A portraitless wedding

If I were the Bride, I would have cried. But it wasn't MY wedding but someone else's.

On Saturday morning, we headed out to Los Altos (a very posh community, indeed) and straight to the estate on top of hill. We got there just before 10am and the bride was just having her make-up done. Our cameras were ready and we started snapping away. You see, Ane and I stood as Kuya J's assistant (we got to take pictures too, coz we had two DSLR's) to cover the wedding of a client. We were excited to do this that we even did an ocular of the Church and the reception venue the day before. Our little dilemma started when we asked the Bride's mom for her daughter's accessories. Everything was not ready yet! The wedding was at 2pm and 20mins away from their house. The flowers aren't there yet. And the other things like the Bible, the pillows, everything...are already in the church! Oh well, they were afraid they'd forget something at home so they decided to leave everything with the church coordinator the day before when they has the Rehearsals. All we had was the invite, the gown and veil, the shoes and rings. If Clarice were coordinating this wedding, she would have freaked out! The bride's attitude was "let's just get this done and over with", because it didn't matter anymore whether everything turns out fine or not. Even the pictures.

We were not served lunch but there were Danish bread and fruits on the table. That was it. We're just too glad we had some heavy breakfast before we left the house. So we were just there waiting for the bride to get dressed. The Father of the Bride, of all times got sick and wasn't ready until 5minutes before we left for the church! The bride on the other hand was taking all her time getting dressed, even had the time for some yosi. We were waiting for her to come out of her room by the hall and she suddenly came out with everything she needed for the hotel! SO how are we supposed to shoot her huh? If she were ready to go at 110pm, do you think we'd have the time to make them pose for a family portrait at least? Nah! So we only captured her and her family going out of the house and getting into the limo. Sheesh. We had to rush to the Church (Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park) so we could take pictures of the groom (who was simply georgeous, oh my!), but when the Bride decided to step out of the limo (owing to the fact that it was really hot inside the car), they had to ask the Groom to stay out of the way lest he'd see her...in a lighter note, though, the Church was a simple one yet very cozy and nice.

The processional started ten minutes after 2pm (late because they had to let all guests in before they started) and we were restricted to take pictures at the back, from the last pew where guests are seated. (!) So you may guess that our shots were very limited, very few. That was a bummer! Can't even take pictures with flash!

After the mass, we had to hurry and finish the pictorial inside the church because of time constraints. We just had the family shoot inside and then we all settled for the courtyard. When we were done with the entou, everyone was rushing to get to the reception at Four Seasons (wow!). Still no portrait shots of the newlyweds here! We decided to just shoot in the hotel coz we found some really nice angles around there.

We got to the hotel, okay, but as soon as the limo arrived, the couple was hard to pin down in one place! Kami'y mga sawimpalad! It was so frustrating, mind you! By then, I was having some migraine attacks and could not hold myself up anymore. Of all days, meyn. There were crew meals in the conference room (but it was only later that we found out about it, those darn videoguys didn't even tell us where the food was!), but I could not eat a single bite, or else I will just puke. I excused myself and took a nap in the car.

An hour or so passed and I was almost okay. I went back to the party, and everyone was having a blast! They owe it to the DJ who had a lot of gimmicks just to make the party moving. :) Costumes here and there, dancing music and lotsa booze! If not for Mr. DJ, the party would have been a big flop.

By 10pm, the party was almost over and guess what?!? Still no portraits of the newlyweds! We were waiting until the guests have gone but the couple looked so wasted already. Our last resort?!? Handy-dandy PHOTOSHOP! Mwahahahahahahaah....

Nope. Not crazy yet. Just frustrated. From today til the next few days, am probably gonna be busy Photoshopping.

Let's pause for a break...

Ane and I have a friend who used to work for an online store. She worked from home and we got really curious how her boss got in that kind of business, especially that we have immediate relatives here in the US. We figured, it would be easier to get contacts and networks who will patronize our products and services. Our curiosity grew one day when my brother in-law told us that it is possible to set-up an online store. But we forgot all about it, somehow.

