Kisses

My last first kiss was a few days shy of a couple of months ago.

I don't like first kisses. I know that's not a popular sentiment, but I don't. They're awkward. I mean, think about it. He's leaning toward you, but you don't know what to expect. "Should I go left or should I go right?" "Is he going to give me a quick smack on the lips, or something a little more 'in depth.'"  His lips feel strange and unfamiliar. It's just....awkward.

Second kisses are my favorite. These would be the ones that happen like five seconds after the first one, when you've broken apart, maybe said something, given him a hug, caught your breath and went back for more. Or maybe it happens later than that. Maybe you've danced another dance, or talked about the weather, or...whatever. Either way, it's a lot less awkward and a heck of a lot sweeter.

The first kiss is about learning. The second kiss is about giving in to the feeling and just completely enjoying it.

That said, I think the best thing about first kisses is the prelude.

For instance, Robb and I were in the middle of nowhere, dancing under the stars to some power ballads on his iPod. (Did I mention he's a total child of the '80s? Here was proof he speaks my language.)
So we're dancing (maybe he can tell you the exact song. I think he memorized the playlist. I'm afraid the music was the last thing I was paying attention to) when he stops and says, "I want to tell you something, but I'm afraid I might get slapped. So can I tell you something?"
Not seeing it coming, I said, "Of course."
He said, "What I want to tell you is this...."

(He most definitely did not get slapped.)

Glenn and I were sitting on a picnic table at the lake, staring out at the moonlight on the water and talking about...who knows what.
Out of the blue, he said, "It's been a long time since I've done this (meaning dating), but there's something I really want."
So I leaned in and kissed him.
He said, "Yeah. That."

Michael....I don't remember really what he said before the first "real" kiss. I think with him I just knew it was about to happen. It kind of evolved over a couple of dates, moving from hugs to quick pecks to an honest-to-goodness kiss. It was a kiss goodbye at the end of a date, and had been highly anticipated.

I wish I'd paid more attention to this a long time ago. It would have been fun to write them down. I mean, as horrible as this sounds, I don't really remember my very first kiss.

Well...okay. I remember being 6 and kissing Bo Skipper behind the Charlie Brown tree in my front yard.
We were playing house and we were the parents. We had sent Rhonda to school, conveniently located in the back yard.
We hid behind the tree because I was terrified of being caught.
"Long or short?" he'd asked.
"Short." I'd said.
I was afraid of what exactly a long kiss might entail.
So he gave me a quick smack on the lips, and then we scampered off to find my sister. I'm pretty sure I was blushing.

I remember my first "real" boyfriend. Of course I do. He was my high school sweetheart. I still see him from time to time and I love his family. But I don't remember our first kiss. (Sorry, Joe.) I'm thinking we were on my couch one Sunday after church, but I just don't remember anymore how it went down. I mean, that was 20+ years ago.

I don't remember my first kiss with Jason, nor my first kiss with Ron at all. Of course, I'm probably blocking them out. (You can't see me, but I just let out a tooth-chattering shudder.)

So now I'm curious. What are your thoughts on the subject? Oh, and please share your stories!

A Single Point of View: Quick hits

A Single Point of View: Quick hits: A few thoughts, then I've got to get moving. It's 9:30 a.m. and I'm still in my jammies! * My run at the Chronicle seems to be through. Ag...

Quick hits

A few thoughts, then I've got to get moving. It's 9:30 a.m. and I'm still in my jammies!

* My run at the Chronicle seems to be through. Again. For now. It was kind of nice while it lasted. The biggest downside was that I had to say bye to all my friends again.Yep. I'm a sentimental fool. Of course, this time it didn't sting quite so bad. I'll probably be back again at some point. LOL

* I haven't talked to any famous people this week. Ah, well. There's always next week, right? ;)

* I'm finally gonna get my hair did today. My sister makes me look so good! This will be the first time Rhonda's done it since she did my hair in Germany. That wasn't my last haircut, of course, but I can't wait for her to do it again.

* Robb gave me tulips a few days ago. They're starting to wilt. I've been staring at them all morning. I keep thinking how pretty they look even though they're dying. The stallks are still green, the flowers are still pink and yellow, and the blooms are in tact. They're just drooping. I don't think I've ever paid much attention to tulips before. They're dying gracefully. They're stll beautiful. I almost want to cry.

* I think I'm going to renew my commitment to writing that book. The stories just keep coming up in conversation with different people. I'm retelling anyway, might as well put them on paper. Plus I've been out of work two months and it occurs to me that if I had written on it a little every day, I would have a big chunk of it done by now. Perhaps I will start making that the first thing I do in the mornings after I get Catie off to school.

* Which means I better get moving now, huh? Later taters.

Whew. It's only been a week. I was afraid I'd find it's been two!

This week's been crazy. I'm back at the Chronicle, but on a day-to-day basis. The person who usually does the calendars (is it bad that I really want to call her the "Calendar Girl"??) is out sick and well...they can't afford to get behind. It's cool for me. It pads my wallet, I get to see my former co-workers, and I get none of the stress. It's a win-win-win situation. Except I'm doing calendars. I'll admit...it's bearable. Maybe because it's only my life for a few days.

(I think I have Calendar Girl on the brain. I have to interview Neil Sedaka tomorrow morning. I'll be studying him tonight. Yes, I'm nervous. It ought to be interesting.)

I think I've gotten lazy. I came home tonight tired, but before I sat down to blog I swept the kitchen, vacuumed, started supper and dug my kitchen table out from under a mountain of papers. (The desk is next.) It makes no sense. When I'm home all day, I have the hardest time making myself pick up a broom. Working does a body (and apparently a house) good, I tell ya!

