2009 March | - Part 2

Baby Steps

March 10th, 2009

5 comments

I’m not very good at relationships, truth be told. I tend to freeze up, close off and sabotage them some how. This is not a confession, this is the truth.

I am not very good at relationships.

When the boyfriend and I started dating, we agreed to take things slow. Real slow. We are both romantics turned realists who have gone through the wringer several times with bad relationships. To say we are jaded or damaged is too cliche (even for me) as I believe that almost everyone who has ever dated ends up with some sort of emotional baggage. The good news is that we know we have personal issues and are still committed to making an effort to overcome our damaged selves.

This is round two for us. Moving forward has been one foot slowly in front of the other. We are using honesty and sometimes forced communication to avoid making not only the same mistakes we made the first time, but also the mistakes we’ve made in other past relationships.

ED and I have been dating for just over 2 months and things have been going really good! I have tried my best not rush things along. A few weeks ago I tried to push him to re-meet my parents, but he wasn’t ready. Once I understood that I backed off, recognizing that he just needed time to do things at his own pace. So you can imagine my surprise when last week he asked me if I wanted to have dinner at his brothers restaurant, and by the way, his brother and wife will be joining us for a drink afterward. I held my enthusiasm and nervousness in. You see, while ED met my family during our first go round, I never met his.

Despite my nervousness, it ended up being a really great night. ED and his brother greeted each other with an enthusiastic “Brother!” It was very amusing for me to watch them interact. Their mannerisms and the way they speak is so similar. I guess my younger sister Staci and I are the same way. We ate amazing wings, shared a few pitchers of beer and watched the March snow fall. Honestly I couldn’t have hoped for a better casual meeting of a beloved family member of his!

ED and I are opposites in so many ways. Sometimes I start to fall into my same horrible self sabotaging ways of closing off and distancing myself, but he catches me doing it before I even realize and calls me out, asks me to communicate and actually listens to what I say, now that’s a first! While it’s not easy to be called out on my childish lack of communication skills when it comes to matters of the heart, it is pretty damn cool to have found someone who is starting to recognize it and cares enough to say something.

We are not running a marathon or even speed walking. It’s baby steps all the way.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Dating debating

A first for us

March 9th, 2009

3 comments

One of the down sides to dating a personal trainer is that they work on the weekends. Something about needing to be available when the clients need them or whatever. So ED and I have never had the opportunity to spend a lazy Sunday together. That is, until yesterday and let me tell you, it was awesome! ED canceled his sessions and neither of us had pressing homework or obligations, except to each other. We spent the entire day doing nothing but eating, watching movies, napping and cuddling. The best part was, we actually got along the entire time AND I am not sick of him! Now that’s a first!

I didn’t get my couches cleaned, I didn’t make it snowshoeing, I didn’t touch my homework, I didn’t make it over to my parents for dinner and I didn’t get to see the new Nordstrom. But you know what? I don’t regret it at all. Being lazy totally kicked ass. Plus, there is always next weekend to be productive.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Dating debating

My transformation to nerdom is almost complete

March 6th, 2009

4 comments

As I was driving home from school I started thinking about my day. I went to lunch with my friend Sarah and was reflecting on our “we only have an hour so lets catch up on everything that has been happening over the past 2 weeks” conversation. We talked about the stresses of juggling both school and work. Then we discussed blogging and Google Analytics. Next up was the BlogHer convention we are going to in July. We followed our lunch up with talking about iPhones and whether or not to use them as iPods as well. I think we discussed boys for a total of 5 minutes (ED don’t be mad. It’s not that you are not important or interesting baby, because you are… and special too….and you can bench like 350 lbs so that’s cool too.)

I remember a time, not so long ago, when my conversations were all about who is dating who, where I went out to last weekend, Oh my god where did you get that outfit!, sex, and other fun trivial topics. Now I discuss technology and school. I Twitter. I blog. I facebook. I wear glasses more often than not and right now I am sitting with a pencil in my hair.

The worst part, I ACTUALLY considered making a pie chart to illustrate my social life now versus a year ago! Yeah! I have become that girl. People used to call me to see where the action was at!

But never fear! I promise not to get boring on you (or me for that matter)! Spring break is only a week away and I plan to take full advantage of it.

I WILL HAVE A LIFE AGAIN… even if it only lasts for a week.

