New Year's Resolutions

I’m not a fan of “New Year’s resolutions,” but I figured I could rouse my blog out of hibernation since it’s now 2009. In my experience with friends who make resolutions, they often seem to get lost in the clutter of everyday life by mid-March or so. It’s almost as though the more important something seems at the beginning of the year, the farther it can travel to the bottom of the “to do” list.

At the same time, though, shouldn’t we set goals for ourselves? Shouldn’t we pick a time to start improving in some way, and then work hard to stick with it? Isn’t the turning of the calendar year as good a time as any?

I know that some people can set goals, and achieve them all year long. For those people, I admire your commitment and resolve. It’s amazing! And some goals do, indeed, lend themselves to a January-to-December time frame.

However, many goals may be better supported by a different calendar. I know people at church who, after the Passover in the spring or the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall, will set a spiritual goal to accomplish by the next festival season. Maybe it’s baptism, or reading the entire Bible, or praying every day. Not only do these types of goals have a deep and lasting benefit, they’re also based on God’s calendar!

This, of course, is not to downplay the importance of achievement on a more (for lack of a better word) superficial level. But these, too, can often work on a different schedule. For example, young women frequently set a goal at some point during the year to lose pounds or inches by the following summer. You may give yourself a deadline of a week or two to completely clean your house – or just the living room. Something as short-term as a certification exam or a test at school can be an equally worthwhile, and perhaps more achievable goal.

And for me, achievable is a necessary trait in a goal. With my busy schedule and long list of “to do…eventually,” crossing off a task, no matter how small, feels amazing. For more long-term goals, I find myself putting off starting a project or regimen, feeling as though it’s not worth it to do 1 page of my scrapbook when I want to do the whole thing, or exercise 1 day this week if I know that the other days won’t be open. I need to learn to accept little victories, and celebrate them as such.

So I guess the point is that any time is a good time to commit to change in our lives. Any time is a good time to make a dent in a project, if we can make that “dent” the goal. After all, it’s when we’re the most motivated to grow that we will be most successful. And that can happen on January 1 or the middle of July.

A New Beginning

It’s been about a month since I last updated this thing! So much has happened and changed, but every time I think I need to post, I realize that I don’t have the time to update on everything, and put it off even more. Funny how that happens, I guess.

So here are the highlights!


~ Move to Fort Worth ~

Benjamin & I moved from Richardson to Fort Worth on July 27. Although it took us what felt like an eternity to pack up our 530 square foot apartment, the actual move only took a couple of hours. That’s probably due in large part to his parents, grandparents, and a family friend offering their assistance. The night before we moved, Benjamin didn’t get to sleep until around 4:00 am. I fought the urge to sleep, knowing that a couple of hours would leave me acting totally drugged the next day. Instead, I bought massive amounts of packing tape and bubble wrap, as I had underestimated how much we would use. It’s amazing how much stuff we fit into our first apartment!

I love the new apartment. It’s only about 250 square feet bigger than the one in Richardson, but it feels like twice the size. We have several large closets, and our unit doesn’t share any walls with the neighbors. That means that we have 3 huge windows in the living room and 2 in the bedroom.

While I started organizing the apartment, Benjamin jumped into making it a nicer place for us to be in general. It’s in a middle-quality area, right between the “bad part” and the “good part” of town. The complex is old, but it seems like it’s been taken care of and we got an outstanding deal on it. Still, it was nice to have my husband do a few things that really made a huge difference. Here are a few of the nice things he did:

• Replaced all of the light fixtures. The ones that came with it were old and dirty, and we couldn’t get them clean again. Changing the fixtures also sealed the ceiling better, so that the cigarette smoke from our upstairs neighbors would not seep in.
• Changed all of the doorknobs. We brought our own high-quality lock, and he got silver knobs to match on the interior. He put a lock on our big closet as well.
• Put shelves in the pantry. The “pantry” in the kitchen is tiny, and I was disappointed to again have an apartment without a real pantry. I find that the kitchen is so much easier to keep organized when everything has a place, which is not as feasible without a pantry. Very quickly, though, we decided to use the closet in the dining area as the pantry, and the “pantry” as a drink cabinet (liquor, coffee, tea, sodas, etc). So he built some extra shelves in the closet, and now it’s perfect for our food & the appliances that we don’t use constantly.
• Hung curtains. We picked out some double curtain rods, so we chose tan for the curtain next to the window in both rooms, and avocado green for the curtain that shows in the living room and black in the bedroom. (We started with burgundy, but it didn’t look right with the comforter.) He did lots of drilling, which resulted in lots of vacuuming for me, but now it looks so nice. He even ironed them! (I hate ironing, myself.)
• Printed & hung photos. We’ve had a photo printer for months, but we haven’t really used it. Benjamin has gone nuts printing all of our favorite pictures to display, now, though. Lots of them are in black & white, and he’s done a nice job making them look top notch. I’d really like to learn how to do that sometime. It’s like we really live there now!
• Changed the shower head. He came home one day with a giant thing that looks like my diffuser for my blow dryer! It’s really nice though…there are 2 settings on it, and it sits higher in the shower (the other one was crazy low), so we don’t knock ourselves out now =P

