Jillian Michaels...the Devil!

Realizing I am going to two beach weddings next year - one in Costa Rica and our wedding in Cabo San Lucas, I decided I had better tone it up, or at least start working out now that winter has officially hit (even though it hit a record 75 degrees today).

Now I knew just what to use those randomly earned travel rewards that were about to expire for...I ordered not one, not two, but three Jillian Michaels (from the Biggest Loser) workout DVD's. Between those three workouts and playing soccer twice a week until December I figure I have to have it covered, and will be looking my best EVER next year.

Earlier this week I was feeling fairly energetic after work so popped in "Jillian Michaels - Trouble Zones" workout DVD, and looking at her and her ripped buddies, I immediately started to sweat. After a warm up of old school cardio moves she instructs you in five different exercises for one circuit and then repeats it all twice so by the end of the circuit you are sweaty, exhausted, and already feeling "the burn". At this point she yelled at me through the screen, "Come on, you should still be feeling fresh, this is only the first circuit!". That's when despair sets in, because I realized I was really only about 7 minutes into the workout!

I managed to claw my way through 2 1/2 circuits before my legs suddenly became jelly and I collapsed onto the rug in front of the TV, totally spent. Now even though I do know better, after years of being coached in soccer and doing yoga, I was so disgusted with myself for only lasting 20 minutes that I refused to do the cool-down after the workout...and I sure paid for that for the next two days!

That night I convinced my man to take pity on me and give me a massage for a change; my tired ol' legs were killing me and felt so tight I could barely do the stairs!

I have the Best Husband!

I have been wearing glasses since 4th Grade, which is what, 8 or 9 years old?

(That's me with the terrible outfit and longish hair)

Since then I have spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on frames, lenses, contact lens, solutions...etc.

I had never really considered laser eye surgery as I had a friend who had the procedure in Canada in the early 2000's and had a terrible time getting her vision stabilized without glasses or contacts, even after two touch-ups, or "enhancements" as they're called in the business.

Here in Portland it seems like there are Laser Eye clinics everywhere, there is even one on the main road we take to go to work, to play soccer, to get groceries...etc. Lately I had noticed that my tolerance for wearing contact lenses had significantly decreased, to the point that I wasn't even able to wear them for 6 hours. I guess it was bound to happen that eventually this procedure would peak my interest and I would find myself going through a battery of assessments to see if I qualified for a LASIK procedure.

I chose Teplick Custom Vision for my first foray into the world of Laser Eye surgery, as the website boasted it had performed the procedure on numerous TrailBlazer players (NBA players who have money and go to the best places), several optometrists, and other healthcare professionals.

I called, made an appointment, and was told to wear glasses the day of the appointment, to allow my eyes to return to their normal shape. I thought nothing of this request as I usually wear glasses for most of the day at work and then change into contacts at lunch if at all. During the appointment at Teplick I went through a few questionnaires and several assessments including tear production, pupil size measurement...etc.

I eventually met with Dr. Teplick himself, and he told me I was a great candidate for the LASIK procedure as I am right in the middle of the vision statistical bell curve at -6.25 (-10 being is almost legally blind and laser eye surgery might not be successful, and -1 is almost too small of a change to be noticeable). That made me feel great, and they said they would give me some money off the price for participating in a survey post-operation. I felt great up to the point where the receptionist/technician told me it was going to cost $3500.00.

They wanted to book me right away for the procedure, but I knew this was going to take some thought and discussion with my then-fiance, so I took a folder of information and pricing and went home to talk it over.

Spending $3500 on eye surgery during a year where we are planning a wedding, attending a wedding in Costa Rica, and traveling home to Canada for Christmas seemed crazy to me - working on-call was definitely earning me more money but I was also spending more on healthcare.

This when I realized I have the best husband in the world. After reading the risks and benefits of the procedure and stating his concern for my safety, he announced that the cost wasn't a big deal because as long as it was reasonably safe and I made an informed decision, he would pay for half.

So with my husband behind me 100% and even willing to help out with the bill, I am checking out other clinics and doing research about going to Canada for the procedure.

That night he got upgraded from a hand massage to a full-body extravaganza!

Settling into Husband/Wife

Having returned from a tiring, yet successful wedding weekend in Las Vegas, I was a little shocked to see a friend from Canada waiting at our front door, who had driven down from Seattle to spend a few nights with us before driving cross-country to a conference in Chicago - what, were we going to say no?

Despite not having showered yet and having stayed up all night to catch a seven a.m. flight back to Portland, I found myself getting a second wind, and not even minding the fact that I was still wearing my "very Vegas" feather earrings from the night before!

After settling into being the hospitable host, I was happy to rehash all the details of the weekend and talk frankly about how things have been going in Portland: my job struggles, the difficulties I had been having in finding good female friends...etc.

