Technically, it's been about a year and a half. When Paul and I had our 1 year anniversary, home called. My presence was needed for my dad was sick, and lucky I did come home because those were the last moments I spent with him before he passed away from lung cancer. So although I was very happy to celebrate one year of marital bliss with Paul, I was in the middle of figuring out what happened to my dad, show that I love him, keep doctor appointments, and try to keep the family together during this hard time. This was probably one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in my life. My father's death still hits me pretty hard. I haven't written a blog about it in a very long time since I kept all the updates on the caringbridge site...coping with my grief has been a long process. I wouldn't have been able to get through it without my support system, family, friends, and most importantly, my husband, Paul who always gives me a shoulder to cry on. It's a good thing his sweatshirts are so absorbent.
I am really grateful that I had the opportunities I had with my dad, helping us with the house, walking me down the isle, taking the Mendozas around the island...I still keep the photo book I made for his memorial on my desk with a little rosary at work. I greet him every morning. He accompanies me on my lunch runs. He scolds me when I drive too close to the cars. Though I cannot see him, it's nice knowing that he's always with me, and he still be there in all the years to come to see all our accomplishments, babies being born, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
Paul and I have gone through some really high highs and some really low lows, but as this first year shows, we are strong together. I'm sure there's going to be many more anniversary celebrations in years to come.
---
Rest in Peace, Dad. We love you!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Friday, February 5, 2010
Photos for the Photo Book
So right before we left for New Zealand, I finally received our wedding photos from our photographer. They look really great, but I think I was a little disappointed with the limited scope of the wedding. I would have loved more variety in the photos, shots of the venue, little details of the wedding, preparation, etc. It's not worth thinking about what's not there because in the end, I still have my memories and my souvenirs. Plus, Philip Pasag did do a good job with Paul and me and our wedding party; so we have that to keep in the photo book. So there's about 600 photos from the wedding, and Paul and I have to whittle them down to about 110-120. It was a really hard thing to do, and sacrifices had to be made. This is our method of cutting the photo count down:
1) Find the absolute, can't live without photographs and put them aside first. Be honest, if it doesn't take your breath away or evoke some sort of emotional response, it's not that important.
2) Go through each of the events, and get a broad scope of the pictures that tell the story. This should be as many as you want. At this point, there's no reason to start counting.
3) Go through posed photos and weed out all the ones that are too similar. Just pick the best facial expressions, no technical flaws like palm trees coming out of people heads, great lighting, etc.
4) Balance out the photos...if you have too much of one thing like 50 photos of Donna and only 5 of Paul...then, it's best to take some out of Donna's pile to at least get close to evening things out.
5) Find the important moments...do you really need every guest that walks in through the reception door. We figured that we liked the photos of the bridal party walking out than walking in at the ceremony; so we didn't have them twice.
6) Have some generic and artsy photos. They would be great backgrounds and give variety to the many "face" photos that will be in the collection.
7) Don't forget the parents. We were going to have parent books made; so it was important to include a few of the parent moments.
8) What to do when you still have 200 photos: Pick a number...if there's 40 photos for the reception, then choose a number like only 20 best go into the photo book. Same for the ceremony, and random photos.
9) What to do when you still have 10 more photos to go: Wow you're getting really close. I would really go through every photo with a fine tooth comb. If there's any flaw or something you didn't like about the photo, maybe it's time to put it aside. Again, look for repeats and unimportant people and moments. Each photo needs to tell a story and evoke a memory or emotional response, otherwise why would you need it?
10) One more thing, work with your other half. They might have strong feelings against having that photo in the photo book that you might not be aware about or a special one they'd like to have in, and it's nice to have another opinion. Listen! You don't always have to agree, but at least listen to each other.
So if all else fails and you end up with 130. I'd say give it to your photographer. Maybe he/she will have opinions or will be able to squeeze a little extra in. Plus, as a last resort, you could always buy another page.
Thanks for listening to my step-by-step photo sorting advice. Please feel free to add more.
