K's stuff

Stationery card

2011-12-01T17:40:00.001-08:00

Colorful Joy Christmas Card

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JUST MARRIED!

2011-09-05T23:49:00.000-07:00

July 1st, 2011 was the best day of my life (so far)!

At approximately 6pm on that Friday I became Mrs. Kekoa Hudgens! Even now, 2 months later, it makes me smile when I say Mrs. Hudgens.

I'm not an avid blogger, but from time to time an important occasion, issue, or moment in time gives me cause to reflect or write. I can't have a blog sitting out here on the net without talking about my Wedding Day so…here goes.

Koa and I had talked about marrage since we first starting dating, not about when, how, or where we would get married, but about the fact that we both wanted to be married someday, and wanted to always make sure we were on the same page and heading in the same direction. The engagement talk came about very organically over a nice meal at the Palm restaurant in January with Koa saying to me over lobster mac-n-cheese, that he thought it was time. We decided to take my Mother's engagement ring stone, and my Grandma's wedding band stones, and have them custom designed into an engagement ring. We officially got engaged on Feb. 18th, 2011 our belated Valentine's Date night. I came home from work and knew Koa had picked up the ring, but thought he would probably propose later that night on our Dinner Cruise, but I came home from work, he was asleep in bed sick, I laid down beside him and he asked me in bed, sick. It was perfect!

We thought long and hard about eloping, and eventually decided we would have a small wedding in San Diego on our 3rd Anniversary, July 1st, the day we met in 2008.

The planning was fun, exciting, trying, exhausting, stressful, and foreign. We stepped outside the box and did things our way. We aren't a couple that really care for the spotlight, so we took most of the key spotlight elements out, and made it more about being together with our family and friends and having a celebration.

The week of the wedding family and friends started arriving, all the loose ends started to tie up, and all the anticipation was moving into excitement.

July 1st, 2011 began with one of the best nights of sleep behind me. Koa and I chose not to spend the night before our wedding apart. We woke up, had breakfast in bed, went to set up the venue a bit, I went to hair/makeup, Koa napped, and then we came back together at home to get ready. We were alone in our wedding preparations and completely calm. Once the dress was on, and Koa was in his suit it became real. I did not have any crazy thoughts running through my head, I didn't have the dreaded cold feet, or butterflies in the tummy, it was complete calm. I knew that everything was right, and was just as it should be. For the first time in my life, my heart, body, and mind were in the same place and ready to walk into a new life chapter together.

The ceremony went by in a flash on the beach on Coronado Island, and the magnitude of the vows I took at that moment were true and joyful. I married my best friend, and put faith into my future with the most amazing man I have ever met (my Grandfather aside). The Day was amazing. So many friends from far and wide, and family came to support us, and the love that surrounded us on that day was unmeasurable. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, the venue was beautiful, the flowers were stunning, the cake was divine, the music was mellow, and the fireworks were the perfect finale. But the man beside me throughout that day, my husband, was truly a gift and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Our friends and family have returned home, the honeymoon went by in a flash, and as days go by the novelty of being a newlywed wears off just a little each day, but the comfort in knowing I have a lifetime of memories, experiences, and milestones left with Koa is the best feeling in the world. So in saying July 1st, 2011 was the best day of my life, and I truly wish I could go back to that day at least once a year and do it all over again, I will be content in knowing that I had the most amazing day when I became Mrs. Hudgens, and that July 1st, 2011 was just the beginning of a beautiful lifetime together with my Love, Kekoa!

9/11

2010-09-14T23:38:00.000-07:00

On September 11, 2010, I was feeling a bit of sadness as I reflected back to the events of 9 years prior. It was a day that I will never forget, as will many others I'm sure. I don't necessarily want to rehash the events of that day, where I was, or how I felt because I think the entire world was in a state of shock. However, I have held onto to a photograph for these past nine years that I would like to share.

On July 16th 2001, I was awaken by a phone call that would forever change my life. My Mom called to tell me that my best friend Amey had passed away in a car accident. I was living in Dublin, Ireland at the time, and was overcome with grief. I had never lost someone so close to me before, nor ever dreamed that I would lose Amey. I booked the next flight out and was back in Ohio in less that 24 hours.

