I don't wear my engagement/wedding rings anymore. Mainly because they don't fit. I was very young when I got engaged and while I wanted "a ring", I was quite happy to have a diamond I already owned reset from a necklace to a ring.

Now I would like to have it reset again. I very, VERY rarely wear gold these days. But then we get back to the not wearing any rings thing, and it seems silly to spend the dough.

Cheese is not freaky. Mayo is a bit unusual, but not freaky. What's the difference between bologne and hot dogs, other than shape? No body thinks it's freaky to eat a bologne sammich with mayo.

WindSparrow is my new best friend.

What Plei said. It's worse than bacon.

Lee is dead to me. I was willing to deal with the bacon hate (cause, well, more for me), but mayo?

Ok, quick poll: Is a couple engaged when they agree to get married, or when after such agreement, a gemstone ring changes hands?

When they agree to get married. The jewelry is simply a physical manifestation of the promise. OTOH, for some people, they don’t consider themselves truly engaged until that point, which I think is silly, but whatev. Also, Miss Manners says that you don’t congratulate the woman, you congratulate the man, but wish her the best.

My ring at the wedding was one I happened to have in my jewelry box, and we didn't get matching rings till about 8 years ago. He keeps saying he's going to get me a rock of some sort, but I figure I won't make a big deal of it.

I was once a witness at a wedding where the couple didn't have a ring. As far as I'm concerned, if you can get married without a ring, you can sure get engaged without one.

Also, Miss Manners says that you don’t congratulate the woman, you congratulate the man, but wish her the best.

"Dude! You're getting married! Way to go! Congrats!"

"Hey Sally, I hear you're getting married. Sorry to hear that. Well, I hope it works out... best of luck!"

My favorite hot dog comes with guacamole, pico de gallo, and cheddar cheese. It sounds weird, but it's SO nummy.

My dad used to do this thing with hot dogs where he'd cook up a big batch of tomatoes and onions, add a bunch of spices and throw it on a hot dog. Less of a sauce, more like sauteed veggies on a dog. Really good.

Personally, I hope when the time comes, that I get a ring. I mean, I wouldn't say, "No! I'm not going to marry you!" if he didn't get me a ring, but part of me is still that little girl that wants the whole fairy tale.

Oh, I got the surprise ring, bended knee engagement--which I loved and was very nice. The diamond is very small but DH picked it out on his own and got a wrap for a wedding ring which is very cute.

For all that, I'm not overly emotionally attached to jewelry (Although Miracleman and Aimee may disagree, having had to look for the damned things for over an hour).

I don't wear my rings around the house because they solitaire pokes out and I scratched the babies so many times with the setting.

So, teachers - how was the first day back? Mine was nice - my class seem like a nice little bunch, and I'm trying Very Hard not to compare them to my last lot.

Mine's not until next week. Though this week, the grad students I've been teaching over the summer have their exams, and I'm a bit worried about that, since the subject I was teaching is the one that all of them are saying they won't pass. (I was teaching Algebra, which is a bit more difficult than some of the others, I think -- it seems like more people have to retake the Algebra exam than most of the others, most years, but I'm still kind of worried about it.)

The adventures of Paul and Barney sound absolutely adorable.

I ought to get dressed and go get lunch and then do some work. I don't feel like it.

I have had a steady stream of students telling me that they're not validated. Joy. they all have to be done manually, and someone else has to do it. Feh.