The Story

Blogger's note: Not every future post will be about my impending wedding and my kickass ring. Normal posts will resume shortly, after I have come down from my diamond high.

I'm sure many of you are wondering how this all came about. I will begin by sharing a universal truth: things in life rarely happen the way you expect them to.

When Dean and I moved to Florida, I came to terms with the fact that we wouldn't be married let alone engaged for quite some time. We were broke, living paycheck to paycheck supporting ourselves and our growing family. And I have always been so happy with that.

This past September when Dean got his grownup new job, he remarked that he could finally start putting money away to buy me a ring. Once in awhile I inquired about this fund and finally about a month ago he gave me some website information about a jeweler with a contract through his company. And a budget. I did some research about how to buy a diamond, and built my own ring online. A few weeks ago, we placed the order together.

I know a lot of you may think so far that this isn't very romantic, and truthfully- it wasn't. I'm not big on surprises and the fact that we went through the whole process together is really fitting to our relationship. We are best friends. Going through life and making decisions together as a team.

A couple days after we ordered the ring I started checking the mail for it. It didn't show. After a week I made Dean call, and they said they had shipped it but didn't give us a tracking number or anything. Day after day, I shook like a crack-addict as I struggled to get my key in the mailbox. And still, it didn't show. The woman he talked to told Dean 5-7 business days. So Monday, Day 7 from the shipping day, Dean called them asking what the hell is up. They said they shipped it FedEX and their records showed repeated attempted diliveries. To the wrong address. They gave him the FedEX tracking number. Dean called FedEX at 6:45 with his tracking number. They said it was at their pickup center and that after repeated delivery attempts (to the wrong address) they were going to return the package to the sender the next day. And by the way, they closed at 7:30.

We jumped in the car and burned rubber to the FedEX pickup place. We made it with fifteen minutes to spare. Dean ran in and got the package, opening it on his way out the door. Then he proposed to me, right in the FedEX parking lot. That's a story to tell the grandkids.

Bride-to-Be

The Perfect Salad

Cover a dinner plate with romaine lettuce. Add:
Five slices cucumber, cut again in half.
Three heaping teaspoons cooked, chilled peas.
One hard-boiled egg, chopped.
Two teaspoons sliced black olives.
One small ripe tomato sliced into twelve wedges.
One handful cheese and garlic seasoned crutons.
Drizzle with three tablespoons Naturally Fresh brand lite ranch dressing.

Now I've Seen Everything

I went to go feed the dumpster kitties this evening and as I was walking through the parking lot, I saw a guy I've seen around before standing perfectly still holding a laundry basket. His mouth was hanging open and he appeared paralyzed. I followed his gaze to where a bush was rustling, but the bush obstructed my view. I shifted to the right to peek around the bush, and that's when I saw what was shocking the hell out of my poor neighbor. (Sorry about the image quality, it was dusk)




Yep, it was a peacock. In the ghetto.

If you are looking for something to read...

...go check our Scott's latest short story, Damned Carnival. It's really good!