Like a phoenix from the flames...

Greetings faithful readers & followers---if there are any of you left!  I know it's been months and months since we last posted an update to this blog...and we're sorry.

I was going to use some zombie-like metaphor about bringing this blog back from the dead---but that seemed more than a little bit morbid so I decided a better image would be: a majestic phoenix rising from the flames!!

So here we are...reviving our blog!!  This post is just a teaser...as we are boarding the Disney Magic for a weeklong cruise out into the Atlantic and then up the Eastern coast of Canada (with a couple stops in Nova Scotia)...but during our trip I intend to finish up several blogs that are long overdue to be posted here.  So in the next week or ten days look for some blog updates on the following:

1. Our April Wedding (which was A-MAZ-ING!!!)
2. Our honeymoon trip to Hawaii
3. This current trip to NYC and cruise to Nova Scotia
4. ...and I may even go back in time and try to post a blog about our trip to Walt Disney World and aboard the Disney Dream back in September 2011

So keep an eye out for our updates and LOTS of fabulous pictures coming very, very soon!!

World AIDS Day 2011

Well, this is a few days late....but this past Thursday, December 1st, was World AIDS Day.  This is always an important day for me both personally and professionally.  I hope everyone took the time on that day to commemorate the way that HIV & AIDS have changed and shaped the world in which we live-----to remember all those who have been lost, to honor those who are still a part of the struggle and to celebrate the future heroes who will hopefully be a part of one day creating a world without HIV & AIDS!

Here in Rochester, there were events all over the place....we had a luncheon at work and there was a large community reception and ceremony on Friday the 2nd at which one of my employees was honored with an award for HIV Prevention Educator of the year (an esteemed award named after a colleague of mine who passed away a few years ago....and an award of which I was the first ever recipient a few years back).

In addition there was a benefit concert with local musicians, singers, poets and dancers performing to commemorate the day and to raise money for a great program called "Safe Sex Inc." that is co-led by my organization and that empowers urban youth to educate and advocate around health and safety issues.  It's an annual benefit show, actually, that chooses a different youth-oriented program or agency to support every year.  I haven't been to the show in several years, but this year I was encouraged to attend by some friends and colleagues.  The event was a very nice evening out (Jason came with, of course---and we were able to connect with some of my coworkers there)....and it also included a surprise:  I was honored by the organizers. with the "Embrace Life" Award for excellence in the field of HIV prevention.  It was a really touching honor on a professionally & personally significant day!

Our apologies.....

Greetings readers, followers and fans….if any of you are still even out there!!  I know that we have have left this blog woefully stagnant for a very long time now.   Life has been crazy here with both our jobs and cheerleading and planning the wedding and everything there has just never seemed to be any downtime for blogging; and every time I think I'll sit down and post an update, I can't muster up the energy or creativity and find it's just easier to either take a nap or turn on the TV or play with our puppy, Merlin (who is doing wonderfully!!)…or some combination of all three!!  LOL So please accept these flowers as a token of our sincere apology….and be assured that there are new posts coming to this blog very, very soon!  We do intend to post a little about our vacation earlier this fall….and, of course, there will be wedding updates to post as plans are starting to fall into place!  So check back soon and often for updates on life here on our end!!

Long overdue...and long awaited....MERLIN UPDATE!!

OK, OK, OK......I know that we are excited about our recent marriage....and our upcoming wedding (April 21st everyone!!!)...and our Labor Day weekend/week trip to Walt DisneyWorld and Disney cruise (we actually arrived yesterday and I started writing this post in our hotel room while Jason and Kimberly got ready this morning).....and I know that many of our followers (all of YOU!) are also excited about those things...

...but there's one other thing that many people have been waiting on, as well....

...a Merlin update!!  And so, before I start posting blogs about our time in Florida at Walt DisneyWorld and our first trip on Disney's newest and biggest ship, the Dream, here is a little update for all you Merlin fans....

Gay marriage comes to Rochester, NY....

....and the Libey household!!

Yes, that's right----it's heinously overdue...but finally a new post on our blog.  I know I've once again gone into terrible delinquency in posting to this blog lately (it's been over a month since our last post was about our July 4th trip!!)

Anyhow...it's been a busy time here the past weeks....work has been crazy, our summer schedules have been very busy, Gay Pride was in mid-July (which is a lot of time and effort through my full time job), we've been doing work in our house and yard while the weather is nice (bought a new bathroom sink/counter/vanity top---which is now installed----and ordered new storm door and sliding doors for our deck...anxiously awaiting their arrival), Merlin has started obedience classes (post to come on that later---I promise)....and, of course, there's also the teensy little fact that WE ARE FINALLY LEGALLY MARRIED!!!

So here is the (belated) story of how same sex marriage came to the Libey household here in Rochester...

Merlin's Great Adventure...

OK...I've been meaning to post this for a few days now....but it was a busy holiday weekend followed by a busy week back at work!!

