Wedding time!!! Our wedding is less than 6 months away - I can't believe that already! We couldn't be any happier! Everything is coming together so well, we can't wait till the big day.
Right now, we have finished the invitations (after some persuading from myself!): wording, check. Design, check. Colors, check. It looks so good! Sorry, no previews! The things we are trying to decide on now are the size of the invitation and the size of the envelopes - there are so many options. We are waiting on quotes from some printing companies, mostly from some Houston companies (wouldn't you know it). But we have already received a quote from Colorado Printing Company which is pretty decent. Our guest list is almost final. Things are coming together and it makes us so excited!
Meanwhile, my parents are having a blast purchasing things for us and going crazy at Hobby Lobby. Even as I'm writing this, it brings a smile to my face. Both of our parents have been so supportive with everything for this wedding. I get calls from my mom every day asking me things like "this would be great for the punch, don't you think?" "we bought several more bottles of wine for the reception," "do you want a really cute bag that says Bride on it in rhinestones (yes, please!)". My parents have always been super involved in our lives and I thank them and God everyday for the person I am because of them. We really do have the best parents in the world.
Just a little wedding news front!
People always ask us how things are going with the wedding. We definitely couldn't do it without the help of everyone back in Houston. If we ever had an doubts about coming out here to Maui, it all subsides when we speak to our family and friends and they convince us we are doing the right thing.
Next thing on my list for this month: get my girls to try on and order their bridesmaids dresses. Who knew it would take so long for girls to go shopping and try on dresses?! lol! They are all making plans to get their butts to David's Bridal so that part of my mind is set at ease. Did I mention, I have the best girls?!
One other thing we did get done this weekend, was get Christopher fitted for his ring size. We looked at several rings stores and he tried on lots of rings. I think his favorite was a Paladium cut ring at Ben Bridge. BTW, they have excellent customer service (she even shined my ring for me!). We will be back. He also needs to get fitted for his tuxedo and style as well. Seeing as how there isn't a Men's Warehouse here, that might be a little hard. What he probably will end up doing is getting his measurements done at a wedding shop here and chose his style online so his guys can do the same.
Whhhoooooo.... that's a lot!
OK, Stay tune for more wedding news as we decide on the invitation size and ship it off to get printed :)
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Just Don't Do It.....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100412/hl_time/08599198101900
There is nothing, or anyone in this world who can convince me that spanking is a good thing. Read this article. Finally, there is hard evidence that shows spanking leads to detrimental effects later on in life. No, it doesn't instill a "healthy fear," or "they stop as soon as I warn them." Ok, wonderful, but what does that teach them? Do they know what they did is wrong? No. They probably already forgot what they did that made you mad in the first place.
Children need to be taught the reasons why they got in trouble, what they did to up get you and what they can do to fix it. Timeout is such a great thing for children. Just like the study suggest, it gives them timMy suggestion (and also Supernanny's) It should last one minute for how old they are. Your child is five, then they're in timeout for five minutes and so on. This doesn't just apply to parents, it applies to babysitters and nannies.
Yes, things are going to be hard at first. If you need help, watch Supernanny. I am telling you, parents, parents-to-be, babysitters this show will open your eyes to super easy changes to make, that will give you long-lasting results. Sound familiar? I am all about quick fixes with long-lasting results, especially me and my fiance's lifestyle.
People think changes like this (eating better, their problem child, even an unruly dog) can't be fix, taught or changed. I am here to tell you that it all is completely fixable. I have seen results with easy changes to our eating lifestyle, parenting tips while I'm babysitting (no kids here yet!) and even teaching my two-year-old Yorkie new tricks and better behavior.
Back to the article. Just don't spank your children. It may make you feel better because your child stopped crying or doing the bad behavior, but it doesn't help them in the long run. Results from the study: spanking leads to more aggressive behavior later in life, it also makes discipline for a child even harder when they have outgrown spanking and it teaches them to do it to their kids. No, I wasn't spanked and I turned out just fine :)
Thanks for listening!
There is nothing, or anyone in this world who can convince me that spanking is a good thing. Read this article. Finally, there is hard evidence that shows spanking leads to detrimental effects later on in life. No, it doesn't instill a "healthy fear," or "they stop as soon as I warn them." Ok, wonderful, but what does that teach them? Do they know what they did is wrong? No. They probably already forgot what they did that made you mad in the first place.
Children need to be taught the reasons why they got in trouble, what they did to up get you and what they can do to fix it. Timeout is such a great thing for children. Just like the study suggest, it gives them timMy suggestion (and also Supernanny's) It should last one minute for how old they are. Your child is five, then they're in timeout for five minutes and so on. This doesn't just apply to parents, it applies to babysitters and nannies.
