June 2013 - Wedding 101 and Do It Yourself Wedding Planning

Friday, June 28, 2013

Daily Devotional

Daily Devotional is like a vitamin we should take daily. 


So here's what I took today from an article:

Working Out Of Rest

Hebrews 4:3
3For we who have believed do enter that rest…

Naturally speaking, when we rest, we don’t work. So what does working out of rest mean? Well, let me explain by sharing with you what the Lord had taught me.
Many years ago, when I first started preaching, I would prepare diligently for all my sermons. I fine-tuned my points and made sure that everything was in place. I would think to myself, “Man, I am going to share this... and that…”
But when I preached, I would forget to mention certain points. Because of that, I would get angry with myself. I would tell myself, “That was such a good point. Why didn’t I remember to share it?”
Then, God began to speak to me. He said, “Son, your preaching is not out of rest. It is out of your memory.” What He said next changed my life, not just in the area of preaching, but also in every other area, and I pray that it will bless you too. He said, “Prepare everything you need to. But when you stand in front of the people, whatever you need to say, I will give to you.”
Yes, there must be preparation, whether it is your sermon or sales presentation. I am not telling you to be lazy and just do nothing. You need to prepare, but don’t depend on your preparation. Just trust God and tell yourself that whatever you forget, God wants it forgotten. And whatever you didn’t plan to say but said, it is because God wanted it said. Don’t be stressed out and lose your rest by thinking, “I must know everything! I must remember everything and do everything I have prepared!”
No, believe God and be at rest. When the time comes, whatever you need to know, there and then, God will let you know. Whatever you don’t need to know, you don’t need to know. And don’t worry about what you didn’t say — believe that God didn’t want it said.
My friend, when you live life like that — trusting God and resting in His love for you — you become cool and collected. And when you are peaceful and at rest in Him, what you do prospers!

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Thoughts for the wedding!
Today we're just ideas!

1. Thinking of simple white invitations: With Silver touches.
And blue and pink and green ribbons.




2. Fiance and I talked and I asked sweetly?
Can we have 1 week Honeymoon. He said yes, if only his time permits it.

We're thinking of 2 Honeymoon destinations. Surprise surprise.

My friend told me to visit recto and I'm planning on going to Divisoria. So two
destinations in tow this Saturday.


3. Thinking of Green Cupcakes.


Then why not Blue, Pink and Green Cupcakes. haha!




4. Saw this. And how about it!



source: Photographer: Rainbowfish Photography
by: Bride and Breakfast

5. Approval from PMA.

Still waiting.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

185 days before Wedding Day
I have not panicked since February when I started planning but hey!

All of a sudden I was just a bit thinking how I could have done a lot faster but I haven't.

Paul called and reminded me to stay calm. He said he doesn't want me to stress over it.

So after 1 night I'm all dolled up to push through.

My big rocks we're simple:


  • Contact the Band - Done
  • Cake Design to be ordered next month check
  • Update Wedding website -Yes
  • Choose invitation design -Done 
  • And ask all my cute doll friends to be flower girls. They all said yes! Great!
Right now I'm ending this day by choosing swatches for my guests on what to wear.
And here's the final swatches:


And who better but Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf and Nate Archibald.


Enjoy Artsies!









Monday, June 24, 2013

Unveiled wife .com

Prayer Of The Day – Finding Comfort

For Jun 21, 2013 05:04 am

Dear Lord,
I lift up my marriage to you. I pray that you would continue to mature our relationship and teach us how to be good to one another. Thank you for the gift of marriage! I pray that you would help me to find my comfort in you Lord. So often I seek fulfillment only in my husband and what he can provide for me. I pray that my heart would change, that I would go to you first, always. You are the only one who can truly fulfill me and comfort me. However, there are times that I need my husband’s loving arms to wrap around me, his tender voice to encourage me, and his love to comfort me. I pray that my husband would be able to provide this for me and I pray I can do the same for him. Help us to put each other’s needs above our own in Jesus name AMEN!


I like this prayer from Unveiled wife. Subscribe to their posts. :)

Friday, June 21, 2013

" How Great is our God "

We have an amazing God.

He is just amazing. 

Today, I experienced another miracle. I am coming from Ortigas and I need to be inside my office in 
Makati at 8:00 sharp. I was claiming a price in Ortigas and I need to go through the entire talk and process to claim the price. It was a free hotel stay with Breakfast in Baguio City. 

So I was rushing and walking as fast as I can. My clock was dead but God's time was not.

It was raining so hard, I heard that it was flooded in Makati.

