Show and Tell!

I received a lovely email from my HOE scissor fob exchange partner, Michelle, saying she received my package. Yay!! I'm really happy that she liked what I sent. Hard to know what to make for someone you don't even know but I had a fun time stitching up the scissor fob for her plus it was my first one! I think this year will have a lot of firsts for me in terms of my craft-likes. Here is what I sent her as a whole package:

In the package, I sent her the fob, a skein of green varigated DMC floss and two Just Nan angel charts (Hope and Flora) as Michelle said she liked Just Nan AND angels. Those were a perfect pick for her. So glad I came across them at my LNS. I also sent her a cute little notepad that matched the fob and candy. Below are pictures of the front and back of the fob. It was a freebie design from Tantes Zolder which I thought was the cutest! Here is the front:

Tantes Zolder freebie design stitched on 32 ct. antique white belfast with Crescent Colours "Cupid"

And here is the back. I stitched the same border as the front with the year and both my initials and Michelle's.

I'm really glad she liked everything and I had a fun time with the exchange! It was also a good way to learn something new. I know now to try to put a fob together during the day...my poor eyes and fingers...definitely need better light so I don't poke myself with the needle! I also should have stitched the back on a diagonal to match the front but I'm happy with how it turned out considering it was my first time ever. I'm looking forward to the next exchange/challenge!

In Love with Malabrigo...

I'm not a big knitter. That can be proven by the fact I haven't picked up any knitting needles in a year! So I'm a little rusty and cautious. Please don't talk to me while knitting!! I may lose a stitch. But I can handle listening to/watching tv at the same time. I've never been very adventurous when it came to needles and yarn. I'm a stitcher at heart and not a knitter. But I've managed to knit a few scarves, a few hats, a baby blankie, washclothes and one sock. Notice I said one sock and not a pair. Socks are hard to make and I was incredibly discouraged when said sock was a size or two too big!

Funny to think that when I started this blog, oh...three years ago now...it was supposed to be about knitting. But with no camera and too much dating, my blog became a journal for all the crazy dates I've been on. Go figure...but back to knitting for the moment...

I've worked with lots of fibers...cotton, wool, fun, fluffy synthetics. Yarn just makes me feel toasty. It looks welcoming and has so many possibilities. The local yarn shop was offering this knit-a-long in the form of the afghan I've mentioned in previous posts. The yarn it calls for is Manos De Uruguay which is a color-rich wool yarn that's pretty but a little scratchy. I had reds and pinks in mind for my afghan but all the Manos reds were too orangy (ewww) and the pinks too pale. So the shop owner pointed out Malabrigo yarn. It was so soft and plush to the touch. Not something you find in 100% wool yarn. This yarn is awesome! It comes in amazing colors and it knits up easy. If I could jump into a big tub of Malabrigo yarn, I'd be in heaven. It's that warm, fluffy and soft! So I decided to pick four colors and do a rotation between the four colors to knit up the 12 blocks. I've got three colors bought and I'm happy with them but I am having a really hard time picking the fourth color. Maybe blog-lurkers can help me out here. The colors I've decided on are:

Geranio: it's a deeper pinky-red in real life.

Little Lovely: pink shades - variegated

Cactus Flower : lighter, not as bright in real life

Now for the colors I'm trying to decide on:

Vermillion : seems nice on computer but haven't seen it in real life...wonder if it's orangy and if it is, it wouldn't go with the color scheme

Shocking Pink : I kind of like this color but then I think it would be too much pink overall

Intenso: sorry the pic is so big, couldn't find the color on the manufacturer website. This was my original 4th color pick from my knitting shop visit. I liked that it had red and pink in it along with a tiny bit of orange and my original thought was darkest color to lightest in each row (i.e. geranio, intenso, little lovely, cactus flower). But then I became doubtful.

Amoroso : similar to intenso but brighter because it has more orange in it. I think I like intenso better.

So definitely having problems deciding. I still have time to pick my fourth color. I ran into a snag over the weekend. I was doing such great time on Block #1 and was all excited about it and maybe had about 50 rows or six inches of my 12 inches needed done. When I was showing my mom how well I was doing, I noticed an error about 1.5 inches from the beginning! Gah!!! It was way too far down for me to try and fix it and if I was going that far down, I may as well start over. And even though the mistake wasn't that noticable, the perfectionist in me wouldn't allow me to ignore the mistake and keep on knitting on block #1. So I ripped out 6 inches of lovely textured rib knitting to start all over. Now...I'm on row #2. Sad...very sad. So there will be no good progress pictures on that for a bit as this coming week is too crazy for me to get any real progress done. Too frustrating. So I'm loving the Malabrigo a litte less but it isn't the Malabrigo's fault. Note to self: Pay attention to the knitting outcome as you go along to catch mistakes early!! I still love the Malabrigo! =)

Fob and Goodies has Arrived

When I arrived home from work today, I was wondering why there was a large envelope in my mailbox. My scissor fob and goodies arrived from Michelle all the way from Georgia! She stitched up a very cute sun fob that she said was a Clioratha design. She also included some goodies...cute powder blue scissors, a piece of mint green cashel linen (love the color!) and a couple of skeins of hand-dyed floss from Carrie's Creations and Six Strand Sweets. I've never worked with these hand-dyed flosses before so I'll have to find a special project to use them in. Thanks Michelle! Sorry for the poor picture...it's cold, rainy and dreary here and I'm hardly home during the day to take daytime pictures. I had fun with this exchange!

Sick but Busy...

I'm tired...and behind...on everything! It didn't help that I've spent the last week sick and that I had too much of a good time at a company retirement party on Friday night so most of Saturday was a complete waste! Oh well, it's the having a good time part which is most important in that whole scenario. Despite being sick and incredibly tired and achy, I did have an enjoyable weekend. There was the retirement party...200 guests, fun music and lots of great people to hang out with. This was a company party though so it was interesting to see who got how drunk and what inappropriate things they said or did. Most likely, they won't even remember most of the events from the day. Gawd knows I don't even remember how I stayed out so late. Next thing I knew, it was 1am! Hence, Saturday being a day of rest. I was too tired, sick and ok, I'll be a little honest here, hungover to do much of anything that day. Things looked better on Sunday when I caught a double feature at the Stanford and saw "Notorious" and "The Philidelphia Story" with Cary Grant and had an awesome meal at Nola's nearby. Monday was another social day where I went to see a friend I hadn't seen in a while and we had lunch at Q and watched "No Country for Old Men" at the remodeled AMC Kabuki. I didn't care for the movie and I didn't really like that they made you pick your assigned seats when you bought the tickets but there is loads of leg room (very important for a tall girl!), the seats are super comfy and they have a bar! So that was the extent of my weekend. Sadly...there was no cleaning or laundry done so now my apartment is in dire straits! Looks like I will have to devote this coming weekend to cleaning.

I finally managed to work all the red in Santa's jacket and the tree in my Sweet Dreams Stocking and set aside that project to finally finish my scossor fob. I'm not a very strong sewer which is sad as my mom is a seamstress by trade. It took me most of the evening yesterday to stitch and stuff the fob and attach the ribbon. Not bad for my first fob ever! I think I will need to make a practice one for myself to see how people do cording and tassels. Those look so nice but I didn't want to try something seemingly complex my first time at bat. What if I completely messed it up?! I'd have been very frustrated and sad. I got everything packaged and mailed off to my exchange partner today and I hope it's well-received. Once she gets the package, I'll post picks.

I am setting aside my stitching needles for knitting needles...at least for the next week or two. I decided to start a 12-block afghan in yummy reds and pinks and started my cast on last night. The yarn (malabrigo) is a dream to work with so I want to make some decent progress in my first block before I get sidetracked by my cross stitch projects. My goal is to do one block per month and at the end of the year, I will have 12 blocks to sew up into an afghan. Depending on how the size comes out, I may make it a 16 block afghan since I'll have enough yarn on hand. But it's one block at a time for now. I'll be using the Manos Block of the Month pattern book with my Malabrigo yarn and will make one of each block. Block #1 is a textured rib pattern that I will knit up in "Geranio", a lovely reddish-pink color. I do seem to be in a red kick lately. I'll probably be sick of it by the time I finish this afghan project! But if everything goes according to plan, the afghan will match my living room perfectly and be added warmth in my chilly living room. I'm looking forward to this little project and mastering my meager and yet forgotten sewing skills. As a small side project, I'll try to whip up a light blue baby cap for a co-worker who is expecting a baby boy soon.

