NOW: gratitude challenge d17

I am still working on the gratitude challenge despite the fact that i'm extremely behind and in the middle of holiday still..  so, for day 17 of the gratitude challenge, i have to perform random acts of kindness through the day..  since i'm at the end of the day, i'm going to carry it through to the next full day..  i guess i have to be super nice to my fiance!!

i will continue to massage his lower back for him since he's had a bad back to the point where he can barely walk for the past two weeks...  he keeps reminding me that he took care of me making me honey lemon water every few hours when i was sick last week.. so, w/ that guilt trip, i've been massaging his back.. but this challenge is reminding me to not do it out of obligation, but really b/c i care..  ;p

i just want his bad back to get better, so i will keep taking care of him until he gets better.. afterall, in a few months, it'll be for better or for worse right?!..  ;p

RSVPs..

So, when i send in my rsvps to other people's weddings, i always try to include a note..  so, me thinking i'm going to place "leave us a note" on the back side of the rsvps will give more room for people to write us a note.. and afterwards, i can make a little scrap book out of it.. sure enough, i get so many rsvps where people totally miss the "leave us a note" area and squeeze as much info. on the front as possible..  i even got one rsvp back where they wrote a nice note on a post-it and stuck it onto the rsvp..  *sigh*.. lesson learned, make sure i either include (flip over) on the front side in the future for any rsvps i send out.. or forget the leave us a note..  ;o

oh well, i guess at least i got some notes from people to read..  i luv the one with the superduper nice handwriting! and the best one was someone added a simple "happily" in between "will attend" which really made my day!  ;p

NOW: gratitude challenge d16

For day 16 of The Gratitude Challenge, i have to stand in front of a mirror for 5 minutes and focus on 5 things that i luv abt myself.. yiiiiiiiiikes, this is not going to be easy.. i may have some self-esteem issues since i've been told most of my high school years that i m fat.. and i had tons of pimples and i am def. not prom queen by any means!  so, i told my fiance about this.. and he said "i'm a good person".. hopefully so.. ok, i guess i will have to go to the mirror and attempt this.. ;p

HAPPY WORLD GRATITUDE DAY!! Take note Give thanks!!

Hi people,

today is world gratitude day and i would like to share a little gratitude with everyone.. despite the fact that i caught a cold super quickly and am sleepy eyed from theraflu.. i am grateful for much needed rest, my BED and my cold meds!!! ;p 

i'd like to share with all, this wonderful gratitude challenge i came across many weeks ago from work.. it's definitely helped a lot during many weeks of stress and has brought out many little things in life that we usually overlook to take note and give thanks for...  so i would encourage all to check out this wonderful gratitude challenge and make sure you spread a little gratitude to everyone.. if you're not sure how, just sharing this gratitude video or the great gratitude gifts on facebook would be great way to start..

NOW: gratitude challenge d15

I have been a bit behind in the gratitude challenge, but have not forgotten and is still continuing on the challenge for day 15..  so for day 15 of the gratitude challenge, i am to focus on myself & appreciate for the unique personality, skills and talents.. hmmmm..  man this one is a tough one, but actually does come at a perfect time since i've had no time for myself lately b/c of this work event..  amidst all of my stressful nature, i do appreciate how god gave me the ability to really get things done.. i guess it's been said that i will do whatever it takes to get something done; whether it's packing, carrying and shipping 15 (30-60lb) boxes till my knees are bruised and arms are sore.. or running around trying to get invitations printed, cut and scored.. or figuring out how to get over 1k of ty notes packed in a week..  i guess i am grateful for this "nothing is beneath me" mentality and do whatever i need to do to get things done.. for sure i care about everything i do.. hopefully one day it'll pay off..  ;p

grateful for March of Dimes

I just got back from the march of dimes and really felt grateful for all the wonderful things that march of dimes has done.. it was great meeting the members and getting a better understanding of what they do.. to my surprise, this organization has been around and founded by president Roosevelt back in 1938 and is committed to improve the health of babies with research and providing prenatal care.. one of the biggest accomplishments to this organization was the fact that they discovered folic acid helped prevent birth defects..

wow, the event and the organization was extremely impressive and i feel honored to even have been a part of this event.. tiny prints was a sponsor for the event and we were given the privilege of attending this event and having two tables..  it was a night of amazing food and wine tasting..  many moving video moments of how march of dimes has helped touch the lives of mothers and their babies.. shaping the future for a better tomorrow..  definitely a night to remember.. in the spirit of the gratitude challenge, i am utmost grateful for the march of dimes..

tuxes or suits?!

