Every rose has its thorn...

In 2009 after a break-up, I got back in the saddle and went out with a guy I met online. He was definitely interested in me - phone calls, e-mails, texts. Red flags of a stage 5 clinger? Yes. But I was too busy thinking about how to prepare myself to enter back into the dating world to see them.

On our first date, we went to dinner. He chose an extremely romantic restaurant. I was surprised by this - usually first dates where you don't know each other well are kept more casual so that if it goes horribly wrong, there's an easy exit strategy for both parties.

He showed up with a dozen red roses and I knew things were off to a bad start. Flowers on the first date?! He was coming on way too strong. We ate dinner and the conversation was flowing easily...Until he brought up introducing me to his family, what our children would look like, and how I would make a great mother. Aside from scaring the living daylights out of me, my interest in him went from an 8 out of 10 to a negative 50.

We parted ways and I thanked him for a lovely evening. The next day he called me and I let him know that he'd scared me away by being so forward. I assured him that I thought he was a great guy but that he might want to reconsider his approach. He pompously informed me that most girls appreciate this and dismissed me as immature.

According to Facebook, he's still single... 2 years later.

Don't sweat it

Last winter, I met a guy online who is a gentleman - nice, fun, took me out on really great dates, and normal. He has a great job and a great education. For once, I wasn't dating a crazy. It felt wonderful. We went out on our 5th date and he walked me to my door.

I invited him up for coffee (that's a big step - I never let dudes into my apartment). I put the coffee on and we sat on my futon and watched some TV. He leaned in for a kiss and that's when I saw it - a bead of sweat dripping from the side of his face. His neck was also all sweaty. The collar of his shirt had sweat stains on it too. Ew!

I tried to put it out of my mind. I thought to myself - he's a nice guy, suck it up and give him a chance. But I couldn't stop thinking about it...Did he not notice that he was sweating? Why was he not wiping his sweaty face? If he's nervous after 5 dates with me, maybe he has an anxiety problem and that causes profuse sweating in situations that trigger his nerves? Does he always sweat like this? How have I not noticed this before? It's definitely not hot in here so maybe he has a glandular problem? I wonder if any of his sweat droplets dripped onto me? How can I tactfully check for man-sweat splashes on this black sweater dress?

The mood was completely killed.

So I turned on Saturday Night Live and we drank our coffee and talked until we'd drained our cups. Then I announced that I was tired and he took the cue to leave.

He called days later to ask me out on a sixth date but I declined politely and told him I wasn't interested. He took it very poorly asking what went wrong...so made up an excuse about an old boyfriend that I still had feelings for and that satisfied him. I didn't have the heart to tell him that his perspiration killed my admiration.

Womentum

This past Saturday, I ran the EIF Revlon Run/Walk for Women's Cancer - my very first 5k!

Usually, I space out and run along the East River to clear my head. But this was totally different. There were celebrities there to kick us off - Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Nate Berkus, Dr. Oz, and Jimmy Fallon. Tons of confetti came raining down from the sky when the clock started. I was pumped.

In 28 minutes, I ran from Times Square to the middle of Central Park at 71st Street...Although I'm not sure that the run was for the full 3.1 miles since that was the best time I have ever achieved. I was the novice runner of the bunch so I finished last but I was just happy to have gotten through it in good time. I will admit that I did grab a cup of water from one of the water stations and that slowed me down for a minute or so. I never thought that I would like running, but I actually really enjoy it. It clears my head and it's a great work out.

After the run, we stopped at tents to pick up our swag which included snacks, a water bottle, and a lipstick. I walked home feeling great.



I ran in support of my aunt Iris, a cancer survivor, and raised $335 toward women's cancer research! Thanks to everyone who contributed!