I think that along with my slowly-redeveloping discipline, I might be ready for a more ambitious knitting project than I have done in the past. Not that knitting four bridesmaid tops wasn't ambitious, but it's not like the pattern was difficult. Straight stockinette the whole way. I'm not much for wearing wildly patterned knits, but something with some pretty cables or lace ribs, or something like that would be nice. Time to start going through the books and magazines. I feel like I saw some stuff in last Fall's Interweave Knits that I wanted to try. Wish I could figure out where I put it!

I have been posting on a particular message board for a while, and watching it deteriorate into nastiness and accusations. A lot of it is aimed at a woman I became friends with in the real world (and whose wedding I went to back in May) and who sort of uses the boards as an outlet for her frustatation, and is thus often a real bitch online. She's been flamed (and worse) far beyond anything she deserves, and I finally got tired of watching it today. I deleted my membership, and I feel much better about it now. I was wasting too much time and mental energy on that crap. There were some nice women there, but experiencing that kind of nastiness day after day is just not worth the minimal payoff. It's amazing how absorbed you can get in that kind of community - I feel so free having deleted my membership!

Wow, talk about a busy weekend! Friday night we had a double date with Amy and Steve, and saw a fun show at the Upright Citizens Brigade. It was really funny, and nice to do something a little more interesting than seeing a movie (for only seven bucks, too!).

Saturday we went out to Leanne's house for a Fall party. Lots of kids, lots of food, lots of dessert. We ended up staying there quite late, going back for round two of the main courses a few hours after dessert. Then it was back to Brooklyn for another party at Bill and Andrea's. Andrea is my friend Cara's cousin, and they just got married a few weeks ago, with Andrea wearing my veil and headpiece as her "something borrowed." It was so nice to be able to lend them to someone - they deserved another trip down the aisle. She had some pictures, and they looked just beautiful on her. Now they're back home just in case I have an emergency wedding need.

Sunday we decided to take advantage of our extra hour and clean the apartment. I mean seriously clean. We did the bedroom, office, bathroom, kitchen and storage alcove before we collapsed. Tonight we'll finish off the livingroom and bask in the glow of our incredible cleanliness.

I'm hoping the cleaning kick has started me off on a better foot, lifestyle-wise. I've been very undisciplined and lazy for months. I recently started going to the gym again, which is helping me to feel better. But I need to be more conscientious at home, rather than sitting on my ass in front of computer, Xbox, television, etc. I think once I get back into a real routine, I will likely knit more, too.

So, back in May or June, I (and several other NY knitters) spoke with a woman doing an article for Newsday about knitting. I think she posted on the Stitch'n'Bitch list to find us. We had a lengthy phone interview, and she said the story would run on June 4th (it stuck in my mind because that was the day after my birthday and I wasn't sure how old I should say I was when she asked!)

Two weeks ago, I got a call from someone at Newsday asking for photos. I returned the call, leaving a voicemail, and never heard back from them again. Today, the article appeared in the paper. I was misquoted. Actually, more like she made up quotes based on what I said and attributed them to me.

I am pissed. I know, it's knitting, not world peace. But she made me sound like an idiot. She has me saying that I saw my bridesmaids outfits on In Style and decided to make them because of that. No, I told her I saw an In Style Weddings special in which I think the bride had made the girls' sweaters and I got the idea to make them tops from that, but those weren't even close to what I made. She also has me calling knitting needles "sticks," which is something I have never ever done. I use circs, for goodness' sake, most of the time. Not very "stick"y. She also might have wanted to check in since she knew I was now married to see if I changed my name or not (I haven't officially just yet, but I am using my husband's name socially whenever I can.)

All in all, it's sort of a letdown. I feel like I need to give those caveats to anyone I send the article to, and thus I haven't sent it to anyone. My dear friend Leanne is also quoted in the article - she hadn't read it when I spoke to her, so I don't know if she was misquoted, too. Also, the reporter totally missed the point that Deb started the S'n'B, and that that's why she had her book party there.

