Diandra Debuts on TV Screens Today!

The day I have been praying  for is finally here! My lovely daughter Diandra makes her TV drama debut today on the Knowledge Channel. She plays the role of Wilma, a ‘babaeng bakla,’ with dreams of becoming a successful businesswoman in the fashion or beauty world.

The mini-teleserye is called “Ibang Klase”. New episodes are aired every Sunday at 3pm & 6:40pm. Then replays happen every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:40pm.

Thanks so much to my dear friend Glenda Resurrection, one of the top dubbers in Philippines for encouraging Diandra to audition for this project. Glenda is also in “Ibang Klase” playing the role of Ditas, a single Mom.

Congratulations Diandra, we are so proud of you!!!

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Joyce’s Father’s Day Talk Pt 1 @ Amazing Grace & Love Mission Fellowship

Me and Dad. I think was just a few months old here...

When I received the invitation from Luz de Jesus (President of the Philippine Association of Secretaries) to speak during Father’s Day at her church Amazing Grace and Love Missions Fellowship in Marikina, I jumped at it. This was my opportunity to tell people just how great my Dad was.  Here goes….

LESSONS FROM DAD

I was blessed to have one of the best Dads a girl could ask for. He was in his mid 50s when I was born – kind of old, but because he was a discliplined American military man, he was strong and fit.

Because Dad was 2 generations older than me and had served in World War 2, we did have a gap between us, but he tried to bridge that gap by passing on his wisdom and life’s lessons to me.

And now, I pass them on to you.

Dad and Me (learning how to swim) in the pool at Army Navy Club.

Lesson #1 Dad taught me how to pray.

I remember when I was 4 or 5 Dad taught me this prayer – Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. But if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.

We would say this prayer every night together before bedtime and I don’t know about you but that’s deep prayer for a 5 year old – I mean, it talks about DEATH!

But my Father knew a thing or two about death after surviving WW2 and becoming a decorated hero for America.

I remember asking my Dad if that would ever happen to me – that I might die before I wake and he said, no darling, God put me here on earth to keep you safe.

Dad protecting me and Abby from a wild animal!

Lesson #2 Dad was my protector on earth.

There was one time we were in Cartimar. I don’t remember how old I was but I was very little – not yet in school. We were shopping for something – in those days Cartimar was like Megamall.

As we were approaching our dark blue Volkswagen some crazy snatcher grabbed my Dad’s watch and ran off. Dad picke me up, threw me in the car and told me DON’T MOVE. Then he ran off to chase down the perpetrator. I had never seen him move so fast. It was then that I realized how scary my Dad was – he was not a man to mess around with.

So there I was sitting quietly trying to be brave but feeling scared because I was alone. Thankfully, Dad did not catch the thief because I know he would have beaten up the guy to a pulp.

Dad and Mom at my Girl Scout Investiture at St. Scho

Lesson #3 Books are Your Best Friends.

Dad instilled a love for books and knowledge in me. We would spend afternoons hanging out in the Library of the Army Navy Club in Luneta. I would be in the children’s books section and would lose myself in the beautifully illustrated pages of a book.

Dad always said that the Bible was the number one book in the world. After that were the writings of Shakespeare. I remember, when I was about 7 or 8, we would read scenes out of Shakespeare after dinner. I didn’t quite understand the English of Shakespeare, I was ONLY 8 years old! So Dad would explain the scene to me and my sister who was 3 years younger. It was FUN because Dad had a such a big voice and was a good actor. By the age of 9 I could boast that my favorite Shakespearean was the Tempest.

Dad was also big on maps (see behind him) and taught me geography so my internal GPRS system is tops!

Dad taught me how to love books and for that I am thankful. Although I did not graduate from college, my voracious reading combined with God’s favor have brought me to jobs where a college education is a requirement.  Today, I am a writer, a news presenter, an English conversation teacher and a public speaker. God is good!

Lesson #4 – Dad taught me that Love and Truth can break bondages.

My Dad started taking good care of himself after I was born. Although he was physically tough, thanks to the military, he had some bad habits – he was a 3 pack a day smoker and an alcoholic. His drinking was such a serious issue – he would get drunk everyday and his personality would change. He would be violent and hurt Mom. The next morning – he would not remember a thing but the bruises on Mom told a different story.

