That’s all that she asked for. On December 15th, a friend of mine lost her 2 year old son in a very tragic accident. It’s a situation that has rocked the blogger community, and sent people reeling from various tweets that have accused her of neglect and worse. All the negative posts around the twitterverse just made our community come together even tighter. It’s made me realize just how lucky I am to be a part of such an amazing group of people..
I can’t imagine the pain that they are going through… and if you’ve seen any of the stories on the internet or even news stations on TV… you’ll know what I mean. For the few cruel people who have turned this tragedy into a media frenzy… y’all are asses…
Anyway… the only thing I can say, is that I am praying that my friend and her family can find peace, and that the media onslaught will fade away so they can grieve privately.
and yes… I refrained from using any names on purpose.
Drama.. such a funny word… I use it for so many things.
Well, After my little visit with the Ashley Furniture Home Store, they promised me my chaise would be delivered on Tuesday… Yesterday. Apparently the salesman that helped us was “new”… umm didn’t your store open up just 4 days before we went in there?? Yeah, he’s new and so is just about everyone in it… anyway… He somehow messed up someone else’s order too. Someone who happened to order the same exact couch as us, on the same exact day… except he needed the chaise on the side we received and instead GOT the chaise on the side we needed… so hey! How about giving me his chaise, and giving him ours??? Yup.. so that was what was happening. Otherwise I’d have had to wait until sometime after the 15th for it to be delivered… some “rush”… Well, the manager, whose name also happens to be Ashleigh, just spelled differently, told me I would receive a call on Monday to let us know what time our chaise would be delivered… Did that happen? Hell no.
So Tuesday morning, I had already thought they forgot all about me. I had errands I needed to run, and in the hopes that they would at least call me before they showed up, I took to the roads to get things done before our storms on Wednesday. When we were about 1/2 way done with our errands, I called the store and spoke to Ashleigh. She sounded perplexed as to why I didn’t get a phone call. I really wasn’t surprised. She told me that they had me scheduled for between 12 and 4pm… Well, that’s a pretty big window, and I was only 20 minutes away from the beginning of that window. The bad thing was, I still had 2 places to go, and they were 30 minutes away from where I was. I called Daddy and asked him to log in to Vonage and make sure phone calls would come to my cell phone if I wasn’t home. We rushed through the last two errands and ran home. On our way home, we happen to see an Ashley Furniture truck passing us, in the opposite direction. All I could think was great.. we just missed them… I got home and just waited. We waiting until 3:30pm, and I finally called the store. Just as I was getting off the phone with the store, my phone beeps. It’s the delivery guys calling to make sure I was home. They were here within 10 minutes… phew! It was finally here! Now, my couch is complete… Thank goodness.
Lesson from all of this?? While I am extremely pleased with my couch, I am quite dissatisfied with the service I received after the mistake was realized. The salesperson that helped us was very apologetic, and I appreciate that. I’m just upset about the lack of the phone calls I received despite all the promises.
Needless to say, we didn’t purchase the girls’ mattress sets from Ashley Furniture… but it wasn’t because of this situation. It was because they couldn’t tell us when we would get them. They told us 2-4 weeks. We wanted to make sure the girls had them before Christmas. Instead, after an afternoon of shopping around, we purchased them from Rose Brothers Furniture on Bell Fork Rd, here in Jacksonville. The service was exceptional, and they helped us find the perfect sets in our price range… Oh, and we were able to pick them up right away too… The girls are now in their “big girl” beds… but I’ll save all of that for a new post!
