Is Superior Service Gone?

I'm irritated and thought I would vent. On Saturday, I took Elijah to the shoe store to get his "Spring/Summer" shoes as well as some sandals for our trip to Florida. We always to go this shoe store in Garden City because they have Stride-Rite shoes and "the boy" always needs a wide shoe. So, I've been going to this place since 2003 and we get shoes 3-4 times a year when you count the Winter boots, sandals, etc.

So Saturday we go and a man helps us. He measure Elijah's foot and adjusts the side part (indicating wide), and proceeds to go get the shoes Elijah picked out. He tries them on and I ask the man what size they are: 13! I mention the wide foot and he agrees. Needless to say we buy two pairs and leave. I get home and happen to be looking at the box and notice it says 13M, not 13W. So I grab the other box . . . same thing! At this point I'm ticked because they are closed and are not open Sunday.

Yesterday, I call the store and another man says to bring Elijah and the shoes in and he will check them. I rush home from work, get Elijah and the shoes. When we get there, the man that helped us Saturday is there along with the other man I spoke to on the phone. The one that sold us the shoes seems to have an attitude and comments that the shoes are velcro. The other one proceeds to measure Elijah's feet and points out to the other guy that his foot is clearly wide. In the meantime, another customer walks in, so the one that sold us the shoes is busy with them. The other guy says that the shoes will work for him because he has plenty of room. I indicate that considering he has had wide shoes for the last three years, that had the other guy had a conversation with me that the medium would work, we wouldn't be here today. He agrees, but no apology, no nothing! Now I wasn't expecting something free, but an apology would have been nice.

If anyone knows of a kids shoe store that sells Stride-Rite in the Canton area, let me know! I'm looking for a new shoe store!

Elijah's Good Deed

I just had to post again today. Elijah went to the grocery store with Grandpa Hayse and while they were there, an older lady dropped some change. Elijah ran up and picked up all the coins for her. She was so tickled by his nice deed that she gave him a quarter. He is so proud of it and asked me to hold it for him. He also asked Grandpa if he could buy me some flowers. Isn't that sweet!

Jiu-Jitsu Anyone?

Elijah is officially a martial arts student! We have been "shopping around" to see if it is something he wants and is able to do. Last night we signed up! He looks so cute in his uniform! Prior to signing up he had a one on one class with the instructor. He got to block punches, throw punches and kick! He has a good punch, so look out! He was so cute saying "yes, sir!" My hope is that he will not only learn some self defense skills but also build his confidence.

Spring Fever

Elijah was sick so we stayed home today. I've been fighting something myself, but I don't seem to be as sick as him. Anyways, I was watching the news and they showed that some parts of the country are still getting snow! WHAT! Please don't let it snow near me! I just packed up Elijah's sweatshirts! Did I mention we are going to Florida in NINE days!

This is the last week of my accounting class. I received the info on my marketing class . . . another team project! This time we get to pick our teams! My first reaction each time I read a syllabus for one of these classes is 'how am I going to do this?' So far I have been very blessed with great professors and good grades. I hope my blessings don't run out anytime soon!

Did anyone catch Alias last night? WOW!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! I hope you have a wonderful day!

I'm waiting for Elijah to wake up and see what the Easter Bunny brought him! Yesterday we did an Easter Egg Hunt at Auntie J and Uncle Chad's house. He had so much fun playing with his cousins! (He also took a very good nap after! :-))

Good Friday to You

Is it proper to wish someone a Happy Good Friday? Today symbolizes a sad time, but the end result is a happy one . . . I need a scholarly religious person to comment on this one!

I'm off today because Elijah's daycare is closed. We've got some activities to keep us busy and we'll close the day out by going to the Fish Fry at St. Mary's. Feel free to join us if you would like!

I'm back from Miami!

I went to Miami yesterday for work. I'm back today and figured out I was there for exactly 23 hours! It was fun and I got to see Uncle Chuck! Since it has been six years since I have seen him (at my wedding), that was by far the best part of the trip. I stayed at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa -- A Marriott Resort. I guess Tiger Woods is there a lot since they always have the Ford Championship there. I apologize to all those avid golf fans, but it didn't mean much to me! I got to see some old friends and made some new ones, but I'll be back to the old routine tomorrow!

I'll be back in Florida in 18 days! Yahoo!

Happy Birthday Laurie!

Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law Laurie. Elijah and I just left her a voice mail! I hope you had a great day!

Another busy week comes to an end. Monday and Tuesday were rough adjusting to the time change. Why can't they do the time change on a Friday night and give people the weekend to re-adjust?

I'll be doing homework and packing this weekend . . . did I mention I'm going to Miami? I've had Will Smith's song in my head all week! I'm only there for 23 hours, but 20 of it is open for celebration! I get to go because of a sales award I won. Others in the office left today, but stayed back to spend time with my "sweetie" (Elijah).

Have a great weekend!

What I did on my birthday . . .

I started out my day by taking Elijah to the dentist. He was so good. He let her clean and brush his teeth. (The first visit to the dentist was just a ride in the chair. The second visit was just a cleaning, no brushing). The didn't use the water gun, so he got to spit in the bowl -- fun times for a boy!

Later in the afternoon, I had a massage. I wish I could have one every day!

In the evening, Elijah and I went out to dinner with my dad. Elijah likes it when they sing for someone's birthday. The server came up to the table and Elijah kept saying: "it's my mommy's birthday!"

Thank you for those who called and those who sent cards! I really appreciate it. It feels a little weird this birthday since I have officially lived longer than Gary. C'est la vie I suppose!

Happy April!

