Long Absence

Hello, my ever-patient readers! Yes, I am still here in Richmond, and still loving it. I know it has been a long, long time since I've posted last. This is due in large part to the fact I have fallen in love with the guy I've been dating since last May. Remember the blind date? We've been inseparable ever since. He's got everything I've been looking for for so many lonely, single-girl years: brains, good looks, a great family, ambition, great sense of humor, similar goals, similar beliefs, common interests.......and he's a great kisser. What more could a girl ask for?

We spend a great deal of time together (he only lives 5-10 minutes away) and I would not feel comfortable blogging around him (I'd feel I'm being rude) or talking about him without his knowledge, so I have not been blogging. But I will tell you that I am very, very happy, and so is he. Yes, we have talked about getting married and having babies. I have had my last first date. :)

Other than that, not a lot has changed this year. Here are some updates:

I still have the same job, and it's ok. Not the greatest job, but not the worst. I'd love to change careers or get into a job that is better suited to my talents (I really REALLY miss supervising), but I'm enjoying all the low-stress and time off that my current job provides. So it's not the end of the world.

My family is the same, although my brother, Fat Dog, and his wife had a beautiful baby girl, so now I am Aunt VB. Yay!!!It is difficult to suppress the urge to buy My Little Ponies for a 4 month old. I like to joke that I've already started a prom dress fund for her.

I have caught the running bug and now prefer that to all other forms of exercise. I sprained my ankle pretty badly last September, which meant I had to cancel my plans to run a half marathon. I was really disappointed, but it will be on my bucket list for 2013.

Speaking of being in shape, I am a shape.........it is round. Nothing like being in love over the holidays (read: double-up on family get-togethers) to pack on the pounds. Ugh. I am dying to get back out there, but am super busy. And being busy = more restaurant food. It's easy to do the math, even for me. I am trying to get organized and run errands while I have a few days off work, so the next couple of days are not looking good. Hopefully, it is not too cold to run outside this coming week, as the gym will be packed with New Year's "Resolutioners" until further notice. Also, I got this for Christmas, and I'm dying to use it. (Good gift, boyfriend!!!!)

One of the things the boyfriend and I have in common is a shared interest in Russia. We are both fascinated by its history and culture. To catch up with him, I have started to learn Russian.  He's practically fluent in Russian, after spending 3 summers there in college. It's not coming to me as easily as I'd hoped. It's my first Slavic language, and my first non-Roman alphabet, so I'm definitely out of my comfort zone. But I can say several things at this point.

I have paid off my car. Woo hoo!!!!

Sammy injured his eye (big corneal scrape) when he escaped through the fence at boyfriend's house, but after 3 months, at least 8 vet trips (including a vet eye specialist!) and $1,000 (yes, a grand), his eye is fine.

I have met several girlfriends and enjoy hanging out with them, but most of my social life involves my boyfriend. He's my favorite person to hang out with, and vice versa. I have been trying to make a bigger effort on the girlfriend front, but it's hard, since most of them are single and want to go out and meet guys in bars late at night (not really my scene anymore). The ones who are not single are super busy, so double dating is difficult to wrangle. So I do the occasional lunch and have joined a book club. I like a lot of the girls I have met, but no one has really clicked with me yet.

I think I will work on this for the new year. Maybe I'll add it to my bucket list, although it may not be a good candidate. A girl I met here does an annual bucket list: 3 things every year she needs to accomplish/do. None of the goals should involve assistance from/reliance on others, so you can't blame anyone else if you don't accomplish them. She has so much fun doing it, and I have been inspired. I only have 2 things thus far: 

1. Run a half marathon, preferably in a town that is not Richmond
2. Take more photos (if anyone has any advice on how to make this goal easier to do, as well as how to make it more specific and measurable, that would be great! I never take photos and I need to change that.)
3. TBD....I need to think of another goal/change to make. Any ideas, readers??? I am learning Russian right now......perhaps I can continue on that. Or is that boring because I have already been doing that? Perhaps I should get my finances in order or take a trip..........

Ok, I have to go and get some things done. I just wanted to let you know I'm here, and I'm happy and I love living in Richmond. I'm not sure where this blog will go next, but I think that as long as I can leave the vast majority of my love life out of this blog, I will be ok with that. I hope you all understand. Everything else is on the table, though!

