It's a crazy world!

So back before this happened...

We did this...

And now I am using it for this...

So come on over and check out my new blog website! If you follow me on blogger you can add it like any other blog. Click Add, and then input this URL: oneshinystar.reed2009.com

I'm pretty excited!!! It offers a better way to communicate (you can actually reply to specific comments), it is more customizable, and it takes advantage of what I've already paid for. I only spent 2 days of agony trying to make it work, so show some love!

Frustration:

Today, well... the last 10 hours, has been extremely frustrating for me. I was hoping to integrate blog+website, but currently I'm just hating myself.

I can't log into cPanel. So I can't edit my website.

I wanted to do my design in Dreamweaver, but Dreamweaver keeps crashing. After a complete uninstall, shut down, reinstall, update, shut down, turn on, try again... fail.

WordPress is possibly one of the least user-intuitive programs I have ever used. It makes me want to scream and pull my hair out.

I have definitely done some of that today.

Frustration abounds. I should probably give up and go to bed.

Facebook Ad Space

So B-man and I have a website over at JustHost.com, and I recently realized that we have "Ad Credits" with them, so I decided to try it out, and now I have a (small, short lived) ad on Facebook! lol. I don't know that it will actually do anything, but it's free, and kind of... interesting.

It just gives me a good giggle.

I am currently working on my "past-posts" and today I am going to try and get a post up with my Bridal shots from last August. Maybe I should start with Engagement pictures, and then Invitations, then Bridals... hmmm...

I'm also trying to transition my blog to my website because I want to have a little bit more control over my layout. Maybe. We'll see.

Growing up...

I'm trying to get a hold on my life.

I've gained 30 pounds since getting married.

We haven't saved up the kind of money we were hoping to.

We had no food storage.

That's not the kind of life I want to continue with. So I've implemented a few changes. Like, we're counting calories now.

I've lost six pounds in a week, just by cutting out snacking and eating better. Incredible really. I know I can't always expect these kinds of results, but I think it's a tribute to just how unhealthy our life style had been, just one week ago.

We've started budgeting. See below for the awesome tool we're using.

We're started on the food storage. It's not huge, but we're working on it.

I want to tell you about the website we're using to budget though. I had spent a few hours chronicalling all of our spending in Excel (my least favorite program in the world) when I made a facebook plea for suggestions. After multiple "try using excel" suggestions, my Mama suggested I look at Mint.com and holy cow, I wish she had said it 4 hours earlier. Here is a little tour of Mint.com - just in case you too are looking for an easy to use, free, budgeting program. I realize the pictures are a bit small, so you can also check them out at flickr.com/areedwedding for a closer look at the details.

After creating an on Mint.com, you can add your bank accounts. I know this seems a little sketchy, but the connection between Mint.com and your bank is Read Only. They can collect the information, but they (and you) can't move money or do any other kind of transactions.

This is super useful for us, as we share accounts, but we have accounts at two different banks. They pull all of the transaction from both banks, and put them in one place. As you can see in the picture below, it's completely customizable - if something is listed incorrectly, you can change it and label it with one of the pre-made labels, or you can add your own. I changed Wal*Mart to mean groceries, since that is where we do our grocery shopping.

It also lets you split a purchase, so if you buy groceries, and a new pair of jeans on the same trip, you can set $30 for the groceries and $20 for the jeans, or what ever you spent.

Once all of your transactions have been listed, they create your current budget based on your past purchases. This was pretty shocking for us, since we had been spending far too much money on eating out. If the "pre-set" budget isn't what you want to spend, then you can change it, or if they don't have something you want to include in your budget, then you can add it. It also shows your spending compared to the US.

Another feature is it lets you decide if you want the budget to roll over. I said yes on the entertainment/eating out budgets, but no on the groceries, rent, etc - because those are pretty set in stone.

After you set up your budget, you can see it. I love the visual aspects of this website

As you can see, our ridiculous Electric bill hasn't hit our account yet, so but our rent, phone, and internet bills have. It tell you how much of your budgets money is left. If you go over - the bar turns red.

If you stick to the budget, then on the right it tells you how much money you will (potentially) have left over, and you can see how much it adds up over the next 3, 6, 9 or 12 months!

It also gives you pretty pie-charts! These can be organized by category, merchant, and over time. If you click on one piece of the pie chart, it gives you another breakdown of that specific category.

On the left it shows the potential to add other types of accounts, like managing your student loans, investments, and property. On the bar graph is also shows you where you are in the month, so for items like groceries or entertainment you can see how much money you have left compared to how much of the month is left.

You can also set up alerts, to let you know when you're reaching your Credit Card limits, or when you (or some one who has stolen your card) makes a huge purchase, or when bills are due.

Overall I am very pleased with this website. It also offer investment opportunities, and "ways to save" - or offers for credit cards/accounts based on your spending habits.

