I received a notice from the newspaper that subscription prices were going to go up. Grant you, they are only going up $2.60 per quarter, but when I started receiving the paper, I paid $20.00 per quarter. Now it will be $35.10.
It has now gotten to be too much.
All I really want is the Sunday newspaper. They don't deliver Sunday only. They deliver a weekend bundle which includes the papers from Friday - Monday. Alone, it is an excessive use of paper.
All I really want is Sunday. The subscription rate hike notice finally put me over the edge.
We used to have a really wonderful woman that delivered the paper. Way back in the day, when we had the old windows and the old doors that we had to seal in the winter, she noticed that I had to exit the side door to grab the paper off the front step and come back in the back.
She changed her delivery to my side door.
She was always on time.
She was always very quiet.
When the newspaper goofed up billing and sent her a stop paper notice on us, she delivered our paper and included it on the inside. I called the paper, straightened it out and phoned Jeanne to thank her for slipping the notice into the paper. She told me that she had delivered my paper for years, knew I was a good paying customer and that she had a customer down the street with the same problem. She knew in her heart that it wasn't my fault and ignored their notice.
I would leave a gift for her each Christmas. It was something small, but usually hand dipped pretzels or handcrafted dish cloths that I buy from my friend. That kind of thing. She phoned me about the dish cloths and just loved them.
Jeanne had taken on several different routes. Her paper delivery enterprise had grown, and she passed our route on to her son.
He races up and down the street in a loud truck in the sometimes VERY early morning.
He comes to my back step and very loudly slams my paper down, waking me up each time he does it. (She was always quiet as a church mouse.)
He isn't always on time with the paper.
Finally, the additional monies required did me in and I called to cancel. When the lady asked if it was okay to inquire why I was cancelling, I told her that the increase in rates combined with the fact that all I want is the Sunday paper is what it boils down to. She was very kind and very understanding.
My guess is that I wasn't her only cancellation today.
Now I have a plan. I'll need to stop by the local grocery to get my Sunday paper. I'll stop in before or after church, but buying a paper at $1.50 a week as opposed to the full weekend will save me $80.00 a year.
Y'all, have you checked out the price of gas lately? It was $4.15 a gallon today. Thursday is usually a low day. I drove past with my quarter of a tank while listening to my daughter in the back seat say, "Whoa, Mom! That's WAAAAYYYYY too much."
Yes, yes it is.
Will I miss reading the paper on Friday, Saturday and Monday? Yes. I like holding paper. I have a love for Johannes Gutenberg. (Part of that alone would be the trained printmaker in me.) Practically speaking, I can read those three days online just like I do the Tuesday - Thursday editions. Yahoo is a good overall supplementation to the category of current events.
I made the decision this morning and acted on it today. What about you? Do you still subscribe to the paper? Do you enjoy type on paper leafing from one hand to the other?
Smiles in my day:
- K- is truly starting to beat the pants off of us in Uno.
Have a great day!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The one where I complain.
I wasn't going to, but in order to get house work done, I'll just vent and be done.
I feel so bad for my husband.
He has a program scheduled for this weekend where he is expecting 500 people. He ordered prizes for said event from the mom and pop shop that he has worked with in years past. They have been wonderful, up until this past year. Son-in-law is now in charge of one of the stores, Hubs didn't get to work with the guy he usually does and SIL dropped the ball big time. He ordered nothing until 2 weeks ago, then called Hubs yesterday to tell him that the items won't be in. The hats that they were providing to him were dropped off last week to be embroidered and instead of having the number he needs, they'll have 100 instead of 400 because the embroiderers needed more time. Of course! Dude waited until the last possible minute and put everyone in a bind.
THE PROGRAM IS SATURDAY! Hubs called me irritated as he was hopping from Walmart to Walmart to find as many tackle boxes (alike because they are prizes for kids and he wants to avoid fighting and whatnot). It took him going to 4 stores to get what he needed.
He just called me from the offending store, because he needed to drive the 45 minutes south for the 3rd time to pick up the late arriving hats. Dumb dude looked at him and said, "Oh! The tackle boxes that you needed just arrived!"
Hubs said, "Already spent the money. Don't need them." (I gasped on the phone and said, "You didn't get them, did you?" He didn't.)
He tossed the idea around in his head about going to the new store next year where good service guy works, but I told him that overall, that would be rewarding the entire company for really bad service. The guy nearly ruined my husband's program. Last year's guy wasn't available to help him this year, as I suspect that will continue to be the case. I told him that we'll just secure another store for donations and purchasing for him. I told him that I wouldn't even ask for the usual hats that they give to him, because that would be giving advertisement to a company that did not help him out in any way.
