I'll Carry You Home Tonight

So, I realized today that I've gotten to the point where my posts are almost 2 weeks apart. Bad Whitney. I was really on a roll there for a while with my weekly posts. I'll try to get better. This post is a bit long, so get comfortable. 


School updates:
Classes are done. Exit survey complete. Technically I can now put the letters MPH after my name. Graduation is Thursday. Bring it!


Wedding updates:
Expenses are still a bit of an issue for me. I had my first major wedding "episode" last weekend because of money. I think I feel more stressed about them because I will likely be unemployed for a while. But really, I'm super excited for this wedding! We have been extremely fortunate with the amount of help we've received and I'm thankful that Jason and I have (or at least had for me) jobs that pay well enough that we can have a beautiful wedding. We've decided to hire a DJ and I'm in the process of developing the playlist now. I have another dress fitting on Thursday and my mom and I will also be looking at flowers. After that, pretty much the only thing left to tackle is the invitations. The closet in the spare bedroom of our apartment has become wedding central. Seriously, we can't even walk in the closet anymore because we're storing so much in there. 
So, I feel like now is the time to bring up something I've been hesitant to talk about much on this blog: wedding weight loss. Back in October, I was put on a new medicine for my migraines which works fantastically. Unfortunately, while my head likes this new medicine, my body does not. The first month I was on the medicine I gained about 15 pounds. That was pretty scary. When I talked to my doctor about it, he basically told me that I either have to a) alter my eating and exercise habits to compensate or b) get off the medicine. Anyone who has migraines knows that b was not an option. After the holidays and my engagement, Operation Fit into The Dress was established.  All the weight I had gained was in my belly area. Now, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not really an exerciser. Everyday, I do 60 crunches, 20 sit ups, 40 cross crunches and 20 reverse crunches. I also walk the dogs for at least 15 minutes a day and Jason and I try to go on a bike ride at least once a week. Not much in the workout department; call me lazy or whatever, but it's just much easier to control what I eat. So I have. hardcore. Since Christmas, I have not had any soda or fast food, and I only eat sweets on special occasions. 
I guess it's working. I've lost 17 pounds since January, and my dress zips up without a struggle. 3 more pounds until I reach my wedding weight goal. I joke with Jason that I'm going to get fat after the wedding. :-)
90 days to go!


Life updates:
Well, still no job prospects. I've reached the 100 mark with applications. Yikes. Despite that, I feel like there are so many positive changes in my life right now. I have a master's degree. I'm getting married to a wonderful man. And Jason and I started looking at houses. Yes, houses! Jason's been making some calls lately and he found out late last week that even if I'm not working, we can afford a mortgage that's approximately what we currently pay for rent. Since Jason's mom is a realtor, she's been helping us a lot. She took us out yesterday to look at some houses and we found one that I totally fell in love with. It's a HUD home, which basically means that it was forclosed on. It's a 2005 nice little 3/2.. basically a perfect starter home. No damage beyond general wear and tear. It was well within our price range, so Jason decided to go ahead and bid on it. We should find out in about a week if we got the house or not. I'm trying to not get my hopes up too high because there's no way we're the only bidders, but at the same time, I loved that house! Please think positive things for us. I feel so fortunate that I'm marrying a man who has managed his money so well. He's making all of my dreams come true! For now, I'm going to continue to focus on the positive things. It's a much better use of my time. 


Enough boring you for now. Adios!


-Whitney Hammer, MPH (just because I can!)