Yes, things are going to be hard at first. If you need help, watch Supernanny. I am telling you, parents, parents-to-be, babysitters this show will open your eyes to super easy changes to make, that will give you long-lasting results. Sound familiar? I am all about quick fixes with long-lasting results, especially me and my fiance's lifestyle.
People think changes like this (eating better, their problem child, even an unruly dog) can't be fix, taught or changed. I am here to tell you that it all is completely fixable. I have seen results with easy changes to our eating lifestyle, parenting tips while I'm babysitting (no kids here yet!) and even teaching my two-year-old Yorkie new tricks and better behavior.
Back to the article. Just don't spank your children. It may make you feel better because your child stopped crying or doing the bad behavior, but it doesn't help them in the long run. Results from the study: spanking leads to more aggressive behavior later in life, it also makes discipline for a child even harder when they have outgrown spanking and it teaches them to do it to their kids. No, I wasn't spanked and I turned out just fine :)
Thanks for listening!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
HEALTHY EATING.... FOR SPRING!
I have always been pretty into eating healthy. For as long as I can remember, I don't drink sodas. I drink water everyday, we eat healthy snacks (peanut butter and celery is my favorite!, fresh fruit, hummus and fresh veggies) and we don't eat fried foods. So, I am always on the look for interesting articles and advice on how to continue to eat healthy. Not just for my health, but honestly, I feel so much better and I have so much more energy. Chris even notices a difference. He has lost 20 lbs since we have been here in Maui! And it doesn't hurt that we have an upcoming wedding to get ready for :) Six months to go people!!!! I'm so excited and I don't think we could be in better shape!
To make a long store short, here is another link that I love. The "Today Show" nutrition expert, Joy Bauer gives some easy and quick tips on how to eat healthy for spring! Honestly, I wouldn't even consider these diet tips. I would consider these tips to live by, especially when you're trying to change your eating lifestyle for the first time. I hope you enjoy and like always HEALTHY EATING!!!
http://shine.yahoo.com/event/the-thread/7-spring-diet-tips-1240192/
To make a long store short, here is another link that I love. The "Today Show" nutrition expert, Joy Bauer gives some easy and quick tips on how to eat healthy for spring! Honestly, I wouldn't even consider these diet tips. I would consider these tips to live by, especially when you're trying to change your eating lifestyle for the first time. I hope you enjoy and like always HEALTHY EATING!!!
http://shine.yahoo.com/event/the-thread/7-spring-diet-tips-1240192/
Thursday, April 8, 2010
What The Hell Are You Doing Here?!
So, it finally happened. After four of Chris' friends came and visited him and his parents already booked to visit us here in June, I was getting really depressed with no one coming to visit for me. But then it happened - MY TWIN SISTER CAME AND STAYED WITH US FOR TWO 1/2 WEEKS!!!!! YAY!!!!
Let me tell you that it was all kept a surprise! Obviously my parents and fiance were in on it, but no one else. So when she appeared on our doorstep - after Chris picked her up from the airport - you could've imagined my surprise and some shock. Because I'm telling you, I had dreams about her coming here, honestly! I thought that Chris and my parents would surprise me with her.... and they did! When I saw her, I literally just stood there and ask "What the hell are you doing here?!" lol It was priceless.
For those who don't know, my twin sister and I are super close and have been our entire lives. You really don't understand the bond of a twin unless you have one. It's amazing to go through life with someone your same age, going through the same experiences but having different views on everything. Yea, you may think, "we'll I have a friend who I grew up with since we were like 6 and we're like sisters/brothers." Well, it's not the same.
We've ALWAYS done everything together! So me moving here with Chris was a really big deal for both of us. We would no longer be just a 10-15 min drive away to meet up for coffee; couldn't have our family lunch and dinners together; couldn't go to Mass and teach Sunday School together; have double dates or sister shopping sprees. We would now be Skyping every week; having to catch up and rely on text messaging (yea, we pretty much text every day). But honestly, it's like nothing has changed. I am always going to be there for her and she is always going to be there for me.
When she came here, it was like nothing changed. We laughed about stupid things together, had seriously talks about life, my wedding, our future, our jobs (and hopefully jobs in the future!). I think Chris and I exhausted her, lol! Her first weekend here, we took her to Hana and camped out. This isn't something you can really put into words. Hana is an experience. It stimulates EVERY ONE of your senses from the beauty of the waterfalls, to the smells of the fresh fruit and flowers at every stop to the sound of birds and the ocean. It's just an amazing experience and I am so glad we got Marina to be a part of it.
That Sunday, we took her to one of our favorite towns, Lahaina. The best place to get swimsuits and "surfer style clothes." With stores like Volcom, Billabong, Roxy, Hurley, Quicksilver you wont leave Lahaina with out SOMETHING! Of course, we took her to Cool Cat's to have "one of the best burgers on Maui." I don't think we dissapointed her!
