Friday, March 27, 2015

Karma, or really confused customer service?

A month or so ago JC Penny was having a great home sale online. Ok, they're pretty much always having a great home sale, but this one ended up being about 50% off their towels and sheets so I bought a bunch of stuff, saved a ton of money and happily waited for my delivery.

I ordered four hand towels and was charged for four hand towels. When the package arrived there were five hand towels.

Dilemma.

It's a $5 towel, do I tell customer service or just keep it?

I decided the right thing to do was tell customer service, expecting that for a $5 towel, they'll say 'so sorry, just keep it'.

They didn't. They said 'So sorry. Put it back in the box and we'll have UPS come pick it up on Monday.'

Ok, whatever. I didn't' order it, I didn't pay for it. If JC Penny wants to go through the effort of scheduling a UPS driver to come get it and bring it back to their warehouse, that's fine.

So I boxed it back up, left it out and UPS got it that Monday.

Yesterday I checked my bank account and noticed that JC Penny had credited me for the returned towel.

Yep...

Not only did they credit me for a returned towel, that I didn't pay for in the first place. They credited me the full price of the towel. Not the $5 sale price I had paid for the others. It was almost a $10 credit.

???

So basically, I returned one that wasn't mine to start with, and got two free for the effort.

Sorry JC Penny, but I'm keeping this little fact to myself this time.



Thursday, March 19, 2015

Running

When it comes down to it, I'm really not a runner. I run because it's something easy to do that gets good results. At the end of the day I exercise in general due to vanity more than anything else. I want to be fit and in shape, but I also want to continue to eat the things I like and not worry about whether my pants will continue to fit.

However, I have been out running twice this week and it's been a pretty fun experience.

Saturday morning Ali has gymnastics. We're extremely fortunate to live in a community that has a fantastic recreation program. We have two large parks that are close and both parks have great gymnastics and dance facilities and running/walking paths. 

So while Ali was in gymnastics class, I went for a run around the park trails. It was about 50 degrees and misting out. I loved it. I felt so good out running that I just kept going. Normally on the treadmill I'll do a mix of running and walking for about 25 minutes and to be honest, it's a lot more walking than running. On Saturday, I ran! Like actually ran.

Of course by the middle of the afternoon, my legs reminded me that I wasn't used to that level of running. It felt like someone had dipped them in concrete and I had to lug them around all day.

Monday, I left work a little early and went to our neighborhood lake. It was a gorgeous day. 65 or so and Sunny with a breeze. Beautiful! And I ran by the lake. It wasn't the same fantastic feeling I had on Saturday. It was a little warmer, my legs were still tired from the previous run, but it was still a whole lot better and easier than I remembered running to be.

Today is cold and wet and not outdoor running weather, but I am finding myself actually wanting to run. I want to head home early and get on the treadmill before getting the girls. It's an odd feeling. I'm hoping the treadmill isn't going to kill the fun feeling I had while running outside. I"m going with the hope that since it isn't 5 am when I'm on the treadmill that it will automatically be a better experience.

We'll see.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

My Big Girl

My little Ali is getting too big too fast.

She is three and a half and while 100% potty trained during the day and during nap time, night time has been a completely different story. I really wasn't pushing it or expecting her to make it through the night and even though it wasn't bothering me all that much, it was, apparently bothering her. She knew she shouldn't be having a full pull-up every morning and we've had several mornings recently where she would wake up crying because the smell bothered her.

More recently after our normal bed time which includes brushing teeth, going potty, changing into pajamas and reading books, I ended up going back into Ali's room for some reason and realized that she had already peed in her pull up. I hadn't been out of the room for 20 minutes and we had just gone.

She hadn't called me to tell me she had to go potty, she just went in the pull up.

Backing up a bit, it should be explained that my girls are not allowed to leave their beds. They stay in bed until I come get them in the morning, or after nap.

So, after some discussion my husband and I decided that Ali was old enough to be allowed to get up when she has to go to the bathroom and that she's enough of a rule follower that it wouldn't get too out of hand.

We laid out the rules for her and told her that because she was such a big girl now, and such a good girl, she was now allowed to get up at night or during nap if she had to go to the bathroom. She is to go potty, wash her hands and immediately get back in bed. There's no playing. This isn't a game.

She was beside herself with pride that she was now allowed to get up without having to call me.

