Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Wedding Post #13: Keratin, melanin, etc.

(though really shouldn’t be a wedding thing)
It is sort of sad but true that a wedding is a kick in the pants to get some of the nagging things that bother you about yourself straightened out. Maybe it is the fact that you’re about to permanently take on a whole other person’s probably numerous (except my M…perfection) flaws that you think it is best to get your act together.

Weight, style, makeup, jewelry are on my list but MUCH higher than that are SKIN and HAIR (nails also fit the title of the post and they bug me too).
Skin: I tried tackling this head on. I remembered the sage advice of my college Roomie. She said that the most important thing with skin care was consistency. So I decided to take on a 3 prong (think proactive…hey, if cleanser(BP), toner (SA) and moisturizer (lowSA) work for Justin Beiber…). And I took it on full force. Every morning and night, religiously. The first weeks (as warned) were UGLY and painful. Then ---Right back to my standard blotchiness. Then, I went to Vegas. Benzoyl peroxide products warn strongly to wear SPF and I did. But apparently not enough. My face felt like sand paper. It was not right. It was as though the UV light disintegrated any tight junctions between my face cells and they were all free to wrinkle up or fall or otherwise evacuate my face. It scared me away from my regimen BIG TIME and now I am back to Cetaphil and Olay morning/night. I couldn’t deal.


So what is my next move? I have looked up dermatologists in my insurance network. But do I just call one up? What will she do? How long will it take before my skin becomes an amazing palette (and doesn’t disintegrate in the sun…very important to me)

HAIR

I am more optimistic on this one. I have decided to get a Brazilian blowout. I go in for it on Saturday and I may have let my hopes get a bit too lofty. I am imagining shine and relaxed (relative to what I have that should be expected). I will report back with progress on the hair front or you’ll see me in a Pantene commercial (though I won’t be able to use/nor do I use now Pantene…sulfates. Not a curly girl’s friend).



Self improvement is hard!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

CAUTION: You may gag from the cuteness

We got the first glimpse of our engagement pictures. I like them. They are growing on me for sure; I can’t bring myself to close the browser that they’re open in and keep sneaking a peak. It is so strange seeing your formal pic as an adult. I could pick them to pieces about wrinkly forehead, wonky eyes, rolls where no rolls are wanted, but I really do see past all of that and am starting to love how we managed to capture this stage in our life. I told M, this is our first family portrait and I am SO glad we had the chance to do it.

I was SUPER nervous about the shoot itself. Plus, we rescheduled for rain and that kept the anticipation high. I made my very first EVER appointment to have my hair did. I picked Swink Style Bar , an adorable little blow dry bar that I pass everyday on the bus. I liked it because they specialize in styling (no cuts, no color) and it seemed straight forward. But I was really nervous that they wouldn’t know what to do with my hair. I was relieved when the stylist I got was mixed (sorry, that might be bad but it is true) and had similar hair to mine. My confidence in her let my guard slip when she strongly suggested that I wear my hair down. Ugh, I HATE my hair down, cause it catches a slight mist and before you know it I am a troll doll. But she insisted and since she knew what I was dealing with I agreed (if a stick straight-blondie had suggested I would have laughed myself out of the salon…I am prejudiced like that I guess). I felt like this was a mistake immediately when I stepped out the door into the wind. It looked pretty but I knew it was going to be a pain. Still, I liked Swink and would go there every day to get my hair done if it was possible. Not sure if I want them to do my bridal hair (partially on principle since, by virtue of being bridal hair it is 5X the cost of a special event updo…huh? And partially cause I think their styling might be limited)

We met up with our photographer at Gas Works Park in Seattle, not a block from my old apartment and one of the places we’d wander on dates. So it is a special place to us and a million other couples getting pics taken there :) . We did semi-dressy (a skirt for me and jacket for M). Having pics taken is the most ridiculous thing ever. We were cracking up, and kissing and cracking up while kissing. Devon was great in giving us some instruction but mainly letting us hang out. My hair by this time was crazy and I was (still am) worried that I was ruining all the pics with my crazy mane. Before moving to our next location (Fremont Sunday Market in our favorite t-shirts) I pulled it pack into a low pony. All in all it was really fun and surprisingly more difficult than I’d imagined. We napped when we got home.

I’m happiest that my #1 worry (that our photographer wouldn’t work out) feels so much better. I felt like not only was she easy to work with and friendly, I also like the pics she took and think she’ll be great.

My other objective with this shoot was for us to get in front of the camera. I think in the pics I look more awkward than M. I have to try not to talk with my eyebrows on our wedding day!

My absolute fave pic from what we’ve seen so far:









Isn’t he adorable! This is such a great shot and I am really glad Devon got one of him by himself. I love it.


Without further ado

http://www.devonmichellephotography.com/michael-amber-seattle-engagement/




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Saturday, April 9, 2011

Are we there yet?

