Oh, okay, get this....I've now broken my own rule. About two weeks ago, I joined ChristianMingle.com. They are much more reasonable in price than Eharmony and their name is really self-explanatory. It was a learning experience writing my profile, as it also has been exploring the responses and the message boards. As I've gone through the process, I've learned gradually what it is that's really important to me, and how to get it down in writing so that I am as specific, and as positive about myself as possible.
The message boards are a great way to express opinions and start conversation, and the responses give me a better idea of what guys are wanting and what's important to them.
So, what do I like?:
Clever descriptions with details.
(Looking at many profiles can be tedious; and I need something to draw me in & keep me interested. This is hard for guys, but so it must be. :)
The maximum amount of pictures.
(I've never seen you before, so let me get as many glimpses as possible :)
Completed questions and answers.
Clear pictures of FACES
A commitment to church every week.
I can't count how many wonderful profiles I've looked at that I've ditched because the person only attends church once or twice a month.
A good sense of humour that comes out in the writing.
(this keeps me interested :)
Someone who doesn't mind rain or overcast weather.
This is a personal preference of mine. It's a hard one because most guys love the outdoors and sunny weather seems to go hand in hand with that. I also find that guys seem to be afraid to put down that they "prefer" rain. It's almost as if they are afraid women will see this as a negative, or that they'll be turned off by it.
Someone who'd rather not have children.
This is also a difficult one, because it seems to put a "dent" in the dream: Christian family man...Christian mother, wife.
I've waited a long time for my husband, and I've made a decision...I want him to myself; to be able to share a life with him and have a few dogs and a couple of cats, and go on trips a couple times a year.
This I think is unconventional for a "Christian" dating site because most people are thinking Christian family, service... so this will be interesting.
What do I not like?:
Profiles with no pictures (!!!)
It is such a turn off to get that glimmer of hope that someones curious about me, and then not even get to know what they look like! Be bold, put yourself out there!
(A curious footnote is that many Calvary Chapel profiles have no pictures.) I think the feeling is discretion... modesty. It sorta keeps alive the mystery of what God is going to do; but there's a problem: I feel extremely awkward corresponding with someone when I don't even know what they look like. So, these are profiles that I don't pursue.
Introductions that are only one liners. Come on... put more into it than that. Intros that are only one line offend me because it suggests to me that the guy figures I won't like him in the first place. Okay, so then why are you wasting my time at all? Don't make me "dig," just tell me. Give me some info and then let me decide for myself. Don't be "mystical" just be real.
(Again, Calvary Chapel guys seem to be notorious for "one liner" introductions.) I think the idea is modesty; "Let's see where God takes this,"; that sorta thing. But to me, it's a major turn off, because if I were not interested, I wouldn't be looking.
Seeing only one picture under "Photos"... often the same one that shows up in the profile. I've never seen you before; give me as many reasons as you can to look at you again.
Profiles with no Q&A. To me, this is almost like cheating. How does CM even know you're such a match for me, if there is so little info about you? Really.
Photo's with indistinguishable faces.
Many profiles have pictures where a vehicle or boat is three or four times bigger than the person in the pic. The idea behind this could be trying to "show off" a particular "toy" or interest, and get a girl interested. But I wanna see the guy himself. Who am I talking to? I wanna see his features, especially his eyes.
(Many guys have on sunglasses, thinking that it makes them look cool (and in some cases it does) but guys have a better chance of keeping my interest if I can see their peepers :)
I did write my opinions about a girl checking out a guy (and does this break "the rule"? Guys have assured me that, no it does not... the attitude being that guys can't do all the work... that nany guys like to be noticed. Also, that guys want a "challenge," but not "Mission Impossible."
