we slept in and then got up for brunch with ellie and brad at the pancake house. ate until i was full up to my sternum. then we all piled into the car and drove out to look at "the barn house"....a house shaped like a barn i was convinced would be crazy perfect. alas, it was not. not even the awesome jacuzzi on the back deck (for kitch factor) could not save this mess. sad.
then, we got lost driving into the ghetto to see an amazing but run-down spanish style house that is selling for only $12,000! now brad and ellie are laughing in the back seat because not only have i convinced everyone that driving into the ghetto to look at this house is a worthwhile pursuit (ok - there was not much to convincing e. i made the suggestion and she was like "YES!") but p and i were also in one of our infamous moods where we can get lost and aggrivated and say horrible things to one another like "i hate your face" all while smiling and not ever really being mad at one another... it's how we express our love..... ok, it's how i express my love and he is just easy going enough to know i don't mean any of it and to just sit back and play along.
then, we got lost driving into the ghetto to see an amazing but run-down spanish style house that is selling for only $12,000! now brad and ellie are laughing in the back seat because not only have i convinced everyone that driving into the ghetto to look at this house is a worthwhile pursuit (ok - there was not much to convincing e. i made the suggestion and she was like "YES!") but p and i were also in one of our infamous moods where we can get lost and aggrivated and say horrible things to one another like "i hate your face" all while smiling and not ever really being mad at one another... it's how we express our love..... ok, it's how i express my love and he is just easy going enough to know i don't mean any of it and to just sit back and play along.
brad claims to find this all very entertaining and we discussed the level of interest people would have in watching mine and p's relationship if it were a reality tv show. the consensus was that most people would find it horrifying and amusing... in other words, a huge success.
then we drove brad and ellie home and continued driving all over god's green earth in search of houses for sale we would actually consider living in. no success.
but on the way home we saw this awesome rainbow and that made everything feel a little better:
then we took the puppies out to the park for a little play time and vowed to go home and clean the apartment - it's an insane dog-hair disaster. disgusting.
can you see it? behind the light poles?!
so, we came home and made an awesome frittata:
and drank red wine and began watching Hitch on tv instead. productive, huh?!
i did attempt to at least decide where i was finally going to hang the stack of thrift store artworks that have been leaning against the wall in the record room since we moved in...but i didn't get any further than that before i was sucked back into the movie and sucking down red wine (i didn't have to work monday cause it was labor day so why not?!)
then p gets up to go to the bathroom and comes back and insists we go on a walk. i grumble and refuse and say i am very content sitting and drinking and watching the rest of a movie we have seen a million times and actually own on dvd. he persists. i give in but continue to grumble as he tries to turn us down the street that runs along the low side of the park. it's now 10 o'clock at night and i'm semi-drunk and it's a dark and uneven sidewalk. i proceed to accuse him of not caring if i fall down.
he asks "where is that house where we first met at that party" and i just point and say "down there about 3 or 4 houses. can we go home now?" and he says "we don't have to walk down there but can we just keep walking a bit longer?" i huff, but agree.
then he starts talking about when we first met (at a house party i wasn't even invited to and he stumbled into after his sister's wedding holding a bottle of wine in each hand and still wearing part of a tux... i think). i accuse him of being cheesy this time and proceed to tell him i have an aversion to all things cheesy so he better stop. besides, i don't like to look back or forward. i just want to enjoy our little walk - isn't that enough?.....
so then we are walking up to my old apartment where we had our first kiss. we had been friends for a few months and i wasn't sure we were actually going to survive being anything more than friends but i knew he really liked me and i like him and so as he was dropping me off one night i (apparently, i don't remember) said "are you sure you're ready for this?" and leaned over and kissed him..... and his foot slid off the brake and we rolled about 20 feet before we realized the car was moving! (here is where if i were as cheesy as he is i would say something along the lines of how it felt like the earth was moving but it was really just the car!)
so i reluctantly give into the cheese-factor and give him a little kiss and chide him for being a squishy romantic....
and all of a sudden he has this look on his face and he says "i just want to know if you are ready for this...." and he reaches for his pocket.
