c25k: Feel'n Good

For once these intervals have felt awesome. I ran again at the gym on the treadmill. 5.3 jogging speed is slightly more comfortable for my stride. I think 5.5 might be even more comfortable so I'll try that next time. 3.0 for the walking speed.

I did add in an extra half a minute onto one of the jogging intervals just because I was feeling so good about the pace and work out. So that's good.

My sneakers started rubbing my arch on my right foot. For some reason my arch is in an odd spot and no matter how comfortable sneakers are everywhere else, they sometimes hit my arch while running. It wasn't insufferable, it wasn't too bad actually, no blister or anything. Just uncomfortable.

I think I need to invest in some running socks. I'm not ready for $13 socks like Casey but maybe a pair of $5 socks instead of the $1 ones I'm currently using will help alleviate the issue.

My legs were super exhausted by the end of the day, I spent the rest of the daylight hours at Macy's with my mother looking for a dress for her to wear to Laura's wedding next weekend. We definitely found a great one. Let's forget the fact that in dresses my mother and I are the same size...it's not depressing, my mom's worked hard to trim down and I know in pants I'm still a few sizes smaller. Mostly it's just my torso that is in need of a larger size (thanks ta-tas!) but yeah, hoping the c25k will help me trim down a bit more so it's not an option to share clothes with my mom...

Quick Stats:
1.75 miles in 28:30.

c25k: Once more with feeling!

So I somehow was quite awake this morning when my alarm went off at 4:51am. And that meant I went to the gym without complaint...to myself...

It's been awhile since I've actually gotten my butt to the gym. Mostly I haven't been feeling up to it, but also every time I think, Oh now's a perfect time to go! Either all of a sudden my stomach feels like it's going to explode or something else comes up.

Also, I was on the hunt for new running sneakers for the better part of a month. It started awhile back while I was in Virginia. I knew the Nike+ sneakers I wanted to try on were on sale at Foot Locker so I went with Jason. Sadly, they didn't have my size, but I could tell that the sneaker fit so well and was prefect.

Then, I doubted myself and ordered a few different pair from New Balance. My last pair of running sneakers that I went to a running store and got fitted for were New Balance 1062s. They don't make them anymore and the 1064s that replaced them have the arch in the wrong place for my foot. All of those sneakers went back.

Then I went over to Zappos and ordered, idk, 5 more pair of sneakers. My Dad thought it was hilarious how I ran from the bathroom in the den all the way to the front door and back in each pair a few times. Apparently when they first moved into the house 25 years ago my brother did the same thing...running laps through the empty house because he'd never had so much ROOM to move around it.

Low and behold, I found my sneakers! Nike+ Voomero4. They are incredible. I wore them to the gym once or twice but at the time I hadn't gotten on the treadmill, just did some time on the elliptical instead. These are in fact the sneakers I originally tried on at the Foot Locker and they didn't have my size. I should have gone with my gut but I wanted to try on all my options first.

Today I ran in them for the first time and they are incredible! Usually I get very tired very fast. I know I'm not a conditioned athlete, but I'll get there someday. Typically I get exhausted after the first two intervals on the c25k routine, today I felt pretty amazing throughout the entire run!

I didn't get shinsplints either! Which is a big deal in my world. I am horribly afflicted with shinsplints sometimes and it causes me to lose a lot of momentum and I have to change my stride to compensate for the pain.

Behold! My Holy Grail of running sneakers!

I might just buy a second pair to have on hand. Eventually I'll also invest in a Nike+ to put into the little pouch in the shoe's foot-bed.

Now for the c25k rundown:

• I did a little over a 5minute warm up at 3.0 (20 minute mile speed).
• I walked my intervals at 3.0 as well.
• I jogged my intervals at 5.0 (12 minute mile speed) however I think next time I'll bump it up to at least 5.3. I felt like I was running in slow motion and if I raise it just slightly I'll probably be able to extend my legs into a more comfortable fuller stride.
• I did 1.75 miles (just shy of half a 5k) in 29 minutes. (Including the warm up and cool down).
• Still using Kari's c25k mix. Somehow it never gets old.

Felt fantastic during the run, as I mentioned before: no shinsplints, a little tightness in my calf and groin but that worked itself right out when I stretched afterward.

I feel fantastic. Incredible. Probably the best I've ever felt after a running workout. I think I'll hit the gym again tomorrow and do the same workout with a slightly altered jogging pace and see how I feel.