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Just me, Nerdom

Here goes something

March 4th, 2009

6 comments

So my good friend Sarah encouraged me to check out or rather sign up for the Grace in Small Things website. She told me it is great for when you don’t have anything “good” to blog about. So I thought, sure, why not? I’ll check it out. I looked at it and I’m still not really sure what it is all about, but it encourages you to write about 5 positive things everyday and claims it will send you “challenges” every day. Don’t worry, I won’t really be doing that – except for this post. Not because I have nothing to write about, but because I’ve had a stressful day and I think a little forced positivity never hurt anyone… at least not seriously… that I know of.

Here we go! 5 Positive Things!

1. My cat. God I sound pathetic but she is rubbing against me right now (she hates when I ignore her) and it is really sweet, plus her fur is soft against my leg.

2. I get to see the boyfriend like 4 or 5 times this week! Normally we restrict it to 2 – 3 nights per week. OK restrict is the wrong word… it’s just that we are both so busy and both have school so that is about all we can fit in. But not this week! I played hookie from school last night to do homework so he came over and he is actually on his way over as I write this. So this week is looking good!

3. As I was cleaning up and organizing my filing box last weekend, shredding old stuff and what not, I came across the most horrible sight! About 4 years ago, when I was still married, I had let myself go and was probably 15 lbs heavier than I am right now. In an effort to get motivated, my ex-husband and I took pictures of ourselves in swimsuits from all angles as well as wrote down our body measurements. Why in the world I still have these pictures I have no idea. They are incredibly disturbing to look at BUT seeing them made me appreciate how far I have come as well as realizing that I never want to look like that again! PLUS, of course I had to measure myself to see what I am now and I am like 2-3″ smaller in most areas! Hells yeah!

4. HEROES! I am so totally addicted to this show. The boyfriend and I keep renting the DVDs and staying up until 1 to watch them. It is not great for the sex life but DAMN are they good! We are midway through season two and although I have been watching all of season 3 simultaneously it is so cool to get caught up on what I have missed. Yeah, I know I am a dork, but my Dad raised me to like comic book type shows.

5. Last but not least, writing. I was thinking about it a lot today and I do a lot of writing. I am sure right now you are thinking that it doesn’t show because my grammar and punctuation is always off, but I really do dammit! For work, for school, for myself and for you lovely Internet. I absolutely love it. It is a release and a chore. It helps define me as well as challenge me. Without it I’d probably end up in a mental institution talking to myself.

Whew! So that wasn’t so bad right? I feel more positive and healthy (mentally) already. I don’t know what “challenges” this Grace in Small Things will throw my way next, but don’t be surprised if the good ones end up on here occasionally.

Peace out!

Blogfully yours,

Summer

Just me, drinking when posting

I think the flower distracted them

March 3rd, 2009

3 comments

Saturday night was an event that I look forward to all year, The ADDY Award Gala. For those of you not in the advertising industry the ADDYS are awards given to advertising agencies as well as in house agencies for their creative work. The award gala is a formal affair and of course I LOVE formal affairs. Any chance to get all dressed up is one I will take! Of course I had to buy a new outfit (yeah, twist my arm right?). I ended up going with a black fitted knee length pencil skirt and a light pink halter top with a ginormous flower at the top.
Only problem was that I am pasty white. I decided to get my first ever spray on tan, just enough to “give me a glow”. Little did I know how serious spray tanning needs to be taken. I ended up with one arm darker than the other, my right wrist looks dirty and my left wrist looks freckled.

Luckily my dashing date ED chose to make the right decision and pretend like it wasn’t so bad. He’s a smart man. We ended up having a lovely time and ED got exposed to the advertising world that I work in, complete with all of the egos that fuel us. I didn’t take a full length shot, but here are the two that I do have.

Blogfully yours,
Summer

Dating debating, Out and About

Russians say it best

March 2nd, 2009

2 comments

One of the things that I love about my best friend Karina the Russian is that she has no filter. She always says exactly what is on her mind and uses the word vagina more than a gynecologist. She is one of my biggest supporters (a fact that she is very vocal about), she spells words how they sounds and she is constantly revealing parts of the story that I am leaving out. Her crass comments leave me in stitches on a daily basis so I thought I’d share some with you!