It may sound like it but this is not a paid post...

For the first time in my life I'm actively on a diet.  Although I'm not actually ON a diet.  I mean, I'm still basically eating the same things as I was, I just watch what I'm actually eating and how much I'm actually putting into my mouth.  If that's a diet, then I'm on a diet... but I really don't feel like I'm on a diet.  

MyFitnessPal

I'm using an app called MyFitnessPal.  A friend of mine has been using it since the beginning of the year and has lost a lot of weight and has had nothing but good things to say about the whole experience.  Since it wasn't a diet (really, it's a dirty word) and it was FREE to download I figured there wasn't anything to lose to try it.  So I did.  And since February 18th I've lost about 8 pounds.  I say about because I have a lame scale that's not digital so it's not 100% accurate.  I set me goal to lose 20 lbs.   So I'm almost half way there.  

                                                Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

It's a pretty easy app to use, plus you can also log in online.  You tell it your weight, your goal and a few other minor details and it tells you your calories for the day.  Then you go about tracking what you eat while it counts down the remaining calories for the day.  If you add in exercise it adds more calories for the day.  That's my favorite part.  I get to eat more then.

I like it because it forces me to acknowledge all the food I'm sticking into my mouth.  When you're tracking what you eat you tend to graze less.  Or at least I do.  As a snacker, I loved to graze.  I get bored, I graze.  Emotional turmoil = graze.  There's just one food item left... I better eat it.  While I'm not severely overweight I do have some pounds I could lose.  

Since the app tracks and tallys everything for me it's sort of ends up being a game I play.  Can I beat it today?  Did I do better than yesterday?  Some days you are over your calorie goal.  Some days you're under.  And others you manage to figure it out and are even. Too many days under your calorie goal and it sort of yells at you... okay, it reminds you that you could be starving yourself.  When you end up going over your goal for the day you end up seeing that if you keep it up you may never get down to the weight you want.  It totally checks and balances you.

Plus, you can connect with friends who also have the app.  It's nice to have someone motivate you... either by comments or just by seeing how well they themselves are doing, how much they've lost to date or how they kicked butt in their last workout.

I ended up coming down with a horrible head cold (?) the middle of last week and was out of commission for almost 5 days.  I didn't log in to MFP for those days and missed my weekly weigh in so I'm a bit off track.  Since starting all of this, that's the first time I haven't logged in for that length of time.  Some times on the weekend I may skip a day because it's "impossible" to figure out the calories of a meal or I know I'm sooooo over my calorie limit I don't even bother to record that day but I do notice what I'm eating, how much and if I'm doing my part to make sure I lose weight and really that's what I love about this app.

If you're already on MyFitnessPal, feel free to friend me.  I know a lot of people feel their weight loss is a personal journey so I've been shy about who I have friended already, especially since I'm not a die hard user but I don't mind having more people to help motivate me if y'all don't.

Now Open: Kerri's Jewelrybox

I'm pretty sure I shouldn't start any of this off by saying I have absolutely NO idea of what I'm doing but... I have absolutely NO idea of what I'm doing but I'm doing it anyway.

I don't even know how but I stumbled upon a jewelry website called Kitsy Lane.  I liked the what I saw and noticed that you could open up your own Kitsy Lane boutique.  While doing something like this isn't a new idea to me finding something that had no start up cost was a big "selling" point to me.  I figured what have I got to lose (nothing, right?!), so here I am.  Plus, I don't have to keep any inventory at my apartment, I don't have to do any awkward in-home parties, nor is there a minimum purchase requirement.  I'm having a hard time seeing a drawback here.   I'm hoping to be able to make some extra income from this and to give myself something else to do.  Who knows, if I like it, maybe i'll try something crazy like hocking an in-home/party product.

"Kitsy Lane is made up of a community of Boutique Owners (from stay-at-home moms to professional stylists and even celebrities) who customize their own online storefronts, curating jewelry and accessories from on-trend and up-and-coming designers to sell in weekly flash sales. We simply provide the platform (by the way, our innovative marketing platform is first-of-its-kind), pay the commissions, and securely handle all the orders."

Kerri's Jewelrybox @ Kitsy Lane

I like that I can pick and choose from the 700+ items Kitsy Lane has to add to my boutique inventory.  You can only add 300 items at a time but you can change them out any time you want, which is nice.  Anything Kitsy Lane sells is available though the Storefront and anything that I chose is under "Kerri's Picks".  