On a different note, the other night Robb took me and the kids out to dinner with two of his three. It was the first time I met the younger one, and first time our kids met each other. His kids seem like really good kids. Someone once told me good kids come from good parents. The more I learn about this guy the better I like him.

And the four of them got along really well. Catie later declared Justin (Robb's oldest) to be just like Christopher. Apparently, while Robb and I were away from the table getting dessert, Christopher was picking at her. She turned to Justin and said "See what I have to put up with?" He laughed at her and said "What? I don't see anything wrong." Oh, boy!

Okay...I've got to finish supper. I'll try not to be gone so long. I know I keep saying that, but...you know... ;-)

Writing!

I just finished writing my first Today's Home as a freelancer. That was fun!

I think it's better than some of the ones I was turning in while I was working, just because I actually had time to think about what I was writing. It's nice. When you've got a million things due like today, it feels like you throw words on a page just to have something to turn in.

I've been working on this since about 9:30 a.m., and it's now noon-thirty. I'm still in my jammies and socks, and I really need a bath! I've now eaten breakfast and lunch at my desk (some things never change).

The thing that is irritating me about going from working in the office to freelancing (albeit a minor thing) is that I don't have access to resources that I had before. Like, once the photographers put photos in the system at the office, I could go back and check them before the story printed to make sure some detail I mentioned, like maybe a paint color, was accurate. Now I have to wait until it comes out in print to see the pictures and...well, leave out all those tiny details I'm not 100 percent sure about. Or call the homeowner.

But...it's still my favorite story to write. It's so much fun for me to try to make you see what I saw. I can never do it justice, but it's fun to try. I wish I had a background in home design or something, so that I'd have the vocabulary to do it right!

I also have a Your Life section front to work on. Those are fun, too. This one comes with a list of clubs. I've started on it, but I really need to make headway today. I mean...it's Wednesday. When I was working, Wednesday was the day by which I felt I needed to have something done on every story I had on my plate, just so that I didn't have to feel too much deadline pressure on Thursday or Friday. Even if all I had done was made a quick phone call. It didn't always work, but it was always a mental goal that contributed to my sanity.

Making a few of those calls today will make for a much happier Lisa on Thursday and Friday.

So what made me feel the need to blog right instead of picking up the phone? Beats me. :) Maybe I needed a mental break. (Facebook is good for that too!) I checked, though, and I haven't blogged in a week. I don't want y'all to think I don't love you anymore! I've just....got a lot of good stuff going on. And then there's writing and job hunting and all the day-to-day stuff to do.

But now I've accomplished stuff. And I've blogged. Time to hit the shower! :) (You're welcome!)

What's going on

I guess y'all are due for an update as to what's been going on around here!

No, I don't have a job yet. But my old one is keeping me pretty busy with freelance stories. It's nice. I can still do what I love, make a couple of dollars, and I still have time for other stuff (like job hunting). I almost wish I had enough stories each week to equal a paycheck, but at least it's something.

My food stamps came in. I ain't too proud to jump up and down about it! I figure it this way, unemployment will pay for the roof over our heads, and food stamps will keep us fat and happy. You think I'm kidding! Let me tell you, I get two-and-a-half times as much money now to spend on food as I was spending before I got laid off. I'm used to buying just what we need to cook meals, and maybe splurging on a bag of chips or popcorn. I went to the store the other day and was super excited to be able to buy a pot roast. There are other yummy meals now waiting to be prepared.

My kids only had one demand: buy snacks! Y'all...I stood there in that grocery aisle just staring at all that food like I've never seen any before. It was like sensory overload! I can buy anything I want...except it is possible to spend too much. (It might have taken another grocery cart, but it could be done!) I kept thinking do I get cookies or chips? Do I make cookies or buy packaged? Pudding cups or pudding mix? What kind of snacks do they want?? Too many decisions!

I think the kids are happy, though. They won't eat their snacks up in a day. It might actually take three. And they don't even know yet what I've stuck in the deep freeze! ;)

On a completely different note, I'm seeing a guy who's kind of incredible. I've been hesitant to talk about him much because I don't want to jinx it. But yeah...he's pretty awesome.

Okay, I'll gush a little bit. I figure it's fair, since one of his coworkers just today said he'd heard I was a good cook. :)  He's as sweet as he can be. Every morning I get a text with the title of my song for the day...some song that he says reminds him of me. I have playlist of them going on YouTube, and sometimes I listen to them when I'm working on stuff. We're up to like 23.

There are two main things that make him awesome: 1) I sense that under it all I have a friend in him and 2) there are all the ways he doesn't make me feel -- anxious, insecure, distrustful, dissecting or beneath him in any way. I don't wonder what I should do next or what he's up to when he's not with me. This is new to me, but I like it!

It's early yet, but I think he just might mean it when he says he wants to be around a while.

I met him online about a month ago, but within an hour we wondered how we haven't met before. Hope is one of his good friends from middle school. She almost set us up last year...but I was going through a breakup. On a seperate occasion, she told me to call him as a source for a story I was working on. I didn't. And she invited him countless times to come to Margaritaz with us, but he didn't. (Yes, he sings. He's a bigger karaoke nut than me. :) )

But there's more. Christopher and his oldest son were in the same class at Walker. Catie's friend Danielle is his uncle's granddaughter, and they live in our neighborhood. He grew up maybe two miles from where I grew up, so if I hadn't moved in with Daddy when I was 14, we'd have graduated from Butler together. We even know some of the same people from Winn Dixie, because that was his first job, too. (Different location, though.)

One of his co-workers asked him recently how we met. He just said, "It was fate."

Yeah, kinda. Oh, and you know what else? He's really cute, too! ;)