Laura's wedding is in exactly 7 days. Obviously I don't expect to suddenly drop 10lbs but maybe 2lbs would be acceptable :)

DPF: I got a fever!

I think you know what the only prescription for that fever is!

I have to admit, ringing a cowbell is pretty amazing. And I think as long as there isn't a headache along with that fever you're suffering from, a cowbell might just cure it.

WW: Photographers

This past weekend was spent not only completing a to do list for Laura's wedding (which holy cow is now 9 days away!) but also meeting two photographers who we're considering for our wedding.

Ages ago I fell in love with a capital region photographer named Joe Elario. His work is phenomenal. I can't even put it into words, it's just breathtaking. I contacted him to see if there was a possibility we'd ever be able to afford him...sadly we cannot.

You see, photography is the one thing I will splurge on. It is extremely important to me that we have incredible photographs from our wedding. The food should be good, but after the night is over it's gone. The photographs are with you for life, so they better be damn good.

I had a number in my head as to where my friends and my sister were budgeted with their photography and then I added a little bit more to that and decided it would be my splurge number.

The wonderful JP's lowest package (4hrs of coverage) is already over my splurge number. In fact the package I'd be interested in is nearly double my splurge number. *sadface* I've given up on that one.

I did however, have a list of other photographers whose work also struck me as something special. So Saturday we met with one woman, and Sunday we met with the other.

Saturday morning we met Keira Lemonis. It was a pretty straight forward meeting, I already had most of the information about her pricing and packages via email but I wanted to meet her in person. Her work is beautiful. She is slightly more artistic than some of the other photographers we're considering but being artsy is never a bad thing in my book.

I liked her. I liked her work. I liked her pricing. Even with adding things in like the guest photo booth, an engagement session and maybe a third session like trash the dress or something, she was still below my splurge number. That's a plus. She was actually priced just a little bit higher than what Laura is paying to have Jeff Guntert to do her wedding. (Jeff is fabulous as well and has a great personality but he might not be taking clients for next year. So I haven't spoken with him yet.)

All in all, I liked Keira.

Sunday Laura and I drove over to Saratoga Springs to meet Heather Bohm-Tallman of HBT Photography. She has a little store front next to a florist and it's adorable. Heather's work is also beautiful. She has something very special in the way she captures a lot all at once. What I loved about her is that she also photographs dogs. I know this sounds strange, but the fact that she photographs dogs and is very good at it is a plus. Dogs are very difficult to get to sit still, they move around a lot and it's hard to capture a beautiful photo while still getting the essence of the dog. Heather does this well. Her puppy shots are incredible!

If she can capture the movement of a dog, then she'd be great at capturing little quiet quick moments from our wedding day. To me, that's a plus.

Her package pricing starts a little bit higher and when we add on the additional things like an e-session and a photo booth it brings us just a little bit over my splurge number.

I sat down with my parents Sunday night and showed them both websites and both blogs. My Mom and I agree on which photographer we like better. My Dad has yet to inform me on his preference. I'm in the midst of showing Jason their work as well and seeing what he thinks either way.

By the weekend of Laura's wedding I hope to have decided on the venue (hopefully the barn), the photographer, and maybe even the church. I need to make a few calls and meet with someone from my church this week/weekend to see what the process is for getting married out of town. This might get old real fast with politics and stupid things that shouldn't matter but we'll see what happens.

A Slightly Belated Father's Day

Today's Man is a very special one.

It's my Dad.

Truth be told, I am a total Daddy's Girl. Not only do I love my father like any daughter would, I also consider him one of the most level-headed people I know and constantly seek his opinion on things or advice.

If there's a question in my life, so monstrous like, "Should I be a designer or a doctor?" or somewhat insignificant like, "Is the traffic moving better on the Throgs Neck or the Whitestone?" I'll call my Dad.

I credit my father with my dry sarcastic wit and my uncanny sense of direction. I also credit my father with random knowledge about brain coral and sea fans, and my taste in music.

Mostly I just wanted to say, Happy Father's Day Dadoo! Love you always :)

Riding a Praying Mantis on the Carousel at the Bronx Zoo.

Wedding Wednesdays

Ever since Jason and I got engaged, people have been asking us what our plans are and when we're getting married. I think my aunt won completely though when she asked me on Sunday afternoon, when we had barely been engaged 36 hours if we had registered yet.

