weddings, rejecting bridal diets, and a resolution

I've been engaged for over two weeks now and I still can't stop looking at my ring. It's so sparkly! I can't get over how gorgeous it is. We've started making tentative plans already because I figure this is one area where getting started early can only be a good thing. We have decided on April of 2010, and are leaning towards having the ceremony on a Sunday. We've ballparked a budget and a guest list. We've even visited one potential site and I can definitely see myself getting married here, and there's the possibility that the other sites we are looking at (after all due diligence is required here) will be even better. I've made a vow to myself to stay away from bridal magazines at all cost. I got a giant dump of Bay Area wedding info from a friend of a friend that is uber helpful--basically I'm just going to go into this with word of mouth recommendations and stay away from the gorgeously shot wedding porn that serves no purpose but to make you feel inadequate so you'll buy more stuff.

Speaking of inadequacy inspired by publications trying to sell ad space, I'm also not going to give in to the traditional bridal frenzy to lose as much weight as possible before the big day. I'll admit it's tempting to do it--after all, it is pretty much the best motivation for sticking to a diet that you could ever possibly have, but I'm going to trust in science and not marketing. Science (and personal history) have basically proven that any weight you lose is going to come back within years, possibly bringing friends with it, and I'm not going to harm my long term health by losing weight to look good in photographs on one day. My fiancé fell in love with and proposed to me looking exactly as I do now.

I am going to cut out booze staring Jan 1 for two reasons: 1) Even though I refuse to diet I figure cutting out those empty calories will help me look a bit sleeker for the big day (maybe even shinier and healthier!) and 2) Adding drinks to dinners out really adds to the price, and I want to put that extra money over the year toward a fantastic honeymoon! I will be making exceptions for wine special occasions like anniversary dinners and birthdays. I'm sort of using it as an excuse to drink things for the next two days though, so we'll see how this goes...

Thinking about the new year

So, looking back over 2008 I have been really really terrible at documenting my existence. This could be viewed as a good thing I suppose, far fewer photographs of me with the singular facial expression that is the only way I like to see myself in photographs (a friend of mine calls it my Zoolander face), my arms wrapped around the shoulders of various people. Maybe I got tired of seeing those photos? Kind of a flimsy argument since I've been really bad about writing text about my life as well.

I've started thinking that I should do the Project 365 for 2009. Honestly, just considering it has sort of changed the way I view the world slightly, and I think getting into the habit of this will be a great way to see the interesting moments in every day. Or I'll just devolve into posting pictures of Echo and Wolverine every day.

So, Jan 1, 2009. It begins. :)

Engagement--text this time

In case the posted photograph of a ring wasn't obvious enough for people, I got engaged on the 11th. It was really sweet and low-key, our nine month anniversary was on Thursday and B. had suggested that we go out for dinner. He took me out to dinner and mentioned that I should save room for dessert because he'd gotten Sprinkles cupcakes (which I love). We walked home and once we got into the apartment (seriously right after, the boy didn't even give me time to take off the giant sweatshirt I was wearing as a coat), he asked "So do you want a cupcake?" I was like "Well, I don't know...I'm kind of full...but I'll take a look at them!"

So he goes into the kitchen and grabs the box of 4 cupcakes and opens them. I look and am all, "That's weird, this one has a button on it!" I guess I sort of figured it was a special holiday flavor with a button shaped candy on top. :) Then B. grabs the button cupcake and gets down on one knee. He said a bunch of things that were really sweet and awesome and then asked me to marry him. I thought I said yes though video evidence shows that I actually nodded vigorously. The special cupcake was actually a trinket box from etsy that was just the same shape/size as a Sprinkles cupcake, and it had a ring inside of it.

B. had champagne waiting and so we toasted to us, called our parents who all seemed pretty thrilled, and then proceeded to geek out over the diamond. I love my ring, it's absolutely perfect, and I'm so thrilled to be able to call B. my fiance.

Engagment Ring

IMG_0036
Originally uploaded by psydereal

Fishie and starfishie

Fishie and starfishie
Originally uploaded by psydereal