Sunday, July 19, 2009

Don't Call Me Shirley

I had the absolute pleasure of having lunch with the perky, hilarious Baroness von Bloggenschtern yesterday. She was visiting my neck of the woods for a couple of days and was gracious enough to meet up with the NATUI-clan at an equidistant Panera for a little coffee and conversation.

She got to meet Mr. NATUI, LittleBird and LittleMan. My kids took to her like a long-lost auntie, and I swear they would have driven off with her without one backwards glance. After having hot chocolate and receiving awesome Vancouver Olympic swag, Hubbie took them to raid the local Target so that the Baroness and I could get down to brass tacks.

I learned several things in the course of our conversation, the first of which to never order the mozzarella, tomato and basil panini at Panera. If you've had the real deal, this one will make you gag. I promise.

I also learned that coming up with a blog handle in the confines of your own home can seem cool and groovy, but to have two preschoolers loudly referring to you as The Baroness makes for odd looks in public. I was happy to accommodate the Baroness by switching to her real name, but it also gave me a near-irresistible urge to repetitively quote Leslie Nielsen.

In preparation for this lunch date, I made sure I wore my NATUI avatar-shirt. I figured it would make me easier to spot if we didn't recognize each other. Now, I don't have a lot of boobage, but somehow my poor dude still comes out looking like he's got a bad case of encephalitis. How the Baroness was able to keep her fluids down is beyond me.

All too quickly, it was time to say goodbye. I really hope we have the chance to hang again. It isn't often I have the opportunity to converse with someone whose language and humor is as colorful as my own. It was the mental health day I'd been looking for, and it was completely worth the two-hour hellacious car trip in DC traffic.

So, Baroness? Thank you so much for your grace and wit. You charmed my entire family. Next time, the latte's on me.


LittleBird ready to give herself up for adoption


The Baroness and NATUI

7 comments:

Shelley said...

Shirley I had the absolutle BEST time with you NATUIs!! I don't know how times I told people back at BlogCamp I about my heart-melting chats with LittleBird and LittleMan - I just wanted to pack them up & bring 'em hoome. And you were a delight and a half - such a goddamn shame that we're so far apart. Oh, the play dates WE'D have...

(huge props to your honey for helping to make this happen - what a treasure!).

Oh, pooh. I'm getting misty.

Shirley out!

Gypsy said...

What fun! Also, y'all are pretty.

Coal Miner's Granddaughter said...

AWESOME hon! I'm so very glad you guys had a great time together! Hee hee! The Baroness. I wonder what your fellow diners thought. We've got royalty here!

Irrational Dad said...

Uhmm... don't want to point out the obvious here but... you two are hotties! rawr.

I would refer to you as "Natooie" (which kinda sounds like a Star Wars planet) if we ever met IRL just to see what looks I got.

Anonymous said...

It's amazing how quickly kids go to strangers when you actually want to keep them, but when you want to give the kids away, they start to cry and scream, as though they would really miss you.
Sounds like an awesome time.

So Not Wishy Washy said...

*clapping hands wildly*

Gianna said...

Interesting tthoughts