Well, dear reader, thanks for returning. Hopefully, I didn't scare too many off with my confessions. As promised, I'll be sharing about what I admire in a man. First though, a little more on my previous encounters.
You may have noticed that two out of the three examples, I was approached by family members not the man himself, and this has happened several other times. Some well meaning mama comes up to me (or up to my own dear mama), and states "You should meet my son! You two would be so great together! Next time he's in town I want you to meet him." Then I do meet the much talked about fellow, and...nothing. Oh, usually they're perfectly nice and very pleasant, but that's it. No spark, not even a puff of smoke. So after all these meet and greets, I've come to this conclusion. For some reason, I seem to be the kind of girl that parents want for their sons, but the sons don't want for themselves. Sigh, oh well.
Before I launch into my list of what makes a man a Manda Man (hey, that's kinda catchy!), let me just say I know I'm not perfect. I'm very aware of my faults. I can be very stubborn. I'm overweight. I can be very opinionated. I'm just okay in the looks department. Nothing to write home about. My taste in movies is extremely random. Same for my taste in music. I can be insecure around men (especially single, attractive men) outside of the men in my family. I can sometimes hide it well, but not always. If I can't hide it then I'll usually have one of three reactions around them. First, I'll talk a lot, laugh too loud and much, and use movie quotes and silly voices. Second, I won't say much of anything, but I'll smile politely and frequently (all the while, I'll have an internal voice telling me to say something, anything, even if it's just to ask them how their day was.). Third, I'll adopt the Ice Queen act. I won't say much of anything either, but instead of smiling, I avoid eye contact, stare off into the distance, and occasionally pretend that I have a very important text to check. I can be a homebody. I'm not super adventurous when it come to the outdoors. On and on I could go, but I'll spare you. Now to my list. Here we go.
1. He must be a follower of Jesus Christ, and must love Him more than me.
2. He must be willing to be the spiritual leader in our home.
3. He needs to be able to make me laugh.
4. He needs to put up with (or even better like/love) Doctor Who, Firefly, and BBC dramas, and love me in spite of my geeky, nerdy, fangirl ways.
5. Picky eaters had better learn not to be.
6. He needs to respect his parents even if they don't have the best relationship.
7. My dad, mom, and brothers must like him.
8. Chocolate brown eyes are a bonus, but not a must. (Benedict Cumberbatch aquamarine eyes are a wonderful alternative.)
9. Tattoos are fine. Just don't expect me to get any. I'm too indecisive.
10. Be able to join in on movie-quote-athons.
11. Be willing to head boop with kittens.
12. Be willing to go to concerts and plays.
13. He needs to be someone who will never ever abuse another human being. Any kind of abuse. I have NO tolerance for a man who thinks that kind of behavior is okay or justifiable.
14. Love home baked goods.
15. He needs to be a manly man of God. No pasty, soft church boys. (I do appreciate a nice dresser, though. You can be manly and still dress nice.)
16. A man who will protect and stand up for me and any future children we may have.
17. Have a desire to do short term missions.
18. Be okay with never being called "babe", but instead being called numerous other, sometimes silly, pet names. No baby talking either...blech...we're both adults here.
19. Preferably a non-smoker/tobacco chewer.
20. Big, strong hands are a bonus...(Was that too far? Probably...Yeah, that was too far.)
I know it's a pretty exhaustive list, and some of the items are silly. I'm a goofball so what do you expect. As I said in the last post, some people may tell me to stop being so picky, but when it comes down to it, I don't want to be. I would rather be picky and single then un-picky and settle for some guy just because I'm tired of being alone. Not only would that be unfair to who Christ created me to be, but it would be just as unfair to that guy. How awful would that be to know that someone "settled" for them? It would be a sure fire recipe for disaster and most likely end in divorce. Not cool, and not for me.
I'll end with this. I wrote most of this yesterday evening, and was feeling kinda sorry for myself. Well, wouldn't you know it today as I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed I came across this quote from Lecrae, "Be patient. Being single is better than being in the wrong relationship." Whaaaaaaaa?! Talk about confirmation, Lord! Seriously, it brought such a smile to my face. Here I was wallowing in self pity and woe is me-isms, and God sends a brother in Christ rapper to write on his Facebook page the very thing that I needed to read to boot me out of my pity party. How amazing is that?! I actually thought about not posting this entry, but I thought no, maybe someone reading this is feeling the same and this post and it's ending will be as uplifting to them as it was to me.
Thanks for reading, and thank you letting me vent to you all.
Manda
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Single thoughts...Part One
I'm going to get a little...real here, folks. Please be patient and gentle with me. I'll try not to get too angsty/emo on you. Also this is going to be at least a two part post...maybe more...(Yay! My first multi-part blog entry!)
Thoughts on singleness have been on my mind lately. Well, not so lately, I'm always aware of my single-ness, but recently, it's been weighing a little bit more heavily then normal. For my not so near and dear readers, I'm going to let you in on something that's hard to admit. I have been eternally single my whole life. Yes, that means exactly what you think that means. You may be saying to yourself, "What?! In this day and age? Really?!" Yes, really. In my teens years, I had one potential relationship that I really, really wanted to happen. It probably could have happened, but through my own teenage stupidity, immaturity, and cowardliness it never did. It's still one of my biggest regrets to this day, but I won't be going into the details of this here. It's something that I've only shared with a select few, and I want it to stay that way. In my adult life, I've had a few possible encounters of the dating kind, but they've been mostly of "no way on this green Earth" or "heck-to-the-no" varieties. Here's a few examples:
1. "You should meet/date my nephew! He just got divorced, has four kids under the age of six, and he just super lonely! He's so sweet! You would love him!!" Uh. No. Red flags all over this one. He's recently divorced? He doesn't need to date any one. He needs counseling. He has four little kids? He's not looking for girlfriend. He's looking for a babysitter. Dude needs to learn how to be a single dad. He's lonely? Uuummm, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that he's not looking to be in a relationship. He just wants some female companionship of the consenting persuasion. Nope, not gonna happen with this girl.
