Playing Catch-Up

Hey everyone!

 I'm sorry I've been such a slacker at this whole blogging business, but to tell you the truth, I've been having a really amazing couple of weeks. Things have finally calmed down a bit, so I figured I would come here to share a few of my most recent adventures.

So, my biggest piece of news is....

I'm ENGAGED!!!!!!!

The ring!

The spot where Evan proposed. It was awesome. 

If I had known that we were going to get engaged, I would have at least put on some mascara and left the thug beanie at the hotel. Oh well! We're engaged! 

It's true; Evan proposed during a mini-vacation to one of our favorite spots, Rockaway Beach. I honestly had no idea he had even been thinking about proposing, and I had been totally oblivious to the fact that he had been talking to his family and mine about asking me to marry him. He actually was hiding the ring under the bed for a week before he proposed!

Anyway, the proposal was perfect, and of course, I said yes. I can't wait to start this new adventure with him, but at the same time, I'm taking my time enjoying being engaged and am currently poring over wedding magazines and books for wedding ideas.


Right after we came back from our mini-vacation, we slogged through the last week of school and went on our full-blown vacation with Evan's family to Maui, Hawaii. I was nervous about flying for so long, but Xanax came to the rescue, and as soon as we touched down in Maui, I forgot all about my flight anxiety and settled into an amazing week of relaxation and fun with my fiance and future in-laws (that feels unbelievably weird to type, but in a good way!). Mainly, my days went like this:

- wake up
- have coffee and cookies while looking admiring the ocean from our balcony
- suit up, lather on sunscreen and beach supplies
- walk the fifty paces down the hall and the ten paces to the beach from the lobby
- plop down on the sand with a book
- turn over
- go boogie boarding
- almost drown (seriously, I was the worst boogie boarder ever)
- more beach/book/mai tai/ shave ice time
- dip in the pool
- walk back upstairs, shower
- have huge, calorie-loaded dinner with everyone
- admire each other's tan/burns (Evan got a really impressive one)
- go to bed

My view for most of the day

Happy to be in Maui

The view from our hotel room! 

Evan and I at the Luau

We also went to a really amazing luau where I ate enough to feed a family of four, and where we met a really cool couple on their honeymoon from Sydney, Australia. We swapped engagement stories.

Watching these girls was the best guilt-trip after eating all that food

Oh yeah. 

One of many amazing sunsets

Hibiscus flowers grow everywhere! 

I also was introduced to the amazing thing that is Hawaiin Shave Ice. Can you tell I was completely off my diet the whole time I was there? Anyway, we had to have shave ice whenever we saw some, and I'm missing it dearly now that we're back in Oregon. Actually, I'm missing the whole island. It's tough going from 84 degrees to 43.

We flew back in on December 23rd, and so we only had one night to relax and unpack before getting geared up for Christmas with our families. We spent Christmas Eve with my parents since that's the day we celebrate most (that's just the way Hispanic families roll) and spent Christmas Day with Evan's family. It was a lot of fun to hand everyone their little island goodies. Especially my dad, since he had requested a dashboard hula girl for his car.

For Christmas, Evan pulled another surprise on me. On Christmas Eve, he handed me an envelope, which had Post-It note in it that was the first in a scavenger hunt. He had me going all over my parent's house, and finally, I ended up in the garage, where I found a vintage leather loveseat that I had been lusting after for months waiting for me! You see, Evan and I had visited Sorel's Vintage on Hawthorne Boulevard one afternoon this summer, and I had completely fallen in love with these leather loveseats. Of course, there was no way we could afford them, so I put them on my mental wish-list and vowed that some day, I would have some just like them. So, imagine my surprise when one shows up for Christmas!

There are a lot of exclamation points in this post. But really, I was that surprised!

And then, Evan and I were at his parent's house for Christmas Day, and he handed me another envelope. Again, I was led on another scavenger hunt (which took a lot more effort, because Evan's parent's house is huge) and when I finally made my way back to the living room, there was the second loveseat!

My chairs are kind of like this, but even more awesome! 

Apparently, Evan had bought the chairs the same day he bought my engagement ring (how I was totally unaware of all this, I really have no idea; I'm not that clueless normally) and had hidden one chair at each house until Christmas. It was awesome, and now both chairs are sitting perfectly in our living room.

Evan and I were able to relax for a bit at home in the week before school started back up, and on one of those afternoons, my future maid-of-honor, Karla, came over and we decided to kill some time at David's Bridal. Truly, I went in with the intention to just browse and "get ideas." Well, my intentions flew out the window when I spotted some dresses that I liked and Karla said, "you know, you're already here; you might as well try some on." I quickly called my mom (because I couldn't put on a wedding dress without her there) and I ended up finding the absolutely perfect dress for me. Really, it's beautiful. And now, I have to keep it a secret from Evan for the next 16 months or so. I have to have at least a modicum of tradition with this whole thing!

Before we knew it, we were back at school, and that same Monday I started my winter term at PSU. Luckily, my schedule is a little less heinous than last term, with classes on Monday, Wednesday, and some random Fridays. It gives me a break to read and do homework, which is greatly appreciated. It also helps that I'm getting to know my cohort a little better so those three-hour long classes don't feel quite as long.

So, yeah. That was my amazing winter break. If you've made it to the end of this post, I'm very impressed. I hope you all had an amazing time with your families and hopefully the new year brings you all sorts of adventures and memories. I am so excited to see what 2011 brings us. Maybe a new leather couch?