Profile Peeves

I'm single. Almost 30. I don't just rely on friends and co-workers setting me up with date prospects. I have a profile on a dating website. I attend church with other singles. I even have a dating application on my Facebook page. From all these opportunities to find potential suitors I see a good number of pictures and profiles. And I've come up with a list of things I'd rather do without.

1. Posting pictures that include another woman - Most of the pictures men have posted with other women are of them and their ex wife or their ex girlfriend. If I see a picture of him with her I can't help but wonder if he's really moved past their relationship. Nobody wants to be with somebody who is clinging on to the memory of their ex. If the last woman in your love life was so great, why aren't you still with her?

2. Pictures of guns, motorcycles, cars - Men love their toys. I know this. But when I'm looking at a profile and I see a picture of a bunch of guns or their motorcycle or their car rather than their face or full length picture of the man, I'm gonna skip their profile. Besides, a picture of a bunch of guns - does not scream "Get to know this guy", but rather makes me wonder why he owns so many guns and frankly makes me scared to get to know him.

3. Pictures without people in them - I love beautiful pictures. Beaches, mountains, flowers. Love them! I never get tired of seeing pretty pictures and I'm even more impressed when a photograph is taken by an amateur that looks like it was taken by a professional. Pictures of beautiful places without the man who owns the profile in them just don't belong as their profile picture.

4. Continuing to click that you're interested with no reply from me - If you view my profile, the system tells me. If you click that you're interested in me, the system tells me. If I don't reply to you - I'm not interested. Continuing to let me know you're interested is not going to convince me I should be interested. If you don't get a reply, surf other profiles.

5. Viewing my profile over and over and never messaging me - If you look at my profile every day for a week and never message me, you really should just muster up the courage to say hello. If you enjoy looking at my photo and like what you read in my profile, take a chance. A little bit of assertiveness goes a long way. Some of my favorite men are Italian and Greek. You know why? Because they seem to have no fear. They have no hesitations in telling a woman she is beautiful or that she is attractive. If you like me, don't keep it a secret. Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised and I'll like you right back!

Dating isn't as hard as we make it. Online or in-person the goal is the same - to find a person we enjoy spending time with and want to spend our life with. Too often after experiencing my list of "don'ts" above I can't help but find myself singing with Carrie Underwood, "The more boys I meet, the more I love my dog" when I'd rather be singing the words of Kenny Chesney, "It sure is nice to just be the woman with you".