Let the countdown begin…

1 day left in the office…

2 days left until my movers come…

2 days left until I start my cross-country drive…

7 days until I land in Florida…

And, most importantly of all, 15 days until the most amazing first date in all-time dating history!

I’ve got my AAA Triptik all mapped out so I know where the Hell I’m going.  My first leg of the journey will get me to Vegas so I can crash with my brother.  I may stay an extra day there just to relax a bit before I start the long drive. 

Anyway, I don’t know how much I’ll be able to post in my last (hectic) day in the office and as I drive.  I’ll keep you all in the loop if anything crazy or funny happens on the drive (and you know it will!)

Wish me luck with the trip and I’ll see you all again when I’m on East Coast time.  Once I'm there, I'll bring you all up to speed as I prepare for that anticipated first date... ;)

Lucky Charms

A friend and I were discussing how you have the power to change your destiny.  How positive thinking can help make your life go in the direction you want it to go in.  Then, she commented that I “wanted to make changes in my life, so that’s why things are going so well with M-Daddy.” Although that’s a really good point, I don’t think it has anything to do with that.

No, I know exactly what has caused my streak of luck with M-Daddy, and it comes down to one simple thing – a chicken foot.

Now that I’ve captured your attention, let me explain further…

Back in June, my upstairs neighbor brought me a small vat of spicy curry (as she has done several times in the past).  Yum!  So I made some rice and enjoyed some of that curry for dinner.  I had some left over, so I got a container to put it in so I could take it for lunch the next day.  As I was spooning it into the container, I noticed something. “That’s a funny looking piece of chicken… oh wait, that’s a foot.”

Racing thought #1: WTF????

Racing thought #2: Ewwwwwwwwww!

Racing though #3: Please, God, don’t let me throw up.

I quickly proceeded to throw away the rest of the curry and made a mad dash to my computer to post the incident on Facebook for the world to see.  A few friends echoed my sentiment by also posting “Ewwww” and one friend let me know that the chicken foot is an essential ingredient in Asian cooking and you don’t have to eat it (um… wasn’t going to).  Then my mom posted “that’s good luck.”  Now, my mom isn’t an expert in good luck charms, but she knows this from a very reliable source – a friend of hers that also got a chicken foot.  Over the next year, she won everything from cash to a TV, so the chicken foot brought her some serious luck! 

I was anxious to try my hand at some of that luck, so I marched down to the 7-11 and bought a few lottery tickets… yeah, nothing.  The following week, I tried two more lottery tickets… still, nothing.  I figured that my luck was probably wasn’t going to be monetary. My mom assured me that I would have some other type of luck.  Then I forgot about my beloved chicken foot…

Fast forward to today and the conversation about changing my own destiny… I finally put two and two together… (work with me here)

Chicken foot = luck

Spicy curry = spice/heat

Chicken foot in spicy curry = luck with a “spicy” guy

Therefore, I owe my spicy little romance with M-Daddy to that very special chicken foot (LOL).  He is a self-proclaimed “hot head” (aka someone who loves spicy food, which makes me a hot head too).  Plus, we’ve had some pretty spicy texts back and forth. See, it makes perfect sense... ;)

Speaking of spices, I’m going on a special shopping trip this weekend.  M-Daddy, with his love of all things spicy, mentioned that he would love to visit Chinatown in SF someday to taste the food. So I’m taking the opportunity to bring a little “Chinatown” to him.  I am meeting a friend (she’s from China) and she is going to take me to authentic Asian market. I’m going to have her show me what good spices to buy so I can make a nice goodie basket for M-Daddy since he loves to cook.  I’ll fill it with spices that turn up the heat as well as spices that just have great flavor.  This way, we can cook together (and by together, I really mean that he’ll cook and I’ll “assist” while I open a bottle of wine).  I just have to remember to mark the spices because I don’t read Chinese!