I'm hoping to make my own purchase of Kitsy Lane soon. I can't wait to test it out and tell you guys all about it.  Everything I've seen online has been extremely positive (hence, the "blind" sign up).  The only problem, at this point is, trying to figure out what my first purchase should be.

My favorite "big ticket" items:

My Favorite Kitsy Lane Big Ticket Items by kittykerri 
Devon Pavlovits - Anaastazia Necklace -^$92
Kanupriya - Narcissus Earrings - ^$148  

La Vie Parisienne - Victoria Earrings - ^$168

Be-Je Designs - Livi Earrings - ^$125 

Be-Je Designs - Crissy Ring -^$122 

My favorite "medium ticket" items:

My Favorite Kitsy Lane Medium Ticket Items by kittykerri 
Tiger Mountain - Lysandra Ring - $58
House of KL - Mimi Necklace - $48
House of KL - Sylvie Ring - $52
Harriet Grey - Emmeline Necklace - $58
House of KL - Marisa Earrings - $50
House of KL - Faith Silver - $48
Debra Shepard - Shula Earrings - $48

My favorite "low ticket" items:

Favorite Kitsy Lane Low Ticket Items by kittykerri
KL Collection - Belinda Barrrette - $18
KL Collection - Love Rose Ring - $32
KL Collection - Love Silver Ring - $32
Harriet Grey - Chloe Necklace - $38
Whimsical Beauty - Paloma Silver (Lasso) Necklace - $28
House of KL - Clara Silver Ring - $22
KL Collection - Sorella Scarf - $28
KL Collection - Cherice Rose Bracelet - $32
KL Collection - Cherice Silver Bracelet - $32
KL Collection - Greta Rose Bracelet - $38
Tiger Mountain - Amelia Ring - $32
KL Collection - Catalina Gold - $18
KL Collection - Shae Pink - $18
KL Collection - Maia Gray Earrings - $28

As you can see I am obviously smitten by a few of the designers. 

If you haven't already I really hope you will join me, either as a customer or as a boutique owner.  

For those of you who have already signed up as a customer... THANK YOU!!  And please bare with me as I muddle my way though this new experience.

Moonlight Kiss

It's only taken me 5 months but after winning a $75 Gift Card to Shabby Apple from Talk2TheTrees (back in August! can you believe I held out that long) I finally ordered my Shabby Apple dress.

I really thought I'd have an easier time picking the perfect dress from Shabby Apple.  They have so many pretty dresses it's hard to pick just one dress.  Then you add in my busty disposition and it makes the decision a lot harder than it really should be.

Their last collection Joyful came out not that long ago but they just added a few more color options to some of the dresses I've been looking at.  Having a purple option made my decision a bit of a no brainer.

I don't think there is any difference between the Class Ring dress

Class Ring - Olive Green

and the Moonlight Kiss dress.

Moonlight Kiss - Grey

But the purple is definitely my favorite of the three.

Moonlight Kiss - Purple

Though I was pretty close to picking the Class Ring dress since I really like the olive green color but I decided I had everything I needed to style up the purple so I went with that one.  As I type this I am having a bit of buyers remorse and wishing I'd picked the olive green color.  Oh, well.  

Moonlight Kiss is $85 and because it's my birthday month Shabby Apple sent me an email with a $10 Shabby Apple Dollars code (it actually pays to join email lists!).  So with the $75 GC I won I only paid the $8.95 for shipping.  Pretty sweet, right?!

Now lets hope & pray that the dress fits perfectly so it really is the perfect dress.

Welcoming 2013... or not.

While my goal list for 2012 wasn't an epic fail, one cannot call it a huge success either.  I figured as 2012 ended and 2013 began I'd be full of excitement, hope and resolve and while I did feel all of those things I wasn't overwhelmed by it all.  More than anything I was just extremely grateful that 2012 had finally come to an end.  So far all I've felt for 2013 is... dread.  Maybe that's what I feel, maybe it's not but it is the word that came to mind.  I'm not 100% sure what "it" is exactly but if you asked me how I felt about 2013 all you'd get is an unceremonious "meh".  

While it is a new year, it is still marked by Nathan's passing.  Side note: Can we agree that passing is a dumb term.  Unfortunately, it's the most polite word I can come think of.  Anyway... Friday, the 18th marks the 1 year anniversary of his suicide and it is tainting things more than I thought it would.  Normally I am excited for January.  It is my birthday month, after all, but this year I don't necessarily feel like it is MY month.  Not with the 18th looming all big and rudely right after my birthday on the 17th.  It sort of takes all the fun out of it all.  

