Just Engaged! 8-25-10

YAY!!! WOW!!! OMG!!!

Disneyland yesterday, August 25th, couldn't have gone any more perfectly!  I was nervous and anxious in the morning...but as soon as we got there, it all left me!

The day was warm, the crowds not so bad and we were surrounded by some of our closest friends.  We went to Tomorrowland first. I don't think anyone realized the significance of starting out here haha It's Cheryll's favorite area as Space Mountain is her favorite ride so I wanted to start the day off with a bang. We had lunch there, walked around, and ultimately I stopped in a store and had Mickey ears made for us that has a special message.

From there we headed over to the New Orleans area of the park. This was where I envisioned proposing. It's garden like just outside of the Haunted Mansion and well...I hope we own a mansion some day haha so I thought it was appropriate :-)

We set up the scene to take group photos by a tree.  First a group shot, then individual shots of me & Cheryll with all of our friends, my mom & Jordan. I could sense Cheryll was getting antsy. So I asked her to sit with me on a brick ledge and Jo handed me the fortune teller.

She was definitely confused but I asked her to humor me and go along with it. She chose "turtle" first, then "I knew I loved you", then "Beginning of the rest of our lives". I had the ring tucked into the palm of my hand and I told her she needed to open the fortune tell to reveal her fortune.  SHE SAID YES!!

So yea, I put a ring on it...first! lol I beat her to the punch...again.  She thinks I'm the ultimate punk now. But oh how sweet it was.

I am so in love and I can't wait to marry my best friend!

XOXOXO

Tomorrow is the beginning of the rest of our lives!

So I'm sitting on the bed writing this, watching as Cheryll is brushing her hair in our bathroom.
I can't believe tomorrow is finally here!!  I'm very excited. But this wave of emotion has just hit me.

This is really the last night I will ever consider myself of one identity so to speak.
After tonight, starting tomorrow, we will officially be an US, to all.  Two people taking the next step to ultimately devote their lives to each other in love.

This is one of the moments I have always dreamed of.  I can't believe we're here!

This is more than I could have ever dreamed of for myself. Bigger, grander, more complete.  This is how I know there is a God and He loves me...He brought her to me when I was ready.  Timing is everything. Too soon and you're not prepared...too late and you may have lost the zest for it all.

I am so ready!

Today I worked on the fortune teller I will use tomorrow to propose to the love of my life!

Here are some pictures:

OMG I look TERRIBLE hahaha

So WOW!  I totally can't wait!!  Look for the video and pics by the end of the week!!!

I LOVE YOU CHERYLLANNE!!!

HOLY SCHMOLY - 5 more days!!!

In 5 more days...I will officially be engaged to the love of my life!!!

I'M FREAKING OUT!!! hahahaha Everyone is in line...all participants queued.  Lately I've been super way more emotional that I'd like to be. When Cheryll looks at me I well up and start crying. I'm thinking about this overwhelming feeling that floods my insides every time she looks at me that tells me she's the one.  This is bigger and better than anything I could ever have dreamed of for myself.  God's blessings have been so much more abundant...she is the best gift ever and I just don't know how to deal with all the emotion and love and joy I feel for her...so I do what any girl does...I cry hahaha

I had a great heart to heart with mom last Saturday. She offered to walk me down the aisle when I get married because after all, she's been my mom and my dad.  I was like "you do know I'm gonna marry a woman, right?" and she said yes, that she almost lost me to cancer and she's not gonna lose me to this. She said that she can tell how happy I am and how happy Cheryll makes me. She said she respects Cheryll a lot and that she really likes her. I cried, hugged her and told her how much it meant to me. Then I shared with her my plans of proposing next Wednesday at Disneyland and told her I bought a ring. She knew something was up by how I've been acting. Jordan brought the ring down to show her and she agreed that it was very pretty.

Now to the proposal.  I hope that while at the park I'll just know when the perfect time will be. I'm thinking maybe in front of the waterfall at California Adventure or while we're casually sitting on a bench. I plan on making my own personal "fortune teller" thingy personalized to our relationship.  When we get to the fortune, she'll have to open it up and read it..."WILL YOU MARRY ME?" and I'll pull the ring out!!!  Ahhhhhh my heart is in my throat right now! lol

They look like this:

I will post pictures as I create it.  THEN I think something like this personalized to how we met, etc. would be an awesome game/favor to have on the table at our wedding!!!

Stay tuned....

Exciting (and scary) changes in this world!

I have been MIA from this blog and I apologize. My poor poor girlfriend won't have much material to read when I turn her on to this blog :-( 

The major changes in our LGBT world this month, August 2010, have been around the Prop 8 debate in California...our home state.

Prop 8 is the ban imposed in 2008 by California voters which reads "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." It became part of California's state constitution on November 5, 2008.


