Vertically Challenged and other random happenings

Let me start by saying what an incredible weekend that I had. I was by myself for three straight days - no husband, no kids. I honestly can not remember the last time that happened. I'm fairly certain it was prior to June 9, 2003. As much as I love my family, I needed this time by myself. I went shopping on Saturday for Miss Piper's bedroom accessories. It was so nice being able to go from store to store at my own pace. I spent 90 minutes in Hancock Fabrics looking at every fabric in the store. Able to examine the width, the print, the detailing ... I loved it. But, not half as much as being able to spend nearly 4 hours in Hobby Lobby. I went down every aisle. Even the ones for crafts that I know nothing about ... just because I could. I ended up with some great things for Piper's room, and minus a large vertical picture for one of her walls, I think we're done!

Speaking of Piper, she says the funniest things. One of the things that she looks most forward too is being a Mommy. She is always saying "When I'm a Mommy, I'm gonna ...." This is usually followed by "drink Diet Coke", "sleep in a big bed", "name my baby Barbie Redford", "drive a car with no top" (aka a convertable) ... or something of similar nature. Anyone that has children knows that using the bathroom by yourself after you have kids is impossible. Regardless of whether you close the door when you go in, some little child is sure to wonder in while you are there. One day, Piper said "When I'm the mommy, my feet will touch the ground when I use the potty." I remember laughing at this, thinking it was funny that she would notice that.

I hate to disappoint her, but while using the bathroom today at work, I noticed that my feet don't touch the ground in our stalls. (Sorry for the TMI.) At the moment that I realized that, her comment immediately popped into my head. Being as petite as she is, I'd say that the chances of her being any taller than me are pretty slim. All of the other mommy things, I'll encourage her to do and with her will-power, there's no doubt that she'll be able to do them all ... except have her feet touch the ground in EVERY potty!

Great Link on Houston Pastors

Fabulous link on some of Houston's best Pastors ...

http://www.chron.com/channel/houstonbelief/photogallery/Houstons_Celebrity_Preachers_.html

The Water Heater

Our water heater is in our garage. I remember very specifically the day they installed it during the building process. It has a sticker on the front - you know the one, with the red X indicating not to touch because it might be hot. I remember Avery asking what that sticker said. I'm foggy on what my answer was. Whatever it was I'm sure that it went something along the lines of "don't touch, because it might be hot ... even Mommy's and Daddy's can't touch it."

Now, every time that we pass the water heater, every time that anyone passes the water heater ... be it us, friend, repairman ... Avery and/or Piper (I've heard it in stereo many times) say "Only God and Jesus can touch that!!!" They are very committed to that.

It's a funny balance trying to teach the kids about God and Jesus, and just religion in general. During Christmas, it's hard to distinguish between God and Santa - both can see you all the time, both love you very much, both want you to share and be good all the time ... Jesus, since he was a man, is easier to teach. But, when I hear them say "Only God and Jesus can touch that!!!" I know that at least they understand that God and Jesus have powers far beyond what us, as humans, do.

I pray every morning that they will understand the power that God holds over their life, and that they will always trust him to guide their path. That same thought speaks to my favorite scripture:

Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

... and that future holds, at least for now, not ever touching the water heater :)

No More Click Babies

All my babies are grown. It's a sad realization. Gone are all the cribs ... gone are all the toddler beds. The kids now both have twin beds - beds that they could sleep in for the rest of their lives if need be. It really is amazing how time flies.

Piper's baby box was under her toddler bed when we moved it out of her room last week. Last night, I opened it to look inside at all the treasures that I had kept. There was a newborn sized diaper. I kept one from both kids as a reminder of how fast they grow. It was unbelievable to me to think that she really was once that small, and now I've blinked my eyes and both kids are - for the most part - completely self-sufficient little people. They have their own opinions and their own wants and needs.

