The 2 Leslies strikes again

Last Thursday, when I was traveling for work, I received a forwarded email from the State of Iowa on my cell phone. Julie Sterk's email said I needed to pay my outstanding parking ticket before February 7th or I'd be thrown in the slammer.

No not really! I did get the email, but it said the fee would go up drastically from the $10 I supposedly owed to some outrageous amount. What? I park in the ramp by the Wallace Building each work day and hadn't seen a ticket on my windshield - that I knew of. I asked for a copy of said ticket.

When I was able to download and look at the official document, it all became clear. The officer who wrote the ticket had made the same mistake as many others before him. He'd fallen under the effect of the 2 LGs. I've reported here before that Leslie Goldsmith (married to Paul) of Chariton and I are often mistaken for each other. It's comical, it's frustrating, it's crazy.

The name on the ticket was mine - but the car wasn't mine, nor the license or address. Don't they check that stuff before they whip out their ticket books? I have parking passes in both our vehicles. A simple cross check of those to the vehicle in question would have precluded this ticket.

On Friday, when I got back to the office, I emailed Julie back, explaining the situation. That Leslie Goldsmith IS a visitor. It wasn't me, I swear!

I forwarded the email Leslie, to let her know we were once again victims of the "same person" syndrome. You see we've become friends through all this. Our last conversation was when she texted me to remind me of a doctor's appointment I'd set. They'd called her to remind her...plus they'd melded our files together. That was a fun one to fix.

Leslie was impressed that I have that much pull at my job. Haha. Her daughter is now working for the state, and she must have been visiting her. (They have a son and a daughter just like we do - but their son is the older of the two). Julie emailed later to say the Department of Public Safety would void the ticket. Phew!

We need to get together with our alter-egos again sometime. Fun and interesting people! Isn't it nice of the Capital Security folks to remind me....

2 Leslies, 2 Pauls

Lunch with a couple beauts

I had lunch with a couple beauties this today. Leslie Goldsmith and her daughter Rebecca - a/k/a Miss Iowa. We met at Noodle Zoo near my work. I thought I was just meeting my name doppelganger - the other Leslie G., so meeting Rebecca was a surprise!

I got to hear about Rebecca's experience in Vegas these past few weeks as she competed for the title of Miss USA - ultimately won by Miss California. She had to change clothes 3 times a day - so she took 51 changes of clothes that were all pre-vetted by the pageant folks. As they didn't ship any of them ahead, her mother wisely suggested that she slap on her Miss Iowa sash in the airport so the airline folks might take pity on them when it came to luggage fees. Even so it cost something like $88 bucks - but they did let Rebecca haul extra stuff on board.

She roomed with Miss Wisconsin and that went okay. They didn't have a second to rest - hustling about each day to filming locations and appearances. Evenings they were in casinos at meet and greets. Rebecca still has false eyelashes on that sounded devilish to get applied! She was headed to the Iowa Newspaper Association the afternoon after our lunch for an interview. A busy girl yet!

Leslie and I had a few minutes to catch up - she's had some health issues, check ups etc, but luckily all is well. Paul (her spouse) is suffering from what may be a torn rotator cuff. We think meeting for an Iowa Cubs game could be fun in July. So that's the plan - our fellas haven't gotten together for a long while! It's fun being friends with ourselves. And I'm glad to have a new friend in Rebecca (and we're Facebook friends too).

Me thinks we thinks alike

Not only do we have the same name...but now we are even beginning to think alike. Alternative Leslie Goldsmith and I hadn't emailed or spoken to each other for a while. When I got my hair cut last Monday, my stylist Sarah asked if I'd heard from her lately - you see I'd told Sarah the story of how Sahar had messed up LG's last appointment thinking she was me.

I told Sarah that no, I hadn't heard from my alter ego lately, but had been thinking of contacting her. Then l0 and behold, an email appeared Tuesday, just when I was fixing to email her!

