tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13801449724411813292024-03-13T06:28:55.284-06:00The Razzel Berrythe musings of one small RazRazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.comBlogger640125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-4060044672436036072015-05-11T12:27:00.003-06:002015-05-11T12:27:53.553-06:00Why I Decided to Do Yoga Teacher Training <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’ve been practicing yoga on and off for over ten years now,
but it wasn't until 2013 that I really started ramping up my practice to about
2-4 times a week. By January of 2014 my
yoga practice started to evolve into a way of life, and so I signed up for a program
with Katy Rowe called “40 Days to Personal Transformation," (which I blogged a lot about here) Those 40 days proved to be truly
transformational for me and became the beginning of my dedicated daily yoga
practice. A month or two later I found
myself craving more, and so I signed up for a Yoga Immersion with Christen
Bakken. </span> </div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Throughout 2014 my practice grew – I was learning something
new almost every day and growing in incredible ways, on and off my mat. I did
365 days of handstands with Joy Wegs, went to Hanuman Yoga Festival, (started
wearing yoga pants as actual pants!) and it didn’t take long before The River
started to feel like a second home to me.</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When The River’s Yoga Teacher Training program came around I toyed with
the idea of participating; I thought it might be an opportunity for personal
growth, or a way for me to take my yoga practice to the next level, but
ultimately decided that it wasn't my time.</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Although my first time on a yoga mat was 11 years ago, I felt that my </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">real</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> personal practice was still in its
infancy. How could I presume that I knew enough to teach anyone anything?</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vTTCRb3L6uU/VVDz4X7q2FI/AAAAAAAALCU/ymiEHhE9H8Y/s1600/IMG_7610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vTTCRb3L6uU/VVDz4X7q2FI/AAAAAAAALCU/ymiEHhE9H8Y/s400/IMG_7610.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thankfully, Christen and Katy had other plans for me. They
gently prodded me, encouraging me to join their info sessions, and slowly I
started to come around.</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I waited until the
training was almost completely full before I finally caved and claimed my spot
in the program.</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And now that it is over,
I cannot believe that I second guessed it for even a minute.</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Thundercats" my co-teaching group from our Teach-Out</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The River’s YTT program was everything I had hoped it would be,
and more. There aren't a lot of opportunities in adult life (at least in my
life) for personal development, and YTT proved to be an amazingly fertile
ground for my own personal growth. Coming out at the end of YTT, I feel a
renewed sense of purpose and for the first time in my life clarity in my
visions and goals for my future. My
personal practice has been also invigorated. I now have a greater handle on foundational
alignment, an understanding of and appreciation for the history and evolution
of modern yoga, and the ability to guide myself through a home practice, or
modify or up-level any public class that I attend to suit my body’s needs.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Beyond all of this, I am now teaching yoga! Something I had
never really aspired to do (or thought I was capable of). I feel confident that Katy and Christen gave me
all of the tools that I need to go into the world and share my love of yoga
with the community. I still have so much
to learn – I will forever be a student of this practice – but now I am also
finding my voice as a teacher and am so excited to have an opportunity to take
on this new challenge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LlDUSVA8mF0/VVDz8H4RNCI/AAAAAAAALCw/N4Wf00qCG48/s1600/IMG_6967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LlDUSVA8mF0/VVDz8H4RNCI/AAAAAAAALCw/N4Wf00qCG48/s400/IMG_6967.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the moment I declared "I'm a Yoga Teacher!" Can't even contain the excitement!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can’t even express how thankful I am for the friendships
that I made in my teacher training group.</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">
</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you’re looking for a community to belong to, an opportunity to grow,
or just a new challenge, don’t even think twice!</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There will be ups and there will be downs,
but it is definitely a ride worth taking! I would do it again in a heartbeat. </span></div>
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Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-37244613520832191762015-03-05T10:05:00.001-07:002015-03-05T10:05:35.436-07:00365 Handstands: That's a Wrap!<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can't believe it! Last night I finished up 365 days of handstands! What an amazing year!</span><br />
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<i><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Celebrating my last handstand with my yoga family at The River Power Vinyasa in Denver</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Last year, when I started my journey, I was in the midst of my 40 Days to Personal Transformation with Katy Rowe at The River. Boy did it ever transform my life and my practice!? A year later, I am about to finish up my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program (also at The River) and my personal practice has been completely transformed. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm not sure that I have much more to add about why I did my handstand challenge than what I've already written about it (<a href="http://razzelberry.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-new-project-365-365-handstands.html" target="_blank">here</a>) but now that it's over and so fresh in my mind, I wanted to take a couple of minutes to reflect on what I've learned. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(1) <b>Nobody is Perfect:</b> Last night after my final handstand, a yogi friend came up to me and told me that after I told her about my 365 Handstand project, she went home and started her own, but after 4 days she forgot a day and 'failed'. Until she said that I kind of forgot that I had gone through the exact same thing. In both of my 365 day projects, I forgot a day within my first week. In fact, over the last year I forgot more than once, which is why I started my project on February 28th, 2014 but finished it on March 4, 2015. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But the thing about it is that no body is perfect, we all make mistakes, and when we do we have a choice to give up or press on... to consider it 'ruined' or honor your intention, dust yourself off and try again. If I had restarted my clock when I missed a day (especially in the beginning) I probably never would have finished. But giving myself permission to be imperfect, to be human, allowed me to press on. Until last night, it was a lesson I didn't even realize that I learned on this journey, but now that I've spent some time thinking about it, what a powerful lesson it is!! Every day is a new day and a new opportunity to recommit to your goals however big or small or silly they may be. Every new day is an invitation to forget about the mistakes of the past or the ideals of the future and focus on the present and what you can do right now, on this day, in this moment. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(2) <b>Surround yourself with people who know about your goal, support your goal, and are striving for the same or similar things:</b> I started this little project after being inspired by two fellow yogis at my studio (above Julie Dollarhide and Joy Wegs pictured below)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I first decided that I wanted to join Joy and Julie in their 365 Handstands, I was afraid to tell them. They were so much more experienced than I, their yoga practices more 'advanced.' They were both yoga teachers and I felt like I was just really beginning to find my personal practice. I could barely kick up to the wall at that point and it seemed like they had already been working on handstands for years. I have to admit, it took me a little while to get up the courage to tell them that I was playing along too. In addition to feeling like I maybe wasn't worthy of the challenge, or that they would think I wasn't ready for it or serious about it, I was afraid to share my decision because I knew that once I told someone about it, I would be held accountable.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Looking back, sharing my goal with them (and with everyone else around me) was the best possible thing I could have done. Through a community of yogis, friends, and family who knew about my project I found support, encouragement, and accountability. And accountability is exactly what I needed to keep it up, because there were MANY days (like day 364) when I was in my PJ's, exhausted and about to go to bed (or sometimes I was already IN bed!), and a handstand was the last thing I wanted to at that moment.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(3) <b>Grownups need to have more fun:</b> Last night, after I finished my project, the obvious question everyone was asking was, "Whats Next!?" We were all laughing and chatting about the projects and what I could do next and someone suggested doing plank pose for 365 days. Of course my knee jerk reaction was, "YUCK! NO!" and then I thought about it a little more and considered for a moment that maybe it would be good to have a project that was more difficult than fun. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the beauty of both of my 365 Projects <i>was </i>that they were FUN. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As adults we have PLENTY of drudgery in our everyday lives. Every day I have at <i>least </i>one thing to do that I would rather not.... laundry, dishes, paying bills, shopping, WORK! Why add another thing that to my life that isn't fun!? The beauty of 365 handstands, for me, was that I 'forced' myself to have fun for at least a couple seconds every day. Because for me, even when I am frustrated or really working on some aspect of handstands, it is always fun for me to play on my hands. I don't think anyone can deny that grown ups DO need more fun in their lives! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(4) <b>Life is a journey, not a destination</b>: I think what made this project so fun for me is that it was never about getting the perfect handstand. Of course getting better at handstand is generally a goal and a by product of practicing everyday, but the thing that got me started and kept me going was never to be perfect at handstand. It was, and will continue to be, about the journey. It is about giving myself something to strive for every day and making space in my life for growth. If you're not growing, your dying. right!? It's not really about attaining some arbitrary goal, its about every day working towards being the best possible version of yourself - and this can apply to any and all arenas of your life handstands, your job, as a wife or mother.... </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1JkwYTGZVw0/VPiGP-HTw0I/AAAAAAAAK1c/YpOMp53AVpc/s1600/IMG_4306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1JkwYTGZVw0/VPiGP-HTw0I/AAAAAAAAK1c/YpOMp53AVpc/s1600/IMG_4306.JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The problem in life though is that sometimes it is really hard to see any progress - you do the same work every day, change is slow coming, and small victories get over shadowed by the grind of daily life. You take two steps forward and one step back and sometimes it feels like your just not getting ANYWHERE! Handstanding every day is like that too, but it is much easier over the course of a week or a month or even a year to see that I am getting better at handstands than it is to see that I'm becoming a better wife or sales person. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And documenting it gave me proof! Check out these videos, the first is from Day 8/365 and the second is from Day 311 - holy crap! What a difference a year makes! </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyFd7s_y856y9cizFgDe4dgaWO5evrz_wX8RyNxg3PV0BUTEdbauCjwe9H99h-2Lbh9n_4WFdjoWWSyYfuAXg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx7NXN9Wom5H0MEfZUebNKylTAihPHzb1K1VJxUAJWrxpP2a7RQizISYrwT614GOdoibTW2XZq740p-R-lSVA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I hope that I can use this experience as a reminder of the difference a year makes. If I am always working towards being my best self, I cannot help but grow - even if it is hard to see the progress myself.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(5) <b>Just Try It! You might surprise yourself!! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Check out my InstaGram post from day 170:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">" 170/365 #365handstands today was the first time I ever got this, but it was also the first time I ever tried. funny how I had convinced myself that I wasn't capable of it yet without even giving myself a chance... O the lies we tell ourselves! What artificial limitations have you put on yourself? In practice or in life... reminds me to check my expectations at the door and take a leap!!" </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Man is it easier to try new things on my yoga mat than it is in real life! On my mat it's ok to fail. If I fall down, I get back up and try again. Practice makes practice as they say. But in life it is so much harder. The stakes are higher and the possibility of failure is real. Yoga in general, and 365 days of handstands specifically, has taught me this over and over again throughout the past year: If you never try, you never know what you are truly capable of. I'm still working on pulling this lesson off my mat and into my life, but little by little it is making its way out into the real world.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So what will my next project be!? Honestly I have no idea. I took about a year off between my first Project 365 and 365 Handstands, so I'm not in a rush to pick something else today or tomorrow. However, I do know that today is day 64 of 365 handstands for 2015.... I might just keep this party going for a while. </span><br />
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<br />Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-2474671210190433622014-07-28T21:00:00.001-06:002014-07-28T21:02:00.289-06:00My New Project 365: 365 Handstands<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On February 28th, 2014 I began a little project to do a handstand every day for a year. I'm up to 152 days now, and I thought it was about time to write a blog about why I decided to embark on this little journey! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If you have floated around on this blog at all (or are lucky enough to get it emailed to you every time I post!) then you know that this is not my first 365 project. In 2012 I took a picture every day for an entire year (posting them all here) and it was an absolute blast, so for me this is kind of a new twist on an old favorite. That being said, here are the reasons I chose to pick up another 365 project and in particular, 365 handstands.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(1) <strong><u>Making Every Day Count:</u></strong> I think the great thing about having one small (fun) thing to do every day is that it really forces you to be mindful each and every day of not letting the time slip through your fingers. So often we rush through life from one day to the next - they string together, day in and day out we have routine and obligations. Mondays might be particularly icky and Fridays especially freeing, but it is so easy to let the days just float on by. Giving myself one fun thing that I do every single day helps me to capture the day just the tiniest bit for myself. It helps me to mark the passage of time in a positive way and to make sure that I don't let even one day fall through the cracks. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(2) <strong><u>A Moment of Freedom:</u></strong> For me, handstands are freedom. There is just something so fun about being on my hands, I can't get enough of it. As adults, we spend too much time being 'grown ups' and not enough time letting go. Standing on my feet or sitting on my butt are often associated with obligations: work, chores, finances... (and of course sometimes candy crush!) But being on my hands is always for me. I'm not doing anything for anyone else when I'm on my hands - I'm letting go and giving myself some play time, and I LOVE that 365 handstands has given me an excuse to play a little bit every single day. