren't right. The long of it I will explain below... just in case someone else uses the internet to self-diagnose (like i'm guilty of doing) and needs to know they aren't alone.

I have been on Yaz forever. Due to migraines and irregular periods, Yaz was a bit of a god-sent in helping those things. But on Yaz, i hardly had a period let alone spotted at all. In July, I started to have irregular spotting... like weeks of it before a heavier than normal (which is prob normal for the rest of y'all) period. Then another one a week or two later. Then the following two months was the normal hardly having a period cycle. November and December were irregular again with spotting and bleeding. 

So why didn't you go to a Dr, you ask?

Well, I did. I went to a local one in the area and when I expressed my concern with the spotting and bleeding, she waived it off as potential inefficacy of Yaz and gave me the option to try something different. Since I didn't want to change the factors in the equation, I stayed on it to see what was going on. I also knew eventually I'd be getting off the pill and letting my body "readjust".  We took some vaccine tests but months have gone by and I still don't have the results. So when my friend raved about her Ob-Gyn, I jumped ship. BEST idea ever!

Finally made an appointment to meet my new Dr. Instead of doing a re-examine (since my previous pap was only 3 months prior), he suggested we get all my files from the other ob-gyn and then sit down to chat about things. When i expressed concern about the spotting and heavier than normal periods, he gave me a referral for a sonogram... just so we could "have all the pieces of the puzzle before we regrouped".

Well, I made all the appointments and felt good about my new Ob-gyn.

The next day, I started bleeding again. Not spotting but bleeding. I chalked it up to going off the pill until the day after Christmas I had excessive bleeding and some big clots and little clots for days. My new Ob-gyn responded to my emails and suggested coming in when i returned from CA and he'd get  that sonogram moved up.

By the time I was able to get back to the District (due to the northeastern storms), the bleeding subsided. So instead of forcing the earlier sonogram, i stuck with my regularly scheduled appointment. I had no pain throughout this but slight cramping, so i wasn't overly concerned but still intrigued by what was going on with my body.

Well, the ultrasound (external and transvaginal) revealed a sub-mucosal fibroid about 1 inch big that was pushing into my endometrial cavity. But more concerning was that near my right ovary (but outside of it) there was a solid cyst present. Over 3inches in size (7.8cm), anything over 5cm is usually removed via surgery.

Well, now the radiologist had to tell my Dr. what was up. I had to wait a day or two, but when i emailed my Ob-Gyn again, he suggested i come in and made time during his lunch break for me.  The report shows that its either an endometrioma (often referred to as a chocolate cyst) or dermoid cyst since its solid vs. being fluid.

He gave me the referral and now i am scheduled with a surgeon for my first consult so that we can proceed to attempt to get this cyst out of my body. If you want to see something gross, click here and you can see a picture of the dermoid cyst. apparently it is composed of teeth, nail and hair... bleck....

I'm not freaked out nor am I stressed, I just want to get the procedure done so i can move on. I want this thing out especially if it has TEETH!

So i feel fine. And i was told fibroids occur in many women and how they are affected varies. It seems cysts are pretty normal too. So hopefully a little laproscopic adventure will help me get rid of these invaders in my body. I'm just so glad that I was able to get something done in a fairly short time from my first symptoms. a lesson learned is that i need to go with my gut and just get things double checked.

On the child-bearing future, it seems that fibroids like mine can make conception difficult but don't effect fertility. The cyst, due to its size needs to be removed and can also prevent conception by blocking the passage. But once removed, it seems that it won't effect the future of our children being conceived.

Stay tuned, I'll know more on Thursday after my surgery consultation.... but until then - anybody else have similar issues? or know anybody who does? I'd love some feedback to help continue to keep me calm :-)

2011... A New Look, a New Style

2011 brings great things and with that I was motivated to change the look and feel of the blog, but also a new attitude as well. Although, I've still not finished all my wedding recaps, or vendor reviews (whom I absolutely love)... I am going to be venturing full speed ahead focusing back on what is important to me.

The past two years my focus has been spread thin and for that I apologize. My content has suffered but beyond that, the emotion I have put forth has been wavering at best. But i'm back... And while focusing on what I want from my blog and what direction I want to go with it, I realized, I am thinking way too much about it.

My Blog, The Relentless Bride was about wedding planning and life living... and while I'm still in love with weddings and wedding planning, a lot of my experiences with wedding planning can be applied to life living... i.e., living my life to the fullest, relentlessly! Thus, I will continue to cover weddings, I will continue to cover anything about life's celebrations and I will continue to discuss my experiences. So really, nothing much is changing other than the look and my point of view - from bride to wife.

So here we are... starting anew for 2011. Refocusing my vision, finding my inner voice and doing my best at being transparent and honest with y'all...

So as noted, the links above will help you lead to any part of my life you are interested in reading about...

