Anniversary

Wait, where did that last year go?! Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a beautiful day one year ago. For the many of you who helped with set-up and tear-down, you know it's the truth when I say it would not have been possible without you!

I've never felt happier, healthier and more loved than I do with Ed. I'm very, very lucky. The wedding was nice and all, but waking up everyday, married to you, is far more wonderful. :)

Happy Anniversary Edward!

Reverb12 Day 7 - Feast

For the month of December I'm following a prompt-a-day format that I found on a blog I thoroughly enjoy, Tenaciously Yours. Explanation of #Reverb12 can be found here.

7. Dec 7th: Feast: Hopefully you've had more than one spectacular meal in 2012, but what is the first that comes to mind?  Were you surrounded by family at the dining room table?  Sitting on a bench by the lake?  Bring us there

This year was full of so many good meals. 

Every single meal we had on our honeymoon was delicious. I still dream of that soft, flaky fish in that clean buttery sauce. The breakfasts with  rich rum-butter french toast.
The brunch we had at Omi's house the morning after our wedding... Aunt Dolly bringing all her irresistible homemade pickles and frying up okra in the cast iron skillet. Best fried okra I've ever had. Our dinner out at Animal in L.A. with CK, trying all of those dishes... those BBQ pork sliders that I could eat a million of, the spongy, creamy tres leches cake. My 26th birthday dinner at Wayfare Tavern in downtown San Francisco, and that incredible burger. The Ledo's pizza (that we desperately miss out here) that we had with Mom and Ken right before the hurricane trapped us all inside for a few days. Later we got to watch Omi enjoy the leftovers of that pizza on facetime. :)

I really can't pick one for my favorite meal. I can't even pick out my favorite cooking experience... I really enjoyed making chicken fricassee not that long ago. Made me feel like a real chef using a bundle of herbs! Maybe I could pin it on making that breakfast pizza for Ed's 30th birthday. That was a great day and it was exactly the kind of ridiculous, fun, over-the-top man-food that you can't help but laugh at and then devour.

As we speak I'm in the midst of making my cookies boxes and I never want to eat another cookie again... but I'm in love with the process. Not just the process of making the cookies, where the kitchen very quickly progresses into total chaos, (I was wearing more flour yesterday than what ended up in the cookies. In fact, I'm sure there's a fine layer of it over here on the dining room table now that I look around me...) but the process of cleaning. I hate the very beginning of cleaning- where you are staring down that sky-high pile of dishes and food debris everywhere. My feelings start to change at that point when you can finally see just a glimmer of clean space being cleared.... a corner of the sink, a portion of the counter top cleared and freshly wiped down. It is only then, after the goods are made, the people are full, the leftovers put away and the sink cleared, that is when I feel like a real homemaker. 

I kinda strayed from the point of this prompt, oops! Oh well, back to making cookies!

Reverb12 Days 1-4

I knoooow I said these would be shorter but well.... I had to play catch up! I swear I'll be better about posting smaller things. I swear :)

For the month of December I'm following a prompt-a-day format that I found on a blog I thoroughly enjoy, Tenaciously Yours. Explanation of #Reverb12 can be found here.

Dec 1st: Where it began: Review and reflect – how did 2012 begin for you? Tell us how the year kicked off; start your renewal by beginning again.

This year was a crazy one. Ultimately, it was my big 'year of accomplishment.' I ran a 10k, a 12k, explored California more (Monterey, Yosemite, L.A.), planned a wedding, traveled out of the country, got into weight lifting, read almost 60 books! (I'm only at 52 now I think but fingers crossed I can squeeze in the rest before the year is out) I started out this year so strong, running daily. I was so sure I couldn't run. I 'knew' I couldn't stay on a strict diet. I never thought I could press 220 lbs with my legs! But I did all of them. I felt strong and felt like a new person. Looking back over my posts from the beginning of the year, I just swelled with pride. It gives me a sense of faith, that I can do things, that I am capable and powerful. Lately I have not been feeling very much of that at all, so taking the time to look over where I was is very inspiring. I think I'll take a little of that drive from the start of the year and apply it to the closing of this year.

Dec 2nd: Help: Asking for help can be the hardest thing we ever do. When and how did you ask for help? Alternatively, did someone ask you for help and how did it play out?

