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Here is Elizabeth and Ed’s story . . .

“My husband and I fell in love on our first actual date. We lived in different cities and met on a chairlift at a ski mountain. On our second date, he asked me what my plans were for the summer (this was late April and he was a school teacher with summers off). I responded that I was headed to Tibet. ‘What are you doing?’ I asked in return. ‘If I have to go half way around the world to be with you,’ he answered, ‘then I guess that’s what I’m doing.’

Three months later he joined me on a two-week horse pack trip across the Eastern Tibetan plateau where he proposed to me on a mountaintop overlooking a monastery at around 14,000 feet. He had picked up a ring while we were en route through Hong Kong and kept it hidden in his saddle bag until the time was right, about half way through our trip. He was pretty nervous watching that saddle bag during one particularly deep river ford where the horses had to swim! The ring was too big so I did a ‘field dressing’ of duct tape around the inside so that I could wear it right away.

(This photo was taken in July, 1999, at about 12,000 feet on the eastern Tibetan plateau, to celebrate our engagement earlier that afternoon. Those are authentic Tibetan robes and finery – we were adorned by our Tibetan guide and his spouse in their own ornaments. On the hillside behind us is a sprawling Tibetan monastery and town.)”

What a glorious tale of true love! Elizabeth Yarnell is a cookbook author and natural health expert. She invented an earth-friendly, back-to-basics cooking method for one-pot meals (her technique layers whole foods into a Dutch oven and flash-cooks it all for a meal in 30-45 minutes). You can check out her website GloriousOnePotMeals.com!

What is your favorite place in the whole wide world? My home.

Who is your partner? Al, an amazing man who has more love for me than I could ever imagine being given. He is funny, sincere, witty, and someone I am proud to have next to me forever.

A fond memory? My fondest memory so far in our relationship is when we went to an African Safari Park. I fed a giraffe, got licked by a buffalo, and neither of us have laughed so hard and had such a wonderful day together.

What are you passionate about? I am passionate about animals. We have three dogs and one cat and it still doesn’t feel like I have enough animals around me.

If you could be any animal, what would you be? A sheep dog. They are caring, loyal, and have tons of fur.

What is the last book you read? Psychology Applied To Modern Life

Favorite beverage? Coca-Cola

What is your favorite physical feature? My eyes

What does your wedding/engagement/commitment ring look like? The ring features the claddagh between each of the three gaelic words: cara, mo, anam. The Gaelic words translate to: “my soulmate.”  It was hand-made by a silversmith from a company in Ireland called IreCraft.

What do you think about your ring? I think the ring expresses who we are and the love we have between us. I absolutely love it!

Thank you Maggie!  We think you are SO cool.
Readers: Do you have an engagement/wedding/commitment ring that isn’t the typical diamond solitaire?  Wanna be profiled here? Share it with us in the comments, or by emailing helpfulturtle [at] turtlelovecommittee [dot] com.