The next couple of days, she came to work with me at The Grande Wailea Resort and Spa. Yes, my sister was in town, but I still had to work. But what I place to work. Marina got to relax on several of the best beaches in the world. Honestly, the beaches here in Maui have been voted number 1 several years in a row. She loved it and she even got to see her first couple of whales!
We also had a chance to cook dinner together, how we used to cook with our mom. We cooked Marina's famous French Onion Chicken, our Taco Tuesday and Honey Mustard Tilapia. It brought back a lot of great memories and we had so much fun doing it together. We wouldn't know how to cook if it wasn't for our wonderful mother!
On my days off, I took her to another great beach, Napili Bay. Yea, we spent about 5 hours on the beach that day, with a nice lunch on the beach and just time relaxing in the sun and playing in the water. We shopped at the mall (both malls here, that's right we only have two malls on the island. And they aren't anything like the Galleria. Oh, how I miss you!), bought all kinds of souvenirs and gifts.
Shopping is something we love doing.... what girl doesn't?!
One thing for sure, you can't come to Maui and not go snorkeling. I didn't work till 4 on the weekend before she left so that Saturday we went snorkeling over by Makena. Granted it was a little cold, yes, I can be a baby about snorleing in cold water, but we still had a great time. And we even saw some turtles! Marina screamed (even with her snorkel and mask on) her head off the first time she saw the turtles. She scared Chris a little, lol! We also saw lots of coral and fish. It was great! That day we also took her to 808 Deli. One of Chris and my favorite lunch places to eat. She loved it!
That Sunday, I worked all day (boo!) so Chris was great and took her snorkeling again at a stop on the way to Lahaina. They didn't see any turtles (I'm the good luck charm) but still had a good time. They went shopping some more in Lahaina and they ate lunch at Da Kitchen. A pretty authentic place here, Da Kitchen is not my favorite, but they liked it. That night, I was writing a restaurant review for 808 Bistro so we went there for dinner. The food was delicious and we all even got to eat for free. A Maui Cordon Bleu, Mahi Mahi and a New York steak - not too bad!
I was off the last two days she was here, so of course that meant more time to act like beach bums. I also took her to Paia. Another one of our favorite little "hippie" towns. Cute little shops, a great gelato place and happy hour cocktails. Another great day!
Her last day was on Tuesday, April 6. We finally didn't have to take Chris to work. It's a little bit of a challenge having one car here, but we're working on it :) We slept in a little, watched Beverly Hills 90210 (yes, we did and we're not afraid to admit it). I made her homemade breakfast tacos and fruit. Next, time to get some beach time in before she left. We spent the next couple of hours at Kamoale 1 and the water felt great! She had some packing left to do so I went to grab us some lunch at another one of our favorite places to eat, Coconuts. She loved her Blackened Mahi Fish burger and my Mahi Ceasar Salad was so fresh.
Time to go to the airport: I couldn't believe it had been two weeks already. We did so many things and experience so much. All in all, we had an amazing time and wont ever forget it. I think we both needed it. We missed each other a lot! Coming up, I know she is going to be super busy with the family she nannies for and I am going to be slammed at the hotel for summer. So it was much needed and well deserved. Even though we gave Chris a hard time "having to deal with us two" he had a great time with us and spending some time with his soon-to-be-sister-in-law. Which by the way, she also helped me with wedding stuff! I don't think we would've had time to do anything else if we wanted to.
Another great thing (see, there were too many) all three of us went to a really nice Easter mass together. I love going to church every Sunday and it was even better to be able to spend that time with my fiance and sister.
That's all for the adventure we spent the past two weeks doing. Stay tune for the next things we'll encounter while living on the beautiful island of Maui.
Let me tell you that it was all kept a surprise! Obviously my parents and fiance were in on it, but no one else. So when she appeared on our doorstep - after Chris picked her up from the airport - you could've imagined my surprise and some shock. Because I'm telling you, I had dreams about her coming here, honestly! I thought that Chris and my parents would surprise me with her.... and they did! When I saw her, I literally just stood there and ask "What the hell are you doing here?!" lol It was priceless.
For those who don't know, my twin sister and I are super close and have been our entire lives. You really don't understand the bond of a twin unless you have one. It's amazing to go through life with someone your same age, going through the same experiences but having different views on everything. Yea, you may think, "we'll I have a friend who I grew up with since we were like 6 and we're like sisters/brothers." Well, it's not the same.
We've ALWAYS done everything together! So me moving here with Chris was a really big deal for both of us. We would no longer be just a 10-15 min drive away to meet up for coffee; couldn't have our family lunch and dinners together; couldn't go to Mass and teach Sunday School together; have double dates or sister shopping sprees. We would now be Skyping every week; having to catch up and rely on text messaging (yea, we pretty much text every day). But honestly, it's like nothing has changed. I am always going to be there for her and she is always going to be there for me.
