Top 100 on Babble! Thank You!

So, not sure how this happened, but some dear people at Babble named me on their Top 100 Bloggers of 2013 list!

Which is just...pretty cool!!

So if you want to check out the little feature Babble did on me, check it out here!

And thank you all to Babble and everyone who reads this because when I started rambling on here like a crazy person back in 2008 (holy!), I never thought anyone would actually read it.

Cyber hugs all around.

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Holiday Gift Guides for Guys and Girls

'Tis the season for prezzies! It's time to use all that good credit to buy something nice for the special people in your life. So no more Outback Steakhouse gift cards bought in the checkout at your grocery store...take a look at my holiday gift guides for guys and girls for some inspiration...

FOR THE GUYS

Crush: you could make him a mix tape, but since no one has a Walkman anymore, a cd from a band he likes will do / Boyfriend: Black AOP Outside Howl Heavy Shirt / Fiance: Baxter of California Shave Kit / Husband: A watch is always nice, a Hublot watch is even nicer / Dad: The complete James Bond DVD box set / Bro: ASOS Beanie

Love Story No. 12: Learning From Your Mistakes

At the tender age of 16 I was what most guys would be at that age: cocky, curious, and in decent shape. I had been in and out of the dating scene, but with a new car, an extended curfew, and an overactive libido, I decided it was time to open myself up to a more, “mature” relationship. That’s when I met her (for the sake of privacy let’s call “her,” “Jessica”).  Jessica and I had known of each other through mutual friends. She was a year and half older than me and a lot more experienced. Not necessarily in a sexual way, but more so in a relationship kind of way. We met one day in our biology class. She was the T.A. for the period before mine and stayed late to help grade papers. We got to talking and after a while exchanged phone numbers.

Before I knew it we were making out in my bed after a night of swimming in the hot tub and looking at the stars. My first huge mistake happened when Jessica told me she had to go and I pulled out a box of “her pleasure” condoms. Having lost my virginity just a year prior I somehow thought that was what all girls her age wanted.  She was offended (for good reason), and stormed out. I thought it would be the last time we would ever be together. I hated myself for a day or two until she texted me and said she wanted to hang out again.

The Do's and Don'ts of Online Dating

When you're in your mid-twenties+, it can feel like everyone you know is in a serious committed relationship, engaged, married or having babies. And while we all like to say being single is the token gold medal – you can eat a whole pizza without worrying about how you will look naked and you can leave the toilet seat up—it's nice having someone who brings you froyo and rubs your back when you're sick (who isn’t your mom).

So you try meeting people through friends of friends or out and about, and when that doesn't work, you download a dating app that gets you a few good hookups. And when that doesn't work, you start Googling websites like eHarmony because a friend met her fiancé on there.

But where do you even begin? How do you even online date? And what if that doesn’t even work?! Well, the internet is your oyster, people. And besides, why wouldn't you want to try dating websites like eHarmony? It can match you with compatible people in the very comfort of the double bed you've been lamenting your last breakup in since…your last breakup. Their website even says "Greater trust and proven chemistry. It's a fact right on the homepage!

So here’s how to get started:

What to expect at a speed dating event

I don't know about you, but I've always had this idea that speed dating events are either held in a high school cafeteria at night or in a church recreation room accompanied with fruit punch and a tray of mint Milano cookies that no one touches.

But, obvi, that is not what happens. I chatted with a real life speed dating host who gave me a delicious Costco sized sample of what the events are really like, and to my surprise, there were no Milanos. She even bestowed some of her wisdom for first-time speed daters to me.

So how did you get into the biz and how long have you been doing this?