officially engaged

as of saturday ben and i are now officially engaged, turkey-style. we are still waiting on the professional photographs (yes, there was a photographer for our small, intimate, family-only dinner), but i do have a few that dad snapped before we left that i'm sharing below. the evening was perfect, ben's mom put a LOT into making it so. we had a wonderful time with family from ankara & istanbul, though we missed those who could not make it from australia and the us. it felt, in a lot of ways, like a rehearsal for wedding(s) to come... oooh boy! but seriously, we were thrilled to be surrounded by such love and support as we enter into marriage.

below are just a few pics of the getting ready & as we were about to leave... more soon!

make up on the porch

the hair (it deserved a picture of its own)

we have a hard time being serious
mom and dad-- the best looking couple of the night!
ben & me... feeling dapper
happinesssss!

an update, and pictures from alanya

mom and dad's visit been a whirlwind, and it's not over yet! tonight we will have the engagement ceremony with most of ben's relatives in attendance. for now i'll update on the past week, which started with the meeting of our parents and included ben's dad asking my dad for his permission for ben to marry me (it's turkish tradition... kind of hard to explain). dad eventually said yes, after telling him he'd 'think about it.' was definitely fun. here are some pics:

ben's mom, with the GIANT bouquet she brought for my mother (we all thought it was part of the hotel lobby decor until she presented it to them)

me & mom (blinking for the camera), accepting the silver vase filled with chocolates from ben's folks- another turkish tradition that takes place when asking for the father's permission
the families unite

the next day mom and dad joined me at sema's for a turkish lesson- they got a quick rundown of turkish phrases and got to meet sema, my turkish mom/tutor. mom and dad are still carrying around their vocab sheets- and making progress!
on friday we were alanya-bound. we spent a week on the mediterranean enjoying sunshine and relaxation, with the occasional sight-seeing adventure.

alanya castle wall circling some restored ottoman homes


mom & dad, exploring the castle ruins

more castle ruins, down on the harbor
castle from below
inside the 'red tower' of alanya, built in the 12th century by a former sultan during his reign
we spent a good amount of time just trying to get up and down the giant steep stairs


one of the last original harbors of turkey- at one time used by sultans and the ottomans- our view during lunch in alanya
later we enjoyed some heavenly ice cream, one of alanya's best kept secrets (the sign reads 'okra guy,' perhaps this is why it's still a secret)
alanya harbor
mom and dad returned to the hotel to find the maid had decorated their bed with flowers
that night our good friend serhat hosted us for dinner in his home... he is an AMAZING cook and he went all out for mom and dad... lamb with smoked rice, cabbage rolls and spoon salad

despite the amazing historic sites that seem to exist everywhere along the coast, we spent most of our time here, on the beach!
mom and dad enjoying the sunset at the rubi hotel

guzleme lady at the rubi- she was there every day making this sinful stuff. we definitely ate well...

i never got up the courage to do this... para sailing? wind sailing? no idea what it's called, but i don't entirely trust the rope attaching them to that boat.
we even made some new friends (dad did) with this family who were fellow hotel guests
our last night in alanya we had dinner at a fantastic fish restaurant, overlooking the harbor
we had a wonderful time, and as always, i can't wait to go back!

our visit so far...

after mom & dad's arrival (a day late), we've had a busy & fun time so far. on their first night we headed to kalbur, our favorite fish restaurant, for dinner with our good friends adam & julianne & baby kathryn and adam's parents, gary & linda, who are visiting from columbus, ohio.

on their first day of freedom (while ben & i were at work), mom and dad toured anitkabir, ataturk's mausoleum here in ankara, followed by a long walk around the surrounding neighborhood. yesterday was the first big event in terms of gearing up for the engagement, when we had the meeting of the parents (this warrants an entire blog post to itself, so i'll save those details for later).

for now i'm posting some photos, before they get ahead of me!

at kalbur on sunday night:

kathryn was in a great mood and adam & julianne let me hold her lots- always a pleasure!
proud papa adam
proud mama julianne
great food
pleasant conversation
good times had by all!
later that night ben and dad toasted to their visit with a taste from the collection

they're here!

operation 'mom & dad visit turkey' has almost begun- finally! after a 24 hour-delayed departure from jfk (don't ask), mom and dad's plane has landed in istanbul. we will pick them up in a couple of hours at ankara airport & can't wait for the visit to commence! first thing on the agenda tonight is to visit our favorite fish restaurant, kalbur, with friends. in my opinion, food is the best introduction to any culture... especially in turkey!

here are some photos snapped last year, to be labeled 'team turkey.' let's just say before my move last september i bought mom & dad turkey t-shirts, and when they put them on 'team turkey' had somehow become a volleyball team. only dad knows why:

a day in the life of ben

life with ben can be pretty entertaining- so entertaining, in fact, that i feel selfish about being the only one to witness it at times. so i figured i'd share a few glimpses from the past week that demonstrate just how special he is:

first, last night we went bowling with friends, and we were all incredibly surprised by what a superior bowler ben happens to be. he DOES have his own bowling shoes (don't ask). just look at that form! thanks lisa & tom for capturing this moment.

i'm just going to come out and say it: ben suffers from ocd (obsessive compulsive disorder). he can't stand clutter and prides himself on finding little projects around the house to make our lives more organized. his latest? my spice shelf-- a shelf above the stove where all of my spices were crammed together. he couldn't stand watching me rummage through them, taking them all down one by one, to find what i need while cooking (truthfully, i couldn't stand it, either). so he spent about a week researching various spice racks but could not find the perfect one to fit in our kitchen. finally he came up with the 'spice drawer' theory, which lets me read each label clearly and easily find what i need. what a guy!
a few months ago his prescription sunglasses broke, so he's been blinded by the sun on our drive home ever since. finally he got annoyed enough to devise a temporary solution until he can replace his broken pair. putting the eyeglasses over the sunglasses? that's not something i've seen before. he now does this every day on the drive home. what a stud!

and finally, because even my best description couldn't truly depict the special moments of ben being ben, i want to share this video... secretly. watch it while you can- i've a feeling he might make me take this one down once he finds it!

oh yeah- my man lets his freak flag fly. HIGH. ; )