GRWM Luscious Lashes - Inspired by Enibaby4

One Month Later

Gooooood Morning!!!

How is everyone?? 

Can you believe Anderson and Heidi have been married for four weeks??

He's asleep and i'm up and bouncing off the walls. 

Our honeymoon is far from over. Everyday we look at each other like, is this real? Did it happen? Our wedding was seriously THE best day of our lives. 

My husband (ahem). Wants us to share the photos over time. So sneak peeks today.

Let's talk about Wedding Day.

It was soooo much fun. God kept the rain in those clouds and sent the sun. And after we found out it was a tropical depression!! Thank you for allllll your prayers!!

The night before, Andy dropped me, my cousin Tiff, two of my bridesmaids Natalie and Tammy and my goddaughter Asia who was a flowergirl to the Hilton.

Yes! That's where our reception was!!! The staff there was so excited for us! We checked in, Andy took us up to the suite and then it was bye byes! I felt a little sad, when Andy had to leave, but excitement crept back in. Especially after he said see you tomorrow Mrs. Bowen. Soooo cute right??

Ffwd to the morning of! I was up from 4. Sorry, couldn't sleep anymore. Downstairs in the banquet hall with Natalie and my other bridesmaid Camille by 7 to start decorating. Andy's mum and my uncle and family soon arrived, and my cousin Shernelle who shooed me off to have breakfast! 

Well if you never had Hilton buffet? Chile get yo life. The wait staff kept asking you sure you getting married today? You are way too calm. And I was, the joy of the Lord was my strength!!

Here was my thinking, Andy will be there. So will Pastor, our parents and me. I control NOTHING. Let go and let God have His wonderful way. 

Simple.

After breakfast, got ready to make a mad dash to the hairdresser. Then I remembered... No car! 

My other mummy Auntie Yvette brought my bff and bridesmaid Tonya to the hotel, so Auntie dropped me over and then my other bff Tara brought me back. 

The salon was quiet and serene and my stylist asked when I arrived, so Heidz, how we doing this hair? I said Chimes, no clue. Just go for it and make sure it looks sleek and smooth. Boom!

2 hours later. I was in business...

Clip ins, hair spray and more bobby pins than #1 Beauty Supply could stock and Tara whisked me outta there, back to the Hilton. 

On my way back up to the room, my goddaughter Asia who went with me to get her hair done too seemed to realise I was getting jittery. Hear dis now, Auntie don't be shy, if you're brave, i'll be brave. And doan cry hear? Or not ya makeup gine run. 

I nearly died with laughter and truthfully allllll my fears just vanished. In the corridor leading to the room I met Shanelle... One half of I Heart Makeup. Yessss honey I was a heartbeat on wedding day! That was Nella's gift to me and so I asked her Kamilah and my friend Dee Blackett to do the makeup for the entire bridal party and some relatives of mine from England, Auntie Winsome and Maya and my Mummy.

So, by this time it was 1 pm. With the wedding at 3 pm. Definitely time to get ready. The girls were in makeup and I needed to shower and get Asia ready too. 

Nerves? None! Excitement PLENTY! My mummy, auntie who was my Maid of Honour and Nana were there. My godson Seth and his grandmother, everything was calm and peaceful. We were chatting and laughing and so relaxed. God is good...

It got real when I put my dress on. I was late :( In my defense I was ready to go, but we had a slight hiccup. So down to the lobby we went...

See Tammy like she sprinting??? Lol.

Into the limo, and off to the church...

We all got ready to get out of the car, cue flowergirls and ringbearer and bridesmaids and groomsmen.

My brother and my uncle walked me down the aisle. And there was my handsome groom.

Andy looked soooooo freakin good!! I was grinning like a halloween pumpkin. Super happy!!!

The ceremony was intimate and went by smoothly. Our friends and family were there and when we said our vows, we kept grinning at each other.

I did cry a little. I saw my godfather and I couldn't believe he had come, which reminded me of my Dad. Then the tears came.

We went to sign the certificate and that was it!!! 

Mr. & Mrs Anderson and Heidi Bowen, yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! More grins and happiness and fun!!

We headed out of the church after the FBC chorale sang our neww fave song Happy- Tasha Cobbs (remember?) and our bridal party cheered for us when we got in the limo. 

And then we headed to Central Bank Green for our mini photo shoot alone. Special thanks to Ms. Fran Wickham for granting us permission. Well ya know the Bajan peoples!! Waving and staring and we didn't care! 

We're married!!! 

Wow Photobooth Rentals made our evening!!! Service was excellent and all of our guests took home a strip of photos as their favour. It was kinda funny cause some people thought they had to pay. When they found out it was all part of the reception? Cray cray! We got some great shots!!

We also had a candy buffet, with indigenous sweets, like sugar cakes and nut cakes and black bitch, Quality Street sweets from the UK and US as well. I included some for our diabetic friends and relatives too! They really appreciated that!!

