Christmas Highs and Lows

Yesterday's post was a bit sad and woeful (since at the moment I am feeling a bit sad and woeful) so I thought I would point out some other unrelated lows and also HIGHS of this holiday season! And here's hoping a trip to the doctor tomorrow afternoon can fix whatever the heck is wrong with me. Part of me just knows that now that I have made the doctor's appointment I will wake up tomorrow symptom-free and good as new. It always happens that way, doesn't it?

Low - sleeping in on Friday and not getting on the road early like I had planned.
High - remembering that I had already packed up all of my gifts days before, so it made it a snap to get out of the apartment and on the road quickly.
Low - realizing halfway up I-95 that in my speedy packing job, I had forgotten to pack any underwear. Yup, all I had was the pair I was currently wearing.
High - then immediately realizing that I was close to my usual "halfway point" stop where there also happens to be a Target nearby.
Low - being in line with tons of people buying wrapping paper, ribbon, cards, and other last minute Christmas goodies while I am standing there holding a couple pairs of underwear I found on clearance. Because no, I am not paying more for cute ones when I am just buying them out of necessity/desperation.
High - getting up to my parent's house in PA in just about 3 hours including the stop to purchase underwear. Normally the drive would be 3 hours and some change if there was only a quick bathroom stop and NO traffic.
High - I guess I should put a second high in here that I didn't get pulled over because clearly I was speeding the whole drive up.
Low - getting home and feeling tired and just kind of spent. Not very Christmas-y.
High - letting my Mom talk me into going to dinner at the diner with her. God I miss not having more real diners down here in the DC area. I swear my $14 dinner was enough food to last 3 or 4 meals.
Low - this man came into the diner to pick up a to-go order. He looked to be about my Pop-Pop's age and I was guessing he was all alone for Christmas Eve. I almost started crying right there and part of me feels like I should have invited him to come eat with me and my Mom.
High - sleeping in until 11 on Christmas morning.
Low - still feeling so sick and such that after some cereal I went back to bed until about 3:30.
High - we had an Italian Christmas this year with chicken parm, lasagna, meatballs and sausage. I loved it so much more than a "traditional" Christmas dinner of turkey or ham or something like that. And I felt like it was a way of having my Gram there with us.
Low - Christmases (and all holidays really) just remind me of how much I miss my Gram
High - not opening presents until my brother and sister-in-law arrived after dinner gave us something to do in the evening.
Low - I could not wait that long and opened everything in my stocking immediately after dinner.
Low - the unusual Christmas schedule this year (coupled with my sickness and need to sleep more) meant that my Mom and I did not see a movie on Christmas Day. Now, I can't exactly verify this, but this may have been the first time in SIXTEEN YEARS that we have not gone to a movie on Christmas day. I believe it started in 1994 with "Little Women" and then sort of became our own Christmas tradition.
High - getting great presents like a new Cliff Lee shirt, two sets of lovely Lilly P pajamas, and my favorite....money! (Before you go thinking I am a total miser, the money is being added to my Macbook savings fund and I am *almost* there!
High - having a mom who doesn't get upset when my tastes don't exactly jive with hers and always keeps the receipt. Bonus - when she tells me she will go ahead and do the return for me and then just contribute that money to my Macbook savings fund.

And the biggest High, way better than getting great presents, is GIVING great presents. Finding *the* perfect presents for people is something I absolutely love. I mean, if I had Oprah's cash, you can bet your @ss that I would be giving people Deviled Megs' Favorite Things out at least once a year.

I got my brother and sister-in-law a Netflix subscription which they were SO excited about. But how fun is it to open an envelope, right? So I made this whole "Night at the Movies" themed basket and got them each some slippers, and boxes of Microwave popcorn, and every movie candy you can imagine. Also, the most ADORABLE old-timey looking popcorn bucket I found at Williams-Sonoma. Sort of like the one tha's on their website in the pic below, but looks more like a true bucket like you would get at the movie theater. It was the very last one on the shelf, otherwise I so would have gotten one for myself.


