So much to say . . .

I really wish I could convey the past eight months to each of you, but I cannot. There is just so much to say and not enough time to say it, which I think is why I stopped blogging during this time: I found I could not take the time to formulate my thoughts into words effectively. Even when there was time, the task was overwhelming and I chose to do something mindless or relaxing, instead. Of late, I've considered deleting this blog, or reducing it to a series of computer-related posts on some helpful tools I've found, devised, or systematized in a way that might be helpful to others. And though splitting out the computer posts may make sense (and may be on the way), I don't think I'm going to do that after all. I like my little online community of friends and I've missed you folk.

Moving along, I will briefly try to recount the past amazing eight months, the most romantically and personally fulfilling of my life.

A lot of why I stopped blogging when I did is because I married the love of my life (AKA "tLoML," which I think is how I'll refer to her henceforth on this blog) on May 23rd. I haven't spoken of this since I announced my engagement almost a year ago. Planning a wedding (which required a lot more organizational skill of me than I actually have between January and May of last year, since we were our own wedding planners and organizers) was really a pain in the ass, though the day came together pretty well after all:









It was a fabulous day and thankfully the weather cooperated with our wonderful outdoor wedding! The ceremony was written and performed by the local UU minister, though we wrote our own vows and selected our own readings. (We considered some other marriage officiants, but he was by far the best for the money.) The text of the ceremony is now online, too, though I've removed the names of people and places given in the original text. The officiant wrote more religious language into the text than I would have liked, but tLoML encouraged me not to forbid him from doing so, having a more laid-back attitude about it than I did.

We went on to have a nice, long, rambling honeymoon that took us many places: a night in Kisatchie National Forest; a night alone in a cute bed & breakfast and a meal at the Landing in Natchitoches, LA where I went to college; a couple of nights in Ouachita National Forest, where we hiked and picked up a handful of ticks, who unfortunately stuck around and popped-up from time to time throughout the trip (dangit!); a couple of nights in Hot Springs, AR where we spent the first night at the Arlington hotel, visited the Garvan Woodland Gardens and Hot Springs National Park, and spent the second night at a very charming little motel called the Alpine Inn; spent many glorious days at a cabin in Mount Nebo State Park, which was so, so very gorgeous; stopped for an afternoon at the Clinton Presidential Library; spent a couple of nights at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, where we played tourists the most and visited Beale Street, Graceland, the Memphis Botanic Gardens, and briefly stopped at Sun Studios; and finally spent a relaxing night in the French Quarter in New Orleans before traveling home the next morning. It was the best vacation I've had in a very, very long time, and though tLoML was under the weather for parts of the trip, we had a great time and kicked off married life right! :-)

The summer was a haze of newlywed love. We were short on cash and long on affection, so we weren't very social. (We've also been sharing the computer, which means less time to do things like blogging online.)

Since then, things got more hectic at work (which sometimes sucks up my weeknights) and tLoML went back to university to finish up her Bachelor's degree (and got straight As her first semester back, as she's such a smart person). So, we have been quite well and married life REALLY agrees with me.

So much has happened in politics and the larger world during 2009, much of it disappointing on one level or another. I just plain don't have the time and energy to comment on it now, but I may do so later. In short, I'll say that Obama has been disappointing me and very little has gotten better in the wider world. I'm so glad to have so many consolations here at home . . .

:-)