Hot wings and first dates.

Last night some friends of mine wanted to go check out the new Buffalo Wild Wings that just opened up here in Des Moines, so we got a group of us together and headed out for a nice little Tuesday of wings and beer! Do you like wings? I loooooove buffalo wings, the hotter the better.

If you like chain restaurants, BWW is the place to get 'em. They have tons of different wing sauces to suit your tastebuds!

The hottest is called Blazin' and the second hottest, which is what I get, is called Wild. I only had a few wings because I had already eaten dinner and just those few had my mouth on fire!

Last night on Twitter I mentioned that a friend of mine was trying to set me up with her friend, Golf. Yes, I have already nicknamed him. I nickname all prospective dates, mainly so I can discuss with my girlfriends while being discreet. :)

Several of you commented back on my recent dating experiences and Gina at Hiyaluv even suggested changing my blog to an adventures in dating blog! Ha! I thought that was cute.

Well, Golf is a guy we know from the nursing home, he does the same job I do only full time. He asked for my number last week and has been texting me a little bit so I was looking forward to hanging out with him outside of work!

We had a great time and didn't want to go home! Golf and my friend drove together so she, not so nochalantly, suggested I ride with them to drop her off so that he and I could get to know each other better. Little did I know that this would double his driving time! On the way back to my car he kept promising that he didn't mind because he knew I felt bad. Then we ended up sitting outside of our cars talking until 2:30am! Don't you love it when that stuff happens? I don't know if you would consider last night a date, but if it was, it was definitely a fun one! Finally, someone that gives me some butterflies! (and finaaaaaaly Cy is no longer the last guy I haved kissed. Thank you, God).

This girlfriend of mine also works for me one night a week and tonight is that night. Ususally we end up at Fridays or Old Chicago after work, so this week we decided to invite Golf and he said yes! So, I get to see him again tonight. I'm really excited! He's also agreed to teach me how to golf (which is where his nickname came from) on Sunday. I have never golfed before, besides one time at the driving range or miniature golfing. I have always wanted to learn but I'm not naturally good at sports so this should be interesting!

The only hiccup with this guy is he is younger than me. Not just a little younger either, he's FOUR YEARS younger than me. My gut feeling is telling me to get over it, but I can't help it. It's still bothering me. I am 28, he is 24. I was actually shocked when I found out he was under 25. My friend thinks I need to get over it... I agree with her. Or I think I'm just going to start lying about my age. Most people are shocked when they find out I am 28, so I know I can pass for 24 or 25....

Would you ever date someone younger? At what age does the year we are born begin to no longer matter?

Ten on Tuesday

Today I have decided to participate in Ten on Tuesday!

Kara and Lisa do this each week and each week I think, "Maybe I should start doing the 'Ten on Tuesday' to add some consistency to my blog and hold myself accountable... Hmmm...?" Ha!

1. How do you take your coffee on an average day? How do you like your coffee if you’re spluging?

On an average day I take a little non-dairy creamer and maaaaybe some sugar. Just depends on how much of a hurry I'm in. Grabbing my coffee is usually the last thing I do before heading out the door. If I'm splurging I get a tall non-fat sugar free caramel latte. Mmm, yum!

2. What is your genre of books to read?

I read many different genres... my favorite being chic lit. I also like some YA books, some mystery books, American History books (especially books about US Presidents and First Ladies) and biographries.

3. Where do you want to retire, if you could go anywhere?

To the beach! I would love to retire to Myrtle Beach or Charleston, South Carolina. I luuuurve the beach.

4. The 17-year-old you is told to write a 10-minute speech. What topic would you have picked?

Hmm... When I was 17 I thought I was going to be a famous journalist someday so I probably would have chosen some sort of speech on creative writing or writing as a form of therapy.

5. What word describes you best?

Sweet. I don't know if it's true, but that's what everyone says I am. ;)

6. What is the next “event” that you are looking forward to? (ex.: vacation, moving, date, job change, etc)

Our annual "Friends Weekend" at the lake. Next weekend! I am super pumped for it. Hopefully we have a boat though... We just recently got hit with a horrible storm and my friends pontoon boat AND speedboat got trashed. The pontoon got flipped and was sitting UPSIDE DOWN in the lake. YIKES!

7. Do you like to discuss controversial topics or do you prefer to avoid those types of conversations?

I'm a very empathetic person and the type that can usually always see another person's point of view, so I usually don't argue my point too much but would rather learn from the other person. I throw in my tid bits but wouldn't usually start "arguing" my point of view.

8. Would you rather add 4 free hours to each day, or add 1 extra day to the week?

Hmm... as long we're all still working only 40 hours a week, throw in that extra day!

