Wedding Prep--Austin, Texas

Today I was asked what the best day ever was to me. No doubt, my wedding has been absolutely the best of the best. There is just something about being with the one person that you love the most. However before the big day, there was a lot of planning!

Hummingbird House, Austin Texas.

If you read my post on our proposal, know that we tried to take one day off before all the craziness began. Make sure to let your family know personally about this big step in your life! You do not want to be in an awkward situation where your parents find out about it through  facebook. To us, our family was first. We called our parents a few hours after being together. We talked to them and shared their happiness with them. The following day, we shared the news with closed friends. I did it by text as I didn't have facebook to do a "status update."

I'm guessing for each couple it is a bit different on how they want to approach the planning. For us here's how it kind of happened and some advice.

1) Budget--We talked about how much money we were planning on spending. This is big! Before going to pinterest and claiming "this is my wedding" there must be a reality check on what to get with the money you have. My parents were also willing to help us out and pay forward so it was better for us to pay in installments for the venue, dress, etc. 

2) Pinteresting--I loved getting ideas from pinterest. Again! Make sure to know what really is most important to have. 

3) Location--We visited about 5 places in Austin together to get a feel. Note that pictures can be deceiving so go into the place. Some of the areas you see on pictures look larger than they actually are. We ended up choosing Hummingbird house. When I walked in, I could just feel it was going to be a magical place. And I could really see our wedding being here. This place had a hint of nature and modern touch. The price was in our budget and wasn't the most expensive of all the places we visited. Wherever you go make sure to always ask what is included in the price. This will allow you to also know whether you need to obtain anything additional. Hummingbird house did not provide a kitchen--for us this meant when we were selecting food vendor we had to make sure that they could provide a kitchen themselves or a way to warm up the food and complete all the prep outside. Also review closely the contract!

For our ceremony we choose my church in Pflugerville. As a side note, make sure you let your priest know at least 6 months to a year in advance about the wedding. Giving long term notice, allowed me and my fiance to take the required classes on time. We also paid for using the church this day.

Ceremony Location: St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church
http://www.stelizabethpf.org/

More pictures on the following blog.

Reception Location: Hummingbird House
http://hummingbirdhouseaustin.com/home/

The venue had AC so even if  our wedding was in June, our guest were cool inside. Love the all windows feel!            

Water + Flowers

Gold and Purple everything!

Yummy Cake. Red velvet.

I love these because my husband and I made each of them. They have lavender, eucalyptus and rosemary! We purchased the bottles at Amazon and we stamped all the stickers. We got the stamp at Office Depot

We had a painting I made with Austin's skyline for our guests to sign.

4) Date--We selected a date based on location availability. I was not crazy about June (because I felt it would be too hot) however this was the month that my family could make it. Again the money factor comes into place for date. Some venues have a breakdown and cheaper prices winter months.

5) Guest list--My fiance and I literally sat for 3 hours and brainstormed on every person we knew. Then we ranked them on basis of must be invited, would be nice to invite, not necessarily need to invite, no big deal if they are not invited. We also made sure to capture the number of guest that the location could hold. Guest number will change how much you are spending on booze and food. 

We made sure to list +1 as well on our estimates.

6) Bridesmaids, Groomsmen, and MOH. Asking your bridesmaids and groomsmen if they are available also very important! They should also know what they are getting into. For example they would need to be available for the rehearsal and they will probably be spending $ for their tux and dress.

6.5) Engagement picture: These are really not necessary, but it was for us part of all the magic! We were traveling to Brazil, and since my uncle lives there, he had a contact of someone who really knew the best places to take pictures!

This shot in Brazil was so fun! We already had a trip planned so we just went for it!

A little sepia never hurt!

The date picture is a must too! :-) Specially if you are in a beach!

7) Wedding Coordinator: Because a wedding has so many moving parts to it, we decided to hire a wedding coordinator. Actually, we just hired Dream Weddings. They were absolutely amazing. They took care of the food, flower arrangements, decor of the venue and overall coordination. This was great for us as we thought it would be hard to coordinate everyone on the day of the wedding. Having all these moving parts under one umbrella helped us a bunch!

http://dreamweddingsofaustin.com/

Sometimes coordinators might have an idea of what should be happening. Make sure that they know what is on your mind. They have a lot of experience and can give you ideas, but ultimately, you decide how the timeline will be. For us, we wanted to give a speech. We got a few looks from them, but I wanted to say a few words, and my fiance wanted to recite a poem. We did and we had no regrets.

