I had just driven 20+ hours home from Fort Benning Georgia after completing Basic Training with the Army and the first thing on my mind was a good night's sleep back in my own bed in the civilian world. I had been invited to a Halloween Party at LaSalle, my alma mater by a friend and I was pretty sure I was too tired to attend. I had, however, promised my cousin Dylan I would give him a ride home from Temple University. When I picked him up he was dressed in a home made Captain America costume; I was instantly inspired. I made up my mind that I would go to this Halloween Party, if only just for a little while. I went out to the mall and picked myself up a trench coat and dark, curly haired wig trying my best to be a convincing Sherlock Holmes ( Benedict Cumberbatch of course). I told myself that I wasn't looking for a relationship and that I was just going to focus on myself for a while, but when I saw her from across the room those thoughts left my mind instantly. I don't normally talk to girls at parties, and even when I saw her I didn't, at least not right away. But I kept seeing her, and kept trying to convince myself I should go talk to her. Later on I turned around and she was standing there behind me talking to a someone I knew, and even then I found it hard to work up the courage to say something; until I heard what they were talking about- favorite movie directors! "I can work with this," I told myself. Being an avid movie lover myself I knew I could find a way to get some words out of my mouth. When I heard her say "Joss Whedon" and "Lord of the Rings" I knew I had found someone special. At the time I didn't know how special, but here we are and I couldn't be happier.

On December 18th he showed up at my apartment with a bouquet of flowers. He had told me he was working but he really planned on surprising me with a fun date. I was still in my pajamas so I quickly threw on some clothes, did my makeup and hair, and put the flowers in some water. We ran out the door so that we could make our reservation at the restaurant he took me to on our second date. After dinner we headed to a gorgeous outdoor ice skating rink that sits right next to the water with fire pits and holiday lights setting the mood. We skated and laughed as I clumsily made my way around the rink. I was having such a wonderful evening and I honestly had no idea that my life was about to get so much better. We finished skating and headed over to the fire pits to enjoy the crisp winter night. John led me over to a more secluded area and anxiously waited for people to leave. He was acting kind of strange, fidgeting with his hands and my left glove. The thought that he might propose dashed through my mind but I knew it was impossible because the ring was in Wisconsin so I pushed it out of my brain. We were chatting away and I said how wonderful the evening was and how great of a surprise it was. John then said that he had one more surprise for me. He got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. I was utterly and completely shocked. I started to cry and the first words out of my mouth were "It's so shiny." I stared at the ring in complete amazement and he stared at me with increasing anxiety. He said "So..." and I said "Yes!"