Sentiments...

I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them.
- Jane Austen

A little horrible, but I'm OK with that. And how funny that it's a JANE AUSTEN quote?!

Life is trudging along here. Last night was the Rockettes, which was FREAKING AMAZING... Well worth it, even if we were in the very back row, our view was amazing. I'm starting to love NYC...hopefully not too much. :)

~M.

/golden year

I'm officially 27. That's pretty scary.

My birthday was good. We went to a Mexican dive restaurant and I had a piece of cake. I'm hoping to score a Magnolia Bakery cupcake at some point. Meh. Thursday night we'll have the real fun - we're going to see the Rockettes! How groovy. :)

SNAP!

Fact of the Day: rubber bands
Stephen Perry, of the rubber manufacturer Messrs. Perry & Co., patented his design for vulcanized rubber bands on March 17, 1845. They were designed to secure "papers, letters, etc.

Pre- engagement photos

Here's a shot at arm's length in Shawn's apartment before we left. We had our engagement photos done by my cousin Lisa in Central Park on Saturday... one is posted on our wedding site, which I launched yesterday: wedding.silvermari.com

check it out! ~Mari.

New Trisha!

Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love!

Silly me gets excited every time a new Trisha Yearwood album comes out, and this week was no exception. Luckily I found the CD in K Mart - yep, there's K Mart in Manhattan... I could have gotten a better deal at Amazon or something - but who can wait? And it's a good CD. I'll probably listen to it incessantly, burn out, take a break, then add it to my rotation.

Things are rocking along here. Nothing major to report. Just getting into a groove and trying to figure out how best to do this thing -- plan the wedding I mean.

~Mari.

How Pedestrian

Without a car I'm walking everywhere. Working at "home" isn't really giving me much of a commute, but for groceries, hooks for the walls and anything else I might need - I'm hoofing it. Yesterday I walked 28 blocks to Bed, Bath & Beyond. Kinda crazy, but it's good for me. However, it's finally getting cold here - and frigid temps mean I'm less likely to get moving out there... Especially when it's dark. I'm sleeping or working all the hours of daylight (for the most part). Anyway. I do have my daily jaunt to the post office. Charming.

~Mari.

Continual Annoyances

The post office rented a box to Shawn. He got it, tried the key, and yes, it works. All is well. (The box is for me and is in my name) I go to check my mail today - the key doesn't work. Turns out, they turned over the box back to its previous owner WITHOUT notifying us. SO... who knows where my mail is, or how long this will take me to unravel. I've changed all my credit cards, other mailings, etc. already. I should just have everything sent to my "work" address and say "Screw You, USPS!" GEEZ.

~M.

Day One

Working from home is certainly not easy, but I think it can grow on me. I have made it through the first day and was reasonably productive. I know the days will go by faster when I get really busy/have lots to do. But for now, organizing and sorting my files and office supplies, in addition to regular day-to-day web site updating, e-mailing, etc. will keep me busy.

To the post office!!!

~M.

A Quote...

There are lots of ways of being miserable, but there's only one way of being comfortable, and that is to stop running round after happiness. If you make up your mind not to be happy there's no reason why you shouldn't have a fairly good time.
- Edith Wharton

Halloween Costume

Shawn and I met at a Halloween party. I went to a work-related one tonight. I didn't know what to dress up as, so I perused the costume store. When I saw this purple wig, I knew I had to have it! So I didn't really have a costume, other than I was wearing a wig, fishnets and black. :) I guess I was a "starlet" or something. Or maybe I was just "incognito." I have another party to attend next week - we're supposed to go as our "alter ego" - so I think this will suffice for that too. We'll see if I have a brilliant idea between now and then.
~Mari.

black & white...

Inspiration
This was* black and white damask. I like the graphic quality, the contrast of the black against white, and splashes of purple will really POP against it. I'm thinking a "seasonless" wedding - not something super spring like or floral. i may even pick a different black and white pattern, depending on what i can find and like...
onward.
~mari.
*image removed at some point, and post updated March 2010

Future: New York

The city so nice they named it twice?

This was the start of a post I never published or finished. So I'll give it a brief go now. I need to get back to work!!!

I am preparing to pack up and ship out sometime in the next couple weeks. Should be interesting. I'm selling off much of my stuff. So anyone who needs a loveseat and comfy chair should e-mail me immediately! :)

~M.

Yikes!

The wedding's off -- see you in court! | Oddly Enough | Reuters

$48,800 diamond engagement ring. ... Both were 21 years old when they became engaged in December last year, but by September this year the wedding was off.

