In Retrospect….

As the year ends, so does my goal to go on a date with 50 different guys.  I only made it to 34 (ish, it’s technically 35 if you count my potential “TOWWETB” – I’ll write about him in the new year).  Boo.  I hate when I don’t meet my goals.  But through this journey, I’ve learned a lot of lessons – about dating, relationships, men, and myself in general.  I’ve gotten back into writing with this blog, which was one of my main goals for the entire year.  Writing this blog has made me realize so many things that I either refused to acknowledge in the past or just didn’t know about, and for that I am thankful (maybe this should have been a Thanksgiving post, with me being thankful and all….).

And I think the one thing I am most grateful for is all of you wonderful, lovely, beautiful people who have been following my journey this entire year!!  🙂  Without you, my blog wouldn’t be what it is today.  I honestly never expected my little idea of dating a bunch of guys to turn into what it is now.  You’ve all given me the motivation to keep on writing and keep on dating and staying strong in times where I thought I would just give up.  I am so thankful for you all and I do hope you all continue to follow me in the future (just fyi, I am keeping the blog, but changing it a bit).  I feel I have made so many new friendships through this blog (I think you all know who you are :-)) and I am also very grateful for that!!

The reason my blog started…my inspiration, if you will

So here is a list of the things I learned throughout my journey in dating….

• Dating is FUCKING exhausting.  It takes lots of planning and preparation, not to mention time.  Lots of time.
• Online dating and I do not get along.  At all.  It’s awkward, I’m awkward on it, and everything is just awkward.  Granted, I chose a site that was a bit different than the norm.  But I still didn’t like the experience.  To me, it’s too superficial.
• Before this blog I was extremely picky.  I realize there was a good reason for this…
• But with that being said, sometimes in giving a chance to a guy that I would never usually give a chance to was eye opening and made me think twice about/before rejecting a guy. (“Boss Man”)
• It’s silly to put all your eggs in one basket if things aren’t 100% clear.
• My intuition with men is almost always right
• Patience.  It’s something I personally don’t have, but something I’m going to need to make something work.  Kind of goes hand in hand with that first thing I mentioned.
• Guys are just as nervous/awkward as girls about dating.  Sometimes even more.
• Guys have just as much of a problem and questions about dating as girls do.
• I send mixed signals…not on purpose, but because I get scared of being hurt.
• There’s a possibility that I am just way too busy to be in a relationship (as pointed out to me by “Ninja Monkey”)
• Being set up on a date with someone is probably one of the worst possible ways to  meet someone.
• Sometimes you’ve got to take a risk and make yourself vulnerable in order to find someone.
• Just because someone has a girlfriend/boyfriend, doesn’t mean they’re completely monogamous or off limits.  Stay away from these types of people.  They are bad news. (a.k.a. “Mr. Big (Present)”)
• I can fully attest that I am a now a firm believer of that quote saying that sometimes the right person is in front of you the entire time, but you don’t realize it till later.  5 years later, in my case (fingers crossed).  I’ll write more about this one later…:-)

So true. It’s something I really need to live by.

So I’m probably going to go on a small hiatus from writing in the New Year.  I need to figure out exactly what I’m going to do with my blog, catch up on everyone else’s blog (sorry for the neglect!), and figure things out in my life outside of dating that need to be settled.  But don’t worry, I can’t stay away for too long – there are too many men out there for me to write about still!!  😉