So the first night my husband and I put her to bed, tuck her in and go over the rules again, just to be clear. We then walk down the hall to our room and are talking about our day, putting work clothes away, etc, when the door to Ali's room pops open and she comes (literally) hopping out. Not 5 minutes after we had just left her room. She sees us and freezes! I suppress the laugh and tell her to go potty and then hop back in bed. She does just that. No problems. But my husband and I had to hurry downstairs to laugh where she couldn't hear us.

The next night my husband was at his Bible Study class and it was just Big M and I hanging on the couch after the girls bedtime. Ali got up and went to the bathroom three times in about 30 minutes. I could not stop laughing but the funniest thing was how completely freaked out the dog was whenever the toilet would flush! As far as he was concerned, it should be a silent house. There shouldn't be anyone upstairs making those noises!

The third night she did not get out of bed right away, but at midnight I hear her crying. So I get out of bed to find her in the bathroom crying. When I asked her why, she said the toilet scared her.

????

All I can figure is that at midnight, in a silent house, after having been sound asleep, the toilet flush was louder than she expected?? Maybe??

Anyway, the end result in all this is that she has woken up with a dry pull up all three mornings and is extremely proud of herself.

My big girl.

Ali at four months. Feels like yesterday. :(


Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Slow but steady

I will admit I slept in on Monday but I blame daylight savings and my in laws visit over the weekend for that. (The visit in a good way, we stayed up too late, having too much fun).

However, the last two days I've been up at 5 am, like a good girl. Yesterday I did a yoga work out and this morning I ran a mile and a half in 24 minutes. Which is pretty good for me. My goal will be to run two miles comfortably in the morning in around 25-30 minutes and then start adding more distance and speed. I need to keep the yoga portion in there though otherwise I get so tight that my feet cramp uncontrollably. Keeping the flexibility is super important for me. My husband never stretches and it doesn't seem to bother him.

I think we may have to actually get a tread mill that's not a $30 yard sale version but this one's still working, so we'll hang on to it for a little while longer.

Today I am fairly sore. I did lots of planks and some solid ab work yesterday. I'd like to get my saggy belly under control before bathing suit season. I was actually pretty happy with how my rear looked in a pre-baby bikini that I tried on for fun a few weeks ago and my hips weren't bad either, but the belly thing is a little rough.

Let's see...I guess swim suit season officially starts Memorial Day, right? At least that's when the pools open in Georgia. So that's 10 weeks away.

Let's see how it goes, but I'd like to get into a bikini this summer! Haven't worn one since before Ali was born.





Sunday, March 8, 2015

I did it

I still feel odd, having shared with everyone the blog but I am astounded by the response. My sister and my sister in law are both asking questions and commenting (to me, not on the blog) about the recipes and how I make the decisions, the layout, the list, etc.

But I had so many friends, and odd friends, on facebook love the idea and the plan.

I don't know why I'm surprised at that, but I am. Friends that I rarely interact with on FB who are excited for the blog and the weekly menu option. I guess that's what I hoped for but it still feels odd.

My next step will be to set up a facebook page for the blog.

I feel like there's a lot more pressure now to continue and perform and I hope I can keep it going.

This weekend was a little different because my in laws and my sister in law were visiting, which was awesome, but that changes my ability to plan, shop and cook. I will probably still attempt to put a meal together but will likely keep it simple.

I knew it was foolish to be so afraid of sharing something like that. I can't explain it well but I know most people probably understand that feeling of exposure.

I hope it's helpful. That's ultimately my goal.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Fear of Failure

No one I know, knows I have a blog.

Is that weird?

I know why and while it's not something I'm proud to admit, it's because I don't want the people I know to know what I write. I don't want them to judge me, or comment on me, or, probably worse, ignore me.

So, no one knows I have a blog and it's mostly a private thing for me. Private meaning anyone in the world can find it and read it. Which unto itself is a strange little situation. My friends and family can't judge me, but the rest of the world is welcome to it.

I don't advertise it. I haven't joined any blogging groups that would rank it or list it or make it easier to find, I'm kind of just here.

Meanwhile, I have another blog that I want to make public. That I want others to find and even my friends and family to find and not only follow, but find useful.

And that scares me.

A lot!

A lot a lot!

It's a paralyzing fear of failure that is keeping me from doing anything about it. Which is stupid. I have tons of friends who started blogs, posted three times and then never again. That happens. I get it.

I just don't want to be that.

Or, if I end up with that, I don't want my friends and family to know.

Or to not like it. It's a little scary.

Foolish. I know. But it's there. Very much a solid lump in my belly there as I stare at my facebook page, ready to click 'create a page' for my Dinner...Done blog.

I am going to do it.

I am.

I really am.

Eventually.