ENGAGED!!!!!!!

It's been a few days since the big announcement, but the "Title" says it all in truth... I'm engaged!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I'm so so happy. Joyful and truly, fully, completely filled with happiness. It's a wonderful feeling.

My ring... my gorgeous, beautiful ring is outstanding. It's platinum and it has a marquis center diamond that is just under 3/4 of a carat. On the sides are 3 round diamonds that also total about 3/4 of a carat. I have 1.5 carats of DIAMONDS on my finger!!!! OMG! hehehe. Ok that's the giddy silly bouncy self typing.

I've of course attached a picture off the the right. :)

And of course... I must share all of the details of the night of the engagement...

We all (Sean, his Mom, his Dad, and his Grandfather) went out as a family to a place called Vic and Ike's (http://vic-and-ikes.com/), it's a new, very classy and modern restaurant downtown. We'd been talking about going for a couple of weeks once Sean's Grandfather was in town; little did I know that everyone knew of the additional plans at the restaurant other than me. :)

We arrived around 6:30pm and had an absolutely outstanding dinner which included a carpaccio of Angus Beef for an appetizer, delicious crab bisque for a starter, and a wonderful scallop dish for me. We sat at a round table together, Sean to my left, my soon to be father-in-law to my right, with my soon to be mother-in-law across the round from me. The restaurant is filled with black and white photographs of John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, and other classic legends. Frank Sinatra plays quietly and romantically over the speakers through-out the restaurant.

We had brought mother's camera with us which I thought nothing of, we've been taking pictures the entire time that grandpa has been here.

Through-out the evening there were probably a couple of hints that had I known what was happening could've clued me in, but I was totally oblivious. Sean's hands were clammy after bringing his Grandfather to the restroom; little did I know this was right before his planned time for the proposal. Additionally he seemed very fidgety and on edge at some points through-out dinner, in fact at one point I touched his hand and asked if he was alright as he seemed on edge.

The time for dessert came, and everyone had been very insistent through dinner that we all save room as their desserts were outstanding as well. I ordered a peach cheesecake and the others ordered a crazy-insane chocolaty dessert. The desserts came out about 15 minutes later and our waiter went around setting them down on the table, coming to Sean and I last. After setting down our desserts I could feel our waiters presence behind me still and I remember wondering what he was doing, thinking it was odd he was still standing there. ........

He then sat another platter down on the table, one that had a dark green box in the center of it. Sean's mom had pulled out her camera and started taking pictures. My face in the first picture says it fairly well. I was completely confused. haha. I looked at Sean's Mom, then his Dad, then back at Sean as he picked up the box from the platter and suddenly it dawned on me what was happening. The rest is almost a surreal blur. Sean got down on one knee in front of my chair and opened the box and said simply and beautifully, "I thought now would be a good time to ask, will you marry me?". I think I uttered, "oh my gosh....oh my gosh" as few times and I again looked to Sean's mom, grandfather, and dad, almost as if questioning if this was really happening. I then turned back to Sean and yelled, "of course!" and gave him a huge hug. He slipped my gorgeous ring onto my finger and everyone in the restaurant started to clap. As the clapping continued I held Sean's face in my hands and kissed him long and gentle. I was stunned, in awe, and so unbelievably happy.

Sean told me a few minutes later that I had scared him for a moment because I wasn't saying anything! hahaha. This pause was of course only due to my stunned state over what was happening. :) I've known for months that I would say "Yes" or in this case "Of course!" if and when Sean asked me for my hand in marriage.

A moment later I said that I absolutely had to call my Mom and apologized for being rude at the table. It was then that Sean told me that she already knew. He had called her a few days previous and asked for her permission to marry me. My heart fills with joy just typing it again now. It meant so much to me. I called my Mom with tears of happiness and said when she answered, "I can't believe you knew!"... I speak to her almost daily and she had never even let on in the tiniest way.

To top the evening off at the restaurant, our wonderful and talented chef came out (there's a picture of him as well), offered us his congratulations and gave us a bottle of wine as a gift. It was such a sweet and kind gesture.

The rest of the night is a total blur of phone calls, starring at my sparkly gorgeous ring, pictures, hugs, congratulations, and then finally snuggling up to my fiancé and drifting off to sleep.

I still look at the ring about every ten minutes; I love to look at the sparkle of the diamonds. It's absolutely stunning and perfect, just like my fiancé, the man I look forward to spending forever with.

Manic Monday - Meme and truth

The title is actually the name of a daily meme, but the title also fits with the way this day has been.

My day started rough... I mean... rooooooooough... I woke up at about 6:30am with the worst stomach cramps and case of the #2's you can imagine. Graphic, fairly, but guess what, its my blog. :D Over and hour of running to and from the bathroom and my stomach finally settled down. Note to self: DO NOT have a large cup of coffee before bed. It's really the only thing I can rack it up to.

