Is this husband still under warranty?

Blogging will be light to nonexistent as my brand spankin' new husband is broken.

Yup, after only six weeks of marriage, he had to be rushed to the hospital today for an emergency appendectomy. I didn't know being married to moi would have such an effect!

Don't worry, he'll be fine. He keeps trying to apologize for ruining my birthday. As if anything matters but him getting better!

Send him your good wishes at j_cunniffe@yahoo.com. He'll be touched to get nice emails from the blogging world.

What I’m thankful for this year

I’m thankful that the whole fabulous Internet keeps reading my self-indulgent ramblings. {Sigh}, I love you guys!

I’m thankful for my health.

I’m thankful for my friends who are each incredible individuals who make my life complete.

I’m thankful that the faux-motion is finally a promotion.

I’m thankful for all the lovely things that we are able to afford on our relatively comfortable income (though it never seems like enough).

I’m thankful for the amazing places I’ve been and the amazing things I’ve seen.

I’m thankful for my family without whose support I would have never made it through the tough times in order to really be able to see just how great my life is now.

And, finally, I’m thankful for my beautiful, thoughtful, kind, patient, loving husband. Without you in my life, it wouldn’t be a life worth living. There is not a day that has passed in the last 39 days that I have not thought about how great it is being married to you. Now, go get a damn haircut already and fix me a chicken potpie!

What are you thankful for?

What I was thankful for last Thanksgiving

Dear Birthday Gods,

As you know, my birthday is a week from tomorrow. That only leaves you 7 shopping days. Notice I did NOT say that it was anything religious or holy... this is motivated by greed. MY greed.

So, anyway, back to the task at hand: here's my birthday list in no particular order. Feel free to get me some or all of the things on this list.

these beautful boots. In red. Or olive green. No, red. RED.

the new Philip Roth book.

le Muguet by Annick Goutal perfume. Yes, I know it's out of production. Did I say this would be easy?

the new Tom Wolfe book (I know the reviews weren't great, but I prefer to make up my own mind!)

the powerbook G4. Well, if that's too pricey, maybe the Birthday Gods could just upgrade my i-book?

The Triplets of Belleville dvd. Because I plan on having a kid some day and want to have this to show him. And because I love it. Shut up.

A trip to St. Kitts in January. Nevermind, Birthday Gods. My HUSBAND already got me that!

My mommy. Oh, wait, you don't have to give me that. My mommy is coming for my birthday!! Yay!

Happy Holidaze - A rant

People are putting up Christmas lights in my neighborhood. It's not even Thanksgiving yet! I happen to love Thanksgiving. Spending time with my family makes me happy. I'm grateful for all the good things in my life. It's the crap that follows Thanksgiving that makes me shudder....

Have I mentioned how much I hate all this forced cheerful consumerism in the name of religion? How disgusted all this fake religiousity makes me? Oh, I haven't? Well, let me tell you, I hate the lights. I hate the tacky lit up reindeer on people's roofs (rooves? What the hell is the plural of roof anyway?). I hate having to buy presents for the holiday-sweater-wearing troglodyte administrative assistant with the napoleon complex. I hate all that insincere good cheer.

I hate having to explain over and over and over again that no, I have not put up my tree and no, I'm not going to church or synagogue or mosque or whatever house of worship you think I should go to. You can go on your smug little way and think I'm going to burn in hell... Guess what? I don't believe in hell and I don't want to be blessed. So, stick it up your smug, church-going behind.

Every year around this time, I get disgusted. All the stores are crowded. All you hear is crappy "holiday" music everywhere you go. People profess it's the most wonderful time of the year, but really, what's so wonderful about maxing out your credit cards, going to bad parties and eating and drinking crap? And really, who wants to look at people wearing stuff like this (gratefully stolen from Kristi)?

Why can't we just admit there is nothing "holy" about the holidays? Can't we all say we're doing our part to stimulate the economy and leave it at that? Why do people feel the need to make something religious out of THAT?

Bah motherf@#$in' humbug.

The New New Black

All the totally cool kids are making fake tattoos with sharpies. What, you didn't know? You are loser.

Or, this just could be what we goofy married people do for fun.

You decide.

Name Dropping Shamelessly

Tonight, we are going to a swanky party for alumni of my husband's (!) alma mater at the swanky Cornell Club, of which we can become members if we so desire.

Yes, we are planning to name our children Muffy and Biff.

Pruning the Roses

I got my 2005 calendar today. I know, I know. Am I really keeping a paper calendar nowadays? Well, yes and no. I keep all my work related meetings and appointments in an online calendar. I even list all my doctor’s appointments and other such minutiae in the online calendar. But I draw the line at social engagements and friends' and associates' birthdays. Those I put into my paper calendar in pen.

