2010-01-31 - 11:39 a.m.

Dean and I are getting married!! Hip Hip Hooray!!

This is how it happened -- All last year having a child was on my mind. I guess it must be my biological clock or something, or maybe it's the fact that our best friends are expecting a baby due this April, but I have dearly wanted a baby, and honestly worried that if I waited too long to have one there might be complications. And so I brought it up to Dean and asked him when he thought would be a good time and Dean offered - "Let's have one next Year!" And of course I was thrilled!!!

A couple of months went by, and now it was December 2009, and we were sitting on the couch and snuggling and watching TV and I don't really know why I said it but I said something to the effect of "If we're going to have a baby, I think I'd like to get married first" and Dean said "Great! Let's do it!" And that was it! We were engaged!

So we celebrated with our friends over the holidays and then this month we started visiting places to get married and looking for a place and time to have the wedding. I had no idea but it turns out that people normally do this kind of thing way way way in advance so we were surprised to find that most places were booked solid through the whole year already! But we found a beautiful outdoor spot in the redwoods, where we can rent the whole property for the weekend, and it happened to be free the weekend of the 4th of July, so we booked it. We're getting married July 3!

I couldn't be happier. I know I always say that - every day and every year, and yet I still seem to get even happier!! I always think that I love Dean as much as one can possibly love another - and then the next day I love him more!

He's been so sweet about the engagement. He hugs me and kisses me and says "Good Morning FIANCE" and makes a big point of calling me his fiance - I am so touched. I really think we have been more romantic and more in love since the engagement, which I didn't even think was possible, but there's something incredible about choosing to make a family with each other, it really adds a whole deeper level of love that I didn't expect.

Wedding planning is fun. I know there's a whole wedding industrial complex out there that's trying to get us all to spend money, and I know how silly it all is, but on the other hand, life is about having FUN and this is the only time in my life where I get to be a bride-to-be so I'm having fun with it. I bought a whole bunch of bridal magazines and I'm going to a bridal expo today and I'm having long conversations with my mom and Dean's mom about the wedding - and I'm having alot of fun!

The best part of having a wedding will be to have all of my friends and family together, like a big family reunion. Alot of my Texas family and my Canadian family have never been to California, and they haven't met Dean's family who are wonderful, and so I'm hoping everyone will come out and we'll have a wonderful time together and we'll have those memories our whole lives. I can hardly wait!

Meanwhile, Dean got a great new gig for his production company, and our friends are expecting a baby, and this is just turning out to be the best year ever!!