1.30.2008

My letter to Gateway

I rarely take time to write letters, mostly because I rarely have reason to. Customer service is a lost art these days, in my opinion. But when I am wowwed, I do feel moved to let SOMEone know. My recent letter to Gateway is one example.

START OF LETTER

"I wanted to share with you my recent experience with your company and tell you how that contrasts with another experience I had with another company.

I am now the proud owner of a Gateway laptop and have been for a few years. Last week, I started having problems with the DC port and my laptop would not remain charging. I was so upset, because I had had the same problem in the past with a Sony Vaio and knew that it was going to be considered a “major repair”, read, costly repair.

When I had called Sony, they told me “major repairs” started at $699. When I told them that I could buy a new laptop for that, they said, “Yes, you could.” So I did. I bought a Gateway and sent Sony a letter telling them that.

Thus my apprehension about calling Gateway, but call I did and am so happy I did! Your tech support team was extremely professional, friendly and helpful. They overnighted a box via DHL for me to send my laptop in and on Monday, my computer was on its way to you for repairs. Imagine my surprise when DHL delivered my laptop on THURSDAY, of the same week! I can not tell you how happy I was to have my computer back home, safe and sound, and FIXED, and for under $250!

I wanted you to know what a pleasant experience I had with your tech support team and that I am and will continue to be a loyal Gateway customer."

END OF LETTER

And do you know what Gateway did? They sent me a letter back! For no reason, other than thanking me for my support. AWESOME! :-)

Blog challenge # 5

Post an entry about a positive customer service experience you've had. Who was it with? Did you praise them on the spot? Did you go home and write a letter to the company management?

1.26.2008

Wanna know my middle name? :-D

I've been tagged by Terri! You know how these work for me... I'll play, but I won't tag, so if you wanna play, post on your blog and I'll read! :-)

Here are the rules:
1. You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2. You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name).
3. After you are tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and your answers.
4. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details.)

C - Crazy
L - Loyal
A - Artistic
R - Reliable
E - Encouraging

Okay, now I see a Book of Me layout in the works. Thanks Terri! :-)

1.25.2008

I'm so proud!

Okay, so the cats out of the bag... I cheated a bit. I worked ahead and did this card first. It's honest, and sincere. :-)



But since this project is to show a slice of my life as it is in 2008, THIS has got to be my new card. I can not TELL you how proud I am of my dear husband for losing 30 pounds in 3 months!

YITL challenge #4

PROUD

When you complete your card, please comment here with a link to your blog to show your card.

Have fun and I can't wait to see what y'all come up with! I'll post mine a little later. :-)

1.24.2008

CHA sneak peeks

I think I'm the only scrapper on earth who HATES sneak peeks. It actually irritates me to see all the new threads on all the boards. Show me, don't show me, makes no difference. If I open the threads at all, its to be polite to the online store owners that have boards that I love because of the people on them. When I go to the store, and if it's on the shelf? I'll buy it if I like it. Period. I know... I'm not entirely stupid... I recognize what is happening. Creating excitement, MARKETING. To create excitement for ME, you'd have to send me a little sample to hold in my hot little hands. CRAZY! I KNOW!!! But for me? I have tons to last me until the new releases hit the stores, thankyouverymuch. So, while most of my friends are drooling over the stuff that they can't have yet, I'll be breaking into my goodies from Summer CHA. Yep, yep, yep, I still have stuff I've never opened and probably should, even though its way out of style by now. Happy scrapping! :-)

1.23.2008

Heavenly Bamboo



I don't know what it is about these berries that fascinate me so. I just think they are so beautiful, even though most of the time they aren't covered with snow. They are brilliantly red in an ordinarily dreary season. These grow on Nandina, commonly called Heavenly Bamboo. They just make me happy! :-)

Blog challenge # 4

Post a photo that you’ve taken this month and tell us all about it in detail! (Remember to check back on your blog when you’re ready to scrap the photo, and you’ll be amazed at how helpful it is to journal!)

1.18.2008

My "Blue" card

At first, the word "blue" conjured up depression. But I'm not depressed, so what to do? A card on my favorite clothing item EVER... BLUE jeans! :-) I don't like it as much after I journaled on it, but its done. Maybe I should be depressed that I don't have better handwriting. LOL

YITL challenge #3

BLUE

When you complete your card, please comment here with a link to your blog to show your card.

