About 3 years ago my Great Aunt Margaret gave me a plumeria plant. I had never seen a live plumeria bloom, so I didn’t know what the big deal was…until last Tuesday.

I had been caring for this plant for 3 years and was so used to not seeing any blooms that I initially overlooked the first flower that opened. I was so excited that I ran inside to tell Jesse. He came outside and took some photos of it in the dark. They look really cool.

I waited until a few more blooms opened up before I took my own pictures.  The flowers smell sweet, and they remind me of paradise.

This special plant’s ancestors date back to 1977 when my Great Aunt Margaret and Uncle Dick visited Hawaii. They returned with a plumeria plant. My aunt re-rooted the plant many times over the last 32 years. She gave offspring to me and my mom years ago. My mom’s plant bloomed a few years ago, but hasn’t since. I really love mine!

Our good friends, Jessica and Bruce, invited us to join them on a dinner boat cruise of the Potomac River on the evening of August 7. Bruce’s mom, Maryjane, and Jessica’s childhood friend, also named Jessica, joined us.

We boarded the boat in Old Town Alexandria. The boat cruised from Old Town to Georgetown and back again. Along the way we saw many of Washington, D.C.’s famous monuments. I’ve seen them zillions of times from land, but it was nice to see them from a different perspective.

Mealtime was filled with fun conversations and a lot of laughs. I had the poached salmon and Jesse ate the prime rib. The meal was preceded by several courses of appetizers and concluded with dessert. The food (especially the meat) was OK. Jesse said he would rate it a 6.5 out of 10.

“The meat was good, but the sidedishes brought it down,” he said.

The tremendous views and cool river wind on a hot night made up for it.

The night ended with a fireworks display. We don’t know exactly where the fireworks were set off, or what the occasion was, but it was a dazzling end to the evening.

Before the cruise I had inquired about pricing for holding a wedding and reception on one of the Potomac dinner boat cruises. While we had a fun time Friday, Jesse and I decided that a wedding on a boat isn’t something we want to do.

Jesse and I hosted a barbecue on Saturday and invited our local family members and friends. Actually, a few non-locals attended, too. I was so pleased that Lissa and Vance and their darling little girls, Leah and Ruthie, could attend. I was also happy that my friends Robert and Josh made the journey from Philadelphia.

Thanks to all of you who celebrated with us. A special thanks to those of you who helped to prepare the food and clean up.

I was so busy running around and trying to talk to everyone that I didn’t have much time to take many pictures. Here are a few snapshots from the evening.

July was a busy month. We checked out a few possible wedding locations, but nothing has stood out as being “‘the place” so far.

In the middle of July I made a trip to Pennsylvania for some family parties. I was able to get more engagement well wishes in person and show off my dazzling engagement ring! It was great to see everyone, but like many of my trips to Pennsylvania, it was a whirlwind of activity and involved lots of driving from place to place.

Jesse and I are gearing up for a barbecue for our friends at our house on Saturday. We originally intended it to be a small gathering, but…I guess we have more friends than we thought we did! We’re going to have a full yard. It will also be an informal engagement party for us and our friends. I’m looking forward to seeing some friends who live out of town whom I haven’t seen in a while. It should be a blast!

I’ve tried to understand love, even define it,  we know when it’s there, and yet and often we can’t define it.   e.e. commings does it so well:

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

I went wedding gown shopping again today. This time I went to a store in Falls Church with my friend Jessica. This trip was much more promising! I found 2 gowns that  I really like that are more affordable.

I think the one that I like the best is the first one I tried on today. The weird thing is, I never thought I’d like this type of dress! I tried it on first to basically rule it out. I never thought I would look good in that type of gown.

I then fell in love with a completely different style of gown. The bad thing is the designer doesn’t manufacture that gown anymore. So, do I buy a gown off the rack for an insanely cheap price that is a number of sizes too big for me and needs to be majorly altered and dry cleaned, or do I go with another one that I can order directly from the designer? I have some things to think about.

All in all, it was a fun time. My thanks to Jessica for coming along. Again, I cannot stress how important it is to have someone else accompany you to these visits. They can give you a whole new perspective on things.

Today I tried on wedding gowns for the first time!! My good friend Andrea (and future sister-in-law) accompanied me to a bridal store in Vienna, Va. It really helped to have a friend along to give another opinion.

When I walked into the store, I was overwhelmed! There were so many gorgeous gowns! I wanted them all! I think I tried on about 10 different gowns–some of them twice. I narrowed them down to my top three. I need to check out at least one other store before I make my final decision.

It was so much fun to try on gowns! I’ve waited so long to get my chance to slip one on. I think that even after I get married I will visit various bridal stores and try on different gowns, just for the fun of it!

No date has been set. We hope to visit some potential wedding locations over the weekend.

Jesse proposed to me on a warm summer night along the banks of the Potomac River.

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!

This page will be the home of future discussions of  amazing events in the lives of Amy and Jesse of Arlington, VA.  We look forward to posting a great deal of exciting information with great things to come!