Supplies!

(As told by Annie, and posted by Anthony)
For those of you who are not sure if they should be offended, the title is in reference to an old and very, very stereotypical Asian joke, the punch line being an Asian man jumping out of a supply closet and yelling, "Supplies!" as opposed to "Surprise!" due to the fact that he cannot pronounce his "r's." Ha ha, ho ho? Sigh.
So anyway, on September 25 we had a "supplies" of our own. What we thought was another Paraiso family party (Tito Boyet and Tita Eva's anniversary) turned out to be a surprise engagement party thrown by the bridesmaids (Celeste, Rosie, and Leana) and maid of honor (Ate Cristina) and the aunts (Tita Baby, my Ninang (Tita Neng), and Tita Eva) and held at Tito Boyet's and Tita Eva's house.
My mom, dad, and DJ's duty was to get us to the party. As we rounded the corner, my mom asked, "Shouldn't we call to tell them we're here?" Anthony and I still didn't catch on. As we opened the door, everyone yelled, "Surprise." Lots of family was there, from both sides. It was so nice to know that everyone took the time out for us. All of the wedding party were there, too (minus some of the sponsors, which are still undetermined, and one flower girl, Isobelle). And even better, they all had the themed shirts that I'd been wanting for a while.
OK, let's back up here to talk about the joke of the day. Raise your hand if you've ever "Googled" yourself. Type in your name, see what is on the Internet about you? THANK YOU! It's very interesting what comes up. Apparently, NO ONE had ever "Googled" themselves, and I turned out to be the weird stalker lady that has nothing to do but "Google" myself. Even the aunts and uncles that don't really mess with the Internet knew the meaning of "Googled yourself (include heavy Filipino accent)" by the end of the night, and were making fun of me. Anyway, I found the shirts online because my sister was working with Leana and her cousin's friend to get the shirts made, and I happened to stumble upon the designs when I looked my name up. I still didn't catch on that this may be for a surprise. I had mentioned that I wanted shirts made a long time ago, and figured that my sister was having them created in time for the rehearsal dinner or something. I wasn't suspicious at all.
Back to the story, so everyone was there, wearing their spiffy shirts, and I couldn't say a word. Anthony was laughing; I think he does that when he's embarrassed or he doesn't know what to say. We were so surprised. Turned out to be a very fun party with all of the immediate family and close relatives there. My dad made a very touching toast, as well as my bro, DJ, and also Anthony. The theme of the party were our wedding colors, brown and pink. It made me realize that everything looks great in those colors and that we made a good choice. It also made me realize that Anthony and I had made the right choices in picking our wedding party. From the party, a bachelor party committee was born, and I know the boys are working hard to come up with a great get-together for the Groom-To-Be. He loves strippers (just kidding), so don't forget to hire strippers (just kidding).
It was a great party, with great food, and I wanted to thank everyone involved. I don't want to get sappy here, but seriously, we were very touched that everyone went through so much trouble to keep the party a secret and for making the party happen. It was a beautiful set-up and we loved every minute of it.
In other news, I picked up my dress! Weeeeee! Although it needs to be taken in a LOT in the upper torso area (hahahaha), it's a pretty good fit and I'll be going for my final fitting early next year.
We've still got a lot to do, but I feel okay for right now. We've done a lot already to offset what else needs to be done. One thing I am worried about, though, is my hair and makeup. I am not sure what to do with that, since I have a clear picture of what I want with both (I've got exact pics and everything), but I am having trouble trying to figure out how expensive is TOO expensive, and how I can find someone that can make sure my hair won't be deflated by the end of the night. This is my biggest worry. I have numerous dreams (make that nightmares) where it's the wedding day, and I forgot to book hair and make up and then I end up crying in my bathroom curling my own hair and doing my own make up. I keep dreaming I forget something, like the food, or the giveaways, or the tuxedos, or the flowers. As I type this, my hands are shaking as I think of all the things that could go wrong. Yikes. And I don't even drink caffeine.
Also, we've hired coordinators for the rehearsal and wedding day, so that way our families don't have to take too much responsibility on those days, and just be able to relax and enjoy.
Getting excited! In a few weekends, Anthony and I are off to our Catholic Engaged Encounter retreat, so hopefully he and I will learn more about each other and get a lot out of it. Like maybe he doesn't want kids and then I have to pull a Renee Zellweger and point and yell, "Fraud!" in front of everyone. Or that I prefer to sleep in separate twin beds, like in "I Love Lucy." We can wear matching pajamas and everything.
Stay tuned.
xoxo, Annie
(see below for pictures...more to come soon)