The bridezilla inside me...

I'm starting to see how easily one can slip and become a bridezilla. There are just too many little details - little worrisome details that can go wrong.. plus so many things to remember as the big day comes up. I'm a little more than a month away, and the 'laid-back bride' in me is in a losing battle with the 'bitchy I want everything to be as perfect as it can possibly be, plan the hell out of it bride'. Oh yes, the bridezilla is about to show its ugly face.

April 5th was the RSVP date for my invitations. I'll be calling a big group of people this weekend to make sure that they are planning to come.. and then the rest is up to them. Just need to trust that they'll make it.. so far we have 95 confirmed, and about 35 not coming.. our guest list consisted of 200 people so I'll have to make a lot of phone calls this weekend.

My catering manager is out for a week due to illness, but she needs the final menu and the final cake design.

Violinist playing the ceremony music is out on spring break and she'll need the final program by Sunday.

Need to schedule a final meeting with photographers.

Facial appointment at the beginning of May. Check.

Evite for rehearsal dinner.

Location & schedule for rehearsal.

Out of town guest baggies.

Skin care regimen. This is actually one of the more difficile for me, since i have eczema and skin allergies. Anytime I have a reaction, it's a guessing game for me. I started developing really bad allergies at the age of 23. And it's been really hard to pinpoint what I'm allergic too, even after taking a painful skin allergy prick test. I do believe nature is probably better for your skin then anything you can whip up in a chemical lab. That said, i'm apparently allergic to most things in nature. My wonderful facialist has been amazing though (Cheryl and Studio C Skincare). She intro'd me to Naturopathica and it's worked wonders on my dry flaky skin patches. Anyways I think I can check this off, until my next reaction occurs. Check.

Bridesmaid gifts. All ordered and shipping. Check.

Favors. Almost done. Half check?

Dance Class. Scheduled in two weeks. Check.

Find a hair updo. Still surfing for photos.

Dress fitting. Had the second one, and my seamstress told me that I had to lose weight, tone up my arms. I've been going out a lot because I'm getting married soon. Apparently weight gain is not a cause for celebration. The dress fit fine, but it was definitely a little tight. The zipper went all the way up, but it looks like I'm spilling over at the top. Not the best look for me. I've enrolled in Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. This week, no carbs. Check.

Flower girl dress. Check.

Groom's Tux. Called to order, but I don't think they've returned our phone call.

Gift Registry. Check.

Band check in. They are all ready and willing. Need to get them a final schedule.

Groomsman gifts. All ordered and shipping.

Groomsan ties. 3 bought. One shipping.

Flowers. Waiting to hear if cherry blossoms will be around through mid May. Otherwise order is going to Japan. Letting florist handle that. Check.

Sunday night hotel reservation. Check.

Spanx. Bought. Check.

Hair. Scheduled a perm for next week. Check.

Linens. May need to change depending on guest number.

Sanity. In check, but clearly about to lose it.

I think that's only half my checklist and still much to do. We bought lanterns last weekend and realized that we needed to paint them (white lanterns represent funerals in Chinese customs), so we'll be painting cherry blossoms on them this weekend. Painting round objects is sorta like an Easter custom, isn't it?

On top of all this, I've kind of put my life on hold. I haven't really thought about the weddings that are coming after our wedding. There's S&D's in Mexico City which i still need to book a hotel and find a flight to. And A&M in Seattle. AND I have to train for a half marathon and 2 full marathons. Huh.

Self.com three years in a row?

It's pretty predictable that eating a healthy diet, and losing weight will be focuses in my new year's resolutions. In fact, when have they not? Last year I did pretty well.. up until our trip to Vegas during the holidays.

It occurred to me that all this healthy eating has always been brought on by evaluating my diet through self.com. I had no idea that I was ingesting so many carbs and sugars, and I had no idea that I didn't get enough fiber in my diet. AND my portions were out of control. With that realized, do I still need self.com? Or do I need my fiance to start going to the gym again?

Last year, I signed J up for the gym so that I could have a gym partner, and I wouldn't feel bad about going without him. It turned out to be the best investment I've ever made. He became a monger at the gym. Running a solid 3 to 4 miles, and lifting for another 45 minutes to an hour. Even if I wanted to leave early, he wasn't ready, and I'd be forced to add in another half hour of cardio. All in all, it turned out well. Saw a lot more tonage, and I lost more weight than i had in years. Woohoo. Since November though, he started slacking at the gym.. mostly because he was pulling all nighters to complete his master's. Now that he's done (and since this morning, is now EMPLOYED!!!), we will hopefully start our rigorous gym sessions again.

So on to my resolutions..

• Eat well - more fruit, more veggies, more protein, less carbs, less fat. LESS CHOCOLATE (though it is a good anti-oxidant). Drink less coffee, more water.
• Tone arms and back - first dress fitting is coming up this weekend, so I'll know first hand how much toning I'll need.
• Continue Running - just joined up with Nike Run Club again. Hoping to run the Chicago Marathon this year, if time permits. Maybe I'll try and get into the lottery for the NYC Marathon. How crazy would that be?
• Get a handle on my allergies. Take another painful allergy prick test. I'm either psycho-somatic about my allergies, or else I'm allergic to a lot of stuff. J suspects that I'm allergic to glutens and if that's the case, I'll have to see if i can get on a gluten free diet. That sounds like a lot of work.
• Stop scratching.. more to do with getting a handle on my allergies. If anyone has skin allergies, I completely sympathise with you. It sucks. I know it well.
• Save money?? I'm splurging for the wedding, but afterwards, we'll need to start saving. It will be a lot easier with a two person income... and I'm really looking forward to that.
• If all goes well, get a puppy! Mind you, the puppy (yaya) photographed below is my parent's new puppy. It's a white short hair chihuahua that weighs less that one pound. While I do have a mild distaste for small yappy little dogs, yaya makes an exception - she's a dollface. And she's quiet, hyper, but quiet. And she's a face licker.