1) Find the absolute, can't live without photographs and put them aside first. Be honest, if it doesn't take your breath away or evoke some sort of emotional response, it's not that important.
2) Go through each of the events, and get a broad scope of the pictures that tell the story. This should be as many as you want. At this point, there's no reason to start counting.
3) Go through posed photos and weed out all the ones that are too similar. Just pick the best facial expressions, no technical flaws like palm trees coming out of people heads, great lighting, etc.
4) Balance out the photos...if you have too much of one thing like 50 photos of Donna and only 5 of Paul...then, it's best to take some out of Donna's pile to at least get close to evening things out.
5) Find the important moments...do you really need every guest that walks in through the reception door. We figured that we liked the photos of the bridal party walking out than walking in at the ceremony; so we didn't have them twice.
6) Have some generic and artsy photos. They would be great backgrounds and give variety to the many "face" photos that will be in the collection.
7) Don't forget the parents. We were going to have parent books made; so it was important to include a few of the parent moments.
8) What to do when you still have 200 photos: Pick a number...if there's 40 photos for the reception, then choose a number like only 20 best go into the photo book. Same for the ceremony, and random photos.
9) What to do when you still have 10 more photos to go: Wow you're getting really close. I would really go through every photo with a fine tooth comb. If there's any flaw or something you didn't like about the photo, maybe it's time to put it aside. Again, look for repeats and unimportant people and moments. Each photo needs to tell a story and evoke a memory or emotional response, otherwise why would you need it?
10) One more thing, work with your other half. They might have strong feelings against having that photo in the photo book that you might not be aware about or a special one they'd like to have in, and it's nice to have another opinion. Listen! You don't always have to agree, but at least listen to each other.
So if all else fails and you end up with 130. I'd say give it to your photographer. Maybe he/she will have opinions or will be able to squeeze a little extra in. Plus, as a last resort, you could always buy another page.
Thanks for listening to my step-by-step photo sorting advice. Please feel free to add more.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Photos from the New Zealand Honeymoon Trip
So I do have all of the photos uploaded and such...it's not organized or whittled down from the 4,000 photos I took, but for all those who are impatient, here it is the link:
www.dropshots.com/niki
Our New Zealand trip is from December 18 - January 3rd.
Enjoy!
www.dropshots.com/niki
Our New Zealand trip is from December 18 - January 3rd.
Enjoy!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Being an Honorary Wisconsonite
So last week for Thanksgiving, we spent it for the first time with Paul's family in Wisconsin. It was a very interesting and fun experience. Usually for family holidays, we stay in town and celebrate it with Paul's immediate family or we'll visit my family in Hawaii. I give Paul a lot of credit because my family is HUGE. He is always bombarded by our culture and our eccentric personalities when we come together on my side, and there's not that many tall, white guys that are in our family; so he literally stands out. So it was my turn to be subjected meeting new people and learning new names. I was definitely the only full-blooded Filipino that I saw, but fortunately Saqi (my brother-in-law/Kathryn's husband) was there so I wasn't the only "brown" person. I am always surprised interacting with Paul's family. Every single one of them are warm and welcoming. Even before we got married, I had always felt like a part of the family; so I wasn't exactly nervous. It was just a formality to get to meet and greet everyone in person. I've heard so many stories about them all for so long (6 years) that I feel that I already know them. Luckily for me, Paul's family is not very huge. He has about 2 cousins (there's a couple half cousins that we haven't met, too) compared to my 60+ first cousins. I don't even know who all my cousins are.
We took the red eye on Tues...On a side note: My recommendation is not to fly Midwest Airlines again because they don't pre-assign seats together for travelers flying together, and that was annoying. When we got to the gate they gave us the only seats together which was in the emergency aisle, but the seats didn't recline. It was really horrible, and we did not sleep very much on that flight.
