It’s our turn!

Two things she loves to do: read and write. You can always tell she’s in euphoria flipping through pages of novels and even gossip magazines. On the flip side, she’s also a talented writer. She’s the creative mind behind the writings on this blog. She was also the managing editor of her college (Georgia Southern University) newspaper, the George-Anne.

So the idea was to pop the question by placing an ad in a magazine knowing that it’s close to her heart. The first stop was the US Weekly magazine but after several emails I had to cut the trip short since the price tag was six digits (ouch). The next stop was the George-Anne. After 34 emails back and forth, I landed on a full page ad in the paper with some pictures from the past 2 1/2 years we’ve been together. The plan was to give her the paper at a restaurant where we went on our first unofficial date and get on one knee. The second part of the surprise was to invite her whole family for dinner afterwards in the next room.

Timing-wise, I intentionally kept the “ritual.” We became an item on Friday the 13th. So to keep the rhyme going, I chose another Friday the 13th to pop the question.

I asked the G-A office to mail the paper on Tuesday hoping for it to arrive Wednesday or Thursday the latest. (They are located in Statesboro so it’s a good 3 hours away from Atlanta) Thursday came and still no paper in the mail. PANIC ATTACK! I called the G-A office and they said it would take 3-5 business days so it might (or might not) arrive Friday morning.

I wanted to play it safe so I woke up early the next day and took a road trip to Statesboro on a mission to grab a few copies of the paper. Thankfully traffic wasn’t so bad so I made it back in time. Here’s the funny (or not-so-funny) thing. The paper made it in the mail that afternoon.

Really!?

…..

Anyways, let me have her tell the rest of the story. She also has a funny story to tell.

Her Side of the Story

Thursday was a pretty uneventful day for me. Work was busy as usual, then I came home and watched American Idol :) Suddenly my cousin (who lives in Statesboro) called to tell me about a recent job interview. He gave me the play-by-play and we talked for almost an hour. But here’s the conversation that went on towards the end:

Cousin: So, I heard you are engaged.

Me: What do you mean? We’re not engaged. Not yet anyway.

Cousin: (paused for 5 secs) Wait – but of course you are. I saw it on the Tuesday paper!

Me: What paper?

Cousin: The George-Anne? Our college newspaper you used to work at?

Me: (puzzled) What do you mean?

Cousin: Yeah you and Edwin were all over the last page of the paper…it says here that you guys are getting married!

Me: (even more puzzled) Maybe it’s some other girl who looks like me. (Then a thought popped up in my mind) Or, wait. What date is this? Could it be their April Fools edition? Maybe it IS me but could it be a prank or something?

Cousin: No no no. This has got to be you. Your name is written here. There is even  a picture of you and Edwin on your birthday.

Me: Are you sure that’s Edwin and I? It could be anyone’s birthday!

Cousin:  Well yea. But there’s also that picture of you guys in Chicago during the snow storm and the castle in North Carolina!

Me: (speechless)

And THEN I realized.

From that point on, everything was a blur. All I know was that a dinner reservation had already been made for the next day (Friday night) at the restaurant where we had our first (unofficial) date. I connected the dots and suspected that this might be IT. Could this really be THE NIGHT?

I frantically searched for the “appropriate” outfit that is neither too formal nor too casual. Barely slept, if any at all. Woke up uncharacteristically early. Felt an eerie sense of calm when I drove to the office. Went to get my nails done during lunch break (oh yes!). And got ready in my office’s restroom.

Edwin came to pick me up at 7. As we drove to the restaurant, he reached out for my hand and noticed my freshly done nails. He asked if I just did it today and of course I said no (DUH!). Haha.

Dinner went by beautifully and we ate the same thing we did during our first unofficial date: Prosciutto di Parma pizza (must try if you’re in Atlanta!). I excused myself to go to the restroom after we finished. And when I got back to the table, sure enough I noticed the ever familiar G-A paper peeking through his napkin. My heart skipped a beat (literally!).

“I have a surprise gift,” he said, pulling out the paper which was decorated with a lavender ribbon. My hands were shaking so much he had to help me open it. I slowly flipped through the pages one-by-one with crazy suspense until I saw it.

Our adventure this past 2 1/2 years laid out so beautifully with the question I had been ready to answer. Then he went down on one knee.

The answer to that question? a resounding Yes: Yes I will marry you. Yes to calling you my “fiance” (and later “hubby”)! Yes to celebrating the next few thousands of Fridays the 13th. Yes to adding terabytes worth of pictures to our “adventure book”. And YES to spending the rest of my life with you :) [Oh, and last but not least, YES to the gorgeous, sparkly ring! Haha]