Brand loyalty?

Did you really think I wouldn't notice? Come on...don't even start with me!! Hello, I know you too well! As much as we are together all day long, you have to know I would catch on to your scandalous scheme. I am with you several times a day and with all that handling, trust me...I know you. I know when you are *different* and I do not appreciate your sly moves. I feel cheated!

Dear Quilted Northern,

I have used your bathroom tissue, the 12 pack of double rolls, for the past 10 years. I do not buy any other brands. Ever. Quilted Northern double rolls are exactly what I look for in TP. Absorbent in all the right ways, sturdy yet gentle, never leaves lint and I know exactly how many squares I need for every job that arises. Yes, I have OCD much.

My complaint is that without warning, you have decided to cheat each roll by 1/2" and did not bother to lower the price! How dare you charge the full price and not trade a full sized roll?!? Here, let me demonstrate. I had a roll left from the last pack I purchased. You'll notice the old roll on the left. Exhibit A:

Compare this to the roll on the right purchased last week. Now, I will include a ruler in the shot just to show the actual 1/2" difference. Exhibit B:

Shame on you! I've noticed a trend with companies starting to make smaller packages for the same prices. Candy, toilet paper, what's next? So much for brand loyalty. The brands we are loyal to are NOT loyal to us these days.

Yeah...I noticed. If I were still in school, I would get myself one of those cardboard displays and make a great showcase with percentages and shortages, instead I will blog about your sly dirty secret that is now out of the bag!

Back pain go away, don't come again another day!

Seriously.

My back has been on again / off again (mostly off) since before I went to Branson! I know the unforgiving hotel bed did not help the already brewing situation any...and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been covered under travel medical insurance anyway. It's most likely due to my old, hand me down mattress that I desperately need to replace, but my back is killing me!

This morning I woke up feeling better and stronger and then WHAMMO! Standing over the sink doing dishes and it was good night Betty! Back spasms prompting side muscle spasms that wrap around....making me jerk...which makes my back spaz out more!!! I put ice on both spots today trying to calm it all down. I also took some Motrin but I think I need more.

I have been putting off doing laundry because I just can't imagine carrying loads of heavy laundry down the odd back stairs of my apartment but I just can't put it off anymore. This is one of those times I wish I had a nice strong helpful husband to carry all the laundry down for me! Of course, that would just mean that I would have even more laundry to do!!

Please pray for my back to knock it off and be strong for the next 4 hours. Thanks!

Prayers for...everyone!

Hi all, I'm sure you've noticed by now that I haven't been blogging as much as I would normally like to. It's not like I've been distracted & out searching for the best eye cream for dark circles...but I could cause trust me, I got 'em right now!

No, since my last post about leaving on the road trip down to Branson, there has been alot going on in my world. Saturday night around 2:30 am, the otherwise dark Branson hotel room was illuminated by the light of my cell phone. On the other end was my cousin Lil' Tony who informed me that they airvacked my dad from the country to St. Louis University hospital with blood clots in his legs that had gone to his lungs and that he was doing very good at all.

So once I was home from Branson I spent every night that week at the hospital with him. They were trying to get his blood to a therapeutic level of 'thin' with the various meds so he could go home. He is home now as of last Friday, trying to adjust to new foods and taking new meds. So please keep him in your prayers, pulmonary emboli can be fatal. And I'm not so sure he is ready to meet his maker yet.

Friday also brought yet another trip to the ER for my friend Jen. She has been suffering with abdominal pains of various kinds and degrees for the past 2 years and they never seem to be able to figure out what's actually wrong with her. Needless to say they are extremely frustrated and disheartened. The ER sent her home with pain meds. Again.

Saturday, the pain was THE WORST and she went back to the ER begging them to help her. Ultimately, they sent her home with more pain meds. Again.

Sunday morning she collapsed at home and after arriving by ambulance to the hospital and running some tests, they discovered that things were all twisted up inside and dieing. Emergency surgery was a must and they hoped they would have enough in there that she could survive. That was a tough phone call to get, let me tell ya. I don't want to imagine the pain in her husband's heart and her family too. She came through that surgery ok and had another one on Monday to fix some more and seems to be recovering at a rate they are happy with. I will keep you updated a bit when I can.

