I have to tell you about my almost breakdown last night.

I got totally parental on myself last night.

It finally hit me that my baby sister is graduating, leaving the country, and going to college in like 7 months.

Do you realize we’ve practically lived with each other or 10 minutes away from each other for almost 18 years!?

I was listening to “Mourining Morning” by Just Jack (<3)- mainly because my sister is my music supplier and told me to download it. Anyway, I totally almost lost it there (I'll post part of the lyrics at the end).

What are you doing to me woman!?!

So anyway, I finally realized that this is the last time we'll really be around each other like we are right now- and yes, I got all misty.

Mainly because I'm a nerd and stress about things so far in the future that God might not even be aware of them yet (just kidding, God!).

But that's a legit stress, right?

Definitely. It ranks right up there with world hunger and global warming I'm almost positive.

Anyway, that's today's story.

P-

I really want you to stay but I know you have to go

I really want you to stay but sometimes it doesn’t show

I really want you to stay but I know you have to go

I really want you to stay let the conversation flow

I really want you to stay but I know you have to go

I really want you to stay but sometimes it doesn’t show

I really want you to stay but I know you have to go, have to go again

“Mourning Morning”

~Just Jack

Love,

Britter

Uh- Jenny? Am I doing this too early?

If I am- I’m sorry! I saw a couple other people posted theirs so I thought I’d follow suit!

Plus, who isn’t excited about Awesome Autumn, right?

Before I begin, you must be warned that I recently got a new phone with a really great camera.

That’s all I’ll say. You’ll understand the warning soon enough.

I was so excited to receive my AA gift this past Tuesday. My gift came from a good friend of mine too- so that made me all the more excited to open my gifts!

RJ- you kept a good secret!

Want to know something crappy!? RJ did a beautiful job making all these super cute labels to go along with my gifts- but sadly I’m not at home and I’m trying to recall what everything stood for in the AUTUMN acronym. AND- instead of waiting to post when I got home like a normal person would, I just have to post now.

Makes sense, right?

So RJ, my love, I’m sorry I’m killing the acronym you created. Please have mercy.

Okay- let’s get on with the post.

I received some really great gifts from RJ. The fact that she knows me made my gift really sweet and personal. For instance she got me “A” book on the “wholy” land (remember? I can’t say the “h” word because the government flags that sort of stuff) since she knows I’ll be in the area this fall.

She also got me the “U"ltimate cheesecake recipe. Uh-YUM. If you know RJ you know she’s an amazing dessert maker. I looked at the recipe and felt a little overwhelmed. RJ- come help!

She also got me a new nail polish color. I love the color, it’s super pretty. Not only is it perfect for fall, but it’s OU red!

RJ also got my doggies a surprise! Unlimited fun for the doggies!! How cute!!

Then they started fighting.

I had to take the bone away.

For like 30 seconds. I’m so mean.

Ha.

I also got the cutest thing ever- a PINK John Deere hat. I <3 it RJ! I never wear hats, but I'm totally in love with this one. I had fun… as you can tell:

Middle East 4 EVAH

Well… Maybe not 4 EVAH.

at least for a couple more years.

AND-

as you already know from yesterday’s post-

RJ sent me Dove chocolate. <3

Me? Share with you?

Ahahahahaha

Life is Beautiful.

Would it be bad if I ate these all at once?

Hey! What happened? There’s only one left. :(

AHA! The chocolate bandit is found!

I then grounded her for life.

It’s okay. We’re cool now.

and I’m happy again.

THE END

RJ- I love your gifts! It’s been so fun knowing you. Thanks so much for all my goodies. I’m SO excited about my book. It will really come in handy on my trip- especially since I can’t access any websites that has to do with “that country” from Kuwait (the government blocks them). thanks a million!

I had such fun playing. Jenny- you’re so creative.

As you can see, I love my new camera phone. Sorry for all the freaking pictures. I was just as annoyed as you were.

Have a great day! 

