Wednesday, December 23, 2009

See ya next year!

As today is my last day of work until January 4, 2010 (woohoo!), I thought I'd take this opportunity to wish all of you a

Merry Christmas

and a

Happy New Year!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Bestest Weekend Ever???

If not the bestest ever, this weekend definitely makes the list of really great ones. Here's a quick run-down of why I had such a great weekend.

* Thursday night: Sam told me I'm beautiful. He had seen a picture of me so thought he was prepared for what I looked like, but when I opened the door Wednesday night (our 1st date), he said he couldn't believe how beautiful I am. *blush* Woohoo!

*Friday: it's Friday (which is almost always a good thing) and only one week before I fly to Paris!

* Friday morning: received an email from a guy telling me I'm beautiful. Can't ever get enough of that!

* Friday morning: received a phone call setting up an interview for a new job! I know it doesn't mean I'll get it, but I'm just glad to have a chance to meet the interviewers face-to-face.

* Friday afternoon: a female patient that tends to irritate me asked if I had changed my hair color and style. I said yes, she asked if I'd lost a lot of weight. I said that I had and she said she hadn't been sure if I was the same person, I look so different. She said that she always thought I was a pretty gal but now..."You're absolutely beautiful!" Again, who could tire of that??

* Friday evening: cousin Alyson comes for a visit! We eat at Ninja then play games at my Mom's.

* Friday night: Mom offers to teach the Primary lesson...even though it's my turn!

* Saturday morning: sleep in, ride exercise bike, check email and have one from the guy who called me beautiful the day before and two from new guys - one of them saying my picture is "very cute".

* Saturday afternoon: head south with Alyson, eat at Cracker Barrel, shop, and talk/laugh a lot.

* Saturday evening: 2nd date with Sam. He treats me so well - very respectful, considerate, and attentive. The way my dad taught me to expect to be treated. Oh, and he kissed me. Kissed me very well. *big smile*

* Sunday morning: slept in a bit but still made it to church on time!

* Sunday afternoon: the neighbor guys finally took me out shooting after church! And you know what? I wasn't too bad. Hit my target (Pepsi bottles) the first 4 shots I took with the 22 rifle. And, I took second place (there were 5 of us) in the shooting competition! (Jon won.) I also shot a 45 pistol - talk about power! It was an adrenalin rush and a lot of fun! Here are some pictures.

Me shooting the 22 rifle.


Me shooting the 45 pistol. That's Jon behind me.

* Sunday afternoon: annual candy making with my sister-in-law. This year we kept it to a couple batches each of divinity and peanut brittle, and one batch each of peanut butter cups and fudge. Easiest and quickest session we've ever had!

It was busy - filled to overflowing, in fact - but it was a great weekend! Now, if I can make it through the next few days (which are continuing the filled-to-overflowing-with-good-things theme), it'll be Christmas, then I'll be in Paris before you can say "Enfin!" Woohoo!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

A Confession and Sam

A week ago I signed up for Match.com.

Whew. That was like ripping off a band-aid...painful at first but easier as time goes on.

I won't go into the reasons I decided to abandon my previously firm stance of not joining an online dating site. Or why I chose match.com versus any other site, including ones that purportedly cater to my religion. Suffice it to say, it was a spontaneous decision that has led to some surprising results.

For example, Sam! He wasn't the first guy to notice me, but he was the first to email me instead of "winking" at me. I like a guy with initiative, so I was impressed that he had skipped the "I think you're interesting but I'm too shy/nervous/timid to do anything but wink" phase and jumped right into "I'm interested enough take a risk, put myself out there, and email you". I emailed back and for a week we had a nice email conversation.

I felt a connection pretty early on. He seemed intelligent, witty, and kind - traits I look for in a guy. He asked me good questions about myself, which is an easy way to endear yourself to me, or almost anyone for that matter. On Sunday, he suggested exchanging phone numbers and gave me his. I hesitated to give him mine. Not that I wanted to keep things strictly email, in fact, I was happy he wanted to move away from the computer. I worried because I tend to sound like an idiot on the phone. My normal quirky, talkative, charming flirtations sound stupid when not face to face. However, I got over it and gave him my phone number. He called me Monday right after 5pm, but I couldn't talk right then, so I called him later that night. We chatted for a couple hours and set a date for the next night; i.e. last night.

He lives 45 minutes south of me and offered to drive to my town for our first date. I appreciated that. In fact, I appreciated all the little things that he did throughout the date that were chivalrous and gentlemanly. We ate dinner at one of my favorite restaurants and had a lively conversation about all sorts of things. He's really easy to talk to and has interesting stories to tell - he's had some pretty cool life experiences. Afterward, we drove to the bowling alley but were turned off by the 45-minute wait to get a lane. Instead, we went back to my house and played Wii bowling and tennis. I killed him at both. Bwa ha ha! Eventually we partnered up at tennis and killed the computer's team multiple times. Bwa ha ha! We started getting pretty silly and almost lost a match, so we decided to stop and just talk before he headed home.

