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...

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!

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!

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!

Wedding Photos-Alexis

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Wedding Photos-Donna Camera

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Tuesday before the Wedding

We moved into the beach house today...it was definitely an interesting experience. Well, first of all Schrader's made a boo boo, and was overbooked. They apologized profusely and put us in several beachhouses along the water and comped out first night which was pretty amazing since it ended up being 4 houses that were pretty cool. We do have to do some shuffling tomorrow again to move into our real accommodations, but it all worked out in the end. Schrader's Inn is quite a location. There's a HUGE steep driveway that leads to the beachhouses. You really want to make sure the car has good breaks. It is in the middle of Kaneohe with some great views of the ocean and river that runs alongside the beachhouse. It is definitely the atmosphere I wanted to give our guests, hometown Hawaii. It's not glamorous like Waikiki, but you kind of feel like sitting on the lanai with a mudslide or something.

We had an impromptu BBQ at the Kalihi house because relatives from my dad's side also arrived. It was a lot of fun eating outside in the drizzling rain and singing karaoke (inside) of course.

Well, that's all for now. I am really beat. There's still quite a lot to do!

The boys are going to pick up their tuxes. I have to start prepping the table center pieces. There's a bridal shower tomorrow at 5 pm - 10 pm. That's when we'll see everyone that arrived by Wed. We're going to have a really busy day!

Monday before the Wedding

Monday was quite hectic with 3 rushes of people coming in, all of Paul's family including Paul himself who came at the end at 9 PM. There was a lot of shuffling back and forth between the airport and the hotel in Waikiki. I actually have a lot to tell, but it's getting late. Although, I am happy to report that everyone arrived safe and sound after a 5 hour + flight from Wisconsin and California. And so it finally begins! The pressure is on!

Bridal Shower Information

Here's the Bridal Shower Information:

Something Borrowed

I just talked to my Auntie Dely, and she's going to let us borrow her coins for the coin ceremony. Here's a little thing I found on the internet that will explain what the tradition is:

"In one Catholic wedding tradition, the groom gives the bride an Arras - a container of 13 coins. In addition to being a sort of dowry, the Arras symbolized the groom's promise (and ability) to support his family. In wealthy families, the Arras consisted of 13 gold or silver coins. Those less well off have used gold-plated small denomination coins, or tokens."



There's actually all sorts of traditions and meanings with arras. Sometimes the parents give it to the groom, etc. So we're kind of changing the tradition up a little bit. Since the whole wedding has been about combining Paul's culture and mine. We're going to do half American money and half Filipino money, to meld both cultures together. Also, my Aunties (Sponsors) on my mom side are going to help us out with presenting the coins. It should be an interesting addition to our wedding ceremony.

Thank you, Auntie Dely! It's going to be a great contribution to our wedding day.

Alterations DONE

Yesterday, I picked up my bridal gown from Alterations by Luz in Waipahu. I was kind of anxious to see how the hemming and bustling turned out. My dress is kind of special because it doesn't have a straight back. there's a flap that comes around and fastens to the other side, and so Luz had to do some special magic and pinning and buttonings to make it fall nicely. I tried on the dress, and first of all it fit perfectly. So far I haven't gained any extra weight since I've been in Hawaii which so hard being surrounded by so much good food and mom's cooking. We've been trying to go to Magic Island to run/walk every other day or so. And secondly, the bustle was really cute. It looked really elegant, and Luz did a really good job. My mom was there trying to figure out where to tie all the ribbons and snap all the clips so that she would be ready for the big day. I think Mom got it down. So that is one less thing to worry about. I can't post any photos yet, just in case Paul stumbles across this blog, but I'll post some later on.

Finalizing the Menu

Tomorrow is the day we set the final guest head count and finalize the menu. For all those who are curious, here it is:

We will be having a buffet style reception:

Chilled Items
1. Broccoli Florets with Crab Salad & Creamy Dressing
2. Baked Potato Salad with Chedar Cheese, Sour Cream & Onion, Bacon Bits
3. Island Style Potato & Macaroni Salad
4. Chinese Chicken Salad, Crispy Won Ton Pi, Peanuts & Cilantro, Soy Sesame Dressing
5. Cheese Tortellini Primavera Salad with Creamy Pesto

Starch
White Rice and Chow Mein Noodles

Hot Entrees
1. Chef Dwayne's famous Luana Hills Roasted Honey Hoisin Glazed Chicken
2. Local Style Teriyaki Beef (Chef Dwayne's Ono Teriyaki Sauce!)
3. Hawaiian Style Kalua Pig and Cabbage
4. Baked Soy Ginger Salmon with Garlic Olive Oil

Desserts:
1. Wedding cake: Strawberries & Creme
2. Luana Hills Bread Pudding with Creamy Caramel Sauce
3. Macadamia Nut Cream Pie
4. Double Chocolate Fudge Cake

We wanted to have a mix of American food with a touch of local style especially since we will have a lot of out-of-town guests and a lot of local guests. I think our menu will cater to all sorts of eaters even the picky ones.

Bamboo Harvesting

So I was talking to my dad about figuring out some decoration for the reception when I was in California. He mentioned to me that he had a ton of bamboo growing on the lot. He said that he could probably cut it up and make something with it for me. So I was able to visit this bamboo grove to see what he was talking about. It was actually quite a hike to get there. This is undeveloped land so we're talking about a Hawaiian rainforest (no trails) and on top of a mountain (the Ko'olau range). I had to wear long sleeves (there's tons of mosquitos), long pants, and heavy duty hiking shoes. We hiked about a half an hour lugging a chainsaw (I didn't have to carry the chainsaw), and I found out what my dad was talking about. There's this small grove of giant bamboos in the middle of the forest. The stalks thicker were than my arms and they grow about 20-30 ft high at least. It was incredible. I didn't know what harvesting this bamboo would entail, but it was still an amazing experience. We cut 2 stalks and into smaller manageable pieces, slide them down the mountain, and then we brought them home to cut into smaller pieces. I think I must have burned a 1000 calories that day. It was actually a lot of fun, and I got to spend some time with my dad. He talked to me about spirits in the mountains and because this was their home we should always acknowledge that they are there. There's lots of Hawaiian myths and burial grounds in this area, and Hawaiian lore and stories of bad luck pop up when they have been disturbed. It was really interesting. He also shared with me life in the Philippines, and how they used to plant tons of bamboo to prevent waters from flooding their homes. They harvested it for everything from building houses to bamboo shoots for food. There was a certain way and time to cut it. I really didn't know bamboo was so much of our culture, and after all this, I am really grateful that we were able to integrate this element in the wedding.

Here are some photos:

I didn't have a camera on me when we cut the bamboo in the rainforest, but here's a photo of us cutting the bamboo at home in smaller pieces.


Basically, how we will use these is to place them in random (yet good luck numbers) groupings on the table. Some will have candles in them, some will have nothing, some will have a flower bud inside or on the outside. We'll add some ribbon and such for accents. At least that is the plan...


These are photos from the lot:

Nothing but foliage


The view from the "base" of the lot

Photos of the Final Invitations...

By request in response to the blog about the final invitations, I've posted some photos. I hope that my camera skills give it justice.

Envelope and Invitation Front


When you Open up the Invitation: Enclosed is the Venue Information, Admit 1 tickets, and Bridal Party Information


This is the close up of the Bridal Party Information.


This is the close up of the map.


This is the close up of the Admit One tickets.


Hope you like it.

Home Sweet Home

So today is actually my 2nd day in Hawaii. I decided to come home a lot earlier to do some wedding planning locally for a change, and if I forgot anything at home, I am hoping that Paul will take care of it. I think it's a good plan. I stuffed my wedding dress, a couple bridesmaids dresses, my shoes, and some other things. I barely made the weight limit on all my luggage. Luckily, they let me pass with a 2 lb overweight carry-on. I've never had my carry-on weighed before. I am a little pissed at Hawaiian airlines for charging me $15 for my 1st check-in luggage. It was a pretty smooth flight in general. I was happy to find out that Hawaiian still served food, even though it was a breakfast burrito and not that good. I am a breakfast burrito snob. The best ones have hash browns and bacon. This of course had none.

