We didn't get to meet in the most romantic of settings, but about as romantic as 8:00AM in a Nationwide building can be (ha!). I started my first day at Nationwide on August 14, 2017. I got settled into my new desk at work, covered with balloons and streamers (feeling mildly embarrassed as I don't do well being the center of attention). Steve approached my desk to shyly introduce himself, give me a warm welcome, and of course, to make fun of my balloons and streamers which caused my face to light up like a red balloon. Steve learned very quickly that I blush easily (with embarrassment, being scared, laughing too hard, you name it!), and I think he continued to come to my desk to see how many times a day he could make my face light up. But, I wasn't complaining... :)

Every Christmas, my three sisters and I wear matching pajamas during our Christmas morning festivities. For Christmas 2018, we decided we would only wear the one thing we wanted most in this world....shirts with Joey Tribiani's face and a quote that says "How You Doin?". Now, if you don't get that reference, we may need to rethink this wedding invitation LOL. Unfortunately, my mother decided last minute that we should wear plain black shirts with plaid pants for a "Christmas card photo" - total bummer! We went into Christmas morning with our boring shirts and went about opening our gifts like every other Christmas morning. It is tradition that we let our mom tell us what to open and when, due to a few duplicates we naturally receive as sisters. She queue's up my next gift, and I go about opening this ancient box that had an ornament in it. As I pull the ornament out, Steve asks if I had ever seen one of these ornaments, and proceeds to take it from me. I then question, "Do you want my gift?!" and next thing I know...there is a sparkling beauty in front of me with a handsome man down on one knee. Within seconds, I begin sobbing, s...o...b...b...i...n...g, for a few minutes before he could even ASK me the question! A moment I will forever relive, my best friend telling me the sweetest things I have heard in my life time, surrounded by my sniffling family. Since this moment, I have learned not to be so protective of my Christmas gifts, and to trust that my mom makes every decision for a reason. In this scenario, she decided she didn't want her baby to have a typical "proposal pic" with two men...my fiancé and Joey Tribiani - HA!