Tonight I Celebrate My Love For You

Well, not really!

But I am celebrating! =)

Today, Sunday, April 5th of 2009, the following people are coming to our wedding:

1. my parents (2)

2. Mr. JB's parents and his little brother (3)

3. my brother and his family plus his mother in law (5 -- 3 adults plus 2 kids)

4. my sister and her family (3 - 2 adults plus 1 kid)

That means..there'll be at least 12 people at our wedding, including us. ha ha ha! I'm laughing because when we planned our wedding, we expected those folks to be there but to have booked the trips for all of them, it's such a relief! Unbelieveable! I'm speechless! I didn't think this will happen this soon. I guess the invitations I gave them made the event seems more official then just me inviting them verbally!

I was on the phone with Costco travel for a good 3 hours doing all of this. I booked my parents and my sister's trip first. Then, I booked my future in laws on a second call, and then my brother's family's trip!

WOW...it's so exciting! It's such a relief.

I just told Mr. JB about how I'm very excited about this and I got all emotional! I actually cried. ha ha. Such a cry baby!

On a side note, I also have to say that we're expecting Mr. JB's older brother and his family to be there as well. Supposedly, they've already got their trip planned. So..that's another 6 (2 adults and 4 kids), which means..there'll be 14 adults and 7 kids at our wedding!!! Wow..it's getting big already. ha ha!

I'm just not that into you

To the poofy dress!

I was watching "Say Yes to the Dress" show on TLC and I was watching about Grace and Tate. Grace is in school to be a designer and Tate owns a shoe store or something rather. Anyhoo, Grace designed a dress, which was simple and yet elegant. BUT she went to a friend's wedding and had a dress envy. I think 46 days before the wedding, they decided to go to Kleinfeld to try on dresses...

Don't get me wrong! Some of the dresses there are very nice.... BUT it's just not my style. I think it's because our location in Maui and I can't imagine being "stuck" in a big poofy dress...

So, after trying on 3 dresses (I think), she choose one that was so purty! I don't know where it is on their website and I'm not about to go look for it. It has a bow and it's tight til the hip and flares out. PURTY!

You're such a party pooper!

You know what I hate? Party poopers!

I hate how everybody has an opinion on something... This is what Mr. JB usually says to me: "opinions are like assholes; everybody has one and they stinks!" ha ha. Now, you see why I'm going to marry him? =)

Okay, since the beginning of our engagement, when we tell people that we're going to get marry in Maui, some are very excited for us and says "wow, that'd be really awesome". Some, on the other hand, are just plain nasty! Here are some stupid comments we have heard over our engagement and up to today (4/3) when we dropped off one more invitation:

1. Maui? Why? You know it's expensive there, right? (No, shit, really?)

2. What? Maui? Are you going to pay for us to get there? (What the? Do we look like we're freaking rich? Do you not realize that I'm just a student?)

3. What? Why can't you just get married here? (Let me get this straight: you want me to give up on my dream wedding so that YOU can attend?)

4. How come you're having it so far away? (Because it's my wedding and I can do whatever I want to?)

5. Well, I see the invitation but where's the plane tickets? (Um...no.....)

Well, you get the point. Let me just say this: these comments piss me off. Who the hell do people think they are? Do they think that they're being helpful in any way at all?? A wedding is for two people who are celebrating their love for each other and joining each other for life. And they want to make their union a special occasion. If they choose to have their special day in Maui or any where, it's their day and you should let them be!

Keep your comments to yourself!

We are giving you the invitations and are hoping that you join us as we celebrate our loves for each other. If you can't attend in any way, just simply reply in the response card and mail it back BUT please keep your comments to yourself. We'd love for you to join us but if you can't make it, then let it be! We know that people are in their own unique situations but we're also hoping that people will use our wedding as a way to enjoy their lives by going on a vacation with us.

Here's my two cents:

If you think of going to Maui just to go to our wedding, then you will not go. Think: I'm going on a vacation and I will save that Friday to go enjoy FREE dinner with good company. We're only asking you to spend that Friday with us.

And another thing: we've given most people two years to plan for this trip. If you can't save your money, then you simply don't want to go / can't go. It's okay. We totally understand...BUT please...no whinning.

Simply put: we would love for you to join us as we celebrate our loves for each other but if you can't, then you can't. We're sad that you won't be there but please..keep your comments to yourself!