Stuck on a plane, not feeling like reading. What to do? Fill out this form I saw on a high school friend's blog.

Age: 29, feels good

Bed Size: king, and I wonder how very tall people sleep in any size bed. If I stretch tall on the kind I can touch almost all the way to the bottom and top.

Chore You Hate:vacuuming (sorry, E). Ever since I was a kid I've hated the noise and vibration of a vacuum. Mopping, isn't my friend either.

Dogs: None, not really a pet person.

Essential Start of Your Day: checking email

Favorite Color: Purple

Gold or Silver: either, depends on context.

Height: short

Instruments You Play: sadly none.

Job Title: research associate

Kids: not at this juncture

Live: Redmond, WA. Loving Seattle but the weather is killing me.

Mom's Name: Vicky

Nicknames: none, mine doesn't nickname well.

Overnight Hospital Stays: adenoids but does it count if you don't remember.

Pet Peeve: unearned senses of superiority

Quote From a Movie: "three pieces of licorice, like five peanut butter m&m's" (it's not the brainiest quote but I find myself thinking it a lot)

Right- or Left-Handed: Righty but my writing is so bad I feel like my answer should be neither.

Siblings: Two but it's more complicated

Time You Wake Up: 6:30, 6:38, etc

Underwear: pro

Veggie You Dislike: Steamed/boiled/canned there are many I don't care for but I think you can make almost any taste delicious.

What Makes You Run Late: I'm fairly prompt but getting lost gets me.

X-Rays You Have Had: chest, teeth.

Yummy Food You Make: the only thing I make that I take pride in is my black bean soup. With M's help I'm more successful in other dishes. We've been really liking this chicken and chick pea chili










Zoo Animal You Like Best: koala. Dang their cute. They were the closest thing I had to a little girl childhood stuffed animal collection.


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Location:The sky

Wedding post #11: random things

Some pretty random wedding type things:

I read a post on www.apracticalwedding.com that said something I thought was genius




Our wedding won't revolutionize the practice. I like that, feels like it takes off some of the (probably self appointed) pressure to have it be clever or extra special. M one-upped this by reminding me that it is special to US and revolutionary in our lives. I like this little reminder. Takes me back to the point I was at initially, excited to get to see all of our loved ones coming together to witness/celebrate our commitment.
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We picked a cake baker! Neither of us have grandiose cake dreams but if we develop them in the next 3 (!) months Mike's Amazing Cakes can certainly handle it. We went to both an open house and a private consultation and all of the cake was really tasty. They have open tastings every month so we can go visit cake if we NEED to. They were also super chill and clear on how the design process works.

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It is almost time for dress alterations and such. I am terrified of lingerie. Need to get on some options and maybe consult with a tailor. I'm praying some support can be built in since fewer the moving parts the better.

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I'm getting excited to start working on the ceremony. I sent my tween-ers an adorable reading that I'm super excited about.

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We took engagement pictures and I am burning through the screen life of my phone checking the photog's Facebook, blog and my email. I will report back with more photo shoot details when we (finally) see the pics. Our photographer is due with her first baby in 3 weeks...it would be so rude if she went into labor before getting us our pics. :)

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That's about it. I'm on a plane with M now headed to Vegas for a long weekend (well, he for a conference and I am just tagging along for the weekend).



I am desperate for sunshine so I hope the desert comes through!


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Friday, April 1, 2011

My day

Ok, so I has to use or lose a vacation day. This sent me into a whatdoido panic! But I pulled it together and wound up having an awesome and awesomely productive day.
Outline:
Slept in (ie woke up at 8:30a).
Watched ANTM in bed.
Got up and threw some laundry in while I had coffee.
More laundry during breakfast and watching part of Eat, Pray, Love (snoozefest... and I thought the book was slow).
Showered and headed to Target to return stuff and pick up Rx.
Ran into home depot to return something there.
Bought a Shark mop at BBB.
Met up with my sweetie at his work for lunch (we stopped in to the visitor center and my wedding centric head thought what a cool space it would be for an event).






Went to Michael's.
Stopped in for the pedicure I'd promised my snaggly feet after mercer island.

Went home and finished laundry and started dinner.
Shark mopped the floor (meh, not super impressed).
Snaked the shower drain (M said I couldn't post the horrific picture I took of the giant hairball, reminded me of bio haus days).
Set the table for dinner and waited for my man.














I feel like I totally rose to the occasion! The only thing that didn't happen was finding a group class at the gym. I figured there'd be mid day cycling classes but they were all at 5ish by when I was lazy to venture out again. There were mid day "Silver Sneakers" classes I could have hit up :)

I totally feel like I'm 12yrs old and I got all of my annoying weekend chores done so I can play without nagging myself.

I'm taking every Thursday off!



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