Hands. Feet. Heart.

I woke up at 6:30, much earlier than usual, and as I sat on the can, Andrew walked in chirpily and I glared and bitched at him: "What the fuck did you sign me up for?"

We spent today - along with a few of his colleagues - volunteering for a house build for Habitat for Humanity. My mood - foul from having to get up early - was worsened by the yucky rain. But by the end of the 7-hour day, I came out feeling great and with a bigger appreciation for the hard work that goes into a house.

We weren't entrusted with major jobs - just cutting/installing baseboards and door frames. But it was so much fun whipping out the tape measure, playing with the power saw/router and just letting out steam in a productive way with the nail gun ("Take that, you passive aggressive shithead!").

I'm not a handy person. In Grade 7, woodshop was the bane of my existence and the one class that puked on my report card. The teacher took pity on my pathetic ass and gave me a sympathy pass for this half-finished, decrepit-looking CD shelf that now serves as a plant stand in my living room. I'm just glad I survived with all 10 fingers in tact.

But today, I gained new skills and confidence - and an appreciation for working with my hands, feet and heart.

Room Of One's Own

It's always been my dream to renovate my parent's house as a gift to them. Sadly, that dream will never happen now.

Ma recently downsized to an apartment, which is great, because she has less things to worry about now and she also has companionship.

She gave Andrew and I free reign to design her room. After spending an entire life of not spoiling herself, she now has new furniture, bedset and drapes. So in a sense, we did fulfill that dream.

I'm thankful

As we observe Thanksgiving in Canada, I feel thankful for:

My family

My husband

My friends

My health

My job

My dreams

And I'm ever hopeful for a better tomorrow and exciting new adventures.

A birthday party for Pa

People who know me well know that I'm always a tad sentimental - and I believe that dreams connect us with a bigger meaning in ways that other channels cannot.

Last night - on Papa's birthday - I took a nap. In my dream, I woke up from my nap in my old room in our old house. There was a birthday party being held for Pa downstairs. I heard voices only - of Papa, Mama, Sa, and Papa's friends and former students.

All the windows in the four bedrooms were open. It was dark outside and a warm wind blew throughout the house; window curtains (which we never had, we only had blinds) were dancing with the wind.

I stepped into Papa and Mama's room. Papa had covered all the walls with the Christmas and birthday cards and the family photos that they used to store in Mama's bedroom desk. On Mama's bedside table, there was a single candle, glowing beautifully.

Then I heard Papa giving Mama a cheque for $300 downstairs. Then Mama joked that this was the first time he ever gave her a gift - that was not an apple.

It was a nice celebration. I woke up from my nap at 11:03 p.m.

Our Wedding - The 411 and 101

We can't argue with the cliche. Your wedding day is one of the happiest day of your life. So how blessed Andrew and I are to experience this bliss three times.

Instead of a traditional big wedding, we opted to do three smaller, intimate gatherings: a ceremony/reception with Andrew/my mom's family and a few close friends, a bbq with friends, and a remembrance dinner during my dad's birthday this September.

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Vision: Simple, cozy, meaningful



We wanted our wedding journey to be simple and non-traditional. No bachelor party, no traditional church wedding, no photography and DJ services, no wedding slideshow, no first dance...

We wanted each celebration to be small and meaningful - because we find large weddings impersonal. We are very glad we did it this way, because we got to spend time with all our guests. Although we weren't able to invite everyone we wanted to, we were touched by everyone's - for the most part - kindness and greetings.

Advice we can now share: It's your day(s). Follow your heart and do what feels real for you.

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The ceremony



We did our ceremony at the Toronto Weddding Chapel - which fits 35 people. It has a wonderful simple elegance.

The officiant was fantastic and put us at ease. We asked to review her notes beforehand and cut it significantly - because we didn't want to put everyone through a long, boring ceremony. With that said, we were laughing so hard up there. When she gave us the green light to kiss, I lunged after Andrew and he thanked me for doing so afterwards, because he said he was about to pass out.

Wedding party: Andrew's parents, my mom, and our sisters. My cousin Tracy was the flower girl and my Grade 9 teacher's son was the ring bearer.
Our witnesses: Our sisters Jennifer and Sarah.
Song during walk down the aisle: Break the Ice by Britney Spears
Song during certificate signing From this Moment On by Shania Twain
Song during exit from chapel: Celebration by Madonna

Advice we can now share: There are no rules when it comes to your ceremony. Have some fun with it - and have a shot of tequila beforehand.

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Reception 1 - Black Tie



Our two August receptions took place at our condo party room. We liked the venue's coziness and saw its potential early on - with its French doors, natural sunlight, and outside water fountain.

We wanted all three receptions to be intimate. The first reception was formal, black tie. Andrew did a fantastic job with the decor - from the silver candleaubras from Fos Decor Centre, to the rose oasis balls, and beautiful damask runners from Around the Table.

We hired The Amazing Food Service to cater our sit-down dinner. They've done a great job for my work events and my friend's wedding. As a whole, their service and food were excellent - although the crab claw - their first try ever - was a bit of a fail (too small!).

Andrew and I also researched and created and served our own signature drink - a raspberry/blueberry cosmopolitan - along with the champagne, white and red wines.

