the greatest proposal of 2005 :)

I'm going to free type in what I wrote on a piece of paper.

"August 28, 2005 - It's 6:30 AM, and I just can't sleep. It's my first full day as a fiancée, you see.
Yes indeed. At approximately 2:30 PM yesterday, August 27, 2005, I agreed to become Mrs. Robert Haskell.
To set things up, Rob did start this story with a lie. He called and told me he had a flat tire. We had plans to go up to New Hampshire (Hampton Beach) and see George Carlin in concert. I had arranged an ocean side hotel. So I waited for him until about 12:30 when he came to get me.
We got to the hotel around 2 and checked in. Room 110 is the front of the hotel with an amazing view of the ocean. When I walked into the room, he said "I gotcha again" for there were rose petals on the bed, a heart shaped box of chocolates with chocolate roses on the table, and I noticed his boom box was set up. (The "gotcha" is in reference to the romantic hotel set up in May.) It was only then I realized there was no flat tire! He's a sneaky one! :)
Then he said he wanted to play a game, and proceeded to lay out these little tiles on the bureau. Walking over behind him, I noticed they were heart shaped. Each little tile had a letter on it. He told me my job was to put the letters together to form a word, or a series of words. He was standing behind me, and as I started to realize what the letters spelled, I realized it spelled "Will you Marry Me" I started to cry and laugh at the same time, my knees were knocking, and my hands were shaking. I turned around to him, and he hit play on the CD player. As I heard the opening notes to "All I ask of You" from Phantom of the Opera he dropped to one knee in front of the picture window overlooking the ocean. He pulled out a little black velvet box, and the most exquisite ring I have ever seen. Looking up at me with tears in his eyes he said, "Well, what's your answer? My knee is killing me!" All I could repeat was "YES!" over and over again. The ring is a marquis cut diamond with 3 diamonds on either side and 2 enhancer bands fused together on either side, both with diamonds. As it went on my finger, he said, "the center band is from me, the top band is from Mom, and the bottom band is from Dad. I know you wanted your grandmother's ring, but it's not mine to give. I wanted to give you this." He went on to say "It's taken me a while to come to this. Do you know how long I've had this planned? I asked your parents three weeks ago, and I was going to rent a hall and have all your friends there, but then I decided to do this. " Wait a minute. I thought. "You said something to my parents three weeks ago?!?!?" He answered me "Yes, I went up there for pizza and I brought wine, and we talked and I told them what I wanted to do.
All I could do was laugh and cry at the same time, just stunned. We opened a bottle of Champagne, interlocked arms while holding glasses, and said: "To you, to me, and to us."
OH MY GOD I AM ENGAGED!

Sharrie's blog note:

