cparadise2, you bring small business' to shame.

I bought, well actually Josh bought some transformers on ebay. I waited a month before emailing the seller that we haven't received the merchandise. No response. Since I paid through paypal, I had to put in a dispute through them. No response. Another 2 weeks go by. Then I had to escalate it to a claim. Still no response, but one day, paypal decides to 'investigate' and gets a shipping number by magic. So I ended up getting the transformers and now I have to leave feedback. You are able to check a box whether your feedback is positive or negative, I of course choose negative. This is what I wrote (and had to shorten it being there is only so many characters)...

Items fine once recv'd, only shipped when escalated to claim - no email replies

I actually got an email from another ebay user that hadn't received his merchandise from the same seller and he thanked me for leaving feedback. He told me that the seller actually emailed him that he was sick, for more than two months now, and he was really upset that he still hadn't received it. Josh and I found another transformers set we wanted to buy but we found it was from the same seller. He had just listed more items in the time period of his 'sickness.'

The seller decides after all he knows how to reach his computer and emails me this gem.

Reply left by cparadise2 (the seller): I was sick and not feeling well, so I sent order late.Your SILLY another ROOKIE. Your very a SILLY PERSON !

As if 'silly' is an insult. Is this person for real?

So out of the kindness of my heart I thought I could explain some sense into this poor soul. I decided concise and blunt would be the way to go.

This was the first email I have received from you, to withdrawal a negative response which you rightly deserved. Will not buy nor recommend you any ebay user, and will NOT withdraw negative feedback as it was honest and accurate.

This is what he wrote today.

So I guess when your sick it doesn't slow you down.

This is what I sent back.

I guess when your sick you can still use your fingers and type an email.

one email to tell me you were sick, BEFORE I had to escalate it to a claim was all I was asking.

How big of a jerk am I on a scale from one to ten?

Snow warning - what the weather man gets paid for.

Winter storm warning for Michigan.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW...ARE EXPECTED. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

Does anyone else find this redundant?

I mean, significant amounts of snow, you never see that here. And hazardous travel? While it's snowing?

Impossible.

Isn't that what he said?

Baby. It's cold outside.

My co-worker, Trish, is pregnant with her first child, and invited me to her baby shower. When I told Cassie that I was going to get something for Trish's baby, she was excited.

"Oh yeah mom! We can go to the baby store and get a baby toy." She said, then she gave me this worried look. "but first, we have to go get Trish a baby."

After I told her that Trish's baby was in her tummy, she seemed a bit relieved. I called my brother to tell him about the buying a baby for Trish story, and Cassie wanted to talk to him. It went like this...

"So, mommy splaned (explained) to me that Trish has a baby in her tummy. But it's okay, because we can get a toy for the baby before he comes out."

She's got the problem solving idea down, first you get a baby then you get a toy for the baby.

There's an order to these things.

And she was pretty interested in the fact that the baby was in a temperature controlled climate in her tummy. She was concerned that the baby would not be warm enough in there. Laurel and Dar didn't have any questions about baby's when I was pregnant. Laurel was impressed that a baby showed up one day, and Dar was mad that there was a baby.

I'm actually really glad that she's my last child. I'm not sure I could handle all the baby questions.

Smoked tea

Read the description. It's just as interesting as the tea (which is why I choose to buy and try it).



I'm adventurous.

And this tea is unique. There is no tea that smells like smoked salmon while you're trying to grasp what your actually tasting. I gave up the fight of trying to drink it after a few sips, and put this baby on the back burner as one of the more interesting tea drinking experiences. Its on par with drinking 'the leather tea' last year.

Coffee

Today I decided that buying coffee is like smoking a pack of cigarettes each day. It definitely costs more than a pack of cigarettes. Oh wait, isn't a pack five bucks now or something (You can tell I'm not up on my smoking genre)? A Biggby coffee is only slightly cheaper (by like 50 cents), and a lot more sugar. And it's not like either are good for you or anything.

