Got Wedding Photos?

So I've been trying to figure out how to display all the photos in one place. I wanted to be able to allow people to download their photos in jpg format. I've been furiously trying to research all the different possibilities like picasa, flickr, photobucket, SendPhotos, Kodak photo gallery, shutterfly, and snapfish. I thought I would try flickr, but I just don't have the time to learn how to do it in time. So here is my compromise. I am going to post all the photolinks that you all send me.

I'm going to upload our photos and put them into yahoo or flickr once I figure out what to do. Flickr is a yahoo product and picasa is a google product. I like flickr so far because it is in gamma while picasa is in beta. I suspect that picasa will become the better product over time, but currently, flickr has more functionality. I'll be updating the side bar with photos from everyone, so please send me links to your photos if you have them. I'll also post the photos from the photographers once we get them.

Even if you send me a link to your photos, please send me a CD with the full files so that I can print them out and send them in case anyone requests one of your beautiful wedding photos. If you don't have that many, you can send them to my email mfong8@yahoo.com.

This past weekend, we spent Friday returning/exchanging wedding gifts. We're realizing that we have more gifts than space, so we'll probably be holding a garage sale early next year. We also saw the movie "The Departed" which is based on the HK film "Infernal Affairs." I have to say that the acting and dialogue were great. However, I didn't like how they changed the ending in the US version. I really like how they adapted it to the Boston dynamics, but I didn't like how they had Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon's characters going after the same woman. It just added something that didn't seem plausible. Jack Nicholson was really good and I loved Mark Walhberg's character- he was hilarious.

On Saturday, I went to Greg's housewarming party while Edwin went to the Cal-UCLA game for an impromptu guy's drinking afternoon. I also spent some time planning our honeymoon since it is next week. Ha ha! Here's our preliminary itinerery:

11/18-11/22 Sydney
11/22-11/28 Tasmania
11/28-12/1 Melbourne
12/1-12/4 Alice Springs/Uluru (Ayer's Rock)
12/4-12/6 Darwin
12/6-12/9 Port Douglas
12/9-12/10 Cairns
12/11 Auckland/SF

So it looks like a lot for 24 days. We have 2/5 flights purchased and 2 hotel reservations (Sydney & Melbourne.) I know the rest of the 3 flights and I have another hotel reservation (Port Douglas) that I am about to make. So now I have about a week to plan the rest. Ha ha!

On Sunday, we went to Mike and Michelle's tasting dinner. Had to help Michelle with her invitations since she spent so many hours helping us with ours. Here are some cool photos that Michelle's bro David took of the event. http://poeticdream.com/tastetesting Gotta love that photojournalism. My recommendations for dinner- steak or chicken. Loved the apps.

Honeymoon- what honeymoon?

So we are leaving for our honeymoon to Australia in 2 weeks. We have always said that we were going to plan the honeymoon after the wedding. We had a month, right? Well, it is now almost 2 weeks after the wedding and we still have yet to make any hotel reservations or purchase any other plane tickets. So what have we been doing? Paying bills from the wedding, opening gifts, trying to get over a cold, and celebrating Halloween.

The day of the wedding, I was feeling something in my throat that I was trying to ignore. After all the festivities, my body wouldn't let me deny it anymore. I had a cold. Hannah and Timothy came to SF with a cold and something was going around the office. I think I was bound to get something. So I worked from home for 2 days and it still wouldn't go away. I'm in Seattle right now for work and I still am coughing. It sucks having to travel and being sick.

This past week, we went to see Robin Williams at Bimbo's for a live show. Since he lives in SF, he likes to test his material in front of live audiences at Bimbo's before he does it on HBO or Comedy Central. He was funny, but he just got out of rehab and so a lot of his jokes were about drugs and alcohol. I saw him once before at Bimbo's and I thought he was funnier last time, but it could also be that I wasn't sick the last time either. It was hard getting tickets because they limited you to 2 tickets per person and there were 5 of us trying to get them off the website and I was the only one able to get through and buy the tickets.

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween. Edwin and I found out costumes last weekend. I was a princess and Edwin was my knight in shining armor. We went out clubbing with Tom and Debbie and I realized that my costume was definitely not hoochie enough. Debbie was Chung Li from Street Fighter and Tom was Clark Kent. On Halloween, we had Sin Yen, Show, Kian, and Wendy over for a small get together. Show dressed up as a paper dress up doll and Wendy wore a beautiful cloak. We helped to celebrate Sin Yen's annual 30th birthday (which was officially the day before) and ate some leftover wedding cake. We had 2 layers left- the chocolate and carrot cake. I would say that the white cake with apricot filling was my favorite and then carrot cake and then chocolate which is surprising because most of the time, chocolate is my favorite. However, this chocolate cake is pretty mild, so I think that's why I prefer the other flavors. Don't get me wrong, I still like them all, but that's my order of preferance.

Remember that show Doogie Howser? Who knew that Doogie was the first blogger? If you need a refresher, here's the theme song. Don't you just love YouTube?

We're Married!

Wow, it's been a while since we posted. It's been about 2 weeks and boy did they fly by. We're still trying to recover from all of the events. The week before the wedding, we printed produced all of the tablecards, bagged the favors, tied ribbons on the bubbles, sent out the final schedule to the wedding party, bought gift for our parents, and finalized the music. I don't think that I went to bed before 3:30AM the week before the wedding. It definitely went by fast. Thank God we had some help from our friends. Matilde wrapped the gifts for us and Show decorated the gift box. Jinn gave us a guest book as part of our wedding gift which was great because we didn't have one.

I took Thursday and Friday off. On Thursday morning, Edwin and I went to decorate the rehearsal dinner location. It took us a bit longer than anticipated and Edwin ended up getting a $30 parking ticket. Since we were unloading to bring stuff into the clubhouse, we thought it would be OK to leave the car there. We waited for over half an hour for the concierge and they didn't say anything about needing to move the car. Oh well, the cost of parking the day before a wedding. I didn't escape from the parking nazis either. I got a $50 parking ticket because I forgot to display our parking sticker. Anyway, Edwin dropped off the liquor and reception items (signing cloth, favors, placecards, tablecards, etc.) and picked up Andrew while I had my mani/pedi with Laura and Ellen. I was so sleep deprived that I fell asleep for half an hour during the mani/pedi! We hardly got to eat anything that day. Then, we were off to the rehearsal.

Rehearsal started at 4PM. Edwin's entire family was there at 4PM. Where was my family? At my apartment. I couldn't believe that they were half an hour late. The officiant, the wedding coordinator, and my parents were all late. My dad didn't have directions and then missed the exit even though Nikki gave him step by step directions as she caravanned with them. I was definitely freaking out. If I was a bridezilla at any time during this engagement, it was this day at this time. We only had an hour and we didn't get started until 4:30. I definitely had my doubts that things were going to go smoothly the next day.

As we headed to the rehearsal dinner, we realized that the directions that we had given to our family were wrong. The signs had changed since we created the directions and the exits from the Bay Bridge were no longer correct. Nevertheless, we arrived at the clubhouse and had a very enjoyable evening with our wedding party, sponsors, and family. We finished surprisingly early around 9:30 so we were able to go home and practice the rhumba routine a few more times. Nikki had choreographed a really cool routine for our first dance song by Bebel Gilberto called "So Nice." However, we were having trouble remembering the entire routine. We finally got to bed around 12:30AM which was really good since I hadn't been sleeping before 3:30AM.

The next morning started while we were sleeping. Ellen let herself and the make-up artist into the apartment to get her hair and make-up done while I got an extra hour of sleep. I woke up at 7AM to shower and then had myself a small breakfast of mixed fruit from Berkeley Bowl. It was nice and leisurely as I sat down to get my hair and make-up done around 8AM. The rest of the bridesmaids arrived around 8AM as well. Priyanka was so thoughtful and brought breakfast for everyone. It was great. I even got to have muffin and some orange juice. I have to admit that I was starting to feel a tickle in my throat that morning, but I was not going to let myself get sick that day. Char came in to help fix the bustle because 2 of the loops had broken because the dress was so heavy. I got the dress on with the help of 4 bridesmaids because Laura was getting her hair done. Everyone looked so cute in those bridesmaid dresses. I loved them! I just wish that I had time to write a note to each of my bridesmaids to let them know how much I appreciated them.

We left for the pictures a little after 10:30 and a little behind schedule. We decided to go the the Legion of Honor and the weather was perfect. It was 79 degrees and sunny. We couldn't have asked for better weather. I was going to bring my green parasol from Dave and Ashley's wedding, but in the hustle and bustle, I forgot to take it with me. I haven't seen any of the photos yet, so I hope that they came out well. There were more posed shots than I would have liked, but maybe the photographers were being more stealthy and I just didn't know that they were taking the pictures. We were supposed to go to the Palace of Fine Arts for a second location, but there wasn't enough time and so we headed straight to the chapel.

