We're engaged!

I.T. turned out to be the one. I think I knew that from the get go. Now it's all official, and I'm so happy. I still go on a date every week, but it's now with my fiance. :D

my BOYFRIEND :D

I have a boyfriend now. He's freaking awesome. He was my Week 11 date, and Week 12 and so on, up to Week 16 (I think that's what I'm up to now). We're Facebook official and everything. We've gone to many bars and comedy shows and dinners, we've watched all of The Office (British version), we've met each other's kids. I like being around him. All the time. He's so cute and has a cute beard and he's nice and he puts up with me, so that's awesome. I'm happy. My resolution totally worked. Not sure what else I should say. What do you want to know?

Boring blog.

Don't have much to post. I've been going out with I.T. ever since our first date. We've been to lots of dinners and bars. I guess I could go through them all and fill you in, but it might be boring. Yesterday I picked him up at the airport, we had dinner at Cantina Laredo, today we had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, cupcakes from Buttercups, watched a couple more episodes of the old BBC The Office. I like him a lot. I think the New Year's resolution is working. :)

Weeks 11 & 12 :D

Well, my lunch date lasted until 3:15 in the morning. We met for lunch, talked and talked and laughed, and we wanted to keep it going, so rather than go back to work, I took off and we went to Stray Cat and spent the afternoon there. We had to split up to go to our respective kids, but then my mom said she'd keep my kid, so suddenly it was Friday night with no kid and no plans. I T said I could come sit on his stoop after his kid went to bed, so I did. We talked for hours. I got home at 3:15. We kissed before I left. And it was good. Last night I invited him over for porch-sitting after *my* kid went to bed , he did, we talked until about 2:00 am. I was falling asleep so I had to send him away, but it wasn't easy. So whether last night counts a date, I don't know, but we're planning on hanging out this week after I get back from Houston. Either way, Week 12 is covered. :)

Play by play!

I'm in the middle of my Thursday night date, and so far it's not going all that well! It's been very awkward and strange conversations, and he started telling me about how his ex-girlfriend was an unfit mother and did a lot of drugs. He's back - to be continued in the comments!

Ha!

So I met those two guys at that one bar, and since Saturday night, they've been texting and occasionally calling me, but the funny thing is, they do it at the EXACT same time, much like Stretch and Actor did. I just spent 30 minutes on the phone with "Painter" (needed to give him a nickname) followed immediately by 31 minutes on the phone with IT. Date with Painter tomorrow night, date with IT Friday for lunch. Hopefully IT will turn into next week's date, because he is much easier to talk to, much closer to my age, and we have a lot in common. So yeah! Good times! Maybe this New Year's resolution wasn't such a bad idea, exhausting though it might be.

Weeks 10 & 11... & 12?

So Friday night I ended up going out with the guy who stood me up anyway. Long story, but it was fine - met him at the bar he and his friends wanted to go to, then made them all come to my karaoke bar, made them embarrass themselves with karaoke and made him but my drinks for being a jerk and bailing on me. Haven't heard from him since that night, no loss though.

So then Saturday night, after the derby game, I went to the after party, followed by the after after party, which turned out to be just me at a bar by myself. So I made friends with a guy there (let's call him "IT"), he seems really nice and dorky but funny, we exchanged numbers, and he called me tonight to ask me to lunch on Friday. He was so awkward on the phone - it was precious! So far so good! He has one kid, full time, so that's interesting to me. So I have week 11 all lined up!

But wait! There's more! Also on Saturday night, at the same bar, I ran into someone I met waaayyyy back on date 2 or 3, the same night I originally met Stretch. We had exchanged numbers back then and I wasn't terribly interested, so nothing ever happened. Well he decided that it was fate, so he asked me out for this Thursday night. Two dates for week 11, and if I play my cards right, I might get a second date with one of them for Saturday night too, have a date for week 12, then I can take a break! Because I need one! This crap is exhausting!

Week 10 :(

I was supposed to have my first date tonight with a guy I met a week and a half ago, but he bailed on me at 9:00 tonight. So I'm going to count my Wednesday night as me Week 10 date. I was invited by a very adorable guy to a concert in Dallas Wednesday night, I went, hung out with some amazing friends, had a blast, missed work Thursday, drove home Thursday night. There was a boy there that I've had a bit of a crush on, but he lives and works in Texas, so... we'll see.

Week 8 and 9

Week 8 - met Stretch at a bar for Karaoke Thursday. Met some of his friends, drank a bit, totally rocked Aaliyah "are you that somebody" with one of his friends singing the Timbaland part. Had a good time, went with one of his friends to Sandbar, met a really cute cowboy...