Vancouver Overview

It looks like I've fallen a little behind on my posting. I went away for a very nice and relaxing trip to Vancouver, Washington last weekend and have been trying to catch up since. I had been planning to visit an old friend and her family for three days and it was great seeing her. It's funny how we met. She used to be my downstairs neighbor in this crummy little apartment building I used to live in in the Richmond District. I remember that we moved into the building around the same time and despite it only being a 4-unit building, it wasn't until a year after moving that we bumped into each other at the mailbox. After exchaging pleasantries and introductions, we became great neighbors. Honestly, she took care of me a lot. I was always busy working, dating and living up to the demands of elderly parents who depended on me for far too much. I'm hardly a chef and she loved to cook and I would often get calls asking if I would like to come downstairs for dinner. Of course!! I love homecooked food more than I love leftovers! After many dinners, conversations in front of the tv and playing with her cat, Fuzzle, we finally discovered that we had the love of craftiness. Then I started to bring my projects downstairs ans stitch on her couch and chat. It was probably more estrogen than her poor husband could deal with but he was always a good sport. About a year later, they moved to Portland, had a baby and then moved to Vancouver.

It was my first trip to Vancouver and I absolutely loved the relaxation. I did think it was interesting that just two hours before I landed in Portland Airport, there was a tornado that hit in Vancouver. Luckily, it didn't affect the neighborhood my friend lives in. Tornados in the Pacific Northwest?!? That's completely out of my league...I deal with earthquakes, not tornadoes. But the weekend was filled with chatter, shopping, crafting, playing with Fuzzle and Kassie (my friend's 2.5 year old daughter) and movies. It was a great weekend. My friend's husband cooked us amazing breakfasts and dinners (yum!) and I felt completely rested and spoiled. I had such a great time.

But it was back to reality the moment I landed in Oakland. I got home to chores that had to be done and errands to run. To a personal inbox with 40 emails and a work inbox of 34 emails and a pile of personal and work email. So you can just imagine what I've been trying to do all week...catch up! I'm pretty caught up but still behind on some projects at work and well, the apartment has been getting messier instead of cleaner. I think the cold/flu bug I caught over the weekend hasn't helped me much. I haven't been able to get any cleaning done or very much stitching.

While I was in Vancouver, I was able to do some good progress on Santa's jacket in my Sweet Dreams stocking. I'll have to take another picture soon to share. I also started on my scissor fob for my exchange and have finished the stitching this week. Now I just need to construct the fob. I'm hoping to get that all done and in the post on Tuesday or Wednesday of the new week. I really hope that my exchange partner likes it. I'll post pictures of it and the goodies once my partner receives it. I want to start a new project but am holding off. I'm not a good juggler and can only handle one or two projects at a time. I don't know how people out there juggle more than 4 projects at a time. Plus, I will be busting out my knitting needles (and blowing the dust off of them) to start a 12-month afghan project. We'll see how it goes. It's been about a year since I've knit anything but I could totally improve my knitting skills. I figure that this afghan project will be a good choice as it consists of 12 blocks that are then sewn together to create an afghan. Each block is constucted using a different pattern, different stitch and a different color. Plus, the finished project is something that anyone can use. I'm choosing a medley of red and pink varigated yarn to match my living room decor. I'm looking forward to it and maybe meeting some new crafty ladies. I'm hoping to meet ALL my stitchy goals this year. Wish me luck!

Stitchy Progress Report

Ok, I finally was able to take some picture of my stitchy progress so I can share. And I've made pretty decent progress on Sweet Dreams. It's been slow going. Mainly because the colors are all over the place and I have to stop and start again versus carrying over. I'm doing this as kitted since it's my first stocking and I didn't want to spend even more money on nice linen and high quality threads so it's just a cream aida and supplied threads. I'm not really fond of this floss though. It seems to knot up and shread with the constant handling and pass through the fabric which is highly annoying! I feel like I should have a pair of tweezers so I can pick out any little loosened lint so it doesn't blend in with other colors. But I'm determined to make it work. I was hoping to be farther along by now but I do have to admit I'm having fun with it. I did have a little challenge with myself. I wanted to finish the window and frame and move onto the red in the Santa before I put it aside and started working on my fob exchange and I finally reached that point on Sunday. Here's how it looks fo far.

I finally finished Plumpkin! Actually, I finished stitching it a while ago but I lost one of the star buttons, then I ordered some spares online but I ordered the wrong color (honey versus yellow) and then just ended up picking up the right button when I stopped by my LNS a couple of weeks back and then had to pick up the right color floss at Michael's. Regular DMC floss costs twice as much at the LNS than at Michael's and considering how much I spend on this craft, I can stand to save a few pennies somewhere. I'm hoping to find some cool halloween fabric and making this into a wall hanging once I fine-tune my sewing skills. Ok, I have to stop kidding myself. I need to learn some sewing skills before I can fine-tune them!

This weekend, I'll be in Vancouver, WA visiting a friend of mine and her family. I'll be bringing Sweet Dreams and the scissor fob stuff so I can stitch and relax with her. I'm wondering if my plans will be foiled by her cute and charming two year old daughter. I have the feeling that despite my "dear gawd, no kids" mentality, little Kassie will win my heart. Although...there is also the chance that my current mentality will be further reinforced. I am looking forward to a weekend away in the company of my friend whether I get to stitch or not.

The Wrath of Mother Nature

There are a lot of "shoulds" today. I should be cleaning. I should be organizing. I should be writing that confirmation letter for my neice. I should get my stuff together for a visit to my parents this weekend. I should put my Sweet Dreams Stocking aside and start a scissor fob for exchange. I should be doing a lot today...but it's rainy and gloomy and dark and all I want to do is hike up the heater as high as it can go, curl up with a blankie and watch TV. It's just past noon and I've already watched a little bit of Bones, a little bit of Monk and watched the original 'Hairspray' and I'm listening to the commentary as I type. I did manage to take a couple of pictures for a progress post that will follow soon.

Frankly, I'm still trying to recover from yesterday. The Bay Area was hit by such an awful storm! One that, I think, rivaled the winter storms of 1995. In the past, I'd just battle my way to work, if it happened to be a workday, and just plug away at what had to be done. If a storm landed on a weekend, I'd hunker down and stay indoors but I think this was the first major storm that I've worked in a position of public safety support. We fielded so many calls seeking help yesterday that I was amazed and distressed. People called with problems such as downed wires, fallen trees, trees into houses, minor fires, power outages, flooding and broken sump pumps. When you get a call or two, it's ok. But when you get tons of calls and you know that your resources are already so stretched and the pumps you had on hand are already loaned out, all you can do is apologize and put them on the list and offer other suggestions.

I was amazed at the people who would call the fire department asking when the power would come on and then get irritated that I didn't have an answer. Last time I looked, PG&E was in charge of power and the fire department was in charge of putting out fires, providing medical aid, pumping out water from flooded areas, helping at traffic scenes, etc. When I explained that they had to call PG&E for status on power, the response was that they couldn't get through to anyone. No offense but that does not change my answer. I don't know when the power will be back but be patient, PG&E is out in the rain working as hard and as fast as they can to restore power to everyone just like the firefighters are out in the elements helping everyone who needed it.

When you come down to it, on the level of disasters, a winter storm does not compare to an earthquake (this is earthquake territory), blizzards, tornadoes or hurricanes. And despite how much we tell people and the news tell people to prepare, people are NOT prepared. I wish the public would be more prepared because the situation could be so much worse. Get sandbags and keep them in the garage if you're in low-lying areas. Put the sandbags out BEFORE the rain starts to minimize the amount of water to enter your house or business. Always have bottled water and canned food on hand. Have flashlights, candles, matches and batteries stocked. If your house gets flooded and you have a pump, have a small emergency generator in case of a long-time outage during a storm AND check it periodically.

In a true disaster, resources are stretched everywhere. An eye-opening example is that for the small town I work in, we have 100 firefighters to 100,000 residents. In San Francisco, I estimate 1,000 firefighters for 1.5 million residents. I can't find the exact number anywhere but that's a pretty decent guess, I think. If your community offers a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class...take it. It's free and the lessons you learn from it can be truly irreplacable and priceless one day. All you would need to devote is time. I know that time is hard to come by but if the knowledge and skills that you acquire in a 25 hour class can help make you, your family, your neighborhood or your block safe and comfortable until emergency resources are available...isn't that completely worth it?

