A little bit of weight

We all have those family members who can be a "bit too honest." Because they are family, you can't really get rid of them and get a new one. They take advantage of this, of course, and enjoy saying all sorts of things. However, every now and then, they say something, you pause for a moment and realize, they're right!

Such was the case when I put on my wedding dress. I looked at myself in the mirror and felt that "way" that every bride wants to feel -- beautiful. As Maria from West Side Story would sing, I feel pretty and witty and bright. I looked over my shoulder, and even the honest three way mirror didn't have the power to make me feel any less pretty.

"Look at that," I pointed to my reflection, indicating my back. Near my waist, a bit beneath my bra line, there was area of fabric that was bunching up. Just a bit. "Wonder if the seamstress could work on that... ."

My sister took one look at it, scrunched her nose up and said, "Well, honestly, you need to just lose some weight."

I was surprised at what came right out of my mouth, "Yeah, you know, you're right."

Yeah, what?

I have been in better shape. In 2004, I was lean, tan, and running. A lot. Like marathon training type a lot. Incidentally, that was the year that my endorphins were pumping, I was always happy, and surprise, surprise, it was the year that Chris and I started dating.

I was shocked that I didn't gain a ton of weight while in Africa on the ship diet of carbs and limiting myself to a ship. However, I did walk up and down flights of stairs quite a bit, drank a ton of water (its Africa!) daily, and due to the limiting number of activities, chose to walk nightly for about 45 minutes. I returned lighter than when I left.

So here we are, about a hundred days out from the wedding. I am more picky about what I am eating and during the moments when I am job hunting and in front of the computer, I am sitting on an exercise ball. It really does work your core. My first night, I sat on it for 30 minutes, and I was sore the next night. I really like the exercise ball. Its bright blue sheen in my room is a constant reminder to do my core exercises. My goal is to tone up here and there a bit -- it can only do me some good. The core exercises are especially good for my back.

I found some great exercises on the Mayo Clinic site. However, with no offense to this gentleman, his lack of enthusiasm doesn't motivate the beautifying bride!