At the chapel, I was in the back waiting. To keep my nerves down, I did ring around the rosie with Hannah a few times. Matilde had a small leak from her breastfeeding, but luckily, we caught it in time. It's funny the things you hear after the wedding about what happened during the wedding. Jeannette later told me that she didn't have a copy of the poem she was supposed to read in remembrance of their dad, so she quickly googled it on her cell phone and wrote it out. How funny! I probably would not have thought it was that funny while it was happening so I am relieved that they told me afterwards. I wouldn't have even known if she didn't confess to me later. I love having her as a sister now. She's such a great friend and now we get to be sisters! There was a slight delay to the beginning of the ceremony, but everything went very smoothly. I think that I was on cloud nine and I don't really remember too much except that I was happy that it was happening. I didn't cry at all and everything just seemed so surreal.

As I was walking down the aisle, I saw so many faces smiling at me that all I could do was small back. It was the happiest day of my life. There were a couple of little hiccups, but the funniest thing was when Jamie and Kaori forgot to take the cord off of us. They didn't completely forget, but they did hesitate just long enough for us to notice. After the ceremony, we took photos outside. I know that the photographers wanted to take photos in the church, but I wanted them outside because of the view of the city. That is the one thing that I had done a better job with- list of photographs that I wanted. I did put one together, but I have a feeling that it was not used because I didn't see them refer to it at all. Also, our family photos were not as organized as I would have liked. I think that we might have missed some pictures that we should have gotten.

After the pictures, we went to Twin Peaks for the tea ceremony. There were more people than we had planned at the tea ceremony, but it turned out really nice. We made it back to the Empress of China with time to spare. We actually had time to check in at the Hilton across the street. The night before, we decided to get a hotel room for the wedding night. We were able to get a 4 star room for $140 with taxes. I booked it and found out that was the hotel across the street from the reception. Kismet! Then, the security guard let us out on the walking bridge over Kearny so that we could get some shots with the city background. That was really cool. Then, we went to the reception and had a blast. I took a picture of the view from our room which I'll upload later.

The entire day went at a pretty good pace, but the reception just went by SO FAST. I surprised, but we actually got to eat some of the food. All our hard work practicing the rhumba and we forgot the routine a couple bars in. It was OK though because we still had fun. We also played some Chinese wedding games which I think was a big highlight. First, I had trouble with the egg up the pantleg game. I'm sure that we'll have video to post soon. Then, Sujay straddled Edwin during the guess which kisser is the bride game. I hope someone got video of that too. Vic and Jeannette did a great job emceeing. We were able to get a big group shot that I had wanted on the reception dance floor and DJ Jimbo was smart enough to start the dancing while everyone was still on the dancefloor.

We were supposed to go to Bubble Lounge for the after party, but we bailed after it looked like most of the guests were too tired to go and since we also had the BBQ in the park on Saturday. The BBQ was another blur. We had to pick up a few things from Costco and so I went to the partk early to greet guests while Edwin went to Costco. It was yet another beautiful day for an outdoor picnic. We were next to the carousel and it was more fun in the sun and I definitely felt like we got to spend more quality time with our guests. We forgot the plates and we ran out of water, but we had a great time.

Saturday night, we got another Chinese banquet dinner. This time, it was at Koi Palace with my family. It was a fun time and then we met up with Jinn, Show, Bo, Ellen, Mustafa, Andrew, and Gen at Ghirardelli for dessert. Sunday, we had brunch with Tita Gallette and Uncle Benny at Cityscape in the Hilton on the 46th floor. Then, we met up with Mom, Dad, Andrew, and Gen and made a short trip to the Palace of Fine Arts. Then, Edwin dropped off Andrew and Gen at the airport while I went back to the apartment to meet up with Joe and Nemora and wait for Janice to arrive. We didn't get too much time to hang out with Joe and Nemora, but it was good to see them anyways. Janice got to stay with us overnight before her interview at Cal-Pacific. I took Mom and Dad to the airport while Edwin took Janice shopping. Janice had a dinner event that night and so we met up with Xochitl, Eddie, Jinn, Show, Chris, and Corinne for a light dinner at Il Luna Basque. It was great to be able to hang out with them.

Then we got to have a sleepover with Janice. She had her interview the next day, so it had to be short, but then we got to have dinner with her on Monday night before we dropped her off at the airport. On Tuesday, Edwin went to pick up his mom and Tita Angie from Sacramento. We had a quiet dinner in and then realized that they had taken Tita Dori's luggage from Sac by accident. While Edwin dropped off the luggage at a relative's to be returned, I went to Sin Yen's to pick up the leftover cake. We had 2 layers left over, so we get to enjoy the chocolate and the carrot cake. Since Halloween is next week, we'll celebrate some more and finish off the cake. So yummy. OK, that's enough for tonight. We'll post pictures once we have them. Speaking of which, does anyone have any suggestions for where we should post them? I've heard of flickr and picasa and I used to use shutterfly, but I don't like how these photo sites now don't allow people to download my photos as .jpg files.

One Week Left!

So one week from now, we will be married! Wow. Crazy. So this week a lot happened. Matilde and Sujay had their baby girl Kokomi Ashima. She's totally cute and very light. Parents seem very happy and relaxed. We'll probably post some pics later unless Matilde and Sujay want to keep her a secret Suri. You know how they hate the paparazzi. We went to visit the new addition to the family on Wednesday. I can't believe that Matilde had the baby on Tuesday and was home by Wednesday. Good news- I won the pot. We (Kaori, Jamie, Edwin, and me) had a wager on what day the baby was going to be born and the winner gets a free dinner paid for by the losers. Woo hoo! I said Tuesday, Edwin said Thursday, Jamie said Saturday, and Kaori said next Monday.

This week, we finished the seating chart, picked out the music, met with Cesar about the flowers, practiced the rhumba, and printed out the placecards. We still need to print out the table cards and menu cards, prepare for the BBQ, and tie ribbons on the programs and bubbles.

This weekend is also Edwin's bachelor party in San Luis Obispo. Sounds like he's going to be doing a lot of surfing, biking, and drinking. Doesn't sound like a bad weekend. It's been a pretty stressful week, so hopefully, this will be relaxing for him.

10 DAYS!

How can that be? 10 more days until the wedding? We have a list of 50 things to do. That is 5 things we need to accomplish per day. I'm a little scared. The apartment is a mess with all the preparations and we still need to learn how to dance. I hope that I don't trip.

This past weekend, we went to go see the fireworks for Fleet Week on Friday with the Schneiders. On Saturday, we went to Billy and Maggie's for BBQ'd oysters. Yum! Then, we ran some more wedding errands before we went to see a Smiths/Morrisey cover band called This Charming Band. It was pretty cool. Then on Sunday, we finished the photos for the slideshow and watched season 3 of 24 with the Banerjees. Still no baby yet. We have a pool going.... :)

Where's the baby?

So I forgot to mention that we went to Matilde and Sujay's baby shower on the 23rd. It was a lot of fun and we'll include some pics when we have the time! All I have to say is that Sujay needs a lot of practice with the diapers!

Matilde's due date was yesterday and still no baby. The woman is still working so hard that she can't even meet me for lunch. Don't these people know that she could have the baby at any time? That's probably why they are working her to the bone until she delivers. Kind of reminds me of that Pearl Buck novel called "The Good Earth" where the woman is out picking fruit (I think she's some kind of farm laborer) and stops for a minute to deliver the baby only to return to picking fruit as soon as she's done. I think that I had to read that book in junior high and didn't understand why this woman didn't want to take a break. Geez, I still don't understand. Right now, we have a wager on when the baby will be born. I'm hoping that it's not too close to the wedding so that she has time to recover.

Wedding update- this week, we finalized all the details of the rehearsal dinner, scanned in all the photos for the slideshow, printed the programs, and started purchasing gifts for the wedding party. We still have about 60 things left to do in 14 days. Yikes! That means that we have to complete 5 tasks per day. My next big project is seating charts and printing out the placecards. I am very relieved that we don't have to worry about the honeymoon for a month. All we have are plane tickets now. I suppose I'll start doing more on that front after the wedding.

October Birthday Shout-outs!

There are so many people with October birthdays. Happy birthday to Alex, Jeannette, Todd, Sin Yen, and Kaori. Last week, it was also Santiney, Nikki, and Leland's birthday. In September, there was George's and Greg's bdays too. Time just flies.

Last weekend, we spent most of the weekend doing wedding stuff. We determined which Hawaiian BBQ caterers to use, decorations for the rehearsal dinner, bought some of the bridal party gifts, and shopping for little things like ribbon and unity candle holders.