• about me as me
• as a bride which is anything weddings!!!
• as a wife which is anything about married life
• as a foodie reviewing my experiences in the kitchen and dining out
• as a photog to share my learning experience around the camera

And of course includes my

• policies
• press page
• link library

And in the spirit of 2011, I need to get my link-library updated, so make sure you are on that page and if not, leave a comment or shoot me an email!

Let me know what you think of the new look... is the dark too dark? The lettering too white?

1-11-11 is a good day! :)

The Big Bridal Expos & Shows, Worth it?

I attended my first bridal show on February 1st, in Dulles, VA.  One of my best friends (getting married in June) and I attended together, and it was really fun...

 

This was my first show, so i came unprepared... but WOW! I got so many cool little things.  Some of the best parts are the cake and food samples, as well as the pens, magazines, toothbrush, candies, catologs etc... I mean, you get so much info at this place... 

WOW... REWIND... I can't believe that this post brings back such a flood of memories. This was after my first bridal show experience and since then, I have had a few bride-friends ask me if those big expos are worth it... and here is my take on it.

The bridal show is a great place to start. They have tons of vendors, great samples and a lot of cool free things to take home with you. If you make it a fun experience, it can be enjoyable.

Is it something you HAVE to do? Not necessarily.

Can it help you find vendors? Sure

Can you find vendors elsewhere? of course

Would I do it again? definitely.

For me it was the experience. i had the time and since i had a buddy to go with... it made it all the more fun.

I also got to have my teeth whitened for a discounted price in 25 minutes... 

 

I was about 6-7 shades in before the procedure and close to white or 1 right after the whitest after the procedure. How COOL!!!!

I also got a ton of workout reading material, some candies and food eaten (that i was to work off) and got to see what it was all about. 

If you do decide you want to attend a big fair (or even a smaller one), here are some tips I'd suggest.

1. Create labels - name, address, telephone #, email address and wedding date/location. This way you aren't repetitively writing things over and over again - it does get tired. I used a specific email address for wedding stuff so i didn't get overloaded with PR and Ad stuff in my work accounts.

2. Dress appropriately - sneakers/comfy shoes, no purse (id/money in pocket) and not have too many things to lug around.  A big coat = very bad idea ... some of these venues are big. My feet came back achey.

3. Be hydrated... you get really thirsty walking around. 

4. Know what i really need and from where. Take pictures of ideas/colors/schemes i like. It is a great place to get ideas.
5. Ask a lot of questions... many vendors can give you insight in the various things you should look for as you narrow down your choices.
6. Look for deals - I got our Groomsmen Men's Warehouse deal there booked for $10 bucks. In the end it saved us $30 on each tux (compared to the $20 in store sale) and we got 2 free tuxes.  So in essence, we saved about 70 bucks with that difference in discounts and I got my $10 deposit back :)

BIG TIP: And if you don't like the idea of splurging the $10 bucks to get into the bridal show, many of the online websites will offer free tickets or buy one get one free tickets. Just google it and i'm sure you can find it... so really, aside from investing time - you have nothing to lose.

Have you gone to a bridal show? Did you like it?

Looking for a DC Area Venue?

or even a great planner?

All you newly engaged need to check out Event Accomplished and the Event Accomplished Blog for a great list of DC Area Wedding Venues

A Decluttering Goal

I recently came across an article on CNN which i thought was briliant in helping me achieve my goal of decluttering our small condo. I like to consider our Kleenex Tissue Box sized place cozy with two dogs and the Husband and I, but let's face it... It's a small space.  The article gave three ways to help declutter: The name of this game: "Let's pretend we're moving oversees". (Article is Learning Value of Stuff by moving oversees by Tsh Oxenreider.)

Here were the three main points that hit home most with me (i highly suggest you visit the great article to read the whole thing) :
1. It's just stuff...Getting rid of something isn't just saying no, it's saying yes to what you're gaining -- more space, more visual clarity, and less to dust. When you start saying goodbye, the emotional attachment wanes.

2. Having less stuff means you have more of value. When you have fewer items, you can live in a smaller space. This means less time to clean, lower utilities, and fewer "Where are my keys?" moments. You gain time and money.

3. You can live on less. When you're intentional about what you bring into your home, there's less of a chance that your possessions own you. ... This means we don't need to earn much money to live on. This frees up a lot of options for us about where to go on vacation, where we should live, and even how to spend our afternoons. ...But the cost is smaller because I've learned how to prioritize what matters to us.... Living this way isn't about having nothing. It's about everything in your life having value. It's looking at all your belongings and knowing that you've given that thing permission to be there, that the item is truly adding value and beauty to your life...When you get rid of the things that don't matter, the things you do keep become that much more valuable, and you'll have more time and money to invest in quality over quantity.

What are the things that you do to help the clutter? Or do you thrive in it? Husband calls me a hoarder, but i'm more of a pack rat... my brother is too, so i'm wondering if its genetic (LOL)... Is this a vice you deal with?

