Saturday night, our very good friends Mike and Carrie held our First Orlando (third actual) Engagement Party.
First of all, let me thank them SO much. You both mean a lot to us and are the best of friends. Thank you for caring for us and being there for us. I hope you like your gnome.
Darin and I had a great time. I can't even begin to describe how exciting it was to have a party for us! Our previous parties were really to introduce Darin to my incredible/large/loud/fun-loving family... this one was for us.
And it was a wonderful night.
Carrie had the best food. She got the sha cha chicken recipe from China in Epcot and had a chocolate fountain. With pretzels. And marshmallows. It was beyond good. And hummus. I forgot all about the hummus. We love hummus.
We all ate and drank. Talked.
Laughed. Told stories.
Ate some more. (The Chicken.)
Meet new people. (Well, Darin and I didn't, but a lot of others did...)
Opened presents. How great was this?!
And almost cried.
* Carrie had everyone send her recipes for a cookbook she put together for us. I knew if I would have read it right there I would have cried... so I waited until I got home that night. It was so very special. Thank you!
Thanks again to everyone who came and those of you who couldn't.
We had a wonderful night.
Monday, October 20
Thursday, October 16
Urban Dictionary - It's all in a Name
My friend Kara did this today and I thought I'd give it a try...
If you go to Urban Dictionary and type in your first name in the box above:
Del -
1. "A very sexy, witty, and entertaining individual" - hmm. Is that not the best description of me? I don't really see myself using those adjectives, but what can I say. I can be entertaining though...
2. "Ruler of the free world" - Not yet. Still working on it. (Also, I am not old enough to run.)
3. "Part of the Alfredian language". Riiight.
4. "Del the funky homosapien". Heard that before. I AM funky, yo.
5. "Derived from the Welsh for sweet or cute. Used to describe someone or something that is quite cute". This is my favorite. Aren't I quite cute? I'm not. I don't think I've ever been described as cute. Maybe when I was little? Hmm.
Darin's turn -
1. "Tough guy". Ahh.
2. "One who can't finish watching the movie Congo because he cries". How awesome! I wonder where this one came from.
3. "a pimp by blood, not relation". I don't even know how to comment.
4. "a grown ass man". What? Like an adult who is an 'ass' man as apposed to a 'legs' man? Or Someone who has a pronounced butt? Darin really isn't either. Or at least I don't think he is.
And just for fun, my sister Dru -
(whose birthday was yesterday!)
1. "adjective describing one as: courageous, heroic, maliciously sly, witty, funny, outrageously good looking, OUTRAGEOUSLY good looking, apparently god's gift to the world". Ahh. I totally didn't make that up. The others are not appropriate for blog.
Have a great day!
If you go to Urban Dictionary and type in your first name in the box above:
Del -
1. "A very sexy, witty, and entertaining individual" - hmm. Is that not the best description of me? I don't really see myself using those adjectives, but what can I say. I can be entertaining though...
2. "Ruler of the free world" - Not yet. Still working on it. (Also, I am not old enough to run.)
3. "Part of the Alfredian language". Riiight.
4. "Del the funky homosapien". Heard that before. I AM funky, yo.
5. "Derived from the Welsh for sweet or cute. Used to describe someone or something that is quite cute". This is my favorite. Aren't I quite cute? I'm not. I don't think I've ever been described as cute. Maybe when I was little? Hmm.
Darin's turn -
1. "Tough guy". Ahh.
2. "One who can't finish watching the movie Congo because he cries". How awesome! I wonder where this one came from.
3. "a pimp by blood, not relation". I don't even know how to comment.
4. "a grown ass man". What? Like an adult who is an 'ass' man as apposed to a 'legs' man? Or Someone who has a pronounced butt? Darin really isn't either. Or at least I don't think he is.
And just for fun, my sister Dru -
(whose birthday was yesterday!)
1. "adjective describing one as: courageous, heroic, maliciously sly, witty, funny, outrageously good looking, OUTRAGEOUSLY good looking, apparently god's gift to the world". Ahh. I totally didn't make that up. The others are not appropriate for blog.
Have a great day!
Tuesday, October 14
Five Whole Years
Last Saturday, we celebrated Darin's (and my soon to be) nephew S.'s fifth birthday! Five.
How crazy is that?!
(Funny side note: S. is exactly 60 years younger than my Dad. How cute!)
Kevin, DJ, S., his sister, C., and their dog Daisy (Jake's cousin) came over from Tampa to party up the town.
Hmm. Can you party up the town when you're five?
We went and had lunch in the Village Center of Baldwin Park - it was a beautiful day!