Without help, this would not have been my 'year of accomplishment.' Ed was behind me all the way with my running. Suggesting training tips, making plans for me, running like a real slow poke to keep pace with me. 

My friends and family made my wedding happen. Plain and simple. Without them, the wedding just would not have come together. I am eternally indebted to you all for that. You made our wedding happen. You can take credit for that for the rest of your days. Christmas presents? Birthday presents? Forget them. You made our wedding happen so that is gift enough. At least for a little while.... kidding! :) 

It is humbling to show people how desperately you need them. And to tell them how thankful you are. I really love sending thank you notes now but on some level I worry that it's so mandated by manners that people don't take them seriously. I've received my fair share of cards from people that seem to be writing meaningless nothings just to show good form. At the same time, my H.S. boyfriend's older sister helped me get ready for my prom. She took me to the salon and drove me around to get ready, it was wonderful. But later she complained that I hadn't seemed grateful enough. I had thanked her and had an amazing day (I even went back to the same salon for my second prom, and I still have the lip gloss she bought me to this very day - I know, gross, I should probably throw it out now due to expiration, but it's so pretty!). I wish I had given her a card in retrospect, something tangible for her to see my gratitude. In summation, if you have any doubt about how thankful I am for all the help you may have provided me.... don't. I think about these things for years and years and years. When did I go to that prom? 2004. 8 years ago. 8 years ago and I am still grateful and wishing I could express it better. I will be thinking of your help for just as long!

Dec 3rd: Beautiful Things: What brought beauty into your life this year? Was it a tangible thing or something intangible? Tell us about it in detail.

This is a little too easy, but the wedding brought beauty into my life. Tangible and intangible. The obvious beauty of the day itself, the bits and pieces that added up to a wonderful day. The amazingly perfect cake and cake toppers (made moments before the reception). The bunting. The beautiful bridesmaids. My beautiful dresses. But... more beautiful than all of the pieces, was how close I was able to be with everyone. I haven't spent so much time with my family in ages and it was wonderful. Seeing family that I have not seen in years, and for some, I may sadly not see again. Spending time with people who matter deeply to me. You don't realize how much you miss it until it's back in your life again. Something as simple as getting together for SpaWorld or my amazing bachelorette party at a ropes course or chatting while we arranged flowers... Just being able to talk to and touch and be close to people you cherish is it's own kind of beauty. One of my favorite moments was when we were all dancing at the reception and it was all ages and groups and everyone was together and happy. Watching Omi get down with everyone. It's so sappy I know, and it's embarrassing that it makes me tear up thinking about it now, but, that is what beauty is for me. It's the overwhelming love I feel surrounded by people I care about, all happy, all goofy, all undone, all at the same moment. 

(Boy that reminds me I need to post part 2 of my wedding day! Oops! Hm, that sure won't be a short post. Guess I won't be able to keep my promise! Maybe next week...)

Dec 4th:  Place: What places anchored you this year? Or were you in search of new places and spaces to call your own and call home? Describe the place you love and why it means so much to you.

This is our second year out here in California... We moved on our own into a new, much smaller apartment. I do miss our townhouse... I miss our garden space and the lush, pebbled courtyard. I loved running through the grid of the neighborhoods training for races. I miss being squished between two grocery stores, so easily accessible. I miss downtown Mountain View and it's little strip of awesome restaurants and stores, the wine shop styled like a train station next to the actual Caltrain stop. 

I find myself exploring houses for sale in Maryland, imagining our options... Could we live out in the middle of nowhere on a beautiful yellow Victorian house with a chicken coop and raised beds in the garden.... or a mid-century ranch style home closer to civilization, without much of that space to play outside but maybe closer to the pool and park and playgrounds... or a townhouse (blech). I've seen some beautiful town homes and not minded living in them, but I so badly want that outdoor space to grow plants and animals. It's funny, all of the things I love about our homes in Mountain View, Campbell, Reston and Alexandria, involve things that I don't even think of when imagining my future home. The store probably won't be a block away. There's no such thing as a late night run for In & Out or Taco Bell if you're living in the country. I told Ed once that I'd like my neighbors to be within running distances because if ever get attacked by a pack of roving murders a la The Strangers I'll have a fighting chance. Theoretically.

