Thursday Thoughts v.33

Happy Thursday friends! Write down what you're thinking today and then link up below so that others can read what you're thinkin'! Bullet point, write a narrative, add your Random Thursdays or It's OKs (although it's always okay to be who you are, yo), it doesn't matter! 

[1]
This video has been going viral for the past two days now, but I still can't stop giggling every time I watch it. If you haven't seen it, seriously, watch it immediately.

[2] Our GSA intramural volleyball team (wittier name forthcoming, hopefully) won our first game on Tuesday evening! We were almost undefeated last year, so I think we're all shooting for a sweep this season. People are a little unfriendly to us 'cuz we're graduate students (outgroup members), but we don't get phased.
[3] In yet another awesome video, check out these 12- and 8-year olds sing a gorgeous song. The 8-year old (Maisy) has perfect pitch, and you can tell when she harmonizes with her older sister (Lennon). Amazing. It's pretty short, so you should totally watch it:
[4] One of my male friends has started calling girls he finds attractive "crunchy," aka "That girl's crunchy like granola!" He says it's for Portland-y, hippie, nature-y type women. I think it sounds disgusting. Thoughts? [5] If you have any awesome online dating stories, let me know! I'd love to feature your story sometime. Leave a comment or email me and we'll get it figured out! 
What are you thinking today? Link up here! Make sure to check out others' thoughts and let them know you stopped by!

Online Dating: A Success Story

Online dating is, well, kind of creepy (examples here, here, here, and here). I got this email yesterday:

"Hey there! I'm [John] I'm just browsing through Stop to check yours out, When can we start dating? I'm ready to find a true relationship. And you sound great!"

Ummmm, how do you nicely say "never"? Awkward...

Luckily, there are some success stories to online dating. I usually only blog about the not-so-good ones ('cuz let's face it, a little bit of schadenfreude is hilarious), but I don't want you guys to get too creeped out and hate the idea. Luckily, Emily from Dirt and Pearls has a fantastic online dating success story. She writes,

I met this guy on Match. We went out on our first date and had great time, so when he asked me out on a second date, I was thrilled. He took me out for my 29th birthday, where we went to hear a band play and then went to a piano bar. When we left the piano bar, we proceeded to walk to his car since I had met him downtown. Guess what happened? He lost his car!
He couldn't remember where he had parked. We rode around downtown in a cab for hours looking for his car and I was so irritated and tired and couldn't wait to get home. I found out that later the next day, he eventually found his car. I spent the majority of the night riding around in a cab on our second date and there was no way that I was going out with him again. 
 But, I did go out with "that guy" again. I have been married to "that guy" for 3 years and we have an adorable 2-year old son. On our 2nd wedding anniversary, he gave me the Tiffany's Taxi Cab charm for my Tiffany's charm bracelet. I thought it was the sweetest gift ever! Most people don't know that story, so it was kind of like an inside joke just between us. We are happily married and currently living in Kentucky!
See? Online dating is totally legit...even if your date accidentally loses his car on your second date. ;)  Got any good (or bad!) online dating stories? Email me or leave a comment with your email address to have your story featured!

10 [only 8] on Tuesday: A Life Update

Linking up with Lin

[1]

Congrats to the newest PhD Candidate in my program, Candice! She's another 5th Year with me, so I'm fiercely loyal (gotta stick together when there's only three of you!). Congratulations Candice! 

(Notice her major professor Skyping in? He's currently living in Singapore.)

[2]

This past week has been crazy! I owe y'all some Online Dating Disasters stories! Tomorrow. Promise.

[3]

I had a date on Sunday that was quite successful! I won't blog about it (although if you're a close friend of mine, you already got a text message picture that I snuck while we were drinking coffee 'cuz I'm creepy like that) but date number two is impending.

[4]

I got a call from my neighbor on Sunday night letting me know my back right tire was flat, and of course, being 5'2 and not the strongest person in the world, I called the only man I know in Waco to come help me: Michael Brown (you may remember him as the dad in the family photos I recently took). He, Caryn, and his youngest son Ed came to help me change my tire. It was a good idea that I called him, because I definitely needed air in my spare tire and he brought a compressor. Amazing. Thanks again, Brown family!

[5]

So of course, Monday morning after my first class, I had to go get the tire changed...and apparently my tires were all unsafe and the tread was worn on all of them. Damn. I bought tires back in 2009 (don't judge me and the ridiculous blonde hair) and was hoping to go a little longer, but I got some credit back for two of the tires that had minimal miles left on them. Life could be worse; at least I can afford them, right?

[6]

Discount Tires in Waco is conveniently located a street over from Barnes and Noble, which means that wasting time while you're getting new tires isn't hard to do at all. I walked over there, called my mom, and walked around the store looking at books I could potentially buy with the 20% off coupon my mom sent me earlier this week. I also got a coffee frappuccino and the barista put whipped cream (not usual with the coffee flavor)...and it was probably the greatest thing ever. Not complaining at all!

