So this post has nothing to do with gaming, but rather than create a gigantic note in facebook I thought this would be easier to format for readability.
Today is Ariel and my 2 year anniversary! And no, I didn't ask her to be my girlfriend because it was the day before Valentine's day and I was lonely :P We actually met on January 28th 2010 (the most lovely Thursday I have ever had) and spent every minute together that we possibly could since that day. I knew very quickly that I wanted her to be my girlfriend, but of course I tried to wait so that I didn't uphold all of the lesbian stereotypes (Ha, right, we're vegetarian lesbians living in Philly with 2 cats). On February 13th I finally got up the courage to ask her. I remember we were hanging out in her room and I was being bashful. She knew I wanted to ask her something, and obviously knew what it was, but I was still all shy. She eventually pinned me down and wouldn't let me up until I told her what was on my mind. "I want you to be my girlfriend" I said, and she kissed me :) Then I confirmed with her that the kiss was in fact a yes.
Someone called me on the phone, I think it was Angela, and as I told her what had just happened I heard Ariel go tell her roommates and squeal with happiness. It was sooooo cute. So honestly, Valentine's day didn't have anything to do with it. But on Vday we did go get some awesome Sushi at Gaja Gaja on south street and make people sick with our love filled stares.
Last year at this time I was proposing to that lovely lady XD and I figured it was about time that I write the story of the proposal and what led up to it...
Months before we were seriously talking about getting married I asked her what type of ring she'd want. She said she didn't want diamonds since there is always the chance it was a blood diamond, etc. All she wanted was a band (silver/white gold in color) with a tree on it for sentimental/nature loving reasons. After a ton of searching I found a woman on Etsy that hand makes all of her jewelry, and she had a tree of life band that was perfect.
At a family gathering in December prior to proposing I showed a picture of the ring to Ariel's mom and told her some ideas about how I might propose. I was thinking of taking Ariel to a bed and breakfast and her mom told me there was this beautiful B&B they used to go to when Ariel was younger (Cherry Mills Lodge in Dushore, PA - about 3.5 hours away). Ariel hadn't been there since she was 8 or so, but it was one of her favorite places, and they had a room with a working fireplace and other awesomeness. It looked perfect!
Our 1 yr anniversary fell on Sunday 2/13/11 and we always said we didn't want to get engaged until we hit the year mark, so I booked the room for that weekend (2/11 - 2/13). Then I just needed a way to actually ask her...
As all of our friends know, we're big nerds and love a lot of Miyazaki movies & play video games together. Also, Ariel is always pushing me to do creative things since I haven't done much since graduating, so I decided to incorporate all of that stuff together. Since we had such a long drive to the B&B (btw she had no idea where we were going, it was a surprise till we got there) I made a game for her. I drew a bunch of our favorite characters like the Kodama from Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, a Sackboy from Little Big Planet, and others. Then I wrote silly rhyming riddles that hinted at who the character might be. I put all of these in folders and every half hour or so in the car she got to open up a new folder and try to solve the riddle. When she got it correct she was allowed to see the picture that was hidden behind it.
Here for the first time ever on zee internets are those silly poems and pictures:
#1
This person has many a change of outfit
Accumulated in different lands bit by bit
He tugs you around
Makes silly smiles and frowns
But when dreams need saving he does it
Answer
#2
They click and they chatter
They're hard and they're white
They never get fatter
They're in and out of sight
I should probably mention before I cease
The things in question are not teeth
Answer
#3
She comes from a world where we cannot stay
She fell in love in only a day
She enjoys a select few things to eat
One of them is a salty meat
Answer
#4
In nature he's rooted
The ore that they've looted
Makes his creatures turn evil
And cause an upheaval
Answer
As we got closer to Cherry Mills Ariel was extremely confused because she didn't recognize anything and we were literally in the middle of nowhere. About 10 minutes before we got there I gave her a hint and said she had been there before. Then she saw the sign for Cherry Mills and started crying, it was the sweetest thing ever.
When we got all settled in our room I gave her another folder that just said "What's the one thing you wish we could have done on our first date, even though it would have been creepy and there's no way we could have done it?" We're always telling each other that we wish we had a video of our first date because we'd love to watch how we met again, but of course we couldn't do that. When she figured out I meant "video tape it" I got out my camera, started recording, and put it on the dresser near us. Then I gave her the last folder that said "Can I keep You?" which is what we always say to each other. Then I did the whole get down on one knee thing and actually asked her to marry me/showed her the ring. There was lots of crying and chocolate and strawberries and champagne.
It took us at least 6 months before we could watch the video I took, and since then only a handful of people have seen it while over at our place. Ariel might kill me, but here it is!!!
Warning, this might make you cry.
For those of you that watched the video, I REALLY need to work on making my limbs flail a bit less, but oh well. That was seriously the best weekend ever. The full album of pictures can be seen here.
So Happy Anniversary and Valentine's day punkin. You make me so happy everyday and I can't wait to marry you! (fyi for everyone else, we're shooting for the fall of 2013 since it's a bitch to save up for weddings).
