Finally...

[argh&stuff]

Hi everyone. Been a long time since I''ve been here, and I''m about to leave my girl''s, so this can''t be long. Jen reminded me just as I was leaving that you all have been waiting for a picture of her ring.

This one is my favorite; I took it right before I asked her to be my wife. Well, the day before, but it''s the "first" picture of it.

I have read what she wrote, and it''s more than I thought she was going to. As usual, for her. I asked her not at Savannah or Tybee, because I knew she was expecting it and she kept looking at me with these big, wide eyes, and I just knew she thought she knew what was going on. I was determined to make it a surprise. Instead we went on to this park near Statesboro (where I went to school for a couple of years in under grad) that is called Daisy Farms. I figured with a name like that, it had to be nice. Never been.

To say the least, it wasn''t ideal for what I had in mind. Jen kept looking at me with wet eyes, and I knew she was pretty upset over the lack of what she''d been expecting at Tybee. So, we just basically drove through Daisy Farms, since it wasn''t "cute" at all, and swung back around Statesboro. Ever the tour guide, as she likes to say, I gave her an overview of the area I lived in, and how much I liked it there. We drove through the campus of Georgia Southern. We got out, I reminisced. She listened and threw in her own memories of college, and it was a good time.

We drove down a couple blocks to the Georgia Southern Botanical Gardens, and that is where I asked my girl to be my girl for life. We didn''t find any tulips, unfortunately. She says her ring is the prettiest tulip she''s ever seen, though.

And that''s our story.

And here is our ring.

 

[AmberWaves]

STUNNING! And well worth the wait, Paul! (I don''t even know you, but I''ve read so much about you!) Congrats, you did a great job finding THE ring for her!

 

[argh&stuff]

Now, after this post, I really HAVE to go, but I do want to thank everyone here who helped me in my search; the look on my girl''s face when I asked her was priceless. The look I see every time she glances down at her ring is priceless, too. She loves it, and swears it''s every bit as pretty as the original Water Lily. I agree.

You all rock. Thank you. You helped in making a special day all the more special. She bawled. She loved it.

Really, I can''t say it enough: thank you.

Still no internet connection at my house, but I''ll be around. Word is I was missed. How awesome. Although, my girl''s the one who said it, and she likes to make me feel special. I enjoyed posting here, and like I said, I''ll be around.

Thank you for also aiding in keeping my girl sane and calm during this time. I never intended for it to be such a long process. Keep in mind girls, this is a huge task for a guy trying to do his best.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Oh, the ring is beautiful!!!

Ummm, we''ll have to try and forgive you for making that poor girl wait SOOOOOO long to finally be officially engaged! We are just glad she is happy NOW!

(And hey, you''re supposed to post in Show Me the Ring and include hand-shots!!! You just do it after he leaves Jen!!!)

 

[biokatie]

Congrats Paul and Jen and FINALLY is right!!! Yes, handshots please

 

[anchor31]

Yay! Good to see you argh, I''ve missed you! CONGRATS, and thanks for posting the pic! I hope we''ll have more soon!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Thanks for the compliments, girls. I just adore my pretty pretty tulip! It''s great. And it''s a lot bigger than I thought it''d be, and I just love it to pieces.

This picture is the best we have; Paul does a better job than I do. I''ll keep playing with the tulip mode on the camera, though.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Yeah, I''m still not able to get anything more than just a blur. I think I''m not steady enough. But I did edit the picture Paul posted, and I *hope* it shows the setting a little better this time. I love the tulip cup prongs, and in the first picture, they look a bit out of focus. The diamond looks like it has a chipped up cut but it doesn''t. It''s great. I think maybe it''s the angle of the picture. I''m still trying to get some good pictures. It''ll happen eventually. Then I''ll post pictures like mad. I just need a steady hand first.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Here is a link to the garden. It''s really very pretty. I''m looking forward to going back. It has special memories now. Hee hee.

http://welcome.georgiasouthern.edu/garden/

 

[sunkist]

Fisher and Argh your ring is gorgeous!! A huge congratulations to both of you

Argh, you did so well, and I''m so glad that you got to surprise her. Fishie, I''m so glad it finally happened and that you don''t have to wait anymore. Now get to wedding planning!