At the end of the day, I was truly thankful to work with a hard-working group of guys, to have been indoors most of the day and to be able to go home at the end of the workday to a lovely yet messy apartment that had power. And I curiously await my own first CERT class so I can be more prepared than I already am.

Funny Stories

I just realized that I've had blog-worthy things happening despite my non-dating status but I keep forgetting to write about them. Or maybe I think that my reading public only wants to hear about my crazy dating stories?! I don't know but I'll share my stories, dating or otherwise anyways.

Earlier this month, I had to go to the eye doctor for my yearly checkup. Those who actually know me in real life know that my yearly checkups are important because I'm blind as a bat and don't want to get any blinder! Hey, the possibility is there with the hours I put in at the computer and stitching. Earlier that day, one of the engines stopped by the office to drop off paperwork and they needed help with some computer stuff so I helped out and they went on their way. Yea, I work for a fire department and it's really nothing to fawn over. These guys are like my older brothers and I am their loudmouth annoying younger sister! Helping them out is all part of the job and I get to fine-tune my sarcastic remarks. Anyways, fast forward to the afternoon and I need to head to the eye doctor for my appointment and things are going well...I hadn't gotten any blinder so far and the doctor asked me to switch from the contacts I was presently wearing to my glasses. The doctor had to leave the office to grab something and then all of a sudden I hear, "oh, there she is!!" and I turn around half blind, since I had just taken one of my contacts out, and see the same engine crew that had been at the office earlier. I scrambled to take the other contact out and slap my glasses on to see why they were there. At first, I thought one of them had to stop by for their own visual needs until they said that my coworkers had told them that I was at the eye doctor and they decided that they would come and visit me at the doctor's office. Talk about embarrassing! The real reason they tracked me down at the office was because they were giving out Starbucks gift cards to all the girls as christmas presents on behalf of the union and that they wanted to do it personally to each one of us. That, of course, is amazingly sweet but I couldn't help but feel embarrassed that I was the cause of the firemen scene at my eye doctor's office. They went on their way and I continued my eye exam. My eye doctor (she's female) was all flustered and excited to have a story to tell her family about how the *hunky* firemen stopped by her office for a special delivery for one of her patients. Oh gawd...see....embarrassing! But sweet...

Other interesting stuff...guys from my past coming back. Some I'm curious about and others not so much. One is the firemen that acted just like the stereotype. I'm not sure what his agenda is but I'm not really eager to find out. We just chat on the phone and crack jokes to each other and that to me is fun. We've been doing that for the past month and I haven't been pressed to schedule a time to hang out in person. He's suggested it but like most guys, he's vague about a day and time and without a set day or time, I'll flake on anything. I don't work well with the *play it by ear* philosophy of scheduling. But if you give me a day and a time, then I'll definitely be there. The other guy is someone who's emailed me off of match and frankly he seems like a nice guy but his eagerness and desperate air turns me off and makes me a little nervous. If I give him anything that truly links him to me, will he abuse it? I'm not really interested in finding out.

So for the holidays I got a wide array of gift cards. I'm the type of person that would prefer that someone try to *figure it out* and give me something that they put some thought into that they think I would like rather than get a generic gift card but sometimes I am thankful for them and this was one of those years. I was hoping for Crate and Barrel gift cards since there's new dinnerware, glassware and a wine cabinet that I've been eyeing for months. I was hoping with birthday (October) and Christmas, I'd rack in some Crate and Barrel dough with the hints I dropped. No such luck on the Crate and Barrel gift cards but I got loads of other ones so I decided that I would try and barter. I posted my ads on Craigslist and had mediocre luck. Some guy wrote me saying he'd buy them at half their value. I don't know who in their right mind would accept that offer! That's a rip-off! What an idiot...I took that as an insult especially as my ad was specifically for a trade/barter only! One guy asked for a trade in weed. Yea, no thank you...not a pothead and never was one to begin with. And then some other guy asked for a trade in *cough* sexual acts. Gah! Seriously, San Francisco is a lovely and wonderful place but there are some weird freaky people out there. In telling my weird contacts with people to a friend, she offered to do a trade with me since she had a Crate and Barrel card and just about any girl can use a Nordstrom card if they aren't presently lusting after plates! And I did get one sincere offer from a guy who wanted to do a similar trade. So we arranged a time and public place to meet to do the trade and he seemed very nice and sincere. He was chatty as I was checking balances on my phone when he suddenly asked me how old I was. Odd question I thought. So I asked him how old he thought I was and he said 23! I was ready to hug the guy! He was kind of cute and older but frankly, I don't know why he was asking about my age anyways when I already knew he had a girlfriend. But that comment made this 32 year old girl very happy! It was a nice ending to my year and now I have a good amount of Crate and Barrel money to buy my dinnerware....yay!

Happy New Year!

Goals for 2008!

It's that time of year to think about the things that I'd like to accomplish or get to in the new year. So here is my brainstorming:

Personal

~Lose the pesky 10-15 pounds I've been talking about losing for the past two years
~Be diligent about doing my balance ball core exercises on non-workout days
~Do three workouts a week (yoga covers two of the workouts when it's in session)
~Clean my apartment! Deep cleaning top to bottom with many donations to Goodwill planned.
~Be out of debt in 2008!
~Put myself *out there* in a non-dating social atmosphere (social/new friends groups)

Stitching

~Sweet Dreams Stocking - Dimensions (Carryover from 2007)
~Fairy Moon - Mirabilia
~Thanksgiving Fairy - Mirabilia
~Titania, Queen of the Fairies - Mirabilia
~Halloween House - Lilybet Designs
~In the Tall Flowers Sampler - Liberty Street Designs
~Retro Kitchen Aprons - Needle Treasures
+ at least four stitching exchanges

The stitching goals are pretty adventurous for me as I usually only complete about 4 medium size projects a year. Work, family, friends and dating usually keeps me so busy that its rare to find the time to stitch in the evenings/weekends. I usually have to proclaim *dating bans* on myself to find the time to stitch, read, catch up on movies and just plain relax. But since dating has been exponentially frustrating in 2007, I don't really see myself making a huge effort to put myself out there other than to have the occasional date now and again.

There would probably be more projects on my list if I had the charts for them already but I already have the charts, supplies and fabric for the projects listed above. The top four I'd want to finish are Sweet Dreams, Fairy Moon, Halloween House and In the Tall Flowers. We'll see how well I do.

Busier than I Expected...

Wow! I thought that time would free up once the department's holiday party passed but I forgot about all the little things like finding gifts for the co-workers in my office, the holiday dinner for support staff and the christmas open house that a co-worker throws every year. These are more manageable parties for me to attend since they are low-key and no one really expects me to bring a significant other. So between my yoga class and holiday stuff, the week is busier than I expected. I had grand notions about cleaning and organizing my apartment...about finally finishing the christmas tree portion on the *Sweet Dreams* stocking and sharing a picture...about finally putting some songs on the iPod shuffle I bought months ago. But none of that has happened in the past week.


I think I realized that cleaning and organizing my apartment is a much bigger task than I originally thought. Not that it's disastrous or anything. I don't want to give people the impression that I live in the ultimate pigsty or anything. It's relatively organized and I can find things but it needs a good dusting and vacuuming for one. I also need to get the closets cleaned out for a hefty trip to Goodwill. It's amazing how fast things accumulate! I have lots of old and outdated clothes to get rid of plus knick knacks I thought I'd put up in my new apartment. But now that my new apartment is two years old, it's time to admit that my junk may end up being another person's treasure. It just needs to be put out there! Oh, and don't even get me started on the office...does anyone have *caution* tape?! So I'll put the goal to have the apartment cleaned, de-cluttered and organized at the end of January.

I am hoping to have a blog-worthy picture of *Sweet Dreams* by next week, especially as my Sugar Maple Fabric for Fairy Moon is in the mail. Yay! I really hope that this color works. The other color I had, whereas beautiful, was a little too light and the clouds and beading would get lost in the fabric. So, I'm eager to get started on that as well as what to stitch for my scissor fob exchange. I decided to join a stitching exchange group, Hooked on Exchanging, and the deadline to make, finish and ship a scissor fob to your assigned person is the end of January. I'm excited! A little nervous but excited! I've never made a scissor fob let alone finished one. But I know I can do it...I have the resources and everything! So I'm hoping that this will start a friendship with a lot of stiching bloggers and maybe do 4 exchanges in 2008. If I can do 4 exchanges and 4 projects next year, I'll be ecstatic!

