Wedding Shower

Our Wedding Shower was a BLAST AND A HALF! Couldn't have asked for a better day...totally my style.
My sister, (matron of honor), ended up renting the upstairs of a pub which was the perfect atmosphere for my kind of shower.  Just completely laid back and fun!  The food was great and the staff was excellent!  We had two waitresses for about 40 people and my glass was never empty....which I am still  regretting two days later but the hangover was definitely worth it haha!

We all played a questions game all about me and Jordan which turned out to be pretty funny because I didn't even know some of the questions.  I was hesitant at first to play any because I LOATHE ice breaker games but it really was the perfect way to start getting people engaged.

I opened up our presents after the game and I was so stunned/happy at some of the gifts we received.  There was literally not one thing that I didn't like or though we would have to return.  Here are a couple of things that  people were kind enough to get us:

• Kureg single cup coffee maker, k-cups, and k-cup holder.  Perfect for me because Jordan doesn't drink coffee and I won't have to waste a whole pot.
• Lots of cooking sets! (pots, knifes, dinnerware etc)
• Ipad2.  Enough said. Still can't believe my friends got that for us!
• Recipe Book.  This gift is extra special because my Mom and Mother in Law to be filled it with each of their favorite recipe's.  Such a thoughtful gift that I will use all of the time and cherish forever!

After I opened the presents people mingled with each other and then we went downstairs to hangout at the bar.  Jordan had joined us by then and he was in his glory just being one of the "girls". Haha...I'm not kidding.

Anyway the day went off without a hitch and I am so thankful for my friends and family who came out and joined us for the day.  Unfortunately Jordan's side of the family is from St. Louis and Canada so they couldn't make it but I know they were thinking about us and sending their well wishes.  I'm truly lucky for all of the wonderful people in my life.

Here are a couple of pictures from the day!

Fox Wedding Update

Yes, I know I've been talking about the wedding more often than not on here, but we're starting to get close people!  Plus it's the off season so I can't really be throwing too many hockey updates at you just yet.

Anyway tomorrow is my wedding shower and I'm really excited about it!  I've actually only gone to two wedding showers in my life so I'm not really sure what to expect.  One of the shower's was my sisters when I was back in college so that's obviously a total blur, and then the other shower was two summer's ago and it was more of a party then a shower.  And I mean a legit party...she had beer pong, flip cup and a DJ!

I'm just looking forward to spending time with my friends and family and seeing them interact with each other.  This will be the first time my college friends meet my home town friends so that will be entertaining if nothing else.  Luckily my sister hooked it up with an open bar so that should reduce any potential awkwardness.

I'll have to post about some of the wedding gifts Jordan and I receive tomorrow but until then I'll leave you with a little Fox wedding preview:

OUR TABLE ARRANGEMENTS

I met with our florist a couple of weekends ago and he was kind enough to do a mock arrangement for us with the flowers we wanted for our tables.  Now the flowers actually look a little more pink in this photo because of the table cloth but all of the flowers are actually shades of purple.  We also are having the three tall crystal candle holders along with three small votive candles.  I think our florist said there would be something around 116 candles lit during our reception which will really give the place a beautiful glow. 

With that said, I need to keep as much distance as possible....I am most definitely ACCIDENT PRONE haha.  I will be lucky if my dress and or hair don't go up in flames within an hour of me being there.  Oh god I can just see it now.... ;o)

Have a good weekend everyone!

T Minus 2 Weeks

UNTIL MY FIRST WEDDING DRESS FITTING<---YIKESSS

Well I figured I should give an update on my Bridal Bod progress and link up with FTLOB Getting Fit Feature.

 
If you read a few posts ago I had been going to boxing as a way of switching things up in terms of working out.  My friend Amanda and I haven't been in a couple of weeks because the classes were becoming too big and we didn't get enough one on one attention from the trainers as we had hoped.  We haven't given up on it completely but we definitely need a break.  It's no fun standing around making up your own boxing exercises because the trainers are too busy with the other 35 girls.

