he said, she said.

cat's out of the bag. I got engaged this past weekend. and it couldn't have been a more wonderful surprise (+ weekend).

nick and I both decided to draft emails to family/friends as we were out of cell range yet wanted to tell our loved ones. below, the result.

he said...

subject: dunton

yesterday morning eissa and i got engaged. now we are in dunton. we plan to find a telephone later to call and say hello.

mom, i'm sorry i missed your calls yesterday. below is my excuse demonstrating that i was busy. i'm fairly sure i can say this will not happen again.

we went for a morning run at 6:30 or around sunrise. after showers, coffee, prosecco, and egg sandwiches, our car to newark airport was diverted to the downtown heliport. after looping over midtown, somewhere north of 59th st, slightly eastish, probably a couple thousand feet over the central park reservoir, i hit her with the sucker punch (nice words, ring, blah) and she acquiesced.

after that it's hard to say. we saw some other things from above; baseball stadiums, bridges. this part was blurry for everyone but the pilot. landed in newark, landed again in denver, and after being shaken like the object of divine wrath, thankfully touched a 16-seater down on runway in telluride.

drove an f150 pickup south-southwest from there 50ish miles, around the base of a closed high pass, and back north again till the road lost pavement and then 9 miles more to dunton. dunton is a mining camp that suffered from isolation and lack of good transportation. everyone left by 1918.

enclosed please see the last memory of my single life.

she said...

subject: it started with a bike ride... 

it started with a bike ride. then a helicopter trip into an obscure town in guatemala. I was immediately taken. fast forward nearly 2.5 years. I have fallen so deeply in love with the guy I first spied in spandex.

yesterday, we took another helicopter ride. this time over manhattan. right near the top of the park where we first met on bikes, the love of my life proposed.

I am the happiest engaged girl around.

a new PR (but not the type you think)

i did something yesterday that was a total first. a total milestone. totally awesome.

i opened my first investment account.

for some, this isn't terribly exciting or even worth the words. for me, however, it's like setting a PR. actually, it is a PR.

i was very fortunate to do, experience, learn and accomplish a lot in my 20s. but it came at a price. i didn't have the funds to go to grad school, complete two ironmans, run 19 marathons, travel a ton of places AND save. so, I made a choice.

when I turned 30 last august, I had zero in savings, but also nearly zero credit card debt (I still have loans from grad school, but these are an "investment"). so, I set out to abolish the remaining debt and save. and because I don't do much in my life without vigor, I went at it with all my heart.

i was frugal, often spending only $2-$3 per day. i packed my lunches. i rarely ate out. i avoided buying anything unnecessary or superfluous. i was a saving queen.

it wasn't easy. setbacks game in the form of surprises. doctor's bills. unexpected expenses. small splurges. but i kept my resolve.

i obviously knew how much debt I had left. and, i paid it off in november. (i will pay off an account in my name that's NOT my debt next month...this is an entire story in itself...)

as for savings, i had an approximate number i wanted to save before i could open an account. I charged ahead. head down, straight into the wind.

december (the holidays). january (deprivation). february (finally).

at the end of last month, i hit my goal. i was there. and man, did it feel good.

yesterday, i pulled the trigger and transfer my hard-saved money into the hands of a company the bf invests with (if he invests with them, it has to be good.)

today, i received an email confirming the creation of my account and a notice of my "transaction in process."

i did it. i am the proud, proud owner of an investment account and a new PR.

up next? topping it times two. look out world, i am a girl on a mission.