Making Bread & Winning My Heart

I spent a lot of time with Dave this weekend. He made me a wonderful dinner of chicken with two bacon slices crisscrossing the chicken breast and tomato and spices on top of the bacon (it looked lovely and tasted great) with a side of red skinned potatoes. We went to a Friday the 13th party at my friend’s place and had a great time. My friends Doug and Joy Gradin always open their home to friends on Friday the 13th. I go to almost every party they have.

The people that show up are great and it is always relaxing at their home. I don’t often bring beer because they homebrew and they know lots about good beer. I know very little about good beer but I th0ught I’d give it an attempt anyways.

I bought two growlers from Grizzly Peak in Ann Arbor to take to the party. One was a red beer and the other was a wheat beer called Dunkelweisen. My boyfriend loves wheat beer and he really enjoyed the Dunkelweisen but, much to my surprise, all the “beer experts” liked that beer too. I was proud that I could bring a beer that even the “beer experts” would like. Dave knows a lot about beer too so I wanted to impress him and it appears I did with the Dunkelweisen. Dave enjoyed talking with everyone at the party and we both enjoy relaxing outside in front of the fire. It was a great night.

The next day Dave and I took a long walk around Royal Oak and I watched a cool snowmobile video he put together from his trip up north with his buddies last year. It was edited with music! He did it all on his home computer and it looks professionally done. It was great to see the video and to see such joy in his face when he talks about all they fun they’ve had over the years.

Then Dave suggested we make bread together. I couldn’t believe he brought it up! I mentioned that I have a hobby of making bread the old fashioned way. (Without a bread machine) However, my right arm has been hurting really bad over the last 4—5 months and my fingers started going numb so I realized I needed to do something about it. I saw the doctor and she sent me to an Occupational Therapist and I’ve been restricted on using my arm to do certain things. Making bread by hand was one of the things I was told NOT to do.

So when Dave mentioned making bread he also offered to do all the hard work where you need a strong arm. This made me so happy. I love making bread by hand. Stirring the dough, kneading it with my hands and shaping the bread is so therapeutic and I’ve missed doing this for quite a while. We made country fair bread. It is a white loaf that is braided and has lots of sesame seeds on top. It is by far the best tasting and prettiest bread to make. He was impressed too. I had about 3 slices of the first loaf and he ate the rest. I sent the second loaf home with him. (This man LOVES bread!)

He helped just like he said he would do. He enjoys cooking and did a fine job helping me so I didn’t hurt my arm. It is funny, but he is winning my heart over by making bread with me. We plan to make another type of bread in the next week or so. He also mentioned that he wants me to meet his mom and sister in the next few weeks. I think this is a good sign.

Change Is Good

You might have noticed that I haven't blogged in a while. I'm doing just fine but work has become rather busy and I've been working late a lot. There have been many changes with the staff at work and I'm training a new person on a rather difficult job. I'm starting to see that I actually have learned a lot about fundraising in the past 7 years. I feel much more confident and that is a wonderful thing. However, there is never a lack of challenges so I never get bored.

I've experienced change in my personal life too. In my past blog posts I spoke of a boyfriend who never had time for me. (Read the Tawas Cottage Affair) I tried to be positive and understanding but that man was "just not that into me".

Have you read the book "He's Just Not That Into You"? What a wonderful book to set a "star-struck gal" straight. If a guy isn't giving you the attention you think you need it is time to cut him loose and believe that there WILL be someone better. Now I don't think that means you don't even try to meet a new man, because you DO have to work at it. You need to socialize and be where people are so you can meet someone new or do the on-line dating thing.

I did actually meet someone new and we are dating exclusively. His name is Dave and that is all the really personal info I'm going to give on him. I will let you know that he makes me feel so special and accepted into his life. He wants to see me more than once a week and HE expressed that he wants to date me exclusively and HE brought up the notion that we "girlfriend and boyfriend". (I feel it is always a good sign when a guy mentions these things first.) We both like to try new things (so our dates are never boring), we love diverse cuisine, we enjoy cooking together, and we've gone biking together. I like talking with him, he is smart and cute and he makes me laugh. He is also confident and not afraid to tell me if he doesn't like something. I need someone who can be honest with me even if it isn't what I want to hear.

I'm impressed that he has a strong network of guy friends and he makes time for them. He is often talks about his friends and how they have been there for him over the years and the fun they have snowmobiling together. Tonight he is seeing his friend's kid play soccer because he knows it would mean a lot to both his friend and his friend's kid. That is so sweet that he is taking time to make sure this kid knows he is special. I have a good feeling about Dave but only time will tell.

I just know I'm very happy and it is a very good thing.