the 2nd date

Let’s start by listing a few things I love, but don’t see too often….but was there tonight!

• Adaptable people
• People who are aware of a situation and are willing to change it if needed…they don’t have to stick to a plan.
• Someone who is as comfortable going and doing and he is sitting and relaxing without a TV.
• As mentioned before, not realizing how much time has passed when you are with someone.
• Someone who doesn’t play by the rules…the dating rules that is.

Mr. Spencer and I have been talking about the hype of date #2 for a while. In fact it started a half hour before the polls were closed. I got a text from Mr. Spencer asking if he could call me or was I too busy counting votes? (cute.) I decided I could multi-task and told him to give me a call. He stayed on the phone until the polls were closed to see if he was the winner! It was fun. He had told me he had “something cooking” for date #2 and the pressure was on to make it better than the first. That’s a lot to live up to.

When I thought things were going to calm down after funwith31, they have only gotten more crazy. And today was no different. It was non-stop and unbalanced. I was so tired when I got home today and all I really wanted to do was to sit and do nothing. Mr. Spencer’s seemed to be about the same from conversations we had during the day. Nothing really was going right and plans were falling through. So, I think we both gave up and decided to go for Plan C. And I got what I wanted! J

Mr. Spencer came over and as soon as I opened the door he said, “I’ve been to your house before” I knew I would remember if he had, so I said, “no, you haven’t”. By the time he got to the staircase he told me all about the time I had people over after some church function. And how a mutual friend of ours invited him and another guy over. And how we talked about Thailand. And then I did remember my friend, Becky bringing over some cute guys from her new ward and wondering why she was holding out on her old Henderson friends! In fact I asked her about them at the time! Crazy!!

We ate dinner and spent the rest of the night talking…doing nothing. And while this might not live up to the hype…it was absolutely perfect and just what I wanted! Mr. Spencer is so easy to talk to and willing to share real information and real feelings…I just love it. He doesn’t play any dating games (well, that I have figured out yet!) he’s open and genuine. It gives purpose to going on dates…to get to know each other! And it leaves me looking forward to the next time we can talk. There are lots of people I can do fun things with, but not as many that I can just enjoy sitting and talking with. It was refreshing and comfortable. Really comfortable…that’s my favorite part.  So, while Mr. Spencer has vowed that he is creative and that our real “2^nd date” is coming…it was a perfect second date! Just what I needed and actually wanted. And in my opinion it was what a second date should be. Having fun and being adventurous is important to me…but having fun talking is even more important in my book!

And I didn’t even get a picture of him tonight…which is unfortunate because he has a new look….and I am kinda liking it! I’ll have to make up for it on “date #2”.

My Favorite: That is was just as much fun the second time around!

this just announced….

Date #2 with #17 is scheduled for Tuesday…stay tuned!

And the winner is…

You all take your voting seriously!!

780 votes!

I am sure some of you have carpal tunnel after some repetitive voting! But thank you so much!!

Just in case you were curious…

#5–Mr. Mike M.

#4–Mr. Robert

#3–Mr. Brant

#2–Mr. Josh (178 votes!)

 

 

And the winner with 192 votes…

#1–

MR. SPENCER!

Mr. Spencer solicited the help of all of his Facebook and Myspace friends to pull out the win in the end!! Gotta love a guy with perseverance! That’s cute!

He waited up for the results and told me he is cookin something up to top the first date! I think we should be excited! I am! I might just have another smile ache coming soon!

 We might have conflicting plans for Saturday…so you might have to wait.

Good things come to those who wait, ladies (and gentleman)!

More to come…

thanks for voting! It was a fun day!! 

VOTE!!!

The polls are now open and will be until 11:59 PM (PST) May 28th. The winner will be announced Friday morning, May 29th here on the blog!

So, your job…and I know you are out there! Is to go to the “VOTE for your 31er!” tab and cast your vote! Yes, you can vote for more than one man. Results will be hidden. I have met too many great ones, so I will go solely off your votes.

And to answer your question, yes, I will and can go on multiple second dates…there will just not be a post about each one. I’ve got to save myself (and my date) some sanity! I will post about my first second date with whoever wins the vote!