At least that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.. Here’s how it went today… WARNING: This is long as hell, just sayin’… it was truly a bad day…
I got an email a little while back.. like a week ago or so.. saying my car may be due for it’s 40K mile service… I’m at like 38K and change.. sure I’ll take it in.. I always take it in a little early just in case. I called Tuesday and set up an appointment for Friday, today, at 9am at the Honda Dealership here in Jacksonville (Lejeune Honda). Fast Forward to today.. We get up to LH (Lejeune Honda) at around 850am.. I turn in the van, and the girls and I wait inside. I knew I had to pay about $95 for the oil change, but when they came to me about the van needing the filters changed, and all of the fluids replaced… something to the tune of nearly $700, I just about passed out. Just about 8K miles ago, when we were in CA, we had taken our van in to Autowest Honda in Roseville, where we purchased the van, to have the 30K mile service done. That was March 30th. I paid nearly $700 that day..(but I was prepared for that)… Sound Familiar? Well, it should… Every fluid that I had replaced, and every filter that I changed out is on the list once again… Mind you, it took 30K miles for it to need to be changed the first time… How did it only take 8K miles this time? I don’t know, and I can’t get a straight answer from LH. They keep telling me that they don’t have the records showing what the other dealership (AH) did or did not do on the van, so they don’t know why it’s already that bad. I told LH that I know for a fact that AH did this same stuff at the 30K mile service, so I don’t understand how it needs it all over again.. Then the service gal starts rambling off a bunch of mechanical stuff, and believe me, I understood what she was talking about (I used to work on cars when I was younger with my dad).. it just didn’t make any sense.. She said there was nothing mechanically wrong with my car… Well, then why was my transmission fluid black as night when it’s supposed to be clear and pink??
oh.. and here are the vials she showed me:
The first large vial is “my” transmission fluid, and it should look like the far left tiny vial. The second tall vial is “my” brake fluid, and it should look like the second clearish tiny vial. The third large vial is “my” power steering fluid, which should look like the third yellowish tiny vial. The last one on the far right is my coolant.. and that one isn’t much different. Anyhow… I called back to AH, and confirmed that they did indeed change out all of my fluids last time I was in there, and asked the technician if I could send him the photo.. He said he’d take a look at it and give me a call back. Well, out of fear of my car dying on me somewhere in the middle of NC, I agreed to let them change just the transmission fluid, since it seemed to be the worst, and a super important part of my car just working. There was no way I could get all of them done… seriously… Honda trying to take away all of my Christmas money.. not nice. Oh, and did I mention one of my girls was having a meltdown while all this was going on… because she wanted my iPhone, and I said no… really… both of my girls brought in their Leapsters and a huge bag full of books… no she wanted my iPhone. That was all slightly embarassing.
We had to run to Sears after this to go pick up my jewelry box that I had put on layaway.. no it wasn’t full of jewelry.. it’s a standing one that I have always wanted so I could hang my necklaces instead of them getting all tangled in the bottom of my table top box… more on this later… Anyway, we stopped at the automotive section just so I could ask them about their fluid service. They told me they could do everything but my transmission fluid since Honda kinda has the monopoly on that. I guess it’s some special Honda fluid or something… He did tell me that they could change the fluids for $250 rather than Honda’s outrageous estimate. When I told him the situation, he told me that since it wasn’t at the recommended time, Honda should warranty it. I explained that it was 2 different dealerships in two different states, so I didn’t think there was a warranty here. Then he told me I should call Honda corporate and see what they said. So. I did.
I spoke to a wonderful CS agent at Honda Corporate. She listened to my dilemma and told me that she thought something sounded funny too. Long story short, she created a case, and is getting the Regional Liaison involved. I’ll know more by next Tuesday. Phone call back from AH in Cali, he thought the vials were very interesting and told me the only way my Transmission fluid would’ve been that dark, this soon, was if something was mechanically wrong with my transmission and they’ve already said there wasn’t. Sooooo… we’ll see about all this.
Ok, so on to the jewelry armoire.. yes.. so we went to Sears to pick that up. The girls know the mall very well. They know there’s a cookie store and a pretzel store… and today, they wanted a pretzel. I already told them no, because there was no way I was going to treat them after the scene at the dealership. Oh goodness, that just caused a huge scene in Sears. I picked up the armoire and went straight to the car.. Crying, more fits… I was ready to go home. Ah, but it wasn’t time yet…
We stopped at our new Ashley Furniture home store.. A few weeks ago, we bought a new sectional. Well, delivery day came, and they brought the chaise for the wrong side. I was so sad… Anyway, they said they’d order a new one, the correct one, and it would be here by the 7th… ok, so a little over a week.. no big deal Well, I got a call on Monday asking how the delivery went, and the lady I spoke to said she was going to call someone who was in charge of orders and make sure it was ordered… Apparently she didn’t see the order in the computer. She said she’d call back and let me know the details. I never got a call back. I waited 2 days, and called back on Wednesday, spoke to someone else who promised me the manager would call me back as soon as she got off her phone call… Nothing. So today, I went in. I found out that the chaise was ordered on Saturday, but it now wouldn’t be in till the 11th, and then delivered sometime during the week after that.. Um.No. I didn’t pay that much money to be without my couch. I was promised it would be rushed and here by the 7th. It is explained to me that their “rush” is asking the manufacturer “We need it asap.. pretty please” and then they do it in the order it was received.. UGH! I’m so upset. I think we might be taking our money elsewhere to buy the girls’ new beds….
