Morning Call

When I was in elementary school I loved volunteering for extracurricular like class plays, recitals, stutdent council (I was co-president in the 6th grade!). And although the best part about participating in all these activities was getting ready for the big ta-da show, I always dreaded having to stand up in front of people. No matter how prepared I was or how small or big the crowd was, I would always be scared. In kindergarden I had the starring role of a class play and instead of showing off potential Academy Award winning skillz I shuffled through the play without looking at the audience while mumbling my lines. My teacher was mortified.

This fear I have has lasted through my adulthood. I graduated high school thinking I would never have to worry again about presentations and public speaking. No one told me that was what college and graduate school was all about! I took a public speaking class hoping it would help me overcome my fear. I just learned really cool vocal exercises and that I make weird faces when I speak.

Anyway throughout this whole planning process I have been relatively cool about the whole thing. Not nervous or overly excited, but more happy in a less overt manner. In fact my only real freakout was when I bought my dress and had a case of buyer's remorse (i.e should I have picked a A-line dress with straps over the strapless ballroom gown I chose?) Yesterday driving to the gym to lose the 4 pounds that mysteriously crept up last week I started to have the shakes. "Holy crap!" I thought, "I have to give a toast in front of a lot of people."

I don't want to talk too long, be too sentimental cause I have been known to cry on occasion, have those "ums and uhs" creep in or pull a Hilary Swank and forget to thank someone, although if I was married to Chad Lowe I would probably forget to give him a shout out too.

The whole day is going to be a blur I'm pretty sure. I just don't want to replay the video and shield my eyes from the horror.

Post Script: I haven't gotten a hair cut yet which is another reason I am totally buggin'. I don't have time. Wah.

Aw geez

I need a couple more days-no, not to plan silly! I need a couple more days to hit the gym! My body looks how I feel like: a pulpy mass of mush. There is so much going on, more inside my head than anything else. Everyone keeps asking me how I feel, if I have a lot left to do...I don't have a whole lot to do for the wedding itself. I only have to finish making escort cards. I keep running out of adhesive! Oskar is busy with work and decorating the favors. But I think we will be done by Tuesday night. Well we HAVE to be done by Tuesday.

Today on my agenda is:
1. Watch the kids
2. Pick up dress
3. Go to Michael's again.
4. Make dinner, for other people cause I'm not eating solids for the next days.
5. Gym gym gym.
6. Send timelines to bridal party and directions to places and assign duties.
7. Get a haircut
8. Buy swimsuits for honeymoon.
9. Wash the car
10. Thank you notes!
11. Screw it, I'm hungry.
12. Find a nice guest book that isn't white or lined with satin.

Oskar and I have taken two dancing lessons already. I thought he was going to be the one that had trouble but it turns out, I am the one with two left feet! In high school I was in a modern interpretive dance troupe and I liked it cause I was the one that did the choreography and two, you could basically do anything and it would be fine. Ballroom dancing is nothing like it. Posture, arm positions, that's fine. What I have trouble with is letting the guy lead (I literally have to close my eyes so that I'm not tempted to steal the lead) and making turns. You should have seen Oskar last week. He was getting SO frustrated with me. I have to give props to our instructor, Kimberly for not strangling me either. I think though, Oskar secretly liked the fact that he was better than me. Actually it's not that much of a secret.

For the first dance please feel free to join in after like 2 or 3 minutes into the song. We don't want to dance to the entire song we picked. Quite a few people have asked me if we have a quirky routine like some of you have seen on YouTube. The answer is a resounding "No."



Well, it's noon and I'm still at home knee deep in diapers and cranky toddlers. Ciao!

Time for a countdown...

Yeah, I know it's nerdy. But look at it another way. it's only ...





... or that much time until you don't have to worry about hearing about our wedding plans anymore.

What's running through your head?

I think I'd be thinking, "I wish Big Bird were here."



On another note, Maryté and I just signed up for dance lessons. This should be ... interesting. At least neither of us have two left feet, but I'll admit, I'm a far cry from "Dancing With the Stars."

Attention Future Brides

Quick shout out to all my homegirls who just got engaged! Congratulations! Good luck with the planning hahahhaaha! Nah it'll be fine. But check this out. Santa Barbara Bridal is closing. I so wanted to go shopping there back in January when I was searching for my dress. Anyway the store is closing its doors so that means discounts! They are located in 15 W. Figueroa Street in downtown SB. They are having Bridal Sample Sale all this month. So, if you are coming to our wedding, which you should anyway, then you can use the rest of the weekend to go dress shopping. 40-80% off! Vera Wang! Reem Acra. Also, they are offering a free cocktail gown when you purchase your wedding dress.

Happy dress hunting. And no, they have not asked me to promote their business. I wish right?

The bachelor party (Or, what I remember of it)

The bachelor party was pretty simple: They came, we drank, ate and did guy stuff. The end.

Here's a picture of us at Hooter's on Saturday night. Not pictured is my brother Pablo, the best man, who got hungry before dinner and ate, then went to go hang out with his buddy Ben who was coincidentally in town. This was a fun night. I know because I remember.

Such was not the case on Friday night, when I was determined to drink whatever the guys told me to, and I think I pretty much did until a switch came on in my head that said xXxdrunkxXx...
... the next thing I remembered was waking up in my bed, all the guys in my room talking really loudly about how drunk I was.

And thank God for Pat, for damning me for not having a hangover, despite how apparently trashed I was.

Among the great stories: Chucking a bottle on accident at a security guard. Throwing up within five minutes of entering a strip club. The guys navigating back to the apartment by the light of the stars (I'm three parsnips under Orion's belt).

On Saturday: guns. casinos. hooters. rhino. Lots of fun, not many pictures. I guess that's what a bachelor party should be...

Thanks, fellas!

Update

Okay so far...
1. Got the cake. Finally! We got two flavors and I hope they are as delicious the day of the day as they were when we had the tasting. We went with Decadence Fine Cakes and Confections after sampling baker Dawn's six most popular cakes and, I'm not going to lie, after being quoted a price that was extremely reasonable. Dawn was also really great at designing what I think will be a fun and different cake out of my whack-a-doo crazy pants ideas and photographs. Cross your fingers it turns out photographable.

2. Found my hairdo lady. Although I realized that I am going to need a lot more product and an emergency ponytail holder in case the coastal moisture makes my hair frizzy throughout the day.

3. FInally, finally tracked down our florist. Oskar and I couldn't get in touch with her for a while. She was never around when Oskar would call, and she didn't send the contract like she said she would. We thought maybe she was trying to dump us by ignoring us but as it turned out, she just had a really really old computer and as we discovered when we went to visit her, she didn't really know how to use it. But the contract is signed, the deposit paid so flowers we shall have.

