Love Story Episode V: The Ring Strikes Back

Two years ago on this date, July 11th, the love of my life proposed to me!!!

Giddy with excitement at the engagement party.

If you've been reading/stalking my blog at all, you may remember this post which is part of a series of Star Wars themed posts I had planned about our love story so far.

Yeah, I kind of forgot about that for a little bit. But never fear! I'm back on track!!!

So, when did I really know E was...THE ONE?

I would say I knew I was falling in love with him at...wait for it...about the FOUR MONTH mark!!!

And that was it. I just KNEW. Once I had fallen in love with him, everything that came after just seemed completely natural. I KNEW I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, and although we weren't officially engaged during the early months, I had already made a commitment to him. I was in it for the long haul.

I've asked E when he KNEW and he told me he wanted to propose at about the six month mark (which was when we both officially said "I love you") but was worried I would have said it was too soon :) AW!

I didn't know that at the time, and as the months went on and we started having more and more long term conversations about where we wanted to live, future goals, how many kids we wanted, etc. I started to be on edge and wonder when we would stop dancing around the "marriage" word and get engaged already!

I was really good though. I was patient. I did not once mention any form of the following words: marriage, propose, engaged, wedding, ring, diamond. I didn't want to pressure him and I really was in no rush to get married.

I didn't have to wait long.

It was May of 2009. E and I decided to see the new Star Trek movie (yes, nerds) and grab a couple beers beforehand at Islands. After a couple drinks and pleasantly buzzed conversation, E blurted out this:

"So...do you want to go ring shopping?"

OMGSILENTSQUEAL

"YES! When?"

"This weekend."

"OKAY!"

We were late to the movie, sat in the very front row, and didn't care one bit. We must have had the goofiest smiles on our faces the entire time.

We decided not to tell anyone until it was official which was TORTURE because I wanted to run to the highest mountaintop and shout it to the world. We secretly went ring shopping that weekend and bought a ring right away. Then I waited...and I waited...and I waited...

I knew he had the ring and didn't know when or how he would officially propose.June passed into July. Still no proposal!

On July 4th, we got a surprise call from E's younger sister.

SHE WAS ENGAGED!

Crap! We're getting engaged this summer too!
Then I was nervous because she mentioned she wanted her wedding to be the following summer.
Crap! We wanted our wedding to be next summer too!

It's all clashing! NOOOOOOOOOO! Okay, so I was totally freaking out about nothing because...
The following weekend, an engagement party was planned for E's sister. Before the party, E and I decided to go for a hike at one of our favorite spots.

E packed a picnic lunch and lots of water and we headed out. Unfortunately, we couldn't get to our favorite picnic spot up the mountain because it was a zillion degrees outside. We decided to eat by the lake instead.

Was I suspicious at all at this point? Well, E was very sentimental the whole time and it was so cute. I did wonder...but I truly thought he would wait until a little later because of his sister's recent proposal.

With these thoughts in mind, we sat down. E started unpacking the food and I noticed it was the same food we had on one of our first dates there! Soooo cute! After we ate lunch, E said there was more...

Okay, now I was suspicious. My heart started racing a little bit.

E said it was one of my favorite things and pulled out...BEEF JERKEY!

I laughed as he handed it to me, because it really is one of my favorite things to eat ever. As I was distracted, he said:

"Oh, and one more thing."

That's when I say the red box and E down on one knee. That's when I heard the "Will you..."

That's when I started crying and saying "YES!" I don't remember how many times. We sat on the bench and took it all in. We kissed and hugged and gazed out at the lake. I thought about our future together and how beyond happy I was to know we were getting married. I will never forget that moment.

In the car right after the proposal. 

It's kind of awkward to pose in a way that shows the ring.

Needless to say, the engagement party became a double engagement party. And everyone lived happily ever after!

So, that's what happened exactly two years ago. Some days, I wake up and really can't believe how lucky I am to be married to the love of my life. I've become the cheesiest romantic ever and I don't even care!

Stay tuned for the next installment: Love Story Episode VI: Return of the something clever I haven't thought of yet!

Happy Fourth of July!

Photo via SignonSanDiego

Happy Fourth of July!!! I love the smell of barbecue wafting through the air. I love the controlled explosions of color that are fireworks. 

Most of all, I love celebrating with my family by eating gratuitous amounts of food and wearing lots of red, white, and blue. 

Ah, America.

Have a good one everybody :)

iFail

Yesterday I got an iPhone.

Oooooo...shiny...

Well, that's technically not correct. My mother-in-law gave me her old iPhone 3 last week and I finally mustered up enough energy to get everything transferred over yesterday.