Cherry Mistmas!

Thanks to AM for sending me this Christmas email. I can't resist sharing! It's just too funny and I was actually asked if I was laughing or crying by my coworkers as I was trying to stifle my laughter. I guess this is one way to deal with my *Scroog-ette* mode.

Tequila Christmas Cake

1 cup water
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup of brown sugar
Lemon juice
4 large eggs
Nuts
1 bottle tequila
2 cups dried fruit

Sample the tequila to check quality. (I already sampled it.....several times to check the quality)

Take a large bowl, check the tequila again. To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.

Repeat.

Turn on the electric mixer.

Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.

At this point its best to make sure the tequila is still OK. Try another cup...just in case. Turn off the mixerer thingy.

Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the frigging fruit up off the floor.

Mix on the turner.

If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the tequila to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something.

Check the tequila.

Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

Add one table.

Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.

Don't forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window.

Finish the tequila and wipe counter with the cat.

CHERRY MISTMAS!

Scroog-ette

The holiday season is here and I cannot wait for it to be over. Strangely this is the first year that I have felt such a high level of *bah-humbug*. The feeling is surprising since I'm usually the first one to finish her christmas shopping, send out christmas cards and bust out the fiber optic christmas tree with lights and hang up the stockings but this year...I'm just not feeling it. I managed to put out the fairies and the *Fat Santa* pillow from last year but I should also admit that I still have my Halloween decorations out. Yep, it's December and I still have Halloween stuff up. Where does the time go?!

I did manage to finish my christmas shopping...by buying a crapload of gift cards. It's a good thing family doesn't read this as the secret would be out. I usually relish in trying to find the perfect gift and wrapping presents and making sure that they get to their destination well before the holiday so they can look pretty under the tree but family is rarely ever cooperative. So gift cards it is.

I did already go to the christmas party at work and that was a lot of fun. It was nice to see everyone out of uniform and dressed up for a nice party. A coworker and I decided to go together since we're both single and we were curious about the party but seeing all the guys there with their wives made me feel a little melancholy about my single status and that I'm always single during the holidays. It would have been nice to go to the christmas party with a special someone. That ties into New Years' Eve as well. Most of my close friends are married, in relationships or live far away. I like going out and painting the town red on NYE but it's hard to do that when you're constantly by yourself. Brian Setzer Orchestra and Cake are both playing on or close to NYE and I love both groups and would love to go out and see them play and ring in the new year. Not so much fun doing it alone though. This is another occasion where a special someone would come in handy...or having more single friends.

So I guess it's time to think about involving myself a little bit more...sports, Team in Training, 30-something social groups, church (gah! Did I just say that?!). Anyways, you get my drift. But that's something I'll need to brainstorm as a goal for 2008.

In the meantime, I'll continue my Scroog-ette mode unless something snaps me out of it. You never know...

Sweet Dreams...

My current cross stitch project right now is the *Sweet Dreams Stocking* by Dimensions. I figured it might be a cute and fun project to work on over the holidays to try and help get me out of my *scroog-ette* mood. Plus, I am having color coordination problems with the project I REALLY want to be working on so I have to work on something in the meantime while I wait for new fabric to arrive. The suspense is killing me and I am hoping that the new fabric is the right pick!

This project has been challenging to say the least. There is loads going on...just look at it...there are at least 50 different colors in this chart and the chart isn't the easiest to read. I've been working on it just about one and a half weeks so far so there isn't a lot to share. Just a lot of sporadic brown and green since I'm trying to work on that tree there in the picture. Once you can start to tell what's transforming, I'll post a *Work in Progress (WIP)* picture.

Holiday Fairies!

So in the last three months or so, I've been trying to stitch in my free time. I have lots of projects queued up although I have no idea when I'll actually get around to doing them. But I find it relaxing and a little exciting to see a piece of material transform in front of my eyes and know that it's me that's causing the transformation. I recently finished two Miribilia fairies. One is Halloween Fairy stitched up as kited so nothing fancy there....

The second one is Christmas Fairy...obviously...as she's holding a little green christmas tree. This one was a lot of fun to work on. I decided to splurge and I bought a piece of Sugar Maple Opalescent Bewitched fabric which gives it this little shimmer and makes her appear more festive. You cant really tell in this picture though...

It's a lot of fun seeing them displayed in my living room for the holidays!

Crazy Busy!

I noticed I haven't really written in a while and it's due to loads of things. Initially, I went through a blue phase because a few people I considered friends completely and totally forgot my birthday. I realize that as we get older, we get busier but acknowledging a birthday doesn't really take a lot of effort. An e-card, email, text message, a call or a mailed birthday card. Each takes about 2-5 minutes. Not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things. So needless to say, my birthday was not the greatest this year. It taught me to not really have expectations of others if you didn't want to be disappointed.

Since I've been fairly blue, I've been keeping to myself and picking up things that I hadn't had time to do in a while...reading, stitching, watching loads of Tivo, watching videos and shopping. Way too much shopping! Gah!!

I've also cut back on dating. I was seeing this really nice guy the last month and a half but despite having many commonalities, I didn't feel a romantic connection. So I let him know that we would be better off as friends and that it was probably in my best interest to take a dating break. It was hard at first. I left my profile up and still logged in to check but didn't contact anyone. No one's really been contacting me either. But I slowly came to accept that it would be a good idea to just take everything down and take the time for myself instead of strangers. Plus, everyone says that you meet someone when you least expect it and maybe Match isn't where I will meet my special someone. So down came everything and it's been good.

Although, I do think it's interesting that the moment you really aren't into dating, guys resurface. The firefighter from a pervious post resurfaced and apologized for his disappearace. I've emailed him a couple of times but I'm too busy with my own things right now to just sacrafice the little bit of free time I do have. I do want to see what he's up to though. I will call in time to fulfill the curiousity but I do have to admit that I am acting a bit like a girl. He made me wait so now it's his turn. Another guy resurfaced...someone I'd been talking to off and on via email. He lives in the East Bay though so that may as well be the end of the earth to me. Not to mention he only talks about me going to his side of the bay to meet but he never talks about him coming over here. How come I have to do all the work?! Why can't he suggest to come here instead of waiting for me to go there. I think he'll be waiting a mighty long time if that's how he thinks things work!

Work is gearing back up which I like and am looking forward to...lots of recruitments in the future.

Now all I need to do is get through the holiday season!

Dating Woes

Dating sucks...

I feel like I've hit this brick wall in dating. Same guys, same profiles, same everything. I'm bored. I'm not intrigued at all.

What is up with one line emails? *Hi, How are you?* What kind of a conversation starter is that? Is that really the best that someone can come up with? Because when I get one of those, it's all I can do to not reply *Fine* and hit the send button and see how the guy can build another email off of that. *Hi, my name is ****, what's yours?* Oh dear gawd, just shoot me. Creativity isn't that hard. Pick something and run with it...be sure it's mentioned in the other person's profile.

I know I need a break from dating but I don't know how to. I've been going at a steady clip since February...8 months. Now I'm used to filling my day with profile reading, emails and occasional dates that it seems weird if I'm not. I don't really know how to stop. It'd be easier if I had friends to hang out with but my friends are becoming fewer and far between...married couples, out of town, work-obsessed.

So I'm back to trying more *me* things. I've hit the library and checked out a couple of books. I've taken up yoga which is good...when the guilt of being lazy actually gets me to the class. I've been stitching more and actually have a couple of projects at the framers. And I've been taking advantage of my Netflix membership. You know that The Sopranos is pretty good...I'm up to Season Two, disc three! So I'm getting the me stuff covered but I'm still trying to figure out how to get out there to meet people and have fun...guys and girls...alike to expand my circle of friends. I still haven't figured that out. Where is a non-sporty chick supposed to meet cool people?! Everything I enjoy is fairly girl-centric yet I always end up meeting older women versus girls my age.

So with the problems with dating and the difficulty meeting new friends, I'm feeling a bit in a downward turn.

If it's Casual Encounters that You're Looking For...

Look on fucking Craiglist! They have a section specific to it and everything there...and it's free. Why try to score when spending $30 a month for Match. Match is a dating website...not Adult Friendfinder. If you want to spend the money to find a hook-up, go there.