Well my Awesome Autumn ladies- my gift was officially sent out today! I was sorta sad to see it go! Jenny, would it be okay if I took it back and addressed it to myself and became my own partner? ha ha. Just kidding.

kind of.

I had lots of fun playing- just as I did last time. I look forward to my package arriving, and I look forward to my partner getting hers!

My Sweet Blog Friend Jenny sent me the sweetest surprise this week!

Jenny, you have AMAZING timing. I was sitting at work, dreading the thought of filing, missing Will, and anxious to go home.

Much to surprise I had a package in the mail! A sweet surprise from one of my favorite bloggers in the world, Jenny. It was a birthday gift, “5 months late” as she stated.

It was the just the therapy I needed- some “smelly good” and a pretty little flowery card. It totally made my day- and it smells great! It will forever remind me of my sweet blog friend,

my “real” friend,

Jenny.

Jenny and I go “way back” to the early days of the nest when people barely left comments and life revolved around life immediately after the wedding. Here we are now, a few years into our marriage, leaving comments as if we were on a frequent writer plan, and on our own sites.

Isn’t it funny how most of us have never met (unless you’re lucky enough like some bloggers who have!),

have rarely if ever spoken on the phone,

barely email,

probably don’t even know each other’s last names or where we grew up,

couldn’t pick each other out of a crowded room,

yet count one another as friends, real life friends.

Heck, most of my blog friends are far closer to me than my real ones these days. I guess it’s because we’ve made this whole online “long distance” thing a priority whereas other people that don’t enjoy this computer box as much haven’t.

I’m thankful for the friendships I’ve established here, so very thankful. I’ve met some of the most beautiful, colorful, and genuine people through this venue.

Jenny, thanks for the reflection today. You are always so loving, nurturing, and thoughtful and that continually comes out in your blog. I’m so blessed to know you.

to my other blog friends- thank you. In a lot of crazy ways, you are my refuge whether you know it or not.

Have a great day. I wish you happy surprises!

<3

"You worry about everything, “ Will said to me last Wednesday night over dinner.

“She worries about everything,” he reiterated to my mother- all in between mouthfuls of Hard Rock potato boats.

Yes. I admit it. I’m a worrier. I worry about everything- even really stupid things I have no control over. That’s another post for another time.

My worrying was warranted last Wednesday though, guys.

We totally got stood up!

Yes.

Stood up.

Hello, My name is Brittny Lynne B-Love and I have been stood up by another couple.

Here’s how it all went down (insert hazy dream sequence):

As I mentioned earlier last week, we were scheduled to go on

The
Longest
Date
Ever

with the couple we went out with a few weeks ago (NAMES! I need code names! Any suggestions?). We agreed on the date the weekend before, but still had to work out the time. The wife said she’d get back to me.

Well, I never heard from her. “Huh… that’s odd, “ I said, “I know! I’ll take the bull by the horns and shoot her an email to see about what time we’re meeting!”

Genius, right?

Notsomuch.

She never wrote back. Nothing. Not even a peep.

“Maybe she’ll call,” I thought- clinging to some tiny hope that some catastropic event happened in her life that prevented her from returning my email (ha ha).

Wednesday night rolled around and I still hadn’t gotten a call.

That’s when it finally hit me- we got dissed.

Punked.

Stood up.

Stranded at the Drive-In. (<- I had that stupid Grease song in my head all weekend. I walked around acting like Danny and pretending to be all anguished as I sang. Poor Will.)

Us! Will and Brittny! The nicest freaking people in the whole wide world, darn it! You can’t diss us! God will strike you down into a big smoky pile of ash!

Well… just FYI- as turns out you can diss us and you won’t be struck down into a big smoky pile of ash.

I spent all Wednesday night in a huff. What had happened? Why didn’t think like us? What did we do? Was it the Super Bowl thing? The fact that we own dogs? The fact that we actually like living in Oklahoma? Did we smell? Chew funny? Talk funny? Tell me! Where was our fault?