8) Music DJ: The best way for us to know if we wanted him was by going to one of his events! We stopped downtown to hear dj Aaron from Altared weddings. They were clear to tell us that some of his events were not related to their company, but we just wanted to get a feel, and we loved it! Aaron was awesome, he was playing all night and even a bit longer than we requested. He just told us he felt the vibe and everyone was having such a fun time he just kept playing songs!

9) Photographer: Our photographer was Estrella Chacon. We met for coffee and she let us see her albums of previous weddings just for us to see her style. She was not pushy at all. We chose her and could not have been more pleased on the final product. At first I was thinking she was not capturing the natural moments, but she was! I just didn't see her. She works with her husband as second photographer. Both of them were extremely professional! For her work please see the next blog I'll write with their pictures!

10) Wedding invitations: Make sure to let someone else proofread it!

11) Dress advice: Don't feel rushed to pick one on your first trip to a Bridal store. You will hear other brides finding "the dress." Trust me, you will know when the dress is right! Make sure to go with 1 person, maybe the Maid of Honor. They are truthful and will keep you grounded on what you wear.


On my next blog I will show pictures of our day! :-)

Proposal at Freda's--Reliving our first date

This post has been so overdue! What can I say? It has been crazy busy! But before all the business. My now fiance, had to propose. We had talked about getting married for a while--but when the time actually comes, it was a surprise! Sure, Rafa had overdressed for the occasion, but I had seen him fancy before! October 5th, 2015 had been a crazy day for me already. Bad crazy. Emotionally drowning crazy. My car's battery had died that morning and I had called Rafa to help me out. That morning I also found out that we would not have a host home for our Brazil trip. I was preoccupied. We didn't know Portuguese and had to now plan a whole trip.  I cried in the car. Rafa was busy with the proposal final details and he still came. I had a shoulder to cry on. He knew that I needed him at that moment. He was there for me as he always is when these types of things happen. I got my car fixed and came home for the afternoon. We were going to celebrate our 22nd month's together! Rafa had chosen Freda's. This was the place where we had our first real date. I was hungry. Rafa had gotten the restaurant to have some beautiful roses. Picture the romantic scene: roses on the table, dim light, and candlelight! I was already feeling better.

 The romantic food would be spaghetti, but this was not the case, I was hungry! We ordered calamari, fish, and coconut shrimp. Rafa says he was a bit nervous, but I didn't get that vibe. Rafa took out a notebook and started evaluating our relationship. We do this on a quarterly basis. We talk about what we did (accomplishments, places visited, awards), positive things, and things to improve on. I was a bit surprised, because I'm usually the one who has everything written down. This time I did not. I was just listening to him and thinking about our past 3 months. I was having a good time-- "remember when we..." and he just took me back to re-live our past!

After dinner, I had to step out to the restroom. Rafa knew this of course. He knows me. When I came back. I saw him sitting on the table. Sometimes when I see him like that. I think about how lucky I am to have him be mine. I decided to play the restaurant's owner daughter. I approached him, introduced myself and asked him how the food was. He looked a bit taken aback, but played along. Said the food was great and service amazing. Then he said as he stood up: "I know that I just met you, but I have this feeling, I know I want to marry you." Then he kneeled and asked "Will you marry me?"

He proposed! 

 Now I was the one taken aback! I couldn't really speak. It all was happening so fast! I started to cry a bit as this moment was too emotional "Yes!" I replied back. One of Rafa's friends was taking pictures of us, families around us were clapping. 

It was too sweet. We walked out and his friend said we had to re-do the kneeling as his previous pictures had been blurred. We stepped outside and took a few more pictures.

Rafa kneels again and smiles as he knows what the answer will be again! I'm still in shock!

Let me show you my ring! I had to throw a punch at the camera guy!

Then his friend left and we had a driver take us back home. At home, we walked around my neighborhood, taking it all in. Thanking God for being so so good to us. I called my family to share the good news! And after that peaceful afternoon of October 5th, all the crazy would come! Don't take me wrong, the good type of crazy, the best type of crazy! The type of crazy that I wouldn't want to share with anyone else, but Rafa!

