Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and almost Happy New Year!  Can you believe it’s almost the end of 2013?  Hard to imagine!  Where has this year gone??  I’ve just returned from an awesome week of relaxation with Adam and my family/his family.  It was perfection!  The right bit of relaxing before things start to get crazy (wedding countdown: 19 days).  We did a little of this:

The future husband and I (holy craziness).

Adam and my brother relaxing (we did a lot of relaxing).

Christmas morning! Too many presents!

The girls baking cookies with Grandma.

I napped a record number of places.

The three “kids” together.

Hooray for ice skating! The lake finally froze over enough to skate. It was fabulous.

Getting our workout on.

Back to the schedule!

Between all the cookies, candy, and other various forms of junk food – I must admit it feels pretty good to be back at home and in the swing of my routine again.  It’s fun to enjoy those treats, but dang, it always feels good to get back to normal!  Let’s just say I ate my wedding stress this past weekend and enjoyed more than my fair share of sweets.  So much for “slow and steady wedding prep.”  Fingers crossed that all my weight lifting has upped my metabolism so I don’t have to frantically work to burn all the cookie weight off!

Oh how could I resist!? I never knew my will power was so weak.

Made by little cute hands. I just HAD to eat their cookies! :)

I’m back in my workout routine of a P90X/ChaLean hybrid.  I’m mixing workouts from each program and crossing them off on my super fancy schedule.  One technique that I have always found incredibly helpful (and MOTIVATING!) throughout the years is printing off an actual workout schedule and physically crossing off the workouts.  I did this a lot for marathon training and applied the same principle to the “month before the wedding” training.  I laid out all my workouts and all I have to do is check the schedule and cross it off.  There is something so incredibly satisfying about putting a big X through a completed workout.  It also helps because some mornings I may think “hmm what am I going to do this morning??” and choose the same workouts I like instead of forcing myself to do some variety and even those stinky workouts I don’t like (hello push-ups and ab ripper, I’m talking to you).  I missed a few workouts over the holidays, but did a solid effort and all the ice skating was a nice cardio filler (AND it didn’t hurt my knees, BONUS!).  If you’ve never tried a good old fashioned printed workout schedule, it’s a huge help in motivating and setting a routine.

My lovely schedule. Can’t wait to keep counting down the days!

Pre-Wedding Relaxation

I also spent a few days down in Nashville with Adam right before coming home.  We used this time to just lay low and enjoy some quiet time together before the madness hits.  We went on daily hour walks (I know, right?!), worked out, grocery shopped, did some light wedding planning, and just took it easy.  We watched movies together and just enjoyed some bonding time.  The last 7 months haven’t been the easiest in terms of spending quality time together.  Between his residency, White Christmas for me, and wedding planning… it’s been a lot on both of our plates.  We’re both really looking forward to the first few weeks of married life just to be together (for more than a day or two at a time) and really reconnect (with no time constraints!).  Le sigh.  It will be great.  I know we’ll definitely have some growing pains as we re-adjust to one another and live together for the first time, but we both can’t WAIT to annoy each other.

Adam made me this beautiful salad!

And I took annoying pictures of him. Fair trade.

Coming Up

This is my last week of work, which is pretty bittersweet.  I love my company and co-workers, and it feels so surreal to say goodbye.  BUT saying goodbye also means it’s time for the wedding and time to be with Adam again.  Both awesome things.  After this week I’m going to go into full on wedding mode.  I am purposefully ending my position two weeks before the wedding in order to complete wedding tasks/pack/etc.  My new full time job will be the wedding!  I’m happy to have some time to do some planning and I know I’m super fortunate to be able to really soak it up and tolerate enjoy it.  I’m excited about the wedding, but I have to admit I’m sort of excited for it to be over (shhh don’t tell anyone).  Eek.  Yeah, wedding planning has never been the most relaxing thing for me so it will be nice to have hobbies and other activities again.  Hallelujah for some free brain space!!  And for having a new husband and lovely memories of a happy day!

Oh yeah, that’s a candy bar mock-up. All the supplies were free (okay borrowed) and I just have to buy the candy.  Sounds good to me! Any reason to have candy is a good one.

