Nickels and Dimes

Nickels and dimes are minor annoyances of our currency. Pennies should be banned. I understand why quarters are useful. You need them to pay the parking meter, do your laundry and, these days, to get a gumball out of a candy machine. So I don't mind so much when the coin holder in my wallet accumulates a bunch of quarters. But nickels, dimes and pennies are a waste of space and make my wallet fat in a bad way. Regardless, I still keep them in my wallet and try to get rid of them when I can. Yep, I'm the annoying girl at the cash register who takes her time trying to count out the most coin consuming way to make $.83 when you're in a hurry. The Fiancee, on the other hand, dumps all of his change for the day into a coin purse, never carrying any of it around.

After fishing through the coin purse one day for quarters, I noticed that it had gotten so fat that it wouldn't zip up. With very few quarters in it, the entire thing was full of nickels, dimes and pennies. Ugh! They had to go, so I came up with a plan to always keep a dollar in change in my wallet to gradually get rid of these.

The next day, I needed to go to the post office to buy $.02 stamps to supplement all of my $.39 stamps and mail off a letter. I was giddy with glee when I found that the stamp dispensing machine accepted all coins - even pennies! With this, I vowed to come back and convert all of my useless change into stamps since stamps are always useful, and I need the $.02 supplements anyway. I bought a row of stamps and then made a mental note to refill my wallet with coins and convert the rest.

I got lazy and didn't return to the post office right away. A week or so later, I flew out to LA to be a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding and to visit friends and family. During this time, I took a half a day to hang out with a friend at Manhattan Beach where I had to pay for metered parking. Once again, I was delighted to find that Manhattan Beach meters take nickels and dimes. With this, I dumped in enough change to buy me two hours of parking so that I could walk out to the pier and chat with my friend while we watched the surfers and boogeyboarders in the water. After about a half hour of this, we walked in the little beach village to find a place for lunch. Lunch consisted of a delicious corn chowder and freshly shucked oysters. Mmmm! My favorite!

After downing an Irish car bomb, it was time to dump in a few extra coins into the meter. We each ran to our respective cars to buy a bit more time. When I got to mine, I opened up my wallet only to find that there were no more nickels and dimes! All I had left was a useless strip of stamps.

Sunday Morning

It happened last Sunday. The Boy woke up early as usual and was out running a bunch of errands, while I slept in. A couple of hours later when I woke up, the Boy burst into the bedroom with a vase holding two dozen roses. Hmmm...that's a little different.

Wait. No, don't get up. Stay there. I have a little surprise for you.

I sat in bed, and a few minutes later he came in with a breakfast tray stand with french pastries, fresh fruit, coffee and cranberry juice.

Where did those trays come from? Did you just run out and get those?

Huh? No, I got them when you were out with your coworkers on Friday. Stop asking so many questions. I'm serving you breakfast in bed today.

I noticed the cranberry juice on my tray. This would explain why he was so persistent in trying to find out my favorite juice a few days ago:

What's your favorite juice?
I don't know. I like all types of juice.
I noticed you don't drink orange juice too much. Do you not like orange juice?
I do like orange juice. I just don't have a preference for it when I have other choices.
What about grape juice?
I like that, too.
Do you like grape juice more than orange?
I don't know. Alright, so if I have to pick a favorite, I guess it would be cranberry.
Do you like cranberry more than grape?
Yes.
Do you like cranberry more than orange?
Yes.

On Friday night, I noticed a new bottle of cranberry juice in the fridge, but thought nothing of it.

We sat in bed, both eating our breakfasts and chatting happily. At this point, I was wondering if something "big" was going to happen. When we were done eating, the Boy suggested we clean up the dishes a bit. Nope, nothing going to happen today. Just a nice gesture for the sake of being nice. After the dishes were cleaned, he asked me to go back into the room, close my eyes and wait. He had a little surprise for me. Ooooo! Could this be it? When I opened my eyes, he had a little raspberry cake on the tray. Nope, guess not. Still a very sweet gesture, though.

Go on, take a bite of the cake.
Oooo! Maybe it's hidden in the cake? But that would be kinda tacky.

I put my fork into the cake. Nothing there. The Boy came over next to me, and the two of us ate cake together, chatting again. About halfway through, he asked me to look under the plate. I lifted the plate up, and underneath was a card. Written inside, it said, "My dearest [name], I love you. Please find a surprise underneath the table."

Smiling big, my hands reached under the tray, scanning for something, and at the lower left hand corner, I felt a little box, and that was how the Boy became the Fiancee.