Blame the People

CNN, The Economist and other news have had several shows featuring all the presidential candidates. Frankly, I had never followed the debates too much as I couldn’t vote. Last year, I became a citizen of the United States, just in time to participate on the 2016 presidential elections. However, I am filled with disappointment after seeing the candidates’ debate. A debate is supposed to show different perspectives on an issue. Having different opinions is not bad—on the contrary, it shows that there are different points of view for the current and past problems that we face today. What saddened me, was witnessing how disrespectful and untactful, candidates were towards one another. I observed presidential candidate Donald Trump yelling and screaming about his plans to fix America. Another candidate, Marco Rubio, lowered himself to Trumps level by yelling back and insulting back. 

Republican Candidates speaking at the same time and not putting enough time to listen to one another.

 The whole ordeal reminded me of a 5^th graders yelling match. Is this what America wants? Is this what we want for our future? Who is it to blame? Though we can’t control what the candidates will say, or how loud they will scream, we are to blame for allowing this to happen. Political debates this year are just a comedy show--these debates have lost substance. Politicians used to be prepared with ideas, data, and plans to execute their ideas. Candidate’s weapons now seem to be gossip and insults. Whether or not candidates will follow through their promises is another matter. The time that candidates spend on the podium should be informative, encourage new ideas, and respect different set of values and opinions. The candidates on our shows have the light spot, but we control the lights. We are the reporters, we are the viewers, we are the majority and we must set high standards on what we accept to be shown on presidential debates.

Democratic side of the table. All candidates seem to be worried about themselves and not really attentive to paying attention to the others' ideas.

As an American, we could accept the blame for the quality of current debates. However, we could also accept responsibility and take part in making our debates better. Three basic strategies are proposed. The first is to set up basic rules of respect while the candidates are in a debate. If someone is talking, the other candidate must listen. Listening to one another does not mean agreeing. Respectfully disagreeing is an option. Secondly, yelling is not allowed. Being passionate is encouraged, but yelling and pointing fingers is not. Thirdly, the candidates must speak about ideas. New ideas are encouraged. Each candidate has an allotted time to discuss their ideas. These rules may be obvious, but overlooked and thus must be communicated for us to set expectations and allowing the candidates to meet those. If candidates decided to ignore these rules then they could be “disqualified” and be escorted out of the event, muted on tv, or “x’ed” out.

Candidates that don't follow the rules set forward are "x'ed" out.

In November 2016, when we go out and vote, let’s be proud to know that we are to blame for demanding respect, let us be blamed for demanding debates with substance and thought provoking ideas. Let’s be proud to know that we made our choice based on who gained our trust and portrayed the best path for America. Knowing whether the chosen candidate will follow through is out of our hands—but voting, and making the best educated decision based on respectful debates is up to us. Take a stand for respect. We deserve better than violence, ridicule and a comedy show to decide our future. Let us be the ones blamed for working hard and for setting high expectations on who represents us and leads our country to success.

Choosing respect above all else.

Christmas in Colombia

A lot of you may wonder why I have been off for so long. It has been about three months since my last post! That is an eternity. I wrote about my brother's wedding...and then I got engaged! This happened in October! Since then, we've been very busy with Rafael. I am the type of person that plans ahead. We had to choose the venue, vendors, wedding party...all those awesome details that make a wedding special and unique! However that post on wedding stuff will have to wait. This post is about Christmas in Colombia.

Rafael and I planned a trip to Colombia and Brazil since February 2015. We waited 10 months before being able to travel to South America. The waiting was so worth it. I hadn't been to my country in 3.5 years and my whole family (parents + 2 brothers + 1 sister) had never gone back all together since we moved to the States. My fiance had never been to South America. For this reason I knew our Christmas this year would be so special and with our whole family.

 My parents and brothers and sister left to Colombia at different times than us so it was a bit complicated to coordinate pickups at the airport. Refael and I went through Fort Lauderdale. Our layover was short so we had to run to get the plane to Bogota. Once we landed, we were greeted by my aunt Leonesa. She had made us chicken sandwich and brought us Yogurt. We were extremely thankful as we had not eaten the whole day. From day one we were busy. We had to choose our wedding bands designs and get our measurements! Bogota was so crowded. We were not at a very safe location so we just were on the down low. After finishing errands, my aunt dropped us off at the Hostel and we waited for my older brother to contact us as he had flown in the day before. Even though we were on vacation we were always on the go. As soon as my brother contacted us, he told us that my uncle Charles and his wife Merla  had invited us to go dancing. Rafael and I were so exhausted but we wanted to hang out with them so we were in. To give you a picture of my uncle...he has long hair and beard down to his elbows and he wears loose clothes. He is a very open minded doctor that measures energy of people. His new wife seems to match him well. She is very understanding and has long straight hair and she was fun but a comforting woman. That night we danced at Cafe and Biblioteca Bar. We just enjoyed hanging out with my brother and Sara and my uncle. We danced the night away.

