I interrupt...

...my weekend report to relay another story.

Today, I decided to order some ink for my printer from Office Depot online. I've done it a million times. This time was exactly the reason I coined the term FTS a few years ago. For those that might not know what that means, just think of the worst words you know with a "this" in the middle!! I think you've got it.

I had a "reward certificate" for $29.88 that I wanted to use with my $65.00 ink purchase. I went through the whole check out procedure, but couldn't find any place to enter the certificate. I read the small print on the certificate and it sent me to a website called "lifework rewards.com." Once there, it asked me to login. After several tries, it would not accept my user name and/or password. Soooo...
I made the first of THREE calls to customer service.

Call #1 went like this:
"Okay, Barbara, I'll be happy to help you." A minute or so later, she says, "oh, I see the problem. You are not registered on the lifework rewards website." Huh---Office Depot has a different login site for the rewards program? Then she asked for my customer number. Turns out that's different from the member number. She tells me I need to register. Okay, I hang up.

OF COURSE, once I set up that account, it showed NO rewards. I proceed anyway to place my order. Once again, I come to the screen that won't allow me to put in the reward certificate.

Call #2 went like this:
"Okay Barbara, I'll be happy to help you." A minute or so later she says, "oh, I see the problem. You haven't logged in to the Office Depot site." What the ....!! I keep her on the phone while I try to log in. Can't do it---log in information is incorrect. What??? I just created it?? I'm really starting to lose it. She walks me through and creates a new password for me---my zip code---37027---yeah, like I'm going to remember that the next time. She walks me through the entire ordering process---like I haven't done it a million times. We get to where you enter the reward certificate---except the certificate I'm holding says "reward certificate"---the page I'm looking at says "reward card." I tell the gal this is ridiculous---two different sites, two different logins/passwords, two different member/customer numbers and finally, two different terms for the same "frickin'" thing!! Finally, I make my purchase, all goes well. I hang up.

I receive my email confirmation---it doesn't show my $29.88 reward and shows the full price. Seriously?

OMG! I was really losing it---saying FTS---several times as I called back for the third time.

Call #3 went like this:
IT STARTS OUT WITH A 'FRIGGIN' RECORDING THAT I'VE WON A TRIP TO THE BAHAMAS!  I'm in no mood for a trip OR a lengthy recording. I was so angry. When the gal answered with, "How can I help you today?", my exact words were: "I am trying very hard to remain calm as I realize this is not your fault." (I've talked to a different person each time). I continue, "this is the third time I've had to call in over an hour now." I proceed to tell her how I did not get my discount. She says, "yes you did. You were only charged $30 something." OMG! Why would they send a confirmation email that doesn't in anyway reflect that?? This has been the most ridiculous situation.

All I can say is FTS!

The rest of my fun weekend tomorrow---with pictures.

St. Louis is Always Fun!

I didn't get a chance to blog while I was in St. Louis. We were so busy.

Butch and I left at 5:45 on Friday morning. We took the scenic route this time just for a change of pace and met Jeanne and Janice at Uncle Jules and Aunt Irma's in Arnold, MO. We had a really nice visit with them. Aunt Irma has been blind for 8 years now. It's amazing how she gets around her house. She had a huge collection of Armani figurines everywhere, yet she doesn't bump in to any of the table they are on. I mentioned how well she gets around. She said it's her house and she knows it.

Uncle Jules goes in to the hospital next week for test. If he passes them, he is eligible for a procedure that will 100% CURE his cancer. His doctor has never performed it on a 77 year old man. That's why he has to take the tests. We're praying that all goes well. As the doctor said, he's 77 going on 57. You would never know he's sick.

After having lunch with Uncle Jules, we went on to the hotel. Walter picked up Butch and Nicky to play poker that night while we girls went over to Jeanne's for our usual Zimmermann party. We always need to order St. Louis pizza, salad and toasted ravioli. Jeanne made pumpkin bars and the kids went crazy over them. It reminded me that I hadn't made them in years. Here's the recipe I cut out of the newspaper in the mid 1970's. Jeanne's recipe tasted exactly the same. Heck, I might have even given her the recipe.

Paul's Pumpkin Bars (I have no idea who Paul is---that's the name that was on the original recipe from the paper.

4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup oil
1-16 oz. can pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1-3 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups, sifted powdered sugar

Beat together eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin till light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and soda. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix thoroughly. Spread batter n ungreased 15x10x1 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool. Frost with cream cheese icing. Cut in bars.

To make cream cheese icing:
Cream together cream cheese and margarine. Stir in vanilla. Add powdered sugar a little at a time, beating well till mixture is smooth.

More to come...

I can't wait!

Is anyone as excited about this as I am? We're making it a family event!
Enjoy this little preview.

Les Miz

Next post from St. Louis.

Spoiler Alert!

Do not look at the following picture if:
1. You have a birthday coming up in the next couple of months.
2. Your last name is Eads.
3. You drive a black car.
4. You work at HCA.
5. You have a Curves membership.
6. Love to party.
7. Belong to AYM.
8. Regularly attend happy hour.
9. Recently spent time on a pontoon boat.
10. Everyone thinks you look like your sister.

Now, Stephanie and Mindy, which one of you looked anyway?

Mindy's First Recipe

Mindy emailed me with the Pumpkin Dip recipe---in her own words:

Ingredients:
16 oz. Cream cheese (softened)
15 oz. can of pumpkin puree
2 cups powdered sugar (sifted--whatever that means)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

combine all ingredients until smooth. serve with ginger snaps/graham
crackers/cinnamon pita chips/apples/grapes/etc.

(note: I had a hard time getting it smooth but I think it would look a
lot more appetizing if you could get it smooth.)