A lot of people have been asking me if I am nervous about the wedding. I think that I am too busy to be nervous. Besides, we've waited 7 years, what is there left to be nervous about? I'm more apprehensive that we will have everything finished in time. This week, we are trying to print out the programs, get chairs for the rehearsal dinner, meet with the florist, and figure out logistics.

Wedding on the Brain

So we've been doing a lot of wedding stuff lately and I haven't been very good at updating. Edwin has picked out his groomsmens' tuxes, I have purchased my wedding jewelry, we have hired a chair cover vendor (this took a lot longer and was harder than you think,) had my hair and make-up trial, drafted the reception timeline, created the flower list, finalized the ceremony music, drafted the programs, wrote tea ceremony instructions for Edwin's family, purchased wedding materials (unity candle, cake cutting set, etc.) and lined up babysitters for the reception. We have 27 children who will be attending the wedding, so we thought that we should help make the wedding fun for them too so that they will be happy and so that parents can stay to celebrate. Wow- when you list it out like that, it looks like we have done a lot. However, it always feels like there is so much left to do.

Next on the To Do list, we're trying to get additional chairs for the rehearsal dinner, line up the caterers for the rehearsal dinner, ordering favors, purchasing gifts for the wedding party, and getting my reception dress altered (again!)

Example of bad customer service we experienced this week: we were in Macy's and noticed that there is a rebate for our china placesettings. You get a free soup bowl for every placesetting purchase. We have already received 2 placesettings, so I went to the cashier to ask about the offer. I asked her if the soup bowls would be sent automatically or if there was some kind of form I would need to complete since these were purchased off of our registry. At first she implied that we would only receive the rebate if we purchased them in store. So I asked if we could return the ones that we have and "re-purchase" them so that we could receive the rebate. She says, "You could, but it is kind of unethical." Unethical? I nearly lost it, but I replied, "Unethical? If we're talking about ethics here, Macy's would have sent that soup bowl to me without me even having to ask about it." She goes on to say that the reason is that sales from the Internet are not the same as ones made in store. That's when I really went off, "I don't care if your sales are from the Internet or the store. I am the customer- it should be seamless." She said something about having to get manager approval for a transaction like this and I told her that I had no issues with it because it seems pretty straight forward to me. What is really dumb about her insult to me is that she knew that we had a registry there- why would you want to piss someone off like that who is bringing in customers? Crazy. She needs to get some training in customer service.

Example of good customer service: Edwin wrote in to LeCreuset asking them how he could obtain a replacement whistle. They wrote back saying that they will send him a replacement for free- no questions asked.

Chronic (What!)cles of Narnia from SNL

Here's funny skit I saw recently from SNL.
Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious!

Alterations Part Deux

Is 5/9 considered good? So between me and Nikki, we had 9 articles of clothing that we had dropped off at this seamstress in Chinatown. We should know that we get what we pay for. At $2 per pair of pants hemmed, we shouldn't expect much. I had 2 dresses altered- one for the rehearsal dinner which needed only the shoulder straps shortened and my reception dress (cheung sam.) The rehearsal dinner dress came out fine- no complaints. However, my reception dress was not to my liking. They altered the waist down fine, but then they also altered the bust which did not need alterations, so now it's tighter than it needs to be. They did not mark it as needing alterations and she even remarked that it did not need to be altered when I brought the dress in and tried it on. So now, I am considering buying the dress again and having someone else do the alterations. I can still sell the old dress on ebay, but it's more of a hassle factor at this point because I will still need to get it altered. Since the cost of the alterations was $5 for this dress, I blame myself because I should have known better. Lesson learned. As for my pants, I got 2 pair of pants hemmed which came out fine and one pair needed repair because the belt loop broke. The pants with the broken belt loop got returned in the same condition that I gave it to them which means that nothing was done.

Nikki, on the other hand, her bridesmaids dress did not look altered to me. It still had the chalk marks along the zipper. However, they assured me that they did alter the dress, just not in the zipper like they thought they would. If that was the case, they should have at least removed the chalk marks!!! So now I have to wait until Nikki returns from her vacation in Hawaii and hope that it fits. As for Nikki's pants, she received one pair hemmed as specified and the other 2 were supposed to have a double stitched hem (which they charged her an extra $1 for) and they only had a single stitch. Since they don't write anything down, I guess that we shouldn't be surprised that they got it wrong.

Moral of the story- you get what you pay for. A place like this is fine if you really only need a $2 pair of pants hemmed and you better not need it right the first time. So, the seamstress comes with mixed reviews. Dresses, not so good. Pants fine as long as it's not too complex and you don't mind making multiple trips.

White and Nerdy

You guys gotta check this out. It's hilarious! Remember Weird Al Yankovic from the 80's? Same guy. Looks like he's still got it. I think I know a few guys who fit this description....

America's Next Top Model

OK- I have to admit that I never thought I would watch this show. But they had a marathon on VH-1 and I got hooked. It is very entertaining to watch. It's interesting to see how a look or expression can affect so much. I never really paid attention to how I look, but I it's made me think that I should be more cognizant of what I may be conveying to others. It's really easy for people to read something that you don't intend. I never put much effort into thinking about that, but this show has made me more aware of it. So, yes, it's a guilty pleasure, but it's actually been educating for me too.

Pirates Unite!

So today was International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Did you know that? I didn't know that. However, when I got to work, my boss was wearing pirate hat and sent us this link for further pirate booty. Ha ha! It's just so fun! http://www.talklikeapirateday.com/wordpress/

Top Ten Pickup lines for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day
10 . Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
9. Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?
8. Come on up and see me urchins.
7. Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.
6. I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.
5. Pardon me, but would ya mind if fired me cannon through your porthole?
4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?
3. Ya know, darlin', I'm 97 percent chum free.
2. Well blow me down?
And the number one pickup line for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day is ...
1. Prepare to be boarded.

Bonus pickup lines (when the ones above don't work, as they often won't)
They don't call me Long John because my head is so big.
You're drinking a Salty Dog? How'd you like to try the real thing?
Wanna shiver me timbers?
I've sailed the seven seas, and you're the sleekest schooner I've ever sighted.
Brwaack! Polly want a cracker? ... Oh, wait. That's for Talk Like a PARROT Day.
That's the finest pirate booty I've ever laid eyes on.
Let's get together and haul some keel.
That's some treasure chest you've got there.

Top Ten Pickup Lines for the Lady Pirates
By popular demand ...
10. What are YOU doing here?
9. Is that a belayin' pin in yer britches, or are ye ... (this one is never completed)
8. Come show me how ye bury yer treasure, lad!
7. So, tell me, why do they call ye, "Cap'n Feathersword?"
6. That's quite a cutlass ye got thar, what ye need is a good scabbard!
5. Aye, I guarantee ye, I've had a twenty percent decrease in me "lice ratio!"
4. I've crushed seventeen men's skulls between me thighs!
3. C'mon, lad, shiver me timbers!
2. RAMMING SPEED!
...and the number one Female Pirate Pick-up Line:
1. You. Pants Off. Now!

Since we are getting married on Treasure Island, we have to celebrate this international holiday. That's right, this is not just a US holiday, it's celebrated around the world. Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Find or fiasco?

So is there something to the question- how cheap is too cheap? Or in other words, you get what you pay for. We went to dim sum with Nikki and Ed this afternoon. Afterwards, Nikki brought me to this place that does alterations in Chinatown that she had heard about from a friend. $2 for hemming a pair of pants. What??? Sign me up! Now, I also need to alter a dress that I have for the rehearsal dinner (the straps are a little long) and my cheung sam for the reception. This is in addition to the 2 pairs of pants I bought months ago that I planned to hem myself when I could borrow Show's sewing machine. (For $2, why would I bother?) I also had a pair of pants that had a small rip on the side. How much do you think it would cost for all these alterations? $50? $30? How about $15!!!! How crazy is that? Nikki had her bridesmaids dress altered for $10 and 3 pairs of pants for a total of $21. I know that all of our friends are using us as guinea pigs to see how it all comes out before they bring in their bags of cloths.

So that brings me to my next point. How is the quality going to come out? For a pair of pants, I don't think that you can screw it up unless you take off too much. The dresses, on the other hand, are bigger investments. So here's the setup. You walk into this basement that has bags and clothes all over the place. Inside, there are 3 older Chinese ladies sitting around and talking and you don't know who you should talk to. I did have to break out the Cantonese, so I don't know if this option is going to work as well for anyone that doesn't speak Cantonese. There a little closet that has a fabric "door" with no light to try on the clothes. I did not see one pin the whole time we were there. All they did was chalk each piece. Here's the real kicker though. How do they keep up with all the inventory since I told you that they had all these plastic bags and clothes all over? A sophisticated ticketing and inventory system? Oh no! She pulls out a used business card and puts a white sticker (over 3 other stickers) to cover up the old information from previous "receipts" and hand writes in Chinese 3 pants, 2 dresses, and $15. Classic.