Strangely enough, before I ever "broke my own rule," I thought I was in a place where everything I'd ever wanted, was going to come to me on it's own...and everything was going into place. But the whole situation shattered... and nothing ever came of it. I've waited and waited on the Lord, being very careful to make sure I was not taking the reighns into my own hands (This is something THE LORD is gonna do, right... not me. So, I stayed out of the way, and tried to just live my life and see what would happen. Four years later, I am still single, and wondering what the heck happened. So I know now I need to get out there and take a risk... learn a bit about what's out there... and pray as I go. I wonder often if I am over stepping God's will, or if I'm supposed to search...I'm supposed to do this work...I'm supposed to learn these things about myself. I'm supposed to grow as a person. I'm confident that the Lord will lead me, and that I'll have the answers I'm looking for, and that someday, even the mysteries will be revealed as well.
Flower Power
Smile... Be Happy!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
MY Nana
When I was little, I thought there was only one "Nana" in the world...mine! :) (If you feel that way too, I salute you.) Anyway, I don't even know when I began calling her that--I just did. Nobody told me she was Nana...I just knew.
She was my great-grandmother, Mollie; and she was amazing.
As I had said in a different post, I once passed up a trip to Disneyland to spend the weekend with her. I was about five, and somehow the idea of sitting in front of the tv on Saturday morning watching cartooons with my cornflakes seemed like more fun. (I've since been to "The Happiest place on Earth" many times.) Anyway, I always loved sitting at a TV tray...with my cereal and one of those Home Run pies (yeah, major sugar high :) Nana kept these pies in her pantry on the back potch. I never had to sneak them or anything. This was Nana's house... she was more than happy to give them! I think to her these were more like a pastry or something. She would eat them with her coffee...which she usually shared with me. To this day, my cups of coffee are "Nana" cups of coffee (which simply means, they are loaded with sugar). I would watch "Popeye," and "The Great Space Coaster," and then "American Bandstand."
Summers there were particularly fun because of the pool and the swing set in the back yard. (And never under estimate the fun of a simple garden hose... Look out!) She had an old hula hoop in the garrage, which I could never learn to hula with, so I took to spinning it around the back yard (rolling it on the lawn). There was a big patio with a red picnic table. Nana and I would sit there and eat slices of water mellon. Sometimes she would cut up apples or persimmons (depending on the time of year). The persimmons would be for cookies, and the apples would either go into a coffee cake or be used to make a german dumpling called a varenik.
Vareniks were usually in three flavors: apple, straberry and potato (my favorite of which being potato). Obviously, the different kinds depended on the season. But in summer time, we had the straeberry (with the potato and apple). On TV cooking shows, Vareniks, are always called Perogi's (if I didn't spell that right, it's because we don't call them that.) The outside is make of dough, like a pasta, the inside has the filling... they were put into boiling water, drained and then--basted with melted butter. YUMMY!! :)
Nobody could make dough like Nana could...for anything: Coffee cakes, cookies, pie crusts, eeg noodles, Vareniks, Beerocks, homemade bread, and other things I can't think of now. She had one of the old pasta makers with a crank. She would have huge bowls with the yeast, flour and water, that would be kneaded and kneaded some more. She would put flour on her table in the kitchen and dust her rolling pin (although, she usually just used her hands). She would knead that dough smooth. For Vareniks, the dough would go through the pasta maker, and then be cut into squares (sort of like quilt patches) When we had enough squares, we then made sort of an assembly line.
One person had the bowls of filling and a big spoon, another person had cookie sheets for the finished Vareniks, another person was at the stove with the pot of water, and a big serving dish. The sqares of dough would be filled... then all the corners gathered up and pinched (or sealed) and these were lined up to go into the boiling water. They were drained with a slotted spoon and then put into the serving dish. Man did we eat well (and why not, for all that work?)
