Wednesday, August 22, 2012

My Daily Dose of... Buddha

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared." - The Buddha
This quote is something I am considering placing on my invitations; meaning our happiness being shared on our wedding day. There truly is so much happiness in our love and we can't wait to share it with the people who mean so much to us.
However, my main issue is tolerance to my beliefs. Usually, at work or with my friends, when I talk about Buddhism and how I am studying it and continually trying to incorporate it into my life, I get a ton of support! My colleagues and my friends embrace me as I am, even though many of their beliefs aren't exactly parallel with mine. 
Our wedding will have hints of Buddhism to it; it will not be a traditional Mahayanic Buddhist wedding, but since it is my way of life, I will be incorporating Buddhist aspects into the ceremony and reception. I think I may be the first member of my family to get married that will not be getting married in a church... which may turn some of my family members off.
My hope is that, because I am tolerant of others' beliefs and values, that the people we love and are excited to share our special day with will reciprocate.
Namaste

Awesome August!

'Awe'-some August!
We went to Las Vegas again, and we got engaged there! (Had a health scare with Riley today, though, she's okay but I'm watching her sleep like a hawk right now and blogging for therapy... so bear with me if I ramble, okay?)
Las Vegas was amazing! We had gone last September for my birthday, but this time we were going with 15 of our fabulous friends for five days at The Flamingo, which was great; so central on The Strip, nice pools, and a great price for the time we stayed! Tom and I were also able to check-in early, which was nice... though our room wasn't a suite, it was perfect! The only downside? I got used to the air conditioning, and when we came home I just about melted!! 
Anyways, Tom and I have been living together for almost two years, and I had been bugging Thomas about proposing for awhile, but I really hadn't said anything for the past couple of months, so I really didn't think that he would be proposing anytime soon. Besides, we are already "married" as per the bank and the government, and I was just going to have to accept that if that was good enough for Thomas, it was going to have to be good enough for me.
However, on the Wednesday (August 8) that we were in Vegas, we had just got back from some activity, and we were getting ready for the night ahead. I had just gotten out of the shower, and was about to do my makeup, when Thomas randomly asked me to search his cargo shorts' pockets for change or cash. I did so, with0ut any kind of hint as to why I had to do it even though he was sitting right there, because he had asked me multiple times to carry his change as he didn't like it jingling around in his pocket, so I had a whole bunch of random change in my purse.  
So there I was, no makeup on, wet hair, digging through his pockets and counting the change when I come across the box. It had "Spence" written on the top and I dropped it in surprise, thinking I wasn't actually supposed to see it. So I meekly said, "Tom?" and he stuck his head around the corner and had this MASSIVE smile on his face!
So I opened the box and saw the ring and he asked me to marry him right then and there, with me doing a serious ugly cry/ laugh. I think I asked him 5+ times if he was sure he wanted to marry me; thank goodness he didn't change his mind!! Anyways, I was screaming and laughing and crying, and Aaron called our room asking where we were. I was bawling my eyes out on the phone and he was asking me what was wrong and I said, "Tom proposed!" and hung up.
We were so thrilled to be able to share such an important time in our lives with our incredible friends and excited to take the next step in our lives together!