[7]
I can't stop listening to this song. It's so dang catchy!

[8] Week two of classes and I'm already going to strangle some students. You're in college, suck it up yo!
Happy Tuesday friends! Hope you don't have to buy new tires this week!

Gratitude Attitude: M'Lynn and Jasmyn

Friday was a pretty awesome day. Among other things, it was the last day of my first full week as a professor. 

My previous students, Jasmyn and M'Lynn (you may remember them as the ones who wrote my name on their forehead) went out to dinner with me on Wednesday to celebrate M'Lynn's 20th birthday a little late. We had great conversation and got to spend some good quality time together before the craziness of the semester set in. 

Friday after my statistics lecture, Jasmyn and M'Lynn showed up with a cake to celebrate my first full week. It was an unexpected surprise that made me tear up out of sheer joy and gratitude for two of the sweetest students ever. 

 Jasmyn's the brunette and M'Lynn's the redhead.

Extra credit for the ProfesSar pun!

Needless to say, I'm humbled. 

Thank you to two of most heartfelt, compassionate students I've had the pleasure of teaching. To M'Lynn and Jasmyn, I'm forever grateful for your amazing attitudes, hilarious jokes, sweet hearts, and delicious cake. 

Thursday Thoughts v.32

You know the drill! Write down what you're thinking today and then link up below so that others can read what you're thinkin'! Bullet point, write a narrative, add your Random Thursdays or It's OKs (although it's always okay to be who you are, yo), it doesn't matter!

{1}

I am already loving teaching at UMHB. This campus feels like my alma mater, right down to the friendliness of the students, size of the campus, and badass-ness of the DIII football team. Plus my classes are fantastic, so I can't imagine a better experience.

{2}

Have y'all seen this video? I hope I'm as cool as this father one day.

{3}

I'm getting really tired of a lot of the blogs I used to love. They're focusing a lot of gathering readers (which I understand when you're trying to monetize your blog), posting sponsored posts, and hosting swaps/giveaways. And don't get me wrong, I love all those things, but I'm seriously thinking about unfollowing. I miss opinions, and hearing about their lives, and seeing photos that you didn't post 20x on Twitter. What are your thoughts about this? Do you think those "bigger blogs" would get offended?

{4}
Texas weather has been ridiculously nice lately. The days are a little warm still, but the mornings have been absolutely perfect. Evidence:

{5}
I forgot how much of an old lady I am when students come back to campus. I should be sitting in a rocking chair outside my house, waving my cane and yelling "Get off my lawn!" Here's hoping for a routine. ;)

What are you thinking today? Link up here:

Tuesday Randomness

Last week, the Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez threw a perfect game. For those who don't know baseball, this kind of thing does not happen often. Anyway, when he finished, he celebrated by a one-leg raise, one arm pointed up pose that has become a Seattle phenomenon called "Felixing." Yesterday, I got this text message from my mom:

 "Dad Felixing with the money he won at the casino!"

Yeah. My dad > your dad.

Yesterday, I got to meet up with Lauren, a friend from church who I haven't seen since April. She's just about to start law school at Baylor next week, and so it was fantastic to get to catch up before her storm hits. Plus we got to sit in Outdoor Waco's massive lifeguard chairs and people-watch while drinking coffee, so life was good.

After that, I went to my bestie Liz's dad's swearing in ceremony. For those who don't know my political beliefs, I'm pretty moderate (although totally socially liberal), but her dad is conservative and just won the Republican Chairperson position for McLennan County.

Ralph calls me his Token Liberal Friend (which is probably true, as I met a senator, a Texas House representative, and the Republican nomination for McLennan County Sheriff yesterday, along with a massive amount of Republican supporters), and he's basically my Waco dad. 

 This picture pretty much embodies my relationship with the Patterson fam. Ralph and I are trying to thumbs up, but Cathy is trying to tell us it's not classy and that we shouldn't do it. Which is pretty much why I love this photo.

Other cool things that happened yesterday: I taught my first 110-person class (not the first time I've lectured in front of that many people, but the first time it was my course), got to meet my lab (favorite fun fact of the morning from a student: she has 6 toes on her left foot...awesome self-disclosure, right?), and ate two pieces of cake at Ralph's afterparty. 

Life is good, yo.

Monday, Monday

Can't trust that day. 

Name that reference!

Hopefully today is starting off your week absolutely fantastic! Thus far, my 13 hours of Monday have been pretty darn good and it can only go up from here! Some fun things from the weekend:

First off, after I publicly shamed Paul for the Great DVR Gymnastics Deleting of 2012, he countered by making me M&M cookies. From scratch. Cookies don't mask the pain, Paul, but they sure do ease it.

