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.

Also, I think I might like a ruby engagement ring better than a diamond one. I think rubies are prettier than diamonds, and rubies look really great with my skin tone.

It was DeBeers who started the whole "diamonds are THE engagement ring stone" thing, and it backfired, because now that's the only thing people use diamonds for. That's why they started that ridiculous "right hand ring" business.