Open Letter

Dear Cashier at the local craft store,

I am not a huge fan of school projects and, I guess, you saw that in my eyes yesterday. I was the one who bought two pieces of foam core, a coupe of bunches of moss, ribbons, adhesive, and other classic 'school-project' craft stuff. Maybe I rolled my eyes one too many times while mentioning the outrageous cost of school projects and that gave away my exasperation. I don't know.

To be honest, I wasn't really kidding when I told you I wanted everything on sale. I say that. A lot. Everywhere I go.

The thing is, no one ever takes me seriously. No one except you, my new bff. You rang up every single item at half price. We both know it was not all on sale; we had discussed it prior to your touching the register.

Maybe you were mad at your boss or the company for which you work. Maybe you felt sorry for me, knowing the daunting task ahead. Regardless of the reason, what you did for me did not go unnoticed. I did not make a fuss or even say a word. I silently watched you and silently thanked you. I truly appreciate what you did.

Thank you again!

Why I don't like impulse shopping

I mentioned that the other day was our 15th wedding anniversary. It was a week day and The Husband had to work late, so we did not do anything to celebrate. Our plan was to go on a date Saturday night.

Originally, we had planned to try to go on a mini-vacation (sans kids) but neither of our work schedules lent themselves to such fun or adventure. A standard date was all we were going to get!

I don't remember our 5th anniversary much. It was quite a while ago. I remember The Husband was out of town, but I don't recall what we did when he got home. I can't recall what we exchanged for gifts. It is entirely possible we did not exchange gifts at all, since I was not working and we had two small children.

For our 10th anniversary, we (impulsively) bought a 1965 Mustang fastback. Our plan was to restore it. We both love old cars (he more than I, but still). We kept that Mustang for a couple of years, but had to get rid of it. The Husband was unexpectedly transferred and we had no place to keep the car (at this point, it had no longer had an engine). We sold it to a friend.

For our 15th anniversary, we bought a Polaris Ranger. With nearly 80 acres, we knew we would need it on the farm. We have so much work to do there that this guy is going to be worth his weight in gold!

We purchased this on Saturday. The Girl had gymnastics, so we went to look while she was at gym. Then, after we picked her up, we went up to purchase it. The process was incredibly easy and stress-free...until the end! We have a trailer that we'd swung by the house to grab before heading up to the dealership. Once all the paperwork was finalized, we went to load the UTV onto the trailer...except it didn't fit! I could not believe it. The salesman was not concerned; many people simply load them in the beds of their pick-up trucks. They got the forklift and lifted the UTV.

Guess what didn't fit. Go ahead. Guess. I've got time!

The salesman was really nice and offered to loan us a 6 x 10 trailer for the weekend so we could get home. Since we knew our 5 x 8 wasn't going to help us get the UTV to the farm, we realized we had to buy the trailer. The Husband was planning on getting rid of our smaller trailer, but I pointed out that the Ranger has the capability and power to tow the smaller trailer and we will DEFINITELY use it on the farm, so we now own TWO trailers.

See why I'm not such a fan of the impulse shopping?! All the same, the Ranger is cool as hell and super fun to drive!

My Addiction

I had to go to the grocery store. The closest place for me to do my grocery shopping is one of those Very Well Known mega-marts that carries EVERYTHING (and advertises it's LOW PRICES...if you know what I mean).

The problem with doing one's grocery shopping in such a place is the number of distractions...like, for instance, SCHOOL SUPPLIES!

I great-big-puffy-heart school supplies! I'm talking deep, unnatural, unhealthy obsession here! They're so neat and shiny and bright and colorful and I just *have* to have them! All of them!

The other day, while I ran in for a few items, I walked out with twenty composition notebooks, thirty spiral notebooks, twenty-five pocket-folders with brads, and fifteen packages of loose-leaf paper! When added to the grocery items I bought, my total was still under $60!

Today was not so good. Today, I had both The Boy AND The Girl with me. I had said we were not school supply shopping but I just couldn't help it! This year, everything is so organized and color-coordinated!! The shelves are neat and the items are tidy. Everything is so easy to find. Did I already mention bright and colorful displays? I was actually trying to convince myself I needed things I have never in my life even thought about using before, because they were oh, so cute! Our only set back was that there were no Crayola crayons, which The Girl prefers over the off brand they had. At twenty cents per box of 24, I went ahead and stocked up. I bought 25 boxes for myself.

Today, the damage was intense. Today, with our groceries, we tipped the $300 mark. Hell, we more than tipped. We went straight over that puppy! Luckily, I had perused The Girl's school supply list before we left home; there were only two items we did not get for her. The Boy did not have a list this year. I'm thinking his teachers will let us know once school starts.

