I like to think I'm decent with words. I put them together for a living. But I have a dark secret.

I'm terrible at Scrabble.

My boyfriend, who is a software developer and not into words, SCHOOLS me, I mean, WHIPS MY BUSINESS in Scrabble every time we play. See, I try to make the biggest, most elaborate words I can think of, because words are my favorite! I get all breathy and excited and plop down, like, ENTRAILS, and then I'll add it up and it's only eight points because each letter is worth one point and I've played it in a horrible spot. And then Jim will yawn and play QI on a triple word score and get 33 points. And then I throw my Diet Coke can at the board and cry and launch into a tirade about how literacy is a lonesome setting sun in our society, and what about the CHILDREN? WHAT OF THEM?

And then he wins.

It would figure my new favorite piece of jewelry is this nifty Scrabble tile ring. I got it on Etsy for about $3. Look at all the fun things that come up when you type in "Scrabble." Here's one of the ring sites, but there are many. Mine was kind of bent when it arrived in the mail, and globby with glue, which made me think I should have made it myself since the Scrabble tiles clearly do me NO GOOD AT ALL ANYWAY. But once I bent it back into shape, it was great. I also saw Scrabble rings for sale at ARTPool Gallery in downtown St. Petersburg for $5.

I think it's so JOCULAR and GENIAL and DEBONAIR. Jim would say it's ZEN, and he would win. But, whatever. I love that it's personalized with my first initial.

Of course it's only worth one point.

Deal Diva Stephanie