Dad loved me and Mom (and Abby too when she was subsequently born) SO much that he changed his ways...

But it was a TRUTHFUL word from a doctor that changed his life. After going through a check up, the doctor warned him that if he kept up his drinking and smoking, he would not live to see my 10^th birthday.

That shocked him badly. And because of his deep and amazing LOVE FOR ME and MOM he went COLD TURKEY. He completely stopped. I was only 6 months old at the time. So to this day I have NO memory of ever seeing my Dad drunk or with a cigarette.

CLICK HERE TO READ PART 2…

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Joyce’s Father’s Day Talk Pt 2 @ Amazing Grace & Love Mission Fellowship

LESSONS FROM DAD… part 2…

Dad's Christmas Card. This was taken during his first visit to Korea

Lesson #5 – Dad taught me to NEVER open gifts before Christmas!

Dad knew the meaning of timing. He also knew that the suspense of waiting for Christmas day increased the value of the gifts he gave us. He said waiting was a good thing. He did allow us to touch, sniff and shake the boxes though. But we were not allowed to open them until the morning of December 25.

Dad made Christmas so magical for me and my sister – gifts would suddenly appear under the tree. And we always had hot chocolate with marshmallows, a turkey dinner and a silver Christmas tree full of shiny ornaments.

To this day, I wait for Christmas day, December 25, to open all gifts given to me. Including the raffle gifts I win

The Burton Family Christmas Card - Me, Mom, Dad and my sister Abby

at parties. I’m serious. It’s a family rule, in fact, so my children AND husband all have to wait for December 25. It’s how I honor my Dad.

Waiting for the right time to do the right thing is indeed a great lesson Dad tried to teach me.

The Titular Family having Christmas FUN! Me and Ron with Wolf and Diandra!

Lesson #6 – Dad taught me How to be Brave.

Do you remember the terrible Baguio Quake that shook Manila? Well, I remember that day CLEARLY.

I just arrived at home and was solving a crossword puzzle and eating a bowl of noodles for merienda when some of the noodles jumped onto my puzzle. I was disoriented for a moment then realized IT WAS AN EARTHQUAKE. Not just any earthquake but an EARTH SHATTERING EARTHQUAKE.

I freaked out like there was no tomorrow, grabbed my helper who fainted and dragged her to the door jamb – I heard somewhere that door jambs are safe daw – then with my other hand I grabbed the telephone and right there at the door jamb, fell to my knees and started praying like a lunatic. I really thought we were going to die.

Dad had just woken up from a nap and stepped out of his room. And saw me with a phone in my left hand, my helper in my right arm, down on my knees asking God for forgiveness.

He started to laugh and laugh and laugh. As if there was no earthquake going on. I remember how cool he looked and how pink his cheeks were from the laughing at me. He was like Jesus in the middle of a storm wondering why I was so afraid.

Dad really was such a brave man – and an American hero for his selfless service during WW2. At his funeral, the US Army gave him a 21 gun salute.

CLICK HERE TO READ PART 3…

Dad in front of his coool Jeep!

Dad as Postmaster!

My Dad was GI Joe

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Joyce’s Father’s Day Talk Pt 3 @ Amazing Grace & Love Mission Fellowship

Dad, still buff in his 60s as he hangs out on Waikiki beach...

LESSONS FROM DAD… part 3…

Lesson #7 – Dad showed me How to Take Care of One’s Temple.

My Dad was amazingly fit. Let me share with you his almost daily exercise routine for about 20 years – wake up at 4am, drive to Luneta and jog around the big park across Manila Hotel four times.

Dad, in his 60s, strutting his stuff on the Army Navy Club tennis court!

Then he would go to Army Navy Club for breakfast and then play a few sets of tennis with his buddies. After lunch, he would swim 50 laps in the half Olympic pool andthen be home at around 5pm for dinner.

Dad in his 80s running around the US in a trailer...

Abby, Me and Dad at the Amtrak station in Tucson, Arizona. He was in his 80s in this pic.

