The Details

The Proposal:

He went around and took pictures of places that were significant to us. The place we first met, the restaurant we went to for our first date, my old apartment where we spent much of our time together....things like that. I came home to find an envelope on my nightstand that said "Hint 1 Lets Play..." When I opened the envelope there was one of those sentimental photos, as well as a photo of a place in my apartment where I had to go to find the next clue. When I went there I had to compare the photo to the current location to find what was different. This is where I found the next clue.

At one point, the clues led me to the kitchen. On our first date, I had made a joke about the fact that he was eating off a very pink plate. He actually went to that restaurant and asked them to buy one of their pink plates for this hint. When I opened the cabinet I saw this very out of place plate that let me know my clue was here.

Eventually the clues led back to the living room where he was and this is when he proposed. I of course started to cry before he even got the words out of his mouth.

The Ring:

The ring is a round cut solitaire from Tiffany & Co. in the classic Tiffany setting. Unfortunately, I only got to wear it for 2 days before I had to take it in to get sized down. They said it is going to take 2-3 weeks. Bummer :( So, besides the pic on the website, all I have to show you is this cell phone shot:



He did such an amazing job with the ring. I have never even talked to him about my likes/dislikes for engagement rings, and he did this all on his own without any help from my friends. I love that it is a classic style that can be paired with any wedding band when the time comes. I can't wait to get it back so I can wear it all the time!!

At the moment, we are thinking of getting married some time in September/October of next year. I don't have a big budget for a big grand wedding, so I don't see the point in having a prolonged engagement. I've also decided that my wedding colors are going to be black and white damask with green accents.


These aren't the invitations I'm going to use, but this image is a good representation of what I am going for. I'm going to try to do as many DIY projects as possible to cut the costs. The great thing about damask is that it is easy to find in fabrics, papers, and all sorts of fun things.

So now the planning begins. I bought a couple of bridal magazines to get some ideas, signed up on theknot.com, started working on a wedding website, and ordered a bridal bootcamp book that I'm hoping will help me get back into shape for the big day. I already have a gym membership, so I am hoping it will give me some ideas of routines I can do on my own without a personal
trainer.

The next step is finding affordable venues. So far, even budget weddings are looking like they are going to cost around 10k. I really can't justify spending this much on one day, seeing as we would like to buy a house as soon as possible. If it comes down to it, we may just skip the traditional reception all together and opt for a rented space in a restaurant for all our guests after the ceremony.

Well, that is all for now. I'm on vacation this week and have been enjoying the time to research wedding details. I'm planning to start looking for wedding dresses next month and hopefully will be closer to finding a venue. Stay tuned!

Big News

I'm engaged!

That's right folks! As of Christmas Eve, I'm an engaged woman!

I'm so excited!

Noisy Neighbors (updated)

My neighbors upstairs have been driving me absolutely insane lately. The guy stomps around cursing at his partner and calling her all sorts of vulgar and offensive names. I hear crashes and bangs that I believe could possibly be part of domestic violence, but there is no way to know for sure when you can't see it. I've called the police on two separate occasions because I figure that if I have any reasonable suspicion, it's my responsibility to give her the option to send his ass to jail. Nothing has resulted from any of the visits, so I'm assuming that there was no physical violence and they left, or she lied and chose not to press charges.

It just pisses me off because I hear the terrible things he says to her. Verbal and emotional abuse causes trauma that lasts so much longer than a bruise or a broken bone....but you never see anyone getting arrested for it.

Argh.

I had to go up there a little while ago and ask him to turn his music down as it is ELEVEN PM and I am trying to sleep. The music was so loud that it was literally vibrating my walls. C'mon....you're in your friggin 50's...do you really need to blast music at eleven o'clock at night?

I also asked him to quit stomping when he walked around. Currently, the music is off but the stomping continues. I'm so glad I don't have to get up early tomorrow morning.

I've devised a cease and desist letter to present to him. I've been too afraid to go up and confront him when he is in one of his rages, so I figure the letter is the best way to let him know it's time to shape up or ship the hell out. They are section 8 tenants, which means that if they get evicted, they could potentially lose their voucher from the county, and won't able to pay for housing.

On one hand, I don't want to see someone lose their housing. I work with baterers every day, and I know people are capable of changing their abusive behavior. However, it is absolutely not ok to let this behavior continue just because I don't want them to lose their housing. I'm hoping this letter is enough incentive to make him knock this crap off. If not, it's on him, not me.

Ugh...apartment management sucks ass.

**UPDATE***
So at 1am last night, I was woken up by someone saying "get the fuck off me!" I looked out my window only to see the female tenants practically dragging his sorry ass across the sidewalk because he was too drunk or high to even walk. Then he had apparently lost his keys and they were making all kinds of racket trying to figure their shit out.

Well that explains a whole lot...

Long Time No See...

So, I haven't updated in a while. Oh well...I'm already over it. Ha.

So, I've been working on (and stressing out about) a giant 30 page research paper. I finally got it finished and ready for some peer editing. Once I get those edits back I'll be able to clean it up and get it ready for the final due date. I can't wait to get it out of my hands so I don't have to worry about it any more!

I've also been working both jobs...one as a domestic violence counselor, and one as a clinical case manager for severely mentally ill populations. I'm not too thrilled about the latter. Don't get me wrong, I love my clients, but I'm not so sure I'm thrilled about the environment. My supervisor is often gone, and I typically end up working more as a social worker than an actual therapist. I don't really feel like I'm getting the kind of clinical experience I need to grow as a marriage and family therapist. In any case, I'm still learning a lot, and will move on to a new placement one I graduate in May. I'm hoping I'll feel more comfortable there. :)

I've also been stressing out a bit lately about the future. Once I graduate in May, I'll have my MS in clinical psychology, but I will need to work as an intern (MFTI) to gather my 3,000 hours before I can take the test for my MFT licensure. I really have no idea how much money I'm going to be making as an MFTI, or if it will be enough to support myself. 3k hours takes 2 years if you are working full time, but if I won't be making enough money, I may have to work as an intern part time and take on another job to support myself. This means it could take 3-4 years just to become licensed as an MFT.

Blech. I hate thinking about the uncertian future. Especially when it threatens my ability to start my life with Brian. It's gonna be awfully hard to move out together if I'm not making any decent moeny. Oh well, I suppose we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

On a more positive note, I have a couple more pictures from Nikki's wedding to share. Big thanks to Britt and Cheri for taking such beautiful photos!