Hey, I understand that people meet at a bar, hit it off and head to the guy/girl's place and do the horizontal mambo. For the most part, the next morning is filled with confusion, regret or the mere elation of scoring and not really caring about the other person. That's not what I'm looking for. If I was, I'd hang out at bars more often and wouldn't mind the guys and their beer goggles hitting on me. Instead, I invest the time and money on Match to see if I can meet up with that one great guy. You know, the cute, geeky guy who loves movies, music, art, culture, sarcasm, going out and truly wants to get to know me. Frankly, I'm starting to think it's a waste of money because I'm not finding what I want on there and you have to admit that I'm pretty much just looking for a well-rounded guy. Not a hot model-like studmuffin who makes at least six figures and drives a sports car. I could care less about that crap. I just care about meeting a genuine person.

I've been on a lot of dates. A LOT. I've lost count and can't even fricking remember how long I've been on the site now but heck if I go the way of eHarmony. Dear Gawd...how scary is that?! But despite the number of dates I've been on, a guy's never made me feel like a piece of meat before...until a week ago. It's amazing the things a guy will say to get laid...or at least make sure the girl was heading in that direction. The *I'm looking for the one girl so make a life with...get married, make a home and have a couple of kids* is a good one because once girls get into their 30's their clock is ticking. Mine isn't...not in terms of marriage and kids. I'd just like to meet the nice guy to have events and places to go with who treats me well and if things head down the aisle and to a mortgage...than fine by me. The squeezing crying babies from my loins is another thing. I'd really have to find a true catch for me to go down that road. My body may never recover!

So I met a cute, Irish guy who said the above to me on a first date. Seemed like a strange comment to make but considering the *baggage* this guy seemed to have, not completely surprising. He seemed a little damaged...by his own doing...crazy girls and lots of booze. He quit the booze and with the line he played, I figured he realized that the crazy mental pill-popping girls were no longer the route to go. The first date was nice...flowers, dinner, tea and a walk. He seemed like a chivalrous guy. But things were a little different on the second date...not ready on time, dressed like crap, strangely concerned that the tub had to be clean, invited a friend to come over to borrow something and sat to have a chat with him and our date started 45 minutes late. Since we ran late, there went the notion of dinner at a nice, casual place and we had to eat at a sketchy taqueria. Sketchy taqueria is not my idea of a nice date place. Actually me being dressed in nice jeans, heels and a top when my date is dressed in a tee-shirt and shorts is not my idea of cool either. That would have been fine for a daytime date where we were just bumming around or checking out some street festival...not for a dinner and movie date. Guys are really stupid! So we eat and I didn't die since I'm obviously alive to type this and we head to the movie which was the only bright spot in the whole evening. We saw *Once* which was a cute, heartfelt movie. It wasn't Oscar material by any standards but it was a nice story and the music was fun and catchy. So after the movie, we head back to his place and he convinces me to come up for just a bit and I do...only to get pounced.

Let's get this straight. I don't care if a guy is hot, I probably won't sleep with him before the second date unless the chemistry is so fricking amazing that well, I just can't help it. Frankly, the 13 years of catholic schooling usually kicks in. If a guy hasn't even held my hand, I definitely am not going to sleep with him. So 2 strike for Irish Boy and Strike 3 for just plain being stupid. Really...what is it? A guy doesn't hold my hand but he'll want to fuck me?! That's basically what it is. He doesn't know me from Jane. But the fact of the matter is that I do not appreciate being talked into heading into someone's apartment to *talk* and get jumped and made to feel like it's ok or that I encouraged it. I'm not that hard pressed to get laid. Frankly, if I wanted to get laid by a stranger, I'd head to the bar. As it is, I like to know the people I am with which is why I have an *arrangement*. That works perfect for me.

So Irish Boy...if you want a meaningless lay...just use Craiglist and leave the nice girls on Match alone.

Against My Better Judgement

If there's one thing I've told myself, it's been to stay away from cops and stay away from firefighters if they enter my *dating world*. I've already done the cop thing and I learned that they live and breathe their job. I should know this already considering one of my good friends is a cop and all she ever talks about is work, cases and job politics. One more story and I may just scream. So I got the cop thing worked out of my system pretty well.



Now...I work with firefighters everyday. That whole saying about not shitting where you eat comes into play and anyone whose dated a co-worker knows what I'm talking about here. It can get messy, stinky and gross and you don't want it anywhere near you. So why did I even consider it? There are firefighters on Match. I've come across them before and I've done the spiel. The *thanks for the email but I work for a fire agency too so I think it best not to mingle with romantic intentions* spiel. For the most part, it scares the guys away anyways. I know a lot. I know what it's like at the firehouse. I know what their schedule is supposed to be like. I know they live and breathe the job when they're on their own time. They love the job but the job can be damaging. They see people in all states of despair...and death. I also know when to spot the bullshit and call people on it. You know, people really hate when you do that?! But there was one thing that really intrigued me about this one firefighter that made me reply back when his response to my spiel was *if you look at the fact that I only work 10 days a month and I got to school, I'm really just a student with a part-time job*. Yep, that simple comment made me reconsider because not only did he have a good comeback, he also loved rockabilly music. There aren't many people who'll admit that the combination of rock, old-country and punk is cool. It's fun, it's good to dance to and he knew some of the bands that I liked which most people don't. So I decided to give it a try.

Big Mistake!

Geez, firefighters and cops are just bad news. I work 5 days a week, juggle yoga, friends and family and still find the time to date. Yet this guy couldn't find time to date despite only working two days a week. WTF?! So I was always bending over backwards to see him. Lunch dates where I extended my lunch so we could hang out and I would end up staying late to make up the time. Racing home after yoga to shower and host a video night. Firefighter dude was so inaccessible and for some reason I liked him. So stupid...but it happens. I sensed that he wasn't really that interested and I'm not sure if it was just because he didn't feel chemistry...or if he met someone else or if he just plain wasn't ready to be back in the dating market after a recent break up. Either way, I expected that he would have the decency to just tell me things weren't working out instead of pulling his profile and disappearing. Sometimes guys are way stupid. But if you know where someone works and who their co-workers are and there is that small chance that you'll bump into them later in life, the least a guy can do is just tell the girl he's not into it. Point Blank...what's so hard about it? Instead he acts like an idiot...I just think things will be interesting when we bump into each other again. Very interesting indeed...

So now that I've got the experience with a cop and a firefighter out of the way, I'd just like to meet a nice guy that has cool character.

The Eager and The Excited

Lots of changes at work...good ones. Things'll be busy for the next few months in terms of recruiting and right now I am getting a taste of it by handling my first ever recruitment...for firefighters. That means that there are a lot of eager and excited young guys out there trying to be heroes.

On Wednesday, I had the fun duty of calling those selected for a Chief's Interview. It's a huge deal and when they've gone from 105 applicants to 8 core interviews...those called pretty much know they're special. Now they just need to prove it to the Chief. A couple of the guys I called cracked me up! I just loved hearing *I've been waiting to hear your voice!*. Such flirts! I know that they're trying to get into my good graces in the hopes of me mentioning how nice they are to the Chief. Yea, I don't think so!! But it's nice to get a voice compliment as I usually get teased about mine.

Next couple of weeks will be fun and exciting...we'll hire a couple of guys and it'll be busy getting them ready for their new job. These are times when I really, really like my job!

Dating Blahs

I have the dating blahs. Whenever I get these blahs, I wonder if I should really even be dating. No one is sparking any real interest. Everyone seems very cookie cutter but maybe that's because I seem to attract computer techie types? There is no real excitement, no butterflies, no hopes of the cute guy I'm seeing just jumping me already, no...nothing. I've basically just been going through the motions of getting out there and meeting new people so that I don't become a hermit and things have really felt that way since *T*. Not that I want to get back together with *T* since there were some major issues there for me that I know wouldn't get fixed quickly or easily and that's just too messy for me to deal with. I really just need something that just needs a couple of tweaks here and there...not a major overhaul. So I was juggling and am still seeing Guy #1.

Guy #2 thought I lived in the city and accused me of not revealing my true location on my profile so I accused him of being a *picture clicker*. You know, the guys that see a cute face and just click to wink and doesn't even really look or read the profile. Yea...one of those. I haven't heard from him since which is probably a good thing. He sounded like an idiot!

Guy #3 is cute and totally my physical type but it was completely painful to talk to him on the phone. I talked and talked for 15 minutes asking him all sorts of questions and he didn't ask me one single thing about me not to mention he didn't elaborate at all on his answers to my questions. It may as well have been a game of 20 questions. If it was that painful on the phone, I wasn't going to put myself through a face-to-face meeting. So sayonara.