But at age 91 he was diagnosed with stage 3 throat cancer. I spent a month with him in Honolulu where he was living with Mom and it was one of the best times we had together. We would spend the mornings and afternoons walking together and the rest of the day at the hospital for check ups and other things. Believe it or not, he was still running in the mornings at that age.

Dad in a bright Hawaiian lei celebrating his 91st Birthday at Fischer House, Tripler Medical Hospital in Honolulu. Mom is in yellow next to him.

And because he was such a sturdy 91 year old, Doctors said they would attempt radiation therapy and surgery. It was risky but they went ahead and guess what, Dad survived and was later cleared of throat cancer.  He had a scar from ear to ear and he was SO proud of it.

At age 93 he had another health emergency – a blocked intestine. It caused him to vomit and collapse in the bathroom. Mom called 9-11 and believe it or not, they got there in 5 minutes and rushed him, in another 5 minutes to Tripler Medical Hospital in Honolulu where he went straight into emergency surgery. It was very serious – so serious that the doctors asked the chaplain to call me.

I was here in Manila when I got the call. I just finished teaching an English class and remember how numb I felt. The chaplain said that there was a big chance that Dad wouldn’t survive. So we prayed.

But miracle of miracles, Dad survived once again. And after he recuperated from surgery, he returned to his running but he could only manage a 10 minute run in the mornings.

When he turned 94, he faced one last challenge – lung cancer. 15 days after that diagnosis, the angels took him to God. Although I was devastated, it was comforting to find out that two hours before his death, he was at a church service and that he passed on during his afternoon nap.

The prayer he taught me when I was little was answered.

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, but if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul take.

Those are just 7 lessons from my Dad – there are so much more but we’d be here the whole day.

So let me ask the Fathers here this morning – what lessons do you want your children to remember when you are long gone? What stories would you want them to tell about you? It’s your choice and that choice starts today. Get to know your children NOW.

CLICK HERE TO READ PART 4…

This photo is my all-time favorite one of my Dad... he looks like Errol Flynn here!!!

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Joyce’s Father’s Day Talk Pt 4 @ Amazing Grace & Love Mission Fellowship

LESSONS FROM DAD… part 4…

I think I don’t think my message is complete without speaking to the children and the wives in this room.

Children, if there is ONE thing you can change about your attitude toward your Dad, today is good day to change it. Here is an example…  from this day on I will be more respectful to Dad. From this day on I will do homework first before gaming. From this day on I will not sulk if Dad says no. From this day on I will keep my room neat.

God will show you what you need to change and all I ask is that you try to change just one thing starting today.

Wives and Moms… Dad cannot rule his kingdom if you are being bossy. You are not the King. He is. You are the Queen. Know your place. You were built by God to help him. Your are under your husband’s authority.

I struggled with this too – I am a very fiery woman I think you can see. But I obeyed God and now I share my happy castle with such a wonderful King who is gentle and wise.

Let your husbands make the final decision. Give him advice but don’t force him to follow you. He must be secure that you will support him 100% even when he is wrong.

For example – You are both driving to a party. He thinks the house is after the next left turn. But you know it’s after the next right turn. You tell him so, but he insists on the left turn. It’s OKAY. Let him turn left. When he discovers that the party is not there, turn to him and say, it’s okay darling, we all make mistakes, I love you.

Of course if a man’s decision involves something immoral, then you need to seek counseling. Talk to your pastor. But if we’re talking about everyday decisions about money, schooling, house rules etc.  then give your husband the reins. God will honor you mightily and your home will be ruled a wonderful King who is gentle and wise and you will be his help.

Me and Ron in Chiang Rai, Thailand

Let me end with a story of how my husband showed me the meaning of grace:

We were organizing an event one day and my husband had to be there early. So he left the house in the morning with the kids and helpers. I stayed behind to do a few things. At noon, I took a shower – biglang nag-brown out. Eh, our water was electricity driven so the water stopped. Buti nalang I was almost finished – konti nalang the soap on my body. I dried up, dressed up, left the house and went to our event.

It was a whole day affair which ended at 11pm. By the time we got home it was midnight and we were all exhausted. But when we opened the door to our apartment, water rushed out!