But HURRY!! I am dying to know! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! Call your mamas, sisters, sister-in-laws and VOTE!

I’ll be back in a couple of days!!

Date #31–Mr. Josh

Well, it’s official….the final first date!! I did it!!

I have been looking forward to this date with Mr. Josh for a while now. Mr. Josh emailed me a while back telling me his sister had forwarded my site to him. {Can I just give a quick shout-out to all the sisters and sister-in-laws out there?? Seriously! Without you, the well would’ve been dry after date #6!! I really appreciate your help!!} He basically won me over when he wrote, “I’ve never been on an internet date, let alone driving 300+ miles to go on one….some may call it crazy but everyone needs a little crazy in their lives! ” I knew we would get along just fine and I had no problem driving 300+ miles either to meet him. We both agreed it would be an adventure to meet halfway. Combine that will my love of road trips and I’ve been really looking forward to today.

Mr. Josh lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, and according to my calculations the exact halfway mark is Parowan, Utah–home of The Pizza Barn!! My mom grew up in Parowan, so I have been to Parowan AT MINIMUM once a year for the last 31 years. And for the last 15 of those years I have been wanting to go to The Pizza Barn, but it has yet to come to fruition. So, when opportunity came a knocking, I was ready!  We met in the empty Pizza Barn parking lot. Naturally, The Pizza Barn is only open 4 hours?!?? From 5PM-9PM. So, we had some time to explore. Mr. Josh has never been to Parowan or Brianhead, so we headed up to Brianhead and I introduced him to the life-changing Cedar Breaks (or a mini Bryce Canyon as he called it). I love it up there! It was a beautiful day, the sky was so blue and clear with vivid white clouds poking out here and there! It was fun to sit there and talk overlooking this beautiful place. I won’t lie, before getting out of the car I glanced at Mr. Josh’s outside temperature feature and saw that it was 54 degrees…I was a little nervous. It was nice though. Mr. Josh was aware of the temperature and didn’t keep us out there too long.

I loved Mr. Josh’s calmness. It was reassuring and somehow instilled a confidence in me. He was even-killed and calm. I loved it. I loved that there wasn’t an urgency to find the next thing to say. The conversation was constant, but I noticed what he said was thought out, intelligent and sincere. He didn’t just try to fill in the space. It was nice.

I loved his laugh. It was pure and good and it made me feel like I was funny. And if we haven’t learned anything else, we all know I like to feel funny.

We had a lot of the same interests, so it was fun to talk about those and our philosophies on them.

The drive up and down the canyon was beautiful and fun. We ended up at The Pizza Barn again. We were greeted by a cowbell attached to the door, so every time it opened it rang. {I giggled.} Rita came out from the back and sat us. We asked the specialty she said, “Pizza {I giggled.} but you could order spaghetti if you wanted to.” It was perfect. She went on to tell us that most people get the 6 item pizza where you can pick whatever 6 items you want. Mr. Josh and I noticed there was a total of like 7 items total to choose from…we laughed. The coolest part??? Mr. Josh ordered this fabulous cinnamon with frosting breadsticks as an appetizer!! They were awesome. I was starving, but they were awesome. But how fun is that?? The pizza was awesome…definitely a must do if ever in the Parowan area!! It was good.

After dinner, Mr. Josh walked me to my car and told me he had a birthday present for me. I was so surprised I don’t even know what I said. I just thought it was the sweetest thing ever! How adorable!! I got to open it and it was a book that he had talked about earlier in the date and one I have seen in the bookstore and knew I would love! It’s called Three Cups of Tea, and it’s about a man who provided humanitarian relief and education to the girls of Pakistan and Afghanistan against the will of the Taliban. I am going to love it! It was perfect. But then to add to that, there was a cute birthday note inside that I don’t have to share because it’s my birthday. But I will tell you about this cool poem he put in there…which is very fitting at this final first date.

Risks

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

To expose feelings it to risk exposing your true self.

To place your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.

 

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair.

To try is to risk failure.

 

But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing.

They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love live.

Chained by their attitudes, they are a slave, they have forfeited their freedom.