Now that we have a lot of time to spare while we are here, there's nothing else to do hehe, we thought of the same project again. Maybe we could start with finding a domain name, a webhost and an applicable shopping cart software. Visiting the site, I realized that Ashop is actually a one-stop shop that makes the process even faster. Their ecommerce software can get us started with our online store in just minutes!

Hhhhmmm. we'll see :)

Disneyland Adventure

Warning: This is a four-day kwento, so it will be long :) Am doing this because I do not trust my memory.


Monday, 11th of June

We woke up just before 6am to catch our 840am flight. I was still sleepy because we slept late last night. We got to SJ airport at 7am and immediately checked-in. We got some breakfast from Burger King and waited at gate4. The news was on at the boarding area and there was a story about a roller coaster in Arkansas that was left hanging upside down. So Ane and I decided not to ride the roller coaster anymore at California Adventure. We can't be too sure eh? (We're just paranoid, hehe).

Our plane left on time and after an hour or so, and a very bumpy flight, we landed at LAX already. We got our small luggage and asked where we could find the center island. We knew we had transportation already included in our package. We just didn't know it would be a big bus where all tourists from all hotels within Anaheim Resort can ride. We thought someone with a placard will come and get us to our hotel. Hehehe, paimportante pa. The bus ride was about 45mins long. We got to our hotel and our room simply exceeded my expectations! I didn't know there were two Sheratons in that area (Anaheim and Park at Anaheim), and we got the better one (Sheraton Anaheim got really ugly reviews)! I was so happy to get this room. Yup, there were two queen-sized beds! You bet, Ane and I was so glad to have two big beds. But we ended up using just one, hihihihi. We were on honeymoon mode! Our package didn't include breakfast though, which wasn't a big deal anyway.

By then, we haven't eaten lunch yet (around 1pm) but we decided to go the Disneyland right away and get our three-day parkhopper tickets (Disney and California Adventure). We told ourselves we will just go in and check the place out first then we could get food outside. We entered Disney and you bet we can't get ourselves to go out anymore for food! Not to mention the long walk going to the park, we felt we belong in the "happiest place on earth". There we were, mesmerized by all of it. :) We got to Main Street and saw the left-handed Pluto right away! We got our pictures taken and we noticed some kids having his autograph taken, which was cute. Ane's eyes met mine and after talking about it, we got ourselves our own authograph book with matching pen! [Later, we found Pluto again, and guess what, ours was a right-handed Pluto...hhhmmmmmm] You know, one thing we realize the minute we got there is that -- it is okay to be silly...Silliness is accepted in the place where parents, not kids, get lost.

Our agenda for our Day1 was to stalk the characters for pictures and signatures (hehe), study the map, find a way to ride Pirates of the Carribean, and watch the Parade and Fireworks that night. We did all that and more! Although we didn't see all the characters on day1, we were able to do most of the things we planned to do plus all the unplanned ones. We almost forgot to eat but somehow, we were able to grab some pizza and soda. The Pirates ride had a long queue but we got in in less than 1hour. Twas a pretty cool ride if only the girls riding behind us in the boat did not scream just before the short drop in the darkest part of the ride! Talk about spoiling the adventure for us, tsk. We also did the Haunted Mansion, Tiki Room, Jungle Ride and Indiana Jones (among others) where we didn't mind waiting in line. We knew there were fastpasses in some of the attractions but we were happy just as it is waiting, because that meant some talk time for us. :)

We caught the 330pm Parade near "It's a small world" and we were like kids in awe. Disneyland has always been a dream. And just being there, one of our dreams came true right before our eyes. Call it silly (even if I wrote earlier that silly is not taboo there) but I almost cried. I wondered at what age we will ever be capable of bringing our kids there. The Fireworks display at 925pm was equally awesome, it sent goosebumps all over me. I was choking and trying to keep the tears from falling. I was just sooooooo elated!