I forgot pala to turn off the shower. Eh the electricity went back on around 2pm. So the water was running from 2pm to 12mn… 10 hours straight! Since our bathroom was on the second floor, we had a waterfall going down our stairs. Baha ng mga 2 inches ang first and second floors namin.

I felt like the biggest fool on earth. But you know what? My husband did not say one bad word to me. He didn’t even give me an evil look. He just quickly mobilized the helpers and the kids and said, okay guys, our day is not over yet, let’s clear up this house. It took us 5 hours to dry the house and throughout that 5 hours my hubby kept comforting me and saying, It’s okay honey, we all make mistakes, I love you.

Me and Ron at our wedding

THAT IS GRACE!

Let’s practice grace right now. Wives, turn to your husbands and say – It’s okay honey, we all make mistakes.  I love you!

Now, it’s the turn of the husbands – turn to your wives and say – It’s okay honey, we all make mistakes. I love you.

Remember to practice grace not just today but every day.

Happy Father’s Day!

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Family Fotos with Michael Jackson, Superman and a Whale! (or fish, family, floods, and famous people!)

Weekends… usually we’ve got things lined up, but this weekend we’re at home.

pan-seared tuna

My very first car, Toyota Corolla SR, drowned by the flood last year

That’s given my blogging beauty queen wife, Joyce Burton-Titular, and myself the time for one of our favorite things… cooking! (check out this simple, healthy, and really great tasting dish we made; it’s on my food blog, Buff Food for Food Buffs .  Try making yourself some pan-seared tuna sashimi!)

It’s also given us time to do one of the things we dread doing… cleaning up!  hahaha!  Believe it or not, we’re still working out some issues from last year’s Ondoy flood! … Getting my old red Toyota ready for junking… dealing with parquet pieces still popping out, targeting painting needs… and lots of sorting through papers and stuff!

Michael Jackson in Davao

Superman in Davao

As Joyce was organizing her desk she came across these family pics!


… one day the wax museum came to Davao while we were living there in the early 90’s where the kids (they were kids then!) got to pose with Michael Jackson….


















and Superman!
































In 1998 Joyce and I got to attend the NAB in Orlando.  Afterwards we took the train cross-country and were able to visit my oldest brother Bob Titular and sister Rachel Moreno and their families… here’s a pic of us at Sea World!

The Titulars and Morenos at Sea World circa 1998. left-right: Ron Titular, Jazmine Titular, Rhea Moreno, Rachel Moreno, Margie Titular, Josh Titular, Bob Titular, Ryan Moreno, Ricky Moreno. middle: the killer whale. below: Joyce Burton-Titular

Nothing like Sea World in the Philippines… well, not back in the day… but we did have Enchanted Kingdom to go to!  Here’s a pic with us and Ric’s family… well almost… this was before sweetie Robin was born

The Titulars at Enchanted Kingdom circa early 2000. left-right: ron titular, joyce burton-titular, diandra zach, wolf, arlene belan-titular, rikki titular, ric titular, mikko titular

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Birthday BOYS!!!

This week I am celebrating the two men in my life: Ron and Wolf.

Wolfs' grad pic

Wolf came into my life first. He literally burst into the scene – I clearly remember how he popped out like a champagne cork and how he screamed bloody murder when he realized he was not safely tucked inside mama’s belly anymore. That was 22 years ago in the delivery room of the Clark Airbase Military Hospital.

I was wide awake when Wolf arrived, thanks to my choice to give birth ‘Lamaze’ style and my uncanny ability to sit through 9 hours of labor pain without asking for anaesthetics. First thing I remember doing was memorizing his face and his toes.

I’ve read that Zebra moms do the same except in their case, they memorize the stripes of their calf. This mental imprint is so clear in their heads that even if their calf gets ‘lost’ in a herd, they’d know by just looking whom their baby is.

Wolf’s ‘stripes’ for me were his ‘matangos na ilong’ (high-bridged nose), his long big toe and the hair all over the tops of his ears and on his back. The hair is all but gone now while the nose and the toes remain the same, albeit much bigger. LOL!

