wife wants a farmer.

"All poetry is an ordered voice, one who tries to tell you a vision in the unvisionary language of farm, city, and love" -- Paul Engle

As two suburbanites verging on city dwellers, you might say that Al and I are not exactly the rural type. This news might come as a surprise to anyone who witnessed this spectacle this past weekend:


Yes, my future hubby helped plant corn, pick onions, and drive a tractor. Sadly, these are things I was doing when I was short, bald, and barely walking:


And while I don't think we'll be leaving our urban living any time soon, Al makes a pretty good farmer in training. With all this talk of farming and farm living, it's at least worth mentioning the new t.v. show, "Farmer Wants a Wife." It seems you can make a reality show about just about any thing these days. There seem to be two sorts of wedding-geared reality shows out there: 1) those geared towards finding "the one" (think The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Flavor of Love, Rock of Love...), and 2) those geared towards capturing the chaos/bliss of wedding planning (think Bridezillas, airing this Sunday). I'm sure I'll have more to say about such shows another day, but for now, I speak for myself and say that I don't need a farmer or a city boy, just the boy I have, just the way he is.

Also, expect more wedding planning details soon...

"Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near." -- James 5:7-8

made of HONOR

"Bless you, my darling, and remember you are always in the heart - oh tucked so close there is no chance of escape - of your sister." -- Katherine Mansfield

First of all Happy Memorial Day. Remembering all the amazing people who have served or who continue to serve our country, I wanted to say a special thank you to two of my favorite officers in training: my cousins, Ashley and Nathan.

I planned on composing a very interesting/applicable blog entry this afternoon about a topic that I was going to come up with some time in the last few hours, but instead I was busy helping my baby sister do some last minute packing for her three month visit to Uganda. And while my sister is flying somewhere over the Atlantic right now, I am lying in my bed quite exhausted from all the running around we did in the past 24 hours. So alas, no thoughtful entry today. Instead, since I was talking about my sister, I thought it an appropriate time to introduce my Maid of Honor! Yes, my sister has the privilege/burden of being my MoH... how lucky that my best friend happens to be my kin?! Apparently the MoH has a lot of responsibilities, but I am confident my sister is up to the task. One such task happens to be serving as my "emotional lifeboat" (according to theknot.com). That being said, I hope I don't go too crazy while she's gone. To say the least, she will be missed, but I'm sure she'll be having a ball while doing her part to eradicate malaria in Africa.

And congrats again to my cousin Rachael, who got married over the weekend.

"Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother.'" -- Mark 3:34-35

he puts the AL in alleykat

"I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance, A church filled with family and friends. I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for, He said one that would make me his wife." -- Author Unknown

As if you didn't already know, there are a lot of websites and magazines devoted to brides-to-be like me! I was just browsing one such site with resources for brides in the New York/New Jersey area and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the reception venue that Alphonse and I are looking at (Nanina's in the Park) is the number one featured reception location in the area, according to the site! The discovery made me all the more excited about my wedding.

On a slightly less sunshine-y note, according to theknot.com the second most common bridal mistake is "reading aloud to your fiance from bridal magazines." Apparently guys really don't care what kind of flowers I carry or if my dress is white, off-white, or off-off-white. Who knew?! While I haven't yet reached the "reading from magazines" level of annoying-ness, I do confess to quite often bringing wedding plans into our everyday discussion. And despite historic evidence to the contrary, I am quite happy to share that Alphonse has surprisingly been quite involved in this whole process. In the beginning he said: "Let me handle the music and you can take care of the rest." Since then, however, he has given his input about every aspect of the wedding that we've planned so far. Apparently this is sort of a big deal to him, too... and I'm not going to complain about that at all. We keep each other appropriately sane/silly. :) .

And congrats to my cousin Rachael who is getting married tomorrow! Sadly this means we're getting old, but luckily nothing beats a wedding and a three-day weekend. :) . And early well wishes for Memorial Day.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." -- Philippians 4:6

all in a year.

