Thanks Upon Thanks

What a fantastic few weeks I've had! Being surrounded by some of the most special and important people in my life, marrying the man of my dreams, and then being whisked away to New Zealand for a two-week honeymoon has exceeded any of my delightful imaginings. I'm still sorting out all the wonderful moments of this time to share in greater detail, but for now I have two goals.

Goal One: To thank two very wonderful people. I wanted my full attention to be on My Baby and our new marriage during our honeymoon, so I asked for a little help. Two people kept the Sticks Forks Fingers ball rolling and scored a few goals in my stead, and I am indebted.

Jason Phelps at Ancient Fire Wine Blog agreed to post not once, not twice, but three times in my absence. He let you know where in the world I was, and did it with insightful New Zealand wine reviews. His sharing of how he and his beautiful bride, Margot, met was priceless and sweet. Then, he topped it off with sharing how they celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary with style and heart. You must check it out, just to see Margot's fabulous red dress alone! Jason is a winemaker himself, and his perspectives on wines are always interesting and informative. I know you had to enjoy him. But, there's more...

Jason is the most stand-up of stand-up kinds of men. When he says he'll do something, he'll do it. How do I know?? Because, of all times, Jason got really, really ill while I was away. Seriously ill. But blog away on my behalf he did, and his big heart shined through.

Jason, you're tops in my book, and I can't wait until the four of us pop a cork together someday and review a wine together face to face!

A gorgeous modern apartment building.

Lauren Zabaneh at Foodie House with Lauren also took a guest posting slot. Lauren is one clever, funny, interesting and cool woman. The first time I read her blog, I felt like I'd known her forever. Her quirky, fun, innovative and creative self gets me laughing with every post, and she's a darn fine cook to boot. Her recipes are solid and gorgeous. Her photography is perfect. And she does this all with three children under the age of four. In her guest post, she shared about meeting, dating and marrying her Hubs, again with a great New Zealand wine review and romantic recipes to match. But, again, there's more...

A little modern humor mixed in with the history.

Lauren stepped in for me during a particularly important time for her. She's in the running to win the Foodbuzz Project Food Blog contest, requiring a lot of serious attention to her own blog. When she wins she'll be the new queen of internet food blogging. So, please go to her site and vote for her! She's the kind of gal that would be able to parlay that into a TV show. And you could say that you helped get her there with your vote!

My Baby and I, outside the ChristChurch Cathedral

Goal Two: To show all of you that My Baby and I did more than just drink great New Zealand wine on our honeymoon! Here I share some photos of the beautiful and historic city of Christchurch. I hope you enjoy them.

Christchurch is home the International Antarctic Centre, a museum dedicated to the historic expeditions.

Statue honoring Robert Scott's Antarctic expedition.

Inside ChristChurch Cathedral, a most beautiful place.

Gorgeous hand-carved pulpit.

Ancient, and I mean really, really, old flags hanging in the cathedral.

A beautiful plaque in the cathedral.

Just minutes before this photo was taken, we heard these little boys sing and read mass. Have you ever heard a boy's choir perform such a thing? Amazingly beautiful.

I took these photos just to prove to myself that they were real boys, not some angelic beings.

Yes, real boys, alright!

Incredible statuary honoring the young who lost their lives in defense of their country.

Damage from the September 4 earthquake, magnitude 7.1. Other than this building we saw very little signs of damage in the downtown area.