January 2020 comes along and Justin and I planned a celebratory getaway to Barcelona as we had just finished defending our PhDs! Little did I know, I would be celebrating something else entirely during that trip. We got to the airport early January 20, 2020. The flight was packed and we were hitting a lot of turbulence which made for an uncomfortable and sleepless night. We arrived in Barcelona the next day to a hurricane. We were the last flight cleared to land and all others were detoured to Madrid (6 hrs away). The winds were blowing so hard that we had to wait an additional 2.5 hours on the plane because the doors couldn't be opened! Needless to say, I was tired and getting hangry. Eventually, we were able to deboard and after an hour long metro ride we checked in to our hotel. I was bone tired and looking forward to getting some food and relaxing the rest of the evening. Justin had other plans. Once we got dry he quickly found directions to the Font Magica de Montjuic, a beautiful fountain in front of the site of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. I had no idea why this crazy man wanted to go back out in the rain and schlep us all the way to Montjuic via metro and a bus ride. Either way, we made it and it was impressive. We were the only ones crazy enough to brave the storm so the are was completely empty. We had the whole place to ourselves. We ran around trying to find cover and Justin kept asking if I wanted to go further. I was tired and I didn't know why he was still so insistent that we stay and find the perfect spot. As we walked back to the front of the fountain, Justin looked at me and said some really sweet words. He then proceeded to kneel in a giant puddle in the rain and asked me to marry him. It was the sweetest most intimate proposal and I wouldn't have had it any other way. We kissed in the rain and ran back to the covered bus stop laughing and smiling. You can see the first picture we took as an engaged couple in the photos tab. <3

Justin and I met August 1, 2014 at LSU's Pete Maravich Assembly Center (PMAC) in Baton Rouge. Now the reason I remember this day in such detail is because I had been funded to do an internship at the U.S. Department of Agriculture that summer and was presenting my findings with all the other funded undergraduates. It just so happens that Justin's roommate at the time, Rene, was also funded by my same organization and we got to talking that afternoon. As my birthday went uncelebrated a few days prior, I was inviting everyone to a get together I was having at a bowling ally/arcade/bar called Quarters. As the presentations came to a close, the group got together to take a picture and Rene mentioned a roommate was going to pick him up...I am so happy Justin was the one to pick Rene up that day. I remember watching Justin walking towards us in his red shorts and bright blue workout top that accentuated his eyes. Needless to say, he looked good. He joined our group, we exchanged names and of course I made sure to invite everyone in the group to Quarters again...including any interested roommates. lol And that was it. I had no idea if I would ever see him again. I went back to my friend Gio's apartment, had some dinner, got ready for a fun night with my friends and went on my way to Quarters. I think I was there for an hour or two not really expecting any new people to show up when I turn around and I see Justin with another roommate Andrew and a friend Mobley walking towards the pool table. I was very surprised and really excited! I tried not to come off too eager (doubt that worked) and we all chatted for maybe a half hour and then they left. It was short but in true millennial fashion, Justin friended me on Facebook that night. The following day he messaged me and the rest is history <3. It wasn't until much later that I learned Justin had to do some hard convincing to get his friends to go with him that night. But I'll let him tell that story another time...