Update-3.17.08

Another Monday and I'm reflecting on yet another wonderful weekend! I spent a good deal of time with Mark, but also spent some quality time with my girlfriends. What a fabulous weekend!!

After Thursday night's grand surprise, I was beyond excited to see Mark again on Friday night. I drove to his place (it was easier due to Friday traffic and the restaurant we were going to for dinner is close to his house) and arrived just before 7. I walked in the door and he looked REALLY GOOD. I don't know if it was just residual smitten-ness from the night before, but he looked super hot in his dark jeans and blue striped button down. We just stood there hugging for a few minutes as the butterflies flew around like crazy in my stomach.

He drove us to dinner and we were seated in the back room of an Italian restaurant he'd never been to (I've been there twice before). He had requested that we go for Italian so he could eat pasta because he had to take a running/fitness test on Saturday. Before we ordered, and even while eating, we just talked and talked and talked... it felt like we were the only people in the room. After a wonderful dinner, he suggested we go back to the place we went several weeks ago for dessert (where we shared the amazing Oreo cheesecake). We hopped in the car and talked the whole way there, and he made a reference about how he hopes to have the opportunity to introduce me to his family. I just let him talk, but on the inside, I was totally blown away.

We each had another glass of wine at the dessert place, and we shared the Oreo cheesecake and we continued our conversations about anything and everything. After the massive rainstorm subsided, we walked to his car and drove back to his place. The plan was for this to be an early night because he had to be out the door at 7 AM on Saturday to drive 4 hours to take his fitness/running test. After he parked the car, he asked if I needed to come in and use the restroom, I declined, knowing that if I went in there, it would be for a lot longer than a quick trip to the loo. So I passed, we hugged and kissed goodbye in the street and I headed home around 11. It was another great night with Mark.

I talked to him a few times on Saturday, but saw him again Sunday night. He and I walked from his house and had dinner. After dinner, we walked through a nearby park and then made our way back to his place, where we layed on the couch, all intertwined, just talking. I don't know how it got brought up, but I think we may have had the "exclusivity talk." I can't recall how we got on the topic, but he said something about how he hadn't logged on to the dating site since the first night we went out (2/28), except to change his settings to stop getting matches. He used the actual phrase "You're the only one I want to be with." I agreed with him and told him that I'd logged on last week and cancelled the automatic renewal on my account.

This conversation kind of came out of the blue and went against the whole "we're taking things slow" concept, which I'd more or less successfully fooled myself into believing. I'm not ready to call him my boyfriend, and I'm not ready to use the r (relationship) word, it all seems kind of soon... but if it's not there already, it's definitely where it's headed.

Which leads me to a decision I made last night ... since things HAVE gotten more serious with Mark, I think it's time to cease the sharing of details (at least in this public of a forum) and see where things progress with us. Throughout this entire process, I've tried to be respectful and as kind as possible in sharing the stories of my dating adventures and the interesting guys I've gone out with. But this Mark thing is different, and I need to treat it as such.

My closest friends know that they'll still hear updates from time to time (Ginger, I'll make sure your colleague is kept in the loop and that she shares the latest with you). Thanks for all the support over these last 3 months! Everyone's comments and cheerleading have kept me optimistic through the ups and downs of this process.

Adios for now... I will post updates from time to time, just likely not with the regularity of the past.

xoxo, :)
Nay

Update-3.14.08

I still can't believe what happened to me last night! This is the stuff of movies!!

All week, I’ve been looking forward to my Friday night date with Mark. He has too – every time we talk on the phone (or in his morning text message) he made a reference about “Is it Friday yet?” or “Can’t wait for Friday.”

I know I have a busy weekend ahead, so because of that I’d planned to have a quiet, uneventful evening relaxing at home and catching up with friends on the phone. After one friend and I hung up, I was in the middle of calling another back when I got her voicemail and another call came in. I was stunned to see that it was Mark because he was en route back from his business trip. For some reason, his corporate travel agent booked his ticket to connect through another city on his way back here, so I assumed that he was being thoughtful and was calling to say hi since his return flight wasn’t due to land until 945 and we wouldn’t talk because he’d get home after my usual bed time.

I answered the call and he said “Sometimes, in March, Fridays come early.” I was like “What are you talking about??” And he told me to go look out my French doors. I got off the couch and looked outside and there he was, standing in the parking lot below my balcony with flowers!!! Turns out, he got 1 of 2 seats that were left on the earlier, direct flight. After clearing security, he had 10 minutes to get to the gate and he saw the flowers and thought that it would be a nice touch to his surprise!!

I told him the code for my back door and he came upstairs and we stood by the back door just hugging for the longest time. After we pried ourselves apart, we sat on the couch for awhile just catching up and talking about the week. I ended up convincing him to spend the night (it was about as tough to convince him to stay as it is to convince a 3 year old to eat a cookie) and we had a great evening together. He slept like a rock; I slept like crap (I wanted to make sure the cat didn’t bother him) – I’m totally exhausted today but it’s worth it!!

I have perma-grin and couldn’t be happier. Had to share!! :) I can’t wait to see him again tonight.