With that said, I absolutely LOVED the way it made my muscles feel and it was something fun and different to do other than the same exercises at the gym.  I'm sure I'll get back there at some point or I'll just have to install my own punching bad in the cellar and work out with Jordan.  He has got to have some good boxing tips right?  After all he is a hockey player and has had his share of fights.

Yikes, look at that killer at the 32 second mark haha

 Anyway, since my little break from boxing a have gotten back to my original Bridal bod routine which includes:

•  1 hour of cardio 3 days a week
•  1/2 our of cardio and "Tough Mudder" workout 2-3 days a week

If you read the second bullet and think "what the hell is the Tough Mudder workout?", I don't blame you.  I had no idea what it was until a few months ago when a co-worker asked me if I wanted to participate.

The Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile INTENSE obstacle course that you can run either by yourself or on a team.  Honestly it looks like a lot of fun, (when your not thinking about the 10+ miles you have to run),  and it seems to be a real "character building" experience.  You really have to push yourself mentally and physically through training and the actual event.  If your trying to imagine this obstacle course just think about those crazy Real World/ Road Rules challenges and then times the intensity of the obstacles by 10.  Or if your lazy like me, just click on the link to the website here. 

Unfortunately the Tough Mudder event being held in Vermont was sold out by the time I looked into signing up, but none the less I have still be "training" for it.  There is an AMAZING training and prep section on the website that I have been using to get in shape for the wedding and it really has been a great resource. 

Now, as someone who has had to train for soccer and other sports most of my life I wasn't expecting something I couldn't handle in terms of exercise.   I am not unfamiliar with serious lifting or conditioning so as I read over the training prep for the tough mudder I thought to myself  "oh, that doesn't seem so bad". 

But boy was I wrong.

The first time I tried to do the entire workout in one sitting I almost passed out.  On my second attempt I nearly tossed my cookies (yeah I know, TMI).  And finally on my third try I realized I would have to break the workout up over two days, given that I am not the young pup I once used to be.
Breaking the workout up over two days has been working out really well and keeps things interesting day to day at the gym.   I highly recommend this workout if you have "upper body" problem areas like I do, i.e. arms and shoulders, and can assure you will see results rather quick if you do the exercises properly.

Since I only have 2 weeks until my first dress fitting I've really been kicking things up a notch and have been putting in double gym sessions....yikes!  So in case you are wondering, yes I am THAT girl you see drenched in sweat and huffing a puffing louder then anyone else at the gym.  Hot I know, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

 Hopefully all this hard work pays off and the women at the bridal shop say something along the lines of: "Oh my gosh this dress doesn't even fit you anymore, your so skinny" or "Your lucky you get free alterations girlfriend because this dress needs to be taken in at least 4 sizes"

Haha a girl can dream can't she? :o)

Pictures Speak Louder than Words

Thank you to Belle of the Desert, Mrs. K, Allison.Patricia for nominating me for some blogger awards!  Usually when you get these awards you are supposed to share 10 things about yourself that people may or may not know about you, but I've already written a post dedicated to that.   Instead, I thought I would share 10 random photos that make me smile.  Breaking the rules is more fun anyway ;o)

Me and my partner in crime!

Celebrating my friends 25th birthday

Me, my mom, my sister, and my niece

CANCUN MEXICO



Back in the Day Buffet

Boston

Spring Break senior year of college

One of the engagement parties my friends threw for me.  Yes I am a lucky girl and had THREE!

Women's Soccer dominating the case race challenge between all of these women's sports teams. Makes a girl proud ;o)

100 days left of college. 80's Dance Party

Obviously there are tons of pictures of Jordan and I that make me smile but I figure I torture you enough with those pics in every other post so I thought I would share some of other people in my life that make me happy.

Have a great weekend everyone, and thanks again for the awards!

Jealousy is a Nasty Disease, Get Well Soon Biznitch!

