ATL continued...

Ok, so as promised... here are more pics from last weekend... My sister Kathryn's the type of girl who's so spontaneous... she'd do anything that she pleases whenever she wants... but she's also very responsible at the same time... (Except for this one time... but I thought it was hilarious!) She was my maid of honor at our wedding and we had 6 hours of Open Bar, so she got really really WASTED!!! She ended up leaving the reception way before it was over... so that's my funny wedding story everytime somebody asks me "What's the craziest thing that happened at your wedding?" And I reply... "well, my maid of honor got soooo intoxicated, so she missed half of the reception!!!"... haha... Anyways, like I said she's always trying new things and what not... so, here you can see... she's brave enough to stick her hand in the petting pool and she actually petted a sting ray and a shark!!! I mean, ok, they're baby sharks, but still... have you seen those teeth??? Alright, then! But that's what makes hanging out with my sister so much fun... she's just random like that... even if we're different as night and day, we still find time to hang out every now and then!

Haha... I thought this picture was pretty darn FUNNY... Imagine being the guy in the fish costume as "Deepo"--that's the mascot of the GA Aquarium--and being smothered by a football player??? I bet the guy was all like "Get off me... dang-it... I can't breathe!!!"... LOL...

Anyways... moving on to Bella's party... she had a pink-themed first birthday party. No, there really weren't any kids there, but it's more of an adult party... does that make sense?

Here are some pics we took...

Oops... ok, there was one kid... I forgot Marc's baby Caroline was there... but she's only 3 months old... so... yeah!

Here's when we were singing Bella a Happy Birthday... Darn, I wasn't in any of the pictures cuz I was taking them... Argh!



Here's Bella's Birthday cake... I love how it looks so cute and yummy at the same time...
My cousin Kim--Bella's aunt, god-mother, second-mother--planned this party for her and she ordered this cake from a lady who makes wedding cakes! It turned out quite well :-)



Bella got tons of presents... I got her 2 pink summer dresses and 1 FSU seminole dress... Ha! I love giving FSU stuff to kids as presents--regardless of whether his or her parents actually went to school at FSU... hey, I gotta somehow instill in the kid the "yearning" to someday decide to attend our prestigious Alma Mater!

Oh, and here are some goofy ones... Ron--Kim's boyfriend--is pretty popular... Check these out!!! haha...





Here's Ron with my brother Kevin





Here's Ron with my sister Kathryn






And here's Ron with my husband Rob






And more goofying around...





Haha... what the heck?








And finally... Bella goin' at it with her birthday cake in her birthday suit :-)
So, that concludes our ATL trip...

Well, it's Friday and we have no sales tax in Florida this week, so it's probably another shopping weekend... It feels good not to be on the road this weekend... Have a great one!

ATL weekend

The weekend in Atlanta was fun, but way too short... I wish we could've stayed longer. We left Tallahassee at 6:30 pm on Friday... We stopped for dinner at Cordele, then got to Fayetteville--which is one of the many suburbs of ATL and is where my cousins live--around 11 pm... So, the drive was pretty short since Rob drove the whole way... Saturday morning, we went to the Georgia Aquarium... It was pretty awesome to think that the world's largest aquarium is in the middle of a bustling city, not even close to the shore!!! They literally have wall-to-wall aquariums and some are even overhead... The most amazing one was the tunnel aquarium (seen on the right)... We took a bunch of pictures, but I can only post several ones since some of the pics I took are kinda hazy (They won't allow flashes on some parts to protect the sea creatures!)... Anyways, here are some of the best pics and the funny ones... hehe..

Kevin, me and Rob

Kathryn, Kevin and Rob at the Jelly Fish aquarium

Kathryn with the giant spider crabs

Kevin with the catfish aquarium on the ceiling

Ok... Well, Blogger's acting up again... so, I'll put more pics of the aquarium and of Bella's birthday on my next post... Until then... Au revoir!

Georgia on MY mind...

We're heading to Atlanta tonight... it's been a year since we went there. My cousin Kim and her parents live up there... so, we're staying with them.

We're going to the new Georgia Aquarium tomorrow, which is the LARGEST aquarium in the world... We're also going for our little cousin Bella's first birthday party!... Geez, time flies... The last time Rob and I went there, she was barely a month old...