On the day, we visited Paul's Mom's cousin, Nick, and his family on the first night. We met their 2 cats, 2 dogs (including a gigantic greyhound), 2 kids, and we made pizzas. Their family was really fun to talk to, and we were lucky enough to get snow as well. It was falling pretty heavily. I took pictures and got to wipe the snow off the car. It was fun! I'm sure that the Wisconsinites dreaded the snowfall, but I never get to see it very much so for me, it was a real treat. Lucky for them, the snow didn't stick around. For the next few days, we had some really great sun. Of course the temperature average for the day was in the 30s-40s, but it was really nice.
So highlights of the trip: hung out with Grandma/Grandpa Beckman, Uncle Mark, Aunt Jan, Cousin Stacey, Cousin Jill, Great Aunt Janete, Great Grandma Perinovic, Aunt Pam, Aunt Sue, and all the pets! We took a ton of photos of the botanical gardens at the Domes. My favorite was the desert Dome. We had a taste of true Wisconsin cheese, custard, and beers. We visited Lambeau Stadium, and got some Green Bay Packer stuff. We talked to the family members and got the dirt on Mom and Dad Mendoza when they were growing up.
It was such a fun trip, and we miss it already. There was still so much to do and see. We have to visit a curling club. There's one next to where the Grandparents live. Aunt Janete will teach us how to make stain glass. And I would love to see the Dwells (interesting land formations) and the House on the Rock (a house filled with all sorts of nicknacks) We're planning another trip back. We could be there as soon as February if the men's and women's teams qualify for Club Nationals which will be held in Madison this year. Everyone cross your fingers.
It's kind of nice having a connection to the Midwest. I feel very honored to be a part of Paul's family, and I look forward to our next trip. Maybe we'll see more snow...
We took the red eye on Tues...On a side note: My recommendation is not to fly Midwest Airlines again because they don't pre-assign seats together for travelers flying together, and that was annoying. When we got to the gate they gave us the only seats together which was in the emergency aisle, but the seats didn't recline. It was really horrible, and we did not sleep very much on that flight.
On the day, we visited Paul's Mom's cousin, Nick, and his family on the first night. We met their 2 cats, 2 dogs (including a gigantic greyhound), 2 kids, and we made pizzas. Their family was really fun to talk to, and we were lucky enough to get snow as well. It was falling pretty heavily. I took pictures and got to wipe the snow off the car. It was fun! I'm sure that the Wisconsinites dreaded the snowfall, but I never get to see it very much so for me, it was a real treat. Lucky for them, the snow didn't stick around. For the next few days, we had some really great sun. Of course the temperature average for the day was in the 30s-40s, but it was really nice.
So highlights of the trip: hung out with Grandma/Grandpa Beckman, Uncle Mark, Aunt Jan, Cousin Stacey, Cousin Jill, Great Aunt Janete, Great Grandma Perinovic, Aunt Pam, Aunt Sue, and all the pets! We took a ton of photos of the botanical gardens at the Domes. My favorite was the desert Dome. We had a taste of true Wisconsin cheese, custard, and beers. We visited Lambeau Stadium, and got some Green Bay Packer stuff. We talked to the family members and got the dirt on Mom and Dad Mendoza when they were growing up.
It was such a fun trip, and we miss it already. There was still so much to do and see. We have to visit a curling club. There's one next to where the Grandparents live. Aunt Janete will teach us how to make stain glass. And I would love to see the Dwells (interesting land formations) and the House on the Rock (a house filled with all sorts of nicknacks) We're planning another trip back. We could be there as soon as February if the men's and women's teams qualify for Club Nationals which will be held in Madison this year. Everyone cross your fingers.
It's kind of nice having a connection to the Midwest. I feel very honored to be a part of Paul's family, and I look forward to our next trip. Maybe we'll see more snow...
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Honeymoon Details
Okay, so it's official, we are going to New Zealand for our honeymoon. We just bought our tickets and booked our tour. It's going to be 14 days long. We'll leave on Dec. 18th and we'll be back on Jan. 3rd. We are going during peak season so unfortunately, it's going to be a little more expensive than we budgeted for, but that's okay. It's our honeymoon!