Happy Birthday to my wild Wolf, I am sad that this is your first birthday away from your family but I’m praying that next year, we’ll be together somehow.

Ron's Graduation Photo

Ron did not have such a dramatic entrance into my life. His was more ‘hum-dee-dum’. In fact, it was so ‘hum-dee-dum’ that I never thought that he would one day be my husband.

However, I do remember clearly our first few words to each other before we fell into a long conversation. We were actually at the birthday party of singer Viktoria who was just embarking on her career. I was seated next to him and they introduce him to me – Ron Titular they said he was.

I noticed at once that his hair was up in the air like Einstein’s or Don King’s. Then I heard him speak. What a mellifluous voice! I asked him if he was a DJ and he said yes. Voices are a weakness of mine and so I spent the rest of the evening chatting with him so I could hear more of his dipthongs, LOL!!!

I wonder what my reaction would’ve been if God had whispered in my ear that one day this DJ would be my knight in shining armor and that I would marry him in a Hawaiian wedding. I think I would’ve run away like a mad rabbit – marriage was the farthest thing on my mind at the time, great dipthongs or not!

So I’m glad God let me be Ron’s friend for a long season before we started getting close. The Lord’s timing is always perfect 🙂

Happy Birthday Ronster! Your dipthongs STILL drive me wild!

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New Blog!

Ron:

I’ve been stuck at home over a week due to gout!!! ouch…  Blame it on not keeping careful check on one of our favorite things…

FOOD!!!!  I love to cook and experiment in the kitchen when i have time, Joyce does too but is more into baking, the kids love doing both!  But most of all, we love… EATING!!!

So, since i’ve been stuck here i decided to work on a new blog. This is where we’ll keep our food trip adventures!!! Food we make, food we find, and food we eat!!!  Check it out! Just click on the link here BUFF FOOD FOR FOOD BUFFS.

Joyce:  It’s been 8 days stuck at home for the two of us. But rest assured that we have been sneaking out and hanging in SM Marikina where we can rent wheelchairs. We are so grateful for the service, although I find it slightly pricey – P60 an hour!  But you can opt to rent a wheelchair all day for a flat rate of P180. Still pricey but worth it.

I enjoy pushing Ron around as it is my wifely prerogative to be pushy (LOL) but I have to control myself from racing around the mall!

So far, we’ve snuck out twice to shop for cherries, cherry juice, organic apple cider vinegar, pineapple and watermelon which are all considered GOOD for gouty patients. Oh! Movies are also REALLY good for gout.  They keep Ron’s mind off his toe!!!

Yesterday, we bought a DVD of Mel Gibson’s Apocalyp-toe (HOHOHO!) and actually enjoyed it A LOT inspite of the yucky reviews about it.  If you hate to read then you might not like all the work of reading subtitles from beginning to end. Family warning: Lots of boobs, butt and gore. Overall score – 4 out of 5 Stars. Grrrrreat storytelling!

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See You Soon, Ric and Arlene Titular!!!

JOYCE:

Ron’s brother Ric is leaving for America together with his entire family this Tuesday, August 4, 2009 (two days from now) so we spent the afternoon with him and his ballerina wife Arlene and their three bubbly girls Rikki, Mikko and Robyn. I did my best not to be too sad because I can be quite the wet towel when I let my sad feelings run wild. Ron and I love them all so much and we will surely miss them at Thanksgiving and Christmastime. Sniff…

Okay, I said I wouldn’t be sad. Hmph.

In front - Mikko, Robyn and Rikki. Behind - Arlene, Ric, Pastor Ariel Marquez, Ron and Joyce

So we went to church, all of us at the Victory Christian Fellowship in Alabang and we ran into our super-duper favorite pastor – Pastor Ariel Marquez who said a wonderful farewell prayer for Ric and family. Pastor Ariel Marquez is close to us all – he officiated at my and Ron’s baptism and he also officiated at our wedding!

Lunch was at Pancake House and we did a good job at extending our time there. I really didn’t want to say goodbye just yet but… Ron and I had a party to attend (my bff Jomar Hilario’s son’s first bday) and the clock just wouldn’t stop. So after we wiped out our milkshakes, icecream and waffles (yeah, that was LUNCH for all of US!) we went into one of the toyshops to buy some travel games and puzzles the kids could busy themselves with during the flight.

