OK, who's going to make this for me?



Yes, I am sitting here in an internet cafe in Rome and that is my cutesy way of telling you all that Ryan asked me to marry him yesterday. After a long and fun week with his family, we left yesterday morning for Italy. Our rail trip involved about a 6-hour layover in Nice, and we spent the day just wandering around, sitting on benches overlooking the incredibly blue water. Towards the end of the day, we were just sitting there watching the water, when Ryan spontaneously told me that he was planning to do this when we got to Capri, but he didn't want to wait anymore and that the day we had spent was so "us" that he wanted to ask me right then and there to marry him.

He then proceeded to pull out from his bag a small velvet pouch, and inside was the most beautiful diamond ring I think I have ever seen! It is far beyond my wildest imaginings of what my engagement ring might look like. This boy outdid himself beyond belief! I still can hardly believe that ring is on my finger!

More than the ring, though, is the way in which it happened. I always wanted to get engaged on a beautiful beach, and I never quite imagined it this way. I always thought I would want the big speech about how wonderful I am, and how he can't bear to think of life without me, and on bended knee he'd ask me to be his forever. But what was more appropriate and more touching was his spontaneous (I still count it as spontaneous, since he had planned to do it completely differently) desire to propose right then and there. And the Cote d'Azure is pretty darn romantic in my book.

OK, I am going on and on, but I feel so lucky to have found the man I love and have him love me so much back. And to become engaged to him in such a beautiful place and have a week left of vacation to celebrate our engagement just feels so wonderful I had to share it!

We are here in Rome for the rest of today and tonight, then we leave for Naples in the morning. After that it's the Amalfi coast for 2 days, Capri for 2 days, one last night in Naples, and I will be back home on Saturday the 13th. Can't wait to see/read/email everyone!