Fun Monday - APRONS

Fun Monday is being hosted at Ms Cellania this week. Her assignment?


'show your aprons' it can be your favourite or an unusual one or more than one. Be creative as you like; and secondly if, like me, you have lots of 'tea towels' that are brand new (or could be an old favourite) I would like to see those as well and hear the story behind the picture- was it a gift from a holiday, a present from auntie that you only use when she visits etc...........


Well, this one is a toughie for me, because I don't actually EVER use an apron. I own one...but it's just one I bought because it matched my "jalapeno" themed kitchen, and it just sort of hangs there, un-used. I honestly think I've worn it exactly once.


Even so, here it is in all it's glory:


This apron was part of a set that came with a dish-towel, oven-mitt, and four placemats. I use the oven-mitt quite often, the rest of the items sit in a drawer.


But as lacking as my "apron" collection may be, I have very fond memories of wearing mom's aprons growing up. My mother was (and still is) quite the seamstress, and she had several aprons she had made herself. I used to love to wear them as I helped out in the kitchen. She still has a few of those, and I wish I had remembered this Fun Monday assignment while I was at her house this weekend, I would have loved to have shared photographs of them with you.


As for me, my current lifestyle doesn't really allow much time in the kitchen. I can cook (quite well, if I say so myself), but most days I don't. I eat out quite a bit, and when I do cook, I tend to stick to quick and easy meals...cooking for one is not exactly inspiring of grand meals...after all, I'd spend way more time cooking them than eating them. Therefore, for now, the apron sits and waits.


Next week's Fun Monday is being hosted by Beckie...be sure to stop by to get your assignment!

Text Flirting (Dating in the Age of Technology)

At long last…the story you’ve all been anxiously awaiting. After all that build up, I sure hope it doesn’t disappoint.

Okay, so when we last left off, here, LawBoy had sent me yet another random text message, after ignoring and/or avoiding actual conversations via e-mail or telephone, and I was just a bit too fed up with the randomness to reply.

As was discussed in the comments to my last post about LawBoy, I had suspicions that he was playing the hot/cold game either because of lack of interest in anything but friendship, or more likely, because he was a boy, therefore, majored in mind games and was just being stupid. But, there was also the suspicion in my mind that he might not be “available” and was therefore, playing, but not able to actually “play”.

Whatever the reasoning behind the mind games, I wasn’t all that interested in deciphering them, mind games being only one of the many, MANY reasons I have remained single as long as I have.

So, it was with this mindset to not really think about it, that I entered my mini-vacation last weekend. In all honesty, I’d kind of forgotten about him and his text message the previous week.

And yet, as Foxy and I returned from our night out at Grease, I received yet another random “How are you” text message. It was 10:56 p.m. Girlish laughter and giggles ensued as I shared the text message with Foxy, and we headed out to meet up with Ms. B. in her hotel room, and hang out with her for a while. I replied with a “Good, In NYC this weekend”. LawBoy, by the way, is originally from “the Bronx”, and promptly replied with a message to the tune of “Should have invited me, that’s my hood”.

The next few hours turned into a giggle fest with the girls and I laughing every time my phone would chirp with a new message, and we would try to figure out the best way to respond. Wonder if he knew our conversation was a collective effort? Well, to be honest, neither Foxy nor Ms. B, were much help, as most of their responses were along the lines of “I’m so glad I don’t have to date anymore”, “I can’t help you there, I wouldn’t know what to say”. Yeah, thanks girls!

Anyway, to make matters easier for myself, I’m digging out my cell phone and giving you the play-by-play of our text conversation (color coded for your reading convenience, and with editorial input in these handy dandy parentheses where necessary).

So, we’re at “Should have invited me” right?

K: I’m in Queens for a wedding. Went to see Grease tonight.
LB: Did you need a date? (more giggles and laughter from the girls, but not really knowing how to respond, I didn’t for a bit).
LB: I haven’t had this much fun in a long time. Wish you were here. (Random yet again…)
K: Huh, Fun how? (genuinely confused, not really sure what he’s talking about, beginning to suspect LB has had a few beverages by this point).
LB: At a spot with my boy, dancing my ass off. Have not been hit on like this in years.

