It has been a while since we came back for an update, so here is the latest and greatest.
The number of facilities that will contain our 250 most exclusive family and friends are apparently few in number. Maureen and her mom (Diane) have been hard at work to find a location for a marvelous reception. Only recently have I stepped in to impart my infinite wedding wisdom. We visited the Embassy Suites in Covington on Saturday, April, 19th. Its a nice sized space which is accompanied by a cocktail room with a great view of the river and downtown. The Suites are currently in a neck-and-neck race down the backstretch with the Phoenix, located in lovely downtown Cincinnati. I have yet to visit there, thus it is impossible for me to convey my thoughts about any aspect of the joint, however, Maureen assures me its great, and I trust her.
Hopefully soon we can find a date at a reception hall that will align with a date at St. Martin of Tours. Thanks for reading, hopefully this meets her approval.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
We're Engaged!!!!
It's official, as of approximately 1:30 AM on Saturday, March 15th, we took the plunge. Maureen said yes as evidenced by the gorgeous 1ct oval, cathedral set diamond now adorning her left hand. Once I got the ring, it didn't take long to come to ask, as having "the precious" in your possession makes you feel rather awkward (awkward and 6'9" 195 don't mix). The following is a tale of how I was able to pull off the illusive magic of a surprise proposal.
First off, I guess I just finally got bitten by the bug, figured it was time to hitch up, settle down, infest the world with my demon spawn children, watch my social security deductions take a one way ticket toward some elderly man's diabetes testing supplies, and do it all with Maureen by my side.
On Monday, March 10th I had a meeting with Eddie Lane of EDB's diamond showroom. My mom and Jake tagged along to check out the goods. After discussing some settings and metals, Eddie chose a diamond from his secret stash to be mounted as a solitaire in a cathedral setting on a thick white gold band. I was exactly positive it would turn out as impressive as I hoped a ring would be, but Eddie assured me that if it didn't live up to mine or Maureen's standards we could exchange it for a more pleasing ring immediately. The ring was slated to be finished on the 18th of March, therefore I planned on making my proposal date Easter. To my surprise I got a call on Thursday the 13th, Lauren from EDB's informed my that the ring was now ready and I could pick it up anytime. Once I arrived home from work I rushed over to Montgomery pick up the ring and came home to ponder my proposal. My mom came to visit that evening for dinner and a ring viewing. We left from the apartment around 7:45 pm, stopped in to see Maureen at work she informed us she would be home early tonight, perhaps around nine, and proceeded on to Zips in Mt. Lookout for a burger and an Arnold Palmer. All the while the ring was stowed behind some duct work in the maintenance closet of the apartment.
After ordering my Zip burger with cheese (double fries, please), I looked over at mom and said that although we hid the ring, the papers an bag from EDB's weren't in my car, I must have left them at home. I physically grabbed our server, thrust my credit card in her direction, "We need that order to go, it's an emergency." It seemed like it took forever but we finally left, burgers in tow, proceed swiftly back to the apartment to obscure the evidence and enjoy our greasy grub until Maureen arrived. That night I slept for maybe 7 minutes, and it wasn't even REM, supposedly the most refreshing. Friday, Maureen was off and I dragged myself off to work with the heaviest one carat burden on my shoulders one can imagine.
I received a call that Maureen, her sister Emily, and mom Diane would spend the afternoon shopping. Upon leaving work I called Emily's husband Luigi to confirm that Maureen's father Dennis would be home for the day. I then called Maureen's dad to ask if I could come speak with him "while the girls were out shopping." He said sure, I scrambled home to change and headed over to another world that is the west side of Cincinnati. I spoke with her father, under a veil of secrecy, received his blessing and proceeded to traverse the winding roads of Delhi to Emily's house as we all four had plans for the evening.
We sat down to a Lenten prescribed meal of takeout cod fillets with melted Kraft cheese, coleslaw and french fries from the classiest of west side establishments that only accepts cash. I was very tempted to ask right there in front of everyone, Luigi gave me the no-not-now glance a few times and I was convinced to wait still longer. I felt like I was acting strange and that she would pick up on it, I had to get this thing out of my pocket and on her finger ASAP. After showing Emily the ring while helping her son, Gianluca, "brush his teeth" in the bathroom, we all went our own separate ways for the evening.
Maureen and I arrived home, she was a bum on the couch, and I was a nerd on the computer for a few hours. Once she decided to take a shower, a McGyveresque (sp?) plan of action must be put into place. I was tempted to make "will you marry me" a clue in one of our nightly crossword puzzles, but didn't have time. So I created some word finds on Discovery Channel's puzzlemaker. The first contained 12 hidden words and was labeled PASTA the second hid ten CAR BRANDS and third disguised the words LETS GET MARRIED BUBBA. Needless to say when it came time to do the third puzzle you could hear my heart beat in Hawaii. But we made it through, she said while shaking like a leaf "Are you serious?" Yes I replied, grabbed the ring of the bed side and released myself of the precious' spell by sliding it on her finger, a perfect fit with no sizing whatsoever.