I was at the train station at 7:20-7:30ish. The line was long and I need to buy a ticket. And just when
I was about to enter the flatform the train came in and left. I asked the lady beside me once there and she said the train comes in every 15 minutes. So I said there is no way I'll get to work because that would be 7:45 already. But I didn't worry at all. I just gave it all to him.

And then surprise surprise! The train is coming. When I got out four stations after, I ran as quickly as I could to get a jeepney ride. And that felt like forever. Then here comes traffic. I'm in Buendia. 

I don't know what time it is too. I was glancing at the phone of my seatmate. It was 7:43.
then 7:45.

And its still a bit far. The funny thing is I was not worried. I was just praying hard. And then all of a 
sudden it was almost all green lights. To think there's flood at the end of this main road. 

Ang guess what... I got in even 3 minutes before my log in time. :)

God works in mysterious ways in our lives. Our daily lives in ways that we don't know how.

Like love stories.
Meeting a friend.
Getting a job that you've wanted so long.
Or getting a better job than what you desired.

I like the after feeling when you meditate. 

The feeling of being alive, breathing, looking at our world. Our lives. Who we are. And what we've become.

This whole time I was singing the song How Great is our God

♫ How Great is our God, Sing with me How Great is our God ♫
♫ And all will see how great how great is our God ♫
♫ Name above all names, You are worthy of our Praise ♫

Thursday, June 20, 2013

So we think we have problems? So we think Life is Hard.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Good And Bad Personality endorsers
Wedding Planning Continuation (inspiration by ONE Wed @ onewed.com)
Military Grooms are like Prince Charmings.
source: http://www.onewed.com
by: Egomedia Photography

Wow!


That's all I can say with this photo above. And though mine will be spent on a bright sun shiny December I hope I'd have such amazing photos.

Its 192 days before wedding day!

So from this photo above, I checked out the complete site and
below are the other inspirations that I got from Onewed.com. 
Go ahead and visit them.



As for my checklist, I'm currently working on:

  • Band
  • Wedding Website
  • Honeymoon
  • Songs
  • Finalizing the Guest List
  • Wedding Invitation and Save the Date Cards









So here are a few cute ones that I love from this website.











Hope your wedding planning are also doing well.


What to remember on your wedding day

Friday, June 14, 2013

Fitness: Bridal Work-out

Wearing that perfect Dress.

                                       (An article about weight loss and doing it for less cost too!)


                                                (Fitness Magazine's Drop 10 challenge)

Here is my weight chart since 2010. And I'm almost back. But 107 will do just fine which was my weight
in 2011.



I have PCOS (Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome) Yes, its a syndrome indicating no cure.
What it does basically is it gives women acne, stores fat and hinders fertility. (But hey, I will NOT let that
happen) so to combat PCOS I needed to loose weight. PCOS is manageable. I declare victory over it!

I stopped Ballet in 2009. And after four years of being a couch potato I need to wake up and burn those fats!

And It worked. So here are the things that worked for me. :)

Before we go to my simple steps, let me first tell you some things about me.
  • I'm demi-vegetarian (No red meat diet for a looooong time)
  • I don't smoke, drink nor stay up late.
  • Current weight was 125 (January after Holidays then 120 in February) Target: 107 (December) And I have a Medium-petite frame. 
  • I'm NO EXPERT. But I'd like to share what has worked for me to inspire people.
  • Again, I have PCOS. which hinders weight loss but is nothing compared to my motivation.

               
 January

I started with 3 x week cardio through the DVD. 30 minutes per workout.
 
                  
Nothing hard. Just something fun. I love dancing so it was an easy thing to do. And it was enough to prep myself to go back to exercise regimens. What happens when you give yourself so much when you start? You get burned out! Then you end up eating much more because you deprived yourself or you were so tired that you started hating exercise. Then you quit and the next thing you know your back in the problematic cycle. 

*I dropped 2 lbs and was eating in moderation. I said goodbye to Frappes btw.
*I kep eating healthy too. (What if you are not a healthy eater, don't rush it. Take time, little by little. This is more effective than eating all salad straight in 2 months then after that you crave pizza or ice cream or something then boom you over eat. Don't deprive. Take it easy)
  February

I started running on weekends! (plus the DVD workouts) = 4 x workout in a week
30 minutes workout.
      
I started running in Makati Triangle. It was free. Being healthy doesn't need to be expensive.
If you are having a hard time running you can walk your dog on weekends. :) Find a nice park. But if you feel like going to the gym go ahead. There are a lot of affordable offers out there. You just need to find the right one for you.