But the best gift by far were the tickets I got for the Coach to see Jeff Dunham, this comedian he is borderline obsessed with. He's the guy with all the puppets....now, I don't find him all that funny, but the Coach dies laughing when he watches this guy on TV. Like is almost in tears he is laughing so hard. So I was so excited when I found out he was going to be doing a show in Philly in a few months and got tickets for him and my mom. I printed them out and boxed them up like a present (again, who wants to open an envelope?) and his face when he opened it was priceless. Like he couldn't believe what they actually were. He was beaming he was so excited about them. I told him that I had also saved a PDF of the tickets to the desktop of his computer just in case. You see the Coach...how can I say this politely...is prone to misplace things. Usually his keys. And glasses. And wallet.

He proclaimed it wasn't necessary, he wasn't going to lose these tickets. Then the Coach walked over to the front door and posted them up on a clip on the back of the door. This show isn't until MARCH, but I guess those tickets are going to stay up on the front door all the way up until the show. For the rest of the evening, he kept throwing out one-liners from that comedian and his dang puppets. It would have been annoying if it hadn't made me feel so good about finding him such a great gift.

Kind of annoying? The Coach seemed almost as excited about that 10-pack of Hanes athletic socks I got for him too. I guess he is just easy to please.

I just wanted to post today so you all didn't think my Christmas was a total bust. Santa just brought me some unexpected things this year, but I had a very Merry Christmas overall.
Hope everyone out there had a good one too -- filled with more Highs than Lows :)

WTF, Santa?!?

A few things I have now that I most definitely did not ask Santa for:

• A sore throat. It is so very painful for me to swallow, and my glands just feel swollen and hurty. I wish the halls lozenges would help, but they are not getting along so well with my...
• Nausea. The triple soothing menthol action of the lozenges is making my stomach do a triple somersault. I have been sipping ginger ale throughout the day, had some saltines earlier, and just now managed some plain cheerios. Maybe later I could give ice cream a try because I am...
• Burning up. Seriously, my face is bright red, my forehead is beyond warm and I am almost sweating. I have turned the thermostat alllllll the way down in my office, but I swear hot air is still pumping out through the vent. I may need to shut the door so I can just take off my sweater and sit here in my tank top. I am also rocking a Thermacare Heat Wrap, which probably isn't helping my temperature issues, but is most necessary for my...
• Seriously messed up back. I slept all of 2 nights on the old twin bed in my brother's old room at my parents' house, but when I got up early Sunday to drive back down to VA, I could feel some weird aches starting. When I woke up yesterday morning I could barely move, I was in so much pain. Some Advil helped for awhile, but I broke down and went to CVS for the Thermacare heat wrap that is currently wrapped around my torso. Is it bad that while the heat helps a little, I am still in a crap-ton of pain? Is it also bad that I am fine with dealing with all this physical pain and sickness but not okay with dealing with...
• Tears and confusion over Mr. Toothbrush. I didn't post an update after my post last week for a few reasons. I was sick and not feeling well. Trying to finish up all my last minute holiday errands and get up to my parents' house in PA. But mainly, becuase I just didn't know that there was anything to say. We went out for drinks with his coworker and coworker's wife -- I was texted later in the day that they would be joining us. I thought it odd since I thought we were really going to be having a talk about some things that evening, but just brushed it aside. Maybe I was worried or upset about something that was going to be - or was already on the way to being - resolved. I met up with the three of them and had a very nice time. The two of us went back to my apartment where we then had a disjointed, confusing, erratic conversation that resolved nothing and just put me further in the dark. I won't get into any specifics, because it is not my business to share (an no matter what, I don't think I could ever talk about some deeply personal things on here) but he is just going through a hard time. And while the huge nurturer in me wishes he could see me as someone that maybe he could let try to help him in some way, that's just not where he is at right now.

When I had heard about all I could get through without crying, I just said I thought he should leave. I sent him off with this sad little bag of Christmas gifts(nothing big, a book and some cookies I had made) and couldn't even look him in the eye as I walked him to the door and he left. There were some texts back and forth that night (no, I know not a good medium to have these discussions) and the next morning I felt compelled to send an email apologizing for how I handled things the night before, I know he is dealing with a something difficult and I just didn't want to make anything more difficult for him. He responded telling me not to apologize, that he was going through something rough and was acting terribly because of it. He said that wasn't an excuse for his behavior, and asked me to please be patient, and when he is ready, he will explain everything.

