When you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders

We've heard it time and time again.. The shooting, the murder, the death, destruction.. 

You've seen and heard the voice telling you all of this on the screen. But, how often, if ever, do you really think of that person? 

Sure, they have an expressionless face. Their eyes cry no tears. How do they do it, you ask? 6 people just lost their lives and this person is on my TV screen telling it as if nothing happened. Sure, we've all said it.

I came across this article from many people in the TV business. It's worth a read for anyone in TV news and anyone who watches it. 

http://uniformstories.com/stories/ems/heavy-news

It's a hard reality. That's why so many people get out of this business. So many people journey to the other side of that camera. Do we shelter our emotions so deep within us that we forget we have them?

 

We're less than 90 days away

Wow. I can't believe we are in the home stretch. Feels like just yesterday we were stepping up to bat. It's been a journey but I can't wait for the day to get here. 

I've learned so much in the past few weeks. 

Wedding planning isn't rainbows and butterflies. 
Shocker, huh? I always dreamed this process was so much fun. And it is. But, I'm not going to take away from the reality that it's work. Hard work. There's so many decisions that you have to make and you're on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Why didn't I know this? Why don't people tell you these things? 

People will try to add their 2 cents whether you like it or not. Be flexible but stick to your guns. 

Don't be offended by what people say. It's hard, your family and friends have opinions but you have to understand they're just trying to help. Even if it's unwanted. 

I may say don't be offended but you may get hurt or you may hurt someone. Seems like everyone's emotions are high (or low) when it's wedding time. People may not do things you thought they were going to or they may even back out of the wedding all together. It sucks. These are people you love and look forward to being there and helping out. It happens. 

Just remember... And I've had to tell myself this a thousand times... This day is about you and your fiancé. It's about the commitment and love that you share. 

People will try to make it about them or blame things on you because you're the one planning it. Something you do may cause them not to come or it may be too expensive. They may tell you all of this within the last 4 months of planning and by this point, what's done, is done. 

Nothing is perfect... But, as long as you have the one you're going to spend the rest of you life with, it doesn't matter. In that moment, that one moment you say "I do," nothing else will matter. 

4 months until we say "I Do"

I'm going to be real honest here. Most of the time, I can't believe I'm getting married. I don't know if it just hasn't hit me yet or if the planning just overwhelms me. 

I often wonder if it's normal. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than thrilled to spend the rest of my life with Vincent. But, we've been together 7 years. It practically feels like we're married. 

Planning is going really well. Most days I wish we didn't wait so long to get married. Others, I'm really glad we did. I don't like to be stressed. I work in a high-stress environment and, frankly, I prefer not to be stressed outside of work. I see some of my friends planning weddings in 6 months or so. I don't know that I could do that. Too much in such a short amount of time. 

I recently took my dress in for alterations. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my dress. Yes, that was 3 loves in one sentence. It's just gorgeous. I can't wait to see the final product. 

Now that I put that on again.. I really need to crack down on getting in shape. If you follow me on Twitter (either @JillianTV or @JillianWAAY31) then you know I'm recently obsessed with Hot Yoga. It's amazing and I feel so rejuvenated after. Problem, I'm probably not burning as many calories as I should be. So, I'm headed cardio. Have I mentioned I hate cardio? I hate every minute of every step. Seriously. I'd rather lift 100 pounds 10x before running a tenth of a mile. I'm crazy, right? 

But, I'm on a mission here and I'll be damned if I don't complete it. 

Pinterest obsessed? Organize your pins

Are you Pinterest obsessed like me?

I seem to spend at least 30 minutes of my life a day seeing what's popular or what's new on the Wedding feed. Here's my problem:

I have your basic boards. Food, weddings, exercise.. on and on. But, I NEVER go back and look at what I pinned. It's like I pin things and they go away into an abyss. LOL. Ok, not really but you get my point. Truthfully, the only pins I probably ever look at are food ones. Mainly because I'm always looking for something new and tempting to cook. 

So, today.. I am setting out on a really big journey. ORGANIZATION. I'm not a real organized person in general. I'm not messy. I mean I know where EVERYTHING is.. but by far it's not neat and no one else could ever find what I'm looking for. 