Palm trees swayin' in the sunshine
How crazy is that?!
(Funny side note: S. is exactly 60 years younger than my Dad. How cute!)
Kevin, DJ, S., his sister, C., and their dog Daisy (Jake's cousin) came over from Tampa to party up the town.
Hmm. Can you party up the town when you're five?
We went and had lunch in the Village Center of Baldwin Park - it was a beautiful day!

Palm trees swayin' in the sunshine
Walked back over to Darin's parents' house to get some c.a.k.e. And open presents...

Daisy being so patient.

Checking out her other cousin, Lady.

Daisy being so patient.

Checking out her other cousin, Lady.
Finally, had some cake and opened presents. We (mostly S. and C., well and me) had been eying that cake for the longest time.

DJ and Kevin

DJ and Kevin
We all had a super great time and devoured the cake. Darin's mom had made a bear cake - cut out different pieces of sheet cake to form a bear. Well, we all got to decide which part of the bear we wanted. I got an ear and a paw. So good. Poor bear. S. got the nose/mouth area. Don't remember what Darin got or anyone else for the matter - too busy enjoying the cake!
Friday, October 10
Monday, October 6
Maitland Greekfest
History:
When I lived in Tulsa, I would go to the Greek Festival there with my sorority sister Jessica and her family. I think we went three years in a row - we ate, danced, watching the hot guys dance on tables, and had a terrific time. It's one of my favorite memories from living in Tulsa.
Back to the present:
I was driving home the other day, I saw a sign for a Greek Fest in Maitland for last weekend.
Side note: I swear we eat other non-Greek food. Really.
Darin and I decided to go on Sunday, after church. That was why we're dresses up.
I had planned and knew where to go. Darin tried to get me to go another way, but I didn't listen. And I was right. Ha.
Got there before noon, and I was hungry... but we were waiting for our friends Brad and Karen to come before we could eat real food.
Got cookies though.

Cookies!
(Said in a cookie monster-ish way)
I got the one in the bottom left. Was proud of myself for trying something new!

Darin with cookie.

When I lived in Tulsa, I would go to the Greek Festival there with my sorority sister Jessica and her family. I think we went three years in a row - we ate, danced, watching the hot guys dance on tables, and had a terrific time. It's one of my favorite memories from living in Tulsa.
Back to the present:
I was driving home the other day, I saw a sign for a Greek Fest in Maitland for last weekend.
Side note: I swear we eat other non-Greek food. Really.
Darin and I decided to go on Sunday, after church. That was why we're dresses up.
I had planned and knew where to go. Darin tried to get me to go another way, but I didn't listen. And I was right. Ha.
Got there before noon, and I was hungry... but we were waiting for our friends Brad and Karen to come before we could eat real food.
Got cookies though.

Cookies!
(Said in a cookie monster-ish way)
I got the one in the bottom left. Was proud of myself for trying something new!

Darin with cookie.

