My 33rd birthday. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better…

Well, I didn’t, anyway!

Happy news to follow. This gets a little bit long, so I’m going to cut…

*updated w/new photo!*

Over the years, I’ve had lots of good birthdays. I’ve had quiet evenings at home, nights out on the town in Myrtle Beach with my girlfriends, gatherings of friends, trips to amusement parks…sure, I’ve had plenty of uneventful birthdays, but really no bad ones. I can’t complain.

Three years ago, Jen conspired to make my 30th unforgettable. Combined with a wonderful evening with Rand, my 30th was a 3-day festivus of fun! I almost didn’t think it could be topped.

So yesterday, after the job offer and the shopping and the buying pretty things on ebay, Rand came home and we went out to dinner. We decided on The Eagle House on Main Street in Williamsville. Neither of us had ever been there, and we knew it was supposed to be nice.

Rand ordered the NY strip, and I ordered chicken piccata.

It was good. Not amazing, but good!

Then we headed to Butterwood for dessert. I had the key lime cheesecake, and Rand ordered a selection of sorbet. (I sampled the sorbet as well!)

(food photos are up at flickr. I’ll post them in here later!)

I really wasn’t expecting much more in the way of gifts…Rand had already given me my new camera, after all! But he sat me down and told me he had a few other things for me. I chided him for spending too much.

The first box I opened contained a big pile of Disney Pixar DVDs–The Incredibles, the two Toy Story movies, A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo. Again, I gently yelled at him. 😉 Then he said he had a couple more things that he’d ordered when he ordered the camera.

He left the room and came back with a book and a gift bag. The book was a collection of essays about language, which I’m sure I’ll enjoy very much. And then I opened the gift bag. Inside the gift bag was a box. Inside the box was this:

At which point we must break for some backstory…

A couple of weeks ago, Rand and I wandered into Sarah’s Vintage and Estate Jewelry (also on Main Street in Williamsville) to look around. I tried on a few rings, let them take my size, and I absolutely fell in love with this one. The photo doesn’t do it justice at all. It’s a round stone in a square setting, and it’s from the 30s.

This was on a Friday. I was home on Monday, and I was chatting with my friend Stephanie, talking about wedding-type stuff in general, and so I told her that Rand and I had looked at some rings. I was describing the one I liked to her, and said, “duh, I should have taken a picture.” The store was closed on Monday, so I stopped in on Tuesday.

The store owner looked at me strangely, and told me that a dealer friend of hers had come in and bought a bunch of things, among them, “my” ring. My mouth formed a little “o” and I rushed out of the store before she could see me cry. I was so sad. It never occurred to me not to believe her, because she had another person in the store (who wasn’t there on Friday) corroborate the story in front of me.

I told Rand when he got home from work, and he expressed appropriate anger and disappointment. “I liked that ring too,” he said.

So I put it out of my head. There would be other rings, right?

So anyway…suffice it to say I was surprised! Rand was already kneeling on the floor next to me when I opened it. I made him put it on me…and honestly, I don’t remember what he said. Something like “So, you really want to spend your life with me?”

Well, duh. 😉

And then I spent much time on the phone talking to every member of my family. And then we called and emailed friends. And now I’m posting it on my blog. Whee! We’re engaged! Right now I’m overwhelmed and giddy. I keep looking at the ring and giggling like a fool. No *actual* plans yet, as in the whens and the wheres…

So yeah. It was a pretty good day… 😉