Now, I'm ENGAGED!

Well, there seems to be something in the water in Austin, Texas.

Saturday, July 18, David asked me to marry him and I said yes. There's my lead sentence. Now, for the story/background.

David had told me multiple times that he couldn't afford a ring yet and that I shouldn't expect it for a while. Knowing that we have ALL these moving costs, it wasn't a crazy notion that we couldn't afford much right now. I really didn't mind.

But, he mentions to me, come the Monday before all this, that he needs to start taking me out on dates to "throw me off the scent."

"I don't want to randomly take you out to a nice dinner because then you'll know I'm going to propose. I want to surprise you," he said.

And I believed him. (Idiot Point #1)

So, he suggests that we go to my favorite restaurant, Uchi. This restaurant is absolutely incredible. I could just die there, I love it so much. I start to wonder why he would want to take me to my favorite restaurant when he's NOT proposing, but disregard it. (Idiot Point #2)

So, we go to the restaurant. He's being super sweet and even offered to get the "chef's special." It's pretty much a sampler of Uchi's top six dishes. It was marvelous. He kept looking like he was having difficulty swallowing, so I said

"You look nervous."

He brushed it off. (Idiot Point #3)

Next up is a surprise. The only thing he'll tell me about it is that we have to be there at 7:40 p.m. I find this time very random and ask him, point blank, why someone would choose that time. He responds, "The place did, I didn't." (Idiot Point #4)


We get to the UT tower, which is my surprise. He has reservations to go to the top of the tower at sunset. Pretty damn romantic if you ask me. We check in for our reservation and start to walk around the campus. Mind you, he had told me explicitly that we would not do much walking. Thus, I wore these spectacular heels. Bad mistake. My feet are swelling and I'm sweating like a whore in church because it's so damn hot outside. Seriously, beads of sweat are dripping down my face. So, I start to get grumpy. At this point, I'm not even suffering for a proposal in my head, so this is silly. However, we manage to take a cute picture of ourselves with the Capitol in the background:


So, we make our way up to the tower. Inside, David's eyes get wider than anything. There's a metal detector. Why he didn't think of this is beyond me, but there's one. After waiting a short while, the tour guides tell us to remove anything with a battery and step forward. I think when a guide tells you this, it's like saying "This metal detector isn't that strong, just searches for a gun." Boy was I wrong.

Something you should know about me is I HATE when people beep in the metal detector. It's like, "Hmm, what's this big, white thing people are walking through? I will simply walk through and not worry about it...BEEP!" Stupid idiots.

So, back to present day, I hand the guard my purse and step through...BEEP! I get really angry. I take off my necklace that my friend made for me and hand it back to the guard. I step through again...BEEP! I take off my earrings and bracelet. By this point, I just shove David through the metal detector. What I don't know at this time is David is sweating, he's so nervous that the ring in his pocket is about to set off the detector. However, he was lucky and it didn't. And, honestly, I was so upset about going through that metal detector again, I probably wouldn't have noticed it in the jewelry bin.

I go through the damn detector again...BEEP! This time, I take off my cute heels that in my irrational head, I'm now blaming David for making me wear them (when, of course, he had nothing to do with it). I hand them to the guard and say

"I'm not taking off my dress, so this better be it."

Luckily, it didn't ring. As I'm getting redressed, I notice that EVERYONE is beeping.

"Really they should have a better system for this," I mutter in my head.

Despite all this mess, we get up to the top and it's a gorgeous night. Great weather (slightly hot, but breezy) and the sky is clear. We start going around the building, looking at sights, like the Capitol and the UT stadium and just Downtown Austin. (pics below)




It's really a lovely night. However, I notice that David's pockets are oddly shaped. I disregard the thought, thinking to myself, "Oh, it's probably my camera in his pocket." (Idiot Point #5)

So, we start to enjoy the gorgeous sunset. We take a few photos:



Then, we pause, looking out towards the West. He leans next to me and says

"I guess this would be the perfect time to propose, wouldn't it?"

Mind you, at this point, I still don't think he's going to because he supposedly can't afford a ring right now. So, I respond, "Yeah, that would be nice." He said, "Yeah, I'd probably say some sappy speech about how much I love you and how I want to spend the rest of my life with you." I look over at him annoyed. I mean, at this point, is he just rubbing it in my face, I ask?

Then, he says "And I would probably get down on one knee." And then he does. I start yelling, "Stop it, David. What are you doing?! Stop it!" I still think he's just being a jerk. Reminded me of The Office when Jim pretends to propose to Pam in meetings.

But, it wasn't fake. He asked me. And it was marvelous. I forgot to answer and all I could picture was accidentally throwing the ring off the side of the Tower, but he did it. And I'm really happy (as evident in this picture)


The best part was a nearby couple saw David get down on one knee. The girl, thinking like only girls would, took a picture of David proposing. It's marvelous and really a treasure to have. I'm so happy that she did that.


All in all, a marvelous night. We spent the rest of the night on the phone to various people, as well as a side trip to HEB to grab some champagne. Ironically, we had to drop by KXAN also because I had already packed my card reader for my camera (we're moving, obviously). So, it was marvelous and romantic and everything a girl could dream for. And, as one of David's friends said, "I hope Blair realizes this is the most romantic you'll get." But I disagree. David is a marvelous man and I can't wait to be Mrs. Blair Shiff. Yeah, I love him, but not enough to take his name.