Why? Because I get a certain satisfaction transferring the data from year to year. I like flipping through the old calendar and musing… oh my god, that was a great party. Or, yuck, that dinner was a disaster!

And every year, I move all the birthdays of note to a brand new blank calendar. It has such a feel of endless possibilities in it. The anticipation of a year of life –fresh and unsullied ahead of me. But every year… the same problem.

Who isn’t going to make the cut? Old boyfriends that no longer deserve a birthday card? Business associates who are no longer relevant in your new job? Friends that are really no longer friends? That wild girl you used to party with that you really have no need to go have a birthday drink with anymore? You move on. They move on. It’s the way life is.

Every year, the same excited anticipation. And at the same time, the same sad pruning of the roses—those friends that you discard and those who have discarded you.

Lest you think...

...that this blog is going to turn into a Look-How-Blissfully-Happy-And-Smugly-Married-I-Am. It's not. I'm just going through a non-angsty period right now. Your regularly scheduled angst will resume soon, I think.

I mean, a girl can't stay this happy indefinitely, right?

Snow, rain? I say, bring it on!

I have a brand, spankin' new husband to cuddle up with and a whole bunch of yummy red wine to drink. I'll be the one in the pajamas, eating bon-bons and being thrilled with my life this weekend.

What are you doing?

Because Miss Krissa Couldn't Wait a WHOLE Week

These will have to tide you over until our "official" wedding pictures come. These were taken by one of our guests.


the kiss


the first dance


tasting the cake

The Honeymoon: A Story in 36 Pictures

There are no words.

But, there are 749 pictures. These are the 36 best. Hope you're ready.




...and so it begins.


sunset from our balcony overlooking the bird sanctuary in Playa Del Ray


the Santa Barbara mission


desert flora


old grave surrounded by lavender at the Santa Barbara mission


La Super Rico Taco in Santa Barbara. The best damn tacos we have ever eaten. Ever.


climbing into caves on the beach at Montana de Oro State Park near San Luis Obispo.


on top of the world at Montana de Oro State Park near San Luis Obispo.


more cliff hiking by my husband(!).


the tasting room with view of the vineyards beyond at Edna Valley Winery in (duh!) Edna Valley.


San Luis Obispo county Wine Trail. No, we did not go to every winery!


in love at Pismo Beach.


pomegranates near the walls of Hearst Castle at San Simeon.


my handsome husband taking a break from white-knuckle driving through Big Sur.


Big Sur


Big Sur


Big Sur


the sunrise over Monterey Bay - the view is from our B&B room window.


my husband(!) enjoying breakfast in Monterey.


Sea lions in Monterey Bay. These old fellows no longer go out to sea, content to wait for tourists to feed them. They spend their days arguing and pushing each other off that float while jockeying for prime position. John said that they reminded him of old men who hang around all day at the barbershop shooting the breeze and bragging about past glories.


that is a humpback whale. We saw him on a whale watch trip about 40 miles out into the Pacific. He was magnificent, but I was freezing.


drinking champagne in bed.


the jellyfish at the Monterey Aquarium.


yes, that IS a case of wine that we bought. What of it?


a certain someone who guest blogs occasionally.


John in Sausalito.


driving over the Golden Gate Bridge.


delicious dim sum at the Hang Ah Tea Room ("since 1920!") in San Francisco.


relaxing by our fireplace in Calistoga (this was the best part of the trip).


The entrance to Sterling Vineyards in Rutherford.


mmmm..... sparkling wine at Mumm Napa.


no, we didn't buy THAT bottle.


Near dawn, the beginning of the hike up Oat Hill Trail north of Calistoga. The guidebook said 'strenous' but we thought that we could handle it. I had no idea what was about to come.


Ten miles and 2,000 feet straight up later... don't let the smile fool you. I was about to drop.


LAX. The face of a woman who just had the best two weeks of her life and does not want it to end.

There you have it. No more, no less.

Next week... wedding pictures.

Tonight, tonight... I swear

I uploaded all 749 pictures from the honeymoon and the 200 or so pictures from my wedding that people have sent me (the official pictures from our two photographers should be here later in the week) to my hard drive. Now I just have to cull through them, pick the best ones, resize, etc, etc.

I will have both pictures and a post about the honeymoon up tonight.

I pinky swear.

Out with the Old, In with the New

In honor of being an old married couple (or, actually, because I've been meaning to do this for about three years!), John and I had a massive re-organization of our crap yesterday. We had agreed that Saturday was to be a work day--no sleeping late, no bullshit. We get up and we go to work.

Well, it sort of went like that. We were up at 7 am, but we lay in bed for about an hour talking about what lies before us. No, not the cleaning--our life. We talked about what kind of parents we want to be, we talked about where we wanted our careers to go, we talked about everything. Of course we've had these conversations before. We were definitely on the same page on all of these issues long before we said "I do," but talking about the "forever after" part once you're actually married is pretty cool. It was a lovely hour.