4. Oskar and I are getting married in the church and because of that we were required to go to "Catholic Engaged Encounters" a seminar for couples. We had the option of going to a one day, all day lecture or a weekend retreat. We went to the three day retreat in Montebello, Ca. I didn't think there were going to be sooo many couples. I envisioned that Oskar and I would be with maybe 6-10 couples at the most. There were 60 couples.
The seminar was led by two couples, one that's been married for 45 years, and the other for 10, as well as a priest, Father Gerry. The women stayed in one dormitory building while the men were housed in another.
The setup was pretty basic: the moderators gave a lecture about a topic. They would talk about their experience as a couple, the conflict they experienced, how they worked through it, and what they learned from it. The priest would then chime in about something spiritual and then we had to write in our journals about our thoughts. Then we would join our partner to talk about what we had written. That was the structure of the whole weekend. At the end of the day we would go to the campus church and celebrate Mass. We didn't really interact that much with other couples because the point of the weekend was to focus on our partner. Oskar was of course disappointed with that because of course, he loves talking to people. We did get to chit chat during meals, (cafeteria food bleh) and met a couple who were from Ventura, Karina and Yovani. She was a former Gaucho (class of 01 ) and he went to Cal Poly SLO.
I felt really tired by the end of the weekend, turning 27 that week didn't help either. We are glad we went though. We got to open up about a lot of topics that we are uncomfortable talking about day to day and saw firsthand that there are still people who aren't so cynical about getting married, much less get married in the Church.

5. Oh! We got our wedding bands. That was fun. It took an hour but I gotta say we were both really happy with the service we got and the rings we left with.

6. When I went to Ventura to get my hair trial I went with my mom and my aunt Norma. On a spur of the moment we decided to go to Santa Barbara. I took them to see San Roque and Cabrillo Pavillion. They were impressed and really happy. My mom was super stoked about the reception hall being right on the beach. We also got to see vendors setting up the room for a wedding that afternoon. A party for 200 is going to be a tight squeeze, but I don't think Oskar and I are going to have to worry about that many guests so we will definitely have a lot more room to spread out.

Lastly I know I have been neglecting my pet blog. The last couple of weeks have been pretty overwhelming and fun in a stressful way. I still have to write about my bridal shower and Oskar said he was going to write about his bachelor party which I am a little skeptical about since he doesn't recall half of it.
Have a good Tuesday party people.

Just cause...

Oskar dressed up as Ernie once for Halloween.

Music

Hey party people, Oskar and I are starting to compile songs for the playlist. I was hoping you guys could give us some suggestions. I can't promise we can play all of them but we will certainly give them a listen to. Just one rule: make sure they are pg-13. I can't let the DJ play Tenacious D songs that Oskar wanted to include. And sadly, although it was kind of a party anthem when we were in school, I don't think "Ain't no fun" is appropriate either. I don't know, maybe after a couple of drinks and dinner, people won't mind.

Don't worry...

... we won't.

California Wildfires

The latest word from news reports is that officials have ordered a mandatory evacuation of about 5,000 homes in Goleta. The 13 square mile Santa Barbara County fire is 25% contained. If that weren't bad enough, the residents of Big Sur have been under siege for two weeks now. According to CNN more than 100 square miles and 20 homes have been destroyed by the fires. I hope our friends in the counties of Santa Barbara and Monterey are safe and sound and that firefighters get those wildfires under control soon.

The Bachelorette-No Rose Ceremonies

Carla fulfilled her duties as the Maid of Honor by organizing the bachelorette party a couple weeks ago in Vegas. Most of the girls, 95% weren't able to go but no matter, the show went on as planned. Carla and I began the extravaganza with a 5 hour bus ride from Chinatown to Las Vegas. The bus only turned on the AC when we reached Barstow I think. Once there, the driver made an announcement asking for a tip from each passenger. He didn't even help with the bags! I still need to make that complaint to the company by the way. We got to our stop at the Tropicana where Oskarcito picked us up.
Yen and her boyfriend Jamahal, who came to Vegas to hang out with Oskar while us girls went out to get in trouble, had arrived the night before. Yadda, yadda we went out to eat together and then the real fun began.
This is my favorite part of the trip:
After an unsuccessful attempt to make it to Palazzo's on foot in 4 inch heels, the three of us decided to just go to Pure, (that club where Britney "fell asleep" on New Year's Eve) and stood in the ladies-only line. Carla and I were next to each other and Yen was right behind us. A gang of girls, all looking like Tila Tequila, stood behind Yen. Maybe like 10 minutes after we had been waiting some of them started to get a little fussy and impatient and loud, and began leaning on each other cause they were too drunk to stand without support. Two of the leaners leaned on Yen. The second time I guess they pushed her a little too hard and Yen overheard one of them say to the other, "No, we can't do that, we don't know her."
Yen turned around and said matter-of-factly, "Yeah, you don't know me, that's the second time you pushed me."
Okay, bear with me cause I didn't hear this part exactly but this is what I think transpired.
The less drunk girl apologized to Yen, the other girl was like "What the bleep?"
Then the other girls piped in with gems like "Who does she think she is? You don't have to apologize! Bleep bleep bleep!"
So Yen held her own and told them "Look, you pushed into me more than once, etc."
She's a math teacher people ,she handles teenagers everyday, she ain't intimidated by diddle.
After a few more of the same exchange I pulled Yen in front of me and Carla and I became like human barriers just in case anything were to happen. So one of the girls said to Carla "Hey you know our friend is really drunk, I'm sorry we just want to have fun."
Carla said It's cool we want to have fun too."
We were fine except that the other girls kept inciting the other one saying, "You don't have to say sorry to that bleep. She thinks she's all that." On and on and on.
Finally the pushy girl stepped up and said "Hey if she's looking for trouble I am right here! I can take her!"
I turned around, as did Carla and we basically went off on them. Enough is enough. "Shut the bleep up already! You better back the bleep up! No one is starting anything so shut up!"
Carla started yelling "Security!"
I was like "No! We are going to get kicked out too!"
The less drunk girls got riled up too and cried "No! She's drunk! She doesn't know what she's doing!"
Luckily the bouncer let us in and made them wait behind the velvet rope before things escalated.
We had a good laugh, a nice adrenaline rush and made a toast to our inner cholas!
The rest of the night we didn't so much dance as just hang out and meet people. Oh yeah there was a Pussy Cat Doll performance and then just a lot of pictures with a lot of cute strangers.

The next night the girls and I went to Baba ReBa, a tapas restaurant on the north end of the strip. Afterwards we finally made it to Palazzo's where I wore my "I'm tying the knot, so buy me a shot" veil, complete with shot glasses that made me look like an alcoholic Minnie Mouse. It was cute and fun-a conversation piece.
We went to Excalibur and stood in line for the "Thunder from Down Under" review. Carla, what a trooper, had to deal with stupid tickets people.
There was soo many bachelorette parties going on that weekend. Some groups went all out with matching tank tops and accessories.
Anywho, the show was terrific and a lot of fun. My favorite performance was by one of the Aussies who crawled on the tables out in the audience and poured beer on himself. We got really a sweet booth in the back, but none of the dudes came near us when looking for audience members to come on stage. There was a fake orgasm contest and the infamous towel dance that Oskar had warned me about. How he knew about that, I don't want to know.
Following the pectoral blowout, we headed to Cathouse, or actually, one of the promoters convinced us to go. It's a new club styled after a Victorian bordello. After some courtesy shots, we were approached by a blonde Jenna Jameson girl who asked us if we wanted a VIP table with bottle service. We looked at each other and gave the "It's cool with me" shrug, and followed her to one of the tables. It wasn't for us. It had been reserved by some gentlemen who I guess needed some female revelers to even out the male to female ratio. After some awkward introductions and cocktails we danced some more These guys were computer nerds and traded electric commodities okay so it was a pretty tame bachelorette party compared to some of the ones I saw that night.
We finally got home after the sun went up. Oskar woke up to say good morning and went in for a smooch. He fell back in revulsion after taking a whiff of my hair. It smelled like I dumped an ashtray on my head and combed it through my hair.