I had heard one of the office supply stores is having a big sale and I was doing so well to steer clear of it. *sigh* I have no willpower!

Open letter to clothing manufacturers...

Dear Women's Clothing Manufacturers:

While I am rather pleased with the fact that I have, over the past year and a half, lost about 10 - 15 lbs, I do not appreciate the tricks you are playing on me. I know I am somewhat smaller than I used to be, but this tom-foolery has got to stop.

Several months ago, after some coaxing from a friend, I decided to try a pair of jeans in a size 10. Imagine my surprise when I saw they fit. As I said, I'd lost some weight, so it wasn't a shock, per se, but a happy surprise. Not long after, I purchased two pair of jeans in a size 8. My neighbor handed me a pair that was a size 6 and my jaw dropped when I slipped them on with ease. I have not worn a size 6 since sometime in high school!

Last week, I purchased five new pair of capri pants; two pair are size 8 and three are size 6. Not to be fooled by your silly sizing tactics, I decided to do some investigating.

I took my new size 6 slacks and held them up to some other slacks that are a size 12.

THEY ARE THE SAME SIZE!

Ok - not exactly...but no more than an inch different. The waist of the 8s is larger than that of a size 12 skirt I have had for years.

Do you really believe, Manufacturers, that we women are so shallow that we will be fooled by this new size system?!

I thought so.
Thankyouverymuch.

Sincerely a six,

Busy, busy, busy!

What a week it has been...and it's only Wednesday! I've meant to write every night but the time totally gets away from me!

Monday, we had to go pick-up The Boy's clothes. He is beginning Cotillion classes this year and we had to buy him appropriate clothes. Theirs is a two-year program; The Girl will start next year. I cannot wait. We received the schedule of classes and balls and The Husband and I are to chaperone the Spring Ball. I'm thrilled. The Husband is not as excited. Wonder why...but I digress!

Not wanting to waste a perfectly good trip to the nice mall, I went ahead and did some shopping for myself. Truth be told, I did not buy much. I bought a dress, sweater, and jewelry to complete the outfit.

Tuesday was hair-cut day. OK - not really, but it turned out that way. I had an appointment at 10am to get my hair cut and I called to schedule The Girl for right after. While we were there, The Boy was complaining his hair needed to be cut as well, so he got one too. The Girl had her hair cut so that she could style it. It's always been all one length and when she cut it off for Locks of Love, it was adorable, but still one length. She now has some long layers so her hair will curl better.

After our hair cuts, we had just enough time to drive across town for orientation at the kids' school. First was 5th Grade orientation for The Girl. Actually, it was for me. The Girl was running around playing with her friends. After her orientation, we had 6th Grade orientation for The Boy. He popped in and out during the spiel, but did not spend much time listening! By the time we finished at school, it was nearly 2:30...and we hadn't eaten lunch! I took the kids out to lunch and then we ran home so The Girl could get changed. We brought her to the gym and, after about half an hour or so, we headed back to the school to sign The Boy up for football. He will be playing on the middle school team this year and he could not be happier! Practice starts Tuesday and they will go every night next week. Then, they'll settle into their regular 3 day/week schedule, which means I only have ONE evening a week that I am not running someone to some sort of sports practice!

Today, I had an interview to be a sub. As I said a few days ago, I have not been fortunate enough to land a full-time teaching job, so I will be substituting instead. It has the potential to be a lot of fun...we'll see. The interview went well and then, since the weather was so nice today, we spent the rest of the day just hanging out outside enjoying the breezes.

Tomorrow is the first day of school. Not sure how I feel about that, what with having a MIDDLE SCHOOL child and all... I'll surely post about tomorrow's adventures!

Offensive Outfits

Today's post is inspired by my friend Colette's blog, Curious to know Why. Colette poses questions that we all have but don't necessarily ask out loud! I will try to emulate Colette's style for this one because...well, because I love the way she writes!

Today's question is: Why do some women believe it is acceptable to go out in public half-naked?

Background: Let me preface this by saying I am not speaking of women who frequent night clubs or bars or whatever. I'm talking about a specific woman I saw at the grocery, of all places...on a Sunday morning (yep, today). She was not looking to meet someone; she was with her husband/boyfriend and their child doing what the rest of us were doing...grocery shopping.

This woman is a full-figured woman. The dress she was attempting to wear was not full-figured. It was WAY too small on her. Her rather large breasts were practically falling out of the small top. I'm not talking cleavage...I'm talking full-on boobs. Everywhere. Does she not have a mirror in her home? Is her significant other so insecure that he feels the need to encourage this lack of clothing? Does she really think the rest of us want to see her breasts?

