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.