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(3)<strong><u> An Atmosphere of Growth:</u></strong> Handstands are not the end-all-be-all. As my yoga teachers often remind us, it's not going to get me into heaven, it's not going to help me help someone in need, beyond my mat it's really just a stupid human trick. But what makes it so fun and I think why it is such a great focus for so many yogis, is that it represents a challenge. A mountain to climb. According to the book "The Happiness Project" one of the biggest keys to happiness is to exist in an atmosphere of growth. Working on my handstands has been a super awesome and fun way to constantly be growing in a tangible way. When I started, I could comfortably kick up into a handstand leaning on the wall, and that was it. Only 8 days into my project I experienced my first 'hang time' without touching the wall! Now I can hold it for up to 5 seconds in the middle of a room. Today I did a tuck handstand for the first time ever and last week I did a straddle handstand for the first time ever, and it was exciting!! Working on handstands in particular (with so many variations and so many fun ways to get into and out of the pose) gives me opportunities on a weekly, sometimes daily basis, to rejoice in small victories. And don't we all need a little more rejoicing in our daily lives?! I can't wait to see where I'll be in another 150 days! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(4) <strong><u>Chronicling a Journey:</u></strong> Every day I do a handstand. Most days its just a couple of minutes after my regular yoga practice. Some days I spend 5 or 10 minutes working on it, lots of days I really have no time to work on it and I just pop up, snap a picture, and go about my business. The point is that I'm not dedicating my life to this handstand business, in any given week I'm dedicating about ~7 - 28 minutes total on my handstand. But that little amount has caused me to grow leaps and bounds in my practice in just 5 months. It is a constant reminder that in all areas in life I do not need to master anything NOW - nothing is mastered in a day. But small, consistent steps in the direction that I am going will add up to huge results in the long run. Doing a handstand every day has been a metaphor for showing me that discipline and consistency are the most important things I need to get anywhere in life. Not huge chunks of uninterrupted time (although those help sometimes too!) but really looking at where I want to go and making an effort to consistently take small steps in that direction will get me there. And what a great thing that is to teach yourself. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(5) <strong><u>An Artistic Outlet</u></strong>: Taking a picture a day of all of my handstands has given me a reason to look at the world around me again (just like with my first Project 365) looking for new and fun places to do my handstand, or new angles from which to take the picture, new photo editing apps on my phone, and new shapes with my body. It is just a really fun way to exercise the left side of my brain every day - even if it's only to create an InstaGram image!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So there you have it... the reasons I do a handstand every day. Perhaps posting pictures of myself every day on InstaGram is a little narcissistic and self indulgent... yes perhaps (but can't that argument be made for most social media activity in general!?). And perhaps I am perpetuating some glorification of handstands instead of the ideal that all asanas are created equal or perverting my practice by making it about outward appearance of the asanas instead of the inner journey they take us on... Yes an argument can be made for all of those things. But this is not my intent. I have no control over how other people will interpret my handstand photos, but isn't that just a fact of life. None of us have any control over how our actions or words will be interpreted. All we can do is be honest about what we put out there and stay true to ourselves. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">All I can say is that I am having a blast playing on my hands, and I intend to continue to do it for as long as I can!!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">If you want to follow my handstand journey, find me on InstaGram @razzelberry!!</span> </div>
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<br />Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-55625406727172858482014-03-25T09:51:00.002-06:002014-03-25T09:51:57.063-06:0040 Days to Personal Transformation: The Wrap Up<div style="color: #674ea7; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Ok Ok, I'm a little late on this one (a month late, but whose counting!), but now that I have some space from the challenge, I'm excited to report on my overall experience and the after effects:</div>
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First let me say that overall the experience was absolutely wonderful. I have made some really positive changes in my life, yoga has become a daily practice for me, and I am feeling better than ever. Here's a breakdown of where I've ended up in the various elements of the program:</div>
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(1) Diet: I made a couple pretty big changes in my diet over the 40 days that I have incorporated into my life. In general I strive to incorporate REAL food into my diet, working towards completely artificial sweeteners, anything that is labeled "low-fat" or "diet" or "light" and instead trying to buy more foods that aren't packaged and labeled at all (fruit and veggies). I'm not perfect but just shifting my focus towards trying to eat more real food is making a difference (I read<i> In Defense of Food</i> by Michael Pollan - which was a really wonderful compliment to the 40 Days dietary guidelines) </div>
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Some practical changes that I made during my 40 days:</div>
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<li>For the last 5 years I have had an egg sandwich (English muffin, over easy egg, slice of American cheese) basically EVERY SINGLE DAY for breakfast. Now I have a green shake for breakfast every morning. At first I thought this was a ridiculous idea - I equated a shake with either protein powders or ice cream - neither of which I really saw as positive moves in my diet. Baron's book focuses on incorporating whole foods into your diet, foods that look like they did when they came from the earth (fruites and veggies, unprocessed meats, etc) and so that is what I aimed to do. Typical ingredients in my daily shake: greens (spinach, kale, swiss chard, etc), an orange, an apple, pineapples or a banana, flax seeds, chia seeds, and coconut milk. I'll also throw in whatever else we have around berries (frozen or fresh), frozen peaches, sometimes an avodaco.... It keeps me full and satisfied just as long as my egg sandwich did but now I'm actually eating fruits and veggies every single day, which is something I had been trying and failing at for almost a year, so YAY!!</li>
<li>I eliminated sandwiches from my daily diet - I still love them and will eat them on occasion, but I don't buy lunch meat anymore and it is not part of my daily routine (although I am still working on the best way to replace them, so my lunches still need a little work). </li>
<li>I stopped snacking on dairy. I used to eat dairy basically all day long, cheese on my sandwich at breakfast, yogurt at lunch, string cheese for a snack... all of it is pretty much out these days. I haven't eliminated dairy all together, I still LOVE it, but I have drastically reduced my intake. (Although I did add cottage cheese into my diet - YUM!)</li>
<li>I cut back to one cup of coffee per day - although I have inched back up in the last couple of weeks, I'm rededicating myself to this change because when I drink coffee I'm not drinking water and I need more water in my life.</li>
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My diet isn't perfect, but it is much better than it was and I think these changes, made gradually over the 40 days, are here to stay. I still need to work on building myself back up with more diverse foods and that will be my next task this spring, but so far I am pretty happy with my progress.</div>
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(2) Meditation: After the 40 days was over, I really tried to continue to mediate on a daily basis. I cut down to 20 minutes a day for something manageable and then cut it down further to 10 minutes a day but essentially have quite altogether in the last couple of weeks. BUT I really really do find value in it, and I really do think it had a wonderful impact on my mental well being so this is an area that plan to revisit and recommit myself to. </div>
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(3) Journaling: I have started a gratitude journal that I have writen in every day for over a month now. It feels really good to be journaling again and I hope to expand my daily and weekly journal writing in the coming year. </div>
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(4) Yoga: WOW has my Yoga practice changed!??!?!?!</div>
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First of all, my physical practice has grown LEAPS and BOUNDS since the 40 Days began. I think the biggest change was a mental shift. I started my yoga practice as a form of exercise and as a compliment to the cross training that I was doing. As with most (all?) of the exercise that I do / did, I largely did it for external or goal-oriented reasons - Sure I run because it feels great (when I'm done), but mostly I run when I'm training for a race. I loved my cross training class at the YMCA, I loved the sense of community and I especially loved the trainer, Lamar, but what got me going in the first place and the ultimate reason I went was to get in shape - to lose or maintain weight, to be strong, to look good in my jeans.... Exercise has always been like that for me, I'd find something I generally enjoy, get into a nice routine, and then I'd do it because I know that this is something I need to do in life - for my health, for my longevity, for my energy... and so no matter what form the exercise takes and no matter how much I like it, deep down it is a requirement or obligation... But yoga is completely different for me. </div>
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Yoga is something that I do because I absolutely LOVE to do it - just for the sake of it. I want to do it every day, more than once a day, I come home from class and I want to play some more. I love the challenge of learning new poses, I love the reward of seeing my improvement in the poses, I love how each class pushes me mentally and physically, and I love that every yoga class feels like training for life - like with every class I go to I'm getting just a tiny bit closer to the best possible version of myself. </div>
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The physical manifestations of yoga - the cool new poses, hand stands and splits - are fun and challenging, but the real work in yoga is completely mental. Learning to stick with it and push through when you feel like you're at your edge, pushing yourself to try new things even when it seems scary, learning that it is OK to ask for help, because no one succeeds completely on their own and we can achieve far more together than we can all alone, disciplining yourself to do the work because there is no success, in any sense of the word without, perseverance and dedication.... practicing mindfulness, focus, compassion, non-judgement, and love. These are all things at come from a daily yoga practice - it is just icing on the cake that yoga has the added benefit of being a great workout and improving my stamina, strength, and flexibility. </div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So
yes I would have to say that Baron Baptiste's 40 Days to Personal
Revolution were truly revelatory for me, and this is just the beginning! </span></div>
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<i>(on to the next challenge... I recently started a new Project 365: 365 Days of Handstands - Today is 26/365)</i></div>
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<br />Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-83514613061066947992014-02-11T21:01:00.002-07:002014-02-11T21:01:33.330-07:0040 Days to Personal Revolution: Week 5 <span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Today is the last day of Week 5 of Baron Baptiste's 40 Days to Personal Revolution, and this week we focus on Centering. Being the end of week 5 means that there are only 5 days left of my Personal Revolution! I can't even believe it, part of me is excited to complete the challenge and a bigger part of me is sad that it's going to be over... it really have been transformative for me, and SO MUCH FUN! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My yoga practice has grown LEAPS and BOUNDS over the last month and not just in my physical practice. This past weekend I spent two whole days in a Yoga Immersion at The River learning about the 8 Limbs of Yoga and all of the mental / spiritual avenues through which to practice yoga, or to "live your yoga" and take the practice off of your mat. It turns out the physical "asana" practice is just a very small piece to this yummy yoga pie. It's some pretty neat stuff, and has made me realize that as my 40 days are ending, my yoga journey is just beginning. </span><br />
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<a href="http://lilablog.com/2012/07/31/patanjalis-8-limbs-of-yoga/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">source</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have to say week 5 has gone pretty well in most areas of the 'revolution' with the exception of meditation, which this week was supposed to be 25 minutes twice a day. Out of 7 days, I only managed to meditate 6 times and of those 6 times, only 4 of them were for 25 minutes... bad Rachel! I am going to rededicate myself to finishing up the last week strong w/ 30 minutes twice a day... I'm REALLY going to try (but my brother is coming into town on Friday for a ski weekend... so no promises...) BUT I am definitely going to continue daily meditation after the 40 days are over (definitely only once per day, because meditating in the evenings is just impossible for me, and probably starting w/ only 10-20 minutes a day) BUT even though this was my 'worst' week for meditation, it was also the week that the meditation component really clicked for me. I notice it creeping into my everyday life and I really think it has been a wonderful training for my mind - helping me to be more present in my everyday life AND helping me to recognize when my mind is getting carried away with itself and redirect my thoughts to the present moment. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This week the theme was centering and we focused on Baron Baptiste's Laws of Transformation #9 and #10... some more good stuff!!<br /><br /><strong>Law 9: Don't Rush the Process</strong> - This law really reminds us that everything in life is a process and we can't skip the work and expect to see the results, any results. It is a great thing to be reminded of at any point in life and in any aspect in life, because no matter where you are or what you are doing, you've just got to put the work in in order to get anywhere in life. As Baron says, </span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">The principle of process is a law that our culture is constantly attempting to defy. It is a law that cannot be broken, however, so we end up braking ourselves against it instead. For many of us it's easy to accept this law when we see it in nature, but personally we want to cheat it. We want the quick fix... <strong>We cannot rush the process and still expect to be really successful at anything.</strong></span></span></em></blockquote>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I love that. I need that reminder and I need it often! Baron quotes one of his students as saying, "I learned that I had to be willing to show up and suck until I could show up and shine." and that is what it is really all about. I've learned that a lot in yoga this last month. I try and try and try these poses and they just suck and suck until one day, I just get it! And it's wonderful! But if I had never tried and if I had never been willing to "suck" at it, I would never have been able to shine... and just like that, another lesson moves from the mat to real life, because when in life can you ever get good at something without first making mistakes? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Law 10: Be True To Yourself</strong> - As Baron describes this law he says, "Being true to yourself means looking within to discover what you know in your heart to be right and then acting on it. It does not mean following every last whim or urge you might have; that is just selfishness in disguise." </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">During this week, one of my yoga teachers shared this little cartoon on Facebook:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I'm not going vegan, but it's is funny because I ran into this a little bit when I went on my fruit fast (which was only four days!). Just as this cartoon depicts, in this law Baron is reminding us that following our inner compass probably will involve going against the grain, in some way, and that we should be prepared for that. It is important to be committed to our own intuition, find our way on our own in this life, and be willing to accept the disruption to our own status quo... because "<em>the genuine transformational experience is by its nature disruptive of the existing state of affairs</em>." </span><br />
