My mom was recently diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and her doctors told her that a vegetarian diet low in salt could significantly help her symptoms. I was skeptical at first but after doing a little internet research I decided it wasn't such an outlandish suggestion.
My mom dove headfirst into it however. She started by reading a book by Alicia Silverstone called "The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet." Out of cautious support, I downloaded the book too. Ms. Silverstone says that meals should be built around grains, like quinoa and barley and rice. She also talked alot about stuff I've never heard of, like seitan, umeboshi, shoyu, nori, and daikon. And kale.
My mom has so far lost seven pounds trying to be vegan and lowering her salt intake. Which is really what inspired me more. My weight fluctuates up and down by ten to twelve pounds year round and right now I'm at the high end. We are planning another trip to Hawaii next year as well as a wedding in Newport in May and I would like to look as hot as a 36 year old can look. Right?
I've tried a couple things, like introducing edamame into my diet, as well as soy yogurt, quinoa with curry, lots of oatmeal...It's actually surprisingly easy to eat vegetarian. I even made baked kale chips the other night.
But kale? Is horrible. Completely and utterly horrible. If you thought brussels sprouts smelled like fart, you have not smelled baked kale. I've done some research and it seems like there really isn't much you can do with kale, other than bake it or put into an omelette. Presumably the egg drowns out the kale taste. BLECH
Anyway, I went about three days without meat, and I have to say I felt pretty good. I did not feel bloated and I felt like my blood sugar remained relatively constant. But Saturday I broke down and had some tuna, and then a chicken enchilada for dinner. Which was delicious.
I am collecting recipes for vegetarian dishes though. What's your favorite?
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Dear Best Buy Reward Zone: You suck.
Best Buy Reward Zone Program
PO BOX 949
Minneapolis, MN 55440-0949
December 3, 2011
Dear Sir or Madam,
In September 2011, I bought kitchen appliances from Best Buy. The total purchase price was around $2700. The customer service representative who worked with me signed me up for the Best Buy rewards program, where for every $250 a customer spent they would in turn receive $5 certificates to be used towards future Best Buy purchases. By my calculations, I should have received close to $50 in certificates.
The appliances were delivered a few weeks later; however, at delivery we realized that the gas range we had purchased would not work in our kitchen as there was no gas line. We returned the range and purchased an electric range later that day. I mentioned that my reward zone points hadn't appeared to one of the customer service reps and was assured that the points would eventually show up.
In the meantime, the second stove was delivered a few weeks after that. It appeared with a large dent in the side. I sent it back to the store and a few weeks after that, a third range, in perfect condition, was installed in my kitchen.
I periodically checked my reward zone account and the points did not show up. There was even an option where you could submit a pin number that would track and add your missing points, which I did multiple times. The points did not show up. I went into the store several times to speak with service reps and the points did not show up. I was told to keep waiting. I sent two emails to the reward zone customer service. Each time I received a form stating that the reward zone people knew there were technical difficulties and that they were working on the problems.
On November 20th,I made yet another trip into the store and got someone in customer service to call the Reward Zone department. She was on hold for 40 minutes but was finally able to get through to someone. She explained the problem. I was informed that someone would call me with an explanation. A few days later, Tuesday November 22, someone did contact me but they left a message on my phone so I called the number back (it was the Reward Zone number). I called customer service at the reward zone myself and finally someone told me I actually had two accounts and that the accounts would have to be merged. This person also found that a $35 certificate had already been awarded to me but it had been used to purchase a laptop computer online. I had made no such purchase. It appeared someone had stolen points out of my account.
I went online to view the second account and activate it and then I called customer service back. I got a second representative and informed him of the whole problem AGAIN and explained that someone had stolen my points and he assured me that my accounts would be merged in 7 - 10 days and that he would alert the fraud department and try to track down my points.
Today is December 3. My accounts were still not merged so I made another phone call to the Reward Zone customer service number. I got a woman named Marie who was fairly helpful. I explained to her the problems, she quickly merged my accounts and added my points up. I was still missing points. She looked over my purchases, we went through the return and the new purchase of the stove. I told her a few times I had spent over $2500 and by my calculations I should have $50 in certificates. Finally, she saw
the $35 certificate that had been issued. Again I explained that I had not used or been issued the certificate, and further stated that another service rep had told me it had been used for another purchase. During her research, Marie found a fraud and wrote up a statement to the fraud department.
Suddenly she realized we had been on the phone for 41 minutes and that she had to wrap up the phone call. She gave me my points (FINALLY) and pushed me off the phone as fast as she could.