At the baggage claim, I was kind of worried that I wouldn't find my luggage, and then I had to find another dress. I looked frantically at all the black Samsonite luggage because there were a lot of them, and finally I spotted the caterpillar and Kings luggage tags right away.

We ate lunch at a Korean restaurant with Mom and Joyce. Afterward, Elliot gave me a tour around the new property which was amazing. Dad and his friends have already started developing the land, and the view was completely breathtaking. I can't wait to see what the land will look like when it is done.

I ate so much food!!! Yikes, if I keep this up, I'm definitely not going to fit in my dress. I told mom, let's go out for a run (she walks) at Ala Moana, and then I felt a little better about myself.

It is HOT in Hawaii. There's very little tradewinds, and the humidity is really sticky.

Wedding Veils

I decided to make my own wedding veil for 2 reasons...1) It's very expensive 2) Kathy made hers for her wedding, and it came out really nice. I figured she could help me make mine. 3) At the very least, if it really came down to it, I could always buy one.

So we went to JoAnn's which is more of a sewing/craft store, and we can get 40% off coupons. That's where we bought our material. I had plans to make 2 veils. One long, up to my finger tips, and the other short and cute. The total price of tulle for these two veils came out to about $6. We did have to buy combs to attach that on, which came in a pack of 6, I think, for $2.00, and I wanted some "bling" so I got some Swarowski crystals for 40% off which came up to $10.

Kathy and her mom helped me pick out the materials, and we came back to the house to put it all together. We cut the tulle using a cardboard cutout and a formula that Kathy developed. It was a little tough to keep it aligned properly, but once it's all bunched up anyway, you wouldn't be able to tell anything was wrong with it. In the end, it actually came out pretty even and with some nice looking arches. We had a bit of sewing to do basically you do a certain stitch that will make the material bunch up, and then you attach it to the comb. When it was finally attached to the comb, it looked pretty darn good as is. Normally, you would decorate before you do this process, but I was just going to glue on crystals anyway, so it really didn't matter.



I took both veils home to Hawaii, and there I showed my sister and mom the two choices. They recommended that I use the long one, and I loved both the veils; so I didn't mind going with that choice. I spent maybe an hour gluing the crystals on the veil. I didn't really have a pattern in mind. I kind of just picked up the veil to see how it drops and added crystals where it could be most seen and nicely placed. It came out really well.

One of the crystal decorations:


I am really glad that we took on this project because it was a lot of fun (A little time consuming, but definitely worth it.) and I have something personal to wear. Thank you Kathy and Paul's Mom. It came out really lovely. Any one else need any veils made?

Here are a few photos:

Bull Busters & a Tower of Cotton Candy: My Cali Batchelorette Party

So I had an inkling of what I was going to do for my bachelorette party in California. They told me to wear comfortable clothes (definitely no skirts), and to bring socks. In my mind, I knew we were going to drink a lot and maybe go bowling. I pretty much guessed right...kind of.

Well, it started at 6:30 pm where Kathy and Carrie came to pick me up. They gave me 2 shots of vodka chased with orange juice. I was blindfolded while Saqi and Michael dropped us off to the location. I heard directions such as Barham and such, and once they stopped and made me get out of the car, I heard music. It popped into my mind, WE WERE AT UNIVERSAL CITY WALK! Then, I just realized where we were going, Saddle Ranch, and it entailed a mechanical bull. They told me afterward that, we also planned to go to another bar after that and do some bowling. So I was half right.

I also had accessories. They bought me a batchelorette sash, pink crown, and a huge "sparkling" ring. They passed out cups that said "What happens at the batchelorette party stays in the batchelorette party." We hung out at the bar until a few more people arrived. At that time, we met a handful of cool, nice people. One of which was Gary who is a costumer for a new show at Universal Studios called, "Creature from the Black Lagoon." He kept us company once in a while and hooked us up with some cool stuff. While we were waiting, the bull rider controller signed us up for a bull ride. I thought that it was better to do it now before I got too drunk or full. I was a little nervous...I didn't want to make a complete fool of myself. The controller was really nice and explained things really clearly. He said if I just follow the directions, it will all be okay.

1) Hold the rope underhand with your weakest hand
2) When the bull goes down, lean back, when the bull goes up, lean a little forward
3) Keep your strong hand up at all times for balance
4) Keep your legs tight on the bull

So Carrie took video through her phone of my virgin ride. I did pretty well if I do say so myself. It starts off really slow, and then it gets kind of crazy. The operator was kind enough to stop at the one moment I was about to take a spill; so I looked really good and ended up not getting bucked off. It was actually a lot of fun and very TOUGH. I have a new respect for bull riders.

One by one everyone started filling in.

I was so happy to see some of the friends who could make it, some of them I haven't seen in a long time. We all had a great dinner. The proportions for this place was really huge. And then, Gary came in with a humongous cotton candy sculpture. I couldn't believe it.

Also, there was a guy who was also there celebrating his bachelor party, and we decided to take a picture together as we congratulated each other. Then his friend started taking off the bachelor's shirt off. I have to say that the guy was really buff...and so we took all kinds of photos in good fun. Jared, the best man, was really mad that we got a stripper, but I'll let him think that for the time being. (He's mad cause he thinks that I would get mad if Paul gets a stripper. I just think that it's going to be a waste of money. LOL)

So after dinner, it was time for another bull ride, and Kathy and Jennifer was going to join me. We have videos of each of our rides, and I think we are all expert bull riders. No kidding. We lasted a long time on the bull. I am also glad that I didn't have to do it alone. I did wish that more people could have tried it, just to say that they've done it at least once in their lives. I do have a lot of respect for bull riders because it does work a lot of muscles, and they are muscles that I am not used to working.

We were supposed to go bowling after, but it was getting too late for that. We ended up getting last drinks at Hard Rock and just hanging out and talking story. It was a very nice cool down to an exciting evening.

The next morning, I was really sore. Surprisingly, I didn't have a hangover. Instead, it was from the bullride, and I had 2 huge souvenirs on the inside of my thighs. I guess my bullriding left a couple bruises. Paul was shocked. Both Kathy and Jennifer had some, too. My favorite line was Saqi saying to Kathy, "What bit you?" Kathy replied with, "A bull!"

Well, I am extremely happy about this outing. Thank you girls for making it so memorable!

Final Results of the Invitation Making Party

So I thought that it would take me only a day to do the invitations by inviting some friends and family to an "invitation" making party, but in the end, it took about 2 weeks. On the day of the invitation party we did a LOT of work. I did some pre-cutting of most of the main part of the card. It came in about 4 pieces. I had a whole assembly line going with Jennifer cutting out more stuff (I still had to cut more silver envelopes), Chris, Kathy, Sarah, Mom Mendoza, Charissa, Jared, and Michelle gluing, folding, and taping. I even had Saqi cut some paper with his good hand since he had broken his left hand recently. Another reason for the delay in finishing the invitations was at that moment, I didn't have all the supplies ready for the invitation so we only focused on the main card. Paul and I would do the rest later.

Well, we had a really nice rhythm going, and it was a good party. Everyone was talking, drinking wine, and having a good time, but then Chris reached out to grab something, hit Sarah's glass, broke it, and spilled wine all over a whole bunch of cut envelopes. I tried to salvage whatever I could, but most of them were damaged, and we had to recut 30 more envelopes. I wasn't too upset. We had a lot of paper. So we did what we could that night, and it was enough to make it slightly easier for Paul and I to finish. At the end of the night we had made about 130 cards and about 70 silver envelopes. There were still a few more little touches I wanted to add to the invitations. The final goal was to make a 130 plus extra final invitations.

