WHO COULD IT BE NOW?

I can't believe some of you actually accused me of being a tease! OK, I guess I asked for it. But I really didn't mean to drag it out this long. You see, it's after 10pm as I write this and I just got home from work. Yeah…………it's great to be me today. MHS is out partying (at our nephew's 16^th birthday party) so I quickly changed into blogging attire (jammies) and settled into the sofa with a glass of red wine and a supper of two squares of dark chocolate that I've been hiding saving since Christmas.

It was about a week ago, while tweeting on Twitter, Chasaveen mentioned she would be leaving their home in Canada for Florida in a few days. My little ears perked right up and my wheels started turning. It took me all of about 3 seconds to direct message her and ask what her Florida destination was. She replied that she would be in a city that is about an hour south of where MHS and I live. I asked if she would be interested in meeting me for the beverage of her choice. She said that if we were close to where she was staying, she would love to. That's when I began to panic.

You see, Chasaveen, on Twitter, is Tessa of Nuts and Mutton. If you read Tessa's blog, you know that she is brilliant, charming, funny and uh…..brilliant. That's brilliant squared. If you're not reading Tessa's blog, well, why aren't you? Go there now. I'll wait. .......................................................

So I began to get nervous. I worried what she would think of me. It's so easy to hide behind these pages. But in real life, it's all out there for everyone to see. What would she think of the real SMB? Scary, I know. Tessa is accomplished and educated and I'm ………….well, I'm just SMB, a country girl from Indiana.

Once Tessa and The First Husband arrived in Florida, we were busy texting and calling and tweeting our little fingers off trying to make a plan to meet. The plan was set and reset and then reset again yesterday. Tessa and TFH were touring the area near my office so we decided to meet there. When she called me from the parking lot of my office building to let me know of their arrival, I quickly grabbed my bag and flew out the door. I was so excited, I ran to hug her and stepped on her toe. Way to make a great first impression. *sigh* TFH is suffering from a little bug (that he probably caught on the airplane) and was considerate enough to refuse my offer of hugs all around. We decided to go to my beloved inlet to have a few drinks. It was a little cool but what better way to enjoy Florida than to have a few drinks at a tiki hut bar. We jumped into our cars and they followed me to The Square Grouper. While most of you have probably never been there, you may have seen it. Alan Jackson filmed parts of his "It's 5 o'clock Somewhere" video there.

I called Midlife Slices on my way from the office to the inlet for moral support. She was most encouraging as usual. I said, "What if they think I'm a weirdo?" Janie reassured me by saying, "You are a weirdo." And then I began to relax. I am what I am. And if Tessa didn't like me? Well, shame on her. I mean, what's not to like, right? Riiiiiiiight.

MHS joined us at the tiki bar. We selected a table out in the open where you could see the inlet and the boats that were not going in and out due to the cooler weather. Nevertheless it was a nice setting for our get-together. Tessa and TFH are a lovely couple. Tessa is Irish turned Canadian and they had great stories about Ireland and Canada. MHS and I found ourselves completely charmed by their company.

I've never been on a blind date but I've watched enough movies to know that you never make plans for dinner. Just drinks. That way, if you don't hit it off, you finish your drink and you're on your merry way. But once our glasses were empty and our stomachs were growling, MHS and I didn't want to leave them just yet. We wanted more. We invited them to our favorite sports bar which is like our Cheers. The food is good and the atmosphere is relaxed. D1 (aka Fancy Nancy) will be mortified that we took them there. D2 was jealous. We ate dinner and laughed and shared more stories about family, friends and travel and when the time came to part, we were sorry to see them go. I enjoyed their company so much, I'm thinking of packing up and moving to Canada. Look out, Tessa, here we come!

We did take some pictures but Tessa made me promise not to post them. I don't like it but I can respect it. You'll just have to trust me when I say she and TFH are a beautiful couple. I guess we'll have to wait to see what if anything Tessa has to say about our meeting to get "the rest of the story". And if she doesn't say anything, we'll know she does think I'm a weirdo.

Have you ever met a bloggy buddy? Do you want to? If you come to Florida, do you want to meet me?