All in Products & Gift Ideas
In my book, there are two sets of people that should be completely excused from sending thank you cards after they receive gifts. The first set, is any woman that just gave birth or adopted a baby or child. I don't care if it's her 10th child, no woman who has a new child should have to write a formal thank card for a baby gift. Ain't nobody got time for that. The second set of people who shouldn't be expected to write thank you cards are the ones who have lost a loved one. No further explanation necessary.
My posse is a bunch of women who are easily 9-15 years younger than me and that’s because I had my children later in life. The current connections I have with my girlfriends began when I became a mother of two. With that said, I’m one of those old timers that could be overheard saying, “Back in my day, I celebrated my 40th birthday by ordering Chinese take out and inviting 20 friends over to my house to drink and celebrate.” Nowadays, gals that turn forty go on a 10 day trip to Mexico or spend the weekend in Nashvegas (that’s Nashville ya’ll).
My cousin Cherry Pie sent over a bunch of ideas when she was creating my logo. When I looked at all my choices, I felt the labor of love that she put into each design. I could tell that she was very thoughtful in creating a logo that I could only envision because I didn't have the ability to put it on paper. I'm so grateful for her hard work and dedication.
It is much easier to buy gifts for someone who is celebrating than it is for someone who is grieving. Birthdays, a new baby, anniversaries. Those occasions are pretty easy to shop for because those are fun gifts to buy. It's super awkward and hard to comfort someone who has lost a loved one. Besides the stores at local funeral homes, there aren't many venues that carry a variety of thoughtful pinches to give to someone who is grieving.
I wrote a blog post years ago entitled Epic Party. Well, guess what. It's happening! It's happening!! On August 28, 2018, I am throwing an epic party. Happy Birthday to me!!! It's not epic in the sense that I'm flying in DJ Khaled and A-List Celebs. But celebrating my birthday and introducing Thoughtful Pinch to my friends simultaneously is EPIC to me.
I left my girlfriends in Sun Valley, ID today in order to make it back in time to tuck my kids into bed on the eve of their first day of school. I know that there will be many first days of school but missing the first day of school for my kids wasn’t an option for me. My son doesn’t like school very much. In fact, he hates school.
My friend Rose, who was on her annual visit from Switzerland, wanted to meet up to shop and squeeze in our last chance to see each other before she left MPLS. I was brutally honest when she called to ask what I was doing at the moment. I told her I was about to take a nap.
For a couple of summers, my children and I tried to have a garden in a shared plot of land at our church. We were successful in planting the garden but horrible at maintaining it because as the saying goes, "out-of-sight-out-of-mind." This summer was the very first summer that we have had fresh herbs at the ready and I owe it all to my mother-in-law, Carole.
We were on our second date having breakfast at a restaurant when I knew the hub could be "the one". We both ordered dry toast with a side of avocado with our meal. I thought I was the only one who ate toast that way! That was over twenty-two years ago! Nowadays restaurants charge an arm and leg for Avocado on Toast and it's the main dish - not a side. Well, it's worth the money. There's nothing like it.
I was filling out a self-evaluation form that consisted of a series of adjectives listed in designated columns. One column had the adjective FUN in it. I wanted so badly to circle the word FUN. I once told my kids that I used to be so fun before I had them. Because of that statement, I'm sure I will be paying for their therapy appointments but it is true. Back in the day, I constantly laughed and smiled. I honestly thought I lost my smile and I thought it was because I wasn't having any fun.
Recently my brother-in-law gave me an affirmation. I saw him minutes after I had just received an awesome massage and he said, “You deserved that.” I accepted it as a compliment but then I thought: what does one have to do to “deserve” a massage? Why was I more deserving of a massage than the next guy?
You'd think in this day and age business cards would be obsolete. I mean, why would you need to give out contact information on a card ? What with social media and Google at the snap of your fingers, isn't it redundant?