I do suppose after this year it will be a bit easier, the taking back of my birthday and my birth month.  I will always share it with Nathan and this unfortunate event but I'm guessing it won't always be so hard.  The first anniversary of anything is always a big deal.  After that it just sort of because a "normal" thing, I guess.   Mind you, I don't object sharing my birth month, week, whatever with Nathan but I do mind the fact of why we now share it.  Sadly, no matter my objection, the reasoning for it cannot be changed so I just have to find a way to accept it and find a new way of looking at it all.

I honestly didn't start this entry with Nathan and his suicide in mind.  I had more or less planned on talking about my reasoning for not  having any resolutions this year or making a list of goals this time around.  Somehow it's snowballed and I have lost the structure I was aiming for.  Anyone ever wondering why I don't update as much as I used to or in general... this is why.  It's a big ol' rambling mess up in my brain and it is getting harder and harder to figure it all out enough to articulate it onto here, or anywhere else for that matter.  Journaling has not been my strong suit in 2012.  My personal journal is sadly bare of most happenings of 2012 and there are a few things that really needed to be written about.

Back to my original point.  I decided to not make any resolutions or goals for this year.  Really, what is the point?  All we ever do is forget about them, half ass them, or become bored and quit.  More so than not only a few months into the new year.  The best resolution, and the only one infallible is making the resolution to NOT make a resolution.  That, my friends, seems to be fail proof.  Which of us who has ever made the resolution to NOT make a resolution has failed and been all resolutiony the rest of the year?!  Yeah, that's what I thought, thank you for backing up my point.

I thought about just making a general resolution, something like "To live bravely" but ultimately decided against that.  I feel I managed a bit of that statement last year but having lived almost a full 35 years on this Earth, I've come to realize that there is always fear.  No matter how brave we become or are, we always have some small amount of fear.  It doesn't always stop us but it is there and it does affect how daring we are as we live out our own definition of bravely.  I know I didn't say "to live without fear" but to be brave you have to silence the fear you hear and so it's not just about being brave to me anymore; it becomes about being brave and silencing fear and that just seems like too much of a specific resolution and no longer makes it a general resolution.  

Yes, this is what my brain is like all day, every day, 365 days a year.  Welcome.  Yeah, I don't blame you for not wanting to grab some popcorn & pulling up a comfy chair.  

Really, it's not all doom and gloom over here but it does seem to be spewing all over this post right now.  Sorry to be a bit of a downer.  

My goal for 2013 is to survive it, and to hopefully do it with some sanity intact.  I don't see that as a resolution because it is something that has to be done.  I don't know how else to explain it but it just doesn't seem like a good candidate for being a proper New Years Resolution.

I dread the fast approaching month of March.  There are many things crowding up the calender for March, most of which are happy, joyful events.  I will welcome a new great nephew and I will see two people I care about get married.  But clouding the month of March is the fact that (as of today's date) it is still the month in which at the end of it Irish goes back to Ireland.  Depending on how things go and how hectic they get at the end those happy March happenings may not be something I get to fully share with Irish.  That seriously makes me sad.  That cloud has always been looming over but back on the warm summer night after Irish and I first met it just didn't seem so dark.  

So with January now being what it is and March/April being what it will be I find it hard to happily looking forward to 2013.  I will admit that even with the first 3 or 4 months of 2013 looking gloomy they are far brighter and better than those beginning months of 2012 and I am delighted by that fact.  I am.  Really, I am but I would love to not have a "but" at the end of that and I guess that is where I am getting suck.  

2012 Goal: Quarterly Update #3

It's half way through December so I'm a bit behind on my 2012 Goals update.

#1. Wear each pair of shoes I have (at least once)... 

Well, I've still been wearing shoes.  I kind of gave up on the whole documenting thing.  I got rid of a lot without wearing them to decide.  I'm ending the year with 43   shoes and 23 flip flops.  I'm not sure how many shoes I actually got rid of & how many were new this year, it's totally lame but when I was purging I never thought to write down what I got rid of.  There's about 6 more pairs I may get rid of still but I haven't quite decided yet.

Standing: Excellent.  I have less shoes than I started with, so I got rid of more shoes than I bought this year (I think I have 8 new pairs of shoes that I bought or won).  I think that's pretty dang good.

#2. Get rid of things... 

