The Proposal

As you guys may or may not have heard, last weekend I got engaged!!!  WHAT?!  I KNOW.  It was a complete surprise to me (but apparently a lot of my friends and family were in on it).

Short version here:


Long story here:
It was a normal Sunday day; I had just gone through the Rite of Acceptance (the next major step in becoming a confirmed Catholic) with my sponsor, Rhona, and we took her out to lunch.  NORMAL.

Then we went back to Ryan's, where played Assassin's Creed for 2 hours.  NORMAL.

Then he took a nap while I answered Ask Phivy questions.  NORMAL.

Around 4pm, we got ready to go to dinner:

Ryan: I'm craving Benihana's.
Steph: But we only go there for special occasions.
Ryan: I know, but it's been awhile.
Steph: We just went there 2 months ago for our anniversary...but okay.

NORMAL.


When we go to Santa Monica, Ryan suggests that we take a walk alongside the beach to take photos by the sunset.  I WOULD say that this isn't normal, but come on, YOU KNOW I love taking pictures of myself, so this is "normal" (for me).  After fidgeting a few times with the camera, I start getting impatient and say, "This is why you don't take my blog photos and why I use a tripod...you take too long!"  Ryan smiles and keeps setting up the camera.  He walks towards me, but this time, it's weird because he's kind of shaking . WHY ARE YOU SHAKING?  And, by the way, it looks like forgot to set the timer for the camera!  Man, THIS GUY.

He holds my hand and says "I love you," I LOVE YOU TOO.  OK WHY ARE YOU SHAKING?

Ryan kneels, asks me to marry him and I have no idea what's going on.  I'm pretty sure I blacked out.  Of course I say yes, jumped up and down a few times and stared at my hands for what seemed like 2 years.  I immediately call both of our families, who all KNEW!  They were all anxiously waiting by the phone waiting for the good news and they all kept it hidden from me.  Those sneaky snakes.

I call my close friends who of course, started screaming.  After calling immediate friends and family, we walk around the 3rd Street Promenade for an hour to kill before our dinner reservations.  Ryan's totally normal at this point.  He's browsing, he bought a pair of slacks and a pair of sunglasses.  WTF.  I was a crazy woman.  I was staring at my ring in all sorts of different lighting, I kept looking in the mirror and playing with my ring, I was bursting into tears at random moments.  It was all so emotional.

When dinner time finally arrives, we head over to Benihana (our tradition for special occasions) and surprise!  My friends are there waiting for me with big hugs and congratulations!  They had known the whole time and had kept it from me.  Those sneaky snakes.  Tears and hugs all the way around.

It was an amazing proposal.  The actual proposal was intimate on the beach, but the immediate celebration was with my close friends so I could share my moments with them.

The wedding won't be until Fall, 2013 so I have lots of time to plan, but OF COURSE I'm already looking.  Hell, I started looking a year ago, just don't tell Ryan that.