P90X3

Adam got an awesome Christmas present this year!  Come February we’ll start tackling P90X 3 together!!   Can I get a woot!?  We loved our experience with P90X and can’t wait to give this puppy a try.  It’s brand new to beachbody and I’m excited to see how it compares.  It will also be awesome motivation post-wedding to keep active together  …After I enjoy a few weeks of Chipotle lunches and being a total blob of laziness.  Because that just has to happen.  Life has been go, go, go and honestly a few quiet weeks of being lazy and eating more pizza than I probably should, sound like just what the doctor ordered.  Everything in moderation, I say! :)

Hello Tony, excited to see you again too.

Hope you all had a WONDERFUL end of December!

-Kelly

The Great Name Change Debate

So I’m getting married.  And when a woman gets married in the US, generally there are a few choices on what she does with her last name.  These are probably the most popular.

• Take the husband’s last name in place of her maiden name. Susie Leigh Smith becomes Susie Leigh Brown

• Take the husband’s last name and move her maiden name to her middle name. Susie Leigh Smith becomes Susie Smith Brown

• Take the husband’s last name and keep all other names (so have 2 middle names). Susie Leigh Smith becomes Susie Leigh Smith Brown

• Hyphenate your last name.  Kelly HusbandLastName-MaidenName or is it the other way around? Haha. Susie Leigh Smith becomes Susie Leigh Brown-Smith or Smith-Brown?

• Keep your original name. Susie Leigh Smith 4Life.

For the longest time I have been in camp 2. Kelly MaidenName Adam’sLastName. Done, easy.  Decision made.  I want to keep my identity that my last name brings, but I also want to create a new baby family with Adam.  I like the idea of us sharing a last name.  But… lately I’ve been re-evaluating all of my options and I’ve been more and more unsure on what I want to do.  Argh… all the thinking… causing trouble!! Here are some of my pros/cons to changing to option two (Kelly MaidenName Adam’sLastName).

The Pro’s of Kelly MaidenName Adam’sLastName

• We share a last name and though yes, a bit sexist that I take his name, we still are more easily recognized as a unit. (And honestly I don’t know if I’m willing to fight something that has been done for centuries. I’m keeping my Dad’s last name, who is also a man…so I guess that’s also sexist? So confusing!  I guess we could make up our own last name?).

• I’m recognizing this big life change by adopting Adam’s Name.

• People will associate us with one another…hope Adam builds us a good reputation! ;)

• I get to keep the name I’ve had for almost 27 years and holds a lot of family value to me (I’ve never met any non-family member with my last name).

• I’ll only have 3 names which is more traditional in the US.  More traditional = easier paperwork in the future

• I love the idea of starting our baby family together, with the shared name!

The Cons of Kelly MaidenName Adam’sLastName

• I would have to give up my middle name.  It’s a family name, it’s nice, I would be sad to see it go.

• My Maiden name isn’t as ‘pretty’ as Kelly MiddleName Adam’sLastName.  My last name isn’t ‘ugly’ per say.  But it’s Dutch, hard to spell/pronounce, and not particularly beautiful.

• I will REALLY miss signing my middle initial of L.  Have you seen how pretty a cursive L is??  Pretty AND fun to write.  Sigh.

• I’m changing my identity by giving my my last name as my last name.  Good thing?  Bad thing?  Jury is still out for me.

The good news is that I have time…at least a little bit of time :)  I could just keep all my names, having my cake and eating it too.  But is having 4 names hard?  So… what have you all done out there?  Or what are you planning to do?  Help a sister out!  Perspective please!

-Kelly

Whirlwind Week!

Adam.  Adam.  Adam.  Adam.  Okay… can you tell that Adam has been around lately??  I’ve got Adam on the brain :)  Last week was one of his two blocks of vacation and I soaked it up in all it’s glory!  It was also one of those weeks where I had the time to either blog about not working out, or just work out.  I chose the latter and I must say it was the right call! ;)  I’m on week 4 and still loving ChaLean!  And because I’m still playing catch-up from a crazy weekend (where I played wedding photographer, yeah that’s a funny story for another time)…let’s do a photo time!

Last week consisted of a little…

TUBING!! We spent the weekend at the lake and it was divine.

