Gag Me With a Spoon Already

This isn't even worth the space or time, but damn it I'm sick of KK. So here's my two cents.

Please explain to me what "service" the Kardashians serve to our society? They have a show called "Keeping up with the Kardashians". I still haven't figured out why I would want to do that. Yet America feeds into this useless bullcrap. So they're businesswomen....... and?? What makes them different or special? It's just another "Paris Hilton" wannabe. Her last name is Hilton therefore we need to worship her??? Please explain, because I'm just not getting it.

So basically we have a bunch of so-called "idols" that are making a fortune off their fortune. Is that why I make crap off my crap? I finally see how it works. Oh wait HERE'S why Kim is famous (this is a quote from Wikipedia)

She rose to fame in 2007, when a sex tape with her and then-boyfriend Ray J was leaked.

Well there ya have it folks, all our questions have been answered......... I couldn't be more disgusted with what tv allows & what Americans support. I believe Paris Hilton had the same kind of scandal. THIS is what we're teaching kids to idolize? Thank goodness I have a boy, hopefully HIS standards are higher, then again he's 16 so probably not.

To top off my point because I've already wasted MY time & YOURS is now we have this "celebrity" filing for divorce after 72 days of marriage. Not only do I "SMH" at this because of the sheer fact that she never gave the marriage a chance & rushed into this multi-million dollar wedding/marriage but I am LIVID that here we have a heterosexual couple who is divorcing after 72 days & yet my partner & I of over 8 YEARS can't legally get married. WE'RE the bad examples to society, right??? Chaps my ass I tell ya!

So please America stop supporting such mindless, money hungry "celebrities" so that we don't have to see any more statistics such as:

Kim Kardashian was reported by the New York Post as the highest-paid television reality star in 2010, and was estimated to have earned $6 million from the show and endorsements for products.

So glad they didn't have to struggle on the measily millions they had BEFORE this show.

I ask again, please invest your time & energy into something worthwhile. If all you're getting from this show is green with envy or a boner ask yourself is it really worth it putting more money into these people's pockets & less into your brain.

If they go to Jared, punch them

You know, not often do I very vocally voice my opinion, which would be shocking because I do blog for Sassy Bitches ;)  But I try to hold my tongue, and I try to always handle situations diplomatically.  Then there are occasions in which I fail miserably.

Customer service is paramount to me.  I have pretty strong opinions about it.  I feel, if you make a conscious choice to open a business, then you better realize that customer service will make you or break you.  If you make a conscious decision to work in the customer service field, then you better not give me attitude or act like it is paining you to go to work every day.  There are many jobs that you can find in which you won't have to deal with people (Ask me, I have one).  Don't go work in customer service if you are just going to be an ass.  Oh yeah...I'm hot over this one, people.  Better buckle up.

My birthday was yesterday, and as a gift Brian gave me a beautiful Pandora bracelet.  Sadly, while I am not a tiny person, I do have the most freakishly small wrists ever.  So your typical wrist apparel will not do.  Watches always have to have many links taken out, and bracelets almost never fit.  Lucky for me, Pandora recognizes this and has many different size options.  So when I received my bracelet and it was a bit too large, I recalled the conversations I had had with Pandora representatives who made it clear that
A.  Pandora has lifetime warranties on their jewelry.
B.  If you ever need replacement or exchange, all you need to do is go to a store that is an authorized Pandora dealer and they will always exchange/replace for you, without a hassle. 

Two guesses what happened when I walked in to my neighborhood Jared store (an authorized Pandora dealer) to have my bracelet exchanged.  They wanted a receipt.  Well, as I explained to them that it was a gift, and that my soon to be hubby could have shopped at any store within a 3 state radius, thank you long distance relationship, it is not likely that I could provide them with one nor was I willing to call him at work to figure it out.  She honestly wanted to know where he could have POTENTIALLY purchased the bracelet so that she could search the database of every damn store to locate his receipt.  For "inventory" purposes.  Really? I am going to trade you my brand new bracelet for another brand new bracelet in a smaller size, which I received as a gift, and was told that such things would not be an issue, and you need to go to all of this trouble to find a stock number? Are you serious right now? 