The question is, am I satisfied?
NO. I AM NOT SATISFIED AT ALL. If it hadn't been for my perseverance over the past three months, I would have completely lost those points I fought so hard to recover, points that were lost THROUGH NO FAULT OF MY OWN. I have spoken to at least four different customer service agents on the phone, submitted pin numbers from receipts numerous times, as well as sent two emails, AND went into the original store three times to get this taken care of. How much time have I spent trying to get this taken care of? A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT. All to get something that already belonged to me! Not to mention the fact that I helped your company uncover A FRAUD. How many accounts got hacked? How many service reps associated with Best Buy have passed the buck?
This is terrible customer service. I have spent over $3000 at your company over the past 12 months, including the purchase of the kitchen appliances. I have also bought an LG soundbar and I bought a Samsung netbook in March. I can’t believe this is the way your company treats customers. I can assure you that in the future Best Buy will be the last store I consider for purchases.
Sincerely
PO BOX 949
Minneapolis, MN 55440-0949
December 3, 2011
Dear Sir or Madam,
In September 2011, I bought kitchen appliances from Best Buy. The total purchase price was around $2700. The customer service representative who worked with me signed me up for the Best Buy rewards program, where for every $250 a customer spent they would in turn receive $5 certificates to be used towards future Best Buy purchases. By my calculations, I should have received close to $50 in certificates.
The appliances were delivered a few weeks later; however, at delivery we realized that the gas range we had purchased would not work in our kitchen as there was no gas line. We returned the range and purchased an electric range later that day. I mentioned that my reward zone points hadn't appeared to one of the customer service reps and was assured that the points would eventually show up.
In the meantime, the second stove was delivered a few weeks after that. It appeared with a large dent in the side. I sent it back to the store and a few weeks after that, a third range, in perfect condition, was installed in my kitchen.
I periodically checked my reward zone account and the points did not show up. There was even an option where you could submit a pin number that would track and add your missing points, which I did multiple times. The points did not show up. I went into the store several times to speak with service reps and the points did not show up. I was told to keep waiting. I sent two emails to the reward zone customer service. Each time I received a form stating that the reward zone people knew there were technical difficulties and that they were working on the problems.
On November 20th,I made yet another trip into the store and got someone in customer service to call the Reward Zone department. She was on hold for 40 minutes but was finally able to get through to someone. She explained the problem. I was informed that someone would call me with an explanation. A few days later, Tuesday November 22, someone did contact me but they left a message on my phone so I called the number back (it was the Reward Zone number). I called customer service at the reward zone myself and finally someone told me I actually had two accounts and that the accounts would have to be merged. This person also found that a $35 certificate had already been awarded to me but it had been used to purchase a laptop computer online. I had made no such purchase. It appeared someone had stolen points out of my account.
I went online to view the second account and activate it and then I called customer service back. I got a second representative and informed him of the whole problem AGAIN and explained that someone had stolen my points and he assured me that my accounts would be merged in 7 - 10 days and that he would alert the fraud department and try to track down my points.
Today is December 3. My accounts were still not merged so I made another phone call to the Reward Zone customer service number. I got a woman named Marie who was fairly helpful. I explained to her the problems, she quickly merged my accounts and added my points up. I was still missing points. She looked over my purchases, we went through the return and the new purchase of the stove. I told her a few times I had spent over $2500 and by my calculations I should have $50 in certificates. Finally, she saw
the $35 certificate that had been issued. Again I explained that I had not used or been issued the certificate, and further stated that another service rep had told me it had been used for another purchase. During her research, Marie found a fraud and wrote up a statement to the fraud department.
Suddenly she realized we had been on the phone for 41 minutes and that she had to wrap up the phone call. She gave me my points (FINALLY) and pushed me off the phone as fast as she could.
The question is, am I satisfied?
NO. I AM NOT SATISFIED AT ALL. If it hadn't been for my perseverance over the past three months, I would have completely lost those points I fought so hard to recover, points that were lost THROUGH NO FAULT OF MY OWN. I have spoken to at least four different customer service agents on the phone, submitted pin numbers from receipts numerous times, as well as sent two emails, AND went into the original store three times to get this taken care of. How much time have I spent trying to get this taken care of? A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT. All to get something that already belonged to me! Not to mention the fact that I helped your company uncover A FRAUD. How many accounts got hacked? How many service reps associated with Best Buy have passed the buck?
This is terrible customer service. I have spent over $3000 at your company over the past 12 months, including the purchase of the kitchen appliances. I have also bought an LG soundbar and I bought a Samsung netbook in March. I can’t believe this is the way your company treats customers. I can assure you that in the future Best Buy will be the last store I consider for purchases.