Sigh… I will REALLY miss seeing them this Christmas… one of our highlights is watching them open our gifts to them.  😦

But at the same time, I’m bursting at the seams because this is ONE BIG ADVENTURE for all of them. Well, maybe not for Ric (LOLOL!) but I’m sure Arlene and the three bubbly ones feel that way. Arlene is all geared up for an interview with a ballet school and the girls will be able to enjoy thier first summer in America. In LA to be specific. I just know in my heart that Arlene is going to nail that job and Ric will be successful even in the midst of the recession.

Rick and Radar

And what’s even cooooooooler is that Radar their Shitzu won’t be left behind as originally planned; he is coming along!!!  Poor little Radar is so attached to Arlene that he suffers from separation anxiety and refuses to eat when she’s not around. But knowing that he can come along REALLY warms my heart. Thanks to Eva Air – they don’t charge too much for bringing pets along!

So, Ron and I say “see you soon” to Ric, Arlene, Rikki, Mikko, Robyn and Radar Titular!!!

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50 Things You Didn’t Know About Our Wedding

Ron and Joyce Titular

JOYCE:

Ron made an honest woman of me on July 23, 2000 -that means we are celebrating our 9th anniversary this week!

We have been together for 18 years, half of that time in the sanctity of marriage. His hair is a little grayer and a little thinner much like mine. And the lines of time are starting to creep up around his eyes as well as mine. And we’re both starting to make funny anatomical sounds which I’d rather really not talk about.

So this is what they meant by “growing old together”…

But we are far from old. Ron’s got killer trapezoids which make him look like a Pinoy Incredible Hulk. And his chest is mighty poofy like Johnny Bravo’s. And he’s got a set of pipes that make me think: VIN DIESEL! Furthermore, his one-pack makes for the best pillow on stressful nights!!! Oh, his trouble spots are his legs – they remain slim and spidery. But they will surely come in handy for that day when he has to run for his wife… oh, I mean his LIFE!!! LOLOL!!!

He IS my husband, but that’s really just secondary, maybe even tertiary. First and foremost, Ron is my “bestest” friend. Had to invent the term because BEST just wasn’t enough. He is also my “alone-person” – the only one whom I can be with when I want to be alone.  And he’s my partner in crime (crimes of the culinary kind) and…  I think this is the best part – he’s my playmate. Not in the Hugh Hefner kind of way, ha! Although that CAN be fun. But we are playmates of the innocent little-girl and little-boy kind.

So, my State of the Marriage Report is this:

EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL AND I CAN’T WAIT FOR ANNIVERSARY #10 !!!!

RON:

Joyce and I have been married 9 years… but we’ve been together for 18 years… (that’s a lot of monthsaries by today’s culture!) …and we’ve been friends for almost 20 years… In those years we’ve seen communication go from telephones to pagers, through cell phones and now laptops… (what’s next?!) all to help us cope with the way the world is changing… all to help us “keep in touch” no matter the distance.  It’s amazing, and thank God for that!  But I’ll tell you what… nothing beats an actual touch… and nothing beats being able to wake up and say “good morning I love you” and really mean it…  even after all these years.  Thank God for that!  Thank God for our years to come.  Thank God for my wife.  Thank God for my “Beauty Queen”, my “bestest” friend… “Thank you, God, for bringing her and keeping her in my life.”

Here’s the list of 50 Thing You Didn’t Know About Our Wedding:

1) We organized our wedding in 2 weeks !!!

2) Joyce went to work, delivering the news updates at ANC on the morning of our wedding day.

3) Michael Turner of Battery and Joey of NU107 both sang at the wedding.

4) The cake was a simple affair from Goldilock’s – Joyce eventually voiced a Goldilock’s TV ad and our son Wolf (together with his 2nd year college teammates) won 3rd place in the first Goldilock’s cake decorating competition.

Love is sweeeet...

5) Ron’s collection of Hawaiian Shirts inspired the theme of the wedding.

