Juri: hehehe If you want to have vicarious dates, you'd better go after bigger fish than me! I so rarely have them. Thursday's was my first in about 2 years. 

Kiraela: Thanx, little sis. Btw, what's a..."d'awww?" lol I confess I'm a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to modern, erm, terminology... 

Novusfemina: Kisses, roses, luck...all in abundance it seems. I'll count my blessings, believe me!

Trish: hehe Thanx, amiga. I'm pretty excited too, although not without apprehension.

RTG: All in all, it was. 

However: One thing that I neglected to mention was that during Thursday's date, I learned that K smokes.      Those of you that know me or have read my hair journal from last year are well aware of my stance against chemical dependencies of any sort. You may also remember that my last boyfriend smoked, drank and used drugs - all of which caused a multitude of problems within our relationship and ultimately led to its demise. So does anyone think that I would willingly place myself anywhere near that same situation again? Hardly. 
    K says that he is determined to quit and has asked me to believe in him.    Poor man must really think that I was born yesterday.

Some Other Disgusting Stuff: My feet seem to be in terrible shape lately. Again, I have been reminded that synthetic socks are a horrible idea, as part of Saturday morning was spent pulling a hamster-sized amount of dead skin from between my toes.    Naturally, I made haste in replacing all of the aforementioned synthetic socks with new ones that actually permit my feet to breathe, and have begun a ritual of powdering my feet in the morning to dry them out. Might try using Neosporin on the cracked and jagged areas overnight. Just dreadful, though. So pedicures aren't happening for awhile.

Hair: The usual routine today. CWC, Silkening crème (I swear, I am going to be using that stuff forever because it never seems to run low!), air dry, braid. Same over the weekend, although on Saturday, I had to do a W-CWC.
    The ends of my hair are at least 4 years old now. Probably closer to 5. Which means that I still have hair attached from all the way back in 2002! That was even before my divorce, so I can only imagine the many stresses that my poor hair is still carrying with it...and the damage that resulted from it. With this in mind, it really is no wonder that the bottom half of my hair is quite damaged while the top half seems relatively healthy. As the years go by, I try to take better and better care of my hair, lessening the impact, reducing its exposure and using better products.
    The most beneficial thing that I have adopted this year, I would have to say, has been the CWC's. When I first started doing them, I immediately noticed that my hair felt much softer and smoother as a whole, as opposed to when I was washing the entire length every single day. The ends seem a little less dried out than they were before, but I know that it will take a lot of growing before I can truly realize the benefits of this new method. Damage and moisture loss from 2002 can never be restored. But I am going to keep taking the best care possible as my hair grows out. That's been the plan since I first started growing it again.

More Chaos: Once again, my father has been bitten by the remodeling bug. It seems that our office is moving into our sunroom while what is now the office is going to be a guest room. So dad's been doing what he does - painting, measuring and buying furniture like a madman.    What this means for me is replacing the enormous chest of drawers and nightstand in my bedchamber with a dresser and mirror in the same style. Probably an equal amount of drawers in a more compact piece of furniture.
    This means that I won't need to get a placemat to match the bedding in my chamber...just a nice runner for the new dresser.
    But for right now, everything is awry, furniture is out of place and dust and the smell of paint hover in the air. Should look nice once the holidays roll around, though. 

Kiraela: Ohhh, ok. I get it. See? Old dogs can learn new tricks with proper training.    And I know what you mean about Gaelic - oy! More consonants per word than freaking German, and yet the language is so much easier than it looks.

Juri: *hugs* You poor thing. I wish I could offer you some tips, but I'm really not much better off than you are. It's all the luck of the draw, I guess.    I met my last boyfriend at a Halloween party, and K first spotted me when I went into my sister's work.

As For The Feet: They seem to be doing a little bit better. It's not athlete's foot - just a troublesome skin irritation (like an allergy) that I've gotten a few times before. I've been attentive with it, but it might not disappear for a week or so.    Amen to the natural fibers. I'll never buy synthetic socks again, no matter how cushy and tempting they look.

And For The Hair: Clarifying day! Washed with Pantene Purity shampoo, then did a vinegar rinse, then another wash with Purity shampoo. Conditioned once with Pantene Ice Shine conditioner, then with Suave Daily Clarifying conditioner...just because I felt like it.
    Walked into my chamber to find the scruffy cat that lives with us curled up on my bed and sleeping on my microfiber hair towel!    Must remember to close my door all the way in the future.
    Hair is soft but lax and vulnerable, so I can't wait to get it into a braid.

And For The New...erm, Romance? K and I are getting together again tomorrow. After almost a week since our last/first date, we're dying to see each other again. Yeah, the guy smokes, but as Trisha said, it's not like I'm walking down the aisle or anything yet! In all other respects, I do like him, so right now I think I'll just relax and see where it leads.