Other Things that Happened

Other randomness that happened this weekend....

tree

I put up my Christmas tree Friday night and two seconds after I took this picture ALL the lights went out.  I LOVE decorating my Christmas tree but when the lights go out I just wanna throw it all away and start over fresh!  Nothing is worst than having to undo the tree.  Thankfully though I felt motivated Sunday night and got it fixed and it looks better now than what it did originally! 

Turkey Trot Recap

I did it!  5 miles baby!!!  And I met my goal of being under an hour! 

Official time was 54:49 and I was really happy with that.  I ran a lot faster than I did on my training runs and figured it would be right at an hour if I was lucky.   

Me - leaving my house at 6:30am

I drove down to the turkey trot that morning and got there a little after 7pm and got a close parking spot and made the mistake of getting out of my car early and walking around.  

It was COLD out!!

By the time the race actually starting I was freezing and my toes were numb from the cold!  Not cool!  I met up with my friend Laura and her mother-in-law and hung out with them until we started and then wished our Happy Thanksgivings and off we went! 

Starting Line

The crowds were insane, so many people, I think they said it was somewhere between 8,000-9.000 runners there that day and I would definitely expect that!  But lots of people, met lots of this...

costumes

I saw people in pilgrim costumes, turkey hats, full dressed up turkeys, etc.  It was fun! 

They had us split into 3 waves and we were in the 2nd wave, hoping to avoid some of the walkers which it helped some.  The first mile or so my feet were so cold and they were numb, I was just waiting for my body to warm up and eventually it definitely did!  Running with that many people was crazy. 

I didn't really focus on passing anyone or trying to get ahead.  I just wanted to find my comfortable pace and stay there.  My goal was to run the whole thing and to finish in under and hour.  The first two miles went pretty quickly but it seemed to take forever to get to mile three. 

I felt really good during miles 1 and 2 and mile 3 didn't even feel bad but mile 4 I was really having to fight myself trying to not stop and walk for a little bit.  I was hot and so badly I could be coordinated enough to take my running fleece off without falling or getting stuck in it and still keep running...but I figured that would be dangerous not only for myself but for everyone behind me so I just kept it on.  Tried to push up my sleeves and roll my collar down some just to keep myself cool but nothing worked.  I was hot!  And you know me...I don't do well when I'm hot.  Pushed through mile 4 being hot, not in pain or sore, just hot mind you.  I got my mother's genes there!  :) 

Somewhere in mile 4 and 5 I really started to get annoyed with the people around me who kept rushing passed me ad then would stop to walk right in front of me and then repeat the same thing over and over again.  I so badly wanted to yell at them...pace your damn self and you won't have to walk!  ugh!  I know patience Sarah, patience!  This one dude I swear I passed him 10 times during that race. 

Path between 3-4 miles. 

That dude is yellow is the guy I kind of wanted to trip just so he would quit cutting me off when he decided to sprint for 30 seconds and then walk.  My photography skills are awesome while I'm running I'm sure is  what else your also thinking seeing this picture! 

I was "attempting" to take a picture of the sea of people and I obviously missed a little.  The mass of people was amazing, and my thought was...we are all NUTS that we signed up to do this on a holiday!  But then I reminded myself I could have a guilt free Thanksgiving feast afterwards and I pushed on. 

Mile 5 was fun.  hahaha  Did you just hear that?  Mile 5 was FUN. 

I think I've lost it! 

But it was fun.  We came back into town and actually had something to look at besides people, trees and more people.  I could see the finish line for probably most of the last mile which was nice to be able to see the end.  Also you could start to hear the music at the finish line and that was encouraging.  I was actually able to speed up the last quarter of mile which I had told myself I didn't have to do that when I was in mile 4 but I was actually able to do it. 

I crossed the finished line and started walking through the gate and realize how my legs felt like jello and realize how tired I was.  Tried to find where the bottles of water and goodies were after the race, however, when I saw how long the lines were to just get a bottle of water I was disappointed.  I could walk back to my car faster and drink my water bottle I had in my car faster than it would take me to get through that long of a line.  That was probably the biggest disappointment of the whole race for me.  Everything else seemed so well ran.  Even the people at the water stop knew not to fill the cups all the way up but they should have definitely had a better system setup to get people water after the race. 