Exciting times at the lake.

We also managed to squeeze in some wedding planning.  What a delightful ‘vacation’ for Adam :)

Inspired by pinterest we’re going to do photos as a part of our table numbers.

We started collecting the pictures. Let me tell you – hilarious.

We got our first wedding gift!! It’s starting to feel so real :)

I’m also collecting pinecones for my name cards project.  Last week Adam and I went out for a run and stopped in the middle of the forest to gather pinecones.  Then a co-worker of mine ran by, baffled as to what we were doing on a trail collecting pinecones in running clothes.  Anything to save a little money.

Aren’t these just the cutest!?

This morning I ran by a city worker cutting down sticks from a tree near my place.  You can bet your bottom dollar I stopped my run to collect sticks for the reception.  Really all this nature gathering is affecting my runs.  BUT it’s thrilling that I’m able to run!

Happy Monday and here’s to getting back to routine!

Kelly

Running and Wedding and Wedding, Oh my!

Half-way through the week!  Woot!  Somehow it’s been another busy one, full of lots of wedding planning, ChaLean Extreme (still loving it! :)), and trying to keep my sanity!  I’ve been a bit amazed at how much all this planning and business can be a bit anxiety-provoking at times.  However, I always remind myself that most of the big wedding decisions are complete!

It’s like every week I’m finding new, more irrelevant things to worry about.  Maybe it’s hormonal?  Maybe it’s the nature of big life changes?  Maybe it’s the pressure of planning a large event for all the people that matter in your life? Either way there are moments of extreme wedding planning joy (I love weddings, I can’t wait til January, oh my gosh this will be the best wedding EVER) and other moments of wedding disaster (Adam asking me when I want him to call back and me shouting “I can’t make another decision!!” Lovely.)

Running Updates

But before we get to the wedding stuff, let’s chat a bit about running!  Yes, I did say that 7 letter word!  I started running again, for the first time in a month?  And in June I only ran 2-3 times, so sufficient to say I took a very healthy break to allow my Runner’s Knee to heal up.  Though I don’t feel that I’m 100% miracle cured, I do feel it’s time to get running again.  My doctor gave me a progressing plan for running, and I want to start out with some smaller distances.  Hopefully my hip strength is a bit stronger now and this runner’s knee will give me a break.  I’m going to be patient with it and just try for a few times a week.  Let’s just say the first time back wasn’t pleasant: slow and labored!  It’s amazing how fast conditioning disappears.

I also officially signed up for my next half-marathon!  I know – kind of crazy.  But… there was a super discount if I signed up now, even though I was planning to wait (man am I a sucker for a deal).  And a lot of my friends signed up (total peer pressure).  And I figured – I will walk it if I can’t run.  Which sounds pretty long and unpleasant…let’s hope I don’t have to resort to that :) It’s in three months, so I’ve got time.  Fingers crossed that I’ll slowly, but surely be able to get at it.  Goals for the race?  Run the whole time.  No time, no pace… I will be ecstatic if I can just jog it.  Ecstatic.

Wedding Updates

The Jacket!

Alright…now onto the wedding fun!  This past weekend I was on the hunt with my future mother-in-law for a jacket of sorts for my wedding dress.  Because I’m getting married in January, I want something to cover my sleeves during the ceremony.  I just don’t want to look freezing!  The good news: I found the perfect one.  The bad news:  I can’t show you until January!  But, I’ll compromise and show you some of the runner ups :)

Note: not my dress, just a random one at a shop. Sadly, this lovely jacket did not win! First runner-up.

Again not my dress – random one in random shop. But, this jacket was edged out due to itchy lace and cost. 2nd Runner-Up.

The Decorations!

Decorations have been moving along quite nicely as well.  A great friend of mine is letting me borrow lots of her decorations from her wedding (and her 2 sisters, convenient).  The vases, overlays, and fake flower are beautiful – and FREE!  I will supplement the things I’ve been loaned and purchase a few new things like more blue bottles, fake snow, and some lights.  Not a bad deal at all.  When I sent out the “Hey do you guys have anything weddingish sitting around?” request to my friends, I was overwhelmed at how much people were willing to loan and help.  I’d definitely recommend reaching out to those close to you before buying everything!

