The Ring! Part 1

*=Footnotes, commentary and general snarkyness.

You can't have an engagement ring without a proposal. Ok, well, technically you can have one, but if you buy it yourself and wear it around without a proposal, that's just...*(1)

So the engagement story comes first, and then with it the ring.

For the last few years Jeremiah and I have spent 4th of July down in Santa Cruz, where he spent a lot of years growing up*(2). When this 4th of July was coming up we decided to spend the whole weekend down there at his dads place. The dogs absolutely love running around the yard, and I was looking forward to some time in the pool. We had a great time bbq'ing and drinkin, playing in the pool and relaxing in the hot tub.

The next day we woke up early*(3) and headed over to the boardwalk. Jeremiah had promised that before we went home we'd go ride the Giant Dipper, a great big wooden roller coaster. I love the boardwalk. I love any boardwalk. I love all things carnival like in nature. Jeremiah, while he enjoys the boardwalk, I think he spent so much time there growing up that the novelty has worn off a bit. So this was a great indulgence for me. We rode the roller coaster, walked the entire length of the boardwalk, AND we even went to the arcade*(4). I joke that Jeremiah was just trying to soften me up for later ;) After the boardwalk we head back to check on the dogs and pack up the car. Jeremiah suggests that we go grab some lunch before driving back to SF, and that we should leave the dogs so they're not sitting in the car. I agree as I'm starving and so then we're off to what I think is lunch. Well we're driving, and driving... and driving. I figure he's just taking the scenic route, and don't complain*(5). We drive past a really beautiful building, and I make a remark about how great it is when I realize that I recognize it! It's a B&B that Jeremiah took me too once when I came home to visit when I lived in NY. He smiles at my realization and all of the sudden, pulls into the driveway! I'm completely confused and say, "I don't think they serve lunch here". He laughs and says, "No? Huh? Well, let's see". So we go to the door, and ring the bell. I'm still horribly confused, and hungry. I'm honestly thinking that Jeremiah just wants to look around the place for kicks. So the inn keeper comes to the door, greets us and asks us if we have a reservation. I giggle nervously and say no, while Jeremiah says yes. I look at him wide eyed, still not understanding. In my head I'm going, "I have work! The dogs! I didn't pack extra clothes!". Turns out Jeremiah cleared my day the next day, and made sure the dogs were being looked after. Unfortunately he had no solution for having me bring extra clothes without spoiling the surprise, but I made do.

The B&B is called the Inn at Depot Hill. It's stunning. When we originally stayed there we stayed in the Kyoto Room. It's lavishly decorated in a Japanese theme. There's a huge soaking tub, a rain shower and bamboo gardens. We ended up staying in the same room. I had no complaints. We get settled in, start a bath and shortly after the inn keeper comes in with a bottle of champagne and a box of truffles. My boy definitely knows what I like. We open the bubbly, step into the tub, and after my first few sips I remember that I was hungry and haven't eaten anything! Combined with the heat of the tub, I get tipsy pretty easily. All's well though, I don't even care at that point. I'm told that we have dinner reservations later so I just wait it out.

At this point, I still have no idea about a proposal. I just think that my boy's being spontaneous & romantic. After we get out of the tub, I remember that I wrote a journal entry in one of the guest books in the room. We find one book, but it looks like some pages are torn out. We think that ours was on one the torn pages, until I start looking through some other drawers. Lo and behold, I find our book and the journal I wrote. It was really something to read back on the earlier time in our relationship when we first stayed there, and everything that had changed in the years.

Ok, I'm leaving you with that for now. I need to make dinner, and quite frankly I'm tired of typing. Part 2 to come.

1. kind of sad.

2. He's moved around quite a bit. Santa Cruz is where he finished high school, and continued to live in the years following, before moving to SF.

3. and a little hungover. Yay rum!

4. We played the silly rifle game, where you shoot at targets and it makes funny things happen, like makes the piano play and the vultures eyes glow red. We even entertained the idea of getting those "period" photos taken, but decided not to. I didn't feel the costumes were up to snuff.

5. though at this point I'm really hungry.

Flashback feelings - Chapter 2

Flashback on me in 1997. I've decided that I'm going to prom, and that I'm going to make my own dress. Some corseted princess-y styled dress, ironically the same type of dress that I'm trying to avoid for my wedding. Not for lack of loving the style, I just don't think it will fit in a beach setting (which is going to be talked about in a whole other chapter to come).

So there I am, sitting in the middle of my living room surrounded by pattern pieces and yards of black satin fabric. I've been staring at the same instruction for the last 45 min with no idea of how to actually execute it. Cut on bias. Bias. What the F is a bias?? *Breathe* and read instruction again. Cut. On. Bias. At this point I think I've tried to collect call my mom in Australia, though it's possible she was in Thailand at that point, memory fails me. My dad, who also sews a bit, was at work. None of my friends knew anything about sewing, and I'm about ready to ravage all of the fabric into shreds with my shears out of pure frustration. So I did what I do now when I can't figure something out, I jumped on the computer. Only then we didn't have cable internet, google, or the numerous amounts of websites dedicated to anything you can possibly imagine. No, I had dial-up and Lycos. I type in bias and after weeding through all of the definitions of bias and points of view, I find some unclear instructions and a slightly helpful illustration. None of which in the end actually helped me to execute the original instruction.

Which is where I'm at now. I feel like I have all of the instructions but no idea how, and little help to actually execute them. I feel like I'm turning to the internet again to find the answers, only to find the equivalent of the "slightly helpful illustration".

In the end of that flashback story, I didn't actually end up finishing the dress. The day before prom, my dad took me to the mall where I found a dress on the sale rack, that we still really couldn't afford, and was a size too big. It was not princess-y or corseted like I dreamed. But, it was pretty, I worked the hell out of it and I still had fun. Even though that story ended well, I still feel like I settled for something I didn't want, because it's what I had. I made the best of it. Well this is my wedding, and hopefully the only wedding I'll ever have. I don't want to settle.

I want to execute the instructions.

/end chapter

And the story begins... Chapter 1

My name is Jazmin and I recently got engaged to a man named Jeremiah. After the last month of wedding planning, and getting intensely frustrated with it, I've decided to start a blog about it. This is more of a record for me and to help me keep track of everything. To vent and help keep me sane, to have a written keepsake (if you will)- but why not invite others to come along for the ride?

So, welcome! I hope you enjoy reading about my antics. ;) As you probably guessed, I'm not looking for the white wedding. However, I'm also not looking for a halloween superstore wedding either. I want something beautiful, something fantastic, something surreal... Everything that every other bride wants, but my idea of perfection does not include red roses and a million layered cake. I will not be wearing the virginal white dress, that ship has totally sailed. There will be no doves, no violins, no rice and the only bubbles that will be at my wedding will be in the form of champagne. You get the picture.

So, there's a little about me. More to come... for now, I have an al fresco dinner to get ready for. I'm loving this unusually warm northern CA summer we're having.

/end chapter