So, what have we learned here today?  We’ve learned that chicken feet, as gross as they are, can help you find true love and happiness.  We’ve learned that the 7-11 probably wasn’t the best place for me to go to see if I was lucky.  And, most importantly, we’ve learned that a sweet, caring, hot (*sigh*) guy who can’t wait to cook for his woman (that’s me), really does exist!  And you thought stuff like that only happens in fairy tales and sitcoms…

In all fairness, I do bake.  ;)

Pack Rat

As you know, this blog isn’t turning out the way I thought it would.  So, instead of the ups and downs of dating, allow me to shift gears and talk about something really funny – packing and moving!

Before we dive into a mountain of bubble wrap and packing peanuts, let me just say that everything is still absolutely wonderful (pause, smile,*sigh*) with M-Daddy.  There – I got that out of the way for everyone who wants to know, but didn’t get all mushy for anyone who is sick of hearing how wonderful my luck has been playing the ol’ e-Harmony game.  I guess I was due for a little good luck in the love department after all the crap I’ve been through with the likes of weasels and sloths… Plus, it’s putting a pretty permanent smile on my face as I count down the days until I get to meet him face to face. ;)

OK, so back to the large pile of packing materials and boxes that has taken over my kitchen. 

So, I was feeling quite proud of myself getting packing materials at Home Depot.  It was cheaper than U-Haul, and I was able to knock through about half of my packing.  Um, then I realized you can get a ton of FREE packing materials on Craigslist… Why the heck didn’t I think of this before???  I made a few trips yesterday and picked up a ton of materials – and then grumbled all the way home for spending about $250 on materials in the first place.  The only saving grace I have is that I didn’t put my three wardrobe boxes together, so I can take those back to Home Depot and get a refund.  At least I’ll recoup $30 (eye roll).

I got most of the fragile stuff packed yesterday, so now I’m down to just my dishes and a few things on my kitchen counters.  I got all my pots and pans packed up, which was great until about 3 hours after I sealed the box and wondered what I would make for dinner.  Ugh!  At least tonight I got smart and just picked up a nice prepared chicken breast and heated it up in the microwave… No pots or pans needed!  LOL, not that I cook that much on a regular basis anyway, but it’s like the Murphy’s Law of packing – “You will have an incredible need for an item once it’s packed away and under a large stack of boxes.”

The other wrench that got thrown in my plans is the fact that I no longer have driving help for the trip back to Florida.  My brother or nephew were originally going to help, but both managed to get new jobs, so now they can’t (darn them for being responsible and all).  That officially threw the U-Haul idea out the window and I’ve now scheduled for my PODS delivery a few days before I move.  I’ll still drive, but driving my car by myself will be much easier than trying to drive a truck by myself.  I can jam to my iPod and sing loudly with nobody as a witness to judge me.  It will be my word against everyone else’s that the likes of Abba’s Greatest Hits and just about every song put out by the cast of Glee were played over and over (and over) as I made my way across the southern United States.

So, that’s the moving scoop so far.  I’m sure that I’ll run into more funny stuff as I try to pack up my cube at work (since I’ll be working out of my house) and finalize all my packing at home.  I’m just hoping that I don’t break anything before I even start the move…

Batting 1000

So, another week has gone by and…

1.         M-Daddy (aka Honey Badger) and I are still texting like crazy…

2.       We’re still talking on the phone for hours on end…

3.       We’re completely smitten with each other… (pause, smile, *sigh*)

LOL… I don’t want to go all mushy on you, but I can’t help it. We both absolutely can’t wait for me to get there so we can turn our “virtual” relationship into a real one.