9. If you created a sports team; what would your colors and mascot be?

Red and gold... can anyone guess why?! ;)

10. If you had to be a teacher, what subject would you teach?

Well, well, well... since I DO want to be a teacher this is a no-brainer! ;) I want to teach special education but that isn't set in stone yet. Other than that I would LOVE to teach reading. Teaching a child to read and love books as much as I do would be a dream come true for me!

Blast from the Past...

Oh my, my, my... It's 12 am on a Friday night and I am blogging!f I need to get this out of my head and on paper though! I had a blast from the past today regarding a former flame and now I CANNOT STOP thinking about him. I'm all wound up!

Here's what happened...

So, when I lived in South Carolina I dated this adorable southern boy and fell HARD. He was charming, sweet, outgoing, chivalrous and oh-so-manly. He is two years older than me and is one of the head honchos of a construction company. I knoooooow... he works with his hands and it's sexxxxxy! Anyway, wiping the drool from my chin...

We dated for the summer and had a fantastic time. Our relationship always seemed doomed though because he said he would never move away from SC and I said I would probably never settle down in SC... so we continued to have our fun. Til his ex-girlfriend strolled back into town and he got "confused" he didn't know what he wanted and wasn't sure if he wasn't still in love with her. I took about a day to process this and then promptly said, buh-bye.

This was three years ago. Since then we have had corresponded through Facebook every so often, but just recently he has commented on my stuff more than usual. So much so that even Lesli noticed and asked who this fella was!

Well, today I noticed it was his birthday which reminded me that it was MY half birthday! I knew he would remember this because we used to laugh about it and I usually remember every year and wish him a happy birthday. So, today I wrote on his Facebook and said thanks for being born on my half birthday, yada yada yada and was on my merry way! Then he wrote on my wall that since it was his birthday today was I going to party with him? I quickly said sure, but he's gotta come up to Iowa since he has never been. Then he emails me... here is how our conversation goes...

Him: How about next weekend?

Me: Sounds good. What day are you thinking about getting here?

Him: You think I'm kidding, huh?? BTW, I wore your Dave Matthews shirt yesterday! :)

He borrowed this shirt of mine when we were together and I never got it back.

After this I switched out of Facebook and into text message...

Me: No, I don't think you're kidding. I want that shirt back, or you can give me the Clemson shirt I liked.

Him: Done. :)

Me: Are you for sure coming up?

Him: Are you gonna let me stay with you?? As I do not know ANYONE from Iowa!!

Me: Zeke might get upset if you take his side of the bed, but I'm sure he'd get over it!

Him: What if I want YOUR side of the bed?

Him (again): I'm sorry!! Jk, you might be seeing someone and didn't think that was funny!

Me: Haha, no it made me laugh. Are you seriously, seriously coming up because I have to work out my work schedule if so.

Then I was working on stuff at the store and accidentally put a bunch of stuff over my phone and it called him by accident! I quickly ended the call but he called right back! Ooooops!

I asked him if he was really serious about coming up here and he said yeah but he couldn't come up next weekend because he was going to be in South America on vacation. He was driving and it was really hard to hear each other over that and understand each other's accents. He has a super thick southern accent and according to him I sound like I talk another language.. Ha! He said to just call him when I get off work today.

I didn't call him after work, but I did send him a text asking how his birthday night was going... but still haven't heard back. Honestly, I wasn't really expecting to. I mean, it's his birthday! I'm sure his phone is blowing up.

Hmmm... who knows, right? Anyway, that was my blast from the past tonight and it's got me all wound up and giddy over a guy that is 1100 miles away from me. AahhhhhhH!

Anyway. Goodnight, friends! Hope your weekend started off right!

Cavities, sillybandz and dating. (Not all at the same time though...)

I've got today off, hallelujah! My only day off this week. Now I'm trying to decide if I should be productive or have fun. Or both. Decisions, decisions...

Tonight I have a date with a guy I met a couple weeks ago, we'll see how it goes. We've been texting quite a bit since meeting and he seems nice enough but I'm not sure if I'm attracted to him. I also have a second date this Saturday with a guy that my friend is trying to set me up with. First date went very well, hopefully he continues to have promise! In the meantime, I am enjoying this. This is the first time I have really dated around a lot. Usually I take my time and tend to put all my "eggs in one basket" so to speak. Not anymore!

I had to go to the dentist this morning and I have two more cavities! I am so bummed... I do everything I can to take care of my teeth and I still get cavities. I wanted to punch the dentist. I was so mad.

Guess I will have to stop eating these...

They're so good though! I knew when I bought that bag it was going to be a mistake...