The potato vareniks, those were more work still. The potato filling had to be washed, peeled, boiled and mashed. Onions were then cut up and fried and added to the mashed potatoes. This make the filling. Any left over Vareniks were fried, which made them taste even better. Anybody hungry yet? For egg noodles, the dough obviously went through the pasta maker, but many more times to make it thinner. Then the long strips of thin dough were hung on wooden racks to dry out. Egg noodles had to be crunchy, see? But whatever Nana made...it was amazing. You could always count on her house smelling good (unless she was making watermelon honey). What is that, you ask? That's another entry. :)
She could crochet everything...pot holders, afghans, scarves. She embroidered dish towels (oh goodness...so many of them!) And somehow she still had time to entertain me :) Wow! She was awesome.
She was my great-grandmother, Mollie; and she was amazing.
As I had said in a different post, I once passed up a trip to Disneyland to spend the weekend with her. I was about five, and somehow the idea of sitting in front of the tv on Saturday morning watching cartooons with my cornflakes seemed like more fun. (I've since been to "The Happiest place on Earth" many times.) Anyway, I always loved sitting at a TV tray...with my cereal and one of those Home Run pies (yeah, major sugar high :) Nana kept these pies in her pantry on the back potch. I never had to sneak them or anything. This was Nana's house... she was more than happy to give them! I think to her these were more like a pastry or something. She would eat them with her coffee...which she usually shared with me. To this day, my cups of coffee are "Nana" cups of coffee (which simply means, they are loaded with sugar). I would watch "Popeye," and "The Great Space Coaster," and then "American Bandstand."
Summers there were particularly fun because of the pool and the swing set in the back yard. (And never under estimate the fun of a simple garden hose... Look out!) She had an old hula hoop in the garrage, which I could never learn to hula with, so I took to spinning it around the back yard (rolling it on the lawn). There was a big patio with a red picnic table. Nana and I would sit there and eat slices of water mellon. Sometimes she would cut up apples or persimmons (depending on the time of year). The persimmons would be for cookies, and the apples would either go into a coffee cake or be used to make a german dumpling called a varenik.
Vareniks were usually in three flavors: apple, straberry and potato (my favorite of which being potato). Obviously, the different kinds depended on the season. But in summer time, we had the straeberry (with the potato and apple). On TV cooking shows, Vareniks, are always called Perogi's (if I didn't spell that right, it's because we don't call them that.) The outside is make of dough, like a pasta, the inside has the filling... they were put into boiling water, drained and then--basted with melted butter. YUMMY!! :)
Nobody could make dough like Nana could...for anything: Coffee cakes, cookies, pie crusts, eeg noodles, Vareniks, Beerocks, homemade bread, and other things I can't think of now. She had one of the old pasta makers with a crank. She would have huge bowls with the yeast, flour and water, that would be kneaded and kneaded some more. She would put flour on her table in the kitchen and dust her rolling pin (although, she usually just used her hands). She would knead that dough smooth. For Vareniks, the dough would go through the pasta maker, and then be cut into squares (sort of like quilt patches) When we had enough squares, we then made sort of an assembly line.
One person had the bowls of filling and a big spoon, another person had cookie sheets for the finished Vareniks, another person was at the stove with the pot of water, and a big serving dish. The sqares of dough would be filled... then all the corners gathered up and pinched (or sealed) and these were lined up to go into the boiling water. They were drained with a slotted spoon and then put into the serving dish. Man did we eat well (and why not, for all that work?)
The potato vareniks, those were more work still. The potato filling had to be washed, peeled, boiled and mashed. Onions were then cut up and fried and added to the mashed potatoes. This make the filling. Any left over Vareniks were fried, which made them taste even better. Anybody hungry yet? For egg noodles, the dough obviously went through the pasta maker, but many more times to make it thinner. Then the long strips of thin dough were hung on wooden racks to dry out. Egg noodles had to be crunchy, see? But whatever Nana made...it was amazing. You could always count on her house smelling good (unless she was making watermelon honey). What is that, you ask? That's another entry. :)
She could crochet everything...pot holders, afghans, scarves. She embroidered dish towels (oh goodness...so many of them!) And somehow she still had time to entertain me :) Wow! She was awesome.
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