6) No invitations were printed; we just texted people, LOLOLOL!!!

7) We had 30 to 40 guests. All in Hawaiian outfits. Even the kids were not exempt.

Diandra (kid), Wolf (kid), Tabitha (not a kid), Zane (kid), Kyra (kid) and Rikki (kid)...

8) We brought Ron’s extra Hawaiian shirts and bought a couple more for guests who arrived out of theme.

9) Ron wore a Maroon Hawaiian shirt (from Hawaii) with a yellow flower design, light tan shorts and hiking boots.

10) Joyce wore a blue floral gown(from Robinson’s Galleria, LOL!) and a crown and bracelet of yellow flowers.

Who would ever get married in their SHORTS??? Only RON!!!

11) The wedding and reception was at Chateau 1771 in El Pueblo, Ortigas. Unfortunately, the restaurant is not there anymore but our love still is!!! Chateau 1771 is not entirely gone though; they have a gorgeous resto at the posh GB5 which we occassionally visit.

Our Wedding and Reception Venue...

12) We wanted nice expensive rings but money was low. After lots of praying, Joyce got a phonecall – a talent agent friend told her she saw a check for Joyce at one of the ad agencies. The amount was just a little more than the price of the platinum rings we wanted!

13) The lady at the ring store warned us not to get fat – platinum isn’t malleable so the rings couldn’t be stretched or expanded if our fingers got fat in the future. So far, we’re proud to report that our fingers are still skinny.

14) Our ring-bearer was Zane Turner, the son of Michael and Janet Turner – he was only 3 years old.

15) Janet almost had a heart attack when Zane almost lost the rings. We can still hear Janet’s half-growling, half-panicking voice saying, “WHERE ARE THE RINGS? WHERE ARE THE RINGS?”

Look closely at the center... Janet is RING hunting!!! But not to worry, she found them 🙂

16) We were the first wedding ever held at that Chateau 1771 branch.

17) We were supposed to get married at The Rock (Victory Christian Fellowship) near Valle Verde Country Club. But one of the VCF visiting pastors had passed away and they needed to use the place for his funeral.

18) The lady who owned Chateau 1771 got very excited when I asked if we could do both the wedding and reception at her restaurant. She got the place all fixed up and even bought floral decorations without charging us extra!!!

19) Our flower girls were Diandra (our daughter) and Kyra Legaspi, the daughter of NU107’s Joey.

A very solemn Diandra. Ok, maybe our flower girl's bored...

20) We had rockstars at our wedding!! Aside from rock offspring Kyra, we had Myrene Academia (Sandwich, Imago) Zach Lucero (Imago), Aia de Leon (Imago), Raymund Marasigan (Eraserheads, Sandwich), Michael Turner (Battery) and Quark Henares (Ciudad) and rock djs Tabitha and Joey (who was my Maid of Honor).

Raymund, Myrene, Joey (aka Thelma) Zach and Aia, Tabitha, Joyce and Quark

Another shot of the ROCKSTARS with the bride and groooom...

21) Pastor Ariel Marquez, who officiated at our baptism, was our pre-marital counselor and the GUY WHO MARRIED US!!!

22) Pastor Ariel’s message to us was this: Joyce submit to Ron, Ron love Joyce. Now why does Ron have it easier?!!!

23) Joyce’s son Wolf walked her down the aisle and gave her away to Ron.

Wolf, me and Nana Bibing who was Wolf's yaya since birth

24) The wedding was actually between 4 people. Ron got married to Joyce and her two children Wolf and Diandra. So his vows included them.

25) Our wedding souvenirs were pastel colored candles in different shapes. We had circles, hearts, crescent moons and suns. We bought them in some novelty shop.

26) Ron dated by hand, the bottom of each candle while Joyce was doing the news at ANC on the morning of wedding day.

27) Our flowers were ordered from one of the flower stores in front of the Markina City Hall. Flowers are amazingly cheap there! Our venue flowers were courtesy of the owner of Chateau 1771.

28) Joyce’s Mom attended the wedding in a red floral gown.