I couldn’t figure it out. Sure, I had my reservations about them- but that’s different! Will and I are totally allowed to feel that way- but them? They’re not allowed to. They have to love us. They have to want us to be the godparents of their freaking child. They have to want to name their first born Little Will and adorn him in OU onsies, dang it. They’re not allowed to have reservations!!! We’re the only ones entitled to that luxury.

Hmm. Maybe I scared them because I was coming on too strong. Ya think?

So, while the truth was that Will and I really didn’t want to go on the 10 hour date, it bothered me that they didn’t want to either. Like I said, what’s wrong with us!? I simply could’t believe we got stood up.

Then…

Then the blogging anxiety came. I’ll admit it. We were going on a blind date and I wanted to know what we were getting into. So like any normal rational person, totally untainted with the fear of paranoia, I googled the couple. Not much turned up, but then I began to wonder if she had done the same and somehow found my blog.

“Do you think she read my blog, Will?”

“Do you think she saw it and was offended by what I wrote about them?”

“Do you think maybe I’ll get an email back from her Saturday morning saying how she can’t be friends with a ridiculous blogger that talks about Suzy Qs and dog poop as if they were world-wide issues that require political intervention!?”

We then had the talk about “the blog” and how I need to be careful about what I say on here.

PS- I hate that talk. It makes me feel lousy and like I offend every living creature on the planet-including fluffy little bunnies and cute little girl scouts with pig tails- everytime my fingers hit the keypad.

Anyway, I worried all weekend that I had hurt her feelings and hence got stood up. STOOD UP BY PEOPLE I DIDN’T EVEN WANT TO GO OUT WITH!! WHY DID I FREAKING EVEN CARE!?!?! I guess simply because of what I stated before- it’s okay for us to have apprehensions about them- but what’s not to love about us (ha ha)!?

Will wasn’t nearly as hung up about the whole ordeal as I was. In fact, I think he was relieved that the “what’s their names again?” didn’t call. He was annoyed by the fact that although I knew we had no intention of becoming life-long friends with these people, I wanted them to want that of us.

Yes, I’m warped and odd. You should know that by now.

I finally gave up my whining Thursday afternoon. We got stood up. So what. Big deal. It’s okay. It happens. It’s silly to care about something all because someone might not like us (gasp!).

All was well in my world.

Until yesterday afternoon when the wife wrote me a lenghtly email saying how sorry she was and how she didn’t get to check her email Wednesday because the company made them move to a different area of Kuwait. She was so caught up in the move all weekend that she forgot to call Thursday, and she wanted to know if we wanted to get together this weekend.

Like a moron I said, “Yes! That will be great! We’ll be the bestest friends ever!!!” okay, didn’t say the last part- but I’m sure my enthusiasm gave off that vibe nontheless.

Can’t life be freaking simple!?

So I cried all last week when we WERE going out with them. Cried all weekend because we WEREN’T going out with them. And now I’m crying again because we ARE going out with them.

I totally deserve what I’m getting with all this friend crap. I totally bring it on myself.

So, as it turns out it wasn’t anything we did. I stressed over nothing. They actually do like us and I can sleep tonight.

Now I can legitimately start complaining about our next date.

It’s the small things in life that make it so worthwhile.

I’ve unofficially declared Tuesdays (or Mondays, or Saturdays or any freaking day of the week when I’m all dried up and out of any real substance to talk about. heh- who am I kidding? When do I ever have real substance on here?) Update Day. Because, well, as you all know I have so much exciting and fresh information to discuss about my thrilling life in Kuwait (ha).

Something Actually Worth Reading...well...sort of
I was so excited to hear that one of places Will and I are visiting this year was named one of the new 7 Wonders of the World! I was already excited to go, but now? Now I’m just plain stupid about it. If you were too freaking lazy to click on the link for the grand revealing (don’t worry, I’m lazy too and rarely click on links), I’ll go ahead and tell you what new Wonder we’ll be visiting this year. We’re going to Petra, Jordan!