That being said, I'm enjoying our apartment. I'm glad we downsized, knowing we will have to move again (and it will be a much bigger deal this next time). Downtown Campbell is really nice, and we've found some amazing places to eat and explore. The Los Gatos Trail is nice to run on and because I'm running the same way every time it helps me see how my training is going. It takes some effort and reminding on my part to stop and enjoy the moment. I loved Christmastime out here last year and was surprised how quickly it went by. I'm determined to enjoy it this year knowing it's probably our last in California. It's just too easy to let the current moment slip away, planning for a future that I could never and should never predict.

Wedding Part 1 - Getting Ready & Ceremony

I just went through my catalog of posts and updated a couple that I hadn't labeled. When I finished labeling, I realized my last couple posts, when not about the wedding, were all about the following three things: Reading. Running. Cooking.

Now, loyal reader of one... Just kidding, I know it's more than one. To my three loyal readers: I know you probably don't read, cook or run as much as I do (because you're probably luckily employed and don't have endless hours to devote to inessentials so I'm sure I'm testing your patience with repeating the same activities over and over. Today I am determined to talk about something else! ...How about that wedding? I know, I know, I talked about it non-stop for a whole year you'd think I could let it die. But I received my professional pictures from Debi Parker Photography and now I'd love to run through the day for those of you who weren't there. Wait who am I kidding, the three of you that read this were definitely there. :)

First things first, lemme just say, it. was. hot. And threatening to rain like you wouldn't believe. (We're talking raindrops during family picture time) It is a miracle it all came off without many hitches and that everyone survived.

My wonderful make-up artist was Allison from The Shop Salon in Bethesda. It's a fantastic place and she did a great job. For those of you that don't know I used to think I might become a make-up artist, (I used to harass all my friends with make-overs from Kevyn Aucoin's book Making Faces), so I adore when other people do my makeup. Ck and I used to have a trade where she would do my hair for a concert if I would do her makeup for going out. Of course now she's surpassed me in training by far, but we both love talking about new products every chance we get. Anyways, it was awesome having my makeup handled by a pro.

We had stayed up late the night before making flowers so the morning after called for super classy cupped mimosas, courtesy of Lizzy. We all were having our hair done by my sister (who is currently at The Fig on Third which is a fantastic salon in Hollywood I just recently got my hair done at, see the last post on this blog) and her friend from childhood Mikyla (also at the Shop Salon!)... in fact right at the beginning of the day we actually blew a fuse with all the hair dryers running :)

For the bridesmaids gifts, I bought each of the girls a different locket. In each locket, I put a small colored paper backing and then attached a folded up quotation that reminded me of them and a brief personal message. I also gave them each a note all fancy written with one of those old fashioned quills I'm obsessed with and sealed them with wax. Of course I made one for my mom too!

Michelle was the first to break, but I yelled at her to stop crying. Her makeup was too pretty to mess up so early :) Love you Michelle!

The pictures below are my favorite of the getting ready pictures. I feel like we look like The Beatles Abbey Road.

My family surprised the heck out of me by arranging for this car to transport me up the hill to the wedding site. It's carried a whole bunch of important people, including World War I veterans... but I was the first bride! I even got to drive it myself. I'm a modern woman, I am!

This picture below is my favorite of them all. The colors, sunflowers, my face, Ed holding me. I just love it.

I'd say it was a sign that the goats came up and posed with us, but really, they were just hungry. It's like saying my cats like me when they jump on my face at 5 a.m. I do not mistakenly interpret that as love.

Ya'll it is AMAZING that these pictures look as good as they do. And by that I mean, it is amazing you cannot see the waterfall of sweat on both of us. We were melting. Debi was wonderful and pep talked us through having to cuddle eachother in 100% humidity and layers and layers of heavy clothes for us both. 

I loved my downtown abbey shoes.... I hope I have occasion to wear them again!

All my little program babies. Super easy to make, found them here 

Each cup had a straw and a red tag label I wrote out names on so everyone would hold onto their glass as an additional souvenir. 

I wanted to give out favors, but not anything throw-away. So I thought, hey, food would be great! So I found this seller on Etsy that has handmade lollipops with all sorts of delicious flavors, Leccare Lollipops. We picked out: Green Eggs & Ham (Pink Himalayan salt and green apple caramel), peach cobbler, ginger & blueberry, and rose & honey. There was a variety of each at each table.