Favourite part of the evening? Sitting down and spending time with each of our guests, and saying a few words of thanks to our family and friends for the love and laughs over the years.

Advice we can now share: With a little imagination and research - you can make an atypical place into your dream reception venue.

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Reception 2 - Cottage Backyard BBQ



We held a separate reception for 35 friends - including those we couldn't invite to our formal reception. We wanted it to feel like a casual summer dinner party you'd have at a good friend's cottage backyard.

So we threw a bbq. We hired Ginger Island to cater the bbq and they did a great job, especially the yummy chocolate sushi. Sa kindly contributed a lechon. Instead of a cake, we got wedding cupcakes from The Cupcake Shoppe. Half were Andrew and half were Ab. cupcakes.

Andrew did another awesome job with decor. It was simplier than the formal reception, but something just as beautiful and well-thought-out. We showered the ceiling with Martha Stewart tissue pom poms (above). They were a labour of love project between Andrew, our friend Megan and I for four weeks - and with the help of Sa and our friends Edward and the hag, we stayed up till 2am the night before to get these babies up.

At the request of our friends Glen, Jenny and Irene, we did the most ghetto-ass dance floor in the party room. We didn't have a lot of space - but we managed to fit in a disco light unit I found from Sunshine Sound . It really added a lot to the ambience of the place. And with DJ iPod - and a little alcohol - on our side, it ended up being a lot of fun for those who embraced its cheesy funness.

Favourite part? Again, I don't mean to sound sentimental, but it was being able to spend time with our guests and to enjoy their company. We also wished four of our friends who are getting married in the next year - as well as two friends who celebrated their 20th anniversary - well by giving each of them a good luck rose.

Advice we can now share: Black tie isn't everything. If the mood calls for something different - like, say, a bbq - why not?

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Reception 3 - Remembrance dinner for Papa

On September 5, during his birthday weekend, we will do a dinner to remember Pa. After considering numerous venues, we decided on Paradise - the fine-dining Chinese restaurant that was also the venue we celebrated his birthday with last year and the last restaurant he ate at before his death on September 18.

It will be a simple dinner, with some of his favourite dishes.

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Papa's visit

The night before our ceremony, I had a dream about Papa. We were in our old kitchen and he was tutoring a student. I walked in and was so happy to see him. Then I realized that he had died and I crouched to my knees and started crying. He came to me and said, "Don't be sad. I'll always be here for you."

The weather forecast had predicted thunder showers on our wedding day. The day began with dark clouds and it poured like hell all morning. Then two hours before our ceremony, it stopped and the sun came out shining. It stayed out until all our guests were seated in the reception and then it began to pour again, adding such a beautiful ambience to our dim candle-lit party room. Then it stopped raining as guests were about to leave.

I truly believe that was Papa's gift to Andrew and I - and his way of telling and showing us that he was there with us on our wedding day.

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What next?

While being married hasn't changed anything between us, it does feel more official. And having gone through this wonderful - and fucking stressful at times - process, the one thing it has shown us is that we are a strong unit together. And that together, the future is filled with so many possibilities.

Panama-mama

Three weeks ago, Andrew and I were sitting at the Grill House restaurant of the Royal Decameron resort in Panama, about to enjoy a steak dinner. Our vacation seems like a lifetime ago. Here are some highlights. You can also view the fuller recap.

Favourite Moment: Yayas Waterfalls

The second of our two excursions took us to the beautiful Yayas Waterfalls (above). Swimming in the cave pools was awesome. The water was blisteringly refreshing. I wanted to stay in there all day.





Cutest Moment: Monkeys

The Panama Canal Expedition took us on a boat ride through the canal, a walking tour of the rainforest, and a stop to feed the inhabitants on Monkey Island. The monkeys clearly stole the show.



Resort Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Boracay Regency in Philippines remains our best resort experience. But the Royal Decameron wasn't bad. The rooms were clean, the staff were friendly and the a la carte restaurants made the boring buffet tolerable. But the uphill/downhill walks from the room to the beach/buffet and back got tiresome. But it was nice to get away!



To see it is to believe it: The Panama Canal

The canal is Panama's #1 industry, making $4 million daily. Sailing through the central region was like taking a ride through cottage country, until a giant ship appears. A ship like the one above pays $250,000 to get through. But it only takes 6-8 hours to sail through the canal versus 2 weeks around South America. I'm glad to have been able to see the canal.

Happy Father's Day, Pa.

9 months for a new life to come into this world. 9 months ago, a life was taken away from this world. Tomorrow is the first Father's Day we're observing without Pa. But in our hearts, he's still alive. Just off on an extended trip to the Big Land Farm supermarket.


One of my fave pictures. :-)


Getting my graduation from junior kindergarten certificate. Pa valued education more than anything.


At the suspension bridge in Vancouver, BC, in April 1989. En route from the Philippines to our new life in Toronto, Canada. Did I look queer or what?


The chain was a phase, let's leave it at that.


I was really pissed off when we took this photo, but it's one of the nicer family photos we have. LOL.


His surprise 85th birthday in 2007. I wish he could've lived till we threw him a big 90th birthday party.