One lady was like, isn't this for kids?
Sigh.
They were actually very popular with the older guys because you could just tell the other dads and grown men wanted to try. You could see it in their eyes... It was SO funny to watch them try to beat each other... Darin kept being snapped backwards and bouncing on his back. Hee hee.
We ate some good food and went on our merry ways...
Sigh.
They were actually very popular with the older guys because you could just tell the other dads and grown men wanted to try. You could see it in their eyes... It was SO funny to watch them try to beat each other... Darin kept being snapped backwards and bouncing on his back. Hee hee.
We ate some good food and went on our merry ways...
Saturday, October 4
Finding Our 'Song'
For my birthday, Darin got us tickets to go see Maroon 5 and the Counting Crows!
Super cool.
I used to go see concerts a lot (2003 was, as I like to call it, my year of concerts because I saw lots of people/groups). Every once in awhile we get to see some band play at the House of Blues in Disney that we like, but haven't seen all that many recently. Boo. Hoo.
And actually, I saw Maroon 5 in 2003 in Charleston with Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, and Ben Harper before the group (or any of them really) got too big and popular. So it was fun fun fun to see them again.
It was at the Ford Amphitheater in Tampa, and we had seats! (As apposed to the lawn.)
Friday night was probably one of the most beautiful nights this year. So gorgeous. It's beginning to be cooler at night here - the reason why so many come down to Florida for their winter. Just just got to sit, drink our $8 bud lights, and relax. So sweet.
Both bands were great! The Counting Crows played all the songs we knew and were super mellow.
Love music. Always have and always will.
We had a good good time.
Found a possible (?) wedding song... any one guess?
Super cool.
I used to go see concerts a lot (2003 was, as I like to call it, my year of concerts because I saw lots of people/groups). Every once in awhile we get to see some band play at the House of Blues in Disney that we like, but haven't seen all that many recently. Boo. Hoo.
And actually, I saw Maroon 5 in 2003 in Charleston with Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, and Ben Harper before the group (or any of them really) got too big and popular. So it was fun fun fun to see them again.
It was at the Ford Amphitheater in Tampa, and we had seats! (As apposed to the lawn.)
Friday night was probably one of the most beautiful nights this year. So gorgeous. It's beginning to be cooler at night here - the reason why so many come down to Florida for their winter. Just just got to sit, drink our $8 bud lights, and relax. So sweet.
Both bands were great! The Counting Crows played all the songs we knew and were super mellow.
Love music. Always have and always will.
We had a good good time.
Found a possible (?) wedding song... any one guess?
Thursday, October 2
The Engagement Story
Darin and I got engaged on April 2, 2008.
Six months ago. (Wow, time has flown by.)
I was thinking to share the story... or my recollection of it. I'll try to have Darin tell his view of things and add it to this post.
Here goes:
So I totally knew he was going to ask me. He's not too good at keeping secrets - neither am I for the matter. We really pick up on each others' vibes and can tell when some thing's up. It's good and annoying at the same time.
He was acting weird. I kept asking him what was wrong, and he would say that everything was fine. But I knew differently. I was worried about it being about his work (the stresses of being a graduate student) or some health related issue. I was worried it was something bad.
And then he asked me if it was alright to call my parents. He needed their number.
What?
I was like, ahh, sure. You can talk to them whenever. So he did. I asked my mom about it and she just said he wanted to talk to them and that it was strange, but good. I can't remember exactly why he told me he wanted to call them. Maybe he'll remember?
A week or two later, he went over to his parents house (by himself) to have dinner and talk to them afterward.
What?
He's not too slick.
Before I put two-and-two together, I flat out told him I knew something was up and to tell me about it. I don't deal with stress well, and I was getting frustrated/worried/annoyed/scared/etc.
So he told me that something was going on, but it was a good thing and for me not to worry.
See I told you he's not too secretive.
A lot of different options went through my mind at that. I'm not going to say any (because you'll think I'm crazy), but let's just say I'm very creative and have an active imagination.
And then I knew.
He'd been acting sweet/affectionate to me and just being his cute self. He talked to my parents and his. I was convinced.
So like a day or two later he told me that he wanted to go out to dinner the next week, somewhere nice.
Bingo!