Starting to mock-up some of my decorations! Everything in this picture was borrowed from a friend (except the frame).

Found these awesome frames for ONE DOLLAR at Ikea. I’ll put either table numbers or the menu/thank you/itinerary in here. They are double sided too! One per table.

My dream centerpiece on Pinterest. Just lovely! We aren’t budgeting enough for decorations to do flowers (aren’t these amazing??), but I LOVE the fake snow in this centerpiece. Looks so wintery and classy! I’m going to try some fake snow with my donated centerpieces.

Time with Adam!

And last but not least, Adam is on vacation next week!!!  I can hardly contain my excitement.  Due to his residency he gets three weeks off a year: 1 one-week block and 1 two-week block.  His 1 week is next week, and his 2 weeks is our wedding.  And that’s it until next July!  It has certainly made scheduling tricky.  Adam is coming up to Indy (exotic vacation right?), and we’ll split our time with relaxing/visiting family and wedding planning. I. Cant. Wait.  It will be amazing.  Ah-mazing.  Hopefully Adam will be wildly impressed with my self-sufficient skills I’ve developed.

And last – a big THANK YOU to those of you that commented on my photographers blog!  We just received our prize:  a beautiful large print of our choice.  It’s gorgeous!  THANK YOU for helping us get it!!  Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I surprised Adam with a trip down to Nashville and the beautiful print! Can’t wait to hang it up!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Kelly

Which jacket did you like best?  Do you have any wedding stuff you want me to take off your or hands or borrow from you? :)

I’m Dreaming of a…

Crazy awesome week!! :)

Well folks, it has been a pretty nuts around here.  First – last Monday I auditioned for White Christmas, a huge favorite musical of mine.  It turns out it was a joint audition for 2 shows (White Christmas and Sunset Blvd.)… and I ended up getting a call back for both!  Talk about lots of quick learning, excitement, stress, and lots of showing people what I could bring to the table!  My callback for Sunset Blvd. went okay at first (there were 3 other ladies there going for the same part), but then I choked (no!!), and I knew when I left that I wouldn’t get the part.  I remained hopeful, but got a very thoughtful condolence email Saturday night, stating that they decided to go in a different direction.  Le sigh.

A no go on Sunset Blvd.

I held out hope for my dream part: Betty (Rosemary Clooney in the movie) in White Christmas.  I got the exciting news on Monday (a whole week later!) that I was invited to a callback Tuesday evening!  I was thrilled, but also very nervous.  I notoriously choke during call-backs, yeah it’s a problem.  The pressure, knowing who I’m up against…gah!  It always kills me.  My nerves aren’t the strongest when it comes to auditions, yeah again, a problem.  I showed up on Tuesday and to my surprise the director had me read for Judy, not Betty.  To fill you in – Judy is the younger, dancing sister, originally played by Vera Ellen in the movie.  I could hardly contain my shock.  Yes, I dance… I even could say I’m a dancer (I did take many, many years of dance, but many years ago).  But a showstopper lead dancer of the caliber of Judy??… that might be more of a stretch.  I did have a dance audition and thought I did pretty well, so they have seen what I can do in that department.

Va va VOOM! This is Judy!

Yesterday morning I got the shocking news: the director offered me the part of Judy!  I got in the show!  Can you believe it??  Well I’m still in shock a day later.  It really hasn’t set in.  I am SO excited.  So so so excited!  I’m thrilled to be in White Christmas, but I must admit that I’m nervous about all the lead tap dancing scenes.  I took many years of tap classes, so it’s in there… I just need to dust the rust off.  Immediately.  Like 6 months ago immediately. Rehearsals don’t start until October so I’ve got a bit of time to get myself into Judy shape!

You may recognize this! The song “Sisters” is from White Christmas. Can’t wait!

