Strangely enough, after all of my grumblings about Match.com, I get an email AFTER I left South Carolina (after spending 3 months there) and it's from a man who lives in the very same little town where I spent my childhood summers. We missed each other by about 5 days--he was thinking that I was still in SC. After one amazing first phone call that lasted 3 hours, we were hooked. My kids thought I had lost my mind because we texted over 1000 times in one month. After several trips back and forth across the country, our romance was consummated with an engagement in St. Lucia, June of 2013. 

For those of you who don't know Jack, he has a Ph.D. in Political Thought and Science and has taught at Coastal Carolina University for almost 30 years. He is marvelous and compliments me perfectly and I feel very fortunate to have found him at this point in my life. It's so serendipitous that he lives in the very small seaside town of Murrells Inlet where my grandparents and great grandparents lived over a hundred years ago. Life can be full of strange twists and odd surprises, yes? So, life is ever changing and fluid; it should not be stagnant and stuck and I am trying to make this year a testament to this theory.

Our wedding is planned for May 3, 2014 at the beach house of my cousin, Nancy, on Pawleys Island. This home was a favorite place to gather with family over the years, and my father and brother both adored the serenity and calm of the beautiful beach down in front. Nancy has graciously given us the house as a wedding present and we will have our ceremony on the beach itself and then celebrate with food and drinks up at the house; then we will spend the additional glorious days on the beach together. It is a dream wedding come true: small and intimate and just our close friends and family.

Because of my 20 years living in Fresno, I acquired an amazing group of wonderful friends, who in their own ways, have become like family too. I simply could not have such an event occur in my life without including all of my Fresno familia. Therefore, with the help of my amazing daughter, Kelly, we are having a celebration there; not only to celebrate our marriage, but to also celebrate such wonderful friends. Jack also has many friends and family in California that probably will not be able to make the long journey to SC for the wedding, so we can take this opportunity to celebrate with them as well. Save the date: May 17 at 6:30--be there, or be square! Keep your eye on your emails and Facebook for invitations. We both look forward to seeing you all there!

Our honeymoon is just what we both wanted--relaxing, and chock full of good wine! Jack and I are starting out on the Central Coast and moving on to the Napa Valley. We are going to stay at a few B&Bs and taste our way across the beautiful vineyards of California.

This is why we have asked that there be no gifts. First, we couldn't really get them back home and mainly, because we both have pretty much all we need. However, a little extra for a good bottle of wine, a gourmet dinner and perhaps, a hot air baloon ride, would just do the trick! For those of you who wish to contribute, we have set up this honeymoon fund. It will be used to enhance our wine tasting (and drinking)adventure.