I'll try and post again soon. I hope you're all having lovely holidays and will have a glorious New Year, full of hope, luck and fantastic experiences!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a Survivor

I was hoping to have a bunch of awkward and hilarious anecdotes to share with you about the trip up to The Czarina's. But nothing really happened! Everything went really smoothly. CN likes Mom, Mom likes CN. The end.

CN really enjoyed teaming up with The Czarina to tease me, which caused me to exclaim more than once, "Hey! Whose side are you on, anyway?!" to him. They thought this was hilarious.

I have to say, I think Czarina was on her best behavior. Not once did any of our baggage-laden, touchy-subject issues come up in conversation. She didn't even speak a word about my obvious weight gain!!! And it definitely helped that she had a party to host, because it really wasn't in her schedule to sit down for a heart-to-heart with him, asking about his intentions. She was much MUCH too distracted. WHEW.

Her distraction was so great, in fact, that not even 30 minutes after lecturing Smurf about her abysmal teenage driving skills, she was pulled over by a policeman for running a stop sign. Whoops. To make it even worse, Mom was so oblivious to his flashing lights that she just proceeded to park her car and get out to go do her business as if nothing were wrong. CN and I, who had already parked in our car and were waiting for her nearby, saw her get out of her car and so we began yelling, "What are you doing??!! He's going to pull a gun on you!!!" and then we busted out laughing when we saw her realize what was going on. Then we called Smurf to tell her that Mom just got pulled over for blowing a stop sign. And that she could have been shot for getting out of her vehicle. The Czarina will never live this down.

CN was a paragon of perfection, if I do say so myself. Fat Dog was not around to help Mom with the party, because he was in his best friend's wedding and therefore, out of town. Fungus arrived with a painful back injury, so he was also unable to help out with party preparations. So CN stepped up to the plate and moved furniture, set up tables and carried lots of things around for my mother. I was very proud, and The Czarina was very grateful. He earned lots of points.

Aside from one guest showing up FIVE HOURS EARLY to the party, despite the invitations CLEARLY stating the party started at 6pm*, everything went really well, party-wise. There was plenty of leftover food and alcohol. I got to see many friends of the family. CN made a wonderful impression on everyone, but at the same time, he said he never felt pressured or overwhelmed the entire time he was at The Czarina's. In fact, he said he had a great time and thought everyone was wonderful. I wish I could say the same thing -- not once, but TWICE during the party someone whispered very loudly to me, "So, do you think he's the one???" when CN was barely out of earshot. This made me want to whisper loudly back, "I don't know! Maybe you should ask him, since he's standing right behind you!!"

Argh. I should have spent more time avoiding the loud whisperers, rather than just trying to stay away from my mother.

* This is pretty typical behavior for this guest. Last year, he refused to drive to the party himself, and my poor brother was stuck driving him on the 3 hour trip to my mother's house. Keep in mind that this particular guest is a sweaty, creepy old man who is very nosy, particular and irritating. And he wears shorts with black knee socks, a source of much amusement for the under-40 crowd at the party.

Fun Friday!!

Yay! It's Friday!!!

I have a special treat for my readers today. A pic of my family. Well, part of my family. Here goes.

This is Fungus on the left and Fat Dog on the right. Back when we were little, we lived in a super-old farmhouse, waaaaaay out in the Virginia countryside. My brothers played T-ball every summer. This is a picture of them after they both played games one day.



I had forgotten that when Fungus was little, we used to call him "Nino". This was because he couldn't say, "I know!" -- it would come out as "Nino!" and was so cute, the nickname kinda stuck. We used to say silly things to him all the time-- "Fungus, the sky is blue." or "Fungus, you're three years old." and Fungus would roll his eyes at us and say, "NiNO!" --And we would all laugh.

They look like dorks in this picture. Then again, I'm their big sister, so they will always look like dorks to me.

This video was funny, mostly because of how accurate it is. I always thought I was the only woman who "adjusted her boobs" and studied her physique while waiting for the water to heat up. And none of the stuff the guy does surprises me one bit. Like most male behavior, some of it is gross and some of it is kinda cute. I like the "woo-woo!" part.