Only a person who risks is free.

 

I couldn’t agree more! Thanks for the gift and sweet note, Mr. Josh!

My Favs:

1. His calmness!
2. His laugh!
3. His willingness to take a risk!
4. He bought me a birthday present!!! Umm..adorable!
5. His quiet strength.

Google Love Meter: 84%

I did it…and now I am going to bed!

Date #30–Mr. Firefighters

Apparently the pressure is on and some of the players can’t handle it!

Last night I got a phone call from Date #30 giving me several excuses on why he couldn’t go out tonight. Nice. I now have less than 24 hours to find a date. I will say, my pride has been so lowered that really, I have no problem begging men to take me out…don’t know if that is something to be proud of or not???? I don’t really have a choice…especially in a situation like this. So, I proceeded to text several guys all of which had other plans…humbling really.

So, where does a girl go that needs a last minute date and can’t find any man who will go out with her??

To the local fire station, of course! Firefighters can’t say no to lonely women at their doorstep…it’s their civil duty! I knew I was safe.

So, I called to see what was for dinner and volunteered to bring dessert! Luckily I have an insider at the station and he told me what dessert to bring. I got awarded the “Best dinner guest, EVER”! Endorsed by Henderson Fire Department…THAT, my friends, is a big deal!!

For those who don’t know, I worked ER for 6 years and definitely fell in love with my firefighters! I would lecture them on behaving themselves and they would bring a smile to my face and a whole lot of blushing to my face! It was a beautiful thing. It was like having 100 cute brothers…because I knew too much to date them! But it seemed only appropriate to include my firefighters in with the ranks of the 31ers!

When I got there, they were busy cooking (well and playing Xbox, naturally) but they all stopped to say hi or

The Chad! One of my favorites! He keeps conversations interesting!

introduce themselves. Perfect gentlemen…for the first 3 minutes! :) Here’s the thing, when you put 11 men together for 24 hour spurts definitions of “gentlemen” change…but the definition of funny gets even funnier!! But there is something so endearing about watching men teasing each other, laughing and coming up with witty comebacks. I love it! Even more endearing was while they were doing it they were aware I was there making sure I was taken care of. Getting me a something to drink. Making sure I went first to eat. Bringing me my napkin. Oh, I love that feeling of being taken care of!

Can I tell you what they just whipped up for the night?? Grilled salmon…with the most phenomenal spices ever…and I mean ever! I loved it. Next? Tri tip that was so tender I kept trying to figure out how they cooked it. Baked beans. And Velveeta Shells and Cheese (only the best for the station). 3 men were in charge of this phenomenal meal….I was completely impressed!

Over dinner I got to share dating stories which I quickly regretted as they started plotting to form as a brotherhood to sabotage the vote…there is a lot of them, and you don’t mess with the brotherhood…I really am a little nervous.  Nothing gets by these guys, the teasing continued throughout the night. I really don’t think a comment was made without some joke, laugh, or jab being made the entire night. I was laughing so hard afraid to say anything as I knew I had the potential of being the next victim. It was at that point that the conversation turned to what cosmetic procedure I should have done…a qualitative study by the Henderson Fire Department…nothing is sacred. Nothing.

After dinner, the guys immediately started clearing the table, cleaning the dishes, sweeping and mopping…it was like a well-oiled machine! Meanwhile, one stayed behind to keep me company! Why is  polygamy bad again??? Ha!! Just kidding!! Really. Just kidding. After dinner had some dating and marriage advice and more teasing and laughing.

We sat outside and I learned that if you see firemen sitting outside you should give a little honk and wave…these men seem to put a lot of value on that!  So, feel free to send a little love next time you are driving by. It was fun to sit on the engine and enjoy the beautiful weather and hilarious teasing. It was a perfect, relaxing and nice date! And I got home early…there’s rules at this civil institutions…or there should be anyway! It was a great night and fun to catch up with some old friends and meet some new ones! Thanks Station 98!

My Favs:

1. They are so welcoming! I seemed completely normal that a girl who got stood up (okay, not stood up, but you understand) would just stop by the fire station for dinner! I loved it!
2. The food was phenomenal! Are there fire station cook books?? Because there should be!
3. The constant, hilarious teasing and laughing.
4. They work hard and respect their jobs.
5. They let me call them my firefighters and they love me as much as I love them!