I went through boxes I've been holding onto that had things from my childhood in it or things I was holding onto that were my Nana's.  I got rid of a few things but most of them were too important to get rid of.  I cleaned out both of my closets and got rid of a lot of clothing I didn't wear anymore.  I should have tackled my outside storage closet but never got around to it.  Meh, oh well... I can try next year. 

Standing: Okay.  I mean, I got rid of SOME things.  


#3. Go on a date... 

I went on two online dates AND I've been dating Irish for 6 months.  I just wish I'd met him prior to tackeling the whole online dating thing.

Standing: Excellent.  Goal is complete.


#4. Sew a 50's style dress...  

I never made my 50's style dress.  I tracked down a few patterns in the size I needed but by the time I went to buy them they were sold.  Vintage patterns are in high demand... damn hipsters!  I may try again next year, you know, once my sister has recovered from helping me with the botched DYI dress we did (found here) or some miracle happens and someone lets me use their sewing machine to try sewing myself.

I did make a dress, "fix" said dress,  and then "trashed" said "fixed" dress and then never tried the project again.  I still want to make a maxi version of the dress but I guess until I can perfect the short version I shouldn't waste all the fabric needed to make the maxi dress.  

Standing: Good.  (See above).


#5. Finally making myself my no sew fleece blanket...  
*(Still)Nothing but cricket sounds here*

Anytime I thought about making the blanket Remington would remind me why I no longer do crafts in the house.  Also, just trying to fix things makes me want to kill him.  Mostly because I'm fixing the things he's ruined.  He's a complete moster when I try to make the bed or fold blankets so I just haven't had the gumption to try it yet.

Standing.  Bad.


#6. Get new glasses...  

I didn't get any farther than thinking I needed or should get new glasses.

Standing: Bad.


#7. Visit Bearizona...  

I didn't get around to visiting Bearizona.  

I did, however, drive to the Albuquerque Bio Park.  We (me, Crystal & brood) spent the day exploring the zoo, botanic garden and the aquarium. 

Crazy fact:  It takes less time to drive from Eagar, AZ to Albuquerque, NM than it does to drive from Eagar, AZ to Williams, AZ.  WHAT?!  Eagar to Albuquerque is 197.9 miles and Eagar to Williams is 209.7 miles.  

Standing. Okay.  Same difference, right?

RIP Cyrus

My sweet boy Cyrus passed away Friday (Oct. 26th). 

Cyrus 12-24-00. Photo was taken by our neighbor when we got home.

I'm pretty sure it was from constipation.  It sounds so extremely stupid but for 2 1/2 days he showed signs of being constipated.  He was trying to throw up hairballs (which he couldn't form, his hair was too fine & short, so he had a major problem throwing up the loose hair "clusters" when he had hair build up).  All he ever did was sleep (his preferred spot was a wooden photo tray that laid on a table in my bedroom) so trying to figure out the difference between Cyrus being lazy and Cyrus being lethargic was near impossible.  

It had been a while since I'd bought the cats wet cat food and I think between the lack of oil (or whatever) in the wet food and the fact that I was gone for a week a couple weeks ago (the cats don't eat as well when I'm gone) he ended up getting blocked.  I didn't really notice how sick he was until he was pretty sick.  I wasn't able to get him to the vet but since he was gone in less than 3 days I'm not sure the vet could have helped even if I had gotten him in.  I tried several different remedies to help his stomach and was late getting home Friday night because I stopped at Petco to pick up some different medicine to help.

4/18/2011

When I got home I found him right inside the door.  I knew right away he was gone but had to do the denial thing and all that.  To say I freaked out is an understatement.  I'm sure I gave all my neighbors a show.  I had dropped everything right where I was standing when I found him and as soon as I knew he was dead I ran outside and flipped the F out.  Unfortunately, my sister was out of town and Karie was unavailable for the night.  It felt like I called a million people before someone picked up the phone so I could talk to someone & try to calm down.  Luckily, Jessica answered her phone and after making out what could only have been Cyrus...cat....dead.... said she was on her way over.  No questions asked.  Jessica, bless her heart, was a God send and helped me deal.  I spoke to Crystal when waiting for Jessica and she helped a lot as well.  

I text my sister what happened and she called my niece and had her & her husband stop by on their way home from the airport, so they could pick up Cyrus and take him to my brother-in-law to bury.  I was all kinds of freaked out & worried about what to do with his poor body since it was late on a Friday and the places I knew we could take him were closed.  I couldn't handle the thought of him just laying there or being stuck in my apartment in a box (DEAD) overnight.  Then I was all kinds of freaked out about where he would be buried because I didn't want coyotes to get him.  Rational thinking isn't my strong suit and even less so when emotionally traumatized & upset. 

