I can’t believe I have been away from my blogs for so long. I was a blog writing machine not so long ago and in looking back, I can’t believe all that has happened. My last blog made me a little emotional. I remember having that fight with Matt and trying not to talk to him for a week and 3 days in, I believe I broke down. My life is truly not complete without him. Who was I trying to fool? We worked out our issues, did a little counseling (yes we did it and it was very therapeutic), and for the first time I completely forgave. No more mentioning the past, I was looking onto the future.
I guess it was a smart move, to let go because on February 19th 2011 Matt proposed to me! I’m going to tell the story because I can… Well, I was always telling Matt how I’d love to go skiing and snuggle by a fire with him. Winter is pretty brutal in Chicago, so when the weather got a little more tolerable Matt suggested that he would take over this “ski getaway” planning. I thought wow, all I need to do is suggest an idea and my wish comes true? Anyhow, my only job was to think of a date and I decided on President’s Day weekend because it was a long weekend, which would give us enough time to really hit the slopes. As Presidents Day approached I thought I would hear more about this trip, but it was kept very secret. I knew the hill we were skiing and the city, but nothing else. It was actually very exciting for me because of course I love surprises. Matt has this issue with not wanting me to get too excited, so he plays things off very well, saying things like “don’t get too excited, it’s just a little surprise”. I never really know what to expect, but surprises are always fun.
Saturday morning comes, we already had our things packed from the night before and we head out to Galena, IL. Matt gives me the directions to help guide him and to Chestnut Mountain we go. Roughly 2 and 1/2 hours later we arrive at Chestnut Mountain and I’m extremely excited, one having not skied since I was 12, but also the day was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was shining, people were skiing without coats, one guy in shorts (odd), but it was perfect weather. I decided this year, I will try snowboarding.
While it seemed simple from looking at all the kids zooming by and the amount of people in line for the jumps, it was quite the opposite. We got our lift tickets, paid for my class (a class in which the ticket girl said started in 10 minutes and I would probably miss), but everything worked out very smoothly. I got fitted, found a board for my short stature and made it with time to spare for the class (things were just working out). Snowboarding was extremely frustrating! I am not one for being bad at anything. I have an almost unhealthy competitive side and soon found this sport was just not meant for me. After falling hundreds of times, running into the snow patrol people, having them tell me to work on my turns, falling down in front of a little boy and having him tell me I need to take a class, even though I already did, I was feeling a little defeated. Matt all the while was being so patient with me, telling me not to let this ruin my day. He did the bunny slopes with me the entire time, giving me private lessons, even though he is a very seasoned skier and belongs on the (wish I knew the technical terminology for the professional slopes).
Sore and tired we called it a day with the skiing. From Chestnut Mountain we headed to our little surprise location in Galena. As we drove around Galena the town was so charming. There were cobble stone roads, museums galore, little shops (yarn, canning, art), a winery, brewery… what more could you ask for? As we were driving we passed gorgeous homes and we arrived at a beautiful Victorian style home with a sign entitled “Queen Anne’s Guest Home”. We were staying at my first Bed and Breakfast! I guess Galena is known for their bed and breakfasts and this one was simply amazing. We were greeted at the front door with the cutest cat Ashes, then our inn keeper, Mike. He showed us around the house and introduced us to our Lady Ashley suite. The suite was breathtaking. The bathroom had a jacuzzi, a fireplace, gorgeous linens, the room was so cozy and romantic, it was perfect!
We got there just in time for happy hour, so we put our bags in our suite and came down to wine and a delicious snack. After bonding with the other guests and getting to know the inn keepers our appetite got the best of us and we asked where the best places would be to eat around there. Mike suggested a few places and also suggested we walk there because it was a romantic walk through a park with a pedway over the lake. Matt and I chose Flying Horse and took Mike up on his offer, seeing as how the weather was so incredibly beautiful. We made it to the park and of course played a little on the playground like kids would then headed to The Flying Horse. The moon was beautiful, the company was perfect, and the restaurant was delicious. There were no issues, only too much wine, so we had the bottle corked to take it back to our room.
Back in the room we felt we needed to take advantage of our jacuzzi so we drew a bath, added some salts which were provided and had some wine. I kept saying to Matt, this day couldn’t get any better… everything was just as it should have been and this was a perfect end to a perfect day I thought… Well after the bath it was getting a little late and breakfast was served at 8:30 in the morning (I being the happiest morning person, needed to go to bed sooner rather than later) so we watched a little television (House to be precise) and I told Matt to turn off the light. Matt was scrounging around in his things, and I wasn’t sure if he needed something for bed, but the next thing I see is him on his knees up against the bed holding the most beautiful ring I have ever seen! He muttered a few words like, “I have a question for you…” and I just stared at the ring and him in awe and yelled “you want to marry me?” Ahh, it was just so perfect. He said that he did slide the ring on my finger and I was just in shock. I hadn’t even said yes yet, but then he pulled out this box from his bag which held all the drawings that he drew to create my ring. He showed me the first drawing he had and how they became computer generated and the changes he made to make it to what it is today. Who knew he was a freaking designer, but the ring was absolutely beautiful. Then he pulled out the first dollar he ever saved for the ring with the date on it and all of these things were just so special and so thought out it made me speechless. It’s crazy I didn’t cry because I cry for sappy commercials and inspirational music, but this life changing experience I didn’t. Nonetheless, I said yes of course, he is the love of my life and now we are planning the rest of our lives together.
By the way, the next morning we did tell the inn keepers and they made us make an announcement at the table for breakfast. This was my opportunity to apologize for any yelling or screaming that may have taken place late in the night because we had to call our family and friends to share the news!
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