(Jena said if he was really trying to apologize, they would have had Jordyn Wieber's face iced on them. Just saying, Paul.)

 This weekend, I went to Dallas to visit my bestie Em and have a grand time celebrating nothing but our awesomeness. It was Dallas Restaurant Week so we headed to a fancy steakhouse (Dallas Chop House) for cocktails and a fancy meal. Emily's cousin Thomas was in town (who was delightfully awesome for a 22-year old male) and we decided to all get something different to share. Genius.

This was a fantastic idea as Thomas had the best appetizer (ahi tuna tartar with avocado), whereas my cucumber avocado and crab gazpacho was delicious but filling, and Em's grilled peaches and mozzarella salad was a little tough (I don't think the peaches were ripe enough, but it was still delicious).

Both Em and I had the 8oz filet mignon which was crazy huge and absolutely fantastic (don't worry Scott, I had it medium rare; you'd be proud). Thomas got the pepper crusted New York sirloin and loved it, although he missed out on the amazing green onion mashed potatoes that came with ours. So damn good.

We rounded out the evening with dessert, which I instagrammed (if you care). We were so full from cocktails, appetizers, and dinner that none of us finished, but it was still delightful.

The next morning we went to breakfast at Cafe Brazil, a great breakfast restaurant that serves amazing coffee and espresso before heading out to shop at Dallas's new outdoor outlet malls in Grand Prairie. It was opening weekend so we wore walking shoes and Em packed us a survival kit that included water, Cheez-Its, and champagne. 

We drank the champagne in the parking lot because we didn't want to break too many laws, but don't worry, there was no drinking and driving. Also, I'm pretty sure this makes Em the best friend ever. 

Shopping was successful (and we only had one store that we ran out terrified after the hoards of people inside scared us), then we went back to Em's place and took a nap.

Saturday evening we went to see The Cab in concert at the Dallas House of Blues. It was a fantastic show plus Em and I situated ourselves right by the bar, so you can guarantee we had a blast. :)

Needless to say, I had a crazy, busy, fantastic weekend full of good friends, great food, and plenty of cookies. 

Sunday Reflection: A Reminder

Just a reminder after this crazy week from Toca and Jason:

Ah la la la la la la, life is wonderful.

Let's talk about support

Alright, I've been putting this off long enough. Let's talk about support, guys. 

And no, not bras (although I recommend this one for anybody who cares).

Emotional support.

Lately, The Man* has been getting me down. And for someone who can usually push through the not-so-good times with a smile on her face, you can imagine how annoyed I am at the current situation.

*No names used so I don't get kicked out of graduate school.

The Man has never really been supportive. To be fair, he's never really been unsupportive either, he's just not one of those cheerleader types. I rarely get a "good job" from him, which means that when he does say it, it's genuine. I don't need constant support or someone consistently telling me I'm doing the right thing, but I also don't need negativity. And guess what I'm currently getting from him right now? Negativity.

I'm teaching this new course in the fall, but I feel pretty prepared for it (mostly because I've taught the corresponding lab for the past seven semesters). When I was originally offered the job, the chair of our department let me know that The Man was okay with it, but that he thought it may take me an extra semester to graduate. We'll see if that's the case (and totally okay if it is), but I sent The Man an email to let him know that I was aware of his concerns and would be vigilant in my studies. 'Cuz I'm an adult like that.

His response was less than desirable (along the lines of, "You're totally going to get overwhelmed, so be prepared"). And that's cool, yo, I can understand where he's coming from, even though he should have said something like "Glad you see my concerns" like a polite person would.

But the straw that broke the camel's back was during our lab meeting when he not only told me about how I'd be overwhelmed ("I remember teaching my first course, it's going to kick your butt."), but also said it with a smile on his face as if he couldn't wait to see me fail, even though I've never given him any reason to doubt me. In fact, I've always knocked things out of the park, so I wish just once, he'd be like, "You deserve this; you're the most prepared for this." Clearly.

Luckily all of the other professors I have run into have told me that they think I'm awesome (#humblebrag), so at least that's been good. Plus I was specifically chosen by the professor whose course it usually is, so I'm excited for that fact. I'm just annoyed with the lack of emotional support with the person that I'm supposed to be working with the closest. But that's just me. 

That's all to say: I'm grateful.

I'm grateful for Amy and Jess, who went and got Mexican food and margaritas with me when I was frustrated yesterday. 

I'm grateful for Emily, who knows just how to heal my soul: shopping, concerts, good food, and plenty of girl time. 

I'm grateful to Twitter friends (Syndal, Joelle, Katie, Bethany) who respond back with photos of liquor, words of wisdom, and hugs.