Three best parts of the day for me?

Seeing my uncle and aunt dancing.

Seeing my uncle Michael breakdance.

When Anderson said and to My Beautiful Wife, TWICE!!!

It was over in a flash, and we had a faaaaantastic time. Everything we wanted and prayed for? Happened. God blessed us richly, His grace was sufficient and He provided down to the last cent! 

Our families and friends enjoyed, and most importantly, my husband had a great time.

For your love and support, we are grateful. We cannot wait for the next chapter to begin. So stay tuned, God is at work right now!! 

We love you, keep praying for us as we are for you.

Xoxo 

The Bowens

Amazing Love

Good Morning.

It's here.  This is it, we've worked hard, loved hard, prayed hard. We've planned organized and shopped.

I'm so excited. And anxious, and sleepy and thirsty. I need to drink alooooot of water today. And people have been so nice!!

Our life together began 7 years ago. Completion.

We believe God has brought us together and we are more in love with who we are now than who we were then.

That's progress.

Yesterday, I woke up happy, excited, anxious. 24 hours no longer seemed like an eternity. It seemed like a good time to enjoy being Ms. Aboab for the last time.

How do I feel? I have butterflies, I feel rested, focused, secure. Loved.

Our families:

We love you! Not a minute in this life is worth it unless you have love. We have it in abundance.

To our friends:

We love you:

You have come through for us at a time when we needed you THE most. 

Our followers:

We looooove you! 

Every comment, email, thought, prayer. Recognized and returned ten fold. The support has been overwhelming.

The journey? Has a fresh start today. There will be pain, sorrow, joy, success. Faith will be tested. In a half of an hour our lives individually will change collectively. We are so ready for the challenge.

To Anderson:

For allowing me to share our story. For loving me when I was still a girl. For growing with me, caring for me, praying for me, thinking for me when I couldn't or wouldn't. For adding so much richness and joy

to my life. I love you and will love you until my heart stops. And I am so grateful to God. 

For choosing me.

Love 

Heidi.

Xoxo

Keep praying family. We love you!! 

The Bowens.

A week and a day away

Goooood Morning Loves!!!

I cannot tell you how grateful we are to be at this point. Andy and I are apart right now. I'm away shopping for our house and the wedding. I also had some business to take care of up here. So I had to take leave at a critical time.

And Anderson has done a tremendous job of keeping our plans in check. Sure we got frustrated. We are still finalising guests. People have taken ill, been involved in accidents. Some of our friends are unable to attend because of work commitments, their employers refuse to give them the time. Sad huh? Jealousy is a helluva thing.

And emotions have run the gamut. But we are so blessed. Andy's mum is making and decorating our cake. I got a really cute topper for it. I found my veil and a hair accessory to make a real statement. As you know I said yes to the dress. Got my shoes at a STEAL!! I wanted a pair of Badgley Mischka's but.... These shoes are soooo much prettier and more comfortable. Pricepoint? Affordable.com. 

BUT, still no wedding day panties HELP!! Spanx? Bloomers? Girdle? Boyshorts? Help muh nuh? I aino wha tuh put on!!

Fears:

Rain on wedding day

Tripping down the aisle

Ratchetness

People watching me 

Me and Andy kissing for the first time and bumping noses (sooooo embarassing)

Fainting

Feeling Fat

Menstruating - gross but with stress anything can happen please pray for me!!!

Not resting enough, i've been extremely tired the last few days! 

Being a good, humble, loving, honest wife.

I'm going to be somebody's wife. That's huge. My family up here is so excited. And I finally caught the bug. God and us want this marriage, we're happy and blessed. And through all the strange occurrences and few mishaps, this process has been abundantly blessed.

Advice?

Trust and love your partner.

Have faith and pray to God for wisdom.

Be romantical (Anderson is!!!) 

Get positive and negative feedback.

Do NOT divulge major plans to anyone but yo mama

and yo mans! 

People often pretend to be happy for you, when often times they are jealous. Beware!

Go for counselling.

Stay sane! 

We love and appreciate every one of you!!

Xoxo

Heidi and Anderson

See you next week... When the day is finally here!!!

Mr. & Mrs. Anderson Bowen - to - be

Ding ding ding!!!

Welll Good Morning!!!

Guess who's getting married in less than a month? 

Yasssssss huntys, God is goooooooood!! 

And guess who said yes to the dress???? Meeeeee!!!

So I've been in NY since April/May. And there was some drama with my Mum and Auntie's passports. They applied for them earlier in the year and i'll be a daggone monkey's uncle if it didn't take goshdarnit 10 weeks o_O. 

So finnnally on Thursday my mummy and auntie made it to the Big Apple woop wooooooop!!

And the hunt was on from Friday. Now I'd been advised to visit many boutiques and places but I have to say that I like to move as God directs me. Before my mum came, my wonderful cuz Renee took me allllllll over the city and all the way to Long Island to find a dress. I know she was super disappointed though, because I was NOT about to try on dresses without my mum being there. I'm her only child and she deserved that honour. 

