L.I.F.E.- List Idea Friday Everyone!

Every Friday I will feature a new idea from the book Dream it. List it. Do it! that you can add to your life’s to do list. (oops I missed a few Friday posts- sorry guys!)

This week's selection comes from the chapter "Fix my Finances":

"Invest (rather than spend) my tax refund"

I have been stressed out about money lately. As you know I was struggling with the tithing issue at the beginning of the year (still am). Then my church starts this big expansion campaign (we seriously are running out of room- so it is much needed). Then I have the TV and Internet telling me everyday how bad the economy is and that I could loose my job at any minute so I better start saving. And on top of all of that, the lease on my car is up in April and I still have no idea what I am going to do!

But I think I will invest my tax refund this year. However, I am going to invest it in a non-traditional way. I'm going to donate it all to my church's Believe campaign.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19-20

I am investing in eternity. I am investing in the lives that can be changed. I am investing in a mission.

I am going to stop stressing about it and give where I can and feel good about it. Because God loves a cheerful giver!

What are you going to do with your tax refund this year?

Oh and come back next Friday for my very first Blog giveaway contest! I got another awesome book about life lists and instead of being greedy and hording all these free books, I thought I'd pass on the love. Come back next Friday for more info!

Snowboarding is Hard!

I wanted to be cool. I wanted to be a “boarder”. Skis were just so old-fashioned. I wanted to be a cool hip chick on the slopes. That did not happen.

When I first tried skiing more than 10 years ago I picked it up quickly. Within 15 minutes, I was on the chair lift. By the end of the day I could make it down the mountain without falling.

I heard snowboarding was hard. I heard it was going to hurt and you would be sore for days afterwards. But I didn’t really believe it. I mean, I was like a natural on the slopes!

Well, the day had come to put that to the test. The day before we left, I watched a lot of YouTube tutorials on how to snowboard. I knew it was all about balance and putting pressure on your toes and heels to control where you were going. One of my friends Terry let me try out his board before we got to the slopes so I could get a feel for it. (see pic. BTW, I do not know why Mikey’s face is like that. Maybe he was saying my snowboarding skills stink?)

I convinced my old roommate Anne to try it with me. We decided to take a lesson to kick start our boarding career. We bought our lift tickets, rented our boards, and signed up for a 1 hour group lesson.

Our instructor was patient and gave us lots of encouragement, but at one point I might have said to him “Quit lying to me. I suck.” The problem wasn’t the falling. I could stand up and stay up. It was the total and complete lack of control. Mainly, it was that I could not stop. In fact at one point, I almost ran in to one of those orange construction fences they have to keep you from going into dangerous territories. At the last minute I ducked under it and sat down before I flew off into the mud. (See- I could even do the limbo on the board!)

The slush and mud was another problem. The day we went it was probably in the 60s. I was so freaking hot. I had to take off my ski jacket and got my shirt soaking wet from “sitting down” in the snow so much. The snow was turning to slush and the slush was turning to mud. It was not the soft powdery conditions you might have in say, Colorado.

The final problem was my boots. They were so freaking tight they cut off my circulation. After about 10 minutes I could not feel my feet! It was painful. I could barely concentrate on learning anything because I was so uncomfortable from the boots. Plus they smelled like a million nasty, stinky feet. I could even catch whiffs of the stench while I was ratcheting my boots to the board (which we had to do like a million times- on, off, on, off. Not like skis where you just pop them in and go!)

Needless to say we gave up shortly after our lesson. We didn’t even make it on the chair lift. Sad huh? I was going to give it another try the next day, but we went to a local winery that morning and by 2 pm it was raining and yucky out, so we decided to skip the slopes.

I do want to try again. But I have some conditions:

1. We need to go out west to Vail or Aspen where they have powder and not icy man-made slush.
2. I need at least 3 days on the slopes. One afternoon was not enough to master the board.
3. I just might buy my own boots. The boots are key and I want something comfy so I can give it my all. I don’t want mildew smelling, cheap, nasty, rental boots again.

