Getting Together

The story of how we came to be is a long one, so feel free to skip this post if you're at work, late already for something, or already bored by my writing style! But really, I may be biased, but I think it's a lovely story.

In the beginning, I was an angsty lovestruck teenager, tired of being dateless and alone. Nice, right? Well, I was only a junior in high school and knew nothing about real love. Wasn't I about to find out! Anyway...my first job was at a garden center, schlepping bags of mulch and wading in water ponds (I loved it!). When I started working there I was one of the only girls employed who did any of the real hard work (no offense to my smarter counterparts who ended up 1) less dirty and 2) just as well liked as me) and thus, often got to work with "the boys" (they came and went often, ranging in age from 14 - 30). One of these boys was named Zac, and it didn't take long before his good looks and witty charm had me drooling.

Fastforward a year (or two? I can't remember), after I'd openly declared my undying love for Zac, went on a date with him (more like forced him to go on one with me), been rejected, remained good friends with him, and then set him up with one of my best friends, Jenn, realizing they were perfect for each other. Jenn and Zac were about three months into their relationship when Zac quit at the garden center and got a job at the local Benny's and Jenn got a job with me instead. I know, weird, right? It gets weirder. Jenn and Zac were happily dating and I was constantly bitching to Jenn about being single (she did the hard work with me and we had a great couple summers together at work!). One day I had to go to Benny's for something and Zac had just gotten out of work. He was in the parking lot talking to a guy who's name I didn't catch about the guy's brand new paid off car. We sat in it and talked for awhile (the three of us) and I oohed and awwed at the appropriate times (Not only did I know little about love, I knew little about cars. I found out later that this "fancy" car I was so impressed with was merely a Honda Civic :o) It was brand new, ok?! And boy, did I come to love that car).

A few days later Jenn mentioned that she heard I had met Zac's friend John. I was like, oh yeah, the guy with the car? She confirmed this. Then she said that John had thought I was cute. I was like, "You and me, Zac and John, dinner tonight." She set it up, we had a wonderful time, and John and I have been together ever since (that's a lie, we broke up twice, both times at one week intervals, but two weeks in six and half years isn't that bad, right?).

Us mini-golfing five years later, which is incidentally what
we did on our first alone date!

So I set them up, they set us up, we were all great friends, all was grand. I love our love story. Anyone else set up by friends? Or prone to making people take them on dates (Ha ha, just kidding, kind of)?

I love our love story...

but first, a little about him, me, and us :o)

John is: a great future father, a kind person, generous, a hard-worker, and a pretty funny guy. He loves skateboarding (or ripsticking or longboarding, yes, we own each of these things! I even have my own skateboard! It's got flying pandas on it!), he is incredibly knowledgeable about beer AND wine, and he's into video games of all kinds. He has lots of friends, not least of all, my seventeen year old brother. And he will make me a great husband because he loves me, pitches in when I need him to, he's protective, we have fun together, he takes care of me when I'm sick and cleans off my car when it snows, and he actually likes to snuggle (although he wouldn't like that I'm writing it here!).

John with a fiesty pirate the weekend we got engaged.

I'm: a bit more reserved, but like conservatively fun things. I never thought twice about what our wedding would be like before we got engaged, but now I am proudly obsessed. I love to read, manage a retail store, and used to keep lengthy journals (hopefully this blog will help me release some of that pent-up writing energy). I am not so patient, try to give others the benefit of the doubt, a big believer in fairness, and family-oriented. I am a recent graduate from the University of Connecticut, volunteer at a local library, and like to meet friends at our favorite bar on occassion. Oh, and I am a chocoholic (my future family-in-law has a running joke that the three things I will eat are chicken, cheese and chocolate).

In the name of fairness.

John and I are kind of opposites. I was a good student, whereas he didn't care about school. I am quiet, he walks into a room of strangers and everyone likes him. I get restless spending a day sitting around watching movies, he quite enjoys it. And much more. But we see things eye to eye on the important issues and we want the same things for each other that we want for ourselves. And we love each other a little more with every day.

And so we begin...

Well, actually, I've been planning our wedding for months. Years, truth be told. So this isn't nearly the beginning...of anything! John and I have been together six and a half years, have been engaged for one and a half years, and I tried to start blogging a year ago but there just wasn't enough going on! Well let me tell you- now the planning is in full swing. So if I'm going to try and join the wedding blog scene, now's the time. Get ready!