Monday, April 23, 2012
No way! No way! NO WAY!
I've been searching for a copy of Hatari, starring John Wayne, on DVD for years. Literally years. Sure- I can find it online... through rare movie sellers for over $60.00 sometimes. Why do I need this movie? Well, for nothing short of sentimental reasons. It was the last movie I watched with Pop, my grandpa. He was very sick with cancer and his brother, my Uncle Bill, was here spending time with him. The three of us settled in for an afternoon of John Wayne and the baby elephant walk. I own a copy of Hatari on VHS, but have wanted a more lasting copy for quite some time. Look what I found this morning in the classic movies sale at B/N!
In case you can't read that, it says $4.53! TRUE STORY! Seriously B/N?! Is this a joke? Nope, no joke. Still a true story. I have checked hi and low and in and out of places. Every time I order from B/N, I check, JUST to see if by chance they have it for less. And sure enough, the waiting paid off! It will be here by the end of the week!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
A busy Saturday!
I have a lady at work who will come into my classroom and get mad at me for being organized and on top of things. It literally makes her irritated at me. If she could have seen everything I accomplished yesterday, she wouldn't be speaking to me! haha
I've been working on getting my yard ready for outside entertaining. Its small, but I like to be out there and enjoy the spring weather. I've spent a couple nights this past week pulling weeds, turning soil over for my garden, cleaning the patio furniture and hosing everything down. I've sprayed for bugs and fertilized. I was ready to finally plant myself a tree. The one I had back there died several years ago and I've never taken the time to replace it. I'd like to say I was cool enough to realize it was "Earth day" and I was helping out the environment, however, I was really just waiting for a good weather weekend and hoping it would grow and provide some privacy from my fence neighbors haha Anyway, I enlisted the help of my brother, Herc, and together, along with the help of his two oldest daughters, we got to work!
Obviously you need a really big hole to start with. I had begun this process and Herc helped me finish it. Diggin a hole takes a lot out of you!
The girls came prepared with their own shovels and helped us keep the dirt "level" :) Very responsible helpers!
Once we had the tree in, you had to make sure it was packed and stable. It was almost time for watering!
And FINALLY! The time they waited so patiently for- using the watering can!
Yep... get every last drop out of it!
The girls decided my tree should be named "Blossom." So meet Blossom, my new Autumn Blaze Maple! May she grow and flourish so my neighbors aren't so curious about the goings-on in my backyard :)
As we were planting, Herc told me that Emi and Darren were going to be up this way and to call them if I wanted to finally pick out my freezer. I've been wanting one for quite some time, but just hadn't quite had the time to coordinate a pick up. I needed muscle and a truck. As soon as Herc finished with the tree, I ran over to Costco to meet Emi and within 30 minutes, I had a new freezer!
Aside from doing a lot of things on "my list" yesterday, it was really lovely to just have the support of my family. I hate being a "burden" on anyone. And while I know people, especially my family, are willing to help, I really like to be able to do things for myself and not have to ask for someone to fit me into their schedule ontop of everything else they do. I was incredibly grateful for their help, as those are two things I would never have been able to do myself.
I've been working on getting my yard ready for outside entertaining. Its small, but I like to be out there and enjoy the spring weather. I've spent a couple nights this past week pulling weeds, turning soil over for my garden, cleaning the patio furniture and hosing everything down. I've sprayed for bugs and fertilized. I was ready to finally plant myself a tree. The one I had back there died several years ago and I've never taken the time to replace it. I'd like to say I was cool enough to realize it was "Earth day" and I was helping out the environment, however, I was really just waiting for a good weather weekend and hoping it would grow and provide some privacy from my fence neighbors haha Anyway, I enlisted the help of my brother, Herc, and together, along with the help of his two oldest daughters, we got to work!
Aside from doing a lot of things on "my list" yesterday, it was really lovely to just have the support of my family. I hate being a "burden" on anyone. And while I know people, especially my family, are willing to help, I really like to be able to do things for myself and not have to ask for someone to fit me into their schedule ontop of everything else they do. I was incredibly grateful for their help, as those are two things I would never have been able to do myself.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
A quiet reminder
There are some nights where kneeling down to say my prayers takes every ounce of strength I can muster. I'm tired. My knees hurt. My feet hurt. I feel like I'm 90 years old. The idea of just sitting on the side of my bed and saying my prayers is much more appealing. Or maybe just laying down and reverently closing my eyes would be ok? Just this once...But I have to tell you this story that gently reminds me every morning and night the importance of kneeling and being in the right frame of mind to address my Heavenly Father.
Years ago I was in a singles ward with the Dream Team of Bishoprics. They were amazing men and we all loved them dearly. One of the counselors was a man named Walt Christensen. He lived in the valley, but had a ranch up in the mountains. He was gruff and tough and tender and kind, all at the same time. He was shorter in stature but at 65+ years old could probably still work harder than most half his age. He allowed us to use parts of his ranch for girls camp. He was always checking on widows around the valley. He oozed generosity and charity and always carried a spirit about him that made you want to step up. He was smart as a whip and had a fun sense of humor.
