1-800-Flowers - Never Again!

Here is the letter I sent to AAA about my experience with this discount partner!  Save yourself the drama, pain and embarressment and choose a different florist!

I just wanted to send you a note to let you know of a recent experience I had with one of you Discount partners.  As a AAA member I try to take advantage of the discounts available to me and try to use companies that offer AAA discounts as often as possible.  Earlier this month I decided to send flowers to a good friend that lives in CT for her 40^th birthday.  She had invited me up to celebrate with her but I couldn’t make it and so I still wanted to do something very special for her.  Several weeks before her birthday I went online with 1-800-flowers and picked out the perfect arrangement and placed my order.  On my friend’s birthday I received an email that confirmed the delivery of the arrangement.  However, after several hours had passed and I hadn’t heard from her, I became concerned.  I contacted another friend that was at her house and confirmed that nothing had been delivered.   Her husband mentioned that there is another street in town with a very similar name and it had probably ended up there.  I called 1-800-flowers immediately about this and had to wait on hold for over 30 minutes to speak with a customer service representative.  I was then informed that there was nothing she could do for me at this time because it was after hours and there was no way they could contact anyone at the delivering florist.  I was directed to call back the next day during regular business hours and I got even more upset and explained to her that I had already had to wait 30 minutes to speak with her and that it shouldn’t be my responsibility to call back the next day.  She then put me on hold and disconnected the call.  I immediately called back and began waiting on hold again and while I was waiting I posted a scathing review on Twitter that was immediately responded to by one of their other customer service reps.  I was again told there wasn’t anything they could do at this time because the actual florists was closed but they would try to fix this but never really offered any kind of help.  After another 30 minutes I got through to another customer service rep who was much nicer and was actually trying her best to help me.  She kept apologizing and offered to have the flowers re delivered to my friend at the cabin that everyone was going to in VT for her birthday celebration.  I just needed to get the address and call them back in the morning.  The next morning I called back with the address of the cabin and was told they were sorry again, but they couldn’t deliver the flowers to this address at all.  My only option at this point is to have them try to re deliver the flowers on Monday (4 days after her birthday) and they would send me a coupon for $20 off my next order.  On Monday afternoon I hadn’t heard from anyone about the delivery and I again called 1-800-flowers to check on it.  After being put on hold for over 10 minutes the customer service representative came back on the line.  She proceeded to tell me that they had been experiencing computer issues all that day and my flowers were again NOT delivered!   They would however promise to deliver them the next day on Tuesday.   At this point I completely lost my mind and demanded that my order be completely refunded.  I explained how deplorable this service was and that delivering 5 days after her birthday was completely unacceptable!  I am so completely disgusted with this company and their customer service practices.  At no time during any of my conversations about the problem did they offer to do anything but say I’m sorry and send me coupons.  I can assure you that I will never do business with this company again.  I also plan to let everyone I’m connected with via social media know all about my experiences to save them the complete disappointment from this horrific company.  I thought you all should know about this as it reflects poorly on your company also for supporting them.  I’ve usually had great experiences with my AAA discount partners but I will be much warier in the future because of this experience. 

Regards,

Cheryl Patterson

Hit and Run

The week before Memorial Day I took a vacation with my parents to Cocoa Beach, FL where we had a wonderful time. The weather was great and the whole trip was very relaxing! That is until I got in the car to head home.

My trip home started Saturday, May 28th as I left the resort that morning and said goodbye to my parents. I headed towards the Turnpike and then finally got on I-75N where I planned to spend most of day.

I hadn’t been on 75 long when I decided I needed a pit stop and I pulled off the exit. At the bottom of the ramp was a red light and so I stopped and was waiting on the light to turn green. While I was sitting there, I was suddenly hit from behind. Ugh!! Just my luck!

I got out of the car to speak to the man that hit me and he immediately began to tell me his sob story! He explained that his anxiety level was through the roof and he was on the way to his father’s funeral. He wanted me to follow him around the corner. So, I got back in my car to pull around the corner and he just keeps going. I followed him through at least one red light and then started motioning for him to pull over by flashing my lights, honking my horn, and waving my arms like the crazy woman I was turning into. By this time I had decided this guy was completely full of crap. He says he’s on the way to a funeral, but seriously he wasn’t dressed to cut tobacco.

Once we are off the road again he starts explaining that he needs me to follow him to this tire place and seems frantic. I tried explaining to this guy nicely that I wasn’t following him anywhere. Mind you, I’m freaking out myself a little and getting very angry. I was expressing my concern that we had left the scene of the accident and he wanted to know what I wanted to do. My plan was to call the cops like normal people do and he started freaking out. He literally told me that “if I was going to call the police he was going to run like hell! “

Seriously???? Does this really happen to people? We were screaming at this point and I pointed out to him that I had his tags now and then he jumped in his car and sped off. So, what does any enraged woman do? I jumped back in my car and started the chase again. While driving I called my dad and he suggested I call 911. That sounded like a good idea. So, I called them and got transferred to the local Ocala, FL PD and ultimately had to pull over and wait on the police. I am now officially the victim of a hit and run!

Once my police report was finished I got back on the road to home and contacted my insurance company to explain what had happened. They assured everything would be taken care of and like a sucker I believed them.

Once home from vacation I finally spoke to State Farm and they informed me they would handle everything as soon as I paid my collision deductible. What??? Did I hear that correctly? My insurance company wants me to pay a deductible when I was sitting still at a red light and hit from behind by a guy that in turn ran like hell???

My Trainer and the First Workouts

So after my Wednesday meeting with the sales pitch trainer, I got to meet my actual trainer on Friday. His name is John Smith and he’s a really nice guy with, wait for it, RED HAIR!!! He’s not really the Jillian Michaels kind of trainer, but he still pushes me really hard in a nice way.

As of today I have worked out with John 4 times. Interestingly enough, we have yet to do the same exercise twice. Each visit is 30 minutes long and consists of a circuit of exercises. It’s kind of amazing to me how all of these exercises work so many different muscles. I’m finding that I’m sore in places I didn’t even realize were muscles.

After the first workout I was terrified. My thighs hurt so bad after that workout that I could barely walk for over 3 days. It comes and goes though. I’m sore somewhere new everyday, but it keeps me going somehow. I’ll try and keep you posted on my workouts and how they are going. I will say that it’s a lot like doing aerobics with weights. My heart rate is up the whole time.

After each training session I’m supposed to get on the elliptical machine for another 30 minutes. The first visit I only made it about 10 minutes and as of today I made it the complete 30 minutes. I really hate the elliptical machine. It does however, burn a lot more calories than the treadmill does. I guess no pain, no gain.

I'm Back

Hey there! Did you miss me? I can’t believe it’s been over a year since I updated this. I owe anyone that actually reads this a major apology for my slacking. I’ve had MANY blog worthy stories to share this year. I just never could find the time to write them down. Actually, I think the correct statement is, I just never took the time to write these stories down. So, I’m back on track. I plan to be much better about updating my blog and I also plan to try and retell some of the more unbelievable stories I missed this past year.

I’ve made some big changes in my life recently. First and foremost, for those of you who didn’t know I QUIT SMOKING!!! For real this time too people!!! I know I’ve said that before but this is really it. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still really want a cigarette, but I am done. I’ve made it past my milestone and won’t smoke again at least until I’m in my 80s and it doesn’t matter anymore.

The second big change in my life is I joined a GYM. No, this isn’t a joke, there is no hidden camera. I really did this.

For those of you who know me, you know I HATE to exercise. I think most of that is from when I was on the swim team in High School and the coach there scarred mea for life. We worked out 3-5 hours a day, 5 days a week, and probably 50 weeks a year. I did this for 3 full years and then quit the team due to events for another story. Nevertheless, I haven’t really worked out or been to a gym, more than 10 times since 1993.

To make matters even more exciting and strange, I hired a personal trainer. Knowing myself as well as I do, I knew I wouldn’t work out or push myself without someone making me do it Jillian Michaels or HS swim coach style. I’m lazy. I know this, you know this, and now the world knows this.

I do want to change though. I want a smoking hot body and to not get winded sightseeing on vacation.

So, how did all this come to pass? Well, to start with, most of the people I spent all my time with had babies this past year and therefore I never see them anymore. Then, I quit smoking and suddenly I had nothing but free time on my hands. When I first quit smoking (October 3rd) I had to stay busy to keep from smoking and so I finished almost all of my outstanding projects. Once they were all done, I realized I wasn’t doing anything except watching TV and knitting. So, I decided since I was gaining all this weight, was out of shape and had the time, that I should go sign up for a gym. The theory was that if I paid even just a little for a membership I would feel obligated to go and not waste my money. So, I signed up for a membership and it came with a free session with a personal trainer. What I now know is that these “free” sessions are well designed sales pitches. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am super glad I am doing this. However, after being weighed (no, I’m not sharing that awful number) and having my bmi (yes, he told me I was obese) taken by some hot young trainer and then doing what he called a 10 minute easy workout (totally lies). I was so worn out that my legs gave from under me and I wiped out on the stairs in front of the entire gym. I knew right then, I really needed help and so I signed the contract for 1 full year with a trainer.

Annie Oakley at the Farm

This past weekend Nita invited me up to Red Boiling Springs for her childhood friend Sam to teach me how to shoot. My father has given me his 32 revolver and I am taking the Handgun Carry Permit class in April. The problem is that I was terrified (still a little) of guns. I had never shot one before and needed some major help. Sam, according to Nita was the perfect person to teach me. Was she ever right!

So, Sunday morning Beth and I loaded up in my car and headed to the farm. It was a beautiful drive for such a glorious Sunday. We could not have asked for better weather. The drive took us about 1.5 hours and we just cruised along the highways.

We got to the farm around 11:30 and Nita and Linda had made us lunch. The 5 of us sat down and enjoyed some homemade barbecue, coleslaw and potato salad. I’m sorry to say I did not try the potato salad due to my low carb diet. I did get it on good authority that I had really missed out though. Hopefully I will get another chance to try it at another time.

Just as we were getting finished up some of Nita’s extended family showed up. We were not expecting them and I believe it really threw off Nita’s plans. Suddenly she had two extra adults and five children to entertain.

Sam decided it was time for us to get started so Beth, Sam and I started up to the barn. Sam spent a good amount of time walking me through the gun and all its features. He then explained the differences in ammunition so that we both had a much better understanding of the whole process. Once we were ready to start shooting he got an old gas can out of the barn and set it up about 10 feet from me. He only put one bullet in the first time so I could see what it felt like to shoot. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. So we loaded up the gun and turns out I was pretty good. I could consistently hit the can after the first couple of shots. Truthfully, I never dreamed I would be able to hit anything I was aiming at.

Sam was great and thorough. He had me shoot a few rounds with it cocked and aimed, then he had me aim and just pull the trigger. This is a bit harder but I figured it out. Finally he had me just point and shoot to check my accuracy there.

As a souvenir they had me load up my bulleted gas can in the trunk. This way I can prove to daddy that I actually did hit it as many times as we said.

When we got down to the farm house again, Nita’s family was still there. So, Sam took the time to show me how to clean the gun while we waited on them to leave.

After the family left, Nita and Beth wanted me to see the pond. So the five of us started up the street to the pond. In route we lost Linda. Not literally lost, but she took a spill on the side of the road and busted up her lip pretty good. Luckily we had not gotten very far and Nita ran across the street to her neighbors (actually her grandparents old house that has been restored) to get some paper towels to try and clean Linda up. Her neighbors came over to help and drove Linda back to the house in their ATV. Such wonderful people!

After looking over the pond we walked back to Nita’s and decided to go see Sam’s son’s house across the field. Apparently Sam had found this house that was going to be demolished and asked if he could have it for his son. Sam moved the house himself and his son and friends have been remodeling it. All I can say is “Wow” They have done an incredible job and the house looks like brand new construction at this point. We did a walk through and it is just gorgeous! I really wish I had remembered to take some pictures.

After we had walked through the house I discovered that they raised goats. In the pen were 4 or 5 new baby goats. I of course wanted to pet one and so Sam’s son went and caught me one so I could pet it. I had never petted a baby goat before. It was actually very soft and sooo cute!

All in all it was a wonderful day and very productive. Too bad the extra family showed up. Nita had brought her camera and video camera to catch all my training on tape. Maybe next time.

Do you drink coffee or hot tea?

I got the greatest Christmas gift ever! If you like hot drinks such as coffee, I know you have experienced how quickly they go cold, even in a "good" travel mug. Up until recently I had tried several makes and models of mugs with still only lukewarm coffee after about 30 minutes.

Hammacher Schlemmer has a fabulous solution. It is touted as The 2009 Best Commuter Cup and it doesn't lie! This mug keeps my coffee hot until I finish it. If you like to sip on coffee it will stay very hot for 4-6 hours! It will also keep your cold drinks cold for the same amount of time!

Another great feature is you can drink from anywhere on the lid. No more turning the mug around to find the drinking hole. Once you push the button to open it you can you turn it up and drink. When the button is closed, not a drop will spill out. the mug is $24.95 plus shipping and and can only be purchased from Hammacher Schlemmer. It will make and EXCELLENT gift for any hot coffee or tea drinkers you know.

Here is the description from HammacherSchlemmer.com You really should invest in this if you like hot drinks!!

Office Bathroom Etiquette

Ok, ladies! I feel I need to go over some rules of public office bathrooms. I’ve been fuming over this stuff for a while and it has hit a peak this past couple of weeks.

1. I know we still have some germophobes out there. I even subscribe to this theory at several places that I have had to stop. However, just because you are afraid to sit on the toilet at work doesn’t mean the rest of us are. If you insist on hovering over the toilet, WIPE YOUR PEE OFF THE SEAT BEFORE LEAVING THE STALL. There is nothing more disgusting than for those of us that aren’t afraid of the office bathroom to sit in your urine!

2. Do not talk on your cell phone in a public/office bathroom! Nobody is that important that they need to hear you or I going to the bathroom. It just so happens to be an invasion of MY little bit of privacy at the office. If you really need to go to the restroom you can ask the person if you can call them right back or wait till the conversation is finished.

3. WASH YOUR HANDS! I seriously cannot believe that this still needs a reminder, but apparently it does. This is especially crucial at an office or public place where you will inevitably infect everyone with your germs when you open doors, shake hands, type or talk on the phone. It is good hygiene and always has been.
And Finally

4. I know this must be a lost art that parents don’t teach their children anymore. I do know that most people at my office are older than I am though and were probably raised the same way I was. I also understand that this is a natural process of the body. However, can you please refrain from blowing out your butt when there is a bathroom full of people. It makes everyone uncomfortable. At our office I even know there is a private/handicap bathroom that can be used for just these emergencies!

Hope everyone has learned something today!

Dell and Peripherals

Just a quick note to make sure everyone is aware that buying peripherals (extra items like printers, laptop bags, etc...) from Dell is a big mistake! If you can buy it somewhere else, please do. Dell will not stand behind any of these products. Unless something goes wrong with the item within 21 days they will do NOTHING for you.

My experience is a laptop bag. I purchased it a week or so after I bought my laptop to ensure that I would have something to carry my laptop in, in the event I needed to take it somewhere. Last week sometime was the first time I needed to take it with me. On the first day I carry this bag, the zipper breaks! Now after talking to 3 barely English speaking people, I finally am told to call the manufacturer of the product!!! UGH!!!!

I am of a mind to boycott any companies that provide support via other countries. I need to be able to understand you, you understand me, and you be able to help me. None of these things ever seem to happen with support of American products out of Foreign Countries! It seems we have an awful lot of Americans needing jobs and we are sending them all to India. What better solution to a multitude of problems. Hire Americans for support jobs and decrease the unemployed level. This will also bring some comfort to Americans seeking support as they will be able to understand the support personnel and probably get help. Sorry for the soapbox, but I am pretty put out.

Now, on to call Belkin where I'm sure I'll get another guy named Rashid to try and help me.

Marlboro Hot Laps

Every few months for the past 10 years or so I receive something in the mail from Marlboro. Being on their mailing list results in invitations, cd’s, coupons and various other mailings. I normally throw this stuff away, but last month the item caught my interest because it was about racing. As a lot of you know, I have truly fallen for Nascar and so I decided to check into this. I called the number on the form to check on height and weight restrictions and also to see what “the catch” was. This event was promoted as a free event for invitees and a friend 21 and over. Well, I went ahead and scheduled and appointment for my racing sidekick Cristi and I.

Wednesday of this week was the day. I will begin by saying that Tuesday was a horribly emotional day and I thought about cancelling. In the end, Cristi and I met at the house and started towards the Nashville Super Speedway. Marlboro had sent directions and then posted signs for us to follow to the infield tunnel.

As we neared the tunnel we came across the first greeter. This woman handed us our release forms and placed our id’s under the wipers. The next greeter was stationed about 10 yards further and he had us hand him our signed waivers, checked our id’s and sent us to the next station. Here we signed another waiver for the track and headed in to park. As we parked the car another greeter welcomed us and asked us to place our belongings in the trunk to be safe and assured us that we didn’t need anything but cameras and our id’s. Nothing but gifts here and nothing to buy. :)

We headed into the building to start our adventure. At our first stop we presented our id’s and received a comment card to fill out at then end, then we were ushered into the next room where we got our numbered id’s and printed our names on them. At this point we are starting to get excited and we are ushered to the next station where we are each given a bag and some gifts. The basic bag included a ball cap and earplugs. Since I was the invitee I also received a disposable camera, butane lighter, and personal/pocket sized ashtray.

On to the next station and the excitement really hit. This was the fitting room. There were several people in here that assed your size and handed you a racing suit. It’s amazing how accurate these people were without asking any questions. :) Once dressed in our racing suits we were posed in front of a blue screen for picture of us in our suits holding a racing helmet. This was very similar to any event you have been to where they want you to buy the picture for just 19.99, however they printed one for each of us in a 5x7 that was ready when we left! As we left this station we were given our racing gloves and head sock. Since I didn’t know what this was I will explain that it looks kind of like a ski mask made from t-shirt material. It is worn over your head, hair and neck I’m guessing is used as a sanitation thing since we all wear helmets.

The next station was for helmet fitting and again they were extremely accurate on site as to what size helmet we needed. The size was printed on our lanyards and we were off.

We started in the pit area where we learned the history of the IROC car and racing. There were several speakers that explained about the IROC car and the INDY car present. We were also taught our hand signals to use in the car. Because the cars are so loud you cannot verbally communicate during the drive. Thumbs up meant “I’m great and go faster”, thumbs down meant “slow down please” and reaching out with your left hand meant “ I can’t take this, please take me back to the tent” I will also add that at every station they had provided snacks and drinks for us. :)

Next we headed out to the track where a tent was setup. Our group consisted of about 30-40 people. They called 5 at a time to get your helmets on and then started loading the 5 cars that were used. Each person got 3 full laps at up to 140 mph. As the first 5 were loading up, they started helmetting the next 5 and so on. Once your number is called and your helmet is on you wait your turn to be directed to a car. The attendant at the car attaches your neck brace and has your climb in the car. Now keep in mind, these are real IROC cars. They don’t have doors. :) So you climb in through the window Dukes of Hazard style. My only remark here is that window is a lot higher up than you might think. I had to take two tries to get my leg up and over the window and climb in. :) Then the assistant and driver get you strapped in the seat. These harnesses are very similar to what you find on a child’s car seat. I was literally attached to the seat of this car and going know where! Then the race begins!

My driver was Juan and he introduced himself to me before we pulled out. I was a bit worried about my motion sickness. Riding passenger in any car usually makes me sick so I tend to drive a lot! I did have my motions sickness wristbands on just in case though. :) I have to say the ride was exhilarating!! I loved it! I don’t think I would ever want to drive myself in that I don’t have that kind of confidence, but it was a blast!

Once out of the car you go over and turn in your racing suit (it fits over your clothes) and wait on everyone else to finish.

The next stop was the Mustang Drift course! Here we only needed helmets and the cars are new Mustangs with doors. Again, we are called up a few at a time to get helmeted and loaded into a car. I wasn’t sure exactly what drifting was myself so I’ll try to explain. Drifting is fast driving on a any track (this one wasn’t a circle) where you fly into the curves and let the force of the car sling you around the corner. Extremely cool! We each got 3 laps around this track with a driver and I think everyone should do this at least once. It’s such a wild feeling. Of course there were a couple of true southerners standing beside me as we watched the first cars go out. He explained that he and his buddies did this sort of driving every weekend. J

After we had all ridden on the drift course it was time for our final stop. We were ushered to dinner tent where we had very nice meal, picked up our photos from earlier, filled out our comment cards and received some more gifts. Dinner included fruit salad, corn and bean salsa, southwestern tossed salad, Spanish rice, chipotle cream chicken, mango chutney pork loin, a hot dog stand with every fixing imaginable, soft drinks and cookies. It was fabulous! The additional parting gifts we each received were a travel coffee mug and a Swiss army watch.

Can you say awesome!!! I can’t believe this is the first time I have ever gone to one of these events and will definitely go to any more that come my way!!!

Baseball!

Have you been to a sounds game lately? I think if you have in the past you would be shocked at what it looks like now. I went last Thursday (4/30) with some family members. I have to say I was taken back by how few people were there. We had a great time, but I felt so badly for the team. There were empty seats everywhere.

Definitely something you should do if you haven’t. It’s a nice night out with friends or family for a very reasonable price. $6 for general admission tickets and $10 for reserved seats. This is if you buy in advanced. Be prepared to pay 1 or 2 more dollars per ticket if you buy them at the door.

Hopefully things will pick up as summer gets here. Hope to see you there as I know I will be there again this spring and summer.

Here are some pictures from last weeks game.

See how empty the seats were???




Starting from left to right: My cousins Patti and Terry then Waylon and Jeff

The OPRY!

Had a blast Saturday night with my boss at the Opry! I had never been and found out that Rascall Flatts were going to be there on this particular night. I immediately called the ticket office and got us two tickets.

We sat on the 4th row of the balcony and the seats were great! Lots of funny stories by the old MC's for each of the 4 parts.

A big lesson was learned though! I recently bought a new "off brand" battery replacement for my camera. The battery works great and holds a charge for a long time. It doesn't however, let me know when it is getting low on juice! Just as Rascall Flatts came out on the stage (4 th act) my battery died!!! So, the rest of my photos were taken from my cell phone. I'm still trying to figure out how to get those off and will get them edited and posted ASAP.

Here are some pictures from our big night. Listed you will see:

• The Opry house and the new "Minnie Pearll"
• Little Jimmie Dickens. He was a hoot!
• Buddy Jewel! I about died when he walked out. I bet I called 200 times while he was on Nashville Star. We use to go to happy hour at El Chico's on Murfreesboro Road on Friday nights to hear him play.
• Danielle Peck
• Ryan and I being silly. Look at my ears! I put in 2 different earrings to try and decide which ones to wear and never changed them back out! Ugh!
• Ricky Skaggs is starting to look like a back hills southern preacher.
• Steve Warner was the MC for the 4th act of the night.
• Gary LeVox of Rascall Flatts!
  

Yesterday Storms

Wow! Did the rest of you get stuck in the storm yesterday? I truly believe this is the worst storm I've ever been out in. It was so crazy.

I started out waiting on the parking lot shuttle a few minutes early hoping to get to my car before it got bad. No such luck. I was barely out the door when it began to poor. By the time the shuttle got to us (15 minutes), all of us were pretty wet and it was still raining! Then as we got close to my parking spot I started to panic a bit. The spot I normally get off at was under water. The sign had washed away and you couldn't see the sidewalk at all. The driver let me off in a dryer spot but of course my car was at the high point of the flood. Seriously, I had to wade through knee deep water (which is normally 4th ave) to get to my car in the gravel lot. Once at my car a new panic set in. I am soaked up to my thighs and then realize that I only have about an inch or more before the water will be rolling into my floor boards!

I got in as quick as I could and started out of town. While I was waiting at one of the red lights downtown, the tornado sirens started going off. Quite a surreal moment to realize that the sirens actually come out of the building I was in front of. :) Without thinking , I started towards the interstate to get home. BIG Mistake! Apparently heavy winds or a tornado had crossed I-40 right at Briley parkway. There were 2 tractor trailers turned over. One on either side of the interstate, directly across from each other. It took me 2 hours to go 15 miles last night and I looked like I had walked home in it. :) Hope everyone else fared better than I did.

I Caught One!!

Bailey helped me out Friday by letting me know I had finally caught a squirrel. I had let him out on his lead to potty and he didn't come back to the door like he usually does. When I discovered him he was nose to nose with the squirrel and they were at a stand off. I finally got Bailey drug back into the house and then moved the squirrel to the garage to get a few photos and get prepared to take him off. Bailey freaked out the whole time. He actually was still whining on Sat. thinking it was still in the garage.

Here are a few pics of my first catch and a short clip of him pacing the trap.

The “Money Pit” Strikes Again

I wish I wasn’t the only person these things happened too! I mean really! I decided to have my roof looked at because I have a few leaks. The reason I know this is that I have about 5 water spots on my ceiling that I had been partially ignoring, but silently worrying about. The worrying came to a peak when a neighbor explained how he had seen some spots on his ceiling, reached up and his hand went through it.

So, I called the insurance company to see who they would recommend I call and started the process. Well , BKA was backed up and told me they would have someone call me next week and schedule a time to come out. I basically put things on hold. Tuesday night I got home from the hockey game and found a BKA brochure in my screen door. So, I called them on Wednesday to find out what happened. I explained I was supposed to have been called and I would have made arrangements to have been there. Anyway, the man on the phone explained that they had come out and I really needed to call my insurance company to have a CAT (catastrophe) team come out to inspect. Due to the storms recently this had been considered a disaster area and this way I might have it covered. He said I had some minor work that needed to be done. Basically, some shingles need to be replaced and I have a little bit of dipping.

I decided to get some more opinions and so Wednesday I call Don Kennedy roofing. Again I am told how busy they are and it will be several days before someone will be able to come out, but they will call first. Two hours later, Damien (from Don Kennedy roofing) calls to see if he could come by at 2pm. So much for a few days, but I leave work and rush home so he can take a look at my roof.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted where this would go next. Damien comes in and explains that I have some damage around my chimney that needs to be resealed and worked on, but that there is a bigger problem. It seems that after a tree limb dented my roof a little, that a squirrel decided to use that opportunity for a new home. The squirrel has removed the shingles in that area and dug through the roof into my ceiling and built a nest. I have cathedral ceilings, so there is not attic space just a gap between the drywall and the roof.

I’m sure the look on my face was priceless. I finally had to explain to the guy why I was so astonished. I mean, you would think I had built an ark or opened up and animal hotel.

So, now I am trying to find someone that will extract the squirrel nest from the ceiling and then patch the roof. It seems everyone wants to just patch the roof. I think this is nuts, since a squirrels nest is made of leaves and twigs. It will rot and bugs will get to it. Then I will have a whole other set of problems.

I also have a squirrels nest in my chimney, so I have the chimney sweep scheduled for Monday to clean out the chimney and repair the cap that is on it. I’m still looking for someone that will extract the squirrels nest from the roof, I am trying to catch the squirrels that are living there, and then I have to have the roof repaired. All the while having to pay for it all myself because the big kicker is that my Home Owners Insurance doesn’t cover anything that is related to “vermin”. So any damage to my home from bugs or critters is my own problem. GREAT!!!!!!

Bailey's Homecoming

The day had finally arrived and I was a bit over anxious! It was Saturday morning and I was up at 7:30 raring to go. I milled around the house a while, called to check in with the parents (they drove all night to FL) and then proceeded to take my time getting breakfast together and ready for the day. I still had plenty of time so I ran a few errands and then decided to go on up. I was only 30 minutes early for my noon appointment. :)

I first met with Jim and one of his assistants and we talked about some of the basics. The commands that Bailey had learned, the new rules and how to use the new collar. Bailey now has an e-collar. This is a collar that emit vibrations or electric shocks to be used for correction. The collar is very sophisticated. With the shock I can change the intensity from 10%-100%. None of which will really hurt him, but it gets his attention very quickly. Actually just holding the remote gets his full attention.

