I said, "Yes!"

I've always hated New Year's Eve.

There's so much pressure to do something big, something expensive & when I was single, the pressure to have a date was worse than Valentine's Day. Every year I would stress about whose party to go to, what bar to be seen at, what I would wear. And as much thought as I put into the evening, you would think I always had a great time... but really, I didn't.

New Year's Eve 2006 was the first that I had ever spent alone and there was something incredibly empowering about it. I had just closed on my first house & New Year's Eve was Moving Day. I was exhausted by the packing/moving/unpacking/etc. and I just really wasn't up to making the effort. So, I didn't. I spent the evening on my brand new couch in my brand new house with my trusty old dog. The pizza delivery guy flirted with me when he delivered my dinner. I put on my pajamas and was in bed hours before midnight. It was the best New Year's Eve I'd ever had, up to that point.

A week later, I met the man who would become my husband. Everyone said that when I bought the house on my own, I would meet the man I would marry. They were right.

Nearly twelve months after we met, we planned a trip Asheville to wind down after the holidays. We planned a really nice dinner for New Year's Eve 2007 and as we were walking into the restaurant, Rob wanted to take my picture. I obliged:

We walked in, sat down and ordered a bottle of wine. The next thing I knew, a waiter came around the corner with a large bouquet of red roses and gave them to me, then walked away. Blushing & flustered, I opened the card-- it said, "I love you. Rob." I looked at him and said something like, "Awww, thank you, honey! You didn't have to do that!"

He looked at me and said, "You're welcome. I'm getting ready to do something else."

::my heart stopped::

Everything was a complete blur as he got down on his knee and said something beautiful about wanting to get married, wanting me to be his wife, wanting to have children together. (He had to repeat it all later-- I think I was just in shock.) He told me he loved me and then said, "Will you marry me?"

I said, "Yes!"

We hugged, kissed, cried and then he said, "Would you like to see your ring?" (He had set it on the edge of the table when he got down on one knee.) He opened the box...

He slid it on my finger...

(It looks so lonely now without my wedding band!)

I couldn't stop staring. Rob knew the style of ring that I wanted-- we had talked in the months before about it being important to me to have a ring similar to my mom's. My mom and I have the same birthday & our birth stone is a sapphire. My mom's ring is platinum with a princess cut diamond and sapphire baguettes. This ring is a perfect compliment and I was so overwhelmed I could barely speak.

I remember being so stunned and speechless that I didn't eat a single bite of the amazing dinner we ordered. I just couldn't believe this had happened. His proposal didn't come out of nowhere-- we had talked about getting married and he had asked me about rings, but I still just couldn't believe that the moment I had dreamed of forever was finally here.

(Photo from Stephanie Wallace Photopgraphy)

After dinner, we had planned to do a candlight tour of The Biltmore Estate. The only thing I remember about that beautifully decorated house was staring at my left hand in every single room. The lights on all of the Christmas trees made my ring sparkle. I was mesmorized.

Needless to say, 2007 quickly replaced 2006 as my best New Year's Eve ever.

Last year, we went out for a romantic dinner on New Year's Eve, but came home early-- we had a very early flight to New England on New Year's Day to visit Rob's family. This year, we had hoped to take a trip back to Asheville to celebrate the two year anniversary of our engagement, but it didn't work out. Now, with all of the house drama going on, I don't really feel like spending a lot of money. In fact, we'll probably just stay in, cook dinner and have a nice bottle of wine while we watch the ball drop. I'm fine with that. I don't want to go out-- I'm starting to think I like staying home even more.

It may not be fancy, but on the eve of 2010, Rob has challenged me to a Guitar Hero Battle.

I said, "Yes!"

(Rob and I, in the exact spot where we got engaged-- 10 months later on our honeymoon.)