I walked back to my car and was so glad I was parked close because I really started to get cold again afterwards.  However, heading to my car after the race was not the best idea I thought it would be because it took me well over an hour to actually get out of the city and start my way home.  Which in turn meant I sat in my car and didn't get to stretch like I had hoped to, which caused me to be very tight the rest of the day/weekend. 

Overall though, it was a great race.  I was really proud of myself for pushing through and not stopping to walk.  I still can't believe I ran 5 miles.  Wow! 



me after the race waiting in my car



I will definitely do this race again next year and figure out a different path to take to get home quicker and avoid the crowds leaving town. 

As of today my achillies tendon in my right foot is really bothering me, I'm still walking around like an old lady and that concerns me.  I wanted to run again this past weekend, but I wasn't able to.  Ice and rest are in store for me this week probably! 

Hope you  had a nice Thanksgiving!  Did you run a Turkey Trot?

Happy Thanksgiving!

As this post is being posted (it's scheduled), I'll be crossing the starting line of the 8k Turkey Trot and then spending the rest of the day with family and eating way too much food and probably using some frozen food to ice my legs. 

And then we will be heading out for one of my favorite holiday tradition of

BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING!!!

We aren't the crazy type where we fight over items we are looking for...it's more just fun for us.  A way that we kick off the holiday season with being over-tired, high on coffee and adrenalin and our ads in our purses ready to find a good sale.  If we get a great deal, awesome, if not, it's all about the tradition of getting out there and taking part in the craziest day of the year and

IT'S SO MUCH FUN!!!!  EEEK!!  :)

I can barely contain myself with how excited I am! 

More importantly though, I wanted to wish all of my readers a very

Happy Thanksgiving! 

May today be one of those days that you find the areas in your life where you are truly lucky no matter what your circumstances are, there is always a positive and something to be grateful for in our lives. 

Have a blessed holiday and may you eat too much turkey and watch too much football!

Prepping for the Turkey Trot

So, the big Turkey Trot is in two days and I'm already starting to get nervous!  Craziness!  Normally I get all sweaty hands kinds of nervous when in the starting line but I guess not this time. 

Since this weekend had lots of surprises, see yesterdays post, I didn't get my last run in on Sunday, which I'm ok with.  I ran over 4 miles three times and I felt good and on each run I knew and felt like I could go the rest to hit 5 miles.  I think I'll be fine.  I would have liked to get another run in but I knew I didn't want to do it Monday night because I really want to be rested up before Thursday and have really good fresh legs. 

What I'm doing now for prepping for my race is really hydrating myself, lots of water!  I'm also stretching a lot this week and wearing my boot to help stretch out my feet, which I'm hoping will help prevent my feet from feeling heavy.  Gotta love those Achilles tendons! 

The weather is supposed to be perfect, a little chilly but great running weather!  Just the way I like it! 

I'm already stock piling lots of ice for me to dump into a nice ice bath afterwards so I am not limping around all day on Thanksgiving. 

It's gonna be a great race, I can feel it! 

I'm on top of the world right now and couldn't be happier with things in my life, and I just want to enjoy every step of that 5 mile run on Thursday! 

It's gonna be awesome!!!



We Interrupt this Normally Scheduled "Fashion Friday" For...

the best running moment I've ever experienced!

Hope you'll forgive me for not having a "Fashion Friday" post this week...I just gotta share with you all the run I had Wednesday night. 

I can't even explain it but it was amazing.  I had no idea what was ahead of me in my run on Wednesday evening but I am so glad I didn't skip the run because I was seriously contemplating it. 

As you know, I've been training for a 5 mile (8k) Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving next week.  I've been doing pretty good with my training and squeezing it in when I have been able to find someone to watch Miss H for me.  Big thanks to my sister, Tony and my neighbor for helping me out with this!! 



