So, this is what it's like to really LIVE???

Yup, I'm tired, but I'm still smiling! I was gritching to myself on the way in to work this morning and realized that I don't have ANYTHING to gritch about! I have a social life that makes me tired, I have an amazing man-friend (boyfriend just doesn't sound right at our age) who keeps me hopping, I have an outstanding job that I love, and the most wonderful circle of friends who care for me as I care for them, and just yesterday the doctor confirmed that I'm in good health.

The doctor visit was the annual girly visit and it went very well. I'm the picture of feminine health, I've lost 25 pounds since this time last year, my blood pressure is back to normal (one less pill to take!), all my bloodwork looks good and he couldn't tell I'd ever been a smoker. He didn't yell at me, in fact congratulated me on my progress and I left his office with orders for a mammogram (ok, that part doesn't make me happy) and feeling pretty proud of myself.

Gratuitous picture of Mr. Man

This is Engineer's Week at work. I'm the staff wrangler for most of the events during this week and that's been fun, but tiring. Each year we hold a charity student voting contest to determine which of the engineering professors will get hit in the face with a cream pie at week's end. This year the charity chosen is Engineers Without Borders, an excellent organization that gives back locally and worldwide. I run that contest, I also run the Mr. and Ms. Engineer contests and wrangle the officers to do their jobs during the week.

Tonight Mr. Man and I are going to see Greater Tuna. I love that play, it is so true to life in a small town. Tomorrow we have the Engineering Awards Banquet (rubber chicken and bad speeches) and then Sunday we relax and go to church.

Nope, I don't have a thing to complain about. I can always go back to that safe life, the one where I didn't do anything, I didn't go anywhere and I watched a whole lot of tv....but I like it here, just fine!  Enjoy your busy life!!

Thank goodness!

We got to see Cal Ripken, no one fainted and no one performed acts deemed inappropriate.  We got there terribly early, but we got front row seats! If so inclined, I could've looked right up Cal's pants leg.  Good thing his pants were the proper length and I couldn't see up them.

His talk on the keys to persistence was good. He has really good timing and a funny sense of humor that made the talk seem much shorter than it was. Mr. Ripken has beautiful eyes and I lost my focus on what he was saying a couple of times.Mr. Man was so excited about seeing him, but had some back pain and took a muscle relaxer before the talk. I looked over at him after Cal started talking and Mr. Man was sound asleep. He did wake up in time for the QandA session at the end. Friend Lori was able to attend the reception and had a picture taken with Cal. I'm glad she didn't confess to him that his picture is in her closet so he can "see her dress." I enjoyed watching everyone else until the end of the night when the front row was mobbed by autograph seekers who brought so many different things for Mr. Ripken to sign. I saw jerseys, hot wheels cars, baseball cards, newspapers, ticket stubs, just about everything you can imagine signing. Took us about 30 minutes to work our way out of the crowd to leave.

It was a good night and I had a blast watching the faces of my friends as they were so happy to get to see their idol.

Man Crush Night

Cal Ripken, ManCrush

Tonight I get to sit and watch two of my favorite people get all goofy over the guy in this photo. I understand Cal is considered a GOD by those who follow the Baltimore Orioles and those who understand his impact on baseball's recovery from the player's strike held in the early 80's. But, the biggest impact he's had is on these two friends of mine.

I am afraid Mr. Man will jump up on stage and performs inappropriate acts to Mr. Ripken and I'm just afraid my friend Lori will faint dead away upon meeting him. Watch the news tonight for stories regarding this appearance. If anyone is arrested or taken to the hospital, it will be one of the two people I will be with tonight.

Watch and wait!!!

Valentine's Day!

This Valentine's Day was the most.awesome.evah! Although we discussed going out for a fancy dinner, we ended up deciding to stay at my place and Mr. Man would bring romantic dinner to me. And he did and it was good!