Bells will be ringing.......!
And at long last, Rob has asked for Andrea's hand in marriage. With so many involved in the plot I'm amazed that the whole proposal didn't turn in to the debauchal of all time!My girlfriend had been saying that her beau and long time steady, Rob, had been acting odd. Comments were made, that someone who is about to propose, should NEVER say... hence the girlfriend figure it out. With AJ's amazing proposal antennae, always at full alert, he should have known better. But alas, he is but a man.At a recent gathering, I popped HIM the question. To which he stared at me in complete and total disbelief. Not sure of whether to tell me or not, I assured him *with a swear on my children*, that I would never tell her.Reluctantly he tells me "Yes." he is going to propose when they go to Hampton to see George Carlin on August 27. Pissed off, and amazed at how she "figures things out." and "I can't keep anything from her!!" I assured him that I would be his "wingman", we would get her offtrack. At this point in the game, she was convinced he was going to ask. Her mother, his mother, were all making critical mistakes by saying just a touch too much to her. And like I said, her super-proposal senses were in high gear.I had tried at one point to talk to Rob about proposing the weekend before, because that would truly throw her off, and he negated the idea, as he had something special in mind for the room.We never had many opportunities to talk, as she was always nearby to me, or when not at work with me, was mostly with him. So I started playing the "what if" girl. What if he doesn't ask? You'll be mad at yourself if he doesn't ask, and you've set yourself up to expect it, and that's not fair to him. Making Rob to be a martyr of some kind.She agreed, but still held a glint of hope. I brought Kaitlyn, Sarah, and Jenn C at work-in on the secret to assist me in bringing her back down to earth, and out of the hypothetical church in her head. She seemed to already be dressed and at the altar, so we had a lot of work to do. You see, my proposal was tipped off by my bitch sister-in-law the weekend before Bobby asked me.She had called me and said, "Well, don't you have something exciting to tell me?""Uh no." I replied."What? Didn't you go to the dart tournament this weekend?" "That's next weekend.""OH. Nevermind."So I knew, or at least had a very good idea. I just didn't know he was going to do it the way that he did.So I wanted so desperately for her to have that full on, blow you over, surprise and excitement. Well.. after two long, tortureously exciting, painfully patient weeks, we had her so befuddled with what could and could not happen. That she was chanting a random mantra that someone had left on her blog: "See this thing you want, visualize it, take it, make your mental blueprint, and begin." Or something to that effect. And she literally was chanting it up until she left.Her soon to be mother in law, threw a well played wrench in her plans, by saying they would "come up" on Saturday to 'drop-in', and she was so flomoxed by that, that I think, it actually took her mind off of him proposing and instead worrying about a innocent knock at the door while they were in the middle of "Hotel Sex".I then furthered her anxiety by telling her of two (true) stories, of my brother interrupting well planned "hotel sex", and of course, as with anything else in my life, they were horribly dramatic and 100% true.I believe, that when she left the car that night, as I dropped her at South Station, that she was muttering to herself and rocking as she walked.=DAnd then the phone call.... that I wasn't here for, and of course my piece of crap cell phone was dead.When I returned home, Bobby informed me to "Call Andrea. She's been proposed to."To which I did, and she described the proposal, which was quite clever to Rob's credit, and she was completely ecstatic. Her voice was absolutely melodious, and I could hear the smile in it all the way from Hampton.So wonderful, and I'm so blessed to have two such wonderful people in my life. I LOVE YOU GUYS!*sniff*=O)

IT HAPPENED!

God willing June of 2006 I will become Mrs. Robert Haskell. Complete story to follow, including pictures.

calm before the storm?

So it's a day before I am off for my weekend - of whatever lies before me. The spider senses are tingling a little, I wont kid you, but I've gotten lots of opinions and points of view regarding the "what might be" this weekend. As I've said to friends, my heart says one thing, and my mind says another to me. I think, for my own sanity, I need to hold to the belief that what I'd like to happen is probably not going to happen... that way if by some miracle it does, then the joy will be that much greater. And if it does not happen, well that's OK. I know that eventually it will happen. Call me the eternal Pollyanna, that's just fine with me. Besides, I've dropped enough hints to enough people that even one who is thick headed could get it. Not that Rob is thick headed.... but he is, after all, a man. And what I've come to realize is that even when an outcome of a particular situation directly affects a man, it has to be his idea. Everyone else could tell him what they think he should do, and he will do exactly the opposite out of spite.

Regardless, those in the know, in the "circle of trust", will know soon enough. :) Think good thoughts, OK?

Repeat the mantra with me :
Visualize this thing you want.
See it.
Feel it.
Believe it.
Make your mental blueprint and begin.

xoxo

Showering

This is just hysterical.

How to Shower Like a Woman

1. Take off clothing and place it in sectioned laundry hamper according to lights and darks.
2. Walk to bathroom wearing long dressing gown. If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.
3. Look at your womanly physique in the mirror - make mental note to do more sit-ups.
4. Get in the shower. Use face cloth, arm cloth, leg cloth,long loofah, wide loofah, and pumice stone.
5. Wash your hair once with cucumber and sage shampoo with 43 added vitamins
6. Wash your hair again to make sure it's clean.
7. Condition your hair with grapefruit mint conditioner enhanced with natural avocado oil. Leave on hair for 15 minutes.
8. Wash your face with crushed apricot facial scrub for 10 minutes until red
9. Wash entire rest of body with ginger nut and jaffa cake body wash.
10. Rinse conditioner off hair.
11. Shave armpits and legs.
12. Turn off shower.
13. Squeegee off all wet surfaces in shower Spray mold spots with Tilex.
14. Get out of shower. Dry with towel the size of a small country. Wrap hair in super absorbent towel.
15. Check entire body for zits, tweeze hairs.
16. Return to bedroom wearing long dressing gown and towel on head.
17. If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.

