... and the pitch!

We made it. Today was the day. I was going to be promoted from girlfriend to fiancee. WOO HOO!

We met his stepmom for breakfast, and she gave us a great pep talk before we went to the LA Jewelry Mart. I was really anxious when we got to the mart. She told us to take our time and find just the right ring. We window shopped, tried rings on (yes, Mr. D was looking for his ring while I was looking for mine) and when we found stuff we liked, we showed each other. The whole time I was reminding myself to not run up to perfect strangers and hug them; I was too excited for words. We decided to browse a lot before heading over to his stepmom's jeweler, and I'm really glad we did. It gave us a chance to compare prices and styles, and find exactly what we were looking for. Even though I had been picturing my perfect e-ring for a long time, it was hard to find. That is a tricky part about the mart - there are SO many beautiful rings to choose from. But if you're looking for the one you have imagined since you met the man of your dreams, it can take a lot of browsing to find it.

I feel SO fortunate to have had his stepmom with us. She was there for support and advice, but she let us pick the rings. And her jeweler was absolutely amazing. At one point, I was sure that I had tried on every ring in her case. I found the set I loved the most (the e-ring came with the wedding ring!), and Mr. D picked the center stone. Before I knew it, the ring was off my finger and on its way to another building to be mounted and sized. It hit me all at once: an engagement ring was being personalized for me. It was ovewhelming, so we went outside to get some air.

I don't really remember what we talked about but I do remember Mr. D saying that I couldn't actually wear the ring until he proposed. So, right there, in the middle of the sidewalk in front of the jewelry mart, he asked me to be his wife.

Then we waited another 30 minutes for the ring to be ready before he could put the ring on my finger. That might have been the longest 30 minutes of my life!

So, my proposal turned out to be perfect anyway. It was me and him. It wasn't a surprise, but that didn't make it any less meaningful or exciting. In fact, it was perfect to finish the day with a college football game because I got to jump up and down and scream my head off!



What made your proposal perfect?

The wind up...

So you're probably wondering how Mr. D ended up proposing. Let me first tell you a bit more about how Mr. D was going to propose.

Every year for the last 25 years, our families and friends have been getting together in Bishop, California for a weekend in July filled with softball and camping. I hadn't ever been until Mr. D and I started dating. It is something that we always look forward to and plan for long in advance. Since almost all of our nearest and dearest would be there, Mr. D was going to propose while we were all gathered around the campfire. The idea brought tears to my eyes (nevermind that I was already crying when he told me). I went from crying out of frustration, to happy crying because of his sentimentality, then sad crying because I had ruined it. I ruined exactly what I had been wishing for. And it was all my fault.

We went to Bishop that weekend and I tried to have a good time. Part of me still hoped that he was still going to propose that weekend, even if it wasn't in front of everyone. So I spent a lot of time asking him if he wanted to go for walks in the woods. Well, he didn't propose. And worse? I lost one of the diamond earrings that he had given me for our first anniversary. I was going to go home from Bishop with LESS diamonds than what I came with. How was this happening?!

On our last morning in Bishop, the earring was found. I'm not kidding. One of our friends found my diamond earring in the campground parking lot. Sure, it had been run over by a car, but I had my earring.

Then spent the entire month of August in LA for work. It was really hard to know that if I had been able to keep my big mouth shut, I would have been there with a fiance waiting for me at home. Yes, I still had an amazing boyfriend that clearly loved me enough to put up with my neuroses, but I wanted to marry him. It was a very long month.

September came, along with the start of college football and my birthday (yay!). We are USC Trojan season ticket holders and the first home game was the day before my 27th birthday. Our plan was to go straight from the airport to the game, but the flight was really early in the day, so we had some time to kill. I suggested going to the Jewelry Mart to get my earring fixed before the game. He smiled and said that we could also pick out my birthday present. Ok, buddy, that is dangerous for you to not clarify prior to our arrival at the mart. So, I did the unthinkable. I said, "What if I don't want a necklace?" He said, "I didn't think you'd want a necklace. I'm going to call my stepmom and get the name of her jeweler." So we hugged and I got GIDDY.

Did you get really frustrated waiting for him to propose?

Patience is annoying.

I know "they" say that patience is a virtue. "They" don't seem to understand that if everyone would just get on board with my awesome ideas, things would be smooth, quick and painless. This was never more true then the months leading up to our engagement.