As cliche as it is, I know that I will blink again and they will be in college. What a scary and sad thought. I'm clinching tight to these precious preschool years. The innocence is so teaching. I hang on their every sweet thought.

... and look forward to every coming moment to see them grow even more.

Why Not To Buy An iPhone ... just yet

Dear Ms. McKezel,

I just spoke to Dana XXX on your customer service line. She indicated that I needed to fax items to you to initiate an adjustment on my bill. Please, however, let me give you the background to this so that I can inform you of how incredibly aggravated I am with this situation.

I received a call yesterday from the manager at the Apple Store at First Colony Mall. We are on a first name basis because I was in their store for over four hours on July 11–the day the iPhone 3G debuted. (This does not include the three hours that I waited in line outside!) I received a letter from AT&T (attached) saying that if my account was paid in full (receipt also attached) that I would be eligible for the iPhone on July 11 at a price of $199.

Once I was able to get inside the Apple store, I realized that they were not equipped to do price changes, therefore they promptly called AT&T to have them do a price reduction on their end. They said that they did, and let us off the line. We did this process a total of four more times - to no avail AND never having it succeed when my purchase was rung up on the register. Finally, we tried for a sixth time, and to the misery of us all ... the customer service rep activated the bar code on the phone that I was trying to buy. This meant that I was now in a two year contract with AT&T, but had no phone. Since the phone was activated by AT&T andyour computers on loan to Apple, it wouldn’t accept the bar code to be scanned for payment, because the phone was already activated and made it look as if it had been paid for when in fact it hadn’t! Forty-five minutes later, we were able to get a customer service manager that was able to back out that phone and let us start all over again. However, with starting all over again, it meant that we were back to square one with the activation date issue again. Finally, we asked to speak to the highest-ranking person at the call center and got Ms. Shawanna XXX. Ms. XXX was able to get the activation issue resolved, but could not override the AT&T issue with the price from her end. We were approaching the four-and-a-half hour mark on this issue, and resolved that I would pay full price for the phone and in turn, AT&T would give me a $200 credit on my monthly bill. I agreed to these terms as presented by an AT&T manager (Ms. XXX).

As of today, I am still showing a balance on my account. There is no sign of a $200 credit being applied. I am asking that this is taken care of immediately. I have already received my August bill, and will not be making a payment as it is less than $200.

The call I received yesterday from the manager at the Apple Store was to tell me that my name had appeared on an error report for their store and that if I did not contact AT&T within 24 hours my service would be terminated. After living through the ordeal that I described above, I’m sure that you can only imagine how angry I would be if my service was interrupted.

After this nightmare, I can tell you firsthand that, as much as I love my iPhone, I am telling people NOT to purchase one. I am highly impressed with Apple, but I am completely dissatisfied with AT&T and how this company has handled themselves. Given the circumstances, if I had it to do over again, I would have waited until August 25, switched my entire family to Verizon and bought a Blackberry.

At this point, I am asking two things:

(1) I want the $200 credit issue resolved immediately. This is a major point of contingency that I was told by the AT&T rep was handled before I left the store.


(2) I want a personal phone call - 713.XXX.57XX - from someone in a management position that can let me know that this has been taken care of.

I have been a customer of AT&T (through all the name changes) since 1993. I look forward to having a restored relationship with this company.

Thank you for your diligence,
Stephanie Click

-------

Miraculously, about 45 minutes after I faxed this, I got a call and the issue is now resolved. For today anyway ...

.

Question of the Day

I had a wonderful time in San Antonio at the DCI show. It's always great to catch up with friends and former students - this show is one of the highlights of my year for that exact reason. A lot of times, for me, it's totally refreshing to be with familiar friends.

It's definitely summer in Texas. I think it was 98-degrees yesterday. Saying it was hot would be an understatement! However, I noticed that everyone kept asking me, "How do you stand the heat down here? It's so (add adjective here) hot!!!"

