I Listen Like a Boy

Jack extended an invitation to attend his daughter Marcy’s birthday party. Oh, how I love a good party, and I accepted the invite, thank you very much!

While at dinner with my friend Janice, I called Jack and asked what could I get Marcy for a present. “You don’t have to get her anything!” Silly answer, because yes, I do! What does she like to do? Is she allergic to perfume? Does she like to read? I could get her a Barnes & Noble gift card. “Oh, that would be perfect! I got her an e-reader like a Kindle from BN.” I heard, “I got her a Kindle from BN.”

So after dinner us girls went shopping at BN.

Imagine my surprise when I walked in the store and there was a Nook display! Janice said, “Oh, how I’d love to have a little Nookie!” I looked at her and said, “Janice, did you really just say what I heard you say?”  Embarrassment and hysterical laughter ensued! “I didn’t even think about what I was saying! I was just thinking that they are little, and cute, and a Nook, and well…” Stop while you’re ahead, Janice!

Now I was confused. I thought Jack said Kindle, but BN only has the Nook. Another phone call?  Still trying to recover from the aforementioned hilarity I did call him again.  “Jack, they don’t have Kindle, only Nook!” “No, I said it was LIKE the Kindle, only the BN brand. And I did not get her the color.” I heard, “I got her the Color.”
Well, I decided to not get her a gift card but rather a Nook cover. The sales person pointed me to the covers for the Nook Color. So many choices, but I picked a beautiful pistachio green cover with a quote embossed on it. Perfect!

Present wrapped and we are good to go!

Saturday arrives and Jack comes to pick me up. We are loading lasagna and cheesecake into Petey. I grab the present and as I’m getting into the car I say, “I got her a gorgeous Nook cover. I’m glad you told me it is Color because there are two different kinds!” “No, I said it was NOT the Color.”  Well, she will get the pleasure of opening the present, and then she can exchange it for whatever she wants.

Time to open presents! She loved the Nook. Her daddy had a great time showing her how it works. She loved the cover, too! Of course the entire story had to be shared, and we all got a good laugh out of it. Jack looked at me and said, “You listen like a boy!”  I’m sorry, it’s all my fault; please forgive me!  ~giggle~ Lots of teasing and joking ensued. I did exchange the Nook Color cover for a regular Nook cover in pink. Marcy was thrilled.

This leads us to Facebook postings yesterday. Jack posted that, yes, he did break down and buy himself a Nook. Couldn’t let Marcy have all the fun!  He shared a link with me for the libraries where you can download free e-book! After checking out the link I said, You're awesome! You've convinced me! :) His comment?   "I repeat... A Nook! Not a Kindle. Nook, Nook, Nook, Nook, Nook, Nook, Nook, Nook, Nook, Nook! Ha Ha!"

Lesson learned. I no longer listen like a boy!

~~giggle~~

Pen Pals...

Allow me to introduce you to Amanda.  How did we meet, you may ask? It is a story that started many years ago.

When I was a young teenager at church we used to get a weekly magazine/pamphlet called The Junior Guide. In it was a list of other teenagers from all over the world who were wanting penpals.  At one time I had several from the Philippines, Libya, Iceland, and various ones across America.

Sadly, I am afraid that the art of writing letters is a dying art, although I do make an effort. Not as much as I should, but I do try!

About two and a half years ago, as I was once again struggling to lose weight, I logged onto the Dr. Atkins website and signed up. Free of charge, of course! But it gave me access to recipes, the ability to track and follow my progress, blog, and meet other members.

Thus I met Amanda.

We have chatted quite alot online, I shared recipes, and we shared bits and pieces of our lives.  Then we discovered we were both on Facebook, so we switched over so we could get to know each other better.

Lately we have been chatting about talking on a real phone, but for that I would need a landline, which I don't have. And then the lightbulb came on! She could call me at work!  Today! Because everyone was going to be out of the office for a birthday luncheon.

Well, as luck would have it, the birthday luncheon was cancelled, but most everyone was out of the office when Amanda called. We talked for an hour and it was delightful!  We discovered we shared a lot of similar stories about our childhood and our mothers (could they be sisters?). 

We also both struggle with our weight, so we encourage each other when we hit those rough patches in life. 

She is from London but now lives in Bordighera, Italy...

...about 30 minutes from Monte Carlo. 

She has 3 brothers and two sisters, and a bunch of nieces and nephews who adore her!  Her "children" are Tara and Tess, two beautiful black labs. 

By the way, she has her apartment for rent, if anyone is interested!

Finally the hour was up and we had to end our conversation; but what a great time we had!

We meet so many people throughout our lives. Sometimes they are only here for a short time; sometimes they are here forever. There is a reason for it!

As for all those penpal communiques over the years, well, writing letters is fun, and you have this wonderful piece of tangible history to hang onto forever. Nowadays online communication provides immediate gratification and information is instantaneous.  They each have their place. Cherish them. And communicate more. Never be afraid to say what is on your mind or in your heart. It helps bring you closer to each other. And listen. You never know what you can learn from them.

So Amanda, welcome to my world and to my family.  I am honored you have come along for the ride! Thank you for agreeing to be my electronic penpal and an important part of my life!

Hugs and kisses...

Wednesday I took Jon, Cheryl, Erin and Evan out to dinner. We had Chinese at their favorite restaurant - Little City. I pulled into the parking lot; they were not there yet, so I just waited in the car. Less than 5 minutes later they arrived.

The car door flew open, Erin came running out yelling, "Nanny!" and ran into my arms, even before I had a chance to get out of the car. Hugs and kisses ensued, then we got out of the car.

Evan shuffled out of the car holding a kleenex and declared, "I'm sick, Nanny. I'm not going to kiss you."  Imagine that! A 4 year old that was worried about sharing germs! But he did hug my leg - sort of.

Yesterday on my way home from work I was going to go to Evan's baseball game. Got a call from mommy to say he still wasn't feeling good and was not going to play. So I made a detour and went to their house.

Again, Erin came running over with hugs and kisses.  Evan walked up behind and said, "I'm still sick." I said, "Can Nanny have kisses anyway?"  He got a big grin on this face, nodded yes, and gave me the biggest hug and kisses ever! Sweet!

Cheryl made stuffed bell peppers for dinner. They were delicious.  We visited for a while, sampled the macadamia nuts, and pretty soon it was bath time.  Tell Nanny good-bye and give her kisses! 

Nanny ended the night with boogers on her blouse. I am not complaining in the least!

Karma is a Bitch

Today I received an email that was intended for someone else - and it was about me.  It said:

"She had better not be saying I took her pens.. why would I do that?

And anyway they are district property she has ordered all kinds of crap from Sierra Office for her and Cynthia by the way.

 Whatever.

 I don’t ever order anything without checking with Joe /Mark etc first even a small thing.

 She never does…

 And she has never said Happy Birthday even though people have said it in front of her to me.

 Oh well Karma is a bitch."

What precipitated this, you may ask?  All I did was ask, "Do you have my Dr. Grip pens?"

I am upset because this email is really not about the pens. It is about causing trouble. My comment was misconstrued and thrown out there to someone in the district; and I have no way to explain or defend my comments. 

Yes, Karma is a bitch. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Because what goes around, comes around.