Ah, the scary things that can happen when you play "Vogue" with a bunch of drunken queens at a party! :-) Notice the ring-leader.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Girls Gone Wild!
Ah, the scary things that can happen when you play "Vogue" with a bunch of drunken queens at a party! :-) Notice the ring-leader.
Another look back...
Hard to believe it is already a month ago that we got married at MCC-DC in Washington! And we keep enjoying the memories every day. Yesterday, we got a CD-ROM in the post from our dear friends Harvey & Ellen in Maryland with some more pictures we'd not yet seen. We especially loved this one, which shows us in our wedding finery with some custom boutonnieres with a Dutch wooden tulip from the floating flower market in Amsterdam and a U.S. mini-calla lily. Thanks to everyone who contributed photos so far: Josh (especially!), Tim, Michael, Jeff, Merrick (a budding photographer since she was 4!), Kahunya (habari, bibi!), and Jeroen (in NL).
Anyone else have any pictures to share? Let us know!
Friday, July 27, 2007
www.Starbucks.nl
Well, it might not seem like a big deal to you, but after more than 10 bloody years of waiting, there is FINALLY a fucking Starbucks in The Netherlands! The cruel irony is that it might as well be inside Fort Knox, because you can only go there if you are flying to a country that's part of the EU - it's at the airport behind security!The other bad news is that my little test of it today showed that at least a few of the Dutch staff have not yet mastered the friendly American Starbucks style:
Me: "Is that my caramel frappaccino?"
Her: "Does that look like caramel to you?"
Me: "Well, yes, it does."
Her: Eyes roll.
So there's still some major work to do there. Hope they open one outside of security somewhere soon... it's about time!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Big Mac Daddy
Sold some stock to pay off the final wedding bills and decided to spend some of the leftover proceeds on a MacBook Pro, my first serious step into the world of Apple. So far I'm loving it to death, and am even more excited about the upcoming Leopard operating system in October! More on my new Mac experiences soon!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Kind Words
Today I received a really lovely e-mail from a dear uncle that I didn't know that well growing up but that I've really admired and enjoyed spending a lot of time with in my adult life. He sort of floored me with what he had to say to me:
Dear Christopher,
In the afterglow of your and Wilbert's wedding, I have found myself thinking about the relationship you and I have formed as adults over the past fifteen years or so. Recently, I have been struck by how you have made your own life into what you needed by the most amazing series of choices and commitments. You have made decisions and done things for which ordinary folks would lack the courage. Your actions have been faithful to who you are and have had an enormous positive impact on those who love you. I admire you very much and wish nothing but the best for you in life.
It's true that I've taken some pretty big leaps/risks in life, and that's because somewhere I learned to trust my intuition, to not question myself too much, and to commit to something and trust the universe will rise to support me. I'm grateful for this feedback, and very grateful for the life I have and the wonderful people like Fritz I have in it.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Josh & Lorie in Holland
My brother Josh just got a new job and is about to move with his lovely wife Lorie to Missouri, so to celebrate this important transition in their lives, they popped over to Europe for a few weeks of rest and relaxation... and American-style speed sight seeing. :-) They stayed with us for five days and as usual were a pleasure to be with. We had dinner one night at Wilbert's parents' in Hoorn. Good luck with your new life, guys!
Holland USA!
One of the oddities of the area I grew up in is the small town of Pella, Iowa. Founded by a group of about 800 Dutch colonists seeking religious freedom and economic opportunity in the mid 1800's, it still very actively promotes its heritage today.
Wilbert and I drove over for the day and enjoyed this little bit of Holland in the USA during our honeymoon trip. It was fun and a bit strange all at the same time! :-)
Wilbert and I drove over for the day and enjoyed this little bit of Holland in the USA during our honeymoon trip. It was fun and a bit strange all at the same time! :-)
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Bye Bye USA & Thank you!
It was a wonderful trip and we got to see oodles of wonderful people! We were honored by your presence at our wedding and shower, and enjoyed seeing you elsewhere too! Thanks for your warmth, generosity and hospitality!