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<em><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(this is literally a split second cut from a video of my first attempt at this pose... this is DEFINITELY one of my biggest works in progress, but I'll get it one day!)</span></em></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I think the biggest lesson of this week, and the one that I will have to probably work on for the rest of my life, and will likely never perfect, is maintaining grounding and presence. And not just being present when I'm with my friends and family or really enjoying the moment when I'm out doing something fun... but being present in the minutia of every day life - do I really remember what i said to the grocery store clerk? Am I really present when I'm driving to and from my yoga studio (a drive which I could do blindfolded), or am I getting caught up in my stories and lists that run through my head. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This is where it is really starting to come together (as I mentioned earlier) that meditation is not just a practice that is separate from my 'real' life, meditation is a practice FOR my 'real' life. Baron encourages us to 'Make everything you do a practice of meditative awareness." What a challenge that is, but really it is a chance to reclaim your life from your self, to really be here and not be lost in thought, "in your own world" and missing what is actually right in front of you. How much have I missed already!? </span></div>
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<em><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">still workin' on it!</span></em></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Tomorrow starts my last week! It's almost over!!!</span></div>
Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-53061200020406646402014-02-06T20:53:00.002-07:002014-02-06T20:53:22.485-07:0040 Days to Personal Revolution: Three-Day Fruit Fast <span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Here I am, just finishing up my final day of the three-day fruit fast that is 'prescribed' in Week 4 of Baron Baptiste's 40 Days to Personal Revolution... so how do I feel on the evening of my last day? Pretty good, I have to say! - but definitely ready for a cup of coffee and some thing crunchy tomorrow! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">According to the Mayo Clinic a fruit includes avocado, beans, peapods, corn kernels, cucumbers, grains, nuts, olives peppers, pumpkin, squash, sunflower seeds and tomatoes. Vegetables include celery (stem), lettuce (leaves), cauliflower and broccoli (buds), and beets, carrots and potatoes (roots). </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I decided to stick to a pretty narrow definition of fruit (berries, bananas, oranges, apples, etc.) and also tomatoes and avocados, and I have to say... it wasn't even close to being as hard as I thought it would be. I know that there were others in my group that did struggle with it, and a lot of others who included things like squash and nuts, but I found the strict fruit fast surprisingly easy. Although February is not the best month to attempt a fruit cleanse, I was able to stock up on some berries and a fresh pineapple yesterday to give myself some more variety and that got me through to the end. My one mistake was that I didn't properly shop prior to starting, so the first two days were VERY repetitive (I'm SICK of APPLES!).</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Technically the fruit fast is supposed to be three days, but yesterday (on my third day) I randomly ended up at a customer's site without a car (silly of me) and had to go to lunch with my customers to pass the time until my ride was ready to leave. We were in Meade, Colorado, a TINY town north of Denver with not much going on and not many options, so they took me to the local BBQ joint.... not the best place to be if your on a fruit fast - they didn't even have fruit on the menu! There was really no socially acceptable way for me to get out of lunch w/out eating, so I ordered a chicken salad and promised myself I wouldn't beat myself up over it... life happens and you have to roll with the punches sometimes. But I was disappointed because I knew I <em>could</em> have done it and I really wanted to do it, so later that day I decided that to make up for it by extending my fruit fast one more day - hence a 4-day fruit fast. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The hardest part of the four days was last night, because it was Nick's birthday. Dan invited us over for dinner with Aimee and Kevin. There was pasta w/ sausage, bread (that looked amazing), Caesar salad, chicken wings, AND birthday cake.... I wanted to eat it so bad!!! But I'm proud of myself that I held strong and didn't cave to the temptation (but there is a piece of bday cake in the fridge for me that I will eat tomorrow!!)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So what did my day look like on the fruit cleanse? For breakfast every day I had a fruit shake - fruit only, with either some coconut milk or pineapple juice. Lunch was a fruit salad (except when it was a chicken salad!) and for dinner I had roasted tomatoes and avocado every night. (yes as I said... my fast was a little redundant). then there was snacking throughout the day on whatever I grabbed first. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So now that it's just about over, what are my take-aways form the fast</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">First: What I learned</span><br />
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<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> I was REALLY surprised that I wasn't famished all day long and I was REALLY surprised by how easy the fast was for me. (ok it's not really a fast, because you can eat as much as you want but it just has to be fruit) but yeah it was great to do something so easily that I thought was going to be really hard. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Yoga was also not as difficult as I thought it would be on the fast. On the second day I even did YogaCross (45 minutes of cross training + 45 minutes of yoga) and felt absolutely great! Today, though, I was definitely feeling fatigued in class and had to take it easy in a couple of poses, but all in all it went pretty well. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I was surprised by how little I actually needed to eat to feel satiated. Of course I was eating lots of small portions throughout the day, but it gave me the sense that I probably over eat quite a bit without realizing it - in the very least it gave me a better awareness of my eating patterns and how I might make small changes to improve my general diet.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The most important thing I learned was that I really love fruit, it is easy to eat, and I should always be snacking on fruit and eating fruit salads, it is wonderful! Last fall I was almost never eating fruit, so I started to track it in an attempt to eat more... in October I ate fruit only 50% of the days... in January, I ate fruit 26 / 31 days - and in February right now I'm 6/6.... pretty good improvement if I do say so myself! </span></li>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I would buy more varieties of fruit and not be so lazy with my dinner choices - tomatoes and avocado are great, but 4 nights in a row? That is just lazy! I probably would have benefited from diversifying my diet a bit, but for a first ever cleanse, I'm not going to beat myself up over it. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And that's about it. I am super excited to have finished my first ever cleanse. I also combined the fruit fast with a 7-day cleanse from Arbonne where you basically just drink their cleanse drink every day for 7 days. It didn't cause any cramping or bathroom problems (like I had feared) and was probably the easiest cleanse I've ever heard of, so that was pretty great too. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> I'm not sure how detoxified my body <em>really</em> is after all of this cleansing, I don't know if you're supposed to feel different or anything, i feel about the same (but i did lose a couple of pounds!) but it did feel pretty good to spend a week being super diligent about what I ate (except on super bowl Sunday when I was washing down my Doritos with my Arbonne cleanse!). Now that it's over though, I'm ready for some solid food tomorrow!!</span></div>
Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-69252813252705123162014-02-04T09:14:00.001-07:002014-02-04T09:14:12.812-07:0040 Days to Personal Revolution: Laws of Transformation for Weeks 3-4 <span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am almost through with week 4 and I have to say, things are going pretty well. I'm feeling amazing and absolutely LOVING going to yoga everyday. Today is the first day of my 3-day fruit cleanse (or "fruit feast") where I cleanse my body by eating only fruit (avocados and tomatoes count!) for three days. At the end of day one I feel wonderful, so far so good! Today after class I was feeling so good that I spent some time practicing at home afterwards... and snapping some selfies!! haha </span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>Still a work in progress...</em> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So as I've mentioned before, every week of our ~6 week 40 Day Personal Revolution, we focus on 2 of Baron Baptiste's 12 Laws of Transformation (which are all in his book<em> 40 Days to Personal Revolution</em>). Week three focused on Laws 5 and 6:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Law 5: Shift Your Vision:</strong> I love this one because my yoga studio has been encouraging us to #shiftyourperspective in 2014 - because "if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change" and this is exactly what this law is all about. One of the great pieces of wisdom in this law is <em>"In life we run into obstacles that upon first glance look like the fault of others, but a closer examination will often show that the obstacles can be a mirror of our own hidden barriers."</em> Baron challenges us to focus our attention, intention, and faith in positive directions because "<em>whatever you focus on, you fortify</em>." And isn't that the truth!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My first #shiftyourperspective Instragram picture </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Law 6: Drop What You Know:</strong> This law is essentially instructing us to stop thinking and start being. "<em>It means noticing your doubts and then letting them go, endlessly releasing the thoughts and internal stories that reinforce your mental status quo." </em>Because, "<em>We don't change by thinking, we change by being and doing with pure intent." </em>Baron encourages us to stay in the present moment, because "<em>the present moment has the opportunity for a rebirth</em>" - every breath is blessing and new opportunity to start fresh. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">At first I thought, this law is especially pertinent for yoga because it is so important to be present on your mat, or you will miss the entire class. But then doesn't that just bring yoga right back to life... because if you are not present in life, you will miss that just as easily. My yoga teacher told me last week that as we began our class in child's pose and ended in corpse pose, our time on the mat was (and always is) a metaphor for life. How we choose to react to struggle, fatigue, challenge, and even boredom on the mat directly translates to how we react to those things in life. Our mats are a mirror into ourselves and we can use our time on the mat to practice (and indeed yoga is a practice) how want to live our lives, and it begins with dropping what we know and being fully present in every posture and then in every moment in life... As Baron says in Law 6, <em>" lightening lasts only for a moment and ...we must be fully present and open in order to see what it illuminates."</em></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Week 4 of our 40 Days to Personal Revolution was focused on Restoration, and went along with laws 7 & 8. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Law 7: Relax With What Is:</strong> This law encourages us to "<em>relax in the face of stress</em>." This again is an area that we can REALLY practice on the mat how we want to react to stressful situations in "real life." It is a constant part of any yoga practice to relax into intense and often times uncomfortable stretches, but we do it because, as Baron says in Law 7, "<em>Good pain... is the threshold to a new body, a new psychology, and a new spirit. As uncomfortable as it is, it usually holds lessons and can give new direction if we stay open and relax with the discomfort just as it is</em>." In life, there is great value in being a person who can relax in the face of stress - at the office, in the hectic day-to-day, in situations of danger or uncertainty - because that is when you need to be most clear of mind in order to find your way out. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><strong>Law 8: Remove the Rocks:</strong> "<em>The block of granite which was an obstacle in the path of the weak becomes a stepping stone in the path of the strong</em>," Thomas Carlyle (by way of Baron Baptiste). This is a beautiful law, and something that I should come back to again and again, because in this law Baron reminds us that, "<em>Transformation comes not by adding things on, but by removing what didn't belong in the first place.... We forget that there is something perfect already within us..."</em> Here are some more of his words (I especially love the first line!):</span></span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>The greatest power we have over ourselves is our ability to change our minds about ourselves...</strong> There is tremendous power in just knowing what is going on within us, not so that we can "work on stuff," but so that we can begin to release it...It is so important for us to get that we don't have to solve any of our problems. If we can soften our heart, give up some of our old ways of being, and reconnect to the truth, our problems will give us up. - Baron Baptiste, 40 Days to Personal Revolution, Law 8.</span></em></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So yeah... these are the things that I have been trying to focus on for the last two weeks... some really great stuff, even if you aren't in to yoga (I think!). I think everyone can benefit from some more mindfulness and presence in life and working through this book, practicing yoga, and meditating every day has definitely brought more mindfulness and presence into my life in the last 4 weeks. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I have to say I didn't really have any expectations when I started this little program, but I am really happy that I did - it has been a great means by which to center myself and focus renewed energy on becoming the best possible version of myself. AND it's an excuse to go to yoga every single day... what more could a girl ask for!? :-)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am really thankful that this 40 Days is right at the beginning of the year and also at the beginning of a new decade in my life. First because I am not traveling so much for work right now, so I have the opportunity to really spend the time diving into it all, but second, because I can't think of a better way to start of my 30's! I am excited about the last two weeks and even more excited to take what I've learned in these 40 days with me throughout the year and beyond. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And now I leave you with a some new videos of some things I've been working on in my yoga practice in the last couple of weeks...</span><br />
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Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-19034720860230776772014-01-31T09:26:00.002-07:002014-01-31T09:26:08.775-07:0040 Days of Personal Revolution: Week 4<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">wait a second! I missed week 3!? Actually I did not miss week three (which focused on equanimity - "the art of meeting life calmly, without drama or fuss"), but boy was it BUSY!! Days one and two were on par with the rest of my 40 days, but starting on Friday, I was in the mountains with 14 of my closest friends skiing for three days to celebrate my 30th birthday!!! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We had three ABSOLUTELY gorgeous days on the mountain (one day at Beaver Creek and two at Vail) and it was the best 30th Birthday I could have ever asked for!!!</span><br />
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<em><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> 5 girls in a tub for two hours...?? yes it was as amazing as it sounds!</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"> <em>me and my best bunny!</em></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><em>(my amazing home made birthday card from Ashley!!)</em></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After a full day of skiing on Sunday, I finally made it home at 8pm only to leave town on Monday morning for a 4-day trip to Boston - definitely was not excited about the trip, but I gots to pay those bills! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have to admit, it was really tough to keep up with the program with almost an entire a week away from home, but I just promised myself that I would do the best I could and not punish myself for not being perfect... and I think it went pretty well. I did manage to get yoga and meditation in on Friday (although I skipped Saturday and Sunday) and then I did all of my yoga and almost all of my meditation in Boston (including two airplane meditation sessions, one visit to a local yoga studio and a couple hotel yoga sessions)</span><br />