So I looked and felt and touched, asked questions. I was trying to figure out how important it was to have the shoes. Veil, no veil, gloves, mittens, Man, it was alot! 

I hopped onto google trying to find the nearest Bridal shops to my uncle's house. I'd visited one in Flatbush but both Andy and I were unimpressed lol. 

Yessss Andy came up to NY too! My very own GZ (groomzilla) came to my rescue! I was getting a little overwhelmed and he came for a week and some!!! Yaaaaay!

Fast forward to the day I got my dress. My uncle drove us out to Long Island City and as my mum and I browsed around, it hit me. This is real. So I had the names and style numbers of the dresses I thought would suit my body type and my consultant Damaris went searching. She later told me the ones I'd selected she was going to pull for me when she saw me lolI. I tried about 5/6 dresses. And then I found the one!

As I slipped into the dress and Damaris zipped me up, she said you're gonna love this one. I said yea? Ok

let's go then. 

There was a couple next to us and the baby kept coming over by my family to

check us out lol. The wife was trying on a bridesmaid's dress. When I stepped out of the dressing room, the husband heard my family and me as I looked at myself in the mirror say Woooooow! He looked around and said in spanish ' Honey look, she's so beautiful.' And I busted out laughing, he said did you understand me? I said yes, he said oh my god you look fabulous, really that is the dress! You have to buy that. 

I was laughing and grinning and cheesing and I knew it was the one. When you know, you know. The dress compliments my body, it's slightly sparkly and is a nod to dresses of hmmm.... Andy reads the blog so that's all I can say on that.

Thanks for the love and prayers, we found it!!!

T- 21+ to go!!

Xoxo

Heidi.

Crunchtime, bridesmaids and the best husband to be ever

Goooood Morning!

If you follow me on Facebook, you would have seen my post about how good Jesus is. And I'm here to testify AGAIN He has already provided.

So Andy and I were presented with a test. It was major to me but for him, it was either a yes or a no. And in hindsight that is exactly what it was. But I have an extremely difficult time accepting no. God is teaching me that sometimes that no is a means of protection.

So Andy's enormous faith and nuff nuff nuff prayers from both of us and our families took us through this little challenge. And God granted us favour. So for all of you praying for us thank you and please continue!!

Onto the good stuff!! I chose the ladies of our bridal party with great care. I have been friends with 4 of them for over 17 years one of them for 7 and the other for 5. See where I'm going with this? Relationship is important. Knowing your worth is valuable. Long and short? 

Invest in people who have your best interest at heart. Trust the people who have always been there. I want to look back at our wedding album and see happy, smiling faces, with people we love, admire and appreciate. 

Well folks. Our wedding is next month. Colour me excited. Andy is still smiling. I'm happy. Ideas are flowing and I can reveal one tidbit. We are taking our photos in a brand spanking new location. Historic, and it is quite picturesque. 

The curator of this garden was thoroughly impressed i'm told when my mother spoke to her, the lady couldn't contain it. She indicated that people simply took advantage without seeking permission. I was adamant about asking. It is VERY important to know your place and ting de people lil garden doan belongs ta we.

In essence, being a bride is awesome. It's fun. It's exciting. It's a beautiful and fulfilling experience. And if you focus on the marriage, the life after the wedding and pay a leeeetle attention to the wedding. You would enjoy it too. Cause I'm telling you, people who go through this twice? Nuts! Mental craycray.

More soon. And the photos are going to be fab!

Chile it's drawing nigh

Hellllllller!!!! 

Status: dressless, shoeless and bubbling with anticipation.

If you'd told me last year i'd be stressed and worried I would have agreed. But i'm not. Not yet at least. I was a little overwhelmed this week. Thanks Shars!! But I took the advice I usually impart to my brides. One thing at a time.

And now I have plenty lists and i'm back in organisation mode. I'm hiring and firing putting people in their place. Getting my act together. 

Mr. Bowen and his groomsmen got their suit lives!! Shout out to Dom and the others over at Men's Room, City Centre Mall in the City. I am not on any of the paperwork, but if you want to go take a peep at Andy's suit and send me aphoto  maybe on whats'app. That would be irie!! 

So now, of COURSE there is drama. American airlines mad?? How ya mean ya gotta pay for a carry on doah??? Alll of my God bless muh extras does be inna meh bag. May have to explore jetblue folks cause double A stands for something I cannot say on this platform. They may ban me. 

We have decor! For both the church and the reception site!! After scouring pinterest and instagram I am sooooo excited. I want simple, classic and chic. Boom!!

I have THE best bridesmaids though!!! I set up a group on whatsapp to stay connected and so far so good. All te ladies are fun, happy and not divas at all. And I reallllllllllly hope they aren't planning a bridal shower. I am NOT about that life. Take me some where to eat, have a cocktail or mocktail depending on the calories and let's chill. And they can tell me allllll about marriage and men and the joy of being a wife blah blah. 