I suspect it is not often that we women walk into a jewelery store and just buy ourselves a gift.  And Jared is, sadly, probably one of the most well known names in jewelery these days (can I say how sick I am of those stupid commercials at this point?).  Yet you chose to make exchanging a gift a major ordeal? I think I could have gotten into the White House easier than I could have exchanged this damn bracelet. 

I am not entirely unreasonable.  I understand that if I had walked in there and wanted $50 for my bracelet, that would be a whole different story.  But to just exchange one for a properly sized one doesn't, in my humble opinion, need to be this complex.  Not to mention, its not the effing hope diamond here, its a damn bracelet.

I am sure you can imagine the vocal level, and now that I recall, probably quite colorful language tossed in for good measure that was used to explain my displeasure.  This was only carried to an increased level when, after calling another associate over for assistance, I was told that "I HAD to understand."  No.  I really don't HAVE to do anything.  And seriously woman, not a wise idea to follow me as I head out of the door talking about "Ma'am you are really being unreasonable, you really do have to understand."  I cheerfully (ok, maybe not so cheerfully) let her know that the only thing I needed to understand was that their customer service sucked and what SHE needed to understand was how much business Jared just lost when I walked out the door.

That just wasn't enough for me.  I was very upset about this (see I don't do this often, so when I do, I do it properly).  So I drafted a very wordy (shocker) letter to the corporate headquarters to let them know of my extreme displeasure.  I received a response similar to the one I received from the store about how they needed the receipt information for stock purposes. 

Look.  It is a $50 bracelet.  One that Pandora limits the sale of to certain stores.  It doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize that it is a Pandora bracelet and certainly if your associates can't figure out their own inventory to know that they sell this item, I think you have bigger problems than this irate customer. 

Sadly, I did not keep the original wordy communication that I shared with them.  But what I did do was save my final response to Jared for your entertainment pleasure. Happily I share this with you.  And I remind you, don't shop at Jared.  You know you will always remember this blog and how vehomently I feel about this if you even step in the store.  There are other amazing places to buy Pandora (oh, that reminds me.  A lovely little shop called Penelope will be exchanging my bracelet for me.  Let me know if you want their number).  Jared really needs to get their crap together, because sadly I can refer you to many who have had major frustrations with their return/exchange policies.  Don't believe me?  Google that shit.  Seriously.

Here you go, I hope you enjoy :)

"No worries, I actually contacted a competitor who was more than willing to help me out with exchanging my gift for the proper size, as I was told by the Pandora company itself that I should be able to do.  You can rest assured that not only was I told by this jeweler that she had heard a similar complaint more than once, but additionally I have shared my story via a status update to more than 300+ Facebook friends, many of whom gladly shared information with their friends.  Interestingly, many of those who responded indicated that they had received equally crappy customer service.  I will spend as much time as possible telling anyone who will listen of my experience and persuading them to shop at the competitor's stores rather than to ever shop a Jared again.  Social media is a powerful tool in advertising, wouldn't you agree?  It is a shame, I am sure this will not be my only Pandora bracelet, as well as charm purchase to be made."  

Never Thought I'd Be Sick of Singing

Is it just me who's had enough of the reality shows??? Sure there's a few "good ones" out there but the musical type reality shows are hogging prime time and I even LOVE music. I saw a bit of the X Factor (also known as American Idol II) as I strolled by the tv. If Idol would have listened to me (duh who wouldn't) I had said from the beginning that they were limiting themselves by putting a cap on the age range. I found it ridiculously unfair to basically be saying: "You can't be an American Idol if you're over the age of 28. Really? And who's genius idea was that? Simon.




We have American Idol which premieres with 3 shows per week. Then narrows the contestants down & only shows twice a week. Bummer, whatever will I do with an extra night?! Can we say OVERKILL?!? Not only that, it goes from January to May. Five months you're chained to your tv folks. Is it really worth it? With all that sitting you might want to start watching Biggest Loser too to get some tips on how to get off your ass every once in awhile.