My sister Kathryn and brother Kevin are going with Rob and I... We were suppose to take my new car but since we've only bought it a couple of days ago, it'll take about a week or two to get our new insurance cards... bummer!!! But that's actually good for me since I WON'T HAVE TO DRIVE FOR 5 HOURS STRAIGHT, I can get some sleep on the way there... Besides, I can't drive a manual stick and it's not like Rob will let ANYBODY drive his BMW!!! Yeah, my husband's all psycho about his car... but hey, I understand now... I'm starting to be just like him with my new one too!!! Ha!

Bella's birthday was actually last weekend... but her party's being held tomorrow... Can't wait to hang out with my cousins... Even now that we're all grown up and have our own careers--some of us married and some have kids--we still find time every now and then to visit each other and just chill... like the good 'ole days :-) Can't wait to get to ATL and let the party start tonight!!!

To INFINITI and beyond :-)

Ok, so... I thought I was going to get a BMW... but then we went to visit our good friend's dealership--he owns the Prestige Infiniti here in Tallahassee and the Prestige Nissan in Thomasville, GA... Well, he showed us the brand spankin' new Infiniti G35... I fell in love!!! (Rob... honey... if you're reading this... it's not what you think... hehe!!!) It is the equivalent of a 3 series in a BMW... except that for the price of the 325i, I got mine FULLY LOADED!!!

The exterior color I chose is Platinum, just like the one on the pic above and the interior is all black... It's pretty SWEET... I really really love it... It's got 18" sports alloy wheels... All leather... even the door siding's leather!!! It's got a nice spoiler for a sporty look... 6-disc IN-DASH CD player... All the controls are on the steering wheel... Xenon headlights... All power seats... sun-roof/moon-roof... one-touch window button... V-6 Engine... 280 HP... and many more!!!! And the best thing is that when I took it home last night it had 6 miles on it!!!! Talk about brand spankin' new for real!!!

So tonight... even though it's a week-night... we're going out to celebrate my new baby :-)
I'll post pics of me with my new baby soon!!!

"THE" Ultimate Driving Machine!!!

Well, this is kind of a continuation of my previous post... So, I've decided it's about time I make up my mind and stop waiting for the dealer to finally call us and say "hey guys... great news... we've got your new car!!!"... I FINALLY put my foot down and called my husband from work this morning and told him that I wanted to go to the other certified BMW dealership in town and look at their inventories... So what if they didn't have the same EXACT specifications as Rob wants... So what if it isn't a 330i... THIS IS MY CAR... I'M PAYING FOR IT!!! And therefore... I'VE GOT TO DRIVE IT... I'VE GOT TO LIVE WITH IT... I'VE GOT TO LOVE IT... SO... darn-it... I GET TO CHOOSE IT!!!

No more HONDAS... No more oil-changes every 3,000 miles or every 3 months... No more tire changes for the next 5 years... No more break pad replacements...

I finally made up my mind that I'm going to buy a Brand New 2006 Black on Black or Black on Silver BMW 325i... This is a more common model and shouldn't be VERY difficult to find... We're going to the dealership tonight... And you know what they say... Once you go Bimmer... You NEVER go back... Soooo... I can't wait to own and see for myself THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE!!!

This... or... This???

It's that time again... Car hunting!!! And about darn time I get away from HONDA... which is the brand I've been driving since my teens... I've had 2 Honda Civics since I was 16 and while it's a very convenient car for teens and college students--well, I'm neither anymore so... time to move on!!!

Well, it isn't THAT simple... really! If it were up to me... I'd get an Acura like Susan Payne's or a Lexus like my mom-in-law Jana's... BUT being married to Rob--who's the most BMW-obsessed person I've EVER known--I have to get a Bimmer!!! I mean, don't get me wrong... I LOVE Bimmers too... but, according to Rob... "It can't just be any Bimmer..."... He wants a particular one--certain color, particular style of wheels, certain type of model 330i, sports premium package, xenon headlights, etc, etc... So, since he's very picky, I've been patiently waiting for my new car!!! Rob notified the dealer a couple of months ago, the owner of Prestige dealership of Tallahassee, which is the Wallings' friend--Craig Hornsby... but since Rob's very picky... they're still looking... Oh well... I can't wait for it to get here!!! That's all I can say!

So... it's Friday... We're going to party it up tonight at Miller's Ale house, which I've heard have the best drinks in town :-) Too bad my brother Kevin's under 21... He'll just have to stick with virgin cocktails or something... hehe! Tomorrow, we're heading to Destin (again... yeah!)... My dad's driving so that's good!!! But he has an Envoy SUV, which eats up a lot of gas... oh, well... he's paying!!! So, we're going shopping again and maybe walk on the beach before heading back home... We're going back to Destin again before the end of the month... which is getting ridiculous, really--going to Destin 3 times in the month of July!!! Crazy... Well... have a good weekend everyone!