So we did have to go back to LH for a bit so they could reset my oil life gauge. It still said 20%… ummm really?
Ok.. you’d think I was done.. but no. When we got home, I got the girls some lunch, and told them they needed to take a nap. All this fighting and fussing today… they had to be tired.. Once I got them upstairs, I started to unpack my Jewelry Armoire. I was livid. The corners were splintered. The front doors were totally off. The tops of the doors touched it was almost impossible to close, and the bottoms of the doors had a gap almost a 1/4 ” wide. No lie.. I wanted to cry. I called Sears back and they told me to just bring it back.. of course
Hubby got home around 530p and we took off down to Sears. I turned in the jewelry armoire, and went back to that section to look for another one. It was between getting another of the same one, or one that had a totally different look to it, but more hanging space for necklaces. I chose the second one because I was afraid that the doors on the new one would have problems too. Guess what.. They were all out of the one I wanted. It truly wasn’t my day. Hubby knew I wasn’t up for cooking dinner… so we opted to go out that night. I needed it. Everyone was happy, and we had some good laughs…
I’ll have to update as the week goes on to let you know what comes of the van, and the couch situation… We’re going to be shopping around for the girls’ beds this weekend too…
This has been weighing on my mind, and I’m sure it’s not the first time this has happened in the world, but it’s bugging the hell out of me.
Since our move to NC, I’ve had a helluva time trying to find someone that lives up to the guy that cut my hair back home… If you’re in Sacramento, CA go to see Brett at Salon 701… He’s amazing! Anyway, just like having to find new doctors and dentists, you have to find a new hair dresser and for me, that’s hard. I’m so picky, but after several haircuts that made me cry while in Japan, I think I have the right to be! I’m the one that has to walk around with my hair! LOL
I’ve been to a couple of salons here in Jacksonville, and didn’t quite get the results I wanted, so I kept looking. Well, just before I went to BWE, I decided to check out a salon not too far from my house called J Thomas.. It’s the only Aveda concept salon in the area.. Well, I went in on a Saturday morning, and it didn’t seem busy at all. I figured if the lady did my hair well, I’d be happy!
When I went in at my appointed time, I found out that they had given me the wrong time when they called to confirm my appoinent and I was actually late.. Lovely. Well, they got my haircut in, got me in for a couple of other services and shifted things around for me.. All in all I ended up spending a couple of hours there. BUT I was very pleased with my haircut! She got it just about spot on. Woohoo!
Ok so now you’re wondering why my title says what it does. Well, I called yesterday to get appoinents for my girls to get haircuts. I figured, if my hair was done well, she’d understand how I like the girls’ hair too… Daddy is going out in the morning with a couple of guys from work, so I figured it would be a good time to take the girls out for some pampering. I learn differently. When I called I was informed that they no longer accept children appointments on Saturdays. Their reasoning? Because the higher value customers come in on Saturdays, and they don’t want children to interrupt their spa services (that are all upstairs).. Really?? What if Saturdays are the only day I can bring my kids in? They asked me, “well can’t you bring them in after school?” Well, first of all, what if I worked outside the home? What if I couldn’t bring my kids after school? They’re closed on Sundays, so that day is out.. Anyhow, I’m certainly glad that’s not the case, but what if it were? I just wanted to treat the girls to a fun morning out while Daddy went out too…
What’s your experience? Have you ever been told something like this? I’m just curious…
** Update**
Ok, I can quit whining.. I called back this morning and spoke to someone else. They told me the same thing, and playing dumb, I asked why they have such a silly rule. If all the spa services are upstairs, how would a child getting a hair cut interrupt spa services? She told me that if the child cries, they could hear them upstairs. I told her that my children were no stranger to getting their haircut! They love being pampered, and especially love getting their nails done LOL. Yes, I’ve taken my girls for mani/pedi’s a few times. It’s fun… and they feel so grown up… I love it… Anyhow, after assuring the gal that my girls will most definitely not cry, she scheduled them for a 9am haircut appointment with Jennifer.. the same gal that did my hair.. Thank goodness…
I’m still curious if anyone else has ever heard such a thing though.. It really stuck on my mind all day yesterday and was one of the first things I thought of this morning while I was getting ready…
This year’s Thanksgiving was different than Thanksgiving’s of past for us… We didn’t have all of our family with us… not that we usually do. Our families don’t get along very well, and my grandparents are no longer with us, sooooo a true family Thanksgiving usually involves multiple meals, and split time… ah but such is life. I’m sure many of you can relate.