Overall I am glad I did it, but really, that crap is hard!

P.S. If you are interested in skiing the NC mountains, it is not all bad. I would recommend Sugar Mountain though. Out of Sugar, Hawksnest, and Beech, my best experience has been at Sugar. I can’t speak for Appalachian Mountain though because I haven’t been to that one yet.

Zits are for Kids!

When do you stop getting random zits? I thought bad skin was a teenager thing. I thought I would outgrow this!

Today I have a zit. On the day I have a date with witty-boy, my body decides I need some decoration on my face. Why? Why now? Why me? How can this happen?



I feel like a whiny teenager who gets a zit right before prom. But seriously, aren’t I too old for this?

Yesterday there was nothing there. I was running late this morning and didn’t really inspect my face in the mirror before work- just a quick ponytail and a brushing of the teeth. But when I got to work I felt a huge growth on my chin. The crater forming beneath my skin was practically painful. I didn’t have a mirror so I ran to the bathroom. Sure enough there was a huge zit.

I won’t give you all the gory details, but I will tell you I can not stop messing with it. I am so mad at it I want to mash and mash it until it goes away. I know I shouldn’t. I know that just makes it worse. But it is like uncontrollable. I want it to go away!

Got any tips?

Match.com Mondays Week 4

I am trying to stay positive about this whole dating thing, but you know dating is not really my thing. Sure it can be super exciting when you find someone you really like who likes you back, but up until that point it can be exhausting. It has definitely been an experience though and I’m really glad I am doing it.

Here are the highlights from last week:

- I had a new date on Thursday. We had a communication error (he sent me a text I never got) but we still ended up getting our date in. He drove about 25 minutes out of his way to a bar near my house to meet up at 10 p.m. that night (due to the communication mishap). It was really late for me on a work night and I almost didn’t go, but I figured if he was willing to drive out of his way I should be willing to stay out late. When I walked in the bar, I noticed my best friend’s husband sitting with a friend at the bar and it was kind of comforting to see a familiar face there. It put me at ease joking around with them while my date was getting us drinks. The date went well and I think I like this one. He is the first one I’ve met in person that I could see fitting in with my friends. We have texted since then and he said he wants to do it again soon, but nothing is set-up.

- I have been talking on the phone a lot to “witty-guy”. We have a date set up for Tuesday. He cracks me up and I am excited about meeting him. A little nervous too because from our conversations I think he might have an amazing body. That intimidates me. But we both like talking to each other, so we’ll see how it goes. Ironically he lives like a mile from where I live, so that is convenient for date planning.

- Mr. Teacher, the one who went a week without calling me before. Didn’t call again this week. I called him Monday but didn’t leave a message. I thought he would at least see my # and call me back. No such luck. I liked his southern accent and we seemed to have a lot in common. Oh well, maybe it was a busy week for him.

- I randomly got a voice mail from Canes guy yesterday. I thought he had dropped out of rotation completely! He acknowledged it had been a few weeks but he wanted to get together again and go bowling or something. I haven’t called him back yet. I figure if he can make me wait a few weeks, I can make him wait at least a few days.

I am learning a lot about myself through this process. I think it will improve my conversation and listening skills which will come in handy for career networking and other things. One weird thing I noticed about myself is that I sometimes interrupt people. I notice it every time because I used to think that was so rude. I grew up as an only child so I never had to fight to put in my 2 cents. As I have entered the real world and especially with my big group of friends, I have learned that if you don’t interrupt sometimes, you will never get a word in edgewise. But I hate that this has transferred to one-on-one conversations with potential dates. That is one thing I am really going to try to work on this week.

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for my date with witty guy. Hopefully soon some of these dates will transition to the weekend, because dating during the work week is getting to be exhausting!

Planning for our DC trip

One more thing to mark off the list is going to DC. I got a great hotel deal from a friend from high school and now I have a big group coming with me! Eight of us planned up a girls trip to DC over Easter weekend and we are pumped!