We did have some problems though. Rather than get all into the specifics (I'll go nuts, I’m sure), I'll just do bullet points again. Rest assured, though, we have ample documentation (including letters and photos) in case this turns into a bigger issue.

• Broken window. Before we moved in, they assured us that they would have the broken window in the living room fixed by our move-in date. It looked fixed, so we thought it was fine. The office staff had been really nice & seemed concerned about us being happy. Two weeks later, when Benjamin was measuring for curtains, he noticed that not only was the “window” not even glass, but it wasn’t installed! It had been cut, set in the frame, and held in place with a screen on the outside. Benjamin popped it right out! Needless to say, we were both furious. I took the window (yes, the window) to the leasing offices (both of them) to insist on it being fixed immediately. They were scheduled to be open, being a Sunday early afternoon, but they weren’t. I called the emergency number, which was “not in service.” I then left a message on their office voicemail expressing my irritation and telling them that it needed to be fixed before we went to bed. Benjamin boarded up the window for safety that night. The next day, Benjamin spoke to the office staff 3 times, and each time they promised him that it would be fixed by 4 pm. They even said that the glass man had just arrived at the complex and was on his way to our unit. They never came. So on Tuesday he spoke to the manager, who had never been alerted to the issue. It was fixed that afternoon. I usually don’t like to be demanding, especially when I feel like there’s no need to be a pain. But seriously, the window is 2”x2”, and either one of us (or a criminal) could have just climbed right in. And we’re on the first floor. Unbelievable.
• Deviants. There are 3 boys that live in our building that like to sit right outside our bedroom window and talk, laugh, fight, bounce their basketball, etc, anytime between 10:30 pm and 3:00 am. At first, I would go outside (because I’m a woman & less threatening) and ask them to keep it down. Once there were about 10-12 of them, and one guy started acting aggressive. So at that point, I went inside & called the police while Benjamin went outside & started asking for names. Long story short, to date we’ve had to call several times, and each time the officer that comes says that they have to give a warning before they can issue a ticket. We’ve also given letters to the apartment manager requesting her support. I know they probably get complaints all the time, but they sit on the air conditioner, and talk so loudly that it wakes us up. I don’t want to give too much information, because it’s kindof a legal thing, but the good news is that we haven’t had any problems in almost a week! We’re really hoping this continues, because we need more than 4-5 hours of sleep lol.
• Fleas. When we first moved in, Monte got covered in fleas, and he’s never had them before. I freaked out, and started giving him baths almost every day, vacuuming at least once a day, and washing everything in hot water. My mom even sent us some Capstar tablets for him, which kill all of the fleas that are on him. I know how hard it can be to get rid of fleas once there’s an infestation, and I did NOT want to deal with that. But, they seem to have subsided. We keep him out of the bushes and I’m still vacuuming & bathing him a lot. A flea comb is a great tool, too. Just sit there with a bowl of hot water with Dawn in it, and rinse the comb in the water after each stroke. It kills 'em!

In general, we love our new apartment, and it feels so nice to have started again in a new place.

~ Wedding Anniversary ~

Benjamin & I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary on Monday, August 4. The day started with me leaving at 6:00 am to go to Plano for my US History exam. Then, since I had taken the day off work, I went home and began my exciting day. I picked up sushi at Central Market on the way home, then took a shower, fixed my hair, put on a sundress, did some light cleaning, and then met Benjamin at his office for lunch. I wanted to have a picnic at the Botanic Gardens (where he proposed), but it was so hot, and he was wearing his business clothes. He gets hot so easily anyway – as sentimental as it would be, I thought subjecting him to the heat wouldn’t be very loving. So we went home for lunch, and I put a blanket down on the living room floor for our air conditioned picnic.