Also!!!! What do you all think about clip in extensions??? I'm thinking I don't want a full sew in nor do I want to bond. But i've had clip ins before and they are awesomesauce. That way I can switch up the look from wedding to reception as suggested by my girl Jaye!!! 

Well, less than 75 days to go. My friend B is getting married shortly and we wish her all the best. She's just as excited as I am, and has a great sense of style so I know her day will be a fab, do down!!

Love you all! More on Monday!!!

Xoxo

Heidi.

Everything about You...

This one is for Andy.

I am honoured, grateful, blessed and so happy that you chose me.

When we met, I promise you, it NEVER crossed my mind that we had even a prayer of being together. My radar was probably down at the time. But God had it all planned.

You're who I prayed for. You are the kindest, most generous, loving person. Your warmth and genuine love for people draws them to you. You are the heart of your home. I love to watch you with your friends, there's something so special about the love you have for them.  They truly are your family, you made it so.

Your love for God is beautiful, and authentic. Real.  Your dedication to your witness and ministry is what showed me that you were covered, chosen. Your service and commitment, that's what I want to be in my own.

I was strong willed, blunt and impatient. But sweet and vulnerable, so you said. And you saw through all of that mess. Your calm, peaceful spirit, rested with mine, and through Him, I am developing those same traits. No one is perfect.

You are the second thing I think about in the morning (Him first) and the first one I pray for at night. My life without you is unimaginable, but knowing you has blessed and enriched it beyond anything I ever expected or hoped for. Our love keeps me sane, happy, grounded. Everything about you is right. Most days... lol

This wedding, all of these plans it's all for us to enjoy one of THE best days we will ever have REGARDLESS of what happens, who's there, who's not.  But mostly, I'm doing it for you. You take care of me and have been from day one. Without being asked, without hesitation, without a deep breath. Of course not without frustration, I AM Heidi after all. Now it's time for me to take care of something, with just a little help from you.

There is no doubt in my mind, that He is at the head of this life we're enjoying. And with all of the prayers, love and blessings from our God, we are a success story, and we will continue to be. I am so proud of us, and so excited for our future. You make it all worth it. I love you.

Always,
Heidi.

100 Happy Days

We are beeeeyyyooond excited!!! Today officially marks 100 days til Heidi and Andy's Wedding Day!!!! 

Our invitations are on the way out. Already some people are disappointed, but we have a plan so not to worry. We have some thing in the works!!! We promise :)

Of course, no event Heidi or Andy are a part of is ever without some measure of drama. People inviting themselves, inviting other people, asking who's in our bridal party. Why we're having it here and not there.  And not a cheque nor envelope with a Grantley at all at all. 

Regardless, we are blessed and grateful for all the love and support.

So it's crunchtime. I have no dress, shoes, not even undies lolololol and I couldn't care less. Andy and I have come to the conclusion AGAIN that those things are nice and of course we want them. But this is about God guiding him and me into our life together. Boom!!

I need some help ya'll 

Limo or nah??

Tiara or nah?

Garter and get it tek off in fronta people or nah?

Eat on the morning of the wedding or nah?

Oh and guess when it finally hit home home home that this man is really, honestly, seriously, truly going to make lil old me his wife???

So this happened:

We love you!! Countdown with us!!! T-100 days :D

Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr.. The Social Media Saga

Goood Morning!

I'm trying to keep up family!

It's not that I don't have anything to write about, it is that I'm trying to find the time.

So update:

It's gift list time!! Any suggestions on what we should get? When Dad died he left a house full of things, so all we need really are appliances and sheets etc. Still we want our own household items. But if there is ANYTHING you can think of that we might need that you had/ didn't get that you wished you had SHARE PLEASE!! I can tell you we are looking at Cave Shepherd/Sheperd (spell it wrong all the time), and Dwellings. Any other suggestions? Except Walker's World.

So the title may intrigue/confuse you. But this is something that I have been grappling with for the last few months. We have spoken about it briefly, Andy and I but as he was bringing me home last night I 1) realised I'm about to be a dude's wife, and 2) do we want to share that very intimate, private moment with the world?  you tend to forget things of this nature with big events like weddings.

Should we or shouldn't we allow people to upload photos from our wedding instantaneously. Andy had a friend who got married just at the beginning of the Facebook phenomenon. And in their invitations or on the programmes or somewhere they indicated that they did NOT want any photos uploaded.

Has social media caused us to over share? 

Given my status on Facebook and Instagram etc, I am inclined to say that I understand that move. Somethings are private. And the couple should be allowed to release their photos on their own terms. And I am leaning towards that too. Not just for privacy's sake, but also because we really want to share the memories with you all when we are ready.

I don't mind things like this, but Bajans and people on a whole rip your events to shreds when they get a glimpse of what you did! 

