Yes, I'm pathetic. The journal has been taking a beating lately due to various silly things like work, family, weddings, vacation...not to mention some really pesky computer problems which I am still trying to get sorted out. But other than the nagging computer problems, life is ridiculously good right now!

Okay, for those of you who have been sending me the death threats concerning my failure to post wedding pics, here you go. I'd have more, but one of my pesky computer problems is the fact that all of my software to edit and crop photos now causes my computer to lock up. Still trying to figure that one out.

We had a bit of a delayed honeymoon, and went to New York City over the labor day weekend. Right now I'm going to sincerely apologize to everyone I know who lives in the New York area for not calling or otherwise getting in touch with you while I was there. However, I decided that since we were only going to be there a few days, and it was my first time to the city, and it was our honeymoon, and since I know a rather large number of people in the New York area, I decided that it would simply eat up too much time to get up with everyone. Therefore, I decided that this trip would be just for the two of us, and I will get together with old friends on a subsequent trip. Again, apologies.

But apart from being unsociable snobs, we had a marvelous time while there. It was a bit rainy and drizzly for the first couple of days, but then the weather turned gorgeous for the last two. We flew in on Saturday and had some time in the afternoon to do some walking around and see the sights around Times Square (our hotel was just a few blocks from there.) On Sunday we did the southern end of Manhatten, including Chinatown, Little Italy, Battery Park, and of course Ground Zero. Unfortunately it was still rainy and drizzly on Monday when we went to the Yankees game, however it has been a lifelong dream of Jack's to go to a Yankees game (huuuuge Yankees fan!) and so a little rain was not going to stop us. We were going to buy tickets ahead of time, but then the concierge at the hotel told us that the $125/tickets were not refundable in the event of a rainout. So, we decided to risk it and waited until we got down to the stadium to look for tickets. We got incredible lucky, and found an entrepreneur (read:scalper) as soon as we got off the subway. After we shelled out the money ($140 total for both tickets for better seats than the $125 per seat we'd been quoted before) I then started to worry that perhaps the tickets were counterfeit. It just seemed to good to be true! But, the gods were still smiling on us, because the tickets were real, and our seats were right on the third base line about ten rows up from the field. Jack had this huge little-boy grin on his face as we walked into the stadium. It was awseome to see. It continued to drizzle and rain, and I got pretty wet and cold. The game had a rain delay of an hour around the fifth inning, which meant we got to watch the groundskeepers roll out the tarp, which is pretty cool to watch. They have that down to a real system! Unfortunately the Yankees lost, and by the end of the game I was shivering like crazy, but it was still a helluva lot of fun. I hate watching baseball on TV, but it's a blast to go to the actual games. Kinda the way I am with football too. The subway was jam-packed on the ride back to the hotel, which was wonderful for me because by that time my teeth were chattering from being so cold, and the warmth of the overcrowded subway was heaven.

The next day was bright and sunny and not too hot, and we walked everywhere. Actually we walked everywhere just about every day, which is probably the only reason why our weight gain was not as enormous as it could have been. Anyway, we took the subway across to Brooklyn, where Jack took me to this little restaurant down on the river that was simply incredible. We then walked back across the Brooklyn Bridge which gives you an incredible view of the city. I wish I'd seen the city when the two towers were still standing, becuase I simply cannot imagine what that skyline must have looked like with the WTC there. Sure I've seen pictures, but actually standing there I had a hard time comprehending buildings that dominating just being -gone-.

Our flight out on Wednesday wasn't until late afternoon, so we had some time in the morning to do some more walking and sightseeing. My energy levels were definitely fading, so we did more cab-riding than walking on Wednesday. And we decided to forego the awful "Super Shuttle" which we'd used to get from the airport to the hotel, since it had taken us two hours to get to our hotel. We instead decided to pay a bit extra and took a cab. And glad we were to have done it, because our cabbie was a nicely aggressive driver, and got us through and around some heavy traffic congestion and to the airport right when we wanted to get there. We decided that if we'd taken the Stupid Shuttle we'd still be wandering around Manhatten.

And, the flight back was uneventful. We got back home about midnight Wednesday night, and Thursday we both went back to work.

Also on Thursday we both Got Serious about the diet and exercise Thing. This marriage stuff has been too good and soft for me. I'm gaining back far too much of the weight I lost last year! Noooo! This will not do! So I'm starting another 12-week challenge. I figure 12 weeks should be just right to tighten me back up and get me back to where I want to be. I have a pair of jeans hanging on my closet door that I was perfectly able to fit into last summer, and I want to get back into those babies (and still be able to breathe, sit down, etc.) Anyone interested in joining me for the challenge (or rather, anyone still reading this journal!) email me.