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Even though I've been mostly keeping up with my training, it's been like pulling teeth to get me out on a run, if I can come up with an excuse, and it sounds good enough, I'd probably take it.  This week has been kind of difficult to find time when I'm going to get my runs in and yesterday I was really feeling guilty for not doing anything since Sunday and so when I got home I had every intention of asking my sister to watch Miss H so I could go get a 3 mile run in.  I needed to do 4 but I wasn't feeling it and figured anything is better than nothing.  Well on the ride home from work I kind of started to talk myself out of it.  Tomorrow night Miss H is with her dad, I'll just run tomorrow right during those couple of hours she is gone, my head was telling me.  But my heart told me, Sarah you could get two runs in if you ran tonight AND tomorrow night and so my head went back to running.  After I picked up Miss H from the sitter she was bugging me yet again to go play with the neighbor's daughter and so I figured I would ask her if Miss H could play with her so I wouldn't have to bug my sister and Miss H could have fun while I was getting a run in. 

So we got home and Miss H did a few of her chores and she was out the door to her friend's house and I changed into my running clothes and stretched and headed out. 

little chilly




pre-run - that smile is deceiving because I wasn't that happy to go run!

I did about 1/2 mile loop in my neighborhood and then headed towards the main highway.  I wanted to run somewhere different and I need to find some good paths to run with it getting darker out.  My neighborhood isn't the most well-lite area in parts of it and so I'm having to find some different routes to stay safe on my runs.  Hence the reason for the neon orange shirt I ran in.

I started out with the mind set I would do 3 but after a mile I was like, let's do 4 miles.  I always do that it seems, don't plan on going that far and then during the run I change my plans and push myself harder.  Heading out of my neighborhood wasn't bad, only about 1/2 mile there was no sidewalk for me to run on but it was still fairly light out yet when I was heading out.  I was tight and my feet felt very heavy during the first 2 - 2 1/2 miles and was thankful for the few moments of a break I got at a few stop lights just to stretch out my legs more. 

It was super busy out with cars and so I really had to watch it when crossing streets or entries into a few shopping centers.  I am definitely glad that I am ok to run without music and that I actually have adapted to preferring it over running with music.  I definitely have my eyes and ears alert at all times while running in a busy area.  I don't really know what I think about when I run, most of the time nothing, sometime I watch my shadow and realize that my form kind of looks like I'm skiing sometimes, or I pay attention to my form and try to take longer strides. 

A lot of times though I don't really give myself credit for what I'm doing.  Running is hard, I don't think anyone can go out and run and say it's easy, you have to put in an effort either physically or mentally or both on each run.  Every run is so different from the next that you never really know what it's going to be like until you just get out there and run.  I am naturally harder on myself and don't give myself credit for much of what I do.  You just do it!  Sometimes people will go on about how well I handle being a single parent and how I get so much done in the time I have to get everything done on my own with not much help.  Last night I closed a jewelry show and my hostess whose gotten to know me pretty well over the years, she went on about how she couldn't believe how much I got done in my evenings with making dinners, running, doing homework with Miss H, and all the other stuff that needs done.  And to be completely honest when someone says this stuff to me, it always kind of hits me, because I don't know how I do it.  I just do it...what other options do I have, ya know?  It's not a big deal...it's my job, it's my life, if I don't do it no one will.  I've heard people call me "Super Mom" more than once and I don't consider myself that at all, it's just what you do, right?  I think all mom's/parents are super parents for what we have to get done...I'm not any different from them.  <---see I don't give myself credit even if it's due. 

Well last night as I was coming back into my neighborhood and kind of scared for my life running in a semi-dark section with no sidewalks and hoping and praying to God that cars would see my neon orange shirt, which one jerk didn't and I had to quickly jump into the grass, I decided I was going to do 4.5 miles.  I could do it and I wanted to do it.  I needed to do it for my training.  The Turkey Trot is a week away, I can't slack now! 

I passed my street and kept going to do that last 1/2 mile loop again that I did when I started out and when I turned back to head home...something inside of me said  "Sarah let yourself be proud of yourself...look at what you have done!  It's ok to be proud of yourself!" 

