I Found My Charm!
As some of you know, and many who may not…Steve and I met through a mutual friend. We had both been through our fair share of heartaches and headaches in todays dating world and both felt maybe it would be easier to just give up. Steve and I had tried the dating apps and I’d say the best thing that came out of it was Steve meeting one of his Groomsmen, Juan, on a bumble date gone wrong.
I remember being on a girl’s trip with my friend Meg and Natalie in Banff and Meg was very persistent on trying to set me up on a date. I finally caved and needless to say the first two were a bust. A few months later, I was on another girls trip to Florida with my roommate Lexi and Meg (Yes, we all know I love to travel!). I remember it was a rainy day on our last day. Meg was working on my Uncle Mark and Aunt Sandy’s kitchen table and she yells over to me “come check out this guy.” Ohhhh…here we go again…Meg the Matchmaker at work. She showed me a picture of Steve and I thought to myself…he is cute (he was wearing sunglasses so I couldn’t see his piercing blue eyes). With having terrible luck in the past, I decided I’d give it one more try. We laughingly joked that maybe the third time would be a charm.
Meg shared my number with Steve and the waiting game began…”no Meg, he has not reached out yet,” I remember shouting to her 2 minutes later. I think he finally reached out 2 days later…where Steve and I quickly felt a deep connection. He was so easy to talk to and we had so much in common; however, we couldn’t seem to find a time to meet. Steve was super busy with basketball and then left with Juan for Spain for 2 weeks. The anticipation to finally meet each other after we had already felt like we had met was very intense. I remember being so nervous because I was either going to hate this guy or I knew he was going to be “the one.” Three weeks later, Steve finally came to my house to pick me up for our first date. He’ll never forget how nervous I really was because I tried to put a bracelet on that my 3 year-old girl I babysit had made for him. My hands were shaking terribly that I almost couldn’t tie the knot. Little did I know that a short year, later I would be tying the knot with Steve, my soulmate.
Steve truly is my person. For those of you who know Steve, you know how competitive he is… which makes for some intense matchups between the two of us! Steve and I have so much in common. We love all things sports, we both went to PITT, we love building puzzles, watching movies, acting silly, family time, traveling, etc. He knows how to instantly put a smile on my face without even having to say a word. We understand each other, we appreciate each other, we complement each other, and we motivate each other. These are what make a lasting relationship and what I have been searching for! I also forgot to mention that Steve is very handsome and tall (you’re welcome dad). Steve’s commitment to starting his business from the ground up and not quitting, shows me that he will have the same commitment to our marriage! I cannot wait to marry my best friend, my soulmate!
I met Alissa through a mutual friend who is now commonly known as Matchmaker Meg. Meg sent me a text saying Alissa thought I was cute. I immediately looked her up on Facebook. My first reaction was she is gorgeous and I should call her. Then I remembered that the kids these days text and I should also wait a few days to not look desperate. Skeptical as matchmaking through friends has never worked in the past; I anxiously waited 2 full days to send the first text. From that moment on if I was not with Alissa, I was most likely texting Alissa, and undoubtedly thinking about Alissa.
It was the end of the summer and I had basketball games almost every night. I also had a trip to Spain scheduled with my groomsman Juan. Yes, Juan will tell you that he knew something was afoot when he caught me texting this girl everyday while in Spain. She was so easy to talk to and we had so much in common. We texted everyday for 3 weeks straight until we finally met in person on Aug 27th 2019. I think we both had such a strong feeling that this was going to be special so it was a highly anticipated first date. I will not forget how nervous I was but I calmed quickly once I saw how nervous she was. We decided we would get tacos and margaritas and then hop around Lawrenceville. We played ping-pong. I'm a pretty good ping pong player so I thought I would take it easy on her. She won the first game and I was shocked and said "that's the last game you're winning". We played five games and she ended up winning 4 of the 5. That is when I quickly discovered that Alissa is good at everything. For those who don't know, Alissa really is good at everything and I mean everything. Ping pong was the start.
Golf- She can not swing for months then pick up a club and crush it every time straight down the middle.
Cornhole- I have never seen her lose which is why I am now always her partner. We are undefeated.
Tennis- Not her strongest sport but she’s much better than average with no real practice. She did shockingly beat me once. We are undefeated in couple’s tennis.
Foosball- I won't play her anymore. It is too frustrating how quickly she wins. She will beat anyone I know expect for maybe her uncle Roger.
Bowling- The first time she ever annoyed me was when we went bowling. Her smug dances after each strike got under my skin. She shot a 163 the first time we went. I lost.
Flip Cup- She is the absolute best flip cup player I have ever seen. I saw her flip it on the first try 21 times in a row.
Not to mention she played soccer and softball in college.It doesn't matter what it is she is just a natural at sports. This is a really good thing because I love sports and I'm very competitive. This is just one little thing that I love about Alissa.
Now back to the first date. The night ended with us dancing at a bar in Lawrenceville. It was a great first date. I was so impressed with her. I met my groomsman Brandon the next morning for breakfast to tell him how it went. I had chicken noodle soup, he had pancakes. He was really excited for me and told me to play it cool and not move too fast. Four days later we went on our 3rd date in LA! She had a long weekend and expressed it would be fun to get away. I was head over heals for her so I looked for the cheapest flight out of Pittsburgh. LA was number one. Once we got there I quickly discovered the rest of the trip was not going to be very cheap. Still it was spontaneous and that is something that Alissa just brought out in me. She is unlike anyone I have ever met. After 1 week I knew I wanted to be exclusive with her. One month after we met I took her to a nice dinner and hid a necklace in my sock and surprised her asking her to me my girlfriend. She said yes and we have not left each others side since.We have done so much since we have met. We have only known each other 8 months from the day I am writing this and I feel like I have done a decade worth of activities with her. She has been an absolute breath of fresh air that I desperately needed in my life. After meeting her family it was easy to understand how Alissa became such an incredible person. Judy, Dan, and Nick have been exceptionally welcoming to me. I already feel like a part of the family. I never could have imagined such a perfect fit with a woman. She is the most genuine person that I know. She is full of life and has the most uplifting personality. Her smile instantly brightens my mood. She is always present in my mind and in my heart. I love her very much and I am very excited to start a life with my best friend.