Engaged Daily -- Jan. 3, 2009

Happy New Year!

Thanks to my loyal readers for the well-wishes. Very kind.

We made it through the holidays, telling everyone the news and fielding generally positive reactions.

At Chris' aunt's house on New Year's Eve, there was supposed to be a champagne toast to us but her fire twirling daughter and the Rose Parade floats parked a block away took precedence. We left the gathering without the toast but with the promise of an uncle playing the bagpipes at the ceremony and a cousin tossing fire and/or singing (she's a trained opera singer too).

My mother rolled her eyes when I told her that we wanted Chris' cousin to twirl fire. It's perfectly fine entertainment but I guess it's not in her book of wedding wishes. "Mother," I said impatiently, "It's MY wedding." That is the first, and definitely not the last time those words will be coming out of my mouth. Call me selfish but no one is going to bully me into or out of our ideas. I want everyone to have a good time, and fire-twirling is a good time!

We rang in the New Year at my friend Peter's house. I think I inappropriately announced the news to some people. "Hey, Happy New Year. I'm engaged." Not exactly smooth. And I got the feeling not everyone needed to hear the news. Lesson learned. Oh, and a friend put a picture of Chris and I up on her Facebook page with the caption "engaged" and now I'm getting well wishes from Facebook friends. That is not how I want people to learn the news so I've untagged the picture.

Today I found out that one of my favorite spots in town, the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, is available for events. The view up there is spectacular and Chris and I wandered up to it and explored it before it was ever open. It is a State park, so there are rules, rules and more rules. I've sent an email to the designated person to inquire about open dates in August, September and October. Hopefully one Saturday will be available.

One of Chris' neighbors also gave me the lowdown of having an event at the community room at the Village Green, where they live. He and his wife were married there four years ago and it sounded like a hoot. They're creative, Burning Man types so they decked out the space in a Moroccan theme. I'm not that talented in that area but I bet we could think of something cool for decorations. The Village Green probably costs a lot less than other spaces. It is Chris' task to find out.