And that voice was exactly right.  Where I was in that moment was the street that I have practically worn a path on since I started running back in April.  This street has so much meaning to me.  It's the street I turned on when I saw I was going to hit my first 2 mile run.  It was the street that I would push myself to not stop on those 4 blocks because of all the people outside working in their yards this summer and I wanted them to see me running, not walking.  It was the street that I started out walking on and pushing past painful shin splits and the pain in my feet from my plantar fasciitis.  So much sweat and effort as been pushed out on this street and here I was in November of the same year and about to finish 4.5 miles. 

And in that moment...the tears fell down my face.  

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I was/am so proud of myself for accomplishing something that is so hard. The fact that I haven't given up.  I've pushed past every ache and pain and sore muscle to get where I am today at being able to run over 4 miles.  I went from running with a partner to running by myself.  I've gone from the comfort of only running in my neighborhoods to running along highways.  All those moments of self-doubt that I would never be able to regularly run 3 miles and how hard I pushed to just get to 1 mile.  I worked through sore muscles, burning lungs, sweating so much my eyes would burn from the sweat....and here I am just finishing a 4.5 mile run. 

I started out only wanting to do 3 miles...and I went way beyond that and am so ready for that 5 miler next week. 

I can't believe what I have accomplished!  I never thought I could be a runner, never!  And last night on my run, part of me actually let myself believe that I am a runner and be proud of myself.  To actually be able to see and feel that hard work pays off and that you do eventually get somewhere is amazing! 



Tears of Joy and Pride!
Don't ya love what my runs do to my naturally curly hair...errr!



If I can set out to achieve a goal as hard as running is for me, then anyone can do it.  You just can't give up!  I'm sure there were a lot of doubters of me when I said I was going to start running.  Heck I was one of them!  I just hoped that I wouldn't give up and I haven't.  And today here I am and I am able to run over 4 miles and next week I will be a 5 mile runner! 

I have never cried after a run before and actually let myself be proud of how far I have come.  Last night I didn't let myself wonder how I have gotten here...I know how...through really hard work that I did all on my own! 

Last night I stood in my room and just cried.  Cried that I have reached my goal and that I know I'm capable of more and that it's only begun and I'm so proud of myself. 

Best part of it all, has been Miss H seeing me accomplish it! 

Dumbest Blonde Moment EVER!!!!!!!!!

As y'all know I was in DC last week for a conference and it just hit me yesterday that I was in the same down as Georgetown Cupcake.  Ya know...the one from TLC "DC Cupcake". 

Source - their website

I thought I was like 20 miles or something from where they were located and totally cut it off as not possible with the limited amount of free time I would have while in town. 

Well...after craving cake like crazy today and talking to my BFF, I used my trusty tool google maps just for shits and giggles to see how far it really was....and well....I about had the shits and cried for my dumb-ness. 



Will you look at that...courtesy of google maps



2.5 freaking miles!!!!  Not 25 Miles....not 52 miles.......2.5 MILES!!!!!!!!

I was instantly to my bff...you are gonna kill me...I could have caught a cab and been back and still caught happy hour it was so close.  And she was like...Yo Sarah...you RUN 3 miles....

And reality sunk in even more....  I could have had 2 cupcakes and ran both ways and it would have been worth it. 

I suck.

MAJOR blonde moment. 

Dumb Dumb and just Dumber! 

I was so close to that gotta be awesome goodness and I failed miserably. 

Of course my BFF tried to make me feel better

"But we are too good for that stuff...pass the carrots and water please!'

BAHAHAHAHAHAHA...whatevs!  Pass the frosting please is more like it! 

Is it bad that I'm hoping I get sent to another boring conference there just so I have another shot at it?? 

source - their website

*Sigh*  Sorry I missed a chance at devouring you dear sweet cupcake! 

Major fail on my part!  *Sigh*

Cause I've Been Avoiding this Topic like I avoid Milk Chocolate...

Y'all are probably wondering when I'm ever going to report in about my weight loss.  I haven't posted about it in a while and it's just because nothing exciting is going on.  I mean I can only report I'm stuck so many times, ya know? 

I'm STILL stuck right in the same area. 

Yes it bums me out and I kind of feel like I'm slight failure because of this but I still feel really good. 

I haven't measured myself in a while but I'm guessing that I'm exactly the same there too.  My clothes fit the same and nothing is baggier. 