That's my receipt. On the bag which I brought in to carry the clothes, she writes down the same information and asks for my name Fong. That's it. How many Fongs do you think live in the Bay Area? I hope I get my clothes back. I may end up with some other Fong's clothes. Stay tuned next week when I pick it up on Saturday.

Tomorrow will be another day of wedding preparations. We have an appointment to meet with the chair cover person tomorrow. I'm pretty sure we'll go with them. They were reasonable priced and they have already done events at the Empress of China. After that, we have an appointment with the organist to go over the music during the ceremony. On Monday, we will be picking up our marriage license and I have a check-up with the hand surgeon. Last night, we spent the night doing "fun" wedding preparations. Edwin prepared another batch of wedding beer and I started embossing the Thank You cards. This is less laborious than the invitation-making and something I haven't tried before. Basically, you have to stamp an image using pigment ink (doesn't dry as fast) and then pour embossing powder over the stamp. Shake off the excess like you would with glitter and then heat it with the embossing gun (which I bought off of ebay for about $15.) I think most people would think I was insane for doing this, but I'm having fun. I also may have found a hair person- hooray! That's been something that has taken me a lot longer than I expected as well. We also are almost finished with the kiddie bags. A couple of things that we are still working on- the programs, transportation (though I think that we will probably just caravan unless Greg's contact makes us an offer we can't refuse,) and the flower list. I'm feeling really good with all that we've done. We still have a month. That's what I keep telling myself and then I go "Oh my gosh- we only have a month!"

Blink

So I started reading this book called Blink. It's pretty interesting. I don't normally read non-fiction books, but I'm enjoying this one because it kind of talks about the first impressions and how we process things instantaneously. I do believe in intuition and gut feelings. I believe my instincts are pretty good when I first meet people. The book cited a study in which students were asked to assess their opinion of a new professor in 10 sec, 5 sec, and 2 sec. All the results were consistent with those that gave assessments at the end of the year. How weird is that?

It also talks about what happens to us when we don't trust that inner voice. This usually happens when you don't want to believe it. I'm looking forward to reading more on during my commute on the F- Market. That brings me to my next topic. I just discovered the coolest thing called Next Bus. It shows you where the bus is and how long until the next one. I just wish that they had this for all the bus lines!

Camping in Pinecrest

This past weekend, we went camping with Maika, Kaori, Jamie, Debbie, and Tom. We left Friday after work and got their around midnight. On Saturday, we went for a short hike and then rented a party boat. It was a pretty pleasant ride around the lake and the boys went for a short dip. It was a little too cold for the ladies. There was also a little fishing. Maika caught the most fish with her little Barbie fishing pole. Edwin was second with a little 10-inch fish.

It was quite cold in the evenings, but the days were nice and warm. We had fun around the campfire and ate lots of sausage.

Wedding RSVPs- we have 100 people attending the wedding so far. There are about 200 outstanding invitations, so if you're one of those people, please RSVP! I think we have a chair cover vendor, but I'm still looking for a hair person. Just got my altered wedding dress back. I can't try it on yet because I can't put it on by myself. We also have an appointment for getting our marriage license. So many little details, but time is going by fast. We only have about 40 days left! Next on my list- alterations!

Happy Labor Day!

This Labor Day we took a short trip to San Luis Obispo and Hearst Castle.
It was a pretty spontaneous trip because we didn't decide to go until Friday morning when the Banerjees invited us. We left on Saturday morning without reservations and headed down Highway 1. It was a fun trip filled with adventures.

We ended up being able to find a hotel/motel which was good, but it ended being burglarized which was bad. While we were sleeping, I heard someone jiggle the doorknob, but thought it was someone who was drunk that was at the wrong door. I remembered hearing people talk and it sounded like people were moving luggage outside. Edwin had gotten up and then came back to bed. I discovered in the morning that the police had been outside knocking on people's doors because there was a burglary.
(Edwin's note: I don't think an actual burglary occurred, but there seemed to be a loud and sloppy attempt(s). The screen was off of the window of the room below us, a car door was open and there was a lot of banging around out there. Still not a pleasant experience.

As a side note, I did get to eat my favorite carrot cake that night. It is at a cafe I would sometimes study at. Nice and chunky with walnuts, carrot shreds and some non-standard ingredients like pineapple. Nice cream cheesy frosting too.)

What was interesting to me is that there were at least 3 other hotels next to ours, and Edwin had just told us the night before that San Luis Obispo was very safe. The hotel itself seemed nice on the outside and it was not in a bad part of town, so I guess you always have to be careful. While it was a bit unnerving, we did not let this incident dampen our weekend.

We continued on to Hearst castle- summer home of media mogul William Randolph Hearst. There are 4 tours and many of them were sold out, so we ended up taking Tour 3 which does not take you to the main castle, but tours the guest houses and pools. What I remembered about half way through the tour is that we did Tour 3 the last time we went to Hearst Castle. Must remember for the next time I visit because these tours are rather pricey at $24 per tour. Another interesting tidbit is that the architect that designed the castle was Julia Morgan. Michelle and Mike are going to be getting married in January in the Julia Morgan ballroom here in SF. She was a pioneer among women as the first woman to graduate from Berkeley in architecture. She was also the first with a architecture license in San Francisco. She opened her own firm when she was 32. Not bad, huh? It's funny, in all the references to her, they called her Miss Morgan so I wonder if she ever married. Even back in the early 1900's, there seemed to be a struggle between a career woman and personal life. Anyway, it was a fun tour and obviously, I would go back and even take the same tour twice!

We came back through Milpitas and stopped for dinner at a Muslim Chinese restaurant called Darda. It was really tasty. We had a crab and corn soup, tendon in brown sauce, sesame onion cake, homemade noodles, and a spicy shrimp. The only thing that I wouldn't order again was the spicy shrimp. It didn't taste bad, but it wasn't worth the value compared to the other things we ordered. Will definitely be going back.

Today, we went and picked up supplies for our tea ceremony. We also went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2. I thought it was good, but Edwin was disappointed by the ending which basically ended abruptly because Disney wants you to go to Pirates of the Caribbean 3. I still enjoyed it and will probably go see 3. As my Labor Day ends, I wish that I didn't have to go back to work tomorrow, but at least it's a shorter work week!

What Happens in Tahoe, Stays in Tahoe

As I mentioned in my last post, we went to Tahoe this past weekend to celebrate the end of my singlehood. I had a great time. On Friday, we drove up and started the weekend off with one of my favorites- Popeye's fried chicken in Vacaville. We didn't arrive until 1AM and then got lost thanks to Yahoo Maps. When we finally found the house, we couldn't find the key that was supposed to be under the mat. To our surprise, there were people already inside the house. How mortified we were when we were told that there were different unit numbers- we just assumed that the address we were looking for was the only one. He was in A and we were in C. After profusely apologizing, we arrived at a quaint cabin in South Lake Tahoe at around 2AM.

We slept in on Saturday because we ended up talking until 3:30AM. We had brunch at the Beacon overlooking Emerald Bay. For the afternoon festivities, we went golfing. This was my first outing and most likely will be my last. I had fun, but golfing is not my cup of tea and I think that I'll stick to the miniature golfing since Michelle Wie and Tiger Woods will definitely not be threatened by my skills. It was a 9 hole par 3 course. (Not even sure if I said that right, but you get the drift- less than 18 holes.) Here are some of the quotables:

Matilde: We're going golfing this afternoon.
Michelle: You mean
like miniature golfing?
Matilde: No, I mean, golfing.
Michelle: Don't
you have to do that early in the morning? Do we at least get different colored
balls?

Matilde: Do you guys need a putter?
Michelle: I have a club
that says P.
Corinne: Aren't they all putters?

Man: Do you mind if
we start ahead of you?
Michelle: Not at all. Please do.
Man: We're
pretty decent golfers, so we should be able to stay ahead of you. (Man walks
away.)
Nikki: Then what are you doing playing at a municipal course?

Matilde: So what's the final score? (after 7 holes-Matilde, Michelle,
and Jinn vs. Nikki, Show, and Corinne)
Nikki: Oh! We got 28! Wow!
Show: Um, we only have 6 scores written. I think we're missing one...

The laughs alone were worth it. Later that evening, we went to the casinos. I'm going to leave it at that. What happens in Tahoe, stays in Tahoe. :) More conversations until the wee hours of the morning. That's basically all I wanted- a weekend sleepover with my girls for some eating, reminiscing, and lots of laughing.

Lots of things to do, but we're taking our time!