I know everyone and their (his/her?) mom (or mother-in-law...or husband) already has one or something similar. Well, now I have one. Yay!

I've already added wallpaper and two Apps. Woo! I've also discovered my inability to use the touch screen or remember any of my Apple passwords.

Oh boy, I'm sounding more and more like a lame, arthritic, elderly person resistant to all new technology. It's not that I'm resistant, it's just that technology is not really my "thing." I upgrade when I need to or when it makes my life easier. That's just how I roll.

Despite my technological upgrade, I felt kind of fail yesterday. Do you ever have one of those days?

First, I felt frustrated with my lack of iPhone skills. Fail.

Then, my husband and I brought the puppy over the in-laws' house and I spilled beer on this cool digital notebook thing that we were looking at. Fail.

Finally, our puppy decided that after ZERO accidents in over three weeks she would spill her dog urine all over the in-laws' freshly cleaned carpet.

FAIL.

I hope everyone else is having a non-fail weekend.

Bored...

I'm bored.
And it's hot in our apartment
Shouldn't I be doing something productive like laundry?
Yeah, I really should be doing laundry because I have to clean clothes,
Also, the pile of dirty laundry has morphed into a monster and taken over our bedroom and is gross.
No, I should totally do the laundry later because it's hot right now and doing laundry involves moving.
What I should be doing is treating myself to the pile of books I've saved for my fun summer reading.
Except that I've been sucked into a loop of looking at the same 3 websites over and over.
My hair is making me hot because it's long and sits on my neck.
I should get it cut but don't know what style I want.
I'll put off the haircut a little longer too.
Plus, I get compliments on my hair.
It's taken forever to grow out.
I'll just wear a ponytail.
That's better.
I'm hungry.
Lunch.

Happy Weekend!

Aaaahhhh! I finally feel relaxed after two weeks off. It's odd how long my body takes to re-adjust to sleeping in. I've been anxiously waking up at 6 something in the morning for the past couple of weeks and feeling vaguely restless during the day.

I decided to set some summer goals for myself to help me be a little more productive this summer and not so restless. I've already been planning for next school year, but I want to work toward some personal goals as well. 

One of my goals was getting and training a dog this summer, which I jumped on a little early :) My husband and I took her to the dog park this morning to tucker her out. It worked. 

Sleepy puppy

I hope everyone has a fun Fourth of July weekend. I plan to eat a lot and watch some fireworks. We just have to figure out where we're going to do these things!

Until next time :)

School's Out for Summer!

Well, I made it. I have to say that this was the most draining school year I've had so far. WASC meetings and preparations took a lot out of me.

All in all, I feel a sense of success about this year. Did I get to everything I had planned with my class? No. I'm not sure is there will ever be a year I get everything done that I had planned.

I am happy to be on a much needed break though. Hopefully I'll get the blog up and running again. I have so many ideas for it and so little time!

For now, it's time to relax, pet my puppy, and sip a mojito.

Via here.

Europe!

Greetings! 

With school winding down (9 more days!!!!!...not that I'm counting), I can't help but daydream about my summer plans.

Last summer, my husband and I had the most amazing honeymoon in Germany. This summer, we might be going back to Germany!!! Nothing is final yet, but I would love to have a "second honeymoon" almost exactly a year later. What a great way to celebrate one year of marriage!

Speaking of Europe, I've optimistically entered to win a trip to Paris through Oh Happy Day (fingers crossed!). Probably won't win, but it doesn't hurt to try, right? ;)

Have a wonderful week! A special shout out goes to all the teachers who are still chugging along. Hang in there!

A New Addition...

Sorry for the extended break again. I really needed to focus on work and loved ones the past few weeks.

Also, I have some exciting news! My husband and I are parents!!!

Whoa! Hold on, we're not having a baby or anything. Not yet anyway. We are the proud parents of a brand new puppy :)

Her name is Aska (which means "ashy" in Swedish, Icelandic, and possibly other Scandinavian languages). She is a five month old dachshund/something mix.

We just got her last Thursday and are so excited! I'll dedicate future posts to the process of adopting her and the crate training ordeals we've been through in the past few days, but for now I'm excited to share some pictures of her.

Have a wonderful week!

Happy Mother's Day

A very happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. I am incredibly lucky to have such an amazing woman as my mom. In addition, I feel incredibly blessed to have gained an incredible mother in my mother-in-law.

I love you guys :)

Wedding Moments

Ah, relaxation. I've loved having the past week off. I feel so rested and relaxed. It will be hard to adjust to work schedule again on Monday but I am exited to see my little ones and hear all of their Easter break stories :)

So...did everyone watch the ROYAL WEDDING?!? OMG!!!