With all the texting we’ve been doing, we’re about to hit a very important milestone.  My phone counts the number of texts and we’re about to reach 1000.  That officially makes us giddy little teenagers since it took us less than three weeks to get there. :)  And, of course, as the days/weeks go by, the texts are getting flirtier and flirtier (tee hee).  I don’t think I’ve ever texted with someone so much, but it feels very natural – and it’s giving us a great way to get to know each other very well before we meet.  First dates are usually awkward, filled with small talk about the weather and home towns, but our first date will be completely comfortable, and we’ll be able to focus on enjoying the fact that we’re not 3000 miles away from each other anymore.  For all of you who are wondering, we’ve set very clear ground rules for that first date, you know, because it is a first date and all (no sex, but making out is totally acceptable… LOL) 

Speaking of crazy texting… my parents had a wonderful time when they came to visit (I use that segway because my mom is an expert texter).  We went to wine country, which they really enjoyed (although they didn’t drink much and I was the one driving – go figure).  We did a little sightseeing in San Francisco, which they also enjoyed.  But, most of all, my mom loved the endless opportunities to play Scrabble with me on my iPad.  As we were playing a game, my mother (let me clarify… my straight-laced, doe-eyed, good Catholic mother), proudly spelled out SEXT and said “it’s like a text.”  Holy crap!  How does she know that???  I immediately picked up my phone to text M-Daddy about that (because, of course, we were texting all through the game). He said that maybe she was fishing to see if I was sexting with my “boy toy,” but I was convinced that she probably didn’t even know what a sext was (she probably just heard the word on the news).  Later that night, I mentioned to her that I was impressed that she knew what a sext was, and this was her response…

“Yes, a sext is like a sexton, you know, at church.”

Oh. My. God.

OK, so I was right… my straight-laced, doe-eyed, good Catholic mother did NOT know what a sext was.  Naturally, for the next few days, every time she asked me a question, I answered her with “it’s just like a sext.”  I really hope she doesn’t find out what it actually is… she may start to ask questions about my endless texting marathons with M-Daddy (tee hee).

So, tomorrow marks the start of my last two weeks in San Francisco.  It’s going by fast – especially since I’ve still got packing to do and I’m absolutely crazy at work with two big projects that are due before I leave.  I guess flirty texts will have to hold me over until I actually get there and I’m able to give my sexy Honey Badger a big hug and kiss.  :)

Love in the animal kingdom

So, I was talking to a friend at work who made a comment that I hadn’t written a post all week.  It’s true… this blog was supposed to be about all the crazy stuff that happens when you start dating again, but fortunately for me, the ol’ dating gods have been smiling down on me for the last few weeks.  Don’t get me wrong… it’s certainly good for me, but sadly, it doesn’t really provide much good blog fodder about the pitfalls of dating. 

We got the idea to sidetrack just a bit, since I can only write so much lovey-dovey stuff about M-Daddy (pause to let me smile *sigh* while I think about him).  We’ve got some other nicknames for each other besides our rap names, which sparked the idea to go a little “animal” on you all. LOL!

First, let’s start with me, as I am the queen of my little animal kingdom.  I don’t know if I mentioned this, but I am five years older than M-Daddy, which sparked him to ask if that made me a cougar. Well, I don’t think he’s young enough for me to officially be in the cougar category, but it did sound kind of fun, so I happy accepted the nickname.  He calls me his sexy cougar, which makes it even more fun!  I totally didn’t know that cougars had such a love of great shoes!

So which animal is M-Daddy?  After we established that I was a cougar, he asked what that made him.  He wanted a prey name, but not any of the normal ones like a gazelle or a deer.  No, he wanted something a little more manly.  After thinking about it, I came up with the perfect name.  It’s the most fearless, badass animal out there – the honey badger (trust me… Google it if you don’t believe me).  Now, I don’t actually think the honey badger and cougar are natural predators, but we can both appreciate each other’s awesomeness, so it’s a good match up.  He also wanted to know what the cougar would do when she caught the honey badger… he hoped I wouldn’t say “rip out his jugular and gnaw on his still warm body.”  I wouldn’t do that – I want to keep this honey badger around for a while! ;)

If you think about it, I’ve had my little animal kingdom around for a while, even before my sexy honey badger (again, pause… smile… *sigh*).  Most recently before honey badger, I had a sloth.  Now, I’m not saying anything negative about him because he was a good guy.  I only liken him to a sloth because of how incredibly slow he was at progressing things in our relationship.  He kissed me when we first became “involved,” but then it took four months for him to kiss me again – talk about driving a girl crazy!  I guess the slowness of everything was part of the reason that it just fizzled out in the end.  You’ve got to fan the flames to keep it going or the fire just dies out (and that’s exactly what it did).

