Although the first 48 hours or so of our vacation were spent relaxing and lying by the pool (see yesterday's post), the past 24-hrs have been rather eventful. I wanted to share the news yesterday, but ended up having to wait until we'd notified a few friends and family first...they've now been notified so here's my latest news (no, surprisingly it doesn't have to do with yoga or painting): Ben and I got engaged yesterday (!!!). To those of you who know us well--and who know that we've been dating for 6.5 years at this point--this may not come as a surprise to you, but it was to me! We'd recently talked about getting engaged next summer at the earliest, and Ben is soooo bad at surprises/keeping secrets that I thought I would definitely know when he was about to do it, but for once, he was smooth :) I'm going to save all of your gag reflexes by not typing out all of the mushy little details of the proposal here, and I'm not sure I want to be one of the people who share tons of pics of the ring all over the internet yet, either (although I do love looking at those pics...), so I thought I'd just share a few fun/sweet/funny highlights of the experience and a pic or two, in my usual, bulletted format...

• Ben chose to propose on top of Monument Mountain after a long hike up in the rain. It was pouring, but we didn't mind and were determined to get our yearly hike in no matter what.  If you're wondering, yes! It was the same hike that I mentioned and the exact same place as the picture that I shared in my vacation post last week...crazy, huh?
  
• When he started to propose, I thought he was joking (weirdly enough, he has jokingly acted like he was going to propose once or twice before). I kept saying "stop it!--you're joking!" (over and over), and he had to show me the ring--which was hidden in his backpack--before I honestly believed him. Obviously, once I knew he was serious I said yes very quickly!
• A quick anecdote that my TS friends will understand and enjoy: when we got close to the top of the mountain, Ben started rushing to get to the top. I kept trying to stop and look out over the edge of the mountain, but Ben said "let's keep going!" Being the somewhat snide yogini that I am, I said, "Ben, remember it's the journey, not the destination.'" His reply? "That was last month's theme. This months theme is all that matters is the destination." Haha! Now I understand why he was so eager to make it to the top :)
  
• The ring is a perfect choice for me. Its really unique and beautiful, and I honestly dont think I could have picked out something that I like as much. It also has a great story behind it: Ben's great, great, great (?) grandmother brought it over from Italy with her when she came to America. She had the ring sewn into her dress hem so that it wouldn't get taken at customs. How sweet is that? It's been in the family ever since. A pic (the only one I'm going to share, I swear!) is below:
  

• Why am I not wearing the ring in the picture above? Because the ring only fits my pinkie finger right now (I have rather chubby fingers! Cute, huh?), so I've been rocking some serious pinkie-bling (pimp-style) for the past 24-hrs. It's awesome and hysterical. Yes, I will take it off when we get back into civilization and get it sized ASAP!
  
• When we were coming down the mountain, Ben called me fiancé. Eek!!!! I definitely don't want to be one of those couples ("here you go, fiancé!"), but it was fun/crazy to hear him say it. Also, this means I don't have a BF anymore? So sad!
• Lastly, because it was pouring down rain, we couldn't get out our cameras/phones to take pics, so I don't have many to share. We did snap one in the car once we got back down and were drying off. It's below, but we've decided to go back by the mountain before we leave just to get a few pics at the trailhead, for memories-sake :)
  

So there you have it...two little weirdos who found each other in this crazy world. Isn't it nice when that happens? I couldn't be happier!

Happy 4th of July, everyone! And in the words of Katy Perry, don't forget that "baby you're a firework!"

Namaste :)
Mary Catherine