After a five-month wait, 9th Circuit District Court Judge Vaughn Walker offered a 136-page decision in the case of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, firmly rejecting Proposition 8.  "Although Proposition 8 fails to possess even a rational basis, the evidence presented at trial shows that gays and lesbians are the type of minority strict scrutiny was designed to protect," Walker ruled. "Plaintiffs do not seek recognition of a new right. To characterize plaintiffs' objective as "the right to same-sex marriage" would suggest that plaintiffs seek something different from what opposite-sex couples across the state enjoy -- namely, marriage. Rather, plaintiffs ask California to recognize their relationships for what they are: marriages. Proposition 8 places the force of law behind stigmas against gays and lesbians, including: gays and lesbians do not have intimate relationships similar to heterosexual couples; gays and lesbians are not as good as heterosexuals; and gay and lesbian relationships do not deserve the full recognition of society." (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/04/prop-8-overturned-gay-mar_n_671018.html)

In deciding the case, Walker offered a variety of findings that may be as important as the ruling itself. Among them were the following:

• "Sexual orientation is commonly discussed as a characteristic of the individual. Sexual orientation is fundamental to a person's identity and is a distinguishing characteristic that defines gays and lesbians as a discrete group. Proponents' assertion that sexual orientation cannot be defined is contrary to the weight of the evidence."
• "Individuals do not generally choose their sexual orientation. No credible evidence supports a finding that an individual may, through conscious decision, therapeutic intervention or any other method, change his or her sexual orientation."
• "Same-sex couples are identical to opposite-sex couples in the characteristics relevant to the ability to form successful marital unions. Like opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples have happy, satisfying relationships and form deep emotional bonds and strong commitments to their partners. Standardized measures of relationship satisfaction, relationship adjustment and love do not differ depending on whether a couple is same-sex or opposite-sex."
• "Marrying a person of the opposite sex is an unrealistic option for gay and lesbian individuals."
• "Same-sex couples receive the same tangible and intangible benefits from marriage that opposite-sex couples receive."
• "The availability of domestic partnership does not provide gays and lesbians with a status equivalent to marriage because the cultural meaning of marriage and its associated benefits are intentionally withheld from same-sex couples in domestic partnerships."
• "Permitting same-sex couples to marry will not affect the number of opposite-sex couples who marry, divorce, cohabit, have children outside of marriage or otherwise affect the stability of opposite-sex marriages."

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/04/prop-8-overturned-gay-mar_n_671018.html)

Judge Walker then issued a temporary one week "stay" on the previous ruling to allow both sides to present their cases against why his ruling should not take affect immediately.


On August 16, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Proposition 8 proponents’ motion to stay U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision, which means that same-sex couples in California will not be able to marry while the case is on appeal. However, the Ninth Circuit put the appeal on a fast track and specifically directed the Prop 8 proponents to address “why the appeal should not be dismissed for lack of Article III standing” in their opening brief. That means that the Court will consider whether the decision can be appealed at the same time that it is considering whether Judge Walker’s decision that Prop 8 violates the federal constitution is legally correct. (http://www.nclrights.org/site/PageServer?pagename=press_NinthCircuitRulingonPerry081610)

My personal take on all this??  IT WILL NOT STOP ME FROM LOVING WHO I LOVE OR MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR LOVING GESTURE OF UNITING ME AND MY SAME-SEX PARTNER!!!  GIVE ME A LICENSE OR NOT...NO ONE VALIDATES MY RELATIONSHIP MORE THAN I DO! :-)

It's been a loooooong week!

So work has been super stressful...but I am trying hard to leave it where it should be so I won't bore you with the details but it has become more of a chore than a passion lately.  Yea yea yea...I know...that's why they call it work, eh?  But I used to really love what I do...now I'm just "blah" about it.  So on to other subjects :-)

I've been thinking a lot about how I'm going to propose and where within Disneyland.  I'm going to call their wedding division this week to see if they have any suggestions/information for me.  A mutual friend thinks I should take Cheryll to Snow Whites wishing well and have her close her eyes, toss a coin in and make a wish. Then when she opens her eyes I'll be standing there holding the ring.  This is a very cute idea!

Regardless of the "how", I also came up this neat idea for the day...I think it would be cool to have us both wear these t-shirts:

THEN after I propose and after she says yes (of course she will lol)...we can change into these:

I know...super silly!  But it's right up my alley and something I would totally do.  I'm always trying to make us wear similar colors, shirts, etc. (see previous post with ALL of us wearing the "Marriage is so gay!" t-shirts at Pride.)

THEN....when we go to Disneyland for "Gay Day" in October....we can wear these:

HAHAHAHA someone stop me now...'cause I'm on a roll!

Got the ring yesterday!!!

It's so much more beautiful in person. It's perfect...I hope Cheryll feels the same :-) We wear the same ring size and the fit is nice!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

I've decided I will propose at Disneyland on 8/25 since it's sentimental to both of us. It's the anniversary day of when we met and the place we went to on our first date.  I have all our friends who are coming along for the day in on this secret.  My friend TJ will take pictures (candidly hidden as I propose.)

I'm just not sure where at Disneyland I should do it!  I have one month to prepare...wish me luck :-)

The Perfect Song...

Tonight I asked Cheryll what song she may like to play at her wedding (one day...lol as if she doesn't know what I'm fishing for.)  She said she wasn't sure; there were too many to choose from. I agreed.

Well in perusing the internet while she's sleeping tonight I found a perfect song.  It may not be that kinda R&B type of song we love but the lyrics of this song are amazing...Nedra Johnson is a lesbian musician and she captures it so lovely...

Forever With Me - Nedra Johnson

Let’s stand before God
and those who understand
that what we do is love.

I’ll say I do
I hope you will too.
Let no man tear asunder
What God has made one.

Let’s trust our hearts
And live for our dreams
‘cause I believe my praying
brought you to me.

So I will not refuse
This blessing I’ve been given.
Though some may disapprove,
I’m in love with you.

And love is always patient
And love is always kind
And I know love is neverending
When I look in your eyes.

So I’m down on my knees
And I bought you a ring.
Baby, won’t you please
Spend forever with me?

Forever and ever
Forever with me.
Forever and ever
Forever with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOc9nLIRQuo