Week 9 was last Saturday, met up with Tattoo at a bar downtown that I've never been to, and a friend came with me, but it was still my date! The three of us had a great time, my friend had her boyfriend pick her up, went home with Tattoo. Woke up with a bunch of bruises, it was a good night. I'll leave it at that. Although... I haven't heard from Tattoo since then... So idk what the deal is with him. Today is the end of Week 9, and so far I don't have anything scheduled for week 10, so I better get on it!

In other news, the ex-boyfriend sent me a really lovely message on Facebook, liked 70 of my pictures, then unfriended me. It hurt, but maybe it's what I need to finally move on. Honestly I haven't tried to get over him at all. So hopefully I can move on now and try to find someone like him. Cue Adele...

Ketchup - Weeks 6 and 7!

So I worked somewhere around 14 hours on Valentine's day, and when I left the office at 10 pm, I drove to my good-old dive bar to have a beer before I went home. Well, Stretch wanted to hang out, so he came over and sang Karaoke with me. I was supposed to be packing for a trip that I was leaving for the next day, but we'll get to that in a minute. I had a great time with Stretch - one of my favorite karaoke nights ever! After that we went downtown for a bit, then he took me home. I'm gonna go ahead and count that as a date (Week 6), since we both wanted to hang out and we were in a public place, and there was kissing and such. He's a cool guy, and I like hanging out with him.

The next morning, I drove to where I'm working (about an hour away) to get some work finished up before my trip. One of the ladies who works there decided to tell me all about her son and daughter-in-law running marathons, and how her grandson has been running 5Ks. She's never spoken to me that much before, and of course she would pick the day that I was planning on running in for a couple of hours and getting my work done real quick. So that delayed my trip, plus I still needed to pack.

When I finally got home around 3, I threw my clothes in the washer, and Actor asked if I was home and if he could come hang out. I said sure, but I'm just packing and hitting the road soon. So he came over and wanted to talk and hang out, which was fine, but it really cut into my packing time. It was unusual for him to want to talk to me that much, but whatever, he's hot.

He finally left around 4:30, I had my car all packed up, and I went outside to leave. My neighbor pulled up just as I was leaving and decided to talk to me all about our crazy neighbor and the cops and such. I love talking to my neighbor, she's awesome, but dang I was so late getting on the road! So I finally left my house at about 5:00, drove to the gas station at the end of the street, bought a Polar Pop, and went back home. There was no way I could leave that late for a trip when I had barely slept the two nights before.

BUT... that opened my weekend up for Week 7's date! A boy I met on OKCupid a long time ago randomly decided to text me (honestly I had forgotten about him) and asked me to lunch Saturday. Had a nice lunch (Lebanese) and we talked all about our trips to Europe, his career goals, our college experiences... It was a very nice and easy conversation. And he is really cute and has huge muscles and has lots of pretty, brightly-colored tattoos. So we'll call him "Tattoo" for now. We said goodbye and parted ways after lunch, and I went home for a nap.

Stretch had invited me to a show Saturday night, and some friends of mine also wanted to go out, so after dinner I steered them in the direction of said show. Everybody and their brother was there. Stretch finally showed up, and guess who showed up about 3 minutes later? Actor. Yup. It's like the three of us should just date openly together at this point. So I spent the next couple of hours dividing my time between my friends, Actor, and Stretch. But it was cool because everyone was awesome, the band was awesome, the bar was awesome. Actor finally left and invited me to his house, but I declined. My friends left, and I made some new friends at the bar (possibly a future date? If I were a little more open and curious, maybe...), then I found Stretch. His friends showed up, then we all walked to another bar, and on the way, I fell. I fell hard. And ripped my tights. And there was blood. And it still hurts.

I don't remember much after that, but I know Stretch drove me home, because he's cool like that. Now, I'm not really feeling Actor so much anymore, and I'm kinda starting to lose it for Stretch, too. I think that's mostly because he never seems to invite me to things -- I'm sort of an afterthought. I kinda want to be chased a little bit. Not like I'm trying to play games, but I want to date someone who actually wants to date me, not just meet me out late and drink with me. So we'll see.

Tattoo wants to hang out next week, I'm done with Actor, I'm still open to Stretch, and now Queen (a guy I dated, but I haven't introduced you to) and Shorty (another one you don't know about) and Gateway (yet another one) have all texted me and would like to hang out some time. I think they're all great guys, and I like hanging out with them, but I don't know if I really see potential with any of them. We'll save those for another day, as this Week 6 and 7 post has turned into a novella. I need to get better about posting here!