So many people helped put everything together (thank you guys a million times over). The burlap runners had to be cut and ironed, the mason jars wrapped in burlap and lace, filled with water balls, flowers arranged, wood table numbers cut, chargers cut, lace doilies borrowed.... it was all so much and it was done with so much help.

The table settings were really simple and easy, biodegradable cutlery packed into those stamped silverware envelopes, biodegradable cloth napkins (as seen in Martha Stewart's Living), and biodegradable plates. Yes, it's intentionally not fancy. It ain't about the stuff right? It's about the party!

These flower arrangements below were my contribution to the flower arrangement party. I loved them the most, especially in their little white milk pitchers. My Uncle Tom created alllllll the wood chargers and the sign of our names below. Also you can see the bunting, mostly cut out by me, with much help at the end, and then sewed together by family. My attempts to sew, no matter how determined I was, were futile. Womp womp!

This picture is my Omi's family, her mother and father and all 8 kids. I look like I could stand at the end of the line and fit right in with them. They've got some good strong genes. Sadly, only two of the siblings are alive today, but very happily, they were both at my wedding. Thank you for coming Omi (second from the right standing) and Aunt Dolly (last on the left standing)!

This is the farmhouse I cooled off in several times. Thank god for that.

My handsome man :)

 My mother-in-law Susan was completely, and I mean completely, responsible for all the wonderful boutineers and bouquets for the bridesmaids and me. She arranged them and wrapped them, with some of the bridesmaids as her minions. It was a beautiful contribution.

Ed's old friend Patrick played guitar for us, "God Only Knows" for everyone walking down the aisle, and then "Let My Love Open the Door" for the recessional. 

Lizzy read from From The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter

Here’s a profundity, the best I can do: sometimes you just know… You just know when two people belong together. I had never really experienced that odd happenstance before, but this time, with her, I did. Before, I was always trying to make my relationships work by means of willpower and forced affability. This time I didn’t have to strive for anything. A quality of ease spread over us. Whatever I was, well, that was apparently what she wanted… To this day I don’t know exactly what she loves about me and that’s because I don’t have to know. She just does. It was the entire menu of myself. She ordered all of it.

Michelle read from The Last Good Time by Richard Bausch

There was a lovely time, long ago, too private to tell anyone, or too ordinary. It had nothing to do with anything, really: it was almost embarrassingly humble. One December night, unable to sleep, he had glanced out the bedroom window to discover that it had snowed. He woke his wife and made her come to the window, and the surprise of it delighted her as it had delighted him.
They dressed and bundled the baby up and took a walk, and watched the dawn arrive, and when they returned to the house, he took the day off. They played with the baby, cooked dinner, and baked bread. They listened to the baby playing in his playpen, and they talked idly about anything that came into their minds, and that evening, late, they lay whispering to each other about what a beautiful day it had been.
He thought about all this on his way down to the grocery store. The memory of it came through him like a breath, and then he was savoring it, basking in its warmth. And he thought that this is what love really meant: this very ordinary memory. That love was easy and plentiful as grass, and as still, as calm somehow.

After the readings my Uncle John, who was officiating, did a "hands ritual" I found online, (sorry can't remember where, apologies if you're the one who wrote it, just let me know and I'll give you credit!) that went as follows:

“Carly, please face Ed, and hold his hands, palms up, so you may see the gift that they are to you. 

These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day as he promises to love you today, tomorrow and forever.

These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future, as you laugh and cry, as you share your innermost secrets and dreams.

These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times.

These are the hands that will lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into eyes that are filled with overwhelming love for you.

And these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.

Ed, please hold Carly’s hands, palms up, where you may see the gift that they are to you.

These are the hands of your best friend, smooth, young and carefree, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as she pledges her love and commitment to you all the days of her life.

These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times.

These are the hands that will comfort you when you are sick, or console you when you are grieving.

They are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.

These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.

And these are the hands that will give you support as she encourages you to chase down your dreams. Together as a team, everything you wish for can be realized.”

And then we were married! Yay!

I nearly ran off without my bouquet. I was just so excited no one passed out, no one died of heat stroke, and now we could get to the festivities! Also didn't hurt that I knew back inside was air conditioned... just kidding :) 

Happy newlyweds!