So what is your take on the social media thing? Should we tell our guests to leave it out til we give the go ahead? Or are you interested in a #aboabbowenwedding trend on the Internet??

Do we really want images like this traversing the highways and byways of social media?

Thoughts??

Wedding Success, Marriage Fail... NOT HAPPENING

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!

MIA doesn't begin to describe! But thanks for staying tuned and asking, when is the next blog coming out?? Keeps me on my toes.

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo, I CANNOT!

People are something else, just yesterday this lady asked me why I was wearing a ring. I told her, cause it was given to me. Of COURSE as GIPSY BAJANS do, she asked if I was engaged, I smiled and said yes. My girl launches into a tirade, well ya knowww I had Donovan (let's cover the poor man's identity, shall we) for ova ten years, he is do he ting, I is do mine. But ya betta live wid de man before ya married. You is a young girl and men aint easy. Dem is mek ya snort... I could tell you stories... blah blah blah.

We believe life is what you make it! 

I tuned out and moved on to the next customer, first of all she had me bored, den she hit me for six wid 'men does mek ya snort'. Andy and I allllways have this discussion. The latest thing when people meet us is they tell me, youuuuu he marrieding to you, wha he is a good looking fella. You betta try and treat he real good, not he gine leff ya. But wait, do we not have equal capacity to leave/be left? Furthermore who enters a marriage with the constant thought of divorce?

And here is why we believe that most marriages fail. A lack of Commitment. But ting, we had we one anudda seven (7) years though. Plus, we've been to hell, through purgatory and back, short of killing one another, we strive for harmony, and while we have our disagreements and occasional spats, ain't nobody got time for the negativity!!

And with God on our side, we cannot fail!

Hence, our focus on our MARRIAGE! WE want to ensure that after the money don spend, food done eat, gifts done buy and dese people gone home that ANDERSON M and HEIDI R are going to make a go of it SUCCESSFULLY. That our lives will mirror Christ' love and that we will ENJOY, yes dare I say be happy for the balance of our lives together. That is our firm commitment. And you can hold us to it, (me especially check Andy's never coming blog to be sure, yes I'm calling you out!)

Life and death is in the power of the tongue people. Stop declaring doom over our marriage 'fore it even start!

It's in the Holy Bible!

Happy talk now, rant done:

Hear dis. Invitations look tooooooo sweet! And nuff fancy tings included. Of coursely after wedding done we will share a few of our features. But as I'm putting alot into the blogosphere we still want to maintain a few secrets and surprises.

Suddenly, I'm getting nuff nuff kisses, and loving up from this man though, is that normal? Leading up to? If it is I sure hope it continues :D cause I like nuff lovin up :D  I mean I could've just awakened from a nap or whatever and this nutbag is kissing my face and stroking my hair. Mummy says he's been doing it since we got together, but I must be so fagged out, that I'm clueless. Sweet tho :)

I love him <3

How to:

Ammm about this housewife thing though. I mean, I don't plan on NOT working. But the washing, cooking, cleanting, grocery shopping ,bill paying. Lawdddddd havismercy. I need a day planner, P.A AND a nanny to keep me by the time I'm done. It's alot!

Stay sane during house repairs: Andy is uber excited. I on the other hand, will only care when decisions have to be made. I know nothing about construction, and I'm not interested either, sooooo sweetboy and mummy are on the case again. I can guarantee you that I will not be left out of curtain or bedspread selection, china or the Gift list. Cause Andy is VERY VERY VERY VERY PICKY. Like SUPER selective, and crazy when it comes to service soooooooooooooooooo, yea.

Lose weight before your wedding:

ZUMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, and Shawn the Tyrant T. SO Andy has us on this T-25 programme, chile. I didn't know I could sweat so much between my beloved Zumba and that psychopath? I am in constant muscleboundness. But I'm TRYING to eat better, and I work out super hard and I lost an inch and a half off my waist and other body parts, clothes are a wee bit loose and I can run up stairs without my oxygen tank (joke) Check out my sweet boy below all sweaty and flexin n stuff :D lololol.

We bout dis life!!

Sorry for the long one. Hope you enjoy!

Stay tuned, BIGGGGGGG surprise coming up in the next Edition of T-130 + days til We are Mr & Mrs Anderson M. Bowen :D :D :D :D :D :D

Love the one you're with

So here we are!!

5 months before!! Thanks for asking how the plans are going, how Andy and I are, for the prayers, the Instagram and Facebook love!! We are so grateful.

Try and put some pressure on Andy for his blog man. Man could procrastinate???!?! Murda.

Official business: Nuff more family ex out of the guest list. I set to receive hate mail JESSSS now, but I am in vex woman mode. I aint ever care!! Times hard and Chris Sinckler say it's not his fault dem harder. So I done sweating. What we want is exactly what we must have! So boohoo!! I cannnnnnnot apologize for inviting people I talk to everyday over family I see once every two years. Bump that friends, let's keep it real. Love who loves you, love the one you're with.