Sincerely
Friday, November 5, 2010
Hairspray
I have used a discontinued hairspray for years. In fact, through my travels, every time I come across a stash at a salon or beauty store I buy all the stock and take it home where I hoard it under my bathroom sink. (The store stashes usually consist of 3-4 old bottles)
Since meeting my husband and having him move in with me (two years ago this month!) my stash of hairspray has dwindled significantly. Why? It turns out that he likes my hairspray too! He has significantly less hair than I have though, so why is my hairspray supply dwindling so rapidly?
Well, he uses a lot of it! It's surprising, the amount of hairspray he uses! Since we've been together, we've gone on eBay three times now in search of the discontinued hairspray. Luckily there is still some out there but one day there won't be any. Then we'll be forced to buy something that works half as well.
Until then I'm going to continue adding to my stash. I just bought three more bottles today.
What hairsprays do you all like out there?
Since meeting my husband and having him move in with me (two years ago this month!) my stash of hairspray has dwindled significantly. Why? It turns out that he likes my hairspray too! He has significantly less hair than I have though, so why is my hairspray supply dwindling so rapidly?
Well, he uses a lot of it! It's surprising, the amount of hairspray he uses! Since we've been together, we've gone on eBay three times now in search of the discontinued hairspray. Luckily there is still some out there but one day there won't be any. Then we'll be forced to buy something that works half as well.
Until then I'm going to continue adding to my stash. I just bought three more bottles today.
What hairsprays do you all like out there?
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Bookseller
I am a big fan of books. Books are almost impossible for me to resist - I can't go anywhere without one. Due to economic reasons, I recently started frequenting the library a lot more (free is free) so my book buying habit has taken a hit. Which is fine.
I have a ridiculous amount of books sitting around my house that are just taking up space so I made the decision to start selling my unwanted books on Ebay. It was remarkably easy setting myself up as a seller and my first book sold in a few hours. Amazing! I already had a Paypal account so I was pretty much ready to go. When you put something up for sale, Ebay charges a small fee, and then pretty much all you have to do after that is mail your item to the winner of your auction.
I don't know why I didn't think to do this before. There are lots of cheap bibliophiles out there who have learned as I have that a little bit of patience pays off in the end. I literally have books in my home that I haven't even read that I should get rid of. It's better than a garage sale - this way you don't have to talk to anyone! Ha.
I am thinking about all the books I have down in my parents' basement that I might be able to unload. Even if it's just for a small amount of money. To think of all the cash I have wasted over the years buying books that I've only read once and then discarded...Who knows, perhaps I can fund my electronics habit now! This is an interesting endeavor for sure.
I have a ridiculous amount of books sitting around my house that are just taking up space so I made the decision to start selling my unwanted books on Ebay. It was remarkably easy setting myself up as a seller and my first book sold in a few hours. Amazing! I already had a Paypal account so I was pretty much ready to go. When you put something up for sale, Ebay charges a small fee, and then pretty much all you have to do after that is mail your item to the winner of your auction.
I don't know why I didn't think to do this before. There are lots of cheap bibliophiles out there who have learned as I have that a little bit of patience pays off in the end. I literally have books in my home that I haven't even read that I should get rid of. It's better than a garage sale - this way you don't have to talk to anyone! Ha.
I am thinking about all the books I have down in my parents' basement that I might be able to unload. Even if it's just for a small amount of money. To think of all the cash I have wasted over the years buying books that I've only read once and then discarded...Who knows, perhaps I can fund my electronics habit now! This is an interesting endeavor for sure.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Defriended
I had to defriend someone on Facebook yesterday. I had been thinking about it for awhile, because it was increasingly apparent that this person and my political beliefs were divergent. I don't hide that I am a liberal. I couldn't wait for George W. Bush to get out of office. But I never wrote or said anywhere that I wished his parents had aborted him, which is what the person that I just defriended on Facebook wrote about Obama.
I found this person's assertion that they were a right-wing, pro-life Christian to be distinctly at odds with their professed wishes. And abruptly my decision was made. I defriended as soon as I got home and don't feel any guilt about it at all.
Today I was reading an article by local columnist Connie Shultz. She wrote about a long-married couple who had recieved over the years a number of political emails from their friends and family that they didn't agree with. This couple liked their friends and understood that they didn't necessarily have to agree with everyone's political beliefs to continue liking them so they deleted. That is, until the day they recieved a vitriolic letter forwarded from their best friends claiming that Obama was scary because the original letter writer knew nothing about him, from where he got the money to put himself through an Ivy League law school to how he supported his upscale lifestyle. The letter went on to say that Obama was barely an American.