And that was that. I didn't respond -- there was nothing to say at that point, you know? He sent me a text on Christmas, saying he hoped I was having a Merry Christmas and talk to you soon. I honestly was surprised to get that. And not that I am about to read into it, or start thinking about what that means or doesn't mean....because it just means that he was thinking of me and wanted to wish me a Merry Christmas. Nothing more than that.

I want to be patient, and hear his story, whatever it may be. When he's ready. And I don't have any timeline I think he *should be ready by*, if that makes sense. While right now sucks, and it hurts, and stupid little things just make me want to cry for no reason (oh it also happens to be *that time*...so thanks also for that added bonus of hormones and emotions, Santa!) I guess somehow I made up my mind not to have a reaction about anything until I know everything there is to know. And for right now, well for right now I just don't. And I don't know when I will. And I guess that is all OK because for right now it hasto be OK, because that is just the way it is.

I can be prone to be a bit dramatic -- not in my actions or behaviors, just in my lines of thinking. And dramatic isn't the right word for it really....I just see things and think of things as stories. Blame it on all the movies I have watched in my life and that I actually went and got a master's in film. I just somehow think of things differently than other people. I think about how it would be told in a novel or played out on a screen.

And I thought (so stupid, but I assure you that I really did think) that Santa or someone else up there had actually been listening to me over these years. When I randomly and carelessly would throw out characteristics or traits or weird weird things that I would hope to all find in one person someday. [And as a side note, pleasedon't think I am on some cinematic line of thinking that that one person might be THE person. I am dramatic in my thoughts but also painfully realistic, and I don't know that I agree that you only get ONE person]

And little things happened...things that came up in our conversations, a name that he called me that NO ONE would have known to call me (seriously, I confided in my one friend about it because it was just too damn eerie)..but little things made me think that someone up there had been listening.

And now I just don't know. And I don't want to think about it anymore for right now. I just want to focus on my sore throat, and my nausea, and my fever, and my poor painful back. I want the rest of this day to somehow go by so I can go home, put on my new favorite pink pajamas (that I got from Mom, not Santa...seriously Santa, what the heck??) and crawl into bed.

Santa, if you are reading this, I'd be willing to put this all in the past if you could give me a few-days-late Christmas present of some fun plans for New Year's Eve. Nothing over the top, I ain't trying to be greedy. Just something that perhaps involves being out amongst the revelers enjoying the evening and good company and not at home in my pretty pink pajamas. Work on it, Santa....you've still got some time. You can do it, big guy.

Tales from the Trenches

Hey y'all (that's my 1/4 Southern talking, isn't it adorable?)

So I need to ask for a favor. I need to take a bit of a break from Tales from the Trenches. I KNOW! I am such a b*tch! Let me explain...in a probably overly lengthy fashion (naturally) so please bear with me.

Things with me and Mr. Toothbrush are not going very well at the moment. There are some things going on on his end, and it has made things kind of do a 180 over the past week. We are going to get together later tonight to talk. I wish I could say I am one of those people who is brimming with hope and optimism right now. But I just have a huge knot in my stomach over the whole thing. Like I want to throw up. I wish I could explain it all in more detail...but that would require me actually understanding what the f*ck is going on right now. And sadly, I don't. So you are all going to have to join me over here in the dark on this one for the time being.

OK...so Tales from the Trenches. I started it because I had a bunch of random "Did that really just happen?" dating stories. In trying to get a bit better about posting things on here, I wanted to create something to write more regularly. Win-win! But I think I may have painted myself into a little corner.

I am concerned that people think I am just sitting over here laughing my ass off as each guy passes through. And for the most part, yes I often am. Because I seem to find some of the most ridiculous people out there. But I think I need to take a moment and remind everyone that I am a person. And I have feelings. Lots of 'em.

It is often very hard to keep picking myself back up after each bad date and try again. And unlike Sex and the City, I don't have some great core group of girls to have brunch with on Sunday and tell me it's all going to be okay. Most times I haven't had more than my sense of humor and this little space on the Internet to turn unpleasant events into funny stories. And right now, that doesn't feel like it's enough for me.

You see, I went outside of my comfort zone or my "usual self" by even mentioning Mr. Toothbrush here. I never talk about that sort of thing because I always felt like it might jinx things for me. But what I am realizing only now, is that I think there was a bigger part of me that didn't talk about these things because then I wouldn't have to announce or explain when things didn't work out. Bearing that sadness and heartbreak alone usually seems preferable to me than having to suffer through people knowing about it.