Anyhow… That’s not what this post is about.. it’s about the food, the friends, and the … will power??? HAHAHA Gotcha didn’t I?
Yes, for me it was a little about will power. If you haven’t heard already, I locked myself into another fitness challenge with EA SPORTS Active… I thought it would be a great way to keep myself from gaining a bunch of weight this holiday season… and hopefully, more than anything else, lose more weight. I did great on the first 30 day challenge… and this one is 6 weeks… 6 sweat pouring, agonizing.. but fun… long weeks! Yes. That included Thanksgiving and goes on through Christmas and of course New Year’s Eve… At least that will be the last workout… and I can eat some of my own birthday cake! Ahh.. and it better be chocolate too!
Yeah.. back to the original topic.. So Thanksgiving.. usually a time for gorging on turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and whatever other yummy foods that can be put on a platter in front of me.. Not this year!!! This year, I was a very good girl.. I only had one small plate… nothing crazy, and no dessert. No idea why, but I felt like willpower had actually taken over… Nice… Don’t get me wrong. The food was delicious, and I would’ve loved to eat more. Something inside my head just said… NO when it came to seconds. Thank goodness..
Now… I’m praying that this is just the beginning of another 6 weeks of weight loss, and healthy choices…
photo from Gizmodo.com
Well, maybe not HATE, but seriously dislike for sure…
Usually Fridays are my favorite day of the week, but one Friday in particular does nothing but drive me crazy… Please, if you have a different opinion, let me know… but frankly, I’m sick of Black Friday.. I’m tired of all the secrecy, the crowds, the madness… all for what.. to save a few dollars off of a laptop, or some clothing? It’s just ridiculous..
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for saving money. Really, who isn’t? But to deal with the pushing, shoving, fighting… It’s just too much for me.. and it seems to get worse and worse every year.
Before I had children, I did brave the crowds, albeit smaller ones, at a Military Exchange, on base in Okinawa, Japan. That was bad enough. I had fellow military wives ripping shopping carts from my hands, calling people names, and pushing and running to grab the Coach Purses, or cheap radios… You would think, on a military base, people would be a little more civil.. nope.. I’m not saying everyone was rude, or totally out of their minds… but the ones that were really stood out. Now that I have children, I don’t even want to take them out. First of all, if it’s a popular store, there’s no way I’m keeping my kids out all night. Second, to get them up at 3am, or whatever time, that they’d lost sleep all for a few dollars off, is not something I’m willing to do. It’s going to be cold, they’re going to be bored and cranky… and then so will I. Third, if there is any pushing, shoving, etc, I don’t want them to witness that… or even be caught in the middle of all of that. That image above, I’m sure was meant to be funny, but in light of events that have truly happened, it’s really not that funny anymore..
I mentioned hating the secrecy. There have been so many times a Black Friday ad has been “leaked”.. and by the time I even bother to look at it, all that sits in its place is a scanned cease and desist letter threatening legal action if they don’t remove the ad. WTF? REALLY? Why? Because you don’t want consumers to see the great sales you have going on? Oh .. I know.. Because you don’t want other stores to see and lower their prices to beat yours? Last time I checked, print ads had to be submitted WEEKS in advance, if not earlier. Am I wrong?? Please correct me if I am! I’ve been told before by a few stores that suddenly are out of product the morning an ad comes out that very same thing, so I’m only assuming it’s the same for Black Friday ads. If I knew what store were having what sales, I could plan earlier on what I’m going to do. If I’d need to bundle the kids up, or if I don’t need to bother getting out of bed at 2am… All great information to have.
