warning: the contents of this post are uncharacteristically mushy.

that was us. exactly one year ago today. meeting each other for the first time.

we started talking because someone mentioned he went to the same university that i work for. then the conversation led to much more important things, like food. :) he mentioned that he loves cooking and i mentioned that i love eating. i spoke of the sadness i felt having left kansas (the land of beef and juicy steaks) to enter the land of sushi and vegan meals. and, in that moment, our eyes met and time stood still (cue freeze frame).

"i love steak. you should come over and i'll make you dinner." vince
"that would be awesome!" krysta

now, let's be honest. here's a guy who loves to cook AND he's italian so he can't suck too bad at it, right?

so a few hours later, when the party was wrapping up and people were gathering their things, vince walks over to me and says, "what are you doing next friday?" after i responded, "nothing ..." he says, "let me have your number so we can plan a time for dinner."

just like that.

and the rest is history folks.

the first guy in l.a. to have asked me out on a date. the first guy to have ever won my heart so quickly. and the first guy that, after almost a year of dating ... i still get butterflies when i see him.

let me tell you ladies and gents ... i am not exactly the biggest softy in the world and my days of wanting to be married for the sake of wearing a cool dress and scanning items at target for a registry are long gone. but there was something about his confidence and undeniable authenticity that made me take a risk and say yes.

i think today is almost more beautiful than the day that marks our first real date with one another. because what happened july 14, 2007, changed the way i view myself and the way i view the people around me. i felt confident, for the first time since moving to l.a., to let someone close enough to see the real me. what happened as a result, are memories that trump all of the other moments in my past that told me that this was never possible.

if only for the reason that it brought me hope, i would cherish that day. but it brought me love ...

now i see that one encounter, one conversation, one moment. holds the potential to change your life.