When I first came across this woman, I wanted, more than anything, to give her the benefit of the doubt. I was near the milk/dairy aisle and I wanted to believe she woke up, realized she had no milk in the house, grabbed her kid, and ran to the store for a gallon of milk. Except, I couldn't give her that. She was not hurrying through the store. She was strolling. Then, I saw she was not alone. The three of them made their way strolling through each of the aisles. It was like a train wreck...you could NOT not look at her!

I wanted to say something to her, but I didn't (nor would I have) but I was very happy that my children were not with me gawking as all the other customers were!

Family Fun day - MY WAY!

So today we went out shopping. I know - we're crazy...but it had to be done. It's not like we went out yesterday or anything! Actually, truth be known, it was not bad today at ALL!

We really had a great time today. The Boy's birthday is coming up so we had to grab something for him. The Husband and I did some serious online shopping last night but we could not wait for shipping for the birthday, so we ventured out. We decided to make a day of it and, as I said, we had a great time. The only drawback was that we had to take the kids with us so shopping for them was difficult!

In addition to getting what we needed for The Boy (who helped pick his birthday gift out), we found some stuff for ourselves as well. A trip out of town to shop is not a real trip without a stop at The Husband's favorite store, REI. We all really like that store. Unfortunately, it's all too easy to drop a few hundred dollars there! Still, we got a few things and headed on to the next stop, which was lunch!

After lunch, The Girl wanted to get a webkin, so we headed to that store. Luckily, it was a quick trip...and then, we went to my FAVORITE store, Target! Have I mentioned I love Target?! My only gripe about the place is that there isn't one anywhere near us and we have to drive a minimum of 45 minutes to get to one...and that's to the one we don't like...it's an hour to the one we like! The Husband and The Boy stayed in the car while The Girl and I did our shopping. It was so nice not to worry that the men were bored!

On our way home, we stopped at a bike shop for The Husband. While he got what he needed, the kids and I went to a coffee shop and got hot cocoa for them (and The Husband) and a cafe mocha for me. If it had been snowing, it'd have been the perfect afternoon! By the end of the trip, we were all in the holiday mood.

All in all, it was a great day...a great FAMILY day. And this was far more my type of family fun day!

I KNEW it was coming...just a matter of time!

Remember way back when we went school shopping? I made the kids sign contracts for every item of clothing I purchased. I did this because The Husband and The Boy didn't believe the kids swore they loved every item I purchased at the time of the purchase. This time, I made the kids sign a contract that said

I, __________________ chose this particular item of clothing. I like it, it is comfortable, it fits, and I will wear it. The item is from ______________ and this is what it is: _____________________________________________.
Signed: ______________ Date:____________

Well, today I had to dig out those contracts and receipts. The Boy refused to wear the jeans we bought. He claimed they were NOT comfortable and he "couldn't wear them!" I got the contracts and receipts out and collected my $30!

I'm sorry, but I am SO tired of this nonsense! It happens every year and at least now I have PROOF that he *did* like AND want the clothes we bought! *sigh*

Customer service that deserves a nod

A few weeks ago, while I was blog-hopping, I came across a blog that had a link to a neat site that sells T-shirts. I decided to order myself one...I got this one. I absolutely love it. It arrived on my birthday - woohoo! When I first took it out of the package, I was a tad bit less than enthused. You see, the sentiment was just off...it was a bit crooked and was not quite centered. Since I'm super compulsive, I knew I would never wear the shirt, and that disappointed me.

I immediately hopped on the computer and sent off an email. I wanted to know how I could exchange the T for one that was not crooked. (I did not bother explaining the story of my compulsivity!) Later that day, I received an email back thanking me for my order and notifying me that orders take 2-3 days to process before they are shipped. I was a bit confused but didn't have time to address it. The following day, I received another email saying my order had shipped! Apparently, they were sending a new shirt. Logic states they would not want the old one since it is probably not up to their standard (we all make mistakes). All the same, I am so impressed with how timely they were in their response to me and how they handled the entire situation. I received my new shirt yesterday (and am wearing it today). Now THAT is good customer service.

Ironically, most people who have seen me today have asked if The Husband bought the shirt for me. I don't think I'd have worn it if he did...it's not his place to say such a thing (and he would never buy it...it embarrasses him that I have it!). One lady told me her son had a shirt that said "My mom rocks!" I asked if she bought it for him and she replied, "Of course I did!" to which I pointed out that I bought my shirt for myself.

So...if you are in the market for such a shirt, I highly recommend you visit From*me Tees because their customer service is FABULOUS!