And, I'm grateful to you, blog reader, for getting through this.

Thursday Thoughts v.31

You know the drill! Write down what you're thinking today and then link up below so that others can read what you're thinkin'! Bullet point, write a narrative, add your Random Thursdays post, it doesn't matter!

[1]

Prepping for all the courses I'm teaching (4!) has proven to be challenging but in a good way. For someone who has been feeling kind of [blah] recently, I love feeling as if I have an end goal. #winning

[2]

I'm going to Dallas to visit my bestie Em this weekend to shop for more Big Girl clothes (Guys, I have to dress professionally every day of the week. From someone who has gotten to wear jeans at least two days a week for the past four years: shit.) and to see The Cab in concert. To be honest, I had never heard of them until Emily text messaged me, but I think it will be a blast. Plus maybe we can do some recon work on the male front (in person!). Here's hoping...

[3]

Baylor's New Graduate Student Orientation was yesterday, and my fifth year in a row attending/helping out. Judge Starr showed up to his talk in cargo shorts, a polo, and a baseball hat. Nothing like the 66-year old president of your university showin' his legs.

[4]

I love how terrified everybody is of any sort of online-turned-in-person interactions after reading all the online dating posts that bloggers keep sending in. I promise that I'm always safe. I've met two people in person (one I've blogged about; one I don't think I'll blog about because I'm not quite sure what I think about it) and neither of them were creepy, inappropriate, brought me lotion, or had a foot fetish (err, that they let me know about, anyway). This is all to say that online dating is only creepy if you're not safe about it, or if you hand your address out to anybody. Plus I blog the bad stories 'cuz they're way funnier than the good ones. ;)

[5]

I'm thinking about buying a desk. Anybody know of any cute, sturdy, relatively inexpensive ones? Megan, IKEA trip soon perhaps?

Happy Thursday y'all! Here's hoping your week is finishing up rather nicely. The weekend is soon, friends! What are you thinking today?

Online Dating Disasters: Stacy and Kayla

It's time for another round of online dating disasters! Who doesn't love a little schadenfreude on a Wednesday morning, right?

My most recent OKCupid catastrophe: I've been emailed by the same man (who is a little lot out of my age range) eight times on eight different evenings asking me out. He's very nice, but each time I tell him no and he keeps telling me he'll continue to email me "in case I change my mind."

Yesterday, I got asked out by a different guy for dinner and I mentioned that I was probably going to be busy for the next two weeks, and he responded with, "Why even bother to have a profile on a DATING website." Whoa. Sensitive much?

Anyway, today I have two stories for you! The first is from Stacy, a relatively new blogger (make sure to go follow her!) that I met when she participated in the 15 Day Challenge. She writes,

Like some others, I've dated someone I met online. Granted, in the long run, we're not together, but I'd say 2.5 years is a success in the online dating world. After splitting with him, I decided to get back on OKC. I'm all for meeting new people and dating, and I am a Southern Belle who loves to be wined, dined, and treated right. So when 'Joe' asked me on a date to a fancy restaurant, I was all for it. He seemed nice enough and wanted to take me somewhere I could get all dressed up.

The night of the date, he comes to pick me up (stupid, I know!) and he rings my doorbell with a bag in his hand. Candy, maybe? Not flowers... oh no. It's a bag of lotions and massage oils since he 'loves to give massages.' I quickly throw the bag in the house and forget about it. I tried to ignore the gift as much as possible, but shot a text to my roommate to let her know. We finished dinner, he takes me back home, walks me to my door, and proceeds to come in the house, sit down on the couch, and says 'Why don't you grab the lotion for me to give you a massage.' Um, WHAT? NO! This is when I'm thankful that I don't live alone and have two dogs that were having none of that. I asked him to leave, and the date ended.

Oh. My. Gosh. Stacy assured me that she learned her lesson and is way safer in her further online dating endeavors, 'cuz that guy sounds totally creepy!

Next up we have Kayla (Pinterest goddess and DIY extraordinnaire), whose story makes me cringe just thinking about it! She writes,

First of all, I never thought I'd do the online dating thing. But after my exhusband divorced me, I got a little desperate for meeting people since I came from a small town where I knew everyone already.

I "met" someone online in Portland (about an hour and half away) and we talked on the phone/emailed each other for a few weeks before finally decided to go ahead and grab dinner. I drove, nervously, by myself to Portland (telling only one friend that I was actually meeting someone, as I was pretty embarrassed about online dating at this point). We met at a casual dinner place downtown and had a lovely and light-hearted (or so I thought) conversation. I was really enjoying my time and was having fun laughing with him. As dinner came to a close, I suggested we go walk along the riverfront and continue talking. "Yeah, that'd be great!" I asked him to excuse me while I went to the bathroom really quick before we headed out.

