is anyone out there???

If Martha Stewart was dead she'd roll over in her grave...

I was dropping off some gifts and added a bow on top---but they still didn't look quite right. One was, after all, for a good friend who is moving to Utah. I wouldn't have been so concerned, except that she can just look at something and make it look amazing. I am rather impaired in the decorating department. For me, I consider something wrapped, if I am fortunate enough to take the receipt out of the Walmart bag before I hand it over. So, by adding a bow you can see I was really trying.

I remembered I had some fancy schmancy ribbon I bought after Christmas last year at 90% off (love a good bargain). I enlisted my daughter Heather's help and we sat down to see what damage we could do. After several minutes with no luck---the ribbon was too slick and the tape wouldn't keep it stuck down---my other daughter, working across the table on homework, finally suggested getting out the staple gun. I think she was joking. It was brilliant and more importantly it worked!

The real question is whether or not my friends will ever be able to get their presents open. There are probably 50 staples holding each bow in place (okay, I got a little carried away with the stapling.) The downside was, on the way to deliver it, my daughter accidentally sat on one of the bows and before delivering the gift, I had to ask one of my friends if she had a stapler I could borrow to fix it. Tacky, maybe...just another reminder of why I leave all the wrapping to my husband.