Friday, July 29, 2011

When did I turn into this?

Seriously singletons, who am I? I know who I am but the fact that I'm happier than ever and that really confuses me and again, makes me happier than ever. Mr. 2g2bt is out of town and I realized tonight that one call from him makes my whole day. Really? When did that happen? I used to be anti-relationship. I did all of that. When my friend were out "messing around" I spent a good 10 years in relationships. I had my twneties in my thirties. I was in a relationship staring at 16 and spent a better partof my 20's in front of a detective. This made me think a lot about my life. My world right now is back to what it was a year ago and yet it seems really empty. The house is empty, I'm bored and I'm waiting for the phone to ring so I can fall alseep. When did this happen? I can answer that...about July, 2010. I know, the first date wasn't until August 20, 2011 but really, my mind was taken over in July, 2010. Again..thank you Tricia for making me go to the reunion. I'm glad I made you go to senior prom.

I think about all the things that have happened in my life, both the good and bad and I know that they have made me who I am. Of course I wish my Dad was still here....he would be so happy that I was with Mr. 2g2bt....and I wish I hadn't gone through the 10 years of hell with psycho boy but at the same time, if I hadn't dealt with it all, I wouldn't be who I am now. It's very true, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

There's good and bad in that. I know that there are 3 sides to every story (his, hers and the truth) but I also have built up a wall because I was sick of getting hurt. However Mr. 2g2bt has destroyed that wall. I have given him my whole heart. He's either going to cherish it forever or destroy it at some point but either way he's more than worth it. He's not perfect and neither am I but he's also kind and caring and he loves me with his whole heart. In the whole process his family had accepted me and my family and to me that's very important. I love him more than words can say and I miss him. Wish he would come home already.

What I am saying, singletons is don't give up. Mr. 2g2bt and I haven't always had the easiset of roads but what we do know is this....we love each other and aren't willing to give up. During the bumps along the road, that's really a big deal. Daddy, I love you with all my heart and I miss you so much that some days it physically still hurts but through your death I learned who I was and I can handle just about anything now because I've already survived the worst.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

I'm baaaaaack!!!!

Hello Singletons!!!! Miss me? Wonder where I've been? Well, a lot has been going on. As you read back in February, I stopped the random serial dating and actually met someone who slowed me down enough for a relationship. Well, guess what? I'm still with him. Even better than that...Mr. Too-Good-To-Be-True is still around. Not only that, we've been together for almost a year now. Things have been great. Don't get me wrong, there have been bumps for sure but at the core of it all is a sincere happiness so we always work the bumps out.

All of this has been great however, it did pretty much kill my writing career. Gone are my days of getting hit on by random guys. Gone are my days of having to run in my high heels from a guy who was angry at me because a stranger had a Channel purse. Gone are my days of scheduling 2 dates in one night. Stop judging me, you know you've done it too. Gone are the days of guys way too young for me, guys who had girlfriends but refused to admit it, guys who take off their wedding rings while standing in front of me. That one actually happened again not too long ago so I guess those days aren't quite gone yet. Gone are the days of stupid small talk trying to figure out what the story is behind someone and if they are telling the truth or not. Basically, gone are the games that us singletons are forced to play. What has it all be replaced by? Well, to give you an idea, last night was Saturday night and both Mr. 2g2bt and I were excited for the dishwasher to finish to see if the new detergent was as good as we hoped. Seriously! Let me back it up a bit though and explain.

Mr. 2g2bt and I both have done our share of late nights, regretable stories, bad and good relationships, and everything in between both good and bad. We are both at a point in our lives that we are sick of playing the games. If you read my column, you know that we have known each other since we were 4. We went to school together all the way through high school. We lost touch after high school graduation and reconnected at our 20 year reunion. I'm obligated at this point to say...THANK YOU TRICIA FOR FORCING ME TO GO!!! She requires that I say that and it's well deserved. During that 20 years after graduation, he got married, had 2 kids, got divorced and go back on his feet. I had 3 very serious relationships, had my heart broken, dated a bunch of randoms and was convinced that real, true and honest love just wouldn't find me. Guess what? It did!