I feel so bad for him.
I feel so bad for my husband.
He has a program scheduled for this weekend where he is expecting 500 people. He ordered prizes for said event from the mom and pop shop that he has worked with in years past. They have been wonderful, up until this past year. Son-in-law is now in charge of one of the stores, Hubs didn't get to work with the guy he usually does and SIL dropped the ball big time. He ordered nothing until 2 weeks ago, then called Hubs yesterday to tell him that the items won't be in. The hats that they were providing to him were dropped off last week to be embroidered and instead of having the number he needs, they'll have 100 instead of 400 because the embroiderers needed more time. Of course! Dude waited until the last possible minute and put everyone in a bind.
THE PROGRAM IS SATURDAY! Hubs called me irritated as he was hopping from Walmart to Walmart to find as many tackle boxes (alike because they are prizes for kids and he wants to avoid fighting and whatnot). It took him going to 4 stores to get what he needed.
He just called me from the offending store, because he needed to drive the 45 minutes south for the 3rd time to pick up the late arriving hats. Dumb dude looked at him and said, "Oh! The tackle boxes that you needed just arrived!"
Hubs said, "Already spent the money. Don't need them." (I gasped on the phone and said, "You didn't get them, did you?" He didn't.)
He tossed the idea around in his head about going to the new store next year where good service guy works, but I told him that overall, that would be rewarding the entire company for really bad service. The guy nearly ruined my husband's program. Last year's guy wasn't available to help him this year, as I suspect that will continue to be the case. I told him that we'll just secure another store for donations and purchasing for him. I told him that I wouldn't even ask for the usual hats that they give to him, because that would be giving advertisement to a company that did not help him out in any way.
I feel so bad for him.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Success!
Our garden is showing progress. Considering that we've had enough rain to put our oars to water, I thought that my seeds and sets had rotted in the ground rather than sprouted. What a wonderful sight to see!
Smiles in my day:
- Getting a lot done at work.
- K- managing to keep on track and doing very well on the two make-up tests that she had to take Monday when she returned after being out of school for a week and a half. (Missed three days one week, then had spring break the next.)
- K- reading to herself in bed tonight. It was a brand new book and she was belting it out.
Have a great day!
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| Potatoes. This wasn't there yesterday. |
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| Collards. They were just teeny tiny up until the last two days. |
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| Mizuna. Same as the collards. They were teeny. |
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| The onions. They were little bits of tiny sprouts and overnight, they did this! |
Smiles in my day:
- Getting a lot done at work.
- K- managing to keep on track and doing very well on the two make-up tests that she had to take Monday when she returned after being out of school for a week and a half. (Missed three days one week, then had spring break the next.)
- K- reading to herself in bed tonight. It was a brand new book and she was belting it out.
Have a great day!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tales from the Trenches: With the grace of a drunken cow
On Easter Sunday Eve, I went through my closet to find a lovely dress to wear to church. I decided to run with my "going to a wedding" dress and heels. I don't wear heels that often, but the shoes I was going to wear had a chunky heel and they were only about 2" high. Fair enough, right?
Not when Grace is clearly not your middle name.
We were heading down from the balcony, I was holding onto the railing when one of my heels caught on the lovely red carpeting we have. Y'all, I held on for dear life. You should have seen the look on the face of the elderly lady right in my path. I think that she thought I was going to take her out. You'd be glad to know that I remained on 1 1/2 feet, didn't skid down the steps as I could see myself doing, then did a ta-da! at the bottom. She laughed and said something that I can't remember, but I do remember my response:
Hubs was coming down the steps behind me. "You know, I knew you were going to do that before you did. I was going to try to catch you, but there was nothing I could do."
Yup. The gracefulness of an inebriated Hereford. That's me.
Smiles in my day:
- The weather these past couple of mornings have been cooperative enough to allow K- and me to walk to school.
Have a great day!
Thought for the day:
I was surprised by how many people I encountered yesterday that did not celebrate Easter. Clearly, I was in the minority. When talking with co-workers, I mentioned that my husband made me an Easter basket. The one called me a diva for it. (I should add how much I hate that term.) Have you found the same to be true? In the Christian religion, Easter is really the high holy day of the year. I was just surprised to find that many Christians and non-Christians alike seemed to toss it in the Hallmark holiday pile. Thoughts?
Not when Grace is clearly not your middle name.
We were heading down from the balcony, I was holding onto the railing when one of my heels caught on the lovely red carpeting we have. Y'all, I held on for dear life. You should have seen the look on the face of the elderly lady right in my path. I think that she thought I was going to take her out. You'd be glad to know that I remained on 1 1/2 feet, didn't skid down the steps as I could see myself doing, then did a ta-da! at the bottom. She laughed and said something that I can't remember, but I do remember my response:
"This is exactly why I don't wear heels."
