Diamond bought

Just a few quick notes from today.

My mom called today to inform me that her sister-in-law was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. They are still running tests to determine the stage and extent of the disease. Not good news.

Ngoc came over this evening for dinner and had a chance to talk to my mom about the above news. Most of you know that Ngoc works as a radiation therapist at a cancer center. Thirty minutes later they were still talking as my stomach was grumbling with hunger. I had to cut them off eventually so we could go out to eat.

We drove into Houston and ate dinner at a casual Italian restaurant called Colina's. Ngoc had bought one of those "Metro" books that give you discounts at local businesses, so we had one entree for free. Saving up for the honeymoon...

Afterwards we went to Barnes and Noble and I bought the book "What Color is Your Parachute". More on this in the future...

When we returned home, we began going over the loose diamonds Ngoc had found on-line. After some comparisons and research, we decided on a stone and ordered it 'from BlueNile.com. I must admit it is strange and unsettling to buy a diamond on-line. Sort of like the first on-line purchase I made at Amazon.com back in the mid-90's.

Diamond rings

Ngoc and I have spent the last couple months shopping for a diamond engagement ring. Yesterday, we bought a setting from a friend of Ngoc's brother. It's a beautiful setting. I'll post a photo when we get a chance.

As for the solitaire diamond, we're probably going to buy it on-line from Bluenile.com or a similar site. We've shopped around Houston and most B&M (bricks and mortar) sites are > $1000 the prices we are seeing on-line. Word to the wise, here's an excellent site for diamond information (Pricescope).