Of all my times in Vegas, this was my number one, hands down, favorite experience. Like a great movie, there was drama to be had, a little action and a lot of slapstick.

Thank you Carla and Yen for an awesome time!

A little behind

Okay so according to Martha Stewart and the wedding industry I was supposed to book a florist waaay back in November. Hahahaha. Whatever. Oskar and I went to Santa Barbara on Friday morning to scope some out. We left pretty early to catch a morning meeting with Lani from Lani B. Production Services-the crew that's going to handle our lighting at Cabrillo. It was a fairly easy meeting to sit through. I showed Lani, who in true Santa Barbara fashion was wearing a pair of flip flops, pictures of what my color scheme was going to be. He said he thought a nice amber color would suit our party. Apparently, amber and peach are flattering colors. Anything to look good in pictures right?

Later on we skulked around State Street. We had some tea and lunch and then walked around in search of flower shops. We walked into a Riley's on Chapala. The store was cute but the lady behind the counter didn't want anything to do with us. She told Oskar that the "designer" wasn't it and to come back some other time. Oookay.

After that underwhelming encounter Oskar and I decided to get out of downtown and go somewhere closer to upper state street near San Roque. We quickly found a couple including Gigi's and White House Flower Shop.

We walked into Gigi's where Doug the florist called up their wedding coordinator and set up a meeting for us in the evening. That's customer service.

Then we went to White House flowers. A spry golden retriever welcomed us in and licked our hands (I think we smelled like the chicken we had for lunch). Laura, the owner was just as friendly (minus the licking of course) showing us some of her wedding binders and asking us questions. She was very attentive and understood what I wanted for the ceremony bringing out flowers that she thought would look nice like peonies, roses and stargazer lilies. I told her that I also like anemones and poppies and she said she would find out if they were available that late in August. Laura has also done flowers for events at San Roque before! Most important, the price she quoted us was right where I wanted it to be. Yes! Oskar and I left the flower shop really really happy.

Later on in the evening we headed back to Gigi's. The coordinator pulled out her notebook and asked me how many people were in the bridal party, who needed corsages, what my colors were. She was convinced we needed two big altar pieces, and two smaller ones. And earlier in the day, when Oskar and I first walked in, Oskar asked the staff how much boutonnieres cost, "Eight dollars," said one of employees.
"Twenty-five dollars," said the coordinator later on during the meeting. Hmmm...
She gave us a quote that was almost three times what White House gave us. Oskar asked her if there was a range of prices and if so, was the number she gave us at the higher end
"I don't like ranges, I don't want to give them," she said. "I think that with ranges, you pick something that's low and you won't end up liking the end product and I won't end up liking it."
Oskar and I just nodded and thinking the exact same thing: "What the hell is this chick talking about?"

I think businesses just hear the word wedding and they automatically think "cha-ching." Unbelievable. I am still waiting back to hear some quotes. Hopefully they will send them to me this week cause I really don't want to think about flowers anymore. But if all goes well, I think Oskar and I will have simple and elegant arrangements we can be happy with. Of course Oskar would probably be happy with fake aquarium plants.

Don't Give Up On Me!

I swear to God I'll write more often. It's not like I'm busy or anything right? Well actually, last, last weekend was my "staglette" weekend. That's what this Canuck I met at Cathouse in Vegas called it. So crazy, so memorable. Don't fret dear readers (all three of you) I will reveal the good parts next week. I'll tell you everything else that happened off the record.
So invitations were sent out two Thursdays ago and last week. I had to send them out in batches cause it's only me addressing them baby. I hope you guys liked them. It wouldn't have been possible without good ol' Illustrator. Don't forget to send those RSVP's in. Thank you to those who have!
Last weekend Oskar and I headed to Santa Barbara to talk to the lighting guy and florists. Fun times. My mom decided to wear a zinnia in her corsage. Yeah, see, this is why I haven't posted anything cause nothing new has happened.

Oh! That's not completely true. So, a couple weeks ago I started looking at projects to do for the reception. I found this really cute craft thing that I am not going to give away. But my friend Cladia Guzman saw a sample I made and asked me to show her how to do it, which I did. And then suddenly she took over the project which I am not complaining about because hello! She's a total lifesaver. You'll see her handiwork on your reception table. She is my Martita Stewart. ¡Gracias Claudia!
Lastly before this glass of wine finally puts me to sleep (Kenneth Volk, Negrette) I went to my bridal salon to pay the remaining balance of my dress. And I got to try it on again. I wasn't going to because I was all gross from the LA heat and chasing after two year olds, but Roza, the owner, wouldn't hear of it. "Don't you want to see it?" she asked.
"Okay," I mumbled, embarrassed at my un-bridal behavior.
"More pouffy?" asked one of the staff when I put on the petticoat.
"No thank you." I said putting on a sweater feeling a little too cold with just my underwear on. I felt like I was at the doctor's office.
A little while later another girl came with a plastic bag, the contents of which looked like a folded up comforter. "What is that?" I asked.
She took it out without answering and I realized it was my dress.
Giving me a once over as I took off my sweater she asked,
"more pouffy?"
"No, it's okay."
Seriously no more crinoline people!
I swear putting on that dress is a two man operation. She held on to the bodice over her head and said "Come on honey."
I dove in with my arms extended over my head and dug through fabric until I saw the other opening.
"Okay get on the platform," she commanded.
I stood on the wooden mini-stage and took a deep breath in. Unlike the first time I came to the salon and tried on the dress, this time I was all alone. I didn't want anyone else to give their opinion. I wanted to make sure that I had made the right choice.
The girl who helped me put on the dress, was the same one who had helped me try on those five or six the very first time I went there. "Oh my god it fits perfect," she said.
And it did. Okay so there's like four inches of extra bust, but everything else fit like a glove.
"I'll leave you alone so you can enjoy."
And there I was all by myself. I think I even talked to myself at one point. When I turned around to look at my reflection from a different angle, I noticed the door was open. "Whoops!" I thought.
I gotta tell you, I love it. So sparkly when it catches the light. It's the most extravagant outfit I've ever worn. The train is even longer than I remember it. Bridesmaids take note! One of you will have to come with me for my last fitting when they show me how to bustle up the train. That way you will know how to do it for the reception. Bring a notebook or a video camera if you need to.
Anywho, the chick came back in and asked me if everything was okay and if I was going to take it. "For sure," I said.
I wondered how many brides came to the salon and found something wrong with their dress. How many of them refuse to pay the rest of the deposit? What do they do? I should have asked. But I ain't the reporter of the family.