The trip to Ohio was the worst trip of my life and to this day is somewhat of a fog. I buried my best friend, tried to see my family, and tried to grieve the best way I knew how. After a miserable week (the worst of my life to date), I boarded my flight from Cincinnati to Newark. The skies were dark that day, much like my spirit, and inevitably the flight was delayed. By the time we took off and landed in Newark, I had missed my connection to Dublin. The airline put me up in a nearby airport hotel since it would be 24 hours until I could depart for Dublin. Out of pure exhaustion, I slept through the night.

The next morning I awoke and decided to bus it into the Big City and try to meet up with my cousin Diana for lunch, since it had been some time since I had seen her last and even longer since I had been to NYC. The bus from Newark dropped me in the financial district, and I met up with Diana in the atrium of the World Trade Center. After lunch, I decided to do some shopping in the basement mall of the World Trade Center hitting up the New Balance store and Gap. With time on my hands, I popped into LensCrafters for an eye exam and got new contacts. I didn't stray too far from the WTC as I knew I didn't have much time before I needed to make my way back to Newark.

As I was waiting for my bus, I reached into my bag to find my ticket, felt my camera, and realized I hadn't taken any photos on my trip. Not that it was a trip that I really wanted to document considering, but I thought I should take one quick photo as my bus was approaching. I pointed my lens straight up and this is the result:

At the time I didn't know what I had captured as it was a time before digital photography, for me at least. Once the prints came back, I realized it was a decent shot, but it became much more poignant on 9/11, 2001. I am glad I had that day with the World Trade Center in the midst of my own grief, and grateful that I have the image to hold onto in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy. The World Trade Center will always stand time in my memory.

MICHAEL "KING OF POP" JACKSON 1958-2009

2009-06-26T12:12:00.001-07:00

What a shock! It has been over 24 hours now, and I am still stunned.

Yesterday, at 2:26pm, Michael Jackson passed away. Michael's death is heartbreaking and extremely sad... another life taken way too soon. It feels as if someone very close to me has died, and I guess, in a sense, that statement probably rings true to millions of people around the world. Michael Jackson an icon of our generation. Michael was idolized for his artistry, talent, music, dance, and pure magnetism. "Beat it", was the first music video I ever saw, and "Thriller", was the first album that my parents ever bought me. I wore t shirts adorned with sequins that read "Thriller", and t shirts with iron-on decals of Michael busting some of his unique dance moves. For a time, I wore a shiny glove on one of my hands. I made home videos lip syncing to his music, watched with utter disbelief this man introduce the moonwalk on TV for the first time at the Motown Anniversary, and I cheered on with excitement when he won an armful of Grammys. I followed Michael's career, bought his albums, sang his songs, tried to put my own spin on his dance moves, and was completely enthralled by MJ. He was an enigma to me. I always stood in his corner with hopes of a comeback, was relieved when he was acquitted by a jury on those charges, was relieved when he recovered from the burn, and his other collapses. I am now, and always have been a Michael Jackson fan. It is hard not to be a Michael Jackson fan when he was the fabric that made up the music, pop culture, and dance of our generation.

Michael Jackson came across to the public as a lonely figure who never really came to grips with reality, the perpetual man child. Michael lived in a spotlight his entire life and that surely puts a different spin on reality, a spin that the likes of very few will ever know or feel. There are many unknowns surrounding the life and times of Michael Jackson, but there is one truth that no one can deny - Michael Jackson was a pioneer in the music industry. He was a star, unparalleled. Michael touched lives in ways that is hard to comprehend. He paved the way for many artists, and he opened the doors to many genres of music, all the while breaking down barriers on race, and using his influence to help the world in their suffering. We ARE the world. Each and every one of us are unique and gifted, but no one tapped into that uniqueness and put it on display to the world quite like Michael Jackson. His star will always shine bright.

I don't believe anyone, whether you were a fan or a distraught fan of Michael Jackson, was prepared for his passing yesterday. He defined a moment and time in our existence, and it feels as if part of us has died. I hope his legacy will be shrouded in honor, respect, and dignity for the contributions he made as an artist. May Michael find peace in death that he never found in life.

RIP KING OF POP, you will be missed.