Oh yeah, we got engaged

Remember when we went to Pittsburgh in March, and I came back with a sparkly new ring and a broken camera?

Here are the pictures from that trip, before I dropped my Canon Powershot. 


It all started with a request:

Hey babe, you should make some CD's for the road.

Gladly. 

Because, when you make an album (or three like I did), then it feels like a special event. It feels like a road trip! Notice I put them in sleeves too?  Extra special.  

So we jammed.  On every feel-good-song that I could find on my Zune account.  We laughed and we harmonized and it was good.   I was proud of my DJing, even though I simply went through my albums, clicked on "add" and then shuffled the order.  Still.   

Of course, a road trip (even if it's just to Pittsburg), needs some snacks, some drinks, some gimmicky thing from the drug store.  Snacks?  Starburst and something else (give me a break, it's been like two months, stupid camera).  Drinks?  Diet coke and water.  Gimmick?  Haha, well, let me digress for a second........

About two weeks before our trip, a rumor started.  K's 19 year old cousin in Pittsburgh heard we were going to stop for a nice dinner in the city and then come over and see everyone.  Well, she heard fancy dinner and boom, started telling everyone, and I mean everyone, that we were getting engaged.  K's mom and grandma were asked if they were coming out too, you know, to celebrate the big event.  SO, I found out about the rumor, and since it was actually true, K had to come up with an excuse, and fast.  And then he hit a deer with his car. Excuse? Check.  How can anyone afford a ring when they have deer fur all over their....ahhh.   I bought the excuse, even wrapped it up and took the price tag off. 

Gimmick?  To further perpetuate the excuse, K got a Ring Pop from the drug store, you know so I could put that on instead after dinner.  Ultimately, to make fun of aforementioned 19 year old cousin.  

Excellent diversion.  I rocked it by the way.  

  

The car ride was very nice.  I took pictures of the sky, played with our food, and did not think about what could be happening tonight at all. 

We stopped at a rest stop on the Turnpike to change.  I went inside to put a skirt on, he stayed by the car to check the ring in his suit pocket.  Tricky boy. 

After we arrived in Pittsburgh, we decided to catch the view of the city before the sun set.

 

And while I took pictures of the city (oblivious to anything), K walked down and found a bench.  Our own little bench, far away from the other amateur photographers. 

We sat down on that perfect bench, and he asked me the question, and I answered it. 

The ring?  He helped design it. 

Heaven. 

After, we had a beautiful dinner at the Grand Concourse, on the river (er, one of the rivers, there are a lot in Pittsburgh). 

Here, we recreated our first meal together, crab cakes, and mahi-mahi.  The piano player played our song (we think, it was very noisy for a fancy place).  We soaked the moment in and I have never been happier. 

Never been happier because on that day, I became a fiancee to the most wonderful man I know.  Yeah, I know that's mushy, but in all honesty, that's what he is to me.  This man, who I've known since I was a teenager, who I let go, and then came back to, who I moved closer to, he is all that is wonderful.  This man, who has been saving and planning, and keeping a secret for months.  K doesn't know how much he means to me because I lack the words.  It doesn't matter the ring, or the location, or the proposal, it just mattered because it was with him and now, it will always be with him. 

This, this is happiness.