So Norma asked me why I didn't bring the dress home with me. I could have, the staff asked me if I wanted to. But I know the temptation would be too great to try the dress on again and again. I really am afraid of messing it up. Plus if it gets lost at the store, I'm pretty sure I could get another one on them right?

One last item before I head out. The wedding planning has taken it's toll on me. I'm stressed out. I feel almost Britney-esque. I start babbling in a cockney accent and wander around barefoot. Anyway, last Thursday I went to the gym to let off some steam. As I walked back to my car I double checked my belongings to make sure I had everything. Everything looked fine but I had a nagging feeling I forgot something.
Flash forward five hours later. I went to my room to make my bed and put some stuff away cause it's been taken over by bridal magazines and invitations. "Wait a minute!" I looked at the things on my bed that a couple hours earlier I had with me at the gym. My driver's license, my ATM card and my gym card were missing. I tore through my clothes, my purse, my bed, my hair, the car-nada. So I called the gym and whew! Someone had gallantly turned in my stuff to the front desk. This only happened to me once before in college when I went out partying and wandered back home and decided to have a smoke in the parking lot but first thought it would be okay to dump out my purse in search for a light. I left my I.D. and ATM card in the parking lot. I freaked out the next morning and went outside to retrace my step. Sure enough there they were right next to a couple used matches.

76 days to go...

Oh my God!!! No puede ser...

So much stuff to do...Okay.

Still need to:

1. Order the cake (Molly gave me some excellent ideas which I didn't write down! Will definitely ask her again!) 

2. Go to SB to see the florist about bouquets and altar decorations! Not to worry ladies! Worse case scenario, I'll head to the nearest supermarket and buy us some bouquets to-go. 

3. Get fitted. Hmmm. Have been avoiding this cause as you know I'm trying to deflate. Am down 10 pounds! Still have some work to do though. 

4. Send out the invitations! Oskar is sending them to me ASAP! He better be. So they are going out next week fo sho. 

5. Oh my gosh! Need to go to SB to talk to hair stylists! I got some quotes for makeup and hair stylists who make house calls. Yeah. Still haven't been able to find that tree that grows money so my makeup artist is going to be my two Kevin Aucoin coffee table books and my skilled, steady hand. 

6. Okay, buy wedding rings.

7. Make the favors! 

8. oh my god! booze! 

Progress: Instead of forking over an obscene amount of money for something I will only use for and two hours tops, I headed to the local fabric store and bought some tulle! Yup, Norma, my Godmother, is going to "help" me make a veil. So far my veil looks like this:

But hopefully with a little effort, it'll look like this! 

Lastly, I am trying to come up with a decent playlist for the DJ, although I'm sure he is already aware of the "in" songs out there. But I don't really listen to the radio so I don't really know what's hip nowadays. Feel free to email songs that you think will be fun to play and dance to.

I see your ABBA

... and it reminds me of this scene from NBC's The Office. Enjoy.

Pushing past the last plateau

I've always struggled with my weight. I probably always will.

It's weird, because on one hand, I don't particularly want to focus on it. I've never wanted to make a big deal out of my weight, because I don't think that it's a defining characteristic in people.

The problem with that is that for me -- a person who has a pretty big appetite and a bit of a lazy attitude when it comes to exercising (that's a little harsh but it's not far from being 100 percent true) -- applying that "no big deal" attitude let me balloon up from chubs to seriously overweight. I can't even look. But you can.

This photo's a little forgiving, but it was taken in late July 2004, right after I graduated college and a few months before I hit a peak weight of 237 pounds.

(If you've heard me complain about this before, skip to after the ellipsis below. That's where the real meat of this post is anyway. This middle part is just background.)

I was always hovering around 220 pounds during college. I ate like shit, exercised only by biking to class, playing intramural sports and walking around town, and I rarely turned down a chance at drinking a beer.

Honestly, I don't think that all these things made me a bad person: I was just having fun and carefree in college, I didn't have the outwardly destructive tendencies that some others had when they were thrust into all that freedom. I was pretty much a happy-go-lucky dude who was simply fat.

Things got worse in grad school, because the work intensified and I completely ignored my body. When it finally hit me that I had to reign in my horrendous eating habits and lose a lot weight, it really sucked to confront the fact that I had let myself go.

But it worked.

I gave up soda, mayonnaise and a lot of the goodies that I'd afforded myself liberally through the years. I worked out (fiendishly for me, an acceptable amount for others). The weight started coming off.

But as anyone who's tried to lose weight will tell you, plateaus are the WORST. That's when you work just as hard as you've always worked but the weight seems to no longer come off. For me, those magical plateau numbers were at 220, 200, 190 and 170. I blasted through 220 with slightly more work, through 200 with a fluke virus that caused me to drop 10 pounds in 2 days and 190 by simply picking it up.

...

I haven't gotten past 170, and I've never been more frustrated with this weight loss thing than I have been this year. Before, people were really supportive of my weight loss goals. Now, most think I'm fine.

I appreciate the compliments, but I want to be in good shape, not in good enough shape. That's why this past week I did something some might consider extreme: I joined a boot camp.

Boot Camp Las Vegas is certainly the strangest exercise program I've ever been a part of.

I joined on Tuesday, running day, which involved running three miles around a track, windsprints and stairs, all with just brief moments of stopping. Wednesday was legs day, which I thought was weird after running day. It involved me doing a buttload of lunges, squats and insane exercises for my legs that were already a little sore from the day before. Yesterday, arms and upper body.

Today, I climbed a mini-mountain. I'll get exact figures on Monday, but it was higher than the peak that holds the air towers for Las Vegas' TV stations. It was all loose rocks and desert terrain. I'm scared of heights, but I couldn't think about it at all and at one point it became less about getting a workout than about getting up and down the damn thing without getting myself killed or falling on my ass too much.

When I got up to the peak, I realized that this is what working out and fitness is really about: pushing yourself to do things that you normally wouldn't even think of and also to work harder than you've ever worked before.

The girl who started Boot Camp LV is pretty inspiring. At about 5-foot-3 and about 120 pounds, she doesn't seem to have any fat on her body whatsoever. That wasn't the case two years ago, when she was 180 pounds.

Julie brings out the best in her class, not by being nice to them, but by being a living example of what she believes and therefore brings to others. When I talk to her, I believe she's able to help me and push me to do something that I've struggled with for years.

Today, when I got down the mountain (I was one of just a handful that went all the way to the top because it was an extra long session, about 1:20 total), I was talking to Julie and I let it slip that I didn't have to work today since I have Fridays and Saturdays off. She said, "Nice, you should come back out at 9:30 or 6!"

The rule is you can double, triple or quad up each day on classes without paying extra.

This morning I didn't think I could climb a mountain at all. In about an hour, I'm going to find out if I can do it twice.

Watch an oversimplified version of what I'm doing here: Fox 5 news story

Wish me luck. Sure, this is about the wedding, but Maryté and I are going to do this after we get married too. Because fitness isn't a pursuit for one day, it's about changing your lifestyle.