Really?

Not everyone wants to hear about our wedding. Nor do I want to continually talk about it and feel like those around me are getting annoyed.

So in an effort not to turn Persnickety Penny into a wedding blog I am going to limit myself to one wedding planning related post per week. I'll roll everything that happened in our wedding journey throughout the week into one post so those of you who are uninterested in wedding banter can just skip it. Obviously this won't last the entire time we're engaged but for now, a weekly post will do. As we get closer to next July I'm sure the posts about our wedding will become more frequent.

This weekend Jason came to visit. Since my father is down in the MD helping the Beaner paint and drill things into the walls of her new condo it was just the two of us...and my mother. We had an extremely productive weekend.

Saturday we went over to Macy's to start our registry. The people in the Bridal Department at Macy's in Roosevelt Field are always super helpful. I've dealt with them a few times between Jaclyn's and Julianne's registries. They are low key and let you do your own thing and wander throughout the store as you wish scanning whatever your heart desires. They give you a check list of suggested items which helps but since I'm a Type A personality I already had a list in my head as to exactly what we'd register for at Macy's and what we'd leave to Bed Bath & Beyond.

Can I tell you that registering is exhausting? Really. There are so many decisions and it's so difficult even when you know what you want!

We came out of Macy's unscathed and had some supper at California Pizza Kitchen and then went home to discuss a few other things. (I'll get back to this later.)

Sunday (after the cutest farewell mass ever! Our pastor is retiring and all the KofC was out in their fluffy hats and at the end of mass someone gave Father Bill a Winnie the Pooh balloon. Adorable! I never realized how much he does remind me of Pooh until that exact moment...but anyway.) ...we went over to BB&B to register there.

Again, I've had a lot of contact with the BB&B Bridal Registry Department in the Oceanside store and they're pretty fabulous. Joe is pretty awesome and went to Albany so we reminisced about upstate while he got us started. The one thing that bothers me about BB&B is that we basically had to ditch the woman who was helping us with our registry. They get you started and then one of the Registry people takes you around helping you pick out things...

I already had a wish list printed out of things I wanted to either straight up register for or look at and decide with Jason exactly which items we wanted. It took us about 10 minutes to ditch the woman because she kept on bringing us to different departments and suggesting things when I already had other things picked out. But once she handed the scan gun over to Jason we were on our way.

We literally spent 3 hours going back and forth between a few things. And when all was said and done I realized something very important. Jason and I have NOTHING.

Seriously.

We had to register for SO MUCH stuff. Jason has very little in his apartment aka the "man cave" and what he does have is broken and/or old things left over from college or bought at GoodWill. I have even fewer things than I thought I had.

I already have 8 places settings of china and one or two serving items. But other than that, and a blender...I have 3 frying pans of varying sizes, some bar ware, muffin tins and that's about it.

So our registry has a good 300 items on it. Do I expect to get everything? Absolutely not. Would it be really nice to get everything, hell yes! We registered for casual china (Fiestaware of course!), casual flatware (since the flatware Jason currently has is from the $1 store), casual drink ware (I maybe have 8 cobalt blue glasses left from a set of 12, and 2 pilsner glasses from Margaritaville), bakeware, fine crystal, appliances, bedding, kitchen stuffs...everything.

Most expensive item: KitchenAid Stand up Mixer (You know, for all those delicious cakes I have to practice decorating! This is the type of thing I don't expect someone to buy us since it's a big ticket item, but I'm hoping gift cards can be used towards purchasing it.)
Fun item we love but don't necessarily need: SodaStream Soda Maker (I've always wanted one and there was a girl demo-ing it in Macy's so we thought it'd be a fun thing to add since we love soda. This is one of the top things I really hope we get!)
Hardest item to pick out: Garment Bag piece of Luggage (Jason and I already have luggage but we need a garment bag. We really wanted one that could pass as a carry on item...apparently this is next to impossible to find! I think we finally decided on a Tumi because although I'm unfamiliar with the brand, Tarek swears by it and he travels internationally a LOT so I'll trust him.)

Other than the registry we discussed bridal party people and possible attire. I'm pretty set on my girls. I mean it's pretty obvious to me who I would have as my bridesmaids and although I haven't "officially" asked them, I'm positive they know who they are. If all goes as planned I'll have 5 bridesmaids. There is a small chance one of them will be out of the country at the time of my wedding so then I'll be down to 4 but she will totally be involved in my wedding planning even if she can't be there on the day.