As far as new rules, there were several. To start with I can give no physical affection during this first week. This will help in my gaining the leadership role and also make him work harder for petting. The 2nd rule is that he can never sleep in the bed with me again. I don’t think this will be so hard for me, as he takes up a lot of room and gets real grumpy when I get up to use the bathroom at night. This is a leadership issue too. Pack dogs do no sleep with the pack leader and therefore Bailey shouldn’t sleep with me. The 3rd rule is that he can not be at my level at any time until I have achieved pack leader status. That means no furniture, no lap, and no stairs landing. He must stay below me at all times. So his new place is at my feet wherever I go. I also got some instruction on keeping my voice at a calm tone and give all commands this way. I should never have to raise my voice or pitch to get his attention. That is going to be very interesting indeed. :)

Then the really hard part came when they brought him out. I hadn’t seen my baby in 7 weeks at this point and we were both ecstatic. He knew immediately that momma was here and tried and tried to come to me. The trainer kept him in a “down” and we just sat there a long time. I had my hands in my pockets to try and keep me sane and from reaching for him. He was beside himself. He wanted me so bad and was freaking out because I couldn’t go to him. They said they hadn’t seen him act like that at all, but I was the one distraction they couldn’t provide during training.

We went through all the commands and I practiced with Bailey on the leash. He did very well but he looked exhausted! Both men stated that he was a very interesting case. He was even referred to as “stubborn as a mule” I just laughed and told them I completely understood. I’d been fighting with him for 6 years. :)

He was dying to leave though and finally it was time to go. We loaded him into the car and headed for the house. Bailey laid in the floor all the way home hardly bothering me at all. This is a first for us. Most trips, the first 20 minutes or so require me boxing him out of my lap and yelling off a lot. Not this trip. He knew I had the remote and he was good as gold.

Once home I let him go through the house and re-acclimate himself. He was moving very cautiously but I dismissed that. Almost immediately he jumped up on the couch and I had to zap him 3 times to get him down. From this moment on he laid on his bed. He only got up for water and potty breaks and then would go straight back to the bedroom. This went on the rest of the evening and I thought I was going to loose it. I had yet to see his tail wag or any sparkle in his eyes and panicked. I was so afraid that his spirit was gone. I want a dog that behaves, but I also want the fun loving side of him to still exist. I basically cried most of this afternoon. I never dreamed how hard it would be not to pet him. Especially with him begging for it like he was. That one evening was harder than all 7 weeks he was gone.

Sunday, was a bit better. We slept some, but had been up most of the night with Bailey coughing like crazy. I finally gave up around 7:30 am and took him out to potty. We had a minor disagreement over breakfast that was quickly ended by the collar and then all was fine. Over the course of Sunday we took a short walk and practiced all our commands at every opportunity. As we enter or exit any door I make him lie or sit down and wait to be released until I have come through the door. It’s a slow process, but seems to be getting better. His healing is much better than it has ever been and we may be able to take actual walks from now on. In the past I’ve almost dislocated my arm a few times. :)

We were up again most of the night on Sunday night and then continued our practicing on Monday off and on. He seems to be getting it, but I have to be paying very good attention. I have to catch him doing things improperly in order to correct him. This will go on for the next 38 days at least. Apparently, anything you do with a dog for about 40 days straight becomes a new habit. That’s our goal. Keep us in your thoughts. We have to make it through this.

Still Incarcerated!

Well, as you know, Bailey was supposed to be coming home this week. I had found out about the part time job going on hiatus on Friday and called the trainer to leave a message about our meeting. I didn't hear back from him during the day and tried calling again that afternoon without getting him again.

After work I had a computer client to go see and so I went on to help her out. While I was there Jim called me. Corinne told me to go ahead and take the call and so I answered. Jim said he had seen that I had called a few times and wanted to get back with me. He then told me that "Bailey had earned himself another week" I kinda chuckled a little and asked what had happened. He said he had been pushing Bailey's buttons and an episode had occurred. Of course, I laughed a bit again and asked which buttons he had been pushing. Bailey has a lot of these and I was just curious which one had given him some issues. He then explained that he had been working with Bailey for about an hour and a half on commands. He had been dishing them out, one after another for a very long period of time. Basically he wore him out, but never the less, there shouldn't be any issues here.

He said Bailey had done an excellent job and responded to every command he was given and had earned himself some affection. Apparently Jim reached down to pet him on the head in congratulations, and Bailey whipped around and snapped at him. Now, I know this was due to fatigue and so does Jim. This has always been an issue with Bailey. On the weekends he doesn't get to sleep all day because I'm there and he is afraid he will miss something. Then, he tends to act like a toddler that didn't get a nap, and is very snippy.