I have always been the "funny friend" in my groups. No matter what the group of friends has been over the years, that's always the role I sort of fell into. And not that I mind it or am saying that it is a bad thing. It's just...well, I am beginning to think I have become some sort of a character to the people I know. Full of funny stories about bad dates. And still seen as someone who is just meant to be alone.

I need to hit some sort of reset button, or get some kind of a readjustment. Because I don't feel very much like I am sharing in the laughs anymore. Lately, I feel like I am playing the role that people expect me to play and fitting into the character profile that's been created.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying I am going away for good. Writing here is something I enjoy a great deal and I have started lots of half baked posts over the past few weeks that I'd like to finish cooking (and am hoping some slower time at the office will afford me the chance to do that!) But I do need to take a break from Tales From the Trenches. Because right now, well...right now I don't feel like making a joke about it all.

Tales from the Trenches Tuesday

And....we're back! I know, I know...I am sure some of you were wondering if I had all but abandoned my Tuesday postings. Things just got pretty busy right before Thanksgiving -- and still are with things going on at work and holiday time. But here I am, taking a break from all the craziness to come back here and post another miserable tale. It's a Christmas Miracle, right?!?!

Okay, so in that warm and fuzzy haze of hope so many of us experience at the start of a New Year, in early 2010 I decided to give match.com another go. But around the beginning of February I started emailing with one particular guy, we sort of hit things off right away, and I decided to see where that might go. So I really didn't get to use that much of the subscription. After things ended with him a few months later, I thought I would milk the last remaining weeks out of that membership. Sort of like the wild CVS spending spree I plan to go on this month with my buckets of FSA money I still have left for this year. It was during this truly craptastic period of "use it or lose it" match.com that I found FBand ICF.

But eventually I started corresponding with TYFSMFYC. After some email exchanges back and forth, we agreed to meet for dinner. For those of you in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic, you may recall the god-awful sweltering heat we endured this summer. Something like 30+ days of temps above 90 degrees. It was disgusting. It was oppressive. And most of all, it was damn challenging to dress appropriately for first meetings during that sort of weather. It was worse for him as he had to wear a suit to work, but we were at least able to have a laugh at how hot and uncomfortable we both were. And I actually ended up having a really nice time with TYFSMFYC that night -- the conversation flowed, lots of laughs, a true thumbs up.

Within an hour or so after parting ways, I received the following email:
At the risk of seeming too eager, I just wanted to say I had lots of fun! And you have a great sense of humor... even if your days are plagued by a crazy temp at work. Hopefully you'll want to meet up again.... I'll not wear a tie and neither of us will be sweaty. Have a goodnight and I hope to hear from you soon.

Kind of refreshing when someone doesn't play the "wait a few days to get back in touch" game right? So after about 2-3 days, I wrote him back. Hey, I said it was refreshing...I didn't say I was about to stop playing that game right off the bat!

We swapped a few emails back and forth...but had a lot of trouble scheduling another time to go out. Happens a lot in the summer (and around this holiday time of year too, actually) because so many people have vacations, too many weekend plans, and so forth. So I didn't really think anything of it.

Then he claimed not to get one or two emails from me..."Must have gone to Spam folder or something"...yeah, that's sounds kinda fishy, pal. I started to get a little leery of TYFSMFYC at this point. This leeriness was further solidified with this email:

I can explain my lack of Internet things. I would like to meet up again, maybe somewhere in Arlington? What about this Friday? Or maybe Saturday, but I may have work. Whatchya think?

Um...I am even further suspicious of you, that's what I think. "Lack of Internet things"?? Who the hell wrote this email, HAL 9000? (bonus points if you can spot that slightly-obscure reference)

But what the hell....who am I to judge, right? I mean, if you read this column regularly you know I have gone out on meetings with people a helluva lot worse.

I responded to TYFSMFYC saying I was actually free that Friday and within the hour he had responded back asking where I'd like him to meet me and at what time. Before I had a chance to respond, the next day I get this email from him:
Hey, I can't do Friday. I'm going to KY tomorrow to take care of some of the craziness from the last few weeks. I won't be back to DC for a few weeks. I have too much going on right now and just feel tired. I enjoyed meeting you but I'm going take a break from this for right now. I now this is insane and .... thanks for cutting me some slack.
Best wishes and good luck.