Guys, when you are out and about this weekend, don't be these guys:



Or this guy:



Or this guy:



Thanks to eBaum's World for the videos!

Have a nice weekend, everyone!!

M.I.A. P.S.A.

I'm alive, I swear! Ask Anne, I talked to her last night. (Hi Anne!) By the way, she is the coolest and she is the next winner of the mixed CD I made for Sam.

I apologize for my absence of late. As penance, I will post twice today and probably tomorrow. I know you are grateful for my Catholic upbringing--guilt trip is my middle name.

Where have I been? What have I been doing? I have a major confession to make: I have been cheating on all of you. I have joined....myspace. I didn't mean for all of this to happen! I never meant to hurt you! Don't worry, I won't be leaving you for Tom and friends. I just had to catch up real quick with high school friends, college boyfriends, pledge sisters and random people I know. But I think I have it under control now. So many divorces and marriages! So many babies! Wow! A lot can happen in ten or so years...

So, take this as a warning: If you think you don't have a life now because you are addicted to blogs, let me just say that myspace is a whole different ball game. Seriously, it is no joke. You might as well take your laptop into the bathroom with you if you are going to log in to your page. It is unreal. Plus, as if you don't spend enough time emailing people, you can stalk people and they will have no idea. I have gotten the scoop on so many people! And I've already gotten a coworker addicted to it as well, so be careful. It is a slippery slope.

In other news...thanks for all the camera advice, peeps. I will try to make a Best Buy trip this weekend. Maybe I should do eBay? or online shopping? Anyone think that I would get a better deal that way?

This fall will be very educational for me. I have signed up for a cake decorating class. Should be interesting. My coworkers are excited because I will be bringing in poorly iced cakes once a week. Hey, as long as they taste good...

And I have signed Sammy up for a dog training class. He's pretty good right now, but there are some things I want to work on. Besides, it is supposed to build a great bond between you and your pet. He will get to meet other doggies. I hope he makes good grades. And plays nicely with others.

Football season is coming up!!! Woo-hoo!!! Actually, I would be more excited if I had tickets. But I can always work a corner or two for some scalped ones, right?

I am going to visit Fat Dog over Labor Day weekend. Get this--have I mentioned this yet?-- He was living in this stupid apartment in Williamsburg, Va. He was talking to a buddy of his a couple of months ago, and his buddy told him he could move in with him. (The buddy got the house in the divorce settlement.) Listen to this sweet-ass deal: my brother is now living in a phatty house with marble floors, a hot tub and a (are you ready?) MAID. The killer part is, he is subletting his old apartment and now he is actually saving $200/month. He has more of a commute now that he lives at the beach. Gah, he is the luckiest bastard alive. Stuff like this falls in his lap all the time. So K and I are going up there in the hopes that some of his luck will rub off on us.

I'm trying to get back into an exercise routine. Slowly...slowly, I am going back to the gym. Oh, when I went in the other day, I saw Small World Guy. Remember him? It was one of those times where you recognize someone, but you pretend that you don't. I'm not a bitch! Let me explain.

I'm at the gym, I have no makeup on, and I've put on some weight, so I was already feeling self-conscious. (Yes, I do wear a tiny bit of makeup to the gym. Shut up.) I was paranoid that everyone in there was looking at me and thinking, "She needs to keep on walking on that treadmill. Faster, too. She needs to get in here more often. Haven't seen her in months, and it shows." --Yeah, it was one of those days. Nobody knows I have been making monthly trips, right?

To boot, I was having a really, really bummed out "I hate men" day. So the last thing I needed was to run into a guy I used to sorta-kinda date. Especially one who was kinda jerky to me, like he was. He was about the last person I wanted to see. Yet, there he was, getting on the treadmill next to mine, and making a move to re-position my things so he wouldn't step on them. So instead of striking up a conversation, I just said "Excuse me. Sorry, let me get my stuff." and made a break for it. I know he saw me. I think he recognized me. But I was long gone by then!

And that's pretty much it for the man department. But I'm sure you'd like to know that Repo is sorta kinda still in the picture. I will leave it at that! It's too much to get into right now.