The Week So Far

So since my date with The Man, things have been going perfectly.

Sunday, I invited him over so I could make him dinner. I don't eat meat (with the exception of seafood) so I made him a veggie spaghetti with whole wheat pasta and garlic bread. Nothing to fancy. He comes from a meat and potato kind of family so I was interested in what he was going to say about all the veggies. He liked it (and brought some for lunch the next day). We again started to watch a movie but didn't make it to far into it before the kissing began. This is becoming a habit for us apparently. I like it.

Monday, we started our workout regiment. He asked me to whip him into shape and of course I gladly accepted this challenge. We went running. He did pretty good considering he said it had been months since he worked out last. At first I was genuinely concerned for him. I kept asking him if he needed to walk because it sounded like he was wheezing. I think he got annoyed because he said he'll tell me when he needs to stop. I just didn't want him to kill over on our first workout night. Anyway, after our short mile or mile and half run we heading back to my house to make dinner. Dad was there so they met. They hit it off great. Then again, my dad hits it off with everyone. For dinner I made pork chops. Yes, I know I don't eat meat but they do. I marinated the chops in OJ with cracked pepper and garlic cloves. As for their side dishes/my meal I made brown rice and Italian veggies complete with fresh tomatoes and basil from our garden. The boys ate it up! Dinner was casual and very enjoyable. We decided that we are going to double date on Saturday. So Dad, Michelle (Dad's new lady), Kevin and I are going to go to Calistoga's and listen to the salsa band again. It should be fun. (But that's not before Kevin and I go to a salsa dance class on Friday night to see exactly how bad we suck at salsa dancing. This boy keeps his word. Impressive.)

In case you couldn't tell, I've been smiling the whole time I've been typing this up :)

The Man

As you all have read, I have been enjoying the company of Runner. What I didn't write about was that I was also talking to The Man. I met him the same time I met Runner but never actually met him face to face.

The Man and I made plans to meet for dinner on Wednesday, after talking for almost to a month. Unfortunately, my cousin was pregnant and was admitted to the hospital with complications. I called The Man to tell him that I would have to post pone our date due to my cousin and her delivering her baby at only 27 weeks. The doctor told is the baby would be here by 7 p.m. When 7 came and went and there was still no baby, I decided to call The Man and tell him to meet me for dinner. He agreed to meet me. With my cousin and here baby on my mind, I probably wasn't the best date but knew I liked this guy. After dinner I went back to the hospital. I couldn't stop thinking about him. (The baby came the next day, weighing in at 2 lbs 4 oz and is stable.)

The Man and I went out again Friday night. This is where things get interesting. We decided to go to the River Walk and find some food and entertainment. We parked near Los Cabos and walked through their patio. In my mind I was thinking, "Of course he wants to go to Los Cabos. All boys want to take me to Los Cabos." Instead he says, "Let's keep waling and see what else we can find." Woo hoo! He was different!

We walked down to Calistoga where we found a salsa band playing outside and decided to stop there and eat. We had so much fun talking and laughing. We also decided that we were going to take salsa dance classes. We wanted to be out there dancing with all the Latin's but knew we would make asses of ourselves if we tried. We sat there for hours listening to music, laughing, talking and looking at people. I knew this man was different than any other man I had ever met. He held my attention. He was captivating. I loved the way he looked at me. He was easy to talk to. After about 3 hours or so, we decided to take a stroll down the river.

We came to a break in the trees where you could see the river clearly. We were joking about his the river was looking good. It was dark so you couldn't see how muddy and murky it is, hence the only reason why it looked good. Let me preface this next statement by saying I never make the first move. For whatever reason in the middle of laughing at the river and its nastiness, I leaned over and kissed him. His lips were soft and it was perfect. His simple smile of satisfaction said enough. This is when it happened. We continued walking.

We decided we should head out since I needed to be home at a decent hour. When we returned to his house to go to the car, we kissed again. I told myself I had to see this man again. It was after this date that I realized that this is The Man I will marry. He is everything I think I want and everything I didn't know I wanted. I hope I am not going to eat my words later and regret saying this but I have an amazing feeling about this man.