I have been researching what I want to do while we are in DC and there is just so much! I am never going to be able to fit it all in. Here is the short long list. But I need help to narrow this down. If you live there or have been let me know what is a must see and what we can skip. Tell me if something is missing because I want to cram as many must sees in as I can!

To Dos in DC:

White House

US Capitol

International Spy Museum

US Holocaust Memorial

Smithsonian Museum of American History

National Air and Space Museum

Reynolds’s Center (National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Arthur M Sackler Gallery & Freer Gallery of Art

Dupont Circle (this is right where we are staying)

Embassy Row

Washington National Cathedral

National Geographic Society Explorers Hall

National Zoo

National Mall (lots of stuff here)
· National Cherry Blossom Fireworks Show
· Tidal Basin Paddle Boat Rides
· Thomas Jefferson Memorial
· Washington Monument
· FDR Memorial
· Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
· Lincoln Memorial
· WWII Memorial
· Korean War Veterans Memorial

Arlington National Cemetery

Georgetown

Ben’s Chili Bowl

The Old Post Office Pavilion

Union Station

National Archives Houses

I know there is no way to fit all this in, but this is my list right now. The only main ones I know on the final list for sure are the National Mall with all those monuments and Georgetown for dinner one night. So what else is a must see?

Why Hellllooo Dr. McHottie

I had been putting this off for years. Seriously, years. I have had to go to the dentist on a more than regular basis for my entire life because I do not have strong teeth. I think it is genetic or something. I think my parents had weak teeth too. Maybe it is because I hate milk and never get enough calcium? I really want to smack those people who are like "I've never had a cavity in my life". Well count your blessings because not everyone is so lucky. No matter how much we brush and floss, we will STILL get cavities. All I really know is almost every single one of my teeth has been "worked on" and I was tied of it.

Back in early 2000, I had finally found a good dentist in Greenville and when I moved to Raleigh in 2005, I really didn't want to have to find a new dentist again. I put it off for a year or so and then made an appointment with a dentist a friend recommended in 2006 when I finally started to feel guilty about ignoring my dental health. Surprise, surprise, I had a dang cavity.

When I went back to get this cavity filled a few weeks later, I had the worst experience I have EVER had in a dental chair (including my past root canal and getting my wisdom teeth removed!) The dentist went to give me that horrible numbing shot and I squeezed my eyes shut and started singing the greek alphabet in my head to keep my mind off of it. All of a sudden it felt like electro-shock therapy was going on inside my mouth! There were sharp, shooting shockras going straight through my gums, down my chin, and even tingling through my throat. I had never, ever felt pain like this. It felt like my tooth had been inserted into a light socket. It only lasted a few seconds, but I will never, ever forget that feeling. Apparently he had hit the nerve.

My new dentist (Dr. McHottie) explained to me today that when a dentist numbs the lower part of your mouth, they want to get as close to the nerve as possible without hitting it. The trick is that they can't see where they are aiming. He said it is rare to hit the nerve and he has only done it twice. Well, I pray to God that I never end up being lucky #3 because that crap HURTS!

Anyway, this traumatic experience made me put off going to the dentist for about 2 years. A few months ago I got a postcard for a new dental office in my area. It caught my attention because the dentist looked just like one of my past crushes! This was enough motivation for me to make an appointment.

Today was appointment day and I was so nervous. I knew it was not going to be pleasant to get my teeth cleaned because it had been so long and I was so scared I was going to have like a million cavities.

It wasn't pleasant, but I must say I LOVE this dental office. First off I had the nicest, most knowledgeable dental hygienist ever working on me. She explained everything that was happening and what she saw. She even took a picture of one of my teeth and reviewed that and my x-rays on the TV with me. She showed me the calcium build-up she was removing from my teeth and explained why some areas might be more sensitive.

