When we were kids, the Magic 8 Ball was “the end all be all” of authority. Just like when the Godfather, Don Corleone, gave his final word, whatever the answer the plastic ball gave us was the answer. Period. Of course we would cheat if we didn’t get the answer we wanted by posing the question differently in order to get a second chance.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m very lucky to have the support of some pretty darn talented Pellicer cousins. It’s time to introduce you to my cousin Jay-Jay, the gift-giving goddess herself. She will be collaborating with me on Thoughtful Pinch and all I can say is, “Hallelujah!” She’s been a Pro* at giving gifts for at least 35 years and fortunately for me, I have been on the receiving end of awesome thoughtful pinches for ALL THOSE YEARS!
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.
On Saturday, September 22, 2018 I did one of the hardest things I have ever done. I put my dog down. He wasn’t so sick that euthanizing was the only option. On the contrary, he was still gladly shaking his paw and giving us kisses to earn his treats up until the very minute he was put to sleep. Bruin would have been fourteen years old on September 30th.
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.