When she came here, it was like nothing changed. We laughed about stupid things together, had seriously talks about life, my wedding, our future, our jobs (and hopefully jobs in the future!). I think Chris and I exhausted her, lol! Her first weekend here, we took her to Hana and camped out. This isn't something you can really put into words. Hana is an experience. It stimulates EVERY ONE of your senses from the beauty of the waterfalls, to the smells of the fresh fruit and flowers at every stop to the sound of birds and the ocean. It's just an amazing experience and I am so glad we got Marina to be a part of it.
That Sunday, we took her to one of our favorite towns, Lahaina. The best place to get swimsuits and "surfer style clothes." With stores like Volcom, Billabong, Roxy, Hurley, Quicksilver you wont leave Lahaina with out SOMETHING! Of course, we took her to Cool Cat's to have "one of the best burgers on Maui." I don't think we dissapointed her!
The next couple of days, she came to work with me at The Grande Wailea Resort and Spa. Yes, my sister was in town, but I still had to work. But what I place to work. Marina got to relax on several of the best beaches in the world. Honestly, the beaches here in Maui have been voted number 1 several years in a row. She loved it and she even got to see her first couple of whales!
We also had a chance to cook dinner together, how we used to cook with our mom. We cooked Marina's famous French Onion Chicken, our Taco Tuesday and Honey Mustard Tilapia. It brought back a lot of great memories and we had so much fun doing it together. We wouldn't know how to cook if it wasn't for our wonderful mother!
On my days off, I took her to another great beach, Napili Bay. Yea, we spent about 5 hours on the beach that day, with a nice lunch on the beach and just time relaxing in the sun and playing in the water. We shopped at the mall (both malls here, that's right we only have two malls on the island. And they aren't anything like the Galleria. Oh, how I miss you!), bought all kinds of souvenirs and gifts.
Shopping is something we love doing.... what girl doesn't?!
One thing for sure, you can't come to Maui and not go snorkeling. I didn't work till 4 on the weekend before she left so that Saturday we went snorkeling over by Makena. Granted it was a little cold, yes, I can be a baby about snorleing in cold water, but we still had a great time. And we even saw some turtles! Marina screamed (even with her snorkel and mask on) her head off the first time she saw the turtles. She scared Chris a little, lol! We also saw lots of coral and fish. It was great! That day we also took her to 808 Deli. One of Chris and my favorite lunch places to eat. She loved it!
That Sunday, I worked all day (boo!) so Chris was great and took her snorkeling again at a stop on the way to Lahaina. They didn't see any turtles (I'm the good luck charm) but still had a good time. They went shopping some more in Lahaina and they ate lunch at Da Kitchen. A pretty authentic place here, Da Kitchen is not my favorite, but they liked it. That night, I was writing a restaurant review for 808 Bistro so we went there for dinner. The food was delicious and we all even got to eat for free. A Maui Cordon Bleu, Mahi Mahi and a New York steak - not too bad!
I was off the last two days she was here, so of course that meant more time to act like beach bums. I also took her to Paia. Another one of our favorite little "hippie" towns. Cute little shops, a great gelato place and happy hour cocktails. Another great day!
Her last day was on Tuesday, April 6. We finally didn't have to take Chris to work. It's a little bit of a challenge having one car here, but we're working on it :) We slept in a little, watched Beverly Hills 90210 (yes, we did and we're not afraid to admit it). I made her homemade breakfast tacos and fruit. Next, time to get some beach time in before she left. We spent the next couple of hours at Kamoale 1 and the water felt great! She had some packing left to do so I went to grab us some lunch at another one of our favorite places to eat, Coconuts. She loved her Blackened Mahi Fish burger and my Mahi Ceasar Salad was so fresh.
Time to go to the airport: I couldn't believe it had been two weeks already. We did so many things and experience so much. All in all, we had an amazing time and wont ever forget it. I think we both needed it. We missed each other a lot! Coming up, I know she is going to be super busy with the family she nannies for and I am going to be slammed at the hotel for summer. So it was much needed and well deserved. Even though we gave Chris a hard time "having to deal with us two" he had a great time with us and spending some time with his soon-to-be-sister-in-law. Which by the way, she also helped me with wedding stuff! I don't think we would've had time to do anything else if we wanted to.
Another great thing (see, there were too many) all three of us went to a really nice Easter mass together. I love going to church every Sunday and it was even better to be able to spend that time with my fiance and sister.
That's all for the adventure we spent the past two weeks doing. Stay tune for the next things we'll encounter while living on the beautiful island of Maui.
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