Una pausa y volvemos...

I just needed a little mental break from wedding planning. Plus, ABBA is awesome. This song has been in my head all week. 

My toes hurt already.

I'm not a shoe whore- I don't go nuts about shoes like Carrie Bradshaw. I'm more of a purse girl myself (sigh, Hermès). But my grandma used to say that a pair of shoes "de buena calidad" can make any outfit look like a million bucks. 

For day to day I prefer flip flops, which is a habit I couldn't shake after leaving UCSB. I am pretty clueless when it comes to buying nice shoes though and it makes the shopping experience less than enjoyable. Now I don't really feel cool admitting this, but in the hopes of getting some input, here goes: After about an hour of wearing one of these puppies, my feet get all swollen. That's why I HATE strappy shoes. Sure they are sexy, but not when my wide ol' feet are squeezing out between the straps. So, when buying shoes for the wedding, when I'm going to be on my feet most of the evening, saying hi to guests, dancing, posing, etc., is it wise to buy half a size bigger? Should I get another emergency pair? Can I get away with wearing a shoe that doesn't match my ivory gown like say a pair that's green or pink? Ahhh! 

First Row: Chinese Laundry, Chinese Laundry, David's Bridal, Nine West

Second Row: Chinese Laundry, Marc Fisher, Nine West, Guess

Third Row: BP., Nina, Vaneli, Matisse (my fave so far)

Last Row: Nine West, Marc Fisher, Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik

The Wedding: A Scientific Perspective

Nice job to the folks at A Practical Wedding. 

Then vs. Now

In "Something Old Something New," Betsy Towner compares the average wedding of 1958 to those held in 2008 and looks at the way weddings have changed in the last 50 years.
Some intriguing facts:

The Bride:

The most common name then: Mary

The most common name now: Jennifer 

The stereotype then: Blushing Bride

The stereotype now: Bridezilla

The gown then: Princess lace handmade by Belgian nuns $135

The gown now: Strapless and sexy $1317

The average age then: 20

The average age now: 26

The Groom:

The most common name then: Robert

The most common name now: Michael

The tuxedo rental then: $5.50

The tuxedo rental now: $69.95

The average age then: 22

The average now: 28

The Reception:

The first dance then: "All I Have to Do is Dream" by the Everly Brothers

The first dance now: "No One" Alicia Keys (Really?)

Party song then: "At the Hop" by Danny and the Juniors

Party song now: "4 minutes" Madonna w/Justin Timberlake

The trendy gift then: CorningWare casserole $12.95

The trendy gift now: Nintendo Wii $399

The Expense:

Postage for invitations then: 3-4 cents

Postage for invitations now: 42 cents

Piece of cake per Guest then: 35 cents

Piece of cake per Guest now: $4.52

Marriage License then: $1

Marriage License now (Santa Barbara): $75

The Escape

The honeymoon then: Niagara Falls

The honeymoon now: Hawaii

The getaway car then: Chevy Impala convertible $2,700

The getaway car now: Toyota Camry $18,570

The honeymoon cost then: $237

The honeymoon cost now: $3,680

Gallon of gas then: 30 cents

Gallon of gas now: $3.80

The Future:

Divorce rate then: 33%

Divorce rate now: 50%

Number of kids then: 3.6

Number of children now: 2.1

Zero minutes of fame.

Oh well. I was so close to starring in my own wedding reality show but the dream is still a dream. Normally I wouldn't want to be on TV. I even hate taking pictures. However, I came across a casting call that would have solved all of my wedding planning woes. Not that I have that many. It hasn't been a hair-pulling experience yet. The announcement, in bold, read: "LET CELEBRITY WEDDING PLANNER DAVID TUTERA ENHANCE YOUR WEDDING ON WE TV!"
David Tutera is this Colin Cowie type event planner who recently partnered up with Disney to create the Disney Fairy Tale Wedding package. I certainly wouldn't mind having a wedding planner (any wedding planner) much less this quasi-celebrity planner create a beautiful reception that only the super rich or famous can afford. Of course, without Mickey and Minnie making a cameo appearance.
Well like I said, Oskar and I seemed to meet the requirements for the reality show. The producers wanted couples that were getting married this summer. Check. They want couples who have spent months planning the wedding. Check. And they want want couples who feel that something "STILL isn't quite right." Of course, check!
"Contact our producers today," I read. "Okay, I will," I thought.
Then I read: "Weddings should take place within an hour of New York City in July or August, 2008!"
Damn it! I only got a C in physics so I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to position a wormhole between Manhattan and Santa Barbara cause that's the only way I'd be able to have Tutera throw me a bone.
Well, there is always the "Newlywed Game" right?

Just so y'all know

I called this blog "Boda de mis sueños" because of this show that my family was obsessed with last year called "Bailando por la boda de mis sueños." Imagine "Dancing with the Stars" except for the fact that a Latino celebrity is paired with either a bride or groom. The winner of the competition obviously wins the wedding of their dreams. My mom told me I should compete. Yeah.
Anyway I would dance for a prize if I had any rhythm. Sadly, I have one or two stock moves that includes a lot of hair swishing but that's about it. Hmmm....that reminds me-Oskar and I need to practice for the first dance. Eeek! Have any of you seen Oskar dance? It's all shoulders.

Here's a little clip of my blog's namesake, in all it's fringed glory. I tried to do the quebradita once. Just once.

June Gloom

I have been trying my damnedest not be the dreaded "bridezilla" but it happened. And actually, now that I give it some
thought, I think I have been one for a quite some time, on the DL of course. Furthermore, these moments of anger and
frustration, the times that I have regressed to the three year old throwing a tantrum at the Toys-R-Us have been aimed
primarily at this guy I know with dark hair and an auburn beard.

I do feel pangs of guilt as I sit and watch my "Platinum
Wedding" and "Bridezilla" marathon and realize how quickly a ritual that is supposed to be an occasion celebrating the couple's
promise to step into an unknown and perilous future together can turn into an over-the-top, gratuitous display of autolatry.
can understand why this occurs as well.

 For many of us, the opportunities we have to express ourselves creatively
are rare or hard to do. Even more unusual are the times when we receive the type of adoration and awe that is freely showered
upon celebrities, sometimes for simply buying a latte at the local Starbucks. As a result, the smaller aspects of the wedding
like the seating arrangements or the type of centerpieces, can become points of contention. Everything must be perfect,
because the wedding is like the Oscar's we will probably never attend. 

I don't want to lose sight of what is
important. With only 16 weeks to go (yikes!) it's so tempting to exceed the budget and go glitz crazy. But, then again, no one is
really going to remember what the hell the table looked like or what kind of flowers I carried down the aisle. What people are
going to talk about later is how long they think the marriage is going to last or whether or not we make a good
couple. 

I don't think I have been acting as horribly as some of the women depicted on the shows though.  I
wouldn't "fire" my bridesmaids for not going to the bachelorette party or bridal shower. I wouldn't ban my mother-in-law from
the festivities simply because she didn't like me. I WOULD snub someone I held a grudge against even if Oskar got along with
them fine-that's pretty bridezilla-ish. Bad Maryté! Bad!