I mean how do you respond to that? For the record, I didn't respond at all but part of me wanted to simply respond to say:
"Thank You For Sparing Me From Your Craziness"

Clearly this guy didn't just have some baggage....he had a complete matching set of it. Sometimes it's nice when you can avert the crazy from the get-go without ever having to have it affect you, right?

And for the record...those emails were word for word, so all the awkward phrasing and word choices were TYFSMFYC's own and not manipulated for effect.

Monday Randoms

I don't really have any one thing I can focus on at the moment...actually, I kind of wish I did have just ONE thing I could focus on to help take my mind off of other things. But I guess for right now, writing a posting about many things will be the one thing to focus on. And hopefully make the clock speed up a little faster.


• Earbuds. If I have them in my ears, it probably means I am listening to music. Then why-oh-why do people always try to talk to me when I have them in my ears? And I am not talking about at work, when I should be open and receptive to people trying to talk to me. I am talking about at least 2-3 times a week when I am waiting for the bus or some other part of my daily commute. I must have one of "those faces" that people respond to and want to ask me how long I have been waiting for the bus or talk about the excess/lack of traffic that morning. Earbuds in = please leave me alone. This goes triple for air travel.

• People who invade my personal space on mass transit. To be fair, no I did not take this photo. And I actually think that is ample room for me. But more often than not, I get squished up against the window or flat out sat on by other passengers. And no, they are not larger plus-size people. I think they are just rude, inconsiderate jerks who don't give a crap.

• So cold. So very, verrryyyy cold. I cannot find a happy temperature to save my life lately. If I turn the heat on I get way too roasty-toasty. If I dial the heat back I turn into a human Popsicle. My only happy temp so far was under my covers this morning. Too bad I couldn't stay there all day.

• Christmas shopping. Not done yet. So basically if I can't order it and have it shipped in time or it isn't offered as a gift card at the Safeway next to my apartment, you aren't getting it as a gift from me this year.

• "127 Hours" Saw this movie last week. Had to keep my jacket over my face for the gruesome arm cutting scene. But I did get a good takeaway from this film -- always, always leave a note about where you are going.

• Champagne. A glass or two to celebrate an occasion? Lovely. Many, many sips of it at a Champagne tasting event on a Saturday afternoon? You will be asleep by 8pm and miss your Saturday evening plans.

Cookie Throwdown wrap up - Part 2

[If you need to, you can catch up on Part One here]

All of the bakers descended on our friend's house on Sunday evening. Another great part of this tradition is that she feeds us a fantastic dinner of spaghetti and homemade meatballs, sausage and gravy. And yes, I said gravy...I am 1/4 Italian after all. To thank her for being a hostess with the mostess, I made her a Pittsburgh Steelers wreath (sorry for the poor quality blackberry photo!)



After dinner is done and the dishes have been cleared...it's cookie time. Our hostess makes a little recipe book of everyone's entries that year and gives us baggies to start doling out our goodies to everyone around the table. We also make a "sampling plate" in the center that everyone taste tests from. After each of us has sampled each of the entries, we rank our favorites 1-2-3 and the hostess leaves the room to tabulate the votes.

While we were assured this year's voting was extremely close (and I would be inclined to believe her, everyone really stepped up their game this year!) the winner was the Coconut Macaroon. And the winning baker was absolutely thrilled -- her face was pretty priceless. She has truly come a long way from her early entries of bringing a cake the first year (I wasn't there but was told she didn't really "get" the whole cookie exchange concept the first go-round) to another year where she entered cookies so burnt on the bottom that I think we wondered why we even taking a little baggie of them home with us.

But I am not going to lie....I really wanted to win. I have even forced people to taste test all the cookies that I brought home with me and tell me their honest opinions. Well, I don't know how honest they are being to my face, but you get the picture. I can't let it go! So Just as in previous years, I will continue to keep my eye out for that perfect cookie recipe...the one that I can tuck away until next year that will be the 1st place winner. But the losing doesn't sting so much when you get to have a wonderful evening catching up and laughing with friends, eating a delicious dinner, drinking wine, and bringing home more cookies than anyone should keep in the house at one given time. A huge THANK YOU to our hostess for putting this together every year. And thank you to everyone who takes time out of their busy schedules to not only show up, but to put some time and thought into their baking creations and keep the competition stiff. Love all you ladies and hope we can keep this tradition going for years to come!