Christmas in Colombia to me is special because of the traditions that occur. We have Novenas, lights around the parks and buildings and Nativity scenes. Rafael had never been to a Novena, which is a daily prayer that starts 9 days before Jesus is born. That time is used for group praying, usually family and friends join in. We met at La Calera with my dad's side of the family. The view was spectacular. We had huge mountains behind us. My dad's family is huge. He has 4 brothers and 5 sisters and he's the youngest. All of them are grandparents now so you can tell how big the gathering was. Everyone was so happy to get to meet Rafael. Their support meant a lot to me. We had arroz con pollo for lunch with mango juice and natilla for dessert. We got to catch up with family and just enjoy the moment. Rafael said to me he'd never been to such a large gathering where everyone seemed so close to each other and just so welcoming. To me, that warm feeling and being known by my family, makes me feel just so blessed.

Here is a few of the pictures we snapped that day:

Cousins and uncles and their kids from my dad's side of the family. La Calera Dec. 2015

With my mom, tia Fadela, Rafael and Cousins kid's! La Calera 2015

We did not cease to be surprised by Colombia's painitings. The following day, we went to Monserrate in Bogota:

Monserrate, Bogota, 2015

With my mom and my little brother in Monserrate. 2015

My grandpa has a farm in Boyaca. We took a road trip there and stayed for a couple of days. We had to stop by the Cathedral of salt and by Ventaquemada to get delicious arepas. Rafael had the mentality of trying anything and everything we gave him. He is not as much a fan of cheese as I, but he was as happy as I was. Our times in Colombia were very special as they gave Rafael a little hint of why I'm the way I am. He is convinced I'm a cheese lover because a lot of  foods (including desserts and drinks) have cheese as the base! He would see why I like the tiles in roofs that I always point out. These are little things that opened a little window in Him to get to know me better!

In the finca in Boyaca we got to help with the animals. My grandpa sells milk in bulk to big companies so there is a lot of cows there. We helped take care of the calfs. We gave them milk and got to pet them. We also rode horses. Rafael had a blast. He had never ridden one so it was a lot of first for him. At night we looked at the dark sky and tried to find walking stars. My dad always loved to do that. Those 2 nights were too cold. However we had good memories from our childhood. We would come to that house at least once a month and we would help in the farm. Milk the cows, plant trees, play around. That first night, my dad built a fire as there was no A/C. He was great. That fire brought us together as we were pretty cold and wanted some of that heat.

The second day we walked to the nearest town, got lunch and got souvenirs. In Boyaca, the days are too hot and the night had been freezing. My mom had given me 3 thick blankets that would not allowed me to move an inch. As a result my skin go peeled. I'm just saying this to let you know that it was not all roses and flair. We were on the go during our vacation and the constant change in weather made me a bit sick. The second night was a bit tense in our household...the issue was distribution of chores. By the time noon hit, we were over it and left our beloved home in Boyaca.

The plan was to stop by Villa de Leyva but with heavy traffic we headed to Villeta, where my Grandpa leaves. He had once lived near the finca, but his delicate health does not permit him to stay at high altitudes anymore. My grandpa will turn 90 this year. He had to go to the hospital while we were at the finca, which worried me a lot. I only hoped to see him. I needed to see his face and talk to him and hug him. I prayed that God would give him Strength. Everything is possible in God's power! My grandpa was able to come back to his home and show us around. His place was located at a corner where some of the light wind comes in through the windows. He lives in a two floor, modern home. He was so happy to show us around. I wanted to talk to him and to listen to what he has to say. He is very wise. I am always happy to be around him. This trip was special for us because I wanted my grandpa to meet my beloved. I wanted for him to bless us. Three years ago, I had also come to visit him and I had wanted to know more about his relationship with my grandma. He was so open with me. They shared something so special. I wanted to start well and his blessing to us meant a lot. He told us to stand up and gave us one blessings when he first met us and another one before we left.