Wow, it's been a while since i've had a chance to even take a moment..  work has been pretty busy, so wedding stuff has been placed on hold for a bit..  chuongy and i finally got a chance to go check out some places for groom attire.. he would like to do this the very last minute, but i prefer to get whatever we need to do done.. so, after much nagging, he found time to go check out tuxes and suits for the wedding.. since we were babysitting ethan, it was perfect timing to bring him along to look at tuxes/suits for our cute ring bearer..  it was sooo funny trying to explain to him what we were doing and what a ring bearer was.. i just told lil ethan that he holds the rings that will bring uncle chuongy and auntie joyce together.. he took it seriously and it was soo cute.. so, off we went to men's wearhouse first.. to my huge surprise, they had nothing!!  literally 6 dark colored tux jackets to try on and 3 light colored ones on a manequinn display that's not even reachable.. in addition, their prices were more expensive.. to top it off, they bounced us from one sales rep to another sales rep and then to a consultant who was just pointed to us towards a short rack of suits that would be chuongy's size..  it was def. disappointing..  finally, chuongy mentioned a place on 4th ave., called selix.. after we dropped off the lil guy, chuongy and i went to selix.. to my huge surprise, this little store had a lot more selections for tux rentals to try on, a much more helpful sales rep and a better price package then men's warehouse..  with much luck, chuongy was able to pick out an off white tux set and shoes.. now all we need is for the bridesmaid dress to deliver and bring it in to color match with the tie and vest and we're completely set.. 

we all can't wait for vegas

So, it seems last nite was a great nite.. not only did we have a blast as usual.. but we are all prepping and very much excited about vegas..  my friend curly even tried to convince yuni's cousin to join us since she fits right in..  so, we'll see.. i can't wait.. i think nance is countin down the days..  however, the girls really really really really want to go visit carlos at OG.. but i def. absolutely do not wutsoever want to go to OG at all.. even if they paid me i do not want to go there.. ewewewew grooooooossss..  let's just say i had a really really grossed out experience of a strpr grabbing my hand and rubbin it up his booty and it was extremely prickly and i almost puked.. plus men in Ts just do not please me at all.. so, i told the girls they can def. go to OG w/o me.. i'll just stay back and relax and have a few drinks at the hotel..  but they want to drag me and blind fold me.. haha.. that won't happen.. ;p

a dose of wedding humor..

So, i was searching through this site wpja.com for more photographers to interview and check out just to open my options before i make a complete decision.. and i found this one post: http://www.wedpix.com/articles/016/telling-a-wedding-story-through-humor.html

some cute funny pix or photos of wedding moments that are surprising and funny.. ok, maybe not that funny when you read the story about the bride where she had to have paramedics cut her ring off her finger during her wedding day.. to top that, there's a photo of it..

so, check out the page and maybe for those brides out there searching for photogs, feel free to search for one in your area..  ;p

NOW: gratidute challenge d14

So, for day 14 of the gratitude challenge, i have to take pic/video of something/person/place that makes me feel grateful.. i guess i can say my condo.. first of all, not only is a place that i live in and own, it's a place that many people in my life have helped me get..

such as my cousin, jas - if it weren't for him, either i wouldn't have a place to live and own or i'd be living with termite at my aunt's home for the rest of however long..

or my brother - if it weren't for him, we wouldn't qualify to get this place

or my work - if it weren't for not only having a job to pay the mortgage, but with the help of some people our loan passed through

or my fiance - who helped me move furniture and furnish this place

or my mom - who actually came to the place and pushed me to get the place otherwise it would've been taken..

or my aunt y - who let me live in her place many years to save up to put a down payment for my own condo..

and i'm sure many more people involved..  but for sure a picture of my condo invokes many feelings of gratitude towards the people around me that i care a lot about..

NOW: gratidute challenge d13

Wow, it's been a while since i've had the time and energy to work on the gratitude challenge.. i'm so behind so, today i will def. play catch up..  despite the fact that it's been a short week, it has def. felt like it's been the longest since i've been so stressed and drained from this one event that i'm planning for next week in LA..  so, a dose of the gratitude challenge to end my work week would most likely help balance things a bit..  day 13 of the gratitude challenge is def. one that helps..  so, the people i'm closest with, try to always think that they have the best intentions.. maybe this should've came in handy when i had to deal with someone that was rude in my family a few weeks ago..  guess, i'll try it from this point forward..

taxes on photography?!