Thursday my mom is going to have hernia surgery. Same hospital as Jen...how convenient, thanks guys! I'll keep you informed on her progress. When she gets out of the hospital she will stay with her friend Shirley again like she did the last time since we live on the second floor and I have to be at work during the day. Shirley has 2 steps into her house and is retired and can cook for her and everything! What a blessing to have wonderful helpful people in your life when things get tough. I need to take a lesson, I've been neglectful in that area and it's more than time for me to step up.

So please keep all these people in your prayers, I'll keep you updated as things go along.

Road trip! Branson here we come!

Pack your bags and make sure the motorhome insurance is all paid up, we're going on a road trip to Branson, Missouri!

Mom and I are going to spend the next 3 days visiting Branson. Man, I can't even remember how long it has been since I've been there with my mom! I believe I was a child asking her for spending money...of course some things never grow old LOL

The plans are to do a little shopping and a whole lot of looking. I hear this will be a busy weekend in Branson but it'll be nice because it should be decorated all up for the holidays with lights and bows and all the trimmings!! I'll share some pictures when I get home :) Pray for safe travels, there should be a lot of people on the roads this weekend. We will come home on Sunday. Have a great weekend!!

Black Friday shopping plans

Well, now that Thanksgiving dinner has been served, it's time to break out those black Friday adds and plan out your shopping trips!

Please, for the love of Pete...people, leave your anger and your aggression at home when you roll out of bed at 2:30 a.m. to get the best deal on UGG Bailey Button boots and crock pots to mark off those shopping lists. We do not need a repeat of last year's black Friday fatality. It's just not worth all that! Be safe everyone, if you feel cranky when your alarm goes off, just turn it off, roll over and go back to sleep.

Give Me Five Monday Meme #56

Monday, November 23, 2009

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five reasons you can be thankful this year.

1. I'm humbly thankful for the love of God and the mercy He shows me.
2. I am appreciative of opportunities to be used by Him and thankful He continues to offer them, to me.
3. I'm thankful for the ability to be content even when things around me seem upsetting or scary or not at all working out the way I thought they should.
4. I'm thankful for good times with good friends and family and looking forward to making new memories.
5. I'm still employed! Full time and as a fill in, I am thankful for every hour I am employed.

Happy Birthday, Me!

Another year older.....another year full of things I wish I had done...things I wish I hadn't. I'm not going to talk about weight loss and diet pill reviews or anything like that. My life isn't all about my weight!

At this point all I can do is learn and move on. Turn the page on yesterday. Much too often I pick it back up and drag it around like a ball on a chain locked to my ankle. Some things happen that I can't control and some I can. So when I can't I will have faith that I will be ok through whatever plan the Lord has for me. Even if it hurts me in the moment.

Lots to look forward to!! Dinner with my momma tonight at Red Lobster, dinner with various ladies in my life at the Old Spaghetti Factory tomorrow night, Little House on the Prairie tickets with friends on Tuesday at the Fox Theater, Thanksgiving, trip to Branson with momma over the holiday weekend and then starts the busy and wonderful month of December with all of it's merriment! Holiday parties, caroling, hot chocolate, being with friends and loved ones... who could look forward to all that and not have a smile on your face?? Do yourself a favor, try to see the brightside of things, even if it hurts. ;-)

Home sweet home!

Traveling by yourself can be brutal. If for no other reason that there's no one to share the task of driving with in order to get a break. The good part was being able to stop whenever I wanted to, choose my own route and not stopping when I didn't want to LOL

I left my uncle's house around 6:45 am getting off to a later start than I had wanted by wasting a lot of time moseying around a gas station looking for suitable souvenirs or possible Christmas gift trinkets. I ended up changing my mind on everything! What a waste of drive time.

Later on I decided what I really wanted was a cactus plant so I stopped later and got one from a Home Depot. What better memento of Texas than a cacti and some hot sauce...minus the hot sauce LOL

I also took a big detour to an Ikea store not too far from Dallas and I'm SOOOO glad I did! The closest one to St. Louis is like 4 or more hours away and I was going to be about 22 miles from one so I decided to go. I heart Ikea!!!

So, I traveled for about 28 hours with all the stops along the way...and was actually there for about 36 hours including the time I was asleep. It was worth it though, good to see family after so long. Family shouldn't feel like strangers!!