Oops

I kinda forgot about this week's date. Is this week 6? Shoot. Gonna be a long year. And today is Schmalentine's Day, so that's out, I guess. And I was supposed to go to Nashville for the weekend, so, crap. If I get asked to hang out tonight, with a guy, then it counts, especially on Valentine's Day.

Actor is still being weird about Stretch, asking weirdly possessive questions and such. I told Stretch, straight up, hey, I'm dating Actor, just wanted everything in the open, and Stretch seemed ok with it. Actor asked me if I was still seeing Stretch, told him yes, haven't heard from him since. So that's that.

Ok well... 5/6

I don't know if I had an official date for Week 5, but it's been a little murky. Friday night (the last night of Week 5), Stretch came over and watched a movie with me. We went to Taco Bell and Whataburger, because fuck it, we're adults and we can get food from 2 fast food places if we want. Watched a Western, sent him home. That was Week 5. Nothing special, but I am kinda starting to like him a little, so that's exciting.

Saturday night would have been the start of Week 6, and that's when I got stood up by Actor. Sunday was my birthday, and Stretch came over for my Super Bowl party, and it was nice. I guess I'll call that my Week 6 date? Actor texted me super late Sunday night, and I didn't respond because I had already gone to bed. He said some weird jealous-type things on Monday that really made me dislike him. Thursday night I saw Stretch again, and we sang karaoke with his friends. Good times all around, and he is really funny. Buuut then tonight (Saturday), Actor wanted to hang out, so I did for a little bit. We watched a western, drank some wine, and I went home.

Here's the thing that's bugging me. Sometimes crushes should just stay crushes. I don't know if I want to date my crush, because I'm pretty sure my idea of him is better than what he's really like. That's just the feeling I have in general, and it has prevented me from pursuing relationships in the past. But this time, thanks in part to this resolution, I decided to try and date my crush, and guess what? I was disappointed. I don't really care to elaborate, but the hint of jealousy is just the tip of the iceberg, I think, and ain't nobody got time for that.

Week #5 Date...

...didn't happen.

Week #4 Date

This one's a little short, but the date itself was pretty simple. I have a little bit more to say about the situation I've gotten into, and since I'm putting this part of my life out there, I realize I'm inviting criticism and feedback, so please don't hold back! Here we go...

On my bonus Week #3 date, I ran into someone with whom I went to high school (I'll call him "Actor"). That night, he said he was starring in a play, and he invited me to it. Turns out my week #3 bonus date (We'll call him "Stretch") was actually working at the same play. He got me a ticket, but I sat in the booth in the back with him rather than in my seat. We felt like Statler and Waldorf. The play was good, and afterward they served drinks and food since it was opening night. Talked to Actor, we ended up all going to a bar downtown. It was awkward, to say the least. I'm not sure how it even happened, but it was like I was on a date with both of them. Actor  asked if I'd like to hang out some time, I said sure. So.... Week #5 date is supposed to be with Actor tonight, and I'm seeing Stretch again tomorrow night. I really like Stretch, but dang, I've had a bit of a crush on Actor for a few years now.  Advice? Suggestions? Just wait and see?

Bonus Week #3 Date

I ended up going out Thursday night with someone I met on my Week #2 date. I've seen this dude all over town, at every big event, but we've never met, so at Week #2 Date I went up to him and introduced myself. Next day, I added him on Facebook and sent him an innocent message, long story short I met him Thursday night at a bar where he was hanging out with his friends, and I awkwardly said I felt like I had set myself up on a blind date. We stayed there for a good while, then went to see a band at a nearby bar, and I thought his friends were coming, but they never showed. We had a good time, and he made me dance with him, which I never do. I kind of do the dance-by-myself-with-a-group-of-people thing, rather than with a partner, because I am so awkward. I guess my time skating has made me steadier on my feet because I wasn't nearly as horrible as I used to be.

He walked me to my car, I drove to Taco Bell, only to discover it closed, and bought the most delicious patty melt ever at Whataburger. We're still talking, and maybe he'll be Week #4 (which started yesterday). We'll see.

Oh, somehow my Week #3 Date and I got into an argument over text, so that's that.

Week #3 Date

I'll be honest with you, Week 3 didn't go so well.

This was a repeat guy from my Friday night date. I was a little standoffish Friday night, so I told him we could try a do-over, and he suggested Sunday. So we met at TacoMania, which was fine (my quesadilla was crazy good, actually) then went to Tinseltown to watch Silver Linings Playbook. I felt so tense and anxious during the first half of that movie -- I wanted to leave at one point. But it got better and it had a pleasant ending, so it was fine. The second we got outside the theater, though, I got a phone call from my ex-boyfriend, which put me in a weird defensive mood (I guess I was defensive anyway). I ignored it, told my date goodnight, and went home. No hug or kiss.