Google Love Meter: 91% Sweet!

Date #29–Mr. Marcus

When this project was under construction and I was writing what I wanted on the website I debated whether I should put more information about me. I wondered if I should write random things I like or interests I have or anything to describe my personality. I obviously decided against it, my rationale being I would just see what I ended up with and people could get to know me on the date.  But had I put random facts about myself I would’ve put that I LOVE questions! I love the hearing the type of questions people come up with. I love answering questions. I love asking questions. I love question-fests.

So a few days ago, when I received this text from #29—Mr. Marcus, “In the spirit of 31, I would like you to prepare 31 funny or deep questions to ask me and I will do the same” I smiled and knew I was going to have fun on Monday!! :) I instantly got excited and started to think of some fun questions!

I met Mr. Marcus for sushi…another quick way to my heart! We got to know each other a little and talked about our stories over dinner. And then it was time for the much anticipated question-fest. The rules were that I got to ask my question, we would both give an answer, and then Mr. Marcus got to ask his questions, and we both would answer. For you math wizards, there were 124 answers to give! And that’s not including follow up questions! It was a blast! I loved every minute of it! So much so that we even asked each other the “bonus” questions we had prepared! Mr. Marcus actually came with 43 questions and I had 38 and I think only 1 overlapped each other!

Question-fest is such a fun way to get to know someone! You learn a lot about someone from their answers but also from their questions and the way they play the game.  Here were a few of the highlights:

• What is the top song played on your ipod?
• What is your “catch phrase”?
• If you could re-do one first kiss what would it be?
• Do you talk on the phone while using the restroom?
• If there is one picture that you could tear up so no one could ever see it again, what would that picture be? Describe it.
• If you had a really bad date where everything went wrong and you had nothing to talk about for 4 hours but you were just attracted to the guy/girl would you go out again?
• What is your claim to fame?
• What is a trait from each of your parents that you want to pass on to your family?
• What is the curse word you say the most in your mind?
• Have you ever had a desire to get a tattoo? If so, what would it be?
• What is the meanest thing someone has said to you when you were a child?
• Under ideal circumstances, what would your dream job be?
• What is your favorite physical trait of yourself? Non-physical trait?
• What is your greatest accomplishment that means the most to you?
• How diligent are you in following the traffic laws?

And my all time favorite, comes from Mr. Marcus

• Do you LOVE Neil Diamond?

Mr. Marcus has to have been doing his homework! First, questions. Second, sushi. And now NEIL??? Someone is leaking information! Just yesterday, I gushed about Neil! Why, yes…I do LOVE Neil. And the funniest part is that it doesn’t ask, “Do you like Neil Diamond?” No, it went straight to LOVE! My sentiments exactly!!  We then proceeded to swap concert stories! :) Although, Mr. Marcus has me beat on that one! Cougar central! Neil Diamond does crazy things to these ladies!

It was perfect. At some point in the middle of questions we ran to get some yogurt and continued our question-fest there. I really had a great time and feel like I really got to know Mr. Marcus. He is a genuine guy who does his best to do what he believes is right. He keeps a positive outlook on life even when things might not go the way he wanted or planned. He tries to understand things he isn’t familiar with (namely, funwith31 and the last book I read) in a non-judgmental manner. He is honest and good. He’s also funny, but not in an overbearing way. Being the “funny” girl most of my life, I know that funny can cover up a lot of real feelings or inhibit people from really getting to know you. Mr. Marcus seemed to have a great blend of both. He’s funny but it just complimented me getting to know him better. It was perfect.

My Favs:

1. I got to ask him 31 questions! And hear 62 responses!! That is my idea of a good time.
2. He’s cute.
3. He’s genuine.
4. He’s dedicated to do what’s right.
5. Isn’t afraid to poke fun of himself.

Google Love Meter: 93% with the addition of the middle name! That middle name saves it every time! (almost).