Here's my answer friends ... I don't make a practice of standing out in parking lots or on asphalt much. I retired from teaching marching band when we moved to Houston for this reason! I go from my air conditioned house, to my air conditioned car, to my air conditioned office that is so cold on a daily basis that I run a space heater 365 days a year!!! On a non-work day, I go from my air conditioned car to the pool. Standing outside for prolonged periods of time isn't on my daily to-do list, therefore it's really not much of a thought.

Here's a comparison from about 10 minutes ago between Nashville and Houston:

Temperature - Houston: 95 degrees; Nashville: 93 degrees
Humidity - Houston: 34%; Nashville: 40%
Dew Point - Houston: 63 degrees; Nashville: 65 degrees
"Feels Like" - Houston: 97 degrees; Nashville: 95 degrees
UV Index - Houston: 3; Nashville: 1

As you see, it's not a lot different from home! People at work are always saying "How are you dealing with the humidity?" I try to explain that Nashville has high humidity too (today it's higher THERE!) ... people look at me with disbelief when I try to explain that we have a true summer in Tennessee. The difference in weather comes not in summer, it's in winter! While we're enjoying weather in the high 60s in February, people in Nashville are bundled up to the hilt!

So, to answer the question once more ... "How do I handle the heat?" My answer is ... "the same way I have for the last 34 years!"

Piper's Room ReDesign

Don and I love looking at model houses. It's been one of our favorite past times since we moved to Texas. If you know anything about where we live, you'll know that it's a hot-bed for builders. It was recently cited as the fastest growing suburb in Houston. It's expected to grow by 80,000 people in the next 5 years! Unbelievable. But, with that said, most of the houses are less than 10 years old, so they are building like wildfire out our way. No sign of a recession there.

For the past two weeks, we have totally re-done Avery's room. Gone are any signs that a toddler lived in that room. It is maxed-out-little boy. Complete with a loft bed, school desk, and cool decor - he's sure to be so excited when he gets home. I'll post pictures soon I promise. (PS - please don't share any stories about how your kid fell out of their loft/bunk bed. I'm mortified of him sleeping up there.)

We thought we were home free on Miss Piper's room. Hang some pictures, paint Avery's old bed white for her, and she was good to go! Well, that was the plan until yesterday. I was re-inspired for her room. I've always wanted to do something different, but didn't really want to invest the money because I wasn't completely sold on any one idea. I always knew that I wanted to eventually do a Hollywood Regency style for her - it screams her name. Well, yesterday we saw two rooms that totally blew me away.

Here are the inspiration rooms:





I like elements of both rooms. I like the simplicity of the pink and brown room. It's so clean and so fun with the "wall words", but I love the glam of the black and green room. I think we're going to do a combination of the two. Let's call it "Traditional Hollywood Regency." I'll get back to you with pictures as I progress ... but if I have my way, and can find some great bargains, our little Diva will be set when she comes home from vacation!

iPhone 3G

You've heard the hype ... You've heard the buzz ... You've heard the lines forming outside malls all over the world ... Well, you've never heard a story like mine.

7 hours and 10 minutes after I arrived at the Apple store - I left with a phone. Oh no, I didn't wait in line all that time. That part only lasted the better part of three hours. The other four hours were spent fighting with AT&T.

I was in line with lovely people. Directly in front of me was a family (mom, son and daughter). It was the son's 16th birthday - he wanted an iPhone. They arrived the same time as me - 7:05 AM. After waiting in line over three hours, they were told that since the mom was not the primary account holder on their AT&T Family Talk plan (her husband was) - they couldn't get a phone today. I can't believe she didn't cuss out loud. In front of that family was a woman who worked as a police dispatcher, in front of her was an Asian guy that worked at the AMC movie theater and gave us the scoop on all the latest movies. I feel very abreast now of the summer blockbusters that I need to see.

Oh ... the AT&T part. Long story short - AT&T was not adequately prepared for the day. They didn't have adequate customer service dedicated to the Apple customer needs. They were not able to do the necessary reversals and contractual things that needed to be done on a scale as large as this launch was.