At this point she wanted to shout it from the mountain tops, but at 130 in the morning she would have surely woken the neighbors. At 8 am Saturday morning we drove over to her parents to show here mom, the only one of her immediate family who didn't know (if you read this MOM that was purely by design). Once her mother began to cry I saw Maureen shed her first tear since the proposal, but I'm sure it won't be the last before the nuptials.
Thanks for reading! Wish us luck!
First off, I guess I just finally got bitten by the bug, figured it was time to hitch up, settle down, infest the world with my demon spawn children, watch my social security deductions take a one way ticket toward some elderly man's diabetes testing supplies, and do it all with Maureen by my side.
On Monday, March 10th I had a meeting with Eddie Lane of EDB's diamond showroom. My mom and Jake tagged along to check out the goods. After discussing some settings and metals, Eddie chose a diamond from his secret stash to be mounted as a solitaire in a cathedral setting on a thick white gold band. I was exactly positive it would turn out as impressive as I hoped a ring would be, but Eddie assured me that if it didn't live up to mine or Maureen's standards we could exchange it for a more pleasing ring immediately. The ring was slated to be finished on the 18th of March, therefore I planned on making my proposal date Easter. To my surprise I got a call on Thursday the 13th, Lauren from EDB's informed my that the ring was now ready and I could pick it up anytime. Once I arrived home from work I rushed over to Montgomery pick up the ring and came home to ponder my proposal. My mom came to visit that evening for dinner and a ring viewing. We left from the apartment around 7:45 pm, stopped in to see Maureen at work she informed us she would be home early tonight, perhaps around nine, and proceeded on to Zips in Mt. Lookout for a burger and an Arnold Palmer. All the while the ring was stowed behind some duct work in the maintenance closet of the apartment.
After ordering my Zip burger with cheese (double fries, please), I looked over at mom and said that although we hid the ring, the papers an bag from EDB's weren't in my car, I must have left them at home. I physically grabbed our server, thrust my credit card in her direction, "We need that order to go, it's an emergency." It seemed like it took forever but we finally left, burgers in tow, proceed swiftly back to the apartment to obscure the evidence and enjoy our greasy grub until Maureen arrived. That night I slept for maybe 7 minutes, and it wasn't even REM, supposedly the most refreshing. Friday, Maureen was off and I dragged myself off to work with the heaviest one carat burden on my shoulders one can imagine.
I received a call that Maureen, her sister Emily, and mom Diane would spend the afternoon shopping. Upon leaving work I called Emily's husband Luigi to confirm that Maureen's father Dennis would be home for the day. I then called Maureen's dad to ask if I could come speak with him "while the girls were out shopping." He said sure, I scrambled home to change and headed over to another world that is the west side of Cincinnati. I spoke with her father, under a veil of secrecy, received his blessing and proceeded to traverse the winding roads of Delhi to Emily's house as we all four had plans for the evening.
We sat down to a Lenten prescribed meal of takeout cod fillets with melted Kraft cheese, coleslaw and french fries from the classiest of west side establishments that only accepts cash. I was very tempted to ask right there in front of everyone, Luigi gave me the no-not-now glance a few times and I was convinced to wait still longer. I felt like I was acting strange and that she would pick up on it, I had to get this thing out of my pocket and on her finger ASAP. After showing Emily the ring while helping her son, Gianluca, "brush his teeth" in the bathroom, we all went our own separate ways for the evening.
Maureen and I arrived home, she was a bum on the couch, and I was a nerd on the computer for a few hours. Once she decided to take a shower, a McGyveresque (sp?) plan of action must be put into place. I was tempted to make "will you marry me" a clue in one of our nightly crossword puzzles, but didn't have time. So I created some word finds on Discovery Channel's puzzlemaker. The first contained 12 hidden words and was labeled PASTA the second hid ten CAR BRANDS and third disguised the words LETS GET MARRIED BUBBA. Needless to say when it came time to do the third puzzle you could hear my heart beat in Hawaii. But we made it through, she said while shaking like a leaf "Are you serious?" Yes I replied, grabbed the ring of the bed side and released myself of the precious' spell by sliding it on her finger, a perfect fit with no sizing whatsoever.
At this point she wanted to shout it from the mountain tops, but at 130 in the morning she would have surely woken the neighbors. At 8 am Saturday morning we drove over to her parents to show here mom, the only one of her immediate family who didn't know (if you read this MOM that was purely by design). Once her mother began to cry I saw Maureen shed her first tear since the proposal, but I'm sure it won't be the last before the nuptials.
Thanks for reading! Wish us luck!
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