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<em><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(hotel yoga is not very glamorous or inspiring, but sometimes it's' the best you can do!)</span></em></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now that I'm back, it is time to start week 4, where the focus is on Restoration... which is EXACTLY what I need after a totally crazy week 3, so I'm super excited about how it has worked out. This week includes a three-day fruit cleanse (which I will do on the last three days of the week, sparing myself from the futile task of trying to eat only fruit on Super Bowl Sunday!) </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In week four, Baron asks us to "stay in the moment and relax in all of your activities" I have no doubt that all of this relaxing is going to take some work! A lot of mindfulness, patience with myself, and practice, but it is definitely something I need and so I'm happy to have this week as a means to focus on this part of my life. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">2013 was an absolutely INSANE year for me, I traveled 130 days, which is just crazy, and even though a lot of those trips were personal ones and were SUPER fun and amazing, it still made for a very hectic life. At the beginning of 2014 I made somewhat of a resolution to clam down this year, reduce the number of obligations in my life (even those that are personal and fun like dinner parties and trips to the mountains) and just in general slow down a bit. But now here we are one month into the new year and already I have something planned for every weekend through to March! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So Week 4 of my 40 Days to Personal Revolution is a great time to REALLY focus on sitting still in life, relaxing in the everyday, reducing the number of things on my plate, and as Baron says, to "learn to pace myself, to learn when to retreat and escape from the daily grind and take some time to clear my head, rest my body, and restore my soul." And so that is what I plan to do this week!</span> <br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I'll be back again blogging soon, because there are a lot of great things in the laws of transformation for this week and last week that I want to share with you, but for now, it's back to work for me! Till next time, Namaste!</span> <br />
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<em><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Check out this awesome "Magic Carpet Yoga Mat" my mom got me for my birthday! It is totes cray!!! <span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">:-)</span></span></em><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Thanks Momma!!!</span></div>
Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-75421956766062830662014-01-20T17:07:00.001-07:002014-01-20T17:09:31.979-07:0040 Days to Personal Revolution: When the going gets tough, the tough get going!<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Now that I am 13 days in to my 40-day program, I can see why we are working on Laws 3&4 in week two... because things are getting a little bit uncomfortable and this thing definitely takes commitment! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As I've gone through the week, I've tried to keep in mind this paragraph from Law 4: Commit to Growth</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><em>Are you experiencing cravings? instead of reaching out, just stay with them. Is anxiety rising? Stay. Are fear and anger out of control? Stay. Are your muscles quaking, are you running out of steam? Stay anyway. Are your hips screaming in pigeon pose? okay, but stay. We are the only ones who know and hear our internal dialogues, and we are the only ones who can make the choice to stay and unfold. <strong>Almost always, there is a breakthrough waiting for you right over the horizon</strong></em><strong>.</strong> </span></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So how am I doing? Well, the program essentially has four components:</span><br />
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<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Journaling (through weekly "excavation questions")</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Twice daily meditation practice</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Daily yoga</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Diet changes</span></li>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I've got the journaling thing down, but that only needs to be done once per week (or maybe a couple times, if you don't do it all in one sitting). Here is a look at how I'm faring with the rest of it (which require attention every single day!):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Yoga</strong>: So far I am doing great with my yoga attendance. I did 8 yoga classes in the first week (taking one day completely off and doubling up twice). BUT just a day or two into the second week I was feeling absolutely exhausted. I decided not to double up at all this week and again completely took Sunday off. My wrists were hurting earlier in the week (probably because I wasn't using proper form all of the time, but also because I spent a lot of time working on my hand stands) and in general I was feeling pretty exhausted. I took yesterday off and am feeling much better today, so I'm ready to get back to class tonight, but I must admit that I was surprised that even for myself (someone who already was working out 5-7 days/week often times with much more vigorous activity than yoga), daily yoga is definitely a challenge! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Meditation</strong>: Woof... this is also a challenge. Working from home certainly helps, I'm rarely running late in the morning, so my first daily session is not much of a struggle for me. I basically get out of bed, use the washroom, and immediately do my meditation. The evening.. that is another story. I'm tired, maybe cranky, I'd rather hang out with Nick, or maybe I just want to watch a new episode of Grey's Anatomy.... there could be 1,000 excuses not to meditate on any given night, but that is really all they are: excuses. So far Wed / Thurs / Friday I did get in two sessions of meditation, Saturday I did just one, Sunday I didn't do any!!! (GASP!) and today I'm back on track... so we'll see how it all goes, but this one is a bit of a chore for me. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As far as the duration, last week we did 5 minute sessions and that was absolutely a piece of cake. This week is 10 minutes and I'm meeting it with mixed feelings. I spend a good chunk of time acknowledging that my mind has wandered and bringing it back to the present moment... and then finding that my mind has wandered again, and bringing it back... and again and again. It is certainly a practice and I am definitely a novice... but it is a work in progress. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Diet</strong>: This week the goals for the diet are to incorporate more whole foods into your diet. The goal is for what you eat to look as close as possible to what it looked like when it came from it's source: whole fruits and veggies, whole grains, unprocessed lean cuts of meat.... The first day I was a little overwhelmed thinking about all the places I could / should change what I eat, but thankfully Katy talked me down on Wednesday night and suggested to the group that we simply commit to making one or two substitutions in our diet for the week, like substituting cheese for a piece of whole fruit.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Her advice reminded me of what it said in the book: to listen to your body and slowly make small sustainable changes - change begets change and I need to be careful not to over do it and then sabotage the whole thing for myself... so this week I focused just on two things: reducing the amount of processed cereal grains I eat (mainly bread but also cereal which I like to eat on the weekends), and reducing the amount of processed dairy (yogurt and cheese) that I eat. There is definitely room for improvement in my diet, but I must admit that I have eaten a TON more fruits and veggies this week than last week, so I think so far this is a success.... (except for yesterday when I ate pizza for lunch and chicken wings and a sampler of fried appetizers for dinner!)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">All in all things are going well, it has been a challenge, but one that I think is really good and productive for me. I absolutely love my yoga studio and I love to go there every day and see all the other transformers in the studio, so that definitely helps me to stay on track. Now that I'm into this, I also see why it is important to go to the little meetings we have on Wednesday evenings, because this is a lot of work and the camaraderie that comes with doing it in a group is definitely a motivator. </span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Starting Friday I will be on the road (first on a birthday ski trip and then to Boston for work) for almost an entire week, so things are about to get tricky, but so far I'm pretty happy with how well I've stuck to the program and I'm ready to head to my next yoga class.. which starts in 25 minutes! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"></span><br />Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-47215412440867057052014-01-15T09:33:00.000-07:002014-01-15T09:33:03.189-07:0040 Days to Personal Revolution: Week 2 Begins<div style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Whoop Whoop, here comes week two in my <b>40 Days to Personal Revolution</b> journey! </div>
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Week one was wonderful, I even got my first ever solo scorpion pose (albeit with a little help from the wall!) </div>
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I am super excited about Week Two (with the theme Vitality) and this morning I completed my first 10-minute meditation and am happy to report that it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. </div>
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One of the things that has me most excited about week two is that I was really inspired by this week's "Laws of Transformation" and I want to share some of it with you. </div>
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The first is <b>Law 3: Step out of Your Comfort Zone</b>, let me share some of Baron's words with you:</div>
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<i>The comfort zone may feel cozy and familiar, but it is like a sweet poison, silently killing off our childlike spontaneity and our vitality. When we choose our comfort zone over growth we get stuck or worse, because ultimately we are either awakening and growing or numbing out and spiraling downward. Life is never static - we either grow or we die.</i></div>
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<i>If we don't step out of the known - the comfort zone - we bring yesterday's limited thinking into the present, therefore dooming the present to be just like the past. We will keep repeating and doing the same things again and again, getting the same results, and then complain, "Nothing ever changes in my life." .... We seek proof of why we can't change, and all kinds of reasons why we won't let go of our dramas, stresses, resentments, fears, or self-destructive ways of being. </i></div>
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That is some great stuff! But still, it can leave you thinking 'yeah that is great, I should break out of my comfort zone, but what does that really mean, how do I go about doing that.... easier said than done Baron!"</div>
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But thankfully the chapter doesn't end there, he goes on to explain that "stepping out of our comfort zone has more to do with the simplicity of forgiveness and self-honesty than it does with a grandiose breaking out of some box." It's not about dropping everything and traveling the world, or putting yourself into uncomfortable situations, it's about being honest with yourself about where you are comfortable, how have you cornered yourself into comfortable patterns in life that aren't serving your best interests and then acknowledging those patterns, and letting go of them (like a security blanket) to make room for a better future for ourselves. He says, "We veer away from taking that journey inward and therefore out of our comfort zone, not realizing that <i>the way out is in</i>."</div>
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<b>Law 4: Commit to Growth </b>was a great follow up, because let's face it... change is hard. It is a constant struggle to stay out of your comfort zone and commit to long term change, and once you've incorporated one small change in your life, and gotten comfortable again, to make another change and commit to that. </div>
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So Law 4 encourages us to focus on making the decision to grow (to step out of our comfort zone) and then to remain steadfast with ourselves, our commitments, and our personal revolutions.</div>
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<i>Never making a decision is a decision unto itself. If is a decision to stay in a personal fog. Staying in the confusion is safe, because in the fog, we never have to face the mundane that comes with committing to a path. Everyone tries to avoid the mundane path, but that is the path that makes us grow.</i></blockquote>
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<i>When we practice yoga and meditation, when we practice staying clear and conscious around food, or when we stay conscious of our reactions in all our relationships, we are strengthening our ability to be steadfast with ourselves. We are in discipleship. The word disciple comes from the same root as discipline. to be a disciple of your revolutions means to be committed fully to doing the right thing, learning the lessons, and being open to the whole range of experiences that arise along the path. </i> </blockquote>
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And he encourages us to stick with it when things get hard - because "almost always there is a breakthrough waiting for you right over the horizon." </div>
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As you can see, I'm starting Week Two of my Personal Revolution off with a bang - really excited to try and focus my energy for the next 7 days on stepping out of my comfort zone and committing to growth. </div>
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And so, as I begin my second week, I will leave you with an inspirational video I found on a <a href="http://thenoviceyogi.wordpress.com/category/40-days/" target="_blank">fellow yogi's blog</a>.... Yoga Rocks!!</div>
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<br />Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-4347465489680554662014-01-13T09:19:00.001-07:002014-01-13T09:19:54.906-07:0040 Days to Personal Revolution: Week 1 Wrap Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tomorrow is my last day of week 1, so I thought it would be a good time to check back and see how week 1 of my 40-day Personal Revolution has been coming along. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mOaQQmKOHIg/UtQMbl3k_JI/AAAAAAAAKFA/nFlMRj6_D5I/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mOaQQmKOHIg/UtQMbl3k_JI/AAAAAAAAKFA/nFlMRj6_D5I/s1600/photo+3.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>this is the wall outside <a href="http://www.weseektheriver.com/" target="_blank">my yoga studio</a>, it says "you are beautiful"</i></div>
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Amazingly I have actually done everything I was supposed to do, including meditating twice a day for 5 minutes each. </div>
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So far the meditating is going pretty well, it is not difficult at all for me to do it in the morning, a little more difficult to find time away to do it in the evening (I prefer to do it when no one else is in the apartment, so it's hard for me to motivate myself and to focus when Nick is home), but 5 minutes is really a cake-walk when it comes to meditating. However, I can tell that this is really going to be the biggest challenge for me moving forward. Next week is 10 minutes twice a day and the program builds to 30 minutes twice a day by the end... woof! That is a big time commitment - and I would be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated by it!</div>
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I think the thing that will help the most will be finding good guided meditation tracks because staying present, with a clear mind for 5 minutes is definitely doable - but I really don't know how I'll be able to handle 30... I guess that is why the program takes it's time building up from 5, so I am going to really try to stick with it and see if this meditation thing is all it's cracked up to be. </div>
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As I mentioned in my last post, the theme of this week was presence, and I did work really hard to try and be more present in my daily life this week. The biggest thing for me was to make a conscious decision to keep my phone tucked away instead of out in front of me all the time - because I think my phone and iPad are really the biggest hurdles I have to being present most of the time. Another thing I focused on was trying to really be present during life's most mundane points, which is when I tend to check-out the most: running errands (for example, standing in line at the post office - try to be present AND not be annoyed... now that is a challenge for any zen master), sitting on my couch with Nick, trudging through emails at work... really trying not to let any moment slip by unnoticed. It's definitely a challenge and I certainly didn't succeed in every moment in the last week, but I think even a small change in perspective and presence is a success. I expect that being present all the time is a life-long challenge that I don't think anyone can accomplish in just 7 days. </div>