How To Shower Like a Man

1. Take off clothes while sitting on the edge of the bed and leave them in a pile.
2. Walk naked to the bathroom. If you see wife along the way, shake wiener at her making the 'woo-woo' sound.
3. Look at your manly physique in the mirror. Admire the size of your wiener and scratch your ass.
4. Get in the shower.
5. Wash your face
6. Wash your armpits.
7.Blow your nose in your hands and let the water rinse them off.
8. Make fart noises (real or artificial) and laugh at how loud they sound in the shower.
9. Spend majority of time washing privates and surrounding area.
10. Wash your butt, leaving those coarse butt hairs stuck on the soap.
11. Shampoo your hair.
12. Make a Shampoo Mohawk.
13. Pee.
14. Rinse off and get out of shower.
15 Partially dry off. Fail to notice water on floor because curtain was hanging out of tub the whole time.
16. Admire wiener size in mirror again.
17. Leave shower curtain open, wet mat on floor, light and fan on.
18. Return to bedroom with towel around your waist. If you pass wife, pull off towel, shake wiener at her and makethe 'woo-woo' sound.. again.
19. Throw wet towel on bed.

Saturday August 20

So some random thoughts.

I want to be proposed to. And in doing so, I want to plan my own wedding.
I want desperately to go to Paris.
I really like football, more every year.
I think I'm getting lactose intolerant.
I miss my family in California. Except for my holier than thou cousin who thinks she's all that.
I'm really irritated with people who abuse the system - i.e. are on Medicaid because they have kids, who get coverage for elective surgery when others can't get basic medical care, and think if they cry poor long enough someone will come and rescue them because they've done it before.
I'm really angry with the care given to our senior citizens - especially those who served our country and fought for my freedom.
I cannot believe I have 4 members of my family in nursing homes as we speak who are all deteriorating rapidly.
I'm so frustrated with myself that I've gained back alot of the weight I lost on South Beach.
I'm not looking forward to September at my company. Between new clients, marketing launches and such, I may move in a cot.
I have a Bath and Body Works addiction.

Men I would leave Rob for. The list is not that long. These are my celebrity wish f*** list. :)

Oded Fehr. The guy with the facial tatoos in the Mummy - and the gigilo in Duece Bigalow.



Revive me - Dr. Luka from ER. Mouth to mouth. Please.

Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Three way? With these two? - Um....Ya! in a heartbeat. They must wear the pirate gear. :)

Some Abby pictures

Daddy and Abby
bottle time!

Sleeping Abby

Important Lessons for Men.

NEW EVENING CLASSES FOR MEN!!!ALL ARE WELCOME CLASSES ARE OPEN TO MEN ONLY
Note: due to the complexity and level of difficulty, each course will accept a maximum of eight participants.
The course covers two days, and topics covered in this course include:

DAY ONE

HOW TO FILL ICE CUBE TRAYS Step by step guide with slide presentation

TOILET ROLLS- DO THEY GROW ON THE HOLDERS? Roundtable discussion

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LAUNDRY BASKET & FLOOR Practicing with hamper (Pictures and graphics)

DISHES & SILVERWARE ; DO THEY LEVITATE/FLY TO KITCHEN SINK OR DISHWASHER BY THEMSELVES? Debate among a panel of experts.

LOSS OF VIRILITY Losing the remote control to your significant other - Help line and support groups

LEARNING HOW TO FIND THINGS Starting with looking in the right place instead of turning the house upside down while screaming - Open forum

DAY TWO

EMPTY MILK CARTONS; DO THEY BELONG IN THE FRIDGE OR THE BIN? Group discussion and role play

HEALTH WATCH; BRINGING HER FLOWERS IS NOT HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH PowerPoint presentation

REAL MEN ASK FOR DIRECTIONS WHEN LOST Real life testimonial from the one man who did

IS IT GENETICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SIT QUIETLY AS SHE PARALLEL PARKS? Driving simulation

LIVING WITH ADULTS; BASIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR PARTNER Online class and role playing

HOW TO BE THE IDEAL SHOPPING COMPANION Relaxation exercises, meditation and breathing techniques

REMEMBERING IMPORTANT DATES & CALLING WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE Bring your calendar or PDA to class

GETTING OVER IT; LEARNING HOW TO LIVE WITH BEING WRONG ALL THE TIME Individual counselors available

TOILET SEAT TRAINING IS OFFERED ONLY IN THE ADVANCED 14 DAY COURSE.