Christmas time in Villeta was great. All of us had made it to Grandpas house. His house was packed. Two of my uncles and their families, my mom, aunts, cousins and significant others had made it. If I'm not mistaking, we were about 20 at grandpas house celebrating the birth of Jesus. That afternoon was special for us. My dad had planned for us to volunteer at an Elderly house. To tell the truth, I wasn't to fond of going at first. He wanted us to sing for them and just be around. Once we got there, things were different. We could see where they were living. They were so humble. So many of them did not have family to be with them so our visit made them happy. We sang to them and danced with them. They were so happy. Giving just felt amazing. Like we were really doing what Jesus would have wanted us to do. Later that night, we had a good meal. We had pork and turkey with ciruela sauce. We also celebrated my aunts and mom's birthday. That night we sang songs. My uncle Franco played the guitar and we sang. My mom's cousin invited Rafael and I to accompany her outside the house for a bit. We hadn't really met her as grown ups so it was fun to really know her personality. She just had so many stories to share. While we were out, my uncle Charles came out and gave us some presents. The mood was just happy to the moon!

Before midnight we left to the hotel as the next day was my cousins baptism celebration and Grandpa's birthday celebration. We went to mass in the morning and more people came to join. I hadn't seen some of my cousins for more than 10 years. I introduced all of them to Rafael. We witnessed our baby cousins baptism. He was so sweet and didn't even cry when the water was being poured on him. He just had such a sweet smile! After mass we came out to the pueblo to get fresh juice. Rafael was extremely fond of the Milo (chocolate milk with papaya and mango and secret powder stuff) in Villeta. We then went to the reception. Overall, I'd say about 50 people made it. Grandpa looked so happy! We gave him a brand new cellphone. We had amazing music play. I got to catch up with one of my cousins. I'd always thought she was so cool and wanted to know what she was up to. She already had gotten married several years ago and introduced to us her husband and her daughter! She was so lovely! We enjoyed staying with them. My grandpa said a few words before we had our meal and after that it was all life celbration! We danced and ate and had amazing family time.

Grandpa's speech on life. He was so inspiring. His son by his side!

Newest member of the church smiling! L.A Baptism! Dec. 2015

My parents having fun and dancing! My sister and grandpa dancing in the back. My Godfather dancing with his wife Camille.

We stayed up until about 8 pm that day! Later that evening we went to the pueblo again with all my siblings to celebrate a little more and enjoy our last night in Colombia.

Our final day was only a half day. My uncle had decided to have a basketball match between Charles and I. We decided to meet early in the morning. Uncle's hair is long to his elbow and he has a matching beard. He had a bandana on and was ready to play we played 2 on 1 shifting groups to balance teams. We had so much fun. After about an hour they played one on one and I left to eat breakfast with Arturo, Sara, my sister, younger brother, our mom's cousin Dola and my dad's brother and sister. We kept ordering arepas, to accompany our hot chocolate. Around 9 am my dad came to pick us up. He had so kindly wanted to take us to the airport. We stopped by grandpas to get our final blessing and to say goodbye until the next time. This was supposed to be a short stop, but it lasted at least 30 minutes. Camille, gave us Brazilian soaps as gifts. We hugged our family and took a few pictures before heading out.

Final Day in Colombia spent with family was a day well spent!

Coffee time in Bogota with family!

Leaving was difficult because we had been surrounded by our family and there was just so much loving going on. Rafael and I will always have so many beautiful memories about our Christmas 2015 in Colombia.

Until next time! I will be giving updates on our wedding!

Part II: Better Together!

This blog, on their anniversary, is to remember my brother and Sara because on September 13, 2014 they joined their lives together. Their story is pretty sweet. They met while dancing salsa together. They always joked about Sara only being Pedro's dance partner. The dancing sparkled much more interest in each other and before everyone knew it they were dating! A beautiful couple! However; Sara had to move to Florida to complete her Doctorate studies. While apart, they continued dating and being committed to each other. After a long year of doing long distance, my brother applied to thousands of jobs in Florida to follow the love of his life. He did not want to be away from Sara. The rest is history. They are from different countries, they have different religions and cultures, but the love that they have for each other makes them be special and magical.

Together they are better!