Bleah. I am disappointed. The woman who wrote it (who was doing it as a freelance job - she's not a staff reporter) was very nice, and the article reads well. The only problem is the facts aren't quite correct. Oh well. I guess "close enough" is close enough these days.

First off, Shetha pointed out what Ryan pointed out to me offline - the Quiz sweater is almost exactly the same colors as my blog. Funny! I do love the colors.

In other news, the ChicKami came clean, and I tried it on. Not bad! I think it grew a little when I washed it, but I'm thinking I might be able to remedy that someday with a quick wash and toss in the dryer for a bit - gotta check the yarn again but I think it said machine wash. Anyway, here it is!



Yes, I cut off my own head because my hair looked so scary and I had such a goofy expression in the picture. But I like the cami a lot, and can't wait to either go somewhere warm or for Spring to come so I can wear it!

Zipping right along on the Quiz sweater. I finished the front this morning, while I am home fasting for Yom Kippur.



Ryan gets home from his Mom's tonight, about an hour after I stuff my face at sundown. Yay!!

I was certainly industrious yesterday! After my very relaxing facial and shopping trip with Amy, I came home and did some knitting. First, I finished off the ChicKami, as Charlotte suggested. I discovered that I had somehow gotten a spot on it while I was knitting (that's what I hate about working with white!) so I hand-washed it and it's drying now. Pictures when it's dry and ready to be tried on.

Once I was done with that, I started the Quiz sweater for little Alex. I'm not doing it in black and white, though - especially after the disaster with the colors running on the Moo blanket. Instead, I'm doing it in lilac and lemongrass, which were the yarns I got free from Mission Falls to replace the Moo yarn (yes, I picked the colors with this sweater in mind). So far, I've finished the back.

Making baby clothes is awesome, because it's such instant gratification! I have a feeling I will finish this fairly quickly, with Ryan away and me being home tomorrow for Yom Kippur.

Brrr! I guess that nice warm autumn is over! I guess it's not actually that bad, but because we had such a crap-weather summer, I feel it more now that it's cold. I should start knitting myself something warm and squishy, since it seems unlikely that I will wear my 95%-finished (one strap to do) ChicKami anytime soon!

Work is a little crazy - we moved to our new office this week and it's been quite the adjustment. A good adjustment, as I can take a more convenient subway, and the space is much better, but it's still disorienting.

Ryan's away at his Mom's this weekend in Kentucky. She's been having a rough time so he went to spend the weekend and hopefully help her find her way out of it. I was just glad I didn't have to go, honestly. I miss him, but I'm doing girly things, including a facial at the Aveda Institute this morning, with a friend. I've never had a facial, so I am really looking forward to it. I think we're going to do some shopping afterwards, too. Whee!

When on earth am I going to remember to print that damn ChicKami pattern and bring it home? Probably November, when I can no longer wear the Kami! Grrrr!

Several people in my office got quite a chuckle out of this link, posted in my comments by Genia. Thanks for the laugh! I feel like purchasing a digicam and starting this trend in my new office.

By new office, I mean the new office my current company is moving to in just over a week. They're moving us in three waves, actually, and the 2nd wave goes this Friday. The Healthcare division is last. The cool thing is as long as everyone is packed by 5pm next Thursday, we get Friday off! I tell ya, I will be going around the place and packing random shit in boxes if I need to, to get that free day.

Doesn't look like Isabel is going to hit us too much. Probably just high surf and cruddy weather, but no true "excitement." I hope it doesn't cause too much damage for folks down South.

So I am 3/4 of the way through my ChicKami, and I would be finished with it except I lost the printout of the pattern on my way home from Miami, and I downloaded it at work, and keep forgetting to print it out when I am there. Grrr. I better remember to do it tomorrow, so maybe I can finish it and wear it this week while it seems to still be warm!

Ryan and I did some wandering around the neighborhood today. We stopped at Knitting Hands on Atlantic, and I was surprised to see the store somewhat in disarray. Not a terrible mess, but not nice and neat as I have seen it before. I feel bad. I think they are probably struggling. But they have never been helpful to me, and the one time I tried to special order something, they didn't even bother telling me it was backordered until I called long after it was due in. If a LYS can't provide the extra level of service over an online outlet, why should I frequent it?