I cannot stress enough how stressless this process has been in spite of that. Maybe coming to the crunch the nerves and stress will set in, but for now, I'm worrying about curtains, table settings and the diet/ weight watching I bombed over Christmastime.

I must tell you that ZUMBA with the Fitness bunnies has been a BLESSING. For the first time in my life, I am doing something all by myself. None of my friends go to the class. I know the admin lady Kim through Anderson, she has since become a friend, and Leslee and Nadia are super supportive. Too love to mek ya get down!!!! And let me tell you, it has been exhilirating!! I have learned that I am strong, focused, ambitious and determined. I don't need anyone to hold my hand. I go to the class, workout as hard as I can without passing out (Leslee and Nadia run offa batteries I swear!!!) and I am soooooooo happy. Shout out to my girl Teal!! She pushes me to work harder, eat right stay focused, she is so bubbly and full of life that she makes me want to work harder, who would've thought?

There's ya girl, back right!!!

(All photos compliments Andrew Browne Photography - Taken from FitnessBunnies Page on Facebook)
Leslee is working closely with me, and I will be starting a blog this week so look out for the links to that one! It's going to be intense, informative and real. See, I want to promote healthy living, keeping fit and fabulous. Just because you're married, doesn't mean you let yourself go. Girl NO!

So the encouragement from the class is AWESOME, the Fitness Bunnies, Leslee and Nadia have fostered a loving, nurturing environment to workout in. And I don't know whether they know it or not, but they have created a little community. Women of all shapes and sizes come out, there's even a gent who comes SHOUT OUT TO RICO (life of the party). The beauty of the sessions is that people who don't even know each other encourage each other, chat, push one another, there is a serious connection. And we are all gearing up for a great year. I encourage you to come out it's only $18 per session twice a  week. I promise, fun, great music, and some sweaaaaat! Do NOT worry about not being able to keep up, wuk up, gyrate. The focus is on the fitness.

Wedding tings:

Guess who has not booked a car yet, and getting married in wedding month. Risky I know, I saw a Rolls today and I was like, I want that, bet it's $2000BDS. Hey I love Audi, Mercedes and Lincolns - Suggestions PLEASE!!!

Engagement Shoot:

So we have to do this in segments. i'm not allowed to upload any of the photos, but they look soooooooo good! The incomparable Wade Phillips and the phenomenal Charles'Chris' Butcher had a balllllllll with Andy and I. But lemme tell you all, that was the most fun i've had being photographed ever!!! It was romantic and funny and scary and we even had a guest Lighting Assistant, shout out to Martina!! Thanks for coming! Andy was talking so much junk!! But he did help to calm my nerves and get me to be relaxed in front of the camera. I'm little miss bossy so it's easy directing models for our shoots, but this time I was one of the models. FREAAAAKKKKY. I kept looking around before the shoot started like, where is she, and then it would hit me, I was the she.

Andy was incredible though, totally in his element. He has a friend who will remain nameless for now ( you know who you are) who's always teasing him about his looks in a good way. I can actually agree with you buddy, Andy is hot. No doubt.

So when we arrived at the location, there was hardly anyone around and that continued til the rain came down a bit. Prior to that we were shooting and giggling, and trying not to giggle and it made me slightly sad, because it's going to be over soon. And this journey has been soooo much fun. Of course not without difficulty. But when the good outweighs the bad, that's God. That's favour, blessing and that's love.

I promise as soon as I can to release one of our photos. But we are trying to keep everything under wraps for now. Love you all and stay tuned!! Greater things to come!!

Last Single Christmas, and 6 months from today

Merry Christmas!! All the best for 2014.

I've kept you long enough so here it goes. 

Today is our 6 month mark!!!!!!!!!!

In 180 days Anderson M. Bowen and Heidi R. Aboab , well. We'll be Mr. & Mrs!!! Eyaaaaaaaaaayyyy

We are so excited. Andy's doing that thing again, where he watches me and says, "you're gonna be my wife." After about a minute hahaha! 

It's the cutest, funniest thing ever man, i'm telling you. 

But here's the deal, deposits have been made, invitations are about to be drafted, corrected, addressed and posted. Flights booked, honeymoon planned. Life is moving. 

And just like that our time is coming up and NOW i'm nercited and FUSSY!!!!

But ting, let's talk about Christmas. Andy spent most of it with his family, and me with mine. What a bittersweet feeling for

both of us. 

More than likely we'll do that next year too. But together. We even went to our own churches, separately. So, here it is our lives HAVE changed. 

We missed each other, but the beauty of the moment was that Andy had most of his fam with him for Christmas (his mum usually has to work on Christmas Day). So it was special!! 

Now I started hyperventilating tonight about a very important matter💏 .