So now it's back to work for me, lots to do to get caught up. No time for live chat software or playing on Facebook! I won't be doing that much until I get home. :)

RIP Uncle Joe

Life goes by so fast these days. There never seems to be enough time or resources to prioritize things the way we wish we could. My Uncle Joe passed away on Thursday. For about 6 years I've been wanting to go down to Texas for a visit and have him take me fishing at Lake Fork! He said he would and even told my dad he was blessed to have a daughter who enjoyed fishing.

Uncle Joe has 3 daughters and I don't think they are very interested in it. I missed my opportunity forever to go fishing with Uncle Joe :(

So be praying for me as I will be driving (most likely alone) from St. Louis, MO to Italy, TX. It should take me about 12 hours or so, depending on how many times I need to stop. It'll be a fast weekend visit, no time to sit around and enjoy a bluray movie.

Don't let let so much time pass not doing things you really would like to do just because you are 'too busy'. Make the time before you are out of time. Rest in peace, Uncle Joe!!

Give Me Five Monday Meme #55

Monday, November 9, 2009

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five foods you never want to eat.

1. Snails: even though they are supposed to be a delicacy, um, yuck!
2. Cow tongue: why is this even on a menu?
3. Snake: just can't even stand the thought of it.
4. Oysters: same reason as #1, yucky looking!
5. Anything that is also considered a bug of ANY kind no matter what part of the world I am in....NO HANGIN' WAY!

It's Fall, ya'll!

Fall is here, there's no doubt! Check your pond pumps, buy a new rake, it's time to 'autumnize' your home. Is that a real word? Now it is :)

If you rent like me, then thank the good Lord and go on a drive and enjoy the fall colors before they are gone...instead of spending your weekends raking up ginormous mounds of leaves that just blow back down before you can fill the bags LOL Here are a few prime choice photos I found when I Googled 'fall foliage'. Enjoy!!

A rough start

Well, this was a busy weekend. Some good things happened and some not so good things happened. I'm sick, sort of...it seems to just come and go as it pleases. I got to work over 16 hours this weekend for my second job, which is great. I hadn't gotten any hours in over 3 weeks!

Also, had "good" fun at some friends' birthday party, it's always nice to get together and jibber jabber. The kiddos had fun at the playground. Had me some grilled hot dogs...love them! Could have done without the bee problem, but hey they have to eat too.

Sunday brought more "good" to the weekend in the form of a vow renewal ceremony for the Quinn family. 15 years and 5 kids later :) They decided they did in fact want to stay together for the long hall. The theme was 'A cord of three strands is not quickly broken'....the third (or first, depends on your point of view) strand would be God, of course :)

The "not so good" for the weekend ended up being a broken window on the parking lot afterwards. I hope the criminals had fun with their bag full of crocheting, magazines, books and raisins which were for the car ride from/to Kentucky. The happy couple's brother and sister in law and their kids were supposed to head home Monday morning but were going to have to get the window fixed first now. Crime is so annoying.

After this long weekend, Monday morning came crashing down on me. A rough start indeed, it was hard to get out of bed today....so I just had to force myself up, slapped on some wrinkle cream and poof! I'm ready to start a new week. I guess.

Am I sick yet?

Who knew it would take so long to get sick! For the past two weeks I could *kind of* tell I *might* be getting sick-*maybe*. It has been sort of like a sneaky troll tip toeing behind me. Every time I think I can tell I'm getting sick, I turn around and poof it's gone!

But now? Well, I mean I'm not sitting here researching colon cleanser reviews and decongestants but there's definitely no mistaking that I am positively sick! I'm just worried, it took me 2 weeks for the wind up to being sick, how long is it going to take to get over being sick? Ack! Now pass the tissues and throat lozenges.

St. Louis Interactive Festival 2009, it's a blogger thing

!!!Free!!! Tickets now available for the 2nd Annual St. Louis Interactive Festival this Saturday, October 17, 2009. It's a conference and networking event from 9 am to 4 pm with breakfast and lunch included. There are key note speakers with helpful information on blogging from content to creating great looking blogs and why you might want to do that...plus other helpful information as well.

My friend Patrick from over at Patrick Says will be one of those speakers! This event is put on by the St. Louis Blogger's Guild (which I am not a member of, maybe after this weekend?) and is being held @ Shock City Music Works. Check it out and if your schedule permits (and you are a St. Louis blogger, I guess) go to the site and register. Did I mention it's all free?? Besides, what could it hurt to meet some fellow bloggers and get some great tips for bettering our blogs? Let me know if you plan to go! Unless you'd rather stay home and get a jump start on finding unique gifts for her or him...oh, you can't actually see me pointing, can you? :P

Give Me Five Monday Meme #54

Monday, October 12, 2009

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five favorite or un-favorite things to shop for.