Whether it's due to feelings for my ex-boyfriend, or if I'm just not ready to date yet, or if I genuinely don't have romantic feelings for this one, I'm not sure. He seemed to be really into me, and when he has texted me, it's been very funny and silly, but when we've hung out on our dates, idk... he's just not terribly interesting to me and he doesn't make me laugh. He talked about work a lot, which was okay for a little bit, but after brief conversations about music and movies, we didn't seem to have much else to talk about.

Side note, I watched the second Twilight movie at home Saturday, then the third and fourth Sunday, so after dinner and the movie with my date, and after I got home, I left again and went to see the final movie, Breaking Dawn Part 2, by myself. I saw the first movie by myself in the same theater at 10:00 pm on a Sunday night, so it was kind of nice to do that again for the final one. Those movies, as cheesy and horrible as they are, just make you want to fall in love. What's so wrong with that?

Week #2 Date

Again, I ate at a Thai restaurant. But the food was AMAZING. And oh, crap, I just realized it's still in my car. :(

My date was a guy I know from work. He was very nice and funny. We had dinner then went to a new art bar downtown to watch a band play. But here's the thing, for those of you who don't know. I'm still kinda hung up on this guy I dated for the past 6 or so months (who recently moved away), so the whole date was a little awkward for me. I never relaxed enough to fully enjoy myself, and I apologized to my date for that (although I probably should have just let it go). So awkward!

So I don't know if there will be a repeat of this one. He seemed interested in hanging out again, but I don't know if it's a good idea until I'm more emotionally stable after the last guy.

More about the date specifically... He is a very funny guy but I just wasn't in the mood for his kind of humor - silly and flirty. But it was fun talking to him. I had Pad Thai for dinner and it was soooo freaking good, I think I will get the gross leftovers out of my car and eat them later. We stopped at a dive bar between dinner and the downtown bar and played 2 games of pool AND I WON BOTH OF THEM. Fair and square, no cheating, no winning-by-default. I actually hit the 8 ball in both times. It was incredible.

When we got to the downtown bar, we walked around upstairs where some artists were working and selling their work, and I had a Tarot card reading. He told me that if I stayed with the guy I've been seeing, I'll end up pregnant. ... uhh... The rest of it was nonsense, something about defending my friends and being the head of household, and I should expect a promotion or something.  The band was really good, my date enjoyed the reggae music (I'm friends with a guy in this band and have seen them a few times).  Took him to another bar for some pizza then headed home. No goodnight kiss or anything, not that I wouldn't have, but I need to get my head straight before anything like that happens.

Week #2 Date rescheduled for this Friday!

So I was supposed to go on Date #2 yesterday, but Friday I rescheduled it due to emotional baloney I've been dealing with. I don't foresee this happening again, though. So it's been rescheduled for this Friday, which is still part of Week #2. Saturday to Friday is definitely a good layout for a "week."

So this guy is someone I don't know very well, and he works for a competitor, but he seems very funny and nice. He's also very aggressive and basically asked me out on his second day at work. It's kinda nice to be that pursued, but also a little overwhelming.

K bye.

Aw crap.

Date #2 just texted and asked if I am "420 friendly." This is not going to end well.

Twofer Tuesday!

So I've decided that a week is Saturday to Friday, and I am allowed to ask guys out, and weekday dates count. Also, a date with an old friend counts if it "feels" like a date. Fair enough?

New question though, do I tell guys that I'm doing this? I've thought about taking a picture with each guy to post here, but then that would sorta require an explanation. I don't want them to feel like a number, but I don't really want to hide it either. What do you think?

Week #1 Done!

Had a lovely Thai dinner in Dallas, the restaurant was BYOB and luckily next to a liquor store. Got all dressed up, as did my date, and it was super fun! Maybe my noodles were a little too spicy, because my face got really sweaty at one point. I'd like to see this one again some time, but the fact that he lives in Dallas is kind of a deal-breaker. Don't know if I can do long distance.

On my drive back from Dallas Sunday, I made plans for date #2 for this Saturday! So far so good!

And so...

I work, I raise my kid, sometimes I date, mostly I’m single (for 6 years or so). My New Year’s resolution? I want to go on a date every week for 2013.

But I need a little help with the details. What constitutes a date exactly? And how do I go about meeting 52 guys (or fewer, I think I can have some repeats)? 

Thoughts? Concerns? Suggestions? Message me or post in the comments, please. 

Who’s in?