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Whether it was just the excitement of the first 5 days, the meditation, the food diary we are all supposed to keep, or simply the active practice of being present, I definitely notice that I am already making better food choices and being much more mindful of what I am putting into my body. I didn't make any big changes this week, but I am gearing up for the second week which focuses on incorporating more whole foods into my diet and avoiding processed foods. </div>
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<i>One of my "green monster" smoothies I've been drinking: spinach, an orange, and apple, pineapple, coconut milk, arbonne fiber boost, arbonne digestion plus w/ probiotics, flax seeds, and chia seeds.. YUM! </i></div>
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Of course, my favorite part of the whole thing is all the yoga I get to do. I took a day off on Saturday (since we are supposed to be giving ourselves one day off per week), but have still done 6 yoga classes in 5 days - I doubled up on Wednesday and Sunday. I would pretty much spend all day doing Yoga if I could, I love it so much! Typically I ride my bike to Yoga, but it's been cold and snowy, so I've been using Denver's Car2Go to bop around the city and it is so fun and easy to use, I love it (PLUS look how freakin' cute the thing is!)</div>
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Anyway, I think week one was a success - I am still super excited about everything and am pretty proud of myself for sticking to it for 5 whole days! haha. Hopefully our weekly meetings and this blog will help me to stay committed for the next 35 - I have a feeling as time goes on it will become more and more challenging to stick to it. </div>
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That's all for now, see you soon and Namaste! :-) </div>
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<br />Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-21496865805952864842014-01-08T10:29:00.003-07:002014-01-08T10:57:41.868-07:0040 Days to Personal Revolution: Here I Go! (Day 1)<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I'm back again after a (too) long break from blogging, but I am super excited about the beginning of 2014 (I'm about to turn the big 3-0!!!) and to share with you my "40 Day Personal Revolution." As many of you know, I started doing yoga a couple of years ago and have been ramping up my practice ever since. In 2013 I really picked up the pace and have been practicing regularly 2-4 times a week (occasionally 5 or 6 days in a week) for over a year now. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Remember this pic of the day from April 2012? I have to say my form is much improved these days!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and this one from November 2012?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Back in September, one of my favorite Yoga teachers, Katy Rowe, introduced me to </span><a href="http://www.weseektheriver.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The River</span></a><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Yoga studio and I have absolutely fallen in love with the space, so when the New Year came around and they had a '40 Days to Personal Revolution' workshop I knew right away I was going to sign up. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The program goes through Baron Baptiste's book "40 Days to Personal Revolution: A Breakthrough Program to Radically Change Your Body and Awaken the Sacred Within Your Soul." </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FUwjXH08Xek/Us2FIzjkbLI/AAAAAAAAKEU/BtofAagmof4/s1600/40+days.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FUwjXH08Xek/Us2FIzjkbLI/AAAAAAAAKEU/BtofAagmof4/s1600/40+days.JPG" height="320" width="253" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(from</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Days-Personal-Revolution-Baron-Baptiste/dp/0743227832#reader_0743227832" target="_blank"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> amazon.com</span></a><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We will meet every Wednesday evening with Katy Rowe (who is leading the workshop) to go through the book, the intentions / goals for each week, and discuss the program. Tonight is our first meeting, but I've already started reading the book and I am so excited about it that I couldn't even wait until the meeting was over to get started writing about it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>The theme for this week is presence</strong> - which I think is a WONDERFUL way to start the program. Particularly with our digital lives these days, I think that all of us could do with a little more presence in our daily routine (speaking of which, I saw this video today and I think it completely fits in with this week's theme)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/OINa46HeWg8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">(for some reason this video isn't showing in all browsers, here is a link: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINa46HeWg8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINa46HeWg8</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The book has twelve laws of transformation (you focus on two each week) and this week our two laws to focus on are: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Law #1</strong> <strong>Seek the truth</strong> - mainly seeking the truth about yourself and accepting that truth just as it is</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><strong>Law #2</strong> <strong>Be willing to come apart</strong> - this is about being willing to give up control (or the illusion of control) that we try to maintain over everything in our lives. Stop trying to fight through life forcing everything and everyone to conform to your own idea of how things should be and just letting go. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">On top of that, I will be committing to yoga 6 days / week for the entire program, plus meditation twice / day, and reevaluating and transforming my diet. It is going to be a lot of work. </span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I already have plans to go to yoga this evening at The River, and this morning I did my first 5 minute meditation session, which I guess was relatively successful. I think the meditation is something where I might just have to show up, trust the process, and see where it takes me. I have never really meditated before so this is something completely new to me, but I am really going to try to follow through for 40 days without judging it and I will decide at the end whether or not meditation is something I want to continue. </span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Finally the last component of the program is to transform your diet. I actually started working n my diet a couple of months ago, changing things little by little - removing hormone-laden dairy, eating more organic and non-GMO food, etc. and so I'm really excited for the challenge and inspiration to take it another step further. On the flip side, I'm under no illusion that this is going to be easy and I'm more than a little apprehensive about the whole thing. I feel like I have a generally healthy diet (for the most part) and it just takes so much darn work to think about what I'm eating instead of just mindlessly eating the same thing every day (like my egg sandwich for breakfast EVERY DAY)... so I'm facing this portion of the program with both excitement and apprehension.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The nice thing is that the book really isn't giving you a specific diet. Instead he is encouraging you to be mindful of what you eat, listen to your body, and make small changes that are intuitive for yourself, so that is going to be my goal. Thankfully the diet portion for the first week is really more focused on mindfulness - noticing what your current eating patterns are - than about change (although we are of course encouraged to start making some small changes to balance out our diet)... so that should (hopefully) help me to ease into the whole thing. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ok well I guess that is all for now, I'm so excited about tonight but I need to be present in the now (and get to work)! I will leave you with another video that I found today... very fitting.</span> <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/L-8IPDR4Khc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(again here is the video link if you can't see it in your browser: </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-8IPDR4Khc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-8IPDR4Khc</a>)</div>
<br />Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-42225288235745812202013-08-06T20:25:00.000-06:002013-08-22T19:57:05.236-06:00Whole Foods Black Bean and Quinoa Salad<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">well... I'll be the first to agree it's been a LOOOONNNGG time since I've blogged. The summer was crazy and after all of that blogging and crafting for the wedding, I've been taking the last 5 months off - just enjoying married life and traveling all over the country w/ my fresh new husband!! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">here's us on our honeymoon in Costa Rica</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">With my wedding finally over and my marriage beginning, I've returned to my first love on Pinterest, cooking! In the last year I have become obsessed with Whole Foods Black Bean and Quinoa Salad available at their deli counter. It is absolutely AMAZING, but the problem is (1) it's kinda expensive and (2) they don't always have it since they rotate different things through their selection all the time. SO, I took it upon myself to finally get my act together and try to make some myself this afternoon and... it turned out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself!!</span> </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WQbLwO79jdY/UgGvrgEPa5I/AAAAAAAAJ0I/cZVD6sRk3mg/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WQbLwO79jdY/UgGvrgEPa5I/AAAAAAAAJ0I/cZVD6sRk3mg/s640/photo.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I googled recipes for imitation Whole Foods Black Bean and Quinoa Salad first (cuz I'm lazy) but I couldn't find anything that really looked like it would be exactly what I was looking for, so instead, I stole from two pretty close recipes, mixed them together and voila, I think I nailed it! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My two sources were Turn It On Cook on Tumblr: </span><a href="http://turnitoncook.tumblr.com/post/515743921/whole-foods-black-bean-quinoa-salad-i-love-the"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">http://turnitoncook.tumblr.com/post/515743921/whole-foods-black-bean-quinoa-salad-i-love-the</span></a><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> and Epicurious.com </span><a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Quinoa-and-Black-Bean-Salad-12245"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Quinoa-and-Black-Bean-Salad-12245</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> And now I present to you my version of Whole Foods Black Bean and Quinoa Salad - I think it's really the best of both worlds!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3 cups water </span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 1/2 cup quinoa</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 can of black beans (rinsed)</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1/2 large red bell pepper</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">3 sprigs of green onions</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 can of corn (rinsed)</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">1 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">several sprigs of cilantro (I didn't keep track)</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Salt and Pepper to taste</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For dressing</span></strong></div>
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</span>
<li class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">5 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
</span></span>
<li class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">1 teaspoon salt
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<li class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin, or to taste
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<li class="ingredient"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">1/3 cup olive oil </span></span></li>
</li>
</li>
</li>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">** I only ended up using about 3/4 of the dressing</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Directions: </span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Rinse the quinoa and add to boiling water, lower heat to a simmer and cook covered for 15 minutes. (in the future though, I think I'm going to try the Epicurous style of cooking quinoa which is supposed to make it lighter and fluffier, here's how to do it:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In a saucepan of salted boiling water cook quinoa 10 minutes. Drain quinoa in
sieve and rinse under cold water. Set sieve over a saucepan of boiling water
(quinoa should not touch water) and steam quinoa, covered with a kitchen towel
and lid, until fluffy and dry, about 10 minutes (check water level in kettle
occasionally, adding water if necessary). </span><br />
----------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">While the quinoa was cooking, I made the dressing by mixing all of those ingredients together. Then I cut up the pepper, onion, and cilantro. I also drained and rinsed the corn and drained and rinsed the black beans. Then I tossed the beans w/ the red wine vinegar and some salt and pepper to taste. </span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Once the quinoa was done, I drained the excess water (I think there was excess because I used a little more than was necessary) and rinsed it with cold water. After that I tossed the quinoa with all of the ingredients and then poured in about 1/2 of the dressing I had made. I didn't want the salad to get too oily and I also thought the dressing would over power the salad so, as I said, I only used about 3/4 of it, so I might make a little less next time. </span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And that was it. It made a huge bowl of the stuff and it is absolutely delicious and pretty darn close to what you can buy at Whole Foods. With just me and Nick eating it, this recipe made enough to last an entire week too! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">SOoooooooo excited to snack on it all week long! YUM!!!</span>Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-21043572093141242282013-04-23T10:10:00.001-06:002013-04-23T10:10:48.459-06:00A Moment to Remember<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As many of you know, this past weekend the world lost an amazing person. Ryan Novak, one of the ushers in our wedding and one of my husband's dearest friends, died in an avalanche while back country skiing on Loveland Pass. </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mGVUTEjwL74/UXahtOgPnCI/AAAAAAAAJvI/9zQbhQIGJRY/s1600/130303A314-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mGVUTEjwL74/UXahtOgPnCI/AAAAAAAAJvI/9zQbhQIGJRY/s640/130303A314-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I only had the privilege of knowing Ryan for the last 6 years - I met him shortly after I started dating Nick back in 2007 - but in that time I had come to love him as a brother. It was hard not to; he was one of those people that just drew everyone in. His joy and zaniness was contagious, and you couldn't help but smile when he was around. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hnxfa86uI_E/UXaiMXGOWuI/AAAAAAAAJvQ/wPc14gARbGk/s1600/130303A284-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="444" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hnxfa86uI_E/UXaiMXGOWuI/AAAAAAAAJvQ/wPc14gARbGk/s640/130303A284-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ryan was always a bit of a wildcard; we never quite knew when he would come through Denver, but we were always happy to see him when he did make it to town. His spirit uplifted all those around him, and a great time was gauranteed to follow anytime he was there. </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_SWFsZWYsfo/UXaoB_vrYlI/AAAAAAAAJv4/xvbboVNwbVg/s1600/nov+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_SWFsZWYsfo/UXaoB_vrYlI/AAAAAAAAJv4/xvbboVNwbVg/s640/nov+3.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But it wasn't just that Ryan was <em>fun</em> to be around, I think what drew people to him was that he really was a beautiful soul. I never heard him speak or wish ill of any one else. Not a vindictive bone in his body, he didn't waste his time with negativity. Through example, he taught everyone around him to live life to the fullest, enjoy every moment of it, and not to sweat the small stuff. That will be his legacy. </span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In this time of great sadness, what I am most grateful for is the time we had with him at our wedding last month. My husband has an amazing group of friends from his childhood that he remains unbelievably close with to this day, despite the years and miles that separate them. They are truly a family in every sense of the word, and they showed up in full force for our wedding.</span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JW_pZa3fZik/UXalgRA6h8I/AAAAAAAAJvo/ECFAgRKY8jE/s1600/nov+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JW_pZa3fZik/UXalgRA6h8I/AAAAAAAAJvo/ECFAgRKY8jE/s640/nov+2.jpg" width="640" /></span></a><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The time that they all had together, only one month before Ryan's passing, will be something that we all cherish for the rest of our lives. Absolutely no one on this earth could replace Ryan in the hearts and minds of those who knew him, he was truly one of-a-kind. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JNB4wldQn8s/UXalElCrDII/AAAAAAAAJvk/vAsDhjxYoU0/s1600/nov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JNB4wldQn8s/UXalElCrDII/AAAAAAAAJvk/vAsDhjxYoU0/s640/nov.jpg" width="478" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">With less than three days having passed since the avalanche, it is hard to take any consolation in the fact that he died doing what he loved. It is hard to take comfort in the idea that he may have been looking down on us as we gathered this weekend to support each other and remember the good times. They say that time heals all wounds... and deep down we all know this is true, but at the moment, this too offers no solace. There are just no words that can describe the deep loss that is felt by those who knew this beautiful person.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qM3J8BGdvco/UXasgelhMlI/AAAAAAAAJwI/aC1BRF9d7Mo/s1600/130303A009-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qM3J8BGdvco/UXasgelhMlI/AAAAAAAAJwI/aC1BRF9d7Mo/s640/130303A009-web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It is with heavy hearts that we all head back to Honesdale this weekend to lay him to rest. Life will go on, the world will continue to turn, but it will never be quite the same again.</span> <br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We love you Novs....</span> <br />
