"The" Story...Last Part (I Promise)

Check out the tabs!! I've gotten fancy and am really proud of myself!!

Please look to Parts One and Two if you really MUST know the background...

I'm sorry if you're still reading this... You, apparently are a glutton for punishment...

The Engagement

I'll start by saying both Charlie and my birthdays are in November. And although it seems fast, someone had put the engagement bug into my ear months ago. I find out later, I am not the only one that has been given these ideas about him proposing.

** Note: There are some other omitted events that I'm not going to hold over Charlie's head in writing and online. He is wonderful and we are married now... so it's all water under the bridge... until I bring it up again :)

I would have included pictures from this night, but the camera I'd lent Charlie in Spain was stolen (evil Spanish....) so this is all pictures were with a very fancy and expensive disposable... and I'm too lazy to "Scan" a picture.

December 10th 2009 Charlie says we are going out for a date night but won't tell me where.

He comes home with two large and in charge cupcakes from The Cupcake Shoppe " Ding Ding Ding" something is up...

We walk around Raleigh... going to a few bars The Busy Bee and later onto The Landmark (If you have made the mistake of reading all of this... these are Hot Spots for us). At the Landmark we are talking about the future (which isn't new for us... we had also planned our future Children's names before all of this) and I was texting a friend's wife about meeting up before we went to a concert later that night.

He then says "lets go somewhere" and as we're walking out the door, in walks said friend and his wife. Charlie says "we'll be right back" and we leave them there."Ding Ding Ding"... Something is uuuuuup.

This particular December 10th it was CRAY CRAY windy downtown Raleigh. And seriously cold. I had gloves... We start walking downtown to the Winterfest thing where there is ice skating and cute Christmas things up. He gets us in line for the ice skating and I'm like "I really don't want to ice skate" so he says "ok, do you want to walk back?" YES... I do.  As I start walking away and putting my gloves on he says " Wait, before you put your gloves on".

I turn around and he begins fishing around in his jean pocket... I freak, and start crying already. He says words neither of us can remember, the main one was me saying "Yes" and smooching and tears...

We call our parents and tell them the good news... and Charlie calls in the troops (his friends who have known the whole time this was going on) to meet us at the concert last evening.

We go back to the friends we'd left at the Landmark (who knew this was going to happen and thought it HAD happened when they walked in).

We had a great night and lots of fun dancing and drinking with friends.

The End...

Ohh wait, we got married on August 21, 2010 at an awesome wedding Downtown Raleigh Check out the pictures if you wanna see more :)

"The" Story Part Duex

To check out the first part of this Saga...

This may get long winded and I'm sure you're going to get bored.

Do I care? No :)

The Move

It had been determined that I was NOT going to Taiwan and was going to move to Raleigh instead... Charlie had even found me a job working at the local Country Club as the pool manager for the summer (I had lifeguarded for 7 years at this point). I had found a room to rent in a Teeny Tiny Townhome with a big time weirdo (did not know this at time of agreement), but it was a place to sleep and close to Charlie. It was all I needed.

Spain

These are Charlie and Matt's backpacks... apparently I can't find pictures of the actual people..

Santiago Cathedral

(picture sources: Matt Offner via Facebook)

School had ended for Charlie and he had made plans with a good friend to go for a long walk on the Camino de Santiago de Compostella for 5 weeks in the middle of the summer, and we had JUST started dating.

This is July 2009, about a week before he left he invited me to one of his best friend's weddings as his date. He was in the wedding party so after the rehearsal we went to the Busy Bee for drinks and such. He told me then that Matt and him and had a discussion to the effect of " If Laura is still around (hasn't gotten bored and left to pursue other men) when I get back from Spain, I'm going to think about proposing" well this gets me all excited when he tells me.

He and Matt leave for Spain one rainy morning, and throughout the 5 weeks we talking on the phone maybe once a week, and e-mail almost every day. In the mean time I'm working, visiting friends and family, visiting parents... whatever to keep me busy.

Cohabitation

I should mention that prior to all of this Charlie and I are VERY against moving in together before we get hitched'...

During the Spain trip I also made plans to move out of said weirdo's townhouse and into a room with a woman who seemed nice and worked and whatever. Well he makes it back and everything is cool, we're happy to be together, school starts and said woman is about to get married very quickly to an old high school friend. So I start looking for another place in Raleigh to live.