Now, I have always been known to be a quick pee-er (ask my husband, he's always amazed!) and I was in and out in no time. But as I came out, he wasn't sitting at our booth. I thought maybe he went to the counter to pay the bill. I circled the restaurant a few times looking for him. Nothing. I texted him to ask where he was. No reply. I walked outside to see if he was waiting for me outside the restaurant. I walked up and down the block looking for where he might have gone. It took me about 15-20 minutes to realize: he ditched me.

 Then I was just angry. Who does that?! Who just leaves someone who you have already been chatting with on the phone and had a totally fun and decent dinner with?! If it had gone horribly, I wouldn't have cared and probably would have been relieved, but since it went so well, I was just completely confused and baffled. Also, what man would just ditch a woman?! Especially in Portland, alone at night!

As I walked the 4 blocks back to my car, I tried calling him. His phone clicked on like he answered, but then immediately hung up. I tried again, thinking it must've been a mistake. Two calls later confirmed that he had turned his phone off.

For record, he called me the next day. I was not amused to hear from him. His excuse? "You were too beautiful and made me too nervous to be around."

Ridiculous right?! Luckily Kayla is happily married with the cutest baby boy, so she's in a very happy place right now. Here's hoping Stacy and I have similarly good luck! ;)

Do you have any good (err, bad!) stories about online dating? Leave a comment or email me (link is on sidebar where it says "Email") if you're interested in telling your story!

And, if you need to catch up with some of the dating stories, you can see them all here:
1
2
3
4

Tuesday randomness

-Just found out that I'm officially teaching the lecture course I mentioned last week! I'm excited, as this type of opportunity hasn't been offered in my department in the entire time I've been here (4 years), so this is definitely a rare occasion. I'll be teaching both the 109-student lecture course and the 21-student lab, which means I'm going to have to come up with something more fun to do in the lab. I'm thinking individual chapter presentations? We'll see...!

-Went to Houston this past weekend and got to meet up with Whitney and Bri! It was a fantastic weekend full of good friends and plenty of laughter. Whitney is hilarious (I'm pretty sure I was constantly laughing at something she said) and Bri is the nicest person alive (seriously, she texted me this morning to see how the rest of my weekend went). If you're not following them, I totally recommend it.

-While in Houston, I got to start on the book that Caryn gave me as a thank you for shooting her family photos. I love Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess), and I knew she was funny, but I definitely underestimated how hilarious this book was going to be. I started reading it outside at the pool and definitely got a few funny looks for cracking up in public. If you haven't picked it up yet, you need to immediately. 

-While in Houston, I also met up with my friend Ben who took me to the coolest thing I've probably ever seen: turtle racing. At a bar. They have a big trash can with the bottom cut off, and they place a bunch of turtles with numbers on their backs. Then, they pull off the trash can and wait for one of the turtles to crawl off the green area. The first one fully off the green two times is the winner. Before all this starts, you get to choose a turtle to root for, and if your turtle ends up winning, you get a prize. Mine fell off the black podium and then crawled right back on the first round, and then ran in circles the second time, but Ben's ended up winning (he's the proud new owner of a Little Woodrow's koozie)! Needless to say, this needs to happen again.

-Have you seen the Paul Ryan Gosling Twitter account?! It's definitely a little more political than I usually talk about on my blog, but I don't mean it to be a political statement as much as a hilarious piece of news. Paul Ryan, for those who don't know, is Mitt Romney's Vice Presidential running mate (he needs to smile more with his teeth showing though, 'cuz he's not a bad looking dude). The Twitter account is satire regarding the Ryan Gosling Hey Girl meme and is friggin' fantastic. Example: Hey girl, will you be the wind beneath my right wing? Some of it is a little too political for me, but it's still hilarious.

-Paul lured me to his apartment yesterday with promises of watching the USA Women's Gymnastics Olympic Games team finals and then failed when it mysteriously wasn't on his DVR. Feel free to shame him on Twitter.

-I randomly happened upon a new ABC Family show on Hulu (don't judge me, all the episodes were up!) called Jane By Design (think a younger Devil Wears Prada, but less harsh and more fun). Anyway, I have a massive crush on one of the actors, Matthew Atkinson, who is quite possibly the prettiest man alive (and this is kind of gross, 'cuz he plays a teenager and I can't find his real age anywhere, but I'm pretty sure he's gotta be older than 18). Dreamy.

-Going to lunch with Sarah today! Love blogger friends like whoa.

Happy Tuesday! What's going on in your life today?

Sunday Reflection

What are you grateful for today? 
My my my, it's a beautiful world. 

Thursday Thoughts v.30

You know the drill, friends! Link up below so that others can read your thoughts! Bullet point, write a narrative, or add your It's OKs, it doesn't matter! 

