look book

day 7 (round 4)

8 a.m. (Meal #1): oatmeal, coffee

11 a.m. (Meal #2, heavy snack): mixed fruit

2 p.m. (Meal #3): chicken fajitas

5 p.m. (Meal #4, light snack): Odwalla bar

7 p.m. (Meal #5): jerk chicken, brown rice, cabbage

9 p.m. (Meal #6, light snack): tea

weight – 219.5 lbs

today’s blessings

- I’m alive.

- I have great friends.

- My BF is the greatest.

- My Mom just called to get my account number to pay on my account. Woo hoo! Thanks Mom!

- I get to go straight home today after work.

- Pay day is Friday!

couldn’t have said it better

For those who happen upon my blog and think that BF is the norm, think not! As this post conveys, it’s been a long tough road to finding a man who likes this pudgy mid-thirties socially awkward weirdo girl (me!).

But Erika says it good enough for the both of us.

valentine’s day love

Valentine’s will be quite interesting for me at work this year. BF is sending me something and my Dad is sending me something.

My Dad usually sends me the ultimate in roses every year and BF is not cheap. I’m about to have every girl’s dream – lots of love from the men she loves! I can’t wait!

meeting the parents

On Sunday, BF took me home to meet the parents.

He’d invited me before, but I was going through some issues with the braids I’d gotten (I still need to post that story!) and I refused to meet his parents looking a hot mess about the head.

So this weekend he invited me again and I said yes. It’s a big deal for a girl to meet his parents. Not in the traditional sense, we are not on the verge of any big announcements, but for him it’s the icing on the cake in the ‘interview’ phase of dating if his parents like the girl he’s dating.

We arrived at his parents’ home to watch the Super.bowl game and found everyone in the kitchen. His Dad greeted me with a handshake. His Mom and Aunt had curious looks on their faces. I gave his Mom a bottle of moscato as a gift, encased in a cute handmade bag in green (my favorite color, for luck, lol!). It’s the little things that give you comfort when facing a new situation.

After a few curious looks and friendly questions from his Mom and sister, BF and I headed upstairs to watch the game. After settling me in, he left me with his sister’s fiance to fetch glasses of wine. It was funny to have the first round of questioning from the newest member of the household. It was kind of comforting because I knew he could relate to my situation.

BF returned with wine and we enjoyed the first half of the game. His Mom served sit down dinner during halftime. After dinner we all cleaned up and the men drifted upstairs while the women stayed behind in the kitchen. While his Mom was washing dishes and loading the dishwasher, we all had small talk about shopping and such. BF kept walking by peeking in. At one point, he asked me if I was alright. I said yes and then his Mom called out, “What do you think we’re doing to her in here?”, lol. Everybody laughed, but I loved that moment because I felt like BF and I were in our own world. It was symbolic of the evening for me because while he left room for all of us to get to feel each other out, he never left me alone to fend for myself.

I was able to feel confident because he was there looking out for me even though this was his family. I realized also that he’d prepared me well. I had enough insight into his family to know how to interact with them and not feel nervous.

After the game, he gave me a tour of their home and kissed me in one of the downstairs bedrooms. It was nice to be a team in a situation. It was especially nice being in our own world even in the midst of being in his world.

After the evening ended, with lots of invitations from the family to come back and visit again (!), we headed to my house for the night. While cuddled up BF really let me see how much it meant to him that I got along with his family. I’m not sure what he would’ve done if we hadn’t. I know he likes me a lot and it would’ve really turned his world upside down to not have the people he cares about most like each other. It was nice knowing his family was so sweet to me, just as I was to them, in part, for BF because we care about him so much.

BF and I will have been dating a mere 2 months come this Friday. We are still very much in getting to know you mode, but it’s so intentional. It’s like we are carving out a life together (as corny as that sounds).

day 6 (round 4)

8 a.m. (Meal #1): breakfast burrito, coffee, orange juice

11 a.m. (Meal #2, heavy snack): mixed seeds

2 p.m. (Meal #3): tomato basil soup

5 p.m. (Meal #4, light snack): Odwalla bar

7 p.m. (Meal #5): curry chickpeas, naan

9 p.m. (Meal #6, light snack): tea

day 5 (round 4)

8 a.m. (Meal #1): none

11 a.m. (Meal #2, heavy snack): quiche, chocolate croissant

2 p.m. (Meal #3): none

5 p.m. (Meal #4, light snack): none

7 p.m. (Meal #5): fish, brown rice, vegetables, roll

9 p.m. (Meal #6, light snack): none