After lunch, I went to the mall to pick up his present. I knew I needed to be home by 5:00, because he said his plans started then. With paper being the traditional first anniversary gift, I really wanted to have our marriage certificate framed in an engraved frame. But our marriage certificate is a really odd size, and there was no way I was going to cut it. So, that was out of the question. Instead, I bought him some nice cuff-links as well as a French-cuff shirt from Express. Those are his favorite, but he doesn’t like to spend that much on himself for a shirt. I, however, justified it with it being our anniversary.

When he got home, we exchanged gifts. He got me a silver clock with 12 tiny black frames around it. (Last weekend he printed black & white pictures & put them in the frames.) He also gave me a burgundy scrapbook that will look nice in our bedroom or even our living room, some scrapbooking supplies, a big black storage for all of that, some black frames (which he put some photos in for the living room), and a photo chest with spaces for pictures on the top. I think I may use it as a jewelry box instead of a photo box, though it’s quite big and it doesn’t have a latch. Either way, it’ll be great to use.

After presents, I went to touch up my makeup, as I’d been running around all day. He told me I really didn’t need to do that, to “trust him,” but I did it anyway J I wanted to look nice for our anniversary! He had made a reservation for us to get a couples massage at a spa downtown. I had no idea where we were, and knowing that I am afraid of needles, he jokingly told me we were there for Botox. The massage was relaxing & very thoughtful, and I was ready to go to sleep after that. But he had made dinner reservations at a tiny Italian restaurant that I’d never heard of. He said it came highly recommended, and it was so nice. We were seated in a corner away from the other guests, and it provided a very romantic atmosphere. The food was delicious, though we ended up trading half-way through. They gave us complimentary champagne & dessert, too.

I had told Benjamin that our anniversary is very important to me, and I wanted to do something special. I said that either he could plan something, or we could plan something together. He took over, and did a wonderful job. I hope I can do something equally amazing next year for him.

~ College Graduation ~

This summer I took 15 hours (5 courses) so that I could go ahead & finish my degree. I took Criminal Justice, World Music and Advanced Composition at the university, and Statistics and US History at the community college. I finished my last final exam on August 14.

Unfortunately, I’ve had trouble getting my community college transcript to the university. Now they’re saying I might not be able to officially graduate until the fall. Of course, this is all simply because of a time difference in when grades are available at the 2 schools, and has little to do with me. But they’ve extended my deadline until Thursday at 5:00 pm, so hopefully it’ll all work. Otherwise, I'll be finished, but just won’t have my diploma until December.

Picture Links!

I realized that I don't have very many pictures on here! And since I just went through & copied all of my wedding blog posts into this one, I thought I'd update other stuffs too!

These are all of the pictures that I have on Facebook.

~ WEDDING PICTURES ~
Engagement Pictures
Rehearsal
Getting Ready
Ceremony
Reception
Honeymoon

~ COLLEGE PICTURES ~
Fall 2005
Spring 2006
Dallas Formal 2006
Zahra's Birthday
Summer 2006
Fall 2006 (1)
Fall 2006 (2)
Snow Day 2006
Spring 2007

~ SPECIAL ALBUMS ~
Mommy
Monte
Feast 2006
High School

It's "Pubic" Not "Public"

This isn't a hard concept, people.

Two days this week, I went into the bathroom at work & was unpleasantly surprised to find a pubic hair on the toilet seat. I always use the same stall, so the perpetrator probably does too. I don't understand how that can even get on the toilet seat unless you're sitting really funny. But if it does, clean it off!

The same goes for little tinkle drops. In fact, that's even grosser.

So please, just like you check your teeth in the mirror when you leave, please check to make sure you haven't left a present for the next person to use the potty :)

Mouse Droppings

I was driving down Park Lane today on my way to complete a shop, and I saw the weirdest thing! A car pulled out in front of me, and so I slowed down to stay a safe distance behind it. Good thing I did, because as soon as they started going straight, someone in the car dropped a MOUSE out the window! I was so surprised, I couldn't decide whether that was one of those things you slam on the brakes for. So I slowed down, and the mouse scurried across a couple of lanes without getting squished. It was quite a sight!

