Why an iron ring?

I must warn you. This is my first attempt at blogging. So here goes nothing :)

Hello! I'm Megan. I wanted to start off by talking a little bit about me and why I decided "Once Upon An Iron Ring" was an appropriate title for my blog. I actually made this blog a couple of years ago, before I got married. My (now) husband and I both met at University, graduating from the same engineering program. In Canada, there is a ritual you can do at the end of your program called "The Calling of an Engineer" (more details here if you are curious). At the end of the Iron Ring ceremony, you receive an iron ring that is worn on the pinkie finger of your working hand. Both my husband and I wear these rings, so I thought it was a fitting fairy tale title to go with "Once Upon An Iron Ring". Yes, it's cheesy. But then, so am I. As I made this blog, I thought I wanted to talk about all the wedding things and decisions about flowers and colors and vendors. Well, as you can see, that didn't exactly happen.

So here we are, almost three years later and I have now decided to try again. Why? Because I feel like this is the start of something big in my life. You see, in just over two weeks, I will run my first half marathon. Not just any half marathon though - the 5th Anniversary of the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Now to some people that's not such a feat, but it is for me. It's been quite the journey to get to this point and I want to share that with you, but not just yet. First, you need to know a little but more about me.

Here are 10 things you should know about me:

1. I love books. I love reading. I have a Kindle that lives in my purse, so I always have a book handy if I need one!

2. I love Disney. I have been a fan of Disney all my life. At this time of this post, I have been to Disneyland 4 times and Disney World 3 times (my 4th will be in a few weeks!). My favorite Disney character is Maleficent (she is so BA).

3. I am a dancer. I also teach dance with a community program. I've taken everything from tap, jazz, hip hop and ballet to ballroom, belly dance and pole dancing. I am certainly not the greatest dancer in the world (I couldn't compete on So You Think You Can Dance, for example), but I do ok.

4. I have been a city girl all my life. My husband and I moved to an acreage last year, and I have to say, I love it. I love the peace and the space and the quiet. I'm also still close to the city, just in case!

5. Since graduating high school, my weight has been a bit of an issue for me - not to say that I was obese, but I was certainly overweight and not in the shape that I wanted to be in anymore. I am now happy to say that I am down 18 lbs since October 2012 (I've got less than 5 lbs to go!). I am below my wedding weight (from July 2011) and couldn't be happier. I will not go back!

6. I love wine. It's my go to drink on a good or bad day. I used to only drink sweet white/blush wine, but now I will drink just about any wine. I'm not too picky :)

7. My favorite color is purple. It was one of my wedding colors and also happens to be one of Maleficent's primary colors. I don't think that's a coincidence.

8. I am so close to finishing my Masters of Engineering. I am one paper away and I need to finish it before I leave for Disney.

9. I am a Gleek. I have traveled twice (to Los Angeles and Anaheim) for weekend trips to see Glee in Concert. Both trips included VIP ticket packages and, of course, a day at Disneyland!

10. I was the girl with asthma who hated running all my life. I can now proudly say that I am a runner. Some days are easier than others, but overall, I feel great when I run. (Disclaimer: I say run, but I actually use Jeff Galloway's run/walk method. It is the reason I can do this.)

Next up: A Half Marathon?! I thought it was crazy too, but in just over two weeks, I will have finished 13.1 miles!