The Proposal: Hey baby, I think I want to marry you. . .

True Confession: I knew we were going to get engaged. 

Truth be told, Mr. PT and I had been discussing wedding plans for years. I remember very early on, like the second year we were dating, I had asked Mr. PT why he didn't have any serious girlfriends before me. He replied, "Miss Palm Tree, I'm a Virgo. I waited until I found someone I could be with for the rest of my life." True Confession #2: Since about late August/early September, I had been hounding him about engagement plans. We had a very serious, in-depth, late night talk one night about growing up and moving forward, etc. I got him to confess that he would ask me before Christmas. 

"Did I really find the one girl who wants to know when she's getting engaged?" he would say. I would obnoxiously wiggle my fingers in his face, or make off-sided comments like "Gosh, this finger sure seems lonely. Doesn't it seem like it's missing something?" My favorite was when a situation required the middle finger - I'd flash my ring finger (and stick my tongue out. . .because I'm super mature like that). 

The week before Christmas I was a lunatic. I found hidden meanings in every single thing he said. This was prior to Mr. PT's "big boy" job, and he was working as a manager for a local Five Guys. So when he told me he had to work the closing shift (until around 11pm) every day except for Friday, I'd wonder, "hmm, maybe he's saying he has to work so he can catch me off guard!" I'd rush home after I got off, expecting him to be there. . .and then stupidly feel a smidge of disappointment when he wasn't. 

We actually barely saw each other that week - our schedules were just so incredibly off, and the one night his work had scheduled maintenance overnight and Mr. PT, being the manager on duty, was required to stay at the store while they worked. He came home when my alarm was going off to get up and get ready to START my day. 

Finally, Thursday, December 22nd rolled around. I got off of work early, due to the holiday, and I called him when I get home. "Listen, is tonight special? I don't want to ruin any surprises or anything, but your answer determines whether I shower, shave, and look like a human or if I curl up in bed and catch up on my sleep." ". . .Maybe you should shower just in case," was his response. I opened my mouth to ask more questions and he interrupted me, "Stop, I'm not telling you anything else." 

I was so full of butterflies and excitement. We had previously discussed (during one of our 98957349 conversations related to the topic) that we would want to celebrate with our friends when the time did come. I hurriedly texted our friends, "I think tonight is the night! Be ready for some celebration!" One of my friends responded, ". . .since when does the girl plan the engagement?" I explained that I didn't plan it as much as I provided guidelines. 

I got myself dolled up for Mr. PT, including wearing tinted lip gloss (I realize that sounds like a ridiculous detail to mention, but he had been begging me for years to wear dark-colored lipstick. I explained that nobody our age wears or owns legitimate lipstick, but I still wanted to make sure he knew I was thinking of him, too) and making sure my hair was as shiny and smooth as it could possibly be. I painted my nails as I waited for him to come home, unable to wipe a giant grin off of my face as I did so. 

Once he got home, he told me to not to move as he hurriedly showered and got himself ready. Finally, he came and sat next to me on the couch. Both of us had wide, cheesy grins on our faces. His eyes were brighter than usual and when he started speaking, it was with a slightly wavery voice. "I know this isn't a surprise, but I know you well enough to know that you don't need surprises or big productions." He went on to pull out an actual list of reasons why he loved me and why he wanted to marry me (of course, I now own this list). At the end, he got down on one knee, opened the box and said, "Miss Palm Tree, will you be my wife?" 

personal photo | The Ring, that he actually picked out all on his own. :)

When I said "yes!" he replied with, "I already knew the answer." Afterwards, we hugged and kissed and jumped up and down (well, to clarify: I jumped up and down and said, "Jump up and down with me! We're engaged!"); immediately, we started calling each other 'fiance' (fi-an-SAY) in funny voices, as are our ways. Mr. PT wanted to wait until we were back home for the holidays to tell the family members, so I sent a few specific texts with strict instructions not to post anything on Facebook. 

We headed over to a local bar, where our friends were waiting, and proceeded to drink with our friends and dance to songs that were played in our honor (I'm sure the rest of the bar hated us, but God, we had a GREAT time). 

personal photo | Doing the 'Push It' dance with MOH.

personal photo | Singing one of the very many songs dedicated to us.

personal photo | Pretending to be surprised. Yeah, I had bangs for a minute.

It's not a big story, or anything spectacular, but it's very special to me. It's very 'us' - understated, simple, but full of love and happiness. I'm so lucky to have found such a sincerely great guy. I know that people say this all the time and the phrase has long since lost its luster, but the truth is that Mr. Palm Tree really is my best friend. Mr. PT and I have fun together, even when doing mundane things like grocery shopping (I know I've mentioned this before, but for real, we freakin' love grocery shopping). 

We just belong together - I am so, so fortunate to be embarking on the rest of my life with my best friend and soul mate by my side.