More Elijah Stories

It's been a long time since I have gotten excited about my birthday, but over the last two years Elijah has made it fun. He gets so excited. Last weekend we told him my birthday was coming. He asked me if I was going to get him a present. I told him that he is supposed to get me a present! All week whenever he saw a commercial for some toy, he would ask me if I wanted it for my birthday. So yesterday, my dad took him to the mall to pick out a gift. He was so excited when I came home. He went to one of those kiosks and had his picture put on a mousepad and keychain. It is so cute. I guess he went to the card store and my dad showed him where the "mommy" cards are and he picked it out himself! He even took his Buzz Lightyear wallet and paid for the card himself! He and my dad also got a cake and had us light candles and sing. When they were done singing, he told me to make a wish. Of course he asked me what the wish was, so I had to tell him something! It was really cute and here my birthday isn't even until tomorrow. Who knows what stories I will have tomorrow!

On another note, good luck on your exam tomorrow Janinne! I know you will do fine!

Happy Birthday Uncle Chuck and Julie!

As promised, more birthdays!

Happy birthday to my dear old Uncle Chuck! I hope you had a great day and you had better find some time to see me when I'm in Miami on April 10!

Happy birthday to my friend Julie! For the next eight days she gets to be older than me! I hope your birthday is great!

Not much else is going on. I have a loved one going through a tough time right now, so any and all prayers are appreciated. Work is getting a little better and I actually only worked 10.5 hours today. WOW!

Happy Birthday Jenny!

Gary's niece was born the day after his birthday (years later of course), so I want to wish her a happy birthday today! I hope you had a great day!

More birthdays to come this week . . . there must be something in the water during the month of June! LOL

On this day 40 years ago . . .

The love of my life was born. It's hard to believe that Gary would have been 40 today. I wonder how he would have felt about it. I wonder what Gary would have said about Elijah. I'm not as sad today as I thought I would have been. I still miss Gary and wish he were here. Especially since Elijah has so many questions about his daddy.

So, I challenge all of you to post a memorable story about Gary in honor of his 40th!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

I didn't make it to a pub . . . I guess there is always next year!

Another crazy week at work. The two that came back from training only equaled on (illness on the part of the other), and someone else in the office was out due to a death in her family (please keep her in your prayers). By the time the system crashed on Wednesday (see Technology Challenged), I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I'm working a few hours tomorrow, so maybe I can dig myself out of this hole. I hear I-696 is going to be closed or "jacked" up, so I'm really excited about that (facetious). I guess it is going to make my commute miserable this summer. Yippee!

Not much else going on . . . Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Scott!

In all my work "ranting" I forgot to wish my cousin Scott a happy birthday! I hope you had a great day!

Technology Challenged

As if the work couldn't get any busier, the network crashed today. It was not just a "minor" crash, it was company wide. No email, no reservation system, no hotel system. I spent the day starring at my PC wondering what to do. All I could do is use MS Word, MS Excel, and solitaire. I couldn't even print! You don't realize how much you rely on a network until it isn't there. I spent 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. playing receptionist. Know what that means? BAD day tomorrow. If it's back up, I not only have to call back everyone I couldn't help today, but also deal with the inbound calls that come in tomorrow!

The Bat Bike

In honor of the nice weather this weekend, I bought Elijah a new bike since he grew out of his tricycle. He picked a Batman bike (a.k.a. The Batbike). He got a Batman helmet too! He asked me if he could keep it forever! The bike came with a Batman water bottle (the bat bottle), and a cell phone. Elijah said I couldn't touch the phone because I do not have a bat costume (excuse me)! It was funny because he didn't know how to work the brakes, so he went down the driveway, right into Grandma's van! Everything was okay though, and he figured out the brakes after that! Be on the lookout for the Batbike . . . coming to a neighborhood near you! :-)

Elijah Stories

I figured once in awhile I would post an Elijah story. I never realized how entertaining they were until some of my co-workers told me they love Elijah stories.

About two weeks ago, Elijah was at the grocery story with Grandpa H and he said: "Grandpa, when I get big, can I borrow the car?" He's four and he's already asking for the car! Then he said "When I grow up, I want to be a policeman, a fireman, and a man in a magazine." It took me awhile to figure out where the magazine part came from, but it may have been from his Aunt Laurie who always tells him he so cute, he should be in a magazine. Who knows!

March Madness

Most associate March Madness to basketball. To me, it explains what life is like at work! This week we were down 6 people! Between illness, training and just being short staffed, it was a crazy week. Two will be back next week, so hopefully it will get better.

School is coming along, I'm in week three of eight!

Another birthday party tomorrow . . . Elijah is quite the social-lite! It's at Pump It Up!

Other than that, have a great weekend! 1 week to St. Paddy's!

Happy Birthday Leslie and Andrew!

Happy Birthday to my sister in law, Leslie (yesterday was her birthday), and my nephew, Andrew! I hope you both had great days!

My day didn't start out so great . . . I had a blow out on the freeway! Amazingly, I did not realize what happened right away. I thought something hit my car. I did not start to hear the "wobble" until a 1/4 mile later! I ended up sitting on the side of the freeway for 45 minutes before help arrived. Those MDOT courtesy vehicles are the best! If it weren't for that nice man, I would have been waiting another 45 minutes before AAA got there! He wouldn't take any cash, so I gave him a Starbucks gift card to get a cup of coffee. I happened to have it from my work holiday gift. He seemed really thankful for it and wished me a blessed day. I really did feel blessed that: 1- I didn't get hurt and I didn't hurt anyone else, and 2- that I put a smile on someone's face. Priceless!

I'm taking Elijah to see Disney on Ice: The Incredibles tomorrow. It should be fun. Other than that, there isn't much going on other than the usual-- homework!

Have a great weekend!