I have a secret I'm not telling

I got engaged just over a week ago! I know that I've said this before on the blog, and it was definitely a big hoaxy lie that time, but this time it's for real - and I have pictures to prove it! You don't kiss your sister like that...and if you'll look on the left hand of the lovely lady you can clearly see a classy, tasteful white gold ring which contains, in a Tiffany setting, a .31 carat princess cut diamond, H color, SI1 clarity.

Donna had been my girlfriend for 316 days on October 19th when I took her out to dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy in Richmond. After a lovely meal of various-things-parmigiana and a bottle of our favorite wine the waiter suggested that we get a table downstairs to enjoy some live jazz they had in the bar that evening. We agreed and he reserved us a table near to the piano, but intimately separated from the bustle of the rest of the bar. As we sat down and ordered dessert the piano player sat down at the black baby grand and started playing our song. After I sang the first verse to her (because she did look wonderful that night), the lights in the room dimmed, and I got down on one knee, opened the black velvet box, and asked her, "will you marry me?"

I can't tell you how nervous I was up to the point that I asked that question, but strangely once it was out I knew how she would answer, and she did - covering her face with her hands and nodding vigorously before squeaking out a delighted "yes!" and crying gently as I stood and kissed her, slipping the ring onto her lovely finger. Our dessert came and the waiters and piano player congratulated us. They also didn't charge us for dessert, though what I tipped the pianist (who had learned the song just that day just for us) was worth more than the tiramisu and cheesecake combined!

After we finished eating and drank the rest of our wine we headed home to call and tell everyone our news, after which we stopped off at my sister's house where she took some lovely pictures of us together. She didn't e-mail me the one that focuses on the ring but if you give me a second I will try to dig it up...Here you go:

Well that was about it for that night - but two days later she helped me host a houswarming party at my new house, which will be the subject of my next post (as soon as I get some pictures). Yup it's been a week of God's blessings! Now I just have to plan a wedding...