1. Un-Fave: Shoes
2. Fave: Clothes
3. Fave: Crafty Stuff
4. Fave: Airplane tickets for a trip
5. Fave: Gifts

Today I went shoe shopping and I was totally traumatized!! Seriously, I'd rather shop for the best weight loss pills or anything else! I got all worked up and was sweating...I finally figured out 2 pair that might work. The problem is I need 2 different sized shoes. I need a 10W for the left and a 10 1/2 W for the right. One pair I got ended up being size 11 because the 10's just weren't right. Of course, they are a little big on me....UGH!! I D*E*S*P*I*S*E shoe shopping!!

Papa John's vs. The Cake Boss

Is it just me or does that guy John Schnatter from Papa John's look alot like that guy Buddy Valastro from the Cake Boss?

I love finding this kind of stuff!! :) Too funny...

Sweet, sweet snail mail!

I don't remember getting free candy samples in the mail before!

How in the world did they know I like Twizzlers? Hmmm, big brother perhaps? And how did they know where I live? Strange....

The package was damaged in the mail, big surprise, but the candy on the inside was undisturbed. I opened the candy packaging but it was quite difficult. The plastic wrapper kept sticking to the candy. The candy was very...well...sticky. I did try a bite of it..but the consistency was off and I had to spit it out. Just not my cup of tea. The flavors were great, I love cherry the best! I just couldn't get past the gooey-ness of the filling and to be honest the twizzler part of the candy seemed different too.

Dear Twizzler product engineers,

Thanks, but no thanks.

Sincerely,
Me

Give Me Five Monday Meme #53

Monday, October 5, 2009

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five things you would do, if money were no object.

1. Buy enough food to make sure no one would go to bed hungry anywhere on earth.
2. Health care for everyone!!!
3. Sail around the world, three times.
4. Build my own spaceship and fly into space to orbit the earth. Ok, hire really smart people to build it for me, that is.
5. Buy a house in every one of my favorite places in the world and purchase my own plane to go from one to the next.

Wow, it's fun to dream, isn't it?? Sometimes it's just nice to let your mind be free to think of the unthinkable, in a good way :)

I've never been offered so many husbands in one day before!

Today I was offered 3 husbands. That's right, you heard me....3 husbands!

This morning I was having a meeting in my apartment with the building owner and the owner of the businesses on the first floor below all 3 apartments, about some maintenance issues. There is now going to be a yoga place where there was previously nothing, another Mexican restaurant where there had already been 2 failed Mexican restaurants below me and in the middle, there will be a bakery where the medical equipment store used to be. I didn't know I would be having said meeting in my apartment today or I would have taken some time last night to straighten things up and get ready for it! The place is in a bit of disarray since I have dug around through things to get items to sell at the yard sale.

Anyway, in mentioning my yard sale, the business owner eye balls a screwdriver of mine laying on the table and offers to buy it from me...as this happened, the building owner, Hector, saw my tool box laying there and offered to buy that from me! I said, "No, no...I need these tools! Since I don't have a husband, I have to fix things myself!"

Both of their eyes got really big and ginormous smiles came and the business owner said, "I have two guys downstairs and they both need to get married! The one cooks real good (making a motion with his fingers to his mouth)" Then Hector says, "Well, if you don't mind Mexicans, the man who runs the bakery, he need to be married too!! You want me to introduce you??"

We all had a good laugh..but on some level, I think they were serious! LOL I could have my pick of the 3 amigos!!!

Oops!!! I did it again...

I'm sure by now you all have noticed, I missed the Give Me Five meme this past Monday :) What happened was, on Sunday evening I was in bed with my laptop and I ended up falling asleep before midnight and ya'll know I don't post it early. Well I totally fell asleep before I even decided on a topic and created the original post LOL

So, many apologies from me to you! I know I used to do this from time to time because I was having a hard time choosing a topic but this one was an 'oopsy'. Please come back next week to play along with a new topic. Now you all can go back to your Sharepoint or your Youtube videos or whatever else you were doing online before checking in here. :) Perhaps you were playing Mafia Wars over on Facebook? Now you're talking!!!