After that, it was on to the enormous overhaul of our stuff. We went through everything. The basement storage area, the crawl space, the Hall Closet of Doom, my 300 pairs of shoes. The rule was if you haven't worn it or used it in a year, it goes.

We worked for hours, bagging and hauling and moving.

The result?

Two organized closets -- mine and his (instead of one being full of storage items and us sharing one completely overfilled one), organized crawl space, organized basement storage area and....

5 giant garbage bags of clothes, 120 pairs of shoes and two large boxes of things for Goodwill.

I feel better, how about you?

Overheard

Me: (sighs as netflix movie ends) ok, who's cleaning up the kitchen?

Him: I will if... (booming voice) you vote for me for four more years!

Me: dude, I already elected you Husband. I'll vote for 28 more years. Now, go clean up the damn kitchen.

Him: (sighs)

The Episode in which our Intrepid Heroine gets all mushy and lovey dovey

You have to promise not to make gagging noises as you read this. Look, I have to get it all down on paper screen and I probably won't really talk about my wedding after this. OK?

You know how people are always saying things like "it was the happiest day of my life?" and you just know they're completely full of shit or that they buy too many Harlequin Romance novels and just can't think for themselves?

Well, I'm here to tell you that it's true. Oh, please don't start hating me now, OK?

It didn't start out that way. The week started out with quite a few huge problems setbacks.

The weather was hot and humid.

I forgot the file with our birth certificates and social security cards and, um, you kind of need those to get a marriage license.

John's 65 year old aunt wasn't allowed to board her plane in Manchester, England because she had an Irish passport and apparently, since 9/11 you now must have a visa to visit the US if you'e an Irish citizen without a UK passport.

I couldn't sleep. At all. For a whole week.

But it got better...

A cold front came through the day before everyone started arriving. By Wednesday morning the week of the wedding, it was a beautiful, sunny 75 degrees.

John's brother, whose job as the best man included just such emergencies, had not yet left for the wedding and had keys to our apartment in New Jersey. He was able to get in, find the file with our paperwork and Fed Ex it to us in time for us to get our marriage license just a few days later than was on my schedule (you know that I OFCOURSE had a minute by minute schedule of wedding week events for the entire wedding party, right? You do KNOW me, right?).

John's poor aunt had to take a long train ride to London, go to the American Embassy and get an expedited visa in time to salvage some part of her vacation and arrive the day before the wedding. But she was there. We spent the whole weekend calling her Aunt Terrorist.

Well, I still couldn't sleep, and you'll get the story about that shortly...

Everyone started arriving. They all seemed to be enjoying New Orleans. The happy hour Meet and Greet that we scheduled on Thursday before the wedding was a resounding success. All our friends, families and family friends seemed to mesh together nicely. The younger folks all went out for dinner and live jazz after.

My final dress fitting had me in tears because the dress was perfect--simple, elegant, no frou-frou. Just what I wanted.

Only I still couldn't sleep.

The rehearsal dinner was amazing. Great food, great wine, great fun. My bridesmaids and I had a slumber party at the hotel and stayed up most of the night talking about old times.

The morning of the wedding, my two bridesmaids (renamed Bitches, as in, "Bitches, can someone get me a glass of water?") woke at dawn. I, of course, hadn't slept. We watched the sunrise, took showers and went to get coffee.

People kept asking me if I was nervous. I wasn't. Or at least, not that I was aware of. The day progressed. There was hair and make up and bubble tea and kidding around.

Around 2 PM, my stomach started turning flip flops. I thought it must have been something I ate. At 3 PM, as my mother arrived with my dress and I started to put it on, I was in bad shape. Waves of nausea, cold sweat, my heart was racing and I couldn't catch my breath. Someone was suggesting that we call 911.

I was having a full blown panic attack. I still don't know why.

As soon as I walked downstairs and saw him, so beautiful in his tuxedo, all shiny and new and about to marry me (MARRY ME??). It just all melted away. There were tears and shaking and smiles and love.

That's all, guys. The rest is just a blur. There was a lot, but I just don't remember some of it and some of it is just for me, not for the internet.

It was beautiful and amazing and forever mine. It was the happiest day of my life. I married the most wonderful man in the world, with all his faults and all of mine, we are perfect together.

And that's all there is.

Yes, believe it or not, I'm back...

I have a ton to tell you about, but you will have to be patient. I may not have time to get to it until this weekend because being gone for three weeks puts your life into complete chaos. It will take me some time to get re-combobulated!

I'm glad to be back, glad to be a happily married woman and glad to be back to my blog. I missed ya'll!