I didn't tell anyone I was going to propose to Sarah on her birthday because I didn't even know I was until the week before. It was the Wednesday or Thursday at the end of February when Sarah said her dad and sister were going to come over for dinner on Friday and even then I still had no plan for her birthday other than making a special dinner. When it was finally Friday night I still didn't really have a plan on how to ask her dad for his blessing as there is not really any room for privacy or asking something as important as this in an apartment our size. Thankfully, Sarah wanted to show Jen some make up she recently bought and used that as an excuse to reorganize her makeup so I actually had a chance to ask for her fathers blessing. Now, I had just one week to figure out how to propose successfully. Actually proposing on Sarah's birthday with just a weeks notice was a nice idea but I didn't know how realistic it was. I never even walked into a jewelry store outside of the two in Neshaminy Mall I would use as a shortcut walking out of the food court. Unfortunately, at work I couldn't get out early without using sick time until Thursday of that week so I figured the birthday idea was a bust and I'll just find a nice day in the next few months to do it. Thursday, 2 days before her birthday, I left work 2 hours early after telling Sarah I'm heading out an hour early to pick up some stuff for special birthday dinner. I walk the fun and relaxing 8 or 10 blocks to the jewelry store I always hear that everyone hates and find out that I can actually get the ring in the right size and right stone within 24 hours and not special ordered so the birthday proposal was now back on. Thankfully, I was already off Friday so all I had to do was make another excuse to head out and drive back to the store to pick it up and it worked out perfectly, a great dinner and a proposal planned in just a few days.

Who would've thought roughly six and a half years after we became a couple, we'd be engaged. If you recognize the date above, that's because it's my birthday. When we discussed what I wanted for my birthday, I said I wanted to have a nice, relaxing day at home. I wanted Joe to plan everything and cook dinner for me. A couple days before my birthday, Joe went to a nice deli downtown to grab fancy Parmesan cheese for my chicken Parmesan birthday dinner. That night, he told me that he also ordered another thing but he may need to go pick it up the next day since it needed time to be prepared. He wouldn't tell me what it was and I was not getting close with any guesses. The day before my birthday, he got the call to pick up his mystery order. After roughly two hours, he comes home. He hides the mystery item under the kitchen sink wrapped in one of the reusable grocery bags and I'm not allowed to go under there for an entire day. The day of my birthday, we went out to breakfast and then spent the afternoon watching TV. He made chicken Parmesan and spaghetti. I made a salad and garlic bread to go with. Everything was so good! Then after dinner, he brought out my mystery item and told me to open it. I do and it's a roll of paper towels that he clearly got from the stash in the closet. I look at him next to me on the couch and am very confused. He replied "That was a distraction from what I really got you!" Then, it happened. He pulled the ring out from behind the couch pillow and asked me to marry him!