Friday, September 10, 2021

Birthday Giveaway #10 - - A Romance Worthy Proposal




I've known Hellie a lot longer than she's been reviewing for this blog. In the 15 or so years we've been friends, she's always been a staunch advocate for romance, for those over-the-top declarations of love, for the tear-inducing, sigh-worthy happy endings. Well, this week, our dear Hellie was the recipient of one of those over-the-top declarations and I could not be happier for her and her romance-hero-worthy, brand-spankin'-new fiancĂ©. I wanted all of you readers who enjoy Hellie's wonderful book reviews to be able to celebrate her good news so I asked her if I could post it here and she agreed. She also gave me permission to let her "tell the tale" by sharing the messages she sent me and a mutual friend at the height of her shock, joy, and laughter. Because if you know Hellie at all, you would know this momentous occasion would, of course, read like scenes from a romantic comedy. And it does. 

*All salty language (and who can blame her?) is left intact. 


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Hellie's Proposal  

First, you should know that yesterday, Castro's dad nearly ruined everything about the surprise. Castro had him on speaker phone because you know, he doesn't have any secrets from me, and his dad is like, "Are you excited for the big day?" Castro immediately tries to cut him off. "Yep, yep, it's so exciting you're flying off to Canada tomorrow--" "The thing at 9:30 am?" "Yes your FLIGHT takes off at 9:30..." "What? I was talking about the proposal..." and this is where I start laughing because I hadn't really processed this was happening tomorrow (i.e. today) only that a proposal was in the offing very soon. I'm very dim. THEN later in the day we go to a friend's house for burgers, et al, Labor Day--and I put on eyebrows and mascara because, hey, what if?--and we go--and they're all playing tennis and one of the tennis players, an older woman like his dad comes over. "Did you get everything done today?" And I'm like "What?" And Castro is making desperate gestures--and she says, "Decorating your office?" I'm thinking, "Why are we decorating Castro's office?" and I think Castro bursts out with a "Goddamnit!" and I start laughing again--poor man--and I shrug it off and she gets quiet and realizes it hasn't happened, et al...and we have our burgers and have a grand time.

Then this morning, he makes me breakfast (as usual) and I go off to work as usual--and he walks me to the car to help me with my stuff and kisses me. And I'm grinning because he's all scruffy and his hair is sticking up...he's wearing his hoodie...and he's like, "I'll pick you up for lunch." "Okay!" And he waves at me from the top of the sidewalk as he always does and I pull away to go to work. I get to work and see Caitlin and she was all, "Hey, welcome to Tuesday that actually feels like a Monday!" and I laugh--and she says, "I had to borrow one of the keys in your office. I'm not sure I got it back correctly." I open my door to check...




and there are BALLOONS. A nearly five foot high balloon spelling LOVE. There are STREAMERS. There is FUCKING TAYLOR SWIFT MUSIC PLAYING. There are THREE BOUQUETS OF FLOWERS ON MY DESK. It smells like a florist! There is a BOOK(let) on the chair that says THE PROPOSAL by Antonio Castro...and the BOOK has a TABLE OF CONTENTS because it's 20 pages and includes a formal proposal in SPANISH as well as a poem we wrote together, and the stories of how his dad and mom got together and how we got together....GAH. And after I stomped around several times going, WHAT THE FUCK! like six times I think at least...and Caitlin was all "fairy like" What's going on? Is something the matter? --and I responded with, "Is something--WHAT THE FUCK EVER" and I came out and was like, WHO IS TAKING THE PHOTOS? And I come around the corner--and it's PAM! (My BFF since I was 5 and doesn't even work at the University!) And I scream and she screams and we hug...and they push me back into the room and say I need to read the BOOK (which I hadn't yet because I was going around repeating WTF over and over) and I got through the story of his mom and dad and CASTRO shows up.



Caitlin says, "You've been here 8 minutes." Which means as soon as I pulled away and he was out of sight, CASTRO called Caitlin to say she's on the way and hastily SHAVED, watered/combed his hair down, DRESSED UP, grabbed the ring, then raced to work before I could be too long by myself to wonder what to do....the man doesn't drive that fast. He is not a fast mover. And all I could think was HOW DID HE GET HERE SO FAST? He's changed clothes! So he proposed and I said yes...and he put the ring on and we kissed and got teary eyed and hugged...and I am been fucking USELESS all day. But it's been fantastic.