Even though this bothers me...I'm not really worried about it.  I'm more motivated about my running right now more than anything.  Which makes sense really, if you think about it. 

Running = lots of good endorphins

Focused on weight loss = time on scale = negative energy created due to wanting to throw the scale out the window.

Duh on why I'm focused on running right???  Big O'le DUH there! 

Plus I figure if I keep running and doing it more often, the weight has gotta come off eventually, right?  Or I'll at least keep getting more toned.  Plus when I run, I tend to just eat better and take better care of myself. 

Here's some pictures for you just so you can see I'm still the same size. 

I love this sweater.  Got it from Marshall's this past weekend.  It's length is longer AND it's a boat neck and we all know I LOVE a good boat neck top!!! 

So there ya have it...I FINALLY updated ya on my weight loss.  Exciting isn't it??  blah!! 

Happy Hump Day!

I'm Baaaack...and I got Lost!

Did ya miss me??  Probably not but I'll act like you did!!!  :) 

I don't know how people travel regularly for business, I was just plain exhausted after three days of it and couldn't take anymore.  Saturday I was about as lazy as one could be in a day.  I did about 3 or 4 loads of laundry and that was way too productive for me. 

Backing tracking some...I was in Washington DC last week for a conference.  Love that city but didn't get to really get out and check anything out much. 

Here's a few pictures from my trip. 

Capital Building - About as good as my "site seeing" got

being lazy in the hotel room the only night I got a chance to be

Lincoln Memorial on our way to the airport

Moi

 We stayed at the Embassy Suites and I was very impressed.  I had my own room all to myself and loved that...felt like a queen for the few moments I was in the room.  Although I was severely disappointed in the cell phone reception in the rooms and lobby of the hotel.  You would think being in downtown DC you would be able to get a cell phone signal but I had no luck. 

Bathroom - obviously

Living Room





Bedroom

I would definitely stay in an Embassy Suites again though, the breakfast in the morning was AMAZING.  You could order anything you wanted and they made it for you!  Omelet with totamos and onions please! 

 

Also in the evening they had a free happy hour with snacks and this wasn't just a cheap happy hour.  My co-workers loved this part and thought it was amazing...I rarely ever drink so I wasn't as thrilled, I just kept wanting to go back to my room to relax.  Hello LAMO! 

 

I did run on the treadmill at the gym of the hotel both mornings and I have decided that I absolutely HATE running on a treadmill and totally get why people call it the dreadmill!  I pushed to 3 miles the first day and it seemed like it took an hour and the second day I did 2 miles and said screw it.  I was bored out of my mind and hated feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere.  Kudos to those of you who run on a treadmill regularly, I'll stick to running outside! 

 

 

Saturday morning I had breakfast with this cutie patootie

We missed each other just a little bit. 

Sunday I scheduled to do my 4 mile run and I was dreading it.  I didn't eat the best while I was gone and just knew it was going to effect my run.  I was still in my "I want to be lazy mode...I'm so tired and mentally drained" that I knew it was going to be a rough one. 

weather - not as cool out as I had hoped it would be

So I dropped Miss H off at religion class and I headed out.  Pretty much kicking and screaming like a 2 year old but I started my runKeeper app and went out.  And I was moving slow and I was tight! 

I got to a stop light and turned left and was waiting and waiting for my GPS to tell me I had hit 1 mile and it seemed like it was never going to!  I finally got to another stop light and I needed to stop.  I was fighting myself mentally and physically and I was only 1.5 miles in.  It was going to be a loooooong 4 miles. 

Started up again and felt tired immediately and felt like I needed another break but I didn't let myself and kept going a few more blocks and hit mile 2.  Thought about turning around and then I would know exactly how much further I had to go but the thought of going back on that awful section of my run was just not making me anymore excited and so I kept the path I was going. 

I turned into the newer section of a neighbor and knew that I was going to need to make up a mile in that neighborhood because if I finished the block I normally do it was just 3 miles and I DID NOT want to have to continue past the church I started at and to have to keep going to hit 4 miles. 