My mom and I went to celebrate their big day in Ankara. The whole day was just a blur to me, it just happened way too fast but the details remain in my mind. We all woke up really early to get our hair done. By we,  I mean my mom, Sara and her sister. With so many stylists, the end result was me looking a little Asian and my mom of having curly hair. But that was not a big deal as we were there only for my brother and sister in law. Sara had a beautiful braid and her make up looked flawless (see above). I could not be happier of being her sister in law. She is someone I look up to. She has dedicated so much time in her studies. She is powerful, beautiful, kind, loving and also sweet. To tell the truth, we have not hanged out as much as I would like, but the times when I get to be with both of them, I try to enjoy to the fullest.

I did not take as many pictures as I would have liked but it was okay because I enjoyed the night. I don't know what part was my favorite. Just being part of it all was a blessing. My dad was not able to attend, but he was supporting my brother. They talked to each other and I could feel the love and support that they had in a proud-fatherly kind of way. Some of the things I remember were the entrance of the Bride and Groom to the venue. Tons of little colored papered exploded to welcome them. My brother was getting to meet all his extended family and supporters. Everyone was just so happy. So many of their friends also came from the States to support them. I got to see the cultural differences first hand. Sara was getting gold coins pinned and her sister Dulce was right by her side showing her support.  My brother gave a little speech and Turkish and by the looks of it, everyone loved it. The whole event was just so emotional and so full of happiness. The music was different for my taste, but it did it's job--it  got everyone moving and off their seats. Everyone was engaged and having fun. I loved being part of their special moment and ask God to keep blessing them in every way! I could keep describing all that happened but I'll just show a few shots below from a magical night.

Getting ready for Pedro and Sara's big day--or having someone get me ready for their Big day!

At the hotel in Ankara with some of our friends from Oklahoma while the Bride and Groom get ready!

Fatherly support Always!! Sara's dad was so, so kind!

I wanted a picture with only Sara and her family, but this is all I found. This is our new family in Turkey! We were welcoming everyone. I want to shout out to Dulce and Sara's mom. They were so hospitable to me and my mom and brother the whole time!  We did not speak the same language but we understood each other and they really made us feel at home!

This picture has so much in one image. Sara's dad and sister in the back. Sara so happy and my brother smiling. The happiness was so vibrant and so strong!!

Speech by the newlyweds!

First dance on the floor!

Final pictures after party!

Looking back--walking forward!

I always plan. I like to think ahead and to have everything set up before starting. That is why starting my own business has proven a little more complicated than I thought. You always hear from people that failing is an inevitable aspect of any business. I am trying to understand that concept a little better. As I was jogging the other day, I thought about Nikola Tesla. All the inventions that he came up with but that he did not patent and were taken by Thomas Edison. Tesla was a thinker, Edison was a businessman. I think about what I want to do. I want to do both. I wish I was more like the people who start building and having new inventions all the time. Oftentimes, I think “That idea is not worth it, why bother.” The why bother is nothing more than a roadblock. It stops me from starting and from actually completing something.

Ever since I was little I remember having a plan. I would come up with these ingenious strategies to make money and I would share these plans with my sister. The plan always involved me telling her what to do, her believing it was a good idea, trying to do it, and then us obtaining a few quarters for the job. When she was 8, I had this awesome idea of cleaning windows for our neighbors and getting a quarter per window. Take into account our community was forty houses. On the first house my sister introduced herself while I watched from another house. She would say what our services were, then call me out. I would be embarrassed for her blowing my cover, but would come out and tell the people what it was we were selling at the time. As we grew older and went to middle school and high school the idea of selling stuff seemed less appealing to me as we were forced to sell door-to-door for orchestra fundraisers. I did not enjoy that because it was like a chore. In college all the door-to-door stopped. Now, a mere 3 years after graduating with an engineering degree, I’m looking at entrepreneurship closely. I decided to start small and decided to begin by making wooden letters. See below for a few designs:

I made a spreadsheet with all the calculations, even had a shop name: Silverpearl

I also gave my sister a sample to help me show our potential costumers how it would look.

I opened an Instagram account on the shop, made a logo (Rafael came up with a clever design) and opened an Etsy account for the new shop. However, I only had 2 people show interest in buying. One guy said he would love his name made but then never bought the product. Another friend asked me about the business 3 months later, but by that time I had forgotten about the shop. I told her I was not in business anymore.

If I could re-do something again. I would continue with my first business. I want to have a chance to say. What wooden letters would you like me to make for you? What is your color of preference? Leave a comment if you are interested.

