Holidays

Not that I don't enjoy the food and frivolity, I am so so glad that I am finally home and not still at my mom's cleaning up after eating or cleaning up while we're cooking.  It feels good to lie in bed with the laptop and watch a movie.  Plus, the noise level goes from fairly quiet in my house to extremely noisy and that alone makes me want to come right home.

The food was good.  That is about all that is good about the holidays.  The traditional cookies and pies plus the Christmas dinner.  The stuff is good.  You wait all year for it and then it tastes divine. 

Well I'm pooped. In fact, I fell asleep all the way home from my mom's house.  Too much of everything.  Now back to normal.  I say that because we don't do squat on New Year's.

Take care,
M

Never buy from Kodak

Hey everyone,

Did you miss me?  Now this post is a warning to all. Never buy from Kodak.  Totally reputable company, can't solve an issue to save their lives.

The other day I was going to cancel an account I had because I was frustrated with a couple of things. The customer service diva was so good with handling my issues that I am staying with that company.  Now, I will recommend that company.

They say a person who has a good experience doesn't say much but if they have a bad experience, they tell 10 people. Well, I'm telling all of you.  Plus I plan to write a letter to the company (not that it will do anything).

If you can avoid it, don't buy from Kodak. They have misinformation on their website. Then when you call the company about the product you bought, you're transferred 3 times back and forth between two departments. I finally demanded I speak to a manager and he said she would call back within twenty minutes.  It is now one week and two days, no call.

So we found the correct item on another website so I called to get a return slip.  I asked the lady, hey do I have to pay for this?  She said well you ordered it.  So I explained that I ordered it because of what it said on their website. She said to me, "Well ma'am just send it back and then we can talk about refunds for shipping costs."  I said, "Well just send me the return label."  Basically I want to be done with them. I don't care how.

I will never buy another Kodak product. I thought I had a good product but their customer service ruined it for me. I don't know if you have the same philosophy, but when I have a problem with what I buy, I want someone to help me.  If the company won't help me, then I won't buy from them.

My suggestion is don't do it either.
M

The beauty of email accounts

I don't know what it is about receiving an email, but it makes me smile.. It's better than when I was at the U of A and I would get excited for any mail or package.  I check my email several times a day to see if I received anything. I only hope it isn't an advertisement for some odd thing and is a note from a friend.  Right now while I am job searching, they are the only emails I am lookiing for.
M

Falalalalalalalalalala

The Christmas season is a time of year in which I do not always wish to find myself in. Ah, cynical you say.  Not at all. But trying to perform an errand with the traffic and amount of people at the stores; I'd rather stay at home. For some reason, decorating is just something I'd rather not do this year.  To have to take down the regular trinkets in the house and put up the Christmas stuff and then think about having to take it down again is just too much.  I read articles that people are just not putting in the effort or the money this year for Christmas.  I understand why.  To hear Christmas music makes me cringe.  I'm just not in the mood.  Is it because I am getting older or is it becuase I have no money to buy things for people and get excited about watching them open their gifts?  I don't know. I will do my baking and I sent Christmas cards but I can't wait for the rest of December to pass. Let's just get it over with. Perhaps my next entry will not be so frustrated.

I will be going to my mother's tomorrow with my family to make the bread we have Christmas day with our soup. The tradition will be fun but my mother will play Christmas music and that will be annoying.  Oh well, just another day.  Time to try to be in a better mood.

M

Never a good deal

Hey out there,

Let me just say there always seems to be a scam with everything.  Those customer service agents are sure trained not to reveal it to you.  You have to be one handy sleuth to discover the scam before you waste money or time.  Be careful out there people, there are those who are out to get ya!

M

Up Way Too Early

Last night I was up too late crocheting something for a friend and then I realized I have an appointment this morning. So that meant that I had to drag my butt out of bed an hour ago, take the dog out, feed him and give him his medicine (poor baby is sick), and then get ready. I sit here now eating my honeycomb cereal wishing I could go to bed but instead I have to leave in ten minutes. Ugh! The worst part about it is that it's cold and rainy outside. Yuck!  I figure I might as well make it a yucky day all around and run other errands when my appointment is over as well.  Isn't it just so much better to snuggle under warm covers on a cold, rainy day!   Anyway, time to go.
M

The Email Abyss

You know when you apply for a job and you send an email and it goes somewhere far far away and it never comes back to you?  That is how I feel sometimes.  There is a black hole email abyss where emails are not returned and so you keep applying for jobs.  Ah well, someday I will have mail :)

M

Literal Pain in the Neck

Yesterday I had a facet injection in my neck because the doctor is hoping it will help my left arm.  Strang that to help one body part, you have to hurt others.  I have been in pain since. I'm in bed instead of up and around doing fun things. It sucks.  At least my husband waits on me during this time.  That part is fine.

I hope that this works becuase I am going to scream.  And people will hear it. Could it be that I tasted some forbidden fruit and this is my punishment: constant pain? Well I'm really sorry about that.
Heh,  Just rambling on Percocet this evening.
Take care.
M

Pantry Chili

So the other day, I had to make dinner and my cupboards were looking pretty grim after the holidays. I didn't really have much meat either which I usually have a stock of.  I look and I have ground turkey and a piece of round steak. I thought hrmmmm.

So I brown the ground turkey with garlic, sage, poultry seasoning, onion powder (don't even have onions), salt and pepper.
I defrost the piece of round steak and cut into cubes.
Then I cut carrots into pieces (no other veggies than that.
I throw all this into a pot.  I find a can of pinto beans, navy beans, black beans, and kidney beans. I rinse those and they go into the pot. I put tomato sauce, and chop up whole tomatoes and they go in the pot. I add some water. And of course chili powder, salt and pepper.

After a couple of hours of simmering, I made some instant rice and had my hubby get a loaf of french bread.
That was some of the best chili I ever had. 

I highly recommend when you don't really have too many groceries to put together meals, don't be afraid. Be a pantry chef. Throw some stuff together and woohoo, a wonderful meal.

The leftovers were even better.

Maria

Still Job Searching

Hey everyone,

Okay, I realize the job market out there for people to work at home is pretty big, it is hard to find because the employers are looking for specific qualifications or the whole things is a scam.  Everyday, I spend an hour or two searching for work and even have applied for a couple of jobs and have got zip in my email inbox. It's sad. I know searching around the holidays is tough, but sheesh. 

Anyway, so I go pick up a paper today to see if the want ads in the actual paper have something different (which is something I noticed before) and I found Movie extras ads, three of them. (All different). I am signed up with my portfolio on Talent6 and have received jack shit so I am going to call these people and see what turns up.  It never hurts to try.  It won't be long, I'll be applying to everything, even if I know I don't qualify.

Any words of advice?
Maria