Amy Lea, Who are you?

I have a pretty common maiden name. So common that my mom’s best friend happens to have the same last name as my mom does. I used to baby sit for her son and I would use her as a reference. I always had to put no relation in parenthesis. So, they would know I wasn’t giving a family member as a reference. They even team taught together so it I am sure got a little confusing as they worked together at more than one school. I have known her for many years. I was used to knowing a lot of people that I wasn’t related to with my same last name. It was nothing new for me. Until that day……

I was probably a freshman in high school, maybe it started before that, but I would get the mail, there it was. A sorority newsletter for a woman named Amy Lea and my last name. I was like oh they must have had a mix up at the post office, no it was my address. So I did what any good citizen would have done and wrote return to sender on it. It wasn’t a bill or anything but I didn’t want this woman’s sorority newsletter because no one by that name lived there. I didn’t even know the woman. I thought nothing of it and until we received another one a while later. I did the same old return to sender hoping that they would get the hint. Nope. We kept getting them. We started writing No one at this address, wrong address and then eventually we moved. We thought OK hopefully they got the idea that the Amy Lea from their sorority does not live here and the new neighbors can figure out what to do with her sorority newsletters, and letters because return to sender was not working.

Once we were in our new home we were finally relieved to be set free of the Anchora mailings for Ms. Amy Lea. Until, I got the mail and I saw the envelope and it addressed to Amy Lea. I wrote return to sender again. I even told the mailman this person does not and has never lived here. I have no clue who she is. Then it was time for their mailings, once again, there was Amy Lea in my mail box. I think by this time my mom called the sorority and said we keep getting this persons letters and newsletters from you. Please stop sending them you have the wrong addresses. She did it politely of course. The letters and newsletters stopped. We used to make jokes about which of us was really Amy Lea. I was afraid that I would see that envelope or newsletter waiting for me when I opened my mailbox every time I got the mail. Well by this time we moved again.

I remember getting the mail and the first time I saw another letter or newsletter from the Sorority I said Oh no Mom she’s back! It wasn’t like we were getting this woman’s mail. We were not getting anything of hers other than the sorority mailings. It would be completely different if we were getting her bills and other letters. We did the whole return to sender, calling, writing she doesn’t live here thing again. I think I even tried finding an email address for the sorority. This time it didn’t stop. We just kept sending them back over and over again.

We moved a couple more times, and each time the letters would come. It was like the sorority was stalking us. It wasn’t a forwarded envelope, it was just a typed envelope. We did not know Amy Lea. I think we looked for her in the phone book, and didn’t find one. It was just the strangest thing. When we moved to Florida, the sorority found us there too and the Amy Lea letters and newsletters kept coming. None of our names are close to Amy, we have no Amy’s in our family, not even anything that could be remotely close to Amy. We had done everything short of getting a restraining order against the sorority.

We haven’t received one in a long time, I am scared that tomorrow, when I get the mail, it will be there waiting for me…….

This time if it happens, I will find them, and tell them to kindly knock it off, they have been harassing me through the mail for the last fourteen years.

I Really Need to Get a Kitchen Cart for my Appliances.

Since I love to cook, I naturally have a lot of kitchen appliances. I have so many that I don’t have enough cabinet space. I have a lot of cabinets, just not any room. I try not to have a bunch of appliances on the counter except for my pride and joy, my stand mixer. Right now half of my appliances are on a metal bookcase in the laundry room, I really need to get one of those kitchen carts on wheels so I don’t have to make five trips when I need a lot of appliances. I could just wheel it in the kitchen when I need something. However I could see Noah wheeling it all over the house pretending it was a rocket or a train. Actually he is pretty good at not touching what he isn’t supposed to.

My laundry room isn’t too big. The spot that I would put the cart would be the same. Since it would be a tight fit, I would have to look at narrow kitchen carts. It would also have to have plenty of room so I can put everything on it. I would prefer a taller skinnier one then one that is bulky and hard to move and that sticks out really far. My laundry room is set up perfectly and everything has its place. It houses my washer and dryer and furnace and some other items. I have a habit of walking in the laundry room in the dark, so if it was a huge cart I would knock it over or end up hurting myself. Neither of those are a good thing.

I also considered installing some shelves in the laundry room or in the kitchen but I am not a handy person at all. It takes me forever to put Noah’s toys together, I fought with his play tent for about 30 minutes the other day. Like I said before I want something with wheels so I can move it around. I may decide to get a free standing cart to put in my breakfast nook, but then I would have to move Noah’s Easel. I can’t wait to start shopping for a new cart with wheels that I will keep in the laundry room. It’s better than the garage and out of the way at the same time.

Shari's Berries Review

My favorite fruit is definitely strawberries. I love them in so many different things, fruit pizza, plain, with pound cake, and of course dipped in chocolate. I don’t have chocolate covered strawberries very often so when I do, it is a real treat. I had the opportunity to try some of Shari’s Berries chocolate covered strawberries. I had seen the commercial so many times, drooling each time I watched. I wanted to try them so bad because they looked absolutely delicious. I received the Full Dozen Gourmet Dipped Mother's Day Berries. I am very simple when it comes to chocolate covered strawberries. I like them with just chocolate, no nuts, and no frills. I want nothing to take away from the taste of the berries and the chocolate.

The chocolate covered strawberries arrived fast and in perfect condition. The delivery driver had put the box on its side and I was so afraid that would have damaged them. I received a great variety of chocolate strawberries. The chocolates were milk chocolate which was really creamy. I am a huge fan of dark chocolate so, I loved the ones dipped in dark chocolate. There were also strawberries dipped in white chocolate. I wasn’t too sure about the white chocolate but it was really good too. Some of the strawberries had a crunchy sugar topping on it, making them sparkle. The sugar topping gave the perfect little extra crunch. I had to share them with Noah who kept begging me for some. He really enjoyed them too. He ate all the chocolate off first and ate half the berry. I didn’t want to waste it, so I ate the rest of the berry, and he got really upset about it. I think he was saving it for later. They are huge berries though. I could only eat one at time because they were so filling, yet satisfying at the same time.

I had received some chocolate covered strawberries for Christmas. It was another brand, they were pretty good but nowhere near as good as the ones I received from Shari’s Berries. Shari’s Berries were a lot bigger and sweeter than the other brands. The chocolate was better too. I really enjoyed my chocolate covered strawberries from Shari’s Berries. Shari’s Berries would be a great Mother’s Day present, a birthday present or just because present. They also have cherries if strawberries are not your thing. I am not a huge fan of chocolate covered cherries so, thankfully I love strawberries. If you order them for someone else, I highly recommend that you buy some for yourself or you will dream about these chocolate covered strawberries.

For more information and to order, please visit Shari’s Berries.

Thank you to Shari’s Berries for sending me some chocolate covered strawberries to try out and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.