Next post will be part 2 with posed pictures and the reception! Prepare yourself for some trippy, psychedelic stuff....

"But the fun that day didn't start til we left on our honeymoon."

Okay, so I'm delaying writing about the wedding until I get the professional pictures. Since pretty much every moment of the wedding is posted on Facebook, those of you who weren't there can get a feel for the day in advance. Obviously, it was perfect! A liiiiittle hot. Just a little tease below. I'm sticking with perfect. :)

But the honeymoon! Oh the honeymoon. It was wonderful. Even the flights to and from the islands were just, perfect. No hassle at all. Let's start from the top. Bear with me, this will be long.

We left MD at 3:30am and I was a huge teary mess. I don't usually fall apart so dramatically but this time, after seeing so much of our friends and family over the previous week, I was just falling apart at the seams at the idea of leaving everyone. And as I'm sure a bunch of you figured, we won't be home for awhile. Funny how a wedding, honeymoon, and essentially a two week break from reality can deplete your bank accounts... Anyways, I was pretty heartbroken to be leaving, but life goes on. We were at the airport before we knew it, and an easy time getting from Dulles to Miami, then onto Barbados.

Barbados was my first time in ages walking from the plane to the airport over the tarmac. I think the last time I did that was for a flight to Montreal with my friend Linda in the sixth grade? We had a representative from Palm Island Resort help us through customs. Ed found out that if he wore the camo shorts he presently had on during the return trip through Barbados they would be confiscated. Apparently camo is illegal in Barbados? Ed promptly changed. A quick, super hot island hopper plane ride to Union Island later, and we're transported on a little boat over to the resort. They gave us bottles of water and cool damp towels to refresh ourselves with.

Our teeeeny tiny plane

When we arrived on the island they were waiting with rum punches for the regular guests and champagne for those of us on honeymoon. I think there were 3 of us couples on honeymoon, and 2 on regular vacation. One couple that looked not much older than us? Celebrating their 15th anniversary! High school sweethearts with four kids to boot we found out later. Crazy. They walked us to our rooms which were crammed with bazillions of these tiny, pretty red flowers. Also waiting was some fruit and more champagne! Omi would have loved this place. The staff took care of our luggage and said we could check in the next day, for now, enjoy the drinks, relax, change for dinner- which will be in half an hour just down the path. Oh, in case this didnt sound nice enough? They had a whole nest of baby sea turtles we had to name and release into the ocean that night. !!! So amazing.

Swans!!!!

Flowers eeevvvverrryyywhere

I know it's so hard to see, but here's one little sea turtle trying to climb up the side of the plastic container

View from above the plastic container. Anxious little turtles! We named our five: Meatloaf 1, Meatloaf 2, Ryan Lochte, Natalie Coughlin and of course, Michael Phelps!

Palm Island is the entire resort, there's nothing else on this little island. It's swamped with iguanas and lizards. It's also a bit mosquito-y but they kindly provide you bug spray and bug killer in your rooms. There are two restaurants on the island: The Palm - which is closed to outsiders and for hotel guests only, with a dress code in the evenings, and The Grille - which is open to boaters, but does not serve breakfast. There's a library, a spa, a gift shop, pool, and tons of trails. Also, we were one of just a couple Americans there. It was mostly British couples and a handful of European couples. This meant lots of smoking. Remember my last post about being shocked by people that still smoke and drink soda? The smoking was definitely surprising. The few other Americans agreed, it's a disappearing sight in the US, but hey, we ain't in the US here...

View from our room

Note the little guy above the big guy!

This is part of a hilarious series of pictures I'm gonna post to facebook. This lizard was out of his mind for these flowers. You can check them all out there when I post tomorrow!

We developed a routine for the first couple days. Wake up at 7, go to breakfast, snorkel or just swim in the ocean, then hang poolside until lunch. Have a couple drinks (oh, did I forget to mention, the drinks were all free? Yeah, and they serve you beachside and poolside and pretty much everywhere all the time, whatever you want). Take a three hour nap. Go poolside again if up to it. Then dinner. Then bed at 9. Repeat. I can't complain, it was pretty amazing. Considering while we were home we both maybe had about 4 hours of sleep a night, it was good to catch up! We read a bunch, Ed read three books, I read 4. To be fair, one was Feast for Crows which I had started before we left CA. It was my kind of heaven.

