:)

I GOT ENGAGED!

May 24, 2010 - After driving home from Iowa City the day before, and arranging with our work that we'd take off Monday to recoup, my boyfriend suggested that we go for a walk the next morning in the nearby park where we have walked several times. The place is beautiful, in the middle of a bustling suburb there are multiple paths, both paved and gravel, surrounded by trees and birds... and those little floating cottony things everywhere (that part kind of reminded me of Avatar)

I should back up, this day was HOT! I mean really REALLY hot! So before going on any walk I insisted that we get ice cream. We began a search:
Ben & Jerry's - CLOSED

Dairy Queen - CLOSED
Wendy's - OPEN, ok sold. We went in and I got a cookie dough twisted frosty and he got a strawberry shake.

We started our walk and these white cottony things were flying everywhere, that and the fact that my ice cream was quickly turning to liquid made me think we needed to sit down in the shade.

We walked up to one of those park shelter's (for my own memory, and for the stories that I plan to tell my future kids, I want to take pictures of this place), right away we noticed that birds were flying everywhere so I nixed the whole sitting under the roof part. Next we sat on a picnic table just outside of the shelter but still close to the birds, and right adjacent to the dumpsters.

I think something inside me knew I wanted to make this nice moment special so I moved us over to a nearby tree which offered us plenty of shade. We sat down and enjoyed our ice cream (finally!). Nearby there were some remote control airplanes flying overhead - which when you first hear them sound a lot like cows mooing - so we sat and watched those for a second.

Time came to get going with our walk so I picked up the cups from our ice cream and threw them away. When I returned to the tree, he rose from sitting on the grass to on one knee and asked me if I would marry him. I was shocked but of course I knew my answer had to be "YES!" I looked at him and the ring for a few seconds and then said that he needed to put the ring on my finger (I insisted, rather).

LOOK AT THAT ROCK! He picked it out himself!!! It's just so pretty I can't stop staring at it! Or taking pictures of it!

I Suck! Here are my excuses!

I haven't been to a WI lately dangit! Ok, let me tell you why:

-I'm lazy
-I haven't been doing as well as I thought (I'm mostly maintaining right now)
-I've had things to do on the weekends when I normally go WI (Weddings, Vegas, Another wedding next weekend, my bro's going away party the following weekend, then MOVING)

So I wanted to apologize for the lack of updates once again. Good news is that I am still keeping myself on track maintenance-wise. Other than that I know I could be doing better.

How about something personal to share since I can't give you the standard update??

I'm planning a trip to Germany next summer!!! So far it's just me, possibly my bestie and possibly my boyfriend... really depends on how the year goes. My new life's ambition/short term goal is to learn German using Rosetta Stone - and dedicating at least 3-4 hours a week on it. I plan to make the time to do this by eliminating TV shows from my regular viewing schedule.

The shows that don't make the cut
-Reality Shows (Biggest Loser, Extreme Home Makeover etc)
-Desperate Housewives, I'm on the fence about this one... this season has been random

The shows that do
-Lost - only a few more episodes though and when it's over then my Tuesday nights will be so much more free with the exception of,
-Glee - this show is too darn cute to miss, makes me smile!
-30 Rock - Common, it's TINA FEY and ALEC BALDWIN, nuff said

Ok, so I probably need to limit my TV watching in general and hit the gym more, which is why it's great that Rosetta Stone has an MP3 version of their software so I can let it sink in while I'm sweating!

I need to shake up my routine and I am eager to take suggestions!

Yours truly,
That Easley