I met with him one night to receive a new calling for my ward. As I came into the office to meet with him, he greeted me with his warm smile and gentle handshake. He offered me a seat and we exchanged some small talk. He suggested we open with prayer. I agreed. (here comes the moment I'll never forget...) He asked if I would like to kneel while he offered the prayer. Being as I was in a dress and had never had anyone suggest that before, I politely declined. He smiled and said "Ok Aim, but I hope you don't mind waiting a minute while I do." This small, older man then took his time, checking his balance on his desk, knelt down in humility to offer a short, quick prayer on behalf of both of us. At the time I remember feeling awkward and embarassed that I hadn't done the same thing. Yet Bro Christensen said nothing of it. Just went about his business with the Lord in a humble way.
So on those nights when I'm too tired, too weary, too achy, and let's be honest, too lazy, to kneel down, Bro Christensen always comes to mind and I know what I should do.
Years ago I was in a singles ward with the Dream Team of Bishoprics. They were amazing men and we all loved them dearly. One of the counselors was a man named Walt Christensen. He lived in the valley, but had a ranch up in the mountains. He was gruff and tough and tender and kind, all at the same time. He was shorter in stature but at 65+ years old could probably still work harder than most half his age. He allowed us to use parts of his ranch for girls camp. He was always checking on widows around the valley. He oozed generosity and charity and always carried a spirit about him that made you want to step up. He was smart as a whip and had a fun sense of humor.
I met with him one night to receive a new calling for my ward. As I came into the office to meet with him, he greeted me with his warm smile and gentle handshake. He offered me a seat and we exchanged some small talk. He suggested we open with prayer. I agreed. (here comes the moment I'll never forget...) He asked if I would like to kneel while he offered the prayer. Being as I was in a dress and had never had anyone suggest that before, I politely declined. He smiled and said "Ok Aim, but I hope you don't mind waiting a minute while I do." This small, older man then took his time, checking his balance on his desk, knelt down in humility to offer a short, quick prayer on behalf of both of us. At the time I remember feeling awkward and embarassed that I hadn't done the same thing. Yet Bro Christensen said nothing of it. Just went about his business with the Lord in a humble way.
So on those nights when I'm too tired, too weary, too achy, and let's be honest, too lazy, to kneel down, Bro Christensen always comes to mind and I know what I should do.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Strongly Worded Letter Part II
Remember that previous post about my annoying moments for the past month with Home Depot? Here's what has happened since then. Saturday morning I emailed their online customer service, as well as made a copy of it and sent it to the store director of the location in question. In my letter, I simply detailed what had happened and expressed the sentiment that even though Home Depot was about two minutes from my house, I had no problem driving 20 minutes to get to a competitor's store. I didn't make demands or ask for anything- just passed along the frustration. I figured I might get an apologetic phone call, if that.
I received a return email from the customer service that same day, saying they had passed my email along to the store director and he should be contacting me within 48 hours to take care of my concerns. Brian, the store director, actually called me on Sunday from his "personal Blackberry" (as he put it), and left me a message. I called him back Monday morning. He was amazing. I have to say, he redeemed Home Depot for me. He shared that he would feel the same frustration and irritation if he had dealt with this situation. He was very concerned that my impression of "his store" was not favorable and shared the things he had changed within the computer system to avoid the miscommunications again. He had already spoken with the people involved and I felt pretty good about what he said. I explained that my intent in writing my letter was to alert them to the flaws that I experienced and hoped would get fixed.
Brian took good care of me. :) He gave me reason to believe that my experience had not been the norm, but simply a break down in communication and unfortunately it was me that it happened to. SO- I take it back. You, AND I, can continue to shop at Home Depot in good conscience. haha
I received a return email from the customer service that same day, saying they had passed my email along to the store director and he should be contacting me within 48 hours to take care of my concerns. Brian, the store director, actually called me on Sunday from his "personal Blackberry" (as he put it), and left me a message. I called him back Monday morning. He was amazing. I have to say, he redeemed Home Depot for me. He shared that he would feel the same frustration and irritation if he had dealt with this situation. He was very concerned that my impression of "his store" was not favorable and shared the things he had changed within the computer system to avoid the miscommunications again. He had already spoken with the people involved and I felt pretty good about what he said. I explained that my intent in writing my letter was to alert them to the flaws that I experienced and hoped would get fixed.
Brian took good care of me. :) He gave me reason to believe that my experience had not been the norm, but simply a break down in communication and unfortunately it was me that it happened to. SO- I take it back. You, AND I, can continue to shop at Home Depot in good conscience. haha
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Strongly worded letter
I love my home. Its my own little spot and is just the right size for me. However, I've always wanted a storm door for the entry. My entrance is dark and long until you get into the living room where there's plenty of light. So I finally decided to have one installed. I went to Home Depot and did not have a very favorable experience. It was supposed to be a 7-14 day process and turned into weeks of waiting and unreturned phone calls and mess ups. I ended up sending a "strongly worded letter" to their customer service online and also a copy of the email to the store director. My friend, Sunshine, gets a kick out of sending "strongly worded letters" to companies like Always, who tell you to "Have a happy period!" or pizza places without family changing stations in their restrooms. Regardless, this is only the second one I've ever sent. I won't spend time going over the annoying details of the weeks of waiting or of the letter. I'll just say: "LOOK AT MY NEW DOOR! ITS FANTASTIC!"
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