Rowing and Summer is coming

This pic is right before our big regatta last year

Last night I got out on the water for a second time this year. What exhaustion i felt. My first time out I was in a quad with a not-so-good rower in the stroke position that couldn't keep a pace and splashed me every time he dropped his oar in the water, and sometimes on his recovery up the slide, and then sometimes god only knows how because I was soaked straight through. I was ready to be rung out from the cold, 50-degree nasty river water. Yesterday, a much drier experience but much harder. It got me thinking about this summer and my goals for getting in shape and being productive.

I am wondering if I should take private lessons this summer to really improve my technique and get comfortable rowing alone in a single. But the coach is kind of a swindler and charges unbelievably high prices for lessons. And really, the quality of the lessons is directly proportionate to the amount of money you have in your bank account. I have some rather ambitious goals for myself this summer as far as trying to get in shape. I told Matt that I would consider myself successful if i worked out for at least 1/2 hour 6 out of 7 days a week this summer. Is it too much? I figure working out can be any form of exercise that gets my heart rate up; could be walking, running, rowing, tennis, swimming, anything. And it will keep me outside, and hopefully tone me up a little bit. The eating healthier will hopefully follow suit. I would LOVE to be able to join an outdoor pool/fitness club but I cant seem to find anything cheap and close. I would LOVE to be able to go down to the pool and lay out and swim some laps on the weekends with Matt. Why does everything have to be so expensive? And if it's less expensive it's SO inconvenient.

Looking ahead to the summer I want to kick-start it the right way. The weather is getting nicer and it's giving me a lot of energy that I don't usually have in the winter. This is my last summer living downtown and I want to make sure I take full advantage of it. Some of the things I want to do are:

1). Plant some vegetables in pots (thanks Pottamus) to grow on my Balcony and eventually move to the house with Matt

2) help my future sister-in-law with her yard work

3)Spend more time with people I dont get to see very often

4) Plant flowers at the house

5) of course, try to be in better shape

The summer is going to fly by.... hopefully ill have something to show for it.

Productivity and fun

Well, it was a dissppointing weekend to be a flyer fan. Well, dissppointing END to the weekend when we were SO excited they made it past the first round of the tournament but got slaughtered by a much, MUCH lower seeded team. It was good to be around some UD friends this weekend though.

the weekend in general was INCREDIBLY productive and really fun! I met up with some flyers at a hole in the wall bar downtown after work on friday to watch the flyers win the first round of the tournament! It was a great game!! Then Matt came to pick me up to drive to the west side to meet with a super cheap baker, and designed our whole wedding cake!! And he is doing it for almost HALF the cost of other bakers and we get to have everything we want!! And it will be DELICIOUS!!! It was soo great and very thrilling to save so much money. And it feels good because it's an old man that owns his bakery and he just got a cash register like 2 months ago.

Saturday morning we met with two florist (for the first time). The first one was SO expensive and we couldnt afford really anything beautiful. The second was a referral from another baker in the area; it's a wholesale flower shop down in Florence-- totally off the beaten path-- and they were FANTASTIC! We designed everything to the exact flowers and colors and i couldnt happier. AND AFFORDABLE IT WAS!!! I get to have roses and dahlias and orchids!!! WOW!! And the main color is this rose

AND! We get to have trumpet vases (the big tall centerpieces) for about a third the cost of other florists!!! I AM SO HAPPY!!! I am getting everything I want, and I am savings hundreds, more than hundreds, a couple thousand dollars!!! I am so rejuvenated by all the savings!! It just takes a little research.

Today Matt and I are looking into limo services that would fit out whole wedding party and dates-- and I think there are ways to save here too.

So productive!! Great weekend, and I got to see J and A on saturday night for J's bday celebration. This week i get to row tomorrow on the water, see F on wednesday, and try on my dress again with my future sister in law on thursday! YAY!! I am in a great mood.

AND SPRING IS HERE!! It's sunny and getting warmer. It really uplifts my spirits. Lots of good things to write about today, time to get some stuff done!