Yay!

 

[Fancy605]

Yay Fisher and Paul! I can''t wait to see handshots of the ring.

And Yay for getting engaged in Georgia! (I am a Georgia girl myself!)

P.S. I have Many friends and family members who attended GA Southern as well. You may have met some of them once upon a time.

 

[Blenheim]

Congratulations, both of you!

What a sweet story. The ring looks beautiful -- I can''t wait to see more pics, when you get the chance! (Isn''t taking ring pics HARD? I still can''t do it properly.)

And Paul, you were genuinely missed here. Jen had it right.

 

[sk8rjen]

Congratulations-- OFFICIALLY -- to you both! The ring turned out great and I the gardens look like a spectacular place for a proposal!

Jen, you mentioned that Paul was the one who wanted to officially request to be removed from the list, so tell him to post again

I''ve been looking forward to it...

I''m just so happy for you two!! Jen, You can give us more details now

(men just get to the point -- not enough details, you know?)

jen

 

[Kaleigh]

Congrats Paul. I remember your search for this ring from the get go. You did a great job.

Now Jen can fill us in all on the girly details, hehe. Best wishes to you both!!!

 

[SeattleSparkle]

Finally!! Pics!! It''s beautiful you too!! The story is sweet too. Way to not compromise on the perfect spot at Daisy farms.


I''m looking forward to seeing more pictures!!

 

[MissCongeniality]

oh CONGRATS!!!!!!

that is just wonderful. the ring is pretty.

 

[TravelingGal]

Finally indeed! CONGRATS! I feel like I can finally breathe a big sigh of relief!

 

[Mandarine]

Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The ring is just perfect!!! I knew you were going to do a great job!!!.

So are you now allowed to read each other''s thread???. If you already did, did you see something that surprised you?> I think it''s so cute some of us got to chat with each of you individually through this process!

You guys are a great couple and I admire the power of your faith.

I wish you the best. *CONGRATULATION HUGS*

M~

 

[Dee*Jay]

The ring is lovely! Congratualtions on your engagement!

 

[akw94]

Congratulations again!

The ring is beautiful and I''m so happy for you both! What a great story and set of memories you have.

Now, more pics please!!

 

[FireGoddess]

Congrats! The ring is gorgeous..and we''d love to see more of it.

 

[Small]

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yayayayay...Paul you did a fantastic job picking out the ring. I see you went with Wink for the setting and it turned out beautiful

Congrats to you both. We did miss you a bit around here as we were enjoying helping you find that perfect ring but we got the other side from Jen...nice getting to know you both

Hope you both stick around so we can get the details of the wedding and such. Great job Paul

 

[bee*]

congratulations!! I love the ring-any handshots?

 

[bobacha]

handshots please

Congrats to both of you ! and yes please stick around here and share your journey till the BIG day.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Okay, here is the *full* story of our engagement.

Like I''d said, we went to Tybee and Savannah, and I was *so* sure I knew what was going on, but ever proven wrong, the day progressed with NO proposal. When we left Savannah, after a very sweet *and proposaly sounding conversation* I was a very hurt girl. I felt tricked, played with. I couldn''t help but cry. He''d been leading up to this moment for MONTHS, and it was so odd to me that he''d do that to me. To us.

So I cried, and I told him how I felt about things and while he was caring and compassionate, he didn''t really react in the way that I''ve known him to in the past when I''ve been hurt unintentionally by him. So, we were riding around and I no clue what he was doing and I was tired from our day tromping all over Tybee and Savannah, so I drifted into something almost like sleep.