The first thing I saw upon opening the door was a HUGE arrangement of roses and stargazer lilies. I counted and there were a dozen of each....beautiful! Then he returned to the car and came back with his gift and dinner. The gift was a wonderful painting that reflects both my decorating style and his appreciation of me!

Mr. Man's roomie is a chef and they conspired to make a wonderful, romantic dinner.  There was green salad, NY strip steaks, swordfish steaks, asparagus, glazed carrots, salad, garlic potato pancakes and garlic toast.  We had an amazing cabernet sauvignon....I think this is turning me into a wine snob! For dessert, he picked up an assortment of chocolate pastries from Le Madelaine Bakery.

I made him a sterling silver fob for his keychain. The fob has an engraved heart on it and 2011 and it's to remind him that he has my heart with him always.


I can now state, that this Valentine's Day was the.best.evar!!! Hope yours was the same.

Phew! Made it!!

We have survived the triple-whammy of Snowpocalypse, the Super Bowl and Snowmageddon part deux. Today the sun is shining, it's warm and beautiful and looks like spring is here. I know it's not official yet and we will probably have another bout of cold weather (yuk!), but I'm relishing the warmth and sunshine while it's here.

Been spending time in the studio and very excited about that. I haven't felt like doing anything in there for months and couldn't understand why. Well, it appears the mental block against that room is gone and now I want to spend lots and lots of time in there. I've been creating a gift or two for Valentine's Day and that seemed to start the creative juices flowing again.

With the warmth, I'm a little less likely to be knitting, but I've almost finished a pair of socks I've been working on for a month or so. They are strawberry pink with small stripes of chocolate brown and vanilla...just like neopolitan ice cream! Makes me want an ice cream sundae every time I look at them. They will be a gift for someone in the family.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day...dum da dum! For those of you who are celebrating alone, enjoy the time alone for introspection. Think about the failed relationships and be grateful you are no longer in them, consider your "deal-breakers" for future relationships and DON'T SETTLE for LESS than what you truly DESERVE. Too many times I've settled into a relationship just because it was comfortable and I didn't have to think. Although my partner may not have had some of the characteristics that I considered deal-breakers, I allowed the relationship to continue anyway. I must say this is a very bad thing....I ceased to grow as a person during those relationships and I was not the best I could possibly be.

For those of you in a relationship, remember to tell that person every day how special they are. Do those little romantic things like leaving notes for each other, the little kiss when you think they're still asleep, making sure there's enough coffee left in the morning for his/her last cup, tell them how much you truly appreciate their love in your life.

I have a few special gifts set aside for Mr. Man, none of them terribly expensive, but all little reminders of how much he means to me. I hope they mean as much to him over time as he is beginning to mean to me.

This week Mr. Man and I have VIP tickets to see Cal Ripken. Mr. Man has a huge man-crush on Cal and Cal played as part of Mr. Man's absolute favorite baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles.  I'm quite happy that I was able to surprise him for this and that we will get to go together. We will also be spending time with Lori, one of my favorite baseball people. She's as goofy over Cal as Mr. Man. It will be fun to sit and observe the both of them completely dork out.

Have a good day, enjoy the sunshine, dance every chance you get!

Bass-akwards Snowmageddon!!!!

I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures lately. Can't seem to get camera in hand when something fun happens. I'm working on being better about being in the moment and I don't do so well at that when I'm worried about taking pictures of what is happening rather than participating.  We all know that writing is my forte' anyway, huh?

Last week was crazy, crazy, crazy with the Snowpocalypse, Snowmageddon, ice and snowstorm of doom, what ever you choose to call it. In addition to the Super Bowl being held where I live, the arctic weather decided that it wanted to travel down south.  Tuesday morning we woke up to frozen wonderland. Ok, not really a wonderland, more like a frozen pain in the butt that snarled my to-do list at home and work. Of course Tuesday was payday, which meant I had no choice about going to the store first thing in the morning. I did have my priorities straight and settled on getting only the most important items....toilet paper and hair dye. Yup, I got my life in order.