For me personally, they sold me a phone at the wrong price. Once they realized it, they had already run my credit card through. Apple reversed the charge on their end and gave me my money back, but couldn't get AT&T to reverse the contract. Therefore, I have a two year contract with them and no phone. (Let me insert the part about how they deactivate your old SIM card 20 seconds after they activate your iPhone.) Apple tried to sell me another phone, but an AT&T agent that was on the line working with us to sort things out activated the phone in the Apple store before I had paid for it - which left Apple with a phone that they couldn't use and me still without a phone because it was continuing to ring up $200 more than it should have been. Finally ... three hours and thirty minutes later ... from the time that I entered the store after waiting in line, with the Apple store manager and the AT&T highest-manager-on-duty in the US on the phone, they came to an agreement of reimbursement for me. I was mentally exhausted. If AT&T could have figured out how to delete my contract, I would have left immediately. No phone was worth what I went through today.

However, the Apple staff was amazing. Definite kudos to them. They held their guns with AT&T and didn't let them give me the short end of the stick ... and for that I am very thankful. My pocketbook is thankful as well.

Oh, and thanks also to the Apple store folks for bringing us water and drinks when we were in line. I regret now not taking pictures of all the folks in line. Hard to believe that I was one of the first 50 people in line. By the time they started letting people in to activate phones, the line was all the way down the mall sidewalk and around the corner of the mall. It was unreal. That was my only motivation to stay in line.

You might think my story ends there. Oh no. Not for me. Miss Bad luck comes at me with both barrells every chance it gets. I talked the Apple lady into letting me take my phone out of the store un-synced. A big no-no for them, but they were tired of me and I was tired of them. I promised to sync it when I got to work and she finally gave in.

I got to work and looked at my new friend Tim's phone syncing - did the exact same thing as him - NOTHING. Unplugged and changed USB ports. Nothing. Did other stuff that I was unsure of whether I should do. Nothing. Can you believe my cord was bad? As soon as I tried it with my old iPod cord, it lit right up.

Just add this to my "terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day" list.

With all that said, I love the phone now that I have one and it works. I've played with it all night. It does everything ... I love it almost as much as CVS, and that's saying a lot.

Tomorrow, I'm going to replace the cord. I'm sure my Apple friends will cringe when they see me come back. Bless their hearts ...

What's For Dinner?

I love to cook ... correction, I love to bake. Unfortunately, you can't have cupcakes, brownies, the latest and greatest Tollhouse treat for dinner, so it does resort to some cooking. I'm very lucky that Don is a fabulous cook and really goes the extra mile in doing more than his fair share of dinners.

Tonight, I thought I would post one of my favorite recipes. It's so stinkin' easy to make and, remarkably, is very healthy!

I found this recipe on the SparkPeople.com website after the first of the year. We've made it at least a dozen times since then. It's definitely a 30 minute meal :)

FAJITA CHILI
1 pound hamburger meat
2 cans of red kidney beans
2 cans of diced tomatoes
2 green bell peppers
2 red bell peppers
1 medium onion
Chili powder to taste
Cumin to taste

Brown the hamburger meat, onions, and peppers together. Toss in a pot with the spices, beans and tomatoes. Heat to a low boil and it's done. Last night, we tried topping it with a dollup of sour cream and some cheese. Don liked it better that way. I prefer it as is. (We also had jalapeno cheese bread ... yum!)

This weekend, I'm planning on making Bunco Buns and probably brownies or maybe a strawberry cake ... If they knock our socks off, I'll post a picture and the recipe!

School Supply Mania Begins

Geez o'pete! The school supply list was published today. It's a far cry from when I went to school - show up with a pencil and a spiral bound notebook (of your choosing) and you are set!