Have fun and I can't wait to see what y'all come up with! I'll post mine a little later. :-)

1.16.2008

Commercialism

...runs rampant throughout all of America's holidays. I've been a little grinchy about it since Christmas, when I saw several of my friends, both online and in real life, jumping through hoops to find a Wii. It took me back to the days when my mother did the same to find my sister a Cabbage Patch doll. It didn't matter how much she had to pay, she just HAD to have it. The sacrifice was all but lost on my then 3 year old sister, who opened the package with glee, only to be tossed aside to move on to the next gift.

I will tell you that I am Jewish. My husband is not. So our children benefit from both December holidays. That said, let me expound on "benefit." On Hanukkah, we light our menorah and say our blessings in Hebrew. We cook our traditional Jewish foods, recipes handed down to me from my grandmother, her mother, her mother, and so forth. We read from the Torah. We play Dreidl. There are no gifts exchanged, other than the gift of togetherness. Along comes Christmas, and we have a few special traditions as well... the painting of the handprints on the tree skirt, the baking of the springerle cookies that no one likes, but wouldn't be Christmas without (LOL), the Christmas shows and songs that we watch and sing as a family. My children are well aware of the real "reason for the season," yet the focus is on the gifts. Shopping for them, and receiving them. And here is the real lesson, I think... if you ask my children, they will tell you that they are Jewish. The choice has always been theirs to make. I would love to see more families focus on the real reason for the season, whatever that season may be. I think it would make everything so much less stressful and so much more meaningful.

So, my dear blogging buddies, although I certainly could go out and buy you all the dozen roses you all deserve for Valentines Day, I refuse to pay twice as much for the flowers that the stores are charging and will simply say, I love you all, and you are special to me EVERY day. :-)

Blog challenge # 3

Rant and rave! What holiday drives you nuts? Think of a holiday people fuss over. Write about loving and/or disliking that holiday.

1.11.2008

My "Winter" card

Although TODAY was a beautiful day in Helena, the number one place to live in Alabama, according to Money magazine! I'd have to agree, even though we do have our odd weather events. One day we can be wearing shorts, and the next day it can be freezing. But I don't think that's Helena's fault... I took advantage of the nice weather today and took photos of my city, just like I were a tourist. Layout coming soon to a blog near you. :-) But for the most part, here's my take on Winter.

YITL challenge #2

WINTER

Because it is. :-) When you complete your card, please comment here with a link to your blog to show your card.

Have fun and I can't wait to see what y'all come up with! I'll post mine a little later. :-)

1.10.2008

You made my day!

Lynda and Marci made MY day today by bestowing this honor on me! Thank you girlies!

Here is how it works:

"Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about blogland! Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so that they can pass it on. Beware! You may get the award several times!"

I seriously can not choose 10. I read a LOT of blogs. I'd be embarrassed to say how many I have on my Google Reader. (74, LOL) I read them for all different reasons, but they're on my reader because I find them all inspirational and they all make me happy! So, tell ya what... I'm gonna cheat. If you're reading this blog entry, I choose YOU! And if you're reading, please post a comment and include your blog addy so that the rest of my scrappy friends can check our your blog and see why I couldn't choose! Love you all! :-)

1.09.2008

Wake up and smell the coffee!

Ahh, thats the BEST way to wake up, but alas, I'm usually the one to make it. ;-)

The reason I thought about doing this particular topic is because I've noticed I usually wake up in a happy mood. That mood continues throughout the morning if it goes the way "I" like it to. Ideally, I wake up at about 7 a.m., turn on my computer and while it's booting up, I put on my new white spa robe that I got for my birthday and my white fuzzy princess slippers. After going to the little girls room, I walk into the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee. If its a REALLY good day, one of my scrapbooking mugs is clean! LOL I bring it back to bed, hop under the covers and check email, boards and blogs. If I have my way, this covers the 30 minute span + 30 more.

Now, not every day goes this way. My 11 year old sometimes will stand at the edge of my bed and peer at me until I sense it and scares the bejeebers out of me by saying, "MOM! WAKE UP! ITS A SCHOOL DAY!" Argh! So on those days, I put on the aforementioned robe and slippers, quickly use the rest room, get the coffee going and sit at the dining room table, trying to teach her math that is way too easy for her, thereby having the wrath of Peyton thrust upon me. "Mom, I know this stuff." Sigh. And so my day begins.

To be 11 years old and know everything must also be an awesome way to start the day, but I can't remember! :-D

1.08.2008

Blog challenge # 2

Focus on JUST the first half hour of your waking day. Write a blog entry describing it in depth. Include details such as what time you wake up and what your mood is generally. Are you usually well rested? Do you use an alarm clock to wake? If so, is it set to music or buzzing? Use lots of descriptive words!