Okay, you know how in the third or fourth post I said
needed to lose twenty pounds? Yeah add a couple more pounds to that. Now I'm freaking out. 

Get your room!

I don't know about you guys but I just booked my motel room for the weekend of the wedding, aka Labor Day weekend. That's right, a MOTEL. It's cool, I figured I would have to stay at a Motel 6-ish place which incidentally, is going at $116/night for the weekend of August 29. Sure it's not the Biltmore but the room I got is non-smoking and it's a block from San Roque. If you guys can afford a $600 setback for 3 nights then I definitely recommend the Holiday Inn Express-not the one on Haley Street because it's all booked that weekend-the one on Calle Real. It's only 11 minutes from the church. The last couple times Oskar and I have gone to SB, we have stayed at the Express on Haley and it's pretty nice and roomy so I expect the Calle Real one to be of the same quality.

I feel a lot better now that I have this out of the way. I was avoiding booking a room because I just didn't want to look at the prices. It's really now or never though because I'm betting the prices are only going to get higher.

If you guys need any help figuring out where to book let me know!

It's contagious...

Congratulations to Julio, our photographer, on his recent engagement to the wonderful Frankie. I couldn't be happier for them both and it's fun to have been there when they both met.

The story of how and when Julio proposed is a great story, and just reiterates how thoughtful he is -- and how far he's willing to go to sweep a girl off her feet.

Instead of reading it secondhand from me, check out the story on Julio's blog.

Let's Hear It For The Boy

Skar has been conspicuously absent in blogdom lately so I thought I would go ahead and write about something he would or should be interested in. He hasn't gotten a suit yet. The only suit he owns that looks really good on him is a grey one that he wore last weekend and to a wedding last summer. It was my godfather's suit and given to Skar as a gift from Norma, my madrina. I keep going back and forth about whether or not I want Oskar wearing a suit or a tux. I mean the formality of the occasion calls for a tux, but a sleek, black suit can look really dapper too. However, how often will Oskar get to wear a tux? It would be kind of sexy seeing him all dressed up, SANS cummerbund of course. But then again, I can't help but think of Sean Connery or a sexy Marcello Mastroianni, or even Don Draper from "Mad Men" in a slim black suit and a white French-cuff shirt...What ever is a girl supposed to tell a guy to do?

Rock Star Wedding Inspiration

So gorgeous. Love, love, love her Vivienne Westwood dress-I wish I could have the white version, I don't care that it's muslin! I think I'd like to copy her hair and makeup (her whole face for that matter) for the wedding. What I like about Dita Von Teese is that she really enjoys being a woman and all the classical concepts of femininity associated with it. Even her nails are impeccable.

Although she married a huge douche, her wedding was absolutely glamourous. The whole gothic thing ain't my cup (unless it's southern gothic) but I love the richness and decadence that they surrounded their guests in. And it's always awesome to have Christian Louboutin show up wearing a fez.

What are your favorite or least favorite celebrity weddings?

Give Me A Break

As usual it was some ungodly hour and I couldn't sleep. Luckily God invented the internet and I turned to its comforting glow now that cable no longer shows good movies and Joe Francis was released from jail resulting in more "Girls Gone Wild" commercials than ever before. After clicking through my usual sites I chanced upon an article on MSN Lifestyle titled, "Single-Girl Things to do Before you Marry."
Normally I buy into lists, especially if their title ends with something like "...Before you Die." This to do list made me gag though and I wondered if it was posted on the site as a joke. Here some of examples of its sage suggestions:
1. "Date a guy who's totally wrong for you just because he has amazing abs. So what if he's five years younger and your polar opposite? The joy of running your hands across his six-pack is a perfectly legitimate reason to go out with him."
Seriously, what? You know, I was a chubby chaser back in the day, and I gotta say, dating the wrong guy just cause he's got some extra stuffing is equally, if not more satisying.

2. "Collect at least six country stamps on your passport, including one from a place that until recently you didn't even know existed. Yes, it's fun to travel with your man, but you also have to have some solo adventures under your belt before you start sharing your life with him 100 percent."
This one isn't too bad except I don't think stamps are being used nowadays. What happens when you visit more than one EU country?

3. "Take your celeb crush to the max. Plaster a poster of Ryan Gosling in your hallway, and set your computer wallpaper to a topless shot of him."
This kind of behavior should not go past the eighth grade, after you help your best friend tear off a Leo Dicaprio poster from a Tiger Beat Magazine that you borrowed from the school library.

4. "Hone a signature lingerie style. Figure out what cuts and colors are hottest on you, and develop a look that's all your own. That way, your one-day groom will follow your lead ."
Hmmm...T-shirt and shorts. Check.

5. "Spend an embarrassing amount of money on a designer bag you love or heels that make you feel incredibly sexy."
You know, women should be able to buy whatever they want, whenever they want, married or single. That's why we work.

6."Slip one of those furry covers on the toilet."
No. Those things are weird and a breeding ground for bacteria.


7."Take advantage of the whole bed."
Okay, but why not invest in a CalKing? I sleep on a diagonal and that's not going to change.

Some things I DO need to learn before I get married:
1. Balance my check book.
2. Pump air in my car's tires.
3. Make a martini.
4. Put together IKEA furniture.
5. How to download music into my itunes.
6. Barbecue on a charcoal grill.
7. CPR

Classic.

Surprise Shower

On Friday I was at home not doing much. I managed to go to the gym, read, and that was about it. I was feeling kind of bad because the night before I had hung out with Molly and Joanne and had a little too much to drink like I do every Thursday night to watch Lost and Grey's. So, drunk me got a little hostile and was flinging Klondike bar wrappers at Eric, Molly and Joanne cause they were singing this pie song that I can't stand and then gave Joanne hell about not being willing to pick me up to take me to the class BBQ cause I thought it was going to be at the beach by school, not in Carmel. Man I felt really sheepish afterward. So I was feeling embarrassed and was contemplating not going to this dinner that Molly had talked about going to. So she calls me around 5 and WAS ALL "Want to go to dinner?" I decided to go because in a couple days we aren't going to be in the same town anymore and we won't see each other every week. I knew I was going to miss them AND not going cause I am a dumb ass when I drink is lamer than being a dumb drunk.
An hour and half later Molly and Eric pick me up to go to a Mexican restaurant in Carmel called Baja Cantina. So in the car Molly was telling me about her day and asking me about mine. Then she mentioned how she had gone shopping in Carmel. I was like "oh cool!" but in my head I was thinking "Oh! She went shopping without me? I knew I pissed her off!" So Eric zigzagged through Carmel valley in search of the restaurant and I convinced myself that Molly and I don't always have to shop together. We got to the restaurant and could hear the live band playing. It looked like a lot of fun. And when Molly mentioned margaritas I was super stoked. Then we hung out in the entrance and waited to be seated. The hostess pointed to a table and I turned and saw Joanne and Ray! I think I must have made the weirdest face ever. I saw them both, and I knew Joanne was going to come but I was so confused when I saw Ray. Then I saw presents on the table. I was about to ask Eric or Molly whose birthday it was, if this was a class goodbye party thing when Ray and Joanne yelled "Surprise!"
"What?" I asked. In typical fashion I was so confused. "Surprise!" they yelled again. I turned to Molly who was smiling and told me that it was a surprise shower party for me. And then she told me that there were more people who were supposed to be there but who were late. I was so touched. It was so sweet and totally unexpected. I felt really lucky to know people who were willing to go out of their way to throw a little party for me. It turned out that Molly had been shopping that day for my presents and had realized that she probably should not have been telling me about it.
Thank you so much! The restaurant, the food, the music...everything was outstanding. The company was even better. And the presents! Oskar and I got a new All-Clad 6 quart saute pot and the Silver Palette cookbook and even a little something to care for my, err our, new pot.
I can't believe I almost didn't go. Molly told me that she would have killed me. As cheesy as it sounds, it was one of the best nights I think I have had in a long time.