Also, the chair you sit in at this dental office massages your back! Yes, a massaging chair almost like you are sitting down for a pedicure! Now, I know it had been a long time since I have been to the dentist, but no one has ever mentioned a massaging chair, and I think that would be something worth mentioning!

Ok, finally in walks Dr. Britt and he is even hotter than the postcard pic. He is so friendly and makes some jokes about how nervous I am. He asks where I am from and asks what brought me in and why I am so nervous. All in his charming slight southern drawl. I could not stop smiling and giggling like a little schoolgirl.

I was too nervous to glance at his left hand to check for a ring, but have since checked out his website and unfortunately he is married. But hey, it still makes my dental experiences much more enjoyable!

When I left his office I could not stop thinking about how freaking cute he was. I quickly assigned the nickname "Dr. McHottie" to him and decided I couldn't wait to go back to the dentist. Then I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw I had a little smear of blood (no doubt from my bleeding gums) on the side of my mouth. I realized that didn't leave the best of impressions on Dr. McHottie. Oh well, there's always next time.

My teeth weren't that bad. They had to clean off a lot of build up around my gums and they are sending me to Endodontist to further investigate a suspicious area on my x-ray near my root canal and I had a filling pop-out that needs to be re-filled, but other than that I was good. However, I don't think I'll ever wait that long again.

I am almost ready to mark off #16 on my list. I just need to find a good gyno and then I will have all my trustworthy doctors in a row!

Also I promise a snowboarding post soon (still waiting on pics). But in the meantime check out this hilarious post from my friend Heather about us getting lost on the way to the mountains. It was seriously almost one of my favorite parts of the trip! We were so scared and could not stop laughing!

Match.com Mondays- Week 3

Not too much happened in Match.com land this week because I left for the mountains Thursday and had no cell service all weekend.

The 2 guys I went on dates with previously did not call me this week, but that is ok because there weren't any sparks for me anyway. I did talk to 3 other guys on the phone this week and I liked them all:

Guy #1 was the guy I said I had talked to last week and liked but he hadn't called me back. I was gald he called back this week!

Guy #2 was the witty guy from week 1 that I said I liked. He was almost just as witty on the phone as he was on email.

Guy #3 was the guy who had a piture with my Ex's best friend's wife. He was really down to earth and I liked him. No, I didn't ask him about the picture.

I told all 3 that I would call them back tonight, but I am exhausted from my trip and have so much to catch up on. I am wondering if I can take a break from dating this week and get away with it. Plus I think I left my favorite pair of jeans in the mountains and I need to find another pair I like just as much before I can have another first date.

I did mark snowboarding off my list this weekend and I'll be sure to write a post about that later this week!

Thanks for the reminder...

Guess what? I'm single. In case I had forgotten the ad agencies, media, and retail outlets have designated a day to remind me that I am not loved. (At least in a romantic sense.)

But you know what? Even when I have been "coupled up" I have never had a good Valentine's Day. Ever.

Last year I can't even remember what I did. The Ex and I were in a weird "are we trying to get back together or are we just friends" stage. The year before that was horrible. He got me a chocolate fish in a box that made it look like it was mounted on a wall and it said "you're a keeper". I was not happy. I came to find out that he had wanted to take me to Angus Barn and get me flowers, but I somehow messed up his plan. All I could think was "and THIS was your back-up plan?!?"

In 2005 I planned my move to Raleigh over Valentine's Day weekend just so I would be too busy to worry about the singleness reminder that year.

From 1999-2002 I was with the Long Timer and he got me a card every year. No romantic message or anything, just his signature and if I was lucky a "Love" before it.

This year I will be joining 7 couples in a 3 bedroom house in the mountains. There are 2 other single people going, but the couples to single ratio is extremely high. I'm sure there will be enough PDA and mushiness to remind me what day it is. Yay me.

Just once, I want to have a movie-love type of Valentine's day. Just once I would like to be happy to be celebrating that day.

Either that or go back to elementary school where everyone was almost required to spread the love with corny little cards and candy in my homemade mailbox on my desk. Ahhh...those were the days before everything got so freaking complicated!