The couple were taken aback by this brutal letter and stewed about it for days before finally asking their buddies to not email them stuff like that anymore. The other couple wouldn't talk to them for months before they finally admitted that their feelings had been hurt. But how did they think their friends felt?!
Shultz suggested in her column that should anyone ever recieve an email from a friend who they continued to want to be friends with despite a schism in political ideology that they should email a link to her article http://www.cleveland.com/schultz/index.ssf/2010/03/handling_those_partisan_hate_e.html, which ends with
"Hey.
That awful e-mail you sent?
Please don't do that again.
Hopefully yours,
A fellow American."
However, if you don't want to be friends with them ever again, go ahead and defriend those assholes on Facebook. I won't judge you.
I found this person's assertion that they were a right-wing, pro-life Christian to be distinctly at odds with their professed wishes. And abruptly my decision was made. I defriended as soon as I got home and don't feel any guilt about it at all.
Today I was reading an article by local columnist Connie Shultz. She wrote about a long-married couple who had recieved over the years a number of political emails from their friends and family that they didn't agree with. This couple liked their friends and understood that they didn't necessarily have to agree with everyone's political beliefs to continue liking them so they deleted. That is, until the day they recieved a vitriolic letter forwarded from their best friends claiming that Obama was scary because the original letter writer knew nothing about him, from where he got the money to put himself through an Ivy League law school to how he supported his upscale lifestyle. The letter went on to say that Obama was barely an American.
The couple were taken aback by this brutal letter and stewed about it for days before finally asking their buddies to not email them stuff like that anymore. The other couple wouldn't talk to them for months before they finally admitted that their feelings had been hurt. But how did they think their friends felt?!
Shultz suggested in her column that should anyone ever recieve an email from a friend who they continued to want to be friends with despite a schism in political ideology that they should email a link to her article http://www.cleveland.com/schultz/index.ssf/2010/03/handling_those_partisan_hate_e.html, which ends with
"Hey.
That awful e-mail you sent?
Please don't do that again.
Hopefully yours,
A fellow American."
However, if you don't want to be friends with them ever again, go ahead and defriend those assholes on Facebook. I won't judge you.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Marriage and Children
A friend of mine wrote a blog post the other day about being married and childless and how it really irks her that people just assume she wants to have children 'someday.' She doesn't and guess what, lots of other married people don't either.
It started me thinking about my own situation, in which I am helping to raise two kids, part-time, but I like to think I have some influence on my two charges.
My stepdaughter is anxious for me and my boyfriend to get married. She knows that if we take that step, she goes on my flight pass and can start flying with us. She already has a list of places she wants to see, starting with New York City. Of course, she has wondered in the past whether me and her father will have kids of our own, and added to her musings that she can't see the point of getting married if you aren't going to have any kids.
I think this is a pretty interesting conclusion for an almost eleven year old to reach! :) I guess I can kind of see her point, too, but there are other reasons to be married, and for me it's my bone deep belief that if you are with someone and want to be with that person, you marry him! Of course, not everyone feels this way, and I don't judge, but this is how I personally feel about it.
I think that if I had met my boyfriend when I was younger, children would have been something to consider. I've never been adamant about having kids, it was just sort of something I assumed would happen when I met the right person, but I am older now, and I have a job that isn't conducive (at least for me) to having children. Of course it comes with all the flexibility in the world but the less I work, the less financial security I have, so I choose to work more.
And I like my house, and I like independence, and I like...well, I like things! I like my car, and the fact that if I have to fix my car I can fix it. Or if we want to take a vacation to Hawaii, we can do it. A baby, a kid, would put a serious crimp in my ability to just go.
So, is this selfish? Probably, a little. But it's responsible too! Why? Because I know that my job might not make me the best mother or seriously compromise other things in my life that I believe are important. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people out there who do the same job I do and make their families work. I just don't think I'm the sort of person who can juggle a baby with my job.
Deep down, I think I would have liked to have had my own child. I see my nephew and something in me sort of melts. I'm the relative who won't put the baby down. I know my parents would love more grandchildren, even though they already consider my boyfriend's children their grandkids. It makes me wonder what sort of mother I really would have been. But then I remind myself, I already am a parent, even if it is only for five or six days a month.