2. "Soooo, my male relative really likes you, but he's too shy to ask you out. You should ask him out. Then you two could get married, and then we would be related! I would love that!!" Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow your roll, dear. Slow. Your. Roll. He's too shy? Look, I get that. I've struggled with shyness my whole life, but I'm a rather old fashioned girl. I want the guy to ask me out. Not the other way around. Also marriage? Where did that come from? Calm yourself down, right now. I'm sorry to break it to you, but this male relative of yours...I'm not attracted to him at all. He's job-less, and has been job-less for a loooong time. He still lives at home, and has never not lived at home. Also, and I hate to say this, but he kinda weirds me out...
3. "Hey, you're kinda cute. You should call me sometime, and we can hang out." Reaaaally, that's it?! That's all you have for me? Really? Okaaaay...Yeah sorry, that's not going to entice me to take you up on your offer at all. (This truly was the extent of this guy's whole attempt to ask me out, and the only previous interaction we had was a purely professional one...I had ordered some glasses for him...I guess I should contain my feminine wiles when ordering spectacles.)
See what I mean? I suppose some people would say "Maybe, you're being unrealistic, and your standards are too high." Maybe, but I don't think so. Just what are my standards? What is this Wallflower looking for in a man? Well, you'll just have to wait until the next post...Oh, the suspense!
Thoughts on singleness have been on my mind lately. Well, not so lately, I'm always aware of my single-ness, but recently, it's been weighing a little bit more heavily then normal. For my not so near and dear readers, I'm going to let you in on something that's hard to admit. I have been eternally single my whole life. Yes, that means exactly what you think that means. You may be saying to yourself, "What?! In this day and age? Really?!" Yes, really. In my teens years, I had one potential relationship that I really, really wanted to happen. It probably could have happened, but through my own teenage stupidity, immaturity, and cowardliness it never did. It's still one of my biggest regrets to this day, but I won't be going into the details of this here. It's something that I've only shared with a select few, and I want it to stay that way. In my adult life, I've had a few possible encounters of the dating kind, but they've been mostly of "no way on this green Earth" or "heck-to-the-no" varieties. Here's a few examples:
1. "You should meet/date my nephew! He just got divorced, has four kids under the age of six, and he just super lonely! He's so sweet! You would love him!!" Uh. No. Red flags all over this one. He's recently divorced? He doesn't need to date any one. He needs counseling. He has four little kids? He's not looking for girlfriend. He's looking for a babysitter. Dude needs to learn how to be a single dad. He's lonely? Uuummm, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that he's not looking to be in a relationship. He just wants some female companionship of the consenting persuasion. Nope, not gonna happen with this girl.
2. "Soooo, my male relative really likes you, but he's too shy to ask you out. You should ask him out. Then you two could get married, and then we would be related! I would love that!!" Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow your roll, dear. Slow. Your. Roll. He's too shy? Look, I get that. I've struggled with shyness my whole life, but I'm a rather old fashioned girl. I want the guy to ask me out. Not the other way around. Also marriage? Where did that come from? Calm yourself down, right now. I'm sorry to break it to you, but this male relative of yours...I'm not attracted to him at all. He's job-less, and has been job-less for a loooong time. He still lives at home, and has never not lived at home. Also, and I hate to say this, but he kinda weirds me out...
3. "Hey, you're kinda cute. You should call me sometime, and we can hang out." Reaaaally, that's it?! That's all you have for me? Really? Okaaaay...Yeah sorry, that's not going to entice me to take you up on your offer at all. (This truly was the extent of this guy's whole attempt to ask me out, and the only previous interaction we had was a purely professional one...I had ordered some glasses for him...I guess I should contain my feminine wiles when ordering spectacles.)
See what I mean? I suppose some people would say "Maybe, you're being unrealistic, and your standards are too high." Maybe, but I don't think so. Just what are my standards? What is this Wallflower looking for in a man? Well, you'll just have to wait until the next post...Oh, the suspense!
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Thankful Thursdays 07/11/2013
Music
The Pixies: Where Is My Mind?
The White Stripes: Seven Nation Army
Instead of my usual wordiness, I'm going for simple and sweet today. Hope you enjoy 'Bots.
1. Coffee dates with my bestie.
2. Even though getting out of bed at 6:00 am to go walking is not exactly fun, I'm still extremely thankful that I can both get out of bed and go for a walk.
3. Sunbeams breaking through a storm head. This simple act of nature reminds me that Christ's light will always break through and defeat the darkness in our lives.
That's it. Told you it would be simple! As always, please share your own thankful thoughts in the comments.
Hope you all have a most excellent day!
Manda
The Pixies: Where Is My Mind?
The White Stripes: Seven Nation Army
Instead of my usual wordiness, I'm going for simple and sweet today. Hope you enjoy 'Bots.
1. Coffee dates with my bestie.
2. Even though getting out of bed at 6:00 am to go walking is not exactly fun, I'm still extremely thankful that I can both get out of bed and go for a walk.
3. Sunbeams breaking through a storm head. This simple act of nature reminds me that Christ's light will always break through and defeat the darkness in our lives.
That's it. Told you it would be simple! As always, please share your own thankful thoughts in the comments.
Hope you all have a most excellent day!
Manda
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