Change in Color

Our colors are now Sage Green and Plum...

I want to use these flowers

Ascari Mini Calla Lilies


Aren't they gorgeous?
I'm thinking something like this for a bouquet.


not sure about the peacock feathers, but I love the idea of this bouquet.

Chapter 2: The Proposal...

All this time i had been cunningly telling rachel i was having a hard time finding a ring...not too much to be obvious i was just stalling with the real one, but enough, and in different ways, that she actually believed me.

So my long time (as in since probably march or april) idea was that on my birthday i would, at some point, try to get kinda saddened and talk about how epic my birthday had been, but it just wasnt quite enough, that i wanted something more...then would bust out the ring and say something simple, i never got it concrete.

Well the big day came and i made my claim "oh dont take away the baby they"....oh, wait...thats another story, nevermind, anyway...Mamma Stacey thought it would be a great idea to propose at the restaurant we were going to have dinner at, which could have been nice. i thought, though, "you know, i proposed once in mass public, i kinda wanna do this in a more casual, intimate, but still romantic setting"...which meant her house...as at one point i was gonna do it in the car or while we were shopping, i had a few times i thought one thing or another would be really good and i was gonna go on the fly, but i decided i really just wanted to do it at her house.

We were at her house, about to leave to go...somewhere....im pretty sure it was dinner...and i couldnt wait anymore. i already knew no matter what i wouldnt really be able to pull of "slightly saddened at something i didnt get" because i was too doggone excited. i pulled her outside into the hall and started trying to get out something to the effect of "this birthday really has been the best birthday ever, but there's still one thing i really wanted...but you're a classy...no, er...um...traditional kinda girl and so i knew you wouldnt get it for me, so i went ahead and got it..." i already dont remember if i tried to say anything else, or if i mentally said "screw it" and got on one knee and asked her if she'd marry me.

I dont remember -exactly- what all happened after that, except that there were some tears (of joy), some hugging, some kissing, and a "yes" thrown in there somewhere in the beginning.
Between an excellent day of great food, shopping, bowling, getting a Martin acoustic guitar, all from/with my honey, and having her re-accept to be sealed to me for eternity with what is -her- ring (and not a borrowed one), it really was the absolute best birthday i've ever had in my life.

Fin. :-P

Chapter 1: The Ring...

So, I've been lovingly nudged a few times in the short ribs to post the story of the real ring/proposal. someday i may add a few details to the original proposal story...but seeing as how this one trumps it, maybe not :-). I apologize in advance for how wordy I get.

Way back in the day when we were still new at the "hey, we're actually gonna get married somday" game, Rachel and I were online looking at rings on zales.com. at first it was a "I like this kind of stone, i dont like this kind, that kind fo band is nice"...but it ended up as one ring, an "I want -that- one" kind of thing...

fast forward a long time. i had back and forth debated on whether or not to get that ring as rachel had many times suggested other possible rings, but more than once enforced that that one was still her all-time favorite. I found out the band she wanted happened to be one of the ones you could get online without the stone. I ordered it July 2nd. since it was a "special order item" it said allow 3-4 weeks delivery but i went ahead and ordered it 2nd day ground. i was hoping to propose on my birthday...

well, sure enough i thought it should have been shipped a lot earlier than it was and was getting really worried it wouldnt get here in time. I do believe it was monday the 20th (my birthday is the 24th) that the ring showed up at my apartment door in alabama. i was as giddy as a little school girl...now, i should have ordered the stone a lot sooner but i had figured id wait for the ring...well, i ordered the stone online next day air or something...but found out that they -had- to ship it to my billing address, which is -not- alabama...so i cancelled that order and started frantically searching for some local jewelers.

I found one and the guy said he could have the stone ordered wednesday and it would come in thursday afternoon and it would take about an hour or so to fit it in the setting. this would work great but there was a chance id already be working by then and not be able to come in...i was cutting it close, really worried id have to come up with some non-birthday proposal...
Thursday morning the guy called me and said the shipment came in early. i got there not too long after, gave him the ring, and before i got my first job for the day was able to get the ring, the -day- before my birthday. if i was giddy when i got the band alone, i was super-duper giddy to have the whole thing, and know i didnt have to wait terribly long to propose...