Well...let me just say that I got lost in the damn neighborhood!  I passed a street and saw another one ahead and I thought ok I'll head up to that street and then just go around the block...well I never found that block so I could loop back.  I kept thinking "seriously I've gotta see that street somewhere" and at one point I could see pretty far ahead of me and there was no street in sight for me to be able to turn right like I needed to be and cutting through people's yards didn't seem like the right thing to do.  So I turned around and I totally lost my sense of direction.  I only had an hour to do this 4 mile run and I was coming up on only having 20 minutes or so left to get back in time and I started to slightly freak out. 

I am not someone who really gets lost.  I just have a really good sense of direction normally and can figure it out with no problems but this time I definitely got lost.  Thank goodness I had my phone on me and could look at a map to see where I was and where I needed to be but of course it wasn't exactly right and I just started running and hoping I would find something that was familiar and sure enough about half mile I found where I was and was able to get back to the church in time to get Miss H. 

I ran around 4.5 miles. 



This is off some because I forgot to start my app up again after I had stopped to figure out where I was. 



The good news is that I was able to run the 4 miles and I actually did get to a point even after 2.5 miles of the most painful draining run, it actually got easier and once I hit 3 miles I felt really good and probably could have done 5 miles.  Which really made me feel confident knowing that the Turkey Trot is only 10 days away!!! 

I also took my first ice bath this weekend after my run.  I was sore.  My inner hip was killing me.  The ice bath was heaven and wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but it felt amazing after 4 miles! 

This week...my plan is to run 3.5-4 miles twice and then on Sunday do 4.5 miles.  Then taper and rest before the big day!!  I'm getting excited and nervous for it!!

So admit it...have you ever gotten lost on a run?? 

Tell me I'm not the only one!!

***FASHION FRIDAY*** Just Two Colors!

Just Two Colors!!

A very simple but great way to look slimmer is to dress in just two colors. 

One way of doing this is like this

Nothing to it, but again, it has all the basics needed in your wardrobe and a very classic and slimming look! 

You can also flip it and make the color on the inside different like this...

Just because it's Friday...I'll make a fool of myself for ya! 
I'm supposed to be "flexing" for ya, but now that I see it looks like I'm trying to be a gorilla...I'm awesome. 

This is a great way to dress and the key to making it a statement look...it's your accessories you add to it!! 

Have a great weekend!

Yes I Did It...Don't Judge!

What did I do? 

I've done the Online Dating thing....ahhh!!!

Being a single parent and having my daughter the majority of the time and most (ok ALL) of my friends being married, I had no one to go out with to just meet people, even a bar, no one.  Yeah all my friends up and decided to go and get married and leave me alone I guess or something...oh so rude!  geez guys!  for reals!

So being the only single friend in my group of friends and a single parent...it really didn't set up for the greatest opportunities to meet other single guys! 

Plus when you're a mommy and trying to date...you just have a lot of different priorities out there in the dating world.  You aren't out there lookin' for just "Mr Ok for right now" you are looking for THE guy...ya know...to have a family with, to fill the empty position in our family that needs(and want) to be filled. 

Many people are ashamed of it or lie about how they met someone but for reals...what's to be ashamed of?  It's no different than meeting strangers at a soccer field or at the grocery store...ya just gotta be smart about it and trust your gut. 

I have met some amazing men while I was on the online dating scene who even though it didn't work out with I became great friends with and then I've also met some real doozies. 

Key to online dating...is to have fun with it and not take it or yourself to seriously. 

I have went on several first dates and even though I may have gotten my feelings hurt, been royally amazed at what I've seen or heard, it made me grow more confident in myself and I learned to just enjoy it all. 

I have went on dates with farmers, Drs, Lawyers, students, mechanics, computer nerds, comedians, single dads and even *kind of* a celebrity.

I've been set up on dates by some friends or co-workers or even people who have only met me once at a jewelry show and thought they knew someone I would click with. 

Probably some of my favorite dates were those with other single dads.  I  never thought I would want to date someone with other kids just because it's harder when  your time without your kids doesn't match up...that almost always ends it.  However I did enjoy connecting with other single dad's because we had something in common...BUT being a single parent for 6 years myself...I'm no fool and I know there are always THREE sides to the story and one of those being the truth.  I'd often just want to laugh when a guy would blame everything on his ex but he'd be repeatedly be texting me from a bar on his "off days" without his kids.  Really??  Your 36...you sure it was ALL  your wife's problems that caused the divorce??  I'm guessing not. 

