Engagement!!

I can't believe it's taken 3 days for me to write about this! AH! Shows you how crazy life is right now. Not only is it 2 days before my first full marathon, but then I get engaged the same week?!


Marshal and I have been dating since February 20th, 2006. When I first met him, he was a scrawny farm kid that was entirely too smart at math and science to have any interest in me. For some reason though, he liked me, and liked me a lot. The first summer we dated, he worked overnights and I worked days, and I was dating a summer class. Even with our crazy opposite schedules, we still spent any free time we did have together. We went to the lake just about everyday that summer. Poor guy was always so exhausted from working overnight and then me dragging him to the beach. But, he put up with me for some reason.

one of our first "dates" - sledding at the St Mary's hill

The 1st summer we were dating. I'm huge, but look how cute Marshal is! 

That fall he went away to school. He went to Mankato because it's the onlly school around here that had the degree he really wanted in Engineering. We decided to stay together and try the long distance thing. He came home most weekends for the next 4 years, was home for long holiday breaks, and the summers. I looked forward to those Friday nights more than you can imagine... and dreaded the Sunday nights even more. We talked to each other on the phone once or twice a day, chatted online, and kept it going all throughout his time in Mankato. It wasn't even that hard. They always say long distance is so difficult. It was pretty easy for us. 


We both graduated, him from Mankato and me from Winona State, and he moved back home. He got a really great job at Colorware in Winona as their design engineer. If you aren't familiar with the company, you should check them out. (psst... he designed the iPad handle!) I got a job (not as great OR in my field lol) at Sprint and manage over 200 corporate and government accounts on the east coast. 


At this point I think we both knew it was coming to the point where we were ready for the next "step". We both went to college, graduated, had good jobs, and we finally officially signed a lease together as of June 1st.    I've been training for a marathon since February 14th which has pretty much consumed my life the past almost 5 months. I've been beyond exhausted (getting up at 3am to run 10 miles before working at 7am all day) and pretty damn crabby as well. Poor guy lol.


The week or so before Monday (the day we got engaged) we hadn't been getting along that well. There was tension and everything either of us said to the other one you could tell pissed the other one off. Monday night I was making dinner for Marshal and he came home from work a little later than usual. ( I later found out he was talking to his mom in the car in the parking lot lol ). We ate dinner in silence and then had an all our  bitch fest I guess you could say. We got everything out in the air, and it turns out both of us were being ridiculous about a lot of stuff. 


Sometimes it's good to just let it all out and air the dirty laundry. We both felt so much better afterward. I can't remember how exactly it came up, but he told me he had gone with his sister the weekend before to look at rings, but that the store had closed right before they got there. At this point... the sparkle in my eye started to form... I told him I wanted to get married on a mountain and that I had the spot picked out, and his response was, "Oh thank god you don't want a real wedding in a church". :) 


We decided to head to LaCrosse and look at Kay Jewlers. It was so odd. Everything in there was literally so sparkly my eyes hurt. I've never worn real diamonds before, and if you know me I'm the plainest of plain around. I immediately fell in love with this one ring. I can just about imagine what a giant nerd I must have been in the store, oo'ing and aa'ing over this ring. I wanted to wear it home!


There was a bigger one and smaller one of the same ring style, and the lady took marshal to the register to pick which one he wanted to get me. I told him to get the small one - I'm not a fancy lady that needs big diamonds, right? 


He came back with a tiny wrapped box with a bow on it. I opened it and ... it was the big one. :)

THE ring <3

Our first picture as an engaged couple!

one of the several hundred pictures I took with a huge grin on my face that night

Everything has happened so fast this week, I can't believe it's already Thursday night for cripes sake! This blog is the last thing I should be writing. I still have to pack and get my carbo-loading on aka eat dinner. I'M RUNNING A FREAKING MARATHON IN 1 DAY!!!!!!!!


Back to wedding business - We decided on August 4th of next year. The original plan was to do it at St. Mary's Falls in Glacier National Park, but I've been speaking to the park services and rangers out there and they would only give us a special permit to do it at St. Mary's Falls for up to 6 people, which isn't going to work because we want our families there. So, we're doing it at Lake McDonald instead. On the shoreline, in the morning. It's going to be amazing and beautiful, I cannot wait! 

We'll have a reception back in Winona afterward. Aka one big whoopin' party. My sister Dayna is going to be my Maid of Honor and friend April will be my Bridesmaid. She is also going to be the person that keeps me sane and sits next to me at work and listens to me babble about all the ideas and plans I have.

 Dayna & I, coincidentally at Lake McDonald - where we're getting married!! 

April & I in Minneapolis 

Here's my wedding planner notebook that already has several pages filled :-P

Even though this has been the craziest week of my life, it's also been the happiest. I am seriously the luckiest girl in the world. Not only have I found the one person I want to spend the rest of my life with, have a house and children with, but I've got an awesome family behind me, and I get to be part of a new family - his family. :) I can't wait for all the wedding planning and to officially be Mrs. Fitch!