Will and I decided we really need to make the most of our time here and start planning the trips we’ve been talking about forever but just haven’t done because “we still have 103 more years in Kuwait.” However, we’ve already been here 2 (which is hard to believe!), so before we know it, it will be time to go home and we will have missed out on things we wanted to do. So, we committed to taking a few short trips during the rest of our time here. We invited my family along, so it should be a good trip. We’re going to stay on the Dead Sea a few nights, see Petra, go to Amman- it should be a good trip! I’m most looking forward to Petra, though. Mainly from an eschatological aspect (wow! you didn’t know I was a smartie, did you?). Will, however, is looking forward to swimming in the Dead Sea. I hear it’s physically impossible to swim in it because of the salt content- so watching him attempt to swim will be quite a show.

I have quite possibly the craziest story ever in all the world (okay, that’s a total flat out life) about planning our trip, but sadly, I can’t share. You can thank the Kuwaiti people that monitor the web for trigger words that I can’t even write in this post. Let’s just say it has to do with Jordan’s neighboring country- a place most Arab countries believe does not exist. Ha ha- or as my friend Sarah says, “the Whole-y Land.” Was that a good hint? I freaking hope so. Anyway, we had a creepy experience last weekend because of it and found out that the Ministry flags and blocks all calls to “that country.” Maybe one day I’ll get to tell you about it. Since I just taunted you with half a story and got you all like, “What the crap is she talking about!?!” I’ll go ahead and move on to something else. Sorry for the ambiguity.

Not Exactly Worth Reading
Other than the Jordan trip (which seems forever away), there just doesn’t seem to be a lot going on.

Last Tuesday afternoon I got an email from the wife of the couple we went out with (hmm, did that sentence make sense?.. who knows...). She asked us out on

The
Longest
Date
Ever.

It’s this 6 hour tour thing. It sounds like a lot of fun (ha- Will was thrilled), and I was actually looking forward to it until Will mentioned, “Uh- we couldn’t even carry on a conversation for an hour. how are we going to manage 6!?!” He’s right. This reality has set me into a panic. I think the couple might be just as frantic because I haven’t heard from her since the initial email. She told me she would find out the times and then get back to me. Granted, it’s only Tuesday, but now I’m wondering if they want to “forget” that we had made plans. I guess I’ll find out soon enough. I’m sure 6 hours will produce a plethora of blogging material. I’ll keep you guys posted on what will either be the 6 Hour Stand Up or the 6 Hours of Continual Conversation… or lack thereof.

Are you Still Reading!?
Last Thursday I went to Will’s camp to work out with the guy that is whipping my Will into shape! It was a lot of fun...well..fun might not be the right word. I was glad to get to see Will in action and see all the “abuse” Will says this guy puts him through. The guy was really great and helped me make some improvements to my own program. That’s not exactly how I would like to spend every Thursday, but it was nice to work out together and finally get to meet the guy that has helped Will drop almost 10 pounds.

We bought $80 worth of grapefruit last weekend. Yep, we love our citrus. I think we looked like complete morons checking out. I should also mention that we went to 3 different grocery stores this weekend too. Yeah, that was loads of fun. Every store has something the other ones don’t. It’s quite a headache. So, Will and I decided we would limit our grocery needs to 2 stores and just load up on things we need from the 3rd. That’s exactly what we did. Will loves these Del Monte jars of pre-cut grapefruit. We took all that was available and proudly walked out with 2 (extrememly heavy) bags. Isn’t that sad!? $80 and 2 bags? For freaking grapefruit!?! Gotta love the prices they slap on imported goods.

Hmm… Want to see the most beautiful hospital? Go here. It’s the newest and best women’s hospital in Kuwait. It’s like a freaking hotel. My mom had her surgery there. Surprisingly, it’s cheaper than most “normal” hospitals in the states. I have no idea why I just linked you there… probably because I need to make a doctor’s appointment and wanted you to know we actually have normal hospitals here and not something from behind a farm shed. Uh, well, we have those too- but at least we have options, right!? Sigh, sadly I still don’t think you guys are any more eager to move here.