Where do I begin? Let's start with this... Part of my agreeing to relocate 5.5 hours from home was reassurance from him that our relationship was moving towards marriage. You see, I never thought I'd be cohabitating prior to getting married. But I also knew that I wanted to share a zip code with him prior to making any life long promises to one another. For financial and practical reasons, I moved in with him. Mr. D and I had been living together for about 6 months, and I thought things were going great. We talked about the future in very vague terms (I was getting advice to NOT talk about marriage, which, unfortunately, I was taking). His financial state took a turn for the worse, but I'll spare you the details. Things got stressful, and I still wanted to get married. So did he, and he had been planing a very meaningful proposal. But after months of stress and what I saw as a lack of progress, I started to cry. A lot. Everyday.

I have always been a fan of therapy. I went a few times as a kid, mostly to appease my mother. But I always thought positively of the experience and knew that therapy would give me the clarity that I was craving. And, like the trooper he is, Mr. D went with me. I explained to the therapist that I was feeling desperate for security and frustrated that he hadn't proposed yet. He explained that he wanted to make the proposal special and that I needed to relax. She agreed. GREAT. Now I have to wait.

Oh, I should probably mention that I HATE surprises. I like being surprised, but if I know someone is planning to surprise me, I turn into an annoying 4 year old. I complain and whine until the surprise is spoiled. I feel better about it because I can plan around the "surprise", but the surpriser doesn't get the satisfaction of surprising me. Well, sad for them. I know, it's childish and selfish. I'm working on it.

So, I made him tell me. There were no guns or threats involved, but I couldn't stop crying and out of frustration he told me about the proposal he had been planning. It would have been perfect. *sigh*

Understandably, he didn't want to do it that way anymore. And I needed to be okay with the idea that I might not know how, when or where it would happen. *bigger sigh*

So, how did it happen, you ask? Stay tuned!

Were you surprised by your proposal? Was it where, when or how you expected?

"You can't talk to her..."

The story of how we met can be quite scandalous, depending on who is telling the story. Our families have been friends for many, many years (my uncle and his dad are best friends since college). We have an 8 year age gap between us, so had we noticed each much earlier in life, the story would be even juicier. We met over Thanksgiving Day weekend in 2005. I remember my cousin talking about some guy that she was friends with (turns out it was Mr. D and he was on his way over). She said that if they were both single by the time she was 30, then they were going to get married. Well, she wasn't too thrilled when Mr. D and I crossed paths over the mashed potatoes and hit it off. In fact, despite being friends with Mr. D since, oh, birth, she stopped talking to us. So my family was forced to pick sides, and things were a bit tense for awhile.

Ok, I'm not going to lie, things were more than a bit tense. I have a very large extended family, and I've never really been the topic of family gossip. This was the first time that I was involved (although I didn't want to be) in the family drama. Lucky me. All the while, I'm trying to start a relationship with this really great guy that I met, and I'm hoping my family doesn't completely scare him off.

To make matters more complicated, we lived 5.5 hours apart. Mr. D introduced me to the art of text messaging and it kept us connected during the day. We talked frequently, and both of us made a lot of trips up and down the state, and we averaged seeing each other every two or three weeks. We bonded over our love of football, riding quads and weekend getaways. Being with him was always an adventure and lots of fun.

And it still is! I'll leave you with a picture from our first official date... a New Years Eve party at Groomsman C's house... Did you have weird family drama when you met your fiance? Did you have to deal with jealousy from those close to you?

Who am I, and what am I doing here?

Hi everyone! I'm Ready2BMrsD, the bride to be! But I wasn't always this way. It wasn't until almost 3 years after meeting Mr. D that he popped the question, and now I'm almost a Mrs. So you have a little better of an idea of who we are, here's a bit about us:

Me - event planner in the field of education (think orientation and graduation). I grew up in LA, and moved to Sacramento to be with Mr. D about a year and a half ago. Even though I left my home, I didn't leave my job. I'm blessed to be able to telecommute for most of the month, while still having an office at a school that I love. I'm super girlie, love great sales, cheap food, puppies and plans. Any kinds of plans. My contingency plans have contingency plans.

Mr. D - gambling man. He works in the casino industry and has some really, really strange hours. He loves sports, the outdoors, clearance items and sushi. He's also a So Cal native, so he understands my need to visit the land of palm trees and traffic every once in a while. He is super laid back, and has taught me quite a bit about being spontaneous and relaxed.