Other random notes from Cookie Throwdown 2010:
• Two words for next year – scoring cards. Hostess, don’t you worry about this one, I will take care of it for next year. But we need to start tallying by points in categories I think. This ain’t our first time at the rodeo anymore so I think we need to get more sophisticated in our voting.
• Another word for next year - trophy....we need one. I am thinking a golden spatula might be pretty darn spiffy.
• Everyone seriously brought their A game this year...some really impressive baking done by all.
• Was very excited to have a first-timer in the mix who moved back to the East COast this year. Her debut at the cookie party was impressive to say the least.
• I may be a little biased...but my friends have some of the cutest (and happiest!) kids I have ever seen.
• Best conoslation prize for not winning? A high five from my friend's son.


For those out there participating in your own cookie exchanges this weekend Good Luck & Happy Baking! And should you want to share your winning recipes with me....well I can't say I would be opposed to that.

Cookie Throwdown wrap up - Part 1

Many people have Cookie Exchange parties this time of year. My friends get together for more of a Cookie Throwdown -- heavy on the competition part of things and a little lighter on the warm-and-fuzzy exchange part of the evening.

Now, don't get me wrong...this is all in good fun and good spirits, I promise. Maybe we all just happen to be really competitive gals and this is our annual outlet for it? I can say it has become a great time over the years and a holiday tradition I genuinely look forward to.

I look forward to it so much so, that I got nervous it might not happen this year. We are hosted each year by one wonderful friend who became a first-time mommy this summer. She actually used the occasion of last year's Throwdown to announce her pregnancy. And while she is more than capable of doing it all, I had a worry about a month ago that maybe the Cookie Party (there, that's sounds a little sweeter than Throwdown, doesn't it?) would cease to be now that there was a baby in the house.

Thankfully, the party was still all systems go. Which then threw me into this dreadful time of year where I feel like I eat, sleep, breathe, and DREAM about cookie recipes. Where had I fallen short the year before?? What would the real "wow" factor be this year? What could I make that would be impressive and still not cause me to spend hours and hours in the kitchen?

I poured over my personal recipe collections. I asked friends for suggestions. I used my coworker/assistant to help me research recipes. (Employee of the year....that's me!) I even talked to Mr. Toothbrush about it -- thank goodness he's somewhat of a foodie so was intrigued by the cookie competition.

I finally settled on a Peppermint Brownie Bite -- a cookie/brownie hybrid with some peppermint buttercream frosting and decorative candy and chocolate drizzle topping. I thought that one had it all going on -- a different twist on a traditional cookie, a very holiday-ish appearance, buttercream frosting, and a chocolate drizzle. Because let's be honest, would a chocolate drizzle on top of anything make it worse?

Trouble with me is always budgeting enough time. I mean you don't want to make them too soon in advance, so I thought I would be safe with buying all of my ingredients the day before and then baking on the morning of the Party. That plan was wonderful except that my Safeway was out of the Peppermint Extract I needed for the frosting. I didn't have time to be running around to different grocery stores (had evening plans), but I also hated the thought of leaving another chore to do on Sunday morning.

So I texted Mr. Toothbrush to see in his culinary opinion if he thought I really needed it or if I could just skip it. I mean it was only a tablespoon of extract. And the crushed peppermints on top would make it still "minty." He told me to just go to the ABC store and buy a bottle of Rumple Minze. I think I safely managed to graduate college and lead a full adult life without EVER buying a bottle or Rumple Minze, but I took the suggestion and ran with it. Cause it was a heck of a lot better then a tablespoon of Scope mouthwash, which was the only other thing I could think of using as a replacement. And no fellow Cookie Party ladies, I likely would NOT have told you I had used Scope as my secret ingredient.

And you know what? The booze totally worked. I admit it turned my stomach a little to smell that liquor bright and early on a Sunday morning after a night out in Georgetown on Saturday...but I managed to hold it together.

Final products...one batch with crushed up peppermints


And another with just red sugar sprinkles.


I'll be back soon with Part 2 because I just know you are dying to find out who won...

Too soon for a toothbrush?

