Photo Book #2: Click here
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Obamas got a dog - why can't I?
It's no secret that I've wanted a Boston Terrier for, say, 10 years. It's never been a good time in my life, or I have been living in places where dogs weren't allowed.
But, now we're married. Pretty much everything has been put away AND it's Spring, a perfect time to adjust the backyard to make it dog friendlier. I've picked a pet that is allergy friendly and has short hair. There's a dog park about 200 feet from the house. I can't wait to spoil an adorable little guy. We want to name him Murray. I even want to adopt one from www.petfinder.com.
I'd say it's the right time. Wouldn't you?
Friday, April 10, 2009
The Honeymoon is Over!
No, not in THAT sense. It just ended, and now we're back to reality. Here's some pictures from the fabulous trip to Aruba Brent planned:
We stayed at the Occidental Grand on Palm Beach in Aruba. Brent upgraded us to the "Royal Club" and we also had a suite. It was marvelous, darling.
One of the first things we did was check out the swim up bar. We spent many a day camped out on the rock stools watching the March madness basketball tourney with an Electric Lemonade in tow. Electric Lemonades: Blue Curacao, Vodka and Margarita Mix. Yum!
This is a pic I took sitting at this bar and pointing my camera straight up. Totally gorg, huh?
We were staying at an all-inclusive so most nights we went to dinner at one of the yummy restaurants at the resort but one night, we celebrated our 'special occasion' at the best restaurant on the island: Papiamento restaurant. It's at a one hundred year old house and the restaurant is owned and operated by a local family. The tables are all around a pool in their backyard and we got one of the tables along the edge of the pool. It was both quaint and exotic at the same time. Seriously though, I want their recipe for blue cheese shrimp, an app we had. I tried to recreate it when we got home but I just made a big mess.
We went on a jeep tour of the island. Aruba is very unique. It's outside of the hurricane belt so its drier than most isalnds in the Caribbean. The west side of the island looks exactly what you think it should look like for a tropical isalnd. The middle of Aruba (it's on 19 miles long and 6 miles wide) is a desert -- complete with cactus plants all over. The east side is somewhat difficult to describe. It's mostly rock. In fact, there's a few rock caves there (we went inside one), but rock formations take the place of beaches in much of edges of the island on that side. Here's a pic of what is called the "Natural Bridge" - for obvious reasons.
After we went to the Natural Bridge, we went to Baby Beach, one of the best places to snorkel. Brent is still terrified to go into the water past his knees (the turtle incident in Hawaii still haunts him) so I went in solo (among about 50 other snorkelers). The beach is basically enclosed so nothing too big can get in. The reef is really shallow and the water is very calm, which makes Baby Beach perfect for snorkeling. I didn;t take any pictures of the huge and colorful fish I saw because my digital camera isn't waterproof. That said, while I was out snorkeling, Brent practiced his photographic skills by snapping shots of a lady in a string bikini. String on the bottom part. I'm not going to post those though. :)
Aruba is 15 miles north of Venezuela and not too far away from the equator, so it can get HOT - but, there are 15 mph tradewinds pretty much at all times so you don't really feel the heat. It also makes the skyline incredibly interesting because there are cloud patches that blow through and decorate sky constantly, including one at sunset above.
All in all, I say GO to Aruba. Like, this weekend. Seriously. If you like sun and fun -there's a lot of that. If you like more Americanized areas, there's areas of that on Aruba (including Tony Roma's and Wendy's). If you covet authentic culinary experiences, you'll love this place too. Most of all., the service is beyond friendly. Aruba's slogan is "One Happy Island" and we are now "One Happy Couple" who took "One Happy Honeymoon."
We stayed at the Occidental Grand on Palm Beach in Aruba. Brent upgraded us to the "Royal Club" and we also had a suite. It was marvelous, darling.
One of the first things we did was check out the swim up bar. We spent many a day camped out on the rock stools watching the March madness basketball tourney with an Electric Lemonade in tow. Electric Lemonades: Blue Curacao, Vodka and Margarita Mix. Yum!
This is a pic I took sitting at this bar and pointing my camera straight up. Totally gorg, huh?
We were staying at an all-inclusive so most nights we went to dinner at one of the yummy restaurants at the resort but one night, we celebrated our 'special occasion' at the best restaurant on the island: Papiamento restaurant. It's at a one hundred year old house and the restaurant is owned and operated by a local family. The tables are all around a pool in their backyard and we got one of the tables along the edge of the pool. It was both quaint and exotic at the same time. Seriously though, I want their recipe for blue cheese shrimp, an app we had. I tried to recreate it when we got home but I just made a big mess.
We went sailing! Twice, actually. The first was a sunset cruise on a very large catamaran (first pic) and then we went on a tiny little sailboat - just Brent, me and a guide (captain). Brent and I got to ride along and enjoy the view for a little over an hour. The only thing separating us from the water was a net.
We went on a jeep tour of the island. Aruba is very unique. It's outside of the hurricane belt so its drier than most isalnds in the Caribbean. The west side of the island looks exactly what you think it should look like for a tropical isalnd. The middle of Aruba (it's on 19 miles long and 6 miles wide) is a desert -- complete with cactus plants all over. The east side is somewhat difficult to describe. It's mostly rock. In fact, there's a few rock caves there (we went inside one), but rock formations take the place of beaches in much of edges of the island on that side. Here's a pic of what is called the "Natural Bridge" - for obvious reasons.
After we went to the Natural Bridge, we went to Baby Beach, one of the best places to snorkel. Brent is still terrified to go into the water past his knees (the turtle incident in Hawaii still haunts him) so I went in solo (among about 50 other snorkelers). The beach is basically enclosed so nothing too big can get in. The reef is really shallow and the water is very calm, which makes Baby Beach perfect for snorkeling. I didn;t take any pictures of the huge and colorful fish I saw because my digital camera isn't waterproof. That said, while I was out snorkeling, Brent practiced his photographic skills by snapping shots of a lady in a string bikini. String on the bottom part. I'm not going to post those though. :)
Aruba is 15 miles north of Venezuela and not too far away from the equator, so it can get HOT - but, there are 15 mph tradewinds pretty much at all times so you don't really feel the heat. It also makes the skyline incredibly interesting because there are cloud patches that blow through and decorate sky constantly, including one at sunset above.
All in all, I say GO to Aruba. Like, this weekend. Seriously. If you like sun and fun -there's a lot of that. If you like more Americanized areas, there's areas of that on Aruba (including Tony Roma's and Wendy's). If you covet authentic culinary experiences, you'll love this place too. Most of all., the service is beyond friendly. Aruba's slogan is "One Happy Island" and we are now "One Happy Couple" who took "One Happy Honeymoon."
We got hitched!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who came to our wedding, all who couldn't make it, and those who made it happen. It was so special and memorable.
Here's a link to *some* pictures, submitted by friends on Facebook. As soon as the official pictures are in, I'll post for show and tell.
Here's a link to *some* pictures, submitted by friends on Facebook. As soon as the official pictures are in, I'll post for show and tell.
Wedding:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=69175&id=592617248&l=9461e9b93d
Here's another link to pics of the Rehearsal Dinner:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=71899&id=592617248&l=b82d610f77
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