Show me your....

Rings!!

Soooo this looked fun and a little sparkly always catches my eye!! Link up at Mrs. Yellow Ribbon :)

Did you look at rings together?
Yes and no. He was in Germany when we started looking at rings for me. He'd send me links to show me ones he liked and I'd send him links to show him what I liked. The day he got home for Christmas leave in 2009, we went to Helzberg to look at earrings and oh, just happened to find our way to the engagement ring section. Planned? Of course not :)

Do you like your ring? Did you from the beginning?...and be honest! Holy crap yes. He sent me a link to one and I was drooling over it immediately. I may or may not have saved it as a favorite and I may or may not have looked at it each week, admiring how pretty and sparkly it was and dreaming about it. I still look at it and can't believe how beautiful it is. And he picked it out all himself :)

How often do you wear your rings?
I only take them off when I shower, clean or bake. And I assume when we have a house and I do yard work, I'll take them off then. And when I put on lotion. I hate taking them off, but I don't want to ruin them.

Do you clean your rings?
Yep. I clean them maybe once a month. And of course I take them on their 6 month inspections religiously.

What went through your mind the very first time you saw your ring?

It was SOOOO sparkly!!! I thought it was the one that I'd fallen in love with online, but the center diamond was raised and I couldn't tell that from the picture. I still loved it though and I love sunshine-y days when the sun catches it and makes pretty sparkles ALL over.

We went shopping for his wedding band when he was home on leave in January. I love his hands much :) You can find more pictures of my rings HERE. I like to put my ring in flowers that he sends me :)

(Ignore my nice black finger nail here...the washing machine lid fell down on my finger and immediately bruised it. This happened about a month and a half ago and it's still very black. I'm awesome. I just hope it un-bruises by July!!)

Valentine's Day

In keeping with tradition, I got a pretty bouquet of roses yesterday at work :)

This is technically our third Valentine's Day together, but we've only spent the first one together in person. Andddd....that night, we both ended up hammered drunk in the hotel room. Thankfully we had dinner in the hotel, so we just hand to stumble back to the room, and at some point I had to take my heels off because I couldn't even walk in those. Then I may have thrown up in the middle of the night got up to to go pee in the middle of the night, and when I attempted to crawl back into bed, Seth was sprawled out in a slant, across the bed, and he was drunk too and wasn't moving so I could get in. I in a drunken stooper had to pick his legs up and physically move them so I could get a little piece of warmth and attempt to go back to sleep. That was also the Valentine's Day when he was living in the barracks and I made him a huge portable pan of lasagna so he could take it back to the barracks. The things we do for love :)

For the record, I never drink that much...but I was having a conversation with the bartender about how mad I get when people talk about Octomom and she just kept pouring me long island ice teas. And the next thing I knew, I was very drunk. It was still a very memorable weekend though :)

Happy flowers

I got Cheer Me Up flowers yesterday, with a little note that said we've had a rough few days and he hoped these flowers cheer me up. They were sent to me at work, of course... That's just what he does :)

I got Halloween flowers!!

This is the second time Seth has randomly sent me flowers this deployment. They're always sent to my work and they make my coworkers jealous!! Not going to lie, I do love that part (he knows that I love it, and I'm sure he loves the attention just as much!). And I love when people come down from different parts of the building to check them out. I love that word travels fast for when I get flowers!! This was a happy Halloween bouquet (who gets those!?) and had red roses and orange lillies. It is a very pretty Halloween bouquet! He's so good to me :)



On a different related yet not note, I went out to dinner with Molli the other night and it was like 67 degrees in my apartment when I got home. ABSOLUTELY FREEZING! When Seth was in Iraq, before we met, I convinced him to wear a t-shirt for a few days and then send it to me. He did this (then I got a wicked sty in my eyes - totally gross, I know - and I totally blamed him for it. I thought it was pink eye, and I was thinking, "what a jerk, he's giving me pink eye and we haven't even met?!" I think I used to get sties in like elementary or middle school...I haven't had one in forever, so of course it was his fault since I had just gotten his shirt and suddenly got one). Anyways, he sent me the shirt, I lived through the sty and I've worn it to bed since I've gotten it. So after I got home from dinner, I had the bright idea to put the shirt in the dryer to warm it up. When I put it on, it seriously felt like a big amazing warm hug from Seth. It felt sooo amazing for a good few seconds. But I was so cold and my coldness sucked the heat out of it, and then it just felt like a t-shirt, but for those few seconds, it was as close to a hug from him that I've felt in 7 1/4 months. And it made me even more excited for R&R. 2monthish2monthish2monthish.....