Side note: So I called my sister, Dru, on April 1st to talk to her about this whole topic because she was the only one who I could think of that wouldn't think I was too weird about making this up. BUT it was April Fools Day. And my family had always done notorious things this day. So she didn't believe me. At. All. She kept saying, "don't talk to me about this today because I don't believe you. Call me tomorrow." Ha.
Back to the story...
We ended up going to this fantastic restaurant in downtown Winter Park called Bosphorous (which was a Turkish restaurant) and ate a fantastic meal. While I was trying to make small talk (and waiting for him to propose, mind you), Darin just sat there and ate his meal. I couldn't figure it out.
So we finished dinner and walked back to the car, so we could put the leftovers in the car and then walk around some more.
I guess now you need to know a little bit about the City of Winter Park. When I moved down to Florida, I lived officially in the city and was like a ten minute drive from Park Avenue, which is where you can eat lunch/dinner, walk your dog down the sidewalks, go to the Art Festival, go to stores. One of those avenues! I love it and always take people there when they come to visit.
After dinner, Darin and I walked around the Rose Garden - and he got down on one knee and asked.
He said how much he loved me and other stuff I don't remember because I started crying.
And I said, "yes!".
(He can tell you what I actually said. He thought it was cute.)
And that's it!
Six months ago. (Wow, time has flown by.)
I was thinking to share the story... or my recollection of it. I'll try to have Darin tell his view of things and add it to this post.
Here goes:
So I totally knew he was going to ask me. He's not too good at keeping secrets - neither am I for the matter. We really pick up on each others' vibes and can tell when some thing's up. It's good and annoying at the same time.
He was acting weird. I kept asking him what was wrong, and he would say that everything was fine. But I knew differently. I was worried about it being about his work (the stresses of being a graduate student) or some health related issue. I was worried it was something bad.
And then he asked me if it was alright to call my parents. He needed their number.
What?
I was like, ahh, sure. You can talk to them whenever. So he did. I asked my mom about it and she just said he wanted to talk to them and that it was strange, but good. I can't remember exactly why he told me he wanted to call them. Maybe he'll remember?
A week or two later, he went over to his parents house (by himself) to have dinner and talk to them afterward.
What?
He's not too slick.
Before I put two-and-two together, I flat out told him I knew something was up and to tell me about it. I don't deal with stress well, and I was getting frustrated/worried/annoyed/scared/etc.
So he told me that something was going on, but it was a good thing and for me not to worry.
See I told you he's not too secretive.
A lot of different options went through my mind at that. I'm not going to say any (because you'll think I'm crazy), but let's just say I'm very creative and have an active imagination.
And then I knew.
He'd been acting sweet/affectionate to me and just being his cute self. He talked to my parents and his. I was convinced.
So like a day or two later he told me that he wanted to go out to dinner the next week, somewhere nice.
Bingo!
Side note: So I called my sister, Dru, on April 1st to talk to her about this whole topic because she was the only one who I could think of that wouldn't think I was too weird about making this up. BUT it was April Fools Day. And my family had always done notorious things this day. So she didn't believe me. At. All. She kept saying, "don't talk to me about this today because I don't believe you. Call me tomorrow." Ha.
Back to the story...
We ended up going to this fantastic restaurant in downtown Winter Park called Bosphorous (which was a Turkish restaurant) and ate a fantastic meal. While I was trying to make small talk (and waiting for him to propose, mind you), Darin just sat there and ate his meal. I couldn't figure it out.
So we finished dinner and walked back to the car, so we could put the leftovers in the car and then walk around some more.
I guess now you need to know a little bit about the City of Winter Park. When I moved down to Florida, I lived officially in the city and was like a ten minute drive from Park Avenue, which is where you can eat lunch/dinner, walk your dog down the sidewalks, go to the Art Festival, go to stores. One of those avenues! I love it and always take people there when they come to visit.
After dinner, Darin and I walked around the Rose Garden - and he got down on one knee and asked.
He said how much he loved me and other stuff I don't remember because I started crying.
And I said, "yes!".
(He can tell you what I actually said. He thought it was cute.)
And that's it!
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