:: The Sound of Music…ish ::

It’s been a while since I’ve shared any of my weird freaky dreams, and since I had such a vivid one last night, I thought I’d indulge!

So last night, I dreamt it was me and RJ’s second wedding. Same type of venue, a beautiful beach setting, except it wasn’t NASNI Coronado. It was more of a really spread out and open white sand beach, except I couldn’t see the water. Hmm…maybe that makes it not a beach then. Whatever the case, it was bright, open, white, and happy.

Moving onto the wedding reception, somehow my parents’ old kitchen table, which currently resides at Jenny and Alby’s house, was present as the head table. It fit the beach theme well, due to the pastelly colors. Kristin catered the whole thing, for all the guests and even the work staff singlehandedly.

On our way back to the hotel, we somehow (by we, I mean the entire wedding) got trapped inside the resort, under seige by some other country (thus The Sound of Music…ish) and we needed to flee for our lives. We needed to travel stealthily throughout the day and recruited people (who happened to be students at UCR) with special skills to help us escape. Somewhere in there, someone suggested a trip to Las Vegas when we got out. I guess our wedding was at a beach by Vegas?

In the end, we found a hole in the attic floor with a zipline. It was our only hope, but in the process we’d be moving targets for the enemy. One girl proceeded to test her weight on it, and slipped and fell. We thought she was a gonor, but then we heard her yell for us. Apparently, there was a trap door where she landed and it was an escape route, an underground tunnel sort of deal to let prisoners free out of the resort. There was even a landing pad so it wouldn’t hurt.

For some reason when we escaped, I felt such a rush of relief and freedom, and was overwhelmed by emotions and said, “I’m so glad they made this underground railroad! Last time was so much harder to escape!” So I guess I had been under seige at that resort before and last time there was no easy escape? And I was foolish enough to come back, nay, have my wedding there?

I remember waking up and feeling the relief of freedom from perceived oppression, and thinking, I’m glad Jesus set us free. I know, randomly connected, but it was one of the first thoughts in my mind.

So. That was my dream. I slept a good solid 12 hours last night.

:: The Knot ::

Be sure to pick up your Spring/Summer 2010 edition of The Knot: Southern California magazine. In the Real Weddings section, you’ll see a couple familiar faces! That’s right, last June, Cindy at Orange Turtle decided to take a leap of faith and submitted some of the weddings they’ve shot to be published. Of the 1,000s of submissions, RJ and my wedding was selected!

I’m super excited, I’ve always wanted to be in a magazine! Let alone have my WEDDING be in a magazine! Any girl’s dream come true! =)

Check out the spread at Orange Turtle’s blog!

:: Hello, Goodbye ::

Hello, 2009!  Goodbye, 2008…you were so good to me.

Highlights and Events of 2008:

1.  I got engaged!  (January 3rd/19th)

2.  I got married!!  =)  (August 23rd)

3.  Left Irvine, my home of six years (not a highlight…) 

4.  Moved to Riverside! 

5.  My hubby graduated from the University of Oregon…and now is a big boy!

6.  Started EDGE Corps with the Navigators…round 2!

7.  Learned to appreciate that God made people to think and process a lot differently than me…and that I’m not always right. 

8.  I have become more administrative and detail oriented…I believe that came with marriage and an even more disoriented man.

9.  Witness God provide for RJ and I in mighty ways as we begin our lives together, not only with our entire wedding, but our apartment, our furnishings, and our funding.

10.  Said an exuberant good-bye to long distance!!  No more phone calls after 9pm or seeing each other once every three months!  Or hotel lobby dates for 2 hours after driving for 5 hours.  Or softball coaches looking over our shoulders.  Or endless blubbering at the airport.  Or pent up affection.  Or…well, you get the idea…it’s just better this way.

11.  I learned to surf…well, kind of…thanks Emiliooooo!  =)

12.  Went to Mexico for the first time, which is lame since I live in San Diego!

13.  Learned that not all dogs are mean and bite when you touch them…just Oliver.

14.  I no longer NEED to wear make-up when I go anywhere…I choose to, or I choose not to.

15.  Discovered Vanilla Coke Zero!

16.  Taste preference has changed yet again from salty to fruity, slowly but surely.

17.  Went to a tequila factory for the first time!

18.  I am more convinced of God’s perfect timing, and His sovereignty in making His children wait for His plan to unfold.

19.  I went scuba diving for the first time ever!

20.  Changed my name legally to Alice Matagora…and saw it a couple months before we were married in Colorado Springs on our donor cards…trippy!

21.  I’m beginning to learn to let go of things I can’t control, and to trust and rely on God more than ever.

22.  Joyfully witnessed four good friends get married, from all eras of my life.

23.  Redefined forgiveness as trusting that the blood of Jesus covers the sins of those who sin against me.

24.  Realizing that I’m a lot more wounded than I thought, and it’s the word of God and His Spirit that breaks the hold of lies and patterns of thinking.

25.  Saw my grandparents from Taiwan again, and got my grandpa to laugh uncontrollably…I’ve never seen him do that!

26.  RJ and I found out that conflicts that existed before we were married don’t disappear just because we’re married.  =)

Now I’m positive there are more amazing firsts and events that happened in 2008, but as it is 1:24am, I can’t think of them now.  Moving on…

2009 New Year’s Resolutions:

1.  Fitness – more cardio and weights.  I used to be so in shape…what happened??

2.  Nutrition – multi-vitamins and eating more whole foods

3.  Stop the occasional cussing…completely!

4.  Complain less, encourage more.

5.  Make time with God a priority, over my husband and over ministering to others.

6.  Make music more of a priority – violin and guitar.

7.  Let go of things that can’t be changed and move on.

So here’s to 2009!  May it be even richer with blessings than 2008!

Happy New Year!  =)