Keep fit (and have fun)*

I'm sure that like countless other brides (and grooms), I've become a bit more conscious about what I'm shoving into my mouth and how much or how little I am moving my rear end. In less than 8 months, the boy and I will be photographed ad nauseum and I don't want too many shots of back fat or chicken cutlets (the bits of flab that hang over the dress under your arms) preserved for posterity.

Thank goodness for football. Sorry, soccer. (Again, I've tried to assimilate into English culture). I try and get to the gym but there really is no better workout than chasing some whippet-like forward with a football at her feet. I've been playing competitively since I was 11 and I still love the excitement and fun of the game (although it is a bit depressing when some of my teammates reveal that they were born in 1990....I started grade 7 that year!).

Lately though I've started to worry that football may actually be detrimental to my overall 'bridal' look....I'm relieved that I won't be wearing a cute knee-length wedding dress as I would need industrial-strength concealer to cover my bruised up knees! And it's not just my knees - I always seem to get random bruises on my arms and back after a match. Two years ago some girl broke my nose when she headed me in the face, so hopefully nothing like that will happen before the wedding...

Football will certainly help me to feel more physically confident for what probably will be the most photographed day of my life. Hopefully I won't be covered with strange bruises that look like the studs from a pair of football boots!

I'm the second one from the right. The English football season is September to May so we often play on wet and muddy pitches - hence the massive splodge of dirt on my forehead (although my childhood coach would be proud because at least that means I was heading the ball with my forehead and not the top of my head).

* in homage to the classic Canadian BodyBreak get-fit commercials starring Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod