Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Update

So apparently Blogger doesn't support my browser at work anymore.  And unfortunately because of security risks, I am not allowed to install anything on this computer either.  So guess what, that means I can only post from home!  Yikes! So definitely uploading pictures doesn't work.  We shall see if posting just words works...

A couple of weeks ago we picked up the new boat from the mechanic and took it out for a spin.  It worked pretty good, though the ballast system seems to be somewhat impaired.  Mike & Nate went in the *freezing cold* water, and the rest of us laughed at them :)

Other than that, it's business as usual around here.  I am trying to get Amanda into a school for this coming year that isn't our local one.  I've applied to 3 different schools, and I have 3 more in mind.  None of these are private, by the way because Mike is 110% against it.  I actually asked him "on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is adamantly opposed to any private school whatsoever, where are you?"  And he replied a 12.  Lovely.  So I trudge on...

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Customer Service just isn't what it used to be.

Remember when you were young and your mom would say, get a phone bill with the wrong amount billed?  She would call AT&T and have it ironed out in 5 minutes with a credit to the bill and a gift in the mail.  They were desperate to keep your business.

I have *never* had that experience.  But the latest one is a doosie.  I belong to various deal sites where they have a deal a day at 50% off or more.  Just before Valentine's Day one was offered for flavored popcorn.  I <3 flavored popcorn, so I jumped on it.  I ordered a 3-way tin in a Valentine's heart pattern.  Here's what arrived yesterday:

Where are the Valentine hearts?  And why exactly is the popcorn OUTSIDE the tin?  See those two stickers sticking off the sides?  That was supposed to hold the lid on, and it obviously didn't.  *sigh*

So this morning, I e-mail customer service.  Their response?  That it was 'disclosed' that you may not get a Valentine Heart tin (I finally found it after digging around the website, in extremely tiny print off in a corner somewhere), and they are very sorry but they aren't responsible for what happens in transit.  Really?

This comes after the wake of a similar experience at work where a dormant check is now lost in a black hole and no one can find it, and no one is claiming responsibility.  And I'm left shaking my head wondering what happened to good customer service?

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Everyday around here


So it used to be that every night after bath, I would read Kevin a book while Mike read Amanda a book, and then we'd switch.  Well, now Kevin *insists* on being in Amanda's room while Daddy reads to Amanda, so here's a pic I took of them on Amanda's bed, reading.  Kevin is also asserting some independence and insists on picking out his pajamas nowadays.  Thus, the thin, summer pajamas in the heart of winter.  Good thing we have a space heater in his room!














And this next picture was taken on Lincoln's birthday. I headed to the Pepperdine College campus to pick up tickets to 2 great kids shows coming up in the next couple months.  Outside the theater is this great fountain.  The kids threw in some pennies and enjoyed the water for a bit before we headed home for naps.  The entire day turned out really nice despite having to lug the kids around running errands.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Say hello to my little friend!

Meet the new boat (yet to be named):
The above picture is at the gas station near the guy's house we bought it from.  The tires needed to be filled before embarking on our 90 minute journey home.





We officially picked up the new boat yesterday (Sunday) and brought it home.  The guy insisted we pay him in cash, so here's Mike holding all that cash before we left.

It was seriously nerve-racking getting so much cash out of the bank on Friday!  The teller counted it all out for me too before he gave it to me, so anyone watching could see I was taking a WAD of cash out.

Overall the entire transaction was pretty painless.  The guys was very trustworthy, and even though we had to pay off his bank directly and they sent the title to him, he came through and signed the title over to us.

Then we got home, and discovered the boat is too wide to fit up our driveway :(  While Mike had worried it was too long, he assumed it was the same width as the Midnight Mist (or only slightly wider, but not enough to worry about).  Turns out, we were wrong and there isn't any easy way to get the boat into our backyard.  So after trying to squeeze it through for about a 1/2 hour, Mike gave up and left it parked there for a bit until the Super Bowl visitors left from in front of our house.

Meanwhile, the kids played in the boat, hanging from the new tower.  Here is a pic of them "just hanging out".  Both kids love the new boat and can't wait to go out on it.  I love the extra room it affords inside, and it has TONS of storage space.  Mike is more than excited about the wakeboarding 'extras' like Perfect Pass and a ballast system.  Looking forward to a fun summer on the new boat!