If you are not a runner or someone who hates walking in the sun. Maybe you can do indoor sports. Badminton, Tennis, whatever. Or if you don't mind the sun how about some soccer?
Football perhaps? The thing is this worked for me because I loved it. Just do anything you enjoy.
*I dropped 3 lbs and was still eating in moderation.

If you're loosing the motivation. Make a tumblr account or read blogs on fitness.
For tumblr, posts are short and there's a lot of pictures. So if you read everyday surely you'll be
motivated. Here are my fave sites.

Here are some of my fave sites:
http://fitspoforever.tumblr.com/
http://fitnessgyro.tumblr.com/

top fave: http://wakeuphealthy.tumblr.com/

my tumblr though is for wedding: http://balletbride.tumblr.com/ and has very little fitness posts.
 March (Pumped up month!)
Swimming. I love swimming!

This time I was on a roll! I wanted to do exercise. I love sweating! And I love my
exercise outfits. :) 

So,I continued running, plus yoga at home 3x in a weekday, Saturday are for running and Sundays are Nestle Aerobics which was free and then swimming on Sundays.And even though I was doing a lot, it felt good. And I think its because I did not pressure myself nor was hard on myself. I went on my own pace. You may have a different pace from mine, just go with it. Do what makes you happy to be fit.

Note: This are all in 30-1hour per work out only. 
Maybe if I did more I might have lost more. But then again my goal is to maintain this
active lifestyle for long term. So that is enough for me.

I dropped  another 2 lbs and was eating in moderation. 
 April


I started getting bored with the DVDs so I subscribed with http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/

They will send you emails to keep you motivated. And they have online videos of workouts
made by experts. FOR FREE.

So I usually watched a few vids and try it at home. I was doing 15 minutes exercise. 
Sometimes I swim sometimes I ran. But I was doing no less than 4 workouts in a week.

I maintained my weight but saw a huge difference on my abs. :) Which was fine with me.

 May

I started calorie counting!

Its important to get your Daily Caloric Need. Then base your food on that. Download
an app on your smart phone to see how much you are eating. This is late for me to do, but
I plan to continue doing this. Its simple, if you need 2,000 calories a day and you eat 2,500 calories the excess of that is stored in your body. Unless you burn them.


               I jointed http://fatsecret.com/




I kept track of my BMI. And my Daily Caloric Need which was 1,800 calories a day.
I also need to increase my protein intake because I eat a lot of vege.

    *eg: For  a 115 lb girl who spends 8 hours on a desk job, no exercise
                       it is 1,500 calories. This isn't very healthy but this is what I took
                       for a certain day.

               a sample meal for the day would be (source: http://fatsecret.com/)
     
Breakfast25.1649.9610.40441
 
  1 cup cooked Chocolate Flavored Wheat Cereal
1.1626.964.40121
 
  1 serving Goldilocks Sylvanna
24.0023.006.00320

Lunch3.4934.373.76181
 
  1/2 cup cooked White Rice
0.2222.042.10102
 
  1 cup Cooked Green Peppers and Onions (Fat Added in Cooking)
3.2712.331.6679

Dinner17.4446.0820.20424
 
  1 serving Season Brand Brisling Sardines in Tomato Sauce (No Salt Added)
17.002.0016.00220
 
  1 cup cooked White Rice
0.4444.084.20204

Snacks / Other21.5046.5217.62440
  
  1.3 servings Market Pantry Lightly Salted Dry Roasted Peanuts
18.206.5010.40221
  
  1 cup cooked Noodles
3.3040.027.22219

I did not scale but I can feel the difference. And people started to notice.
 June

My work schedule is now 3pm-midnight. I wake up late the next day and it feels bad to run because of the pollution in the city, I stopped running for the month. What I did was just 30minutes of stretching (yoga Poses), cardio, self-weights or dancing.

And taaadaaa! I'm now 115 lbs. 

only a few to go. ^ ^. Wish me luck.

Hope you got inspired.

July

I can't believe another month passed by.

Right now I am 113 lbs. Dropping another 2 lbs.

I missed running so despite the late schedule at work, I push myself to wake up
early Saturdays for a run.

I also changed my weekday exercises to Jump Ropes.
I do it 30 minutes total in the morning.
This is not the entire 30 minutes. When I get tired, I do other exercises just to keep myself moving. then I'm back on the rope till I reach 30 minutes.

So what do you think?

Any suggestions? 

Disqus for debbieannecastro