We find a GREAT little apartment Downtown Raleigh, with super potential... but it was too much for me to pay alone. We go over and over and over about it for a whole weekend. And at the end of the weekend we decide we're going to do it, nothing like compromising your morals right? So we're going to move in together. ( EEK!)

Part three to come!!

This is where it actually gets somewhat exciting...

"The" Story Part 1

The Meeting
Charlie and I met at a bar... through friends who had no intention of setting us up, but happened to be friends themselves, and so we met.

There. The End.

Just kidding...

Ok, So I was living in Wilmington, NC at the time with my very good friend Mary Anne (see, I'm trying to make it work again). When I'd JUST lost my job at a bank I will not name. And was wallowing around until 1) A new job dropped into my lap or
2) I was going to teach English in Taiwan (this is actually true)

Then in March 2009 I stumbled (not literally), on Charlie. We were at a bar called The Landmark in Raleigh, NC where he was working as a teacher, not at the bar... but in a High School. His first real pick up line for me was " You have great hair". This seemed like an odd first statement, but my hair wasn't looking horrible... so I thought, "well he is at least interesting".

He walked the crowd we were with home, gave me a hug goodnight (along with everyone else) and we parted ways for the evening.

The next day a friend Liz and I were invited over to Charlie and Will's house for drinks on the deck. Charlie and I happened to be beside each other and began talking about different things. That is when the real "spark" happened.

We talked on Facebook chat for a while, then once we found gmail chat, we began chatting for HOURS until the wee hours...keep in mind I had no job, so I was fine doing this. Where he was molding young minds everyday, I hope they all survived on the few hours he was sleeping every night.

All the while, I am working on going to teach English in Taiwan for a year and am starting to receive offers from schools and discussing them with Charlie for thoughts and advice. He is begin a very good sport and not telling me the whole time his real opinion on the move.


Saint Patrick's Day
Charlie, being the Scottish man that he is, likes to enjoy a beverage on St. Patrick's Day. Liz, her roommate and other friends were at an Irish bar downtown Raleigh and found sweet Charlie after a long night of drinking. He proceeded to tell Liz "Tell Laura that Taiwan is a HORRIBLE idea" I then get a call from Liz saying "I think Charlie likes you, I mean really likes you..." The next day I was going to a friend's house that didn't have reliable internet and he hadn't heard from me after "the" confession. He thought he'd played his cards too early, and that I was overwhelmed by the feelings he had confessed to my friends.

He was wrong.


Dating
Liz and I planned on going to see Chairmen of the Board (think beach/shag music) one Saturday night and Charlie and Will had also gotten tickets. Charlie and I danced all night and after the concert left Will and Liz to take a Rickshaw around Downtown Raleigh, and have a little alone time. That is when we really knew this was something good. He FINALLY got my number... why it took him so long is beyond me...

We began going on many dates when I would make my way between High Point and Wilmington where Charlie was certainly blowing the tiny teachers salary on me and wonderful food/drink downtown.

The "Title"

Fast forward through many other dates and drinking events to one Friday afternoon that I had come into town and gone to a local brewery with Charlie and his teacher friends. He was introducing me to everyone and then at one point asked "Can I introduce you as my Girl Friend?" of course I said yes and immediately texted out to my girl friends the big news.

This is actually the day it happened!!

Part 2 is coming....

"More than a big Shirt - A Mumu"

Earlier this month. I had convinced myself that I was able to be cute, frugal, and creative like Grace from Camp Patton. I was sorely mistaken when my Goodwill shirt (supposed to be dress-like) was
1. too short to be a dress and
2. not alterable by a belt alone.

 I was screwed out of the $4 I found in the seat cushion change to pay for this beaut.

Original Shirt that someone is selling on ebay for a whopping $20. I win.

Fast forward to lat(er) August and I am completely frustrated with every single item I own... wither it still fits the fast-growing belly (and other non-baby encasing areas) or not. You can only wear a too small - belly bearing Duke Divinity t-shirt, no bra, and over stretched old Soffee shorts SO many places before people start staring, and not in the "Ohh she's so cute and pregnant" kinda way.

