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Wedding photos are in and open for viewing! A big THANK YOU to our photographers Holly and Donny for capturing memorable art of our day. They were nothing short of great, we can't praise them enough for all the work they did. They were our 'calm' when times felt a little too overwhelming. We appreciate our photos and the both of them.

http://www.heavenlyportraits.com/



Mike and our good friend Kopis worked countless weeks prepping the Caddy to be wedding-worthy with a fresh new paint job and a custom grill.

In memory of Elaina's Lola (grandmother)


VooDoo Bride in full effect... may nothing go wrong on this day...

The dress was a beast! It took all 6 bridesmaids to get that thing on over Elaina's head and laced up.







In the Bridal room watching all the guests being seated.

On the other side of the wall in the Grooms room, also watching the guests.



The guests waiting with anticipation.

Lolo (grandpa) telling jokes just before the walk down the aisle.



Bridesmaids and our Lil' Pastor Jonathan (Elaina's Cousin) performing the ceremony.



The new Mr. and Mrs. Soto! As we walked back down the aisle to 'Lowrider' by WAR.

Our Mammas

Our best friends.... por vida!






The Bangin' Bridesmaids


The Groomsmen and "The Muscle" (ushers)








Trying to steal a kiss. FAIL!




An awesome reception.



A wish tree for guests to write a personal message to the newlyweds.

Now THAT'S a head table. Seating for 26 anyone?


Grandfather and Mother of the Bride

Like the hair flowers? Elaina made them as gifts to her bridesmaids ;)

Steven giving his best man speech to his big brother and new sister.


Mike's Pops and Gram

Elaina's Tatay and Nanay (grandparents, but in tagalog that translates as 'mom and dad')

Elaina's Lolo and Sophia





Everyone danced the night away.


Who plays Atomic Dog at their wedding 3 times? WE DO!

The End.










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Mighty Beaver

Our friend Dave had asked me to create an art piece for him on a toy called a Mighty Mugg. At the time, Mike and I were planning our wedding and I just didn't have the time I wish I had to do that for him. It has been well over a year since he had first mentioned the idea to me and by now I had forgotten all about it. But then Tiffany (his wife and friend of ours) contacted me and thought it would be a great Valentine's gift idea to have that piece finally completed to add to his collection of Mighty Muggs. Had she not contacted me about this, I'm not sure if it would have ever been done.


WHAT IS A MIGHTY MUGG?

Mighty Muggs are a vinyl/plastic collectible toy series made by Hasbro. The toys resemble super deformed versions of characters from franchises such as: Star Wars, Marvel Comics, Indiana Jones, G.I. Joe, and Transformers.

There are also blank Mighty Muggs that have been produced by Hasbro for customization. This is the Mighty Mugg Tiffany purchased and shipped to me... This was my canvas...The theme: "Beaver"

I first drew my design with a silver pen and began to paint. It was pretty tricky to paint on plastic. The acrylic paint took about 45 minutes of dry time per coat. But I was patient.

I've never painted a model car but I imagine it would be similar to this since I had to handle the little guy and maneuver him just the right way to get into those hard to reach areas. The frustrating part was touching the wet areas I had already painted and having to repaint over my fingerprints.

The Mighty Mugg's usually come with accessories to hold in their claw-like hands. I went on a scavenger hunt in the backyard and found a piece of wood. One of the many items beavers need for their building purpose.

Here he is ladies and gents! Protective coated and prepared for construction!

Signed and dated

Packaged and ready to go!

I'm so flattered Dave and Tiffany appreciate my work enough to have commissioned me for a piece of their own. This little guy wasn't the norm for me as far as painting goes; it was challenging and I would totally do another.









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A good reason to spend the day together. Thanks St. Valentine

Each year Mike and I take turns planning Valentine's Day. We don't give gifts; instead we surprise each other with an event for the day. This was Mike's year and it was a good one. It started off with homemade eggs benedict and mimosas.



Next, Mike planned a bike ride into uptown. While I got ready, he shined up our bikes.

Edward wanted to go but I told the little boy he had to watch the house.

An ice cream stop was a must after we parked our bikes.

Then we watched a movie!

Afterwards we rode our bike's home, rested for a bit and went out to dinner. It was a great day and probably one of my favorite Valentine's Day!









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All I wanted for Christmas were my front teeth

I had root canal's on these two teeth


Steph and Lisa found my tooth!