I know do do do do (insert Twilight Zone Theme Song). It's not like we're husband and wife. After 27.5 years of marriage, Paul and I do tend to think alike and that does freak one out a little. Just when I am ready to tell him something I've decided he'll say the same thing. Or when I think of calling him my phone rings. Not all the time (that would be just too much). But that's after years of togetherness.

LG and I have actually been together twice! So the timing thing with her is freaky. There are some other Leslie Goldsmiths out there. I've googled myself and checked on Facebook. None are sexy models like Amy found out when she was putting together the Amy Goldsmith Website for graphic design - people looked for it and found this sexy, big boobed chick that certainly wasn't my artsy baby!

But I think we're the only 2 LGs living on Highway 34 in Iowa married to Paul with 2 kids. Paul bought a football magnet from a neighbor kid this week (yikes - Evan Nielson will be in 9th grade this fall!). Creston plays at Chariton this fall in football - we may have to go to the game and sit with ourselves! LOL

The cleaning lady finally showed up

She started by dancing around to the Abba CD and making Odie bark. I got Abba at the Planned Parenthood Book Sale last week. I'm a little disappointed Fernando (track 12) and beyond are scratched - what can one expect for $4. Kinda disrupts the jiven. In case you haven't figured it out, the cleaning bitch is me. The sun is shining and I'm in the mood to spiff up the place.

I like to have a clean house when I leave on a trip - in case the place burns down or something. It's like wearing clean underwear in case of an accident. I'm also thinking about my sis Suso who last year came home to a flooded home after their ice maker hose broke and water ran for a few days while they were gone - thousands of $$ damage, main floor and basement. We Bullock girls must have our ice makers thanks to Dave B. We're all ice freaks. (sidenote - I heard the gal in the next cubicle talking about this to co-workers, not me, last week saying she could do without an ice maker and it was all I could do not to jump up and shout - "you must have an ice maker! Dave Bullock's rules!" over the cubicle wall.

So I worked up a sweat dancing to my favorite Mama Mia songs, then I broke out the dusting tools and the vacuum. The Today Show talked about vacuuming the thing on the frig by the fan, and I recalled I hadn't done that in a while. You know how one thing leads to another...a couple hours later I've got the living room about done.

The plastic thing from the frig is on a towel after it took a bath. Vacuuming didn't cut it, a full bath was required. Saw a couple ants by the front door. Not that again! I hate dealing with chemicals with pets around. Spraying the house can't be good for them. May have to call the pest control peeps this year. Pablo is out trimming trees - borrowed a neighbor's pickup to haul limbs to the compost site. (see we don't need our own truck...) Still need to mop the floors and do windows.

Shout out to Alternative Leslie G - hope your vacation was grand! And that Alt Paul G didn't mind the mix up at Sahar. You out there in readerland. It's happened again! The real world refuses to admit that there are two such fabulous women with the same name. Leslie and I both now go to the salon - Sahar's in West Des Moines - but I explained to the appointment chick when I made my appointment, there are two of us. My cell number is different than hers. She's from Chariton.

Nevertheless, I got the call (while I was in Chicago at a conference no less) for LMG's pre-Florida vacation tune-up appointment. Sahar's left a voice mail as I was in a session at the time. So I texted LMG to let her know. But they must have had the appointment time wrong. The day of the appointment they called to say she missed it! I then called to explain to them (AGAIN) that there are 2 of us (just like the Doublemint Twins). The gal said "we must have put you together because I only have one phone number." Dumbshits!

So LMG arrived at her appointed time, and they didn't have it set up! She was not a happy pre-vacationer according to her email that evening. She was able to get a pedicure elsewhere I believe but other, um more personal attentions went unattended to. I think they owe her something. I'll probably get a nice gift soon. haha

Anyways - Leslie, looked like you had great weather and hope the place you stayed and your ballgames were great. Plus hope the shopping was divine. I'm hoping to score big there (avert eyes Pablo).

Okay back to mopping and windows. Abba is over and I'm on to the CD Amy made for me, a compilation of her fave tunes - which is kinda like getting a hug from my baby girl.