29) Joyce’s Dad could not attend as he was going through a medical crisis and was udergoing a series of check-ups in a US military hospital in Japan.

30) Ron’s Dad (whom we fondly refer to as PAPA LOU) was wearing an aqua blue Hawaiian shirt with white flower designs. He was not able to attend any of the weddings of his children except for Ron’s, so this was very special indeed.

Joyce, Joyce's Mom, Ron, Arlene (our sister-in-law) Ron's Dad and Ric (Ron's bro, married to Arlene)

31) Searching for the dresses for the flower girls (Diandra and Kyra) turned out to be easy. We stumbled upon two purple and white Hawaiian dresses in a surplus shop in SM Megamall. They were gorgeous but slightly big so we had them taken in at a quick sew place also in SM Megamall.

32) The honeymoon was the day after the wedding at Coco Beach, Mindoro.

On a bangka...

33) We had no budget to hire a photographer but our NU107 staffer Paul, who was a hobbyist said he would gladly act as photographer. His wedding gift? All the photos printed on film!!!

34) Ron’s office assistant Emy together with Paul enlarged the first photo in this blog and framed it as a wedding gift. 🙂

Emy and Paul (both from our NU staff) Kyra (our flower girl) and Wolf

35) Ric (the brother of Ron) and his wife Arlene took video footage of the wedding.

36) Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii album was playing in the background while people were arriving.

37) One of the funkiest wedding gifts we got was a Yellow Toaster that looked like a Volkswagen. It was a gift from Myrene Academia, bassist of Sandwich and Imago.

38) We decided to extend our Mindoro honeymoon by two days.

39) We thought we lost a $100 bill that was a wedding gift. But we found it on the floor of our car when we got back from our Mindoro honeymoon. So we used that to check in to Legend Hotel for one more night!!!!

40) Our VCF family in attendance at the wedding – Pastor Julius Fabregas and Arnel and Rolla Vismonte.

Pastor Ariel, Pastor Julius, Mom, Dad, Arnel and Michael praying for us

41) Dino Ponti Orig, one of the reporters for the ABS-CBN News Channel arrived in funky Muslim pants and a white Hawaiian shirt with coconut tree designs.

Mom, Dino, Pastor Ariel, Pastor Julius, Ric Titular and Dad

42) Joyce almost kissed Ron in the middle of the ceremony way before the part where the Pastor says, now you may kiss the bride. Thankfully, she realized it in mid-flight and backed out of the kiss. Everybody saw it and LAUGHED!!!

Hahahaha! She almost kissed HIM!!!

43) Joyce promised herself not to cry. And she didn’t!!! Well, almost; she did get teary-eyed a couple times, but ONLY THAT!

I'm NOT going to cry... I'm NOT going to cry... I'M NOT GOING TO CRY!!!

44) Our coin-bearer was little Rikki Titular, our neice. She was so well-behaved and DID NOT lose the coins. LOLOL!!!

Our pretty little coin-bearer Rikki Titular

45)  Joyce handwrote our vows and mounted them on colorful Hawaiian-themed cardboard. There was no time to memorize them but there was time to write them down, cut the paper, glue it all to the cardboard and wrap it in protective covering.

Wedding Vows on Hawaiian Themed Cardboard... oh, check out Ron's hair...

46) Ron’s big poofy lei was borrowed last minute, right before the ceremony, from our small group leader Arnel Vizmonte.

47) Joyce’s bouquet was a dried flower creation. Because it was dried, it is perfectly preserved to this day in our wedding display cabinet which also holds our candle, veil, cord, sign pen etc.

Nice nice dried flowers...

48) Ron had a big red blemish on his forehead. Joyce is just so thankful that it was on him and not her. Ron is so thankful for photoshop.

49) We had a cake-fight after slicing the cake. But it was not a super-cake fight. We wanted to preserve the sanctity of our reception.

Zane attends to a wounded Ron after the Cake Fight as Wolf the Warrior Looks On...

50) Joyce wrote a song for Ron which is pretty amazing becuase she doesn’t write songs. In fact, all she could write were the lyrics. Thankfully, Michael Turner supplied the tune and performed it during the wedding.

And they lived happily ever after... 🙂

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