Additionally I’m a little nervous because Judy is notoriously an athletic, thin, dancer.  Though I love fitness and being in good shape – I don’t know if I exactly have a dancer’s build (If you’ve seen my P90X results, I think you might agree! ;)).  My Mom said I need to not compare myself against the movie: if they picked me, they want me!  And they know what I look like!  It’s just very strange suddenly feeling pressure to be thin and in shape (I know I’m putting it on myself!).   With the weddings and this show I now feel like I don’t have as much wiggle room with fitness and nutrition.  Honestly, I like to live a more balanced life of enjoying treats every now and again.  And well… I still will.  :)  But now, I will probably feel a bit more guilt.  Whomp whomp.  Especially now that I still can’t run – I don’t really have an awesome way to rationalize my box of white cheddar cheez-its treat consumption, or burn off the stress (Oh I ate an enormous cupcake – I’ll just run 8 miles).  My way to handle stress: eating a box of cheez-its.  Not exactly the path to a thin dancer body.  Yikes.  Say a little prayer for me (and my box of cheez-its). :)

Wearing fun dresses and doing cool moves like this?! Holy awesome!

In other news, I get to see Adam this weekend.  It’s been 3 weeks and I’ll admit: it has been really hard.  I miss him being in my life on a day to day basis.  I just miss being around him!  What I’d do for a little hug!  Le sigh.  Another side effect of no Adam: I sort of feel like I’m swirling!  My structure and discipline have been slipping, I’m just struggling to get into my new routine without him!  I’m hoping the start of a new Beachbody program (the jury is still out on which one) will give me a new spark and something exciting to look forward to!  Is it Friday evening yet??  I’m so excited to hop in trusty Little Star (my car) and get on down to Nashville.  Adam will only have Sunday off – but any time will be better than no time!  Can’t wait!

Yeah…I miss this kid. A lot.

And just so I can end on a thrillingly positive note: HOLY MOLY I GOT A PART!!! :)  What an amazing opportunity – I know I will treasure it!!  What an exciting next few months.  3 months until my bro’s wedding.  4.5 months until White Christmas.  And exactly 6 months until ‘I do!’ :)

Happy THURSDAY!  We’re almost through the week!

-Kelly

Have you ever felt pressure to be thin for an event?  Have you ever eaten a whole box of cheez-its to deal with the stress you feel to be thin for said event?

Run-cation, Nashville, and an Audition!

It has been an exciting and busy last couple of weeks around here!  I took my first trip to Nashville to visit Adam, celebrated the 4^th, and managed to squeeze in an audition.  I feel like I’m running, running, running! (Okay – bad use of the word running…I’m still not physically running, le sigh).  Remarkably I’m feeling a bit better about the whole not running thing.  Or maybe I’ve just started to accept it as the best thing for right now.  I’m still hopeful a fall race is in my future – though I am also accepting the reality that a sub 1:50 half-marathon is not very likely.  And that’s okay.  At this point, I’d be happy just being able to run at all!  I’m going to pull the trigger on a race sometime in August when I need to start my training.  For the next few weeks I’m going to enjoy a real break from running and focus on fitness in other ways.  I’m thinking of it as my vacation from running.  I also have enough other hobbies to keep me verybusy!

These guys are feeling sad and neglected.

Nashville

Last weekend I made my first voyage to Adam’s new home in Nashville!  It was a wonderful visit and awesome to check out his new place.  I wasn’t able to help him apartment search so it was my first time seeing his apartment.  He did a great job picking it out – great location and very cute.  It’s definitely small, but the location makes it worth it.  We had fantastic weather and spent time helping some friends from college apartment hunt.  You read that correctly – two of our close friends are also moving to Nashville!  How cool is that?!  The weekend was far too short, and it made me a little jealous of the three of them down there without me!  Patience Kelly.  On my drive back to Indy I was pretty sad.  Okay, really sad…but it makes me so happy knowing Adam has an awesome gig down there!

Out with friends – the new Nashville crew unites!

Adam also officially started his residency!  Scary stuff.  He’s really a doctor now (crazy!) and has 4 years of training to continue learning.  Adam is one of the most calm people I know- just cool as a cucumber, seriously…nothing ruffles his feathers.  The day before his first day of work was a different story – he was nervous, stressed, quiet, distracted.   I was actually fascinated by it!  It was so interesting to see a totally different side to him.  He has now survived his first week and is settling into things.  The days are long (12-14 hours) and he only gets 1 day off a week for this rotation (no 4^th of July celebration for him), but I know he’s really happy with his program and is learning a lot!  He’s not really getting workouts in, but at this point I’m just hoping he eats food and sleeps!  Priorities people!  It will be interesting to see how we settle into a new routine of long distance with his extreme schedule.