Go Flyers!

UD made it into the NCAA tournament this year!!! I am pumped!! A few friends are leaving work early to go watch it at a bar this afternoon. Tip off is at 2:50, I am going to try to make it by half time!!!


Gooo Dayton FLyyyyyers!
Go Dayton Flyeeeers!
D!
A!
Y!
Tttttttt-O!
N!
Dayton!
Flyers!
GO U-D!



Wooooo!

Back home and Pre-Cana

I am surprisingly energized right now. Considering my personality type and how a ton of little things going on all at once can make me crazy. No less, a ton of big things right now have really not made me all that nuts. Big things like, o WEDDING PLANNING, and um BUYING MY FIRST HOUSE, o lets see TRAVELLING, WORK, and expenses , expenses EXPENSES! I dont think i am a very calm person in general, even when I dont have a big agenda, but I am surprising myself a little bit right now.

Friday night I came home from the thriving, exciting and happening city of Moab, Utah and couldn't have been more happy to see Matt. He met me by my car to help me with my huge briefcase and computer, heavy suit case that ive been lugging on and off planes all day ( filled with tissues and TP-- in the typical Matt's family fashion, and to carry some papers and grab my mail. I swear he gets cuter every time i go a while without seeing him. It was a long week, working long days, tons of paperwork to write and people to talk to. It was so exhausting for my young and insecure mind. My mind was constantly on "on" mode, thinking out everything to make sure I at least sounded like i knew what i was talking about when i was in a position of authority. I was ready to leave friday morning, and although still not totally relaxed I was able to enjoy the beautiful snow covered mountains on the drive out to the airport in Grand Junction, and the red rock canyons and cliffs in the foreground. It is beautiful out west.

I didnt feel like going out or doing anything the entire weekend. Saturday morning was another early morning for Pre-Cana (or wedding prep classes). A requirements for all couples who are marrying in the Catholic Church. Although I had no expectations prior to going, i was pleasantly surprised how 'not so bad' it all was. In fact, some things were kind of fun! We took some personality tests, and some explored our feelings about some major marital issues, and we passed with flying colors!! We took one test about our feelings regarding finances, friends, children, parenting,-- all major conflict areas in our "conflict managment class" and we finished and HAD ALL THE SAME ANSWERS!! It was unbelievable. And I think the class was mainly for couples that had questions and brought some pending issues to light, the sessions only made me feel closer to matt and love him even more.

There was one subject that sticks with with me, that kind of surprised me a little too. During the first session about personality types. As much as I used to think I was an extrovert, loved going out and being involved (especially in college), I think Matt and I are both introverts. We never actually took an objective personality test, but based on the discussion I think we definitely are. I get energized when I have time to stay home and relax with matt, It's not relaxing for me to go the bars and drink with friends. I don't enjoy talking to people on the phone, and I have to plan time in my head to make the important phone calls so I can stay connected. And after some discussion about married life, this worries me. I already see myself drifting from some of my partying friends, and I am feel like this is only going to grow when I have a family and TONS of other distractions. We enjoy doing things together as a coup;e; it's calm, its comfortable, we connect with each other, we laugh, it's all we need. I am wondering if this really should be a concern of mine? Should I start working on this before children even come into the picture? Is it normal that I feel like this?

One last closing tid bit before I go. The most memorable part of Pre-Cana was the session on Spirituality and Sexuality. What a subject, huh? Well, this session was HILARIOUS and tons of fun! For a subject presented to a room filled with TONS of preconceived notions, the presenter did an outstanding job leaving us with some take aways and keeping us engaged-- in the literal sense, no pun intended. SO anyway, the presenter came up to us before the session and asked us to stand up in the class and help him. We were going to play... ADAM AND EVE!! ha!! my immediate thought was 'No WAY!" but before I could say anything matt graciously accepted without hesitation. We ended up in front of the room full of 100+ couples acting out the story of Adam and Eve with props and everything. And people were laughing, Matt was SO FUNNY! For as shy as matt sometimes thinks he is, he was a natural. I thought I would be nervous, but standing up there with matt made me calmer than I ever thought id be. We had a lot of fun doing it, and it will be a memory we'll have for a loong, long time.

work travel

I hate travelling for work.