Next project is to knit a sweater for Alex, my friend Lisa's son. I'm thinking about this cute little Quiz sweater from Mission Falls Wee Knits Too. But after the dye-running experience with the black and white, I won't be using those two colors. To compensate me for that problem, they sent me my choice of yarns, which were Lilac and Lemongrass. I'm thinking it could be cute to do the background Lilac, and the "?" and stripes in Lemongrass. Or is it too girly? He's totally unmistakeable as a boy, so that's not an issue, but I'm not 100% sure. I also have to see if Lisa likes the pattern, and she hasn't called me back yet to look at it. I'm so impatient - I would love to just get it started now!

I just haven't felt like posting lately. Been busy, and tired, and doing other things. But I didn't think I could let this day go by without saying something.

Two years later, the buzz around this anniversary is quieter, but it's still there. They say they haven't increased the threat level, but there was a cop outside my office last night, holding what looked like an M-16 rifle (I'm told the NYPD doesn't use those, but whatever it was, it was big and dangerous and meant to impress). You can't tell me that was a coincidence.

I'm pleased that I'm watching the Today show, and among all the coverage of the memorial downtown, I haven't seen any footage of planes flying into buildings, or burning towers. It seems more respectful to focus on the loss, rather than the visual sensationalism. I don't know if that will hold up, and maybe I just haven't seen it, but at least for the moment, they have gained some of my respect.

It's a beautiful day today - just like it was in 2001. My life has changed for the better in so many ways since then. I was unemployed, single, wondering if my boyfriend was truly serious about me and where my life was going. Today I am working full time at a company I like and earning enough to support myself and that boyfriend who has become my husband. I'm basically happy, though there are still so many loose ends.

But so many people's lives have changed for the worse. Those who lost loved ones on that day, and those who escaped with their lives but who may never fully get past the trauma they experienced. They are the people I will be thinking of today, and wishing well.

So, I'll tell you my Blackout '03 story:

I was sitting in my office, slacking off, thinking I should get something good done, when it got really quiet. The AC had gone off. Then the fan slowed down, and the lights went, and then the computers, all in quick succession. The fire alarm went off an instant later, and Mary Jo (my officemate) and I looked at each other, said something like "here we go," grabbed our bags, and headed for the fire exit, which was right across from our office. I am sort of ashamed to say that we didn't go to get anyone else and make sure they got out. Then again, we're not appointed Fire Wardens or Searchers, so our job is to get our own asses out so those folks don't have to search for us.

The bad news - I was wearing a white skirt, a cotton sleeveless sweater with a mock t-neck, and 2.5" chunky-heel slides (Aerosoles, so not as brutal as it could be, but still not walking shoes.)

The 15 flights down were not fun in those shoes, plus I have a fear of falling down concrete stairs like the fire stairs. Luckily, the emergency lighting was on, so it was quite bright in the stairwell. Of course, no one had any idea what was going on, but it was very calm and people just moved. When we hit the street, we headed towards what we thought was the designated meeting area, but we were totally wrong.

It didn't matter much because we ran into my upstairs neighbor, who works with us, John. He was looking for his wife, Amy, who works at a competing agency across the street. Their emergency meeting place was in the hotel right there, but she apparently forgot. No cell phone service, though I was able to see that I was getting voicemails, and I was texting Ryan, but it said it didn't go through (it did, and he got "u ok?" four times, hehehe, but couldn't reply!). Mary Jo left to go try and get to NJ, and John and I found Amy and set off downtown, on foot.

I just mapquested it, and it is 7 miles from my office to my apartment. In heely slides and 90-degree weather. Ick. My feet hurt so much and my clothes were almost totally soaked through halfway home. We also discovered that it takes 44 blocks to run out of conversation. Found some empty payphones and called our Mommies. My Mom was powerless, too, and had been out at Fortunoff buying us some placesettings with a store credit when it happened. Such sacrifice!

