... but what do youse dufes know about makin' wimmins happy? Plus, ya' might learn sumpin' that could snag you a "get out of the doghouse free card" if you need it some day.

Our 33rd anniversary was last week and I promised Lynn I'd go shopping with her. ARRRGGGHHHH!! I HATE shopping ... but I caved (it WAS our anniversary and all ... and I hadn't even bought her a card). So, I asked what it was she wanted to shop for and she said, "BRAS!!!" DOUBLE ARRRRGGGHHHH!! I fell for that once before and I'd rather eat nails! I'll admit, she complains quite often about uncomfortable bras and can't wait to rip hers off the minute she gets home from work. Cool! I figured, if that's the result, I WANT her to have uncomfortable bras!

Naaa, I felt sorry for her actually and I know when she shops, she tries to be as frugal as possible, with any purchase she makes. So, I decided to do a bit of research on the net to see where the heck I could take her to make sure she gets a quality bra. After just a few minutes research, I realized there are actually "bra fitters" out there. Even at department stores like JCPenney, Kohl's and Macy's, etc. etc. etc. Then I did a bit of research, read some blogs, etc. and realized there's a huge difference between stores and their fitter's expertise. Many women complained the "fitter" would just ask them their size, then bring a pile of bras to try on. That ain't gonna fly. It seemed 99.9% of the women said Nordstrom got the thumbs up for their fitter's ability and expertise, so Nordstrom won the nod. I called to set up an appointment and they said to drop in any time. I asked when their number one bra fitter would be working and they said ALL of their fitters attend a school to learn proper measurement and fitting techniques before becoming fitters, so any of them will be able to take care of us.

So, Saturday morning, we headed over to Tampa and hit the International Mall. I walked up to the lingerie dept. at Nordstrom and told the four gals at the counter that I was there for a bra fitting (HA!)

I explained and one of the gals said she'd be happy to find Lynn exactly what she's looking for. They disappeared into the back and I wandered around until I found a nice sofa to kick back and take a short nap. Before stretching out, I texted Lynn to just get whatever she wanted and not to worry about the price. I mean, heck, I can get a 7-pack of BVD's for $20, so how much could a bra cost? Next thing I knew, Lynn was waking me and said they were finished and she was MORE than pleased and as happy as could be. I asked how many she bought and she said two, but since she didn't bring her purse into the store, I needed to handle the tab. I asked what the tab was and she said she had no clue, she didn't ask. Ok, after throwing another $150 onto the ol' AmEx card, we were ready for lunch.

$150.00!!!! For a couple of double-barreled slingshots??? Ouch! Seriously, it was really good to see how happy she was. I asked how the fitting went and she said the gal was fantastic. Got her measured up, brought a huge selection of bras to the dressing room and would help Lynn put each one on, get them properly adjusted, then they'd review the fit and comfort. Lynn decided on the two that were perfect, in her opinion, and the shopping came to an end. We then headed up to Tarpon Springs to the Greek sponge docks to try out a Greek restaurant we'd never been to before (we usually hit our favorite one), and it turned out to be a big hit. We now have TWO favorites! Basically, it turned out to be a highly successful day, we had a great time and I won about elebenty-bazillion brownie points in the process.

As Lynn left for work this morning, she mentioned her bra was so comfortable, she feels like she never wants to take it off! Dang! I may have f'd up!