I didn't.

To be honest, I got kind of disgusted with the ridiculous amount of media coverage and the hyperbole of the whole thing. Yeah, it's kind of romantic but I think we may be over-stressing the importance of this marriage just a teensy little bit.

After all, every marriage should be a representation of true love. We just had an extremely public example of it.

I couldn't help but look at the pictures online though. Kate looked radiant and I loved her dress. I was so impressed with how calm she looked throughout the whole thing!

From Elle via A Cup of Jo. Check out the little girl covering her ears. Heehee :)

The whole royal wedding thing reminded me of my own wedding. I thought I'd share some our wedding moments in pictures. Hey, it's not a royal wedding, but it is a representation of true love. And really, what is more important than that?

My wedding band was connected to my engagement ring. Here it is, nestled in my bouquet.

I got ready at my parents' house and I love that the backdrop to this picture is a place where I grew up. I loved playing princess for a day and giving my dress a good twirl :)

I was soooooo nervous at this moment. There was no waiting room in the church so I had to wait in the "cage" with my bridesmaids standing guard so no one would sneak a peak.

Waiting to walk down the aisle with my dad. I really thought I would be bawling at this point but the nerves kept it away. I couldn't wait to see my husband!!!

Our church was beautiful! I was actually baptized here. 

Our priest was a family friend of my husband's. He is from Haiti and he is amazing! It was a very special mass.

Our vows. I was actually most nervous about this part. We both got through them perfectly though. I was just glad I wasn't crying the whole time!

Our first kiss as a married couple :) We went in for a second kiss afterwards. We were grinning like idiots the whole mass.  I remember calming way down once I saw E and we got through the ceremony together. 

Love this shot. At this point I was just so thrilled and was kind of in disbelief. It wasn't quite sinking in yet that E was my husband. The whole mass seems like a dream now. I mostly remember the emotions and nerves of the day.

I love this shot too. Our nerves were gone because we had done it. We were married. We couldn't help but sneak another kiss on our way out.

My husband on my right and my grandpa on my left. Oh, and look, you can see my manicure too :) (Confession: I had never gotten a manicure before the wedding!)

Right after the ceremony, our photographer whisked us around Pasadena for some pictures of just us. This was a blast. Here we are across from Pasadena City Hall. We didn't mind having to kiss for any of the pictures. Not at all ;)

My colors were navy and magenta. Thinking back now, it seems so silly to even have worried about that. Our reception hall looked great though and I'm glad they got some shots of the decorations.

Our cake topper. It kind of looks like us, right?

Another gorgeous shot. We just saw this building and loved the European look of it. Our photographer just went for it and we got some beautifully romantic shots like this one.

Our first dance. We didn't practice at all and didn't care! My husband managed to twirl me just fine. Dancing with him was one of my favorite moments of the night. There's just something so intimate and romantic about slow dancing with the one you love.

We played this hilarious game. It's basically a version of the Newlywed Game. The DJ would ask questions like, "Who's family is crazier?" and we would either hold up our own shoe or our partner's shoe to answer. Our guests loved it and got some great laughs!!!

Cutting the cake. Surprisingly challenging.

Not the neatest cut :) Oh, well. The cake was delicious!

Towards the end of the night (evidenced by my hair starting to fall out). It's interesting how I have no memory of the photographer taking this. I just remember looking into the eyes of my new husband. Sigh.

Photography by Epic Imagery.

Easter

Happy (early) Easter everyone!

My husband and I are attending an Easter Vigil mass tonight. One of my friends is officially becoming Catholic at the mass and I look forward to celebrating with him.

My very pregnant sister-in-law and her husband are also coming into town tonight. We're heading over to my in-law's house for a steak dinner with them before mass.

Tomorrow, we're going to attempt to see both sides of the family for lots of food and catch-up time.

I haven't dyed eggs or had an Easter egg hunt for years :( Everyone has grown up and the next generation of kiddos isn't quite old enough yet.

To be honest, I didn't do a lot of Easter crafts with my class. We did a mini classroom Easter egg hunt and several Holy Week crafts.

However, here are some Easter-related links I'm inspired by. Maybe next year :)

Natural dyes from Martha.

Beautiful eggs from here via here.

A wonderful religious Easter egg activity. I did this with my students. Found at Catholic Icing(a favorite).

Beautiful naturally dyed Easter eggs.

I love beautiful soap!

Super cute from here via here.

I love poppytalk! Via here.

I want to do this with my students. Via here.

Cuteness! Via here.

Marble eggs from here via here.

Cute Easter lamb craft.

And I want to decorate my house with everything from Terrain!

Happy Easter!!!

Found on the best website ever.