So this past weekend was quite an eventful one for our little family!  We celebrated the 4th of July weekend by visiting Jason's family and so there was lots of fun for everyone....including Merlin who got to go on his first big boy road trip.....AND visit with quite a few puppies---most of whom are part of Merlin's extended family!!

We were leaving on Saturday evening to head to Jason's parents' house in Central NY (about an hour and a half south of Syracuse...so about a 2.5 hour drive from home).   This was going to be the first time that everyone except Jason's step-sister, Bridget, had met Merlin-----AND his parents live in a rural area with lots of trees and tall grass----so we decided we wanted to make him look spiffy by giving him a bath and then also giving him his first flea/tick treatment before we headed up there......

Merlin update

Merlin in one of his new little doggy Tshirts.

OK....so for those of you who have been anxiously awaiting updates and more pictures of Merlin.....here's your fix for this week! *smile*


Merlin has had a pretty eventful couple of weeks since he moved in......

Something to be excited about OTHER than our puppy....

I know that many of you who read our blog have been waiting for more updates on our new puppy, Merlin....and I promise they will come soon (we have more pictures and he had his first grooming appt. and vet appt. this past week, too...so there are new haircut pics, etc.----but we have to load them off the camera and stuff).

However, right now Jason and I have something even more exciting to celebrate than our new puppy (although I know that's probably hard to believe *wink*)-----and that is that tonight in the late hours before the NY State Senate closed its session....we won same-sex marriage in NY State by a 33-29 vote (we only needed 32 votes to win)!!

I certainly don't presume to believe that everyone who reads this blog because they love our Disney trips or our stories about our new puppy necessarily supports the cause of same-sex marriage....but I do hope that no matter who you are, if you have gotten to know me and Jason (either personally or through our blogs) that you know what an important issue this is for us.  I was literally in tears as watched the senate session vote live on TV and it became clear the vote would go in our direction.  Words really can't express how profoundly this moves us.

So.....anyways....for those of you waiting for more Merlin-related posts, yes they are coming....soon I promise.  BUT....there will also be other adventures to blog about in the near future, as well----like our September trip to Disney and Cruise on the Disney Dream.....AND A BIG GAY WEDDING SOON, TOO!!!!

Merlin's first few days at home!

Me & Merlin on the drive home from picking him up

WARNING:  I am becoming one of "those people"-----you know, the annoying ones who share tons of pictures of their puppy thinking everyone wants to see them....and talk incessantly about their puppy and his habits and quirks and potty successes and failures and thinks others want to hear about them. LOL

I'm sorry, I can't help it.  MERLIN IS JUST TOO CUTE!!! *smile*

So anyway....Merlin finally, after months of waiting, came home for good this past Saturday.  I would have posted about it earlier except I seriously could not pull myself away from him long enough really to even check emails...much less write posts on this blog!! *LOL*

So anyway...he came home on Saturday and it's been great so far.....

Puppy Prep---the next phase!!

So here is the most current picture of our new puppy, Merlin, that we've gotten.  Isn't he adorable?!?  We can't wait for him to finally come home and live with us full time----which I learned this past week will happen THIS COMING SATURDAY, JUNE 11TH!!! HOORAY!!

Of course that means that we have to kick the preparations for Merlin to come home into high gear!  We have already done quite a bit....

Our weekend....

...of relaxation and puppy preparations!!

I had a rare weekend off from the gym and coaching this weekend (because the gym was closed for a tournament) and so I was able to spend all weekend at home with Jason....like a mini "staycation"!!

On Friday night when we got out of work we decided to go see the new Pirates movie (opening weekend) in 3-D.  I have to say that I liked it quite a bit----I'm not an avid fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise...but this was probably one of my favorites of the films.  I'm pretty sure it's because mermaids were a big part of the story and film and I love mermaids...but whatever...it was a nice way to spend a Friday night.

After that relaxing evening out....it was time to knuckle down and get some work done...

Souvenirs galore....

OK, so I know I promised while we were still on our vacation that we would post some pictures of our magnets and other souvenirs from this trip (and I know at least one reader out there is hoping to see a picture of the new Tigger figurine I got). 

So here goes....a few of the things that we got to remember this trip by:

Update on our puppy, Merlin...

We got a call from Mary Jo yesterday.   Mary Jo is Jason's step-sister's future mother-in-law and is the one who breeds the family of yorkie puppies where Bridget (Jason's step-sister) and Sheila (his step-mother) got their puppies....and that's where our little Merlin was born and is living until he can come home with us!  Mary Jo just called to give us an update that Merlin is doing very well, playing a lot, eating well, socializing with people and the other dogs (and cat) in his home well and is even already crate trained to pretty much sleep through the night and potty-pad trained and has started going outside to potty as well...so the process of house-training him not to have accidents has already started.  He will go for his second round of shots after Memorial Day and then we can bring him home in early to mid June.  We're so excited----and look how cute he is in this picture they sent us of him hiding under the coffee table!

