From the “Is it my breath? Do I smell?” Dept.

Well, yesterday marks a new day in Byron’s life. He moved to Ottawa yesterday and starts a new full-time job with the WSIB.

All my guy friends are leaving me.

<sigh>

Perhaps it’s a sign.

From the “Geez, I hope Jen doesn’t find out” Dept.

My friend Allison Salter just got engaged!!!

Here’s a picture of the her and her fiancée , Scott:

Look at the beautiful couple.

Look at the ring on her finger.

Geez, If only you girls could hear the story about how he proposed…..It makes a significant amount of the male population look really, really bad.

Man, [inside joke] he even said, “You complete me.”[/inside joke]

Jen: I can play a mean trombone.

Click the more link below to read about how Scott proposed to Allison [copied from an email sent by Allison].

TAKEN FROM A EMAIL, AUG 18, 2002.

ALLISON SALTER WROTE:
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Hi Everyone,

GUESS WHAT!?!? I’M ENGAGED! opps…I mean…we’re engaged!

Can you tell I’m a little excited? Here is a photo of Scott and I taken by my Dad on the Beach in Southampton two days after the big event which happened on August 2nd, 2002. (Notice the ring on my finger!!!!)

Here are the particulars so far!

Date: September 20th, 2003 (that’s next year!)
Place: Southampton, Ontario

For those of you wanting to hear the engagement story of a life time….read on!
Men reading this story – CAUTION – it’s really romantic so hide if from your girlfriend if you aren’t married …and if you are married…you might want to hide it from her too! 🙂

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Scott & Allison’s Engagement Story

After an exciting week at the Olympic Academy of Canada, my Dad, boyfriend Scott and I went up to my cottage in Southampton for the weekend. Momma Salter was already there.

Now, we had to get up to Southampton before 7pm because I had made dinner reservations at a fancy restaurant to surprise Scott and to celebrate our one year anniversary. This was a surprise to Scott and he acted surprised…but little did I know that it was his idea and that he had enlisted the assistance of my parents to make ME think that it was MY idea (not yet married men…are you taking notes?).

So we have dinner….7 course meal…all fancy shamansy. I suggested we walk home along the beach in order to watch the sunset. As we approached the stretch of beach in front of my cottage, I saw some lights on the beach and remarked to Scott “oh, it looks like someone is having a campfire on the beach!” As we got closer though, I realised it wasn’t a campfire but a ring of candles and around a log on the beach that is my most favourite spot in the world. Inside the ring, lying on the sand, was Scott’s guitar case, a dozen roses and some other things that I couldn’t quite make out.

Scott led me into the candles…by now I’m thinking “What’s going on?”

He told me to sit down on the log and presented me with a book to mark our one year anniversary. Inside he has put together all of the emails, cards and letters we had written back and forth to each other, all of the pictures and special momentos from our dating life together. It was beautiful…and now my mind was thinking…ohhhh, this is JUST for our anniversary….

Then he grabbed his guitar and sang a song he had written about our past year together. (Again, unmarried men…I hope you are taking notes). It was beautiful. The main chorus goes like this:

You build me up

More than bad breaks me down

You light up my life

More than the sun ever will

(tee hee hee!)

Phew…what a NIGHT! But it wasn’t over yet!

Then Scott walked towards the water and urged me to come with him. I’m thinking…“Okay…what is this guy doing now?” As we got to the waters edge, he started lifting something out of the water. I asked him “what the heck is that” and he replied “it’s a lobster trap!“….my response “Why the heck would there be a lobster trap in Lake Huron….don’t people know that lobsters only live in the sea?”

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Sorry, just a quick break in the story to explain something to you. If you have ever watched the TV show “FRIENDS” there is an episode where Ross and Rachel are getting together. Phoebe explains Ross and Rachel’s relationship using the analogy of the lobster. Since lobsters mate for life, they spend their days swimming in the ocean looking for their respective lobster/partner. Once a lobster “finds his lobster” …he has found his life partner…or, he has “found his lobster.” After watching this episode a few years back, I took that lobster analogy to heart and have used it whenever one of my friends gets married or something like that, I comment “oh, he/she has found his/her lobster”

END OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION

So, Scott is hauling this HUGE lobster trap out of the water and brings it back up to the beach. He tells me to sit down and picks up something in a blanket and says “this is what I caught in the trap”. I remove the blanket to find this HUGE stuffed animal lobster (that he had sewn all by himself…without a pattern!). Scott continues “This is “Lobby Lobster, you can take him out with you to BC to remind you of me.” AND THEN IT CLICKED.

My response….“that’s awesome Scott, but you are my lobster”

THEN IT HAPPENED

HE WENT FROM SITTING BESIDE ME TO BEING ON ONE KNEE IN FRONT OF ME.

The thoughts going through my head at the time… “oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…this is it!”

He took my hand and said “Allison, I know that you have been thinking about our future together, and even though I have been brushing off your comments, the truth of the matter is that I have been thinking about and planning our future together for a long time. You complete me”

THEN HIS HAND WENT FOR HIS POCKET…NOW I’M THINKING

“this is it, this is it…this is REALLY IT”

Scott took the ring out of his pocket, looked at me in the eyes and said “Allison Salter, will you marry me!”

With out a doubt, my response was “Scott Curry, I would love to be your wife.”

We hugged…he took me over to the candle light so I could see the ring…and slipped it on…perfect fit.

AGGGHHHHHGGGGHHHHGGGGHHHHHGGGHHHHGHGHHGGHGHGHGHGHGH!

Then I ran around the beach a few times screaming….“I’m engaged, I’m engaged…We’re engaged!” You probably heard me in CALGARY!

BUT…he wasn’t done yet!

He had a second verse to the song…and it focused on our future together.

After we had our, moment, we cleaned up the beach to head home. But before we did, Scott said we have to call his parents (who live in Tennessee). So we called them from his cell phone but the line was crackly so I said we would call them back when we got back to my house.

So we headed home and there were a million cars at my house. I think my mom invited the whole town! We had an egagement party! I ran into the backyard and saw my mom and started crying. As I was hugging everyone else and receiving congratulations, my mom said “Allison, we have some special guests here for you.” I turned around to see Scott’s parents there. Yep, the ones we had just spoken to on the phone. They had driven 20 hours to be there for that night….and then they left the next morning! Can you believe how lucky I am!

The ring is everything I could ever want it to be.

My soulmate is EVERYTHING and MORE than I could EVER want him to be.

Sorry everyone, but I am the LUCKIEST WOMAN ALIVE!

What made it all the more special was that Scott involved both of our parents in the engagement plans and preparations (they were the ones who set up the beach).

The night ended with a bang with specially made Poppa Salter fireworks. It was amazing…absolutly amazing.

Do you want to meet Lobby Lobster? Here he is!

Lobby Lobster

How crazy and wonderful this thing called life is…and just how much more crazy and wonderful it will be with Scott to always share it with.

Much love
Allison

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End Quote

Wow! What a story. It put a tear in my eye.

-T