Jason's list isn't as solid. We're including all of our siblings so our two brothers are definite. He has a very good friend from childhood who he is still close with, a very good friend from NH/college, and then he also has two other friends from growing up he's considering including. We're not sure how big we want our bridal party to be, but if I'm down to 4 girls and Jason is up to 6 guys then that's a little too uneven for us. There's a possibility the two additional men will be given the usher job/title so they are involved...but we're still deciding on this one.

Either way, I knew what kind of a look I wanted and was curious to find out what Jason thought of it. He thought my chromatic scale of blue across the board for the bridesmaids was pretty cool. But he definitely was not interested in having the groomsmen wear grey.

Yes, I made this over at David's Bridal.
And yes, I plan on wearing a tea-length dress.
(Not necessarily that one.)

I explained that I liked the grey tuxedos because they are slightly less formal and with the sort of wedding we're having it would be odd to have formal black tuxes with all the whistles and bells. Jason was still not excited about grey anything, even a charcoal grey suit.

Originally I really wanted to see Jason in a three piece navy blue suit. I thought it would look amazing on him but I was having a lot of trouble finding a store that carried any.

We went over to the Men's Wearhouse website and low and behold there was one! Let's forget for a moment how strange the face this model is making in the photo, and focus on the important things.

The suit is vested! I know that if we rent tuxes a vest is optional anyway, but it'd be very difficult to match a vest for the guys to each of the ladies (despite the fact Men's Wearhouse has many colors that match David's Bridal they don't have all my shades of blue). Also, I hate the look of cummerbunds or the backless vests when the man takes off his jacket. Obviously it's July and the guys will be taking their jackets off at the reception. I want them looking stylish even sans jacket.

Flat front pants! Pleats make for weird tent-like unattractive while seated issues. I want our men to look as fine as they are!

Also comes in a really nice black! If Jason still isn't thrilled with the "color" choice we can do a black with a subtle stripe. Me, I'd prefer the blue because everything for our wedding is different shades of blue. But if Jason really is against it, we have other choices.

They get to keep it! I've heard that when you add on all the accessories to the tux rental they can reach over $100. According to Andy, the tux rentals for his and Jaclyn's wedding were between $150 and $160 since they got nicer tuxes. In my eyes if the guys are going to spend that much anyway wouldn't they rather be able to keep the suit after the wedding? Am I wrong in assuming this? At least they'll come out of our wedding with a nice new suit! And we're all at the age that within the next few years a bunch of our friends will be getting married so even if they don't wear the suit with the vest, they still have a nice new suit to wear to everyone's wedding!

I finally tracked down the website that we bought the Partial Credit ties off of. Their silk ties are very good quality (I know because the PC ties go through a lot of travel and partying), and they have 50+ colors. Plus, their prices are AMAZING. So I'm thinking we'll buy the groomsmen accessories like ties and matching pocket squares, maybe nice/quirky cuff links. I'm not sure if they'll all get boutonnieres. If they have pocket squares they don't need bouts but we'll see what Jason prefers. Whether he admits it or not I think he has more preferences as to what the men wear than he's letting on.

I also spy with my little eye some polka dotted silk ties! Maybe for the ushers or father's? I think we could work those in somehow :) Because they make me happy and they are totally on theme with the polka dots!

Manjoyment Monday

Reinstating Manjoyment Monday after I've slacked hardcore everywhere on Persnickety Penny.

Today's man is John Cho. Probably most famous for being Harold, but he seems to be getting a little more screen play lately. Me likes.


Plus I just want to run my fingers through his soft thick hair.

DPF: A Day without Dancing

Today I woke up and this is what I saw:


There is no dancing today. The Beaner is gone. I am alone with my parents in the house again.

And all she left me was a Louisville Slugger, some change containers sans change, and a dirty water cup.

No dancing. Just a sister-less existence.

La la la la la

While at the beach Ashley and I watched a few episodes of Daria. Including the epic "Brainfever" episode.

I heart Trent. Therefore please enjoy today's Man...in cartoon form.


Image borrowed from Outpost Daria.

Charo: New Depths of Stupidity!

Charo has reached new heights! Or rather maybe I should say new lows in her constant ability to shock me in how stupid she really is.