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Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-88460521880978269802013-04-16T22:21:00.000-06:002013-04-16T22:23:30.667-06:00Our Ceremony: A View From Vista Ridge (Granby Ranch)<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(Well, I know you've already seen the view, but now that I've got some professional shots of the wedding, I thought I'd share some more :-)</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-__KrrwrzL74/UW4R_ZyGNJI/AAAAAAAAJrg/EBroGZNK7as/s1600/130303A129-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-__KrrwrzL74/UW4R_ZyGNJI/AAAAAAAAJrg/EBroGZNK7as/s640/130303A129-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Vista Ridge at Granby Ranch was the only wedding venue that Nick and I looked at after we got engaged. (Remember my </span><a href="http://razzelberry.blogspot.com/2012/05/project-365-day-79.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">post</span></a><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">?) I believe my exact words when I saw the site were "holy f*cking sh*t this is gorgeous) and just like that, our decision was made. It was everything I could have ever dreamed of for a ceremony site, and we could not have gotten luckier with the beautiful day that we had! </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T2PrM9INaaU/UW4UsduNqNI/AAAAAAAAJr8/XxwdPl2hvts/s1600/130303A037-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T2PrM9INaaU/UW4UsduNqNI/AAAAAAAAJr8/XxwdPl2hvts/s640/130303A037-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One of the greatest things about the site is that, while it is on top of a ski mountain (remember we had to take lift to get there)</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pfnEUaa0VIg/UW4TtcwC8uI/AAAAAAAAJrw/YSFhoDOOaI4/s1600/130303A091-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pfnEUaa0VIg/UW4TtcwC8uI/AAAAAAAAJrw/YSFhoDOOaI4/s640/130303A091-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There is actually an aspen grove separating the ceremony site from the ski slopes, so we were completely secluded from the resort and shielded from the wind and the noise of the skiers. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In order to get to the ceremony site, you have to walk down a little path through the aspens</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OqI8Rinp4go/UW4VJSqiKOI/AAAAAAAAJsA/sX41h9oIT-0/s1600/130303A194-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OqI8Rinp4go/UW4VJSqiKOI/AAAAAAAAJsA/sX41h9oIT-0/s640/130303A194-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and it almost feels like you are discovering a well-kept secret when you finally come through the trees and get your first glimpse of the amazing view. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-re7hBDk-76s/UW4VWNvhXWI/AAAAAAAAJsI/GElMol6N3Q8/s1600/130303A203-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-re7hBDk-76s/UW4VWNvhXWI/AAAAAAAAJsI/GElMol6N3Q8/s640/130303A203-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">speaking of first glimpse, check out my groom as he tries to get his first look at his bride walking down the aisle toward him... I love this picture!</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uetED_WPi2w/UW4VYlfLagI/AAAAAAAAJsQ/UWYwWJHqtKM/s1600/130303A196-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uetED_WPi2w/UW4VYlfLagI/AAAAAAAAJsQ/UWYwWJHqtKM/s640/130303A196-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">after my long walk through the grove and down the aisle, I have my dad the biggest hug I could (I love my daddy so much!)</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F8VC6Ar9WZ8/UW4WOCEJ-8I/AAAAAAAAJsY/yxGEWEUqwWw/s1600/130303A205-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F8VC6Ar9WZ8/UW4WOCEJ-8I/AAAAAAAAJsY/yxGEWEUqwWw/s640/130303A205-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and then went to greet my groom - I'm so happy I can barely stand it!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YsIgz0Wtjf0/UW4WdvTO4WI/AAAAAAAAJsg/CxNuclKrxkM/s1600/130303A206-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YsIgz0Wtjf0/UW4WdvTO4WI/AAAAAAAAJsg/CxNuclKrxkM/s640/130303A206-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And then there we were; just as my invitation had said, "two crazy people on a mountain top, vowing to love each other for a lifetime." Standing within feet of the edge of the mountain, it felt like we were on top of the world. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lrkC_xp917A/UW4YKhlb7dI/AAAAAAAAJtE/yXxsiO0fxB0/s1600/130303A211-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lrkC_xp917A/UW4YKhlb7dI/AAAAAAAAJtE/yXxsiO0fxB0/s640/130303A211-web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Our dear friend, and the person who introduced us to each other, Brian Clark, was our officiant, and he did an amazing job. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iLEj7x7kgRU/UW4YG8Fj74I/AAAAAAAAJs8/NznyhKBEm3c/s1600/130303A252-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iLEj7x7kgRU/UW4YG8Fj74I/AAAAAAAAJs8/NznyhKBEm3c/s640/130303A252-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We had planned to have a short ceremony - mostly because we had no idea what the weather would be like and we didn't want our guests to freeze their little tushies off - but once we were actually preforming the ceremony, it went so fast I couldn't even believe it. It felt like it went by in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, it was time for me to say my vows. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UNqaPqSoJ88/UW4YQ3s2VOI/AAAAAAAAJtM/SbmwWPQpvjM/s1600/130303A228-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UNqaPqSoJ88/UW4YQ3s2VOI/AAAAAAAAJtM/SbmwWPQpvjM/s640/130303A228-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I hadn't cried when I wrote them, and I didn't cry when I practiced them, so I must say I was a little stunned when I opened my mouth to recite them to Nick and could barely get a word out. And so, in surprise and frustration, and through my tears, I blurted out "shit!" right in the middle of my wedding ceremony! (very classy Rachel!) </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ib5w6IPBFRg/UW4XuQhT6oI/AAAAAAAAJs0/CkoJgUUHBeE/s1600/130303A230-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ib5w6IPBFRg/UW4XuQhT6oI/AAAAAAAAJs0/CkoJgUUHBeE/s640/130303A230-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In the end, though, I guess was pretty perfect for our ceremony! Everyone in attendance (except <em>maybe</em> my in-laws) already knows what a potty-mouth I have, and I'm pretty sure no one was shocked to hear that word come out of my mouth, regardless of the situation. As you can probably tell by the picture, we all had a good laugh at that one, and I carried on with my vows to Nick. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(I love this picture so much because of all of our guests smiling in the background AND they're wearing ski goggles! Really could it get better than that!?)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After I finished my vows, it was Nick's turn</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E1GUWalzLhY/UW4bLJhANkI/AAAAAAAAJtg/7EYZErbvfIw/s1600/130303A246-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E1GUWalzLhY/UW4bLJhANkI/AAAAAAAAJtg/7EYZErbvfIw/s640/130303A246-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> His vows were beautiful and brought on the water works for every single one of our bridesmaids</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Rpu1J5Mdh4/UW4bRrmPduI/AAAAAAAAJto/ObHb1NpjLG4/s1600/130303A248-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Rpu1J5Mdh4/UW4bRrmPduI/AAAAAAAAJto/ObHb1NpjLG4/s640/130303A248-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4d8p5DDgvFk/UW4bUC7OvtI/AAAAAAAAJt0/d-GTd2U_AH8/s1600/130303A249-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4d8p5DDgvFk/UW4bUC7OvtI/AAAAAAAAJt0/d-GTd2U_AH8/s640/130303A249-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PpCpMKZ-ayc/UW4bXVpAhFI/AAAAAAAAJt8/0J5YUIqNiSo/s1600/130303A250-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PpCpMKZ-ayc/UW4bXVpAhFI/AAAAAAAAJt8/0J5YUIqNiSo/s640/130303A250-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rVKwEDgIeFY/UW4bZ_xad3I/AAAAAAAAJuE/GLBkMp8OZCE/s1600/130303A243-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rVKwEDgIeFY/UW4bZ_xad3I/AAAAAAAAJuE/GLBkMp8OZCE/s640/130303A243-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But I was so happy at that moment, you couldn't have smacked the smile off of my face. Here I was standing in the most beautiful spot I could imagine, with an amazing man - who is a more perfect match for me than I could have ever dreamed up myself - and surrounded by all of our closest friends and familiy he was declaring his love for me... how could I do anything but smile!? </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WBUoY72goEk/UW4bcE_vjLI/AAAAAAAAJuM/lLZerdUPvpg/s1600/130303A245-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WBUoY72goEk/UW4bcE_vjLI/AAAAAAAAJuM/lLZerdUPvpg/s640/130303A245-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">At the end of Nick's vows, he grabbed a hold of my hands and leaned in for a kiss! "</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Not yet!" I said, and we we all hand another little chuckle. I hope our guests were all having as much fun as we were! Next of course it was time for the rings. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o8SZNjWF-nQ/UW4cOxUAk2I/AAAAAAAAJuQ/_xErT2vFyno/s1600/130303A259-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o8SZNjWF-nQ/UW4cOxUAk2I/AAAAAAAAJuQ/_xErT2vFyno/s640/130303A259-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It was at this point, though, that I realized that Brian didn't write down what were were supposed to say for the rings ceremony because Nick and I were just supposed to say it - not repeat after him - and I didn't know what we were supposed to say because I just figured that Brian would have it in his notes. (This misunderstanding was completely my fault, by the way!) And so Nick and I spent a couple of "o shit" seconds trying to figure out what we were going to say, and we settled on "just hurry up and say anything!" I'm sure no one plans to be put on the spot during their wedding ceremony, but these things tend to happen, and so in a very intimate and unplanned moment, we whispered to each other as we put on the rings. Nick told me to "wear this as a sign of my appreciation for you"</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mcmWWj9rL_8/UW4c-jColWI/AAAAAAAAJuY/8_98vy-V76Q/s1600/130303A262-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mcmWWj9rL_8/UW4c-jColWI/AAAAAAAAJuY/8_98vy-V76Q/s640/130303A262-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And then after I figured out which finger was on Nick's left hand... I told him to "wear this ring as a symbol of my love."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Following the rings, there were some beautiful closing remarks from Brian, and then...it was over. It went so fast, I really couldn't even believe what was happening when he pronounced us husband and wife!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and then, Nick kissed his bride, and I became Mrs. Stachokus!</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1o6I0wHT8FI/UW4dpVwomyI/AAAAAAAAJuw/i-Lgfg6vZFQ/s1600/130303A276-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1o6I0wHT8FI/UW4dpVwomyI/AAAAAAAAJuw/i-Lgfg6vZFQ/s640/130303A276-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Just as we finished our kiss, Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" came on the sound system and we danced down the aisle in celebration</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jhhj056AU1I/UW4gKSu4xFI/AAAAAAAAJu4/xnE14gGHrxE/s1600/130303A278-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jhhj056AU1I/UW4gKSu4xFI/AAAAAAAAJu4/xnE14gGHrxE/s640/130303A278-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And that, by far, was the happiest moment in my life.... to date.</span></div>
Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-61082402610279628012013-04-12T22:30:00.000-06:002013-04-12T22:30:00.646-06:00Something Old, Something New.... <span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am super lucky to have some amazing women (and men) in my life who helped me put together my wedding-day ensemble. (It was certainly the most beautiful that I've ever worn!)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">First, there is my bestie, Nathan, who picked out my biggest "something new," my dress (which was White by Vera Wang, from David's Bridal):</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1JDMW6R44-c/UWTjz-IY1BI/AAAAAAAAJpI/JHjPnw0aCDs/s1600/130303A020-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1JDMW6R44-c/UWTjz-IY1BI/AAAAAAAAJpI/JHjPnw0aCDs/s640/130303A020-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For my somethings borrowed and something blue, I have my Aunt Laurie, my mom, and my sister to thank. Allie gave me my something blue: a Penn State garter (how appropriate!!!)</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ka1yYBigvnk/UWTkHqCmPLI/AAAAAAAAJpQ/QF-M4-abreQ/s1600/130303A018-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ka1yYBigvnk/UWTkHqCmPLI/AAAAAAAAJpQ/QF-M4-abreQ/s640/130303A018-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It's pictured here with my first something borrowed: a bracelet from my Aunt Laurie. My second borrowed was a bracelet from my mom that was pinned to my flowers (see it hanging over my fingers?):</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9wG_bQNfSdo/UWTkZ6K6QVI/AAAAAAAAJpY/PZfmUR43DhY/s1600/130303A130-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9wG_bQNfSdo/UWTkZ6K6QVI/AAAAAAAAJpY/PZfmUR43DhY/s640/130303A130-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It was really important to me to get something borrowed from my mom because (1) she's my mom and (2) she and my dad have been together since they were teenagers and have lived as an amazing example of what a supportive and loving marriage should be. Actually, both of my somethings borrowed as well as my something old are from women who have marriages that I hope to emulate in my life with Nick. I hope that having these little mementos from them with me on my wedding day will somehow help their marriage juju to rub off on me! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Which brings me to my something old: a hankie from my Grandma Joan</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BjPnmeVlXjY/UWTlNaWSMSI/AAAAAAAAJpk/0QKZpPq1hkk/s1600/130303A019-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BjPnmeVlXjY/UWTlNaWSMSI/AAAAAAAAJpk/0QKZpPq1hkk/s640/130303A019-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Due to health reasons, my Grandma couldn't make it to the wedding (well to be fair, were at 9,000 feet above sea level, on snow, and she is in her 80's!) but it was really great to have a little piece of her with me during the ceremony. (also pictured here are my <em>new</em> earrings)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In my hair, I wore custom made barrettes. They were made from molds of actual succulent flowers and then cast in pewter, just for me, by my dear friend Nathan!</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--sN7n_QU2J0/UWTnhoXTGJI/AAAAAAAAJqQ/x7gNzD6yVb8/s1600/130303A014-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--sN7n_QU2J0/UWTnhoXTGJI/AAAAAAAAJqQ/x7gNzD6yVb8/s640/130303A014-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I don't have a great picture of them in my hair, but here's a side view so you can get an idea. They were great! (also note my wedding-day ski gloves!)