This Post Not Suitable for Everyone

*Disclosure - Click to another page if you don't want to hear talk of weddings, rings, engagements or any of that other "girly" stuff.

It's no secret that I've had a hard time recently being the seemingly only one not engaged (and since that post ANOTHER couple got engaged, thankyouJesus) so I just wanted to put it out there that I REALLY want to get married.

Boyfriend, if you're reading, something like this would be nice to get me to say yes to you. :) Any friends of Boyfriend, feel free to pass this along since he has no clue what I want.

I want to show off a pretty diamond on my all-important finger (which happens to be the one finger with the most retarded nail on any of my fingers, so don't expect an awesome photo one day with beautifully manicured nails.)

My pal Lindsey is currently planning her wedding, and I confess that I get giddy hearing about things like setting a date, invitations, desination wedding. Anything. You name it, I want to think about it too. Even the disagreements about what to have at the wedding.

I want to try on wedding dresses.

I want to eat cake. I want to pick our wedding party. I want to pick colors. I want to honeymoon.

But more than any of those things, I just want to spend the rest of my life with him.

And the Oscar Goes To

Me.

Well, it should, anyway, for having to sit through one of the most atrocious Academy Awards presentations. EVER.

Hugh Jackman was pretty funny in the opening skit when he busted out some serious dance moves. But then everything went downhill.

Fast forward 90 minutes when no "important" awards had been given out. Seriously. How do you make the Supporting Best Actress the first award handed out and then not do another relevant award for over 90 minutes?

The girls I was watching with wondered where Jay-Z was last night. My guess? Beyonce asked him to stay home while she flushed her career down the toilet by performing with Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. On what planet did someone think actors from High School Musical were qualified to perform at the Oscars. The Grammy's, maybe. But definitely not at the Oscars.

My favorite part of the whole night? Watching the very obvious chemistry between Diane Lane and husband Josh Brolin. Yowza!!! These two made things steamy just by looking at each other. We all died laughing when the camera caught Josh's hand resting in Diane's lap during the show.

Special thanks to my friend Molly for hosting a very fabulous evening! I had such a blast with you.

R.I.P. Saturn

It's no secret that I love my car, Holly, and that I'm a huge fan of Saturn vehicles - after all, I've owned 4 of them! So it was a major disappointment to read on the New York Times today that GM will be discontinuing the Saturn brand beginning in 2012.

So RIP, Saturn. I, for one, will miss you terribly and rue the day when I have to purchase another brand.

Dream Vacation

This is what Stephen and I have to look forward to when we hear this week about our scheduled trip to Puerto Vallarta.

An all-inclusive resort that will stuff us with food and drink for 7 straight days, the Dreams Resort offers a wealth of activities including beach volleyball (which I know we'll be playing a lot of.) Throw in the private beach, warm weather and nothing to think about, and you've got all the ingredients for Stephen and I to have the best trip.

We're both so excited for this trip and we can't wait to get away for a bit.

Our Love Story

I submitted our love story** to Boston.com, the online version of The Boston Globe, yesterday and the article appeared just in time for Valentine's Day. So if you need an albeit brief, but sappy aww, check out the link here.

To Stephen, I just say thank you for the past two years. I've loved every adventure we've gone on and I can't wait to see where our next adventure takes us. Happy Valentine's Day

And Happy Valentine's Day to all of my blog readers too!

UPDATE: I noticed they changed the homepage of our link with a new one this morning, so you can just scroll through the stories, or you can read our story below.

Michele and Stephen
"This is the classic story of the wingman getting the girl," writes Michele Moore. After meeting in their hometown of Dallas, Texas, six weeks before Stephen Luebkert was to move to Boston, they spent every last moment together. The following January, she "said goodbye to my family at Christmas, packed up my apartment and moved across the country to Boston – in the winter, no less. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is!"

Cupcakeista

Last week I coined the term cupcakeista for anyone who is passionate about all things cupcake. After baking the Baby Jesus Cake with Stephen's family at Christmas time, I've been giving a lot of serious consideration to exploring this passion and seeing where it leads me. I've often waxed poetic about how I would love to get into cake decoration as a side career and so I did some digging over the weekend and discovered the first thing I want to try:

The Margarita Cupcake

Thanks to Cupcake Project for posting this delicious recipe and the accompanying photo. After checking out this site and others, including I Heart Cuppycakes I've decided to start practicing my art and hopefully I'll be good enough to start testing my cupcakes and cake decorating out on my guinea pigs.*

*full disclosure: they have all volunteered with the exception of Stephen, but he never says no to anything I bake.

Under Pressure

I've been feeling the pressure lately, as nine -yes, NINE - of my friends/acquaintances/colleagues got engaged since Christmas. Now don't get me wrong, I am excited for every one of them, but the pressure has really gotten to me.

During this time it occurred to me that I would crack like fine China if I had to endure this pressure under the ever-watchful eyes of the papparazzi. I mean, take Johnny Depp and his partner of 10 years, Vanessa Paradis. They have 2 kids, have been together an eternity - by Hollywood standards - and are just content. She doesn't "need a piece of paper to say we're together" and presents a brave face whenever she's asked why they haven't "made it official."

In my situation, I've cried. No brave face, just tear-stained cheeks. I'm blessed with a great partner, we have our life, our two "kids" and things are on the right track. But I am very aware that our friends are getting engaged all around us and we're not there yet.

I need to count my blessings and let things come naturally, but if I have to hear one more time that someone else I know is engaged, I'm likely to cut off all communication and sooth my nerves with multiple pints of Ben & Jerry's.

Feeling Funky

I feel a little funky lately.

I blame it on all the bad news going on with our friends being laid off and the never ending snow around here. Not to mention Stephen's company just announced they're having mandatory shut-down in April, so everyone is required to take 2 weeks of vacation. At least he's keeping his job.

This winter has been especially hard on us, but I can't help but think (or maybe it's wishful thinking) that Spring is just around the corner. I hope it's quick, because I'm quickly falling out of love with this city.

I suppose that when the memories of shoveling 49 inches of snow to-date fades away, my appreciation for Boston will be renewed. But for now, I get angry when I think about the snow (and p.s., we're expecting another 2-4 inches tomorrow --- GRRR) and I get REALLY upset when I have to shovel the stuff. The banks on either side of our driveway are already taller than me, which means I have to walk down the sidewalk to dump the snow.

I knew this is what we were signing up for when we moved, but it is getting a little tedious, and it's driving our conversations to leave sooner than we anticipated. I guess we'll see what happens right?