So, without further ado, here are the details of the marriage proposal:

(drum roll, please)

As you know, I was out of town all last week on business. So when I got back into town, I wasn't too suspicious when M wanted to make reservations to dinner and a movie. We never make reservations, unless it's Valentine's Day... and then we usually wait too long and by the time we're finished procrastinating, we can't get into the place we want reservations at.

When I got back into town, he told me he had made reservations at a restaurant for dinner the following night, at 5:30 pm (strangely early, don't you think?). He wouldn't tell me which restaurant.

He also pre-bought the movie tickets for Amelie only because it always sells out in advance (there's only one theater playing Amelie in San Francisco, if you can believe that). He went to pick up the tickets on Saturday morning.

On Saturday afternoon, I asked him again which restaurant he'd made reservations at because I needed to know how to dress. That's when he told me he'd made reservatiosn at a Mediterranean restaurant near the theater and that I should dress warm because we'd have to walk 5 or 6 blocks from the restaurant to the theater.

Also, he told me to pack my hiking stuff in case we wanted to go hiking in Marin the next day (we take turns spending the night at each other's house, and it was my turn to stay at his place).

We got to the restaurant and obviously didn't need reservations because it was so early in the evening it wasn't crowded. We ate scrumptious Mediterranean food and special desserts only served once a year, during Ramadan, and drank lush Romanian wine and thick, gritty Greek coffee.

After our delicious meal, we walked up to the theater, stopping in a couple stores on the way.

The movie was great. It was such a happy, quirky film. I cried from happiness at the end. See it ASAP.

Walking back to the car, we saw something kind of scary. A guy was driving down the wrong side of the street, backwards, very fast, then stopped in front of one house. He got out with a baseball bat in his hand and went knocking on the door of the house. M and I quickly crossed to the other side of the road. Luckily, no hell broke loose. Maybe no one answered the door. Whatever the case, he got back into his car and drove away.

Anyway, as we were driving back home, M said, "Let's go over the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin. I know a nice overlook at the Marin Headlands that will have a real nice view of the city lights."

I asked, "Right now?"

"Yeah. I think it will be nice; the stars are out."

I thought it was a little odd, but nonetheless, we proceeded to cross the bridge and finally parked near the old Army fort on the Headlands. He opened the trunk and pulled out a backpack. I asked him, "You have a blanket in there?" He confirmed.

So we walked up to the lookout in the darkness, trying to avoid the puddles from the previous day's rain. When we finally got up there, he spread out a grass beach mat, lit a candle (!), and covered us with a blanket.

The view was incredible. We had the illuminated Golden Gate Bridge before us and, in the distance, the twinkling city lights. Surprisingly, it wasn't foggy or windy - we could see the stars! We sat there probably 20 or 30 minutes, stargazing, lightgazing, and talking before he said, "Well, there's a reason I brought you up here... I have something for you" and once again unzipped his backpack and brought out a white box.

He told me how much he loves me and that he wants to marry me and spend the rest of our lives together.

Then he opened the box, displaying a beautiful diamond ring, and held it up to the candle light.

It's funny now, but at the time I seriously asked him, "Are you asking me? To marry you?" (I'd always thought you were supposed to be asked, then respond. Am I right?)

He replied, "Well, yes!"

Without hesitating, I responded, "Yes, I will! I'll marry you."

Then I held out my hand so he could slip the ring on. It was too large (I have a tiny left ring finger - a size 4! This one was a size 6), so we put it back in the box.

Then he broke out the champagne! He jokingly said, "If you'd said no, you weren't going to get any of this...."

We then laughed and talked... about how he'd pulled this off, how long he'd been planning it, who he'd consulted, etc.

I told him, "I was a little suspicious with all the reservations, but since I'd been gone the previous week, I didn't really think that much of it."

That's when he told me that the reservation part wasn't over yet. I looked at him quizically. He said, "I made reservations at a bed & breakfast in Stinson Beach. In fact, we're running a little late. We'd better finish the champagne in our glasses and hit the road."

I was awestruck. I never imagined M would be so organized! Whem I told him this, he simply said that he wanted it to be memorable. He certainly accomplished that.

Even more admirable, he said he'd packed an overnight bag (I keep a second set of makeup remover, face cleanser, and some makeup over at his house) for me! I was extra impressed.

We arrived at the B&B so late that we had to wake up the innkeeper. We felt bad, but she brushed it off. She greeted us, showed us to our room, and told us to help ourselves to any in-room movie (they had a collection of movies downstairs that we could play in our room's VCR) and tea or coffee.

After putting our stuff down, we wandered downstairs to look for a movie. We decided on a 1950's movie called "The Wedding Party" with a young Robert DeNiro in it! I helped myself to some green tea.

We got about 20 minutes into the movie before announcing we were too tired to keep our eyes open any longer. Lights off.

The next morning, we had a really enjoyable breakfast with the other guests and decided what we should do that day. The weather was looking pretty grim so we ruled out hiking and opted to go to Bolinas instead. The innkeeper and her husband told us Bolinas was having a Winterfest Faire that day.

Since M's cell phone had died the previous night, I used the payphone across the street to call Zaugi and Buzzer to tell them the exciting news of the impending wedding and that they could share the news with the rest of the family because I wasn't going to be near a phone.

In Bolinas, we looked around in the shops and bought a couple Christmas tree ornaments. We also took a walk on the beach before heading back to San Francisco and back to reality.

Reality: Do you know how much weddings cost? Too damn much! We're estimating it's going to take at least $20,000 to throw a party for 180+ guests.

Reality: I'm moving in with M by the end of January in order to do some intensive saving. I figure that without having to pay rent, I should be able to save about $15,000 by our October wedding.

Plus, we feel panicky. We want to throw a fantastic party for our family and friends, but neither of us are good with party planning... especially a formal, large party. We feel lost. Looking on the bright side, I figure that it will get easier once we book the reception site.

Wish us luck.

Now I'd like to share four of my personal pre-wedding rules with you:

Rule No. 1 - I will not be one of those girls who covets bridal magazines that are the size of a bible. It's ridiculous and unnecessary. It's filled with advertisements, for crying out loud!

Rule No. 2 - I will not bore you with wedding talk. How droll and unattractive!

Rule No. 3 - I will not have 1/2 dozen or more bridemaids. Better yet, I will only have one - my sister - and I will pay for her hideous dress myself or else she alone can choose it. I've been a bridesmaid oh, about 10 times and there is only one dress out of the 10 that I'll wear again.

Rule No. 4 - I will not work myself up in a frenzy over making it "the perfect day". Frankly, I could care less. Yes, I want it to be fun, but it doesn't have to be seamless. It's only a party, albeit the most important party of our lives. What matters most is that, after the party ends, we'll be lifelong partners. That's why I'm so ecstatic to be marrying him.

p.s. For our honeymoon, we're currently considering Prague and maybe somewhere on the Mediterranean Sea. I'm so excited!