Guy #4 seems fun and interesting but not really my type per se. I kind of distanced myself from him because he lives in Oakland. Geez, what a pain that would be. So the location logistics are kind of a pain and I don't know if I want to put myself in a position of potentially having to drive to Oakland to meet up with a guy I'm dating. Considering I get pissed off just driving the 3 miles to work, can you imagine having to drive 25 miles and crossing a bridge?! Gah...I'll go mad! So he's in and out of the picture depending on my mood.

So the only one really in the picture is Guy #1 who is the gym rat, super-casual guy I've been seeing for the past two to three weeks. I still feel very unsure about him as he keeps trying to talk me into going on walks and hikes, doesn't really dress nice for our dates and seems a tad frugal. Honestly, girls don't like being told they're a *cheap date*. We may realize that we are but guys...you can really keep that realization to yourselves. I'm quite unsure if I want to go through the next step with Guy #1 since I'm not feeling it. Plus he has no vices! Ugh, why can't I meet a cool, cute, nice guy with the same vices as me? Caffeine, alcohol and the occasional (rarely ever) nicotine fix? This makes any form of entertainment so much enjoyable for me but I feel weird dragging people to coffee shops and bars if they don't imbibe either type of drink!

So with that said, I'm sure most know what I'm in the midst of as well. Whenever I'm unsure about a guy, I reassess my options. Another guy emailed me asking if I'd like to get together and perhaps we will. The logistics are as good as Guy #1. Lives in the city, works on the peninsula and suggested a drink! I'd love to go out for a drink and someone else be joining me. And as always, I turn to *the ex*. Too bad he's so incredibly busy with work right now.

So I just feel quite blah about all these guys. And as usual, me juggling the blah guys finally makes me realize that I haven't worked on any of my projects! I've got to learn how to juggle the guys and the projects.

Invasion!

So I went from being a 30-something empty-nester to being bombarded by loads of family! My parents finally came back from Nicaragua and even though I really wanted them to come back and take care of their own crap, they are now driving me nuts. Surprise! Yea, I don't think anyone is. It just seems like the older they get, the needier they become. On Monday, my aunt came in to visit for one month from Nicaragua and on Tuesday, my sister, her husband and the two rugrats flew in for a week. I guess I'm lucky because at least I have my apartment to escape to at night.


So needless to say this week is a bombardment of family. I'll be spending most of my evenings in South City and even took Friday off so I can go down to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Yay! I love it down there so I'm really looking forward to it.

Surfacing...

Hmmm, my last post was April 13, 2007. That should tell you a lot. I haven't really had the heart to write lately...whether it be blog or just plain email. Sometimes it feels like I expend a lot of energy doing so and I don't get things done like housework, stitching or just plain relaxing.

Last I wrote, I met this guy and things seemed to be going well. That ended last month after much thought and deliberation...and counsel from friends! It all came to not being satisfied or happy in the relationship. It's not worth staying if you're not happy even if you don't want to go back to being *single* again so soon. So I'm back to being single and back to being on Match which is always this adventure and challenge for me. In the last month and a half, I've met two guys. One drove me nuts since he kept on saying I may as well be a Marina girl. He may think that's funny but he may as well have slapped me in the face. I detest the Marina and the very essence of it. The guys in their *uniform* and the gold-digging girls waiting to dig their claws into a man that can keep them in Manolos. I am NOT a Marina chick. So he got crossed off the list quick! The next guy was nice if not a little intimidating with his intense fitness regime. He didn't set my blood electric or anything but I suppose he's worth a second chance. And there's the mish mosh of other guys that I'm emailing at the moment. Sadly, no one is really intriguing me so much that I'm just *dying* to meet them. At the moment, it's just a way to pass the time and be social.

I have already had to block a psycho guy in the short time I've been back on Match. Nice! But at least it's better for the psycho-ness to happen behind the safety of my computer screen instead of in person...because then, that would be scary! But I don't feel very comfortable when some guy emails me multiple times a day especially when I'm not encouraging such emails with a response. And I am hardly comforted by the fact that he is ex-military and works for the Department of Defense. And the constant emails, requests for phone calls and hyped up military background did have the good concrete beginnings for some Lifetime movie as a friend of mine commented. So I just had to block him and am thankful that I didn't divulge anything to him that would make it possible to track me down.

In the spare time I've managed to scrounge up, I am stitching like crazy! I've finished Halloween Fairy and will post her picture soon once I figure out how my digital camera uploads pictures! I've started another project which is the Christmas Fairy and I promise to be better about showing progress pictures on her too.

So all in all...things are good

Surprise Me!

I changed my tagline to say *surprise me!* on my match profile about a month ago. I've gotten a few emails from guys titled *Surprise!* soon after. Ummm...yea...that wasn't what I was going for. But strangely enough...I have been surprised in the most unexpected way. By talking to and meeting someone who actually does what they say they will do. Us girls know that's very rare indeed! We are confronted with a lot of hot air but no lift off. This coming Wednesday will make the one month mark of the day we met. He probably doesn't realize that but me reaching the one month mark in any dating scenario tends to be a big deal since I rarely ever get through the second date nowadays. Of course, in one month, we've only been on 5 dates because of his travel schedule. I kind of like that though. I have my space, we aren't in the throes of spending every available minute together...I like that. Personal space and time are huge things for me.

I'm, of course, unsure and hesitant about this match. But would I be Valerie if I wasn't?! Yea...exactly. Dating brings about the neuroses that I do a pretty good job of hiding but *T* is a really good guy. He's funny, sweet, manages to say all the right things, is a city kid like me and we have the same parental dynamic and are anti-kid. It's good...it works. I kind of like that he calls me all sorts of pet names already like adorable, gorgeous, baby and beautiful. Of course, I'm not ready to create pet names to say back at him. He calls me smart-ass and a brat too. I like those names as well. I'll accept what I'm good at and I excel at those. It seems too soon for pet names though. I like it but at the same time...it weirds me out a little. Not enough to trigger my run reflex though.

He's a pretty good looking guy. A traditional irish guy. Seems like I attract a lot of them. He's tall which is huge for me. Tall girls need tall guys. He's got the most amazing green/blue eyes and a voice that makes me smile each time I hear it. He's got a few extra pounds on him that he manages to hide well with his commanding appearance. At 6'1", that's pretty easy to do! His only negative is the inherited receding hairline he's experiencing at a mere 37 years of age. So far, things have been fun.

But it's nice to have been surprised for once instead of disappointed. I plan on riding things out and seeing where things go with *T*. He's on another business trip now so I won't be seeing him for another week. But then, I'm off to a business trip of my own too. We're both busy, busy city kids!

More stories to follow on *T*.

Disappearing Acts

Everybody's doing a disappearing act.

I am...

My friends are...

The older we get, the busier we've all become.

I'd like to think that I try to be a good friend. I know I'm hard to get a hold of...especially now. I'm busy at work and don't really use the computer at night anymore. I hate the phone and have less time to email. But it's not as though people give me a hard time about dropping off either. But I have gotten annoyed.

A friend of mine called me after 3 years of not talking and acted like we just talked yesterday. If he hasn't been a part of my life for three years and I've been fine with it, why would I take him back? I told him that much which resulted into a little match of *you this and me that*. I don't need that crap in my life. I need it as drama-free as possible hence that friendship is not going to blossom again. I don't like headgames from guys I date, let alone people I call friends and let into my life.

I haven't spoken to another friend since October. I've emailed. I've called. Repeatedly! I'm sick of it. Frankly, I'm left to think I was used for a free place to stay for a west coast visit. I'm a little sad...I thought she was a great friend and someone I could confide all my neurotic dating/sex stories with. Who understood me and was a lot of fun to talk to. But apparently the new boyfriend takes precedance over any friends and I misunderstood. Actually, I'm a lot sad about that loss.

Another walked back into my life after four years. Considering the embarrassing pretense under which I met him again, I couldn't very well make a fit but I'm glad he's back and we're making a real effort at sticking with being in each other's lives right now. He's a good guy.

The friend I've known for over 20 years is in the midst of a separation/divorce and she's out shagging miscellaneous men and I don't feel like I really know her anymore. It's strange but I get that this is her selfish phase. Her *go out and live life*. But does she really have to cast aside the people she's known for practically forever?

It's only April. So far....lots of disappearing. There was a little reappearing but for the most part...people are dropping off like flies and it makes me a little sad.