Think Pink!

A couple weeks ago Carla sent me an email with pictures of two dresses she had found. One was a green dress in a shade similar to Yen's and the other was in an olive green which, I hate to say, is a shade I really didn't want to include. In a bridezilla move I exercised my veto power and said no and no to both gowns. Then I told her that if she was having trouble finding a green frock to just get a pink dress. I figured that a. pink is still one of the colors, and b. it would be kind of cool to make her stand out as the MOH. Then I got a little scared. Did I make a smart decision? After all, I didn't want to make my bridal party look crazy. And Oskar wasn't sure if Pablo would be cool with wearing a matching pink tie. Luckily Carla picked a really pretty fuchsia pink Dessy dress with a mint green trim at the waist. I think everyone is going to look amazing together. Me on the other hand I don't know. We just took pictures today for our class portrait and I look like I did in undergrad: not good. Well going back to important matters. I have been looking for accessories to give Carla and Molly, Melisa and Yen some ideas. You guys don't have to get them. I just like finding stuff to potentially buy and also it gives me an excuse NOT to work on my portfolio which is due in a couple hours. Can't wait 'til school is over so that I can finally get in shape and make this wedding finally happen.
Oh speaking of which today Oskar and Oscar are driving from Omaha to Las Vegas. Drive safe guys. Ok time for some "Karate Kid."

Oh yeah, that green dress was a joke Carla pulled a couple months back. After getting an email asking me if it would be okay for her to wear it I started panicking. I wasn't sure if she was kidding. Oskar who was visiting me at the time was nonplussed, not knowing if it was ugly or trendy cause he has no clue when it comes to fashion. (He was totally blasé about his mom buying him TWO Sevens). I had to email Molly who was like yeah that's not good. So I took a shot and wrote Carla a letter saying "Ha ha nice try." She just wrote back something like "Ha! Totally got you." Meanie.

Can we make it acceptable to wear a wedding dress whenever?

Even though I got my dress a couple months ago, I still peruse bridal magazines and websites to see the other dresses that could have been. I wish I could be one of those girls that has two weddings dresses-one for the ceremony and another for the reception. However I can't shrug off the douchiness of the practice, not to mention the fact that the contents of my wallet are pretty pathetic these days. Despite these and other reasons, here are the dresses I would love to wear, were I to win the lottery or pretend I was J Lo and have like six costume changes.

Top Row: Unknown designer dress, vintage Dior, Elizabeth Fillmore
Bottom Row: Vera Wang, St. Pucchi (I grabbed it at the salon. 11K! I cried a little inside.) and Luisa Beccaria

Good Golly

Molly found her dress! The kelly green Eliza J polka dot dress looks even better in person. It's retro chic. Way to go Molly! I haven't gotten a chance to take a picture of her in it so this model will have to do for now. I decided to make a little inspiration board with Molly's dress in mind. The jewelry, shoes, and purse are just random finds from the internet. Some good internet sites I found them in were jcrew.com, robertachiarella.com, junebug weddings, and caroletanenbaum.com. The bubbly a la Sofia is a must accessory for any occasion. Too bad Veuve hasn't made similar champagne to-go. Well, the French would consider that sacrilegious no doubt. The bouquet of calla lilies and pink flowers just reminded me of Molly so I felt like including them.

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with the updates. As you may know school is just wreaking havoc on my free time. And Oskar is distracted with work can you believe that? And to be honest, I am running out of ideas. So if you can think of any topics let me know.

Colorstrology Wedding

So, a couple weeks ago I came upon an article about colorstrology which said that colors have a great influence on a person's attitude and personality. According to colorstrology we all have a birthday color and we should surround ourselves in our respective birth color to awaken our potential within. So I thought about what my wedding would look like if I based it on my birthday color which I am not a fan of by the way. And there is no chance that I am "efficient." Those nearest and not so dearest to me know that I am an avid procrastinator. Anywho, if you want to know your color check out colorstrology.com.

Mmm...cake Redux

man...I hate diets.

Mmm... cake.

A simple question: What kind of cake do you like?

We're still just in the brainstorming step of determining our delicious wedding dessert.

I leave it an open question because I'm not an expert, and really just want to know what you think.

Plus -- I need an excuse to put up this video:

Veils of little avail

When I bought my dress I tried on the veil and decided I wanted one. Of course, I balked at the price. There was no way I was going to drop $400 for a flimsy piece of tulle. So cheap me decided to find a cool sewing pattern and make one myself. This could end up being a disastrous idea. At first glance, I'm not sure I like any of these. Firstly, I look horrendous in hats, (my cheeks are way too big to pull it off) even baseball caps. I am curious about the veil attached to the fez. Does anyone know a bride who has donned such a trail blazing look? Secondly, I don't know what the appropriate length of a veil should be considering my dress already has a train. Also, should the fabric be ivory to match the color of the gown, or can it be a lighter or darker hue?

Happy Easter

Hope everyone had a nice weekend and a happy Easter Sunday with loved ones. I decided to make another little collage instead of eating obscene amounts of chocolate eggs and bunnies. Although, in order to make myself feel better for being so far from home and Easter lamb, I ate some yummy ice cream.
In wedding news, I have been scoping out ebay for pretty green vases and pitchers. I think I am going to wait until summer to start buying any. Who knows? I might not even want them come June. In terms of flowers, Oskar likes the idea of succulents in the centerpieces. So far I haven't really been able to find many pictures of them for such an occasion.

Lady Marmalade indeed.

You have all heard by now, thanks to my panic attack, frantic phone calls and emails, that I finally bought my wedding dress.
I really hadn’t planned on buying a dress last weekend. I wanted to go to three stores before making a final decision. But I had a couple things against my favor. First, it’s already March. Dresses are usually purchased 4-6 months before the wedding. Secondly, I didn’t go the store with any pictures, which is ridiculous because I have no less than fifteen bridal magazines and tons of pictures of dresses I love on my computer. Third, the price I was offered was super-awesome.