By Tuesday evening I could look out across the highway and see that travel really wasn't going to be deadly (at least here in Arling-fun anyway) and Mr. Man invited me to his abode for the evening, so I decided to risk it. Once again, got those priorities in order, huh?  That night it got COLD, I mean cold in a way that is almost impossible to describe. I've only seen single digits on the thermometer a couple of times in my life and last week we had a couple of nights of single digits.  Just so happened that the power company decided that single-digit nights require rolling blackouts in order to support the extra drain on the grid. Can we just say that the Queen woke up at the point in the night when the temp is the lowest to find that the power was off and there was no heat?  The Queen suffered discomfort, mightily, but did survive thanks to the kind Mr. Man and his warm heart.

The cold, ice, slush, ugly gray icy stuff stayed around till Saturday. I didn't have many problems driving back and forth to Grapevine, but I understand that both east and west of me had it really bad. I count myself extremely lucky for being able to get out of the house. By Saturday, the ice was melted and the sun was out. I loved meeting people because we were all so excited to see other people, real people, that everyone was really nice to each other.

I know I always do everything bass-akwards, but I finally made it to the courthouse and filed for divorce today. Even though the former King and I decided to divorce over a year ago, I've just now gathered the money and strength to finish this.  I wanted to allow the former King a chance to try to win me back....I didn't want to divorce a second time, I didn't want to admit a second failure. A few months ago I realized that I didn't want to get back together even if he was able to win me back.  I had invested as much as I could in that relationship and it was time to close that door.  In 61 days it will be officially over and the Queen will reign alone.

Going to start hunting for a house once everything is finalized; I'm going to work on making my own dreams come true.  I'm no longer willing to wait on a man/partner to decide they are ready for my dreams, I'm going to do this and if there comes a man who wants to join me on that journey, then great! But I'm just not going to sit and wait for it to happen. I wish I'd learned this earlier, at least a few heartaches ago, but I'm still glad to have learned this lesson.


Mr. Man, the one who is teaching me to open my heart, and I had a great week spending more time getting to know each other and enjoying what we learned.  We talked and talked (who me, talk?) and laughed and laughed and held each other and just spent time learning from and about each other. Let's just say that we decided that we want to continue to see each other. I also realize that I will never be able to juggle dating/relationships with more than one person, so I've stopped dating other men for now.

Another snowmageddon is supposed to be headed this way tomorrow evening. Hope those of you who read this are continuing to stay warm and know that you are loved!

Promises

As I sit here in the frozen cold that is currently gripping north Texas I'm thinking of the promises on the horizon, the promise of the sweet Valentine's holiday on the cusp of the next week or so, the promise of the green shoots that should begin to appear in the next month or so, the promise of the summer quickly on spring's heels,the promise of the Easter holiday and my preparation in response to each of those promises.

Valentine's Day is looking promising this year! Mr. Sweetness mentioned restaurants this morning and I suddenly went all squishy over the promise of a real date on Valentine's and realized that I just "didn't have a thing to wear."  Yes, this is a HUGE change in my life. Valentine's didn't seem to mean much to the men in my past life, it was like once they got me, they didn't have to do anything to keep me. Well, let me tell you what...my promise to myself is that any man who will be in my life from this moment on will want to work to keep me around. I realize my own value and will not allow myself to be cheapened, cheated, lied to, or forgotten. In order to do this I also have to treat myself with love, grace and forgiveness. Part of that is treating myself like I should be treated by others....so, yup, I bought that really pretty outfit and all the girly things that go with it, down to the pretty underthings. Wow! The promise of a possible future love is a powerful thing!

Spring! I am so excited and ready to see spring after this weird winter. Last week it was in the high 70's and this week we are currently under a sheet of ice, with incredibly cold temperatures. All I can think about is the green that should soon be showing in the trees, the grass and the early blooms of spring. I just want to see some renewal after the cold, dark, end of the year, I'm ready to see the world bloom in all kinds of ways! May have to buy some fresh flowers to keep the promise of spring fresh in my mind. Then comes the rich, fullness of summer and the fresh fruits and vegetables, summer trips to the lake, swimming, sun, being so tired from having so much fun in the sun. Bring on the green!!!