The hardest part of the invitation was...well, there were two hard parts to making the invitation and they both had to go into the envelope. It was the silver "Admit One" tickets and the map/bridal party card. I designed the Admit One ticket by looking at various movie ticket images on the internet, and I ordered a customized stamp through Staples. Paul's mom also had a cartridge that made ticket shaped paper cut outs, and we decided that we liked the embossed look. There were several steps to the stamps, first of all the silver paper had to be cut, then, Paul had to prep the paper with baby powder so that the embossing power will only stick to the parts with ink, Paul would then line up our stamp on the cutout, and I would cover the ink parts with embossing power brushing off the excess, and then I had a heating tool that would melt the powder to create my special look. We had to do this after work; so we only had a few hours to work with everyday. There were also a few other obstacles that we had to overcome, first of all, Chris (he has the darnedest luck) burned out my embossing machine so I had to buy a new one. It's a good thing, I had 40% off coupons at Michaels. Also, we miscalculated about how many tickets we needed, and after we thought we were done, we had to do dozen more.

The map/bridal party cards were made in Illustrator. I copied the directions by looking at a map of Oahu. I used the lines I made for the streets and wrapped the words along the same path. It was a little time consuming, but in the end it turned out pretty good. I also had to match perfectly my design for the bridal party on the front to the map on the back. It wasn't perfect, but close enough to make it work.

I stole the design from my reply postcards that I made on vistaprint.com by screen grabbing, took it into photoshop and made a vellum print out of the main information. It looked really good on vellum. Then, I attached the vellum with the Bedazzler. Paul stamped the monogram behind it so that a little could show through.

We finished cutting/pasting/stuffing the last elements. Then, I spent 2 hours at the post office pasting stamps and sealing envelopes. Overall, I feel very proud of everything we did. It was a lot of work, but I think it was all worth it. How about you?

Posting pictures very soon...

Toasts....Bad Ones

So I know I am extremely far behind on my blogging. I have many in the works, but for now, here's an easy one for everyone to read. I came across this posting on TheKnot, and I thought I might share.

Bad Toasts:

The wedding toast is a chance for the bride's and groom's closest family members and friends to express their joy for the couple, share a funny story or two, and impart words of wisdom. Sometimes, though, nerves, alcohol, or a not-so-secret disapproval of the matrimony leads to a speech that leaves everyone aghast. Here are real wedding toasts that made guests want to cower under their chairs rather than raise their glasses.

1. "At a friend's wedding a few years ago, the best man made it apparent that he wasn't such a fan of the bride. The speech went something like this: '(Groom's name), man I love ya, you know I do. I hope you thought about this and that this is what you really, really, really want.' Then he said the bride's name, hit his fist against his chest twice, and pointed at her."

2. "A friend of mine from college got married, and his best man said in his speech: 'Finally John has found someone with low enough self-esteem to marry him.'"

3. "The maid of honor (the bride's sister) not only talked about herself during the whole speech, she also mentioned the possibility of an affair between herself and her sister's new husband."

4. "At my cousin's wedding, the best man ended his toast by saying he wanted the groom to know that he'd be there for him at his next wedding when this one didn't work out."

5. "The best man at a wedding I was in said during his toast, 'Congratulations to the new parents!' No one except a select few knew the bride was pregnant -- not even her parents!"

6. "I was a bridesmaid in a wedding where the best man gave a toast about how cheap the groom was and how they'd been friends all their lives but the wedding was the first free meal he's ever been offered by the 'cheapskate.'"

7. "The father of the bride stood up and said, 'I'm Jill's dad. I just want to say that I met David before Jill did because of my other daughter.' And he sat down."

8. "My cousin gave a horrible toast at her younger sister's wedding a few years ago. She began by saying that she never liked her sister's new husband throughout high school and that 'today he's still at the level of slightly below the scum on the bottom of a dirty waste pond.'"

9. "I attended a wedding where the best man commented on how the bride used to work at Hooters (which her family didn't know about) and how he was jealous of the groom for 'bagging her.'"

10. "During the toast the groom's dad (after many drinks) said that he was so happy for his son and his beautiful wife Sara. But his wife's name wasn't Sara, his ex-girlfriend's was."

Preview to a Batchelorette Party

So I attended a friend's bridal shower that was a combined batchelorette party (supposed to be afterward), and it was a very small and intimate party complete with wine and good company. Well, the bride-to-be's sister surprised everyone by hiring a stripper to come to the Bridal shower, and so my friend, Kim, was definitely in shock. It was a little painful to watch because she, first of all, was not prepared for this surprise. Secondly, the stripper was a little "seasoned," and he did all the cheesy stereotypical things that we see in movies. He dressed up as a police officer and said that there was a noise complaint. He had to search her, and such. I think strippers especially for women is kind of traumatizing because a strange man is paid to grope the other person, and everyone is supposed to watch. Kim did not enjoy herself, nor did I enjoy watching her. She was screaming at her sisters, "You guys don't know me at all!" She did get a little taste of revenge when she got to put her sisters on the spot, and she ran to get out a whole wad of twenties. I thought that part was funny. So after this experience, I kind of hope that when my time comes I won't be in the same situation. Really, all I want to do is just hang out with "the girls" and have a lot of fun doing it. That is all I ask. Please spread the word. No naked men please. =P

Cream or Sugar? - Bridal Shower - April 26, 2009

So Sunday, April 26th, was my bridal shower in California. I had such an amazing experience...the whole party was extremely well planned and above and beyond my expectations. I, first of all, have to thank my shower planners and helpers, Kathy, Charissa, Carrie, Paul's Mom (Judy), Michelle Opitz, Niki, Sarah, Jen Gamboa, and I hope I am not missing anyone else that was important on this special day.



So although I knew that it was on this Sunday, it was at my house, and it was a tea party, I had no idea about any other details about the party. I kicked myself out in the morning so that I wouldn't get in the way. I had a gift certificate from Burke Williams which is a spa (I went to the one in Santa Monica) and spent a couple hours there. They have facilities where you can spend some time in the jacuzzi, steam room, pool, etc. I had an appointment for an hour long massage (which I've never really had one before in my life...not that I can recall). It was actually a gift from my producers for editing the Comic Con sizzle reel I did in July; so I've held it for a very special moment, and I thought that pampering myself before the shower was the perfect opportunity.

I have to admit. I was feeling a little bit nervous mostly because I had no idea what to expect. I was tense when I got to BW, especially since it was my first time, and I had no idea what to do or where to go. Overall, it was a good experience. I tried all the goodies they had there for us. I got my hour long massage. It was pretty relaxing...I think I snored once when I got really relaxed and started to drift off to sleep. I guess that's when you know you've got a good massage. BW is a really cool place, but clothing is optional. I'm too self-conscious to take advantage of the free-style, but that is what they offered. Also, they have practically EVERYTHING. I mean it. You change into robes and slippers. There's unlimited towels and cooling clothes. After you are done at BW, you can style your hair with all sorts of hair products. I gussied myself up, and came back in time to get ready for the bridal shower. After all that special treatment, I kind of kicked myself for not redeeming my certificate earlier. I felt pretty good...nice and loose which is rare. (I keep a lot of tension in my shoulders. They are always hard as rocks, and I told the masseuse to be tough on me because I like it deep and rough. That's the only way to get my muscles loose. Okay!).

All sorts of craziness was happening all around me at the house. I tried not to peek at all the goodies they were preparing (and there was a lot). Lots of gals were in the kitchen cooking up treats. They set up the guest sign in table, and they recruited the boys to set up the backyard (which I was absolutely not allowed to see.) They also asked me a whole bunch of questions for a game they were preparing. I must say, it was a pretty hard quiz.



See how you would have fared if you participated (I'll post the answers later):

How Well Do You Know Donna?

1) When is Donna's birthday?
2) What is Donna's middle name?
3) What color are Donna's eyes?
4) Where was Donna born?
5) How many siblings does Donna have?
6) How old was Donna when she had her first kiss?
7) What is Donna's favorite food?
8) What was Donna's first pet?
9) What is Donna's favorite color?
10) How old was Donna when she started taking hula lessons?
11) What sport(s) is Donna currently involved in?
12) What kind of car does Donna drive?
13) Where did Donna study abroad?
14) What restaurant chain did Donna used to work in?
15) What is Donna's favorite movie?
16) How long have Donna and Paul been together?