Frankly, it may also be too soon for me to post about things like this...but I figure you all have suffered through at least two weeks of no Tales From The Trenches Tuesday, so I should really throw you some sort of a bone. And I think I'd like some feedback, and many of you are REALLY good at feedback :)

Rewind to the last guy I actually dated -- this was back in late Winter and into Spring. And I don't think I really mentioned him at all on here, just when things actually ended. Sorry, I lied. I DID write about some of my worries while we were dating. And there is no way I could ever write about ALL of my worries because I just have too damn many of them. I am a worrier (it's genetic I think...thanks Coach!) and Hakuna Matata is a catchy song but not something I can actually live out in my day-to-day.

So one of the things that caught me a little off guard back then was when I was offered a toothbrush. I don't know how much actual time had passed but I had slept over at his place a number of times. And suddenly I was being offered a toothbrush. Before even beginning to question if it was time to be talking about toothbrushes, I remember wondering to myself "So does he just have a stock of toothbrushes that he hands out to sleeper-overers?"

And no, he was not a dentist, so I could not come up with any plausible reason for him to have a stock of spanking-new toothbrushes on hand. I mean...I didn't peek under his sink (kudos to me, right??) but I imagined there would have been something like this staring back at me.



I don't remember that I ever verbally accepted or declined that toothbrush. But it stayed there in the holder in his bathroom...and I used it when I slept over at his place. I felt weird about it every time though. Even after we had "the talk", I still felt uneasy about that whole toothbrush situation. Just kept making me anxious at how frequently toothbrushes may get cycled through there.

So how soon is too soon to have a talk about toothbrushes? Is keeping toothbrushes casually stashed around town totally acceptable these days? I mean, I have one I keep here at work but I don't think that's exactly on par with what I am getting at here. Or should people now be travelling with their own toothbrushes at all times, just in case? I mean, I keep a lot of things in my purse -- pair of flats for when my heels start to hurt, at least 3 chapsticks, 4 shades of lipgloss, even a peanut butter sandwich sometimes -- but maybe I should throw a toothbrush in there now.

And why am I all of the sudden pondering over toothbrushes? Well the boy that I have been going on dates with (clearly if he sticks around I need to come up with some sort of name for him) stayed over the other night and in leaving the next day, neglected to pack his toothbrush. So I noticed it there last night sitting on my sink and sent him a text to let him know he left it behind. Which was probably pointless of me because I hope in the day that had passed since he had been at my apartment, he would have been planning to brush his teeth and made that discovery that he didn't have his toothbrush with him all on his own.

I had a text from him this morning saying "Maybe I can just keep it there for sleepovers?" can't say I saw something like that coming. And THAT, dear bloggy friends, is what has me all sorts of hung up on toothbrushes today.

Again, this is very out of character for me to be sharing so much, but hey, let's try something new and different, shall we? Is it too soon for a toothbrush? How many other toothbrushes might he have stashed around the greater DC area? Am I just so cracked out from the stress of coming back to a mess of work at the office that I am just being cracked out about this too?

Discuss....

Yes, I am alive!

I've gotten juuuuuust a few emails and messages over the last couple days about my lack of posting on here. Sorry bout that folks! Things have been a bit busy and I have also been enjoying a little time off from work. Much needed time off from work or I was really going to have a meltdown.

I had to head up to PA earlier than I had planned to drive up for Thanksgiving. Sadly, my Godmother (who I had mentioned in this previous post) passed away and her funeral was last Monday. While it was a sad occasion, the service was filled with so much joy and music. I want to write about it because it really was a touching day and a great tribute to the wonderful person she was, I just haven't had it in me to write it out yet.

I enjoyed Thanksgiving up in PA and even a Saturday evening in NJ with one of my best friends from college...but it was a good feeling to come back to VA and my apartment. And then there have also been more dates with this guy (no, not Fist Bump, the guy at the end of the posting)

Just as I was getting used to feeling like a human being again...one that isn't inundated with work emails and wincing at the red light blinking on my blackberry, I had to come BACK to work today and I have literally felt the waves of stress crash down over me all again. I am even taking this small mental break now to write this because I have no idea what time I am going to leave my office tonight.

So please bear with me as I struggle to find some semblance of "back to normal" and can get back in a good routine of posting again.

I hope everyone out there had a wonderful Thanksgiving (and came back to a happier office than I seem to have returned to!)