Who would have thought that after all of my bad date stories that I would end up getting married to a guy I met on a blind date!

My friend and boss, Carla, swore she had a great guy in mind at the gym she went to. After months of talking this guy up and nothing happening, I left it up to fate. No more asking about it, no more dating apps, going cold turkey on dating.

I had planned a night out to celebrate my 34th birthday with my volleyball team and invited Carla to join. Carla ended up texting a few hours before that she was going to bring a friend with her to Belevader's. Little did I know that my world was about to change.

Erik, was clueless of what was in store for him. He was just enjoying tacos and beers at a birthday party for a 1 year old, when who showed up, Carla. She had told Erik that she was meeting up with coworkers just for a few drinks.

Once Erik walked in and I walked over to greet Carla, he knew he was set up! I ended up telling my life story in a bar on 90's night. Erik ended up asking for my number that night and I thought well this is a good start! I was excited for what could possibly come of this. My teammate, Erika, came up to me after Erik left and stated, he didn't seem super interested and I could do better! I just shrugged and moved on.

After not hearing from Erik in over a month, I ended up sending him a message asking if he wanted to grab drinks after work one day. From that point, there hasn't been a day that I don't speak to Erik.

It's funny, I never thought I would meet the love of my life in a dive bar...on 90s night...after being catfished at the gym. But here we are.

To give full perspective, I had a good reason for not saying yes the first time I was asked to go out on a blind date with Laura. It wouldn't have been fair to her. So I waited. But after a while, Carla, who's Laura's boss, told me she was going out for drinks with coworkers for a work-drink thing one night in May. I thought, what the hell, I'll go out and have a good time. I was already going to a one-year olds Mexican birthday party in a park (how all murder mysteries start out).

After eating enough tacos to make a stoner at the Taco Bell drive thru jealous, I was abducted by Carla from the birthday party and transported to Lawrenceville, where everything would change.

By the time we got there, I was sobered up and sleepy (I'm old as shit according to Laura), so me being fun was out of the question. However, when I walked through the door and was greeted by Laura. After talking to her for a few minutes, I realized I was catfished by Carla to come out because it wasn't a work function, it was Laura's 34th birthday party. But I didn't care. After talking to Laura for 30 minutes, I said in my head - this is it. She is my future. And I will marry her someday (something I would tell Laura months later).

We had a great time that night just chatting and getting to know each other (even thought Laura may have been tipsy :)). And even though I was sleepy and her volleyball teammate Erika said I wouldn't call or text her (see you at the wedding Erika :)), I was in love.

I did bury myself a little after the fact, not texting her for two weeks due to work. But our story is going strong. And I have the love of my life.

While Erik and I had discussed marriage and we were on the same page knowing we would get married, the timeline was up in the air. It was the week before Christmas, and Erik had said some strange comments that sort of peaked my curiosity. Now, I know that I can be annoying, ask a lot of questions that break Erik and ruin surprises. I did ask a lot of questions, but refused to let it ruin anything.

Leading up to the proposal I had mentioned to Erik that my brother- in-law had asked my dad for permission to marry my sister and had kept it a secret from the rest of the family. Since 2023 was the medical year of Laura, I was having a procedure the Friday before Christmas. That was the only time that Erik had a chance to ask my Dad, in the waiting room at 7 o'clock in the morning. My dad, wouldnt be the man I know and love if he didnt cry while agreeing to having another son-in- law.

Saturday December 23rd, the Steelers were playing that afternoon and we were going to my parents house for pizza, cookies and beer. Erik said he would be over by 2p to pick me up to head to my parents. He also knew that I would probably have my coat on and ready to run out the door. He needed a plan to keep me in one place long enough to ask an important question. If you weren't aware, I am not a super, sappy person. Erik wanted to make sure however he proposed, didn't have a gag reflex response from me.

He had been saying, he was going to bring over a few ornaments to hang on the tree since he was not putting up a tree at his apartment. He walked in with a Disney bag in hand, and my first question was did you get me Disney Tickets for Christmas? No, it was the ornament I had help/forced him to purchase back in April, when we went on vacation with the Mastics. Erik asked if we could make a memory for the year and hang the ornament on the tree together. Once I found the right branch and the ornament was on the tree, I turned around to see Erik get down on one knee. He asked me to make more memories together for the rest of our lives. Before he could even pull out the ring I was already saying yes!