Whoa, talk about a thread from the dead! I also can't believe I never responded to this thread back in 2005. What's funny is that just a few weeks after this thread started, I met my wonderful fiance
I insisted that I pick out my own engagement ring, and while my SO had his doubts about that at first (he was caught up in romantic notions of "it should be a surprise"--whatever), he said to a friend of ours the other night that he was glad that he had let me pick out my own ring, because ultimately he would have no idea what to pick and wouldn't have thought about all of the things I thought of. I work with small children, and I wanted something that wouldn't catch on them.
I found my ring at Costco. It was very reasonable (it actually cost less than the assessed value) and thus we were able to pay cash. It's a pretty simple ring, but the moment I saw it, I knew that was it. I think it suits me.
One of my fiance's aunts said it best: "You can always trade up later." It's not a good idea to buy a ring on credit and end up unable to pay the bill. Better to buy something simple at first, because once you're established and financially stable, you can always buy something flashier if you like.
Edit: As for doing dishes, I keep my ring on but I wear these:
http://www.playtexproductsinc.com/gl...ing_gloves.asp