And the last thing I need to say is:

Thanks Mom!

It's just what we do.

During times of stress and durees, B-man and I kind of take a break. Instead of our usual Dinner and Food Network watching, we go our own ways.

Some times we do this for a week. It makes me love my husband more, knowing that we don't have to spend every moment together. Lol. I love that he forgives me when I snap at him that "I'm just reading." Since... I'm usually reading blogs on the expensive computer we bought to aid in his video gaming (among other things). So kind of him to not complain, when I could easily be sitting on the couch with a laptop. Instead, he plays video games on the TV.

Another endearing part of this "alone-time" is that he's still ridicously thoughtful. I know I could just as easily walk into the kitchen to get a drink, but he spoils me.

I don't know, but I tell myself he enjoys the time too. He gets to play his video games with out me complaining. Sometimes he pauses so we can snuggle for a minute on the couch, and then we both return to our solitary activities.

Before I got married, I spent a lot of time alone. Reading, watching TV, napping. I was worried that once we had been married for a while, I would go stir crazy for lack of breathing space. Thankfully B-man gets me, and my crazy desires to read blogs for hours on end. Don't worry, I predict that by Wednesday (or... whenever our Netflix gets here) that we will be chilling on the couch again. I mean... what's a young married couple to do?!

A hint of what's to come:

So earlier I blogged about wanting to post-blog about my wedding (among other things) and lucky for me, my amazing, talented, SIL, Twila, is going to let me show case some of her beautiful pictures, as I talk about my wedding!

Back in December Twila gave us these boxes.

The pictures don't do them justice, because they are beautiful. (Except the one B-man dropped... that one as lots of scratches all of it, and the pictures are out of order.)

There is one with all of the pictures from our rehearsal dinner, and the rehearsal, and some setting up. I was apparently making some... interesting faces, and she caught me!

There is one box with pictures from the Temple, and from our Ring Ceremony.

Then the last box is full of pictures from our reception.

I am so excited to get to share these all with you, because my wedding really was perfect, and wonderful, and I wouldn't change a thing!

If you are looking for a photographer in the NoVa area, she's the woman you're looking for! Check her out at Enchanted Light Studies!

|P Words.

I don't consider myself to be an overly wordy person. That doesn't mean I don't talk... a lot. It means I tend to try and post a picture for every few sentences I type.

But I want to talk about things that don't always have pictures to go with them. I am going to be doing some back posting. I would like to post about

• growing up
• moving
• dating
• heart break
• how I started dating my now husband
• getting engaged
• planning the wedding
• getting married
• my family
• my education
• my life plans
• my fears
• my thought and opinions on music, religion, and culture.

While most of these have pictures, they are going to be rather wordy posts. I say this because it's something I have been thinking about a lot. A lot. Some people have whole pages of their website dedicated to blog posts that cover portions of their lives, like "The wedding" and "My cooking" or "My photography."

I am thinking about transitioning this over to my website, and then sorting posts into categories. Who knows. It's a rather ambitious undertaking. Regardless, I think the first thing I will do it write the posts. lol.

Is there anything I should add to my list?

The Garden

Today we planted our seeds! It was such a beautiful day, and I love just being outside with B-man and the dogs. It's fantastic!

For Easter my Aunt gave me some Star Shaped sticky notes, in honor of my blogs name. So I decided to use them to continue this motif into our garden.

As I was making these tags B-man says "This is very teachery of you." "Oh really?" ... "Ummm... yeah... it seems like something a teacher would do."

I think it was the handwriting on some of them.

B-man also told me how impressed he was with my drive to get this done. Yah!!!

I know it seems silly, because we're moving in December, but I have always wanted to be more self sufficient, and right now this is all I can do, and I'm going to do it.

I think he believes now, when I say I want a cow. His response is "Eventually" or "Later" ... so I guess "we'll" see.

For now I will stick with the vegetables. I kind of wish we had planted some berries, but that's okay, maybe next time.

Recently we have been talking about the future. What?! B-man is not a planner. He's just a do-er. I on the other hand tend to over plan. So this is often a cause of tension.

We'll be driving home from a wonderful date and I'll pop this sucker on him:

"So when are we going to have babies."

And some times the poor man will listen to my long rant about when would be the best times...

and some times he says "yesterday" or "in 50 years." It varies.

Last night though, we had a wonderful conversation. There has been a lot of baby talk, but also a lot of Grad-school talk. And honestly, the both do not seem compatible to me. But who knows... there may be an itty-bitty-b-man in the next year or two!

Cheaper than dirt...

Table of Contents:

1. Food

2. Garden

3. Date Night

4. New Job!

First things first! I wanted to share a few pictures of the recipes I have been making from that cookbook. What do we have here?