We bought water for a reasonable $1.50 a bottle, no price-gouging for us. I was pleased to see that. It was wild walking across the Manhattan Bridge. They closed off the inbound lanes, and it was just a sea of pedestrians. Like a tremendous March of Dimes, except no one was dressed for it. It was around then that I started really worrying about the fishtank - Ryan has a 55 gallon saltwater tank, and we've been told they can only go about 4-5 hours without filtration and aeration. I was really sad, almost crying, about the fishies.

Major stroke of luck in Brooklyn. We happened to walk down Livingston Street, and saw a lit-up ATM. This small bank had a generator, and the guys who worked there said it was the only ATM in the city and made "cha-ching" sounds, which was funny, in the situation. We each took out $200, just in case.

4 hours after we set out (the first hour was spent gathering and finding Amy), we walked up the steps to our apartments. Boy was I happy to see Ryan, who had been there for nearly 3 hours, since he was downtown when the whole thing started and just wandered on home. The fish were alive, and he had changed some of the water and was hand-aerating it in an effort to keep them alive. I stripped, showered, and soaked my feet. We sat in the car with the AC on for a while, listening to the news, then came in and ate feta cheese, olives, pickles, and chinese dumplings by candlelight. I have so many scented candles I think this should be called Aromatherapy Blackout '03!

We hit the car for a bit again around 10:30, then came in and went to sleep. I slept like a baby after that walk! We were awakened to still no power but loud garbage trucks around 7:30. We walked into the livingroom and found...LIVE FISHIES!! All of them! At 8, while we were gaping at the fish, suddenly the filter bubbled to life, and we both did a little happy dance. Yay electricity!

Cable and Internet didn't come back until about 2, while we were out getting Frappucinos. Good-luck Frappucinos, it appears! They say there may still be rolling blackouts, so we're trying to go easy on the power, but we need the AC to keep the fishtank cool and I just can't deal without the internet right now! I hope everyone else is faring well!

It's nice to have a project going that's for me, for a change! I'm making the ChicKami, using some yarn I picked up at a Smiley's yarn sale well over a year ago. The yarn is from Paton's and is called Leila - it's a 100% cotton thick-and-thin yarn that feels very nice and seems to be knitting up with a nice texture. It's white, and I'm thinking this will be a nice go-with-anything comfy summer top. Let's hope it stays warm enough for me to finish it.

This is the first garment other than a hat that I have knit in the round. It's cool to know I don't have any side seams to sew later, but it's such slower going because the rows are so much longer. I've probably got 3-4" done so far, though, and I started it on Saturday morning and haven't spent a ton of time on it. We'll see if this converts me to in-the-round stuff. I dunno. I don't terribly mind sewing things up - it's kind of fun to watch the garment take shape that way. But, I now have a sewing machine, so I can always get that satisfaction there, if necessary.

In other news, I have an evil migraine. They've definitely increased lately. "Lately" being the past few months. I've been taking Zomig, and usually have to take a second dose to knock the headache back, and today that doesn't even seem to be working. Ugh. May have to go for a neuro consult to see what's up there. Joy joy joy.

Still busy rewriting stuff at work, and putting out lots of fires. It's tough because I feel so unmotivated most days. Pharmaceutical advertising is not exactly a wonderfully creative field. I work in a place with wonderful people, and the job can be interesting and challenging, but most of the time I just wish I could do something else. Eventually, I will. But right now, it pays far too well for me to leave, given that Ryan is still getting his new career started.

But it makes me grumpy some days. Especially in the mornings.

I need to start a new project - something to knit. I have a lot of leftover purple silk and someday would like to make myself a tank top like I made for my bridesmiads, but I think if I do another one of those now, I will actually implode. I want to make something pretty and happy and just for me. I'm thinking about Bonne Marie's cute Chic Kami. I may just go and buy that pattern after I post this. I've got plenty of cotton yarn lying around the Ikea cabinet just begging to be made into something, and I think it'll make me feel better to do it.

Still alive, just kind of quiet. Been very busy actually working at work. Part of it has been cleaning up a mess made by another writer who totally plagiarized a clinical study and did a lame-ass job of it at that. Grrrr.