What else?… I started re-reading the book of Daniel last week. I forgot how much I really enjoy that book. I’m only like 5 chapters in, but I feel so refreshed by the things I’m encountering. I just want to sit and continuing reading on and on. Here’s just a few things I’ve tried to focus on from my readings (in normal people’s language):

God wants us to give all of ourselves to him, even in things that seem sort of trivial.
Just because the “in crowd” is doing something doesn’t mean it will make you better in the long run
God stands tall with those who are faced with adversity
Pride comes before the fall, and God alone is sovereign. <- that's what I read about today- King "Nebby's" prideful heart.

I'm reading the book along with a Prophecy commentary I got for my birthday. It's really enriched what I'm reading. Also, Beth Moore has an excellent study on Daniel, but it's better to do with a women's Bible study group, so I think I'll hold off on that one.

Go Ahead and Leave, It’s Pretty Much Downhill From Here
Boz has started doing the weirdest thing! He pees directly into his food dish after he eats. “What in the freaking crap are you thinking!?!” I constantly yell. He just cocks his head and looks at me and is all, “What, woman?! It’s MINE! ALL MINE!!” MUHAHAHAHAHA.”

This marking his territory crap makes no sense to me. I guess I’ll just at least be thankful men aren’t allowed to walk around doing the same. Think about all the wars that would break out over that!

Alright, alright. I think I’ve put you through enough crazy ramblings for one day. I wish you all a wonderful day!

More to come <3

My Summer Swap gift arrived and was definitely worth the wait.

Can I first just say that I love Mrs. M?!

Mrs. M was my partner. When I found this out I got a little stupid. You see, I have a major blog crush on Mrs. M. She probably thinks I blog stalk her. In fact, I heard a rumor that she woke in a cold sweat the other night dreaming I was chasing her down and trying to get her to sign Blogging for Dummies book.

Mrs. M, please don’t be scared- it’s just me, Brittny!

As you can imagine, I was beyond giddy (yes, giddy) when I found out the one, the only, Mrs. M herself was my partner. I was a little star struck.

Not only that- but the woman got me some wonderful and very thoughtful gifts! I felt major blogging summer swap love when I opened what I got. Here’s the loot:

Satchel of Goodies

Ultra Cute Flip Flops

Monogrammed Things

Magnetic Notepad

Easiest Dips & Desserts

Reading Material

Guys- the gift was so much fun to open! Mrs. M was so thoughtful and made me three monogrammed gifts! They’re all so cute. And the recipes!? They’re stuff even I can make. I’m so excited about them and am going to try a couple this weekend! She even gave me a super secret recipe she rarely shares! How sweet was that!? I know I’m going on and on, but I’m really excited about my gifts.

Thanks so much for the idea Mrs. M & Jenny. I had such a great time giving and getting my Summer Swap surprises.

TGIW! I’m off to enjoy the weekend!

PS- Mrs. M, I think you might have added fuel to the already blazing blog crush fire.

<3,

Brittny

Do you remember Love Connection? I can remember my mom watching that show when I was younger.

It was hosted by a guy named Chuck Woolery. He would have a man or woman come on the show and choose a date, in hopes of a “love connection.” For the sake of this post, we’ll say it’s a woman. The woman gets to see three clips of potential dates. The audience then chooses who they think is the right date for the woman.

The woman, who had already gone on the blind date, introduces who she chose. Chuck then interviews both about what happened on the date. Sometimes it was a disaster. Sometimes they were planning the wedding. Other times it was just so-so. No matter what, it was always an entertaining show.

Guys, that’s what I needed last weekend.

I needed good old Chuck to bring Will and I out in front of a live studio audience (Ooh! I wonder if we’d get to sit on those awesome heart shaped couches!? I hope, I hope!) where we would then proceed to pick from three dates, hoping to find the perfect match. The couple we would want to spend the rest of our lives with (ha ha) How fun would that be!?! Hopefully ONE of them would be the perfect match for us, right!?!