I have returned to the life of the church. I know in my heart that I need to praise the Lord who has given me so many blessings, even the blessings that I wasn't sure were positive have turned out to be so in the fullness of  time and  God's Love. A real human man was born into this world in the darkness of winter and 33 years later gave his life that we may understand God's Love and Grace and hope for us, His children. I only hope for you my friends and acquaintances that you will also know the warmth and love that has been given to us.

New Favorites

Thought I'd do a quickie post on my latest favorites and things that make me happy.

MUSIC
Michael Franti and Spearhead
Katy Perry
Gregg Allman Low Country Blues
New exposure to Jimmy Buffett and Grateful Dead, thanks to new people in my life
Adele - 21
Michael Buble' - Hollywood
Texas music - Gary P Nunn, Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett (recently saw Lyle in concert!)

TV - some old favorites never come off the list
Chuck
Doctor Who (I don't think that will EVER change)
American Experience
Nova

READING/BOOKS
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, by Stieg Larson
Horns, by Joe Hill
Empire of the Summer Moon, by S.C. Gwynne

What are you reading/ listening to/watching lately?

Wow, this new world is an amazing place!

It's been another six months...I have to get back into this blogging thingy!

I've now been single for just about a year and started dating again in November. I've met some wonderful men, I've met some crazy men, I've met some men who think middle-aged women are sex-crazed freaks. I dated one gentlemen for several weeks and our work schedules just didn't allow us to develop a real relationship. I've learned about myself and I've been through enough relationships to know what I don't want in a relationship and I'm finally old enough and wise enough to start recognizing what I DO want in a relationship.

I'm learning what I like in life, without basing that on someone else's opinion or building my life around their likes and dislikes. I fully believe in supporting a partner in whatever they want to do, but I shouldn't have to drastically change my own belief structure to fit in their life or for them to fit in mine. Yeah, I know, I'm a slow learner, but at least I'm learning and enjoying the lessons. The man who is currently becoming involved in my life is funny, good looking (always a plus), smart, witty, intelligent, can hold his own in a room of people, and is really teaching me to open my heart again.

The side effect of having a social life is that there is little time to knit, create, stamp, whatever. So I'm just going to use this more as a journal to keep everyone informed of all that life is currently offering me. I am learning to love life again and opening my heart is resulting in some good times with lots of laughter. Hope y'all can say the same about your lives this week.

Hello Sunshine!

Last time I posted I said there were some personal changes going on and now I can tell you that the King and the Queen are divorcing. We had not one year, but two years of absolute personal hell and our relationship just didn't survive it. We are both ok with the decision and are able to communicate civilly, for which I am very grateful. We realized that some things had happened on both sides of the story that ruined the chance that we could trust each other again. We are both moving forward in our own ways.

I have completed the move I talked about last time, I not only survived it, but it went very successfully. I have now unpacked all the boxes, put things away, begun decorating and loving my new personal space. I feel like I just graduated from college and I'm starting fresh. New dishes, pots and pans, etc. Yup, just like starting over

Princess Trina of Typos has discovered a whole new world in this new part of town. June bugs that hang out under the lights fascinate her and seem pretty tasty; she hates the fat frogs that steal bugs from her. We have a raccoon who lives near our trash dumpster and manages to greet us at least one morning a week as he leaves off of his snacking to crawl out of the dumpster and back into the woods. There's a little pond that is just chock-full of singing tree frogs who manage to take care of not only the june bugs, but the mosquitoes too. There are squirrels who live right outside our window and Trina is convinced they are there just for her amusement!

I don't have much furniture yet, but there is enough to host friends...please give me a holler if you're going to be in the metroplex anytime soon. I can promise the friendliest of Texas hospitality, the firmest of aerobeds and the best conversation you've had in months!