Have any of you heard of Sillybandz? I'm sure you have... those rubberband bracelets that all the kids are wearing. They are taking over my store. We have so many of them and now our corporate offices want us to wear them while working too. Oooohhh, brother.

Here's mine.

And kids wear them like this. Only lots more than two!

I have to say... they're pretty silly. :)

Now, off to decide what to do today. There are a bajillion things I could be doing that are productive, like renewing my drivers license or cleaning out my car but the sun is shining, my swimsuit is on, and the pool is calling my name...

How's your tan this summer? Mine's half fake, half real... I'm a big fan of the gradual tanning lotions... :)

What I am loving right now...

I am loving...

This dress that I found at Charming Charlie last week.

My new black Uggs. Actually, this is my first pair of Uggs ever. I have never been in love with a pair enough to shell out the money... till I saw these puppies. Everyone says they last forever so I'm going to see if that is true!

These books... Wow, they are fabulous! I will write a review soon and post it.

This cute wall art I found at a store in Kansas City.

This little guy! He's my third cousin and just completely adorable! He's trying to say he's 2 here!

I am also loving my lucky streak! I won some great books and a Starbucks giftcard from Gina! Thanks girlie! (I swear I took a picture of it and now I cannot find it anywhere!)

Then I won Cage of Stars from Emily! Thank you!

Annnnnd, I also won an arc of this book which is by one of my favorite chick lit authors, Jane Porter. I will be posting a review of this as well.

This little girl never fails to make me smile. She's making a home in that shoebox (or she just desperately wants attention as usual).

These guys are good at getting at smiles out of me too. :)

The day time slowed down...

I am one of those people that can never find enough time in the day. I've always said I would be so much happier if each day had an extra 6 hours. Round it up to 30 hours a day and imagine how much sleep I would get productive I would be!

Well, today slowed down quite a bit for me. I was literally forced to slow down and stop to smell the roses. Literally.

Today was my first day actually working with the residents at the nursing home and I loved it. Absolutely loved it. I was there from 7:30 to 3:30 so I got to spend quite a bit of time with each of the residents. There were about 20 of them in my hall and all of them are at moderate levels of dementia. Some have no idea who they are or what they did in their lifetime and then there are others which can hold quite intelligent conversations with you. At first I was worried about figuring out which ones were further along in their dementia then others, but I found out right away that you just know. It's pretty obvious which ones have reverted back to toddler years and which ones haven't. One of the residents family members was there visiting during lunchtime and she told me to basically pretend that I have twenty 2 year olds running around. Not sure if I agreed with the way she put that, but it's basically how I have to think. The woman I was training with said to try my hardest to treat each resident the way I would treat my own grandparent so that is what I am doing.

So, back to slowing down. The day did not go by fast by any means. 90 year old people do not move fast. They move very s....l....o....w.... so I was forced to stop and enjoy the time.

We went on walks. We tossed a beach ball around. We smelled the flowers outside. We listened to the piano. We played trivia for seniors. We had snacktime (twice). We had breakfast. We had lunch. We had conversation (well, some did). We folded laundry. We cleaned the tables.

I already have a few "favorite" residents and I just know I am going to look forward to seeing them every week. There's Ed, who apparently adores me (and I'm told not to fall for that!) and followed me around all day. Literally every time I turned around Ed was right behind me grinning. Then there was Esther, who is by far my favorite. She reminds me of my grandma, she is sassy and oh so adorable. She's super tiny and has beautiful grayish blue eyes and a great grin. Her dementia is moderate and she thinks another resident in our hall, Dorothy, is her mother. She's constantly "taking care" of Dorothy and sometimes even calls her Rosetta, which was Esther's mothers name.

I am positive this position is going to help prepare me even more for working with kids while also being a job I feel good about doing. I am definitely making their lives a little better and a little bit more enjoyable, which is so important to me. I could definitely do this job full-time while in grad school, which is what I am hoping is what ends up happening. My fingers are crossed it works out! ;)

You know you're from Iowa when...

1. You are from a town that has nearly as many churches and bars as houses. (I'm not, but know several people that are! )

2. You bought a case of beer in one of those little towns when you were 16. (Ummm, yes. Yes, I have.)

3. You live in a beautiful old house with transparent plastic sheeting over all the windows.

4. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway.

5. “Vacation” to you means driving through the Amanas or going to Adventureland or Okoboji. (awww, my beloved Okoboji.)

6. You’ve seen all the biggest bands ten years after they were popular. (so, so true... Although, I have to admit it's getting better.)

7. Snow tires are standard on your car. (Duh)

8. You “go into town.” (I didn't because I lived in a city, but my best friend lived in a small town. A small town that was the size of my high school. Haha!)