Ugh – but in true Nay fashion, I did something totally unsmooth. Mark was giving me a back rub and I was laying on my stomach and he was sitting on my butt… my hair was all wrapped around my face, so I brought my head up to fling my hair back… but instead totally cracked his forehead with the back of my head!! He has a pretty sizeable bump just over his left eyebrow – it was already showing up last night. I’m totally mortified and feel terrible – it’s even worse b/c he did something so kind, generous and thoughtful and I ended up wounding him!! God, I’m the least cool person ever – will I ever grow out of doing these mortifying, awkward things??

OK, so I feel better… he just sent his usual morning text message saying that it was “so nice to wake up next to [me] this morning … can’t wait to see [me] again tonight.” I think I can let go of the embarrassment… well, maybe just a little bit. Could have been worse I guess – I could have broken his nose!!

Update-3.11.08

Ugh.

I swear, this has to be the longest week in the history of time. Either that, or the hours are passing SO slowly because I can't wait to see Mark on Friday. Yes, Friday. A mid-week get-together is out of the question this week because he has a friend in town from the UK tonight, and leaves on business tomorrow, returning late Thursday night.

I'm also bumming because I don't think we'll see that much of each other this weekend. He and I are having dinner on Friday night - but it will be an early night (and will end with each of us in our respective homes) because he has to be up at 5AM on Saturday in order to drive to another major city about 3 hours away to take a physical fitness test for one of his hobbies. He'll be back around 7 on Saturday night, while I'll be out celebrating a dear friend's birthday. There has been talk of us meeting up later in the evening (after I'm done with dinner and out at a bar), or me going there (instead of home) at the end of the night. Oh well - hopefully we can spend some time together on Sunday. The following 2 weekends are out too - I'll be at the beach with my girlfriends over Easter weekend, and the following weekend my parents are here. No, he will not meet my parents - it's WAY too soon for that.

He continues to impress me and let me know that I'm in his thoughts. He called me last night and we talked for an hour and a half. Both days so far this week I've received my "Happy Monday/Tuesday! Hope you have a great day, etc." text message. Those messages are a wonderful way to start the day and definitely put a smile on my face.

I'll stop rambling - this was going to just be a short, update entry. That's officially "the latest" - my fingers are crossed that time stops dragging and Friday evening gets here ASAP!!!

Date 9... and 10!!

I've spent A LOT of time with Mark this weekend and I couldn't be happier. I know I'm supposed to be guarded and hesitant, but I can't help myself. I just love spending time with him.

Friday night's date went better than I could have imagined. He picked me up on his way home from work and drove me to the museum where the event was taking place. We had a few drinks and ate appetizers while we listened to the live band. After eating we saw the movie that we had selected earlier in the week. The whole time, he was super affectionate with me and I felt like I had absolute perma-grin. I couldn't stop smiling.

After the movie, we were both starving, so we went to a popular pizza place. We sat outside and ate, just talking and sharing stories. After eating pizza, we started heading back toward my place and I was pleased to see that it was still relatively early - only 10:00. We pulled into my parking lot and kissed in his car for a few moments. It was so cold outside, that we actually started to fog up the windows! In order to not be "that girl" to my neighbors, I invited him upstairs.

We walked into my kitchen, and as soon as the door was locked, it was like a light switched was flipped. Our lips were immediately locked and we couldn't seem to separate ourselves. I'm going to omit details here, but Mark spent the night. However, before you go either a) calling me a hussy or b) giving me a virtual high five (not like we're a bunch of frat boys or anything...) nothing that serious happened (physically) with him. We've definitely mastered to the art of the high school make out session, though! It was so wonderful to wake up next to him on Saturday morning.

We had several good conversations on Friday night as we were lying next to each other. For example, we talked in greater detail about what's-her-name (the woman he bailed on me for 3 years ago), and I got a greater picture of what she is/was like, and why it didn't work out with them (or never, even in the future, would). We also both agreed how we want to take things slowly, not just the physical stuff, but to really get to know one another this time around. It just made me feel so good that we're both on the same page.

He left at 915 on Saturday morning (we both wanted to work out) and as he was leaving, he said that I should give him a call if I wanted to grab a drink after having dinner with my friend that night. Dinner ended up falling through, so as I was sitting down to eat, I was pleasantly surprised to see a text message come in around 645. He wrote to ask me if I'd like to come over for a glass of wine after I was done having dinner with my friend. I called him back, told him that my dinner had been canceled (hee hee, J):), and that I would like to come over. He was also interested in the Netflix movie I had on DVD, so I brought that as well.

We just hung out and talked for awhile and drank wine. Around 9, we turned on the movie (We Are Marshall - great movie, but I cried within the first 28 minutes) and just relaxed together. I ended up spending the night there this time (it was all very innocent this time too) and we went out for breakfast this morning.

I just got home a bit ago and I can't wait to see him again. I just can't believe how well it's going. There are so many things about this situation and him that just fit so well with me - aside from how well our personalities mesh and how supportive he is of me. I love that he has so much going on in his own life - and that he understands how important it is for us to maintain our own interests. That's something I didn't have in past relationships, and I now see how badly I was missing it. I'm also so thankful that he understands (and supports) my need to take things slowly. I can't wait to find out how this unfolds in the coming weeks.