BONUS: Name 3 of Donna's hobbies?

EXTRA: What's Donna's height?

So I prepared some answers for them, but honestly, I don't reveal a lot of this information to people. Some of these topics just don't come up, and I don't think there is anyone in this world (not counting Mom's relatives) that can remember or pronounce my middle name. I couldn't wait to find out what exactly people knew/remembered about me.

I wore a black and white dress that I really love with some sparkly shoes. They traded out my black sash for a light green one because of the pastel theme. I later found out why when they handed me a really big floral hat (color coordinated just for me) with a veil attached which I had to wear the entire time. I wasn't used to my head being so big; so I kept wacking people in the face when I greeted them. I don't know how ladies in the 1800s did it. One good thing was that I was very well shaded from the sun which was nice. After looking at all the pictures, I wasn't as goofy looking as I felt at the time, but it was definitely an interesting touch to the "tea party" theme. After a while, I did feel kind of prim and proper. If I didn't hold my head up right with my back straight, I wouldn't have been able to see anything.



So I walked out, and forgive me that this blog is long-winded...there's just a lot to remember. So I walked out, and there was an incredible set-up complete with tables decorated with cute plants and tea utensils, a huge tent, a whole table filled with cookies, etc. Then, I spotted something on the table...I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was a tea cozie (a tea pot cover to keep it warm) with my protea floral design embroidered on it. It looked really amazing, and I whipped it up so that I could see it better, and underneath was a really cute see-through teapot with a blooming tea (already in full bloom).




This was a special tea pot where you can seep tea clusters that bloom into a beautiful "flower," and they taste really good as well. Then, I saw my cake!!! It was a cake made to look like a tea pot set. It looked so good, I didn't want to eat it. That was Jennifer Gamboa's contribution. It was made out of fondant, and she shaped all the flowers. Also there's 24 karat gold dust on it as part of the design. First time, I've ever eaten gold!



I loved all the guests who could made it, and I missed all the others who couldn't. I also loved the way that they interacted together. My favorite memory was of Heidi Jariwala (friend from work and Mary Kay) who was in the middle of correcting one of my newest friend's quiz (Marissa from curling), and she said, "Marissa, whoever you are, I'm looking out for you, girl." And she proceeded making it possible for Marissa to get more points for her close enough answers.

Also, I had to take my own quiz about Paul. It was also hard, but i think I did a pretty good job considering. A couple things I knew about Paul was that his favorite color is black, he was afraid of a rooster as a child, and his nickname is "Woggie." I failed on what his first job was (lunch line in high school), who his first kiss was (Neolle Tevault), and what his name was if he was a girl (Tiffany Nicole).

We played various games, but the last one that was really impressive was when everyone had to take their purse and participated in a scavenger hunt. Kathy and Carrie would call out items to take out of their purses, and the first one to retrieve the item would get a point. The person with the most points win. There were some interesting items (mostly joke items) like a blue highlighter, A calender page of April twenty-something, and a condom. The winner of the night was Jaclyn Austin who had an overwhelming number of items in her purse. I will take her anywhere with me from now on. She is prepared and deserved that prize!



So according to bridal shower tradition, when I open presents, each ribbon I cut or break would be a child that I would have in the future. In the end, I will have 4 kids. I think I really disappointed Kathy because she had a scheme with her present which was covered with all sorts of ribbons, and I just kind of slid it all off. I really didn't mean to do it that way, but I was faced with a challenge, and I just couldn't let her win without a fight. One present which was from "Winkie" (my cat) wrapped by Jared (with love), was impossible to open with out breaking the ribbon. I kind of think it was fixed when one of the ribbons was already kind of half cut....Jared created a "cat wrapping" filled with claw marks, cat hair, and just terrible wrapping. Way to play the part, Jared.

I couldn't believe all the details that went into this party, and there's so much more to talk about like the favors, recipe holders, that were given to the guests. I have dozens of recipes for love and for cooking. My most interesting one is from Grandma Backman (originally from Oma which is Paul's Great-grandmother) for Grog. I can't wait to try that one.

I also had a very lovely and creative practice bouquet made by my friend Amiee Katz. She did such a wonderful job. Don't you agree?



That's all for now. Hope it wasn't too long to read.

Magic Silver Pens

So I picked up my bridesmaids dresses this passed Sunday. I was really excited because these dresses arrived a week earlier than planned. I had to make a special order because they didn't have a dress on display in my color; and I was kind of nervous just in case the burgundy color didn't come out right. I didn't actually have to worry about that since the dress color came out beautifully. BUT I was very surprised to see that the beading ended up being more of a yellow/gold/red instead of a red/dark red or red/silver color. You see this dress was not available as a sample in person in my color, and when you order it in burgundy, I guess it comes with gold/red beads. The samples dresses I saw were in other colors (red dress, red beads) (purple dress, silver purple beads), and so I assumed that it was going to be in those color combos.

Lesson #1: never assume anything. I was a little worried. I immediately called Paul, even though there wasn't really anything he could do at the moment. I think he just calms me. So Paul thought that it wasn't a big deal, but it kind of is a problem since silver was our other wedding color. We have a word for wrong color combinations in Hawaii, you know like wearing pink and orange together. I don't know how to spell it, but it's not flattering. I tried not to freak out since there's no way to replace the dresses. My friend, Jen, came with me to Michael's Arts and Crafts, and she picked out a silver fabric pen that we could use to paint the beds the right color. I did an experiment on just beads (not on the dress) to see what it will look like, and if it would flake off. Jen had a red bead flower and when we started inking out the beads, it completely covered up all the red and didn't come off when it was dry. I had hope.

Lesson #2: If you have a problem, friends will be there by your side to help. I did a little section on a size 8 dress, and it looked okay. It took me about an hour to do all the beads on that one dress, but in the end it looked fabulous. Paul said that he couldn't even tell that the beads were gold to begin with. I'm sure I have a few touch-ups especially when we see the beading in the sunlight, but I am kind of relieved that this problem could be solved. I just need 5 more hours to fix it thanks to my magic silver pen.

Lesson #3: I can turn anything gold into silver!

I'm hoping that is will be the biggest problem I will encounter, but knowing how weddings go, that always isn't the case. I'm going to try to take everything in stride and not sweat the small stuff.

1 Day Until Papercut Hell

So it's Wednesdayy, and I've been trying to prep for the invitation making party which will be on Thursday. I've collected a lot of the supplies we'll be needing to make everything. Thank you Michael's Arts and Crafts and JoAnn's for their 40% and 50% off coupons. I've been trying to get a head start on the cutting of the main red card. It's a little tough to cut in between all the errands I have to take care of, but I've been getting about 10-15 cuts everyday. Yesterday, we finally had a total of 90 red paper main section cut out. Paul helped out, and he did a good job. Of course the red cutouts still need to be folded and all the other pieces still need to be cut and glued together. Some of Paul's family and our friends are going to join us with some wine (could be a dangerous combination...if the lines aren't straight, it's all my fault) and we're going to work like a sweat shop with good music and good company. Honestly, I don't think we're going to finish everything tonight, but I'm sure we're going to get a huge chunk of it done at least. I'll update you with the play-by-play on Friday cause I know a lot of interesting things are going to happen. I better stock up on neosporin and bandaids. It's a good thing I chose "blood-red" paper. =P

Sample Invitation

So Sarah and I just completed the next step to the invitations. Our paper and monogram stamp came in the mail; so we tried to make a sample invitation to get an idea on what it should look like, and to foresee any problems in making it. It's a good thing we did because with our first trial with the invitation, we used a 2 tone paper (2 colors on one sheet of paper) which made it hard to imagine what it would look like if we did it with 2 separate sheets of paper because we could not find a 2 tone paper in our colors; so what we have now looks slightly different from our 1st sample, and more creme stands out in the cover. It is not a big deal. Sarah had a really cool idea to make a burgundy frame offset in the center so it breaks up the creme a little more, and that problem was averted. There are a couple more things that still need to be done. We still need to make one more stamp, buy some vellum, design the wording of the invitation, design a map, buy postage, etc. I have to find a non-liquid glue because the liquid ones seem to warp the paper. Sarah showed me this glue applicator in which it attaches sticky dots, and I think that will work well. There's plenty of options for tacking now that scrapbooking is such a popular thing. Once we get all the pieces together, we'll have a party, maybe serve a little wine. The invitations need to get out by the end of next week. So I am getting kind of nervous. I'm sure we can gather a whole bunch of people, set-up an assembly line, play some loud music and get it done.

