I Bid You Adieu...

So, today was the the day I broke it off with Paul...he was a really nice guy, no question there but I think he will forever live in his 20's (even though he's already to his thirty's)!  Our lifestyles just didn't mesh well together, I had mortgage and a house to take care of and he was footloose and fancy free with 1/3 of rent and utilities (with 2 other roommates).  With his membership to the 20/30 club he stayed busy with fundraisers (that part I didn't mind) but he also went to a club to drink/socialize 3-4 times a month MINIMUM (and that was too much for me!).  In short, I think we were on different paths and there was no sense in dragging on any longer (or through another holiday for that matter) so I pulled the plug and wished him well! 

I Was Invited to Paul's Annual Friendsgiving!?!

Paul and a bunch of his friends have family either out of town and or out of state making Thanksgiving with family difficult.  Instead they all get together every year for something they call "Friendsgiving".  They do it pot-luck style but it is otherwise a standard Thanksgiving with all the fixings!  It's a really cool tradition and everyone was very welcoming to me!

Soooooo sad...

^{Jackson Daniel Gordon (11/13/01—11/2/11)}

Today Paul's dog Jack died.  It was an extremely rough day for him but it admittedly hit a little too close to home for me too!  I can't (and don't want to) imagine loosing one of my girls.  :-(

UCLA Football Date!

My boss at work, Laurie Ceccarelli has box-seat season tickets to the UCLA games because her son used to attend UCLA and was on the cheerleading squad.  On this particular day, Laurie couldn't make the game and knowing I was dating someone (which she was excited about) she offered the tickets to me.  Now honestly I don't follow football of any sort but I don't mind watching games live (besides they always seem to have the best hot dogs and peanuts there!  I was grateful that she'd offer them to me so I quickly called Paul to make sure he could go that day...he could so I accepted them!  It actually turned out to be a pretty exciting game coming down to a one point lead with 49 seconds left in the game (read stats below)!!!    

UCLA 29, Arizona State 28 (final)

November 5, 2011 |  8:05 pm

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - Derrick Coleman scored the go-ahead touchdown for UCLA on a 1-yard run with 49 seconds to play, and Alex Garoutte missed a 46-yard field goal attempt as time expired in the Bruins' 29-28 victory over No. 20 Arizona State on Saturday night.

Coleman's dive capped a perilous 79-yard drive featuring a fumble by Coleman, an offensive pass-interference penalty and a third-and-29 conversion by the Bruins (5-4, 4-2 Pac-12), who improbably moved into first place in the Pac-12 South by winning consecutive games for the first time since early last season.

Impromptu Backyard Wedding?!?!

Paul calls me on Tuesday afternoon (Oct. 11, 2011) to ask me to go with him to a wedding that was happening in the next 2 hours, WHAT?!?  His friend Cory Jenkins was going to marry Mandy Brewton (I knew her from school, she was Sherry's year) in a backyard ceremony with only a few friends and family in attendance.  They were planning a big reception in April 2012 for ALL their family and friends, but Cory had accepted a new job in Prescott, Arizona and wanted to be married prior to moving. It was crazy, I ran home to change into a dress and then he came by to pick me up.  It was the shortest wedding ever, but it was sweet.  Afterwards, we all went to dinner at a Mexican Restaurant to celebrate.  

Paul with Cory's Sister at the Mexican Restaurant after the wedding.

Mendiburu Magic Foundation Fundraiser

Paul tends to get quite a few perks from his membership with the 20/30 Club and in this case he was given tickets (worth 50 dollars each) to the Mendiburu Magic Foundation Fundraiser.  I went with him and a few of his other 20/30 Club friends.  It was a fun evening with a nice dinner a an auction you needed to be RICH to join into, seriously a cake went for over $800 dollars!!!  They had a crazy fun photo booth with all different types of props (hence the pink cowboy hat and sailor cap).  The security guard was a TRIP, she was crazy funny and even took pictures with a bunch of people!  She might've even been hitting on me, she kept insisting that I was a model (or should be)...telling me she was SURE she's seen my photo in a magazine or storefront window?!?  Who knows, they say everybody has a twin...but I just think she was a bit crazy!  

Christopher Thomas (left) was one of Paul's friends and roommates that we went with (I forget the other guy's name).

The crazy security guard...

Paul's 30th Birthday!

It's Paul Gordon's 30th birthday on October 4th!  I struggled with what to give someone I've only known for a little over a month, but its a BIG birthday...you only turn 30 once!  I decided to make up a Man-Cave style gift basket set in a big green ice bucket.  It had a few novel "30" items (including a glass beer mug), mixed nuts and some of his favorite beers (I drove all over town trying to find them) topped off with a gift card to Imbibe (a cute little wine & spirits place).  I think it was well received, and I was happy with the presentation   :-)