Grouposal?

Totally cute story about how one of the biggest new online companies has helped True Love... and as a Groupon junkie myself... I can't help but love that they were part of this couple's story!

Read more about how Greg proposed to his fiancee Dana using the help from the folks at Groupon!

Image borrowed from Groupon Site!

(not signed up with Groupon? Sign up now! It's an AWESOME site)

Shape Up 2011

I ran across this awesome post about getting in shape by Truly Engaging Blog the other day and just wanted to share it. Although I am close to our 9 month mark of wedded bliss and not on a pre-wedding program, these are helpful hints for just a positive lifestyle change that can really keep me motivated, positive emotionally and physically and overall feeling good about myself... I'm only highlighting the key points, so be sure to go to the Truly Engaging Blog and check out all the helpful hints and the top 10 apps for iphone and android that will help monitor your goals!

1. Keep a food diary and keep track of what you’re eating every day.
2. Drink a lot of water.
3. Exercise- you need to burn more calories than you take in.
4. Eat a healthy breakfast with protein + fiber - the most important meal of the day!
5. Eat 5-6 smaller meals per day to help raise your metabolism and keep your sugar levels even.
6. DO NOT UNDER EAT because that, my darlings, will SLOW your metabolism.
7. Chew your food well. You’ll enjoy your food more and you’ll stop when your full. So simple and oh-so practical.
8. Eat more veggies, fruits and whole grains.
9. Cut down or cut out the fried foods, alcohol, pop, refined flours and sugars.
10. NO PILLS or gimmicks or quick weight loss schemes. First of all they are totally unhealthy and do not promote a lifestyle change.
11. Welcome accountability. Get a fitness partner. Join a group. Proclaim your goals out loud.

The most difficult for me is the cutting out of bad foods and alcohol. I've started couch to 5k and easily eat 5-6 times a day... now if only they could be smaller more healthier meals. LOL

What is your hardest obstacle? Do share... I can use any support and encouragement....

And be sure to check out Truly Engaging's Blog for some great wedding inspiration!

Top 10 2011 Wedding Trends

from OneWed's Bridal blog ... have you seen the new top 10 Trends?

I especially love the "grey is the new black, crazy for navy" both colors I used for our outdoor wedding (another trend)...

Head on over to see more trends on the OneWed's Bridal Blog

Need Wedding Inspiration and Ideas?

Check out Bridetide's 2011 Top 100 Best Wedding Blogs... And guess who made the cut?

YAY!!!

2011 Resolutions

Happy New Year Everybody! I can't believe its 2011... I'm sure we've all had a great holiday and now are back to the grind of things. With visits and fun for 2010 ending and the new year upon us, it's time for the daunting task of creating new goals and resolutions for the new year.  Have you done yours?

This year I have more time to focus back to me, my role as a woman, a daughter, a sister, an aunt and a god-mother... but this year, my role expands also to include wife, daughter-in-law, and sister-in-law. To be honest, not much has changed aside from the official titles being added to my resume but a lot has changed too.

Towards the end of 2010, I have tried to take on some new domestic duties not because I was expected to (b/c nobody expected it) but because I wanted to. Learning to make some of Husband's Favorite foods, snacks and treats and also making sure he doesn't walk out the door looking like a mess. Realizing that now I am not just I but a "We" and that we reflect on our individual selves as well as our couple selves... I have and continue to try to make this a priority.

So now that 2011 is officially here, I do have continuing resolutions as well as new ones...

Continuing Resolutions:

• Exercise - focusing more on things i don't like to do and trying to make them enjoyable
• Get Healthy - eating right and trying to create healthy habits
• Be Positive - trying to re-focus on the positive and being a happy person
• Patience - realizing that my way is not the only way and having patience with those who do things differently.

New Resolutions:

• Get back to me. Time to remind myself of all the life's lessons i've learned and apply them to my new roles.
• Set priorities. I need to re-set my priorities and create new approaches to effectively carrying them out
• Set Boundaries. Learn when to say "no" or be honest when I know I need help or have hit a wall. Some things just don't need further pursuing and realizing that is not failure since not all things are left in my hands. i can only do what I can do... I must not try to do everybody's job for them.
• Get more opinionated. It's ok to disagree. I need to learn to not try to sugar coat words and just say things for what they are. Learn that honesty could hurt but not always be a bad thing.
• Speak my mind but carefully choose my words.
• Try to practice what I "preach"

Things I want to Learn or do in 2011:

• How to Sew.
• How to knit.
• Learn to be craftier or more creative.
• Improve my baking and culinary skills
• Learn how to throw things away. No more pack rat.
• Learn time management.

Wow... those are quite a lot of goals and resolutions... good thing 2011 is just starting, so i probably should get to it.

What goals have you set? Does anything help you define what resolutions have become a priority in your life that are the same or different than in year's past?