Absolutely I took a picture of Adam walking into his first day at the hospital like a creepy stalker.

Celebratory sushi! Here’s to the first year of residency! Hopefully not like Grey’s Anatomy.

Look – I’m a doctor now… I get an iPad.

Nashville itself is an awesome city.  I can’t wait to spend more time there.  We ate a lot of great food, heard a lot of awesome music, and soaked in the fabulous warm weather.  It’s an exciting next step!

I love brunch, lunch, dinner, and late night – how convenient!

Our first breakfast out and about in Nashville!

An Audition

One of my favorite Christmas classics, White Christmas, will be on stage in Indianapolis!  I adore the music and story and couldn’t wait to audition for it.  I thought the auditions would come sometime in September, right before rehearsals.  Surprise!  They were Monday of this week – yes, it’s July!  They did joint auditions for another show (which I may or may not have also auditioned for?), which is in September, hence the earlier audition.  I found out about it last week and scrambled to get myself ready in time.  The only problem: I have extreme audition anxiety.  It’s terrible!  I love performing and have been doing it since I was a kid (singing, dancing, acting)… but auditions are a nightmare for me.  I could hardly think on Monday… talk about nervous wreck.  In light of this extreme anxiety, I still did pretty well at the audition!  My definition of pretty well?  Really I just want to perform my pieces well (1 minute monologue, 16 bars of music, dance combination).  Auditions are so much more than just ‘nailing it’ and you get the part.  The director also usually is going for a specific look, age, etc. etc.  There are so many factors going into the final casting – all I hope to do is perform my personal best.  And I did!  I was thrilled.  I may not be what they are looking for – but I showed them what I can do!  I anticipate it will take up to a week to hear any word, and everyone that auditioned will get a call whether we are in the show or not.  That is such a relief to find out either way.  My fingers are crossed!

Number 25 – my FAVORITE number. Can you tell that I’m beyond nervously sickly anxious?

Wedding Dresses!

With both my Maid of Honor and Matron of Honor in town for the 4^th – we made good use of our time and went bridesmaid dress shopping!  Wohoo!  I was hoping for a dress that complements mine, but  also fun and something they love.  Essentially they could pick any dress they wanted as long as it didn’t look dumb.  :)  I’m easy to please.  Amazingly enough we all settled on the same dress!  We all love it (or they are really good liars) – really there couldn’t be a better fit!  It looks amazing on both of them, is comfortable, the same material as my dress (shh… a clue), and has pockets!  Could it get any better than that??  The only issue?  We don’t know what color… yeah slight hiccup.  Unfortunately the store didn’t have samples of the fabric in sizes larger than tiny so we couldn’t decide.  I’m leaning towards blue, gray, and ivory as my “colors” – but there were a couple of shades that fit that category.  Adam is thinking navy would look best against a winter backdrop, as it will add some contrast.  But… a beautiful light periwinkle might be gorgeous too!  Any opinions on the colors?  I keep hoping I will wake up in a moment of epiphany and know the perfect color!

Hmmm… blue? (Not this dress…but this fabric)

Or gray?? (Not this dress, but this fabric)

Or one of these colors??

Happy Hump Day!

-Kelly

Any opinions on bridesmaid dress colors?  Have you ever auditioned for a musical?

Happy 4th!

Hello all!  For all of you from the US, I hope you had a great 4th of July weekend!  And for all of you not from the US – I hope you also had a great regular weekend!  I had a great long 4-day weekend at my parent’s house a few hours away.  It was great to unplug from technology and soak up the time together.  My whole family got together and we enjoyed a little bit of this…

Group bike ride! We had a lot of fun, though it’s been awhile since I rode a bike. Kind of made me wish I had a road bike…

We also enjoyed a bit of…

Red, white, and blue colored desserts. A 4th of July classic. Yum!