Before the sloth, I had a true weasel (aka DBE, you know, the deadbeat ex). I don’t know if there’s a species of weasel that is prone to not working for long periods of time, but if there was, that would be him.  Towards the end, the only thing he was good at doing was weaseling his parents out of money and weaseling me out of the things that I wanted out of a relationship – love, happiness and a family.  In the end (which was a year and a half ago), I sent the weasel off to live with his parents (at the age of 44) and I’m happy to say that he’s still there.  See, there is justice (and a little payback) in my little animal kingdom.

In other news, I’m going to have some visitors to my little animal kingdom this weekend – my parents are coming out for one last trip to SF while I’m still out here.  This weekend will be filled with sightseeing, Trader Joes, wine country, Trader Joes, local stops and… Trader Joes.  My mom absolutely loves Trader Joes (as do I), and I’m happy to report that one is opening in Florida near where I’ll be moving to!  And, oh yes, wine country will be a day trip for us this weekend.  I want to stop by a great little winery to get a few bottles to take to Florida with me so I’m ready to woo my little honey badger. 

So, it's time for this cougar to enjoy the upcoming long weekend.  :)  Sightseeing and flirty texts with a certain honey badger will help make it a great weekend. 

 

Texting 1... 2... 3...

All I can say is that it seems like all the e-harmony stars aligned when they paired me with M-Daddy. He was something they call a "flex match," which basically means they take the liberty of going outside of your guidelines and offer up someone who you wouldn't have normally gotten. All I can say is they couldn't have made a better match. ;)

Now I can't exactly say this is love at first sight because I haven't actually met him face to face yet. Let's say its love at first text LOL. OK, well maybe even a little before that since I knew I felt something as soon as we started communicating. I can honestly say that I've never fallen for someone so quickly... It's a little spooky how much we've just "clicked." This isn't one-sided either... He feels the same way too and can't believe how easy it was for him to feel comfortable with me. 

Now, we just have to wait about 26 days before I start to head over there in my moving truck! It’s only been one week since we started to really communicate, and I'm already jumping out of my skin with anticipation to meet him (I told him that I’m counting the days; he said he’s counting the milliseconds!)

So what do we text about? (Again, get your mind out of the gutter!) Yes, we flirt, but we also send funny, silly messages to make each other laugh. He's gearing up for a "spicy" challenge when I get there to see how much heat I can take (um, all I have to say is “bring it!") I take pictures of my shoes so he knows what he's in for. You know, just the basic "getting to know you" stuff.  And boy, do we ever flirt!  ;)

So along with texting skills that would make any teenager jealous, we've also talked on the phone for hours at a time talking about anything and everything. We've established that we're both looking for the same thing out of a relationship... I guess he's searching for his "sole" mate as well.  It's a darn good thing he found someone with such rockin' shoes! 

So speaking of rockin' shoes, I think I've narrowed down my choice for the first date shoes. I guess you could call them my secret weapon (well, he did say that he was in trouble with me and my shoes). They're the Boutique 9 little numbers to the right. There are multiple thing that make these shoes sexy - peep toes and a laced-up back are just the start.  I also have another pair of classic stiletto Jimmy Choo pumps... These babies just ooze sex! Maybe I'll keep those for a few dates in! Apparently, I have quite an arsenal at my disposal… M-Daddy is going to be complete putty in my hands, and I’m quite certain he will enjoy it!

I know this blog isn't turning out to be what I originally planned. I thought it would be the ups and downs of dating, but so far, I'm only on the "ups," but I guess that's not such a bad thing. Let's see... My first compatible match ended up being tall, bald and handsome (yes bald... and sexy!) He loves my shoes as much (or possibly more) than I do. And he can’t wait for me to get there so we can actually meet each other.

Somebody pinch me… This feels like a dream!