Mom Talk

I’ll admit it. I seem to attract poor customer service. I’m not sure why or how. It just happens.

On Thanksgiving Day, some of my family and I went to K-mart’s Thanksgiving Day sale. They had a number of awesome deals going so I sent my hubby and daughter on to our hostess’s house to get the food into the oven and the rest of us stopped to shop for an hour or so. The store was in a horrible disarray, but I can attribute that to the shoppers. Lots of people just putting stuff back wherever and causing a lot of chaos on the shelves. Also, we did have ONE employee who was kind and helpful and actually went out of his way to tape a box back together on a game because there was only one left.

My rotten customer service encounter went something like this. . .

A K-mart employee saunters past me with an unpleasant look on her face. Tired of walking up and down the aisles in search of an item in the disorder, I flag her down and inquire:

Me: “Hi. You guys had a set of walkie talkies in your ad for today for $15. I think they were a toy item. Do you know where I might find them?”

Her: “Have you checked up and down the aisles?” She gives a lazy wave of one hand in the general direction of the toy department. Okay, I’ll bite. . .

Me: “Yes. I wasn’t able to find them there. Do you know where they are?” My irritation is rising.

Her: “Well, if you didn’t find them, we must be out of them.” She again begins to shuffle her feet and angle away from me.

Me: “You have no idea where I should look? I could be overlooking them.”

Her: (while walking away) “Nope, no idea.”

Me: (laughing sarcastically) “Thanks SO much for your help.”

After another delightful encounter at the checkout counter where a price rang up incorrectly and the cashier just looked at me dully, not offering to do a price check or give me the item for the ad price, I took my very small pile of sale items and went on to our Thanksgiving meal. My bad mood was quickly elevated as I spent time with friends, family and food. While I maintain that having to work on a holiday is no excuse to treat an innocent customer poorly, I guess I can offer the poor girl a bit of sympathy. She did have to work while most folks were home having their turkey.

Today, my family and I are having what can only be defined as a lazy day. We are all still in our pajamas (and it’s after 6:00 pm). The house is a bit of a disaster. We slept in, then played the Wii, then ate breakfast. We played the Wii some more, ate lunch, took a nap, played the Wii. . .seeing a pattern here? We have spent most of our day playing a video game or eating. I was lounging on my daughter’s bed while hubby and daughter were playing Wii ping pong and I casually said, “I wish Sonic delivered.” My hubby laughed out loud and said that was the sign of a truly lazy day. I agree.

I bit the bullet and went to the Early Bird sales today. I had decided not to but my sister and stepmom are very persuasive when they want to be and talked me into it. It paid off as I got some great deals and I’m now totally done with my Christmas shopping-woo hoo!

My alarm went off at 3:45 am and I slapped snooze a couple of times. We made it to our first stop at 5:07 in spite of my laziness. My stepmom left to drive home (3 hours away) at around 7:00 and my sister and I continued into the fray. By 8:30, we were both whining about how tired we were but we kept going as we were almost done by then. Our next to last stop was Big Lots. We got the item we drove there for specifically, then decided to walk around the store and see what else was on sale. I parted from my sister to look at the lamps.

Halfway down the lamp aisle, I noticed that the pillow top mattresses were right behind me. I glanced around and smoothed my hand over the top of one, thinking about how tempting they looked and how it would be SO nice to lie down for a nap later. I considered sitting down but thought I might be conspicuous. Then I spotted an oversize suede recliner a few feet away and sank down into it with a deep sigh. I was so tired.

After a few seconds, I started looking around for my sister because I had walked away from her a few moments before. I spotted her at the entrance to the mattress section. She meandered over to the same mattress that had attracted me, looked over her shoulder, smoothed her hand over the mattress, then sat down tentatively and checked over her shoulder again. Her back was to me but I found her little maneuver very amusing and I started laughing loudly. She heard me and jumped a little, then looked over her shoulder and started laughing, too. I don’t know if it was really as funny as we made it or if we were just slap happy from sleep deprivation but we couldn’t stop laughing (I’m evening chuckling aloud as I’m typing this).

I think it amused us because we were both so tired and so tempted to lounge on the display furniture, but we had the thought separately. We had a lot of fun today in spite of the crowds. Guess where I’m going now? Upstairs to take a nap! Happy Black Friday!

I’m thankful that I have a wonderful husband and healthy, happy little girl to share the holidays and the whole year with.

I’m thankful that I have a comfortable home that isn’t in foreclosure and hasn’t been destroyed by a storm or a fire.

I’m thankful that my husband and I both have jobs and are able to support our family comfortably without worrying about where our next meal is coming from.

I’m thankful for our service men and women who work so hard and risk their lives to keep our country safe and free.

I’m thankful that I live in a nation that still allows me the freedom to worship my Savior without fear of imprisonment or censorship.

I’m thankful for wonderful friends and a loving family who rally ’round me at the smallest sign of trouble.

I’m thankful for my health and the health of my family.

I’m thankful for my sweet little doggy and my cat who offer such warmth and unconditional affection.

. . .and so much more! What are you thankful for?