"In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee/ In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. / In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes / How do you measure a year in the life?" -- 'Seasons of Love' from RENT

Annual review. That was the two word title of the meeting that I had with my boss this morning evaluating my performance over the past year. The meeting was over in about 15 minutes and the day progressed as usual. In the afternoon I visited my friend Peter at Columbia and saw the campus set up for tomorrow's commencement ceremony and as I stood there I felt like it was just yesterday that I was sitting in those seats in front of alma mater. And now, it's evening time and I'm sitting in my empty apartment on this rainy Tuesday mentally packing things up for my move when my year-long lease is up in a month. I'm not sure if it's the weather or the visit to campus or my evaluation this morning, but I'm suddenly feeling very nostalgic. It's hard to believe it's been a year since I graduated and started working full-time.. time flies so quickly. A few highlights of the past year include: graduation, starting work, my first apartment, getting engaged, getting in to medical school. And surprisingly (to me), all this talk of the past makes me really excited about the future-- and all the known and unknown things it holds. Just a few minutes ago Al told me, "I keep telling all my friends how excited I am to marry you. I think they just don't get how much fun we have... I know we're gonna have a blast." I definitely agree. So cheers to 2007, 2008, 2009 and beyond. Hopefully every annual review I have is this enjoyable.

525,600 minutes ago

And since we're talking about time (sorta) I wanted to mention that I've stumbled upon so many "wedding planning countdowns" over the past few months, and with our August 2009 wedding plans well underway, we are by most accounts ahead of schedule! Go team alleykat.

"And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.' " -- Luke 12:19

lights, camera, action!

"A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety." -- Ansel Adams

Yesterday Al and I met with a photo consultant from bellapictures and we came away from the session with nothing but compliments. At the start of the session we went through a few portfolios and talked about what we liked and didn't like (everything from camera angles, to candid vs. posed, to color re-touching) in the different photographs we viewed. Our consultant, Suny, was very friendly and attentive to our comments. We were very impressed by Bella's commitment to finding a photographer with a style to match our interests, affirming the intimate and personal feel of the entire session. So far, they seem like a really good company to work with (and they have the press to prove it), but you might have to wait to see our photographs before we fully endorse them ;) . Plus, they're pretty affordable, as far as wedding photographers and albums go.

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." -- Proverbs 31:30

a rose by any other name...

"Names are not always what they seem" -- Mark Twain

For no particular reason, I thought I'd briefly summarize how I chose the name of my blog: katalmahal. Perhaps this entry is a little overdue, but hopefully it's appreciated, nonetheless. I wanted a name that would be fairly easy to remember, while at the same time, reflective of our relationship. For both Alphonse and I, I know that culture has played an important role in shaping much of who we are today, including our Catholic faith, our value of family, and our love of food. When I was coming up with names, one of the first words that came to mind was a word that I often heard from my parents as I was growing up: 'mahal.' In Filipino (tagalog) the word 'mahal' means 'love.' What better word to describe our relationship than 'love'?! For the first part of the name I just used our nicknames: 'kat' for Katrina, and 'al' for Alphonse. And thus was born katalmahal. I think it looks/sounds pretty good.


A few rejected names included: italianweddingsoup and alleykatwedding. Both of these would have probably worked, but in the end I opted for the shorter name.

And by the way, we're going to see a photographer tomorrow, so expect an update later this weekend!

"And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us." -- 1 John 3:23

making a list, checking it twice.

"On with the dance! let joy be unconfined; / No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet/ To chase the glowing hours with flying feet." -- Lord Byron

On Sunday afternoon Alphonse and I sat down for dinner with our parents. Several hours later our bellies were full and our guestlist was nearly complete. When we were trying to decide who to invite we started naming family and close friends that were absolute musts-- people who were involved in our lives since before we could remember and others who showed up much later but played an important role in one way or another. And then there were friends: classmates from elementary school through college, and even current colleagues. Half way through, the task of narrowing our list down to 200 people or less seemed somewhat daunting. At the end of it, there were, of course, countless more people we wanted to invite, but we realized we couldn't-- weddings are expensive! Still, we want to share this whole experience (from the engagement through the marriage) with as many people as possible. To do so, we were initially planning to just invite everyone to the engagement parties, however, some sources say that doing so is poor etiquette. So instead, we'll hold a few casual get-togethers for everyone to meet both of our families and still take part in this adventure of ours, even though we wish we could invite everyone to the actual wedding!

"May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness— an abundance of grain and new wine." -- Genesis 27:28

thank you mom.

"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." -- Rajneesh

I remember waking up on Mother's Day when I was younger and eagerly running in to my mom's bedroom to give her flowers that my dad helped me pick out. Funny how nearly twenty years later, some things never change. And while my dad wasn't there to help me pick out flowers this time, and my mom wasn't in the room next door when I woke up, I still waited eagerly to give her flowers that were meant just for her. The thing is, no matter how old I get, I know that I will always be my parent's daughter-- their first child, their first baby girl. And as the eldest child in his family, I know Alphonse shares a similar sentiment. Even now with plans to possibly move away for medical school and to one day start a family of our own, we know that we will never be far, in mind or body, from our families and the people we love. And even though it may seem as though every thing else around us is changing, we know that some things, like flowers on Mother's Day, will always be exactly the same.