</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P476AP25BqI/UWToXlwVhNI/AAAAAAAAJqk/pPHPX0MD8Sw/s1600/130303A332-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P476AP25BqI/UWToXlwVhNI/AAAAAAAAJqk/pPHPX0MD8Sw/s640/130303A332-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">For the ceremony, I wore fleece-lined tights under my dress (they were so warm and cozy!) pink ski socks, and my fabulous Sorel boots!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yNpYzq9Ltjw/UWTlpSOF0xI/AAAAAAAAJps/_aBPt_xtbfs/s1600/130303A082-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yNpYzq9Ltjw/UWTlpSOF0xI/AAAAAAAAJps/_aBPt_xtbfs/s640/130303A082-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Which brings me to my shoes... Ooooo my shoes! I love my shoes, all three pairs of them!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pLJaFUrYWkU/UWTmDCv1QoI/AAAAAAAAJp0/yU3fsL-oK5g/s1600/130303A017-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pLJaFUrYWkU/UWTmDCv1QoI/AAAAAAAAJp0/yU3fsL-oK5g/s640/130303A017-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My formal shoes were Badgley Mischka Cissy heels, and I was basically in love with them!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8a0LCn7lSV8/UWTmc2CfG6I/AAAAAAAAJqA/c8XVYEUs4SI/s1600/130303A021-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8a0LCn7lSV8/UWTmc2CfG6I/AAAAAAAAJqA/c8XVYEUs4SI/s640/130303A021-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I also had a little cropped jacket to keep me warm during the ceremony (and subsequent skiing!) and a scarf (hand made with love by my awesome Aunt Laurie) to keep me warm!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WFqyHku4KSw/UWTnHqT1eII/AAAAAAAAJqI/Ab6irjUSZnA/s1600/130303A245-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WFqyHku4KSw/UWTnHqT1eII/AAAAAAAAJqI/Ab6irjUSZnA/s640/130303A245-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And then, of course, there were my amazing flowers</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X0GNxPD9X_s/UWTou13SSNI/AAAAAAAAJqs/247J9j3pytg/s1600/130303A096-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X0GNxPD9X_s/UWTou13SSNI/AAAAAAAAJqs/247J9j3pytg/s640/130303A096-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">which had a little nod to my inner razzelberry hidden among my flowers:</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gXUtGWPL_JQ/UWToUI4b8QI/AAAAAAAAJqc/vroF3fGVA1U/s1600/130303A042-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gXUtGWPL_JQ/UWToUI4b8QI/AAAAAAAAJqc/vroF3fGVA1U/s640/130303A042-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(yes, those are actually on-the-vine raspberries!)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But let's not forget my favorite accessory of the entire day:</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jYLULsHzUQE/UWTqqMGrfOI/AAAAAAAAJq8/BuvOG4mryAQ/s1600/130303A388-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jYLULsHzUQE/UWTqqMGrfOI/AAAAAAAAJq8/BuvOG4mryAQ/s640/130303A388-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My brand-spankin' new husband! Not too shabby himself, huh!? (I should mention, he picked out his own ensemble all by himself, and I was very impressed!) What a handsom groom I have:</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dwqMuHeg-iw/UWTs1Zms-LI/AAAAAAAAJrQ/j59H9ePnWz4/s1600/130303A092-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dwqMuHeg-iw/UWTs1Zms-LI/AAAAAAAAJrQ/j59H9ePnWz4/s640/130303A092-web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am a lucky girl!</span></div>
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Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-46738600113195839552013-04-11T20:46:00.000-06:002013-04-11T20:46:00.691-06:00Signing Our Marriage License<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Remembered when we picked this baby up a couple of weeks before the wedding:</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-It0BEYHDG3E/UR0DoiU0JnI/AAAAAAAAI_Q/D9eOfL1Isc4/s1600/IMG_3245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-It0BEYHDG3E/UR0DoiU0JnI/AAAAAAAAI_Q/D9eOfL1Isc4/s400/IMG_3245.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Well, after our ski runs and before the reception, it was time to sign on the dotted line. I kind of thought it wasn't that big of a deal beforehand, but I am so glad that I put it on the schedule (o yes, there was a pretty intense schedule for the day!) and I am soooo glad that I made sure that the photographer was there for it, because as you can see from the smiles on my face, it was pretty darn exciting for me!!!</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6KZJ1EC2Aqc/UWTR0EIFeMI/AAAAAAAAJoI/qr-jFxsJgwQ/s1600/130303A357-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6KZJ1EC2Aqc/UWTR0EIFeMI/AAAAAAAAJoI/qr-jFxsJgwQ/s640/130303A357-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> And I am so happy that Brian was our officiant and his signature is forever on our marriage license, because he was the one who introduced us almost exactly 6 years ago! </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z1YeOC8PyKw/UWTR3dsYltI/AAAAAAAAJoQ/wRyV6pbh0NY/s1600/130303A358-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z1YeOC8PyKw/UWTR3dsYltI/AAAAAAAAJoQ/wRyV6pbh0NY/s640/130303A358-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We received the license back from the state today, so it's officially official! Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm his!</span> Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-82904131699502195402013-04-10T17:20:00.000-06:002013-04-10T17:22:45.310-06:00I'm A Bride on Skis! <span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Nick and I decided to have a winter ski wedding basically as soon as we got engaged (I do have to give him credit for that idea!) and as soon as I saw pictures of this bride snowboarding at Granby Ranch:</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JKw-hicOlZs/UWTKd57KnlI/AAAAAAAAJj4/h1RXGIL1AFk/s1600/Colorado-Springs-Wedding-Photography-Matheny59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JKw-hicOlZs/UWTKd57KnlI/AAAAAAAAJj4/h1RXGIL1AFk/s400/Colorado-Springs-Wedding-Photography-Matheny59.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://allieblog.squarespace.com/journal/2012/3/21/heather-daniel-part-ii-granby-co-wedding-photographer.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(photo credit here)</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I knew that we were going to get married at Sol Vista at Granby Ranch and I knew that I was going to ski in my dress. The only problem was finding a photographer... because while I loved the idea of the bride above, I wanted my pictures to look more like this:</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.stevezphotography.com/bride-on-skis" target="_blank"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(photo credit here)</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and so... I hired that photographer! I am completely convinced that Steve Z is the best photographer in Denver. We interviewed quite a few and he certainly is the only photographer who, when I told him I wanted to ski in my wedding dress, said "totally! no problem, I can just strap my gear on my back and ski down with you guys!" He is a phenomenal skier and basically skied backwards for two entire runs with us so that he could snap pictures of us skiing. It was pretty freekin' cool!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-puONUE-5pRI/UWTL2e2STiI/AAAAAAAAJkI/gbc0LMxpi0E/s1600/130303A352-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-puONUE-5pRI/UWTL2e2STiI/AAAAAAAAJkI/gbc0LMxpi0E/s320/130303A352-web.jpg" width="220" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">This photo was actually shot by his assistant who was also an amazing skier! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We took two runs after the ceremony. The first one, was with about 20 of our friends and it was absolutely the most fun ski run I have EVER done. Everyone was cheering (including people we didn't know on the mountain and on the ski lift above us) and the energy was just off the charts. It was an absolute blast!! </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qD_skNFWlgI/UWTM5vO3mmI/AAAAAAAAJlQ/g2EeY7_tZIs/s1600/130303A328-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qD_skNFWlgI/UWTM5vO3mmI/AAAAAAAAJlQ/g2EeY7_tZIs/s640/130303A328-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When we got to the bottom, we were welcomed by a huge crowd of our non-skiing guests, all hooting and hollering for us!</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_-pVZE3WCCM/UWTNjRQaRMI/AAAAAAAAJng/fn1zZNpoxWk/s1600/130303A329-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_-pVZE3WCCM/UWTNjRQaRMI/AAAAAAAAJng/fn1zZNpoxWk/s640/130303A329-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> we had a quick smooch for all the cameras...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and then we hopped back on the lift for our second run.</span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4p51olWksE0/UWTM7MshP_I/AAAAAAAAJls/-lAqKHCHKEM/s1600/130303A334-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4p51olWksE0/UWTM7MshP_I/AAAAAAAAJls/-lAqKHCHKEM/s640/130303A334-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The second run was just the two of us and the photographers and it was almost as much fun as the first. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g3ZDNkcHqk4/UWTM8XnbbzI/AAAAAAAAJmI/vJ67ToUj9jM/s1600/130303A341-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g3ZDNkcHqk4/UWTM8XnbbzI/AAAAAAAAJmI/vJ67ToUj9jM/s640/130303A341-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Steve had scoped out a run for us that had some fun little obstacles (for the kids) and we had a blast skiing through them together! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Did you notice yet that I'm wearing pink skis to match my wedding dress? My friend Randi hooked me up from the ski shop she works at! I LOVE THEM!</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P7W9uCw2ad0/UWTO0_D934I/AAAAAAAAJno/cgXTFgbg4qk/s1600/130303A349-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P7W9uCw2ad0/UWTO0_D934I/AAAAAAAAJno/cgXTFgbg4qk/s640/130303A349-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GPhXmHmw_yA/UWTM-ZRoaJI/AAAAAAAAJm4/vuiQ1PG1Ymg/s1600/130303A350-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GPhXmHmw_yA/UWTM-ZRoaJI/AAAAAAAAJm4/vuiQ1PG1Ymg/s640/130303A350-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ok, I'm not quite the extreme skier that other bride was, but to give me some credit, those pictures were taken the day after her wedding! At the time we took these ones, I still had to go inside and our formal portraits, and make it to my reception in one piece! BUT We had a TON of fun on our two runs - it certainly made for a memorable day, and between the bridal party yoga (at 7am) and the two ski runs, I'd say I got more exercise on my wedding day than the average bride! Not too shabby! </span><br />
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Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-36238177783384122702013-04-09T20:03:00.001-06:002013-04-09T21:42:16.418-06:00My Winter Ski Wedding: The Details<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Throughout the last year, I spent basically every minute of my spare time planning for my wedding. I really couldn't help myself. Just before the wedding I had discovered Pinterest and was getting into crafting and trying new recipes... and once the wedding kicked in, my Pinning went up to a whole new level. I was pretty much exactly like this "girl":</span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I basically stole all of my ideas from Pinterest and Weddingbee.com and then spent 11 months DIYing (Do It Yourself) my wedding. And here are the results. I present to you, my details! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The first DIY was our post card Save the Dates which introduced our snowy mountain wedding theme: </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hV5uDSo9t9A/UWS9B1UmElI/AAAAAAAAJfo/LAmXBXiBgYU/s1600/130303A026-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hV5uDSo9t9A/UWS9B1UmElI/AAAAAAAAJfo/LAmXBXiBgYU/s640/130303A026-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Then came our invitations (designed by an amazing friend and painfully printed, cut, and assembled by myself) </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D_6pOWJikuc/UWS9De7qg5I/AAAAAAAAJf0/m3rmDUzQgok/s1600/130303A027-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D_6pOWJikuc/UWS9De7qg5I/AAAAAAAAJf0/m3rmDUzQgok/s640/130303A027-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I took the colors, fonts, and images from the invitations and used them on all of the paper at the wedding. For the ceremony, we had hot coco and hand warmers (even though it was sunny and almost 40 degrees!). The hand warmers have a little poem on them "Thank you for joining us on top of this hill, we know that it may give you a chill, so please warm your hands as we say our vows, and before you know it we can all go back down!"</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V0_V6iwotqo/UWS9O7ZXWvI/AAAAAAAAJgM/r-LXlg-8B7o/s1600/130303A165-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V0_V6iwotqo/UWS9O7ZXWvI/AAAAAAAAJgM/r-LXlg-8B7o/s640/130303A165-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And our programs:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_7nGOtnCj0/UWS9SCGlpkI/AAAAAAAAJgU/Lt-DYj2MAnw/s1600/130303A172-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y_7nGOtnCj0/UWS9SCGlpkI/AAAAAAAAJgU/Lt-DYj2MAnw/s640/130303A172-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The flower girls held baskets made by yours truly and threw snow on the aisle:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lf4jq4TBOxY/UWS_CJGyLII/AAAAAAAAJhQ/RZORNcrx7VY/s1600/130303A190-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lf4jq4TBOxY/UWS_CJGyLII/AAAAAAAAJhQ/RZORNcrx7VY/s640/130303A190-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And the ring "bear" </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1slvSOBeyg8/UWS_Q3qOPnI/AAAAAAAAJhY/TrtlqW__tX8/s1600/130303A189-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1slvSOBeyg8/UWS_Q3qOPnI/AAAAAAAAJhY/TrtlqW__tX8/s640/130303A189-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">carried a little wooden box for our rings:</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pdt6PQ5HaxU/UWS9IxYtX_I/AAAAAAAAJf8/4zedyB7tNRU/s1600/130303A154-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pdt6PQ5HaxU/UWS9IxYtX_I/AAAAAAAAJf8/4zedyB7tNRU/s640/130303A154-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YtNJW-WkJso/UWS9MT05ECI/AAAAAAAAJgE/q4X_kp_Cc3o/s1600/130303A155-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YtNJW-WkJso/UWS9MT05ECI/AAAAAAAAJgE/q4X_kp_Cc3o/s640/130303A155-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">our aisle was actually six sets of ski poles with organza drapped through it:</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pgIietIDrDU/UWTfZROg6sI/AAAAAAAAJow/ctjtoEbGveM/s1600/IMG_0178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pgIietIDrDU/UWTfZROg6sI/AAAAAAAAJow/ctjtoEbGveM/s640/IMG_0178.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And then - after a couple of ski runs - it was on to the reception. Our guests were greeted by a table with our escort cards and guest book:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w_Y9EHQfkZs/UWS9XRLMWrI/AAAAAAAAJgc/YvBdB_2JNY8/s1600/130303A392-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w_Y9EHQfkZs/UWS9XRLMWrI/AAAAAAAAJgc/YvBdB_2JNY8/s640/130303A392-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The escort cards were actually little (fake) lift tickets designed again by my friend</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PT2SWAjs9i8/UWS9bHVg63I/AAAAAAAAJgk/chXcNAN-q7s/s1600/130303A393-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PT2SWAjs9i8/UWS9bHVg63I/AAAAAAAAJgk/chXcNAN-q7s/s640/130303A393-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and the guest book was the mail box and an array of Colorado post cards:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mBphsdgzpzQ/UWS9pQLp4yI/AAAAAAAAJg8/Iu8j5lvPetY/s1600/130303A404-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mBphsdgzpzQ/UWS9pQLp4yI/AAAAAAAAJg8/Iu8j5lvPetY/s640/130303A404-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">All of our guests filled out the post cards and put them in the mailbox. After the wedding we gave them all to my MOH (Allie) and throughout our first year of marriage, she will mail us post cards from our guests. We've already received two - it's so fun! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After the guests picked up their escort cards, they found their tables by looking for the home-made table numbers - which were pictures of me and Nick as kids!</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZGIhYkTTVg/UWS9kTevK8I/AAAAAAAAJg0/ejasIFJK-TE/s1600/130303A401-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZGIhYkTTVg/UWS9kTevK8I/AAAAAAAAJg0/ejasIFJK-TE/s640/130303A401-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I think they were a big hit! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Once they found their seats, they got another treat: S'mores!