I figure, I spend so much on this silly website pinning my life away, I probably should organize it. I mean, I am planning a wedding nearly based on Pinterest. 

So, I'll have a "ceremony" board, "hair do," and so on and so forth. 

I'm doing that tonight.. it will take me days and possibly hours but it's worth a start! You should do the same. I've found a lot of pins that I really forgot about. 

6 months and counting

Wow. Hard to believe that in 6 months I'm going to marry my best friend. 

We've been together 7 years, it doesn't feel a day over 2. I always thought that the wedding wouldn't be as special because we've been together so long. But, as the details start to come together, I realize that's so far from the truth. 

Ok.. so back to the planning. 

Things are going great! I think one of the hardest thing for us has been registering for gifts. We don't really feel like we need anything. But, we have to register for something right? 

Here's my two cents:

Have everything you need? Now is the time to upgrade! Have an older microwave? Pick a new one out! 

Always wanted that espresso machine? Scan it! 

Register multiple places and do a honeyfund. It can help you for the honeymoon and anything else you need. 

Don't register for china if you're not ever going to use it. NO ONE has room for something you're never going to use. 

We thought registering was going to be this huge headache. In actuality, it didn't take us long and it wasn't bad. We actually had fun doing it!! Imagine that :)

Happy scanning!

Cross your t's and dot your i's

Yep, I just went there.

My life is generally an organized mess. I have a million things running through my mind at any given moment and I can probably tell you a little bit about a lot. However, through the hundreds of papers in my desk I can probably tell you exactly where that scratch piece of a paper is I doodled an address. Yes, I know I'm crazy.

But, when it comes to the wedding I've tried really hard to be organized. It's one day that takes months of planning and I don't want it to be messed up. I've found The Knot Wedding Organizer to be my bible. Everything you could ever imagine is written in it and it probably has the best timeline checklist I've ever seen. I have a tendency to work a little bit ahead since I'm planning a wedding from out of town. It also has tons of advice. I wouldn't be surprised if by the time the wedding comes around in October.. that the binder is broken because of how often I'm going through it or putting contracts in it. 

I would be so lost as to when to book vendors without it. I'm not one to remember every little detail. I encourage those who give me story ideas to constantly bug me about it because chances are I'm swamped with 10 other things and forgot. This keeps me in check. And.. frankly, gives me the idea to make one for my life. 

Here's a link so you can see what I'm talking about: Wedding Organizer

This next thing is something I wish I would've found 10 months ago. Google seriously has done it again! 

http://www.google.com/weddings/ Is one of the best resources for weddings. WHY did it take me so long to find this? Everything you need. If you're a gmail user like myself then you're really going to LOVE this. It creates Excel-like spreadsheets in Google Drive for anything and everything for your wedding. I'm LOVING the budget creator right now. I can access everything I need all in one place. It doesn't matter what computer I'm on either. 

Another piece of advice: Hire a day-of coordinator. Emily over at http://www.emilys-eventsllc.com is who I'm using and I couldn't be happier. She's always there when I need her no matter what issue I'm having. She's organized and always checking up on me to make sure things are going well. I haven't even met her and I feel like I know her. It's a great resource to make sure you're on the right track to planning your wedding. AND it will keep you from having to do a whole lot on your special day. 

Happy Wedding Planning :)

What's your advice for staying organized?


 

Here's a promise to myself...

AHHHHHH!!!

The wedding is about 8 months away and I feel like I've made no progress on getting in shape. It seems like every time I start to get in a workout routine I get sick or something magically gets in my way. 

No more. I'm writing this blog post as a promise to myself. I feel if I commit to updating this blog with my progress, I will HAVE to do it. I can't let people down now, can I?

So, here's my commitment. I will workout at least 3 days a week and I will eat healthy. No more fast food, tons of carbs or dessert. The hardest part will be not eating after 7pm. But, I will do it. 

I can't wait to look great and feel great in my wedding dress!! I'm doing this for ME and no one else. 

Keep me in check people! Share your tips and advice too! I'd love to hear your healthy ways to get in shape!