I saw him again last night. We sat at the park for a few minutes before we went back to his house to watch a movie. We didn't get into our movie very much before the kissing started again. Hee hee :)We did stop and talk. He told me how wonderful he thought I was, how he thought I way out of his league, how lucky he was to have me and how he wanted to spoil me because I deserve it. He also told me he could see himself falling for me really fast. It was then that I decided to let it all out. I had nothing to lose. I told him that before coming to meet him I ate dinner with my father. At dinner I told my father I was going to go hang out with my future husband. My dad was shocked. This is not a normal thing for me to say. The Man looked at me and again, simply smiled. He just leaned over and gave a me a huge hug. We decided to not date anyone else.

If I said I was happy, that would be the understatement for the year. My life couldn't be falling into place more wonderfully.

I'll Drive.

So last night I had a date with Runner again. We were supposed to go on a champagne dinner at the Gilcrease Museum and listen to jazz music. We decided to take my car, not sure why we just did. I let him drive my car, which is a 5 speed, and apparently he sucks at it. It was so bad that I called him out. He lucky wasn’t completely offended by me bashing his driving. To make a long story short, we were late so didn’t make it in time. By the time we got there we decided to just turn around and leave. I drove this time.

Both of us were already all dolled up. I was in a cocktail dress and he was in a nice suit. I told him that my dress had purple in it and he comes out with his suit and a purple striped tie on. Dorky I know, but I thought it was cute that he wanted to match. Most guys try to avoid coordinating with their dates. So, instead of champagne and jazz, we went to a little Italian Restaurant called Ciao. It’s a quaint and intimate place with great food.

At dinner we ordered a bottle of wine. It was delicious! I ordered a Diavolo di Mara (?), seafood pasta with a red pepper sauce and kalamata olives. He ordered salmon. Yes, we fed each other bites and yes they were both good. When dinner was over we decided to stroll down Brookside and window shop. We stopped at the window of Pohlenz Cucine Moderne to admire the kitchens of our dreams. It had been closed for hours by this point in time and out of no where the owner shows up and gives us a personal little tour of the place and tells us all about the kitchens, bathrooms, and closets that they sell. I was in heaven and Runner let me stay without trying to rush me at all. I know he wasn’t as interested as I was but him letting me talk to the owner without trying to hurry me was super nice. As we were about to leave, the owner invited us to an event they were having in their store this Thursday with wine and hors d'oeuvre’s. We told him we may stop in because we will already be out. Sounds like it could be fun but we already bought our tickets to go to a Driller’s baseball game. I love baseball games! I am excited to hang out with Runner again, especially at a game, in the middle of summer, with an ice cold beer!

We decided we wanted to head out. We went back to his place and hung out until way too late. At about midnight I realized what time it was and decided to head home. Another successful date.

Lesson learned, I’m a better driver and he admitted it. For simply admitting, he earns points.

Sherwin

As good as the date went with Runner, I couldn't put all my eggs in one basket quite yet. So, I went on a date the following night with a guy, who in his pictures was less attractive but in his defense, we had a lot in common.

I told him we could meet at the Riverwalk in Jenks and I would be sitting on the bench. I knew immediately that I would have to beat him there because I didn’t remember his name. I couldn’t very well go up and say, “Hey, you. Are you the guy who’s waiting to meet me?” Anyway, I did make it there first. Upon his arrival I thought he was an old man. He was not aging well. Wearing khaki shorts, an oxford, and tennis shoes (an outfit he may have stolen out of my father’s closet) he introduced himself. Ugh boring name too. I will call him Sherwin. Turns out he sells paint, watches sports, and cycles. Everything he said about himself were little to minor details in his life that he must of thought sounded cool so he threw them in to exaggerate the non existing excitement in his life.