Paul's Wedding Band

So we bought the last of the rings on this past Sunday, and choosing this ring went smoother than expected. We had gone to Robbin Bros. earlier and found a couple styles that we liked. One of which was a white gold ring with thin double ropes on each side. We were going to give it a brush finished look in the middle section. Well, we came back, and did another sweep through their selection. For men's rings, there wasn't a lot of selection compared to women's rings, but we systematically went through each case, picking out a ring that caught our eye. Paul's tastes are really easy enough, and we chose 5 or 6 rings that were actually very similar but had some differences: brushed, flat, beveled edges, concave edges, etc. He even tried on a black ring. (He likes the color black). That ring was very cool looking, but we thought about it, and it's not a ring that would look good as time goes on. So we went more of the traditional route and picked a white gold, flat ring, with a thick band and brushed look. And I recall that there were 2 bands of decoration along the sides...I think. We saw a lot of rings that day. It looked really nice on Paul's hand especially since he has really long fingers, and of course as long as he liked it, that was the main thing. We've been really productive with our wedding preparations, and it is such a relief to get this finally done. One thing though for others to keep in mind when you are buying your ring is to do your purchases before the prices of gold rises (which is not something you have control over), and if the sales tax gets raised which is what happened in California. Damn it, California deficit! It makes a big difference. =P No matter, in the end, we got a really nice wedding band, and we really like working with Robbin's Bros. They've been so helpful and patient each and every time we come by. They have never pressured us into buying any ring. Plus, they clean my engagement ring every visit and make it so shiny and beautiful when I leave. I highly recommend them.

Cinderella's Glass Slippers

This week we actually accomplished quite a lot, and I am very proud of us. I'll have more blogs to follow since there's a lot to highlight. So stay tuned...

I have been searching for some good wedding shoes everywhere for the past year. I can't really say that I am picky just looking for a few specific things: 1) I was envisioning in my head...silver with sparkles to go with the glamour/Hollywood theme 2) They had to look really dressy with some straps 3) I had to figure out a solution for the grass since we will have an outside ceremony, and I didn't want my heels to get stuck in the grass but have somewhat of a heel so that Paul doesn't completely dwarf me (which he can with his 6 ft frame against my 5 ft no-heeled self) 4) They had to be somewhat comfortable.

I did one thing that I don't often do to find these shoes. I went to Macys. I really do like everything in that store, and their style is really classy, but really expensive; so I usually kind of walk through that section to just enter the mall. But I decided that I wasn't getting anywhere with the other stores, and it wouldn't hurt to look. Maybe I could find some inspiration. There wasn't a lot of selection, but I did find some really beautiful shoes that had everything that I was looking for. It did come with a slightly hefty price, but I figured with a few Mary Kay sales, I could offset this cost and put it right back in my budget. In fact, in only a couple of days I am actually already more than halfway there. Thank goodness for goals. They really make things happen. Paul was with me...poor thing. He did a good job enduring my shopping spree and was actually quite helpful and supportive. It took me a while to come to a decision, but I bought the shoes...It's absolutely gorgeous, and I tried them on with the dress. I know that no one can actually see my feet during the ceremony or ever really, but I feel really special wearing them, and I'll take a few cute pictures of my feet.

The shoes are silvery with straps that wrap around the toes and around my heel. There's 2 sparkling globes that connect the straps together that line up in the center. The heel itself is a wedge shape so that means the heel is wide, and it won't sink into the grass. It is 2 inches high, and it is clear. It reminds me of glass slippers. I feel like a princess wearing these shoes...

So I am definitely excited about finally finding these shoes, and that means I can get my alterations for my wedding dress done. I love checking things off my list!

A Thousand Memories or More

So I didn't realize how many photos both Paul and I have to sift through. Plus last year, my computer died, and so a bunch of the photos can only be found on back-up cds and such. It is making this part of the process very challenging. Although it is really great to remember all these events again some of which I haven't thought of in a very long time. For example, there's this one camping trip one spring break that Paul and I went on with a couple of friends. We traveled all the way to Crescent City which for us was a 14 hour drive north. We wanted to see the Redwood trees. We learned a lot about this city especially since it really wanted us to stay. Chris' car broke down once we got there and right before we were about to leave. We stayed an extra day and got to know George's Auto Part's really well. I will never forget that trip, and I hope to insert a handful of these photos somewhere in the slideshow or something. There's these staged pics that the boys did, and they looked like members in a Contemporary Christian band posing for their cd cover. You'll see what I mean, and they'll be in the wedding. Sorry Chris and Timothy, but these photos are classic. It's kind of incredible all the things we did together, places we traveled, jokes we told, and pictures we took. I am extremely grateful for all the photos that we have saved. I also cherish the rare photos of my family taken in the Philippines. Those are extremely precious to me. And I have to say that my mom and dad were really cute growing up. =P I'm sure you all know that I love to take pictures, and there will definitely NOT be a shortage of photos in the future. I'm hoping we can zip passed all these thousands of photos to make Kevin/Brad's (slideshow editors) and Mahalia's (Guestbook designer) easier. Time's running out! Ekkk, only 79 more days to go!

Stamps

So we ordered our first stamp today at www.rubberstampchamp.com, and I can't wait to see it. We could have made the same order at Staples, but it's a little more expensive and it would have taken 10-14 days until it gets delivered to the store. At this website, it offered free delivery with purchases over $10. It did take us a while to figure out how to make the monogram 600ppi so that the quality of the stamp will be high. Jared helped us out by first making the graphic in Illustrator, and then we were able to export it in whatever settings we needed. We figure that this monogram stamp would be good to have to embellish not only our invitations which was the original purpose, but also other things such as the program, envelopes, etc. and we can make it in different colors and textures. It's going to be fun, and maybe a lot of work, but it's kind of nice to have something so personal that we could probably use again for things other than the wedding considering that our initials probably won't change...unless I could call myself a symbol like Prince later on in life. I don't want to imagine what a monogram of that sort would look like...

Love Quotes and Poems

Just to get everyone in the lovey, dovey mood...I came across a few of these and thought I should share:

From "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven," in The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats:

But I, being poor have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

From The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran:

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

From "Somewhere I Have Never Traveled," by E. E. Cummings in Complete Poems: 1904-1962:

your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose

From "Sonnet 116," in Love Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken

From "How Do I Love Thee?", by Elizabeth Barrett Browning in One Hundred and One Classic Love Poems:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach

From Beloved, by Toni Morrison:

Paul D sits down in the rocking chair and examines the quilt patched in carnival colors. His hands are limp between his knees. There are too many things to feel about this woman. His head hurts. Suddenly he remembers Sixo trying to describe what he felt about the Thirty-Mile Woman. "She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order. It's good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind."

From "A Poem of Friendship" in Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day by Nikki Giovanni:

I don't want to be near you
for the thoughts we share
but the words we never have
to speak.

From "The Book of Ruth," 1: 16-17 in The Bible

For whither thou goest, I will go;
And where thou lodgest, I will lodge;
Thy people shall be my people;
And thy God my God.


Happy and thrice happy are those who enjoy an uninterrupted union, and whose love, unbroken by any sour complaints, shall not dissolve until the last day of their existence.

~ Horace

Guest Bloggers!

In addition to Paul's blog, we have one submitted by Jared Sams, the Best Man. I put it on the Hula Happenings blog since it's advice on how to pay for the trip to Hawaii. Jared's definitely a funny guy...THANK YOU for adding your thoughts to the mix, Jared.