I need to get a project going but haven't had the opportunity to sit down and figure out what to make. I was going to do the whale blanket for Alex, Lisa's new son, but it turns out someone crocheted a baby blanket for him, so I don't feel like duplicating it. She said she'd love a sweater, so I guess I just need to find a cute pattern and see what she thinks of it. I wonder if I will ever make anything for myself again? So far, not motivated to do so, but I'm sure that will change.

Our photographer has about 45 of our wedding photos posted on his site if you want to take a look. Is it wrong to be so in love with one's own pictures? It's not so much the pictures of me, just the whole thing. It was such a wonderful day, and the pictures really capture it.

I can hardly believe it's August already. The summer took so long to arrive and now it's halfway over. It's bringing me down. It always goes too quickly. I'm hoping it stays warm long into the Fall this year.

I haven't posted in a while, which I suppose is fairly obvious. I guess I was resting on my wedding-photo laurels for a bit. And being busy trying to get up to speed at work. I came back to a new client, new boss, and a new medical condition to learn all about. It's like getting a new job except I never interviewed for it. Kind of overwhelming, and I really miss my old boss, who said she cried when she had to let me out of her group (the other group desperately needed me, apparently). We're working on getting me back in hers someday.

Other than that, it's been mostly just settling back into reality as Mrs. Wifey. This past Saturday we went returning/exchanging some gifts that were duplicates or just not really what we wanted. That was fun - store credits at Williams-Sonoma and Bed, Bath, and Beyond are never bad things! Sunday we went to the beach, which was beautiful, though the water felt colder than ever after being in Hawaii for so long!

I still want to make Lisa the baby blanket with the whale, but I haven't gotten the yarn yet. I will have to look online and get it ordered ASAP. We're headed up there this weekend, finally, to meet the baby. I can't wait!

We got our professional proofs back from the wedding, and they are supposed to be posted online soon, so I haven't posted scans of them. The photographer isn't going to post ALL of them, of course - just a selection, so you should feel lucky. My guess is we have around 1000 proofs to go through. Yipes! It was such a nice day, he said he was like a kid in a candy store, which is why there are so many.

I still can't get over how nice the bridesmaids looked. Every time I show someone a picture, they are so amazed that I made the tops. If I quit knitting today (not gonna happen, despite the lack of action on that front!) I would at least feel I had accomplished something truly impressive.

Thanks, Jo for the link to Photo Navy for some reliable and free photo hosting! I replaced the links in the post below, so you should be able to see pretty pictures now.

OK, so I re-published, and now I can see all the pics. Can you?

OK, very irritating. The photos all show up in the "edit post" dialog box, but not on the actual blog. I'm linking from ofoto images, so maybe it doesn't get along with the blogger template? Weird weird weird. Maybe I'll try and steal their resized versions and put them on my server space.

Are you ready for a nice long post? Brace yourself. ing day – which really was the happiest day of my life so far, all clichés aside.

THE “PREGAME”

I woke up at 6:30 and showered for my 7:00 hair appointment. This is a.m., in case you hadn’t guessed. Ryan stayed at a hotel the night before, and for various reasons, none of my bridesmaids stayed with me, which was actually what I preferred. I wanted to sleep, not gab, and it worked out really well. I probably fell asleep around midnight, and at least got something of a night’s sleep!

John, my hairdresser, showed up right on time and got to work. He is my regular hairdresser, so it was really nice just to chat while he worked. He was done within the hour, and told me he wished all his brides were as calm and collected as I was. It was great to have it just be the two of us, rather than having a small army of women running around the place. Everything came out perfect the first time, and he was even pretty proud of himself he said. Just as he finished, my parents and brother showed up to get me. We grabbed the dress and stuff and headed to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Palm House to get dressed.

I had to walk through the Palm House (which is all glass) to get to the bridal room, and as I walked in, I saw sister-in-law Kristy had turned Ryan around to face away from the room so he wouldn’t see me (at the time I was wearing shorts, a denim shirt, sneakers, and veil – tres chic!) He later confessed that he caught a glimpse, but that it made no difference.