Mr. 2g2tb and I are both pretty done with the wild all night partying. We did our time and now we are just thankful that we don't have to play the games anymore and are so happy to have each other to come home to. We both work full time, have great families and each have our separate interests to we really do appreciate quiet time at night watching tv together. Don't get me wrong, we do go out, we just aren't looking for the eternal party anymore. My sister warned me that this happened as you get older but I didn't believe her. Sorry, Cheri. You were right. Add to this that as I mentioned, my sexy man has 2 kids so we do as much with them as we can when we have them with us. At the end of those days, I seriously am not thinking about who is at the pub or what I'm missing. I'm just looking forward to my bed.

Back to the new dishwasher detergent.....Mr. 2g2bt and I now live together. It's temporary. He needed to leave the rental he was in and wasn't given much notice so rather than sign a year lease on something he wasn't sure of he moved in with me since I own my place. I know the day will come that he moves out and I'm dreading it. I won't be angry, just sad. The house will look and feel so empty and lonely without him and the kids. So, I'm just enjoying each day and trying to remind myself to make the most of it. He knows though that I don't want him to leave.

Living together has brought about a new dynamic. I didn't know entirely what to expect so I kept an open mind. It's been great. I love pulling up to the garage and seeing that he's already home or if I get home first, I can't wait to hear that click when his key unlocks the door. We've had to make allowances for each other and we've both learned a lot about each other but our relationship is stronger because of it. Don't get me wrong, it's not all perfect. For example, is there a reason that I have to beg and plead to get him to help me clean? However, when the begging and pleading does happen, he does things like today when he hand scrubbed the bathroom floors so it definitely all works out. We have the ability to have a good time and laugh together no matter what we are doing. Which again brings us to the dishwasher detergent.

Last night we went grocery shopping together. The first time if you can believe that. We needed dishwasher detergent and both agreed that what we had before just wasn't doing the trick so we got something a little more expensive. We laughed at the grocery store about how we couldn't wait to run the dishwasher to try it, got home and my man cooked me dinner and then I put the dishes in the dishwasher. This is where the night really got funny. He just couldn't wait so he started the dishwasher. While it was running, we were on the couch and joking about turning off the tv and going into the bedroom to well, you know. I said that if we did that then we would miss when the dishwasher stopped. He came up with a plan to have a quickie and then be back out in the family room before the dishwasher stopped. I couldn't stop laughing because in less than a year my Saturday nights had gone from drunken apple martini nights to being excited about new dishwasher detergent. Mr. 2g2bt felt bad but I told him that I was laughing because I really was excited to see if the new detergent worked.

So, here's what it's come to....I wait for the dishwasher to stop and I'm happy about it. In that moment last night I realized that there was nowhere else in the world I'd rather be. I was laughing and having fun with the love of my life and that was what the real change in my life had been in the last year. I wouldn't change it for the world. If you were wondering, the new detergent did work for the most part. Join me in my new chapter of the single lane.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Thank You High School Reunion!

Hello fellow singletons! It's been a long time since I've shared with you and for that I apologize. There is a really good reason for it though....I'm in love! Yep, me! I know! Go figure. Someone finally got me to slow down. He's the most amazing thing to ever happen to me. Now I'm asking for you all to help me out. See, I've entered a contest and I need every vote I can get. Something else that's happened in the last few months is that I lost my job. Therefore, I don't have the means to do much for Valentine's Day and would really like to win this contest and take my amazing man out to dinner. Please read the story below, click on the link and vote for us! Share with your friends too!!!

Ben & I first met at age 4 on the same t-ball team.We then went to school together from 3rd grade through high school graduation.I admit that all during middle school I had a huge crush on Ben.He even made me his girlfriend for a brief time-until he broke up with me for Rachael.Somewhere I still have the Valentine’s card he gave me in about 5th grade.I still remember my Dad saying in 4th grade that I’d be lucky if I found a guy like Ben-when I was over 30 of course & allowed to date.

Move to our 20 yr high school reunion.Ben & I had gone different ways lost touch.I didn’t want to go to the reunion.High school was done & thanks to FB I still talked to those I missed.My bff since 4th grade,Tricia,had different ideas though.She wanted to go & was not going alone.She reminded me I forced her to go to prom & now she was doing the same & I was going.We had a time limit:arrive at 8pm & out the door at 9pm.Then I saw Ben & that plan was gone.I believe my words were “OMG Ben grew up hot”.Obviously,we stayed later than 9pm.He was already on my FB list but talking face to face was much different.

After thatFB messages began, then dates which led to a love stronger than anything I’ve ever known.The fun little kid is still there in his personality but he’s a strong,handsome & loving man & my life is infinitely better with him in it.I now have a man who makes me a priority & not an option.My friends are sick of hearing stories of how amazing he is & tell me that they “want a Ben” all the time.

