Okay, so you want to know exactly what happened to me and the engagement.  This whole experience has been like a fairytale.  You know the classic story about a simple Wisconsin guy hooking up with a beautiful high-class girl from the East Coast.  I feel like I went into a dealer to purchase a Chevy S-10 and somehow ended up with a brand new Ferrari F50 for the same price.  That is one heck of a deal!

Rather than boring you with all the little details, I'll get straight to the events leading up to the engagement.  Jeannie and I were up late one night talking on the phone (my apologies to those who tried calling my house and couldn't get through).  We were two best friends ready for the next step.  We were having a hypothetical conversation about marriage.  Jeannie set the challenge when she said, "I want the engagement to be a surprise and it has to be before the family engagement party."  At the time I told her there couldn't be a surprise because she already knew the engagement was coming and we had a pretty good idea when the engagement party would be.  So I told her to go to a store, pick out the ring, and charge it to my credit card.  She replied, "No, no, no…surprise me."  I then asked her if she would be okay with any ring.  She replied, "I'll be happy with anything you pick out because it is from you."  Well, she pushed the right button and I was having that warm fuzzy feeling.  Considering the worst-case scenario, I finally asked her, "How about an engagement ring from K-mart?"  Without any hesitation she replied, "As long as it's from you…" Now that's what I call a great girl. 

The K-mart conversation motivated me to find her the best engagement ring in the market, I set my goals high, I wanted to do everything perfectly, I wanted to blow her away, so I set my budget in the 500s.  I figured that would be enough to get the best ring.  I went ring shopping in the best jewelry store, at that time.  I went to Kay Jeweler and boasted about purchasing the biggest baddest engagement ring…what I had, wasn't enough, not even close…I needed help and I wasn’t going to trust the salespeople.  Lucky for me, I have the best co-workers in the world.  After being educated by Jan and Heather, and also getting some additional help from my friend Betsy, I knew I needed to modify my budget and make some sacrifices.  That front mount intercooler, 550 injectors, Walbro fuel pump, and a Nitrous kit for my beloved car were not as important as getting the perfect ring for Jeannie.  My wedding ring budget escalated from the cost of a flat screen TV to a motorcycle to a small car, and in the end even that wasn't enough.

During the course of 2 months, I became an expert in the field of diamond rings.  I had charts and spreadsheets for my research for that perfect ring.  The problem was, the more I learned, the 

nicer the ring had to be.  For 2 months, I was frustrated, tired, stressed out, not eating, and couldn't sleep over the worry of finding the best diamond ring for Jeannie.  I eventually had to see my physician because my condition got  severe.  Purchasing the engagement ring was killing me, literally. 

I’d been to most of the jewelry stores in Milwaukee and I could not find the perfect ring.  Through a lead from a friend, I decided to check out a jeweler called Tiffany and Co.  I found one located in Chicago.  So I drove down there after work one Tuesday afternoon.  I felt out of place walking in to that store in my casual clothing (I did not wear the Sears Craftsman T-shirt, Jeannie).  The store was very organized with cases of impressive looking jewelry, and intimidating security guards, definitely a strange shopping experience.  I told the saleslady that my girlfriend is tall, thin, and has long beautiful fingers.  She told me to go with the 3-stone engagement ring.  The ring was perfect.  Finally, something that was just right!  Then I saw the price tag and that was reason enough for me to leave the store.  My mood was pretty dismal on the walk back to my car.  The weather was cold, the wind was blowing, it was dark, and I still didn't have a ring.  After a careful consideration, I thought, "Oh well, I won't be needing my Harley-Davidson anymore."  Immediately I was very happy and excited.  Jeannie couldn’t wear my Deuce (type of a Harley), but she could wear that beautiful ring and know how much I care about her.  Besides, I have my bicycle.

I eventually purchased the ring and asked the saleslady to help me play a trick on my girlfriend.  Jeannie arrived in Chicago that same week on Friday.  I took her shopping along Michigan Ave.  The very first store Jeannie spotted was the Jewelry store.  It must have been a girl thing because to be honest with you, the building is pretty hard to spot; it is a gray, dull, and ugly looking building, but she picked it out and she was excited.  My initial reply to her excitement was, as part of my prank, "Let's not go in there.  I can't get you anything from that store, and I don't want you to have your heart set on a specific ring from there."  Aren’t I tricky? As we found ourselves standing in front of the store, I asked Jeannie to promise me not to set her heart on anything in this store, and then I told her, “I guess it won't hurt to look around."  The saleslady I had conspired with spotted me and started talking to Jeannie.  All I can say is WOW!  That salesperson was good.  Jeannie was getting buttered up like a Thanksgiving turkey.  The magical moment came when Jeannie tried on a similar 3-stone ring and she liked it (I think), I was relieved.  But then she saw the price tag and we were on our way out.  Little did she know I had the engagement ring in my left pocket (I never left home without it).  I winked at the saleslady and 

she winked me back.  That was phase 1, making sure Jeannie will like the ring.

          Phase2 plan "A" later on that day.  I wanted to propose by Lake Michigan in Chicago.  Unfortunately, I freaked out and couldn't do it.  I don't know why, I was too nervous and my head was about to explode.  Plan A was a failure.  On with plan B.

            Phase2 plan "B" on Saturday.  I wanted to propose by Lake Michigan in Milwaukee at sunset.  After a full day of activity, I was running late.  I shoved Jeannie in my car and I'm racing to get to the destination in time for the sunset.  I was getting that same nervous feeling as the previous day.  Before proposing, it was important to determine if Jeannie was willing to live in Wisconsin with me.  I was hoping she would say yes, but she said, "Absolutely not, I can't live in this dump with you.”  I’m just kidding, Jeannie simply said she couldn't, but I was devastated.  Now I was really ready to throw up.  I hadn’t slept Friday night and my condition was pretty bad to start with, I wanted to go home.  We went to dinner, I didn't say much, and then I took her back to her hotel before I went home to put my head down.  I couldn't sleep.  Our relationship had a serious problem.

            Phase0…Sunday morning, time to pick Jeannie up and take her to the airport.  My dad wanted me to give her some dried squid and seaweed as a gift for her parents.  Still feeling dejected, I brought the food to her hotel.  “I can stay anywhere with you,” she said.  Had I heard that right? The feeling of dread from the night before was sliding away.  I had to act fast, I had to think hard to come up with another surprise plan, last remaining adrenaline kicked in and I was, once again, a man on a mission. 

            Phase2 plan C.  I sat Jeannie down on the bed and I started to get down on my knee.  I held her hand and said, "Jeannie, I have something I need to give you."  There was a moment of silence.  The drama was building.  I reached back, grabbed the bag of squid and seaweed, and placed it on her lap.  I explained to her that it was a gift from my folks.  I then took the bag and tossed it behind my shoulder.  I told her, "There is one more thing I need to give you."  I opened up my left palm to reveal the blue pouch.  I had used the squid as a diversion to get the pouch into my palm.  I said some mushy things and finally asked her, "Will you marry me?"  Things got pretty exciting.  There were tears everywhere, the nose was running, it was very emotional.  She replied, "Yes, I'll marry you…but I can't take the ring."  She couldn’t believe it was the same ring she saw two days ago.  Jeannie didn't have to take the ring because I forced the ring on her finger anyway.  Jeannie canceled her flight and we were able to spend rest of that day together.

            Phase 3, see you all at the wedding.