Me...I'm back. I may not be back very often but I'm here and I'll blog little by little.

It's a Small World After All

It’s amazing how small the world, or shall I say the Bay Area is! I never thought that living in the city. I didn’t run into people I knew on the street very often and I felt a sense of being anonymous if I wanted to be. That suited me wonderfully when I started off on Match. All my close friends knew I was on this crazy online dating site and were entertained by the weird an obscure stories. I never worried about having to come face to face with an anonymous match guy in real life unless I actually wanted to meet them. But that sense of anonymity disappeared when I moved to the Peninsula. All of the Peninsula is about the same population as the city itself but the Peninsula covers more miles. You’d think that it would be more anonymous down here than in the city!

Since moving to sunny suburbia, I’ve ran into match guys just minding my own business…obviously unplanned and unexpected. The mattress store guy was a little awkward. I just wanted to take care of my mattress problem not see or deal with this guy who winked at me and I ignored.

I also didn’t want to see the guy I told was boring because all he talked about was cooking. Really…like a girl needs a play-by-play of how heirloom tomatoes are made, especially when said girl subsists on salads, sandwiches and other assorted easy to make items. Obviously…if making heirloom tomatoes requires more than four ingredients and fifteen minutes to make…I’m not interested! But, I, of course, run into said boring cook at the Symphony. My friend was probably laughing at how I was trying to make myself appear unnoticeable so I wouldn’t have to actually talk to the boring cook guy. Geez, can’t a girl just enjoy the Symphony without running into random people that she borderline insulted?! Ummm…yea?!

So the topper to the *running into anonymous Match guys in real-life* dilemma occurred about two months ago. Hellow!! So behind on the blogging! But about two months ago, I had a meeting with some of the guys at the station. And the alarm rang...they had to go to a call but I wasn't done with my portion of the meeting. So they asked me to come along and that when they were done with the call, we would regroup. OK...cool...ride on the engine...this could be fun! And is was. The call was a huge waste of time...it's completely amazing how stupid people can be. Did someone really need to tell this lady that if she's got a cast on her right foot, she probably shouldn't drive?! I mean, that's pretty common sense to me! While everyone was busy with first aid, report taking and picture taking...I hung back and just watched...and then I noticed two motorcycle cops drive up. And as I watch them join the mass amount of people helping the incredibly stupid woman, I get that funny feeling about one of the cops. Do I know him from somewhere? He looks awfully familiar? Ok...do you see where this is going? Exactly?! He looks awfully familiar...like that guy on Match. Weird! No...it couldn't be. So I ask one of the guys if he knows the cops name and then goes into these obscene little rant about how I must think the cop is hot and how I want to see him in nothing but his gun belts and boots. OK...the boots are cool but I don't really want to see the guy naked. I just want to know his name to fulfill my curiousity! And I finally get close enough to read the namebadge and I'm convinced it's the match guy. That match guy that blew me off twice and had the nerve to contact me a third time and whom I consequently blew off in return. Sweet revenge! I confirmed his identity by asking a friend of mine who happens to be a co-worker of his and when I determined it was him, I was so annoyed that he wasn't upfront in the first place, that I confronted him in email. I went off about how he should be careful who he blows off because you never know when you'll run into them in real life. Apparently, he didn't recognize me at the call and I had to explain the whole thing to him. Stupid...stupid! And after all that, he still had the nerve to ask me out...again! Stupid!

So needless to say, I'm pretty wary about online dating now if I'm going to be running into these guys in real life when I least suspect it. I like going about my business without being worried when the next weird match guy is going to jump around the corner! You just don't think about how small the world really is because when you look at a map...it sure does look really, really big. But you know what? It's not big at all.

Halloween Fairy, One Month

No hair, no feet and no wings. Poor Halloween Fairy! She looks a fright but considering she was born of nothing than a piece of fabric and a lot of loose stands of thread. She doesn't look half bad for a one month mark. She'll be a great addition for my halloween decorations this year!

Slummin'

I do a lot of embarrassing things. Frankly, online dating is the biggest thing. I mean, when you break it apart, I’m basically advertising myself on the internet, pictures and all, in the hopes of meeting someone interesting enough to date, have a relationship with, etc. If you’ve been reading for a while, you know that I come out with a lot of interesting stories but no real match.

To break things up, I’ll post on Craigslist once in a while just to see what I get. I basically steal my Match profile and post it on CL with no picture and add a couple of sentences on stats. For the most part, I get a lot of babies and a lot of old men. I guess men don’t know how to read considering I state my preferences about age, height and nationality right in the ad. Disappointing…the state of men is incredibly dismal…at least in the SF Bay Area, it is.

So imagine my surprise when one day I got an email in my inbox that basically says “Is your name Valerie? You sound like an old friend of mine that I lost contact with.” Actually, I was shocked. Nowhere in my ad do I state my name, where I live, what I do or anything that can truly tie me to my *real* identity. I like hiding behind my computer until someone intrigues me enough to come out into the open. The guy who sent me the email was actually an old friend. Old as in I’ve known him for a number of years but have played this disappearing act on each other a couple of times now. The last time I talked to him was four years ago! It was nice to hear from him, albeit a little embarrassing considering how he found me. Great…finding me through the personals. Totally embarrassing!!

That initial email was about a month ago. Obviously, I’m behind on my blogging! Since then *K* and I have hung out and emailed back and forth a few times. After four years, it feels like there is a lot to catch up on. We work opposite schedules with me working days and him working nights so conversation and communication is a little difficult especially considering I’m an email person and he’s a phone person. Phones…eewwwww!!!

So I guess that’s a lesson that Craigslist isn’t a complete cesspool if it can re-unite you with old friends.

Halloween Fairy

I am in *craft madness* mode. It's either feast or famine with me. I can juggle 5 projects simultaneously or I don't look at one crafty thing in months. Right now, I'm in the midst of knitting a baby hat and a pair of socks. Let me tell you...socks are damn hard!

Stitching is my passion though and you'll probably be hearing me talking about fairies for the next few months because I just received *Halloween Fairy* in the mail yesterday and was all giddy and excited to start so start I did...last night. She will be my small project. I am still waiting for supplies for *Fairy Moon* which is this monstrous and challenging task. A little daunting with lots of beads but she is pretty and when...or shall I say if...I finish her, she'll probably get framed up really nice for my bedroom. I'll unveil her when I actually start.

For now, this is what *Halloween Fairy* will look like when I'm done. Obviously, since I JUST started, it doesn't look like much of anything right now.

The Most Boring-est Guy Ever

In my life, I’ve met a lot of guys. Frankly, more guys than I could ever have kept track of and I know that labels me as a serial dater but I don’t care. In the beginning, I was really good about remembering who I’ve met. I finally realized that I am now bad at that when I saw a guy’s Match profile last week and thought he looked familiar but he was one of those guys with just one photo posted. I hate that…I mean, is that the best photo they have taken in all their life and they don’t want to admit what they really look like? People usually have more than one photo they can post on a site they are trying to attract women in which to date. He emailed me and I realized that not only had we emailed before…we had gone on a date. Gah! Not a very good date either. I was not impressed and I remember now that he was super late, talked only about real estate and thought that girls with tattoos in the small of their back were great because it made “the sex even hotter”. Yea, I don’t really see the correlation there since there is only one position out there that allows the guys to see the small of a girl’s back while doing the nasty. Hellow! Oh yea…well that was a rant right there. That wasn’t the purpose of this post.

*****

So, I’ve met a lot of guys. Some fun, witty, intelligent, engrossing and truly a pleasure to spend time with whether it be on the phone or in person. Others, dull, boring, conceited and cocky whom I never, ever waste more time on again. I have standards and I feel that if I am witty, fun, charming and nice, then the guys I spend time with should be too. That’s pretty simple. I was surprised a couple of weeks ago when I was contacted on Match by this guy who I can only describe as model-cute. I don’t attract model-cute guys. I attract nerdy, tech guys who border on being teddy bear-ish. There’s nothing wrong with that but I do like hot guys with a bit of a bad-boy edge. I realize that hasn’t really worked for me in the past but I can’t help it…that’s what I like. I do, I do, I just do! So this guy is model cute and I figure that I can at least see what he’s all about. We emailed a couple of times and decided to talk. First a little background about the guy before I go into the conversation we had. He was 39, a consultant, lived in the bay area for the last 8 years and seemed nice. But once we got on the phone, he was the most inarticulate, hypocritical, talkative and incredibly boring! So boring, I could have done anything to shut him up. Never in my life have I heard anyone use *ummm*, *you know*, *sucks* and *like* as much as this guy and he’s 39 years old! You would think that his vocabulary would be much, much better considering his age and that he’s a consultant. I don’t get how he obtains clients when he can’t even construct a full sentence without at least one of the above words scattered within it. That doesn’t seem very professional to me. He basically told me that I was lucky to have the family situation that I have even though he has one that is similar and completely distances himself from his own family. How is it that I am lucky and don’t appreciate what I have but he doesn’t. Hypocritical jerk!