Home Sweet Home

(Original post at www.abforever.blogspot.com)

Well, sort of =P

It's been forever since I've written on this thing, so I don't really even know where to start! Benjamin and I had a beautiful wedding, made complete by our family and friends who shared it with us. I can't believe that I wanted an outdoor reception, though. It was hot! Mom & I checked the forecast the day before the wedding, and all was supposed to be sunny and dry. On Saturday, though, we realized that Benjamin didn't have the vest to his tuxedo, so we made an emergency trip out. It was nice though...we were so busy that neither of us had an opportunity to really get nervous!

Ok, well I'm getting ahead of myself lol. Julie & I went to Houston on Tuesday, and Tuesday night Megan, Jill and Veronica threw my bachelorette party. It was lots of fun...they even had a Disney princess tablecloth! (though there were some "inappropriate" paraphernalia drawn on it hehe). I got a little loopy and ended up falling asleep. I was partially awake again when they had a slightly-dressed guy burst through the front door and run through the living room.

Benjamin was supposed to work all day on Thursday and then drive to Houston on Thursday night. However, the little sucker (ok, sweet and sexy babe) left work without telling me and showed up at my parents' house in the very early evening!

On Friday night we had the official rehearsal. However, it didn't really count, because Julie was in Georgia for a convention, Amanda was on her way to Houston, Jason was at training for his new job, the flower girl was en route, and the minister was at church camp in Ohio. Benjamin & I went to get manicures & pedicures, and were a little late. The "wedding coordinator" (aka meany-poopy-head) was a total snot, and started treating me like a little kid. She was telling Benjamin's parents to do the wrong things, and trying to completely take over myyyyyy wedding!

Wedding Coordinator: come on!
Benjamin's mom: I think we weren't supposed to walk in during this song.
Wedding Coordinator: It doesn't matter, it's fine.
Me: *nicely* Hey, could we try that again, with the other song?
Wedding Coordinator: You want to do it again?!
Me: *slightly less nice* Well, they weren't supposed to come in to this song.
Wedding Coordinator: *huff*

Later...
Wedding Coordinator: You need to do the unity candle now.
Me: *listening to the minister/Benjamin/etc* *notice she's yapping, so I look at her*
Wedding Coordinator: *really snotty look* Can we take this seriously please?
Me: Sure. *hand on hip, 4th grade girl rebellious look*...(hey, it was my wedding)
Wedding Coordinator: Fine! I'll just let you do it your way.
(keep in mind, we didn't want her there in the first place...she wasn't "coordinating" anything)
Me: *sweet tone* Thank you!
Wedding Coordinator: Uh! *snatches our candles & walks off to get her purse*
Wedding Coordinator: *to my dad* It doesn't look like you'll be needing my services here any more this evening.
Dad: Oh, ok! Bye!

I asked Ethan if he had gotten it all on tape, and he said yes. I can't wait to see it. She was sooo mad hehe.

The day of the wedding went smoothly for the most part. I was a little worried that something major would be forgotten, but it was all great. I remember making Julie go out & take pictures from the balcony so I could make sure enough people were there to start. (I didn't want everyone having to be in the balcony!) When Dad & I came in, I hardly noticed anyone in the audience. I didn't realize beforehand that I wouldn't see the audience at all until we were presented Mr. and Mrs. The main things about the ceremony that were "funny" I suppose, were that I couldn't blow out my candle after lighting the unity candle because my veil blocked it, so Benjamin had to blow it out. Then, when Benjamin was allowed to "kiss the bride," we kissed for what I guess was a long time. People started laughing, and the minister kind of cleared his throat a little. At the reception, Jill, Veronica & Matthew commented that it was quite passionate. Jill said she accidentally pinched Matthew, and Veronica said, "I'm told that if you begin a marriage with a lot of passion, it'll continue that way. So, I think you'll have a passionate marriage!"

When I tossed the bouquet, Julie & Amanda had a little tustle. I have a picture of them both going for it, and another one where Amanda has a "ha!" look on her face, and Julie has her fists clinched and seems to be charging. It's awesome =P

Juliane & Ryan gave their speeches, and both were so heartfelt. I know that Benjamin and I love our siblings dearly, and were so glad to be able to share the first wedding for both families with them.