The park's closing was at midnight but we decided to leave and rest after the Fireworks show. We grabbed some dinner at Mcdo and headed to our hotel room. We called it a night after showering. It was a long day!

Tuesday, 12th of June

There is a newly re-opened attraction at Disney, the Finding Nemo Submarine Ride, so the lines were obviously mighty long. Since our tickets included one-day early entry, it meant we could enter the park at 7am. We planned on waking up early that day but alas, we woke up at 10am, even with the alarm and all! We jumped out of bed and arrived at the park just before noon. We failed to grab some brunch coz we hurried to "Find Nemo" (no fastpasses here). When we got to main street, Mickey, Donald and Minnie (whose authograph we got yesterday already) were there for photo-ops! I hurriedly fell-in line for Mickey but he left even before I got to him. The attendant said we could find him in his house in ToonTown. Sayang, we should have lined up for Donald instead since Ane wanted his signature badly! But we missed him too after Mickey left. Sigh. But we were able to meet up with Mickey behind his house in the Barn.

We headed on to Tomorrowland and found that the waiting time for the Nemo ride was 3hours. Three hours! We definitely wouldn't want to wait that long, noh? We promised ourselves that we should be in the park by 8am the next day, no excuses whatsoever, hehe.

We hopped on over to California Adventure where the crowd was much more tolerable :) We did the Monsters's Inc ride and then we got curious and queued at the Hollywood Tower Hotel, which turned out to be the Tower of Terror where riders are seated in elevators, and dropped abruptly! Now of course, we didn't know that! Had we known, we wouldn't even dare at all but we enjoyed it immensely! The 4D show, "It's hard to be a bug", over at Bug's Land was a nice surprise and instantly became my favorite. We rode the rapids (an Indian family cut our line but then nobody complained anyway, so we just let them) and got wet a bit then met Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen by the streets. By 530pm, it was time for the Block Party Bash which was as fun as the Disney Parade :)

That night, we were also scheduled to meet up with a childhood friend of mine, Weng, who is currently based in Van Nuys. She texted that she'll be late for our 730 agreement and told us to expect her by 8pm. To be more productive of our time, we stayed in CaAd and lined-up for Soarin' over California, a must-try according to my sister and BIL. Just before our turn, a sign was posted saying that people who are afraid of heights should not ride. That is me, certainly! I would have backed-out but Ane promised it would be okay. It was not. I did not enjoy it at all. I was stiff and holding on to my seat and was just looking straight all the time. The ride is a simulated tour, as if one is riding a glider, and one's feet are suspended on air. I was freaking out, I tell you!

By the time we were done, Weng already texted that they were already outside our hotel. So we ran to Sheraton and found her there in her car with her two friends, Rusty (who I also know from grade school) and Malou. We drove along Harbor Blvd, looking for Red Lobster but didn't find it so we settled for Tony Roma's. It was a nice dinner and chat session. It's been years since Weng and I saw each other. We parted ways around 1015pm and we forgot to take pictures! Ugh!

Because I had too much to eat, we dropped by 7-Eleven to get some coffee before we headed to our hotel room. We got ready for bed and fell immediately asleep as soon as Weng texted they were already home as well. :) We were so thankful that she was able to see us and drove 45mins (one way) just to treat us to dinner.

Wednesday, 13th of June

We did get up a bit past 7am and were able to enter the park at 810am. We were already at the end of the line at the gates when we got there so naturally, the line at Nemo was already long when we got inside. We were told it would take an hour and 20mins for our turn, but we were ready for that. I left Ane at the line and bought ourselves some breakfast :) When I got back people around us were teasing -- "That's not fair!", "Share your breakfast!", "Oh, thank you for breakfast", "That was smart of you to do that!" etc etc. It was so funny because people are obviously clamoring to ride the sub that some missed to eat their first meal. The Nemo Sub ride was the longest attraction in Disney at the moment, lasting for 14mins. But sadly, I believe that it is a bit overrated as the other attractions were better, IMHO. Talking with Crush, Live at CaAd was more entertaining! Ane and I enjoyed the sub ride just the same.