Chicken Salad. It was supposed to be crab salad... but that scared me... so I used canned chicken instead. Probably would've been better with the crab... if I liked crab. Hmm... I'll figure this out eventually.

Spaghetti with meat sauce. Umm... there was nothing diet about it. Love! It was just a matter of portions, which is beautiful, because it was more than enough food, and I made extra since this is one of B-man's most favorite meals.

Creamy Pasta Salad. I followed all of the directions, including every vegetable they told me to put into it, but at the end of the day... I think I will leave some of the veggies out. BUT... I am doing this with an open mind, I tried it... and I don't like it. Boo.

Next! Number Two: Brandan and I made our garden. We have not planted yet... but we bought lumber, learned how to put the back seat down, brought it home, built it, put dirt and cow poop in it... voilà! Garden!

We took turns dumping in back of top soil, potting soil, pete moss, and compost (cow poop!).

"B-man! Be careful, we paid for that dirt?!"

"Yeah? Was it cheaper than dirt?"

"No... I think it cost about the same as dirt."

We're going to plant Cucumbers, Beets, Onions, Yellow and Green Summer Squash, Carrots, Spinach and Potatoes. Actually... the potatoes are done. They're layered in the orange tub. They're Yukon Gold potatoes.

The dogs got to be outside... all day. I really think they enjoyed it, since that does not happen very often.

I'm surprised they are so active and vocal right now, I figured they would be worn out!

Item of business # 3: We went out tonight. Because we woke up pretty late, and we both had an excess of calories to spend, we decided to go out to dinner. We didn't get dessert like we tend to do. Then we went and saw "Date Night" which was REALLY funny. I was kind of worried it would be a tad bit stressful, but I found myself laughing... a lot! If you like Tina Fey, or that boss guy from the Office, then you will probably love this movie.

LASTLY! I apparently have a new job...

As Zuko's bed.

I was pretty exhausted, and B-man was doing the dishes, and I just wanted to go to bed, and apparently I was taking up too much of the couch. Serves me right I guess!

Oh boy.

The dogs are wresting under the table. Growling... moaning... barking...

B-man says:

"Something subversive is going on down there."

Oh boy. It's that kind of day.

I have pictures of my first two recipes from our new cookbook. I'll post them... eventually. lol. In the mean time I was hoping to plant my garden today, but apparently i have to wait... says B-man. So I am impatiently waiting... and waiting... and waiting...

Dieting.

This may be the most personal blog I've ever written. So with that in mind, tread lightly because this is a sensitive topic.

I weigh too much. How much? I'm not comfortable putting a number on the internet. Let's just say my BMI puts me into the "Obese" category, and I'm determined to change that.

With small steps.

One of my goals before I turn 23 is to lose 20 pounds. To be honest... I had considered putting ten. That would've been easy - but I'm hoping to go above and beyond 20. My goal is actually to lose 100 pounds. If I lost 100 pounds I would be considered a "healthy weight."

How am I going to do this? Here are a few things B-man and I are using:

1. We're walking the dogs. Every morning. Further and further. We started out with a 30 minute walk, but eventually we'll get up to jogging. I really need to work on building up strength in my hip - which keeps my from wanting to go jogging for fear of weeks of pain.
   


2. I bought a book. A cook book. A diet book. I don't know. It's by Taste of Home magazine, and it's called the "Comfort food cookbook diet." Here is why this works for me:
   


It all looks delicious!
It does not depend on fish or other seafood to get the low calorie count.
It does not depend on bell peppers for the flavor. This is a big one as bell peppers give me the worst heart burn ever. EVER!
It's easy.

And lastly? It has 6 weeks of meals already planned out for you. You just have to buy the ingredients and make it. And these recipes aren't just some thing a chef came up with, but tried and true recipes from people who have had success with this diet.


3. We're using the above methods in combination with The Hacker's diet online. It's just an easy place to keep track of your progress and goals, and it gives you a good idea of how many calories to cut out in order to lose "x amount" of weight a week.
   
   
4. That's the fourth thing. We're calorie counting. It sounds scary, and crazy. The only thing that makes it easier is that every recipe in this cook book is already counted up!
   
So... any "diet cookbook" that includes donught



And pizza pockets...



Is okay in my book!

I get the impression that people think I'm a confident, capable young woman. In most cases, that's true. But really - I hate the way I look. I hate the way my clothes feel. I hate the number on my pants. I hate the way my heart races when I walk up a hill, or the way my hip hurts when I'm just sitting down. I look in the mirror and see some one who is fat, and ugly, and I am going to change it.

Weight has always been emphasized in my family. Diets and work out plans and relatives telling me "You'll never find a husband if you weigh that much." Ridiculous. I'm not doing this for them, I'm doing it for myself. Because I want to like myself.

The End.