Documenting the poolside reading!

Not amused.

Poolside

Lizard play ground

Post beach

The only downsides were the full body heat rash I developed and the mosquitos. Both made me itch like crazy. I can't imagine layering on 3-4 applications of sunscreen did anything to calm my skin either. We finished the first bottle of sunscreen we bought the very first day. I think total we ended up buying 3 bottles of sunscreen and 1 bottle of aloe for a week down there. There was also a hilarious (though I didn't agree at the time) incident where - for those of you who don't know I am pretty spooked by dark water, big bodies of water, any place I can't see the bottom, etc. - Ed was coaxing me out into the deeper, darker area. Unfortunately, as I worked up the nerve to come out and got closer, Ed kicked the line attaching the buoy to the anchor, leading to him exclaiming slightly. Of course, I took this as Ed kicking a shark or some other mutinous sea creature, immediately began to cry and took off like a rocket. A rocket that was... doggie paddling. Yes, in my moment of fear and panic, I thought the best thing to get me to safety was to doggie paddle my terrified little heart out. I could hear Ed yelling and laughing behind me, explaining he had just kicked the line and that it was okay, but I was in full flight mode, not letting up until I dragged myself out of the water. It's good to know that if it really was a shark coming after me, well, I'd be dead. Doggie paddle for the win! :)

About midweek we changed our pace and didn't nap as much, spent more time at the pool. We biked around the island exploring and thanks to the heat sweated more than either of us ever has before.

My bike had a flat, womp-womp.

Literally, sweat dripping from my nose, mouth, ears, eyes... every.where.

Beautiful sunsets

We had a wonderful private dinner at 'the heart' which is a heart made out of two manipulated palm trees. One of my favorite parts of the meal? The appetizer was smoked salmon, and it was like they just took a whole container of it and put it on a plate. I was overjoyed. I love me some smoked salmon.

We had a manager's cocktail hour and then a BBQ another night, both of which were just absolute feasts. I had the most amazing snapper during the lunches. We had seafood with almost every meal. Except breakfast. I had cinnamon rum butter french toast EVERY MORNING. Can I reiterate here I didn't gain a pound on this thing? I do not know how that is possible. I suspect it was the serving sizes... when we realized the servings were 'real' servings, not 'American' servings, it made it much more reasonable to eat 'treat' foods and a bigger variety of things. Also cool was the night they brought out a ton of coconuts, chopped off the tops with a huge machete, and then let us pour rum inside for our own coconut cocktail!

I still miss the french toast... le sigh....

We took a day trip to Tobago Cays which is where they filmed a bit of Pirates of the Caribbean! Anyone remember this exchange when they are trapped on an island together:

Jack Sparrow: [Wakes up and sees Elizabeth burning the rum] No! Not good! Stop! Not good! What are you doing? You burned all the food, the shade... the rum. 
Elizabeth: Yes, the rum is gone. 
Jack Sparrow: Why is the rum gone? 
Elizabeth: One: because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two: that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me. Do you really think there is even the slightest chance they won't see it? 
Jack Sparrow: But why is the rum gone? 

Well, that small island was just across the way from where we saw about 20 sea turtles and then a ton of sea life on the most incredible snorkel trip. It was wonderful. 

On the Pink Lady to Tobago Cays

Does it look familiar? That's the "Why's the rum gone?" island!

Pink Lady and the Pirates filming island in the background

Dos conchs!

Apparently this is the ship they used for filming the actual Black Pearl. The captain of the Pink Lady said they hardly recognized it when it came back from filming.

Also, snorkeling in the Cays I got the only horrible sunburn of the whole trip. No not on my back, Ed was smart enough to order me to wear a running shirt to cover my back. No, I burned my rear. Reeeeeal good and toasty. Sitting down was not fun. Oh well, it was worth it! 

Yeah I look happy now, only later did I wonder why my tush felt like a furnace...

After that we just relaxed until it was time to leave. The last dinner we had there, a torrential downpour came out of nowhere. I loved it and thought it was just the best thing that could've happened. What else screams island than a random downpour for a couple minutes? All in all... it was the most amazing honeymoon. It didn't fly by, and I'm glad to be home without the heat rash, but I'll miss a lot of things. And I'ma start working on my rum butter cinnamon french toast ASAP!

Bye!