I'm offended

Edited: Since so many of you have asked what I heard, I will explain. After having failed at the verification code, I just thought I'd see what the audio said the letters were. Like Rach said, there was a lot of voice noise, and then a few clearer numbers I was supposed to type, except I COULD see that there were no NUMBERS, only letters. Maybe offended is the wrong word, but if you're going to have a pic of a wheelchair, then at least have the thing be HELPFUL. Could be just my mood today though... Carry on! :-)

So, as I was posting a reply on a friends blog, I typed in my word verification and it was WRONG. So I thought, "okay, I'm going blind, whatever" so I clicked on that little wheelchair next to it? Yea, go ahead and do that and let me know what YOU think. :-/ Not sure what I'm going to do about it yet, if anything, but if a whole bunch of my friends write to me and confirm the same thing "I" heard, yea. I'm writing to someone at blogger.

Okay, whos ready for the next blog challenge? ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1.07.2008

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Megan, so here goes...

1. My 2 favorite scrapbook topics: My family and my pets. They're all wacky! LOL
2. The 2 best places I've been to: Disney World and the Caribbean
3. 2 things I do everyday: Check too many scrapbooking boards and shower, in that order! LOL
4. The 2 things everyone knows about me: I love to scrapbook and I spend too much time on the computer.
5. The 2 places I wish to visit: Michigan to meet my scrappy friend Colleen, and Florida to meet my scrappy friend Origin. :-)
6. 2 things you may not know about me are: I homeschool our children and have for over 10 years and DH and I are planning our retirement to live aboard our boat.
7. My two favorite foods are: Hmm, I like most things, but I'd have to say my favorites are BBQ and steak.

Okay, now I'm going to tag two people: Tams, because she hasn't updated her blog in a few days, (although I see she's changed her header! YAY!) and Colleen, because she's at work and needs something to do! LOL

See y'all in a couple of days with the new blog challenge! :-)

1.05.2008

Cool new product!

Oh my gosh, y'all! It is RARE that I get super excited about anything, but I am SOOOOO excited about THIS! Check this out! It's a scrapbook page frame! INGENIUS, I tell you! I'm going to be using my 12 x 12 frame to display my calendar pages!



You will want to get on this right away, as they are handmade by TammyMs husband and son and I'm thinking that there will be a waiting list before too long! How fun will it be to alter this frame to display special pages? Order yours HERE!

1.04.2008

YITL challenge #1


RESOLVE

With New Years being the time of resolutions, it seemed a logical place to start.

When you complete your card, please comment here with a link to your blog to show your card.

Have fun and I can't wait to see what y'all come up with! :-)

Here is my card. :-)

1.03.2008

A Year in the Life challenge starts tomorrow!

I will be hosting a new challenge starting tomorrow called “A Year in the Life.” It’s totally up to you as to the set up. Create cards no larger than 5 x 7. You can use playing cards, index cards or rolodex cards, whichever system works the best for you. I'll be altering a deck of playing cards. :-)

There will be a one word prompt each Friday. The idea is that you create a card in 15 minutes or less that shows a slice of YOUR life in 2008. If it takes you longer than that, you’re thinking too hard!

I will be using my completed card collection to make a cornice board to go over the window in my scrap room at the end of the year. I'm super excited about it!

Just for tomorrow, I will post the challenge AND my card in one post, just so you get the idea. Starting next week, I'll post the word first, with the card in a later post.

I hope you'll join me! If you do, please leave me a comment and post a link to your card on your blog, so everyone can see your creations! :-)

Baby, it's cold outside!

How cold? THIS cold...



Do you SEE the frost on the frozen reptiles body? Its as if all of a sudden, he couldn't crawl another inch and simply gave in to the freezing temps! LOL

Today was not the best day to be without a working furnace. In keeping with my goal for the new year, I tried to find the positive in it. That which does not kill us, makes us stronger. That's the best I could do! LOL But its all good now, after our awesome A/C/Heating company fixed us up. My project tonight is to get a letter together for Valley Fireplace to sing their praises! :-)

If I'm not on your Google Reader, be sure and check back tomorrow for the Year in the Life challenge word for the week!

1.02.2008

Painting by Mona

My favorite wall hanging in our home was painted by an elephant. No! Really! Glen used to work for the Birmingham Zoo and one of the enrichment activities for the animals is painting. As soon as I saw this beauty from Mona, I just had to have it! Mona was euthanized on June 21, 2007, but her memory will live on in our living room. Rest in peace, Mona.

Blog challenge # 1

Look at the wall hangings on your walls. (family portraits excluded) Post a photo of your favorite one and write about it on your blog. Where did you get it? Why do you love it?