9/2011

I knew losing a cat was going to be hard but I didn't realize how hard it was going to be.  I think because it was Cyrus and not Parker.  Don't get me wrong, I will be destroyed and beyond distraught when Parker dies but I'm "prepared" for Parker's passing.  She's 18 years old and I've been talking myself into the possibility of her passing for a few years now.  Now that she's got what has to be cat dementia & Alzheimer's and is all boney and crotchety I know her time is coming.  I have a check list to insure that she doesn't get so bad that she is just in pain & miserable.  I will not let her get bad like that and I will take her in if necessary.  I've prepped myself for that.  But Cyrus wasn't old.  I mean, he was getting older since he was just shy of 12 years old (I would have had him 12 years on Christmas Eve), but aside from sleeping a lot (which he's always done) he wasn't showing any signs of aging.  He was a bit grumpier but most of that could be attributed to Remington and what a pain in the ass he is/was, especially to Cyrus.  I had not thought of him dying, that was something I was going to have to worry about after Parker passed on.

Cyrus has never really ever been sick.  The only vet visits he's had was the first few when we first got him for shots and when he was neutered & declawed.  He really was the best, no problem cat.  To have him pass before I could do anything is just hard to take.  I'm not sure I've ever felt so guilty in my life and I've felt plenty of guilt.  We have a joke how I should have been Catholic because of how guilty I always feel. 

2012

That Friday morning, knowing how sick Cyrus was, I took extra time (I was already spending extra time with him because he was sick) and said goodbye to him.  I told him how much I loved him, how beautiful he was, how much I have enjoyed our life together, how sorry I was for his pain and how I missed noticing he wasn't feeling well before it got so bad.  I asked him to please be okay and to poop for me so I could stop torturing him with trying to give him medicine and begged him to drink and eat the stuff I'd gotten especially for him to help his stomach feel better.  I kissed him and pet him a lot and then left.  I always say goodbye to the cats when I leave, in case anything happens, but that was definitely a different goodbye.  I honestly didn't think it was going to be my last one with him.  I'm so glad I took that time, even though I was sure it was unnecessary.   I did spend some time with him and said goodbye to him before we had to "box" him up but it's so different saying goodbye to someone you know isn't there anymore.

2011

I'm not really sure what Remington is thinking but he was freaked out for a few days.  I'm not sure if it was because he knew Cyrus was dead, or if my freak out got to him or if it was because so may people had been over he wasn't that used to.  Maybe it was a bit of all of it.  He has calmed back down and seems to be okay but I do think he misses Cyrus.  Sometimes when he hears something in a different room it seems like he's waiting for Cyrus or looking for him but maybe that's just me projecting.  Parker, on the other hand, doesn't seem to notice.  When I was waiting outside for Jessica I poked my head in to check on her & Remi since I just left them in there with Cyrus (irrational, I know....they'd been with him all day) and she was waiting by the door, when she saw me she gave me the "give me treats" meow.  That was all she seemed to care about after everything calmed down & everyone left.  I haven't seen her go around looking for him or anything.  Maybe she knows, maybe she doesn't.  It's so hard to tell with her since so much of the time she is definitely in her own world of just pet me & feed me treats.  

I've had multiple panic attacks in the middle of the night where I wake up, touch a cat and they don't respond so I freak out, only to find the assholes were just in deep sleep.  I have massive anxiety when I leave the house now.  I don't feel it when I get home, which I think is totally backwards, but it is what it is.  

2002 Sunbathing 

I think one of the things I'll miss most about Cyrus was he was the cat who got people to like cats (and especially him) who normally didn't like cats.  I'm not sure how he did it but he did.  He was just so dang cool and my home just isn't the same without him.

2012 Goal: Quarterly Update #2

It's August so it's time for a dreaded check on my 2012 Goals.


#1. Wear each pair of shoes I have (at least once)... Well, I've been wearing shoes.  I, however, have either forgotten to document it or my iPhone has refused to take photos (never enough storage space) when I do remember.  I'm at 39 of 52 on my shoes and 6 of 23 on my flip flops.  


I've acquired more shoes than I probably should have and I'm sure my count is off one way or another.  I did get rid of 5 pairs of shoes without thinking about it so I feel good on that front.  I just need to recommit myself to the task of wearing new shoes & actually documenting them.  