To Be Continued...

Random Sidenote!

How did I forget to post that I got a new car?


There she is. No name yet, but it will come.

Another totally unrelated tangent, I saw Julie and Julia yesterday. So, of course, I am going to blog about it. I didn't really care all that much about Julie Powell the blogger, but Julia Child has been one of my favorite famous women for a long time. I watched her on PBS back before we even had cable. Her relationship with her husband was so beautiful. You could tell that she tried so hard to be happy with her life, but it was still hard sometimes. Her desire to have kids and not being able to was heart-wrenching. The scene that touched me the most was thus:
Julia receives a letter from her sister saying that she, the sister, is pregnant. This causes Julia to sit down and begin to cry. Her husband asks what it is and when she says she is so happy for her sister you can feel the pain in her voice. That expression of emotion is exactly how I am feeling about my current predicament wedding wise. I am truly thrilled for all my friends that are getting to have the wonderful blessing of being sealed in the temple, but every time I think about it... it is really hard. I guess I always thought that everything would be sunshine and daisies when I was getting ready to be sealed... boy was I wrong.

For some reason, I thought this would be easy. It isn't. This is one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. I don't know if I have ever felt such deep emotional pain and turmoil in my life. I know that Heavenly Father understands my sacrifice, but that doesn't make it any easier. He does however send little blessings to my life. For example, a (former) co-worker of mine was getting rid of a couch and asked if anyone at work needed it. I said I would love to take it.

So when Casey and I finally get married we will have a pretty much new couch bed...

An end table...

And a kitchen table with four chairs! This is not including the bed and dresser that my parents are giving us. Also, Casey has a loveseat that we will get. We won't be starting out as totally poor college students who need furniture. I am so grateful for wonderful people in my life, and there are so many!

MINE!!!

I have my ring!!! Casey is amazing! That is all that really needed to be said!

In Loving Memory

I forgot to post this a while back...

In honor of Halpert, the 2001, Dark Gray Saturn SL1:

Though his body will be picked to the frame by needy car owners, his spirit will always remain with us.

I owned Halpert from the Summer of 2007 until July 17, 2009. He was a ghetto car... especially at first. No door panels, loud exhaust, and some other things led my dad and I to the junk yard in search of scraps. We found a dome light, a spare tire, and even a few interior upholstered things to make Halpert more presentable. There was still one door without a panel and no cigarette lighter in the end, but he was a good little car.

I got my license and drove Halpert up to SVU within the same week. He shuttled me back and forth to and from campus, Walmart, home, and any where else. We paid more for a new transmission than for the car itself when the transmission went out.

Halpert ran well and got great gas mileage until July 2, 2009. As I drove home from work with a co-worker behind me, I had to stop behind a man who was turning across traffic. I was hit from behind. I and my co-worker were, and are, ok, but Halpert did not fare so well. His trunk was a mess. He was towed to a shop here in PTC and they began to assess the damage. It would have cost more to fix the car then the cost of the car and what we paid for the new transmission.

I received a phone call on the 14th that State Farm would be declaring my car a total loss. On the 15th I went to the shop and cleaned out what remained of my belongings in the car. That was difficult. We drove away from Halpert for the last time. Today, at 12:00pm I signed my name on the title of my car and the State Farm agent took it. I no longer own Halpert. This note is a way for me to let out the emotions that I am feeling over the loss of my first car.

Halpert never disappointed me. He was a good car. My friends and I would make fun of him and yet we loved him anyway. So many good memories...

A Little Ray of Sunshine

I got a new phone! It is totally awesome. It is the LG Env2... basically the greatest phone known to man. Anyway, so that is my happy thing. I also got a rental car last Thursday which helps a lot! It is a new Pontiac Vibe. I would not recommend the car based on the fact that I can hardly see anything when I am backing up. Talk about blind spots!

I was able to go and get the last thing that I need for Casey's birthday on the 24th. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. It is going to his best birthday ever. And of course, last but certainly not least...

HARRY POTTER ON TUESDAY!!! WOOOOOO!!!