So I went wedding dress shopping again last night. No, nothing happened to my dress, but I am a bridesmaid in Michelle and Mike's wedding and so I went with Michelle. It seems like I just went to find my own dress. A lot less stressful for me now. It also reminded how quickly this all goes. We have less than 2 months before the wedding. I think that there are some brides who are pretty stressed at this point, but I'm really enjoying it now. I feel like I am at a stage where if everything else doesn't happen, it's not a big deal. I think that once we got those invitations out it was like a big milestone. It seems to make it more real. We actually have people coming for this! So far, we have 32 people who have RSVP'd. Thanks guys!

So Michelle and I went to a San Francisco wedding dress design boutique called Amy Kuschel. I kind of wish that I had gone there when I was shopping because it was such a great experience. But all of these dresses are custom made and would have been way out of my budget and I just would have been tempted to spend too much. Besides, I still feel lucky to have my dress and I don't know that I would have chosen any of those dresses. It was just cool because we got to meet Amy herself as she was helping Michelle. I told her about my dress experience and she agreed that sometimes you just have to jump on an opportunity. I was pleasantly surprised that she wasn't pushy or pretentious. The studio was in Union Square with lots of light and wood floors. Compared to any of the bridal shops I went to, this was by far the most pleasant and most attentive. I would highly recommend it to any future brides. It's also where Wendy got her dress.

Good news! You remember how I asked you all to take my surveys? Well, I won! I won an Ipod nano from work because I was one of 3 people that had the most completes. Thanks to everyone who took my survey and a special thanks to Santiney who took my survey 30 times during a conference call. I haven't received it yet, but I'll let you know when I do.

On the wedding front, we have started the schedule for the reception, drafted the programs, sent out an evite for the rehearsal dinner, and bought supplies to start the Thank You cards. Yes, I'll be trying my hand at using embossing powder and stamps. You would think that after all those invitations that I wouldn't want to do any more crafting with paper, but I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment. I'll be using the same color cards and envelopes to match. Who knows- I may start and go- "what was I thinking" and just go out and buy those pre-made Thank You cards that most sane people would use. I don't feel that I'm the most creative person, so when I can experiment and try something new like this, I like to try. I still need to alter my reception dress and thanks to Kian's suggestion, I think I have a seamstress. Still on the To-Do list: transportation, lists (flowers, music, tea ceremony participants, photo must haves), hair and make-up trials, wedding jewelry, and chair covers. This weekend is my shower/bachelorette in Tahoe. I'm looking forward to some relaxation and to spending quality time with my girls- Show, Jinn, Matilde, Nikki, and Corinne.

Congrats Vicki and Will!

So we were in Chicago this past weekend for Vicki and Will's wedding. We had a great time, but we wish that there was more time. My girl Vicki looked totally gorgeous in her dress. The whole thing seemed to fly by. Her bridesmaids dresses look a lot like mine but a little lighter and different material. Edwin was able to fly from LA JIT so that even with a delayed flight that landed at 2:30, we were able to make it on time for the 4PM wedding.

I also got to spend some time with the family too since we stayed at my parents and the niece and nephew were in tow. It was great to hang out with Hannah. She even volunteered to come with me to pick up Edwin without her parents. We spent most of the drive singing Old MacDonald and Wheels on the Bus. Those kids just LOVE to sing these songs over and over again. I have a fun picture of her in my sunglasses.

Timothy is SO big now. He's so cute. He's at that age where I can give him as many kisses as I want and he loves it. He never cries and is just content to observe. Loves it when his big sis tackles him on the floor. He just laughs and laughs. He rarely cries and even when he does, it is not that ear-piercing baby cry.

So we got back this morning and it was definitely painful to wake up at 3:50AM CST for our 6:30AM flight from Chicago. Though I was able to sleep almost the entire way, it was not the most comfortable ride on my tush.

We have our first RSVP!

Dave and Ashley were the first to RSVP. Thanks guys! I'm going to give props to Ashley since she is most likely the one that did it. Make sure that you go up to them to congratulate them for being the first. Dave will be the one carrying the green parasol. JK! At Kian and Wendy's wedding, we were in a very sunny spot and they had parasols for us. Dave was one of the guys who was comfortable enough with his manhood to carry one.

Coming to Seattle has given me a lot more time to do wedding stuff. Yesterday, I went to Michaels, Joanne Fabrics, Ross, and Paper Source. I'm thinking about placecards and Thank You cards. Then today, I worked on the registry. There's a Crate and Barrel and Macy's in Bellevue. I could get used to this suburbia. At Macy's, they had the softest towels that I have ever felt. So nice. They were from Calvin Klein. I have never purchased any Calvin Klein products before, but I do like the quality. I liked the purplish color (of course) and the blue towels. I think that I want our bathroom scheme to change slightly. It's always been fish/ocean. I'm going to go for more of a beachy summer house feel. We'll see if Edwin agrees.

I also spent more than I ever have on make-up today. Beauty is expensive. I purchased a foundation that was recommended by the make-up person on Saturday. She also recommended a pore minimizer at Sephora. The name cracks me up "Picture Porefect." Part of me is skeptical that this stuff is going to do anything, but I guess that I should try since you only have one wedding day. This is how you go over your wedding budget. Items that you don't anticipate buying like make-up. I guess that if I wore make-up this would not be an additional expense. I think that I may have found a new lipstick too. I'm pretty excited about that because I have been looking for a new lipstick for years now. I am a very loyal lipstick buyer. The sad thing is that they keep discontinuing my colors.

Wedding Milestone- Invitations Sent!

After countless hours of cutting, scoring, gluing, printing, and stuffing, we have sent out our invitations! There are still a couple of exceptions for people missing addresses and printing mishaps, but our guests should be receiving their invitations within the next few days. Thanks to my girls Matilde, Show, Michelle, Corinne, and Nikki who attended my 4 invitation-making parties. Edwin also stepped up and did quite a lot of stuffing, gluing, and printing. He and Sujay can now discuss the war stories of wax seals, embossing, stuffing, and the differences between ecru and Stardream Quartz.

If you can't wait for snail mail, you can actually begin to RSVP online now at the wedding website using the link to the right. Don't forget the password is "sanfrancisco." All you have to do is select "RSVP Here" and then put in the first and last name of the person on the front of the envelope. If you're married, we most likely used the husband's name as the key. We're trying to do all the RSVPs online since we have been known to forget to RSVP (we actually thought we had already sent it in!) and we have heard of others losing the RSVP or worse yet- the post office never delivered the invite/reply card. I'll let you guys know later if we recommend this method or if we end up with a mess!

Happy birthday to Edwin's mom today. Edwin and Jeannette are going to be with her tomorrow in LA, so I'm sure they will have fun celebrating.

Mishap of the week- I rode my bike to work on Monday and I was rushing home to get to the dry cleaners and return something I had bought. The stores closed at 7PM and I got home at 6:30PM. Good news, right? Well, it would have been except that I left my wallet, cell phone, and keys at work. Edwin was not home and I had to wait outside my garage door for over an hour until he got home. The good news was that I had my computer and was close enough to get internet access from our wireless network.

Airport update- so I am in Seattle today until Friday. I showed up to the airport at 7:45AM for a 9AM flight. It took slightly longer, but the lines were not as bad as I anticipated. I did have to check my bag but I was able to carry on my computer. You are also allowed lipstick and deodorant as carry-ons. (I heard that you couldn't.) Toothpaste is not allowed and neither are drinks allowed on the plane. (even the drinks you buy in the airport) The funny thing was that I was on such autopilot that I walked all the way to the car rental kiosk when I realized that I forgot to pick up my bag at baggage claim. (I normally just walk off the plane and go my merry way.)

Congrats Kian and Wendy!

We went to Kian and Wendy's wedding on Saturday. It was very lovely in a country garden in Sonoma. We had a great time. The paella was awesome and the crab cakes are always welcome! Had a great time dancing the night away.

Wilson also came to SF for a visit this weekend. We went out to dinner at Zuppa's on Friday, then for some dessert at Osha's, and hung out at Matrix. Haven't gone out like that in a while.

Today, we went to Stern Grove again. They had the SF ballet and the SF symphony orchestra playing. It was very relaxing, but also very annoying because they had these potted plants which obstructed our view. There were a lot of complaints from the audience and they moved one pot during intermission. I wonder who had the bright idea to put the plants on the stage. Then we went to play some pool at Sweeties. Had some Mexican and Taqueria San Jose and then some dessert at Naia.

Survey Says...

Well, thanks to everyone who took my survey. Unfortunately someone at work put their survey on My Space and got 3000 completes. I created another survey and put it on craigslist, but I only got about 60 completes from that. Special kudos to Santiney for taking the surveys multiple times during her conference calls.

