Charming, but single

Thanks for all of the e-mails and sweet comments over the past few weeks. I can’t respond to them all, but know that I’ve read them and appreciate the sentiment.

To those of you who think I’m fixating or wallowing: You are 100 percent correct. And for good reason. I’m going to fixate and wallow for as long as it takes to purge this. Because this isn’t about one man. This has been building for years and if you don’t want to watch it burst, I’d invite you to move right along.

Or you could stick it out and wait with me. Who knows – I might surprise you. I may rise like a phoenix from the ashes of my bitter, cynical do-nothing-about-it spinsterdom. And then wouldn’t you feel mighty stupid for missing the heroine’s ultimate self-redemption?

My point: Cut me some slack on the rambling posts to come and their (probably) pop song inspired titles. This is so much cheaper than therapy.

I missed my three year blogiversary, which was last month on January 19. Damn, has it really been that long?

Three years and here’s all I have to show for it — ridiculously well-documented proof of my failed attempts at dating and my single girl woes, a shameful case of writer’s block and, even worse, a feeling that my silly hobby might mean more to me than I care to admit.

481 posts. 7494 comments. 493,187 visits (or views?) just since I launched over here at WordPress last year.

With all of that writing and all of that free advice, you’d think I would have learned something by now, right?

I started the year worrying about how my younger brother was getting married before I did. Which is pretty funny because that’s the same way I’ve been feeling now, a year later, ever since my young cousins suggested over Sunday dinner I go out with their 30-year-old reading teacher, who is actually 55 and married with five kids.

That tells you something about how kids view the world and the adults who inhabit it.

And when I asked why, they said “Because [Your Brother] is going to beat you and if you don’t hurry up, so is [Your Sister].”

They say the darndest things.

I added a Twitter feed in the sidebar. It will update slowly, unfortunately, because WordPress.com doesn’t have a Twitter widget – yet.

I figured that since I failed miserably at Blog 365, I’d try the Twitter. My page is: http://twitter.com/charmingblogger

(Yes, “charming” was already taken and “charmingbutsingle” was too long.)

NaBloPoMo ended and though I missed three days and sometimes struggled to find content, I can honestly say that the experience reminded me why I love writing this blog. It is such a small self-indulgence and something that relaxes me.

So I guess I’ll keep on keeping on. For now.

Goal for the New Year: Get out of this rut, leave the barstool, find my lost confidence and flirt my little Southern tail off.

The comments on the last post made me so happy for some reason. (I’m sure it had a lot to do with my Tiger Pride welling up everywhere. Also: Pickled Okra!) I replied to many of them and I pledge to try to reply to more comments from here on out, though I’m sure I will fail at this at times.

And, just so you know, sometimes I think my comments come across as more contentious than I intend them to. Sometimes I’m being sarcastic and other times I’m just trying to provide an explanation and I think I’m being hysterical and/or witty. So, if I comment on your comment and disagree, it isn’t always because I’m offended and/or annoyed with you. Sorry!

Unless, of course, you deserve my wrath (and you’ll probably know when you do) and/or you are a Buckeye fan.

Well, y’all sure know how to make a girl feel special. Thanks for the kind words and praise. I’m blushing.

I did want to reply to one comment from reader Ally who notes that me mentioning that young women should perhaps wear slips under their so that everyone cannot see their thongs (and butts) through their dresses shows that I am kind of out of touch with “young” women.

Ally, my darling, if not wanting the entire world to see my Lady Parts through my clothes makes me old and out of touch, then so be it. You can call me Grandma. (Or Miss Granny if you’re nasty.)

If you’re going to go to the trouble of wearing cocktail dresses with sequins to a semi-formal or formal event, you should at least have the kind sense to cover up your rear. Maybe there is a way other than a slip to accomplish this (a lined dress?), but a slip seemed like a good option to me.

Maybe it is the Southern Belle in me, maybe it is just how my Momma raised me, but I stand firm on my stance that no one should be able to see your ass cheeks out in public ever. And you can quote me on that.

Also, leggings still suck. And young girls wear dresses that are actually shirts and it is awkward. (See above, re: exposed Lady Parts.) And they wear too much eye make-up.

I am all about being fashionable, but you’ll find that as you age, practicality sometimes trumps trendiness. I suspect that no one would take me seriously if I showed up to work (or anywhere) with my undergarments showing through my whisper thin dress. And that could possibly cause me to lose my steady paycheck. And Lord knows we don’t want THAT to happen.

And when I start to think about these things, suddenly turning 28 soon doesn’t seem so bad.