Here is the list for Kindergarten:

1 large box facial tissue
18 Pencils (#2)
1 pair blunt scissors
2 boxes of crayons (8 count)
1 box of crayons (24 count)
1 box of Snack Sized Ziploc Bags
1 box of Sandwich Sized Ziploc Bags
1 box of Quart Sized Ziploc Bags
1 box of Gallon Sized Ziploc Bags
1 package of Lined Index Cards – 3x5 – pkg of 100
1 package of Lined Index Cards – 4x6 – pkg of 100
1 Soft Pink Eraser
5 Letter Sized manila folders
3 Pocket folder (regular size) with brads
4 Glue Sticks
3 Medium sized White Liquid Glue
1 Yellow Highlighter
1 Spiral Notebook (no college rule)
1 package of Construction Paper – assorted colors (12”x18”)
2 packages of Construction Paper – white (12”x18”)
2 packages of Manila Paper – 12”x18”
1 box of colored pencils
1 package of white paper plates (Qty 15)
1 plastic school box
1 box of tissues (large)
2 sets of Washable Watercolor markers
2 sets of Washable Watercolor paints

It was against my better judgment, but I purchased a "School Supply Kit" to the tune of $55 from the PTO during kindergarten registration. Basically, this means that on the first day of school, all of the supplies listed above will be on Avery's desk ready for him to start the educational journey of a lifetime.

I can easily see how the above items would add up to over $55. I'm sure that I got a great deal. But, I really did look forward to going to Wal-Mart, fighting the crowd, looking for that perfect pencil box, snatching the last package of Wall-E pencils from the peg ... I was looking forward to it. I think it would have helped emotionally prepare me for my firstborn child leaving the nest.

The teachers are wise to mom's like me. At kindergarten orientation, they drilled into our heads to only buy generic supplies (speaking to those that didn't buy the kits). They end up taking all the pencils, crayons, markers, etc., and putting them into big canisters for the kids to use. They don't actually use "their" supplies. Gone are the days of labeling everything with your name. Now it's all "Community Property".

I'm sure we'll need some supplies for home. We've set up a desk, chair and lamp in Avery's room so that he can do his homework away from the television and noise. He'll appreciate some fancy pencils and markers, I'm sure.

We'll see how I do ... if I miss the shopping, if I feel like the PTO has stripped me of my parental right to be toppled by countless carts at Wal-Mart, if I end up taking an extra four boxes of anti-bacterial Kleenex's just so the flu doesn't go around quite so quickly.

The good news is that Piper will start Kindergarten the next year. She'll go to a private school for kindergarten, so I doubt that they will sell kits. Maybe I can buy all the foo-foo stuff for her.

I wonder how many Hello Kitty and Disney Princess pencils can fit in one of those plastic pencil boxes? ... I'll let you know.

Where Is What I'm Trying To Find????

My purse is a disaster area. I do really well for about 2 weeks. (Same seems to run true with my car.) It is filled with receipts, coupons, children's socks, lipgloss, mints, change, and random junk. It feels so good to clean out my purse. Something about purging the stuff that I don't need anymore and starting fresh with just the things that I need makes me feel better. [Yes, that is a fake Coach wallet. I could never spend that much money on a wallet. I'm far to "cheap" (my husband's words). I'd rather refer to myself as "frugal". I would only buy a Coach wallet if it was (1) on sale above 50% off and (2) I had a coupon. Guilt would overtake me to do anything less than that.]

I guess life is that way too. Every now and then, it feels good to stop and purge the things that are not healthy. I've done that a lot over the past couple of years. It feels great!!!

So, my agenda tonight consists of ... cleaning out my purse. It's time. The car is next. I'm truly embarrassed. It's way out of control.

Oh ... and Little People Big World. Don and I love that show. It's on our "must see" list every week. We don't know when the new season starts, so we just watch the re-runs. And, Jon and Kate Plus 8. Can't miss that either. (Which should be entitled, "How Not To Treat Your Husband". I want Kate to be sweet to Jon. It makes me sad sometimes. I see divorce in their future.)