Looking out my window...

I work with mentally ill adults and here recently my job has become more challanging than I could have ever imagined it. Each day I coem to work and think I wonder what the day will bring.  These stories vary from "My boyfriend gave me an STD" to "I need to find housing and get out of the shelter".  These are all adults who have not been dealt the best hand in life and need assistance to remain out of jail, shelters, or the psychiatric hospital.  Some days I feel super rewarded with the assistance I have provided someone or when you see someone reach a goal they have set and they are so excited to share that with you.  The past three weeks however; I have felt like everyday I am being drained....AND JUST FROM ONE PERSON.  My newest resident  calls me between 6-12 times daily and always things that his needs are far more than anyone else's.  It just makes me realize how fortunate I am with all that I have, and even with the things that I struggle with, it is nothing like what my clients deal with day to day.

From my office window however; I am often, even daily, surprised with what I see.  One day it was a occupied hoover round towing another occupied hoover round.  I guess that is what you need if yours breaks down?? Or the day that I thought was a Jerry Springer episode being taped where these two girls got into a fight then one hit the ex-boyfriend with her car and he went flying!  (Im guessing he was an ex, or at least he is now).  And then she hit a bush.  Some days, like today, I will see possibly prostitutes walking down the street.  It always provides me entertainment and again, fortunate to be where I am!

very blurry.....but HooverRound in Tow

I have gone back into hiding on my dating site.  I contact people that I feel I may have something in common with.  Most I will admit do not live in this area, but do live within 2 hours.  That may be ok to date.  I went for drinks this week with Pugle.  We had great conversation and the next day asked me via text message "so did you think that I was hot, cute, attractive, or OMG".  What an ackward question to ask.  My response "obviously I found you attractive or I would not have agreed to go out again". I am not sure that he liked that response, but really at this point and time in my life and at my age I realize that looks are not everything.  I also want someone with similar interests and someone who is kind and nice, and wants to be with me. I should have seen red flags with The Realtor when his profile said things like:



"You aint wants to pass me up is you knows what im sayin"

and when asked about what his ideal first date would be his response:

"Unlike former President George W. I'm not the decider. Your choice Wendy's or Burger King!!"

Really...I know better! Or at least I should have, but I guess that is all part of the wonderful world they call dating!!

This weekend while doing yard work, putting down mulch, and mowing I stepped in you guessed it...DOG POO. My street has a lot of brick walls that are flush with the sidewalk limiting "green area" for dogs to do their business...until they get to my yard.  It really upsets me that my neighbors find it acceptable for their dogs to leave their POO in my yard for me to step in or slip on when I am mowing the grass.  So as a result the following sign will be placed most tackily in my yard:

And YES I will be paying closer attention too!!

Happy Thursday!



Back At It

Well needless to say it has been quit a week.  My Grandfather passed away and is at peace, so that makes me at peace.  For at least 8 years he has been slowly declining with the things that he enjoyed the most and ultimately was in a nursing home where he could do nothing and gave up.  He was a great man and served our country. He was in Pearl Harbor, was on the Ringness and rescued the survivors from the Indianapolis when it was sunk, he designed Memorial for Pearl Harbor Survivors across the US, he helped with the renovations of the White House and made memorabilia from the original materials from the White House for our family as well as for the actual White House (which remain there today).  He was married to my sweet Grandmother for 63 years (who is still alive). He will be greatly missed and left his mark on my heart as well as stories in the Library of Congress for his time served. 

So I am back on the dating scene.  The Realtor had said that he wanted "to think" about what he wanted after he arrived at my house with Roses and a note that was undecipherable:


So I thought..."well this is a step in the possible right direction, "maybe just maybe this could work".  Maybe he just needed a little shake up and to think about what he wants.  Then he says in text " I got you YELLOW roses because they mean new beginnings"...ummm he left WHITE Roses.  Anyway, it goes to show how little to detail men pay to things.  Well, so as I am thinking that we will maybe give this dating each other thing another thought I look on the dating site (which he had removed himself from when we were seeing each other) and see..

EWWWWW!! Is that a hooker or a stripper??  Either way I am completely disgusted that (1) he has pics and does things like either of those and (2) That he would post it! And on a dating site.  What girl would look at this picture and think "hmmm...he looks desirable and I want to date someone like that!"  I think that this was the deal sealer with all the other things, so happy to be looking for greener pastures!

