2010-10-10 - 11:19 a.m.

The wedding was in July, and we had it at this tiny old summer camp in the mountains, so all of our friends and family could come and spend the whole weekend and not worry about drinking and driving. The wedding was gorgeous, beyond my wildest expectations, and the party afterwards was off the hook!

It was incredible to have everyone we knew in one place - My family from Canada, my family from Texas, friends from highschool in Texas that I hadn't see in in years, and of course all of our close friends from California. I can't believe all the people that bought plane tickets and traveled so far to see us - It was profoundly touching.

We've been married three months now - and it's been incredible. There really is something different about being married - It's incredibly romantic. Things are the same between us, but there's this deeper level of love I didn't know existed and it's there now - This love that *spans time* -

I changed my name to his last name and there's something significant and special about that, too - It doesn't change who I am but it does have a psychological effect on us both - We're family now, we're a team, we are two parts of one whole. We have pride in our name, because it belongs to both of us now. It's strange to write about it, but it was symbolically important for me. Don't get me wrong - I don't have and problem with women who don't change their name, I don't think that women "should" do anything - But personally I'm glad I did.

Planning the wedding took most of the year, and now that it's behind us, I finally have some time to myself to think about other things -- I'm back to writing my book, however slowly, and giving myself time and space to think about what's next. What kind of live do I want to live? What things have I been neglecting? What do I want to add to my life? What do I want the future to hold for us?

Dean and I plan to start trying to make a baby next year - How exciting! Dean is completely on board! He expresses enthusiasm when I mention it - I'm not surprised, because Dean is always always so supportive of things that are important to me, but I am delighted that we are on the same page. There's a 5 year age difference between us so I think I'm a little more time conscious of having kids than he is - Allthough he will turn 30 in the spring, and 30 is not too young to be a Dad.

Our friends had their baby in April - a boy - and he's wonderful. Of course having a child changes your life completely, and I am aware that adding another person to our family will change things - but our friends have done a great job of being themselves, still being young and fun, and I am hopeful that for Dean and me it will be a joyful addition to our lives, but not crazy-making. Our friends have stayed cool, I know we can, too.

Dean has this awesome project he's working on, that has taken most of this year for him, editing a film for someone who is one of his heroes in the writing world. I am so happy for him! I can't wait to see how it all turns out. This is definitely the big break that he was waiting for.

Everything is turning up roses for us! And it has been going good like that for a long time for us! I long ago stopped waiting for the other shoe to drop, and have learned to just be grateful and appreciative of everything good as it comes along. There's no reason that the happy train will stop rolling along!

Our friends are all moving to Portland next summer. I was sad about it for a split second - but of course we'll visit them! And it makes me more conscious of this coming year - we'll be sure to make the most of it. This is the golden time in our lives and we know it. And when our friends are gone, Dean and I will be making a family, and it will be a new golden time in other ways. Life just keeps getting better and better.