Dear World,

I am officially engaged.

CB asked me this weekend on October 4 (that would be yesterday, actually).

I have been asked to include details about this, so I will dispense those details now.

This engagement business has been discussed between he and I for some time now, but I was not at all expecting it to happen this weekend (I had already set in my mind that it was probably going to happen at Christmastime).

So when we decided to go see the US National Arboretum I quickly brushed aside the eager thoughts in my head of, "ohhh, maybe it will happen!??"
We arrived there and spent a few hours just walking around and taking pictures of flowers and each other and other various things they had there. At one point he went to the bathroom- which is when he took the ring box from his camera bag (stored in the backpack he was carrying), and hid it in one of the pockets in his shorts.

After this break he suggested we walk up Mt. Hamilton, which is more of a hill, and see if we can find the spot where you are supposed to be able to see the Capitol building and the Washington Monument. I thought this was a great idea, and I was completely oblivious.

So we finally got to the top and I immediately set to taking pictures of the Capitol and the Monument- as if I really needed more- but these were from a long distance away. I was standing on a railing and he stood behind me, I figured so I wouldn't fall. Little did I know he was busy getting the ring box out of his pocket and holding it behind his back.

I jumped down and suggested we take pictures of ourselves with all the trees and gorgeous foliage in the background. He agreed and had to manage taking these pictures with me and holding the ring behind his back. When I was done, he bended down to set his backpack on the ground, but instead of coming back up, he proceeded to take to one knee.

I looked at him and couldn't stop saying, "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD." Then he pulled the ring box from behind his back and my "OH MY GOD"s got a little bit louder and quicker. He said something to the effect of (not the actual things he said, I am summarizing here- mostly because I only remember the first and last line of it all), "So I have you all the way out here in nature because I want to say that I love you so much, and it has been such a wonderful 23 months with you, and you are my companion, and will you marry me?"

He didn't get to say much actually because I couldn't stop saying, "OH MY GOD." I was all teary and I immediately said, "YES" over and over and fell to my knees and kissed him and hugged him, etc.

So there was that very happy moment. I am very pleased to say that in December 2009 I will be marrying a wonderful man, my best friend, whom I love very much.

The pictures above are the just after pictures and one of the ring. Rings are hard to photograph, fyi.