Only 3 dates left…

Well, the fun is approaching an end…

Now comes time for some business….VOTING!!  Who in the world are you going to vote for???? Since it is my game I’ve changed a few rules!  

• I no longer will have the final 1/3 of the vote. I have been on way too many great dates with marvelous men and I have no idea what to do. So, the vote is completely up to you. Completely! {be nice.}
• You will be able to vote for more than one fella if you just can’t make up  your mind!
• No, I will not be doing a bracket system to reach the final four. While it sounds like a lot of fun, I need to resume some normalcy to my life at some point. And, while some men think I am just adding another “notch” to the belt, I do recognize that these are real men and not just figurines in my game and I really would like to keep getting to know them…so for this reason, blogging about each date will end after my first 2nd date. Sorry.
• Speaking of my first 2nd date. It was originally planned for May 28th. This will be subject to change, as I have to work the majority of that day. And it’ll give us time to vote and plan a date (especially if a luck out-of-towner wins). So the first 2nd date will occur sometime during that weekend, any day between 28-30th.
• Because of the above rule change…voting will be open for 24 hours. I will post my final first date post with another phenomenal man…and voting will start then. Polls will be open for 24 hours and then the results will be published on my blog. (Results will be hidden!…sorry.)

I think that is all for now!!

But, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves…we still have to meet 3 more fellas….

Date #28–Special Pass

So, my last date in AZ fell through. And let’s be honest, I didn’t really have the time or energy to find a replacement. I gave myself a special card since I went on a 2-for-1 a few weeks ago…so technically 31 dates has or will still occur! Sorry crew, I know it is a lame cop-out.  Just to make it up to you, I found a guy on the way home in Wickenburg. I listened for 31 minutes about his criminal life at the tree. Does that count??

Google Love Meter 78%

Gotta love Mr. Seward!

Date #27–Mr. Aaron

On my way to meet Mr. Aaron I got a little nervous. Just for a few seconds and I don’t really know why. Maybe it was because I didn’t know the friend of a friend’s friend who set us up? Maybe it was because my sister dropped me off at the mall, to meet up with my date just like we were in middle school??? Who really knows why?? It reminded me of myself just 27 days ago and then made me realize how far I’ve come. And then I thought about how much fun I’ve had and what great people I’ve met and the nerves settled. (It’s a little funny because when we were saying goodbye, Mr. Aaron mentioned me not getting nervous anymore. I had already forgotten about  the few seconds I had had earlier in the evening.)

Mr. Aaron and I met at this really cool organic, locally grown food restaurant here in Arizona. He got my chair…nothing makes me feel more like a lady then when a man gets my chair at dinner. The restaurant had a fun ambiance and it was a great start to the evening. Mr. Aaron is close to finishing his master’s degree in acupuncture. He was so interesting to talk to and so patient with my 547 ignorant questions! I have always wanted to learn about acupuncture and really believe in its healing powers and now I had free reign to ask all I wanted! It was so much fun!

After dinner we drove out to Gilbert to see the play, “Charly’s Aunt”. It was a fun play that was perfect for a date. It was funny and adorable. And it was in the coolest theater. It was a round theater and we had perfect seats! It had the coolest feel to it! I loved it. It was here that Mr. Aaron randomly started talking about his musical talents like everyone had them!! He plays multiple instruments including, fiddle, guitar, trumpet, piano (I know I am missing some), he sings, and to top it all off…he composes music! He has written songs! That is just crazy in my logical head….and so cool. I really admire people who are able to express artistically what they think in their head. Not only was I amazed at his schooling/profession now I amazed at his artistic ability! All the while, was Mr. Aaron thinking “what’s the big deal”…but it is a big deal!

Mr. Aaron is comfortable in his own skin. He is understanding and calm. Those are probably my top three favorite traits in people, so it was a good night getting to know a good person.

My Favs:

1. He is involved in and good at things I’ve always wanted to know about.
2. Comfortable in his own skin, understanding and calm
3. Great, great smile!
4. Gentleman…he even got my door when I was inside the car! And he did it the right way! J By informing me that he’ll get me door…preventing me from looking special sitting in the car.
5. We got to eat healthy food tonight!!

Google Love Meter 67%