Time to Party!

The first thing we did after Nik and I got engaged, was to plan our engagement party. Well, my mom was actually throwing it for us, but she asked for my help.

I decided on a luau in early September. It took place in my mom’s backyard. Luckily the day was warm and beautiful. We had freshly cut and arranged flowers at every table and lots of small picture frames filled with pictures of Nik and I over the years.

We had lots of tables for everyone to sit and even in a big backyard, once the party got started - it was packed! The party officially started at 3pm and we had such a good time, that it did not end until 3am the next day!! We had a GREAT time :-)

Afterwards, we realized that we did not take very many pictures. We were too busy having a good time! But, here are some of the pictures that we did manage to take.

One thing I will never forget about my engagement party . . .

I could not for the life of me, decide on what to wear. I was so indecisive that I ended up buying 5 different outfits. I don't know whose brilliant idea this was (probably my mom), but I was convinced to change throughout the party so that I would eventually get to wear all of my outfits.

Actually, now it's coming back to me . . . it was my mom's idea. She said that celebrities do it at awards shows, and that the engagement party was all about me, so I should get to do it too, lol.

So, throughout the party - about every hour or so, I changed my outfit. I must admit, it was fun! But, after the third change, I decided I would not bother with the other two outfits - at least that was the plan.

Everyone was having a good time, running around, drinking, partying it up, when my drunk husband to be, came over and accidentally spilled beer on me. Guess, I'm changing again afterall, I thought.

Apparently a little beer wasn't enough though. As I'm walking back into the house, I run into Nik's crazy Aunt who is laughing and stumbling around. She asked what was wrong (I was a little upset to be wet) and I told her that Nik accidentally spilled his beer on me.

Well - being the crazy Aunt that she is - she laughed and threw her FULL glass of wine all over me. Then, she laughed some more!

No doubt about it that time - I definitely had to change!

Crazy Aunt may have drenched me with her wine, but at least I have a funny story to tell and luckily, it was white wine and not red!

The New Year

As the new year approaches, everyone starts talking about resolutions and all of the things they will do different come January 1st. They want to get a fresh start, try yet again to give up a bad habit, or vow to be a better person.

Oddly, I have never given into the hype. Maybe I'm too lazy to change something about myself, or maybe I'm just realistic and know that there is little to no chance of someone carrying out a resolution from January 1st through December 31st of the following year.

This year, someone got me interested in a new tradition. It doesn't have to be New Years to start this, but it is as good a time as any. I am compiling a list of 100 Things to do before I die. It will range from small things to big, and the time limit to complete all of these things is a lifetime. With 100 items it will give you satisfaction in being able to cross things off often, but at the same time you will need to work hard for some of the more difficult items on the list.

It really isn't easy compiling a list of 100 things you want to do though. I didn't realize how difficult it would be. I'm still sitting at only 14 things on my list, but I'm going to keep working on it until I have 100.

Actually saying that I have 14 things on my list is sort of cheating. Two items on the list I have already completed. But, I thought they were so important in my life, that they should be on the list, even if I've already completed them.

So I'm going to bend the rules a little and say, why not put things on there you've already completed? Afterall, it's a lifetime list and if you've completed something amazing in your lifetime, it deserves to be on there.

So, are you ready for my list? . . . . here is what I have so far:




100 Things To Do Before I Die

1. Get married √

2. Have children

3. Start my own business √

4. Write a novel

5. Get my novel published

6. Host a family reunion

7. Take a cooking class

8. Take a dance class with my husband

9. Make a difference in someone’s life

10. Organize and lead a volunteer effort for a worthy cause

11. Go to/Visit Australia

12. Visit my family in Texas

13. Pay off debt

14. Pay my mom back somehow, for being a wonderful mother

Getting Engaged

Operation get Nik and Megan married was a success. Not because my family was so darn convincing, lol, but luckily for me, it was because Nik didn’t need convincing. All he needed was a little time and money.

He looked at rings for months, even before he had enough money to get one. Finally, when he found the right ring and the price was right, he bought it.

Having the ring was only the first step for him. First he called my parents individually and asked for my hand in marriage (how sweet!!), then he tucked the ring away in a safe place and he waited for the right moment.

He wanted everything to be perfect, but he couldn’t figure out how or when he should propose. So he waited . . .

In the meantime, I kept getting these weird phone calls from my mom. She would say “Anything going on?” or “Do you have anything to tell me?” in a very suspicious way. I didn’t suspect that Nik was about to pop the question, but I did think something weird was going on. Maybe my mom was going crazy, I wasn’t sure, but I knew it wasn’t normal.

In the end, I’m glad no one tipped me off. And let me tell you, my mom is the worst person to tell a secret to! I’m honestly surprised the second she hung up the phone with Nik, she didn’t call me and say “I have something REALLY big to tell you!!”

So, clueless as I was, one day I was coming home from work in the city (NYC). It was an orange alert day and the commute was a nightmare. When I got home I was so worn out that I fell asleep on the couch. A couple of hours later Nik bursts into the apartment calling out my name, then “Where have you been?! Why haven’t you answered your phone!!! I’ve been so worried about you. I thought something happened to you!”