Times have been tough recently due to me loosing my job & as a result I’ve been an emotional wreck.Poor Ben never quite knows what he’s going to walk into when he sees me but it doesn’t stop him from holding my hand & reminding me that one day it will all be ok.He’s stood by me & never once faltered & for that I’m eternally grateful.

Only time will tell where our story will take us.At this point all I can say is that the second phase of our friendship definitely started that night in July & now I’m in love with the most amazing man I’ve ever known.Took 34 years of friendship to get to this point but I wouldn’t have it any other way.We’ve both been through some very tough times in the last 20 years & as a result we have an appreciation for each other & our relationship.This is how God intended it to be for us.To Tricia-Thank you for making me go to the reunion!I can’t imagine my life without Ben & it may have not happened had you not guilted me into going with you that night.

http://interactive.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/holiday/valentine/2011/02/02/thank-you-high-school-reunion.html

Saturday, May 15, 2010

To Snoop or not To Snoop??

Let me start by saying that my position on this issue is to never ever snoop. I recently did it for the first time and as expected it was not a good thing for either one of us. I have always felt that if you do snoop 9 times out of 10 whatever you find will be something that you will not be happy about and on top of it there's a good chance that whatever you are looking at is not what you think it is. Like I said, I did it for the first time and I'll never do it again.

This experience though got me to thinking about it all and of course that led me to asking all of my friends what they thought about this. It was very interesting. There is a definite gender split on this opinion. While all of my female friends agreed with me that I was wrong, every last one of them also added "but I would have done the same thing". All of my male friends on the other hand? Let's just say that they pretty much echoed the guy I snooped on. What cracked me up though was that they all had a snooping story and every last one they added that they were the ones who had something to hide and the real problem wasn't that she snooped but rather that they got caught.

Here's some of the comments I heard....Kevin pointed out that if I felt that I had to snoop then I'm with the wrong person. Interesting way to look at it and I'm sure in a lot of cases true. He also brought up the cell phone issue in saying that a guy with nothing to hide doesn't have a key lock activated on his cell and yet a guy who does have something to hide does. Hmmm.....he has a lock on his screen so what's going on there?

Another friend told me a story of a guy who was on a first date with a woman, left his phone in front of her while he went to the restroom, it rang and the caller ID showed "Baby Momma". Apparently she didn't know that such a person existed in his world and opted to not only end the date right then but left before he returned from the men's room. He was a bit confused...until he saw the call he missed. I'm not sure that really qualifies as snooping though since he left the phone and it rang.

So, what have we learned here? That I should have stuck with my orginal thoughts on snooping and never ever done it. I will never do it again! Once you throw crazy out there you just can't get it back. On the flip side: Guys...be up front from the start. If there's a baby momma, a current jail stint (yep, dated one of those), married to any of my friends (dated him too) or generally anything that may be concerning to her, tell her! Oh and maybe lock that phone.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Really guys...if you are gonna lie at least make it good one!

I know, it's been a long time since I've written. Sorry about that. Few things have been going on. Most recently I organized and hosted another fundraiser for Forgotten Soldiers Outreach (www.forogttensoldiers.org). It was a rainy night and yet we had a good crowd and raised quite a bit of money. Just in case working full time, writing, hosting speed dating parties and organizing fundraisers wasn't enough to keep me busy...I'm buying a small business. Yep, the self-confessed shoe addict is buying a personalized flip flop business. I'm excited. Funky Flopz & More will be open for sales any day now.

That's not why you read my words though, I know. You want to know the dirt. I went out Friday night with a friend from high school. After dinner and margaritas we headed to Blue Martini in CityPlace. This is where the stories really got started. We had a blast drinking, dancing and yes, talking to pretty much anyone who talked to us. No reason to be rude to anyone! There are three that stood out...first was a man who was at a table with a large group of both men and women. He came over, introduced himself to me and asked me to dance. Very nice so far. Then came a very angry woman who said "Bitch, I hope you don't mind if I steal my husband back". Mind you, she watched him walk over to me, talk to me and ask me to dance yet it took that long for her to do something about it. He spent the rest of the night trying to apologize to me and telling me she was drunk and not only are they not married but not even dating. I kept politely telling him that was fabulous but way too much drama for me to get involved in. She spent the rest of the night stalking me. Seriously, my friend and I thought for sure she was going to hurt me. I even made a friend's husband who was there promise to help if she came after me. Guys, if you are going to lie, pick a better lie. That one just wasn't cool.