I was a little curious why it was nearly 9am and the florist wasn’t there and no one had seen Leanne, my pastry chef bridesmaid who made our cake and was going to be there at 8:30. As I was getting dressed, Leanne came in with a stricken look on her face, obviously on the verge of a total breakdown. I was actually relieved when she said it was the cake, and not her car or something worse.

As best we can figure, the problem was the carrot cake. Apparently, there’s a reason no one makes carrot wedding cake. Too dense. And it was so friggin humid the day before, that the cake was even moister. So, it fell on its way to the wedding, and she discovered it when she got there. She was completely devastated – she’s done over 50 wedding cakes and never had a mishap.

One wrong word from me and she would’ve been a pile of jelly. She said she could either try and fix it herself, or the Palm House staff could fix it with fresh flowers. I asked what she wanted to do, and she said she’d rather they do it, so I told her great idea, tell them to do it, and then told her I didn’t care, shit happens, and I’m just glad it was the cake and not her. She got teary anyway, and I hugged her and told her it was really OK, and it would be delicious. Also, I pointed out her fabulous her hair was, and that apparently it got all the gravity that day, rather than the cake (she’s the bridesmaid with the short dark curled hair in my pics). She was obviously still shakey, but managed to relax after a while.

It’s funny, but that problem, and my reaction, really were great for our friendship. She told me and wrote in my guestbook that she learned that day what a true friendship was all about. We’ve been friends since we were 8, so that’s saying a lot! I pointed out to her that every vendor has a problem at some point, and she was lucky that hers happened with me and not some psychobridezilla! She agreed.

Tears over, we finished getting dressed. The florist was late, so I went out to meet my groom (we were doing pics beforehand, as is traditional in a Jewish ceremony) by the lily pond. What a strange feeling – I almost felt shy, as I came out the door and walked towards him! He was smiling at me and just telling me how lovely I was, and then it all felt perfectly natural. He was so handsome in his tux! I was with him to buy it, but was kinda glad I hadn’t seen it since he had it tailored.

Flowers arrived after a few photos, and we, along with the wedding party (including parents) headed out to take photos around the gardens. The garden was open and a few people were already there, so we got some congratulations wishes from a bunch of people. I also found out later that my big boss, who lives around the corner and said she might swing by, caught some of our photo session on the esplanade. I wish I had seen her!

At one point there was a crowd of elderly women gathered watching, and our photographer, Joel, invited them to join us (actually, I learned last night that it was Ryan's idea!). What a cute picture that made! It gave us all a giggle, too.

The flowers look fine in the pics, but were not what I expected. Rather than cream sweetpeas, I had lavender ones with my pink peonies. The bridesmaids ended up with pink roses and some other wilty flowers (sort of like lisianthus), rather than sweetpeas. Ryan’s boutonniere was very droopy, but the other ones were nice perky calla lilies. I let go of my flower irritation almost instantly. They still looked pretty, and the bridesmaids held them close up to the blossom to hide the wilty ones. Dunno what happened, and haven’t had a chance to discuss with the florist, who is so sweet I hate to find out. I think they just got in over their heads and spent all the time on the wheatgrass centerpieces, which did look fabulous!

Am I really so far into this and not even at the ceremony yet? Yipes! Let’s hope it goes faster from here on in…

THE CEREMONY

Well, right before the ceremony, we signed our ketubah in the Palm House, and gave our hula girl tie to the rabbi (Each couple gives him a tie with their names on the back. When he gets up that day, he picks a tie and says a blessing for that couple, then at your wedding he puts on your tie. We got hula girls because of the Hawaiian honeymoon and ‘cause it was fun!). Did a brief rehearsal, and then headed out for the real thing.

It was fun standing behind the bushes watching the procession from behind. It was nice to have both my parents there, particularly. I was surprised to hear “Pachalbel’s Canon” for the procession, since we hadn’t chosen it. Oh well. Once they switched to “Prince of Denmark” it was my turn. As we rounded the bushes into the aisle, I started to tear up, but that was the last time. Then I just smiled and smiled.