The rest of the day were spent stalking some more characters, re-riding some of the attractions (in both parks but not Soarin' again, heheh) and just enjoying ourselves. We also bought ourselves (and Joaquin) a pair each of Mickey Crocs and some Jibbitz to go with it. We are not really Crocs fans (Go Havis!) but the Mickey Crocs are worth the memories we could keep so we grabbed 'em. :)

We were really tired by 3pm so we decided to head back to the hotel. But only after we strolled in Downtown Disney where we went into various shops. The Anne Geddes store took my attention and there I found some newborn baby dolls being sold. The dolls looked so real and if they were not too expensive at $215, I would have bought one right away! I have my Sissy already and I guess it's about time she gets a baby brother, eh? Ane said if it is that steep, maybe we should just make our own baby? Hehe.

After the stroll, Ane didn't want to go back to the Harbor exit because it was far. So we found a map that leads to Katella Ave access to our hotel. Now if the map we saw didn't have too many "you are here" marks, then we would have found our way fast enough. We got lost in Downtown Disney and found our hotel a bit after 5pm. Because we were just walking (and have been walking the past three days), my legs were already shaking I was just glad I did not collapse. We bought some hotdog sandwiches at 7-Eleven and stayed in our hotel room all night long. I was in pain and could not move my legs anymore. I felt paralyzed! Hehe. So it was a long restful sleep for us.

The next day, we were San Jose bound. Checked out of the hotel at 930am, we were already at LAX by 11am. We were so glad to see Joaquin waiting at the Arrival area with his Dad. The boy was happy to see us again, and even welcomed us with "Hey, you're back!!!!!".

There, I am done writing about our Disney Trip :) This is a loooong entry, I hope my grammar and spelling errors are minimum hheheheheh. Next on my agenda is to scrap, scrap, scrap and/or post our pictures (including the other pictures form our previous trips here)! But after am done with the wedding album I was paid to do mwehehehehe...

Am earning extra!

At first I did not believe that I could actually earn extra money (in USD, which is a plus) while blogging. One of my online buddies actually earn more than she thought she could just by doing what she likes, writing. Even my Ane was having second thoughts about this. He's just afraid I could get scammed by the things I see on the web. While here in the US, I even opened a bank account with my sister just so I could sign-up for Paypal (which is the only system used to get paid).

And then I came across Bloggerwave. I received an email just before we left for LA that one of my posts has been approved! See I just wrote something about an advertiser (actually visited their site before I submitted my post) which took me less than an hour to compose and soon I will receive the payment. Easy! :) Go on over to the Bloggerwave site and see how you can start earning yourself!

Now I am dreaming of OUR own house

After mass today, we all went to Ikea to buy a few stuff. Since my sister's family just moved in to a bigger apartment, they figured they needed some new things for the house. Boy, I was in heaven just looking at the things in there! Our future house became so clear in my mind. I can't count how many times I told Ane how excited I am when we finally build our own and fill it with various fixtures and furniture :) I was more excited because yesterday, we visited a model-house near 101 and realized that such design is perfect for us, small yet maximized in terms of area!

Back in the Phils, we are staying in a studio-type pad above my in-laws'. In a few years, we plan to build our home on a small parcel of land we already own. Last year, we asked my FIL (since he is in construction) how much it would cost us to build a house. He said around P10k/sqm, no furnishings yet. Whoa!

So now, I am back to dreaming. Just dreaming. Today, I had fun collecting Ikea catalogues. Nice to look at, really. But that is where my reality struck...that we can't afford a fully-furnished house. Not at this time. Not yet.

But I am sure we will get there ;)

Off to Disney soon!

Hubby and I are flying to LA on Monday courtesy of my sister and her husband. We will stay in a hotel near Disney Anaheim so we won't have problems with transportation anymore. It's exciting that we get to travel on our own. But it could have been a lot better if everyone of us will go. My sister's family have visited the theme park four times already. My family have been there once before. So to cut on costs, we all decided that just the two of us will go this time. We are honeymooners, anyway! Wink! Wink!