I want to hate this stupid card-company-created holiday. But all the pink and red and hearts and flowers and chocolate sure make it hard to hate (or even ignore).

Anyway, Happy Valentines Day readers! Don't let my sarcasm fool you...I really do mean it and wish you lots of love this weekend!

(And consider this my little homemade constrution paper valentine in your mailbox...that should be enough to make you smile!)

Pedicures, PTO, and Packing!

The weather for the past few days has been in the 70s and I love it! I broke out the rainbows this weekend for the first time in months. I love flip flops.

However, my feet are not flip-flop ready yet. I usually give my toes a break from polish during the winter. This week I plan on putting on a coat or 2 of my favorite OPI color “Strawberry Margarita”. (OPI has the best polish and colors out there in my opinion.)

I won’t have time for a shopping trip this week, but as soon as I can, I am going to head over to ULTA to pick up some new colors from their South Beach collection!



Just from looking at the colors in the flyer I got, I already have some favorites picked out:

Party in my Cabana or Feeling Hot Hot Hot for a fun pink shade

Sand in my Suit or Suzi and the Lifeguard for a lighter color

And I am loving Miami Beat for something different

Anybody have any of these colors yet? What are your favorites?

Yesterday I took a PTO (paid time off) day. My sleep situation is still not good. I started taking the 10 mg Ambien and it is just too much! It makes me loopy, knocks me out cold, and then won’t let me get up. I felt like I was loosing my mind and my body was falling apart. So I had to take a day to re-charge.

I slept until noon and then took Cam for a hike in Umstead State Park. It was the best day ever! There was no one in the forest because it was a weekday, so I let Cam off the leash and we hiked a good 4 miles. We saw a family of deer and enjoyed the warm day. We did end up getting lost for a bit. I thought I had got sidetracked on a different trail, so I ended up having to backtrack the way I came. It was so nice; it almost made me wish I had one random weekday off so I could enjoy things when they weren’t so crowded more often!

Tonight I have to bake and pack! Tomorrow after work we are leaving for the mountains where I will finally get to mark snowboarding off my list!

Match.com Mondays- Week 2

I think I am kind of getting the hang of this match.com thing. This week wasn’t as crazy and I didn’t feel as stressed about the whole process. Things are still rolling along. I still get new emails and winks every other day. Some guys are taking it slow and we are still in the email phase. While others have progressed to phone calls or even meeting in person! Here are some of the highlights:

-I had my second date with Canes guy this week. Just coffee after work. He is really cute and we have a good time talking, but I don’t know if there are any sparks. How long do you wait on sparks?

-I had another first date this week. He was nice and the conversation was good. While we were chatting I actually ending up running into a guy I went to high school with. He stopped by our table to say “Hi and wow small world”. Is it sad that I wanted to stay to chat with high school guy rather than leave and give my date a goodnight hug before getting in my car?

-I got an email from a guy this week and when I was looking at his profile, I recognized one of the people in one of his pictures. It was my Ex’s best friend’s wife! It was a group shot and I didn’t recognize any of the other people, but it makes me nervous that he is somehow connected to my Ex.

-I had a long phone chat with one of my favorites last week. I thought things went well, but it has been almost a week with no follow-up call or email or anything :(

-My poor dog is being affected by this dating thing too. He never gets attention because I am always on the computer, on the phone, or on a date. He is also having an effect on my dating life. I feel so guilty for being a bad mom that I have been cutting my dates short so Cam isn’t alone ALL day everyday!

-I have realized I am a little old fashioned. A few guys have given me their phone numbers, but I haven’t called them. I want to email them back and say “here’s my #. Why don’t you call me?” But is that too 5th graderish?