I'm off to the gym, going shoe shopping (DSW sent me a $20 off $49 coupon because they "miss me!!" How can I resist that?! I can't. That's how), going to my future in-laws house to finalize the guest list and do some wedding talk (I'm contemplating taking over my whole wedding binder, or will that freak them out?!), going to my parents to carve my pumpkin (and bake Seth pumpkin seeds) and then I'm going out with Molli later tonight. Should be a fun weekend and I'm super stoked for it.

I'm participating in blog around the world again!! Thanks to Amanda

Hope you all have a great weekend, too!

Signs

This weekend, I was going through some files on my computer and I ran across the first emails that Seth and I wrote back and forth. I re-read through a lot of them and I actually remember how excited I was when I'd get a new email from him; I'd be learning something new about him and he'd say something to make me laugh. I still get excited actually...I look forward to getting to work each morning and yes, the first thing I do is check my personal email. As I was reading through these, so many things make perfect sense as to who he is now!

I also ran across something I wrote shortly after he deployed this time. Kinda like a little journal, but not really. Just something I wrote at the time. Here it is, from April 15, 2010:

Before Seth deployed, and I knew we wouldn’t be talking on a regular basis, I was wondering how I’d know he was thinking of me and he missed me and how much he loved me….signs from him basically. Well, turns out I’ve gotten a few. On the day he left, Easter, I went over to mom and dad’s for dinner. Then I had to stop by his parents house to drop something off to his parents. After talking to his dad for a little while, I started to drive home. The song I’m Already There by Lonestar came on and I started crying. It’s a song about being thousands of miles apart, but still together in your heart, no matter where you are. That was sign number one. The other day I got a box. I was expecting it, but it was still a sign. I’m expecting another tuff box with some of his stuff from Germany. It will have his two suits, his wedding tie, his hard drive, and some other stuff for me to keep, he said some important papers. He also said there was a little surprise in it. I can’t wait to get it! I should get it in a day or two. It was mailed at the same time as the other box, which just had his laptop in it, and I have to send that to him. The laptop box came yesterday, so I’m expecting this one any day. Plus, we got to talk for 14 whole minutes, which was like, FOREVER! So I’m glad to get the good box on a separate day, so I have something to look forward to, and so when I get it, it will be another thing to brighten that day. I don’t want all the excitement on one day…..I want it spread out. Tonight I was driving home from my parents house. As I was getting close to my apartment, Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton came on. Last Valentines Day, 2009, when we met in Cleveland, I was driving him back to Erie, PA to meet John. We went to breakfast at an iHop and when we got back in my car after breakfast, I said, “what song do you want to dance to at our wedding?” Mind you, this was only about 11 months after we had started talking (talking, not even dating, it was 8-9 months after we met/started dating). He said…hold on, I’ll play it for you. And he went to Wonderful Tonight on his Zune. Then we listed to a 9 minute acoustic version as we were driving, holding hands, down the Pennsylvania/Ohio freeway/toll road. It was cute. He still wants it to be the first song we dance to at our wedding. I’m always looking for little signs like this, of him saying hi to me and he misses me, and I know one when I spot one. He loves me, even when we’re thousands of miles apart, on totally different continents, and we can talk for about 20 minutes per week for a whole year.

Well, I'm glad to say that the last part of the last sentence has improved greatly in the last few months. We now average (this is a guess) about an hour to 90 minutes each week. (Thank you Lord!!) Anyways, I'm still always looking for little signs of him saying hi and he loves me. I get the signs frequently when I'm driving and my ring sparkles on my car ceiling. I love it. Might be weird, but I always kiss my ring and say hi to him when it gets all sparkley. On the day I went to the wedding location to check it out in the summer, I was sitting in the back seat of the car and OMG my ring has never been so sparkley!!! It was beautiful. The picture doesn't do it justice. I took this as a sign of a long, happy and healthy marriage. :)

Today after work, I was going to the gym. I was listening to the radio and my ring was all sparkley yet again. I said hi to him and kissed my ring (whatever, call me weird if you want. He probably will when he reads this) and then I changed the radio station. It was the very beginning of Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight song! It took me back to our Valentine's Day together in Cleveland and asking him what he thought our wedding song should be. For a few seconds, when I closed my eyes, I could actually picture him sitting in the car next to me, listening to this song with me.