I've read romance stories for so long, always adored grand gestures--but never thought I'd get one because grand gestures only happen in books. Or they happen to other people who actually belong in fairy tales. So...this was amazing.


The End

But, really, it's just the beginning...

Congratulations to Hellie and Castro! May your love grow deeper each day, may you always make one another laugh, and may your journey together be long, joyful, and overflowing with romance. 

Readers, please join me in congratulating Hellie and Castro on their engagement!

Share your engagement stories with us, or maybe the story of someone you know. Was the proposal low key? Over the top? Or, like mine, do you have trouble remembering exactly who asked who? lol

Birthday Giveaway #10:

Two randomly chosen people who post a comment before 11:00 PM, September 12 will each receive a package of books from my personal book stash. 

*U.S. only
*Must be 18
*Void where prohibited


48 comments:

  1. That was fantastic! I also knew my proposal was coming because we picked out the ring together. It was on my birthday and I had just turned 18 and he 20. He did get on his knee though. It's been 52 years.

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    1. Congratulations! I hope you are blessed with many more years together.

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    2. Awww!! I hope you have many, many more years together!

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  2. Congrats, Hellie and Casstro.
    He took me down to Jones Beach - it was June and we were in the parking lot and he told me to get something out of the glove compartment and then I knew the ring was in there and he was going to propose - we had gone into NYC several weeks before to look for rings. And he did ask my Dad's permission. 51 years married now.

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    1. That is so sweet. Congratulations on 51 years together. I hope you enjoy many more!

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    2. *squee* That's awesome! I hope you enjoy many more years together!

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  3. I'm not eligible, but I wanted to say how much I loved that story! Especially the part where you are stomping around the office looking at stuff and saying "WTF is going on??" :D

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    1. So on brand for our Hellie!

      Keep checking back, Bridget. There will be more international giveaways this month. :)

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    2. LOL. As she said, very ON BRAND for me. My friends who'd been there the whole time told Castro about what I was saying and he was cracking up. He kinda wished they'd video'd that part so he could have seen it. My BFF who was hiding in another room with another coworker were laughing without sound--just dying at my behavior.

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  4. What a wonderful story and proposal. Love it. Mine was not so elaborate but was cute and involved music suited for our era and a beautiful ring. 51 years of bliss.

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    1. Awww! YAY!! Congratulations!!! I hope for many more years for you all. I also want to say I *LOVE* Taylor Swift music--and so does he--it's one of our "common interests" that's amusing. But I really couldn't figure out where the music was coming from. Did you all have a "song"? May we know what it is? The Taylor Swift song that first played was "This Love"...followed by "You Are In Love."

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  5. Congratulations!!!! I loved reading the story and seeing the pictures.

    My own proposal was very low key. My husband was so worried about my response that he just casually said, " Maybe someday if we still feel the way we do now we might want to think about getting married." I responded positively, so the conversation progressed from there. We have been married 44 years.

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    1. We had some conversations about it--in fact, we were casually talking about times of year to possibly marry, et al, what that would be like, what we'd do. But I was very clear: you will need to eventually ask me, at least before the wedding, if you want to marry me. :) And he complied. *LOL*

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    2. Also, congrats on the 44 years!! I think low key is the best...sometimes if you're expecting too much, it can be a disappointment...and I would hate that. So I'm all about managing expectations as much as possible. *LOL* So he really blew me away.

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  6. What a great proposal ! Poor guy is surrounded by well-intentioned saboteurs and still pulls it off! SO SWEET !! And what a great story to pass down in the family. CONGRATULATIONS !!

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    1. I don’t know why it says unknown user above comment. Laurie Gommermann
      johnslakeat usadot com

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    2. Thank you! I do think it makes a great rom-com kind of story...and yes, he definitely still managed to pull it off. He usually does though. He's very adaptable.

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  7. I'm divorced so I don't want to talk about it...lol
    But congrats!!!