Some of my favorite places:
http://www.incident-log.blogspot.com Sharrie's website. One of the funniest blogs. Ever.
http://www.wilsonfarm.com/cooking.html Wilson's in Lexington. Delicious.
http://foodtv.com/ Food Network. Addictive.
http://maguirebaby.blogspot.com/ Laci's website. Adorable.
http://findgift.com Best place to find unusual gifts. Awesome.
http://www.ladyofthecake.com/mel/main.htm Mel Brooks web site. Hysterical.
http://www.subservientchicken.com/ Must be seen to be believed.
http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/Truffles.aspx Most unusual truffles I've ever seen.
http://www.fudgefatale.com Awesome fudge from CA.
http://www.mollybeckferguson.com My cousin Molly.
http://shapeshifterstudios.net/ My cousin Charlene.
http://www.nola.com New Orleans LA - the bourbon cam is really funny.
http://theknot.com/ Hey I can dream can't I?
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/index.html great for crafts supplies and such.

So I got hypnotized this morning...

by the whirr and whish of the oscillating fan in the living room. And fell asleep, sitting up. So not like me. To back up, I woke up at 7:30 - when Rob left (without kissing me goodbye by the way) and I heard the door shut. On hot days the wood of the door swells a bit thus you have to really pull it shut. So I was up. Plus I had to tinkle :) So I wandered around for a bit, flipped channels looking for my cousin Molly's Nexium commercial, and made a few phone calls to catch up with some friends. Then I sat down to catch a bit of ER. And that was the end of that. I woke up at 11:20! I must have needed it! To be honest I cannot wait to go away next weekend. I know I had that day up in Maine at the beginning of August, but come on people let's be real. That was a day. This is a whole weekend, with tickets to George Carlin. And a really cool sounding hotel with a Jacuzzi and ocean views. I am trying to not focus on the "what might happen", and instead focus on what I know as noted above. :)

Abigail Grace Beck and Katherine Beck Maguire

Joel and Kacie's daughter, Abby, was born today at 7:49 AM 7 pounds, 9 ounces, 21 inches long. Boy is she a pretty little girl. Kacie looks rather sore, as one might imagine, but still manages to look like she just climbed Mount Kiliminjaro. Joel looks a bit stunned. But overjoyed.

I've often said that when God closes a door he opens a window. And I am so sorry that the door which is closing is Grammy's. But maybe that just means the door is opening to her being invited into Heaven, so she can be with my grandfather. Which is what she truly wants. I spent much of the morning with Grammy yesterday, kneeling at her bedside and watching her while she slept. Tears streamed down my face as I pictured her lying in front of me after she passed. The one resounding thing was that she would finally be at peace. With the man whom she loved, who loved her more than anything else in the world. Who treated her like royalty, and for whom there was no other woman in the world, save her.

She's lived such a life. I have to figure out a way to download some of the really old pictures from when she was an infant. They are fascinating. Well at least they are to me. I have several things to be grateful for. One - I have a slew of memories at my disposal of growing up with her. Two - I have items in my home that remind me of her every day. Three - I have inherited her eyecolor, which is grey and blue at the same time. Four - I've been privleged to be a part of her life. Five - she was such a wonderful grandmother while I was growing up. I wanted for nothing, and there was really no such thing as the word no.
I have to stop thinking about this. It's starting to look like a eulogy, and I can't think about that at the moment. No crying allowed while at work.

Laci

Grammy and Laci - Look at how they look at eachother. My cousin's little girl - Laci. Too sweet.

JJ and Bruno

Derek's two dogs, from up in Sanford Maine. They eagerly await getting splashed. :)

Magnolia

Jelly!

Dude! Taking on the jellies! Rob actually took this picture at the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. It's an awesome pic.

LeeAnn

Leann Rimes from the concert we attended in Boston in May

VERY cute

Special, Trin, and Polly and one of Sharrie's gatherings.

oh what a night

the rose, chocolate covered strawberries and wine in the hotel room in May. I just learned how to upload pictures. :)

the kids

Charlie with his "happy cake" Adorable Chloe eating her birthday cake.

Bodyguards

My "bodyguards" from Ozzfest - Rob, Gene, Mike, Sean, and Mark. Missing is Kevin, who sat elsewhere.

Ongoing

Rob BETTER have something good up his sleeve. I just spent almost $300 on him for new clothes. I am helping him dress the part, as he just accepted a really good job offer at a Honda dealership in Boston. Make no mistake, he's paying me back, but I just could not have him going to work in something frayed or stained. Besides, if he's planning what I think he's planning, he better look good for pictures. :)
Talk about ironic - another guy I work with is asking me how to propose to his girlfriend, and emailing me pictures of the ring.
Must get to work. More as it develops.