Think positive thoughts.

So, I had a meeting this morning, and left rather disgruntled. I felt the meeting was less productive than it should've been, and I left feeling a little deflated.

BUT... thankfully my day got better. I went over to TSD to do some more volunteering. I'm helping take language samples and it is so much fun. I really love working with these kids. Every time I go I feel like I picked the wrong major! And then I think "Oh no, I have to go back to school!" Because I really think that teaching is what I want to do.

Now what? I don't know. Maybe I'll go back to school and get a degree in general education. Bah! This is where my stress levels increase and I start to think "Oh now I can't do anything?!"

Almost done. Almost done.

Sorry... I don't have any more coherent sentences.

Later: our new "diet" and "work-out" schedule. Woot!

Back Tracking: Franklin, TN

While we were in Nashville we took the opportunity to be tourists.

We went to the Carter House in Franklin Tennessee.

And we went on the hour long tour.

Our tour guide was amazing! His name was Rob.

And it was kind of surreal to think that 146 years ago thousands of men died on the ground we were standing on.

The tour was very moving, as our guide pointed out that the survivors of this battle went on to do amazing things, and with out them, our world would be very different. With out Ernest Hemingway, or Hellen Keller, or our tour guide - all descended from men who barely survived this battle.

It was incredible to see all of the bullet holes. Bullet holes that start at this building, and go through three or four more walls, ending in a different building!

The weather was so beautiful for our hole trip, and even though my hip was killing me, I'm glad we took the opportunity to visit this historic location!

After the tour we went to down town Franklin, and ate a Merridee's. A family owned bakery and restaurant. B-man go the apple bacon panini... which was AWESOME. I got a grilled cheese sandwich, which was also good.

The food was good, but the portions were pretty small for the price. I would definitely try a different place if we went back - which is saying a lot since I tend to frequent the same places rather than finding new ones.

Then we went to Naticakes, a cute little cupcake store with a mission.

I got the Cookies & Creme, while B-man just got lots of chocolate. Both were very very good!

Overall, a wonderful trip. I would love to go back and see the Carnton Plantation, and maybe try a different restaurant. We'll have to see when Rob gives tours at Carnton to make it worth the while.

One Down!!!!

After our trip to Nashville I have crossed off my first thing! 1 down, 22 to go.

Back Tracking: Easter in Nashville

B-man and I have been planning on visiting Nashville for a while. It was on my list of 23 things to do before I turn 23, and it was part of expanding B-man's horizons. I can now say I only have 22 things left to do, and B-man can say the furthest West (in the US) that he has been is now Nashville! We also got to see extended family, and B-man got to meet relatives that were unable to make it up for our wedding.

We arrived Friday afternoon. I love visiting my Aunt & Uncle's home. It's always so beautiful, and every one is so welcoming and kind. I don't know how we managed to draw the longest straw, but we ended up sleeping in a room that felt more like a hotel than most hotels I've stayed in.

We also snagged our own bathroom! Both were so spacious and beautiful. It definitely felt like a vacation, which is wonderful - because I was in desperate need of a comfy bed, and a bigger bathroom.

On Saturday Brandan and I made a trip to Franklin (which get's its own blog post). We did a bit of touristing, and then went back to the house for...

Some quality swim time. The pool was so nice and refreshing. See! Just like a hotel, but with better company!

After church we opened up Easter baskets! Ours was German/European themed!

My Aunt The Easter bunny also include these for me!

Because I'm One Shiny Star! I'm also a big fan of post-it notes. Yes!

Then every one had a job to do...

Some how Brandan got the best job, but I think he ended up playing video games any way. I think he really enjoyed getting to be around some guys his own age!

As people started arriving, my cousin's boyfriend decided it was a good time to try and rescue this kite... again. They had tried on Friday with little success.

So every one trounced out to the field, and with a bottle of some car fluid tied to a rope, they put in their best effort to get the kite down. It had only been there two years!

Succes...?

Nope.

Oh well... I'm sure my Aunt's dog Rocky enjoyed being out there while the fun lasted!

Then it was dinner time!

The food was delicious and the company was fantastic.

My Dad's brother's family was not able to make it up for the wedding, but they finally got to meet B-man, and I'm glad we got to see them (well... almost all of them, once of my cousin's had to work).

B-man in a food coma!

I was nervous about leaving the dogs, but everything turned out fine... better than fine! I am really glad we went! The dogs were happy to see us when we got home, but Zuko had chewed off his harness.... gah! I had bought the one that was a little more sturdy and expensive, in hopes that it would last... but apparently puppies left to their own devices will chew on ANYTHING. At least it wasn't his bed! Now he has a new, blue collar. I prefer the harness... it's like a puppy-handle!

We really did have a fabulous time though, and I'm hoping it won't be too long until we see every one again!