How could two 21-year-olds afford a nearly $50K ring?!?!?!

a crochet project

12 teddy bears. I didn't get a straight on image, but it ended up being really cute, and not too hard.

~Mari.

BOO on Craigslist

I'm just trying to sell my stuff, but the THREE people who agreed to come buy stuff today are no-shows. I'm tired of waiting around and could be out running errands, or just more able to relax/take a nap/etc. I guess now I've just got to give it up.

Annoyance!!!

I am having FUN on the internet looking at wedding stuff. I am SO going to be able to do this... I've also registered for a bunch of the bride sites...

Ah, someone is coming to pick up the silver lamp. And maybe I can sell him some of the other stuff people haven't picked up yet!!! I need to repost some stuff. LAME!

back to it. ~M.

The Engagement Story

SO, here's how it went down. (Not a surprise to me either, but I'm OK with that - imagine how close I was to telling more people than I actually did!) We went to Coney Island during the day, just as something to do. It was beautiful and we had authentic Nathan's hot dogs, went on the Wonder Wheel and sat on a bench talking/looking at the water. Then we came back to his apartment, got dressed up and went to dinner - a sushi place nearby. We were stared at VERY hatefully by a "true New York" couple - accents and all. Our chopsticks skills leave something to be desired, but we were pretty happy and ignored them for the most part. Something to get used to I guess - some people are excruciatingly rude here, but I digress.

We had tickets for the observation deck at the Top of the Rock, and we were able to go get in line at about 8 p.m. It took about 20 minutes to actually get to the top because there are only two elevators for that. But once up there (69th and 70th floors), it took our breaths away. You can walk all the way around for 360-degree views of the city. Literally city as far as your eye can see, and you know there's more beyond that. Crazy that we were so high up and still couldn't see many stars (although we did see four planes in the sky AT ONCE...) There were kids on a field trip and other tourists. The kids were throwing pennies off the top - they kept telling their teacher it would be OK because hadn't he seen Mythbusters about it? Ah, kids.

So, the actual proposal was pretty awesome. He read me a little poem he'd written, and he did get down on one knee. I plucked the ring out of its box and put it on my finger quickly before he changed his mind! But then I actually let him slip it on my finger once he stood up. :) It wasn't exactly movie-worthy, but it was special for us... There was no cell phone reception, so calls home had to wait until we got back to the apartment. I was wearing spike heels (so dumb, when will I learn?) so my feet were killing me from all the walking - and we just stayed up at the top for an hour or so. Just looking at this place we're going to call home...at least for now. But then we came back here to his apartment (with me hobbling the last bit of way -- blister city people), and we made our phone calls to start the word spreading.

Answers to main questions:

What's the ring like? 1.25-carat diamond hearts & arrows/round cut in a replica Tiffany setting in palladium
When's the wedding? sometime in 2008 (either May or November - pending Shawn's teaching schedule, my job situation, etc.)
When will you DECIDE when it will be? After I get moved and settled and figure out where I'll be working - basically before the end of 2007, and hopefully in the next month.
Where will the wedding be? Indiahoma, OK (UMC for ceremony; reception TBD)
Other wedding details? TBD
Where will you live? New York City

We're ENGAGED!

Mari, Ring & Shawn's Good Side
Originally uploaded by silvermari

HOLLA!!! More details soon. ~Mari.

work schmerk

Things are about the same as always. I'm just trucking along. I am crocheting a blanket - in the 12 teddy bear pattern from Gran - that is turning out SO cute. I'm starting to get hand cramps from so much crocheting!!! so i'll have to finish it later this week.

I guess...I don't have much to say. More in the next week though... STAY TUNED!

~M.

A new haircut

DSC00614
Originally uploaded by silvermari

My friend Barbara took me to a salon called Frizzles. Too funny. But I got a great haircut with loads of layers - and the blow out is great - she added curls at the end with just the brush and blowdrier. I can't stop looking in a mirror!

More photos on Flickr (click the photo to see - add me as a contact to see them all!) - this photo was trying to show the back too - with all the cute curls. This cut is going to look good curly or straight. Can't wait to play with it more!

To sleep. ~Mari.

sinusitis

I've been laid up for the past few days. I caught a cold from owen at his party, which morphed into a sinus infection. Me, being uneducated about such things, thought it was just a cold and that I'd get better. Well, pushing through/toughing it out was a BAD idea - i got sicker and worse with each day.

Finally on Thursday I went to the doctor, got some antibiotics and went home to lie in bed. SO I missed Thursday and Friday from work. Even though I got dressed for work on Friday thinking I could make it, my head was throbbing and just the pain. Unbelievable.

Today, Saturday, I'm feeling somewhat better. We'll see how it goes.

~Mari.