Hubs was coming down the steps behind me. "You know, I knew you were going to do that before you did. I was going to try to catch you, but there was nothing I could do."
Yup. The gracefulness of an inebriated Hereford. That's me.
Smiles in my day:
- The weather these past couple of mornings have been cooperative enough to allow K- and me to walk to school.
Have a great day!
Thought for the day:
I was surprised by how many people I encountered yesterday that did not celebrate Easter. Clearly, I was in the minority. When talking with co-workers, I mentioned that my husband made me an Easter basket. The one called me a diva for it. (I should add how much I hate that term.) Have you found the same to be true? In the Christian religion, Easter is really the high holy day of the year. I was just surprised to find that many Christians and non-Christians alike seemed to toss it in the Hallmark holiday pile. Thoughts?
Sunday, April 24, 2011
My husband always makes me an Easter basket.
Without fail, my husband and I have traded Easter baskets ever since we've been together. The first year we married, he bought me a tulip Easter basket and continues to fill it each and every year. The theme is usually gardening with a bag of Dove chocolates, but this year he dropped a few extra things in.
No, it doesn't involve diamonds.
My husband is thoughtful enough to keep things in mind that I love. I admit that I did ask him to get me the newest CD from Cake. Now, my husband absolutely detests Cake. We have a pretty small crossover of what music we both like. However, on the road today to the different parental units, he plunked the new CD in the truck and toughed it out as we drove to and from both places. That alone was gift enough. It wasn't done there.
When the disk was through, he had me play it again. It's not because he liked it, but because he knew that I did. (Love, actually.)
He also bought me the complete series of Christy. (Could Cake and Christy be on further ends of the spectrum from each other?) I might add, he isn't fond of Christy, either.
I also found the Nintendo DS Jillian 2010. I accidentally fell off the Shred wagon and would like to get back on. How kind of him to try to do something to help.
This evening, we got in, got baths and jumped into our jammies. We did some review homework with K- (remember that she missed 3 days of the week prior to spring break), then watched the movie Tangled together as a family. (Movie compliments of the Easter Bunny.) Now, I'm not really a Disney princess movie kind of girl. Really, Disney isn't my bag. However, I cried. Y'all, I cried. I felt stupid for crying at a cartoon, but couldn't help but to get that involved. Hubs wasn't jumping up and leaving either. I'm happy to say that all of us loved it (well, K- loved it from the time she saw it in the theaters), and we were able to spend time together.
After, my husband grabbed us up and danced around the living room with both of us.
It was a good day.
A prayer request:
Please keep Heather and her family in your prayers as they have just seen their daughter, Emma Grace, off to the arms of Jesus. Their daughter had such a long and difficult health history and while they rejoice in her dancing with Jesus, they are so sad that she is no longer with them.
No, it doesn't involve diamonds.
My husband is thoughtful enough to keep things in mind that I love. I admit that I did ask him to get me the newest CD from Cake. Now, my husband absolutely detests Cake. We have a pretty small crossover of what music we both like. However, on the road today to the different parental units, he plunked the new CD in the truck and toughed it out as we drove to and from both places. That alone was gift enough. It wasn't done there.
When the disk was through, he had me play it again. It's not because he liked it, but because he knew that I did. (Love, actually.)
He also bought me the complete series of Christy. (Could Cake and Christy be on further ends of the spectrum from each other?) I might add, he isn't fond of Christy, either.
I also found the Nintendo DS Jillian 2010. I accidentally fell off the Shred wagon and would like to get back on. How kind of him to try to do something to help.
This evening, we got in, got baths and jumped into our jammies. We did some review homework with K- (remember that she missed 3 days of the week prior to spring break), then watched the movie Tangled together as a family. (Movie compliments of the Easter Bunny.) Now, I'm not really a Disney princess movie kind of girl. Really, Disney isn't my bag. However, I cried. Y'all, I cried. I felt stupid for crying at a cartoon, but couldn't help but to get that involved. Hubs wasn't jumping up and leaving either. I'm happy to say that all of us loved it (well, K- loved it from the time she saw it in the theaters), and we were able to spend time together.
After, my husband grabbed us up and danced around the living room with both of us.
It was a good day.
A prayer request:
Please keep Heather and her family in your prayers as they have just seen their daughter, Emma Grace, off to the arms of Jesus. Their daughter had such a long and difficult health history and while they rejoice in her dancing with Jesus, they are so sad that she is no longer with them.
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