Tonight, we went wedding dress shopping with Michelle. It seems like a long time ago since I went shopping for my dress. However, it did make me want to get my dress back. Not that I could put in on myself. I have to give her a lot of credit, she's moving very quickly on her wedding plans for January.

This week, we have been trying to finish the invitations. Only 40 invitations left. We have printed the return addresses, but we still need to print some more, stuff, and stamp. We might be able to mail as early as next week! We also got a permit for the picnic on Saturday, October 21st in Golden Gate park in Lindley Meadow. Hopefully, people will stop by so that we can spend more time with them. We want people to feel free to bring any guests and stop by casually. We'll have a BBQ so that if people didn't overeat at the reception, they are sure to overeat here!

This weekend, we are going Kian and Wendy's wedding in Napa. It should be beautiful. I am also planning on having my makeup trial and hair trial on Saturday. Why waste good hair and makeup? :) At least this way, I have a use for it! I have the make-up appointment, but I have not had time to make the hair appointment. I hope that I can find someone tomorrow who will take me on Saturday.

Tomorrow night, we are having dinner with our friend Wilson who is visiting from HK. Haven't seen him in almost a year. Next week is going to be really busy. I have to go to Seattle on Wednesday and Thursday and then Chicago on Friday for Vicki's wedding. 2 weekends in a row with weddings. Chicago is going to be pretty busy because I don't arrive until Friday after midnight. Laura, Alex, Hannah, and Timothy will also be there, so at least I'll get to see them again. I haven't seen Timothy since he was born in February. He looks so different now. And there's all these people to see and essentially one day to cram it all in and it just happens to be Laura's birthday. Well, it should be fun no matter what we do.

I want an Ipod Nano- take my survey!

So they're having a contest at work. The person that has the most survey completes wins an Ipod Nano. Please complete my 3 question survey about wedding favors. I need to have at least 125 completes to win and need responses by August 11. You can even take it multiple times if you want! Thanks!

http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB225K8ZRUX2H

See survey results

Feel free to forward this link to your friends! I won't know who completes and who doesn't.

Happy Bday to Me!

Sorry for the radio silence, folks! It's been a pretty busy week. Hm... let's recap the camping in Tahoe. We went to Emerald Bay with Tom and Debbie. It was a really nice weekend to go. The weather was absolutely perfect, we got to eat a lot of smores, and saw lots of stars. On Saturday, we went on a hike that was very nice. I think that I need to get some hiking boots. (Not that I do a lot of hiking...) But I really don't like using my cross trainers to go. I like them clean. I know- they are for working out. That tells you how often they get used... Anyway, they got very dusty and dirty.

The campsite was very nice with showers and bathrooms. I thought that was pretty luxurious for camping. I was pretty annoyed though when I had to wait 20 minutes for the bathrooms because someone was drying their hair with a hairdryer in the bathroom. (hello- we're camping!) However, that was not the worst offense. The worst offense I heard was that these teenagers were using flat irons. ??? Does that sound absurd to anyone else? I am not really complaining- it's just more amusing than anything else. Otherwise, we had a great time.

Last week, we spent a LOT of time working on the invitations. I've been having invitation making parties with some of the ladies and made a discovery this week. The optimal number of people working on invitations is 3. We had 5 people and someone was always waiting for someone else to finish something. Michelle and Corinne had to leave early, so Nikki, Edwin, and I worked for a few hours and were able to crank out at least 50 complete invites! I'm just happy to see some finished product. We still have to address them and put stamps on them, but they are ready to go! Edwin and I spent most of the week trying to prepare for this invitation making party by creating and printing out the inserts and invites. I was up to until 2 or 3AM all week. Not fun. But I'm just happy that part is over. I expect that we'll start sending out invites in the next 2 weeks. At least, that's my goal.

This weekend was also my birthday. 31- according to nikki, that means that I am officially a thirty-something. I thought that that I got that classification when I turned 30 last year. Remember that TV show in the 80s called thirtysomething? You know, the one with Michael and Hope? I always thought that they were so old. It doesn't really feel so old anymore... According to Steve, this is the second anniversary of my 29th birthday. It's funny, I think that I felt older last year than I do now. So I guess that old adage may be true, you are only as old as you feel. To celebrate, Edwin took me to a French restaurant called Clementine. The service was very good and my favorite was the duck. I had the scallops with lobster risotto which was also good, but the scallops were a little chewy and I couldn't taste any lobster in the risotto. They also gave us little meringue cookies which were very tasty. Edwin liked the dessert which was like french toast on crack with hazelnut ice cream. Way too sweet for me, but for a sweet tooth like Edwin, he loved it. I would definitely go back. We also went to karaoke last night. As usual, a lot of fun.

I also got my reception dress on Saturday. In Cantonese, it's called a cheung sam and in Mandarin I believe it's qi pao. I've tried on a lot of these dresses and I found this dress about a month ago with Matilde, but went back and got it because I felt like I had done enough research to decide. It's going to need some alterations. Most of these dresses are now made in Vietnam and it seems that they have some pretty different body proportions over there. The smaller one I tried on fit me perfectly in the hips, but the bust was way too tight. So I ended up having to get a bigger size so I am totally swimming in the bodice, but at least the bust fits. I'm told that it's better to get a size too big and take it in than trying to let things out. So, I have to have it taken in. Anyone know a good seamstress in the Bay Area? Shoot- it's 2AM again. Gotta get to bed. Good night!

Congrats Michelle and Mike!

So I've been trying to keep this on the down low for at least a week, but I just can't contain my excitement any longer! Mike just proposed to my friend Michelle in London this past weekend. I thought I would give them some time to share the news before I broke the news. Michelle had a business trip and he surprised her there. How sweet is that? They've had a very short but intense courtship of 6 months. Some people take 6 years, others take 6 months. So it seems very likely that they will get married soon as well. We've been taking some bets on when. I'm guessing Feb since her bday is in Feb, but so far, the farthest guess out is May. What will these 2 lovebirds do?

Wedding planning has slowed a little bit, but it's been a nice little break. We have plane reservations for Australia now. If you have any recommendations on hotels, food, things to do, or must-see places, please let us know!

This weekend, we're going out camping in Tahoe near Emerald Bay. I'm sure most of you are like, "Michelle, camping, are you kidding?" However, I have gone camping before. And I would like to stress that we are car camping and not backpacking. BIG difference. Backpacking means you have to schlep all of your gear on your back as you hike for miles. Car camping means that you can leave your junk in the car and go hiking without carrying 50+ pounds of gear! If I wanted to be a sherpa, I would move to Peru, Nepal, or Tibet! Anyway, looking forward to hanging out with friends, SMORES (now that's what I'm talking about!) and seeing some pretty scenery. If I get inspired, maybe I'll take some pics on my phone so you all can see.

Just some quick shout-outs:
Happy bday, Dad on July 19
Happy 1st bday, Max on July 19
Happy anniversary, Mom & Dad on July 22
Happy bday, Ellen on July 25
Happy bday, Maika on July 25

Geez, did I miss anyone? Last week was a busy one. My bday is next week- woo hoo!

It's Too Hot!

We're in LA this weekend and I am melting. It's been over 90 degrees and I am constantly sweating. I remember summers being hot, but I don't remember it being this hot. I definitely prefer being cold over being hot. At least with the cold, you can put more layers on. It's been hard sleeping because of the heat. You know things are bad when I can't fall asleep. I'm usually out in like 5 minutes and can sleep anywhere.

Edwin's mom took us for some Filipino desserts (http://www.houseofsilvanas.com/index.html) today. They were cashew-meringue wafers sandwiching buttercream in different flavors called ube, mocha, strawberry, chocolate, original, and buko-pandan. My favorite was chocolate but Edwin and his mom liked all the other flavors better. That's fine with me- more chocolate for me! I liked the strawberry too. The buko-pandan was green in color and tasted like coconut. They ran out of the original. I liked the ube too. If you've never had ube, I don't know how to describe the texture, but it is usually bright purple in color. I think that they were called Silvana's.

Going back home tomorrow morning. It's gonna be a rough day since we have to leave for the airport at 5:15AM.

Ah, nostalgia! Parents Just Don't Understand!

Remember this video? My coworker and friend Megan and I were having lunch this week and we were remembering how old we were when it came out. I think I must have been in junior high or something. Maybe even younger because I remember we were still wearing the stretch pants and 2 pairs of socks. I seem to recall suspenders being popular too...Yikes! Where were you? Enjoy!

I love the weekends!

This week has flown by. Work was crazy as I had predicted. Friday we spent out in the East Bay since I had to fly into Oakland anyway. Saturday, we picked up my wedding ring and I finally bought the ribbon for the invitations (don't ask!) Since Edwin was hanging out with the guys that night for Nirav's last night with the guys before fatherhood, Mihu and I went out for some pho and watched a movie called Mrs. Harris. This movie was about a socialite in the 80's. It was an interesting movie and I can't say that I liked it, but I thought that it was very well done. Annette Bening and Ben Kingsley starred and it was not a very happy story, but it was really interesting to see how eccentric rich people can be. It is definitely a different and strange world.