When it came time for him to go, there was that awkward "what's going to happen at the door" moment. He leaned in, I went for the hug, he went for the kiss. D'oh! He stuck around, though, so I knew he was going to give it another try - I'm really impressed that he didn't give up. At one point while we were chatting, he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, keeping me there for a bit while we talked. I had to look up (because of how I was leaning against him...he's actually barely shorter than me) at him while we talked and noticed him glance at my lips several times. I mentally prepared myself for a kiss, but he moved too slow. When he moved in for the kill...I mean, kiss...he did it so casually that I wasn't sure he was really going to kiss me, and I went for the hug again. Double d'oh!

Hello. My name is Julie. I'm 32 and a total dunce when it comes to kissing. I've been promised opportunities to practice...*blush*. Ahem.

He left this time, though at one point, as he stood in the doorway, he made a move that looked like he might make a 3rd attempt, but then he stopped himself. I felt stupid, so I emailed him as soon as he had left, knowing he wouldn't get it right away. I apologized for being so nervous at the end of the date and assured him that I wasn't opposed to him kissing me, if he wanted to. He emailed back awhile later and said that he did want to and that I shouldn't worry about what had happened - he hadn't wanted to rush me and would totally wait until I was ready if it made me feel better. I replied that it wouldn't. I told him that it has been awhile since I've been kissed really well, so I'm just a tad nervous that I won't know what I'm doing. Waiting would only make me more nervous. This is when he wrote back and promised to give me lots of practice if I wanted. *cheesy grin*

Hello. My name is Julie and I'm a bit of a hussy.

Before the whole scene at the door, Sam asked me if I wanted to go on another date with him. I said I did and we set a 2nd date for this coming Tuesday. Even though he offered to come up again, I said I'd go down for this date. I'd like to see his place, and he offered to cook for me. :)

So, even though I'm still cautious about this whole online dating thing, I'm glad I did it. I can't imagine how I would have ever met Sam otherwise. I'm not saying he is The Guy...it's way too early and there's a lot more to find out about him, but he has potential, especially for friendship if nothing else works out. And, there are a couple other guys, one especially, that have potential. Both live within a couple hours of me and one has already given me his email address and phone number and hinted at getting together. This is a lot more fun that I thought it would be.

*cheesy grin*

Friday, December 11, 2009

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

How are you doing? Staying busy up at the North Pole? How's the weather? Is Mrs. Claus still in good health? Please say hi to her, the elves, and all the reindeer - and you might mention to Blitzer that I didn't appreciate his...ahem...on my porch last year.

Well, it's that time of year again, believe it or not. I must say that I've been an exceptionally good girl this year. While helping my mom with her new kitchen, I only swore a few times when I touched the sides of the outlets and electrocuted myself. I didn't do a single April Fool's Day prank this year - that hasn't happened since 1993! I've made new friends, managed to keep old ones, and have even gotten in touch with some long-lost ones. I have stayed out of jail and in church, the latter being harder to do than the former, as usual. In short, I'm pretty proud of myself and hope that I turn up on the appropriate List this year while you're checking it twice.

Speaking of lists, in order to facilitate your Christmas present giving, I thought I'd write you up a quick list of things you could leave under my tree...just because I know you're busy and could use a time saver.

MY CHRISTMAS WISH LIST:

1. A New Job. One with a decent salary and health benefits would be a plus.

2. A Boyfriend. One that is attractive, funny, thoughtful, and who likes sports. Oh, and who likes me.

3. Mario Kart for my Wii and two steering wheels. It's ridiculous how much I enjoy this game! And, I'd really like to get better so I could beat my neighbor Jon a time or two.

4. A Maid. No, I'm not too lazy or too busy to keep my home spic-n-span...I'm just trying to do my small part to help the local economy. Jobs are scarce around here! *sheepish grin*

5. A trip to France. Oh wait...I'm already going!!!* Feel free to leave a trip to somewhere else under my tree then. My top 3 picks would be Denmark, Spain, and Alaska. And, it would be super nice if you left a similar trip under the trees of my cousins Aly and Cassie. Thanks a million!

In all honesty, I don't need a lot this year; I already have some amazing gifts: a wonderful family, amazing friends, a comfortable home, a good job, the Gospel, and a healthy body, among others. Anything else would just be the cherry on top.

As always, my best wishes to you and yours and full-hearted appreciation for your generosity and kindness.

Merry Christmas!

Julie :)



* I fly out of Vegas two weeks from today! Woohoo!!