Wednesday, December 30, 2015

My curling iron is considered hazardous waste.

Ok, so this story is kinda weird and kinda funny and really long. Sorry.

For Christmas I had asked for a bunch of really basic things that I just needed. Socks, arm holder for my phone while running, hair dryer, curling iron, punching bag...totally need that.

My mother in law got me a curling iron, purchased off of Amazon, and while it wasn't the exact model I had requested was the same brand and pretty close. She included a gift certificate and said that if it wasn't the one I wanted, to exchange it. Well, after a couple days I decided that what I really needed was the hair dryer. There's actually only one hair dryer in the house right now that Ali and I are sharing between the bathrooms and it's not a great one to begin with.

So, yesterday I scanned in the little bar code on the Amazon gift receipt and requested an exchange.

A message popped up that said this item was unavailable for return due to specialized shipping needs.

????

I thought that couldn't possibly be right and clearly this little app was confused. It's a curling iron. What's so specialized about shipping a curling iron?

There was an option to email customer service, so I did and said that I was trying to exchange a gift I got and wanted to send back the curling iron for the hair dryer, what's up?

I got a response back an hour or so later from a customer service rep who said she was sorry I was unhappy with the product but that it was not eligible for return to Amazon because it was considered hazardous waste but that she would send me a gift certificate for the full amount so I could still get the replacement item, and please do not throw out the item but follow instructions in the included link to properly dispose of it.

????

It's a curling iron...

I responded back to her saying that I was confused, again, this can't possibly be right. It's a curling iron! What about it makes it hazardous??

I really just wanted to know. It had reached a level of curiosity that couldn't just be left alone. It's a CURLING IRON!

So then, I got a response back from a second customer service rep who said she was sorry for any confusion, that the item was considered hazardous...and that in recompense for the trouble she was crediting back the full amount to the original method of payment...

So, I emailed her back and said, wait a minute, this was a present. I've already been issued a gift certificate, and now you're crediting my mother in law also. I just can't figure out why a curling iron is considered such a big safety concern and really want an explanation, especially why you'd send a gift certificate with an item that is not eligible for return.

A third rep emailed me back and said that it looked like due to Amazon error, this order had been credited twice (duh) but she hoped I would consider it a good will effort on their part given all the confusion and inconvenience and that:

Due to safety reasons, we cannot accept the return of any hazardous materials--these include but are not limited to items that are flammable, gas-powered or use propane or natural gas, have rechargeable batteries or contain powerful magnets--at any of our fulfillment centers. 

At least she gave me some sort of explanation of hazardous material, but still, IT'S A CURLING IRON!!!!

So, at the end of a crazy afternoon full of really weird emails, I have a credit to Amazon to purchase my hair dryer. My mother in law has been refunded her money. And, I still have a brand new but apparently hazardous curling iron.


Monday, December 28, 2015

Holy Moly what happened to December??

I am not sure what happened but it's now December 28th.

And it's 70 degrees outside.

Crazy!

We had wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays filled with lots of family and food.

We also had a terribly sick December and I think I spent about two weeks in a major fog and am probably pretty lucky that we had food and presents in the house before Christmas!

We did have a wonderful time though.

The girls both got bikes. Ali's is a two wheeler with training wheels that she did a fair job on. She's never peddled before. Lizzy's is a big wheel style one that is just a bit too big. Her feet don't quite touch the peddles. :( Oh well, she'll grow into it.



The highlights were definitely the Minnie Mouse dresses that my mom made for them. Hard to see in this shot of Lizzy but they're so cute.


The Frozen Microphone that is technically Ali's but both girls have had a ball with it. (Better shot of the dress)


Mermaid blankets that my mom also made for me and the girls (theirs are pink and purple) which I'd love to use...except the weather's been so crazy warm! I did take a photo though.


And, to top it off, I got my husband a sling shot. It's a pretty heavy duty sling shot. Who knew there was a whole world revolving around sling shots but there is apparently. I got it because he always gets so mad at the deer in our neighborhood who have NO fear of humans and eat all our bushes and plants. So, he now has a sling shot to hit them in the butt and scare them off. Oddly enough it's actually working even though he hasn't managed to hit anything but trees.

With Lizzy supervising.

Totally just turned Ali's clubhouse into a deer stand.

So, that's basically the short of our holiday experience. I do need to point out the beautiful apple pie that my mother in law made. I didn't get a shot of it before we started eating, but it was so pretty!

And, I'm happy to say I have not gained any weight over the holidays. Granted I haven't lost any either, but all in all I'm pretty happy with it. Oh! I forgot to mention what I got for Christmas! I got a Fitbit! And a punching bag!!! I'm so excited for both! I've been wanting my own punching bag since the boxing gym I used to go to closed down and I'm excited for the fitbit too. I may be disappointed to see just how sedentary my working life really is, but I guess that's part of the point. Make me move more! While home with the girls after Christmas though I hit my 'steps per day' goal and my 'stairs per day' goal. I know that's unlikely to happen quite as frequently during the work week unless I really make the effort. Which I'm hoping to do!

Happy New Year Everyone!