Saturday, September 20, 2008

may i have this dance?

"Music, when soft voices die, Vibrates in the memory" -- Percy Bysshe Shelley

A couple of weeks ago I asked my dad what song he wanted to dance to for our Father-daughter dance. He said he didn't know, so I decided to throw out a few options to get his wheels turning. Here are a few of the songs I suggested:
  • Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles (here) -- because it's a happy optimistic song and growing up my dad always used to play the Beatles in the house because they're his favorite group.

  • Somewhere Over the Rainbow, any version, but I especially like this one -- just because I love this song and it seems like a good "new start" song.

  • You are the Sunshine of My Life by Stevie Wonder (here) -- because I love this song too and because my dad is my sunshine and my inspiration, and because Stevie has brought a lot of good to my life so far, I mean, Al proposed to me during Stevie!

  • Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle (here) -- because I've loved this song for years ever since my babysitter used to play it for me and my siblings.

  • What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong (here) -- because it's such an optimistic song... Can you tell I like optimistic songs?! I can't help it, I'm so optimistically mushy about my future with my boy.

He likes Butterfly Kisses best, and said that he actually had that in mind before. The only bad thing about that song is that I cry every single time I hear it! I don't know why, but it gets me so emotional, especially the end! And if I'm crying when I'm listening to it in my bedroom, I can only imagine the happy/sad emotional mess I'll be on my wedding day. For now the song hunt continues... To hear/see what we finally decide you'll have to wait until 08-23-09!

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." -- 1 John 3:1

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

simply the best!

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero." -- Marc Brown

I just realized that even though I announced my MoH a while ago, I never announced Alphonse's Best Man! That honor belongs to none other than Alphonse's baby brother, Stephen. And being the good BM that he is, he's informed us that he's already started working on his speech! Of course there's a lot more than just a speech that goes into being the BM, just check out this list. Luckily there are websites like thebestman.com that make everything on that list seem like a walk in the park (definitely a fun website, even if you, like me, are not a best man :P).

Unfortunately, the photos you see below are the best I can provide based on what I have on my computer at this time. But since Steve is now my brother for life, I'm sure there will be many other opportunities for Steve-Al-Kat or Kat-Steve-Al photos, and any other permutations in between. TOP: At the PA engagement party. Alphonse is usually more clothed and Steve is usually more smiley, but you get the idea :) . BOTTOM: All of my current and future siblings at Nanina's. I have no idea why it's so blurry, but it does look kinda artsy.


"And when God had me wander from my father's household, I said to her, 'This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, ''He is my brother.''" -- Genesis 20:13

Monday, September 15, 2008

engagement party recap!

"You are my very greatest earthly blessing." -- Martha Finley
This past Saturday was our NJ engagement party hosted by my lovely future in-laws, Rosanne and Alan. Everything turned out quite perfect, from the food to the dancing to the fellowship. And speaking of perfect things, that boy of mine said all the right things all weekend... He always makes it so hard to leave him, and he makes me wanna marry him right now!

We both would like to thank everyone who came out and made the event so enjoyable for us, whether you traveled for hours by car or train, or whether you just took a stroll down the street... We're glad that you were able to share in our happiness and we're very blessed to have you all in our lives. And of course there were many that were missed, but there will be plenty of time to celebrate over the next year! And in the midst of all the picture-taking and people-greeting we did, we were told that that was just a small dose of what we'll have to do at our wedding, so any interim celebrations will be good practice! :) . Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment, feel free to email us others at alphonse.katrina@gmail.com!

Click to enlarge.


For more pictures, click here. And a few other random tidbits that I wanted to share: (1) congrats to my se17-mate Len, who recently got engaged (I think this captures the moment pretty well), (2) as of this afternoon I'm through with another one of those dreaded med school exams, and (3) someone bought the toy car that Al added to our registry (now we're waiting in anticipation to see who did it!)

"I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings" -- 1 Corinthians 9:23

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

him + me + sports = ?

"Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul" -- Max Ehrmann
This past Monday marked the end of Week 1 of football season. And with the Mets vs. Phillies series wrapping up over the weekend it is once again quite clear to us why our original plan to have a September wedding was a poor idea. While I may be the love of Alphonse's life, I can't really compete with that "other" love of his life, sports. And to be fair, he did love baseball and football long before he even knew me, so I can see this fight for Al's heart/his Monday nights ending badly. Instead, we've decided to just all get along (sports, Al, and me)... We've bonded over many a game (live or on tv), and I even have my very "own" fantasy football team this year (perhaps a bad idea for med school). The three-way relationship seems to be working out quite peacefully so far...

us dressed up in Mets gear. click to enlarge.

Also, the NJ engagement party is this weekend, and I'm extremely excited to see everyone (even though I have an exam Monday morning... why?!) Check back for a post-party picture update :)

"David said to Saul, 'Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him'" -- 1 Samuel 17:32

Saturday, September 6, 2008

old school chucks.


"True Love is like a pair of socks: you gotta have two and they've gotta match" -- Unknown
A couple of days ago, Alphonse informed, out of the blue, that he wanted to buy a pair of old school canvas Converse Chucks. I thought the news was ironic since earlier that week I read a blog about how it's increasingly common that grooms, brides, and bridal parties are going casual with the wedding footwear. And while I don't see us going the "Chucks with the Tux" route any time soon, I'm sure we'll find some fun, creative ways to express ourselves on our big day, since we are, after all, fun, creative people.


"'Do not come any closer,' God said. 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.'" -- Exodus 3:5

Thursday, September 4, 2008

one GIANT night.

"The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us" -- Ashley Montagu
Tonight was the first night of football season, opened with a win by none other than our Superbowl XLII champs, the NY Giants. As the first regular season game since their amazing end-of-the-season run last year, this was quite an exciting night for Giant fans, such as my future hubby (who had food catered for the event with his buddies, sans the wives/girl friends). Now you may be wondering what tonight or the Giants or football has to do with our wedding planning. Well, in fact it has everything to do with our wedding! As I told you many months ago, Al proposed to me the Thursday after the Superbowl because he "was having such a good week, that he just had to do it!" And he said that his original plan was to propose the following week, on Valentine's Day, but who knows... without that Giants confidence/happiness boost, he could still be just my boyfriend (although I don't know why he said he was nervous, of course I was always going to say "yes.") So thank you, NY Giants, for winning the Superbowl and making Alphonse's week/our life so wonderful.

And congrats to my SE17 friends, Mark and Pam, who recently got engaged!

Superbowl XLII with my boy

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" -- Deuteronomy 31:6

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

i'm with the band...

"My idea is that there is music in the air, music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you require." -- Edward Elgar
It's been a week since my last entry (which is forever in blog-land), but in my defense I did spend the last 7 days traveling to NY and back, spending a lot of time with my sister and my honey, and studying for yesterday's medical school exam... so it's been a busy past few days! But now that I finally have a few moments, I just wanted to give you a couple of exciting updates about our planning...

1) The band is booked! We've chosen The Infernos, a lovely 13-piece ensemble of Jersey's finest. Check out their website for more info and to hear a few of their songs. Now we just have to pick a few "must-have" songs for our big day...

2) Another engagement celebration is in our midst! Stay tuned for a post-engagement party photo recap in a few weeks.

The Infernos

Overall, I'm very excited. Things are moving along little by little... even though there's still so much to plan! And with medical school taking over all spare moments of my life, I'm feeling like a bit of a wedding planning slacker. But alas, things always seem to work out as they should in the end, and I'm sure this is no exception. :)

Also, in addition to being a wedding planning slacker, I might be a blogging slacker over the next few months as I adjust to medical school. But fret not, check out our long-distance relationship blog (spearheaded by miss rhea) or Al's sports blog for reading entertainment in the meantime.

"My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music" -- Psalm 57:7