So, it never appeared to me that there would be taxes involved with wedding photography..  i just never thought of it.. until yesterday when i interviewed a photographer they listed the package price + tax..  weirdly, so far no other photographers have even mentioned it..  so, i googled "wedding photography tax" and found this: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_there_Sales_Tax_on_Wedding_Photography

of course, of all places california and the millions of things we get taxed on eventhough our gov. is broke..  we get taxed on wedding photography.. so, in a way i am glad that this photographer laid it all out and was definitely honest with me.. now i know to make sure to account for that in my wedding budget..  hopefully, i'll figure out soon who to go with for my wedding photographer.. so def. stay tuned for that..  ;p

change into reception dress?!?

So, i've been told by several people in my family that i should change into another dress for the reception dinner..  i'm still not sure if i really want to since afterall what's the point of buying a wedding dress for just an hour..  i really don't see a point to it, but i guess it may be a chinese tradition per one of my friends..

some of my friends and coworkers i talked to didn't change into another dress, they actually wore their wedding dress throughout.. afterall it is a wedding dress for the wedding day.. so, why bother.. it feels like it'll be just too much work.. and i want to enjoy every minute of celebrating with my friends, family and coworkers and not have to waste time running into a room to throw on another uncomfortable gown..  and possibly per my family touchup my makeup, etc..

i think i'll leave it to chance.. if i find a dress that i actually like for a reasonable price without making much effort, then i guess i can consider making a change of wardrobe somehow.. but if it's too much trouble.. then forget it.. i'll stick to what a bride should be wearing, a wedding dress..  afterall when am i ever going to wear that wedding dress again anyways, mine as well enjoy being in it every minute of that day..  ;p

grateful u r ok M!

A few days ago i received shocking news that one of my coworkers was in a very serious accident on her way down to SD..  since work has been quite stressful, I haven't had the time to just let her know that her and her family are in my prayers and i just wish the best for them... to my huge surprise today found out that the accident was something that would happen in a movie stunt.. car catching on fire, setting off thousands of acres of land and flipped on a highway?!? omg, i'm more then grateful that she is ok..  will have to contact her tomorrow..

M, if ur reading this.. we all miss u darely, am grateful to hear that u are in good spirits and am glad to hear that  u are now safe and sound...

This is her post about her incident.. http://celebrateholiday.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/grateful-to-be-alive-pacheco-pass-fir/

NOW: gratidute challenge d12

 

 For day 12 of the gratitude challenge, we have to live life with a pos outlook, basically practice acts of kindness with the people around me..  so, i guess refrain from telling my fiance that his belly is starting to bulge and he needs to hit the gym would be the first step?!  hahaha.. ;p

will try that for a day.. so, i guess whoever tries to annoy me, i will just walk away..  ;p

NOW: gratidute challenge d11

 

For the gratitude challenge day 11 we have to see the world through the eyes of a child.. and be grateful for the things we take for granted everyday.. 

just watching my boyfriend's nephew grow before my eyes from a newborn to age 2 years..  from learning how to eat, crawl, walk, talk, bathe, play, ride a bike, sing, read, play baseball..  all these basic things we learned through our childhood and to this day are just part of our daily life..  as an adult, we never think for a second how it would be if we had missed one step.. if we missed how to eat or how to walk or how to talk..

it reminds me of a time when i studied psychology in college and had a part time job at a private dorm for children with emotional, developmental, educational, and cognitive disabilities..  i worked with a group of teenage girls who couldn't eat on their own, walk on their own, go to the bathroom or even bathe on their own.. it was extremely sad and emotionally draining to see this and experience this.. at the same time though reminded me how grateful i should be for the ability to do all these basic daily functions in life.. what was also sad was that these girls were left there with barely any family support.. the only love, care and support they received were from the people who worked there closely with the children..

so, i will never forget those days and will always cherish the life that i am given and never take for granted the basic functions we're given..  ;p

NOW: gratidute challenge d10

 

For the gratitude challenge day 10, pick one of my five senses to focus on and what gifts it provides..

to me, sight is one of the most important five senses..  it gives me the ability to watch tv of course! walking around without seeing would be very painful.. since i luv taking photos, sight definitely is important.. capturing the beautiful sunset and the beautiful horizon leaves a romantic feeling..  seeing colors and shapes and things makes life more interesting.. seeing fireworks and lights brings brightness to life.. seeing my family, coworkers and friends makes it not lonely in this world..  so, sight is one of the most important five senses and i'm grateful everyday to be able to see..  ;p