-I do have some tips for the guys on this whole match.com dating thing:

o Post a picture. I won’t even consider you without one.
o Send me a personal message. Mention something you read on my profile in your email to me and I will definitely respond. I don’t want to feel like you copy and pasted the message you sent to the last girl in your email to me. It doesn’t have to be long. Just “what kind of dog do you have?” rather than “You seem nice. Here’s more about me, blah, blah, blah….Email me back if you’re interested.”
o After a couple emails, ask me for my phone number. It’s an easier way to communicate.
o Keep up the communication. Random texts are a great way to stay in touch and keep you at the top of my mind throughout the week. If it goes more than 3-4 days without any communication I start to think you aren’t interested and just give up on you.
o When you ask me out, have a plan. Don’t just day “want to meet up for drinks sometime?” and then make me figure out the details.

-I have no idea what I am doing or if I am doing things wrong. I wish there was a guide for me out there! If you have any tips for me, let me know! It’s already starting to loose its luster a little. Dating is hard. I just want to run into someone as intrigued by me as I am by them, fall in love, and live happily ever after. Is that too much to ask?

L.I.F.E.- List Idea Friday Everyone!

Every Friday I will feature a new idea from the book Dream it. List it. Do it! that you can add to your life’s to do list.

This week’s selection comes from the “Make a Difference” chapter:

Give something away every time you get something new.

I LOVE this idea! Not only will you be doing something good, but it will force you to NOT be a packrat. I’m not going to add this to my list because how would you know when to mark it off? It’s not something you could say “I’ve done it” to; it is something you have to continually work at everyday. Like exercise or eating healthy. What I am going to do is keep this in the back of my mind and try to remember to give something away every time I get something new. I think this practice would have lots of benefits:

- Feeling good about giving
- Thinking twice about new purchases
- Keeping your house clutter free
- Getting rid of things you don’t need
- Cut down on the need for one big Spring Cleaning

What do you think? Thumbs up or thumbs down?

Also check out my review of Milkrun on my Bookshelf Blog!

Dreams and Nightmares

I had a really vivid dream last night that I was about to get laid off.

There was a big scary man named “Dr. Evil” and all these rumors flying around about layoffs happening all around the building. I had a huge pit in my stomach. I felt it coming. I felt like everyone around me knew I was about to get the ax. I felt all this anticipation and build up and then I saw Dr. Evil coming towards our department. I overheard names being discussed. I saw other people in another part of the building who looked as if they had just come from a funeral. Shock, sadness, and sympathy poured out of their eyes. Next thing I knew I was in a conference room and a loud, low, somber voice was reading off names. Somehow I knew these were the names of the people who needed to vacate the building immediately and never return. I knew mine was coming. It was almost here. And then I forced myself to wake up so I wouldn’t have to hear it.

I imagine a lot of people are having these same types of nightmares with this stupid recession going on. Some people are actually living out these nightmares. How can you not think about it when the news is all doom and gloom and everyone keeps reminding you that you are lucky to have a job? Companies are tightening their belts and preparing for the worst. Everyone seems to be a pessimist now. It’s hard to stay optimistic.

I have always been a dreamer. I like to imagine the possibilities that are out there. But right now my dreams get snuffed out before they even have a chance to really form. I feel stuck, but I don’t really want to get “un-stuck” because it is scary out there.

Losing your job in this economy would be worse than going through a bad break up. You’d feel rejected and scared. Your finances would quickly deteriorate and your lifestyle would soon follow. Your chances of a quick recovery are pretty slim.

I did a little research on “what to do when you are laid off” this morning, but just reading about it made my stomach turn. I feel like I need to be saving up or seeing what else is out there, but I feel like if I took that step to covering my butt, my butt would be kicked out the door!

So for now I’ve placed my dreams on hold. I try to be happy being “stuck” and not be overcome with fear and depression at the thought of my nightmare coming true.