Like that wasn’t enough…then he went on to say that the Bay Area is so expensive and starts capping on the city. Bud, if you don’t like the city…get the hell out! We don’t like people like you living in the city anyways! Yet, he’s lived here 8 years. The city isn’t keeping him here. He’s a self-employed consultant and he can basically work anywhere. Then he proceeds to tell me that he could never be a teacher in the Bay Area because teachers get paid poorly and the cost of living is too high to survive as a teacher. He has a friend that lives in Florida who’s a teacher and she owns a home and lives very well on a teacher’s salary. My response to that was *yea, but that’s in Florida*. And you know what he said? He called me a snob!! Whatever buddy…it’s the truth! That is in Florida. Who wants to live in a state that is so hot and humid all the time and has hurricanes every year?! If you want to be a teacher and own a home, I guess Florida is the state to do it in but I’d rather not deal with intense heat, humidity and my home being damaged every year because of damn hurricanes! But I don’t deserve to be called a snob for pointing out the truth.

So not only am I irritated by his lack of conversation skills, I’m pissed that he basically insulted me and keeps bringing up these heavy topics when I am trying to get to know him but frankly, he was boring me to death. I would have excused myself 15 minutes into the conversation if he would have stopped talking and let me say something...anything! Instead, I was stuck on the phone with this nimrod for an hour!! An hour of my life I would love to get back! But I guess I should be happy that I didn’t skip the formality of the *get to know you* phone call before actually meeting him because if I met him personally first, I’d have had to run out of the coffee shop screaming. I doubt that would have done either of us any good. But I seriously think he takes the cake for the most boring-est guy ever!!

Lesson learned…looks aren’t everything. Model cute can mean the guy is a nimrod, boring jerk. At least that’s what it meant in this situation.

New Years Resolutions

Well, I had thought I’d be on the game with the blogging this year but it doesn’t look like I can get my act together. The beginning of the year was busy with work deadlines and bridesmaid duties but that is all finally over and done with. And it’s time to get back on track! I’m hoping that everyone has had a good start to the new year. Mine was pretty rough with grant deadlines and an incredibly disorganized and procrastinating group of people who I was working with in conjunction with that plan. I ended up getting sick and losing my voice right before my friend’s wedding and it was a little rough trying to be productive and lucid with a croaky voice and extreme fatigue. I managed to pull through with flying colors and at the beginning of what I considered my new year, January 14th, I managed to sideswipe my car. Lesson learned…do not drive when extremely tired. Lucky for me, I just grazed the corner of this guy’s bumper and he just got a scrape and I have some light scratches along the side of my car. Of course, it probably wouldn’t have happened if my friend was actually able to follow someone instead of getting lost three blocks from our point of origin! I mean really….is following someone so fricking hard?! So as I’m freaked out wondering where the heck she went, I wasn’t paying enough attention to fully clear this car as I was turning in to wait out my friend’s return. Not a good start to Valerie’s self-proclaimed start of the year. But enough about that…I have New Years’ Resolutions.

**Be more crafty – I have sacrificed craftiness over the past two years for the sake of dating. Obviously, that hasn’t worked out well for me. I’m more cynical, frustrated and hyper-critical about dating than ever before. This resolution has actually been met so far with an extreme amount of energy! I finished my cousin’s baby birth announcement and am in the midst of trying to frame it myself. I also finished a tiny *Happy Birthday* cross stitch for my sister. Right now…I am working on a little Christmas ornament and have even enrolled in a class to get back into knitting. This time socks. I’ve always wanted to try and this seemed like as good a time as any! The class starts this Saturday and I am really looking forward to it. Once I can get a hold of a digital camera, I’ll show off pictures!

**Work out – lose and keep off 10 pounds – Surprise, surprise…I haven’t even touched this resolution with a 10 foot pole! But I want to and need to lose at least 10 pounds. I just do NOT have the drive and motivation to do it. I so hate working out but it'll happen.

**Take a real vacation - right now, I'm thinking road trip to Seattle. I have a gfood friend who lives there, it isn't horribly far and I absolutely love the foggy, misty city of Seattle. If I didn't live in the SF Bay Area, Seattle would be my second choice. And considering I've dated practically dated every eligible man in 2 counties here as it is, I may just have to move there anyways.

**Clean and organize - pretty self explanatory. My place is a mess...it's a cute finally put together place with the recent acquisition of a chair and an area rug but it's messy and unorganized and ummm...cluttered. So since I've spent loads of money on the chair and the rug, I should have the time to clean. Yea...we'll see how well that goes!

**Get a digital camera - now that I'm being crafty, I want to document my creations. Hopefully I can acquire one after I file my taxes and I find out if the government owes me money or if I owe them.

So that's it for the new year and my resolutions. I'll update on my progress throughout the year!

Bad Christmas

I wasn't really planning on writing anything until the new year. To start the year, and the blog, fresh with my New Years' Resolutions and a clean slate but this was one of the worst christmases ever and I need to vent. I like the holidays to the extent that I like the spirit, the lights, the brandied egg nog and cider, the crisp cool air, the smell of pine, decorated christmas trees, exchanging gifts and basically trying to be merry and bright. What I don't like about the holidays is actually being forced to spend christmas eve and christmas day with family...and there is of course New Year's Eve. Who likes spending it alone?! So this will be the 7th NYE I will spend alone or as a third wheel with friends. I usually wish really hard that Christmas Eve to New Years Day pass at light speed. It doesn't work.

And as much as I say I like the holidays, I become quite *Bah Humbug* about it all the closer and closer we get to Christmas Eve and become downright lethargic until New Years' Day. And there is a reason and I will be very blunt...I have the worst family dynamic ever. I have parents who have become so dependant on me that they may as well be my children. And considering I am 31, single, have no prospects and have to take care of 80 year old children, the *Bah Humbug* is so prevalent you may as well call me Elizabeth Scrooge. My brother has a few marbles loose and says the meanest, most offensive things, that the most joyous of days when you should put differences aside, turns into an all and out screaming match between oldest and youngest sibling. That left me leaving my parents house in a huff with screams and slamming doors and I drove home to my sanctuary. I so love my apartment...no family...just peace, quiet, a comfy bed and a box of kleenex. After lots of tears and anger, I called my mother and told her that was the last Christmas I will be spending at their house and that I didn't have any more to give.

My family is not a family and I've been taking too many insults from everyone for too long and I have reached my breaking point. I've been taken advantage of for too long and have older siblings that have left to claim their lives. They travel. They have their own family. They own property. They have their lives. Me? I'm still trying to piece mine together but have to constantly stop to take care of never-ending requests from my parents. But since I'm here, my siblings never step up and I have had it! And if I need to move to Seattle or Chicago or New York to get away from this responsibility and have my siblings realize how much work goes into taking care of something other than their own interests, I will do it. The eligible men pool in the Bay Area is stagnant anyways.

So now I am throwing around ideas for Christmas next year...Hawaii? Costa Rica? Mexico? And if worst comes to shove, I'll be adopted by a friend. If I learned anything this past weekend it's 1. that everyone has a breaking point and I have reached mine and 2. my friends and co-workers shined so much brighter this year than my family. The small tokens given to me by friends and coworkers were thought out and heart-felt. My family...money and gift cards every year. I can do without those. I'd rather have no money and be happy. It truly is the little things and those small gestures in life that really matter.

Ummm...Yea...

I'm alive.

Nothing horrible has happened.

Nothing exceptionally great has either.

Things have been so incredibly busy that it exhausts me to re-hash it...so I'm not telling you.

I don't see much free time for me between now and mid-January...I can't, can't wait until then.

I'm a little Bah Humbug but will probably feel better about that once I can actually get ornaments on my tree.

I am almost done with my project for my cousin. Pictures will be coming up soon...I am so proud of myself!

I've got New Year's Resolutions in the works...will share soon.

Hope all is well...