Update-3.7.08

Several of my dear friends/faithful readers have reminded me that I haven't written any updates since Tuesday and that they're curious what's going on with Mark. Since I was out of town Tuesday - Thursday of this week, I don't have a ton to report. We talked every day this week (except Thursday, the night I flew home), and every morning this week I've been greeted by a text message telling me to have a great day, etc. Today's message brought a particularly large smile to my face. It ended with "looking forward to seeing you tonight." Hell yeah! Me too!!

As you can tell, I'm SUPER excited for our date tonight - outfit has been picked out in my mind since Monday. :) When he and I last spoke on Wednesday night and we were discussing plans for tonight, I asked him if he'd pick me up "so it's like a real date" (since, as you may recall, I was a teeny bit bummed that I had to drive over to his place last weekend before we went out). He agreed to pick me up "just like a real date" and is going to come by my place directly after work (it's on his way home and on the way to where we're going and traffic between my condo and his house is hideous). I'm really excited to see him!! The last time I saw him seems like a really long time ago.

I do have one crazy story to share (also from our conversation on Wednesday night). It still blows my mind, and it will be hard to tell and maintain the necessary level of anonymity, but I'll do my best. We were talking about how a lot of people today are naming their kids either really unusual names, or really old names. He asked me what I would have been named if I were a boy. I told him, and turned the question back on him. His answer stunned me... shocked me... and still blows my mind 2 days later it's so hard to believe. It's almost too ironic and I've questioned whether he's bs'ing me - but get this: His first name, had he been a girl, would have been the name of my sister. His middle name would have been my name. The initials would have been the same as his initials currently are (which makes me think it was the truth). Does that make sense?!? Does anyone else think that's just beyond bizarre?

That's all I've got for now... hopefully, I'll have a wonderful time tonight and will have a great update to share tomorrow! Is this work day over YET???

Update-3.4.08

Mark keeps impressing the hell out of me!!

Monday - First thing in the morning, I received a text telling me to have a great start to the work week. We exchanged a few emails during the day - he's already making plans (buying tickets) for our date on Friday! And he called me on Monday night on his way home after having a drink with a friend.

Tuesday - Today I left town for a business trip until Thursday. I was having the world's crappiest morning (I lost my favorite ring in the parking deck) until I received another nice text message from Mark, this one telling me to have a safe flight and a great day. So nice!

I had a realization last night after Mark and I got off the phone. I noticed that I don't really say much, or volunteer much about myself (my day, my feelings, what I have going on in my life) when we talk. After making this observation, I've spent a good deal of time thinking about why I'm doing this. I think I do this so that I can stay guarded, and not put too much of myself out there. Anyone who knows me, knows how absurd that is. The acronym TMI (too much information) might has well have been coined so it could be applied to my rambling stories and overshares.

It would be crazy for me to say that now, going forward, I'm going to show Mark who I truly am - a chatterbox who can't tell a story without giving WAY too many details. I don't think it will be that easy for me to break down the wall. But I can't help be curious - now that I'm conscious of it, how will my interactions with him change?

Date 9: Cheesecake, wine and another great time

I had my second date with Mark (well, second date this time around) last night and it went really well - again. We met at his house at 7 (I think he was excited to show me the home renovations he's done since the last time I was there) and he drove us over to a great Thai noodle restaurant. Dinner was great - we had awesome conversation the whole time.

After dinner, he drove us to another part of town where we had several glasses of wine and shared a piece of cheesecake for dessert. We sat at this place, just talking, for over three hours. We were seated on a glassed in sun porch, enjoying our wine and talking, and there were a few awkward silences. He filled the first one by kissing me, and so there were several instances where we were "those people" smooching in public. Luckily, the sun porch there were only two other couples on the sun porch, and they weren't seated close by.

There were several really good conversations that happened over wine, including a talk about how we are going to have to take things slowly. I told him point blank that slow was the way it was going to be, and his response was that we had plenty of time and that there was no need to rush. He also expressed his gratitude, again, for getting a second chance with me.

After wine and dessert, we drove back to Mark's house and he showed me amazing photos from his travels, including an unbelievable trip to Antarctica. We kissed for awhile, and around 145 he walked me to my car and I drove home.

After dinner, on the way to the second restaurant, he asked if he can take me out next Friday night - we're going to a popular cocktail and entertainment event at a local museum. Toward the end of the evening, he also asked if he could see me again today, maybe something casual, like Starbucks. I told him I'd need to see about that. I'm not overly keen on seeing him today - it seems too much too soon.

Overall, I'm feeling good about things, but I can't quite silence the paranoid voice in the back of my head and the feeling in my gut. My parents expressed some hesitation about this whole "second round" with Mark, and while I know I need to make my own decisions, I can't help but wonder if I'm being naive to the entire thing and whether I'm setting myself up for another huge disappointment.

I'm trying to stay in the moment and just focus on having fun. I'll know all the answers with time. As long as it's fun and I feel comfortable with him, I'll just continue to explore the possibilities.