I guess after 9-11, when you work in the city, people are bound to get worried about you if you don’t answer your phone for a couple of hours. Well, I reassured Nik that I was fine, apologized, and told him I had fallen asleep. I was so sorry I worried him.

Something about that scare jolted him. It hit him right there, he realized that the time was right to ask me to marry him. If something had happened to me, he would have missed the chance, all because he was waiting for the perfect moment. No more waiting, he decided. So, he went to get the ring.

I don’t really remember what he said. It was something to the effect of, I have something to ask you. It’s all kind of a blur. But, I do remember that as soon as I saw the box, I said “No way!! That box is empty right? You’re just joking right?” He was known for trying to pull one over on me (and everyone else, for that matter), so it wouldn’t have been far fetched. I guess as much as I wanted it to happen, I just couldn’t believe it was actually happening at that moment, in our living room.

Nik got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I jumped up and screamed YES, with excitement. I didn’t cry, although I was pretty surprised about that, but I had a smile plastered across my face for days.

That was definitely the first “happiest day of my life” and lucky for me, “the happiest day of my life” has continued with our wedding day and hopefully one day, it will continue with the birth of our children.

Operation – Get Nik and Megan married

So Nik and I had lived together for about two years. We were in a new apartment, we both had good jobs, and we had been together for about five or six years. Marriage was something brought up quite often. Nik got grilled from my parents, my siblings, and any other family member that could get a word in.

It wasn’t so much that they wanted to pressure him, or that they felt like it was just about time that we tied the knot, I think it was more about the fact that they all loved him and they wanted to secure him in their lives for themselves.

You know how women want to get married so that they have their man committed and can declare them theirs forever? Well, I think that is what my family was doing. They wanted a commitment out of him, they wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to walk out on THEM.

I swear my family loves him more than they love me. It’s obvious that if we were ever to break up, they’d have a broken heart just like me. So trying to push Nik into marriage was the only way they could make sure Nik wasn’t going anywhere.

After all, if he didn’t marry me, who was going to make jokes at the dinner table? Who was going to get everyone drunk and dance around to music we wouldn’t be caught dead listening to (think Backstreet boys and Nsync). Who is going to cheer my sister up when she is feeling down (he is the only one capable of this!), who is going to convince all of the family to get together and party at home instead of hanging out with friends, who would be the glue that kept us all together? Nik had to stay!

And so, operation, get Nik and Megan married began! Hey, I couldn’t complain, I wanted to get married :-)

Moving In

After coming back home and transferring to a school nearby, things between me and Nik began to grow stronger. That is – after the bumpy start.

Every time we saw each other we grew to be just a little more comfortable. Then, eventually, everything just seemed right.

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, until one day we were moving in together.

I have to say, Nik didn’t exactly do it willingly though. One minute he was going to move in, the next he wasn’t, then he was looking at apartments with me, and then I was moving in alone.

Emotionally and financially, his decision hurt me. Since he spent all of his time there anyway, I started laying the guilt on real thick. “Why should I pay for all of the bills, when you practically live here too?” Well, push came to shove and not even two months after I moved in solo, he joined me.

Did I feel guilty? Nope! :-) But, I have to admit it was nice to hear (about a year later) directly from his lips, that moving in with me was the best decision he ever made. Can you believe a GUY actually said that! Of course he denied it later in public . . . typical! But, yes he did admit it to me and I have to say that those words made me realize that guilting him into moving in with me was the right thing to do for our relationship.

Most people say that you don’t know someone until you live with them. Many people also say that the first year living with a significant other, is the hardest. I have to say though, that in our case, that didn’t apply.

Of course I spent a lot of time yelling at him because he used a new towel every day, and always left the wet one on the floor. I yelled that he couldn’t pick up after himself and that he never wanted to help with garbage or god forbid – the dishes!

But, it didn’t phase either of us. Why? I don’t know, maybe because we were just meant to be together. Maybe there is nothing wrong with a little fighting in a relationship. After all, aren’t there hundreds of couples breaking up because they have no passion, they feel stuck or bored? I don’t think we’ll ever have that problem. We certainly didn’t have to look outside the home to find a little excitement in our lives.

So, no, that first year wasn’t hard at all. But, the second year . . well, it was hard for him. I’m pretty sure it was my bright idea to get Nik a job where I worked. Actually, it might have been his idea, but I know I didn’t discourage it.

Soon, we were together every minute of every day. We drove to work together, we worked 9 long hours together – in the same room no less, we drove home together, and we lived every other second of the day at home together.

It actually didn’t bother me. But, boy did it bother Nik! I guess I’m just not so great when you can’t get a break from me, lol.

Luckily we fixed that problem and eventually we both got different jobs.

And that’s where I leave you for today.

Happy Holidays! Please come back soon and read my next blog entry! Next time I’ll try to get some more pictures up here. It is, afterall, suppose to be a photo blog. :-)