tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post7091843587451551189..comments2024-03-20T08:32:25.794-04:00Comments on Dept. of Nance: In Which I Mention The NSA, The Salem Witch Trials, Maroon5, And Still Focus On Christmas TipsNancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17627214346956206283noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-24469680031871500362013-11-13T21:27:46.379-05:002013-11-13T21:27:46.379-05:00Bug--Your mother is like Lady Bountiful. She enjo...Bug--Your mother is like Lady Bountiful. She enjoys the excess and overabundance. Our house used to look like that anyway. We wrapped every little thing for the boys when they were kids. Even stuff in their stockings. So much paper and so much fun!<br /><br />You can't be a spy very well from long distance. This tip just isn't one for you this time.Nancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17627214346956206283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-74845615222944422712013-11-13T13:12:26.637-05:002013-11-13T13:12:26.637-05:00My mother was the queen of making Christmas intere...My mother was the queen of making Christmas interesting. First of all she liked to make sure that you couldn't walk in the living room due to all the gifts under the tree. Then there was the year she put my name on my brother's gifts & his name on mine (I wanted to keep the boxing gloves, but he wasn't interested in my Madame Alexander doll). And there was the year she forgot to put anyone's name on any present. What a free-for-all! That Christmas was a blast :)<br /><br />I really need to be a better spy. I'm just not tuned into the gift vibe very well. And of course most of my people are in NC so it's not like I hang out with them very often. Sigh.The Bughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07509037206264761261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-82101538146503052452013-11-11T13:18:48.820-05:002013-11-11T13:18:48.820-05:00Shirley--Thanks so much! I hope you and your husba...Shirley--Thanks so much! I hope you and your husband had a lovely weekend. What I've noticed in so many of the comments here and the emails I've received about these posts is the similarity of experience. It's really something how many readers have shared with me their own memory of an identical event or tradition, or at least one a great deal like it. Not what you'd think, such as the typical American traditions that we've become accustomed to, but oddball things I've alluded to. I love it.<br /><br />Rainbow Motel--What a wonderful thing. I know a ton of people who carry official Moleskines; I know just as many who whip out their smartphones and tap away or talk into it--same thing. I do both, depending upon where I am and what I'm doing. My friend Sue likes to call her house and leave a voice mail on her landline. <br /><br />I have to tell you, however; I am mad jealous of your notebook, but I am so tired of having a heavy purse that I simply cannot feature adding that big of a notebook to it. And I really don't know why it's so heavy. It's a <a href="http://tinyurl.com/teenybag" rel="nofollow">small bag</a>, and I have almost nothing in there as it is. Honest; I'm not being funny.Nancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17627214346956206283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-79984549321131886422013-11-11T09:05:02.353-05:002013-11-11T09:05:02.353-05:00I love this post for so many reasons, Nance. The i...I love this post for so many reasons, Nance. The image of you and Rick enjoying that special time together, the memories of Christmases past, the joy of finding just the right gifts for folks (after careful "surveillance"), the dad who doesn't know what's been purchased until the gift is given in most cases, but also buys very special gifts when he makes purchases (much the same in my house growing up and here, too), the play on Maroon5 ... just to name a few. Now going to backtrack and catch up as we went away for the weekend. ;-)<br /><br />Shirleygfe--gluten free easilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08182613995248482102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15179498.post-19588574565836909382013-11-10T19:43:20.875-05:002013-11-10T19:43:20.875-05:00Last year as part of a faculty Secret Santa week, ...Last year as part of a faculty Secret Santa week, I received a paperback-sized leather book with lined pages. I use it like a bible and I carry it everywhere. Grocery lists? Done. Christmas lists and ideas? Done. Books I want to buy? It's all there, baby. Just having it with me makes me happy. It doesn't take much to lift my spirits these days. Rainbow Motelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14181387926946193981noreply@blogger.com