Neglecting my blogging duties

I think about posting to my blog a lot....but follow-through is another thing. It couldn't be that my list of thing to do is longer than The Oddessy or anything. Or that I think "well, that would be a good thing to write about....but it will need pictures....meh....". Or especially that I think there is no way I could write anything that anyone would be remotely interested in. Nope....those wouldn't be reasons at all.....

So, this is a very important week. It is the Week of the New House. On Monday I met with my real estate guy and we completed and signed my contract offer (this followed the freak-out I had last week that said house would be sold out from under me while said real estate guy was out of town). So now I sit and wait (not patiently) for the seller to come back with an acceptance or counter offer of my offer (we're pulling for the acceptance here people).

Yesterday I spent my entire day lining up a new lender (the one I was going to go with didn't meet all the requirements) and making sure I was crossing t's and dotting i's with the Housing Fund, with whom absolute acceptance is necessary. And again with the waiting.

I am pretty sure this is going to happen. And then I will become a homeowner. How scary is THAT?! But it's going to be so cool. I've been decorating and upgrading this house in my head for a week now ("Hello, Home Depot! I am your new best friend!"). And, since ground has not even been broken yet, I have plenty of time to plan and pack and save up some more money. Cause I hate to be rushed.

In other news.....I am going to a single's mixer this Friday (all a part of that "getting out more" plan). I will, of course, be very nervous since my social skills suck. But, as my mom always says, "Just go. You might meet someone." Well....I certainly won't if I don't go. So here's hoping that I can think of something to say!

Ok, I will leave you with a composite drawing of my (hopefully) future home:It's so PRETTY!!!!

A day late and a dollar short

I was going to write this last night, being that it was Valentine's Day and all, but my laptop picked the international day o' love to crash. Thanks HP. Love you too.

Now, back to the topic at hand. Valentine's Day. I am a vocal hater of said V-day. I have worn black from head to toe every year since junior high. If you are within 100 feet of me in the month of February, you will get to hear *why* I think Valentine's Day is the stupidest idea ever. Even in the (very few) years I have had a boyfriend this time of year, I have told them that I don't really *do* Valentine's Day and could they please just surprise me on some other random day? (This usually didn't work as said boyfriends would think I was joking and that they would be in very hot water if cards, chocolates and flowers were nowhere in sight on February 14th).

But this year I broke the mold. I have spent a lot of energy on this hate fest and, you know what? Valentine's Day still exists. My protests, boycotts and all-around bitterness haven't hindered the sales of flowers one bit! And I'm sure in year's past that I have just been an absolute joy to be around. So this year I just ignored it altogether. I was indifferent to the commercials, I wore cream and green yesterday, I partook in a pink and red cookie a co-worker brought in, and when someone wished me a Happy Valentine's Day, I said it right back without the nasty tone or a diatribe on it being nothing but a Hallmark Holiday.

I'm growing!

Happy Day After Valentine's Day everyone!! XXXOOOXXOOXXXXOOOO

Risk Taken!

Per yesterday's post, I have taken my first leap into riskdom. Go me!

Ok, so I read our local paper online and I happened to notice that a single member of the male persuasion had been conned by his fellow newspaper staffers to attend a speed dating event. He was supposed to blog his experience leading up to the event and afterwards. I didn't even see this until the day of, so I was unable to sign up to speed date the night he was going. Anyway, I thought he was cute from his picture and I laughed at his blog entries. But what to do now? I didn't want to be seen as blog stalker girl and I also figured ala Sleepless In Seattle that he had received e-mails from every single woman in Nashville by this time.

But, because I was Ms. Risk Taker Extraordinaire, I decided to e-mail him anyway. And I had to put my creative juices to the test....because no ordinary e-mail would do. So I wrote it from the angle of writing him for a "friend" ("My friend thinks you're cute and funny", "My friend would love to know how she might meet you"). It's hokey beyond all belief.....but I sent it anyway!

Now it's a wait-and-see game. I'm not holding my breath. But I'm just glad I chose to do something rather than sit back and hope a miracle would occur. I'll let you know if I hear anything....

Don't mind that girl staring at you....she's practicing!

It's time.

I really try hard not to get wrapped up in the fact that I am 36 and single. Everything happens in it's own time, right? Not everyone is married by 25. There's nothing wrong with me. Blah. Blah. Blah.

But, to be quite honest, it bothers me. Like this past weekend when I'm visiting all my relatives in Kansas City. No one asks me about my love life.....but I wonder if they wonder. I am the only adult not in a relationship (not that the other adults necessarily have "healthy" relationships, you understand). I just want them to know that, yes, I am a heterosexual female that is quite capable of having a boyfriend...I just don't right now!

So, not being one to just sit around and wait for things to happen, I've decided I need to make more of an effort. Now, I've tried online dating sites and I've tried speed dating....both with minimal results. I still can't quite shake wanting it to happen "by chance". So here's the plan:

First, I need to just get out and do more. I have my knitting groups and other volunteer things, but, let's face it, I'm meeting a lot more women then men doing this! But, even when I'm knitting with the girls, I need to LOOK AROUND. A few months ago a fellow knitter met a guy during one of our meetings.....so it is possible. I've been meaning to go to the local Amnesty International meetings for awhile now. No more excuses. Must go.

The second thing closely follows the first. I need to pay more attention. I am terrified of making eye contact....am I staring? Was that look long enough? Too long? It's high time I started practicing. How many people have I missed meeting because I am too scared to look up?

And thirdly, I have to take risks. I am so guarded that I don't ever take a chance. What if they don't like me? What if they don't smile back? What if they think I'm weird? What if's be gone! I have to put myself out there. Set myself up for rejection. Stop taking the safe route. Safety is overrated! There will be people that don't like me, but I have to learn to deal with that. Hell, there are people that don't like me now, and probably because I am so meek and scared. I've always heard that once you get into your 30's, you start caring less about what other people think. Yeah....that can start happening anytime now!

So, there you have it. Obsession with self-analyzation? Check! Now I'm going to enjoy some alone time....because soon it will become a thing of the past....I hope.....