Well, these past couple of months have been a whirlwind.
Let’s see if I can break it down for you….
1.
Vacation to The Vegas….
Many of you know that for my birthday, Tom
planned a vacation for the two of us. In the almost three years that we have
been dating, we have never taken a vacation by ourselves, without a wedding or
other activity attached to it. For the past couple of years, we’ve been talking
about taking a real vacation and relaxing together, and I was so excited that
we were finally going to get a break from the grind of our everyday lives. We
planned to take the trip a week after my birthday, and I began counting down the
days.
Except I had no idea where we were going.
Laid back and Type B, I am not, and I kept
peppering Tom with questions these past few months. Where are we going? Is it a
beach vacation or an adventure vacation? Do I have to buy a swimsuit? (I would
typically ask that last question while stuffing Cheetos into my mouth. No
shame….)
Two weeks before my birthday, Tom let me
know that we would be going to The Vegas. For The OC fans out there, I am like
Sandy Cohen in that I LOVE The Vegas. Buffet is my favorite word. Glitter is my
favorite color. On my actual birthday,
Tom let me know that we would be staying at the Bellagio (fountains! Chihuly
sculptures! BUFFET!) and that we would be seeing Ka by Cirque du Soleil. I was
super psyched.
And completely oblivious to Tom’s master
plan.
Tom had promised to take me out for a nice
dinner our first night in The Vegas, something I deemed as completely not
necessary (he had planned the vacation, after all), but I was excited about
going out to eat anyway. The last time I went to The Vegas, I was 21 and
completely broke – my memories of food include an amazing buffet and daily
trips to Burger King. Now that I was a full-fledged grown up, I was looking
forward to some good meals.
Dressed up and ready for some Vegas-quality food,
Tom and I headed to the Eifel Tower restaurant at the Paris hotel – what I
thought would be the last surprise of the trip. While we sat at the bar waiting
for our table (Tom is always early….and sometimes I am early as a result…), Tom
commented on the tables for two next to the windows. The restaurant has huge
windows, and these tables overlooked the Bellagio fountains and the rest of the
strip. I agreed with Tom that those tables seemed fabulous, and turned back to
my glass of wine. We ended up being seated at one of those tables, which I
thought was simply lucky.
And then Tom started talking.
You have to understand that Tom is just a
nice person and says sweet things often. We are vocal people and I strongly
believe that we should constantly communicate our feelings, so I didn’t think
it was weird when he started saying how he’ll always be supportive of me and
how he appreciates that I support him, and did I know how he knew we’d always
support each other?
Wait a minute. My context clues kicked in
and I finally realized that OH MY GOD THIS WAS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. Tom’s hand
moved towards his jacket pocket and I said, “Wait a minute, are you doing this
right now? Are you being serious right now?” He nodded and asked that big
question, and for just a minute, I was cool. I said that I would marry him, and
then I decided to express my feelings in the most articulate, calm way…..
“Shut UP! SHUT UP! OH MY GOD SHUT UP STOP
IT I CAN’T EVEN WITH YOU RIGHT NOW SHUT UP! When did you plan this?! How did I
not know about this? WHERE DID YOU HIDE THAT RING?! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!”
(I know what you’re thinking. Tom is the
luckiest man alive.)
It was a truly fabulous night. Tom had
worked with the restaurant on planning this, so there was a photographer to capture
the entire proposal. Our server brought over a bottle of champagne and roses
after the proposal, and we leisurely enjoyed our food and wine. If you have
seen the pictures, you can see that I’m staring at my hand for most of them. I
didn’t even look at the ring until I stopped my “Shut up” tirade. Once I did, I
couldn’t stop staring at my hand. It’s been three weeks, and I still
can’t stop staring at my hand.
After dinner, we called our immediate
family and some good friends, and went out to celebrate. The rest of the trip was fantastic – we went
to the Michael Jackson Cirque de Soleil show and Ka, checked out some fun
restaurants, went indoor skydiving, and explored the shark reef at Mandalay
Bay. I think we will try to go back to The Vegas at least once every two years!
Thanks to everyone for all of the support,
love, Facebook “likes”, and general awesomeness. This has been such an exciting
and wonderful time, and we are lucky to have such kind friends and family
around us!
2.
Marathon Training
I’ve officially started training for the
2014 Chicago Marathon. For some reason, I thought that training would be a
breeze the second time around – and maybe it would be, if I had run regularly
during the off-season. This brings me back to D2: The Mighty Ducks, when Gordon
Bombay is watching his reunited team play for the first time in a year, and
asks Averman, “Haven’t you guys been training in the off-season?” Averman
replies, “I knew we forgot something…”
I’m the Ducks, basically. I tried to keep
in shape during the off-season with occasional runs, barre classes, and
CorePower yoga, but I failed a bit. And while I’m fine with my extra padding,
it’s not making my training any easier. I now have extra motivation to be in
great shape (since I have to fit into a dress next year), so I will be super
committed to my training this time around.
I’m training with Chicago Area Runners
Association (CARA) again this year, making the long runs bearable because of
the company/pace groups. I am trying to figure out which pace group to run
with, as my old pace group leader Robyn is leading the run/walk group again
this year (and I love her!) but I am debating kicking things up a notch. We
shall see….
3.
Bravo, Pretty Little Liars, and Books
Can we talk about my favorite Bravo shows? Is
anyone watching Real Housewives of Orange County? I am loving the new women
(Shannon and Lizzie) and though I love Heather Dubrow, the ladies are correct
in that she totally comes across as if she thinks she’s above them. Make no
mistake about it – she IS above them – but she could stand to loosen up a
little bit. When Vicki “Woo hoo!” Gunvalson is becoming the show’s voice of
reason, you know that everything has turned upside down.
I'm also completely obsessed with Ladies of London. It's my new goal in life to somehow move to London and become BFFs with Caroline and Marissa. Those women have the most fabulous lives and I'm enjoying them so far.
PLL is back for its fifth season, which somehow is not nearly as outrageous as seasons past - in a good way. Tom and I continue to scream at the TV on a weekly basis, of course, but at least now the show is moving somewhere. I also continue to scream every time Toby comes on screen, and my precious Caleb is returning for this week's 100th episode. Clearly, I am going to be freaking out during the entire episode.
Lastly, I have been reading a ton. A friend started a book club at the beginning of this year, which meets on a monthly basis. I've never been part of an actual book club before and it's fantastic. I've been reading a lot of books I wouldn't normally pick up, and the meetings have been so much fun. It's awesome meeting interesting and fun people, but it's even better that they like to read too! My high school girlfriends started a book club as well, so I've been able to read even more. Some favorites have been The Fault in Our Stars, Where'd you go, Bernadette?, Orange is the New Black, Labor Day, Wonder, and The Happiness Project. I've read some other books on my own, and am always game for new suggestions!
That's all I have for now. I'll be back in the next few weeks - off to keep looking at wedding hair and makeup ideas and to read my new book...
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