If you want to see his article go to:

Jared's Blog on Hula Happenings

California Shower and Batchelorette Party

So I just talked to Kathy, Paul's sister, who is in charge of all of the California events leading up to the wedding such as the bridal shower and the batchelorette party. There will be a "family style" bridal shower in Hawaii on the Wednesday before the wedding to include all the out-of-town people, but we're going to hold one here to have one that's more intimate. I have to say that I cannot wait to see what Kathy and crew have planned. They are making things extremely mysterious, and with things like this, Paul's family is extremely good at keeping secrets. I have already experienced this with the engagement. Kathy and her mom even accompanied Paul to choose the right ring a few months before he officially asked, and I had no clue. I'll just go with the flow when the big days get here. I am just looking forward to spending time with the women I love and love to hang out with.

Paper time!

We made an order for our invitation papers/envelopes last night. It was quite a search for the right paper, and I hope that when it comes in, it'll all piece together nicely. I'm not sure what the final product is going to look like, but it should be enough for our guests to have all the information with a little bit of fun inside.

I did try really hard to find some other options for invitations, but it was so expensive and not in the right colors or right style. I'm not that picky really, but I didn't know red was such a difficult color. If you make it too red, it looks like bright red lipstick, and then it could go more orange or purple or pink. I really wanted the deep red, and it's kind of funny that red the paper we chose is named "Rose Deep." It even sounds romantic. We also bought some beige and silver papers for some accents...I can't give too much away.

The next step is to organize an invitation making party. It's going to take a lot of repetitive work, stamping and glue. I've never really been to one or had to organize one, but I think I will try to make it a little fun with some crazy music, and good food...lots of ventilation.




That's the update for now. By the way, I also wanted to add that I am really proud that Paul posted a blog. He's really shy about writing...he always thinks that he doesn't write well, but he doesn't give himself enough credit. I hope to see more of his work, and some others if I can convince them to contribute. It's always hard for me to read only my voice on this blog, and Paul put a little bit of life with his thoughts and feelings. Thank you! It wouldn't have been complete without you...

1 Year

So it's been 1 year since I got engaged, and this experience has been pretty incredible. I couldn't have dreamed of a better engagement year or a better future-husband-to-be. I should have known from day one that Paul would change my life so much and make it so very exciting. There's actually a lot of things that I owe credit to him. Most recently, without Paul I would have never been so deeply involved with curling and Team Bond Girls. All of a sudden, I have an excuse to get some exercise, meet some new wonderful people, and make an impact since curling is such a niche sport. I had a once in a lifetime experience with the Club National Competition, and I would have never that opportunity if Paul never sent that email contacting a Southern California curling club. Winkie and Nibbler wouldn't be in our lives. I have never lived with cats nor wanted one let alone two, but Paul has lived with cats practically all his life, and he won the pet battle. I was really adamant about just getting one, but we ended up getting two because they needed to give each other company. I think we would have had three if that orange one hadn't disappeared. I love Winkie and Nibbler, and they are the sweetest cats despite a few quirks, (Winkie likes to show her displeasure once in a while on our bed.) and I don't know what I would do without them. I am a Kings hockey fan, and I'm from Hawaii, but Paul really loves to introduce all the ice sports to me. We go to many of the games, and we sit in the last row yelling, screaming, standing and cheering. Also, I'd like to think that I've brought a few things into Paul's life...the Filipino/Hawaiian culture, "The Goonies," "Fraggle Rock," and a social connection to the world because sometimes he can be a little shy...until he gets to know you of course.

This year has passed by so quickly with so many major life events. I almost wish it would never end, but then we'd never get married. So with only about 98 days left to enjoy the engagement limelight, we're going to have to get things cracking. If this is only the beginning, I am looking forward to the rest of our lives together.

Paul's Blog Entry...Finally!

First off, I want to wish Donna a happy birthday! For those that don’t know, today is her birthday and is also exactly one year from the day we got engaged. So today I’d like to share one of her favorite stories from the planning process that went into surprising her with an engagement ring in Hawaii!

After finding the perfect engagement ring at Robins Brothers (little promo there!), I wanted to get permission from Donna’s father before proceeding with my plans. Unfortunately, flying to Hawaii wasn’t really an option, so I had to do this over the phone. My first hurdle was getting his cell phone number so I could talk to him while Donna was still at work. After getting the number from my future brother-in-law (Elliot), I decided it was time to make the call.

I’ll admit that I was a bit nervous. As the phone began to ring, I tried to go through what I would say in my head. He answered the phone around the third ring. I started by introducing myself (though we had meet several times before), but I knew he didn’t have my cell phone number saved in his phone and he wasn’t expecting my call.

“Hello Mr. Umali, this is Paul, Donna’s boyfriend.”

He responded by saying hello, though I got the feeling he wasn’t quite sure who I was yet. I was probably talking fairly fast, as I often do when I get a little nervous. But I decided to continue on anyway.

“Mr. Umali, I’m calling to ask for your permission to propose to your daughter.”

There were a few seconds of silence that seemed like an eternity before he responded with:

“What’s your proposal?”

I figured that he didn’t know who I was, so I tried to start over again.

“This is Paul, Donna’s boyfriend, and I’d like to ask your permission to marry your daughter.”

“Which one?” He responded.

Now, I was a bit flustered. I was pretty nervous going into the call, and it was not going anywhere close to how I had played it out in my head. When you stop to think about the question he asked, then you’ll realize how it threw me off. Joyce (one of Donna’s younger sister’s) had gotten married the previous summer and Arleen (the only other sister Donna has) was 14 years old at the time...

But after taking a moment to collect myself, I told him that it was Donna that I wanted to marry. And after telling him one more time who I was, it finally clicked. In the end, he of course gave me permission and later told us that he originally thought it was a co-worker playing a prank on him. I’m sure the whole thing would have gone much smoother had I been able to do it in person, but then we wouldn’t have this fun little story to share with all of you.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the wedding in June!

-Paul

Mendoza Monogram

Here's the final monogram that Jared, the best man, designed for us. I think it looks really lovely.



This took many drafts, and it is pretty amazing what the final product turned out to be. I was kind of afraid because our initials didn't really piece together very well at first, and all of a sudden here it is.

I feel like "DMP" is some sort of Power Facility like: BWP - Burbank Water and Power. I've been trying to figure out some cool combinations in which DMP could stand for. Anyone want to try it?

Dancing in the Moonlight

So I just talked to my cousin, Elaine, yesterday, and we finalized the details for the Filipino folk dancing. We have it all figured out, and it's going to be a 15 min. presentation from people involved with the Filipino Cultural Center. They will have the bamboo dance (Tinikling), candle dance (pandango sa ilaw), and other dances that I don't know the Filipino names for. I'm really excited that I can check this off my list. So far, we are doing a good job with getting things finalized even though I had so much other things going on such as the curling tournament and jury duty.

So the next thing that I want to focus my energies on is getting the boy's clothing figured out and getting the invitations done and over with. We'll probably an "invitation-making" party. It should be fun...not sure what that entails, but I have to schedule that really soon.

I am trying to find a place where Paul and I can get dance lessons. I've always wanted to learn how to dance. I know Paul is dreading it, but he shouldn't have anything to worry about. Regardless, he's going to have to dance at some point, and he might as well start learning now. I think he'd be great at it. We just have to work on moving smoothly despite our height differences.

Hawaiian Airlines-Wedding Wings Discount

Hey Everyone,

If you haven't bought your tickets yet, I have some information for you for Hawaiian Airlines. I apologize for people who already bought their tickets...they cannot make the discount retroactive once you've already bought them, which kind of sucks.

Before you pay for your tickets, please put in this code: WED216

This includes a 5% discount off our lowest available transpacific roundtrip webfare. You can access this through: www.HawaiianAir.com. The Wedding Wings Discount doesn't apply to wholly interisland travel and cannot be combined with any other offers.

Route that is registered is between any West Coast gateway and Oahu - Honolulu.

Travel validity period is between 6/20/09 - 7/11/09 (The Wedding Wings discount is not applicable to any flights made outside of this period.)