Haha OK so I'm sure your wondering about the title about this post.  Yes I am going to talk about jealousy.  Jealousy is a funny thing.  Some people let it get them down....me? It lifts me higher.

You see my friends I am not talking about some random girl who wishes she had the new designer purse I just purchased or my seriously beautiful new sports car...
(I really don't have either of these things haha)

No, no...

I am referring to my fiance haha.

You see Jordan and I are SUPER competitive people in general but it's on a whole other level with each other.  In fact it is so bad that I have created my own personal victory dance for the activities I beat him at, and he gives me the "IN YO FACE" when he miraculously beats me.

Now, I am sharing this information with you because the latest competitive/jealousy factor has to do with my blog.  I can't tell you how many times I see my friends out while I am with Jordan and they say "Hey Hill, great blog", or "Your posts are pretty funny", or something along those lines.

Immediate satisfaction comes over my body because Jordan RAGS on me about this blog ALL OF THE TIME.  I mean it's my own fault because I go home and say things like "Oh My God, I read this amazing blog today", or "This blog made me cry" or, "I can"t believe they wrote that on their blog!"....you get the idea. 

I really only started talking about blogging to him a few months ago but I got on a kick telling him everyday about all of the wonderful people I had connected with, and how there are so many different people out there writing about different life experiences, yet there are so many people that are in the same (hockey) situation as us.  I also told him about how there are genuinely good people out who can literally help you out with life decisions even if you don't know them personally.

After a while Jordan would say things like "Oh why don't you just ask one of your blogger friends",when I seriously needed him to answer something for me. Or "Blogging is all you talk about, don't you do any real work"?
Needless to say these kind of remarks got me heated so I decided to stop talking about blogging with him to take away his satisfaction of seeing me "rattled".....that is until people started telling me and messaging him how much they enjoyed reading my posts.<--insert devilish smile ;oP

"TAKE THAT!"
and
"YOUR SO JEALOUS!"
and
"DON'T HATE ME CUZ YOU AIN'T ME"

Haha these are the things I've said to him recently without facing a comeback....god I'm mature haha.

Anyway if you reading this and thinking, "man that Jordan sounds like a jerk", rest assure he's really not.  I guess you could call it our way of flirting because I give it right back to him about other random things.  I know deep down he's happy that I found something I like to do in my spare time and that I have met some wonderful people on here.  Unfortunately for me that doesn't mean he's going to lay off teasing me about it anytime soon but luckily I have people out there who make comments about my blog and it shuts him right up lol.

Script Monogram

Sick of us yet? Yeah I'm getting there too haha.

If you noticed I put our monogram on this picture...for some reason I have really been interested in them lately.  Must be because I finalized our wedding cake order which will have a monogram on it.  Check it out!

Ok, this isn't our cake exactly but it is a good representation of what ours will look like.  Instead of the hexagon shape we are going with squares, and the toppper will be purple flowers.

That's all I got for today, have a great weekend everyone!

Your Fiance does WHAT in the offseason?

A couple of weeks ago I was chatting with this girl who is a friend of a friend and I was telling her about all about Jordan and our upcoming wedding. We ended up getting into the whole, "my fiance plays professional hockey", topic and she asked the typical question, "who does he play for?"  I told her all about Finland this year and that he is back in Massachusetts now and about to start his other job.  She proceeded to look at me with a confused look and said "Other Job? Hockey player's have other's jobs"? Yes.  Jordan has a job in the summer working for a golf club in Boston and makes money doing something other than hockey.  Shocked face ensues.

I think many people, like this girl, assume that professional hockey players make millions upon millions of dollars and spend the off season partying and relaxing.  Sure there are players in the NHL that are lucky enough to make that kind of money and live a luxurious lifestyle but that's not the case for most professional hockey player's.  Don't get me wrong, Jordan makes good money for only working about 3 hours a day for 6-8 months a year and gets paid to do something he absolutely loves, but unfortunately it is not enough to support the lifestyle we are accustomed to the other 6 months of the year.  And when I talk about "our lifestyle", I'm not referring to spending money on lavish items like sports cars or other fun toys, (much to my dismay), but rather being able to pay rent and other bills while not having to "struggle".  There is nothing worse then worrying about money so Jordan decided last summer that in it would be best to get a job in the off season to help alleviate financial stress.