It is in our long term plans though, to visit the bigger Disney World in Florida. By then, everyone of us must be here in the US. It's gonna be a real holiday with the complete family (my parents, my sister with her family, my husband & I, and my two brothers). Maybe we will look for an Orlando vacation home, when that time comes.

In the mean time, I will just have to look forward to going to LA soon. Am also looking forward to see a few people, I hope we'll find a way to meet them there!

It's a meme!

Tagged by Aggie (well, she did tag everyone, hihihihi):

Yourself: bumming on this side of the world.

Your Partner: wonderful.

Your Hair: needs recoloring.

Your Mother: workaholic.

Your Father: strict.

Your Favorite Item: stud earrings.

Your Dream Last Night: interesting. (dreamt of giving birth to a baby boy!)

Your Favorite Drink: coke light.

Your Dream Car: RAV4

Dream Home: one with a big kitchen, big bathroom and big garage :)

The Room You Are In: dining area.

Your Fear: heights.

Where You Want to be in Ten Years: anywhere as long as my family is together.

Who You Hung Out With Last Night: relatives.

You’re Not: perfect.

One of Your Wish List Items: DSLR.

The Last Thing You Did: Laundry.

You Are Wearing: cropped denim pants, plain white shirt and house slippers.

Your Favorite Weather: sunny but not humid.

Your Favorite Book: Time Traveller's Wife

Last Thing You Ate: tortilla strips and salsa dip.

Your Life: deserves a break.

Your Mood: so-so.

Your Best Friend: always there.

What Are You Thinking About Right Now: what to have for dinner!

Your Car: borrowed.

What Are You Doing At The Moment: uh, blogging.

Relationship Status: still-on-honeymoon-stage-married.

Perfect teeth, anyone?

My siblings, cousins and I have become very particular about our teeth since I can't remember when. Call it vain, but we make sure that our teeth are perfect for beautiful smiles. My fave cousin even took Dentistry and married a Dentist! Just like this charlotte cosmetic dentist, my cousin and his wife make sure their patients receive only the best treatment. Am glad they are always there to assist us in our dental needs.

:)

Hang-over

I woke up this morning with a headache. I would have asked for some Tylenol but I figured I'd be able to get over this little pain once I've eaten. I remember going to bed at 1am late last night (or early this morning hehe). My head was spinning as a laid myself beside Ane.

No I wasn't drunk. I do not drink alcoholic beverages at all. So what was going on?

Oh well, Ane, Gi and I spent the day at Paramount Great America in Sta. Clara. Ane took on 4 rides while Bro and I conquered 7 thrill rides! So it just makes sense that even hours after we got home last, I was still dizzy and almost knocked-out (well, I had to take some assignments before I retired). Go check on the site: Gi and I rode -- Vortex, Demon, Grizzly, Psycho Mouse, Rip Roaring Rapids, White Water Falls...and Top Gun (we have a video of our entire ride of this monster hehehe)! My knees were shaking by the time Kuya J fetched us from the park!

I've would have rode the seven thrills all over again if I weren't too dizzy :)

Better business :)

My Dad has been in the Restaurant business for almost five years now and I have been helping him with it since then. Recently, my brother decided to quit being an employee and joined me instead. As we were discussing about the things we can do to improve the business, we agreed that it is about time we do a little make-over of Ysidro's. We could change the menu. We could change the ambience all together. We could also face-lift the kitchen or maybe we could upgrade our catering supplies.

Now partners or suppliers for our planned changes may be hard to find. But masterseek may just be the place to visit online. I visited it and Masterseek happens to be a global search engine that has an extensive directory of millions of companies in 75 countries . This is where one may find quick and free access of company profile, contacts, and products & services that will perfectly suit the needs of one's business.

Can't wait to do this little project with my brother!