First Kiss:

Here are the options that we gathered through research:

The Peck

The Tongue Tango

Full on Passion

The Modest Tongue Kiss

Now it may seem gross/ alot. But I want the moment to be awesome, and for me and Andy to LOOK awesome when doing it oooook?

So what's your preference? Tongue, Mega Tongue, no tongue mini tongue man i'm confused already!

Please pray. And stay faithful!! God has this covered. Devil stay out!!!

Im overjoyed to tell you that I received a clean bill of health!!💏👍🙌 i'm healthy.. Nothing in the ultrasound, no abnormalities, tumours nothing.  Wooohoooo praise the Lord. So hopefully baby very soon!!! 

One more thing, thank you! For following commenting sharing. Stopping me on the street, speaking life and love into our beginning. It's true, live like no one is watching!! God is ever present. We appreciate it all.

When we started this journey, we thought it was not going to interest anyone. Wow, we were wrong!!

So we are almost there. Then the fun starts. I can't wait to see my  fam, eat drink and give THANKS to God almighty. To hold Andy's hand and heart

and really enjoy this day. We waited long enough!!

Love to all!! God bless and may 2014 be a blessed, happy, incidentfree New Year!!!

The Budding Bridezilla

Gooood Morning!

I promised to drop this one in last week. But I was sooooo busy that I forgot.

So sorry peeps!

Please note. This will happen to you at some point during your wedding prep.

As I've mentioned countless times. My fiance' is super cool under pressure. I on the other hand am a certified, card carrying gully boar. Now more recently I have developed a maturity and patience that surprises people who knew me just a few short years ago. It's amazing what prayer, patience, a good mama and a good decent man who influences me can do ;)

Now hear this, I want what I want. Andy wants what he wants. We have agreed to what WE want for our wedding. So there is no possible way for us to fail miserably. We believe that there are always alternatives. And with hard work, dedication and TRUE faith in God, we cannot be stopped, once it's His will for us.

Truth.

I had to make a quick decision about a crucial part of our plans. And note I said I, because I tend to think quickly. Not always a positive, but  I am well aware of who I'm marrying. You know that statue 'The Thinker'? That's really a sculpture of Anderson M. Bowen. He takes a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time to come to a decision once it involves risk. And believe me we need that. Little Miss Impulsive here would have us buying land and houses to renovate and forget the light bill. So someone has to be stable in the relationship.

Anderson M. Bowen (lololol)

But I also dislike INCOMPETENCE and WICKEDNESS. Here's the background without going into too much detail. One of our vendors has an associate who is greedy. He/she found out that we wanted to book a service through their company, and actually called me after the event that we both WORKED at, to try to convince me to come and make payment under his/her name. Here's the thing, I am loyal. We both are. Anderson and I were impressed with the presentation by the initial Vendor and have NO INTENTION of being poached.

This person moving in for the kill. But they don't know me yet!

Where is the integrity? Barbados is yay big. So screwing up your reputation for a commission is quite frankly a dumbass move. Furthermore, I do NOT like being crossed. Especially when it comes to an event I have been mentally planning since 1990.

So out came Heidi The Headhunter. I was on the phone so fast that Andy was in complete shock. Big man allowed me to know he had never seen that side of me in 6 years. And Poor me, I blushed. And then I got kisses so the blush went through the door :) I should be more forceful more often then huh?? (lolol) I suppose I was holding back that facet of my personality, because I want him to shine. I don't dumb down nor do I NORMALLY hold back. But I'm a softy when it comes to Andy and I let him take the reins. But this time, this witch (ahem) was messing with the wrong one.

This is mild compared to how I was.

Regardless of what happens, here's the lesson for today. If you have a dream, an idea, heck even a notion or a hunch. And it's feasible? GO FOR IT. Do not hold back. Make sure that it is in keeping with your values, no compromises. Things don't just HAPPEN. You must plan. Discuss with the older heads and go forward. Life is too short to live with regrets.  And I want little to NO regrets on Wedding Day 2014. TRUST.

enough said

Bridezilla for two days OUT!

Love you all,
Heidi xoxo

The gift of giving...

Lovebugs!!

I HAD to come at you with this one. It is big, HUGE, monumental. How good are you at ACCEPTING gifts?

I LOVE Christmas, birthdays, Easter, Independence, Crop Over, why don't we give gifts at Crop Over? Such fun :) You get me right? I love to give a gift. But I am not that great at receiving. Now a wise old owl once told me that, you should be just as comfortable receiving as giving, because there is a GREAT deal more humility involved in accepting something from someone. You may be unaware of their circumstance, financially or mentally, and whatever they give you whether they can afford it or not is a sacrifice and it takes a measure of generosity and love.

So, Andy and I have received offers from various family and extended family members to assist us with our Wedding,. A few of them in particular keep mentioning the 'harsh economic times' and their willingness to help us with paying for our home and the wedding itself. Cue the pride. Which as we ALL know goes before a fall. And we both find falling quite embarassing, soooooooooooooooo.

