I''ve got engagement fever. And I''ve got it BAD.

[Dee*Jay]

Sparkle, that''s great! You are a very lucky woman to have someone as wonderful as your boyfriend sound to be and I''m sure when the time is right that ring is going to make its way onto your finger.

 

[Hopes]

Sparkle, based on all that you have said in this thread, you have definitely a great man who cares deeply about you, and don't be sheepish about letting him pamper you and comfort you! You've been going through a tough time, and you need that right now. That's what we as significant others here for, not just to provide for the happy times but also to be there as a shoulder and rock of strength in times of need.

It sounds like your relationship is well on track to become a great marriage! Also don't think that you can't talk about marriage at all with your guy... if a guy was not inclined in that way and feel too pressured he'd have run away from it screaming long ago. Sounds to me like your guy has been dropping hints all along. Glad to hear that you are feeling more relaxed about it, and remember that guys, too, like to pick times that are "optimal." Wait for the right moment, and don't let the naysayers get you down!

 

[SparkleIllinois]

I figured it was time for a small update.
I've still got the fever, but I've calmed down quite a bit! I have talked things over quite a bit with the man because he's been bringing it up! He really says it comes down to him dragging his feet because he really wants to get me a "fancy ring" that I "can brag about" (he knows me pretty well, lol). I accepted that, the more I've been looking around at the beautiful rings around here that I know its going to take time and effort and $$$ to get the ring part right. Unfortunately he DID say to me in bed one night "I'm very excited about the engagement, because I know you're going to be so excited. Don't worry, it'll happen soon." Yes, that's right, he made the king of all rookie mistakes and told a woman SOON. So that rocketed me in overdrive for about a week until I once again became tired of worrying about it, haha. So I've been okay about it EXCEPT! I got the dreaded call.... from a friends boyfriend who wanted my opinion on the ring he's getting her. My boyfriend and I have known that they are getting engaged soon so it was not a big surprise. I mentioned that it might be a little further away that we thought (it'll probably be summer) and he said "oh no, what if after they get engaged and she finds out you helped pick her ring, she wants to help pick out YOUR ring" of course all I heard of that is "YOU WILL NOT HAVE YOUR RING BEFORE SUMMER" I was kind of bummed but I just keep telling myself, when the time is RIGHT it will come along. Too bad I'm the most impatient girl on EARTH! Then just recently he mentions that he gets his yearly bonus in March this year, and he's already got something very specific it needs to go to. I felt for sure he was talking about the ring but WHO KNOWS. Lastly, I have mentioned several times that I would like to be engaged for approximately 1.5 years prior to the actual wedding (this really amuses him for some reason). And we just recently discussed that getting married on 8/8/08 would be cool. So if he's going to make both those things work it would seem that we have very little time left. As I read that back to myself i realize how silly it sounds. I still have the will to wait quite a bit of time, but the weight of it is not NEARLY as heavy as when I poured my heart out in the first post of this thread. Basically I'm walking around feeling like every day is Christmas Eve. I know something good is coming my way soon!!!

 

[Beth07]

SparkleIllinois - You and I need to hang out! I''m in the exact same boat....

We went shopping to figure out what kind of ring we both liked...I couldn''t sleep for a week
We decide not to talk about anything related to it to each other so he can plan....I feel like I''m going to bust!
He tells me he has an exact plan for it all to happen...I get overly excited again


I''m trying very hard to just focus on us and this exciting pre-engaged period but he''s keeping me on an emotional rollercoaster! I''m suspicious of everything now even though I''m trying my best to chill out. I feel your pain, EF is killer!

 

[gailrmv]

SparkleIllinois - I hope you get your ring soon!!!!

Your avatar photo is so cool! Could I ask where it was taken? I went to school in Illinois and we had some big rocks like that on our campus that had a lot of history... people were always hanging out there, bonfires etc and sometimes people even got engaged there and stuff. Just wondering if it might be the same place (not that there aren''t rocks EVERYWHERE, but you know what I mean!)

