Jesse gave me Valentine’s Day flowers early. I’m a lucky gal! He gave me red roses, white tulips and red calla lilies. Today I received amazingly delicious Valentine’s cupcakes. Aren’t they cute? Happy Valentine’s Day to our sweeties everywhere!

Glen Echo Park is a unique place. It is a defunct amusement park that still has a working carousel and cool-looking old buildings like the bumper car pavilion, the popcorn building (which is now an art gallery), and the “Cuddle Up” pavilion.

Glen Echo Park is now run by the National Park Service. It has a ballroom where you can take dancing lessons or attend concerts (Jesse played a concert there with his band when he was drumming in local bands), and several art studios where you can take classes and purchase artwork by the artists who work in the studios. We visited the pottery gallery and bought earrings and a vase. We also stopped by the the photography studio and the glass-making studio.

The highlight of the visit was riding the 90-year-old Dentzel Carousel. I loooove carousels! It was fun to feel like a kid again.

We celebrated the occasion tonight with a home cooked meal and hopes of passing out candy to trick or treaters! We carved two amazing jack-o-lanterns, roasted the seeds, and I carved out a bunch of pumpkin to cook two loaves of bread and a batch of chicken soup with a vanilla pumpkin broth! Now we’re stuck with two bags of left over candy and a ton of soup to last.

I know .. I know, in the long range of things, we should celebrate with jewelry, fine dining, and a myriad of surprises, but in the end, some times, it’s so nice to have someone to just relax with.

i carry your heart with me

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
                                        i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

–e.e. cummings

Jesse’s intent for the night was to re-create our first date. He wanted to take me back to the Evening Star restaurant in Del Rey, Alexandria. However, the night before we had made a plan to go to the Arlington Cinema n Drafthouse for dinner and a movie. We had free movies passes that expired on Sunday. On Friday, Jesse kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to go to the movies. To Jesse’s dismay, I demanded that we go to the movies! lol. I wanted to use those free tickets, darn it, and I didn’t want anything to ruin our date night!

We watched “The Soloist,” and then walked across the street to the Lost Dog Cafe for dinner. Jesse asked our waitress to make our order to go–so we could go somewhere and have a picnic, he told me. Jesse whisked me away in his car, but wouldn’t say where we going.

As we neared Old Town Alexandria I suspected he was taking me to the park next to the waterfront, but he kept driving really far away–out of the vicinity of the park–and then turned around. He was trying to fool me! We eventually made it to the park. We sat on a bench and chatted. After a few minutes Jesse turned serious and said that I am his best friend and that he wanted me to be his best friend forever. He then asked if I would be his wife.

I said yes, of course!!!!!!

It was dark by then and I didn’t want to scream in a dark park, so I squeaked!!! Hahaha!

Jesse didn’t present a ring to me at first, so I thought there was none, but then he pulled out a ring and a bottle of champagne from the backpack he was carrying. He knelt on the ground and slipped the ring on my finger. My ring is absolutely gorgeous and just what I wanted! Jesse started to tell me details about the ring, but I was so thrilled that I knew I wouldn’t remember what he was telling me the next day. Haha.

We are super happy and excited for our future together!