We’ve come a long way, baby.

If I had been thinking, I’d have posted this on our engagement-versary.

There’s a thread on a forum I read about proposals. It’s super sweet and I’m a little tipsy, so EMOTIONS.

Anyway, I posted Darren’s proposal. It occurred to me that I maybe never really blogged about it, so I’m reposting here:

It was a very cold day at the end of September 2009. We were in our living room, watching a rerun of The Office (you should really read the synopsis). I was in a hoodie and sweatpants, he was in boxer briefs and a t-shirt. We were living in a 450 sq ft apartment with our cats. Our couches were set up in a L formation and we were each sitting on our own, holding hands.

Suddenly, he rolled off his couch and onto one knee. He said some very nice things that I don’t remember, and asked me to marry him. He didn’t have the ring yet; it was on its way. For the record, we had been discussing marriage for quite some time. I actually ordered the ring myself- it was custom made, based on a slightly different design the maker already had.

So he said all this stuff and I had to ask him a few times if he was serious. We’d both “proposed” to each other a few times, so I had to be sure that this was the real one. Obviously, no matter how unplanned it was on his part, he meant it.

It was not a fancy proposal, but I married him anyway. Who needs fancy?

Hard times ain’t gonna rule my mind, Bessie.

Things have been a little bit ridiculous for the last couple weeks.

On September 11 Darren lost his job and I nearly had a panic attack because of it. After he told me, I spent 24 hours in a state of horror, until he found work. Right. He’s working a very intermittent job painting houses – we’re talking two days a week so far, even though it was supposed to be full time. He doesn’t know for sure if he’ll be working this week at all, but it’s helped anyway. A little cash is better than none, obviously. He’s applying all over the place and had a couple interviews this week (for the same job, one with the recruiter and one with the actual company). Hope, hope. We’re just trying to push through. We’re good for now, but in a few weeks we’ll have to start tightening the budget. Not that we aren’t already. Blurg.

In the meantime, I’ll be taking on a second job. I start at Macy’s on Saturday, and am both excited and terrified. I love Macy’s and I’m excited to work there (handbag department, WHAT UP), but we’ll see how I do with managing two jobs. Fortunately the hours at the location I’ll be at are better than most retail, so even if I have to work after work (y’know?), I’ll get home at a reasonable enough time.

Right. Enough of that. Hard times are a bummer but we’ve always made it through. Darren said the other day that he thinks this will end up working in our favor in the long run, and I agree.

A couple Sundays ago I went with Jenna and her bridesmaids to try on dresses (for those not in the know, Jenna is my brother’s fiancee and she is awesome). After trying on a boatload of pretty dresses, we all liked the same one. The bridesmaids will be in different-but-coordinating colors, and I’ll wear grey to match the groomsmen because I am one. Yes! The wedding is in a year so y’all get to wait for pictures.

Dad’s old shop sign in Kyle’s garage

There was a Rave-themed party at Casa Como on Saturday, and it was glorious. As usual, all my photos are from Instagram. I know, I know. Forgive me?

Eric’s silver face and my 90s raver-kid inspired getup.

The rest of my ensemble: tulle and Chucks. Not pictured: two pairs of leggings. It was cold!

I invested (read: on sale at Target) in a few pairs of tights for fall and some leopard print loafers for new-job comfort, so I’ve been looking fancy in spite of the madness. Gotta live for somethin’.

Auditions for Prospero‘s staged reading of “8” are this weekend, so aside from work that’s mostly what I’ll be doing. Fortunately “work” is paperwork and training videos, so nothing strenuous prior to several hours of…  well, hopefully busy-ness (come audition! We need lots of dudes). In theory, the rest of my time will be spent watching season five of Gossip Girl on Netflix so I’m caught up for the season 6 premiere next week.

This is my life.

Sappy post alert

It occurs to me, in my current slightly inebriated state (when was the last time I drunk-blogged?) that I neglected posts regarding both my anniversary and my husband’s birthday. Shame.

So! First! On August seventh Darren and I celebrated our first anniversary. It was a low-key day; we celebrated by sort of recreating our first date: a movie, and burgers at Johnny Rocket’s. Plus we got delicious cheeses from a store at the Mall of America. No big deal.

Then the twentieth was Darren’s twenty-sixth birthday. I made him the meals he requested (BLTs for lunch and meatloaf for dinner, plus DQ ice cream cake) and then we got drunk at the Half Time Rec. Pure glory.

I’m sorry to say that there’s nothing more to either of these stories. Pretty much, I’m just a lucky lady to have married such an excellent dude. He keeps me grounded and mostly sane, and we have tons of fun together. He loves food about as much as I do, and he doesn’t mind my tendency toward hermitude. Honestly, I look back on the other guys I dated and that’s sort of the biggest deal breaker for most of them (with one exception, but there are very different reasons for the disaster that that relationship would’ve been). Sorry guys: I’m lazy and I hate people and I found a fella who is okay with that. Your loss? Yeah, probably. I’m awesome.

I’m glad that Darren and I can sit in the same room, doing our own thing on separate computers or whatever, and it’s still a night well spent. We both take pleasure in grocery shopping and the doofy little chores we do together. We can go out with our own friends, without each other, and that’s just fine. At the end of the night we get to come home to each other, and we get to share our ridiculously comfortable bed – us and the dog and sometimes one of the cats – and that is what makes life sweet.

So maybe he leaves his socks around and I have to bribe him to do the dishes. He also opens jars for me and gives really good massages. Among countless other things.

Yup. Lucky.