Not another Elf on a Shelf

To quote Twilight character Bella Swan, "No one has loved anyone as much" as I love my husband.

That said, he could always be better (who couldn't?!).  I wish I could invent an "Elf on the Shelf: Husband Version" to always keep mine--and yours--on his best behavior.

I only just learned about this Elf on the Shelf business three weeks ago and now I can't seem to get away from them. From what I gather from my Facebook feed, this elf guy, whom everyone must name on their own, does scouting trips about those in your home to the North Pole, reporting who was good and who isn't worth signing (ha - see what I did there).  The "only" problem is that I can't think of a good name for this new product. I spent WAY too much time thinking about this and before I knew it, I was in a day dream getting an offer from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank (though in reality I'd really want the offer to come from the guy with the thick, brown Ken doll hair whose name escapes me at the moment).

Before things to that point, or any point for that matter, there's still the whole product name hurdle to jump before we get really kick off R&D. Here are all the words I was trying to play/rhyme with: 

Spouse in the House
Lover Bear in the Chair
Wife for Life

As you can see, I have some work to do. Good thing I have some time off from my day job to around the Holidays to keep thinking . . .

Thank you

Post script:  I actually wrote this November 21 but didn’t post it because I got busy.  Considering a few things that have happened recently--namely, the Sandy Hook shooting and the recent passing of one of the top five most influential people in my life, “Mama Tu Tu,” I felt compelled to reflect and go back to and focus on living a life of thanks --even about the trivial stuff below.  Life is too short.

People never cease to amaze me – in good ways and in bad. Today, for instance, I was parked in a parking lot responding to a text (don’t text and drive, people) and my window was rolled down, as was the gentleman’s who drove past me, grumbling audibly that some “stupid kids” stole his parking spot. But also today I worked registration table at a blood drive. People always respond well to the Red Cross name, but in light of Superstorm Sandy, people are especially responsive and eager to help the cause. People are here telling me their stories about volunteering, many just stop in not planning to spend 45 minutes of their day donating blood, but do it anyway; it is so awesome to see. So much so that it has put me in a very cheerful mood. But it’s not time for cheer just yet (just over a month until Christmas). ‘Tis the season of thanks right now.

I’m thankful for:

• Holiday traditions:  I missed a call from one of my grandma’s this week and even Matt knew enough to joke, “Annual call for you to bring olives to Thanksgiving, huh?”   Yep. Two cans black, one jar green. It has been my job for several years since entering adulthood for every holiday.
• LivingSocial/Groupon/AmazonLocal, etc. : I LOVE these! Perhaps too much. It’s like, one minute I think, “a shellac manicure or new magazine subscription or two-night hotel stay would be nice” and the next minutes, BAM – there it is!  Saving money is fun.
• Twitter:   …Making me feel cooler than I really am since July 2012. Scooter’s Coffee follows me for Heaven’s sake!  Social media is fun, too.

Obviously I’m thankful for the ol’ standbys, too: my health and that of my family and friends, the fact that I have a job that allows me some spending money (which I spent too much of on a recent trip to Mall of America), a house that keeps me safe and warm and all that good stuff. I’m going to try better to not take it all for granted. In fact, I’m going to stop writing and go home to hug my husband right now! Happy Thanksgiving!