Monthly Archives: April 2009

update!

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(warning – no pictures.  just a random update on wedding details and such)

wow. 
it’s only been 4 weeks since the engagement and lots has happened. 
wedding plans are underway!  and the decision-paralyzation and
overbearing sense of urgency has already set in.  even for someone who
spends half of their job doing event planning, not to mention wedding
coordinating on the side.  yes, even one such as me, is subject to the
classic trials of planning a wedding.  so many decisions – some large
and looming, some small and silly.  some i don’t mind making and don’t
care much about, but others are weighty and merit much thought.  not to
mention the decisions that hinge on the outcome of other decisions,
which in turn hinge on other decisions.  ::deep breath::  this
is fun.  it really is.  but i’m definitely looking forward to getting
the “big” decisions out of the way so we can focus on just the
implementation of them.  i much more prefer implementing and doing, rather than decision-making. 

speaking
of big decisions, we have one down – we have a date!  drum roll
please…  ::cue trumpets::  SEPTEMBER 12, 2009!  this is the date
we’ve chosen to move forward with.  no, nothing is absolutely 100%
secure and nailed down and risk free.  it never is and never will be. 
but, sept 12 pretty much works with most of the major factors.  most
everything falls nicely into place with this date, so we’re going to
step out in faith, move forward, and trust God with the rest. 

more
news – zach got a job!  it’s not “THE” job (air traffic controller),
but it’s “A” job.  he’s been hired on at starbucks as a shift
supervisor.  the current plan is for him to work in pasadena for the
next 4 months or so and then transfer to a starbucks store in phoenix
shortly before the wedding.  while we wait for the ATC job to come
through in california, zach and i believe it is wisest to live in
arizona.  it’s MUCH less costly to live here, plus i can keep my full
time job for a bit longer.  so we would definitely appreciate prayer
for a job transfer opportunity to open up here in phoenix! 

wedding
update – we’ve settled on a few other details besides the date.  we
have wedding colors and we have our budget (although not fully fleshed
out).  we know we’ll get married here at my church, but haven’t figured
out what to do for the reception.  we know what we’d like for simple
favors, invitation and program design, flowers, music, photographer and
wedding party.  we still have a few more major items to finalize
(::cough::guest list::cough::) before we can actually begin the
implementation of most of it, though.

i thought i had found the
dress i wanted… until we went to another store and found one my mom
and i both liked better.  haha!  so i think we’re going to go with the
2nd dress.  i’m really excited about it!  and no, i’m not posting a
picture.  i’m definitely a fan of the whole “groom doesn’t see the
bride or know anything about the dress until the wedding day” thing. 

oh
and no, i don’t have “the” ring yet.  we’re getting it soon, but i think i’d actually like to continue
wearing the “placeholder” ring throughout almost the entire engagement
and have the diamond taken out and placed into “the” ring right before
the wedding day.  that way i can enjoy the fun of having a separate
engagement ring, but still only end up wearing one ring in the long
run. 

overall though, this whole wedding-planning process IS
pretty amazing and fun.  i still can’t believe it’s… me.  it’s
happening… to ME!  it’s not my friend’s wedding, not a relative’s
wedding, not a friend of a friend’s wedding…  it’s… mine.  wow.  a
little crazy.  although i must say, i find myself far more excited
about the planning of the wedding, and particularly the life AFTER the
wedding, than i am about the actual day.  it will be a fun day, i’m
sure.  but i truly can’t wait to marry my best friend, the man of my
dreams, the one whom i am confident that God has called me to stand
next to for the rest of my life.    woo-hoo!!

i made it!

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sooo… as many of you dear readers probably already knew, my friend lydia from gaithersburg, MD came to visit me a couple weeks ago.  i don’t exactly remember how or when we first met, but i think it actually developed after several months of “stalking” each other via our respective blogs.  ah, the internet.  🙂 

anyway, after following lydia’s blog for years, it was always sort of a secret dream of mine to maybe, just maybe, make it ONTO her blog one of these days…  well – i did it!  haha!  lydia posted about her visit here with pictures – including some gorgeous ones of my family!  check it out here.

the other half of my not-so-secret (anymore) dream is to make it onto her blog for *another* reason.  and Lord-willing, that will happen too!  it’s definitely a greater possibility now that there is a ring on my finger! 

thanks Lydia for being such a special part of my life – and for coming to see me!!!

(PHOTO CREDIT: LYDIA JANE HARNETT)

the afianced one

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so apparently i, as the female in this relationship, am the “fiancee.”  (2 e’s)

and zach, as the male in this relationship, is the “fiance.”  (1 e)

huh.  i never knew that!  silly french…

The Story – With Pictures!

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Alrighty folks, here is the long a-waited for engagement story!  