Twas the day after Thanksgiving

And outside the stores

The shoppers were drooling

All over the doors 

The sale ads were hung

By the entrance with care

In hopes that the profits

By day’s end would be there 

From TV’s to toys

“Doorbusters” were signed

Those items would go

To the first in the line 

Rude women with shopping carts

Full of their spoils

Rammed into each other

Their tempers at full boil 

By lunch time those shoppers

Were snapping at servers

Then tipping a pittance

Because they deserved it 

Kids waiting in line

To sit on Santa’s lap

Were cranky because

They missed their afternoon nap 

Heartburn from leftovers

Popped up around two

And most folks were wishing

For more comfortable shoes 

The payoff received

For braving this mess?

Savings on presents that were

Meant to impress 

For those who stayed home

To decorate their lairs

They only received

A few new gray hairs 

A moral is sure

To be found in this story

Happy Black Friday to all

Please don’t make it gory

Today I started cooking for Thanksgiving. I’m not even hosting the event but I’m taking along six or seven dishes to contribute (I know, I AM insane). Bottom line is, I’m in love with food and I can’t help myself and Thanksgiving is the only time I really eat the truly BAD stuff without guilt. Can I get an amen out there?

Anyway, tonight I made pumpkin and chocolate pie and enlisted the help of my 4-year-old girl. We had a good time and she loves to help out in the kitchen. After much thought (and a lot of begging on her part) I let her crack the eggs for the pumpkin pie. Shock of all shocks, she did it really well and only got a tiny sliver of shell in the bowl for one out of the three eggs. Maybe she’s on her way to being a foodie like her mommy?

Horror of horrors, our big screen TV blew its bulb on Saturday morning so we have been without entertainment all weekend. I am ashamed at how bored I am! I’m looking for stuff to do to stay entertained and my computer just isn’t filling the void. How sad is that? Very!

Last night, I watched a movie on Netflix (they have a “watch instantly” feature) but I couldn’t get it to play in High Def so it was blurry. That was a pain. God forbid I should pick up a book or magazine to unwind. The real bummer? We’ve been waiting for months for the 24 movie that aired last night and it’s trapped on our DVR! I know, you’re rolling your eyes out there in the blogosphere.

Sadly, our little one is just as bad. She desperately wants to watch one of her shows. She’s been playing non stop on her Fisher Price Easy Link pad. Oh well. The break is probably good for all of us.

Does every kid under the age of 18 want EVERYTHING they see for Christmas? My daughter says she wants everything she sees on TV, in sale bills. . .every advertisement she’s seen over the past month or so elicits a loud, “I want that for Christmas!!” It’s gotten to the point that I am having trouble knowing what to get her for Christmas.

I sat her down a few days ago and asked her, “If we could only get you one item for Christmas, what would you want?” She did give me an answer, a short pause followed by ten more items. Arrgh! So, I’m trying to listen to her talk to others and write down the stuff she mentions more than once. From there, we’ll see what I can find/afford and hope the excitement of getting Christmas presents is enough on Christmas morning. If it’s not, it will be a good time to talk to her about the true meaning of Christmas (of course we’ll talk to her about that either way) and to emphasize that getting presents is just part of the fun, not the main focus.

Either way, I’m going to use this as an opportunity to help her understand about the needs of others around her. She’s a bit too young to take her to a homeless shelter or soup kitchen this year so I’m trying to think of other creative ways to instill a sense of helping others in her. Any ideas are welcome! Leave a comment if you have one.

I just cannot decide if this year’s Black Friday sales are worth getting up at the crack of dawn or before. Most years, I can find at least one item (usually at Wal-mart), that’s worth the early morning adrenaline rush, but this year sales are just not living up to their reputations. Maybe it’s the economy. Businesses are suffering, too and just can’t afford to offer the sales they usually do?

Last year, my sister and I got up and got to Best Buy one hour before they opened. I had my eye on a door buster flat panel TV and was just sure that 5 am was plenty early to have a shot at it. Boy, was I in for a shock. The line was down the building and almost to the end of the shopping center already! Something like two or three city blocks! Of course, I did not get my TV. My only deal from that shopping trip was a cheap Xbox 360 game for dear hubby, so not really worth the trip. When I got home, I discovered that the news from the night before showed people lining up outside Best Buy in the MORNING the DAY BEFORE. I’m sorry folks but I value my time a bit more than that. My Turkey Day family time is more important to me than camping out in front of a retail store of any kind.

Also, when I’ve waited in line for a Black Friday sale at Wal-mart, they open the doors and it’s every man for himself. At Best Buy last year, they handed out tickets to the first people through the doors, effectively barring anyone who was in line more than 50 people from the door from getting anything good. That’s just not good sportsmanship, my friend! Anyway, I’ll let you know if I decide to haul my lazy butt out of bed next week or not!

Today we went to the mall for a while just to get out for a bit. I had coupons for two different stores that were set to expire and I went looking for deals. At Old Navy, I thought I had found one. There was a sign saying “2 for $15” all around the PJ section and I really needed some new PJ’s. Plus I had a 20% off coupon for the store. I picked up two pair of PJ pants and two shirts and headed for the check out.

When I got there, my total was close to $55 (for two pair of pajamas!!!). I told the girl I thought the sign said “2 for $15” so we walked back there together. There was a sign that said that in one section and completely identical signs all over the area. The problem? The signs were all identical in size and color and everything except for the “2 for. . .” part. I felt cheated. I think stores should be penalized in some way for such sneaky advertising. I hope my expensive new PJ’s (well, I still needed new pajamas) are worth it!