I'm a pretty open person and I know what my beliefs are and know where I stand on many issues but I can still keep an open mind and be respectful of others opinions and ideas...and because of this...I've heard it all. 

 On the first date with the "celebrity comedian" that moved from LA to Cincinnati, somehow we got on the topic of religion by him (rule #1 in dating..you don't talk about these hot topics the first time you meet).  Needless to say...it was a DISASTER of a first date. 

I should have walked out on him. And probably slapped him. 

I kind of wish I would have just to be able to say that I did that once in my life!  ha!  But I didn't...why?  Because I was just either in shock or amazed at what was coming out of his mouth on the first date.  I won't even go into it but it definitely went down in the records as the worst date ever!

I've dated guys for a week, a month, a couple of months, and a couple of years....and no matter what...sometimes the movie is exactly right...

source

He is just not that into you...or you're just not that into him.  And that is A-O-KAY!

Dating can be mature and honest and real and fun!  It's not high school anymore...it's ok to admit you just don't feel it with that person and if they are mature enough they'll be respectful of that and if not...well you just got your confirmation that you definitely were right! 

I've gone in phases with online dating...I'll be on it for 3 months and then go for 6 months not doing any dating. 

I am totally comfortable being by myself.  That is one thing that I made sure I did before I ever started dating that I wasn't dating because I needed a guy. 

I don't need a guy to survive. 

I can open all jars and containers by myself thank you very much.  

Best tool for any single mom to own right here. 

I can fix almost anything or at least know who to call (my brother-in-law or my BFF's husband ha!)

I don't want to need a guy...I want to have a guy in my life because he makes me happy, he is my partner in crime.  He's my ying to my yang...kinda of stuff. 

This past spring I had been in one of my "I'm so over dating" phases because I had yet again let another ex of mine become a potential boyfriend again and was just over it.  (girls...seriously...once an ex they should always, and I mean ALWAYS, remain an ex)

Well that lasted a couple of months and then I got the itch to go on a first date again and I signed up for a free site I had never heard of and thought what the heck! 

Well I was on it for 1 day and only talked to one guy and I met this guy. 

Yes I had to make a picture of us "together"...I'm so bad about this. 

Isn't he cute??  I'll have to get another better picture of us.  And he doesn't know I'm doing this so we'll see how long it takes him to notice!  :)

He instantly broke my #1 rule in dating was NOT dating anyone from the original area I grew up.  I was so over dating guys from that area that it was just a waste of my time.  However, he is the exception because he doesn't live up there but he's from there which is perfect.  I knew he had come from a great family and a great town and so I gave him a chance.  After much google and facebook stalking...we met. 

Whaaat?  You ALWAYS google your date...you just don't tell them that you actually do that! 

And it has been crazy ever since but it's been great.  He makes me comfortable with who I am.  The second time we hung out he came over to my house and I didn't even wear make up around him!  I NEVER see anyone without make up and for some reason I felt that comfortable around him.  He doesn't care if I lose weight...he likes me just the way I am. 

He just volunteers to do things for me and to make things easier on me.  If he's over on a Wednesday night when my trash is going out...he'll just take it out for me just because he knows it's gotta be done.  WOW!!! 

He may drive me crazy sometimes with his bachelor habits but he makes me smile more than anyone has in a long time. 

Plus he looks HOT in a suit and I always wanted a guy who could rock a suit! 

So who knows what will happen...we've been together for 6 months now and I don't see him going anywhere anytime soon. 

Yes I met him online (he wants to say we met through mutual friends ha!) but I can't do that!  Girlfriends want details and all my friends know each other so they would be lookin' at each other wondering who it was! 

So I guess my point is...if you're a single parent or just a single gal...do the online dating thing at least once and remember to have fun with it!  Take it serious enough for your safety but not so much that you think you'll meet THE one on the first date. 

Just have fun and see what happens!