I remember the day, back during the summer of 2010, when I started working downtown at the Department of Energy Headquarters building and I saw this amazingly attractive Security Police Officer with the cutest dimples.  There was just something about him that I couldn't get past.  Everyday I would purposely go to "that side" of the lobby where he usually would be working, just to see if he would be there in hopes of him approaching me.  Of course Rob and I were both stubborn and thought "When will he/she ever say something to me or approach me!?", and yet never approached each other.  I did notice that he would randomly try to strike up conversation asking about the red streaks in my hair, and at the time I was thinking "What a great pick up line!" haha.  One day, as I was walking into the building, I felt someone come up behind me.  He was the Officer that I have been waiting to talk to!  He made a funny remark saying "Do you always walk this fast or do you have a boyfriend??"  At the time, I had a boyfriend and was completely bummed by the TERRIBLE timing on Rob's part ;-).  We kept in contact and we finally had random conversations because he was basically using me to obtain a job with the Inspector General...haha.  One random day, I noticed a knock on the door and there he was, standing in my doorway.  I thought to myself "How did he even know where my office is!?  I bet he stalked me in their security system!!"  He used the excuse of dropping of a Law Enforcement training book for me to look at, which we both knew deep down that wasn't the reason for the visit!!  We started having frequent visits and long conversations, due to the fact that we both were going through hard times in our lives.  I immediately fell in love with his personality, for those who know Rob, his humor, and also his sensitivity.  He was the entire package! As life plays out, the boyfriend that kept me away from Rob turned out to not be the person I was supposed to be with (as Rob will tell you, it's a long 12 hour story!).  I actually got a fortune cookie that said "You will make many changes before settling down happily."  It seemed like a sign from God, that I needed to make changes in my life.  I knew in my heart that this man was placed in my life for a reason and there was no turning back!  Rob is my rock, my soul mate, and my best friend and I cannot be any happier to have found this special someone to spend the rest of my life with <3

I first meet Katie in June of 2010 at work (Department of Energy).  I didn't know exactly who she was, but I knew she was new because I had never seen her before.  I was actually single at the time, but never made the move to talk to her for multiple reasons.  One, we were at work and in a professional environment.  Two, I never had a moment where it was just her and I and not a crowd around.  Three, I was training for and planning on joining the Marines as an Officer.  But the most significant reason was that I thought she was way too gorgeous to be approachable and down to earth! Not that I lack confidence myself, but I just thought that it would be a waste of time!  So yes, I definitely judged a book by its cover...i know...that's not good! Lol!  So, I saw Katie just about every day in passing at work, and would always make sure to say hi and maybe try to smile a bit to show a little interest.  And every now and then, I would make small comments just to throw feelers out there if you know what I mean.  Apparently she ONLY remembers the comment I made about her hair.  Typical of women to love the comments about their hair I guess! Lol!  Well, so a year or more goes by before I actually get my "moment" to say something to her...and so I did.  For it to take me over a year to muster up the courage and find the exact moment to actually say something...you can just imagine that the moment was quite intense! Lol! So, I'm outside and I see her walking toward the building we work at, and I just start walking toward her.  She notices me approaching her, so she removes her headphones and just looks at me with a smile, waiting for me to say something.  And my big line was, "You always walk by really fast.  You're either late all the time or you've got a boyfriend!"  Yea...In retrospect, I'm not sure why I said that cause neither of the two answers would've been good! Lol!  But, she gave this little laugh and smile and said, "Oh no.  Oh well, I do have a boyfriend."  I knew there was a little hesitation there with that, but I wasn't sure what it meant then...but I know now! Lol! Anyway, it was definitely a letdown, but I was shocked by how approachable she ended up being.  She just had this demeanor that I was extremely attracted to. But since she had a boyfriend, I was just going to leave it alone as far as dating was concerned.  I did however have my "IN" to getting to know her as a person though.  As I finally broke the ice, we started talking as friends and just getting to know each other since we were a form of co-workers.  It turned out that we had the same interests in Federal Law Enforcement, which started out as a small conversation about goals for our career, and led to huge conversations about what we wanted out of life.  Yes, I did use the fact that she worked for IG to try to spark conversation...and she'll tell you that story every time! Lol!  But everything was strictly platonic because she was dating somebody, but I'm not going to lie, I wanted to be more than friends.  I never said that or made that move because she is also the type of person I would want to be friends with...and I just had and still have an enormous amount of respect for her, so I didn't want to put her in an awkward position.  It was hard for me at times though because we would sit in her office multiple times a day and just talk about everything.  The more we spoke about life and ourselves, the more I fell in love with her.  I remember thinking that the girls like this are always taken!  I also remember saying to ta co-worker one day, before we started even dating, "I'm gonna marry that girl one day," As she walked by us and waved hello.  I just had a gut feeling about it.  I was overwhelmed by her charm, intellect, ability to hold a conversation, personal goals, values, morals, beauty.  I mean Katie really had and still has the entire package!  So I continued being friends with her until the situation with her and her ex came to a screeching halt! Good lord, I won't get into that story because most of you know it...but if you don't...the next time we have 12 consecutive hours to talk in person, I'll tell you! LOL!  Anyway, I just couldn't believe that she because available, and I knew that with all we had in common, and all that we discussed, that I had to make my move.  So I don't remember which email it was, but I sent an email basically explaining how I felt about her, and luckily, I got an email back from her expressing those same feelings.  We knew that some judgment would be passed, and how it would look to friends and family, but the feelings were way too strong to be ignored.  We both took a chance, and struck gold!  I'm blessed, that through all of mess we've had to deal with as a couple over the last 6 or so months, I've finally got my bride to be!  It may seem like it's so soon to get engaged, but really it doesn't feel like it.  It took me less than a month to know I wanted to marry Katie; it just took me 5 more months to get the courage to ASK!  I just couldn’t be happier!