Meanwhile, back at the Bat Cave...

What was I doing all that time I was away from my blog?

Well, I:

...participated in the Mighty Texas Dog Walk with 'Stache. So much fun; took my dog and Platinum - and she walked the entire thing with me! That's a long distance for a 5-year old. We turned around just a bit before the midpoint, but we still completed about 4/5 of the 5k.
...met some men. More on that later, really.
...lightened my hair to a strawberry blonde.
...broke up with someone. There will NOT be more on that later.
...ended my first year of teaching.
...decided to start saving to get a new car by December.
...turned 31. Acted like a 21 year old that night :-)
...bought some very, very nice shoes and handbags. I almost blogged about that the day I bought them - I'm that into shoes that they inspire me to reach for the keyboard, all the while ignoring any semblance of deep thought.
...went on a vacation to an island with my family.
...came back with a blistering sunburn from said island trip.
...pretended to be a proctologist named Dr. Anita Manda Cuppenpoke for a P Party. What's a P Party, you ask? Everyone comes dressed as something beginning with, you guessed it, the letter P. It was a good time for sure, but not quite the highlight of my partying month. My birthday night out gets that honor, hands down ;-)
...conquered a mild fear of the ocean, and boats on the ocean.
...was contacted by, I kid you not, 4 ex boyfriends. Well, the term "boyfriend" is used loosely here. Three of them were men that I had dated briefly (2-4 dates) last year, one was someone with a bit more significance. After talking to Christmas, I was reminded of a rather obvious bit of wisdom that I have chosen to ignore repeatedly as of late. Exes are exes for a reason, and that reason is virtually always present regardless of how much time has passed. I should tattoo this on my forearm for reference.
...met a man at a bar. I know, I know, I know...cliche and awful sounding, right? It gets worse (and yet, in some ways, better - even pretty good). I'll just let your imaginations run wild with this one. Three of my closest girlfriends know allllllll about it :-) Let's just say, Jerry Springer would have been proud of the aftermath.

I'm going to end this post on that high note. I'll expand on a few of the events another time, because they are worth exploring in order to sharpen my perspective...and, they're pretty damn funny.

The Waiters

A big 'thank you' goes out to 'Stache this weekend. He is a pretty amazing guy. Be sure to tell him that to his face if you see him; he LOVES being told how sweet and kind he is! :-) After a great talk last weekend, he inspired me to get back into some volunteer work - and include Platinum in it! She is at a great age to comprehend the value in helping others, to understand how much exists beyond her own world. Her open and outgoing nature makes her a great candidate for serving others in some capacity; which is exactly what we did on Saturday.

Per 'Stache's suggestion, Platinum and I went to a nursing home and delivered balloons. I should have taken my camera along... I had been worried that there would be too much red tape and bureaucracy to wade through before actually being able to implement the plan. Not so. Every place I called was very pleased to hear the idea, and thrilled that we wanted to come by so soon. I called a handful of places in town last week, and we went out on Saturday morning, from about 10:00-12:00. We ended up at one that was centrally located and quite nice. They gave me a list of 15 residents that they knew would most benefit from a surprise visit such as ours. The first few were a little confused about who we were and why we were there. I guess it's not every day that some adorable blond comes in with a handful of colorful helium balloons and asks you what your favorite color is. They kept asking things like "Do you work here? Is it time for my shower? Do I know you?" They were grateful nonetheless, and Platinum was very courteous and patient with them.

...

I know they're adults and all, but honestly, some of them were rather similar to the children I work with. I could tell that their brains were still "them" but their bodies just wouldn't let them act as such. I got a little teary after the first two residents - felt too much like they were simply...

waiting...

...

There were two women near the end of our visit that simply adored Platinum and were just tickled that we were doing this 'just because'. They asked if we would be back again another day, to which I quickly replied "Absolutely!" I meant it. We will definitely be back. Next time, we'll do something less cumbersome than balloons. Perhaps individual flowers, perhaps a story time with Platinum reading aloud to them. We'll think of something, or just consult 'Stache again.



When was the last time you gave of yourself?

Confidence of the Innocent

Overcast skies, slight drizzle, eventual sunshine and cool breezes...very nice weather to accompany my very nice weekend. This was one of the most relaxing weekends I've had in a long time. I spent Friday night taking my daughter, Platinum, to "Awesome Grocery Store" for our standard eve of dinner and live music. She is such a social butterfly; I love watching her work a crowd. Every time she strikes up a conversation with a stranger I glow with pride - proud that she is bolder than I was at her age, proud that she has oodles of confidence in her adorable 42 pound body. More about that later...

My friend, Rugby, went with us. We enjoyed some excellent pizza and a very smooth, velvety Australian Shiraz. Man, that was some good wine! I did tear the little 'remember this wine' tab off so i could get it again next time. Anyway, we had a nice relaxing time with easy conversation, and Platinum was really into exploring. She (verbally) negotiated her way into getting across the little retaining pond with Rugby. She's really good at negotiating. I see either legal defense/prosecution, or car sales in her professional future - let's all hope for the former (better get to savin'!). Rugby was a great sport and gave her a shoulder ride across the rocks and all down the trail on the other side of the hill. She had a blast, and was quite worn out by the time we got in the car to go home at 9:45pm. She passed out in the car, and I carried my flour sack of a child in to her bedroom and gave her an extra long hug as I considered my somewhat sad thoughts that came up as I had watched her being her usual, social self.

The "more about this later" part will indeed have to wait, as I am super tired from my fabulous weekend...which included a multi-stage, blissful date with 'Stache :-) It is absolutely post-worthy, but I might keep this good time to myself - don't wanna jinx anything, ya know? Trying to stick to my previously stated oath and all...