Event Reminder

I hope you can all come out to our next Suburban Singles Scene event.

On Thursday, December 6th from 5-7pm, Allison's Restaurant is hosting a Free Drink Happy Hour. Owner Jim Hamrock is offering a secret free drink announced on this blog. The first Lagoon is on the house. It's blue, so it will be easy to spot your friends from the blog & the magazine.

Mike Smollen, everyone's favorite butcher, will be contributing some of his fine roasts to the merriment.

I am going to bring the decks of a few games I have, if you want to play a questions game with some of your comrades. I have Tribond, Would You Rather?, Worst Case Scenario, and a Trivial Pursuit.

What's your opinion on board games?

Enchanted

I saw "Enchanted" over the Thanksgiving weekend, with my kids and a dozen other members of my family. Cute movie - fun for everyone.

It presented the idea that all relationships have an element of fantasy and reality in them. Too much fantasy, and you are really a cartoon. Too much reality and there is no passion, no flair.

What is your experience with the balance of fantasy and reality in your relationships?

For me, I was married to Peter Pan, who, as you might recall, ran away from reality and lived entirely in his own fantasy world, determined not to be a man. Peter Pan can be a lot of fun - so confident and adventurous.

Since then, ironically, I have been better at the fantasy part of the relationship. The reality scares me. It's all fine until it becomes everyday. Then I get the willies. Love at first sight, the fantasy, like Romeo & Juliet, seems easier than the real stuff. How do you move from one to the other?

Tug of War

I saw an intriguing piece of advice today in the Washington Post. Have you ever seen Carolyn Hax's advice column in the Style section?

Today, Carolyn Hax said,
"There's no tug of war if you drop your end of the rope."

I thought, what rope am I still pulling? How do I put it down?

Thanksgiving Plans

When you are getting used to being single again, the holidays can be a drag - especially if you don't have your children for the first time. Although traditions can be comforting, they can also be a burden.

Last year was the first Thanksgiving I wasn't going to have my kids and I just didn't feel like cooking a thing. I wanted to do something completely different - and not at my house.






I persuaded the rest of my family to join me for lunch at the relatively new Native American Museum in DC. It wasn't very crowded at all in the morning. The architecture of the building itself is intriguing. The exhibits were fascinating, although they sometimes made me ashamed I was white. The gift shop was alluring. And the cafeteria was fabulous. All the dishes are prepared in indigenous recipes.

That is bison pot roast on my plate, peanut soup, roasted blue potatoes, a field greens salad and some other delectables I can't quite remember a year later.
It was a great way to not mope around and feel sorry for myself.

What are your plans this Thanksgiving?

007 Singles Party

A huge singles party is planned for this Friday night in Annapolis with a James Bond theme. The party, called "From What's Up? with Love," is the 5th annual singles party hosted by What's Up Annapolis? Magazine. There will be live music & dancing, casino tables, a martini bar, a cigar roller, and psychic readings. There is sure to be hundreds of local singles for you to meet.

Proceeds from the night are supporting The Arc of the Central Chesapeake, an organization that supports people with developmental disabilities.

The party is from 7-11pm at the Loews Annapolis Hotel on 126 West Street in Annapolis.
Tickets are $45.

Let me know if you are going. I can't attend, but I would love to hear some stories about it.

Wine Tasting Fun

Despite the rainy weather, we had a great turn out at last night's wine tasting at Hops & Vines in the Piney Orchard Plaza in Odenton. It was great to meet some of you for the first time and I enjoyed getting to know some of you better.

I couldn't decide which wine I enjoyed the most, so I picked up one of each. Hops & Vines has wine tastings every Friday night from 4-7 if you missed yesterday's event.

Again, Mike Sweeney was the Mystery Barstool Constest winner, this time picking up a gift certificate to Kaufmann's Sunday Jazz Brunch. I'm hoping more of you will give him some competition next month. I'll try to find a place he doesn't know.

I want to thank all our sponsors:
Hops & Vines
Kaufmann's Restaurant
My Butcher & More
Crofton Fine Art & Frame
The Hair Experience
The Four Seasons Grille
Piney Orchard Florist


Next month, you are invited to have a special drink on the house at Allison's Restaurant in Crofton at their Thursday night Happy Hour from 5-7pm on December 6th. Watch the blog for details about the secret drink.

Until then, I'll "see" you on-line.

Mystery Barstool Contest

Here it is.
The first one to correctly identify the location of this barstool wins a gift certificate to the establishment.

I hope I can award the winner at tomorrow's wine tasting at Hops & Vines from 5-7 in Piney Orchard Plaza in Odenton.

Dancing & Insight

I had fun at the Changing Focus Benefit dinner last Saturday night. (You can read about it in the Suburban Scene's e-newsletter. Let me know if you want to be put on that e-mail list.)

I even danced, albeit slowly and hanging on tight. I could not dance to "Brown-Eyed Girl" even if the majority in the polls agreed with me that it was a great get up and dance song.

It was great to see some familiar faces there.

The motivational speaker, Linda Roebuck, led us through an interesting exercise I thought I'd share with you, but you have to be willing to play along. First, you need to find a scrap of paper and number it from one to ten.

Now as she led us through this exercise, we had finished dinner, the lights were low, the cash bar had been hopping. Ms. Roebuck had a peaceful voice and encouraged us to close our eyes. None of that set up is going to work here, so just humor me.

1. Imagine you are on a walk out in nature. Write down who you are walking with.
2. You see an animal. Write down the animal you see.
3. What do you do when you see the animal?
4. You see the house of your dreams on your walk. Describe it briefly.
5. Is there a fence around your yard?
6. When you go in, what do you see on the table?
7. You see a cup on the floor. What it is made out of?
8. What do you do with the cup?
9. There is water on your property. What body of water is it?
10. How do you attempt to cross the water?



OK, now here are the interpretations of your answers:

1. The person you are with is a significant relationship.(ok, that was an easy one.)
2. The size of the animal relates to the size of the problems you are currently facing.
3. What you do with the animal reflects how you deal with those problems.
4. What does the house say about your personal style?
5. A fence indicates you are less open to relationships with others, more closed off. No fence means that you value relationships.
6. What is on the table... I can't quite remember this one, reflects something about yourself. (Flowers, food are good. I saw mail - obligations, communication)
7. What the cup is made out of represents how you feel about loving relationships.
8. What you do with the cup represents how you treat the person you love.
9. The size of the body of water represents your sexual desire.
10. How wet you get represents your involvement in #9.

Anyone want to share a personal insight?