What makes a business successful? You have to believe in your business. Costumers might not fly to you right away. I waited for a while and after not getting attention, I stopped paying attention to my own business. I am not proud of that. I am taking baby steps. I am trying to learn from the options that haven’t worked. I always play in my mind those words I told my friend. I am not making letters anymore. I don’t want to give up on myself. I want to keep trying. That is why I thought about starting again. I have realized that there is a lot of people that have tons of ideas but they don’t know where to start. They do not have a prototype or they don’t know if their idea has already been made or who their potential costumers are.  Of course I talked to Rafael first.

"Tell me what the company will be about" He said curiously as he cleaned the kitchen island. I looked at him and said:

 "It’s a company about ideas"

I did not have a business plan. Just an idea in my mind. “It is maybe like a consulting service for people who want to make their ideas come to life.”

He stopped cleaning, looked me in the eye and said: “Have I ever showed you the business plan for D2G?” I had not seen his plan so he showed me a power-point and it had a process flow of all the services his business would provide. It was much more extensive than what I had in mind and much better than I had imagined. But it was exactly what I was thinking but with a good draft in place.

Since then I have been working on a lot of things. I want to be a doer and I do realize that there is so much that I don’t yet know! I want to start this business. I need to sharpen our business plan. I have started with the logo, but not yet a webpage. I want to be better than last time. I don't want to make all  these accounts and then just think that the business is going to run itself. Some parts have already lined up for us:

A friend of Rafael already does some of the prototypes for a company here in Austin. We met about 3 weeks ago and are planning on partnering up. The side of the company that I would take would be in charge of marketing and distribution. I have talked to a lot of people about this. My parents included. They have experience and they are very smart. My dad’s advice: start with someone you can rely. That is you. Do not try to rely on a lawyer or a patent officer yet. Stay small first to build your reputation. Everything sounds great theoretically. I am still working on a plan. Working out the details. There is so much to do. I want to get our business plan beyond a powerpoint. I want to talk to people and make deals. I am not the type of person that does that, but I feel that is what it might take to get support from those small businesses. I realize that I am no expert. I am looking into going to business school. I am studying for the GRE. I know classes don’t make you an entrepreneur, but I want to fill up some gaps. I need to make connections. There is still a lot of work to do. The first step: take one idea through the whole process. I will talk about that process and about my first two ideas on the next blog.

Until then. Please pray for me. I will keep working hard and learning as I go! 

Part I: Lavender sparkles in Ankara

This one is a throwback. I am not sure if throwbacks exists in blogs. I do not care to find out if it is socially acceptable to do it. I am going to do this because this event was special. This event happened when I was in Turkey.  A fall wedding. My older brother's wedding, when I took two weeks off and traveled to Ankara to meet my new extended family. A time of stress because everything was changing at a very fast pace. New culture, new people, new food, new friendships, new traditions. All new for me and for them. I wrote about their Love day and took pictures of a lot of details. Then I showed it to my brother's now wife. She said:  "These pictures look very professional, it looks like you are doing blog" I laughed at her response. "It should be a blog!" She insisted. I first brushed her idea off, but in the back of my mind I was thinking about it. Maybe I could blog. Maybe I should write and tell people what I think. Maybe this could be a way to remember. All right. This blog, planted a seed in my mind. With all that said, this first entry is about the details before the wedding and my outlook on how things were. We start with a conversation with my boyfriend. We'll call him Rafael. He is across the world from me and I send him my take on the city of Ankara.