Last Thursday on payday Charo apparently did something very out of the ordinary for her. She paid a bill in full. *GASP*

Now to me, that's a common occurrence. I only every buy things that I know I can pay for immediately and just don't have the cash on me at the time, or that I know when the bill comes in I can pay off in full. I very rarely carry over a balance on my credit cards and I know it will be a difficult adjustment in the coming months when I start buying wedding things and can't possibly pay for all of it at once and have to pay installments...but I digress.

Charo on the other hand has absolutely no savings and is very stupid with her money and lives from paycheck to paycheck.

Anyway, Charo suddenly realizes she has paid her bill in full and is verbally abusing herself the whole time she calls up Verizon to tell them she didn't mean to pay off the whole bill since it isn't due till the end of June. They say to call her bank and have the payment stopped. Her bank says it's already been posted so they can't do anything about it and she should bring it up with Verizon.

Meanwhile she's called her ever-understanding mother to explain what's going on. Mommy dearest basically bitches out Charo about being so stupid with her money and reminds her that rent is due. Yeah, she is living with her mom again and can't afford to move out.

I understand this, I'm living with my parents because I can't afford to live on my own and it'd be stupid to waste money when I'm working so close. But when they ask me if I can pay for groceries or kick for a certain phone/cable bill I'm always willing and able because I have a savings account I can dip into on a rainy day. And since I'm not paying a monthly rent I don't mind at all picking up incidentals like that.

Frustrated that Mother dearest is angry with her for being stupid, Charo basically tells her to eff off and not to worry about it.

Verizon tells her that if she wants she can put in a petition to get a refund. She is panicked that she'll be out the $200 for two weeks and really needs the money back. They tell her to call back in a week.

Again she calls Mommy dearest and tells her the update that she should be getting back the money and everything will be fine. She's "banking on it" in fact. I'm sorry, but where in the conversation did Verizon promise anything? My thoughts are she's just digging herself a bigger hole.

Today Charo calls back Verizon because apparently her petition has been denied and she won't be getting a refund. She is AGHAST at their ruthlessness. How dare they not give her money back!

Let's back-peddle for a second here...Charo paid her bill in full. It was her error because she is a moron and apparently doesn't know how the website works. This is legitimately her fault, it has nothing to do with Verizon at all. Obviously their policy is if you have a balance out on your account they can't refund you any money. That seems perfectly sensible to me.

Well not to Charo...

She goes off on the customer service rep and demands to talk to a supervisor. When she gets on the phone with the supervisor he informs her that this is their policy and it always has been. Charo badgers the supervisor and explains that if the original customer service rep had known that she wouldn't have gotten her money back she should have been informed last week instead of having to wait a week to be denied.

Then, in true Charo fashion, she threatens to leave the company. "Well what if I tell you I'm going to leave Verizon, what would you do?" He probably replies that he'd do nothing. "Well what can you do to keep me as a customer? What are you willing to offer me?"

Seriously Charo? Asking for a freebie when you're pissed at them because you paid a bill?! So what you're basically doing is asking for a reward for paying your bill in full and before the due date? Maybe they should really have thrown you a parade!

I just can't...really...I can't.

So what is Charo's solution? "I'm going to switch to AT&T and get an iPhone!"

First off she has such a huge Verizon bill because she has a Blackberry. She has NO NEED for one. I know this because I don't even have a need for one and I use the internet much more and have Freelance design clients contacting me and wedding vendors and such. I actually could use a Blackberry but am not willing to pay a ridiculous amount for the data package which is why I haven't gotten one yet. Because I'm trying to save money and that's what you do, you make sacrifices.

For me my little phone with unlimited txting is plenty for now. In the coming months I might change my mind but we'll see what happens.

Regardless. Charo has a Blackberry for no reason and is paying a lot to have it. Like at least $100 a month. I pay maybe $30 a month. Instead she wants to get an iPhone which is even more expensive than a Blackberry. That's the ideal situation in Charo-land. And I applaud her stupidity for that.

DPF: Mmmmmm bread

I don't have any words right now...wait till you hear the ridiculousness that is going on in the cube next to me...

Note to Self: Quit Being a Bad Blogger

I owe Persnickety Penny these posts:

1. Laura's Bridal Shower
2. Venue Hunting
3. Party in the USA
4. Date Night with Casey
5. MDW Extravaganza

Those if not more will be back-posted soon.