This sorta reminded me of a memory of when he was home this last Christmas. We were standing in the kitchen, NOT engaged yet, and I said to him, "when we get married, how are you going to kiss me?" Then he took my face in my hands and gave me a really sweet gentle kiss on the lips. He's not one for full on PDA, and it was just perfect. I think I remember making him practice it a few more times, even though he hadn't even proposed yet. He's the best for going along with me when I asked him these kinds of questions while technically we were still dating!!!



P.S. My deployment donut officially says, "congratulations! you're over the hump!!" YESSSSS!!

The Proposal

Exactly 7 months ago, Seth proposed :)

December 29, 2009. Here's how the day went.

First, a background. Seth came home for the holidays on December 16, 2009. On December 17th, I called in "sick" to work and we spent our first day together in 9 whole months. We slept in, he made us omelets for breakfast with all his favorite goodies, and then we to see my dad at work. Random, I know. I don't know why I suggested that thinking back. I'm sure Seth would have preferred go see his dad, but he went willingly along. On our way back, he suggested we stop at Helzberg diamonds so he could look at possible jewelry for me for Christmas. I told him I wouldn't mind a little pair of diamond stud earrings, and he said he wanted to see what kind I like. So we stopped in there. We looked at the men's watches, and oh, we found our way to the engagement rings. He had sent me links to a few different rings to get my opinion in the last few months. I fell in love with one particular one and would go back to the website every few days to look at it and hope and wish that would be the one he'd get me one day -- but I never told him this part. Then some sales lady distracted me by showing me the diamond studs earrings while he talked to a salesman.

Fast forward 12 days to December 29th. We had a lazy morning and I think he took one of his tests online. Or maybe he was playing Scrabble online...I don't remember exactly. I know he as at the computer as I was in the bathroom straightening my hair and it was a gorgeous day out. By gorgeous, I mean it was really bright and sunny and it was blinding on the snow from the previous days and it was colder than hell. I think it was around 15 degrees, and the wind-chill made it even colder. While doing my hair, I asked him if he'd want to drive to the lakeshore (like 45 minutes away) for the day to just see it. Since the summer we met, I've wanted to go to the lake with him, but we've never had a chance. He said sure. We finished getting ready and I grabbed my new Christmas present, a Snuggie, and we walked out to the car. He was driving, and I settled into the passenger seat with my Snuggie. He said he'd be right back and he ran up to the apartment. He was taking a really long time and I was sitting in a cold car. I wondered what the crap he was doing up here for so long. He eventually came down and he was carrying an apple and 4 mini cup cakes we had made earlier in the week. I was wondering why it took him so long to get those, and that it was really really random to bring those with us to the lakeshore, but whatever. I asked him why he grabbed those and he just said, "in case we get hungry." Right. Of course.

We finally started driving, and we had to stop at the gas station to get gas. He said for me to pump the gas, and he'd run in, cash our lotto tickets and pay for the gas. Again, it was taking him forever to cash the tickets and pay for the gas and I was standing outside in the freezing cold. I was getting ready to just pay for it with my debit card because I was realllllly cold, but for some reason, I waited patiently for him to pay. He came out eventually and I pumped the gas and we were finally on our way. We were driving along, talking like normal and I was snuggled up in my Snuggie. I'm sure we were holding hands in the car like we always do too. There's this one intersection on the way to the lakeshore that reminds me of the day I got fired on June 1, 2005. As we passed the intersection, I decided to tell him the whole story of me getting fired, and it got me so upset, I was actually crying in the car. He's a very good listener even though I'm a really bad story teller. He's very patient with me. I lucked out there. We got to the lakeshore, parked and then we got bundled up in our jackets and scarves and gloves and then headed out on the pier. I brought my camera with me and he actually was cooperative when I stopped and took a picture of us. He actually smiled for the camera and didn't try to talk me out of taking our picture! I remember thinking he was being too cooperative with me taking his picture. Weird.