Anderson Bowen and Heidi Aboab, don't do receiving very well. It is not that we are arrogant, or puffed up ( although I lean to the arrogance every once in a while, I'm a work in progress). It is that we generally like to work for what we want or need, always have, and we are so used to being independent and taking care of ourselves, that accepting help from anyone but each other or our immediate families (mostly parents) is a foreign concept. And sometimes a little difficult, since we know we have to work for what we want.

We HATE using people. Have zero tolerance for begging, and we try very hard to stay within our means. Our sensitivity towards the subject is so great, that during our frequent car chats, we express how uncomfortable we are when friends pay for dinner, offer to bring things to a lime, family gives us cash or want to give us a thank you gift for something we have done.

BUT, weddings tend to make you a bit humble. At SOME point, you realise that you CANNOT do it all on your own. That people are just as excited for you as you were for them at this point in their lives. That your family and friends are ACUTELY aware that at times because you are sacrificing for your big day that you simply CANNOT out the money for a fun night out, movie, food. Because at $$$ a plate + drinks + VAT, you need to cut back somewhere.

Anderson and I declared our hand early. We are paying for our wedding and honeymoon ourselves, but we know that our friends and families will want to give us gifts. And we graciously and humbly accept. It is about give and take. If you know us, you know we are generous and at times OVERLY generous. Giving of our time, advice, money, in kind. God has blessed and favoured us by meeting all of our needs. We are secure knowing that He has already provided. And part of that means understanding when he has sent one of his angels to bless us, just like we blessed others.

I hope you understand what I mean. Of COURSE we want wedding gifts, that adds to the excitement and fun of the wedding experience, but we also want our family and friends to know that we are SO SO SO SO grateful. That you do not HAVE to do it, but we are APPRECIATIVE and thankful for everything that you do for us now, on wedding day and beyond.
We love you!

We are grateful!!

xoxo,
Anderson & Heidi.

Open the Lines

Gooood MORNING!!

Both Andy and I have been soooo busy!! I recently started a job (weddings don't pay for themselves guys :) And Andy has been working hard for the entire year. Between Moden Makeup by Heidi, my new job, home, church and our relationship, I was barely keeping up.

I am SOOOOOO sorry I didn't update you all but to everyone who asks in person, emails, Whatsapp's or keeps us in prayer THANK YOU!! We appreciate the feedback and the love.

Did the title catch you? Well I hope it did and whether you are married or single this one is for you.

So with the kind permission of my beloved fiance' we are going to discuss Premarital Counselling. Now for some people this practice is a formality, for others a necessity and a select few it is both. About three years before we got engaged, Andy actually asked me if I would be interested in preengagement counselling sessions. I was waaaay too excited boy! He could've asked me then and there and I would have said YAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSS. But we never pursued it, so when we got engaged last year we decided that we needed to go to counselling for a number of reasons.

Guess who's coming to the end of their sessions and with GREAT SUCCESS. US!! And the main reason is, WE COMMUNICATE! Without going into too much detail we wanted to share why counselling is so important to us, and why we are now even bigger advocates for any engaged couple to actively participate in a series of sessions.

1. The Wedding is just one day. You have to live with this person for the rest of your life. That should be reason enough for you to run to anyone who is qualified and willing to listen!

Funny, but so true.

2. You value your relationship. Hopefully (we've been together 6 years, by the time we are married it would be our 7th) you would have invested, sacrificed, endured, enjoyed so much that you want to protect your investment, nurture your love and really get in the habit of dealing with the challenges of this new phase.

Channel your energies into your future.

3. You are willing to commit to discussing and solving any issues you may have as individuals and as a couple. You are two very different people with different stories, Rome wasn't built in a day, and you have to be secure in you and him/her so that your relationship develops as you BOTH intend it to.

Indeed.

4. It works either way. The counselling sessions reveal so much about your personality, your desires and your needs that the openness creates a vulnerability that is UNREAL. And the important part is recognising the value of your love, because opening up yourself to people starts with TRUST, without that, you're goners.

Love.

So those are just a few of our reasons. After the first session I was in love with Andy all over again. He was grinning from ear to ear and we both felt a sense of calm and peace. We are committed fully to one another, focused, and armed with the knowledge that we need to take our relationship forward and enjoy a happy and prosperous marriage. We don't know everything, but we know some thangs ya'll :)

Thus, the planning and merriment can continue, of course we will have issues, but we hold onto the belief that with God before us, a FULL commitment to each other, the love and support of our families, we are ready for our life together. If you are planning on getting married, we HUMBLY suggest finding a minister of religion, a certified counselor, or someone who is equipped to deal with affairs of the heart, premarital counselling. Seek professional help and OPEN THOSE LINES OF COMMUNICATION. Ensure you are both comfortable with that person and go for it. You won't regret it! We certainly don't :D

Love you Andy. thanks for sharing :)

Love you all!
xoxo
Heidi.