Good bye my darlings...

Spending time with you, my darlings, have been great. And it was great getting to know each one of you individually over the last few weeks. Although I will be sad that you are no longer with me, I'm glad to see that you're going to good homes......

I'm talking about my invitations. =)

I received my personalized stamps on Thursday (4/2) at my mom's house (good thing I stopped by there cuz I thought I mailed them here to our house; hee hee). I was so happy to see the stamps! These stamps are GREAT. OMG! I was totally speechless!! Woww... They are GORGEOUS! ha ha. I was totally in love!

In case you can't tell, it's C and J, put together to form a heart with two love bugs. Mr. JB did a great job in creating this design, in my opinion. The love bug on C represents Mr. JB and the love bug on J represents me. And if you look very closely, they're touching each other. Hee hee. Settle but very meaningful to us. =)

So, on Friday, I put all our invitations together. I used the heart stamps to put on the reply envelopes, cuz I was thinking that if the invitations cost us 59 cents, then I can just buy the 59 cents heart stamps from the post office and have them match. And if the post office tells me that the cost to mail out an envelope is $1 then, I can use our custom stamps on top of the 59 cents. Good idea, right? Well...let's just say that's not how it happened.

Our sealed invitations -- the horizontal ones are to be mailed and the vertical ones are to be hand delivered.

Right before I went to the post office, I was on weddingbee reading and the board has a post about hand cancelling. I was thinking to myself: what the heck is that? I read and read some more and thought it was a good idea for me to ask the post office. So, I went to the post office on 28th Avenue and Taraval Street. Good thing I found parking. As I was waiting in line, I heard my youngest aunt's voice. I thought to myself: is that really her? So, I called my aunt to tell her from the front. And then she came outside to say hello and such. And I gave our invitation to her. And then I asked her about hand cancelling. She said, they don't usually do it at that post office and that when they did, they charged the customers. And when it was my turn to the counter, I asked the postman how much each invitation will cost us in terms of mailing. And guess what he said: A DOLLAR! Oi! Alright, I was prepared. I told him that I'd like to buy the 59 cents heart stamps and guess what he said? "Sorry, we ran out of 59 cents stamps!" WHAT! You're the post office for goodness sake. I also asked him about the hand cancelling. And he said that they only usually do it if it was just one or two pieces but because he knows my aunt, he will let me hand cancel my invitations by letting me having the stamp to do it. WOW. Okay. BUT there was no 59 cents stamps! UGH! I still used him to mail the invitation to Mr. JB's grand-aunt and uncle, who lives in El Salvador. That costed me $1.95.

Then I went to the post office on Sloat Plaza and asked them to weigh the invitation again. Ha ha. I know. I thought the cost will be different. Hee hee. And guess what that postwoman said? "Oh, I think we ran out of the 59 cents stamps!" WHAT!!! Geez! Are you serious? And she said "ask Willie, that gentleman at that counter". I also asked that postwoman about hand cancelling and she said, ask Willie about it because he's the boss. So, I went to go see Willie. Willie looked like a Santa Clause who was on his spring break. He has long white beard and mastache and everything, just like a Santa Clause.

Willie looked at his stamps book and he was flipping through it and said, well, I don't have any 59 cents stamps. But I do have 58 cents stamps. "Well, that's perfect", I said! My invitations are going to cost me $1 each and I already have 42 cents stamps. Can I see what the stamps look like? He showed me the stamps with Margaret Smith. I have no idea who that was/is but I still bought the stamps. What? Should I have gone to another store to see if they had 59 cents stamps. I already went to two stores and they both had none. I wasn't going to spend my Friday afternoon chasing the stupid 59 cents stamps. Whatever. I bought them.

I asked Willie about the hand cancelling and he said, well, just bring them a day before and we can see what we can do. I said, oh alright. I put all the stamps at the post office and asked Willie again about the hand cancelling. He said, well, we can't do it if there are a lot of people. I said, um...do you think you can hand cancel them now since there aren't a lot of people right now. I was so lucky at that moment because there was only one person in line after me. And I also told Willie that there was only 18 invitations that needed to be mailed out. He said "18, eh". I said, "yes, sir, just 18". He took them with him..and I followed him around like a little puppy. He went behind the counter and hand cancelled each one of them!!!! Woww...I was shocked. I didn't even know what hand cancelling was until that Friday and Mr. Willie the postman hand cancelled each one of my invitations! Wow..who said customer service isn't grand at the post office. WOWWWHHEEE! Okay, I'm excited about it, but I don't think any of the people I sent the invitations to will notice. ha ha.