i totally think he's f*cking with me. i do! i begin saying "no! stop it!" but then i realize he is NOT kidding and HE'S PULLING A LITTLE BLACK BOX OUT OF HIS POCKET AND GETTING DOWN ON ONE KNEE! so i really start shreaking, "no! don't do this! are you serious?! oh, my god! really?!" get up! no! *instant tears flooding from my eyes out of nowhere*
and then it gets a little blurry cause he's saying all this sweet stuff and i realize it's not a joke. and so i feel so far away from him standing up that i begin kneeling too. i do know he asked me to marry him and i said yes.
but then there are two guys walking out of the apartments behind p (i still don't know if i was super loud when i was yelling at p to stop and they thought i was being attacked or what!) and he suggests we cross the street.
then we are standing there shaking and grinning like fools and i say "did that just happen for real? what do we do now?" and he says "yes" and "i don't know!" so i suggest that he actually gives me the ring (he still hadn't!) and we laugh and he produces the ring from the box and puts it on my finger and asks me if i like it.... but i can't even see it because it's 10:20pm and we are standing out on a dark sidewalk. so we walk under a street light and i get to see my ring for the first time and it's very pretty and he's very concerned that i won't like it because i had said previously that i didn't want a diamond. but he saw this one and thought it was perfect and wanted to get it for me... so it is.
then we walk around for a few more minutes like we are stoned out of our minds - just asking one another over and over again if it is real. and did it just happen? we finally formulate enough clarity to decide to go home and get my phone so that i can call my best friend. i was the first person she told when she got engaged and i wanted to share likewise.... but long story short, p had wanted it to be a total surprise so even though she had gone with him to get the ring and knew it was coming sometime she didn't know it was that night and she and her husband had gone to a 10:00pm movie.... so i finally got to tell her at 12:30am! we called and woke up our mom's and then went to the store to get some champagne! we were still all stunned and out of it and i'm sure the lady at the grocery store thought we were out of our minds because my makeup was all runny and we just kept looking at each other and giggling.
yesterday was a big day. we saw family and friends and shared the news. and now i'm sharing with my web-friends! i don't know yet what we will do for a wedding... since we are still looking to buy a house we have thrown around the idea of having a housewarming wedding. i picture it as a pot-luck casual wedding where people can bring food and drink and hang out and dance and party and have a good time. and if we do a registry i can be things we will need for the new house - and hopefully lots and lots of lowe's and home depot gift cards!
but we'll see! i know i won't have anything traditional but i am not quite sure what we will decide on... or when. p has been nice enough to say he'll do whatever i want to do :)
wish us luck! i'll keep you posted!
Congratulations!!! Very cute story. I'm excited to watch you plan a frugal wedding!!! You can do it. :-)
ReplyDeleteCONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness!!! wow!!!! thats soooo wonderful!!!
love the story! oh yay that'll be one to remember!!!
congrats!! congrats again!
so so wonderful!!
p.s. added you to my blogroll today. :-)
ReplyDeleteEeeeeeeeee!!! Meg! That is so awesome!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I am so happy for you guys. I even got goosebumps at the part where he pulled out the black box and I still have a little lump in my throat. It brought back memories of an evening on which I was totally blindsided when presented with a similar black box. A box that was handed to me in a bowl that I thought was going to contain ice cream. I totally didn't believe he was serious either so I know exactly how you must have felt. We had also just recently started house shopping together AND the wedding you're picturing sounds amazingly similar to the wedding we had! We only spent a few thousand dollars on our wedding(I can't remember if it was 3,000 or 5,000) but that covered everything including my engagement ring, my dress, AND the honeymoon. It turned out to be a totally amazing day, so I'm here to tell you it CAN be done!
I can't believe it has taken me this long to get caught up on your new blog but I'm adding you to my blogroll now so I don't loose touch again :) I'm looking forward to following along on your journey and I've been through it all myself so maybe I'll even have a few nuggets of wisdom to share along the way!
The ring is GORGEOUS by the way :)
i'm crying...
ReplyDeleteREALLY?!?!?!
this is SO FREAKIN AWESOME!!
i'm so so so excited for you!! for both of you!
i don't even know what i'm trying to say right now.
huge huge hug.
xoxo