So with my new excitement (not really) of back on the dating scene I make my profile viewable again.  One of my first emails was from this guy:

and his email says "lamest profile ever".  ABOUT ME.. My profile is far from awful!  He got a nice email from me saying that I was not sure why he would even respond AND it was because of men like him that I have been in "hiding" so as to not get emails from losers like him.  After the email was sent, he was immediately blocked!! It feels so good :)

While I was in hiding, it allowed me to be the person to seek out men that I was interested in. I will say that I did come across a few good possibilities and we have been corresponding. They are both attractive, can put together a sentence that is decipherable, we seem to have common interests, and well...they seem kinda normal. But don't they all??

 



So I am feeling pretty good about this second (or 100th) go at dating, because it is all about timing! THEN I come across profiles like this..

Here is what his profile reads:
HEY YALL,CHANGEING THIS AGAIN...IM A 37 YRS.OLD,GARAGE OWNER,I STAY DIRTY MOST OF THE TIME,BUT
IVE BEEN TOLD I CLEAN UP PRETTY GOOD.. IM A STRAIT UP GUY THAT WILL NOT DEAL WITH LIES...THATS WHY IM SINGLE NOW..I LOVE DRAG RACEING,CAMPING,DIRTBIKE RIDEING,PLAYING GUITAR,BUT MOST OF ALL ILOVE SPENDING TIME WITH SOS. IF YOUR HONEST SINCIRE, AND READY FOR SOMEONE TOO, SHOWER YOU WITH EFFECTION...HOLLER AT ME!

IF YOU HAVE OR NEED MENTAL PAPERS, KEEP ON GITTN ON!

LADYS, IM SIMPLE...BUT VERY SINCIRE,IM ON HERE FOR YHE REASON THIS SITE WAS INTENDED FOR. I LIKE TO PLAY,BUT I TAKE THIS VERY SERIOUS. SO IF YOUR JUST WANTIN TO PLAY, AND NOT HAVE A RELATIONSHIP PLEASE SAVE ME THE DIGNITY

So I say...Happy Dating!

I have started my Spring Garden of broccoli, spinach and Romaine Lettuce.  I am very excited for spring and working in the yard.  I was not excited about the small snake I found (and BTW I live in the CITY) and killed in fear it COULD be poisonous and harm my dogs. In the back is my compost bin that I am starting this year and excited for great soil it will bring me!!

With Spring and the approach of Summer comes thunder storms and with that comes panic attacks for Grace.  Lets say this past week has been rough for her AND me, more so her though. I just lost sleep trying to console her, she thought that the house was going to cave in on her and freaked out.  Fortunately I have gotten her Xanax refilled and we should be good to go!

HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!!!

No Fooling Here

Well it has obviously been quite some time since the last blog.  WOW...and what has happened is too much to blog about. Well lets just say that the Realtor is CLUELESS on how to date and perhaps on what he even wants.  It is somehow accepatble to stand me up, be late, and talk to me as if one of the guys.  OH not to mention to tell me to kiss his ass.  Well granted he was rather intoxicated but regardless.  He has left me confused, bewildered, upsent and dreading returning to the dating pool. He has told me how he cannot wait to see me, how beautiful I am, told me to kiss his ass, brought me flowers, begged me to go out with him, I said "yes" and then called me an asshole and is so anticipating seeing me tonight at 7?!?! REALLY?? After several...and a patient several texts from me trying to make him understand that people dont want to hang out with others that call you an asshole.  Anyway so I have returned to the site..............ugh

SO with that being said.  Since this rollercoaster of a short term relationship was coming to a foreseen end I had kinda already started looking.  Low and behold, I have found two potential candidates.  One lives two hours from me and the other, I think within an hour.  The first we will call NY/NC and he seemed so lovely.  I shared his profile with DSS and she agreed.  But I feel he is perhaps hiding something like a wife or girlfriend.  But we will see how it plays out.  The second breaks one of my rules of no students, we will call him Pugle.  He also seems worth exploring more. But who knows.

There are slim pickin's in the pool.  Their "catch phrases" I guess if that is what you want to call them include:  Looking for total package; Hey dont knock it till u try it; Wanted Honest Classy Lady!!!!! ;  Try me; (perhaps one of my favorites) where is the good ladys at; lookin for the one to make me happy;  Monogamy is not a tree.  I think you get the hint.  The pictures and profiles that accompany these "catch phrases" or "pick up lines" are often times as discussed in an earlier blog even more appealing.  Pictures with their tongues hanging out, pictures of them giving "the bird" with both fingers, pictures of them (shirts off & sometimes pants off, undergarments on) showing their physique, and sometimes just of their "6 pack of abs" (not even a picture of their face).  All so desireable I am wanting to immediately send an email or a wink to them....however my computer seems to lock up thankfully preventing such things from happening. 