I rode all the way to Galveston in my wedding dress. This was not the best idea, for 2 reasons. One, it can feel somewhat comfy while you're standing up, but when it's late and you're tired, and the bra is digging into your boobies and bruising your sternum, it's not quite so comfortable. Two, we didn't really think ahead about how we were going to fit my giant dress in our luggage for the cruise. But, I wanted Benny to be able to take it off of me, so I suppose it was worth it. And since he doesn't pack much stuff, there was room in his suitcase :)

We spent Saturday night and Sunday night in Galveston. Sunday we walked around a little bit, went to the grocery store, and got a pizza from Dominos. Or Pizza Hut. One of those places lol. Monday we took a taxi to the port. Benjamin wanted to make sure we were there "on time," so we ended up getting there before anyone else. We were wearing our "Bride" and "Groom" shirts, so everyone we talked to thought we were part of a wedding party. Of course, that meant that they sent us up to the waiting room with the actual wedding party, which was apparently preparing of an on-board wedding. Other than them we were the first ones on the boat! We had opted to carry most of our luggage on, a decision that we remedied getting off the boat. (If you take a cruise, don't carry your stuff. It's a long walk.) Going through security, one of my bags set off the alarm, and when we saw which one, I freaked. (You don't need to know the details.) To make a long story short, we had crashed Benjamin's bachelor party the week before, and his mom had gotten some handcuffs for me to put on him during our raid. I had stuck them in my bag and forgotten about them, and, well...apparently they don't allow handcuffs on cruise ships. Oops!

On the boat, we lugged all of our luggage (is that why they call it luggage?) to go eat lunch before the rooms were ready. Benjamin called our parents to tell them we had made it, and his mom told him a funny story. It totally made our day. Everyone, including Mrs. Wedding Coordinator, had been asked not to wear perfume to the wedding, because of allergies. She showed up about 10 minutes before the wedding:
Ryan: Do you have the candles for lighting the unity candle?
Wedding Coordinator: I don't know! I thought you didn't need me!
Ryan: *really nice voice* We don't...we just need the candles.
Wedding Coordinator: Well, I may have some in my car. I'll check.
Later...
Aaron (usher): *doesn't know who she is* Are you friend or family?
Wedding Coordinator: Well, I'm not family!
Aaron: *smells perfume on her* Ok, well I'm going to need you to sit up here.
Wedding Coordinator: *epitome of ticked off*

My parents and Benjamin's parents had gone to lunch on Monday, so they got to hear the story before we did. The cruise was awesome! I wasn't scared at all, and I didn't get seasick! More about that later, perhaps. Our room steward learned our names, and would always come in our room while we were gone & make cool towel animals to put on the bed. He even arranged my pink pillow on the bed with the others =P

We stopped in Progresso and Cozumel. In Progresso, I got sick from the cigarette smoke and the heat, so we just bought some tequila and got back on the boat. In Cozumel, we did some shopping. Benjamin wanted to rent a motorcycle thing, but I forgot about the fact that we could go all over the island. Instead, we bought more tequila (he brought back a ton of tequila), and took lots of pictures. It sprinked a bit, and we were ready to go in, so we got back on the boat and drank a margarita. On the last day, we needed 4 more cups to complete our "4 yellow, 4 pink" collection, so we had to get started early. We split our first pina colada around 10 am. And I don't hold liquor very well, so needless to say I was a little wobbly for the rest of the day.

Now we're back (duh, Adriane), and getting into the swing of things. The apartment still isn't organized, but at least we've opened all the presents, and the ones we need to take back are filling up the back seat of my car. I still have a ton of thank you notes to write, but I'm dreading that. I think it's the sheer volume of notes that is stressing, not the act itself. If I do like 20 a day, it shouldn't take too long.

Viagra Commercials

(Original post at www.abforever.blogspot.com)

(I'm not sure if I spelled that right...)

Anyway, as I was mindlessly putting away my groceries, I heard a commercial on tv:
"Viagra is suitable for men with all levels of er*ct*le d*sfunct*on....Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex."

I apologize for the *'s...I still feel like it's a dirty word lol. It shouldn't be, since I am a soon-to-be-married woman, but none-the-less...

Ok, so now that we're all sufficiently uncomfortable...I witnessed a serious cat fight at Wal-Mart tonight. A lady (and I use that term loosely) got all freaked out, and started pushing another lady out of the way, and hollering, and tattling to the supervising cashier lady at the self check-out. I was already stressed by having been held up several times, so I was ready to just knock everybody's heads together & call it a night. Luckily, though, I have a healthy capacity for self-restraint, and I managed to get by with just giving a probably-unnoticed annoyed look to the unlady-like lady.

