Home, sweet, home. I just returned home after meeting with a client in Philadelphia. I drove my car half-way and parked it in a garage and took the train the rest of the way. The meeting ended late and by the time I returned to the garage is was 11:50 PM. I walk to my car only to discover that I didn't have my keys. I must have lost them sometime during the evening. I'm a 40-minute drive from my house (where there is a spare). But what do you do when you don't have your keys? Calling a locksmith doesn't help because even if he could get me inside, I didn't have keys to drive it.

It was that moment I realized that I really need to make some New Jersey friends. I've been living here for almost 2 years. I have a few friends, but not ones I can call at midnight to drive 40 miles to pick me up. Of course my mind went to my husband or lack thereof. How comforting it would have been to call him. Well, I am grateful that the area of the garage was safe. There were police officers, construction workers and garage attendants all around (none of whom could help). But thank God safety wasn't an issue. But it does feel lousy to be stranded with no one to call. Maybe in 45 weeks that will change.

Oh, and since I am typing this, I obviously made it home. I realized that my purse had a hole in the lining, which after 25 minutes, I discovered had swallowed my keys. I've never been so grateful to know my belongings are coming apart! Now looking back, I'm curious to know what someone should do if they were in my situation. Have any of you been stranded in that way? Let me know. I think I'll call an expert and get his advice, and then we'll all know how to handle ourselves next time.

Here’s a tally of how things are going.

Since the website launched I've gone out with 9 guys.
*This is more guys than I've dated in the last 2 years combined
*I've talked with an additional 5 by phone

I received over 100 profiles
*50% of them were men who were out of my age range
*Youngest guy was 20 and oldest was 64
*Over 20 percent of the guys were from another country (ranging from Australia to Japan to Germany and South Africa)
*More than a few profiles from women from the Philippines who thought it was a regular dating website.
*Many men sent me profile pictures of themselves without their shirts on – I don't get that. For me, it’s like a guy showing up for a 1st date without his shirt.
*Some men included information within their profile that I would have rather not learned so quickly, i.e.,
*One guy told me he hadn't had a date since 1999
*Another guy shared that he had bad credit
*I even got a profile submission from "Yeshua" the Jewish Carpenter and under the question about smoking and drinking, he wrote “Yes, from the Living Water”

I think all of these men are probably really great guys, but I don’t necessarily want to know so much information up front. Perhaps some women feel differently.

Regarding my dates…
*No particularly funny stories or horror stories. I'm very grateful for that. The guys were nice and kind, just not a romantic fit.
*One guy I wanted to see again, but he turned me down. Goes to show you that it’s not an easy street for me.
*One guy who I decided I would not see again asked me to set him up with a friend who I think he might click with. I thought that was a great idea and am working on it (any females between 35 – 45 in NJ/Philly area interested? He’s handsome, good job, African American, focused.
*One date was particularly enamored that I had been on TV and spent the whole evening telling me how excited he was that he was dating a “star.” It made me uncomfortable. But I'm sure he was a nice guy under normal circumstances.

Regarding dating websites. Out of the 4 that I signed up with:

Singlesnet.com - I’ve gotten, by far, the most responses from them. What’s great about them is that if I have a paid membership, guys can email me (if I want them to) for free. From what I’ve read on other reviews, they have the #1 membership. The notification emails can get a little annoying, but you can change your settings.

Plenty of Fish is in second place. Plenty of Fish is a free website, so quantity is not necessarily the best quality. I do, however, like the IM feature, which allows you to screen before saying yes to an IM

Match.com. I have always and continue to love Match.com Why? I don’t get as many responses, but I do like the quality of men, as well as the ability to read more in depth profiles, for those who choose to write more.

ChristianCafe – I like the specialty, but I rarely get emailed. So there’s not a lot of action happening for me on this site. Maybe that will change.

Don't worry, I'm not getting paid by any of these sites to say these things, but it sure would be nice. I just can't figure out how that darn affiliate program things works.

I really enjoyed my Valentine's Day. There is a lot of pressure associated with the holiday so part of me is glad that it's over. But as I said before, it will be a day I will never forget. I had to work all day, so I was extremely tired when I went out to dinner. I tried to hide my yawning from Sean. Hopefully, he didn't catch me or think he was the source of the yawns.

