Date #7

We had the date set for a month: May 12th. I knew nothing other than I would need to be dressed really nice, like we had been dressed for my Prom holiday party at work. I work a cocktail dress for that so I figured something along those lines would be apropos for our date. A few days before the date he dropped a few more hints: bring swing shoes, and maybe sneakers. Or maybe not. We "may not be walking that much". What does that even mean?! Where would it be remotely appropriate to wear sneakers and a cocktail dress?

Finally the day came! He came and picked me up at 2pm on Saturday, and boy did he look awesome. He was wearing a tux with a bright orange vest and tie (my favorite color), and was holding a bouquet of roses that were red, orange, and 2 rainbow roses. It was a gorgeous bunch and he got a huge hug just for that alone. :)

We finally went on our way and he said sometimes people will do things that are a little random while dressed up really nice, like go bowling. I asked if we were going bowling, fearing my lack of socks, and he said nope. We went to Majestic Fun. :) If you've never been, it's a ghetto version of Chuck-E-Cheese. I pretty much love it. Normally all the games work but today was not one of those days, and I'm sure it's just because our combined hotness blew them up. Haha! We played silly games for awhile, including a buck hunting one that I rocked at. I shot 24 out of 25 turkeys. He vowed to never buy me a gun. =P

We left after ~30 minutes and 60 tickets worth of Tootsie Rolls (3) and headed out to DC. He totally took me to the Titanic exhibit at the National Geographic Museum. Awesome. He knows I love Titanic, so it was awesome! They had props from the movie including a lamp and a life boat. It was pretty sweet. :) We walked around the samurai exhibit too, since the ticket included both.

After that we were both starving, but apparently "seating for dinner didn't start until 6:30". Whaaaa? Where were we going?! Caribou Coffee was right there, so coffee was drank and snacks were noshed.

He drove us to Alexandria, parked the car in what looked like a business district, and we started walking. I still had no idea where we were going as it looked like all businesses, and no restaurants. But we turned the corner and there was the Carylye Club.

It's a 1920's style art deco lounge and restaurant. I'd never heard of it and definitely had never been there. It was awesome. We were the only people there for awhile, so we got seated at the very front table on the dance floor. Dinner was delicious, the music was wonderful, and the decor was just gorgeous, and the ladies' room, believe it or not, was stunning.

There was a dinner show, but we didn't stay for it because he had other plans. Little did I know just how awesome his other plans were. :) We walked around a little bit to let dinner settle, and just because the area we were in was super nice. Then we drove to Arlington, I changed into my swing shoes, and we started walking out of the parking garage. I followed him up an off-ramp, begging him not to get hit by a car, but thankfully the area was pretty deserted. He found this spot he'd been to once before in Freedom Park and it basically looked like a rooftop terrace. It was a huge patio with a big walking path that led towards the Artisphere, and overlooked the city.

And what did we do on that rooftop terrace, you might ask?
Swing danced.
For like 45 minutes.
I might have twisted my ankle from stepping on it wrong, but darnit that was a good night and totally worth the slight limp I had yesterday. ;)


I seriously cannot get over how lucky I am. :o)

If this didn't look shady I don't know what does...

There comes a time in every girl's life where she comes across a moment in her life where she has to make a decision: to do or don't. This morning I made the decision to "don't", and paid for it not 20 minutes ago. 


Without further ado, I thought you'd all appreciate the awkwardness I just experienced… 

I may or may not have just shaved the front of my legs + my knees in the bathroom here at work.

Yes, you read that right. I, Not Just a Redhead, being of sound body and mind [most days] just shaved my legs in my professional workplace's bathroom. While kind of ON the sink. But more to that later. 

I thought I could get away as I have light leg hair but I realized it was almost soft, which while it feels not too awful, you know that's code red to cut down some timber. How did I do that, you may ask. I have a cheapy disposable razor from the front desk I got months ago and there's always a huge bottle of lotion in the bathroom. I hid my razor in my bra (after realizing ex post facto I definitely have a skirt with pockets on… Fail #1) and walked into the bathroom. I hesitated when I got in there and pondered how best to accomplish my mission. I decided the least awkward thing to do would be to take the lotion + paper towels into the handicapped stall so I could shave with the lotion and wipe the razor off with paper towels and pray for a minimal amount of razor burn. I realized as I latched the stall door how awkward it would look if someone were to walk in and see me toting a huge bottle of lotion plus a wad of paper towels into the largest stall (Fail #2). 

Once in the stall I realized razors (especially cheap ones) can not be cleaned off with paper towels alone (Fail #3). Regardless of the amount of pleading you do with the rough paper. For a brief moment I looked at the toilet (as the seat was up and it was morning which would indicate it's been cleaned) but realized I wouldn't look at myself the same ever again if I were to go down that road. I resigned myself to the fact that if the Amazon was to be tamed, I'd have to do it at the sink with water. 