This week we accomplished a lot for the wedding. We finalized the rehearsal dinner location and Edwin bought a tux. I also worked on the wording for the invites. The directions were a big pain in the butt. I wonder what people used to do without google or yahoo maps. I'm also trying to get them printed on the page in a way that minimizes the number of cuts. Not as easy as you would think. This week, I'm gonna try and start printing stuff like the addresses. I'd also like to finalize where we'll be going for our honeymoon too. We know we're going to Australia, but we don't know what cities we are going to. Next weekend, we're going to LA and then we're going camping the weekend after. Car camping, no backpacking- there's a BIG difference, but I'll talk about that after we go.

100 Days

So the countdown begins. We have 100 days until we get married. Everyone keeps telling me how fast we are on the planning front. It always makes me laugh because it certainly doesn't feel that way to me! I feel like we won't have enough time to do everything. Though, last week, we did order Edwin's wedding ring (woo hoo!), I sent my wedding ring to be engraved (I love it!), and we have finalized a rehearsal dinner site. Stuff we're working on: honeymoon research, wedding invitation and inserts, transportation and schedules, hair and makeup (for me), and tuxedos (for Edwin.) This is supposed to be fun, right?

It's been a stressful week so far at work. I'm going to Seattle this week for work and that means trying to cram 5 days of work into 3. I also somehow got selected for some photo shoot at work. I think that I fit into a few desireable demographics (female, Asian, etc.) I'm not sure if it will be for a brochure or corporate website, but no autographs please! So again, I have to do everything I normally do in a shortened timeline. I'm starting to feel overwelmed with all I have to do. I feel like I am barely prepared for all my meetings this week and I hate feeling unprepared. I get out of one meeting to start prepping for the next one without doing all the due diligence that I should be doing. I hope that I don't go postal working here. But if I do, you heard it here first! JK!

Maybe I'll try and take a break this weekend. Sometimes I think it's like having a second job. I don't get paid, but the perks are pretty good!

Patriotic & Kindred Spirits

We've been to 3 BBQs in the last 4 weeks. That's a lot of eating. I keep telling myself that I have to fit into a dress in 3 months, but with the food just sitting there in front of me, it's just hard to say no. The SF symphony orchestra was very enjoyable. Brought back memories of Blossom in Cleveland and Ravinia in Chicago. Except without the mosquitos. The music was great and they showed movie clips while they played. It ended with some great fireworks accompanied by some patriotic favorites.

Last night, I was up until 4AM. I had no intentions of staying up that late, but I found this hilarious blog and I couldn't stop reading. Basically, this woman is like me- Chinese American trying to plan a wedding this year, but lives in NYC. She's going through a lot of the same things with wedding planning, but I think that she must be able to type a lot faster than I can because she writes in excrutiating detail about the things that she is working on. She had me in stitches because of the amount of labor she is putting into her invitations. I laugh maniacally because I am not doing the exact same thing, but close enough and wondering if anyone else will realize how much labor we are putting in. She also wants her wedding to be unique with some Chinese tradition thrown in. She's gone to 3 different ribbon stores- I've been to more, but it makes me feel a little less crazy for doing so. It's taken so much effort that spending $65 on 75 yards of ribbon is actually sounding good to me. Check her out if you feel like reading about someone else's wedding instead of ours (http://bigfatchinesewedding.blogspot.com) I almost feel like a kindred spirit because she also talks about the battle with the belly bulge and not having enough time for her other projects like knitting.

Happy 4th of July!

I love 4 day weekends! It's been so nice to have a break. On Friday, we had a night in and relaxed. On Saturday, we worked on our registry and saw a horrible movie called "The Family Stone." It was the one with Diane Keaton and Sarah Jessica Parker, but it was more painful to watch than funny. On Sunday, we went to church and then to Stern Grove (http://sterngrove.org/070206.php) which is an outdoor music pavilion for some New Orleans brass music and a picnic with friends. They just redid the pavilion and the field, so that it is much more comfortable. We thought it was going to be cold, but it turned out to be quite nice.

Today, we cleaned the apartment and then we went shopping. Tomorrow, we have another day of big eating with a BBQ at my cousin Billy's and then more music at the Shoreline ampitheatre. This time it will be the SF Symphony and then fireworks. Don't forget to wear your red, white, and blue! Then, it's back to work.

I wonder what I will do after the wedding. I feel like this takes so much time and planning. How did the time go by before? Well, at least it feels like we have most of the big things taken care of. We met with Cesar to talk about flowers this week. He has such great ideas, I'm totally not worried. However, he did get me to start thinking about details and timing. According to the Knot, we have 109 days left before the wedding. We're going to be focusing on the honeymoon, rehearsal dinner, and invitations over the next few weeks.

Let Them Eat Cake!

This week, we decided on to go with the baker that we saw last week for our cake. I've also been shopping a lot on ebay. I bought bubbles, but I have also been looking at ceremony decorations and tulle. We have also started our registry at Macy's and Crate and Barrel. Registering is a lot harder to do than I thought it would be. There's a lot to think about in terms of what to coordinate, what to replace, and if we really need it or not. We have also been making the invitations. If I had to do it over, I think I would recommend buying the invitations. They are more expensive, but the it is SO time consuming to make them. Thanks to Show and Matilde for all their hard work. Only one papercut so far. On Friday, we made over 50 invites. This is just step one. We haven't even created the inserts yet or printed anything yet. Guess I should think about what should go in them! We also met with our photographers Alfio and William at L2 Photography (www.l2photography.com.)

Today, we spent most of the day up in Santa Rosa for Greg's BBQ. I feel like we have been to a BBQ every week. I think we have a break next weekend, but then 4th of July is bound to have at least one BBQ. As a bride, I'm supposed to be losing weight, but with all these BBQs, it's been kinda hard.

I've been trying to ride my bike to work at least once a week. I didn't do it at all this week. That means that I have to do it twice this week. What's worse is that the weather has been very nice these past couple of weeks. I enjoy riding my bike to work. It's just such a pain preparing and changing for it. It's also hard because it seems like there is always something to do after work for the wedding, so it's not convenient to ride my bike. Riding to work is easy. It's the ride home against the head winds that is much harder. Need to take advantage of it more.

Dancing Queen

Megan showed me this hilarious clip:


Brings me back to the 80s!

Love is a Battlefield

This weekend, we went to karaoke at the Music Tunnel (http://www.musictunnelktv.com/rate.htm) and we sang one of the classics, Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield." No one seemed to remember the video and the "cool" dancing that was in it. It was a classic, so I had to remind them. Check out the video:


This weekend, we also interviewed a baker. She seemed really reasonable and the cakes were very tasty. We didn't sign with her yet, but we really like her so far. Check out her website and let us know if you like what you see (www.thepastryprincess.com.) We also found shoes for the bridesmaids.

We also saw X-men 3 this weekend. It was enjoyable, but I would say that I liked X-men 2 the most. Not enough character development.

My Precious...

So we bought my wedding ring today. Woo hoo! I'm really excited about it. It is so pretty and shiny and goes well with my engagement ring. It won't be ready for another 5-6 weeks, but even then I can't wear it! I'll just be able to look at it. We are pretty close to getting Edwin's ring as well.

I also finished reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown this past weekend. I actually think that I liked reading DaVinci Code better. It may be because I read that one first, but it felt like the pace was faster. However, do not be confused. I was not a huge fan of the movie. I am normally a big fan of Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, and Ian McKellan (ha! ha! note the double entendre to the ring to unite them all- my precious, the trilogy that Ian McKellan stars in), but I didn't like how they changed the ending to the movie. They followed the book pretty well until the end. A lot of people say that Dan Brown is un-Christian. After reading his books, I would say that he was trying his best to be neutral and academic. I suppose the fear is that people will believe his books as the truth. However, that is really the reason he is such a good storyteller. There are people that might believe this could happen. If anything, I think that it causes people to think about religion and maybe do some more searching. I think he provokes thought and discussion more than condemning Christianity. He talks more about DaVinci's views and theories about the crusades. Makes me think that I should be reading the Bible more often. Maybe I don't feel as offended because I'm not Catholic and I don't think that the Pope has any more authority than any other priest or pastor. Anyway, I enjoyed his books. Made my commute to work and several plane rides much more interesting! :)

Congrats Dave and Ashley!

Attended a beautiful wedding this weekend for our friends Dave and Ashley in Sonoma on Saturday. Had a great time, though I wish we could have spent more time with the wedding couple, but I guess that always happens, right? There's just not enough time. Kian was thoroughly amusing as he was taking copius notes during the reception. Wishing Dave and Ashley happiness- always and forever.