Right??

Sigh.

Incase you’re wondering, there wasn’t a love connection over breakfast. It wasn’t awful, but we weren’t planning on making them godparents either. It was just okay. I think both sides would agree. I also think “just okay” is normal. Very, very normal.

The couple was nice, I would hope they’d say the same thing about us. However, we’re opposite in a lot of ways. Ha- you should have seen the look on their faces when we told them we went to the Super Bowl this year. It was if one wanted to say,"Oh my gosh, honey. Quick! Think of a way out! The signal! Give me the signal!” It was funny.

Everything went fine. No crazy stories, really. They were late and I feared they took one look at us and stood us up. Will simply wanted to go in and start eating without them, so I had to explain the mannerisms and rules of dating. We waited 15 minutes and thankfully, they hadn’t stood us up. They had parking problems.

The conversation was fine. Nothing wonderful, but then again it was the first time we’d ever seen each other. Mostly, the usual initial, “Where are you from?” and “How long have you been married?” type questions. I will say, though, on the way there I was talking to Will about conversation topics and I said, “Obviously we’ll ask them how they met, right?” Will just looked at me and said that was dumb. No one asks that on a first date, he said- which I totally argued. Everyone asks that on a first date! We went back and forth on the way there and I finally decided fine! I’ll can the question.

I almost died right on the table when the husband asked US the “how’d you meet” question. I kicked Will under the table and gave him an I-told-you-so look. Too funny.

So, that was the date. Okay. Fine. Alright. C+. I think both couples realize young married friends are slim pickin’ over here, so we should jump on what we’ve got. I liked them. Hopefully they liked us.

Would we see them again? Yes. Hopefully they would say the same. I think they would. In fact, they even hinted at getting together next weekend. I don’t think we’ll be able to this weekend (you know- our super demanding schedules- cough), but I think we’d be up for the next.

“The Date” made me realize two things. The first is that sometimes I think Will and I do better solo. When it’s just me and Will we have this perfect dynamic, but when we add another couple in the mix it’s not as perfect. However, I also realized that I think I’m ready to start “dating” other couples, or at least am open to the idea. Doing it here is almost impossible, but hopefully one day when we go home we’ll have that “love connection” I was talking about earlier.

So, sorry guys. No good stories. You’re going to think I’m terrible- but I was actually hoping things would either take a huge nose dive or that the couple would be the best people we’ve ever met in our lives, simply so I’d have something to post about (look at me! I’m obsessed with blogging!). Neither happened. I’m okay with that. We had a good time and met a couple we might go out with again.

So here’s to finding the perfect couple! 

If Will and I lived in your neighborhood we’d be your back-up back-up friends.

You know the ones I’m talking about- the ones that aren’t even stored in your phone- or even in the old Nokia you haven’t used in years. Reaching us requires a lot of research on your part.

We’re the ones you call when you’re desperate.

The ones you finally settle for after sitting on the couch for hours, racking your brain as to who else you could possible call- someone. Anyone. You try your dog walker, your babysitter, the senior citizen center, even your freaking gynocologist before you call us. Ha- in fact you’d rather be spread eagle in the stirrups at the gynocologist than go out with us.

”Hoooney!! Who can we call!?!” you whine, popping your shoulder and kicking your legs like a kindergartner that wasn’t picked for Feed The Fish duty.

That’s when your husband chimes in, “Well, there’s always the...”

“Don’t say it! Don’t even utter their name! You know I hate how he’s always talking about football, and her! She’s in a whole other world! Don’t even get me started!”

You banter back and forth, and finally decide that sharing a meal with two boring Sooners has to be better than another night on the couch watching Mary Tyler Moore reruns. At least, you hope it is.

That’s the kind of friends we are. We wouldn’t even make your JV list.