I even told our friend about the 365 days of massage challenge - which he thought was hilarious and proceeded to tease me about for the rest of his visit. He also recounted to us that he had never really understood having pets (dogs, cats, otherwise) but that he was starting to realize how great they really can be after spending a few days with Bob, one of the most responsive and people-loving dogs he said he had ever met.

This is when I reminded Tyler that we had an open spot for a 'reader' at our wedding - that I had already asked my friend from elementary school to read at our wedding and that if would be more balanced if Tyler did the same. At first our friend was wary, wondering aloud what crazy hymn or poem he would have to read in front of all potential female hookups bound to be at our wedding. When we told him it was his choice, he was charmed by the idea and promised to do a fantastic job - which I knew he would, having seen him emcee several of our friends weddings. I also knew it would be great to have him around more during the wedding, as he is sensitive, very perceptive and fun to have around (we traveled to Europe with him a year ago).

That night as we finally got to sleep in our own bed, I warmed up some Vanilla bean lotion and gave my new husband (we decided to revert back to being engaged in public as of the next day) one of the best hand massages in the history of all hand massages.

10/9/10 - A Wedding Vegas Vacation

Having run out of ideas on how to make my day job more tolerable, I finally made up my mind that after four years at the same company, I would have to start looking for a new job. Being on a temporary work Visa from Canada, this was not slated to be an easy process. I had heard through the Occupational Therapy grapevine of gossip that after your third visa renewal it is a lot more difficult to convince U.S. officials at the border that you are working temporarily in their country. Apparently they tend not to believe you and give you a maximum of three months before you have to leave the country for at least six months.

This was not a good option for me because I have a love, a dog, and very happy life in Portland. Tyler and I decided that we would have to get married sooner rather than later, so that if I was given that three month ultimatum, I could stay in the country under his permanent work visa.

Being as I was already planning a destination wedding for forty people in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for February 2011, I delegated the planning of the civil ceremony to my practical husband-to-be. He quickly decided it had to be done in Las Vegas, Nevada as we had traveled there together many times and always had a great time. One Saturday night in September we sat down at the laptop and looked at many cheesy websites showing couples holding hands in hot air balloons, hot pink cadillacs, helicopters...you name it.

I was of the opinion that we should keep it low-key, as I wanted to save the b

ig emotions (and big money) for February. We were lucky enough to stumble upon the Little White Wedding Chapel and its very convenient drive-thru wedding option for $129 U.S. We booked it immediately for October 9th, 2010.

Me being the excitable social connector that I am, I immediately invited my twin sister (and boyfriend), an old friend from elementary school and her husband, and my great Portland friend and her husband. It was a random assortment of people and was likely to have increased in size quickly if Tyler had not taken me by the shoulders and gently shook me back to reality by saying, "Meg, lets keep it simple, all these people are already coming to Mexico, right?".

So we kept it at eight people, which happened to be the exact number of people the limousine could seat to/from the chapel. We booked a flight and hotel (Treasure Island) and then I searched and found a hot little white dress and a gorgeous white shirt for Tyler to wear with his suit.

Sitting in the Portland airport on our way to Vegas, we agreed that for the duration of the trip, we would suspend the "Massage a day" challenge. As those of you know who have been, in Sin City the days and nights run into each other and we knew we would be drinking, partying, and getting married!

Sticking with it through the good times and the sick times!

To avoid having to attend my company holiday party this year, my fiancé booked a weekend getaway to Lincoln City, on the Oregon Coast. We had never been and I was looking forward to this trip all week.

When I woke up Friday morning I immediately noticed I had a sore throat but I was determined to get through the work day (I need the money) and still feel good enough to enjoy this trip out of town with my family of three.

By 11:00 a.m. I was dragging my butt and I notified my other workplace that I would not be coming in to work for them in the afternoon. Pulling out of the parking lot at work I groaned, remembering that I had to run several errands, which I did and rewarded myself with a Starbucks Green Tea Frappucino, which seemed to help my throat a little. By the time I got home I was exhausted and after about an hour napping I awoke feeling dizzy. Drinking 8 beers in a row kind of dizzy.

Tyler happened to call as I was stumbling around our bedroom collecting clothes for the weekend and so I attempted enthusiasm and asked if he could pick me up some chicken noodle soup and some Tylenol and assuaged his concern with "Don't worry, I feel great".

As the night went on I started to feel a little better and was excited - I love to travel. By the time we got to the hotel and checked in however, I felt on the edge of collapsing. I crawled under the covers and was about to pass out for the night when I remembered the Challenge - I somehow convinced my antsy fiancé to postpone exploring the hotel for awhile so I could massage his hand. Even though I still felt sick it helped to be able to focus on something else for awhile and it even helped me relax enough to fall asleep soon afterwards.