Best Wishes!

When I was at work on Monday a coworker stopped by to show off her new diamond. It was large and gorgeous and oh so shiny. It reminded me that mine desperately needs to be cleaned. Maybe I need to go "shopping" for jewelry again soon so I can have someone steam clean it properly.

Anyway, once we all finished ooooing and ahhhhhing over her rock and demanding the answers to the usual questions like when the wedding will be, we asked her about the engagement story.

Her fiance (ok, another minor pet peeve of mine: fiance is the male; fiancee is the female -- French adds the extra e) apparently has been joking for quite awhile about getting married, and it's gotten old.

Last Saturday, (when it was cold and yucky here) he suggested that they go walk around the lake for some exercise. She had a long list of errands that needed to be done so tried to demur, but he wouldn't let her. She suggested doing it at the end of the errand-running, but he insisted on doing it earlier, so she acquiesced and agreed to do it midway through the day.

When they got to the lake, she put her sweatshirt on and stepped out of the car, and then she realized how cold it was. She suggested that she wait in the car for him while he walked. He insisted the both walk. She agreed but didn't want to walk all the way around the lake. He kept insisting.

When they got to the midpoint, he stopped and dropped to one knee. "Oh, get up. This isn't funny anymore," she told him. He was really asking her to marry him, but until she saw the box, she didn't believe him and kept blowing it off.

The spot they stopped at on the lake is where they had their first kiss. It's across the street from where they had their first date's dinner. It was all romantic, and she kept unintentionally trying to ruin it. OH, and they were going to dinner that night with two couples... the two that had introduced them to each other. It was all planned, and it had to be that night.

It makes me feel better to realize that I am not the only woman to sabotage an engagement.

My husband asked me to marry him when we were in San Diego on vacation. We were staying on Coronado Island and had gone to the Gaslamp district during the day to hang out. We got caught up watching college football in a cute little Mexican bar and headed back to the island later than we'd expected, and it was starting to get dark. On the little ferry back to the island, it started to rain. By the time we reached the dock on the other side, it was pouring and I hightailed it back to the room.

Once in the room, I changed into dry clothes and laid across the bed to peruse (read: drool over) the spa services offered by the hotel. My husband started talking about how great I am and how much he loves me and so on. I responded with only half my attention because I was still reading all the cool things that I could pay way too much money to have done to me. He finally grabbed the brochure from my hands and demanded I pay attention to him. He was on one knee with a box. And had been reciting a speech (monologue that I was interrupting). Oops.

He had intended to ask me not in twilight but in the graceful sunset as we walked on the beach in Coronado Island. Whoops. Then he was going to ask in the moonlight on the dock. Whoops. And in his mind, it had to be that day because he'd asked my parents' permission before we left (even showing them the ring), and he didn't want them to think he'd chickened out. Personally, I would have waited another day, but that's just me.

Anyone else mess up their engagement?