I don't buy a coffee every day. I'm lucky if I get it once a week. Not that it makes it any better that I'm spending that much for it. I do always have coupons though. And a lot of the barristas know who I am. I just like my coffee once a week. Today I met the manager. When they asked me how I was today, I told them that I was grumpy. Both the barrista and the manager stopped dead in their tracks to look up at me in shock. I couldn't help myself. Then I smiled like I was joking and he said well, that's what the coffee is for. This is what I'm hoping, I said. He even offered to carry my coffee out to my car. How is that for awesome? I should have took him up on it, Josh thinks its because my gloves were covering my wedding ring (he always thinks that someones hitting on me). I just told him that he wasn't my type, but it would solve my coffee cost dilemma.

I can think of several things that make coffee so much better. It's not like I have to go outside to drink my coffee. You don't see any signs saying 'No coffee' with a big red circle and a slash through the middle of it, or a 'This is a coffee free zone.'

People don't come up to you and say, 'Could you please put out your coffee?'

Most people don't toss their coffee cups out the window on the highway while driving.

And you usually don't see smushed coffee cups on the sidewalk.

There isn't any special sand to put your coffee into before you walk into the grocery store.

But you can get a coffee from a vending machine. It's not recommended, but for all those 17 year olds, it's gold.

Yeah, I'm not kicking my bad coffee habit. Not today.

States

In 4m 59s

Click here to Play

Not only do you have to know the states, but you have to know how to spell them.

I got stuck on Illinois and Massachusetts. I was really worried that I would get stuck on the New England states. It's hard to tell them apart over there.

Freaks and Geeks

I was in the drama club in high school. My friend called it the freaks and geeks club. And although you got a good assortment of those, there were many types of people who were in our drama club. We even won a state competition while I was there. "Guys and Dolls."

The most vivid memory I remember is when the male lead singing "I've never been in love before." For some reason I can hear his voice when he hits the climax of the song. I can recall seeing Nicely and the guys singing "Sit down your rockin the boat" Last minute, one of the actresses dropped out of the show for academic reasons, so a memory that sticks out in my mind is when the 'dolls' are doing their show tune and they threw in a girl who was neither graceful nor eloquent in and she knew it. She played it up and it was wildly hilarious to see her jump in, 'trying' to do all the things that the other girls were doing. It took the fun scene to a whole new level. Why we didn't have her in the show in the first place, no one quite knows.

My friend didn't understand what goes into a theatre production. The freaks and geeks of high school could turn the theatre upside down and into something great.

I still think about and appreciate all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes when I see a play. I saw 'Beauty and the Beast' and marveled at their self revolving sets. 'Momma Mia' had amazing vocalists who worked long and hard hours to perfect each ABBA song without getting laryngitis. 'Some like it hot.' had eye popping make-up artists, who transformed the men into 'ladies.' And I'm always curious on how the children are going to climb out of a wardrobe and into Narnia in "The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe.'

So one last hurrah from this blogger for the freaks and geeks that live behind the scenes, who have truely found their calling.

Well everyone knows my cat is weird.

I think I was wrong in thinking he's part dog. No, he wants to be human. He was taken away from his mom way too early and only had us to learn from.

He jumps into the tub to clean himself.

He puts his paws on the table while we are eating. And when he goes for food, (although he knows he's not suppose to) he swipes the silverware with his paws, instead of his teeth.

I've seen him trying to turn the doorknob in our bedroom.

Somehow, he got sandwiched between our front door and our metal/screen door, and Josh didn't even know he did it. The girls started giggling, and pointing out the fact that Jetta was in the door, and Josh was positive that Jetta had ran off. But sure enough, I looked out our window on the door and there he was, looking back at me pitifully.

He was probably thinking something like, "I can't believe you idiots just locked me between two doors."

He sounds like a squirrel when he's happy.

But he does really stupid things like jumping on my counters. You'd think he'd learn, first of all, there is never anything good up there. And second, I get mad when he's up there, and he doesn't like me when I'm mad. He rubs up against my legs when he knows I'm angry at him, licks my hands, and purrs as if to tell me how sorry he is, and how much he wants to have a treat. Always self-motivated.

It's true.

Hmm. I wonder who did that????

Takes all the fun and mystery out of the who done it.