Standing under the chuppah with everyone, I felt so much love, particularly from my sweet groom. I have to give us kudos for speaking our vows clearly, loudly, and with feeling. Neither of us cried at all. My Dad and his Mom were the criers, it turns out. And Leanne and Lisa, the BMs holding the chuppah, said they couldn’t look at each other or they were going to lose it. I cried at their weddings, and they didn’t, so it’s fitting that they should cry at mine!

Rabbi Al was fantastic, as were our 7 friends and relatives who each read the English translation of one of the 7 blessings that are part of the Jewish ceremony. When it was all over, Ryan broke the glass, and we had a really wonderful, natural kiss. Then it was off to yichud – the Jewish tradition of seclusion.

THE PAR-TAY!

Back in the bridal room, there was a try of all the tasty treats being served at the cocktail hour. We laughed and chowed and kissed, and remarked on how great we felt, and how the Jews have it all going on when it comes to weddings, because it was so nice to sit together and eat rather than have a receiving line! Eventually the rabbi told us we had to come out, so we joined the party.

The reception went far too fast. The band was amazing. All the older folks thanked us for having a real band with real music. They were worth every penny. After we were introduced they started with our song, “As Time Goes By.” Let me say, our friends and family are easily impressed. A few spins, a few dips, nothing rehearsed, and they thought we were Fred and Ginger!

Next came the hora, which was fun and exhausting. By the time we were lifted up on the chairs (another tradition) I was glad to just sit down, even if my set was bobbing and weaving in the air!

Our father-daughter dance was “Lullaby” by Billy Joel, and apparently everyone got choked up. Dad got a little choked up, but mostly we were talking about how much fun it all was! Ryan danced with his mother to “What a Wonderful World” which was also very sweet. Did I mention that she apparently got on board the train at the next-to-last stop and was now being nice to me? Relief.

Fun moments – dancing with Leanne (finally over the cake debacle) to “Stop – In the Name of Love” and basically putting on a little show for the whole crowd watching. Giving a toast to my Dad and including all the Dads who were there with us and maybe not with their kids that day (Father’s Day). Dancing with my sweet husband.

From the time the reception started, nothing went wrong. Nothing. It was amazing! Smooth as silk, and the most fun I’ve ever had.

THE DENOUMENT

When it was all over, we gathered our things and Ryan and I decided to take a little “victory lap” around the garden. That was the perfect plan. It gave us a half hour or so to just talk, relax, and transition from the party fun to the wedding night. People kept congratulating us and offering to take our picture. We smelled all the roses in the rose garden (OK, not all, but a lot) and came back feeling relaxed and pleased, though a bit sad it was over.

Mom, Dad and Larry (brother) waited for us, and drove us back to our apartment. My Dad helped us bring some stuff up (3rd floor walkup) and witnessed Ryan carrying me over the threshold. He told us yesterday that we missed seeing it, but he totally lost it in the stairwell after that. He’s so cute.

It was only 5:30, but boy were we exhausted! Ryan was about to keel over, but got a second wind, if you know what I mean. Yes, I gave him the flower of my virginity. OK, maybe not quite.

Around 7pm we opened up some of the 30 or so cards we received during the reception, and were pretty stunned at the amount of money people gave us! Some people were exceedingly generous! Eventually, although we ate plenty at the reception, we got hungry again and ordered Indian food. YUM! I think we hit the sack around 10pm, happy, tired, and very much married.

All in all, our wedding was simply wonderful. Even if I had been a guest, I would say it was the best I had ever been to. The weather was perfect - the day before it poured, and the day after it is/was chilly, but the day of was comfortably warm, sunny but not too sunny, and just lovely. The ceremony was beautiful and had touches of humor from the rabbi and the bride and groom. The reception was just an absolutely fantastic party. Amazing food, lots of dancing, and all we kept hearing was how beautiful and in love we looked. I Could not ask for anything more! Here are some of the nonprofessional photos we have so far - a few are digital (from my camera even) and a few are scanned from the great photos my cousin sent me. Most don’t need much explanation.

"Stop! In the Name of Love"

“Victory Lap”