After my stomach settled and Sean got back from not being selected for Jury Duty (yay!), we got several errands done. I got some paystubs from my employer that I need in order to be seen at a free clinic here for blood work. We went to Pensacola College to start all the application paperwork for me and finish up some work for Sean. We went to David's Bridal to pick up my Maid of Honor dress for my friends wedding. Last but not least we checked out a stable in Milton as a possibility for Bailee. They currently have no stalls available so it isn't an option at the moment.

Sean got a call for an interview at a great company which I'm thrilled about. I didn't hear back about my interview that I had on Friday and as the day on I've gotten more and more down. SO.. when I saw this meme I figured it would be a good one for me to possibly get me out of this mopey mood.

Name 5 of the simple pleasures in your life: Hmm.. simple pleasures. I don't consider things like Sean, Bailee, letters from my son, and my family to be simple pleasures - but those are four big gynormous pleasures in my life.

Simple pleasures I partake in: Swimming in a cool pool. Walking in the sand next to the ocean. Going on a long horseback ride. Reading a good book in a quiet room. Doing some of my crafty things I enjoy like cross-stitching or weaving.

What do you like to do on a rainy day? Snuggle deep into the covers with my honey and hide. We play silly games with each other when we go to sleep at night and sometimes when we wake up in the morning. Tickling, raptor-toe (inside thing), wrestling, touched-you-last... just pure silliness really. One of the many things I love and adore about Sean is that we play and can be silly together.

I deserve a _good job__. (this was a fill in the blank question) Really. Truely. Honestly. I do. I'm a hard worker and a good worker. I've interviewed SO much in this tiny economy barren town and I've yet to have something reasonable in the slighest way come through. I'm SO frustrated. I mean...I *rock* these interviews. They tell me they like me, they tell me I'm in their top choices, and when they call back and say, "no thank you", I ask what could I have done better the answer is always the same. "You did great and you're well qualified, there are just many good applicants out there right now and we decided to go with someone else. We'll keep you in mind though in the future". Ok fine, but now, when's it my turn?

Coffee and Sleep

I find it incredibly ridiculous that I would do this to myself, but yet, I have... yes, I drank a very large cup of coffee about an hour prior to the time I planned to go to bed. Wasn't I complaining earlier about my lack of sleep? Oh yes, that's right, I was. ARGH!!

So, perhaps staring at a way to bright screen in a dark room will do something to help me out over the next few minutes. Sadly it has not thrilled my dear sweet honey who is curled up trying to sleep next to me. No worries my 'now drifting into dreamland' dear, I'll make this fairly short. In the meantime, please try to have sweeter dreams than we both did last night.

The last few days and really the last week I have had serious wedding on the brain. Not for me (for the most part, lol) but because I'm thrilled and honored to be the Maid of Honor at an upcoming wedding in this area. The gals name is Sarah and her fiance' is Jeremy. We met them a few months ago through our horses and have hit it off as good friends. We're having a lot of fun. Her wedding is on Aug 28th and is being done on a very tight, mostly non-existant budget. She's had a lot of friends come through to help with some things which is wonderful. The wedding will be at the farm where we currently keep Bailee, the owner of the farm is a lawyer and is able to officiate the wedding and is doing so for free. Jeremy's Mom was kind enough to pay for the catered food from Sonny's BBQ. I'll be buying a few dozen roses before hand and putting together her boutiques the night before. A good friend of hers paid for her wedding dress and most of the accessories to go with it. She has really been blessed and I'm very happy for her. It will be a unique and super fun wedding. She's going to be riding her horse, Renegade to the aisle and possibly down the aisle depending on how he behaves and then her and Jeremy will ride off together after the ceremony. Very sweet. :) They'll of course come right back for the reception portion that we'll be having on the property as well.

My sister Bekah helped me come up with a fun idea for the centerpieces. We're going to be using large mason jars (or possibly some vases) and putting a large bunch of hay in them so it spirals a bit and flows out to all sides, then we'll put a few daises (possibly roses) in the center. A red and yellow ribbon around the jar/vase will be the finishing touches. They'll be easy and inexpensive to put together, perfect.

I'm also working on planning and putting together Sarah's Bridal Shower, we have the location and I have a few ideas, but quite honestly, I'm hoping to find a way to have some more funds very quickly before much longer. I need a way to buy my dress for the wedding AND the things I need for the shower. Quite honestly...not having a full-time job is hindering that quite a bit. I have a few things in the works and hopefully one of those will come through.

I didnt mention earlier that while I haven't been able to find another job, I am still working for the Dr's practice that Sean's Mom works for. The problem is that my hours there have had to be cut down to part time. Next week they only need me 2 days which is only going to be 16 hours. Ughh.