What I don’t get is, why don’t stores just have amazing sales from now until Christmas Eve? Why throw all of their eggs into one day? An associate at The Children’s Place here in Jacksonville, NC told me today, that they usually do an entire MONTH’S worth of sales in just one day. I can’t imagine that many people in their tiny store. Not all at once, I’m sure, but all in the same day.. No thank you.
I know, I’m just rambling at this point… I’d really like to hear your thoughts about all of this. Agree? Disagree? Are you a Black Friday Shopper??? Why or Why Not???
Every year during the holidays, I do a lot of photo editing and uploading.. which usually means I’ll go through the older albums. I usually end up sitting at my computer reminiscing over the previous years. This time, Halloween really got me. I have looked back over the photos of my girls, from their first Halloween as cute little witches to this this year as Barbie cheerleaders, and I just don’t know where the time went.
When we first found out we were expecting, we were elated. Daddy had begged for so long for children. I didn’t want to start having kids until we were back home, and he was out of the USMC. Greedy, I know… I just couldn’t chance having children and then him getting deployed somewhere. Yes, families do that all the time. I know. I give them major props… I just was too scared to do it myself. Anyway.. I digress.. Then when the girls were born, life as we knew it had changed. We were now in charge of taking care of two little lives, teaching them, molding them… you know.. everything parents do for their children… and we were excited, scared, and anything in between.
I still just can’t believe how much they have grown. It’s only been 4 years, and they look/act like little adults. they’re so smart and funny, and mature… at least we like to think so 
.. and you can just see it in their photos… I still can’t believe how fast they’ve grown…
Halloween 2006
Halloween 2007
Halloween 2008
Halloween 2009
I was searching the blogosphere over the last few days for money saving tips to pass on, and one thing kept coming up… WIC changing their allowances on infant formula because they’re promoting more breastfeeding… Yes, breast milk is the best, we all know that. There is no questions about that… but what about other moms like me… I couldn’t breastfeed. There was no other option for me but formula feeding. I was formula fed and I think I turned out just fine
We chose to feed our girls the Parent’s Choice formula. We but store brand items for us, why couldn’t we do the same for the girls… Honestly, the store brand infant formula is nutritionally equal to the major name brands, so why waste the money? By using the Parent’s Choice formula, we saved around $1200… Amazing.
It’s been a few years since we’ve had to purchase formula, and I’m always talking about how much money you could save by switching to store brand… I’ve blogged about the Parent’s Choice Savings Calculator… Which puts cost savings there in black and white on your computer screen… and that is surprising itself.. but I wanted to see what it’s really like, right now at the stores.
We were at Sam’s Club the other day and while Daddy and the girls were enjoying a hot dog at the cafe… I wandered over to the baby section. I snapped a few photos with my handy dandy iPhone and just had to share what I found.
The Enfamil Gentlease Lipil is $34.28 for a 36 ounce can of powder. That’s about 95.2 cents per ounce. Imagine you need two cans per week, $68.56 per week or $274.24 in a month (4 weeks) and lastly …. $3565.12 in a year… One year is typically how long a baby is on infant formula…
Next on the list is the Similac Advance formula. This is a 34 ounce canister priced at $28.98 per can. This is 85.2 cents per ounce. We’ll still say you need 2 cans per week, which is $57.96 per week. $231.84 in a month ( 4 weeks ) and $3013.92 in a year… That’s a little bit better than the Enfamil, provided your baby doesn’t need the Gentle formula.
Now, let’s compare the Sam’s Club Store Brand, Member’s Mark. This is their Lipids Infant Formula with DHA & ARA. A 51.4 ounce can is $19.38 (37.7 cents per ounce). That’s 15.4 more ounces than the Enfamil and 17.4 more ounces than the Similac. So let’s say you only need one and a half cans of formula per week. You can’t buy just a 1/2 can, but your formula will hold over so you don’t have to buy a can as often. For this article’s sake, we’ll just split the cost of a can in 1/2 for the costs. So we get $29.07 per week, $116.28 per month $1511.64 per year. That’s 1/2 the cost of the name brands!