The early bird gets the calories burned

I have never ever in my life been a morning person. If you have been reading my blog you know I have problems falling asleep (oh Ambien, am I going to be dependant on you?) And I also have problems waking up in the morning. I have 5 alarms set to go off at approximate 15 minute intervals (2 on my alarm clock and 3 on my cell phone). Despite having 5 alarms signaling the arrival of daybreak I still oversleep. I hit the snooze before I have even registered what is going on (on all 5 alarms) and I roll back over and snuggle deeper into my covers. Before I know it I roll over to look at the clock and it is 7:00 (or worse 7:30) and I am already running late (again).

But I have come to the conclusion I am going to have to force myself to become a morning person. I have tried fitting in my workouts at the end of my day, but something always throws me off track. And with all the dating I am hopefully going to be doing, it would be better to get my workouts out of the way in the wee hours of the early morning so I can be available after work for fun stuff.

This is going to be a difficult process. I have moved all my alarms back one hour and want to be up and moving by 5:30 every morning. But so far that has not worked out. I still hit the snooze and roll over to fall back asleep. Maybe I should set them on the opposite side of the room so I will have to get out of bed to hit the snooze?

I thought about also sleeping in my workout gear so that I will be ready to jump out of bed and hit the gym (or hit the pavement in my neighborhood with Cam if the weather is nice.) I have the best of intentions, so why can’t I get out of bed in the mornings?

I have to figure out how to do this because my pants seem to be getting tighter by the minute and my knees ache from inactivity. I have approximately 18 months to get in the best shape of my life and I have a feeling it is going to take at least that long to accomplish! If I want to head to the water park in a bikini and not feel self-conscious next summer, I need to get crackin! I mean honestly, if I want to wear a bathing suit period this summer I need to do something now.

Maybe I should just hire someone, give him or her a key, and pay them to drag me out of bed every morning? Or better yet, I wish I could just pay someone to go work out for me and transfer those calories burned to me while I get that extra hour of sleep every morning! A girl can dream right?

Match.com Mondays

I struggled with if I should share my match.com adventures on my blog. I mean it is very entertaining and exciting, but I just didn’t know if it was kosher to have a public record of my dating life that potential suitors could stumble upon and peruse!

But it’s just too good not to share. I am going to censor myself however and only share bits and pieces, but something is better than nothing right?

So here are some fun little teasers for you:

- During the first 2 weeks, I was so overwhelmed with responding to winks and emails, I had to make a spreadsheet of all the guys so I could keep them straight!

- After about a week of emailing, some of the guys started to ask for my phone number. I was so nervous to give it out! Not just because going from emails to phone calls was scary, but because I was still afraid I wouldn’t know who was who.

- I had my first phone call on Wednesday and it wasn’t bad at all. We ended up having a lot in common and talking for almost an hour.

- I had my first date on Thursday! It was very last minute and I had never even talked to this guy on the phone before that night, but he had an extra ticket to the Canes game! How could I pass that up!? I thought it would be super awkward and that I might even get kidnapped or murdered, but it wasn’t bad at all! I had a great time! He called this weekend and we might try to get together this week sometime.

- There is this one guy who is a really good writer (even if it is just email). We haven’t progressed to phone calls yet, but he is so witty and interesting. He is one of my favorites!

- Really, I have a lot of favorites. There are some great guys out there! But I am still nervous about this whole “dating” thing. I have never in my life been “talking” to this many guys. It kind of feels wrong. I wonder if all these guys are “talking” to multiple girls and I am just one of many. I try to keep this in the back of my head and not get my hopes up too much about anyone in particular.

-Some guys I do not respond to at all. If they are way outside my age range or location, have pictures that you can’t tell anything about them because it was taken with his camera phone in his mirror from like 50 feet away, or if he sends me a one line message with something like “You’re cute. Wanna chat?” then they do not get a response from me. They have this “No thanks” option, but I never click it because it feels mean. So I just don’t respond at all.

Well, that is it for now. I will try to update you every Monday with the adventures in Match.com dating for that week. Hopefully “the one” is somewhere in this mix and I can whittle it down to him. In the mean time I guess I will learn a lot about dating and hopefully have a lot of fun!

Oh and check out my review of “The Girls” on my Bookshelf Blog!