Octoberfest 2011--Me & Paul

Paul invited me to go to Oktoberfest this year and I've never been so I said yes.  THEN he tells me that he and his friends from the 20/30 Club were working a beer booth and would be dressed in full lederhosen!!!  I'm thinking that I can't go in regular clothes because I'll look like the silly one standing next to him!  So I went to Fantasy Frocks where they have costumes you can rent and others you can buy!  I tried on rentals first hoping to find one that would would be long enough to cover my booty, but totally struck out.  So I had to start thinking outside of the box...I found a packaged costume I liked the colors of and the bodice fit perfectly, but the skirt was inappropriately short (for my taste anyway).  I bought it anyway and figured I'd sew myself a skirt to match!  I was actually able to use a brown skirt that I already owned because it matched the bodice perfectly and was a length I was comfortable with!  Then I just cut off the back of green skirt the costume came with and sewed it into a double apron in the front and wallah!  Next I found some pink wedge shoes that I liked and doctored them up by sewing on a light pink ribbon over the toe (so it would match the pink laces of the bodice) and sewed the brown bows from the white knee stockings on the heel strap in the back!  It all turned out so cute I actually had people asking me all night where I bought my costume!  Some were disappointed when I said I created it (knowing they couldn't purchase an equivalent) and the other half were impressed!  I was even asked by a random stranger if I'd take a picture with her...a bit strange, but I agreed.  Anyway, Paul had to work set-up for the event starting at like noon and was planning to simply change into his costume in a trailer?!?  Obviously, that wasn't gonna work for me so I just met him there around 5pm.  I'm actually glad I didn't get there much earlier, because the event really didn't have much going on.  There were beer booths, German food booths, some tables and not much else.  Later in the evening, there was a live polka-style band that added some entertainment too.  It was fun to chat and hang out with a wide variety of people, but it would have been too looooong of a day if I'd gone with him at noon!         

Same Photo...just tweaked to look like a chalk drawing!

Lake Buena Vista...a Meet the Family Kinda Trip!!!

Wayne and Amy came to town and Wayne decided to tune up the boat so we could take it out for a day trip to Lake Buena Vista.  It was destined to be a full boatload with Mom, Wayne, Amy, Sherry, Matt, Carter, Me, and I invited Paul to come too!  I had warned Paul that if he came he'd be meeting pretty much my whole family, ambush style, but he seemed fine with it!  Matt offered to hook up the boat to his truck instead of Mom's old car.  Which worked out, because we had to drive two cars either way!  Overall, it was a fun day with great weather and even the boat ran well the whole time!

Paul...Date # 2 = Monster Mini Golf

It's our second date.  Paul had bought a 2 for 1 coupon for Monster Mini Golf off of Groupon.  He thought it would be a fun twist on the standard mini-golf date.  I'd never even heard of the place (possibly because it was way on the other side of town @ White Lane and Stine) but it sounded like fun!  You walk in and the whole place is DARK, only lit with black lights so everything GLOWS!  It had neat paintings on the walls and props all around that were in bright neon glow in the dark type colors.  At the very end of the course, there was this big green ogre and I mean BIG! He had to be over 10 feet tall and 5 or so feet wide and he talked and moved (like with hydraulics)!!!  Long story short, it was fun to be a kid for a while in a cool environment with a nice person!  After mini-golf we went across the parking lot to the Mexican restaurant for a margarita and some food!  We closed out the night by stopping in at the Southwest Lanes Bowling Alley to say hello to some of his friends that were there.  Date two went well...bring on date three!    

Dating Round 4...1st Date with Paul

Dinner at the Blue Elephant with Paul for our 1st date and our 1st time meeting in person.  Paul picked the location after I said that I was comfortable with any kind of food except Indian.  I panicked a little when he said Thai food because I'd never had it before.  However, I pride myself on being open to try new things and being flexible enough to find something to order any place I go, so I started doing my research!  I talked to everyone at work that day, asking who'd eaten Thai food and what they'd recommend to a novice that has a slightly weak palate for spicy foods.  It was pretty unanimous, ordering the Pad Thai was at the top of the suggestion list!  I double checked that Pad Thai was in fact listed on the menu (thank goodness for the internet) and of-course it was much to my relief!  I met Paul that evening at the restaurant and we had a wonderful dinner with fluid conversation.  We were both enjoying the evening enough so that we decided to stay with the Elephant theme and continue our conversation over a drink at the Elephant Bar and we continued talking until the restaurant closed!  Date one down and looking forward to date two!  :-)   

Dating...Round 4, this time using Plenty of Fish.com....

A couple of friends pushed me to branch out from Match.com and create a profile on "Plenty Of Fish."  I was told that you have to be more careful on this site because it's a free site (so it doesn't weed out the gross guys just looking for a fling) and they weren't kidding!   I set all my preferences to try and ward off people that weren't dating seriously in hopes of finding a grown-up relationship!  So this is dating, round 4...meet, Paul Gordon (AKA: Pauley-P-Pump of Pumpkin Center, CA...which is on the southern end of Bakersfield, nearing Taft).  He is in marketing and public relations with a non-profit organization as a graphic design artist at Valley Achievement Center and the Marcom Group.  He is 29 years old (almost 30--October 4th is his birthday) and six feet tall with a stocky build.  He drove a little white Toyota Prius (which looked soooo small compared to his build), had a Pug named Jack, and lived in a house with two roommates.   

His "About Me" profile says: 
I enjoy art and history as well as a good time just having fun. I hope to someday be a successful writer, business owner and artist. I am a big fan of the underdog. I like helping those in need however I do not have a bleeding heart for those that are not willing to put the effort in to help themselves. I am the president of a non-profit charity group that helps underprivileged children. I enjoy spending most of my philanthropic time helping kids for I truly believe that they are the future of our country. I feel that a life served for others is a life well lived. Aside from my serious side I like to let loose and have a good time. I think if you can't laugh at yourself and the world you can't appreciate life. I think if a friend would describe me they would say that I my best characteristic is my humor. I enjoy rock and country music and I love a night out singing karaoke. If you do not like laughing don't waste either of our time, otherwise I would love to hear from you.  
His Perfect First Date :Getting to know each other and seeing if our personalities make a good match. If you can make me laugh, you will have a special place in my heart.