Saturday morning Zach and I got coffee and drove out to Brackett Airfield – which is the airfield associated with his school – where they do pilot training, one of his former classmates works there, one of his former profs has an office there – so Zach has connections with people at Brackett, etc.  One of his former profs took us up in a Cessna


and we flew for about an hour over to Catalina Island.  

After flying all around the island and ooing and aahing over the gorgeous coastline and landscape we landed at Avalon airport.

At that point, Zach and I went off on our own and got bus tickets down into the little town of Avalon which sits right along the coast on (I think) the eastern side of Catalina.  
(on the bus
)

The first thing we did in Avalon was get lunch because we were both starving at that point.  Haha!  After lunch we walked around along the cove and wandered over to the ferry dock and looked out on the water and enjoyed the amazing weather.  Seriously, we could not have asked for a better day.  75 degrees
 sunny
 clear blue skies
 slight breeze
 gah!  It was perfect!  From the ferry landing we strolled along back along the cove looking at all the fun typical beachside shops, talked about getting an ice cream cone later, and decided to “wander” farther down the coast line where it got more rocky.  We half climbed to this perfect little spot on a rocky part of the coast, away from other people.  

We’d only been sitting there for a few minutes when Zach asked me,
“So, do you remember that question [you asked me earlier in the week, that I told you to hang on to for later]?”  
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
“‘How much do you like me?’”
“Oh sweetheart, I like you so very much.  I more than like you
  I love you.”
At this point he paused for a brief moment in which I thought to myself, “so
 is this just a special day where he decides to tell me that he loves me?  Or is he going to ask me to marry him?  Should I say ‘I love you’ back?!”
But I didn’t say anything, I just looked back at him and smiled.  And then he said,
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes!  A hundred thousand times yes!”
And then he kissed me and held me and I cried.  My dream had come true.  



 

Then he pulled the ring out of his pocket, disclaiming as he did so, “Now, I know this isn’t the ring you had wanted specifically, nor the cut or design, but this is a family ring – it’s my grandmother’s diamond – that I want you to have and to wear until we can go together to get the ring you want.  If you’re going to wear a ring for the rest of your life, I want to make absolutely sure that you love it.  So we’ll go get the ring you love and we’ll have this diamond set in it.”  Could I ask for anything more?!  It was so special!!!
 

Then, Zach told me about the cutest idea he had and was planning.  He thought we should go and buy Catalina Island hoodies to commemorate.  Awww, he knows that I have a thing for hoodie sweatshirts.  Haha!  So we went and got ice cream and picked out our sweatshirts and then headed over to the ferry landing – we were taking the ferry home!

Zach had gotten tickets for the “Commodore Lounge” on the ferry, so we were able to ride inside a private room (about 50 seats or so), with complimentary beverages, etc.  Once we boarded and sat down, the stewardess (is that what they’re called on a boat?  I have no idea
) came over and goes, “How are you two today?” and I couldn’t resist saying, “Great! We just got engaged!” To which she replied, “Oh that’s WONDERFUL!  I’ll go get you some champagne then!”  Haha!





 
We arrived back at the Long Beach Ferry Landing where Zach’s mom had planned a little engagement party for us with some of our mutual friends (mostly the Bairds – Zach’s 2nd family), yummy food, and really cute decorations.  Zach had also chosen a weekend that my parents were in town for a basketball tournament, so they were able to be at the party too! 

We retold the story


and looked at the pictures and had a toast

 

Ah!  The whole day was just so romantic and perfect and wonderful.  I couldn’t have asked for a better proposal! 

Ok now for a few FAQs:

“Did you know he was going to propose? / Did you have any idea?” – Weeelll, yes, I did start to develop a suspicion beginning Thursday based on a few little things I had noticed.  But despite suspecting, I was in no way disappointed or let down.  In fact, the whole day was far more amazing than I could have planned or asked for! 

“What does *the* ring look like?” – Sorry, there isn’t a photo of it online anywhere.  You’ll just have to wait until I get it and I can show it off in person.  Or you can ask me and I can attempt to describe it in person – it’s a very unorthodox ring for this type of occasion, so even then it’s a bit difficult to accurately describe.  I’m also not entirely sure when we’ll be getting it.  But don’t worry – once I have it, I will definitely post pictures and happily show it off to anyone who wants to see it! 

“Do you guys have a date yet?” – No.  We’re thinking toward the fall, but we don’t know if it will be as early as August or as late as November.  I didn’t quite realize that can be a lot of factors that play into simply deciding on a wedding date!  Plus, Zach is still looking for a full time job (ATC is all set in place to still happen, but there is a delay in his hiring due to the California state budget crisis.  So he’s looking for a full time job to do until ATC happens).  So there’s a lot up in the air and a lot to think and work through.  I actually anticipate it taking us at least a month or two before we are able to land on a date.  But we’re definitely already talking about all sorts of other fun details and many of the smaller decisions are falling into place super easily.  We see very eye to eye on most things and are both completely thrilled to be planning this wedding!  â˜ș