To his defense, Jim said that he immediately knew he had messed up. Jim said he was instantly apologizing and nuzzling trying to make up. However, Jim also feels that this should never cross Bailey's mind as an option. He is planning to continue pushing buttons on a regular basis until he gets a full week with no events. Then he will call me back about my training.

Maybe next week!!

FreeCreditReport.Com

For all those people out there like me, who thought free meant exactly that, free. Let me tell you how wrong we are. I went to the website to get my yearly free credit report and make sure all was well. I couldn't remember where I had gone in the past and that crazy jingle kept popping into my head. So, off I went to get my credit report.

Jump to this afternoon. I was going through my credit card account and discovered this strange charge for $14.95. So, like a smart person, I called my credit card company to find out what the charge was. This is where I discovered it was for my FREE report. I assured the VISA company that I could handle this and immediately called the toll free number for FREECreditReport.com.

I am greeted by a woman who immediately wants my SS# and for security reasons my mothers maiden name. Now giving anyone my SS# is not what I call secure. :) I then explain to her that I would like my account closed and the $14.95 refunded to my credit card account. She got quite an attitude with me about how I should have read the screens more completely. I assured her that I didn't care that it had been on the pages I read and filled out. The information was so hidden and non obvious that most people probably missed this. Especially since it was advertised as FREE. She got some more attitude with me about how they were within their rights to charge me the charge and so I just explained to her the way this was going to work. Either she credited my account with the money or I would dispute the charge with my credit card company. Either way she wouldn't be getting my money. Now, I really have her attention and she explains that as a "courtesy" they will credit the money back this one time. I assured her there wouldn't be a next time and that I knew I couldn't be the first person to call about this problem.

Ugh!! I just hate it when companies, purposefully try to con people! It is so wrong! Yes, I fell for it. But, I'm here warning the rest of you not to do it!!!

Apparently if I had read every word on the page I would have seen that I was signing up for some ridiculous service. Now, I know I should have read every word, but who does that. The company knows that too. That's why they advertise like they do.

For those of you wanting your actual FREE credit report, you can go to annualcreditreport.com. There is a $6.95 charge if you want to actually see your score. The report itself is free though.

Part Job Over

Well, after all my sleep deprived days of work, my Pottery Barn time is over. Williams-Sonoma corporate office has put out a hiring freeze like lots of companies and seasonal people are out. Even though the money was helping pay off some bills, the hours were killing me. I will say that a few months to get my home back in order will be nice and I could go back at a later time. The manager said she wanted to stay in touch with me so that when the hiring freeze was over she could possibly bring me back. So, now I may go looking for another part time gig, but I'm going to get things in order at the house and with Bailey first. Let me know if you know of any part time work. :)

Bailey is Coming Home!!!!

Yes, you heard it right! My baby is coming home! I called yesterday afternoon for my weekly check in (that usually doesn't prove too enlightening) and was greeted with "Miss Patterson, I was about to call you! Bailey is ready to go home." As you can guess I was thrilled and managed to choke out a "really?" He explained that Bailey has a new outlook on life and is doing fabulously.

Now to setup my training appointment and pickup date. Hopefully my PB schedule will be up today and I can find a day that I'm not working to go get him. I want to make sure that I have time for my training and then some re bonding time for us the night he comes home. I just hope everything is a great as I am expecting. I am very excited and yet a little apprehensive about my ability to continue what Jim has started for me. I'm sure I will have lots of new things to share once I've been through training. :) Wish me luck!

Oh, and to top it all off, he asked if I was interested in having Bailey groomed before he comes home! I was ecstatic about this option as I was already wondering how nasty he would be since he hasn't had a bath in 8 weeks. Is it worth it for me to traumatize him his first night home with a bath or just let him stink and get my house dirty. Jim told mehe has a "good" groomer down the street that he uses regularly and she has already met Bailey. Better yet, it's going to cost $40. Petco charges me almost $60 after you tack on the "special handling" charges for my special needs dog. Woo Hoo! I get my baby back and he will be clean too!

Hors D'Oeuvres

Coctail Weenies? Have you made these before? As I’ve researched most people start with Lil’ Smokies and then proceed to make some type of sauce for these. I’m partial to the grape jelly and chili sauce version myself, but to each his own.

At a recent family gathering we decided to opt for appetizers instead of a sit down meal. My aunt was in charge of the cocktail weenies. I’m going to go ahead and mention that she probably won’t get this assignment again. J Because what to my wondering eyes did appear? Chopped up hot dogs in sauce. I was told this was because she was “Retired” and on a budget. What? Lil’ Smokies cost a whole $1 more than plain hotdogs? Craziness!!