Born in the USA... NOT!

We went to Jacksonville (which is about 2 1/2 hours East of Tallahassee) last Friday to have my fingerprints taken at the Homeland Security office... No, I'm not a suspected terrorist... LOL... but I'm applying for my US Citizenship... I should've done it years ago... I was born in the Philippines and moved here when I was barely 15... My green card expires next year and now that I'm not busy with school and wedding planning, I have the much needed time to travel back and forth to Jacksonville... It's a long tedious process... You must not be an illegal alien... You must have lived in the US for 5 years (well, I'm going on 10 next year... Green cards expire within 10 years of being issued)... You must fill out a ton of paperwork... You must have not committed any crimes whatsoever and be a model citizen... blah... blah... blah... The whole process takes an average of 6 months from the time you submitted your application to the time you take your Oath to become a citizen... In between those, you have to travel to Jacksonville (since this is the nearest city that has an INS office... which I don't know why the Capital City of Florida--Tallahassee doesn't have one!!!)...

My parents are both citizens as well as my brothers... My sister Kathryn and I were over the age of 18 when my parents became citizens, so we have to process ours on our own... Well, not entirely, because my parents went with Rob and I last Friday! Kathryn, on the other hand, renewed her Green card since she's in her last year of nursing school and she's busy as heck and won't have time for all that... I'm just real anxious to get my citizenship so that I can travel to Europe without a visa requirement for every country!!!

We were planning on honeymooning in Europe... but then it occurred to me that I have to get my visas from each country... And since we plan on going to the UK, The Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Belgium... That would've been 8 visas??? Talk about a lot of paperwork and headache... So... I'm really really excited about this... since Rob and I have an agreement that we are to take our second honeymoon in Europe in the next 2 years before we start having children... And that means, the sooner we go to Europe, the sooner we can have kids!!! haha...

Anyways, this weekend was just a relaxing weekend... We worked on the yard and cleaned the house on Saturday, then Sunday we had mom, dad, Spencer, and my brother Kevin over for dinner... I made my specialty Spaghetti! Then mom, dad, and Spencer were off on their RV trip on Monday... They're traveling all over the South Eastern states... I think they're in Louisiana right now... The last time we spoke to them, they were somewhere in Mobile, Alabama! *sigh* I wish we could go!!! But that's okay... since I think we're going to Destin again this weekend... but this time with my parents!

Birthday and 4th of July Weekend

I turned 24 last Friday, June 30th... We kicked off the weekend by celebrating it at Morella's Mexican Restaurant. We chugged down some margaritas, while munching on nachos and quesadillas... My husband loves that place, while I think it's mediocre!!! We've convinced my dad to go, so everybody went except for my brother JB. Well, anybody who knows my dad will tell you that he only dines at Chinese retaurants... and we were getting tired of Chinese everytime we go out with him. So, for a change, we decided on Mexican. I guess it worked!

The weekend before that, we spent 2 days at my in-laws' beach house in Alligator Point, FL. I love going there, because unlike other beaches in Florida, there is a sense of privacy... That place is like a rare jewel, only a few could enjoy... a private beach... We enjoyed the sunset, while gathering shells on the beach... with no one in sight but our family for miles on end... I tried taking pictures and thought that my creative side awakens... I was really proud the way the pictures came out, since I only used a regular Olympia digital camera! I told Rob I wanted a professional digital camera, similar to the one Karen Lucchini (our photographer) used for our wedding! But we'll see... this may be just a phase! My sister Kathryn takes awesome pictures... she's been into photography since high school and even took a class on it, in which she developed her own negatives! And who could forget my late grandfather Concordio S. Galutera, Sr, to whom my dad--Concordio, Jr. and brother--Concordio III are named after!!! He was a great photographer as well... So, it runs in the family!

This picture on the right is of my uncle Roehl (my dad's youngest brother) and his new family, tita Irene and Renzo. I thought it would be neat to capture them playing on the shore against the sunset on the horizon... and it turned out quite well, don't you think?

And here to the left is a picture of my mom with my aunts Linda and Nelia (both are my dad's older sisters)...

And finally... one of my favorite pictures... this one I took of Bella (my cousin Nicole's daughter). I took a lot of pictures of her first dip in the ocean and this was one of them.

