Eleven

1. I've lost 4 pounds since 8.24.06!! - That's right - a months to lose 4 pounds!! That's sad, but at least I'm movin' in the right direction.
2. I've been drinking water like a fish!!! And I know that drinking water has a ton of benefits, but until I REALLY set my mind to losing this 20 pounds I hadn't really been drinking nearly as much as I should. Last night I gave blood (one of my regular activities) and it only took 7 minutes!!!! It's usually a nightmare - and a race to draw one pint before the time limit runs out. Meagan, the Red Cross employee, said that it is probably due to all of the water that I've been consuming over the last 2 weeks. So, drink water & give blood!!!
3. In 258 days, I'll be on my way to Italy for 7 days!!!!!! Wanna come? Let me know!!
4. The family "event" that Ol' Boy invited me to, is actually a FAMILY REUNION!!! I'm so glad I had decided NOT to go.
5. Those Weight.Watcher's carrot cakes are really good but they're so damned little!!!!
6. 24 emailed me Thursday to let me know that he and his wife are expecting another child that is due in March. He wanted to let me know, before my cousin, L.A., told me. (??) How nice of him... lol
7. There must be something in the water, cuz I know a gang of people that are pregnant. The count is up to 7, including 2 of my cousins, my girl in Charlotte, 2 co-worker's wives, My girl Tam in The D, and now 24's wife!
8. Both my sister and Mik are trying to get pregnant, so I'm sure that number will be increasing in the near future.
9. I finally peeled the acrylic off my nails and my finger tips are soooo sore!! Soaking them off would've been a much better choice, but who has that kind of time??? Not me!!!
10. I paid off BOTH my Tar.get.visa & my Cap.ital.One.Visa this month!!!! I had already cut them up, so I'm well on my way--YEAH!!!!!
11. It's almost 2:00- which is quittin' time on Saturdays!!

Saturday Rambles

It's slow today, but I've decided to work every Saturday that I am in town, so here I am. At least I have time to catch up on my blogging.
I was in Winchester for a couple meetings earlier this week. Mo came in from Raleigh and we rode up together. Because both of our schedules have been so hectic lately, we haven't had much time to chat. The few times that we have talked, she has been questioning me about why Ol' Boy and I aren't together. That seems to be everyone's FAVORITE topic these days. I hadn't even had a chance to tell her about to the new development.
As soon as we get in the car, she tells me that she has been seeing some new guy for a few weeks and she's already in love. AGAIN??? WTF??? How is it that she has been "in love" at least 3-4 times- that I can remember over the last 4 years. Is that excessive or am I overly cautious when it comes to matters of the heart?? I do not fall in love easily. So it's hard for me to understand my friends that are in love every other day with someone else. Don't get me wrong, I have had my share of love in this lifetime but it has always been after a LONG while of getting to know the person.
Let's see, there have been 4 loves: JP, 24, Fats, & exBF. Somewhere in between all of them were the much less important bunch of others. Ok, but that's four guys that I've been in love with in 31 years - actually just the last 16 years.
Love & relationships are difficult and seem to be getting more evasive as I get older. Growing up, I never was one of those girls who just knew that I'd be married and have kids, but I have to admit that the last 2 relationships really had me diggin' the idea of it. Now I'm back to square one. Unsure of marriage. The idea of it just doesn't excite me like it did just less than a year ago. I feel unbalanced and unsure about where my life is heading.
Funny how one relationship (w/ exBF) has changed my outlook on "permanent" relationships so drastically. When I first met him - years ago- I was not interested in marriage at all. Then I got to the point that I was in love and wanted to marry him and we talked about it a lot. Now I'm not feeling thw whole marriage thing and although we're not currently together, he still talks about marrying me. Strange, huh?

Have You Ever? (A Meme- of sorts)

Below is a whole list of things to do. The ones highlighted in pink are the ones that I have done. Feel free to ask questions about any of them and do it yourself if you choose.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen an eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces or all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake Dead River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone - Does Detroit count? :-D I spent 17 years there!
92. Buried one of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in aisles at Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

I thought this was a cute idea and I found it here.

http://femmenoire.blogspot.com/2006/08/tagged.html

Ol' Boy has a girl!! What??

I've been pretty busy, lately. Work has been HECTIC!! So, I haven't had much time to blog throughout the day, and using the computer at home in the evening after sitting at a computer ALL day- does NOT appeal to me.
I talked to KV, Mik's sister earlier this week. She was asking me if I had gotten the pix from the wedding developed and we were laughing about some of the funny stuff that had happened over that weekend. She said that every time she showed people the pix of me & ole' Boy - they were askin' how long we have been together and commenting that we look really nice together.
I wasn't shocked, because I've gotten a similar response from the few people that have seen the pix of he and I together. I've separated them from the rest of the group to avoid having to answer questions like "who is that that you're all hugged up with?" and "Why is he kissing you on your forehead?". Until things are finalized (one way or another) with exBF- I'm not flashin' those pix all over the place.
Anyway, KV was askin' had I talked to ole' Boy since that weekend and I told her that I had talked to him a few times - which is only half true. I HAVE talked to him a few times... a week. But she doesn't need to know all of that.
Then she said "I wonder why he can't just get let go". I'm like let go of what? He's my friend, I think he's sweet. She says he needs to get rid of his "live-in" so that he and I can get together.....
Live-In???? Huh?? I didn't say anything, but that comment caught me off guard. When ole' Boy and I met, YEARS ago, he ws dating'/living' with this chick. I had asked him about her and he kept saying that she is nothing to worry about. After a while, I stopped askin' cuz I NEVER could a straight answer & I still had a man, so it wasn't the end of the world.
Now I made 2 assumptions.
1. I assume that this is the same chick from back in the day, cuz who just keeps on moving in w/ everybody that they date??
2. I assumed that she was no longer in the picture.... Not b/c he said anything to lead to believe that this was the case, but b/c I didn't ask and no one ever mentioned her (including him!!!)

Okay, so although I didn't really have a right to be mad- I was!! It took EXTRA effort for me NOT to call him, cuz I knew that if I called - I was gonna start arguing with him. lol - right or wrong, I know me. I was also hoping, for his sake, that he did NOT call me that night. I don't know if I would have been able to hold my tongue.
Luckily for him, he didn't call, but he did text me after I had already fallen asleep. I responded the following morning.
The following night he texted me a few times and then he called. I had already discussed the new development (the live-in) with my girl, Tre, so I felt better and not so much like cussin' him out. :-D
I had told him about so many people sayin' how nice we looked together and that I was going to send him the pictures, but he probably wouldn't receive them - referencing some other pictures that I had sent to him, years ago "that he never got". -now I KNOW why.
He didn't even respond to my comments - probably for the best...
However he did ask if I wanted to go to some family event that his Mom is having in a couple weeks - the same weekend that I'll be visiting Raleigh. Huh?? I told him I would have to think about it.
After thinking it over the following day, I decided that that would just be too crazy. I know a lot of his family and I don't feel like answering a million questions about what's going on with us. It wouldn't be enough to say that I just so happened to be in town for the weekend and he invited me - which is actually the truth.