Update: ALL IS WELL!!!

SO many things to tell you all about, I don't think I can fit it one post.....but I'll do my best.

First and foremost, MY MOM HAD A SUCCESSFUL SURGERY!!!

They were able to remove the large tumor in her brain and since the surgery she has been feeling 100x better!  They put her on a new kind of chemo therapy and reduced the dosage of the drug she was having trouble with.  Today she is going to have 87 staples in her head removed so I think she's feeling a little anxious.  The surgery did leave her with a big U-shaped scar but I told her it just gives her an excuse to get another "fly" wig haha.  She's got like 4 at home and she was rocking a "longer" style at one point but my dad told her he thought she looked like Ringo Starr when she wore it haha.  Needless to say she she wasn't pleased with that comment and wanted to switch it up.  Who knows...maybe she'll take a page from my book and go blonde?!

Anyway, with major surgery there is a long recovery period so it will take her time to get back to 'normal' strength.  She has been working really hard in rehab to get strong enough to really enjoy herself at the wedding.  I told her she needs to be able to dance at least one song with me so I think she's taking that to heart and is doing the best she can with her exercises.  I let her know that people in blogger land are routing for her and that she had support from people out there she doesn't even know personally.  She thought that was awesome so I just want to thank all of you for your thoughts, prayers, and kind words!

She may or may not kill me for posting this but I just wanted to show how well she is doing.  Love you Mom!

Ok, next topic....WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING TO BE NEXT SEASON!

Anyone out there know Kate Middleton or Prince William's cell phone # because I'm probably going to need while we are in ENGLAND so we can become best friends ;o)

That's right the Fox's are shipping off to Nottingham England Wohoo!!!  I'll obviously dedicate more posts about this but until then, click HERE to see the team press release.  All I have to say is that I am sooo PUMPED!!

(Nottingham Panthers Logo courtesey of Google Search)

Last topic....our "Engagement" pictures are in.  Haha I can't help but laugh at this one...we've been "engaged" for over a year and a half but we decided to take the pictures a couple of months ago.  Anyway, here a a few of my favorites:

Lots of information to process I know but a lot has happened in the past month so I felt like I needed to get it out with one big "bang". 

Anyway, more to come with the Wedding plans and MOVING TO ENGLAND!!

Take Care Everyone,
Hillary

I've been avoiding this....

Because there really isn't any update to give you on my Mom's surgery.

Last Friday she ended up being admitted into the Emergency Department because her blood-sugar levels were way off.  I'm pretty sure normal blood sugar level is 100-200, (but don't take my word for that I'm not a clinician or a diabetic), and hers was through the roof at 600.  Needless to say she wasn't strong enough to have the surgery.

She has been doing much better since she has been in the hospital and her blood sugar level is now down to 200.  She was actually scheduled for the surgery yesterday but got bumped because the surgery scheduled before her's took longer then expected.  Now we just have to play the waiting game until Friday when she is scheduled again.

I can't imagine what she's really feeling like throughout this whole process.  She told me she just wants it to be done and over and that shes frustrated that things keeps getting in the way.....but truly she must be exhausted.  I know me and the rest of my family are.

It's hard when you are told that the surgery is going to be done and it never ends up happening.  I have found myself mentally and emotionally prepping for it everyday since Friday and it really takes a lot out of you.  I can't help but think to myself when I get off of the phone with her, "was that last time I'm going to talk to her?"  I know I'm putting added pressure on myself by thinking that things like that but I just can't help it.

She is coming home for the next two days and I'm going to spend as much time as possible with her before she goes back for the surgery Friday.  Hopefully she'll feel better in her own environment and eating her own food so that she is healthy and strong enough for surgery Friday.

I don't know, maybe the surgery wasn't meant to be until this Friday?  Maybe it was in God's plan to keep getting it pushed back?  I'm not a super religious person but I had a terrible feeling about the surgery last Friday and I honestly didn't think she was going to make it.  Maybe pushing the surgery back was God's way of keeping her safe and answering all those prayers said for her out there.

With that said, I want to thank you all for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers.  They are truly appreciated and have helped get my mom get stronger for surgery this time around.  I'll keep you posted on how everything goes on Friday. 

***STAYING POSITIVE & FINGERS CROSSED***

Getting Personal

I've never been a downer nor have I wanted to divulge some serious personal details about my life on this blog, but I feel like it's time to share something that has been weighing heavy on my mind.

If you have been keeping up with my blog you'll know that I am getting married in a couple of months and couldn't be more excited about the big day.  What you don't probably know is that there is someone out there who is just as excited, if not more, as me and Jordan for our wedding day;  That person is my Mom.

Sure you might be thinking to yourself that this is normal for a lot of brides, but I don't think many share the same circumstances.  My mom has been battling Metastatic Breast Cancer for 11 years.  For those of you who aren't familiar with clinical terms, it means that she was diagnosed with breast cancer, spent a few years in remission, and then the cancer came back and spread to her bones.  The cancer will never go away.

She told me a couple of weeks ago that 96% of the people that were diagnosed with the same cancer back in 2000 are now dead which, A) was a shocker, and B) goes to show you how strong she is.  Honestly, she is the type of woman who has never shown weakness and has never had a pity party for herself.  If you met her off the street you would have no idea that she even had cancer...unless of course you caught her at the gym that one time and her wig fell off...but that's a lighter/funnier story for another day.

Anyway, she has been battling cancer for a long time now and she has always used "benchmarks" as motivation.  For instance she said she wanted to live long enough to see a grand child.  My niece Julia was born three years ago.  Another goal was to see me graduate from college, (a major event in our lives given my wild high school years), which was was accomplished in 2008.  Her last major goal was to see me get married which brings us full circle in terms of relevance to this post.

The reason I decided to share this with you now is because her health has seriously declined in the past month.  Tumors have spread to her brain and the medicine her doctors have prescribed has been making her too tired to do anything.  I'm sure most of you understand the fatigue, but for this woman, (who I used to call momzilla when I first got engaged), to not be excited for anything that has to do with the wedding is really hard to see.  She has been so into the wedding thus far that it breaks my heart to see her not be able to participate or enjoy wedding related events.  For example I had my first bridal fitting last night and I know it was something she had been looking forward too for a long time.  Tonight we have our tasting and I know that if she is even able to go, she'll only be able to eat one or two bites of a three course meal. 

Anyway, she is having surgery on Friday to remove the tumors in her brain and the procedure will be done by a world-renowned surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital.  Hopefully this will take care of her fatigue and she'll be healthier for the wedding in July so she'll be able to reach her last goal and enjoy herself that day. Please keep your fingers crossed for her and our family!

I Love you Mom if your reading this!

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!