My date was wonderful, arriving in hand with a dozen roses. Our meal was amazing and the atmosphere equally delightful. I'm a people watcher by nature, so it was fun observing the couples that surrounded us. There was a gay couple to my left and a very young couple to my right. Both seemed to enjoy the evening. It was actually cute listening to the young couple decipher the menu. It seems like they were barely old enough for the complimentary Champaign. The two men to my right floated in and out of English and I believe Portuguese. Without speaking another language, I can tell they had been together for years. I noticed several "all girl groups" and smiled at how often that had been me. It made me wonder if I will find myself in their place yet again, next year. Always the optimist, I think not (okay, I'm not always optimistic, but I try).

My date and I discussed family, past loves, our favorite movies, and laughed over our differing hobbies. We also talked about the economy and it was wonderful to see the restaurants full (not just ours but many others). With the ailing economy, that hasn't been the case over the last few months. Well, as I said before the food was unbelievable. My date and I tried to keep up with the many courses. From lobster bisque to velvety chocolate cake, I felt my clothing grow tighter with every bite, all while the sleepiness intensify. By the time my date walked me to the train, the fresh air gave me a second wind.

Wide awake for the commute home I thought about the months ahead. I feel very fortunate to be in the place I'm at - dating again with prospects on the horizon. But I also thought about all of the other women who didn't spend Valentine's Day with a date. From my poll over half of you said you would be spending it alone. Perhaps some of you by choice, but I think many of you would have rather been out, receiving roses, eating a scrumptious meal. It seems that finding love shouldn't be so hard, especially for those of us who have spent more than half of our lives without that love. I wish there were a better way, one that gave us all greater access to healthy, romantic, lasting relationships. Maybe over the next 10 months you and I can work together to find that path. I'm willing, if you are. What are your thoughts?

Happy Valentine’s Day.  This year I have a date for this special day.  It wouldn't have been a tragedy not to have one, but I'm glad I do.  Here is a photo of me and my date .  My method for finding a suitor didn't go as planned. But I discovered something interesting in the process.

I arrived to my pre-valentine bash thinking there were going to be many people to greet me – both men and women, out to enjoy the evening. Instead, it was a small number. I admit the ego was bruised and I was disappointed. But small is much when you’re in good company. I also took great pride in trying something so bold and daring. I was reminded that it is what I truly love. More than the outcome, I relish the newness. Once again I stimulated my curiosity and nurtured my sense of adventure. Tapping in to what makes you tick is as Mastercard says, priceless. And I realize I want to continue along this same path. Yes. I’ll spend the year finding my husband. I’ll continue to do the normal (who would have ever imagined that internet dating would be the norm). But I’ll also look for new and inventive methods along the way. Launching the website was only the beginning. What are some of the other ways people find love? There are many methods (throwing a private speed dating event may not be the best option, so we can all check that off our lists) and there is much to be explored. So I’ll loosen up the straight jacket and continue to do what I enjoy most.

Here I am a week before Valentine's Day without plans for the big day. If any of you think that the suitors continue to pour in, I hate to disappoint you, but there are trickles and lots of work on my end, not only with my website, but staying active on the other dating website. No complaints. Relationships are work, both finding one and maintaining it and that's what I signed up for.

But at the moment, I don't have a date for Valentine's Day, and although I could spend the day alone or with friends, it would be nice to have a special someone, to get all dressed up, and have a romantic dinner. But how do I go about it with less than a week left? I thought a lot about it and tried to come up with a plan. It may not work, but at least I'll feel good about trying. After all, this is my year to live adventurously, to try new things new, to take risks (but keeping safety first), and to have fun in the process.

Here's what I tried... Back when I wrote my first blog for this website I talked about how I found a last minute date for a big affair that I had to attend. I posted a listing on Craigslist personals. It was so successful, that I tried it again for Valentine's Day. But unfortunately, Craigslist has this "flagging" system, where anyone can remove your post for no reason. Someone didn't like the post, and continued to block it. So I was back to square one. I started to think about how later this month, I will attend 2 speed dating events. It's a great opportunity to have mini-dates with many men. So I thought maybe I can throw a speed dating event for myself before Valentine's Day. Guys don't have to pre-register, they can just show up. I'm going to have it at a restaurant during their happy hour, so no one has to pay a registration cost. Based upon who I meet with, I'll ask one of the guys to join me on Valentine's Day for a free dinner that I was given.

I sent the notice out to everyone I know, including some of the guys on the dating websites. I could also use your help and ask that you send it out to your guy friends who might be interested. Hopefully men will show up. But I do realize I may fall flat on my face. No one could show up and I'll sit in restaurant alone 2 days before Valentine's Day. And who am I to expect men to travel to a restaurant to spend 3 minutes with me? Maybe it's a crazy idea, maybe it's the best thing ever. What will happen Thursday evening will be a total surprise. If you want to see how it turns out, I invite you to join me.