So without further ado, we would like to say Happy Mother's Day to the two special women that we've been blessed with. Words cannot begin to describe how grateful we are for the ways you've loved us. And even as we continue to plan for our wedding, we are so thankful for all the support and encouragement you've given us so far... only fifteen months to go!

Alphonse, Rosanne, Cathy, Katrina -- Mother's Day 2008

As an aside for other current or future brides-to-be, here are some loose guidelines for the roles of mother of the bride and mother of the groom. Apparently one of the big responsibilities for the MOB is picking out a dress... if only everything in life was so easy/difficult :) .

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." -- Exodus 20:12

let me see you one, two step.

"It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor." -- Marcus Tullius Cicero

With my bikini-clad cruise days still in recent memory and the weather hinting at the start of summer, now seems like an appropriate time to bring up the dreaded "wedding workout plan." It seems I underestimated how big a role this issue would play in my wedding planning-- but I quickly realized my error after scanning a few websites for brides-to-be. Here is just a sampling of the sites I stumbled upon: theknot and bridal guide. I mean, it does make some sense since I plan to remember my wedding forever (and I'll be paying some photographer a lot of money to help me do so!) And considering my wedding might be the single day when I have the most pictures taken of me, it would be nice to look as fit as possible, so then years from now I can show my kids my wedding album and say "See, mommy and daddy used to be so good looking, right?"... or maybe that was just my parents :) . All that being said and done, I will probably try a little harder to eat healthily and go to the gym regularly over the next year or so, but to be honest, Alphonse and I already try to do both of those things, so it shouldn't be too hard. At the end of the day it definitely helps that we often eat and workout together, since fitness is just one of the many ways we can encourage each other!

I may give more details about a specific workout plan closer to the actual wedding date, so check back later if you're interested. Until then, here are a few photos of us baring a little skin and being as silly as usual. Alphonse looooves taking photos, can't you just tell from his facial expressions?!

"but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." -- Isaiah 40:31

a walk in the park...

“In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, / When birds do sing, hey ding a ding; / Sweet lovers love the spring.” -- William Shakespeare

Yesterday Alphonse and I visited Nanina's in the Park (parents and siblings in tow) as a potential venue for our wedding. It was a gorgeous spring day to visit a venue that was just as lovely. I was most impressed by the property grounds and the elegant dining presentation -- they have so many options for cocktail and main sitting dining, including more stations than I can keep track of, specialized chefs for making mozzarella and sushi, individual white glove service for each table, and Romeo and Juliet main course. For more details on the full menu, click here. To say the least, I think you can probably fast for a few days before coming to eat at a celebration here. And to top it all off, the price was amazingly reasonable and the staff was extremely accommodating and helpful. All around, I definitely recommend this location. Here are a few pictures of the venue (click on the photos or check out the website for a better view):



Over the next few weeks Alphonse and I will probably check out a few more places, but we were very pleased with what we saw here.

As a side note, a couple of weeks ago when I was writing about love and sports, Alphonse chimed in and started listing off random facts that he thought I should mention. When I turned to him and said: "Hey, get your own blog!" he paused and responded, "Maybe I will." And thus was born his blog, which I highly recommend. If he listens to me this well during our marriage, it looks like it'll be smooth sailing. :)

"See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come... Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me." -- Song of Solomon 2:11-13

you've got mail!

"To write a good love letter, you ought to begin without knowing what you mean to say, and finish without knowing what you have written" -- Jean-Jacques Rousseau

When we first started planning our wedding, we didn't know quite where to start. After perusing bridal magazines, wedding websites, and blogs of other brides-to-be, we confirmed what we pretty much already knew-- there's a lot that goes in to planning our big day! To figure out how to proceed I asked my cousin Rachael for any advice she had considering she's been planning a wedding of her own for the past year, and will be getting married in a few weeks! One of the things she recommended was to start collecting addresses of family and friends as soon as possible. To that end, if you could email your mailing address to alphonse.katrina@gmail.com, it would be greatly appreciated.

And speaking of things sent and received in the mail, Al and I would like to belatedly thank everyone for their cards or messages of congratulations.

In other news, tomorrow Al and I are going with our families to check out a reception venue for the wedding. Expect a post-visit update!

"You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." -- 2 Corinthians 3:2-3