Some more portraits from our trip....

So we've finally gotten around to going through our CD of professional images and portraits from the second half of our vacation.  We ended up with a CD that had about 150 pictures (maybe a few more).  The pictures ranged from character photos to our regular dinner attire to our formal wear to some casual clothes to some VERY casual clothes (like PAJAMAS! hehehe)....and even some unique and fun poses----by this point in the trip we were really having a good time with the photographers and we go a bunch of new favorite pictures.....

The case of the missing comments.....

Hey readers----So I logged on this morning (it's been a few days since I was on the blog because life has been a bit hectic) to catch up with comments on the blog.  I know that some comments were left because I got email notices about them----but they seem to have vanished!  I don't know if it's a technical glitch or what, but it appears that if you left a comment on or after May 11th, it didn't make it onto the blog and is lost....so I can't reply to any of them!  If you did leave a comment or question and want to try to post it again, feel free!!

Many, Many THANKS!!!

Greetings readers and fans!!  So now that the vacation is officially over, there are a number of "Thank You's" that I want to put out there:

1. First, and most importantly, a huge THANKS (& hug) goes out to my dear friend (and fellow Disney cruise enthusiast) Hadley.  I haven't mentioned it previous to this post, but the only reason any of you were able to read this blog during our trip was because when I realized that the ship's internet service was going to block my ability to blog, Hadley stepped right in and volunteered to post our blogs for us.  So every day I would write out the blog in an email and send it to her and then send her a separate email with a compressed file with all the necessary pictures.  She would then log in for us, piece it all together, do the necessary edits and post it.  Without her not only would there not have been a blog up to this point, really---but I'm not sure I would have had the energy to come home and try to catch it all up now! 

Saying Good-Bye to the Disney Wonder....

The image to the left is the only door magnet that was left on our door overnight our final night on the cruise and stayed there until we finally left our cabin for the last time on Tuesday morning.   I need to thank a DIS friend (I think Sandi, right??) for making this door magnet for us on our last cruise....and I have loved it so much that I bring it on all vacations since to use on our last night....because it so accurately captures my feelings about getting off the ship (or leaving our resort when we're at the parks).

Nonetheless----the vacation had to end.....

Monday, May 9th, Day At Sea----and last day on the ship!

Well, the last day of our cruise had arrived….and, as you can see in the attached picture, the weather was once again lovely and the seas were calm.  On the way North we had used the outside passage (the captain had the night prior given a detailed explanation over the P.A. system about why----but in a nutshell…it's maritime law for the region that any ship sailing out of Vancouver and up to Alaska for the first time, must always use the outside passage for its inaugural trip North).  Now that we were returning to the South and into Vancouver, however, we got to use the famous "inside passage."

The seas were not entirely smooth, but they were decidedly smoother than they had been on the way North-----I'm assuming that has something to do with being in a slightly more land-locked waterway rather than open sea….but I may be wrong.  Also, the shore line (on either or both sides) along the way was much closer and so lent itself to more great views.

Sunday, May 8th, in Ketchikan, Alaska

Well, Mother's Day found us in Ketchikan, Alaska.  The weather out our window was, as you can see in this picture, wonderful.  Score another point for Disney pixie dust because we got ANOTHER mild temperature, sunny day!  Honestly every port we landed in thanked us for bringing some magical Disney good weather.  We felt so fortunate to have been so lucky with the weather because, while we certainly would have made the best of whatever weather got thrown our way, it definitely made the vacation that much nicer that we had nice days with sun and not having to bundle up like we were in the frozen tundra!!

This was a unique day because it was a port day for us...but it was a late port day.  We're used to waking up and the ship is either already in the port or is pulling in shortly and you get off the boat first thing in the morning.  We weren't due to arrive in Ketchikan until around noon, however...so that gave everyone on the ship all morning to sleep in or find something to do.

Saturday (5/7) in Juneau, Alaska

 Saturday morning found us arriving in the capital of Alaska, Juneau.  Juneau is a much bigger city than Skagway was----but was still had a very Alaska feel---especially because the city of Juneau apparently has no roads into or out of it.  There are roads within and throughout Juneau (I think our tour guide told us there are less than 200 miles of paved roads in the entire city)----but all of those roads dead end at the edge of the city or just beyond it.  So it is impossible to drive to or from this city.  You must get there by boat or plane.  It's a little odd to think about as a "lower 48-er" where it feels like every city is connected to every other city in some way....but Juneau is kind of an island on land!

As was becoming the norm in Alaska, the views were picturesque.  As you can see from the picture here, taken out the window of our cabin, this city (and the entire state of Alaska it would seem) is one giant postcard----and it's AMAZING!  You can't really tell it from this picture either (it was taken pretty early)....