I am not a frilly, pouf girl. The dresses I do buy are basic, classic and understated. This dress I chose is the princess dress that a girl with a Cinderella complex would wear. That’s why I was freaking out. When I tried it on I was a completely different person. I couldn’t stop smiling. The consultant was like “Wow, your face just lit up.” My mom was like “Why are you going to try another one? That’s it.”
I loved it, but at the same time, this dress was everything I was against: pouffy, princess-like, strapless for crying out loud! Organza and a train!
After I tried a couple more I was close to choosing yet another white, A-line gown. I wasn’t crazy about it but it looked good on me. The consultant said “Okay, I love this one on you, but I think you should try the second one again.”
I said no. I think in part I was tired and also, I was afraid that I was going to like it and take it knowing that I might be the subject of ridicule later on. “Are you sure?” she asked. “No come on try it on.”
I did, and that was that. I had to have it.

Moral of the story I guess: I think I need to accept the fact that I don’t have the most sophisticated taste in fashion. The wedding dress, for some, may be the most important fashion choice a they will make. I mean let’s face it, I ain’t never going to the Oscars. Plus, I also need to accept that some people won’t like my dress, and that’s okay. I love my dress and it makes me feel good. I might look like I’m going to a cotillion, but…yeah, okay there really is no silver lining there. It’s cool. I can just pull a Celine Dion, and have another ceremony in ten years time and pick another dress.

Oh well, it could have been way worse.

Preserving the day: photos and video

We couldn't be more excited about the team we have lined up to capture our wedding. The three people we have -- one photographer and two videographers -- are extremely good at what they do. And more importantly, they're friends. A brief warning: a lot of crowing about these three is about to follow. It's all deserved. I know it's a bit much for one blog post, but please indulge me, just this once.

Having Julio, Aaron and Kim shooting our wedding is akin to having Mikhail Baryshnikov choreograph our first dance. It's almost too much to ask.

All three are multimedia journalists whom I admire, and each will go ridiculously far in this industry. If I get to cross paths with any of them in a newsroom in the future, I'll know I'm in a good place.

Photos: Julio


I just literally spent 40 minutes trying to find a great picture to use here -- one that would capture just who Julio is. I went with the one of Julio.

Julio just started a job with the Houston Chronicle, and was an intern with The Associated Press in Chicago the same summer I was in Los Angeles. We met in New York and have kept in touch ever since, because we were pretty much buddies after talking to each other for more than 3 minutes. If we lived in the same neighborhood, I have no doubt whatsoever that we would kick it constantly.

It was important to me that we get a good photojournalist for the wedding, and he's the only person I asked. Sure, we'll have a few of the stock photos that tradition dictates you get, but with Julio there, I'm going to get to see the wedding the way everyone else experienced it.

The guy can shoot anything and make it look stunning, from portraits to sports.

Here is a slideshow of his work. He recently put up his Best of 2007, and all I can say is I wish I were this talented. For more, check out his Web site. The only way I can describe the photos is to say that they remind me how remarkable the ordinary world is.



I can't help myself so I'm going to add one more. This one doesn't have music.



Video: Kim and Aaron

Kim, Aaron and I went to graduate school together at UC Berkeley and graduated in the same class. What that would have been like without them there, I'm not sure. And I don't think I would want to know. Let's start with Kim.

Kim and I were in the same trench from the start: the journalism basics class that was taught by the most notoriously tough teacher in school. It was no joke -- we had a 2,000-word profile due the first Monday morning class at 6:30 a.m. Kim's subject? Me. She talked to Maryté, my parents, my friend Ryan and God knows who else. There were rumors going around that she was trying to get ahold of the teacher who ran my high school newspaper. Naturally, I felt that when school started our relationship was a little lopsided; not in a bad way, I just felt like she knew so much more about me. I'm glad it's evened out since.

If I were teaching journalism to newbies, Kim is who I'd bring in as a real-world example of what a journalist should be. She's got the reporting and storytelling savvy of a newspaper veteran and the technical skills of an engineer. She's sought-after as one of the up-and-coming multimedia journalists around, and would probably beat me out for any job if we both applied for it. Good thing we both already have pretty good ones! :P She's currently finishing a job at the San Diego Union Tribune and heading to Washington D.C. to work for NPR starting in March. They're lucky to have her, and I'm excited to see what she churns out there.

I wish I could embed something for her, but the best I can do is a link. You need to watch this story she did for the PBS show Frontline/World. It's about a couple going through an arranged marriage in Pakistan. If Kim can shoot someone's wedding all the way across the world, something tells me she'll be fine in Santa Barbara.

* * *

Sure, Aaron's got a job working at KTVU, the Fox affiliate in the Bay Area that boasts the top-rated primetime newscast in the country (at least according to their own intro that ran the whole time I grew up). Yeah, he's worked for Brian Ross' ABC News investigative unit. And yes, he was interviewed in-studio by Anderson Cooper for his special that ran on CNN: Waging Peace, a report from Djibouti in a series about U.S. military bases abroad.

But what Aaron and I will always share is the memory of a dream assignment few journalists will ever experience: reporting from a country so small that chances are we'll go through the rest of our lives without encountering anyone who's ever been there.

Aaron invited me to come to Kiribati with him to do sound on a documentary about global warming. To answer the next natural question: Kiribati is a small nation made up of coral atolls in the Pacific ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Fiji. Scattered dots on a globe.

What we got out of the trip was a half-hour doc, a nine-minute TV piece on a different subject and a radio piece. Plus the endless stories to accompany our adventures over there. Looking back on it all, it was pretty fucking insane. Boats, motorbikes without helmets, scuba diving, and a gnarly swim in the world's dirtiest water. All stories for another time, another place.

Here's a picture of us with the president that we took after our private interview with him.



I've produced hours of television with the guy. Who better to ask to shoot the wedding? The guy is insanely creative... or creatively insane. Whatever it is, it's good for us.

For good measure, here's a piece that came together for us totally on the island. My assignment was to find something there to do a TV story about. We were pretty happy with the result. One quick note: There's something weird about YouTube that wouldn't let me put up the video in its natural 16x9. So that's why it looks stretched. But yeah, the raw version looks pretty damn good on a TV.



So Julio, Kim and Aaron, I'm sure I'll say it plenty of times between now and when we see the finished stuff, but thank you so much. You're doing us a great honor by being there on our special day. It'll be great to see you all -- instruments in hand -- again.

New features!

Take a look at the subtle changes to the layout of the site -- we've just added a few new features that should make you die-hard fans happy.

First, toss your email into the little box to your right. That'll subscribe you to our page, so you'll be able to get updates right in your inbox. Now you can know you know you gotta come back and visit us and make a comment much more efficiently. :)

Also, we've added full RSS and Facebook sharing functionality. For those of you who don't use RSS readers, you should really look into it if you have sites that you go to every day that are always updated. RSS is a way for you to get all your new content downloaded automatically for you so that you know you have something you need to see! It's really great.

Finally, we know that most of you are on Facebook, so it just made sense to add it as a sharing function.

Enjoy!

Mental Break from Marketing Management

Hey bridesmaids,
I know most of you, no actually all of you, are super busy being teachers, students, and contributors to society. However, I need a favor. I’d like to know what your favorite flowers are. That’s it. That’s your homework! Oh yeah…I hope the flowers you like are in season during the month of August.
Now back to marketing management for me…