To get more information visit: www.Hawaiianair.com/weddings.wedlogin.aspx (not accessible before or after the booking period)

If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call or email.

Wedding Coordinator

I have good news. Even though I stopped wedding planning at the moment, it doesn't seem to stop by itself. Looks like I found a wedding coordinator, and I am so relieved. I tried to interview some wedding coordinators before, and they were a little out of my price range, plus I am always a little worried depending on people to follow through; so at least if there was anyone to blame, it would be myself, and I can handle that. Also, there were a few snobby ones who told me that I had to spend a lot of money in order to use them, and I thought that this was not me, as you all probably already know.

So Michelle, one of my bridesmaids, has a sister who is starting to get interested in wedding coordination, and I thought maybe she would like to try it out with my wedding. She can see what it is like, and help out in areas where I need help. She is local, living and working in Hawaii. I love Michelle; so I already love her sister, Christine. I am so excited to share this news with you. All the people I have helping me out are already busy with other things wedding and non-wedding related, and I needed one person who wouldn't mind overseeing it all especially on the day of. We are going to get things started once I return from the curling tournament, which by the way is awesome. Right now, we won 2 games and lost 3, but the girls here are so much fun. We have a great attitude, and we're not going to give up.

I'll definitely kick wedding planning up a notch once I return! There's still so many things to do...

Also, I was thinking if there was some subtle way I could add something curling related into the wedding. It might be hard, but I am going to think about it since it has currently been such a big part of our lives.

Wedding Plans on Hold Again!

So I am in Utica, NY competing for the Club National Curling Competition. I am going to be here for a week, and so the wedding plans will have to go on hold for just a little bit. I did try to do as much as I could before we left; and I was able to cross a few things off the list, the biggest one being putting in the order for the bridesmaids dresses. My biggest challenge right now is to find paper to make the invitations, and I'll have to figure that out when I come back.

I am really excited to be in this event with my team who are really awesome. They have great attitudes and skill. We've been fundraising for this trip for the passed 2 months, and we're finally here.

Here's the blog website for Team Bond Girls that we will be updating throughout the trip: www.bhttp://www.bondgirlscurling.blogspot.com/

Well, wish us luck. We're going to need every bit of it.

It Pays To Be Filipino

So a few weeks ago, Charissa and Kathy accompanied me downtown LA to find alternatives to the Jim Helm dress that we loved for a bridesmaid dress because it was too expensive. Basically, there's a section in LA called The Fashion District, and that's definitely the place to be to find deal on everything, cloth, clothes, shoes, etc. Before this excursion, I have never been there before, and I think after this experience, I'll go there again. We found a dress right away, but we didn't make an order yet because I wanted to be sure.

Yesterday, I went with Michelle to return to the same store and make a final order. It was good, too, because Michelle could try the dress on and make sure she got the right size. After all that, the sales woman called the factory, and they told her that they would not do a special order for them for the dresses in that color we wanted. They would have to buy about a 100 dresses not just the 6 dresses that I would need. I was kind of a little disappointed because it was hard enough finding this dress, and the other dresses in the store just didn't have the right look. I felt stressed out. With the upcoming curling tournament and everything going on, I wasn't sure when I could go dress hunting again. Then the owner came out and talked to me. He asked if I was Filipino, and of course I said yes with a big smile. He looked at the dress, and said, "Ok, I'll do this for you." He told me that his girlfriend was Filipino, and she told him to give all the Filipinos a discount. It was just going to take 6 weeks. I thought that should be more than enough time to get the dresses and then get it altered; so I made the purchase, and it is DONE. I thank his girlfriend for putting out that good karma for all Filipino customers, and I wish her all the good luck. May their relationship blossom with many children because I got my bridesmaids' dresses. =P

It's kind of a coincidence that all of this happened, but I am very happy that it did. I think there is someone up there looking out for us. I mean I could have just left the store, swearing up a storm, but we decided to stay just a bit longer to find some alternatives. And that's just when the owner arrived to save the day.

So I am recommending this store for anyone who wants to find an affordable evening dress:

Nobell
950 Santee St.
#8
Los Angeles, CA 90015

Tell them the little Filipino sent you.

Paper & Lots of It

That is what I am going to need to make my invitations. I've contemplated going through a company and ordering the invitations and letting them do all the work, but I feel that first of all, it's too expensive and secondly, maybe they can't do things that I want to do, especially the cookie cutter invitations that only print your information out. I've got a plan, and I think it's going to work.

I went over to both Paul's mom's house and Sarah's (friend from college) house and played around with their cricket. It's a machine that cuts out shapes, cards, etc. for scrapbooking and cardmaking or really anything you need it for, and I might need it for my invitations. We experimented with different shapes and cardstock and papers, and I think we have a rough invitation that looks really good. I just have to figure out the many details such as postage...I don't know how much it will cost to send the whole invitation. Hopefully, it will still fit within the weight limits of a normal postage. Also, I need paper! It's extremely difficult to find bulk paper in the color that you want for an affordable price. Micheal's Arts and Craft Store sells a lot of nice paper, sheet by sheet, but that's really expensive. They have packs, but it's filled with all sorts of paper not necessarily the ones I want or could use in the future. I have searched at Staples, and their cardstock is extremely limited and in 8"x 11" size only. So it's just been a little tough. I've contacted a few paper stores, and hopefully, they'll be able to shed some light into this predicament. I'm going to see drop by their stores sometime this week and look around. Of course, I do have a backup plan if all else fails.

Scan Away!

So Paul and I were finally able to fit in a moment to get at least a large chunk of our registry done. We've been meaning to do it for a while, but our schedules have been quite unpredictable with all the extra things we've had to do for work and life. One night, we just went to Bed Bath & Beyond and got it over with. At first, we weren't really sure how to start. Luckily we talked to someone who was actually the store manager, and he got us registered with scanners and everything. He just recently got married and new everything about the store; so he personally took us around to explain a few things and help us with the whole process. It was a much more enjoyable experience than when we tried to do our registry at JCPenny. There were a few things that he told us that stuck in my mind. He said that there are some things that people just love to buy for other people such as pillows and towels. The explanation for pillows is that they think every night before you sleep, you will think of them as you lay your head on that wonderful pillow they bought you. That made me laugh, but he did have a good point. I think I should revise my gift giving method from now on. So he walked us around the store asking us questions and pointed us to a few things that would be good to add to the registry. It was really nice to have him around because the whole process was really fast and really enjoyable. We learned about the difference between German knives and Japanese knives and why people choose certain things. We ended up choosing the Japanese knives (they are sharper than the German, even though they need to be sharpened more often) because of the handle. They fit really nicely in my hand (since I'll pretty much be doing all the cooking), and our guide told us that these knives won't give you blisters because of the way the handle is made. That was a really great selling point to me. He didn't really show us the most expensive things or made us choose a certain brand. He gave us views that he gathered from his personal experiences and product information which let us decide for ourselves what we wanted. I was kind of dreading this part of the process because shopping for me takes a really long time. I don't really know anything about a lot of these products, and I'd hate to waste anyone's money. I think Paul and I can agree that we chose a good range of things to put in the registry. There are things that we each really love and hope that people will get for us, but it doesn't really matter. It's not really our priority...we know it's already a little financial burden to come to Hawaii especially for our far away guests. Just having them there is special for us. So I am glad to get that bulk of the registry done. We did want to do some additional "house" stuff from Lowes that would be good to have like power tools. Paul's been a little interested in doing some handy work such as rebuilding a foosball table and maybe later on a pool table...I'm kind of hoping he'll learn to make some shelves so that I can finally put together my pantry. =P One step at a time I guess.

The Bridesmaids' Dress Search is Over!