Standing: Ok.  Maybe.  I'm good on the shoe part still but bad on the flip flop part so that totally equals out to an ok.  Right?!




#2. Get rid of things... Yeah, the only things I've gotten rid of are the things Remington has eaten and those things (iPod/iPhone charger cord, iTravel(s), alarm clock cord(s), lamp/Scentsy base cord) aren't things that needed to be gotten rid of. 


Standing: Bad




#3. Go on a date... I can safely say I have kicked this goals ass!  Not only did I try online dating for a month, and had 2 separate dates from the experience (even if the whole thing wasn't successful), BUT I went out and got myself a man to date in real life.  It's been a little over a month and it is going EXTREMELY well.  


Standing: Excellent.  Goal is complete.




#4. Sew a 50's style dress...  Yeah, not much has changed since my last report, except we fixed the (new) sash on the dress we did do.  We then promptly decided the dress still sucked.  We have ideas on how to fix what went wrong with the making of this dress.  Eventually, when we have the time & inclination we will try it again.


Standing: Good (still). 




#5. Finally making myself my no sew fleece blanket...  *Nothing but cricket sounds here...*
Really, you try making a fleece blanket in the Summer.  In Arizona.  Where it's 105-115 degrees during the day and if we're lucky in the mid 80's a night.  I'm okay with this goal staying at bad for this quarter.


Standing.  Bad.




#6. Get new glasses...  I could give the excuse that I've used some of the money I had in mind for glasses towards getting the A/C fixed in my car (or at least trying to) but really that would be a waste of a good excuse.


Standing: Bad.




#7. Visit Bearizona...  I've discussed it and thought about it but that's about it.  


Standing. Bad.




If I hadn't completed one of the goals I'd say that this report is a pretty dismal one.  But I DID complete a goal so I think it's not as bad as it looks.  Of course, it may just be all the endorphins running wild due to the fact that I am dating an incredibly cute & sexy Irish man who is adorable & fun and who kisses me senseless every time I see him.

Proof I Watch Too Much Criminal Minds

After reading though some of my POF responses I've discovered a very large tactical error on my part.  One that will probably end up with me being the next story line for Criminal Minds.  


If you recall I listed going to the park/bird preserve in my "About Me" section of my profile.  I pride myself on being a "smart girl" and of taking care to not put myself in situations where I am an easy target for serial killers.  Skills I like to think I honed while living in the same complex as Mesa's Serial Shooters.  I know when I take photo's or post from the park I use the location tag but I figure I pretty much know who is watching me on Instagram and I am 99.8% positive that none of my Facebook friends are criminal intent stalkers or serial killers. 


Why Criminal Minds?  Well, if you've religiously watched the show, like I do, you too have learned all the nice places serial killers like to take their victims.  If you've ever been to the Bird Preserve and really wandered around then you know that it is the perfect place for a serial killer to kill and dump a body.  It's quite possible no one would ever find the body.  If that happens we wander into the land of Bones, which I will try to stay clear of for this post to keep things less complicated and confusing.  This is by no means an endorsement to any serial killers out there to actually use the bird preserve as a killing/dumping ground. 


I am a cynical person so everyone on POF is suspect.  If you are less suspect than others I will contact you back.  If I feel like it.  I'm not sure how between the three of us (Crystal, Karie & myself) we did not realize that my profile was going to be seen by men (which by default are men of suspect) who live in the area and may know of the bird park.  I might as well have just placed a bright neon sign as my tag line that said, "PERFECT VICTIM WITH PERFECT BUILT IN KILLING/DUMPING GROUND.  INQUIRE BELOW".  Off hand I can already think of at least 5 of my favorite places (possibly 7 for the exceptionally talented serial killer) at the park that are ideal for raping/killing/dismembering/eating by a serial killer.      


I have since rectified the error but now I am unsure how to proceed with the inquiries that I got mentioning the bird preserve.  Do I ignore to be on the super safe side or do I let it play out and see if any murderistic tendencies show up during our chat?

Would You Date Me?

So a week ago I joined Plenty of Fish.  What?!  Oh, no, I didn't.  Oh, but really... yes, I did.  I'd had my profile hidden since then to work out the glitches but went "live" this afternoon. In the few minutes I was online I had an overwhelming response. Not that I'm saying I'm a success or anything or that the responses I got were even good responses but they were responses non-the-less.  My brain actually wants to explode and fall out of my head, it is that overwhelming.  I don't even know how to proceed at this point.