UM…okay…and why do I want to know this? The girls and I decide this is a rude and unnecessary show of “studliness” on his part, which does not deserve a response, so I give him none and continue hanging out with the girls. Eventually, it is getting late, and the bride-to-be needs some beauty sleep, so Foxy and I leave her and head back to our room. It is about 1:20 at this point, so I decide to say good night:

K:Well, we’re calling it a night, have fun.
LB: Holla at me (right, cuz suddenly he’s so gangsta).

And at this point, I’m thinking it’s all done, and I’ll get some sleep. And then…chirp:

LB: You too (huh? Me too what? Foxy and I deduce that either a. he was replying to someone else – in which case HOW DARE HE ;-) or b. he is still delay replying to my “have fun” message).

K: Me too, what?

LB: Having fun, wish u were here. (yep, he’s drunk, and me? Well, Foxy is falling asleep, and I’m wide awake now)

K: Well, You do still owe me a drink

LB: How you want it?

K: I don’t know, you make it happen (so tired of making all the effort here).

LB: I like body shots (WHOA…what? Definitely drunk, this is sort of out of character for him)

K: Slow down killer, one drink does not get you that privilege.

LB: I should not be saying this to you. I apologize. (back to character…)

K: Don’t sweat it, I’m not easily offended. Figuring u been drinking a bit, haha (really, he HAS to be drunk).

LB: My judgment is not clouded. Real talk: we would not be having this conversation if there was not interest on both sides. There may be circumstances that prevent it, but there is interest and you know it. (Well then! But…hmm…circumstances huh? I’m suspecting…)
K: Not saying there isn’t, remember I suggested drinks. Call me intrigued for now.

LB: Yeah, OK, I understand, can’t say interest. Won’t say interest. I know, Life is what it is. There will come a time when we confront all of this one way or another. (Now we’re getting philosophical…Life is like a box of chocolates…some times you get a nut…oh, sorry, I digress).

K: For the record, I’m all about confronting and seeing what’s what, but I don’t know your story currently, You tell me. (Let’s get to the bottom of this, shall we? Drumroll ladies:)

LB: Unhappy in a situation and have made my unhappiness known. The kids…that are not mine…and I don’t have any…are the best part of the situation 90 percent of the time. I love the kids. (And therein lies the truth!)

Little background here…this person he is with he has been with for at least 4 years now. He was with her when I left my last job. She has 3 kids of her own, and he’s been playing “daddy” to them all this time. I know he’s crazy about the kids. I also know, from previous conversations with him as long ago as 3 years ago, that he hasn’t been happy in this relationship for a VERY long time. Why in the world he’s stayed in a relationship he’s not happy in, is beyond me…but then, we’ve all done this at one time or another, haven’t we? Also, I get the kid thing. I was with someone once who had a 1 year old that I was MADLY in love with and to this day, I miss that kid more than I miss that ex, and wonder quite often how the kid is doing, what he looks like, what kind of little man he grew up to be…he’d be 5 now…so I get the kid thing, it sucks! Back to the texting:

K: That’s tough, been there. So, ball’s in your court with me. I have no situation, meantime, we’re friends.

LB: Ur a keeper.
K: Tell somebody. ;-)
LB: Understood. Love the white boots.
LB: Our situation may change real soon

Okay, to clarify a few things…in the timing of text messages, the above were all coming and going at about the same time…so…Ur a keeper and Understood, both reply to the “ball’s in your court/we’re friends” comment. The white boots? Again with the random. And yet, after my initial “What the hell is he talking about?” I realized that he was referring to a particular pair of white go-go boots I owned when we worked together (and no, I did not wear these boots to work). We had gone to a Hawaiian themed party in the dead of winter (we attended separately, I went with my friends, he went with his, but it was a party for a mutual co-worker’s birthday), and I was wearing a Hawaiian top, white skirt and white go-go boots (seriously, I could rock the white boots then). I remember him commenting on the boots the following Monday at work. The “situation change” comment I replied to below:

K: Even if not, friends have drinks. No longer have the boots. (WHAT? I’m single, I can TOO still flirt and want to have drinks, and friends CAN TOO have drinks, leave me alone).

LB: You still working with that girl in the Big Brother Big Sister program? I know she meant the world to you. (and again with the random. Yet, maybe not, as maybe he’s trying to make me see how important the kids are to him? Or maybe to let me know he still remembers this about me? Or, maybe he’s just random).

K: Yeah, she’s 14 now, love her.

LB: Wow, high school soon. You thought I forgot about the boots.