That's what the nerve looks like when its exposed... I can't explain how bad it felt.

My busted up chin with stitches.



November 21, 2009 - A few of my girlfriends, Mike and I went to a local bar/restaurant for some drinks. The night was great, we were all having a great time hanging out and dancing. We migrated to another room and hung out there. Music was still bumping and we were all talking and dancing a little. The floor we were on was stone tile material and someone had spilled water or some clear liquid on the ground. I was standing with my friends Sara and Steph, Mike was with other friends across the way and saw my little accident.


I slipped on the liquid... I fell so fast I didn't have time to put my hands in front of me to catch myself. So my face broke my fall. I didn't get up, I was on the floor for a few seconds so then everyone freaked out because I wasn't moving. Sara and Steph picked me up. Mike ran over and kept asking me if I was okay. He couldn't hear me because the music was so loud and because my hand was over my mouth. He then moved my hand from my face and my mouth was full of blood and it was dripping all over the floor (and some on my friends-sorry about that). Then everyone realized we were standing in a bloody mess. Mike then needed to get me into some light. One security guard came over and told Mike we couldn't be inside and we needed to go outside. Mike was upset and said "you're not throwing us out of here, I need light to see if she's okay" the security guard told Mike we had to leave again and "Mike told him no and he said we're not leaving the building until he could see the damage and get me into some light"... Another security guard came over and was much nicer and told us that he saw my fall and said it was a complete accident. He saw me slip on the puddle of water. They brought me into the office at the bar and from there Mike realized he had to get me to the ER. Two of my girlfriends Steph and Lisa went back to find my tooth. A security guard helped them out with a flashlight... They think someone kicked my tooth because they found it kinda far from when I had fallen. Lisa had the bartender give her a cup of milk to preserve my tooth.

I left the bar with a huge chunk of ice on my mouth and chin. Mike drove me to the ER... once we walked in the girl behind the desk at the ER said "Hey Mike, what's up!? I love your honeymoon photos I saw on Facebook!" Mike knows this girl from highschool. So I was standing there for about 30 seconds and we were seen immediately. There were other people there waiting before me but she somehow got us in quickly. Then I started throwing up from the alcohol and from swallowing so much blood. They gave me a shot in one arm to keep me from throwing up because it was bad for my open wounds. Then they gave me a tetanus shot in my other arm and that my friends is a painful painful shot! My arm is still throbbing right now. They cleaned me up and put stitches in my chin and said they couldn't do much for the tooth. They also gave me a CAT scan of my head. They couldn't give me any pain medication until they were sure I didn't have any head injuries. Thank God, no head injuries and then they gave me pain medication.

They sent us on our way and we went home. Mike put me to bed and then immediately emailed my dentist, Dr. Toorani. After that he had to find a 24 hour pharmacy, since the economy is so sucky right now most 24 hour pharmacies close early. So he found one in the next city over to get my vicodin. I woke up in the morning in terrible pain. Where I broke my tooth left the nerve exposed which was extremely painful anytime air touched it or my tongue touched it. I had a hell of a time trying to take my pills and even drink water.

My dentist is so wonderful... he checked his email and called Mike right at 8:00am he told Mike the office was closed but I have a great relationship with Dr. Toorani and he's just an amazing dentist all around. So Dr. T said he'd open up the office and have his wife watch his kids so he can come in and check on my teeth. Dr. T took excellent care of me. He's referred me to an endodontist to do my root canals. Yeah, I needed two! And the first one needed to be done the next day.

For the pain, Dr. Toorani numbed me up really good so that I could get some food in my stomach. I hadn't been able to eat or drink since my nerve was exposed and caused terrible pain. He gave me an anesthetic they give patients when they perform surgeries because it lasted about 8 hours. He also glued my tooth on just temporarily so I have some protection of the nerve. This way I'll be in less pain and can eat better even after the numbness wears off.

Vicodin has been my friend for the pain and the antibiotics fought possible chance of blood infection. I felt like a walking sore... Like I got hit by a truck.... in the face!!! Thank God it wasn't worse.

Its been 2 1/5 months since the accident and I've already had about 8 dental visits. I now have a new smile, and my teeth look great. Oh and my chin has healed up nicely, the scar isn't bad at all.

The end result for my teeth is basically:
2 root canals
1 post
2 crowns
2 veneers
1 new set of retainers
and now I can finally bite into a burger.... carefully.









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