Holy crap, you guys. I knew there was lots of excitement to be had when you get engaged, but my goodness, I can’t keep up with the outpouring of excitement in person, on the phone, on Facebook and here at the ol’ MG blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your kind wishes. I cannot begin to express how much it means to me and the Modern Love Machine.

So only one person got the “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” reference? Shame, you should all go rent that movie (or see a production of it). It is slapsticktastically hilarious.

Sorry about the whole bait-and-switch approach to the last post. I just really wanted it to be a surprise. The MLM and I had discussed the whole idea of marriage a little while back, so I knew an engagement was coming, I just didn’t know when. And believe me when I say IT WAS KILLING ME NOT TO TELL YOU GUYS. I have been in agony over what to write in the past couple of weeks, because all I wanted to do was share the news. But I also didn’t want to get ahead of myself.

So yeah, after we grabbed lunch from one of my favorite local restaurants and got some treats at the local farmers market (complete with running into some friends of ours), we took the Modern Pooches to a very beautiful local park where anyone who either runs or has a dog or runs with a dog goes. It’s very scenic, right on the river and somewhere where the MLM and I went for like our third outing together 10ish months ago (and with our dogs). He claims he usually scares the gals away after three outings, so he knew things were good at that point.

We were strolling along the path by the river, talking about how absolutely beautiful the day was and how nice it was for the doggies to get to play outside and how successfulish the triathlon was. I had been pulled a little in front of him by the Lucydog (or I thought that was the case), when he said he knew something that would make the day even better. I thought he wanted to go buy some gelato, because gelato makes every day better. Instead I turned around to find him on one knee with a ring and a grin on his face.

So there’s the real story, and I could not be more excited. The practical Modern Gal would wonder if getting engaged after 10 months of dating is too fast. I used to balk at the phrase “when it’s right, you’ll know,” because as Whitney Houston put it best, “How will I know??”

Time out for a message from drug-free Whitney Houston.

Well, Whitney, I can honestly say that after surviving the roller coaster of relationships I’ve been through in the past, oh, 13 years or so, I know this one is different. And right. Every fiber of me has been happy since he’s been in my life, and apparently it shows because people seem to notice. I am completely able to be myself with him — and he loves me for just who I am — and I’m a better person with him in my life. I used to wonder if I was even meant to be married, but I know I want to be with him for the rest of my life, so again, it’s right.

And to answer all the questions that seem to be the standard when you tell people you’ve gotten engaged: we’re aiming for June or July of next year, we’ll get married in Memphis (because it’s an awesomely fun city) and that’s about all I know. The MLM is really, really excited about planning a wedding. Seriously. He’s even got our colors picked out: green and purple, although I might have something to say about that.

I will go ahead and let you know that I likely won’t be talking much about planning the wedding here. I don’t want wedding planning to consume me or my blog, so I’m just going to keep the bulk of it off (unless something happens that’s just so ridiculous, it’s worth a good post here). But if you’re interested in this sort of thing, I’ve rejiggered my Tumblr blog to share everything blog related, and you can find the link to it here (and it’s a work in progress).

Once again, thank you friends for all the love!!