A Rose By Any Other Name...Part 2!

As a follow up to my previous post, here are a few more nicknames that I can not believe I forgot to mention...

Principessa ~ My friend Alan. Alan and I both have a love for the movie "Life Is Beautiful" and this name was inspired by a scene in the movie.

Lady Di / Princess Di ~ More people that I can count. The only time this nickname has ever gotten on my nerves was when it was used by a previous neighbor of mine. He was a single man about 20 years older than me with hair that looked like it had been shellacked to his head. He would get very drunk and sit out on his balcony and scream this to me when I would be walking from my car to my apartment. One time, he even met me in the hallway with his phone and asked me to talk to his mother. I was very glad when I moved away from him.

Goosh-Goosh ~ I'm not sure he would even remember, but my friend Jay from high school (who I'm very happy to have recently found again on Facebook!) gave me this nickname. It derives from the fact that I used to have a very long, thick braid. He would squeeze the braid and say it was "gooshy". That evolved into Goosh-Goosh. Even if he doesn't remember, I can't forget as he wrote it in my yearbook. I can honestly say from the bottom of my heart, if anyone else tried to call me that, they would probably be introduced to the back of my hand very quickly. However, he got away with it. You would just have to know Jay...

A Rose By Any Other Name...

For years, I have read the comic strip "For Better or For Worse" and have followed along with all of the trials and tribulations of the Patterson family. I would always giggle a little when Michael would *affectionately* call his sister Elizabeth "lizard breath." Having not grown up with any siblings of my own, I never had to endure this type of teasing. While reading one of the recent strips, I did begin contemplating nicknames and realized that I have more than I thought. Gratefully, most of these stem from actual affection from family and friends, although I wouldn't be surprised to find out that I had a few I didn't know about as well.

Di - not surprisingly, the most common, and used by family and friends alike. I suspect that this is an easy way for people not to have to deal with the whole "she spells her name one way but pronounces it a different way" drama.

DiDi - my cousin Doug called me this when he was a young child as he couldn't say my whole name. It actually stuck and even now in our 30s he will occasionally refer to me in this fashion.

D - a former co-worker was the first person to use this one. I can still hear him say (in strong southern accent) "Heeeyyy, D!"

Kingery - another former co-worker. He had a tough time for a few weeks after I married.

DiBeth - from my friend Lori in high school. I called her Lori Ann.

Cupcake - from my mom. :) She still addresses birthday cards, etc. to that name.

Be-Bop - again from my mom. This one actually fits me better than I would like to admit. A former high school boyfriend heard her call me that one day and really enjoyed a laugh! He started using it occasionally after that as well.

Baby Girl - from my dad. :) All girls should have a daddy like the one I had...

Liz - again from my dad. I actually prefer my middle name of Elizabeth over my given name. Dad would occasionally tease and call me Liz.

Angel / Honey / others that I won't type - my husband, Scott. Self-explanatory. :)

Beautiful - the maintenance man at my current job. LOL

Punkin - My uncle Dick. He was blind and I spent a lot of time as a teenager driving him around and we became very close. He has passed now, but I still smile when I think about him calling me that.

LadyBug - My manager at work. She is a very motherly type of person to her staff.

Jake's Mommy - the children in our neighborhood. They might not know my name, but they know my puppy is named, Jake!

I must confess that I have casually adopted "D" for myself. I tend to sign notes and emails that way.

So while I don't currently have anyone in my life to call me "lizard breath" (for which I am forever grateful) I have plenty of other names to which to answer. Even the ones that may grate on my nerves a little, I still love as I know they are said to me out of true affection. Keep that in mind the next time I call you "Mo" instead of Monique or "Noogle" instead of Scott. It's just because I love you...

Home Improvement with Tinkerbell

Recently, Scott and I decided to switch credit card companies. We ended up going with a Disney Rewards card. When applying for the card, they give you a choice of 5 or 6 different designs to pick from for the front of the card. Scott picked a plain design that maybe had a silhouette of mouse ears, and I chose a different one. However, when the cards arrived, both had defaulted to the design I chose...Tinkerbell. Scott grumbled a bit, but stuck the card in his wallet and didn't think to much more about it.

Fast forward a few days...Scott stomps up the stairs to my office and slaps the card on my desk. He had just come from Home Depot where apparently he had received some funny looks for paying for his new power sander with an ethereal winged pixie on his card. So, in between my laughing fits, I called the customer service line and requested his card be changed. I admit that I was a little unnerved by the heavily accented gentleman on the other end of the line telling me that the new card would arrive in my mailbox having been carried by pixie dust.

I told Scott that as he awaits for his new card, he should just shop at Lowe's. I've always found them to be a little more progressive and open-minded. I prefer that in a business...and people.