Thank Heaven for Karaoke...

If not for karaoke with Ms. Kat tonight, I'd have nothing but dread for today.

Yesterday, after lunch, I got very sick to my stomach, and had to keep running to the bathroom. After about two hours of that, I gave up and went home.

When I got home, I threw the chicken that was defrosted in the fridge into the oven so the boys would have something to eat for dinner; then fell into bed and conked out.

YS called about 4 to let me know he was at Beloved's house. He called again around 5 to tell me he wanted to eat dinner there. I told him he wasn't to walk home alone after dark, and that I wanted him to be home by 6:30 so it was still light out when he walked home. He said dinner wouldn't be ready that early, so I said he wouldn't be able to stay for dinner. He hung up on me, and by almost 7 p.m., still wasn't home. I called him on Beloved's phone, and told him to come home NOW, that he was in trouble because he had defied me.

While he was walking home, I went in his room and disconnected his internet and removed the cordless phone from his room. He was furious when he arrived, and so was I. Beloved let me know later, via IM, that her mother would've driven him home after dinner, and she told him to call me and tell me, but he wouldn't. So, there's a price to pay for pride, I guess.

We are now in a battle of wills, and I'm not giving in. He has three criteria to meet to get his internet connection and phone back: be home today by 6:30, do his chores, and speak to me politely if he speaks to me at all. We'll see what happens.

Ack! Tuesday!

Okay, so, I woke up with a sore throat and my ears hurting. It must have been a true symphony of snoring last night. No fever, just hurts, so I tried to drown myself in a hot shower to make it all better.
THAT didn't work, but I'm feeling better, so I'm here at work (late, because YS overslept -- and it's all my fault, of course).
I managed to help someone working at a remote location with moving a file so she could go ahead with a presentation, and that made me feel some better. Just now, though, my hand jerked as I was picking up my coffee, and coffee shot all over my office. The good news is, it missed my white pants. The bad news is, it didn't miss my red blouse.
I wonder, if I sneaked out of the office and went back home to bed, would anyone notice? I don't want to hurt anyone today.

Could this be?

NM has turned out to be the new Mr. Wonderful in my life. I met him through that online dating service that I made light of earlier.

He's very sweet and gentle and caring. He even brings up the "L" word. I don't think I'm ready for the "L" word, yet. He says he's a patient man. I surely HOPE so. I've been burned so many times, I'm really gun shy.

In the meantime, I am thoroughly enjoying the positive attention. What a wonderful thing, to have someone get excited to see you!

Good Weekend

What a good weekend this was.

Friday night was restful, which was good, because Saturday was a BUSY day.

Saturday, took YS and his Beloved out to find corsage (okay, floral armband) and boutonniere (sp?) for Prom this coming weekend. Beloved chooses odd times to not speak up about her preferences. Interesting. We finally arrived at a florist we liked and four white roses with blue ribbon and little pearls hanging off. Should be very pretty.

Also took them to the location of the prom, so I could walk them over to the restaurant where they'll be eating dinner. They don't go downtown much, and I don't want them wandering lost on prom night, looking for the Hyatt.

YS also required a haircut, so that's out of the way, too, now.

Dashed home to get ready for my first Red Hat Society lunch. It was held at the Wrigley Mansion, and was LOVELY. I was trying to figure out if I could hide in one of the closets 'til everyone went home and stay the night, but decided that an arrest would probably put a damper on the weekend.

Nice Man (NM) called to check in on our date toward the end of the luncheon. We agreed on a 7:40 showing of Sahara (fun buddy-adventure movie, and Matthew McCauhnehy sp? is so pretty to look at), and whatever we felt like afterward.

As it turned out, whatever was going to a nearby bar I know to have a drink or two and listen to a live band. Notice I said "live" band, and not "great" band. They certainly were loud, and the lady who drank all the tequila was entertaining to watch. I got home around 2.

Sunday, I did some clearing out on the junk pile on the patio, which made OS feel better, and me feel righteous. I was tempted to fall back into bed for a snooze to reward myself, but NM invited me to his house to watch DVD of my choice (he has quite a collection) on his big screen TV.

I chose Chronicles of Riddick, since I couldn't find anyone to go see it in the movies with me, and we went to a local Chinese restaurant that was REALLY good for dinner.

He is REALLY good to hug. :o)

Thoughts on marriage and dating

This weekend, I went to a wedding and out on a first meeting/date.

The wedding was interesting, in that it was her third and his fourth, and yet they still did the big white wedding dress and tuxedo thing. I mean, his grandchildren were in the wedding party. How many time, between the two of them, have they pledged their undying love to someone...else? Hello? Am I the only one who thinks that perhaps a formal wedding was overkill in this situation? Oh well. It was a good party.

On Sunday, I met a gentleman with whom I'd connected through Tickle matchmaking. I think it went well, although I did my usual babbling getting to know you performance. Sometimes, I just can't turn off my mouth. It didn't seem to bother him. Which is good. Because, one never plans to babble. It just happens. If one knew it was going to happen, one could prevent it.

ANYway, we were talking about online dating services. He asked why I had contacted him, based on his ad. Well, he was in the right age range, he seemed smart, he didn't specify he was looking for "trim, athletic build" or a racketball partner. Nor did he say he was looking for someone to go camping and hunting with him. He likes science fiction and movies, so it seemed worth a shot. I've been doing this long enough that I can handle a "no thank you" without suffering a wounded soul.

So, here's my analogy: Placing a singles ad is like announcing a casting call. Answering one is saying, "Yeah, I'd like to try out for this part." Then, you e-mail and chat online and/or on the phone, and that's like submitting your resume. The first meeting is an audition. You'll get cut, or hired on the spot, or called back for another audition, if they're not sure you're right for them.

I think the audition went well. We'll see.