Went for a run with Edwin and Show this weekend. Yes, you read it right. I went for a run and I wasn't being chased. Confirmed that I still don't like running. I can't imagine it ever being enjoyable. I'm noting this run because it probably will not happen for another 10 years. I used to run 2 miles a day when I first started working because there was nothing else to do in the hotel and Todd used to go, so I would go. I am feeling a bit sore, but not too bad.

Wedding news- I found the bridesmaids dresses at the Jessica McClintock outlet! I was very excited. This has been one of the more difficult tasks for the wedding and I am happy that it ended well. We also started our registry this weekend. I always thought that part would be a lot of fun. While I would not say that it was horrible, it was definitely a lot harder and more exhausting than I would have expected. Part of me is thinking, "Do we really need that?" and then the other part of me is saying, "Well, these may not be things that we would normally buy for ourselves, but we would use them." Then, I have another part of me saying, "Where are we going to put all this stuff?" There are SO MANY decisions! We're having fun though. Makes us feel like grown-ups. :)

Cool quote from Amadeus

I saw this today and kinda liked it:

"A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent (which I cannot deny myself to be without being impious) will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place..."-Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

LA and more discounts

Spent last weekend in LA visiting friends and doing wedding stuff. Found out that I have more talented friends than I realized. I have been stressing out trying to figure out how I was going to get my dress altered. Well, I found out that my dear friend Char has been freelancing as a seamstress in LA and has altered many a wedding dress and prom dress. How thrilled was I to hear that?

We also did some more research on wedding rings and bridesmaid dresses. The bridesmaid dresses are proving tougher than I would have imagined. The dress that I picked out is no where to be found. So I guess I'm starting over on that front.

I was also able to get discounts on American Airlines, Avis, and the Hilton in Union Square. The Holiday Inn didn't work out, so we won't be recommending that one anymore. Check out the wedding website for these updates.

Hotels, bridesmaid dresses, and my poor little car. Spent a lot of time today researching stuff for the wedding. Then, my Jetta's check engine light came on AGAIN! Last year, I had to take in my Jetta 6 times because that light kept coming on. Luckily, I have the extended warranty and 5/6 trips were covered. Word of advice to anyone who will listen- get the extended warranty. So worth it. It was a last minute decision for me, but dealers will usually negotiate this to almost nothing at the end. DO IT.

Visited 3 hotels today. We are recommending the Comfort Inn and the Holiday Inn. As I mentioned before, it is going to be a busy weekend for hotels because of the Nike marathon and the Oracle conference. Please book them as soon as possible.

Happy Memorial Day!

We spent Memorial Day in Portland, OR this year with the Banerjees and the Schneiders. We had a great time shopping tax-free, seeing the Gorge and Multnomah Falls, and eating TON of good food. I recommend Oba! for dinner and Papa Hadyn for dessert. Will be posting pictures soon.

On the wedding front, we have been shopping for wedding rings, bridesmaid dresses, wedding shoes, and hotels. We're having fun, but there always seems to be more to do. We're going to LA this weekend, so we'll have more wedding planning. I need to learn more about these Filipino wedding traditions!

Wedding Alert! Bad Oracle!

I just wanted to warn people that I found out this week that there is going to be a big Oracle convention in San Francisco during our wedding weekend. I suggest that you book your hotels early because they will fill up fast. I am trying to block off rooms for you at a few hotels. The Hilton in Chinatown is the closest hotel to the Empress of China where we are having the reception and will offer us rooms at $279/night if we book at least 10 rooms. If you think you would be interested, please email me or Edwin ASAP so that we can try and reserve a room for you. This would probably be easiest for anyone that would like to stay as close as possible to the reception. Here is the link to their website if you want to see what these rooms look like:
http://www.sanfranciscohiltonhotel.com/?cid=goo

I am also working on some lower priced options and will announce them on the wedding website as soon as I can.

Bike to Work Day and Bay to Breakers

It's been a pretty busy and stressful week at work. I'm really looking forward to the weekend. I just wish that it wasn't supposed to rain all weekend. Supposed to work on invitations this weekend with Show. Booked the organist too.

Bay to Breakers is this weekend. For those not in the Bay Area, this is kind of a fun walk/run from Justin Herman Plaza to Ocean Beach. People get dressed up in costumes (or run around naked) for the 7 mile course. I do like doing the walk, but I don't like the walk in the rain. It gets really wet and cold. Oh well, I'm not really signed up for it anyways. We'll see if I motivate.

Today was the first time I rode my bike to work today. It only took 15 min to ride to work and coincidentally, it was also Bike to Work day. I'm told that there were free give aways for participants, but I didn't see any. I just thought that there were a lot of people riding their bikes to work. The ride home was a lot harder. It was really windy and it made it seem a lot longer. This is definitely the shortest and cheapest option. I'm not riding tomorrow though because Edwin said it was going to rain.

Wedding Menu Finalized

So we finalized the menu today. Glad we got that done. I just hope that we'll be able to eat some of it! LOL. If you want to see what's on the menu, check out our wedding website.

Last week, I also did some initial drafts for the invitations and programs. I spent 2 hours at Papyrus studying invitations and programs- I felt like I was back in school. (Now if I could only find where I put my notes...) Next on my To Do list is to finalize the organist, research area hotels, and finding bridesmaid dresses. We have started looking at registries, but we haven't finalized anything yet. So much to do!

So, to recap this weekend, we went to Nirav and Bhavana's baby shower on Saturday in Fremont. It was a beautifully warm weekend. (It's almost like summer here! So strange for this time of year in SF.) Congrats to Jen and Vic on their new baby David! You can see their pics on their blog. Vic is going to be one of our emcees at the reception so I can't wait to meet David.

Here are some pics from the Napa Diabetes ride last week:

The dog didn't eat my homework- my computer died!

So I'm here is Seattle right now for work. As most of you know, I come up here about once a month. Most of the time, I love coming up here. However, this time, my computer died and I feel completely paralyzed!

5 reasons you have to admit your computer is dead:

1. You get the C: prompt
2. You can't open any files
3. The background on your desktop changes (and you didn't change it!)
4. You computer tells you that you have a Trojan virus (do not open files from IM unless you know that the person on the other end is truly your friend- it came from a friend's IM address, but they didn't send it to me...)
5. You push the power button and nothing happens so you have to remove the battery and unplug
6. You start getting weird popups
7. Your screen starts to meltdown etch-a-sketch style

Getting any work done is proving challenging when you work for a company that is web-based. Anyway, if you don't see any posts for a while, it's because my computer died. :(

Fun in Windsor and the Napa Diabetes Ride

So this past weekend we had a lot of events. We went up to Sacramento on Saturday to celebrate Gianna's first birthday (daughter of my cousins Barry and Gigi.) Then, we spent the night in Santa Rosa with Greg and had dinner in Windsor. After dinner, Greg took us to probably one of the coolest candy stores I have ever been in. It was called Powell's Candy Shoppe in downtown Windsor. As you can see in the pictures above, we had a lot of fun watching "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and Edwin dressing up a the dread pirate Roberts.

There were all the old candy favorites that you don't see anymore. The coolest display was the one in a converted card catalog. Remember those? It also had a soda fountain with all the old soft drinks that in those old fashioned bottles. Really fun. I think we must have spent at least an hour just "reminiscing."

We also did the Napa Diabetes ride on Sunday. I'll post pictures up later, but it was a gorgeous day for a ride. There were about 35 of us on Team Vino Velo. I did the 10 mile with Kaori, Maika, and Jamie's dad. Edwin did the 50 mile. Our ride was only about 1 hour. Maybe next year I'll do the 25 mile ride... :)

Good stuff in Waikiki

We had a really great recommendation by the front desk in Waikiki for a Japanese restaurant. Here are some good eats:

Menchenko-Tei
2255 Kuhio Ave.
808-924-8366

Kaka'ako Kitchen in the Ward Center

Here's a funny pic of Maika from yesterday at our place. This just cracks me up! She is just too cute.

Fun in the sun!

So we're back from Hawaii today. We flew back on the red-eye, so work today was a little painful, but at least we got to go on vacation. Not a whole lot to report, but we did eat and eat and eat. While we were there, they had a Spam Fest. Unfortunately, we missed the Spam Fest because we were snorkeling in Hanuama bay. I'll post pics up soon.

The month of May is going to be busy. We are doing the Tour de Cure on Sunday. My parents are coming next weekend for a week and then we go to Portland for Memorial Day with the Schneiders and Banerjees. At least I don't think we'll have to worry too much about wedding stuff since we got most of the stuff taken care of. Put in a deposit for the reception the day we left for Waikiki.