Tootles!

WHAT Registry?!?

(Original post at www.abforever.blogspot.com)

We went to Houston this weekend to visit my family, and today we went to Macy's with my mom to start our gift registry. We went to a "Service Counter" where it looked like we were supposed to begin, and after a short wait (during which Mom offered to get their attention by casually opening the cash register) a lady came over to help us. I explained that we needed to start a gift registry, and she gave me the most unpleasantly surprised look I can imagine, and asked, "You two are getting married?" I was like, "Yes." Then she pointed us to another counter.

Later in the car, Benjamin brought it back up. He explained that the lady bugged him, and in response to her indignance (did I make up that word?) he wanted to reply, "Yes! I love her very much!"

And I know I didn't look terribly young, because Benjamin said so. Plus, I looked extra cute, and seriously marriable, and was sporting a very pretty diamond ring on the cooresponding finger. I just don't understand her amazement. Poo.

And speaking of poo, apparently Monte likes to eat cat poo, and then Chester likes to bring poo to my parents & their guests as presents. We have some very un-selfish dogs.

After we got past the Marriage Police, we got to use the spiffy little scanner to scan UPCs :) Benjamin went a little scanner-happy, and registered for 12 butter dishes...(actually, it was an accident that we made together). But I'm happy to say that we have officially registered for our wedding china & silverware. We also picked out stuff for the bathroom, but when we went to scan it, our little scanner friend rejected the entry because apparently it was on clearance...so we had to buy it today.

...but all is well.

(Original post at www.abforever.blogspot.com)

I don't have a date, or a location, or a dress, or a honeymoon hotel, or a photographer, or a cake decorator, or a quartet, or...

...but I have a ring, and a minister, and an apartment. I have love, and joy, and closeness, and faith. I have an amazing man who wants to make me his wife.

And finding that - the love of my life, with whom I want to share everything from now until the day I die - that's the essential part. The rest is just details.

<3

The Proposal

(Original post at www.abforever.blogspot.com)

Benjamin and I had been seriously discussing marriage for several months. Still, he wouldn’t give any hints as to when or how he planned to propose. So I waited (sometimes impatiently, to which he will attest) for him to get everything ready.

On Saturday, May 12, 2007, I suspected nothing. Honestly, despite the fact that I was sure a proposal was coming soon, the possibility of it happening that weekend didn’t really enter my mind.

That morning, we had made plans to go to the Botanic Gardens after church. We had been there about a month before for a picnic (I absolutely love picnics), and it is beautiful. That time, I actually thought he might propose. Later, I thought about telling him that I would really like him to do it there, but decided against such an intervention, as he said he already knew what he planned to do. I didn’t suspect anything this time, though, because he asked very casually if I wanted to go. Plus, I was tired of getting my hopes up =P

We went to church in Fort Worth as usual. The building is always chilly, but it was especially freezing during the Bible study. Normally, Benjamin would have given me his jacket, but this time he kept it on, fanned himself with the handout, and offered to get my princess blanket out of the car. (He brought it up later, explaining that he didn’t want me to be wearing his jacket & notice the ring inside.)

During church I whispered that I was looking forward to going to the park. He took that opportunity to ask if I minded Ryan (his little brother) coming with us, because Ryan wanted to ride in his new car. I felt kindof let down, thinking that Benjamin should have known that I consider parks our own little romantic thing. I said that if he needed a ride home, we could just go another day, trying to hide my disappointment.

After church, Benjamin said that he would go pull up the car (since he had parked a long way out to avoid “dings”) while I finished my drink inside. However, it took him longer than I expected because, as I later learned, he needed to move the ring to his guitar case. Again I inadvertently interfered, when my impatience led me out to the car in my 4” heels.

When we arrived at the Botanic Gardens, he handed me the blanket and asked me to go set up under our tree while he found a way to cover his camera and guitar in the back seat. (Due to my previous interruption, he still needed to move the ring.) I unknowingly made his objective harder, insisting that we walk together. Finally I said, “just bring your camera with you, and leave your guitar uncovered in the car.” We walked to our tree and laid out the blanket. On the way, I saw some people taking wedding pictures, and pointed it out to Benjamin. I’ve been doing this from time to time, partially because I think it’s neat, and partially to remind him that I want to get married…as if he had forgotten lol.