K: Yeah, surprised you remember. Didn’t think you really still thought of me much (again, WHAT? It’s late, and he’s bringing it up, I’m just trying to decipher how deep this goes, that’s all).

LB: There is a lot you don’t know (well then!)

K: Tell me sometime but I’d rather hear than read (fingers tired, too much texting)

LB: Ok, no problem

K: Having too much fun talking, but should be sleeping (really, fingers tired, too much texting)

LB: You know you don’t want to go to sleep. (BRAT)

K: True, tired of texting, are you bold enough to call? (Oh, you know you wanted me to say it).

LB: I’m tired but that sounds like a challenge.

And then my phone rings (well, vibrates, at this point, Foxy is WAY in sleepyland, and I don’t exactly want to wake her up, so I’ve shut off the ringer hours ago). That part of the conversation is not recorded on my phone like the texts are, and I was seriously half asleep, so I can’t really tell you word for word what happened…but it was something along the lines of him saying he was really too tired to talk, but couldn’t pass up the challenge, me saying I was tired too, and trying to whisper not to wake Foxy up, and then him telling me he’d call me right back, and hanging up. And then…a few minutes later, a text:

LB: Call you in the am. (chicken shit…)

K: Chickened out. ;-) Nite.

LB: Can’t talk, too sleepy we will get on this tomorrow. (too sleepy to talk, not too sleepy to type? Right! CHICKEN…)

At this point, it was 2:58AM…I said good night and shut off my phone.

There was a text message the following night about whether I was having fun at the wedding, he was working (out with clients or some such). That was the last of our communication since.

Now, before you jump to warn me not to get involved with a man in a relationship, let me spare you the trouble. I have exactly ZERO intentions of getting involved with him while he is still in this relationship.

A. I’m not that girl, I’ve never wanted to be the “other woman” and have no intentions of becoming her.
B. OOOH Lord, I’ve dealt with enough baby-momma drama to know better than to step into a situation with kids before it’s been WELL sorted out. Even if they are not technically his kids, I’m SO not going there.

Also, this is the “why buy the cow” argument moms have…As my mom said to me when I told her this story “You start seeing him and he has NO reason to break off his relationship.” She is right of course, but this is probably the LEAST of my reasons. In all honesty, as much as I may joke that “hey, I’m single, I don’t have any commitments” and can therefore do what I want…I just wouldn’t feel right aiding someone in cheating. If he truly is unhappy, then he will eventually break it off, and then at that time, we’ll see what’s what. Besides, I actually don’t think he has any intentions of cheating. He was pretty straightforward about “circumstances preventing”, etc. and I think he really just needed an outlet Friday night, and that is why text messaging is so safe, as opposed to an actual phone call. PLUS, I’m not even really sure there is something there to pursue. I’ve known him a long time, and we’ve always been friends, but I’ve never really thought of him in a romantic way until this whole texting scenario. I have no idea if there is sufficient chemistry there, I haven’t seen him in years. I get it now that he’s always had a thing for me, but I honestly never thought of him that way. That’s not to say it’s not a possibility, but there is also the possibility that there’s nothing.

Here’s the thing, its been really good for my ego to know that the reason I’ve been getting these random texts from him for the last year or so, has been because when the chips are down in his relationship, I’m the one he’s thinking about…I know it sounds terrible, but damn if it doesn’t make me feel desirable! I’m the one that got away? SWEET!

That said, I’m just now deciding to hit the dreaded dating scene again, so the timing for the ego boost couldn’t have been more perfect. As I told him, the ball is now in his court, and in the meantime, I will be going about my business.



Now, can anyone think of a good reason for me to call the Meineke guy who changed the oil and the tires on my car last week? Because he was really hot!