First email to Rafael—

My love.... How's it going?? I've been switched on time!! I don’t think I like this new schedule too much!! Most the time I'm ok but sometimes I'm just so sleepy!! We've been meeting a lot of pple and doing a lot of little errands with Sara and Pedro just before the wedding. We also went to a mall they have. Ankara is so pretty! Their arquitecture is so modern!! There is an entrance to the city—Very majestic! And all the buildings are separated so there's a lot of space followed by green space! Sara's sister Dülce is so sweet!! She reminds me of my sister a lot! She's just always so enthusiastic and helpful and fun to be around. Pedro, my older brother, is a little stressed out :( He does take some of his stress on me--or at least it feels that way. A lot of things I do bother him a lot. The pressure here (or altitude?) caused my nose to be a little congested and yesterday while we were at the mall I told them I'd go to the restroom and be back. My nose started to bleed so I stayed longer but not too long as I didn't want to worry them. Well, I came back, naturally, with a piece of tissue paper covering my nose. Pedro looked at me like I should have stopped myself from bleeding! “Haven't you ever had a nose bleed?” He said while rolling his eyes. “You should grab your nose at the top to stop it.” He added exasperated. He was just so bothered by me, my love. My mom says he's just be kind of nervous right before the wedding. I'm going to try and be more supportive. Anyways, besides that I've been good. Seriously Sara's family have been so nice! They are so kind. Sara’s mom had a feast for us when we came and everything is natural and yummy. We also had a breakfast for kings with fig jam, bread, cheese (their cheese is amazing!! Really soft and creamy) eggs, pepper sauce made from scratch, grilled sandwich and tea! Every meal is finished with hot tea or Turkish coffee. I’ll send you pictures next time.

Te amo,

-A

Rafael's email to me:

Good morning Amor! Sounds like you are having busy and full days there in Turkey, how is your nose now?  I think your mom is right, Pedro is about to get married in about 5 days and is his first time meeting Sara's entire family. I could see that being a little stressful, but most likely he will calm down the more things are settled and prepared for the big day!  I made a chart for what I plan to do while you're away. You'll be happy to know that selling the furniture is on that list, haha.  I tried to get this regimen started where I ran a little in the mornings, but I actually think I may need to go to the doctor because my big toe on each foot feel like there may be some injury to them. Weird right?  We'll see. Thank you for the farm basket I will pick it up in about an hour, I'm cooking tonight!  There is room in the fridge, haha.  Tonight I will go to my first neighborhood watch meeting.  

My response:

 I didn't know they had neighborhood watch meetings! I've seen the signs but didn't think neighbors actually met! Say hello to Katy and Milady as well, if you see them!! With joking out of the way, do tell me how the meetings go! Here's how the restrooms look: kind of a futuristic style, since most the tubes are hidden in the wall and shelves are also hanged on the wall:

Very glad to hear that you will exercise in the mornings!! I do enjoy doing that (: Very nice amor!! Also glad to hear those couches are going away soon. I love you mi amor. My soul came back to me when I heard your voice!! I was so glad you picked up the phone because I was 초금 (a little) worried, I hadn’t heard from you in a while. You are so sweet, my love. Being here makes me realize how much I love you. How much I enjoy all our times together!! I've been learning some words here and there. For sure know how to say some basic things!! Sometimes I just want to say things in Korean!! I want to be like juice 주새요 (give me)! Then I remember I study Korean weekly and not Turkish. Funny thing: 내 (yes) means what in Turkish! Sometimes I get a little frustrated because I just want to say so many things but need a translator to do it, either Dülce or Sara, so things take longer to be said. Which is ok, we have time. But it does bring memories about first moving to the US. Not all of those memories are good :/ It’s hard to make friends when you can't speak, when you can’t have an inside joke. I know this is temporary. So all is fine. Sara’s family is awesome; I really like Dülce; I want to be like her. She's so fashionable, enthusiastic and wakes up so early to help get more things for the wedding. Rafael, there are many details and things to decide. It's like a training class for me :)  jajjaajaja! Here are a few things I have learned so far: They've got to choose four songs--for the entrance, first dance, throwing the bouquet, and one more. Dülce picked the bouquet. 

See below: 

Sara got her dress in Florida, it has a tail and a beautiful floral design: 

This morning we put a billion stickers on some gifts to say thanks--teşekkür Ederiz!! And the inside has dried lavender, which smells delicious!

The wedding rings will be picked up today. They choose a photographer to take their pictures before the ceremony.  I thought was odd because I thought the groom could not see the bride until the ceremony! I know they are not your traditional catholic couple. Well, as you know Sara is not catholic. I like to see how they make things work out for them! And actually I guess it makes sense to have the photo-shoot before the party!!

Pedro has already seen the dress!! I'd say definitely not traditional!

I hope you liked the update! Sometimes I feel I could be a photographer on the side because I am a very visual person! So there it goes! I'm being a reporter from Turkey--Today we've been helping with wedding details!! Only a couple of days until the wedding! I will share some videos and pictures also!! I’m so excited for their big day and so happy to be here!

Take care!

Love you lots.

Note: Part II will have the actual wedding day!! Coming up August 15, 2015!