Sean is also still looking for other work, but right now is getting fairly steady hours on and off doing free-lance IT work for the office. When they keep him busy the funds are wonderful, but during the down time it makes things hard. I know it's really hard on him emotionally too. He really wants to get back to working a full-time job thats with an established company. He worries about taking care of me and our family, which is something that makes me love and adore him even more. He's amazing. We're struggling right now, but the love we have keeps us strong. We're both looking at starting some classes at one of the local colleges this fall and that will help lead us both to bigger and better things as well.

Anyhow, I'm going to turn this thing off and try to close my eyes again. Here's hoping for good sleep and great dreams.

Early

It's Sunday and its way to early for me. It probably wouldn't feel that way if I was actually sleeping well, but sleep has been very ellusive recently.

We're going to brunch (breakfast really) with Sean's Mom and Grandpa this morning and somehow us needing to be there at 9:15am equals waking us up at 7:30am. (the restaurant is about 15 minutes away) Oh well, I guess this way we're actually more fully awake by the time we go.

The Sunday Meme's are at times my favorite, though I don't do them very often anymore. I thought an odd question one would be fun. It's two parts so I'm sure next week there will be more odd questions.
--
1. First thing you wash in the shower? My hair. After conditioning I always start with my left arm. Hmm, maybe I'll need to switch that up sometime.

2. What color is your favorite hoodie? Gray

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Most definitely!

4. Do you plan outfits? Very seldom.

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? Half awake.

6. What's the closest thing to you that's red? "previously read, 50% off" label on a book I recently bought.

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? Ugh. That would be last night and it was a nightmare, so no thanks.

8. Did you meet anybody new today? Not yet.

9. What are you craving right now? Waffles.

10. Do you floss? Very seldom, I really should more often.

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? My Mom's cabbage rolls. Yummm. Haven't had those in forever.

12. Are you emotional? omg yes. haha. Way to emotional sometimes.

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? Probably?

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? If we're talking about an ice cream cone, I lick it. Ice cream bar, I bite.

15. Do you like your hair? Yep.

16. Do you like yourself? Most of the time.

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? Sure.

18. What are you listening to right now? The fan and the sound of my typing.

19. Are your parents strict? I'd say they borderline were. I've heard of a lot worse. I think they did a good job.

20. Would you go sky diving? This is a hard one because I really don't think I could. Sometimes I think I might like to... but someone would literally probably have to throw me out of the plane. lol

21. Do you like cottage cheese? Yep.

22. Have you ever met a celebrity? Met as in shook hands with, I'm dont think so. I have eaten in the same restaurant as Nancy Kerrigan (ice skater) and been involved in a conversation with Steve Pool (reporter from Seattle), though I didn't specifically address him. I've also been within touching distance of Michael Jordan as he walked by at a golf tournament and my favorite, Teddy Bruschi from the New England Patriots when he spoke at a work function up in Boston.

A few changes..

I came to the blog site to post tonight, but the new template designer caught my eye and I had to play with that for awhile instead. I imagine that I'll end up playing with it a whole lot in the future.

Not to much has changed in the last couple months. I had a wonderful birthday and celebrated with Sean and his family here in Gulf Breeze.

I recently went and visited my sister Clarissa and my nephew Vincent which also led to me seeing my other sister Bekah and Mom. It was so great to see most of my family. Vincent has gotten gynormous and is so different in so many ways. At the age of two I suppose he changes a bit daily. I miss my family, terribly, but I have no regrets over being in Gulf Breeze with Sean. He makes me so happy and is my family too.

Our horse, Bailee, is doing wonderful. She recently got moved to a new place because we found out that she wasn't being properly fed at the last place we had her. She'll be moved again soon as the farm she's on currently is a temporary 'safe house' of sorts for her. The farm she's at is beautiful...absolutely stunning...we joke with the owner that its a Day Spa for horses. She's being treated like a princess there, fed well, and has recovered from some injuries she sustained. The owner of the barn in Tamara, she's late 40's and is a kind and animal adoring person. The only downfall is that this place is just over an hour away from us. We moved her there due to the kindness of Tamara's heart and because she'd be well cared for, however, now that she's recovering well we're hoping to move her back closer to us within the next couple months.

Sean's grandfather is in town for the week, flew in today. He's a really nice guy and seems to have a geniune and gentle soul. We'll be doing a lot with him this week.

I'm still looking for another job, they're quite hard to come by in this area. In general I have about one interview weekly, sometimes one every couple of weeks, but it just hasn't worked out for me to find placement. I did have what felt like a really excellent interview on Friday and they're making a decision early next week -- I'll admit that I really have my hopes up about this one. It's a job that does billing and front desk work, but it's also a position that involves being the team leader for the front-end. While working at SunLife in Boston I was a Case Coordinator which involved a lot of team leadership; I really enjoyed the position and found it rewarding. Anyhow, fingers and toes crossed on this one.

It's late and most definitely time to snuggle with Sean and watch a movie while we go to sleep. :)