The truth is- Will and I don’t get out much here in Kuwait. If we must actually brush our teeth, shower, and look alive on the weekends, our date of choice is with my parents (yep. We’re so cool… It’s pretty sad when you double with your parents every single weekend.). I’m thinking really hard, and…

wow!…

I don’t think Will and I have been out with any other couple the whole 2 years we’ve been here! Granted, you may remember “Fred and Ethel Mertz” from the old blog. There’s been a couple other invites here and there, but other than that we’ve hit a dry spell.

When we first moved here that’s all I wanted- friends. “Friends! Friends! Friends! Give me Friends!” I would say. However, after the first year I was sort of like, “Sleep! Give me sleep!” Something about being over here sucks the life out of you, and lazy weekends are the Duracells that get you through.

Well, guys, these Duracells won’t be fully charged this weekend because Will and I have a date.

Yep, that’s right.

A DATE!

I feel like an awkward teenager all over again. The nerves, the anticipation, the obsessing…

Here’s how it went down:

There is a family that works at my company. I know the mom and dad of this family. Every time I see the mom she reminds me she has a daughter that works here now and she’s my age. Oh! and she has a husband too! the mom adds. I’m always nice and do the, “Yeah, maybe we’ll get together sometime,” song and dance, but never really planned on acting on the idea.

Until last week.

The daughter emailed me. She asked if we had plans for that night of the next. My stomach sank. “I know! I’ll call Will!” I thought to myself. “I know what he’ll say! He’ll be the one I can blame a ‘thanks but no thanks’ on.” <- I knew he'd say, "NO WAY! We don't like people. We're curmudgeons that live in a cave, remember?"

However, he totally shocked me. "Yeah, I guess," he said.

WILL! You were supposed to say no!! Oh- and by the way- he conviently fails to remember the part where he readily agrees. He is blaming this whole thing all on me. Such a typical male.

So, I emailed back and we set something up. I wasn’t prepared for anything last weekend. I would need plenty of time to prepare for such a catastrophic event. So, we planned dinner for this Thursday.

It was a date. An official blind date. No backing out now. We entered into a legally binding social agreement when we said yes. These can only be broken by a Congressional hearing. Or bribing the other couple with a free Johnny Carinos appetizer coupon. There was no way out.

Ever since we sealed the deal, I’ve had second thoughts. Perhaps it was the, “Of course- we can always go out for sushi” comment in regards to where we should meet for dinner. “Always go out for sushi,” I thought. “She makes it sound like going out for sushi is what everyone does on a Thrusday night. It’s just like dinner at Applebees!” Maybe it was that. Will loved the sushi idea (ha).

Or, perhaps it’s the whole notion of the “double date” that’s giving me second thoughts. It’s not only just a double date- it’s a BLIND DOUBLE DATE! We have to sit down for at least an hour with these people. Share a meal. Find mutual interests. Muster conversation. Remember what I said earlier!? We don’t date! I don’t even know if we’ll be able to produce audible conversational sentences to these people. It might come out sounding like dolphin squeak. Heck- we might not even be able to squeak! We might just sit there, drooling all over ourselves and trying to speak in hand gestures- just like the cave men we’ve become.

Then there’s the “other people opinion factor.” I told a couple people about the big date and ended up getting mixed feedback. Two told me they knew the couple and said they were, “… nice people...” However, they said it in that hesitant way- like they wanted to say more but didn’t want to ruin us from ever going out again. Plus they know we never ever get out and are thinking to themselves, “Dang it, They NEED human interaction. Even if the couple practices contortion stances for fun.”

Sigh. I just want the truth people!

The truth!

“You can’t handle the truth!” one said.

She’s probably right.

So I have the feeling our blind date couple started thinking about the potential awkwardness as well because I got an email from the wife asking if we could change the time of our get together. Now, instead of having supper, we’re having breakfast.

Breakfast…

Breakfast?!

BREAKFAST!

What made them decide breakfast!? Which then had me stressing out even more.  Breakfast means they might be apprehensive about meeting us too.

Hey- it’s one thing for us to be stressed about meeting them, but they’re not allowed to feel the same way. They have to love us. There is no other option. So, after I got the, “can we change the time” email I started wondering if she had asked around about us like we asked about them.