So I take the plunge and drag on the non-maternity leggings mom got me for Christmas, so I can wear this hot little number to work. Oh and it's Charlie and my 2nd anniversary today. I know he was impressed by the yawn that spread across his face at 7:00 am as I left him at home with Buckley, while I went to work. He's lucky that one, the dog I mean...

Here is the Goodwill Wonder now. In all it's glory.

forgive the toilet... It "doesn't know it's beautiful"

I may or may not have tweeted out this morning that I resembled a large flower bush with a Snazzy belt. 

I will say that all of the wonderful women around the office today have really enjoyed the "Flower Bush". I think it takes many back to their days of wearing such an outfit when large shirts and "hiding" the bump were in style. The younger ones are just trying to be sweet, as they know they are just lucky I didn't come to work completely naked today.

Speaking of things that make someone look completely different. It is AMAZING how different the pregnant body looks with clothes off. Seriously. Get Pregnant... You'll understand.

We're going out for possibly the last fancy dinner we'll have in our lifetime tonight. I'm planning on wearing one of the only outfits I like. Hope he doesn't get tired of that! It being the only outfit I feel 1/2 appealing in, I know it'll make him want to plan for baby 2 within a few months, right?

Stay Tuned.

Truths about being 7.5 months Pregnant

A peek into my experience being in 3rd Trimester of pregnancy.

1) Never again will I "plan" to be pregnant in the middle of summer: When Charlie and I were working on getting pregnant I never thought about how horrific the summer was going to be, especially in North Carolina, it feels like fire was put into a greenhouse. The humidity is insane, wearing anything that fully covers your legs is not an option. So when you go outside and are sweating IMMEDIATELY, please think of those that have a little heater in their tummy and a few extra pounds. Not fun for anyone. I want to thank those people that have been driving me around and making it a little more bearable for me to get around. I owe you some ice cream or something cold.

2) Coming home from work is always a sweat-fest. Ask Charlie, when I get home from work I am always complaining how hot it is. Always. It could be raining outside and I would be telling you how horribly hot it is. I then drag myself to the laundry room and completely dis-robe. I am naked as the day I was born. Then I lay in bed on top of the sheet, under the fan for no less than 15 mins before I even think about dressing again. I don't care what you think about me, I'm in my house. If some peeping tom wants to see me, the joke is on them...

3) I'm getting a hang of this mothering thing. While waddling down the greenway with Buckley, a little girl (maybe 10 years old, I have no idea what age kids are by the way they look) was riding her bike alone. When I got close enough to hit her (I didn't hit her) I asked if she was OK. She said she was waiting on her brother and dad. I felt like such a grown-up asking if she was ok. I have this mothering thing down. Now, if she was in distress or was unable to hold herself up/make full sentences, I don't know what I was going to do.

4) Swim suits. Being pregnant in the summer, naturally I bought a bathing suit. These in general are horrible, as you are already self-conscious because you've gained more weight than you expected (this is inevitable) and they never fit like you would want - nothing like the fake-pregnant models you see online. But  what really stinks is that you can't even enjoy looking at baby bathing suits because when your child is born they are at least 6 months away from even thinking about wearing those cute, ruffled things.

5) Mary Margaret is officially taking over. I'm getting huge, and she is about 3 pounds now. The rest of me is just the Mexican food that I've been craving for the last 5 years. She has officially been taking over all areas of my body. Most notably she has been stretching our vertically and pushing up, feet up, through my diaphragm. I know I should get over this and prepare myself for her to take over every other part of me, including financially, mentally, and physically.

6) 3rd Trimester does have its perks. Mostly involves food. I'm back to eating almost everything, and drinking the things I really missed. I don't care how much you'd like to judge me, but yes... I'm eating my deli meat, drinking coffee, and having the occasional alcoholic beverage on a nice night. She has done all of the real development that she's going to do, so now she's just growing in my baby hotel. And it will be convenient if she is a lush when she comes out of me, we can slipt a beer.

7) I'm only moderately scared out of my mind about giving birth. I know this all is mother nature and what-not, but the thought of getting this (now 3 pound, later to be 6+) baby out of me is not only scary, but somewhat interesting. How am I going to react? Am I going to constantly be yelling at Charlie? Am I going to scream and yell? Am I going to be stoic and quiet? How long is it going to take? When is my water going to break? What is the pain going to feel like? Ohh the options.


I'm definitely ready for this baby.