 

[Class n Sass]

SparkleIllinois...I have the same fever. My boyfriend told me the other day that we would be engaged by Labor Day. It was good that he gave me a time frame but geeesh that could be about 7 months from now. I think I will have driven myself crazy by then. I find myseld checking PS 10 times a day and constantly looking at e-rings and researching info. I am TOTALLY obsessed!!!! And I can''t talk to him about it all the time because he''s gonna think I''m going overboard...lol. And I don''t want him to think I''m being pushy or pressuring him because I''m not. I know he is currently saving up for it, so I guess I just have to b patient.

 

[SparkleIllinois]

Haha Beth I know that feeling of TELLING yourself to calm down. But from brain to heart sometimes there is a small disconnect and the message doesn''t come through clearly You hang in there too. It helps to know we''re not alone, doesn''t it!!

Gail, actually my avatar came from a site called www.veen.com. It has a bunch of royalty free photographs that I love to browse. I found that one and thought it was too cute! My guy and I have been hiking all over IL! Even planning a trip to Starved Rock this spring. I might try to recreate the photo with us in it!

Class,
Congrats on at least getting a time frame! How does my boyfriend not know that SOON might as well be the word NOW to me but WAY FAR AWAY to him. I say, at least we''re TRYING to be calm. Even if it isn''t working we should feel good about resisting the insanity

GUESS WHAT NOW. He says to me in bed yesterday (this is where we have all important conversations for some reason) "We should take a day off soon" and I say "okay, what day?" And he says "Hmm I dunno, how about the 2nd week of February" So my mind immediately calculates that is exactly the time he would need to propose in order to give me the "approximately" 1.5 years of engagement before the wedding date we jokingly agreed on a couple weeks ago. So I say "what should we do?" and he says "Oh I dunno, go iceskating , go shopping, go to lunch, hang out, maybe we can take a carriage ride or something and go to dinner" BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM, that was the sound of my heart thumping out of my chest as I lay there. "Okay!" I practically screamed. THIS IS IT THIS IS IT THIS IS IT I kept thinking. But wait....
I have been bugging him to go ice skating with me for about a month, and I also told him a couple weeks ago when we passed a couple on a carriage ride "I''ve always wanted to do that!". SO, I''m trying to calm myself and think that he is just trying to get me out and do something nice to me since I''ve been down lately (my mom is kind of sick, hate my job, still dealing with debt from identity theft, weight loss campaign is not going as well as i want it to, etc). Plus he said my ring could not be purchased until at least March and I really believe him because I know how much we''re paying in other bills right now! But the coincidental TIMING is seriously killing me, guys. And the funny part is that I''m sure he is completely oblivious that his sweet gesture is driving me nuts!

 

[Beth07]

Beth - Oh I know how you feel! All of a sudden in the mist of saving money (We never go out to eat, we never spend money we don''t have to, we don''t really buy ourselves things) He starts talking about going away for a weekend! WHAT!? So after thatconversation we kinda just ended the thought. Magically the next week he''s telling me he can take me away one weekend and no cost. It just happens to be the weekend after our anniversary. It was driving me nuts! He said to quit dreaming it wasn''t going to happen then with his friends there (there''s a group going). But I''m STILL suspicious!

 

[Beth07]

Sorry I called out to myself it was supposed to be to you Sparkle!
<---idiot

 

[princessmo2]

Sparkle - Aaah! I completely understand how you feel. Recently, I was trying not to get my hopes up, because I noticed my bf seemed to never have cash. He works a part-time job that pays cash, and I noticed that he seemed to be "hiding" it, and then telling me he had no cash! This is definitely odd behavior, as we have joint bank accounts and own a home together, so it occurred to me that maybe this was the only way he thought he could save without me knowing. So, I tried not to get my hopes up (tried being the key word), and then found out he had been putting that money aside to pay a friend what he owed on a football pool. It wasn''t a lot of money, but I had hopes that maybe he was starting to slowly stash it away somewhere.

This combined with getting a watch for my birthday yesterday has me really bummed (though the watch was very nice)... He has a "deadline" of August 31 that he agreed to, but I really hope he doesn''t wait that long! Plus, Valentine''s Day comes up in 3 weeks, followed by our anniversary a month later... Not looking forward to being disappointed on those days too.