“What did they ask?”

“What did people say?”

“I wonder if they’re judging us before they even notice us!”

“HEY! They can’t do that!”

and then laughed because I’m doing all of the above, but darn it- they can’t!

So, it’s breakfast. Breakfast seems so much more laidback than dinner. Breakfast is easy. There just seems like less pressure. If we have to go on this blind date- breakfast is definitely the way to go.

Ha, I’ve been joking about it all week. I told Will we should send them an email that described what we would be wearing, how there would be a newspaper in the upper left corner of the table, and that we’d be drinking iced tea (hahaha). He thought I was a weirdo.

“We don’t want to scare them before we even meet them.”

“But Will! How are they supposed to find us?!”

So at the start of the week I had the attitude of- Let’s just get this stupid thing over! However, as the day is finally on my doorstep, it appears I’m singing a different tune. I’m thinking about what I’m going to wear, things to say, what I’ll eat… it’s like I’m dating all over again! I hate this dating drama. I thought I got married and it would all end-

but they don’t tell you that, do they? The fact is that dating gets WORSE when you get married because now there’s four people involved. Will the husbands mesh? Will the wives? Can the husbands tolerate the other man’s wife and vice versa?

Blind couple dating...sigh… I’ve heard everything now. What a way to enter into the couple dating realm after a two year hiatus, huh?

Wish us luck. Maybe I should have a contingency plan in place in case all goes south- like if I send my mom a text message that says “deliverance,” she’ll call 20 minutes later saying she needs me right away.

Okay, now I’m being ridiculous.

Did I mention I have a Gigantor zit on my chin? What a way to make a first impression.

Wish us luck. Who knows- maybe we’ll have a good time. 

I want the Heffernans to be our best friends.

Yes, you heard me right. I want fictional TV characters to magically move to Kuwait, become our neighbors, and think we’re the funniest and best couple to ever walk the earth.

I have a serious problem, guys. I really want that! Will thinks I’m the biggest nut ever- but seriously… I still want it.

Maybe it’s because the friend market here is lacking like a dry shriveled up California rasin in late July, or maybe it’s because, well, everyone knows Doug and Carrie Heffernan are great, but guys- that’s what I want for my anniversary gift: Doug and Carrie Heffernan.

We’re a match made in Heaven! I can see it now-

Will and Doug are off every weekend cheering on their favorite teams (depending on the season), while Carrie and I are out shopping, or eating at that new healthy café down the street, okay okay, and occasional taking Arthur to the Senior Center for Boggle Day.

Will has a built in buddy for all his sports events

I have a built-in gym buddy

Will has the perfect guy to play Madden with

I have the perfect girl to help me pick the perfect lip gloss.

What’s so strange about that!?

Is it strange that the one thing that gets me through the day is knowing I’ll come home and Will and I will sit on the couch to watch what Doug and Carrie did today?

Is it strange that I’m always telling Will, “Oh my gosh, Carrie would love that!” or “Hmm, I wonder if Carrie would wear that?”

Is it strange that I think about them during the day as if they’re real people?

No- that’s not strange at all! Totally normal.

Exactly!!

Doug is Will’s perfect best friend match! It’s almost scary! I mean- they both love to eat, they both love sports, they both love to eat, they both love sports… can we have any two people with any more in common!? I think not!

And I mean, Carrie and I are perfect too! We both like shopping, being healthy, and,

Uh…

Umm…

What else??…

I promote marriage, Carrie broke up a marriage because she didn’t gel with the husband

I buy my clothes, Carrie buys them, wears them until the

return policy is up and brings them back for a refund

I’m take joy in other’s victories, Carrie had to go to counseling because she enjoys when others are miserable

Hmm…

Well…

Carrie’s great, right? We have TONS in common. Me, Carrie, the best of buds, right?

Right?

(crickets)

…

Forget it, maybe Will’s right.

but I can still wish, right?

<3