Mindy, had you "sifted" the powdered sugar, it would have been smooth. It tastes delicious and really doesn't look that bad. Thanks for sharing.
Love,
Mom

It's Good to be Home

You know that saying about "wherever you roam---there's no place like home?" Well, it's really true. It doesn't matter how much fun you have had, it's always good to get home. 

This was our semi-annual golf trip. The guys play golf and we girls scrapbook. We girls went on Wednesday and the boys came on Friday. As we were preparing appetizers and gin & tonics for the boys, Karolyn came up with a new plan. From now on, we're not going to invite the guys on our golf weekends!! We informed them at dinner about our new plan. They said that was fine with them as they'd go out-of-state to golf without us. Later, we revised our plan. Our golf weekends do not include the guys, but their golf weekends DO include the girls!! We want it both ways!

Just thought I'd show you a few shots of my work space. I don't know how it happens, but all of the stuff seems to encroach until I'm left with a tiny spot to work.

 This is the stuff leftover from the previous layouts---it really starts to pile up.

 On this side, is all of the paper scraps and extra pictures that mount up too. I finally had to stop and get it all cleaned up so I could have a clean work area. I ended up just putting all this "stuff" in a ziplock bag to get it out of the way. I dread facing those bags now that I'm home.

 Karolyn is the neatest among us. She always seems to have plenty of room. She did lose the stylus to her Gypsy. I found it the next morning---she had used it as a place holder in her Quickutz binder. If I hadn't decided to use one of her alphabets, it would have been lost for months.

Don't let Pam's space fool you. She just cleaned hers up when she lost her 6 inch ruler and the stylus to her gypsy too.

When we got home on Sunday this note was in the refrigerator:

The dip is very good---and it must really make a lot because she left us a pretty good sized container. I tried it with bananas and it was delish. If I had the recipe, I'd share it here. 

Last week, we had Mindy's car because it needed to have some work done. With her traveling for work, she pretty much has to rely on us to help out. Butch is never happy with the state of her car. Let's just say, she's not in to cleaning it out. Years ago, when I helped her move in New Orleans from one apartment to another, she didn't take out the final load for over two years. When she can't find something, it's usually in her car. This time, after Butch cleaned out her car, he put a bag in the front seat and told her to take it in to her condo. She was surprised to find a brand new Pampered Chef can opener. That bag has been in her car since LAST year. She then admitted that she has not opened a single can since moving in to her condo in January. That explains why she's only used the stove ONCE!! And why she cooks over here! We just shake our heads...and just be happy for the stories she provides us with.

I went over to Steph's on Sunday to see the girls. Immediately, they tried to talk me in to this. 

I very nearly caved after my only argument---"girls, no, we travel too much to have a pet" met with, "but we have to go over to feed the fish and get the mail anyway." Our cats have always been outside cats. Then I remembered about the neighbors we're fighting with. She made a comment about our cat walking on her car that last time we had one. I don't need anymore trouble from her. I have to stand firm. I might not like animals, but I get attached really easy.

I decorated for Halloween in the afternoon. These little guys scared me when I reached in to the box. They sure look real. Gotta love scaring myself!

I'll share some of my layouts with you when I get them photographed.

Later...

A Few Things Before I Go

Heading out this afternoon for a long weekend of scrapbooking for the girls and golf for the guys. I won't have internet access out there, so it will be awhile before my next update.

A few things before I go:

The layouts are up at my AYM Blog: http://barbaraeadsaym.blogspot.com/

Jack and Connie have bought a condo on the ocean at Mexico Beach, FL (just outside of Panama City.) Jack has been a buying fool. He's going to win Costco's "highest buyer" award for this year. In the meantime, no house guests are welcome at their house here in Nashville.

You can barely walk through with all the stuff. The biggest problem is that Jack's not too worried about whether the bedding will actually fit the beds. "Can't you just tuck the excess under?" It was dangerous to send him back to Costco for the return. He's really stocking up---and he hash't even started on the paper goods yet! They are going to need a U-Haul to get it all down there---what a job---not to mention all those trips hauling it to the 3rd (or is it 4th) floor.

This really isn't a very good view of the 40, 50 or 60ft. tree we lost. At that size, it's too hard to tell how big it is. It's big. I hate losing any trees, much less the big ones. It's in the side yard---that I used to call my shade garden. There used to be full shade. Now there's sun there in places all day long. Technically, the tree belongs to the neighbor. He called to let us know he was taking care of it. I told him that I had already hired our arborist. He insisted on paying---by the law, we're responsible---even if it's his tree. We compromised and are splitting the cost. Unlike the neighbor on the other side---never thought I'd fight with my neighbors, but that's another story.

 
 I was upstairs and decided to take a few pictures from above. I'm calling them "a view from above."

Stepping stones leading to the "used to be" shade garden under the arbor.

 I bought this little brown sugar scoop at Dolly's Pancake Parlor in Vermont. I thought it was so cute---and I don't have a scoop for my brown sugar. Since I use it straight from the bag, this will force me to put it in a little bowl the 2 times a year we use if for other than baking.

I put the pen in the picture so you could see how cute and little it is. I haven't even used it once and I've already just about washed the maple leaf off. I didn't realize that it would wash off. Plus, I would never think of using something like this without washing it. Darn, the leaf was so cute.

Lastly, I know I said I'd never mention my hives here again---and I'm not. Seems I have something totally different now. I just thought my hives had evolved in to something else. I have a rash completely covering the mid-section of my torso. It itches maddeningly. I have a prescription that takes care of that, but guess what? That medication causes weight gain! Figures. At least I'm still off the prednisone---and for that I am truly grateful.

Have a great weekend y'all!
Later...