Weddings!

The wedding yesterday was beautiful! My niece looked lovely and of course I cried. Weddings always make me cry. I'm not sure why...but as soon as the bridal march begins I lose it. I guess it's because weddings are such happy occasions - full of hope and promise for the future. They are a sign that the circle of life continues as a new family is formed and two extended families are merged together. My duaghter and her hubby also sang a beautiful duet during the ceremony "When God made you..He must've been thinking of me..." and of course that made me cry too! (thank goodness for waterproof mascara!)

The reception was so much fun and I danced half the night (unusual for me) but now that I'm running I've tapped into a little more energy than I knew I had. My son in law (whom I haven't seen in a couple of months - he didn't make the last trip in from Massachusetts with my daughter) asked me if I had lost weight (!) That made my night! I told him that I'd been running and while the weight has been slow to come off - I think it's rearranging itself. And my other daughter (bless her heart) told me my butt looked a lot smaller.

Those are the things I need to make me continue on believe that this journey is worth the struggle. And it was those words that compelled me to go out in the sweltering heat this morning before church and do my run. As I'd planned - I deviated form the schedule of running 20 straight minutes. I repeated the two 8 minute runs with a 5 minute walk in between. It was hot but I did it and I'm finding that the breathing is getting easier.

I have also come to the truthful realization that I really need to watch my food intake better. I've gotten lax since I started the Cto5k program thinking that it didn't matter. But it does. Last night at the reception they had stations with the most incredible food! And I helped myself to what ever I wanted. But I did take tiny servings and I passed on the wedding cake. (Each table had their very own cake which amounted to very large slabs of cake!) but being that I'm not a real cake person, it was easy to pass up.

In between the ceremony and the reception we went to my cousin's house for an "in-between" party and I found my hand in the snack bowls more often than it should've been. And it didn't help that the morning of the wedding my oldest daughter showed up at the house with cream filled chocolate covered donuts. My absolute favorite. And of course...I ate one.

So I need to watch it. And maybe when this running becomes something I do daily instead of every other day - and I've managed to drop the weight I'm carrying now - I'll be able to not be so concerned about what goes into my mouth as long as it's in moderation.

I'm trying to keep up with the small plate theory (I swear it really has some merit) and drinking my water and choosing whole grains whenever possible. I keep telling myself - one foot in front of the other and eventually I'll reach my goal.

I've included a few pics of the happy day - the happy bride and groom and me and my siblings. (Me on the far left - the matriarch of the family...) This was at the end of the evening...tired and swaety!

Hope you'll had a great weekend!