SO with so many prospects just waiting in line, the classy pick up lines and being called an asshole and in less than ten minutes later "I can't wait to see you at 7 tomorrow", I think I am going to focus on losing weight and having fun. After all it is spring time and counting down the days until it is warm enough to feel the warm summer sun on my beach ready body (hopefully)!

OH and Daisy seems to be doing slightly better.  As my grandparents say. "I am better than when I was worse".

Week in Review!!

So even though I have had great intentions of keepingmore on top of my blog...I have not :( So where to start?

Thursday night the Realtor came over to eat home made lasagna (yes that I made) and watch movies.  I continue to remain really cautious as he had said he was coming off the dating site, and has NOT. So as one of my guy friends suggested..."maybe he is checking to see if you are on still".  We  perhaps.  But as DSS has said, "leave all options open you have only known him a little over a week". So I will!!

Friday night the Realtor took me to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Carlos'!  We had a great time followed by an AWFUL movie.  Alice in Wonderland, with Johnny Depp.  Now I will say we were kinda chatting throughout the movie however; I was lost, and when I was finally able to piece it all together thought it could have been better only if the movie flowed better. I dont want to ruin it for those of you who have not seen it. But the Realtor and I had another  nice evening!

Saturday...Masquerade Ball!! We had a suite at the Hotel and a big Pre-Party.  Everyone was dressed up and looked fabulous!  It was great to see all of my friends enjoying themselves!  Here is a pic of some of my gals and I. 

Saturday night the Realtor wanted to meet downtown after the Ball as he did not go.  We had a great evening and spent the day together on Sunday watching movies and football.

The rest of the week has been busy, and I am not really sure what all I have done.  We thought it was going to snow and I prepared Chili for a snow party that unfortunately did not happen leaving me with a lot of chili!

The Realtor came over last night and we watched Robin Hood with Russell Crow.  It had a lot of action, but I was not really a fan of the movie itself.  We have plans for Sunday to go to the movies. I think I have seen more movies in the past week than in than combined in three months.  And that is fine :)

Some friends and I are getting together to try a Fondue night Saturday night. This should be interesting and fun! 

DOGS:
Daisy is still having problems with her respirations.  They are still about 60/minute and should be 20.  I am going to put her back on the low protein diet.  Her respirations seemed to be lower when she was on it.  And no additional word from my Vet on if there have been any other responses to her post on the Vet on line site.  Grace is of course still needy and just a sweetie!!  The Realtor loves on them so much that they now smell like him!


DATING:
As mentioned earlier I have remained open on my site and have had to delete a lot of users and block probably even more.  Some I dont even bother to respond to but some obviously don't read my profile or they would know NOT to send me a one line or worse yet two word email with no punctuation.  Those users get a smart ass return email and then are blocked.  The email reads something to the effect of:
"You obviously did not take the time to read my profile and decided to just send me an email based on my picture. Best of luck in your search."  I have had a few requests for dates, and will probably go but need to find the time.  Next week is really busy and not even with anything scheduled with the Realtor. So we will see!

Have a great weekend!!

Here it goes!!

I will be the first to admit that I am the queen of the two month relationship!  I meet a guy, we hit it off, go out spend time together blah blah blah.. and then POOF! Gone. No warning, no signs..nothing!  Just gone! And really most....well all of them are for apparent reasons which is why I am NOT allowed to date the following people:

1. Men who live with their parents.
2. Men who are Students of ANY kind...this includes: Residents, nursing students, MBA students etc.

Even though these are men that are seeking higher education it just does not work to start a new relationship.  Students need to study, write papers, go to class, and do lots of reading.  These are not things that WE can do.  Especially if these men are also working.  The problem is I have time to do so much more and want someone who can also do these things with me. 

SO...Lunch Friday with the Realtor went great!  We talked for 2 hours over a lovely lunch and had a great time.  He asked me out again for Sunday which I already had plans and forgot..WHOOPS! But he met me and we had a nice time.  It was a Party welcoming Victory Brewing to the area!!
http://victorybeer.com/ They came to Microfestivus last year, which is an annual MicroBeer event in the area that I am really involved with.  Anyway...the Realtor and I have plans for Thursday and Friday night.  So we will see how this goes!  Fingers crossed!

This week I will be doing final preparations for the Ball this weekend!  Here is my dress..in Black however:

I am going on Wednesday (no cooking class this week) to DSS's house to see about jewels and handbags to wear with my dress in hopes that I find something that will go nicely. Otherwise I am going to be taking it really easy to get rid of whatever it is that I have and wears me OUT!

Happy Monday and I hope you are keeping up with your new years resolutions...So far I am doign well with blogging!