There really isn't a wading area nor is there wearing any floaties once you jump into the pond that is POF.  It's just straight into the deep end and you better know how to swim.  Since I am not the best swimmer I quickly jumped ship pond and have stayed offline since except for a few peeks to check something out.  Or to fix the spelling error Crystal caught.  The one that neither Karie nor I noticed.  That, right there, is why you have at least two people check your work.  I'm a bit terrified and cannot promise that I won't chicken out the next time I log on and some guy tries to chat, email or whatever.

So here's my profile...would you date me?  

XXXXX : Yikes, here goes..

About	Non-Smoker with Average body type
Details	34 year old Woman, 5' 4" (163 cm), Christian - other		Ethnicity	Caucasian Capricorn with Brown hair
Intent	XXXX is looking for a relationship.		Education	Some college

Interests Music     Movies     Going to concerts    Shopping     Eating out    TV About Me I always thought other people only did this. I am completely terrified to try online dating but I have a rule I try to live by...  If I want to do something but I find it too scary I, first need to figure out why that is, and as long as it won't hurt me or  someone else, I just need to get over it and do it.  At least once. So here I am. I work full time. I am currently in a serious & committed  relationship with my TV/DVD player. I do, however,  enjoy being outdoors and spend at least 4 nights a week wandering around a park/bird preserve near me. I lack the coordination needed for any type of sport. I have  3 cats and some days they are the most intellectual and  interesting conversationalists I encounter. If that makes me an  elitist and snobby, so be it. I love movies as long as I don't have to read subtitles. I am a girl, so romantic-comedies are always  good entertainment but sometimes there just really needs to be a lot of eye candy, shoddy plot lines and big massive explosions  (Yes, I am a fan of Michael Bay and I'm not ashamed to admit that  The Fast & Furious movies are on my favorite movie list). I tend to  say what I think and often find what I think to be hilarious... even if no one else gets it. I love animals & take care of strays when they let me. I will notice  a squirrel or prairie dog running along the road while driving past  but rarely will see deer or elk while standing still 10 feet in front  of me. I cannot live a day without music. Attending a concert is  just as energizing as taking an actual vacation. I have severe  crowd claustrophobia but prefer a small standing room only  concert to a sit down concert at a large venue. I've been told I  have "socially acceptable" nerdiness. I'm not quite sure what that  means but it sounds good to me. I have never played Dungeons  & Dragons or any online gamers games but I do worship at the  altar of Joss Whedon & Eric Kripke and follow Wil Wheaton on twitter/FB... If any of that made sense to you, we will get along just  fine. If not, well I am sad for you, but we can definitely work with  that as well. When I asked my friends for words that best describe my personality I got things like loyal & reliable, which sort of sound like something  you'd say when describing a golden retriever or some other furry  friend. I got loving, generous & helpful. To be honest I can, also, be high strung and moody but I like to think of that as meaning  I'm fun & passionate...which are another word my friends used to describe me. I think I am AWKWARD but my friends don't  (usually) tend to see me that way. My most favorite quote  regarding this situation is "...she is an inadvertent vortex of  awkward moments so she just rolls with it. I have no clue why  cuz she isn't awkward herself but awkwardness always happens  when she's around..."  So there you have it... First Date No matter the situation first dates are awkward. Period. Mail Settings To send a message to XXXX you MUST meet the following criteria: Male Live in United States Must not have messaged users looking for intimate encounters  or sex. Must not be looking for Intimate Encounter Must not be looking for Activity Partner Must not do drugs Must not be married Must not smoke

I think I need to add an age range to my mail settings.  I've gotten a lot of older men contacting me.  I swear it's the power of the boobs.    

I'm sure there will be plenty more tweaks that will need to be made the more I wade into this crazy online dating world.


To explain how I ended up joining POF I'd have to share the whole back story and the back story has back story so at this point I will just say I had a good reference.  A good enough reference that the thought there may be more out there online than just weirdo's and skeezy men occurred to me.  


Because I am me, and I am awesome, hilarity and hijinx ensued after I hit the “Finish” button on my profile the very fist time (when I joined, before I hid my profile).  I should probably preface this with a back story on that, as well, but really one can only endure so much public humiliation and mockery in one go so I'm just leaving you with a my profile and the little nugget that I am actively on an online dating site.  


*GULP*

Fill in the Blank Friday #18

Joining at The Little Things We Do

1.  Today is a great day because it’s Friday & I’m wearing new shoes.

2.  Tomorrow I will get to hang out with some of my most favorite girls.  We’re celebrating the April birthday’s  with pedi’s, lunch and shopping. 