I am extremely excited for this trip. We couldn't have a honeymoon at the same time as our wedding because we took the family out on an excursion to Kauai instead. It was their first time; so we thought that it would be better to spend time with the family and give a tour around the places we know and love. Plus, we didn't have enough time. We get about 2 weeks every year for Christmas vacation, and we thought that maybe that would be the perfect time for a honeymoon. So now, it's a reality!
We booked a trip through a program called "Contiki" and here's the website: http://contiki.com/ Basically, it's an affordable travel program for 18-35 year old travelers, and they provide tours with options for accommodations, travel, some meals, and customizable activities that you could add on. We thought that since we've never been to New Zealand or know how to navigate ourselves, that it would be a good idea to let someone else do all the work. Plus, we wanted to enjoy our vacation and each other. I didn't want stress of planning things out to ruin that experience.
Also, I have a friend who lives in Taupo who I am planning to visit. Her name is Sis and we're pen pals. We've traded pictures and stories about our lives, and it's been about 4 years since we've seen each other. I can't wait to give her a hug and an aloha.
Here are some of the highlights and photos of our itinerary:
http://contiki.com/tours/82-grand-adventurer-reverse-start-queenstown
We are staying an extra night in Auckland at the beginning of our trip, and we will spend a few extra nights in Taupo with Sis. I'll post some interesting facts and information about New Zealand as the trip gets closer.
Well, Kia ora, mates!
I am extremely excited for this trip. We couldn't have a honeymoon at the same time as our wedding because we took the family out on an excursion to Kauai instead. It was their first time; so we thought that it would be better to spend time with the family and give a tour around the places we know and love. Plus, we didn't have enough time. We get about 2 weeks every year for Christmas vacation, and we thought that maybe that would be the perfect time for a honeymoon. So now, it's a reality!
We booked a trip through a program called "Contiki" and here's the website: http://contiki.com/ Basically, it's an affordable travel program for 18-35 year old travelers, and they provide tours with options for accommodations, travel, some meals, and customizable activities that you could add on. We thought that since we've never been to New Zealand or know how to navigate ourselves, that it would be a good idea to let someone else do all the work. Plus, we wanted to enjoy our vacation and each other. I didn't want stress of planning things out to ruin that experience.
Also, I have a friend who lives in Taupo who I am planning to visit. Her name is Sis and we're pen pals. We've traded pictures and stories about our lives, and it's been about 4 years since we've seen each other. I can't wait to give her a hug and an aloha.
Here are some of the highlights and photos of our itinerary:
http://contiki.com/tours/82-grand-adventurer-reverse-start-queenstown
We are staying an extra night in Auckland at the beginning of our trip, and we will spend a few extra nights in Taupo with Sis. I'll post some interesting facts and information about New Zealand as the trip gets closer.
Well, Kia ora, mates!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Guest Book by Mahalia Clemons
Mahalia asked me if there was anything she could help with the wedding even though she was all the way in Florida. I told her that the one thing that was stressing me out was the guest book. In my mind, I wanted more then a guest book with people signing their name and address. I wanted a yearbook style where people could add memories, advice, and miscellaneous information as well as feature photos of both Paul and me and our family and friends. People could learn more about us especially as a couple since there were a few who only knew one or the other. Also, we could get something personal and custom made. Mahalia took my idea and went light years with it. She created something so beautiful and special that it took my breath away. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. I am extremely grateful for all the work she has done, and I am posting a link so that everyone can see what I am talking about. The first section is the tradition part where people can sign their name and address, but at about page 20 is where you'll find the "yearbook" section.
My Guestbook
Enjoy!
My Guestbook
Enjoy!
After Wedding Glow
Okay, we've been married for almost a month now, and other than photos, I have not made any new blogs. I apologize. So many things have happened prior to the wedding, during the wedding, our after wedding vacationing, and there was one day of rest before I started work on the Comic Con Sizzle reel. The debut was this passed Saturday; so now I have a little bit of time to reminisce and relax. I am going to try my best to highlight certain things that stood out from my memories of the wedding. There's so much to remember, and I definitely want to share. Enjoy!
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