We slowly walked out on the very icy pier and he was scaring the crap out of me because it was icy and he was getting pretty damn close to the edge. I was walking down the middle of the pier, as far away from the edge as possible. I was slipping and sliding in my winter boots, and he eventually came over and started walking with me and holding my arm to hold me up.



It was a slow walk out on the long pier and my ears were freezing so I wrapped my pink scarf around my ears. He called me his Little Iraqi girl, because apparently I looked like one with my scarf wrapped around my ears and head. There was another couple at the end of the pier. They had a cute little dog that must have been freezing cold, and I asked the lady if she'd take a picture of us in front of the light house. So she did.

I asked him if we could go back to the car now because I was really cold. He told me we should just stay out there for a little while longer. I was really really really cold and my legs and hands and face were numb. He knows I get cold easily and I was wondering why he was tortuing me to stay out in the cold for a little while longer. For some reason, I didn't whine about going back to the car to warm up, I just stayed there. The other couple left and headed back to land. We were getting lots of pictures and it was a really pretty day. It was incredibly windy which made it even colder. I was getting a picture of the smaller light house across from where we were and my back was to him.
When I turned around, he got down on his knee and simply said, "Miss Stacy, will you please marry me?" and he opened up the box and holy smokes, the sun was shining and it was bouncing off the diamonds in the ring and it was soooo pretty.

(This is a gross picture of my hand. It looks all red and swollen and just gross and my manicure was long over due. Ignore my hand and just focus on the ring!!).

It was so cute and sweet and simple, and I took his face in my hands and said of course. Then I said, "stand up! Your knee is going to get wet and you're going to get cold!!!" He said, "I'm kneeling on your boot." haha I don't even remember feeling him kneeling on my boot or feeling it on my foot!! I don't know how he did that. I pulled him up/he stood up and I took off my gloves and he put the ring on my finger and then we kissed all sweetly and hugged. My body was numb from the cold, literally, and I always expected I'd cry when he proposed, but my face was too numb, I honestly don't think I was capable of crying. We eventually walked back to the car and I took a picture of my hand with the ring and I sent it to my mom and sister and said, "Seth proposed and I said yes!!"
My mom immediately called and she was in tears. She was so excited. We drove to a little restaurant that is a staple when you're at the lakeshore, and it was the first time he'd been there. I'd told him earlier in the day I would buy him lunch. We got to the restaurant, and we sat down and we were finally warm, and we ordered our lunch and warm alcoholic drinks. My sister called me and it was then that it really hit me and that's when I started crying. Plus, I had thawed out so I was capable of crying now. She asked if she could be my maid of honor and if she could do our flowers. We finished lunch and sent pictures of the ring to all of our siblings and family members, and he updated his Facebook Status to say, "I proposed to Stacy today at the lakeshore. She said yes and then she bought me lunch!" hahaha

(this is the picture that was sent to all of the siblings)

I left him with my debit card as I ran to the bathroom. There's a chalkboard in the bathroom and I erased what was on it and wrote:

I went back out to our table, and he had signed my name on the receipt with his last name. I still have that receipt. We drove back and went to his parent’s house. Somewhere along the way, I asked Seth if he had asked my dad, and he said he had. He had called him when we were at the gas station and he went inside to pay. He took longer than expected because he had to make that all important phone call. He took long when he had to run back into the apartment because he had to get the ring, and he kept that in his back pocket in the car and on the walk out to the pier! (He actually bought the ring on the day we went to the jewelry store, and he stored it in the tip of his Army boots in the closet. He is brave!!! The ring was in our bedroom for a full 12 days and I didn't even know it!! He is so freaking sneaky! He even showed his dad the ring on Christmas Eve at their annual family party, under an inspecting thingy!! How could I have not known all this time?!?!) After we went to his parent’s house, we went to my parent’s house. That night, we went to a new hibachi grill in town and we had a really good dinner and drinks (pomegranate martini's). After dinner, we went to the hot tubs, which we always do at least once when he's home.

It was a perfect ending to a perfect day with a perfect proposal with the perfect guy for me.

Looking back on that day, me having to wait for him and his cooperation with the pictures make plenty of sense now. At the time, I just thought it was all weird, but it turned out jussssssst right. I can't wait to marry him in 352 days!!!