I waited another second and practically ran to the sink, again to avoid someone walking in and seeing me come out with the lotion + paper towels (which now had smears of lotion all over them from the razor). During my sprint I thought I heard someone walking towards the bathroom and for a brief moment time froze: a desperate look filled my face while I seemed stuck as a gazelle who spots a lion hungry for Chick-Fil-A on a Sunday. I exhaled loudly then chided myself for drawing any possible attention. Hastily I spattered water on the front of my leg, rubbed a little lotion in there to again attempt to avoid some razor burn, then shaved the front of my leg. It was not a family friendly moment for me in the ladies' room, but I prayed that 1) there were no security cameras, and 2) that no one would walk in to see my skirt up around my hips and my leg bleeding from the aforementioned razor. I did manage to cut my left leg twice in my haste, but I figured people get cut when you burn down a forest. 

I tucked my razor into my pocket because that's more normal than my bra and speed-walked back to my desk. The last thing I need is someone wondering why I spent 20 minutes in the bathroom (although I'm fairly certain this whole thing took 5 minutes).

And here I am writing my tale of awkward to you.

Happy Wednesday.

P.S.- My leg is still bleeding. (Fail #4)

Faite

It’s been a month since my last post.

And what a whirlwind of a month it’s been! A^2 is still doing amazing- I like him more and more that I get to know him. =) He’s sweet and hilarious and weird and enamored with God. Basically he’s the incarnation of things I’ve always wanted. J Our dates since our first have all been themed- I told him “good luck” when it comes time for our next date since date #1 at National Harbor was so resplendent. And you know, he’s totally done well with planning. He’s so creative, which I never expected. Not because of him per se, but just because I don’t often expect men to be so on top of things! Perhaps there’s some mild psychosis there, but that’s for another blog post. ;) We have a running tally of dates we “should” do, however there extravagant and lovely to think about but fairly impractical… For example:

Date 2: Ireland

Date 3: Sign language classes

Date 4: Peru for authentic Peruvian chicken

Date 5: Hawai’i

Date 6: Epic Road Trip

Date 7: China

So you see they’re not exactly “normal” or “practical” dates. So what does my amazing boyfriend do? He steps it up.

Date #2 was Ireland. He told me to wear green, so I chose a green dress with leggings and flats and a cardigan. He showed up to my house promptly when he said he would, and said we “had to start the evening right”. What does he do? Pulls out 2 bottles of Sobe lifewater- whatever flavor comes in a green bottle. We “Cheers!” our plastic containers and he pulls out a bar of Lindt chocolate with pistachios in it (wrapper was green; surprised?) and then says we can start the evening off with “these” instead and pulls out a package of green Andes mints. Already I’m laughing and amazed at his planning and thoughtfulness. Was it all silly and cheesy? Yes. But so am I, so really it just delighted my heart! We went to Old Towne Alexandria and walked towards this store that appeared to be closed. He kept saying “aw man! Are they closed?!” because he apparently wanted to get me something in there. The store name? “The Irish Walk”. =) We have a silly joke about unicorns so he asked if I was double unicorn hungry and I said “triple unicorn hungry!” (again- I realize how ridiculous we are. I like it so shush.). He pulled my hand back into a courtyard behind the store and walked across the way and I noticed we were walking towards Pat Troys. Home of the Unicorn. Are you kidding me?!

© Pat Troy's

Who finds an Irish pub that happens to be “home of the unicorn”?! That’s absurd! That’s ridiculous! That’s… my boyfriend. =) He knows how much I love my Irish heritage and want to go to Ireland, and instead he took me to Ireland. It was silly and random but it was perfect.

Oh wait, I forgot there's more. 

Sorry for the terrible quality….

At the restaurant he dropped green food dye in our water. Once we finished our fantastic dinner + green water we went and got his stereo out of the car. I started smiling and asking what it was for, and he said "oh you know, thought we might do a little bit of dancing." There's a building I can never remember the name of with a huge fountain out front and a stage in between the fountain and the building. He put the stereo on the fountain (there were kids on a tour at the stage) and started playing Celtic music. My jaw dropped and I just laughed. We swing danced to Irish music for a couple of songs, but sadly my shins were hurting from the poor shoe choice. So we slow danced for a few songs. Excellent. ;-) We danced goofily to a few more songs, had people watch us and video as usual, and then danced to one of my favorite songs, L-O-V-E by VV Brown. So so good. I couldn't even believe the night I was having. And theennnn (because there's always more!) we walked down to the harbor and slow danced by the water. Like a dream, I know.

Since then we've had a "history lesson" date where we learned all about each other, a sign language date where he brought me a giant balloon and held up fantastic signs (which are now safely stowed under my bed), and a picnic complete with apple pie because it's my favorite. 

Daily I'm amazed at my life and how true God's blessings are. If I had followed my own path I would've been with someone else, but not with A. He's… everything. He's a combo deal that I never could've put together myself. I jokingly tell him he's "my Justin Timberlake" (if you've seen Baby Mama you know what I'm talking about). ;) 

Anywho. I'm happy. And I love my life. And I really like my boyfriend. =)