This formula is similar to the regular Enfamil, Similac, and other brands… Let’s take a look at the Gentle formula for a better comparison to the Gentlease from Enfamil..
The Member’s Mark Gentle Infant Formula is $24.28 for a 48 ounce can (50.5 cents per ounce). You’re already getting 12 ounces more than the Enfamil Gentlease… To make it a little bit easier, let’s just work this out with 2 can’s per week. $48.56 per week, $194.24 per month and $2525.12 per year. That’s a savings of $1040 per year. That’s a whole lot of diapers & wipes! It really makes you think, doesn’t it!?!?!
“Is the Generic Formula as good as the more expensive name brands?”
First of all… I can’t tell you how much I dislike the word “generic”. Not just in the mention of infant formula, but all around. It’s a word that’s been around for ages. My mom used it… Heck she probably still does. I just think that you’re calling something *cheap* or *ordinary*, and I don’t think it’s a nice word. Sure if you’re talking little plastic toys that cost you a quarter or something.. That might work… but in the case of food, not so much.
A lot of the store brands now are using excellent ingredients, and some even have celebrity chefs backing their products. One that I know of for sure is Walmart’s Great Value line and their backing by Dave Leiberman from the Food Network. Stores are trying to help consumers eat well, and save money in the process, which is great considering the state of the economy right now.
The store brand infant formula is very much like that. The FDA has very strict regulations and requirements on products for infant nutrition, namely infant formula. Many people aren’t aware that all of the formula manufacturers have to include the same ingredients and nutritional values. Compare the product labels for yourself, and you’ll see what I mean. There is no such thing as generic formula!
So, how do they sell their products for nearly 1/2 the price? It’s simple. Marketing.
How many times have you seen a magazine, or television ad for the name brand formulas, or received a free sample at the hospital or in the mail. Some parents have even received cases of free samples delivered to their doors… Wish I was on that list … These companies have HUGE marketing budgets… and they pass many of those costs on to you.. the consumers. The store brands however, don’t have such a large budget. They rely mostly on word of mouth. You know, a friend telling a friend, blogging about their product, review websites and the like. They save their money and in turn, save you money. Every once in a while, when those store brand formulas go on sale, you save even more. You can’t go wrong!
Coupons on many of the name brand items only go so far. Save 25 cents here, 75 cents there, but if you’re willing to look just a little further to the store brand product, you just might save $1, $2 or more.. and that’s every day, no coupon needed. It’s a great way to save money for just about anything.. even a family vacation!
**Disclaimer: Although I work with PBM as a Social Media Consultant, this post is sponsored by PBM, this post was not solicited.
Tags: brand, chef, Choice, coupon, dave, Food, great, leiberman, money, name, network, parent's, sale, Save, saving, store, value, WalMart
Twitter is down yet again… Well, not so much down as Suuuuuuppppeeerrrr Slllloooowwwwwwww.. I’ve been talking to tweeps on FriendFeed, because somehow that seems to be pulling in Twitter Feeds… but neither my TweetDeck nor my Twhrrl are working. I can view my @ replies, and my DM’s, but no regular feed updates. That makes carrying on a conversation just a little bit difficult.
Their status blog is saying “We are currently investigating a problem causing many users’ timeline to be delayed. We will update with status here shortly.”
To any of my readers/followers that might see this… I’ll let you know what I find out when I find out
Twitter, I love you, but why can’t you just work??
From status.twitter.com:
Update (10:50a PST): Timelines remain stale for users. We are deploying fixes to address the problem.
From me … I’m beginning to see more updates than just my own in the twitstream!! It could be starting to unfreeze!! Yaay!!!
Tags: @replies, dm, down, not, showing, slow, timeline, twitter, update
Dear children of mine…
When Mommy and Daddy tell you “it’s time to go to bed”, we mean it! That does not mean that you can turn on the light and play until midnight when we come upstairs to go to bed ourselves. When you decide to not listen to Mommy and Daddy, and not go to sleep. You will be super tired the next day. So will we. Everyone will be cranky and get flustered easily. It is in your best interest to go to sleep at your appointed time so that everyone will be able to rest for the next day.
Thank you.
Mommy