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  8. I enjoy learning about surprise proposals which are real surprises. How special and perfect. My husband gave me a surprise of my life by choosing a romantic setting outside and the beauty of the area. Never forgotten this date.

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    1. Awwwwww! That's wonderful!!! I'm glad he was able to make it very special and memorable. :)

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  9. Congrats Hellie and Castro! I knew my proposal was coming, heck I even helped pick out the ring! My mother-in-law told my husband that she was thinking of putting his elderly dog down the same weekend he was going to propose! He convinced her to wait a week. Geesh!

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    1. Thank you! (Same: I picked out my ring. I just didn't know the exact date or place...I wasn't expecting my office.) *reads about the dog* GAH. Thank goodness he convinced her to WAIT. Yikes! *LOL*

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  10. I did not know it was coming, my sweet husband who passed several years ago brought me to a lovely restaurant and proposed over dessert.
    Patty B43

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    1. Awwwww, that sounds so romantic! I'm so glad you got to have that moment and hopefully many more with your husband before he passed.

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  11. Hellie and Castro, I am so happy for both of you. Y'all, I wish both of you all the happiness you hope for,and all the good times you can handle.

    Mr Wonderful was on the way to Viet Nam on a very large ship. He called me from the phone booth on the dock, to tell me we ought to get married. I thought he must have been drinking. When he convinced me (by asking a strange passing sailor to vouch for where he was) I agreed. We had exactly 3 days to get married.

    I flew to LA and we drove to Las Vegas with our best man. We shopped for a ring - it was $1.56 including tax at a dime store. (when they still had dime stores) We were married at 12 something AM in the luxurious office of a justice of the peace or a judge or someone with authority. Then we tried to find a room....the 3 of us had a very large room with 2 beds...so lucky. We had locked the keys in the rental car and a nice man broke into the car for us since all my clothes were in the trunk. We drove back to LA and I flew home. He was gone for about 8 or 9 months.

    Hellie, I had a very funny story that just disappeared - so I will simply say - I envy you the beautiful proposal, the romance, the affection and the fun.

    May you both have a wonderful future together.

    Take care and God Bless.







    Unfortunately, all the good omens from those events were not enough to make it last. But, if I am honest, there were some funny events in our 25 years of marriage. And when people say, getting there is half the fun, they could be right.

    Hellie, I envy you the romance and the tenderness and the great affection. Y'all are gonna have a wonderful life together.

    Take care and God Bless.

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    1. Thank you, Annette. I'm sorry Mr. Wonderful didn't quite work out, but I am glad he did give you some good memories too...including that fun off-the-cuff proposal and honeymoon. *HUGS* Thank you for the well wishes.

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  12. Congratulations! What a wonderful surprise. Castro sounds like a great guy.

    We had a low-key engagement. We went to a concert with a group of friends, returned to the apartment--all the friends were staying the night. Getting ready for bed, I come out of the bathroom, and he's kneeling by the bed with the ring on the pillow. He asks, I said yes, put the ring on and start screaming because my bestie is in the living room. I go out and show her, everyone congratulates us.

    Denise

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    1. Thank you. I think he is. :) I love this proposal--haha! Perfect that your bestie was in the living room so you could immediately celebrate!

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  13. Congratulations!! This was so awesome. Ours was very low-key. Second marriage for both of us. We just started talking about living together and just did ot.

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    1. That makes sense...it's the first for both of us, and we're older, so you'd think we'd be a little past some of the swag, but if my reaction to this is any indication, I am not past (i.e. old enough) to not care about the swag. *LOL* He was a little afraid I might not like the over the top stuff--and he asked my coworker Caitlin and she said, "How many times in life do you plan to propose?" and he was like, "You're right. Okay. I'm getting all of this..." *LOL*

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  14. Congratulations! My son proposed to his now wife, at Disneyland!

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    1. Oh, that's so cool!!! Very good setting--especially if you're a Disney fan like me...in fact I think my coworker got proposed to at Disney World, if I remember correctly--she is a FAN. *LOL*

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  15. Wow! What a great story, didn't know things happened like that in real life!! Congrats Hellie and Castro. Hope y'all have a long and happy marriage.