[1]

Tuesday, I went and took my first family photos for my friends the Browns (you may recognize their name, as I go to their pool reguarly!). I love the way they turned out! Below are my favorites:

Precious right? 

[2]

I then took Caryn's photos at her house yesterday, for her FB page and other miscellaneous use. We didn't take very many, but what we did turned out adorable. My favorites:

[3]

Driving to Houston this afternoon, and I get to see Whitney and Bri [insert happy dance here!]! Life is good, yo.

[4]

I just got asked to teach a full course at Baylor for a professor who has to get surgery (and the surgery will have a long recovery time). Although I'm sad he has to have surgery (he assures me that it's a routine procedure that has a 98% recovery rate), I'm excited that I'm the grad student they asked to step up. This is going to look amazing for my CV! #endgeekexcitement

[5]

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but a guy I went to high school with, Brian, is coming to Baylor this year! He just texted me to let me know he's in Waco, and we have plans to see each other next week when life's a little less crazy (since he's moving in). Brian and I were good friends in high school (one of my favorite photos from a dance is with him!), so I'm excited to be able to reconnect.

Happy Thursday friends! What do you have planned for the weekend? Link up here and let us know what you're thinking today! 

OKCupid Catastrophes: Amy and Claire

The response to the last two (first and second) OKCupid Catastrophe posts have been overwhelmingly hilarious. From witty comments to fantastic tweets, y'all have made me feel so much more comfortable with myself after being called "plus-sized." ;) Just kidding.

But seriously.

These posts have gotten such a great response that others have started sending in their stories, too (side note: if you have an awesome online dating story, email me)! Today, I have three stories: Amy's, Claire's, and ending on a hilarious note with the best post-rejection email I've ever received.

The first story is brought to you by Amy from Taking Steps Home (who is totally adorable and way too cute for the following creepy story). 

She writes:

I met an ex-boyfriend online (through a blogging website!), and we dated for two years, so I know that it can work out. I also currently have an account (one active) on two different websites [eHarmony and Christian Mingle if you’re checking, fellas! ;)]. I’ve met my fair share of really sweet guys on CM, and some really weird guys too. The reason I have an account on CM is because I am a Christian, and it is the most important thing for me while looking for a future relationship, thus I thought this would be an avenue to use...right? I think the weird guys that I’ve communicated with have the stories that create more humor. I have three stories, but this one probably grosses me out the most.

Let’s call this guy Steve. Steve sent me a message asking me if I owned ballet flats [if you get where this is going now, trust me you were WAY ahead of me], and I was trying to be all positive like “Oh, maybe the guy likes dancers?” While I’m contemplating this guy’s inner awesomenessm my friends are flailing around the room screaming “OMG, creepcreepcreep footfetishcreep”...No, I thought, he’s just interesting. I responded with a nice “Um...yes? Most females own those types of shoes," but I wasn’t expecting his response: “Awesome, would you mind wearing them some time and allowing me to sit on your feet?” I completely fell out of my chair in that moment all dramatic gaging and trying to kick images of this weirdo out of my head. I immediately reported him because he creeped me out so bad.

Bwaaaaaahahahaha fantastic, right?!

The next story is a nice one to demonstrate that online dating isn't the worst thing in the world...or at least for one of my readers Claire from The Secret Notebook, who managed to receive the best love letter ever from a guy she met and dated online. She told me that they met and fell in love online, but never actually got to meet due to distance and circumstances. She says it's the sweetest, most romantic letter she's ever received. Check it out here: 

Sweet, right? I'm pretty sure Claire's story is the exception to the rule, because I get emails like the following:

[This was after a series of one-sentence emails in which I sensed no compatibility, which had nothing to do with his physical looks but more with his lack of proper spelling/grammar and intense love of "MMOs" (I had to Google it).]

Me: You seem like a super sweet guy, but I don't think we're compatible! Hope you find what you're looking for.  -Sarah

His response (unedited): Well thank you for the easy let down its a lot better than not receiving a response; but one thing does bother me your assessment of compatibility with less than 1000 words shared. Now I'm sorry if this sounds hostile but you might want to evaluate your profile along with yourself how can you ask for an open minded individual if you, yourself are so shut in. Also the moniker of super sweet is very unbecoming most if not all females as for the "sweetheart or nice guy" but once its laid at there feet is treated as a floor mat. I'm not sure what I had said to engage such rebuke please let me know. But there are several things you should remember don't judge a book by its cover and still waters run deep. Best of luck in your research.

I'm pretty sure Amy and I have way worse luck than Claire, that's for sure! Now if only Amy and I could meet handsome men who would write us love notes... ;) 

Do you have any good stories about online dating? Leave a comment or email me (link is on sidebar where it says "Email") if you're interested in telling your story! 