Once a Taurus...Always a Taurus

Every morning I start my day by watching our local news and then watch the Today show to get my news for the day.  I realize there is probably just 8 minutes or so of "real" news.  The rest of the show is filler with lots of good useless information that I can always amaze my friends with.  HOWEVER...this morning my world was rocked...I found out that I am no longer a Taurus?!!?  Apparently... Thanks to Earth's wobble, astrological signs are, well, bunk. (Or even more bunk than you thought.) Astrological signs are determined by the position of the sun relative to certain constellations on a person's day of birth. The problem is, the positions were determined more than 2,000 years ago. Nowadays, the stars have shifted in the night sky so much that horoscope signs are nearly a month off.

Now I am a Taurus to a "T".  Here was the description of Taurus/Me...

TAURUS - The Enduring One (April 20 - May 20)
Charming but aggressive. Can come off as boring, but they are not. Hard workers. Warm-hearted. Strong, has endurance.. Solid beings that are stable and secure in their ways. Not looking for shortcuts.. Patient and reliable. Make great friends and give good advice. Loving and kind. Loves hard -- passionate. Expresses themselves emotionally. Prone to ferocious temper-tantrums. Determined.. Indulges themselves often. Very generous.

   

Now apparently...I am an Aries? 

Aries (April 18-May 13)  is the first of the twelve Western zodiacal signs. And although it comes first, it is often thought of as the baby of the family. Aries respond to stimuli in an impulsive and headstrong manner. The complexities of cunning, deceit and duplicity don't appeal to Aries. The Aries person likes to operate out of righteousness (self- and the other kind), wherein he feels safe. The danger is that he can also feel a mite too complacent.

I guess both are close to my personality however; I have always been a Taurus.  And what about the new sign Ophiuchus?  Im glad I am just switching to a knew known sign and not some unknown new sign.

The vet has called about little Daisy.  She tested negative for the Toxoplasmosis test and so now we are just waiting.  The vet is posting all (and I mean ALL) of her lab tests, results, bloodwork, xrays, ultrasounds etc on this Vet web site to get other opinions.  Here is the best part...IT IS FREE!!  So we are going to see what we get from that.  She has been eating her tasty homemade dog food I made for her all week 4-5 times a day (tires me out how much she has to eat).  Next week she will go get weighed.  Next step if no responses from other Vets.....Sonogram of her liver. Sigh.  Otherwise she seems to be doing well.

This is actually my Grace sleeping....of course under the covers!!

Sweet Daisy,ready for bed and not feeling 100%

This week I hosted our Cooking Class.  Two of my Fav girlfriends, DSS and Marilyn, and I have cooking class on Wednesdays.  It always includes wine and some sort of delish food.  This week we made BIG Spicy Meatballs!! Here are some Pics to document our fun!

Anyway!  I have a lunch date with the Piranha aka. the Realtor.  Throughout my dating on line my friends keep up with these matches by nicknames, I guess it is easier!  This one happens to have two depending on which friend you ask.  So we have been chatting this week and will meet today for the first time!  Then off to Game Night at my friend Barbie's house.  Yippee! 

Cheers to a great weekend!!

This past week's catches..

So here are a few of the lovelies of the week.

These are all men that have contacted me.  Minus the lower right, all sent one line emails.  Some probably were posted in the previous post on dating.  And yes, Mr. Abs has no picture of his face, and I am scared what other pictures he would send if contact continued between us. There were a few others I wanted to add but ended up bocking them before I got their pictures because they called me a Bi**h because I responded to their pathetic email with the response: " Im assuming that you did not take the time to read my profile or maybe you just didnt respect my wishes and sent me a one line email anyway.  Best of luck in your search!".  This is my standard response and I did actually get a nice man who responded "you totally called me out!  I did not read your profile until after I got your email.  I know better for future searching.  Thank you foryour response!"  I of course had to respond and thank him for not calling me awful names and again...best of luck!
So for those of you fortunate to have a significant other (either husband or boyfriend) be thankful that you are not in the dating pool!!  Because THIS is what you have to look forward to!!

To Sum Up

When i decided to start a blog I knew it would be diffcult to keep up with it.  But I figure if i just get into the habit, it is not any different than anything else!   I wish I had the same luck with the gym!

Family:
Over the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) I was very thankful to be able to spend both with my family in Virginia Beach.  My sister was not able to make Thanksgiving but was able to on Christmas.  On Christmas my godparents sons (which I am close with) were able to make it in from Arizona and Portland but ha difficulty making it back due to the unexpected 14 inches of snow.  I had a difficult time getting out as well!  For Christmas I got a fireproof safe.  I have stangely asked for one for a while and finally got one!! And have I put anythng in it yet...NOPE.  I got a camera to replace the one that was stolen from me which was awesome!!  And I got a gnome, his name is Avery.  Well his passport says his name is Cedric but we all got one for christmas and I wanted mine to have a different name! 