Now obviously this isn't the case for many professional hockey players but I think for those guys that do take the plunge and get the dreaded off season job, it's really good for them. Having another job beyond hockey opens up opportunities and gives them an idea of what they might like to focus on after they "retire".

Working at the Golf club has been the best possible off season job for Jordan because it's extremely flexible and exposes him to the networking world.  I love when he comes home and says " I met the CEO of this company and he told me all about how he got started. I think I might really be interested in this type of work so he gave me his business card and told me to call him when I am done playing hockey".  That is literally music to my ears.

It's not that I want him to be done playing hockey right now but it's re-assuring to know he is thinking about the next stage of his life and that he is interested in other careers.   I have no doubt in my mind that he will be good at whatever he puts his mind too and I think he shares the same confidence but for now I think he would like to keep his two "seasonal" jobs. ;o)

Anyone else have experience with "seasonal" jobs?  Hockey wives, do you or your man have a job in the off season?  Do you get the shocked look when you tell other people?  I'd be interested to know!

Update and 88 days of Jordan and Hillary

I'm baaacckkk!

So I've been super busy at work (like a mentioned in my last post) and it has really been cutting into my blogging time...wah wahhhhh.  Anyway I thought it would be good to give a general update on Jordan and I's life together as of late.

Jordan returned home from St. Louis after a LONG two weeks and he said that he had a really great trip.  He hadn't seen most of his family in over a year and a half so he spent most of his time over at his uncle's houses.  For some reason those two weeks while he was away seem to last forever.  You think after him playing hockey in Finland for 6 months while I stayed back in Massachusetts would make 2 weeks seem like a breeze but unfortunately it didn't.  Time dragged.

While he was gone I did get to catch up with my friends from Boston who I went to college with which was a lot of fun.  We went to the Hockey East championship and we were proud alumni when the Merrimack Warriors advanced to the finals.  Our supporting efforts were rewarded when when me and my friends made the jumbo tron....and let me just say when you actually get on there you don't act nearly as cool as you think you would. We. Looked. Like. Fools. haha.  But that's ok, it was all in good fun!

Now Jordan is back and he is getting into his "summer schedule" which consists of working, working out, summer league hockey,and LOTS of golfing.  Typically I would include "gaming" into this schedule but Jordan decided it's time to get down to business this summer and he took back his PS3... GASP!!  However we did purchase a Wii and now I have to include gaming in my personal summer schedule.....why might you ask? We bought Super Mario 1, 2, and 3 of course!! Jordan and I literally play every night haha.  We play it old school style too....like when one of us dies we pass the controller on.  Brings back the good 'ol Nintendo days!

Other then getting back into the off season grind we have been doing a lot of wedding stuff.  We're really getting down tothe wire now and we only have two weekends from now until July that is not dedicated to doing something wedding related.  With that said, I will be adding re-edited pictures of us from the past to this blog daily as kind of a Fox wedding build up.  Kind of random I know but I was on The Knot and it said that we only have 88 days till the big day and coincidentally I was creeping on Jordan's facebook page and saw that we have 88 tagged photos together....must  I decided that I have a lot of fun editing pictures and telling a story behind them  be a sign?  Anyway, what better place to add re-vamped pictures then a blog dedicated to everything Jordan and Hillary? So here goes:

This was the first night Jordan and I ever went "out" together.  Sure we had met up at a couple of parties before this but luckily I don't have pictures of those particular nights haha.
p.s. I'm not really going to torture you for 88 days with pictures of us...I mean I do have a life...kind of...so I'll probably post multiple pics each post.  Just thought I'd give you a heads up in case any of you are thinking  to your yourself  "I think it's time to stop following the Fox's" haha