9. You have no concept of public transportation. (not unless you count CyRide)

10. The only reason you go to Missouri is for fireworks. (Not true for me, but very possible for many folks around here!)

11. You wear shorts when it’s 50° in March but bundle up and complain in August when it goes below 60°.

12. You have gone trick-or-treating in two feet of snow. (Absolutely do...)

13. You “warsh” your clothes. (Nope... don't warsh, but I do know some people that do.)

14. State wrestling was a big deal at your high school. (Oh yeah. We were excused from school for it!)

15. You measure distance in minutes.

16. The nearest Gap and Anne Taylor are 90 minutes away.

17. “Down South” to you means Missouri.

18. You know several people who have hit a deer. (Including myself. Sad face. )

19. You were allowed to get a school permit to drive at age 14 if you lived more than a mile away from school. (Yup.)

20. You have no problem spelling or pronouncing Des Moines. (Do you? It's Duh Moyn. Please, please, please for the love of God do not say Dez Moynz...)

21. You’ve ever played Iowa bingo with county road names while traveling from town to town (C-65, D-15, P-36, N-19, etc.)

22. You know the answer to the question, “Is this Heaven?”

23. Your school classes were cancelled because of cold.

24. Your school classes were cancelled because of heat.

25. You know what “Hawks” and “Clones” are. (I'm a Clone! And proud. Smiles.)

26. You’ve ridden the school bus for an hour each way.

27. You’ve ever had to switch from heat to air conditioning in the same day.

28. You know what’s knee-high by the Fourth of July. (This year we were MORE than knee high!)

29. Stores don’t have bags, they have sacks.

30. You see people wearing bib overalls at funerals.

31. You see a car running in the parking lot at the store with no one in it no matter what time of the year it is. (We wouldn't do this in Des Moines. Unless you're super scatter brained like me...)

32. You end your sentences with unnecessary prepositions. Example: “Where’s my coat at?” or “If you go to the mall, I want to go with.” (Oh, definitely do this all the time!)

33. All the festivals across the state are named for a fruit or vegetable.

34. Detassling was your first job. (Thank God, no it wasn't!)

35. You’ve ever been on a geode hunt.

36. Your idea of a really great tenderloin is when the meat is twice as big as the bun and accompanied only by ketchup and a dill pickle slice. (Yum!)

37. You learn your pickup will run without a muffler.

38. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

39. You think of the four major food groups as beef, pork, beer, and Jell-O salad with marshmallows.

40. You drink “pop.” (Yep, I call it pop. I don't care.)

41. When asked how your trip was to any foreign, exotic place, you say, “It was different.”

42. Going to Wal-Mart is your idea of fun.

43. Being a bit younger, you remember Terry Branstad as governor the whole time you were growing up. (Absolutely!)

44. You consider being called a Pork Queen an honor.

45. You carry jumper cables in your car.

46. You know what the numbers I-80, 280, and 380 mean.

47. You know what cow tipping is.

This was a forward I received a very long time ago and I thought I would post it! I got the idea from one of my favorite bloggers ever! Jamie at This Kind of Love -- she's from Georgia and is possibly one of the sweetest people I have ever "met". Enjoy! I would love to hear your comments or your own quirks about your home state!

PS: Thank you all for your wonderful comments and sweet advice to yesterdays post. It really lifted my spirits and I am so grateful to each and every one of you every day. xxx

Pathetic.

So yesterday, around 5pm I'm lounging on the patio trying to soak up the little bit of sun that was left for the day and this email comes through from Cy's good friend...

Yo Yo, how are you doing? long time no talk. Are you having a good summer? Mine has been pretty good so far. Hey got a question for you. I have been murin to watch some west wing and i went over to Cy's and he thought maybe he left it at your house. Do you happen to have the seasons? Let me know. i need a west wing fix ha ha. Anyway have a good one.

So, as many of you know The West Wing was one of Cy's favorite shows and I had never seen it, so we were watching all of the seasons together. I had just finished season 3 and all of them were at my place.

Since he broke up with me through text message and email and continued to ignore me after I said we needed to sit down and talk plus exchange personal belongings I did not have a chance to return his things, which included the dvds. What was I supposed to do? Personally bring them over to his house? Oh, hell no. I wasn't making things easier on him.

Cy has already proven very well what a coward he is, but this just proves he also has no balls. Seriously? You have your friend email me asking for your dvds back? Seriously? It's possible that this really is his friend talking, but I truly doubt it. I was livid last night and had no idea how to respond. So, I didn't.

I'm not sure if I will respond either. Besides, I don't even have the dvds anymore. If he really wants them, I'm sure he can go find them... at the city dump.

What would you all do? Do I reply to his friend or just leave it alone? I want to remain classy with my head held high, yet still be assertive. Help!