This photo was from our last morning in Des Moines where we had breakfast at Perkins with my parents and dear friend Stacey (who is a loyal blog reader, gorgeous and available!). :-)
The trip home was without incident. Actually half-way comfortable for economy seats in a 767. Made it back to work today and am doing OK despite a crap night's sleep. Good to see everyone back at work, they're nice people. :-)
This photo was from our last morning in Des Moines where we had breakfast at Perkins with my parents and dear friend Stacey (who is a loyal blog reader, gorgeous and available!). :-)
The trip home was without incident. Actually half-way comfortable for economy seats in a 767. Made it back to work today and am doing OK despite a crap night's sleep. Good to see everyone back at work, they're nice people. :-)
iPhone
Leaving the AT&T store on the 29th of June with my brand new iPhone. Who cares that the phone doesn't work (for now) in Europe... everything else that does work is simply AMAZING. It does exactly what it promises to do in the ads, and sets a new standard for the consumer electronics industry. Let's hope they are up to the challenge like Apple is!
Sunday, July 01, 2007
20th High School Reunion
It was fun! A really large group of down-to-earth, nice people. Had a great time and there were a few surprises. One "he" is now a "she", and the last person in the world I expected to be gay brought his boyfriend. Heartwarming moments. :-) Was lots of fun.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Heidi's Surprise
My sister, who gave birth to a gorgeous premature baby last month, Cristian Cruz Almodovar, wasn't expected to make it to our wedding, but she moved heaven and earth (and Cristian is doing great!) so she came. It was wonderful having her there (though I always knew in my heart she would find a way to make it!), and reminded me of the importance of family. I've scanned a ton of old pictures while at home in Des Moines and will distribute them to family, but this one made me think of her fondly. :-)
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Flowers
All our flower arrangements were based on wooden tulips we bought from the Flower Market in Amsterdam and calla lillies purchased locally. They matched our color scheme and the flags hanging in the sanctuary perfectly.
LimoPoepies
Us in front of the hotel after arriving back from the church in our lovely limo. An expensive item, but nothing like removing travel hassles to reduce stress!
Monday, June 25, 2007
U.S. Wedding
It was a beautiful day, filled with friends and family, love and JOY! We'll write a lot more about it later, but here is the picture that says it all. There were no stronger family values on that day than the ones going on in that church! :-) It was magical, beautiful and so special!
For more pictures, just click on the one to the right and you'll be taken to our Flickr PhotoStream! Many thanks to our dear brother Josh for the excellent photography work!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Wedding Thank You's
There are a couple people without whom our wedding would not have been anywhere near as fabulous, so we'd like to thank them here and also give them our highest recommendations (in the case of the vendors):
All of our friends and family who did little things to make it a special day, like Jeroen for his great photos (the first we've seen!), Richard, Barry and Hans for filming with our camcorder all day (what a treat!), Hans for playing chauffeur, Frank for his delightful performance, and so on and so on! You guys are the best!
- Limmen Bakery, Purmerend, for our excellent wedding cake!
- Hotel Purmerend (Van der Valk), especially manager Tim Ursem, for a fantastic party location and excellent service
- Asa-Foto.nl, our photographers, though they still have to prove themselves! :-) www.asa-foto.nl
- De Kunstenarij in Ede, who ran our art activity that produced our beautiful wedding present http://www.kunstenarij.nl/
- D.J. Dolphin, our excellent D.J. who did his job professionally, quietly and excellently! http://www.djdolphin.nl/home
- Freek Seiffers, our "trouwambtenaar", who did a great job of presiding over our ceremony with humor and feeling. Everyone liked him.
All of our friends and family who did little things to make it a special day, like Jeroen for his great photos (the first we've seen!), Richard, Barry and Hans for filming with our camcorder all day (what a treat!), Hans for playing chauffeur, Frank for his delightful performance, and so on and so on! You guys are the best!
Viva Las Vegas!
Well, Phase 1 of Project Honeymoon has began! We left for the U.S. last Sunday at 12:30 p.m., after circumnavigating most of North Holland, which was suffering from some odd traffic jams for a Sunday morning. We got two seats together next to the window, and despite the economy (plus) seating, it was a relatively comfortable flight, except for the fact that my body decided it was no longer willing to digest or retain food and Wilbert wasn't feeling very well either. Probably all the heat and stress of the past few days. We're feeling better now.