He decided it would be nice to go to Los Cabos. I’m currently on a ‘Anti- Los Cabos’ kick so I was a little discouraged that we were going there but he didn’t know that so I can’t blame the poor guy. Sherwin was apparently starving because he did not want to wait for a table he had to sit at the bar immediately! We sat a got a beer and guacamole and I proceeded to make conversation with a wall. He had nothing to say that wasn’t about sports. I like sports and all but jeez dude, get a clue! At one point in time he went to the restroom and I got out my phone and debated on calling or back up but decided to not be that girl.

I decided we should take a walk down the river because it would have been really rude to eat and run. We walked all the way down to the new condos and on the way back he put his arm around me while we walked. If any of you know me at all, you know that I am not a PDA person, especially in the beginning of a relationship with a man who looks, acts, and dresses like a 40 year old man. UGH! I pretended to stumble over a pebble to make him let go of his wrap around me. Phew!

When we got back to Los Cabos, I told him that I needed to head out because I had a job interview the next day…which I really did. He was trying to be nice and walk me to my car and all I could think was “Crap! He’s going to try to kiss me.” I did not want that to happen! At this point I was thinking, “Why can’t this be Runner? Tonight could have been so much fun.” So, to avoid an awkward moment, I leaned in and gave him a polite hug and sent him on his way. Crisis averted.

I got in my car and called Runner. I told him I was having dinner with my aunt and cousin. This was before I realized he was a good guy. No more lies. I didn't tell him about the date but....I did tell him about this blog…I have never told any guy. Not sure why I trust him but I do. (I haven't let him read it yet and I haven't told him the name of it to look it up either.) We'll see how this one turns out. I think I'll keep him for a minute.

The Fire Fighting Running Photographer

In an effort keep my not so personal life going I joined Match.com. I joined a few days ago and had my first date last night. He was such a nice guy. After exchanging emails we decided that we would meet at the Rivers Edge on Riverside by the buffalo. You know what I’m talking about, the life size bronze statue of a buffalo lying in the grass between the playground and the building.

As I was walking towards the buffalo I saw a tall, strawberry blonde, fit, well dressed man walking towards me. It was about 95 degrees outside and had rained earlier in the day. He was wearing jeans, a navy polo, and a gallon of sweat. From the instant we met face to face I felt completely comfortable around Runner. Not sure why, he just puts off that vibe I guess. We decided to go to the dock on the west side of the river, near the rowing club. Once there, I set out the blanket and Runner cracked open a couple beers or us. We watched the rowers and talked for about two hours. I learned that he is a father of an absolutely adorable little boy (which I immediately told him I don’t like dating men with kids because it didn’t really work out for me in the past). We decided taking baby steps would be best; to make sure we like each other enough before we make an issue out of it. I learned is one of seven kids, he’s a photographer, and runs…a lot. We are into so many of the same things and he is super easy to talk to.

After a bit, he asked if I had eaten dinner and invited me to go to one of his favorite restaurants with him. I accepted. We ended in a scary neighborhood at a place called El Rio del Verde. Or at least I think that’s what it was called. I had a fish taco (that was incredible) and some guacamole (that was super delicious). After sitting there for a bit more, he picked up the check and we decided to head back to the river.

We again put the blanket out and he opened a couple beers for us. We watched the sun set. Once the sun went down we laid down to look up at the dozen of stars we could see and wished we could see more. While laying there a homeless drunk Indian came up and sat right next to us and asked for a smoke. Neither of us smokes so it wasn’t too hard to get rid of him. Don’t worry, he came back. He saw we had beer and wanted one. Runner looked at me and asked, “Should I just give him one so he’ll go away?” I said yes because I don’t know Runners fighting abilities and if this drunken Indian got mad I didn’t want to have to fight for my life. So, Runner bargained with Drunken Indian and said “I’ll give you a beer if you go away so I can talk to my woman.” The Indian agreed and went in peace. We lay there for a little while longer before I decided I should go home considering it was about 11:30 at night. We packed up camp and headed out.

When I got to my car he asked me if I would like to go to a champagne dinner with him on Tuesday at the Gilcrease Museum. Sweeeet! I love champagne and any excuse to dress up! So if you try to get a hold of me then, I’ll be busy.

Although it doesn't make for an exciting blog, I say this date was a success.