I'm Sar! (Blog Star)

Hey friends! I'm Sar(ah): 

I'm a mid-20s PhD student at Baylor University (sic 'em!) in good ol' Waco, Texas. I like Diet Coke, color-coordinating my closet, my cat Chloe, and taking jumping photos. I'm almost always smiling (I can't help it, I'm happy!) and try to believe the best in people. That usually works. ;) 

You can find me  [here on Twitter] or [here on Instagram]. Or, you can click that little blue "Join this site" and follow my blog!

Some of my favorite or most read posts include:

[This year's 15 Day Challenge (my fave was Day 1)]

[Online dating disasters like this bad email or the time someone hit on me by saying I was plus-sized.]

[Celebrating my birthday by giving 26 gifts to 26 strangers]

[Photography fun, like Chance & Casey's or Matt & Karenna's engagement photos]

Link up by clicking the icon below, and go make some new blogger friends! 

Linking up with Mrs. Monologues for Blog Star!

Dad's Summer 2012 Visit

I love when people come to visit me in Texas, and I especially love it when it is a family member.

Dad's been here all weekend, and we've done what seems like a ton of things! He flew in Thursday, then we made it over to Diamondbacks for Happy Hour with Addy. Addy's one of my favorite people alive and she usually spends one night a week with me so I though Dad should meet her. Plus, who doesn't love happy hour?!

Friday morning, we headed to UMHB so I could get my faculty (!!) ID card, parking pass, and show him my classrooms (which I hadn't seen yet either).  

I'm pretty sure I'm the only faculty member to have her dad take her picture 'cuz he's so excited. #thathappened

We drove back the scenic route and had Schlotzsky's for lunch, 'cuz Dad confessed he craves their original sandwiches when he's in Washington. Then that afternoon, we met up with Liz and her dad Ralph for some Daddy-Daughter time at the Waco Hawaiian Falls waterpark (I have no pictures 'cuz I kept my phone in my car).

Saturday morning, we took a short drive to Homestead Heritage, an alleged cult (but mostly just full of nice kinda-Amish people). 

I also gave Dad a short lesson on aperture because I just received my new lens:

High was f14, low was f2

His result: 

We then headed to West, Texas (the town's name is West, that is) for Dad to try his first ever kolache from the Czech Stop. 

Success! 

Sunday morning, we headed over to the BSR Cable Park in Waco to learn how to wakeboard. We arrived right as it opened and were taken to the Little Bro cable (not even kidding) to learn how to stand up (I have been wakeboarding twice prior, but I wouldn't call myself good...at all).

Dad 

Me, not quite up yet in this picture

Dad getting ready to go for his second time

So here's where I have a problem: their main cable (that takes boarders around the larger lake) was broken for the first hour and a half we were there, so after we finished our first rides on the Little Bro cable, a bunch of guys came over who wanted to practice their tricks (hey Blake or Kyle, what's the wakeboarding slang for that?). It's clearly a smaller area to learn how to stand up and move from heel side to toe side, so it was a little frustrating for them to 'take over' our how-to lesson. 

Then, when the main cable was fixed and started up, there were a ton of people waiting to go (I counted 43 at one point, and only 7 can go at a time) so that was a little frustrating because we showed up early to beat that rush (and you pay per hour). Regardless, I felt a little uncomfortable trying the main cable when I just learned how to stand over and slightly move at Little Bro, so I didn't try it. However, Dad did twice...and it looked like this both times:

Totally not making fun though, 'cuz at least he tried!

Today, we have plans to fix my toilet (it keeps running, which is obnoxious) and clean my living room carpet. Sounds like a dream, right? ;) 

Hope y'all are having an amazing Monday! What do you have planned for today?

Also, I'll be in Houston this weekend and would love to meet up with some H-town bloggers! I have plans to meet Whitney, anybody else want to join?

[Non] Starbucks Sunday!

Having some delicious coffee with dad on a [non-] Starbucks Sunday! (Shout out to Syndal who gave me that amazing coffee tumbler, who got married yesterday and is now officially Mrs. Peter Ortman!)

Today, dad and I are going to the Waco Cable Park (woot!) and maybe over to the Brown family pool for some swimming. Yesterday, we went to visit Homestead Heritage, a commune of sorts that has been recently alleged to be a cult (for the record, nobody once talked to us about religious beliefs) and played around with my new 50mm f/1.8 lens (Meghan was right, I love it!). I'll post some pictures at the end of Dad's trip, but for right now you're just going to have to believe that we're having a blast.

Happy Sunday, friends! Here's hoping that y'all are consuming plenty of caffeine and relaxing on this gorgeous day! What do you have planned for today?

Friday Letters 8.3

Linking up for the first time with Ashley for...
Dear Dad, You're here! We're going to have so much fun this weekend, I can feel it. Today, we're going to UMHB to get my faculty ID (!!) and then to the Waco Water Park with Liz and Ralph. Daddy-Daughter Day!