Along with eating lots of not-so-healthy treats we managed to…

Get in a bit of skiing! My sister and I ready to go!

Wohoo! We still have it!

Of course we watched some fireworks – a great show this year!

Fireworks over the lake – beautiful!

Between the family time, running around, pounds of cookies, fireworks, and sun it was a great weekend.  I even managed to get in my Jillian Michael’s DVD with my future sister in-law (brides-to-be getting ready)!  That’s the best part about a 30 minute workout DVD, I can always find time for it!  The only thing that could’ve made it better was if Adam could’ve been there.  He’s still busy working as a slave at the hospital.  He survived his first week and I’ll get to see him next Friday…it feels like it has been forever!

Tonight I am auditioning for White Christmas – one of my absolute favorite shows.  I can’t wait!  My audition prep has left me little time for my dear little blog, but all the stress should be over tonight around 10 or 11… cross your fingers for me!  I can use all the positive thoughts I can get :)

I ADORE this musical movie – such a favorite. This is a dream role for sure! I have been very nervous waiting to audition!

More updates on my Jillian Michaels workouts and potential next steps in regards to no Insanity… stay tuned!

-Kelly

How was your holiday weekend?  How do you celebrate the 4th?

Successful half-mile run!

Well, after an exciting/disappointing assessment from my most recent visit to my sports med doc, I put in my first couple runs on my training schedule!   Tuesday I ran my half mile jog and this morning I graduated to my 1 mile run.  Yep, that’s all!  I felt pretty good, though a bit tired.  It’s funny, when you are used to running at higher distances it’s amazing how short half a mile can feel.  That was a pretty nice feeling.  Though it reminds me of my rehab days from my ankle injury a couple years ago.  After getting out of my cast/crutches/cane/walking unassisted, I was absolutely elated when I was able to first run a half mile without stopping!  This week I’ve been trying to recall that experience and the joy at being able to run any distance.  So whether it’s 7 miles or half a mile – I’m going to celebrate it!  Running really is a gift, and I am so fortunate to have a body healthy enough to do it!

Do you see the giant bird I spotted on my run this morning?

Because I am not able to do Insanity (yet), I have fallen back to my trusty P90X videos.  I really enjoy the workouts and I am to the point where I don’t like missing a weekday of a workout (Hallelujah!).  I am not doing them in any particular order at this point – just one a morning to maintain.  Over the next week my plan is to create a workout schedule for the next 6 weeks.  It’s going to be called “Get My Knees and Hips BUTT KICK Strong”  or something like that – I’m still working on it :)  I’m hoping to combine running, P90X videos, hip/knee exercises, and maybe throw a couple Zumba/other videos in there just for some spice – I have been doing P90X for more than 6 months so I’m ready for a mix-up.  I’m looking forward to sitting down and mapping it out next week!

 Ch ch ch Changes…

This is Adam’s last week living in Indianapolis and bittersweet for sure.  It’s finally sinking in that he’s leaving (sniff).  Adam begins his residency program in Nashville, TN on July 1^st and that next chapter will be incredibly exciting!  I get nervous butterflies for him just thinking about his first day!  I will stay in Indianapolis at least through our wedding (January) – so it’s back to long distance for a bit.  Womp, womp.  It’s going to be a shock to the system, but I figure I’ll have more time to wedding plan, workout, and blog about both of those things!  Additionally for my birthday a few weeks ago, my family got me a TV and cable/Netflix (I think they thought I might be lonely).  I am not used to having a functioning TV (sort of got used to living without it for the past couple years), so I guess I could call that my fiancé replacement :)  If you don’t hear from me, I’m probably fine…just watching whole seasons of Lie to Me in my pajamas oblivious to the world for shower-less days on end.  Yikes.

 Pause for a moment of Mushy Gush (or skip ahead)

Remember that cabaret Adam sang in last week?  The one where we got to dress up like fancy people.

Heading to the cabaret. Yay for fancy clothes!

Well, a review of the show came out, and I almost dropped my computer when I read it.  Please bear with me while I share an excerpt – I’m bursting with pride!