3.  My favorite time of day is usually morning time  because  the day is new, it’s usually quiet and the sunlight is perfect.

4. Sometimes you just have to buy new shoes instead of groceries.

5.  A song that I just can't get enough of lately is  “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Goyte.  It has the added bonus of Kimbra, who I, also, can’t get enough of lately.

6.  My favorite accessory is my silver branch looking ring that I wear on the ring finger of my right hand.

7.  My favorite thing about this week was buying Jason Mraz tickets.

2012 Goal: Quarterly Update #1

With April here I figured I needed to check and see how I was doing on my 2012 Goals.


#1.  I am well into my goal to wear each pair of shoes I have (at least once).  I'm at 27 of 49 on my shoes and 1 of 23 on my flip flops.  I've actually worn more but some days I totally forget to document my "new" shoes. 


I've worn several pairs of flips but only have documented one.  Now that it's warming up I'll be wearing them more so documentation should be easier to remember.  It seems that I started making a collage but never finish uploading it.  It actually happens more than you would think.  I start, get busy, remember late in the evening, start again and then fall asleep during the process.  Guess it's a good thing I'm not getting paid for this sort of thing.  I'd go hungry a lot otherwise.  


Standing: Good.


#2. Get rid of things...sounds so easy but really when it comes down to it it's a lot harder than one would think.  I've cleaned out my closet a bit, as well as my dresser drawers.  I could certainly go through both a few more times (and probably will) but I have a good sized box of stuff I'm getting rid of.  I just need to start going through the part of my closets that aren't clothes.  The storage part of the closets is what really needs to be gone through. Man, I have to admit I dread that process.  


Standing: Ok.


#3.  Go on a date... Yeah.  Does thinking about it count?  What about talking about it?  It should count a little.  I whole heartily had the intention to follow through but circumstances beyond my control got in the way.  I could have been more proactive but... sometimes those circumstances kick the shit out of you and being proactive has less to do with follow up and more to do with survival. 


Could of.  Should of.  Would of.  Whatever. 


Standing: Bad.


#4. Sew a 50's style dress.  I've come to realize that this goal is going to be pretty hard.  See... I don't own a sewing machine.  I do, however, have a sister who owns a sewing machine.  One I am not allowed to touch.  It's a bit of a bummer and a bit of a relief.  I mean, the thought of me operating a machine that's main function is fast moving needles... I sort of shudder at the thought.   


I'm sure my sis would be happy to sew the dress for me and let me do all the other stuff.  Okay, really she'd have to help me figure out how to cut the pattern since I don't know how jack about sewing and patterns make about as much sense as when I look at a map...seriously how does that stuff make sense?!  She totally allows me to play with scissors...just not sewing machines.  It's probably a wise decision on her part.  


I'm sure if I paid to have her old machine fixed she'd show me on that one but we (my niece and I) are not allowed to touch her new prettypretty sewing machine.  It's really not a personal thing against me or my lack of sewing knowledge.  At least no much.


I...er...we did do a DYI dress I found on Pinterest though.

Georgie (my sister) my seamstress.

The dress actually needs to be fixed before wearing.  Try and learn, right?!  I didn't cut the tank short enough so it's a bit weird.  To fix the weird waist part we just need to make a thicker belt.  I just need to go get the fabric and have my sister sew it up.  I absolutely love the way the skirt feels though.  Even if it hadn't turned out I've only spend $3 on the dress so far.  Okay, $4 counting the elastic thread I bought.  I'd say another $1 for the additional fabric.  So in total $5, not bad right?!  Especially considering I would have thrown out or given away the tank I used.  


I'm actually excited to do another one in a maxi style.  I've been trying to find fabric to match purple or pink since I have a few tanks in each color but it's near impossible.  I found a black tank at Target on sale for $5 so I snagged it with the intention of using it for the maxi dress.  I would think black would make finding coordinating fabric easier but who knows.  


Standing: Good,  I did do A dress.  


#5. Finally making myself my no sew fleece blanket.  


Standing: Bad.  


#6. Get new glasses.  


Standing: Bad.  


#7.  Visit Bearizona.  


Standing: Bad but Bearizona actually just reopened this month.  


As first quarters go I'm thinking I'm not doing too bad.  I definitely needs to kick some of the goals into gear if I want to get anywhere with them by end of year.  Considering how crappy this year has been so far I'm going to give the overall standing of my 2012 Goals a Good though.