Here we are again. A wonderful weekend passed and we are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of Joel and Kacie's daughter. Kacie is due August 14, and if no baby by then she is being induced on August 15. August 14 also brings a day of cleaning and packing at Aunt Sally's. Now there's something to look forward to. NOT!
Rob has been acting REALLY strange lately. I have an odd feeling something is up. He's messed up a couple of times with things he is saying. For example - there was an email from Uncle Hugh about cleaning on Sunday and I was on the phone with Rob and I said "oh, you're on the email" and his comment back was "so I hear." When I asked who told him, he stuttered and said "Uh, you did." THEN today we were wasting some time at the mall and I of course went into the jewelry store. Just for fun. The guy was trying to talk Rob into setting up a credit account and I said I already had the ring I wanted, my grandmother's ring. From behind me Rob says "yes it's a beautiful ring...I mean I heard it's a beautiful ring." We were then wandering around Michael's and I remarked that once the event happened his mother would go ballistic "assisting" me with decorating, but I hated that she would know what was going on before me. "I don't tell my mother everything". My retort was "you don't fart without your mother knowing about it." His comeback was "I can keep secrets, trust me. She doesn't know everything." Yah right. This coming from the man who's mother last week said she wanted to "see" my ring to clean it and had me try on her mother's ring just "to see how it would look." Like I said, very odd. Other little things. Like his parents have been up to "check out" the place we are staying in Hampton Beach in two weeks. They've gone up there twice...and insist on giving us directions. Like when I mentioned to my mom that Rob was acting wierd and she just said hmm well you never know. Knowing my luck he's just planning on bringing up a bottle of wine - which I will clock him over the head with.

Almost the weekend

A full week of mentoring is almost behind me. Wow, what a week. I feel mentally drained, but yet exhilarated. Due in large part of Sharrie. Jesus, what would I do without her? Quit, more than likely. I am worried about her. That she is taking on just too much. More than one woman, even a superwoman such as her, can take. She now has 30 people under her. The thought makes my blood run cold, quite frankly. The new hires are on the floor, and I am so glad to see them all starting to spread their wings. They are an amazing group of young people. (That makes me feel old, but damn the average age is like 23!) They have been like the most refreshing of showers, the most delicious of tonics... they have brought an evergy to the floor that has been sadly remiss for quite some time. We've all been overworked, and I know that there remains overwork to be had, but somehow it all seems like it will be OK.
I must confess I am also looking quite forward to a well deserved long weekend. Saturday I am off (!!!!!) and am attending a BBQ to celebrate my "niece" Chloe's first birthday. I cannot wait to see her, and her big brother Charlie. They are so much fun to be around. From there, we travel north, Rob and I, to go up to Maine, to Derek Debbie and Demi's house in Sanford. I really like being around them. They are awesome people. I must remember to pick up a little something for Demi, who is 11. She is so sweet, a really good kid. Derek is really good for Rob to be around. They call eachother brother, which is really sweet, and are very co dependent on eachother, but in a good way. We've been up there once before and had a marvelous time. To have nothing on my agenda but pool and sun... delicious.

I do love a thunderstorm.

I just witnessed the most amazing thunderstorm I've seen in a long time...with bright vivid cracks of lightning which lit up the night (early morning) sky and resonating booms of thunder rolling on top of each flash....what an amazing spectacle of Mother Nature at her most glorious. Rarely can something make me go to the window and just watch for the sake of watching. August certainly provided her own firework display this morning. I love having insomnia for moments like this. Although how anyone could sleep through that one is beyond me. While I watched the majesty of Mother Nature, I was reading some comments provided to me by the group of trainees I've been mentoring. To say their answers to my innocent questions was illuminating is putting it mildly. (no pun intended.) I'm glad I gave them the chance to vent, they sorely needed it. I have much to learn from these intelligent and well versed folks. I cannot belive I am still up, I've been up since 600 AM to go into work early, on my day off, to give it up for the team, as they have no trainer this week. Boy am I glad I did. Their trust and belief in me is an awesome responsibility, which I would not trade for anything. They've given me a boost of confidence, which of course I get already from my awesome TL... but this was a booster shot, if you will. A healthy dose of vitamins to complete my RDA. :) Must try and rest to be ready for tomorrow, which promises to be nothing if not eye opening.