Dear Ben, 6 days. That's all I'm saying. 
Dear Texas, I get that you're usually warm and all, but I'd appreciate if you'd tone down the 100+ degree days. See if you can get on that.
Dear Mama, You should get a plane ticket to come visit ASAP. Then we can have Mama-Daughter Day with Liz and Cathy, and actually enjoy each other without having to worry about tonsils or surgery. Make it happen, please.
Dear Meg (the best cycling instructor in the world), How did I miss your last day of teaching class? I thought it was next week! Totally unhappy about that. Let's get food sometime next week pretty place?
Happy Friday friends! This weekend, I think Dad and I are going to go to the Waco Cable Park and then the Brown's family pool to celebrate (mourn?!) Kristin's moving away from Waco. What are your plans for the weekend? 

Thursday Thoughts v.29

Happy Thursday friends! You know the drill: write a few things you're thinking today and then link up so we all can read what you're thinking!

[1]

Remember how I love to put little notecards on people's cars to say hi? My old student (who I surprised twice and she FBed that she didn't know who was doing it) must have found out that it was me (or recognized my handwriting, as she was in my course for a semester) and took a picture of the card I gave her, printed it on a card, then left it on my car last week. Thank you for being awesome, Leslie.

[2]

I won a giveaway at Linny's Vault earlier last month from Jamie's etsy shop, Home Made with Love. Isn't it adorable?! Thanks again, Linny and Jamie!

[3]

My daddy comes to visit today! So excited to spend an extended weekend with him!

[4]

Today is my favorite marketing man's birthday, Mr. Paul Hagan. He hates birthdays, which is why you should tweet him here and tell him happy 29th. 

Happy Thursday, friends! What are you thinking today?

OKCupid Catastrophes: ZackAss and a Ryan Update

It's time for another round of OKCupid Catastrophes! I mean, who doesn't love living vicariously through someone else's awkwardness? 

I have gotten some pretty good bad emails. But today, I'm going to show you one of the most ridiculous emails I think I've ever received: 

I'm 99% sure his intention for being an ass and calling me plus-sized (for the record, I'm not even close, which is why it's funny and I'm not actually offended) is because he's trying to use Pick-Up Artist (PUA) manipulations. (Random, but I know some PUA "moves" cuz my friend Luke [he's the one recording the video] does seminars about this. Kind of creepy, and totally gross and manipulative.) Insulting a woman is called a "neg-hit," used to "penetrate a woman's bitch shield" (totally not making this up, my sources: here, here, and here). It's generally thought to do four things (and I'm paraphrasing this article here):

1) Since attractive woman are used to attractive, suave men hitting on them, it will confuse them, making them self-conscious. "Why isn't he hitting on me?"

2) It will make them curious. "Why isn't he acting like all the other guys?"

3) It will create a challenge for her to want to overcome. "He doesn't like me? I need to prove to him that I'm awesome/hot/worthy of him."

4) She'll know that her looks don't mean anything to you. "He must be a real man because he likes me for my personality and not my 'plus-sized' looks!"

Is it just me or does this sound totally disgusting? Regardless, I don't give a flying coitus what he intended to do, he just made himself look like an ass online (may I please point out I am not harassing him, just screen shooting his delightful email). Just so y'all don't think I'm a huge jerk, here are some quotations from his really awesome profile too: 

"I was a nice guy, but then I fell into a vat of evil, came out as an evil jerk."

"If you are a woman, you will either really love me or really hate me."

"You should message me if you're a fun, reasonably intelligent, reasonably attractive girl who likes being dominated and who can handle a guy who can be a jerk at times. Also, you should not message me if you are fat."

Since I'm "plus-sized," I didn't respond back. You know, since I'm fat and all, I shouldn't message him. ;)

Luckily for me, I had a very attractive man named Ryan (same guy from the coffee date) come over and cook me dinner last night. Since he's moving back to Indiana this week, there weren't any awkward expectations of what if we don't work out? cuz, well, he's moving! I also snuck a photo of him cooking, 'cuz what woman doesn't love a man cooking for them? Feel free to live vicariously through me:

(Sorry it's a photo of his back, I felt like saying "Can I take a photo of your beautiful face to post on my blog as evidence?" would have been super awkward.)

We probably won't see each other again considering he's going back to law school tomorrow, but he was delightful and a gentleman. And I'm kind of okay with not hanging out again, as it was a solid first experience with meeting someone from the internet.

I cannot wait to hear what y'all have to say about Zack-o-Lantern. What do you think?!

[If you have a good (bad!) online dating story, leave a comment with your email address! You can be featured on this blog with your story, plus you'll get hilarious responses!]