Memorable man #2 was about 60 years old and kept telling me how cute my friend was. I kept suggesting to him that maybe he should tell her that instead of me. He kept telling us that he was the owner of Blue Martini. He stuck with this line for so long that I finally started asking him questions about the details of running a place like that. He didn't have an answer for any of it. Then I asked him to get us drinks. I went to the bar with him, he ordered, the bartender gave him the drinks...and then gave him a bill. Now, wouldn't the owner just be able to ask and be given the drinks? Wouldn't the bartenders recognize the owner and maybe smile at him? Again...if you are going to lie, don't pick one that can so easily be shot down.

Memorable man #3 didn't lie but he still stood out. He was a very nice 25 year old Columbian guy who danced with us for quite some time. He was fun but that really was where my friend and I intended to leave it. However, as we were leaving he asked me for my phone number. Here's the thing about me, when I drink and am single, I tend to be a serial phone number giver outer. I know. Bad. I get it. We weren't back in the car 10 minutes and he was texing already. He asked us for a threesome. Yeah, you read that right. Even after he didn't get a response to that request, he still continued to text me all last night. Again, didn't get a response.

Here's the shocking part of this all. Out of all of these guys, the one that is the most memorable of them all is the one who was 20 minutes away and volunteered to come save me from crazy stalker wife. He's the one I never saw coming and yet was willing to help. Here's you bigger lesson guys....tell the truth and always be honest. There may be a woman out there who never saw you entering her world but is pleasantly surprised that did.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Is the weekend really over already????

Hello Singletons. It's Sunday night, I hope that you had a fabulous weekend. Mine wasn't too bad, thanks for asking. Got to spend time with good friends, kids (one of which is my godson), family and celebrate a friend's upcoming birth of twins. Yep, it was an action packed weekend. Not much of a man weekend but that was ok.

Dinner last night with my friend, Sylvia, was good for some laughs. We had a parade of random men coming to our table to talk to us about basically nothing. It all started with our waiter. He was very nice and very chatty. He did have an excellent suggestion on an upgraded margarita. Thanks to him for that. However, he also kept coming back to ask how it was and have 10 minute conversations about them. Thought it was a bit odd but we rolled with it. He was nice. Then there was the guy that brought out our food and then asked me if I would mind if he came back in a few minutes to ask me what it tasted like. Uuummm....ok. This one sent Sylvia into a laughing fit. I swear she almost spit out her margarita (btw...thanks for not doing that). When he walked away her comment was "never a dull moment with you around, is it?". It was a strange evening. Did I mention the cutie who was sitting at the table behind us and seemed mesmerized staring at me but never said a word?

It was a good night out and we laughed....a lot...and I must highly recommend the Presidente Margarita at Chili's. However, it did just kind of reinforce the fact that I attract a strange breed of men. They were all very nice but each a bit on the odd side. While I can say with confidence that not one was the man the red panties are going to bring me, the attention was kind of nice and definitely gave us something to laugh at. Hmmm....maybe I need to move to Plantation and give the red panties a helping hand.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

So maybe he wasn't the one the red panties are going to bring me..

Hello all! I know it's been quite some time since I've written and I apologize. See, I promised a friend of mine that I wouldn't write about a certain man that was temporarily in my life. However...he's gone so gloves off so to speak!

We will just call him Mr. Second Time Around. Yep, he's the one from Valentine's Day. Had a great 12 hour date and then poof! He was gone. Haven't seen him since and hear from him sporadically. I was really hurt and very depressed over it until I took a look back and realized....this is kinda the same thing that happened the last time we dated! I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's a pattern of his. Then I went through all of the usual...anger, hurt, exercising like crazy to take my mind off of it, called all my friends and bitched up a storm. You know the routine. We've all done it. Now I'm at the point where I say....not much for me to do about it so on to the next one? Anyone want to submit an application? The job is open.

So, while I have friends who are more than open to the second time around relationship but I've come to the conclusion that while I believe that everyone makes mistakes and deserves a second chance, maybe the second time around relationship may not be for me. I still believe in the power of the red panties and I've still got three quarters of the year left so again....feel free to apply if you think the position is for you! Looking for Mr. Red!