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  16. Congratulations Hellie and Castro! Hubby and I just celebrated 40 years together. Our daughter just got married. Love is in the air.

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    1. YAY! Yes, love is definitely in the air!! Congratulations to your daughter and you all--I'm sure it was beautiful! And congratulations on your 40 years--here's to many, many more!

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  17. I love this story!! Congrats Hellie!! How romantic!!
    My hubby didn't really propose - he said this (living together) is really working out so lets go ahead and get married. My older daughter's guy spelled "Marry Me" is glow in the dark stars on a dark blue wall for her. I thought that was sweet.

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    1. *LOL* I'll be honest--I was sorta expecting a proposal along that line... I do love what your SIL did for your daughter: very romantic. :)

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  18. oh my goodness! You guys brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much for sharing! I received a unique proposal from my beloved hubby of now more than 30 years, but it was a busy time for us both, and we then didn't see each other for six months! All the best to you both, Hellie and Castro.

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    1. Happy 30 years to you and your hubby! (Now I'm curious what made the proposal unique! *LOL*) Thank you.

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  19. đź’•Congratulations Hellie and Castro!!!đź’•

    We had already decided to get married and were building a house.. The day I bought my dress with his mother helping we went to check on home progress. We sat on the back porch step and he got down on his knee and pulled out a ring. He also had hidden champagne. We found out years later that all the neighborhood ladies and some men were watching from their homes.

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    1. Awwww, that's a good one! I like that...the witnesses crack me up...but good work on him hiding some celebratory champagne!

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  20. My husband and I were friends in high school. Nothing special, we just sat next to on another in class. After our Junior year, he moved from Northern NY to Florida. We both went to college and exchanged Christmas cards and maybe a letter or two each year. After college, I left for the Peace Corps and he joined the Air Force. When I extended for a third year, they sent me home for 30 days which I took at Christmas. I was in the Philippines and decided to stop and visit my cousin in California to ease jet lag. As it turned out, her husband and my friend were stationed at the same base. She invited him over for dinner the first night I was there, and he took the three of us out for dinner the next. It was the first time we had seen each other in 7 years. After he left that night, my cousin said "He's perfect for you." I felt it would be something to pursue, but I wouldn't be backing the states for another 9 months. After Christmas, I flew back to my assignment and we wrote a bit more frequently. That February I got my first Valentine card. In May he came to my village with a couple that were his parent's best friends for our fiesta. They had just been stationed at Clark AFB in the Philippines. I went with them to Bagio City to show them around, and then back to the base with them. From there, I played tour guide in Manila and other places. One night we were sitting on the sofa talking and half watching TV and he said. "Will you marry me when you get home." Not very dramatic and the poor guy didn't get an answer until I finished and got home 4 months later. It wasn't an easy courtship, he was stationed 12 hours from my parent's. We got engaged about a month and a half after I got home. We never really did date before then. The night he gave me the ring and I said yes was the first time we had gone out to dinner. I would see him every 3 weeks when he had a long weekend. We got engaged in Sept. and he left for Vietnam in Jan. He came back in May (we had to postpone our May wedding) and we got married the first Sat. in June. We certainly didn't date much, see each other much or really know each other all that well. The important thing is we were friends and he was one terrific guy. Over the years our love has grown and we will celebrate 50 years next June 3.

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  21. Congrats Hellie and Castro! My husband and I were having a super secret office romance. We were hiking together during Christmas vacation and at the top of a small mountain he proposed. He had planned and pulled out champagne, baguette, pate, and camembert from his pack. We had a lovely celebratory picnic with a beautiful snowy view.

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  22. Hellie that is so awesome! I'm so excited for you... it's nice to get your own grand gesture. You deserve it!I've gotten a lot of them over the years and it never gets old! Enjoy!

    Mr. Irish took me downtown and proposed at one of my favorite spots along the lakefront. He remembered me telling him I always wanted to go there with someone I loved. It was amazing! I lost him two years ago to cancer but all of his over the top, grand gestures still make me smile!

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  23. I've been married twice and divorced twice. Don't really keep the details of when the question was popped for rehashing at this late date in my life. Congratulations to you though!

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  24. Congratulations! What a sweet story!

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