So, all in all... our beach trip was fun. My family enjoyed fresh shrimp and crabs and we even grilled some live oysters!!! They were very tasty regardless of what Rob says... ha! I still love them... grilled, broiled, or fried... as long as it's not raw!

So, last Saturday (July 1st), Rob, JB, Kevin, and I drove to Destin, FL. We left Tallahassee at 9 am--Eastern time and got to Destin at 11 am--Central... We shopped at Silver Sands--this huge outlet mall they have. We haven't been to Destin in years, so we thought what the heck! So, we shopped until about 3:30 pm and then ate lunch before we headed back to Tallahassee to make it in time for our "Paquiao" party... This very popular Filipino boxer was going against some Mexican boxer and he won, so everybody was real excited about it! I really don't care much for boxing... but any reason to party is always good... hehe!

On Monday, I had the day off since the FL legislature was kind enough to extend our holiday to a 4-day weekend. But since Rob was working that day, I took Kevin, my god-daughter Rachel and her brother Michael to the mall with me. We shopped, ate and spent some time goofing around Best Buy... They had really great deals on DVDs so I bought some... though, we haven't watched it yet. Then, Monday afternoon, Rob and I headed back to Alligator Point to join his family for the Independence Day celebration.

4th of July... we spent the day laying around, reading books, going to the beach and riding the jet ski. I'm glad Rob charged it up the night before and we had plenty of gas... I haven't ridden that thing in a year, so I was kinda looking forward to it... it was really fun and I'm glad we brought our SPF 50s, because it was like 100 degrees outside... That night, we ate at Harbor House seafood restaurant on the water and went back to the beach to do our very own fireworks show. There were people all around shooting fireworks, so we had a fireworks festival for like 5 or 6 hours... it was awesome though! Then, Rob and I headed back to Tallahassee... it was pretty late and we had to be back to work the next day... My birthday and our weekend turned out to be great!!! Being on the road too much is very tiring... Tomorrow, we're heading to Jacksonville, then we're just going to relax in Tallahassee this weekend!!!

Wedding Slideshow

Click below for our wedding slide show...
Kerstin and Rob Walling - 05.06.2006

A new blog, A new life, A new beginning...

Ok, so I went from having my own website www.KerstinGalutera.com to having just a blog. Well, my website no longer exists and if it does, I no longer update it... Obviously, I have a new name for starters. For those of you who didn't already know, I've recently gotten married... Yes, Rob and I have finally tied the knot on May 6th here in Tallahassee... We had the most amazing time. I won't go into details about how the wedding was, because... well, even though I have a blog and a journal (based on wedding planning) before this, some things are still BETTER kept within one's heart and memory than put into writing... besides, I am at a loss for words and I wouldn't even know where to begin describing our special day... Also, it would take me such a long time if I were to describe our wedding day...
Yes, it was VERY detailed... down to the place card calligraphy! *Sigh*... But what a day it was!!! And that night was even more special... it was our very first night... Yeah, I won't go into details on that one either... except that... All I can say is... WAITING patiently bears great rewards in the end... It was quite interesting and such a learning experience... It still is actually... but we're loving every minute of it... or should I say, every hour of it... haha :-) Ok, that was kinda dirty!

Our honeymoon in Hawaii was equally awesome... evenmore so!!! We stayed in Oahu (Waikiki Beach) for a week and another week in Maui (Wailea). We were able to explore the islands, while relaxing and being idle at the same time. It was great!!!

So, here I am today... After nearly two months of married bliss. We're starting to get use to living together... We're both neat freaks, so it all works out... I do our laundry (well I load them into the washer and dryer), iron clothes, wash the dishes (sometimes load them into the dish washer), clean the bathrooms, make up the bed (though, this is usually Rob's job), dust the furnitures, and vacuum... and Rob dries the dishes and puts them up, usually makes the bed up, washes his BMW, his motor cycle and my Honda Civic, mows the lawn and does all the yard work... And we've learned to share responsibilities on bills... I've been so independent with my own money that it's quite hard sharing it with him (though, I'm sure he feels the same way... lol), so it evens out! Rob and I have combined our checking accounts, savings accounts, credit card bills, stocks, cell phone bills, house mortgage, retirement plans, etc, etc... It was weird going to our bank right after we got back from Hawaii and combining everything, but Rob and I are extremely fortunate for having very high credit scores at such a young age... Usually, young couples have a lot of debt and have very low credit scores that when they get married, they combine their debts as well... but not us... The bank associate was shocked!!! It was pretty funny... Well, I'm glad everything turned out the way they did... and so, here we are!