The top picture is machine cancelled and the bottom picture is hand cancelled.

After my post office experience, I stopped by at the following places:

** my grandmother/3rd aunt/2nd uncle

** my 5th uncle

** my 2nd aunt/my cousin Jessica

** my 1st aunt

And I was very tired after that. =)

Bye Bye My Darlings...

Spending time with you, my darlings, have been great. And it was great getting to know each one of you individually over the last few weeks. I'm talking about my invitations. =)

I received my personalized stamps yesterday at my mom's house (good thing I stopped by there cuz I thought I mailed them here to our house, hee hee). I was so happy to see the stamps! The result of the stamps was GREAT. OMG! These stamps are GORGEOUS! ha ha. I was totally in love!

Sigh...;)

How cute is this?

From Etsy: A special keepsake for the Mother of the Groom, or Mother of the Bride on that special day!

Mother of the Groom

"Your son is such a special man
And I know that it is true
He would not be the man I love
If it were not for you
So if upon our wedding day
You shed a happy tear
Just save it in this handkerchief
And know I hold you dear"

Mother of the Bride
"I feel so very fortunate
And know that it is true
She would not be the woman I love
If it were not for you
So if upon our wedding day
You shed a happy tear
Just save it in this handkerchief
And know I hold you dear"

My day in ER and at post conference

Normally, I don't like to talk about school. BUT I must today. =)

I was in the emergency room to do my clinical rotation this week. Yesterday was a long day but I didn't get to do much. The nurse I was shadowing felt that the patients he was getting were hard sticks and that he should do them his own. So, he did everything. I just basically shadowed him and was his little "go get this, go get that" girl. ha ha. Oh actually, now that I think about it, I learned how to put the 12 lead EKG.

Anyhoo, today I had a different nurse. And she asked what year I was in and what I'm capable of. I told her the same thing I told the nurse yesterday. So, she said, okay, I'll see what you can help with. She told all the nurses in the ER that if they needed to "stick" anyone, to let her know so that she can let me know! How cool is that? And when she wasn't busy, she would walk around the ER to see if anyone had a patient that needed and IV running. She was so cool. So..I had a few patients that needed to get their IV started. She was with me while I did the IV start and talked me into it. THANKFULLY, all the IVs were in the veins like they were supposed to!!! WHOO WHEE! Oh wait. There was a lady who had a twisting vein. So, even though I was holding her veins down, it twisted a bit. I was able to see blood and able to flush the IV with normal saline...BUT it blew. =( But I still considered that a success cuz I still was able to get blood back and was able to flush her line. ha ha.

I was busy helping that patient out the whole time and I was able to give her meds (Dilaudid) all the time. So, I was late to the post conference held by my teacher. And a few minutes after I walked in, the teacher said, "no more prepping". I said, "excuse me, I don't think I heard you. What did you say? Did you say no more prepping?" She said, yes, no more prepping. I was so overwhelmed! I started crying!! In front of my classmates, mind you. ha ha. I couldn't help myself. I was so emotional because that means we're getting near the end. I mean, of course I knew we're nearing the end. I kept track of how many weeks we have left as a student nurse. BUT to have it validated by your teacher. WOWW. I was in tears! I still can't believe it!

Let me give you a little background and maybe you'll see my excitement:

Since school started, we had to go to the hospital a day before to get the information we needed for our patients. That included, looking at the patients' diagnosis, medications, and labs. And then we come home to prep for them, which included making a care plan. In the beginning of the nursing program, we only had to prepare for 1 patient. Then 2 patients, and then 3 patients. We were also picking up new patients when we get on the floor because some of the patients we have prepped for the day before were discharged by the time we get to the floor the following day. So, that meant, we spent hours preparing for a patient who were not able to take care of anymore. That was frustrating and was a pain in the you know what.

So, by us not having to prep anymore, we will not be required to go to the hospital the day before and we will not have to prepare for our patients the night before either. So, all around, lots of time saving! BUT that means, you better know your sh!t because you're responsible for your patient from the beginning of shift until the end and you won't have your computer to help you "guide" your patient care...

Sigh...what a week! And it's only Wednesday. ha ha.