There is a big difference between full time parenting and part-time stepmomhood, obviously, but regardless I really try to do the best I can. My boyfriend and I try to give my stepkids a comfy home with good food, rules and boundaries, outlets to have fun, family time, a safe haven.
Just because we don't necessarily want to have children of our own does not put marriage off the table though. Marriage is not just about procreating, it's about creating a family and a home. And a family is not just parents and children. My boyfriend is a part of my family, and I consider his extended family part of my family. Marriage is about creating a life together, OUR life together.
It started me thinking about my own situation, in which I am helping to raise two kids, part-time, but I like to think I have some influence on my two charges.
My stepdaughter is anxious for me and my boyfriend to get married. She knows that if we take that step, she goes on my flight pass and can start flying with us. She already has a list of places she wants to see, starting with New York City. Of course, she has wondered in the past whether me and her father will have kids of our own, and added to her musings that she can't see the point of getting married if you aren't going to have any kids.
I think this is a pretty interesting conclusion for an almost eleven year old to reach! :) I guess I can kind of see her point, too, but there are other reasons to be married, and for me it's my bone deep belief that if you are with someone and want to be with that person, you marry him! Of course, not everyone feels this way, and I don't judge, but this is how I personally feel about it.
I think that if I had met my boyfriend when I was younger, children would have been something to consider. I've never been adamant about having kids, it was just sort of something I assumed would happen when I met the right person, but I am older now, and I have a job that isn't conducive (at least for me) to having children. Of course it comes with all the flexibility in the world but the less I work, the less financial security I have, so I choose to work more.
And I like my house, and I like independence, and I like...well, I like things! I like my car, and the fact that if I have to fix my car I can fix it. Or if we want to take a vacation to Hawaii, we can do it. A baby, a kid, would put a serious crimp in my ability to just go.
So, is this selfish? Probably, a little. But it's responsible too! Why? Because I know that my job might not make me the best mother or seriously compromise other things in my life that I believe are important. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people out there who do the same job I do and make their families work. I just don't think I'm the sort of person who can juggle a baby with my job.
Deep down, I think I would have liked to have had my own child. I see my nephew and something in me sort of melts. I'm the relative who won't put the baby down. I know my parents would love more grandchildren, even though they already consider my boyfriend's children their grandkids. It makes me wonder what sort of mother I really would have been. But then I remind myself, I already am a parent, even if it is only for five or six days a month.
There is a big difference between full time parenting and part-time stepmomhood, obviously, but regardless I really try to do the best I can. My boyfriend and I try to give my stepkids a comfy home with good food, rules and boundaries, outlets to have fun, family time, a safe haven.
Just because we don't necessarily want to have children of our own does not put marriage off the table though. Marriage is not just about procreating, it's about creating a family and a home. And a family is not just parents and children. My boyfriend is a part of my family, and I consider his extended family part of my family. Marriage is about creating a life together, OUR life together.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Registration Fee
My local newspaper had a blurb today about the new late fee that Ohio is charging people when they renew their registration more than a week past the due date - which, btw, is your birthday, so make sure you register on time or it will cost you $20.
The late fee isn't actually new anymore; it was implemented in October, a few weeks before my own birthday. Some of you may recall my outrage at being charged $20 for what I had always thought (and many many other people thought) was a due MONTH or at least grace period for registration renewal.
The woman at the BMV claimed there had been advertising and press releases regarding the new fee, but I sure as heck don't recall seeing or hearing anything about it. Also, when my renewal notice came in the mail, there was some wording about a late charge being assessed to SOME vehicles but not specifically which vehicles were being included. Why didn't the renewal notice say something like "All private passenger vehicles will be assessed a late charge of $20 if they are not renewed on time?
Further, how fair is it that only people in the last quarter of 2009 were assessed this charge? NOT VERY, I can tell you!
Long story short, make sure you renew your vehicle early this year.
The late fee isn't actually new anymore; it was implemented in October, a few weeks before my own birthday. Some of you may recall my outrage at being charged $20 for what I had always thought (and many many other people thought) was a due MONTH or at least grace period for registration renewal.
The woman at the BMV claimed there had been advertising and press releases regarding the new fee, but I sure as heck don't recall seeing or hearing anything about it. Also, when my renewal notice came in the mail, there was some wording about a late charge being assessed to SOME vehicles but not specifically which vehicles were being included. Why didn't the renewal notice say something like "All private passenger vehicles will be assessed a late charge of $20 if they are not renewed on time?
Further, how fair is it that only people in the last quarter of 2009 were assessed this charge? NOT VERY, I can tell you!
Long story short, make sure you renew your vehicle early this year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