You can find them at : http://www.amazon.com/Gnome-Away-Andrews-McMeel-Publishing/dp/0740757237/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1294528987&sr=8-3

What a cute gift for friends who travel, getting married...or graduating!

My Grandfather is almost 90 and his health is failing quickly.  He is in a rehab center and probably not going to return home.  It has been really tough on my mom and my grandmother.

Dogs:
Daisy suddenly lost roughly 5 lbs and they diagnosed her initially with roundworms, so the fix was an easy $22 dewormer.(Gross I know).  But her breathing has become really labored and ends up that she has an enlarged liver.  We are waiting for the results on the last test, Toxoplasmosis.  Sadly to say, I have my fingers crossed she is positive because if not Im afraid that the problem is bigger and a larger expense.  Fortunately enough my ex (their dad) has paid ALL the vet bills to the tune of $700 thus so far. 

my sick little Daisy, I worked from home for a few hours to make sure she was fine!

She felt awful during the cocktail swap. all of her favs kittie and her blanket

Grace hoping to catch any crumbs at the cocktail swap

Grace is great! Her problems are in the Summer with the thunder storms.  I think that I may have found a solution other than Xanax.

It is called a thundershirt...Ever heard of it?  Im curious if it works? http://www.thundershirt.com/

Friends:
I am so fortunate to have the best friends ever!!  DSS, Marilyn, and I have a cooking group.  We are pretty good about doing i every Wednesday.  It is a nice break in the week and we all take turns cooking and exchanging recipes.  We have cooked a little bit of everything and sometimes have theme nights, which makes it a little more fun!

I hosted New Year New Cocktail, my 2nd Annual Cocktail Swap.  We had a great time, and got some good and not so good new recipes (mine was AWFUL).

these are the monogrammed glasses and recipe books for each girl!

Group of 2nd Annual Cocktail Swap!!

Love Life:

Well...I think based on my previous blog about my on line dating responses you can see how that is going.  I will say this past week I met Mr. Broker for coffee and this week will meet the Realtor for lunch on Friday.  We will see how it goes.  It is almost like just going through the motions, but I guess you dont know what is out there unless you look around, and maybe try a few on.

Have a great rest of the weekend!!

So Heres to a new year and New People to Meet

As discussed before, I am on this dating web site.  Why do men think that we want to see their profile picture of them taking a self portrait (1) in bed (2) in the bathroom mirror (3) with their shirt off (and/or other clothes off).  These pictures say to me that they do nothing that people would take their picture in public.  Now maybe thats because I have plenty of friends who are taking pictures all the time.  In my profile for my dating site I specifically say "please don't send me a one line or worse yet a one line email".  And yet, I still do. Now here are a few.  Unfortunately in the last month I have deleted most but here is a recent sampling of the worst initial emails sent:

Nice hat...o thats a tree. Hi I'm Doug...what's your name?
-------------------
Hey sweetie!!
-------------------
I have read your profile and I think you are very attractive.
-------------------
Im a clean cut type guy, have a good job, come from a good family, nice guy, easy going, laid back,athletic type person.
-------------------
My other request was to spell words and use some sort of semi-accurate punctuation (because I am honestly not the best).  Here is a recent one:

actually u r spot on...i am literally absolutely new to this and navigating the features has been something that i have done very quickly and without alot of...conviction i guess u cud say..i thought i was responding to a simple hello from you..dont ask me why..just thought thats wat i saw..lol sorry! i wish you the best of blessings in finding someone here as i wish the same for myself! sorry to come off as ignorant..i assure u im not..jus learnin as i go :)
-----------------------
And the smart ass to my profile description...Mr. Soccer, I will say that this is the first line of his first email to me and who knows where this will go..( I just thought the intro was funny and wanted to post):

Well then. I will try to spell everything corectly....ha-ha (correctly).
And so its a New Year and who knows who New I will meet! Who knew I would actually have time to do this today afterall...I am off to meet my cooking class gals (PLU Group) for dinner out tonight and hopefully to hear from my Vet about my little Daisy who has been sick for a month or more.  FINGERS CROSSED we have it figured out.  More on that later :)

New Year New Resolution

Yes, Yes...with the holidays and all of its craziness I have taken off a little over a month and have promised myself that I will blog at least weekly!  Unfortunately with work deadlines of today there will not be a blog today!!  Check back and I hope to see you soon!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!