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qTuy-i2ThBY/UWS9eGCF3zI/AAAAAAAAJgs/YJKnbbxLewk/s1600/130303A394-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qTuy-i2ThBY/UWS9eGCF3zI/AAAAAAAAJgs/YJKnbbxLewk/s640/130303A394-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Which were put together with the help of my family just a couple days before the wedding! </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7GtAOEprvZE/UWTHUYpjgRI/AAAAAAAAJjg/XKRwevNmkz8/s1600/IMG_3655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7GtAOEprvZE/UWTHUYpjgRI/AAAAAAAAJjg/XKRwevNmkz8/s400/IMG_3655.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The card also had a poem on the back, "if wedding cake doesn't do the trick, head out back and grab a stick, we've got some skewers, we've got a fire, so toast your marshmallows to your heart's desire."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">At some point in the night, many of our guests made their way to our gift table and deposited a card into my DIY card box:</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ea2vDemo230/UWTCePoyskI/AAAAAAAAJhw/AymCMaZ385g/s1600/130303A452-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ea2vDemo230/UWTCePoyskI/AAAAAAAAJhw/AymCMaZ385g/s640/130303A452-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Eventually, Nick and I also found our seats by the little signs hanging on them (made by Nick's sister and brother-in-law)</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9PzT5GvJvcY/UWS9vmW6CHI/AAAAAAAAJhM/fFUvC5v0svM/s1600/130303A412-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9PzT5GvJvcY/UWS9vmW6CHI/AAAAAAAAJhM/fFUvC5v0svM/s640/130303A412-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After dinner (I was starving!!) it was time to cut the cake! It was actually a whole foods cake (YUM!) that sat on a tree slice cake stand (thanks again to Nick's sister and brother-in-law!) and was topped by some bride and groom pine cones. The bride is actually wearing a little piece of tool from my own wedding dress! </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-agsZKjXpugE/UWTDEngp_fI/AAAAAAAAJiA/nnN40qPTY7M/s1600/130303A460-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-agsZKjXpugE/UWTDEngp_fI/AAAAAAAAJiA/nnN40qPTY7M/s640/130303A460-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mxRwxAAqrEM/UWTDBBfOIyI/AAAAAAAAJh4/8IvHdKTmgbI/s1600/130303A461-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mxRwxAAqrEM/UWTDBBfOIyI/AAAAAAAAJh4/8IvHdKTmgbI/s640/130303A461-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When I write it out like this... it doesn't seem like that many projects (only 12?) but then I have to remember that I made over 100 each of the STD's, the invitations (which were comprised of over 1,000 cut pieces of paper!), the S'mores, the hand warmers, and the escort cards, and I guess that kind of is a lot of work!!! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thankfully, the one thing I did not have to worry about were flowers and center pieces. My ABSOLUTELY AMAZING friend, Nathan, and his partner, Tom, own a flower shop in Pittsburgh (</span><a href="http://www.hensandchicksflowers.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Hens and Chicks</span></a><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">) and they absolutely knocked it out of the park! </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ysc1pizie7k/UWTEpD5493I/AAAAAAAAJig/y0gnnBRzIKo/s1600/130303A575-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ysc1pizie7k/UWTEpD5493I/AAAAAAAAJig/y0gnnBRzIKo/s640/130303A575-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I could not have asked for more beautiful arrangements. We got compliments from all of our guests and despite the fact that everyone was from out of town, not a single centerpiece was left behind!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Of course, they did all of the flowers for the wedding party as well. </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-41JDmkMLTlc/UWTFMdxD23I/AAAAAAAAJio/0aXL0NbbJFc/s1600/130303A003-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-41JDmkMLTlc/UWTFMdxD23I/AAAAAAAAJio/0aXL0NbbJFc/s640/130303A003-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IgcQztPkDTY/UWTFqc0r0YI/AAAAAAAAJjI/A0ly_AbaOQ0/s1600/130303A253-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IgcQztPkDTY/UWTFqc0r0YI/AAAAAAAAJjI/A0ly_AbaOQ0/s640/130303A253-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> As a side note, Nathan also picked out my wedding dress and had the idea to have the wedding party in matching jeans, jackets, scarves, and hats! I am one lucky girl to have a friend like him!!! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> As of course you call all tell, I'm just thrilled with how it all came together. Thanks a TON to all of my friends and family who helped me put the day together. It was definitely the best day of my life!</span> </span><br />
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Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-39175491069287855592013-04-08T21:25:00.001-06:002013-04-08T21:28:07.320-06:00A Gift From My Groom<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Nick and I (ok I) decided to give each other gifts the day of the wedding. About a week before the wedding I reminded Nick that he needed to have a gift ready for the big day. It was important to point out that this gift (unlike my Christmas gifts) had to actually be in hand and ready to open ON the wedding day - not a week or two later. At this point he acted like he had never heard of this gift idea! "A gift!?" he exclaimed, he had already given me quite a hefty gift (the engagement ring) and wasn't this whole wedding thing getting a little out of hand!? But, being the good sport that he is, he agreed to get me one more present to commemorate our union. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Next thing I know it's three days before we're head to the mountains, and Nick offers to take one of our early-arriving guests back to her hotel so that he can go "shopping" for my gift while he's out.... at midnight! At that point I was convinced he was headed to Walmart to troll the aisles for a last minute gift. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Nick assured me that it wasn't a last minute panic, but I could not for the life of me think of what he was getting me at Walmart that would be worthy of giving on our wedding day and opening in front of a professional photographer for posterity... but of course, my Fiance had something up his sleeve. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So the day finally comes. I'm just about to put my dress on and head up the mountain, when I remember that we need to first open my gift. I sit down and open the package as instructed (Nick had ran out of wrapping paper and scotch tape and instructed me that it was imperative that I open the box from the side that had the clear packing tape on it). </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The first thing I found was a card...</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TbWC54mIi5Q/UWNaUBCQNtI/AAAAAAAAJac/BLEHaiFLQQk/s1600/130303A062-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TbWC54mIi5Q/UWNaUBCQNtI/AAAAAAAAJac/BLEHaiFLQQk/s640/130303A062-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">but it was no ordinary card - it was a birthday card. The same exact birthday card that I had given to nick just one month ago for his birthday. And it was appropriate because Nick had decided that since I was in Europe for work on my birthday this year, it didn't actually happen (which by the way means I will be turning 29 again next year, not 30!). So I didn't get a birthday card or a present! (I KNOW!?) Since I'm a forgiving soul, I let it slide - this time - but made a point to let him know that from now on (until death do us part), birthdays absolutely require birthday cards and fan-fare! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So I read the very sweet card that he gave me and then start to dig into the present, and couldn't believe my eyes when this is what I found:</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DCO-gf__bd0/UWNbrd9ArnI/AAAAAAAAJao/PujooeRgZPc/s1600/130303A065-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DCO-gf__bd0/UWNbrd9ArnI/AAAAAAAAJao/PujooeRgZPc/s640/130303A065-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">a box FULL of cards. So, I opened one more:</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ycnHNnUzdlE/UWNb7JIersI/AAAAAAAAJaw/u5UHenUPqzc/s1600/130303A067-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ycnHNnUzdlE/UWNb7JIersI/AAAAAAAAJaw/u5UHenUPqzc/s640/130303A067-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It was another birthday card! "So your 50" it said. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u52hHKu-ye8/UWNcdXDKa3I/AAAAAAAAJbE/suoaOo32NL8/s1600/130303A069-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u52hHKu-ye8/UWNcdXDKa3I/AAAAAAAAJbE/suoaOo32NL8/s640/130303A069-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and then on the inside he wrote, "It's crazy to picture us at 50. Are we retired yet? Or is life simply to great to be retired? I love you, Nick."</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2mdOVlKOrOk/UWNcJMbv2UI/AAAAAAAAJa4/mPDAM4BFTLI/s1600/130303A070-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2mdOVlKOrOk/UWNcJMbv2UI/AAAAAAAAJa4/mPDAM4BFTLI/s640/130303A070-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and then all the girls went:</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BC5MLRN6MaI/UWN-uLBd8wI/AAAAAAAAJbc/PY79PxToPzA/s1600/130303A071-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BC5MLRN6MaI/UWN-uLBd8wI/AAAAAAAAJbc/PY79PxToPzA/s640/130303A071-web.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> and </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bhuPUphLWM8/UWN-wGIPahI/AAAAAAAAJbk/xgon39H2Ju4/s1600/130303A072-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bhuPUphLWM8/UWN-wGIPahI/AAAAAAAAJbk/xgon39H2Ju4/s640/130303A072-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I opened one more</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iXRAF_iiAe8/UWN_GO-CcnI/AAAAAAAAJbs/2P7jwh37c-w/s1600/130303A073-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iXRAF_iiAe8/UWN_GO-CcnI/AAAAAAAAJbs/2P7jwh37c-w/s640/130303A073-web.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">and then I realized that Nick had given me a birthday card for every year basically for the rest of my life (actually, until I turn 100), so I will never have a birthday without a birthday card again. Now is that the best gift you can ever get from a Walmart, or what!? I have a little video of the whole thing, the opening of this present doesn't start until about 2 minutes in, but there are a couple other little things (getting ready, me on the phone with my grandpa...) before that. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/paowkifTmO8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have to say... his gift beats my cigars hands down! Best Husband Ever!!!</span> </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v_TxOwJ_K1I/UWOKKU9Q0UI/AAAAAAAAJb8/v9wEZ9SYFDs/s1600/130303A063-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="446" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v_TxOwJ_K1I/UWOKKU9Q0UI/AAAAAAAAJb8/v9wEZ9SYFDs/s640/130303A063-web.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-84586471734458272362013-03-18T11:33:00.001-06:002013-03-18T11:33:45.589-06:00The Ceremony<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Again... I'm biased, but how can I not be!? Our ceremony was amazing! It was short and sweet and perfectly US. Absolutely nothing could compare with getting married on the edge of a mountain with one of the most beautiful views in the state.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XzmB2ald78s/UUIGVMbkDoI/AAAAAAAAJaE/CxOC8Y3AisY/s1600/IMG_0167+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XzmB2ald78s/UUIGVMbkDoI/AAAAAAAAJaE/CxOC8Y3AisY/s640/IMG_0167+(3).JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One of the best things about the ceremony was the joyful and light-hearted sentiment that ran through the whole thing. Stuffy ceremony, this was not! So, for the many friends and family members who were not able to make it to the wedding, I wanted to share with you a home video of the ceremony (most of it!). Enjoy!</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/i2mElcPUtjc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-87206312404683420532013-03-14T10:51:00.003-06:002013-03-14T10:51:45.240-06:00Check out my new magnets!<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Got an awesome gift from my cousin (and bridesmaid) Katie this week! </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EWXJ-mn72lg/UUH_2nfs4kI/AAAAAAAAJZ8/j3P-3F3H4aM/s1600/IMG_3738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EWXJ-mn72lg/UUH_2nfs4kI/AAAAAAAAJZ8/j3P-3F3H4aM/s640/IMG_3738.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">They're magnets of pictures she took from our wedding. I LOVE THEM!!!! This is a gift I will be re-gifting, these are great. The company is called StickyGram. i'm not sure if they're related to instagram or not, but they are GREAT!</span>Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-17516454829714201972013-03-12T11:30:00.000-06:002013-03-12T11:30:02.471-06:00Our First Dance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I know that I'm biased here, but.... our first dance was the BEST!</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ak2ncPaAlEQ/UT5q-SJa3BI/AAAAAAAAJZU/y4uC5jnIwW4/s1600/IMG_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ak2ncPaAlEQ/UT5q-SJa3BI/AAAAAAAAJZU/y4uC5jnIwW4/s640/IMG_0192.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As you know, baseball has played a big role in our relationship (remember my </span><a href="http://razzelberry.blogspot.com/2012/04/project-365-day-64.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">engagement post</span></a><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">?) and we really wanted to incorporate it into our wedding in some small way, so we were SUPER excited when we found this song by Carley Simon. I'm not going to tell you what it was, in case this is the first time you're seeing it, but let me just say, we could not have asked for a more appropriate song. We had a blast! (p.s. for those getting my blogs in an email, go to the website to see the video!)</span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/M3aupfZ-jpI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Nothing like a little crowd participation for your first dance, hehe. We had so much fun!</span>Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-11469475233566949492013-03-11T17:47:00.005-06:002013-03-12T11:27:44.272-06:00Our First Look!<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thanks to some convincing by our photographer, Nick agreed to do a "first look" before the ceremony. Basically this allows you to get your formal couples portraits and bridal party pictures out of the way before the ceremony. Due to the size of our site, he strongly encouraged us to do this before the guests arrived in order to make sure that we got some time alone and to make sure guests wouldn't be popping up in all of the pictures. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But it also gave us some QT together before the ceremony, and I'm really glad that we did decide to do it. Also, the clouds rolled in right after the ceremony was over, so it allowed us to get some great shots with the view before it disappeared. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Anyway, before the bridal party pictures began, Nick and I did our first look alone. He waited in the aspen grove for me to sneak up behind him. Kevin got this great picture just before I walked up to him, I love it. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_WAO2KJByiQ/UT5q5kmWelI/AAAAAAAAJZA/hy19_pzG0j8/s1600/IMG_0187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_WAO2KJByiQ/UT5q5kmWelI/AAAAAAAAJZA/hy19_pzG0j8/s640/IMG_0187.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> I can't wait to see what the photographer got from out little photo shoot, but this one came from our wedding site coordinator. I didn't even know she was up there but I'm so glad she was, i Love this shot!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And Katie got this one as we were walking out to greet our bridal party... this is one of my favorites so far (can you see my snow boots!?) </span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Ahhh it was amazing! What a fantastic day!</span></div>
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Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1380144972441181329.post-1148657575511635732013-03-11T17:29:00.001-06:002013-03-12T11:27:34.002-06:00Skiing Video!<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The first video!! Check out Me and Nick on our way down the mountain - this is a view from the bottom. We had sooo much fun skiing down the mountain with all of our friends. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UOUBGJ9RyGs/UT5noR0AjPI/AAAAAAAAJYM/blVYgsnmGWU/s1600/IMG_0165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UOUBGJ9RyGs/UT5noR0AjPI/AAAAAAAAJYM/blVYgsnmGWU/s640/IMG_0165.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And it was sooo amazing to have a huge crowd of friends and family waiting for us at the bottom cheering. It was one of the best moments of my life! Thank you so much to all of our friends who waited at the top and bottom of the mountain for us, we felt so loved, it was incredible.</span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> So without further ado.... here we are (for those of you who get this blog emailed to you, you'll have to actually go to my website to see the video!)</span></div>
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Razhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02654484137610307987noreply@blogger.com0