Thirteen Things about Friday Night in NYC As I have promised to recount my weekend in New York City, today’s TT is going to take a slightly different format, as I tell you about Friday night and the Broadway Production of Grease. Before I launch into my TT, however, I just want to send out my prayers to the families and friends of anyone involved in the horrendous bridge collapse in the Twin Cities. My thoughts are with you today! Now, on with TT: 1. I arrived at the hotel in Queens at about the same time as Foxy, we met in the lobby, checked into our room and proceeded to gab non-stop for about two hours. As mentioned, there was no “introductory” awkwardness…we are old friends, we just happen to have never been in each other’s physical presence (curious?). 2. After getting ready, we took a subway into Manhattan, walked around Times Square for a bit, and then headed to the Theatre District to locate the theatre where Grease was playing. Found a nice Italian Restaurant called Scarlatto, conveniently located next door to the theatre. 3. We enjoyed a dinner of Spinach Raviolli, stuffed with goat cheese, sundried tomatos, and I forget what else, served with Portabella mushrooms. YUM. OH, also had an appetizer of mussels…delicious. OH, and my FIRST Martini in about 4 months…a chocolate martini of course. Let me tell you, the only good thing about swearing off martinis for my diet was how good it made this one taste! HEAVEN! 4. After dinner, we headed into the theatre, where we found our seats to be, quite literally, in the LAST ROW at the very top of the theatre. Thankfully, the Brooks Atkinson Theatre is a fairly small venue, therefore, we still had a great view of the stage.5. The show itself was fantastic! For those who don’t watch reality television (I readily admit I’m addicted to most reality tv), recently there was a show titled “Grease, You’re the One That I Want”, in which the goal was to find the next Danny and Sandy to play those roles in a Broadway production. Both Foxy and I watched this show, and were happy to learn we’d be in NYC in time to catch the production, so we bought tickets. 6. Max Crumm and Laura Osnes, the winners of the competition did a wonderful job. Laura has an amazing voice, and blew me away with her singing. She was excellent as the innocent new girl Sandy. Max was quite a character on the reality show, but more of a “class clown” figure, so even though he was one of my favorites, I wasn’t sure how he’d pull off the swagger that John Travolta brought to Danny in the film. I’m happy to report that he certainly “studded” up. He was perfect in the role. The supporting cast was all fantastic as well. Jenny Powers who played Rizzo had a fantastic voice, as did Ryan P. Binder who played Doody (he actually blew me away with his voice) and Lindsay Mendez, who as Jan had a pretty fantastic duet with Laura. Kristen Wyatt, as Frenchy was hilarious and fit the character perfectly. 7. The story line itself was changed a bit from the movie, but my understanding is that it was truer to the original script written for stage production. There were some of the favorite songs from the movie, but also other original songs. The writing was funny and witty, and although the sequence of certain events confused and even slightly disturbed such a Grease die-hard fan as me, overall it was a fun production. 8. It turns out opening weekend for this show isn’t even until August 19th, so what we were seeing was one of the preview shows. I honestly have no idea what that even means, but am really excited that I got to be a part of Max and Laura’s debut on Broadway. I have a feeling both of their careers will take off after this, and it’s kind of cool to be able to say I saw them when. 9. I bought a Grease t-shirt at the show. I’m not one to ever buy merchandise at shows or concerts, I find them to be overpriced and not even of the greatest quality, but this was Grease…I had to do it. 10. Once the show ended we strolled through Times Square for a bit, but both of our feet were killing us, we were not dressed to walk around, so we took the subway back to the hotel. 11. Upon arriving at our room, we had a message from Ms. B., she was also staying at the hotel that night, was back from her rehearsal dinner and was lonely and bored. She invited us to come hang out in her room with her for a while, which we did. 12. We brought a bottle of wine to the room, and all had a drink and gabbed for a few hours more. I updated the girls on the non-existing LawBoy situation, and we giggled like school girls as it just so happened he chose that evening to text message me, pretty much non-stop for the remainder of the evening. Every time my phone would shrill with a new text message, we would laugh, and then break into a chorus of “How do we respond??” It was a team effort at that point. 13. The bride-to-be then needed to get some sleep, so we headed back to our room around 1AM, at which point Foxy fell asleep, and I continued text messaging until about 3:30 in the morning. And yes, I promise details of the actual text conversations, as well as a post about the fantastic wedding on Saturday…stay tuned.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Look around a bit

Lots to talk about...keep checking back, I have tales and tales to tell... and before the threats of bodily harm start streaming in...there will be a LawBoy update by the end of the week, I promise!

If you are here for Wordless Wednesday, it's right here.

In the meantime, let me introduce you to some more of my friends. (For even more of my friends, check out last week's Fun Monday.

This week's Fun Monday was all about the secrets in our Refrigerators.

There's also a fun Meme about dream careers...tell me what you want to be when you grow up.

And from last week:
Thursday Thirteen
Wordless Wednesday
And some monkeys.

Enjoy!

Not Exactly WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

For other Wordless Wednesdays, go here.