He brought me back to reality by jarring me around in the car as he was driving along a uneven road. We were in an RV park and I had no idea why. He said something that made no sense, so I just sort of drifted off again. After that ride through I''m not sure what, we began talking about where he went to school in his freshman and sophomore years. I''d been with him there once before, but I''m a sucker for the stories of the past and his funny quirks that come out in his story telling. It helped me to get over the letdown. A little bit, anyway. So we drive by all the places he''d been, the things he''d done, talked about who we were then compared to who we are now, that sort of thing. Then we stopped, tromped about a little more, then we came up to the botanical garden.

It was so pretty, and he acted like he didn''t know it was there, and when I asked if we could get out, he said he didn''t know if it was open, and he didn''t know if it was private property, and other stuff. I had *no* idea he had a plan at this point. So, I convince him (I thought) to get out and at least check it out, so we go in and I''m all in awe of the beauty and the flowers and the smells and the walkways and it''s all so pretty. I''m sort of hopping from one area to another, as new flowers catch my eye. He just kinda follows behind me, smiling. I didn''t think that was any big deal, because he''s often amused by how quickly I jump from interest to interest and my ADHD side sort of pops out. I have him by the hand, basically dragging him around the place, telling him I''m amazed he''s never known about it before, but he''s a guy, so I guess flowers aren''t that important to him. He totally had me fooled. Anyway, once I finally calmed down a little about the flowers, and stopped trying to find tulips, he just starts talking as we walk along the paths. I''m listening, and wondering why he''s saying the SAME stuff he said at Savannah, just hours ago. Anyway, then he asked again if I''d found a tulip yet, and I told him no I hadn''t, had he? He said he thought he did a few yards back, and to check. I turn and look back, don''t see anything even sort of looking like a tulip, and say, "um, no, baby, I don''t see any, but it''s pretty enough like it is." When I turn around again to walk toward him, he''s on his knee and he has the most BEAUTIFUL tulip ring in his hand, and he asked me how I felt about being his girl for life, and that he was blessed from the day he met me, and that he strives to add joy to my life all of my days, and that he just adores me, and all that happy stuff. And I just kinda looked at him, and he finally said, "um, jen. You okay?" I told him I was, and was he okay? He laughed and pulled me to him and gave me the BEST hug of my life and asked me to be his wife. I started laughing and crying at the same time and told him I''d love nothing better than to be his wife. Then he put the ring on my finger and I looked at, really looked at it, and I cried even more and hugged him and I didn''t want to let go. He cried, too, and it was just precious.

That night, we had a "picnic" on the floor of his living room, and we toasted to a new stage of our lives with sparkling apple cider, my favorite bubbly in the world. He had sparkling white grape juice for himself, so we each got our own bottle. That was sweet, even though I''d have shared that night, I don''t like to share on New Year''s, and he remembered.

He said this weekend that it could have only been better if I''d not been sad to begin with. I''m okay with it; he got his surprise and I got to say "yes" to the question I''d been waiting for for eons now. Or so it seems.

And that''s our story.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

I tried the picture thing again tonight. Now I''m getting blurs with a BRIGHT white background. Any ideas why this is happening?

 

[sunkist]

what kind of camera do you have, Fishie?

 

[Mara]

turn the flash off...it will blur it all out and flash it white.

the best and easiest way to take pictures is to do it on a bright day, but use diffused lighting, aka not directly into the sun. like right inside a bright room works for me...or outside under our patio table is great too. using natural lighting is better than a yellow light in the house or using flash to wash it out.

and if you have an unstead hand, try to stead your arm or something on a table or set the camera down to take the pictures. also pull the camera back a bit from the ring if it's blurring out. do you have a flower macro or something? play around with the distance and the macro to see what gets you the best shots. it's really just trial and error.

can't wait to see more pictures, it looks just lovely!!! MORE PICTURES!! congrats you two!

 

[anchor31]

I''ve taken gorgeous pictures in direct sunlight, so the best thing is to experiment a lot with lightings, distance and stuff. But definitely turn your flash off and use the macro setting.

 

[FacetFire]

Congratulations!!! That ring looks stunning! I can''t wait to see more pics!