Baritone Adam N., undeniably the most impressive member of the cast, is a recent IU Medical School graduate who is leaving Indianapolis soon to move to Nashville where he will undergo his residency. Showing the sort of star quality that might have landed him in the entertainment big leagues had he chosen that route, Nagy was stupendous in both his vocal and dramatic interpretation during his swan song performance of Jason Robert Brown’s “She Cries,” from the musical “Songs for a New World.”

For serious!  I can’t make this stuff up.  At another point it calls him electrifying.  Wow.

Looking good Dr. Adam!

Learning to feed myself again

So in addition to losing my singing, working-out, doctoring fiancé…I’m losing something else.  I have a big confession to make.  A big one.  Like I don’t even want to admit it.

Deep breath… so Adam has been on vacation the past couple months (i.e. no work).  Because of this extra time and his kind heart, he has made my food for the last 2 months or so.  And by food, I mean every single thing I eat.  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and snacks… yeah… everything.  I know, I am beyond spoiled.

He even tells me if I need to get things to supplement the meals he makes.

I’m almost embarrassed about how much of a help he is to me…I don’t want to use words like “helpless” or “lost”…but that’s what next week could be like for me.  Pathetic, I know.  So one new exciting aspect to this blog could be “Kelly learning how to feed herself again.”

Quiet on the blog front

In our last couple days together in Indy we’ve been doing exciting things like Wedding Registry and packing.  It’s a thrilling life, I know.

Doesn’t this towel look lovely for our registry? I swear I’m not pregnant – just my purse underneath it. Adam says I look like a creepster in the picture. I say classy.

The nice safety net is that although Adam moves next week we’ll just have 4-5 days apart before reuniting for a week of family vacation (with his family in Hilton Head).  Woot!  Because of this upcoming departure, things will be pretty quiet on the blog front for the next bit.  I want to make sure I’m soaking up every last minute of time together.  Send me strong thoughts and vibes so I don’t totally lose it next Tuesday when the moving truck pulls away!

Happy almost-Friday! :)

-Kelly

Weekend Relaxation and Insanity in the Morning

What a great weekend!  It all started with an amazing Thursday evening.  Adam is a wonderful singer and performed in a local cabaret.  It was a great opportunity to dress up and listen to my favorite crooner.  On Friday I left for a weekend in my former-home, Madison, WI.  I spent time with old girlfriends, and it was fantastic to catch up.  We enjoyed shopping, eating things not on the P90X nutrition plan, and even went to see Wicked!  It was phenomenal.  I even managed to find some green accessories and shoes for the engagement photo session next week. Score.  All in all, an awesome time.  I left Adam behind, but I don’t think he was too upset…reportedly lots of video game and TV time occurred.  Oh the horrors.

Delicious heavenly cheese curds from Madison’s Farmer’s Market. I may or may not have eaten this entire bag. (Hey! I shared…)

This chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream…totally on the P90X nutrition guide ;)

Green shoes and accessories from a successful shopping trip!

After such a relaxing and somewhat indulging weekend, I’m actually really looking forward to starting Insanity in the morning!  I’ve had several days off from a serious workout, and I’m sort of itching to get back at it!  Last week, though I had finished with P90X, I did do 3 of the DVDs just to have something in there.  Watch out, bright and early Insanity begins!

What is Insanity?

Insanity is another at-home fitness program by the some company as P90X.  The program is made up of a series of DVDs I’ll watch and requires no equipment (cool!).  It varies from P90X in that its primary focus is high-energy interval training (I’m imagining something like P90X’s plyometrics, but I’ll find out soon!), instead of using weights for lifting.  Insanity comes with its own nutrition plan and the program lasts 60 days.  This evening I spent some time reading about the program and planning out the meals for tomorrow.  Insanity DVDs typically last 30-45 minutes and are done 6 days a week.  The short duration will be a welcome change, though I’ve heard they are so hard it will feel longer!

Opening up my kit to learn all about my next 60 days!

Day 1 begins with a fitness test and ‘before’ pictures.

Adam carefully reading the nutrition plan. He’s going to be my chef this week – what a doll!

Tomorrow morning starts with the fit test and introductory DVD bright and early.  I’m excited to see what it will bring.  Wish me luck!  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

-Kelly

Have you done Insanity?  Any tips for a beginner?