Really, there is no other word to describe how I feel about it. It sucks the energy out of me the entire week before because of the anxiety, how unrelaxed I feel about the actual travel and the waiting for planes, and then the logistics getting to and from where I need to be. And absolute insecurities I feel because I am just still so young and inexperienced. It's exhausting how my stress it puts on me.

I am exhausted this week.


No other words for it, and ill be gone for an entire week evaluating one of our contractors project controls system. I dont feel like an expert, I feel tired.

Ill write more in better spirits soon.

Grandma, my love.

It's a slippery slope, really. I looked at my blog this morning and I knew I wanted to post, i love posting, but I stared at the screen for about three minutes until i wrote this. I don't want my blog to turn into nothing but wedding. Yes, my wedding is by far the biggest thing going on in my life, but it will probably be regretted if the bulk of my posts turn to wedding stuff,. There are a lot of other things going on in my life, I have on my mind-- like the ridiculous fight/tiff that Matt and I had over his stupid Zelda game last night. Just stupid is what is was, and a 'flight" that i couldn't get a word in without a stupid smirk on my face because it sounded so dumb.

But I do have a lot of my mind from dinner with my parents on Saturday night. We had a great and really fun night with them in Columbus as Polaris Grille-- which has the best food in town (in our opinion). I hadn't actually been home or seen my dad since christmas time, i cant believe it. It was great, we got to catch up about everything. I we sat and talked for over 4 hours-- we had to leave because it was getting late but we were all wishing it wasn't time to go. We talked about all the exciting things happening with my dad's company, or course the wedding, and family. We talked about my grandma (G) who is now getting older and it's getting harder and harder for her to get around. But how much we love her and she is so important to our family. She is very much the matriarch of the family and that she brings everyone together, everyone knows how smart and wise she is, and that she loves everyone so much. We all love and respect her, and I know my immediate family feels so incredibly close to her. I am unbelievably lucky to have such a great relationship with her.

We were talking on Saturday about the wedding and that my grandma has told my parents that she really would like to come. I wouldn't expect her to with getting around, and having to drive to Cincinnati and all. But the fact that I know she would love to come means the world. She is going to turn 90 years old the day before we get married. What a milestone. It would be so wonderful to be able to celebrate her and give her a big cake. At the same time we know that every day we have with her now is a gift, and we have no idea what 6 months will bring. She has been in the hospital a few times now since Christmas. But she is a fighter. What brought tears to our eyes was when my dad said that every time he sees her he treasures it because it could be the last time. I get choked up just writing it. And we all know how much my dad loves and respects her.

The best part is hearing my parents talk about how she feels about Matt. Grandmas loves Matt and her seal of approval is priceless to me, and the family. Grandmas have a feeling about people and usually are right. My mom told us that she loves how caring Matt is and that he is one of the few boyfriends brought to the family to really try to establish a relationship and get to know my Grandma. And it's true, Matt does treat her like a queen. ANd she should be treated that way. She knows how well Matt treats me and is always willing to help-- without even being asked. Matt has qualities about him that are hard to find any anybody, no less a husband. He is selfless and appreciative for the the little things, and it shows in the energy he puts forth to the people around him. My Grandma sees that.

And I hope i don't stop seeing it.

My mom mentioned one of the times when we took her to my cousin's wedding. Grandma needed to find the handicap ramp or an elevator. Matt jumped out of the car and raced up to the church to find it. Without even being asked. I didn't think anything of it because Matt is just that kind of a person, but my Grandmas said that it was exceptional. He didnt need to help at all, no less with such quickness and willingness. That's just how he is. And I know I am lucky.

I really do hope Grandmas makes it to my wedding. I would love to have her in the pictures, I would to be able to look over at her and see her there. I love her so much, I hope she knows how much she means to me. And to my future family.
... I better stop before I get any more choked up at work.