We arrived in Washington D.C. and had a brief delay/plane change before starting the 5 hour flight to Las Vegas. Got here around 9 p.m., hopped in a town car, and made it to our wonderful apartment at the Marriott Grand Chateau, a beautiful time-share property just off-strip and across the street from the Planet Hollywood shops.
After a somewhat dodgy night's sleep, we got up and made breakfast in our kitchenette, and then went to a sales presentation for the property. Wilbert was adamant that we shouldn't make such a big investment just after getting married, and just before buying him a car and perhaps a new house. A very common sense approach, so we put of the decision for another year and committed to coming back again next year to reconsider and enjoy the property again.
We then started our shopping activities, including a gorgeous Ed Hardy t-shirt, some Abercrombie & Fitch shirts and shorts, some new PSP games and two new Fossil watches. We love the fact that the U.S. dollar is currently still in the toilet, effectively giving us a 25% discount on everything. :-)
We freshened up and napped at the apartment before going out for dinner and a little gambling at P.F. Changs and the new Planet Hollywood (formerly Aladdin) Hotel & Casino. The upgrades they've done are very nice, but I won't be convinced it's an improvement until it's done. Their nightclub does apparently have a gay night on Fridays.
Had a decent night's sleep (with the help of some pills) and a lovely American breakfast Wilbert cooked in our apartment, and now we're going clothes shopping before an afternoon at the pool, then the Cirque du Soleil show Mystere tonight at Treasure Island! Tomorrow prime rib at Blackstones in the Monte Carlo and then the Lance Burton magic show, Thursday dinner with friends Karen & John, and Friday the Bill Maher show at the Hard Rock Hotel! So we're keeping busy and having fun in Vegas!
We arrived in Washington D.C. and had a brief delay/plane change before starting the 5 hour flight to Las Vegas. Got here around 9 p.m., hopped in a town car, and made it to our wonderful apartment at the Marriott Grand Chateau, a beautiful time-share property just off-strip and across the street from the Planet Hollywood shops.
After a somewhat dodgy night's sleep, we got up and made breakfast in our kitchenette, and then went to a sales presentation for the property. Wilbert was adamant that we shouldn't make such a big investment just after getting married, and just before buying him a car and perhaps a new house. A very common sense approach, so we put of the decision for another year and committed to coming back again next year to reconsider and enjoy the property again.
We then started our shopping activities, including a gorgeous Ed Hardy t-shirt, some Abercrombie & Fitch shirts and shorts, some new PSP games and two new Fossil watches. We love the fact that the U.S. dollar is currently still in the toilet, effectively giving us a 25% discount on everything. :-)
We freshened up and napped at the apartment before going out for dinner and a little gambling at P.F. Changs and the new Planet Hollywood (formerly Aladdin) Hotel & Casino. The upgrades they've done are very nice, but I won't be convinced it's an improvement until it's done. Their nightclub does apparently have a gay night on Fridays.
Had a decent night's sleep (with the help of some pills) and a lovely American breakfast Wilbert cooked in our apartment, and now we're going clothes shopping before an afternoon at the pool, then the Cirque du Soleil show Mystere tonight at Treasure Island! Tomorrow prime rib at Blackstones in the Monte Carlo and then the Lance Burton magic show, Thursday dinner with friends Karen & John, and Friday the Bill Maher show at the Hard Rock Hotel! So we're keeping busy and having fun in Vegas!
Monday, June 11, 2007
C & W Exchange Vows
This was for me the most beautiful moment of the ceremony. You don't usually actually even get to say anything other than "Yes, I do", but our justice of the peace gave us the chance to speak our own vows to one another, making an otherwise somewhat impersonal ceremony much more personal and sentimental.
C & W Sign Marriage Certificate
Wilbert has such a serious look on his face (but with a tinge of a smile) as he signs the marriage certificate. I don't have any idea what I was thinking at the time, I was so completely out of it between the heat and the overwhelming emotion.
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