Okay, so I can officially say that the hunt for the bridemaids' dresses is officially over. We did shop at a few stores earlier, but the dress we picked out was a little expensive for our budget. It was a very elegant burgundy Jim Helm dress with a low back. It would be about $250.00/each not including any alterations, etc. I thought that might be a little tough on the bridesmaids since they are already paying for the trip to come to the wedding; so we tried other alternatives. I contacted a friend of mine to see what it would cost to make the dress from scratch, and the quote was $300.00/dress. So at this point I was a little discouraged. I did surf around the internet, and I did find a few things that I did like. It's kind of a hit or miss when I can't physically touch the material or see what it looks like on one of my girls. In the end, I decided not to go that route. Then, with the local Cali gals, we scheduled a Sunday trip to Fashion Alley in downtown LA which actually turned out to be a really great excursion. We went into a lot of stores and found a dress right away. It is as elegant as the Jim Helm dress if not more because there was also beading on the dress, and it came with a scarf that had some beading on it as well. Kathy and Charissa looked really great in the sample dress. I am extremely excited about finally checking this off my list. We did quite a lot of dress hunting, but it was definitely worth it. I can't wait for you all to see what it looks like.

Custom Made - A Personal Touch

So this week, I got jury duty. I've found that it is incredibly hard to do any wedding planning at the same time, but I was able to check a few things off the list. I talked to Mahalia (eM) the other day for about 2 hours. We had a lot to catch up on, but we talked about some of the wedding details. One of which was the guest book. What I imagined was a customized photo book filled with photos and designs where there would be topics that the guest could also add in addition to their name such as: advice, favorite memories, favorite movies, etc. eM was nice enough to undertake this creative venture. I think it is extremely ambitious, but if anyone was going to do it, eM would be the best. She always makes creative Christmas cards, and even though she's farther away she can still have a little personal involvement with some of the wedding planning and preparations. I can't wait to see how it will turn out.

Some other handmade plans for a personalized wedding are:
1) crochet garter
2) Unity Candle (complements of Paul's mom)
3) invitations & Programs
4) favors
5) Table runners (my mom's going to sew)
6) We're going to attempt to make a veil. I think it would be fun.
7) Flowergirl basket
8) Card Box
9) I want to glass etch our champagne glasses with our names, date, and floral motif.

I know it's a long list, but I think having a personal touch in the wedding is important to me. I will always have a backup and buy the usual stuff if I need to, but I would love to at least make an effort especially since there are so many talented and great people who I can call to help. Plus, Paul's mom has a really cool scrapbooking machine called a Cricut, and it would really be helpful with a few of our projects. I'm really excited about it all.

Getting in Shape: The Curling Way

So today I am a little banged and bruised from a very physically intense weekend. My girl's curling team traveled to Seattle, WA for playdowns. We played against the Washington girl's team that also qualified for the National competition. It was quite exciting. Friday, we arrived and got to visit some friends for dinner. I kind of got one of my team mates to come with me and she ended up being dragged into karaoke. I think, we definitely sang out hearts out no matter how many words we couldn't sing. Afterward, we picked up the rest of the teammates from the airport. Seattle by the way, is incredibly cold, especially for me even though it was actually warming up for the moment. I was still trying to get over a cold, and I was taking a whole variety of drugs to get me at least functional for the games. So the next day, we played a game at 9 am and 1 pm. We came back later on for practice at around 7/8. We were pretty sore after that day, and we had another game on Sunday at 8:30. I didn't think we were going to make it, but the Bond Girls overcame. It was a full 10 end game which lasted for about 3 hours of constant walking, sweeping, and throwing. My arms, abs, and legs hurt. Going down stairs is quite challenging. I know that I need to work on getting my upper body and lower body strength up as well as my endurance. I have about a month to really get in shape and train for the Nationals, and I think that by that time I'll be on my way to having some nice looking arms, legs, stomach, and butt...a few months before the wedding. That is, if I can stay away from all the oily and fried stuff.

Floral Designs

So I found a bracelet with half of a protea design on it. I kind of bogarted the design or the parts that I could see and made up the parts that were missing. I think that this complete protea floral motif turned out pretty well. Here it is:



We're going to incorporate this design on the cake and maybe some other things...Not sure what we're going to do yet, but at least we have something to work with. I also want to incorporate the Maile leaf since it is on my ring and it symbolizes so much as well as add a touch of Asian/Filipino with some Bamboo since we have the tinikling...I guess there's a variety of things we can do. I came across this information on the internet:

* Three (3) stalks of Lucky Bamboo:
Bring Fu (Happiness), Lu (Wealth) and Soh (Longevity).

Towers - Better, Promotions, More of the Good Things of Life, Climbing

* Five (5) stalks of Lucky Bamboo:
Represent the 5 different parts of life from which wealth spurs from.

* Six (6) stalks of Lucky Bamboo:
Also sounds like "Luck" in Chinese, bringing prosperity and favorable conditions.

* Seven (7) stalks of Lucky Bamboo:
Good health.

* Eight (8) stalks of Lucky Bamboo:
In the Chinese spoken language sounds like "Fah" which means to grow, thrive.

* Ten (10) stalks of Lucky Bamboo:
Complete and perfect.

* Twenty-one (21) stalks of Lucky Bamboo:
To offer very powerful all purpose blessing.

* Lucky Log
The lucky log keeps sprouting new leaves, which means "strong life". In Taiwan,this is the popular gift item between businesses. The giver of this gift wishes the receipient a strong life with a prosperous business that never stops growing.

On top all of that I have to make parts of it shine or twinkle for it wouldn't be Hollywood without some sort of bling. Maybe add some silvery embellishments or some fake crystals...

Mid-January Progress Report

So I haven't finalized the bridesmaid dresses as of yet, but I did get contact information to talk to a few dressmakers. We confirmed with about 99% of our vendors. We are making headway with the cake. I am extremely excited talking to Kathy from Aloha Cakery about the design. I'll write another blog about that later. I am having one of my cousins, Elaine, try to research some Filipino folk dancers so that we can have a tinikling performance, a Filipino bamboo dance. Here's a website that you can go on to find out more about it: Tinikling

I talked to Paul about it and it's incredibly hard to describe. Basically,2 people hit 2 long bamboo sticks parallelwise together while dancers dangerously dance in between and around them. I thought that this was so cool the first time I saw it when I was little, and I always thought that I would have someone do tinikling at my party. Especially, since it is part of the Filipino culture, and Paul's family and my friends most likely have never seen that before. I am not sure how much it will cost or even if we can find someone to do it. I am going to cross my fingers that Elaine will be able figure this out and make it happen.

Right now, I am in the middle of scanning my photos. There's a lot of great memories, but some memories, I couldn't find photos for. I am hoping that some Cousin or Auntie will produce a copy of a photograph of something I haven't seen in years. I also found photos of people I love and grew up with who are no longer with us, and I couldn't help but miss them. So a lot of planning and finalizing is underway. I really have to get cracking with my floral ideas...That will be the goal for next week.

Mamma Mia!

I finally got to watch "Mamma Mia," and I hate to say it, but I really enjoyed it. There were cheesy moments of course, but the music was fun, and the characters were funny. Not all of the singing was great, but at least a lot of the visuals of the movie were beautiful. It is definitely hard to make Greece ugly. I honestly didn't know what the movie was going to be about. I only knew it was a musical with ABBA songs. But I'm watching these people prepare for a wedding, and the Mom's name just happens to be Donna. I was just shocked and amused because Meryl Streep is so kookie. So I thought this was a sign. This was going to be it. I will find our wedding song here. I watched the entire film with that in mind. I even replayed some of the musical selections over again after I was done, and to my chagrin, I couldn't find it. Some of the songs were fun and great like "Dancing Queen," "Lay All Your Love On Me," and "Take a Chance On Me." But it didn't really represent Paul and me which in my mind is important. No matter, I had fun watching this film, and I was inspired! So the search goes on! Come on song come to me!

Wedding Planning Begins...Again!

It's official. Happy New Year. We are pretty nicely settled in the new house for the time being. There's still a mountain of boxes still hidden in the garage, but those we can take our time sorting out. Now, I can start concentrating on the wedding planning once again. My goal is to finalize every detail by the end of this month. I think I can breathe easier when I find a seamstress for the bridesmaids dresses. I hope to figure this out by the end of next week. That's probably the most pressing thing I have to take care of at the moment. Well, I'll give the play by play as soon as I have some things updated.