As we were still wearing church clothes, Benjamin said he wanted to change into flip-flops. By this time, I was like, “It’s about to rain, and you’re concerned about changing out of your shoes?” He insisted on getting them from the car, so I waited. When he returned, he only brought his guitar.

He started playing a song from memory as usual, but then stopped. He picked up a page of tabs from his case, and told me he hadn’t put the rest back in there after he cleaned it out. I just thought, oh, ok…new song, cool, what is it?

Scanning the page as though he had not played the song before, he answered, “It’s called ‘Question’.” I’ve heard the song, so I’m sitting there thinking, “Greeeeat! I know he’s not going to propose today, yet he’s going to sight read this song about proposing.” I started to inform him of this little discrepancy, but he had already started playing. I figured, Oh well, he’ll figure it out in a minute, and we can have a good laugh. When he got to the chorus, I realized he knew the song and had picked it intentionally:

Someday somebody’s gonna ask you
A question that you should say yes to
Once in your life, maybe tonight
I’ve got a question for you.

I also grasped that he seemed to know the tune awfully well for never having heard it. I looked at his face, saw his nervousness and excitement, and focused on experiencing the final seconds of singleness.

When he finished the song, Benjamin set down his guitar and picked up a wooden ring box. By this time he was crying. He opened the box, and said, “I love you so much. Will you marry me?”

I, of course, immediately said “yes,” and leaned over to kiss my fiancé. I may have whispered it, because later he asked if I had actually ever said yes.

Then I finally got a good look at the ring. It was a beautiful square solitaire in a shiny platinum setting. I had not helped to pick out the ring, and even though he knew what cut I wanted, I had been a bit nervous about what he’d select. But as with everything he’s picked out for me, it was perfect. He started to hand it to me, but I said, “you have to put it on my finger!” When he slid the ring onto my finger, I was happier than ever.

I didn’t react at all how I always thought I would – I figured I’d either shriek or start bawling. I don’t think I fully believed everything that was happening. After all, he wasn’t “supposed” to do it then!

As we packed up and left, it started to rain. I love the rain, I love the park, and I love my wonderful husband-to-be.

I'm Engaged!

(Original post at www.abforever.blogspot.com)

I'm starting this blog because I'm entering what promises to be a very exciting time in my life. I know that one day, when all the planning is finished, all the hoping and waiting over, I will want to go back and remember everything that's happened, everything that I may not have experienced fully. Heh, now I'm crying lol.

Plus, if you ask Julie or Zahra or Mom, they'll tell you I've been a Blog Bum for the past 5 or 6 months, and that I "need to update!" And I like typing 'cause it gives me a nice view of my ring ;-)

I will start posting our engagement story and day-to-day happenings shortly. In the meantime, please visit our wedding website at www.mywedding.com/benjaminandadriane. Thanks!

Happy Mother's Day!

20 Keys to a Happy Life

Today I'm feeling kindof blah. Is it weird that sometimes we just need to be alone, but our problems don't necessarily involve the people we're close to? I went to play piano, thinking that it might cheer me up, let me get some emotion out. It did, I guess.

It's freezing outside (literally) and drizzling, so it's kindof like really tiny snow. I think I'll go back home, but take my time. Funny how the outdoors can act like medicine sometimes - I even went to visit my fountain (I call it mine...I guess it technically belongs to UTD)...just the sound was soothing.
I don't even know for sure what's bothering me. Hmmm...I'll get better.

Today's Random Fact: I hate bugs, but I love the outdoors. I love tent-camping, hiking, picnics...all of it. I just don't like the beach (but that's due to the copious sand that I still find under my fingernails a week later).

20 Keys to a Happy Life (My pastor mentioned these in his sermon...I think they're fitting now.)
1. Compliment 3 people every day.
2. Watch a sunrise.
3. Be the first to say "hello."
4. Treat everyone as you want to be treated.
5. Live beneath your means.
6. Forget the Joneses.
7. Never give up on anybody - miracles do happen!
8. Remember someone's name.
9. Be kinder than you have to be.
10.Wish not for things, but for wisdom and courage.
11.Be tough-minded but tender-hearted.
12.Don't forget that a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
13.Keep your promises.
14.Leave everything better than you found it.
15.Show cheerfulness even when you don't feel it.
16.Remember that winners do what losers don't want to do.
17.Remember that overnight success usually takes 15 years.
18.When you arrive at work (or school) in the morning, let the first thing you say brighten someone's day.
19.Don't rain on other people's parades.
20.Don't waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.