Now comes the X Factor whose hosts amazingly resemble the original Idol panel of judges. Simon & Paula back together again - such a love/hate relationship. I think they're shaggin'. Another hottie was thrown into the mix, Nicole Scherzinger, key word here "WAS". Yep, after one episode she is no longer on the show. I haven't found details yet, if ya know it, share it please!



Then there's The Sing Off which I won't bust on because I actually love this show, pure, raw talent to be able to re-create popular songs with only voices.This is where Nicole's judging debuted. No going back now, Sara Bareilles has been hired to take her place.

Lastly (or so I hope) The Voice - again a panel of famous judges (awesome ones I might add) choosing the next best vocalist BUT the key to this show is that the judges CANNOT see the performer therefore their decision is not swayed by appearance. I LOVE this idea. I remember the first year of Idol (Winner Kelly Clarkson) where Simon would flat out tell people they were too fat to be famous. OMFG what an ass. Only skinny people can be famous? Sorry to say that Adele is no size zero but she's smokin' hot with a badass voice. Take your ignorant remarks & black tees back to England chap! :p~

Bottom line, music is frickin' awesome & if MTV would actually play music videos maybe the basic channels could stick to more intriguing shows. . . . . Then again, do we really need another CSI???

I'm guessing you said yes?

Well, for those who haven't heard yet (because I will admit, I am a bit obsessed about it and keep talking about it non-stop), I am newly engaged :) So thus, this post is done at the request of my dear friends who haven't heard the story yet. 

Preface this, for those who do not know, the story of the two of us.  We went to school together, and were best friends from middle school on.  Oddly, we never dated, which is quite amusing because everyone else knew we should have, we just didn't quite catch on to that.  Admittedly, I adored him yet never told him.  I found out almost 2 years ago that he felt the same.  After a few "OMG how did we not mention this years ago?" conversations, and some other life events that led us to where we were in a position to date, we decided to give it a go.

We took a vacation to see a dear friend of ours from high school.  She was the first person I shared our dating news with, as she was one of the people who would really "get" how big of a deal it was for us to be together.  She was thrilled, and also reminded us that we should have done it long before now.  She lives out of state, so we decided to take the little guy and head down her way to visit with her and her family.  At the end of the week, she and I were sadly packing my stuff in the car to leave.  When we came in from outside, my guy asked if he could talk to us.

Clearly, that struck me as odd.  Usually, when something like this happens to me, either A...something bad has happened or B...I'm in a lot of trouble.  I don't like being in trouble, and I am not often in trouble with him, so my first though was something bad had happened.  Especially given the look on his face...see???

So I walked over and gave him a hug.  Weird...he didn't let go.  And his heart was pounding.  Oh no...this can't be good.  I wonder what happened.  As we are standing there, he started talking about how we had known each other for 20 years, and how we had come full circle, we were in our old HS friend's house for vacation.  That kind of thing.  What that had to do with anything bad, I wasn't sure.  But I was bracing for the worst.  "We've come full circle so its only appropriate that I tell you I've decided to join the circus and won't be taking you with me."  I dunno, something weird, for sure, had to be happening. 

So then he says the sweetest thing I have ever heard.  "Ever since I met you, I've always called you my princess.  Well, now I think its time that I make you my queen."  Something clicks....he reaches in his pocket...and I think I squealed like a little girl.  I'm not sure...I was so utterly shocked, I could have done or said just about anything.  Although, with my hand slapped over my mouth, I probably wasn't saying much of anything.

He popped open the box, to show the most amazing ring I had ever seen.  Got down on one knee (see, I think he read JT's blog) and asked me to marry him. 

It definitely deserved a kiss.  I couldn't just let him stay down there on his knee all alone ;)

(notice...the ring is still not on my finger)  I am blubbering like a crazy woman (no comments from the peanut gallery about my legendary crying ability, either).

He finally says two of the funniest things. 1. "I'm guessing you said yes?" and 2. "Can I put this on your finger, please?"  I think he was sick of hearing me bawl in his ear and say "We should have done this 20 years ago." ;)

I realized, shortly after he put the ring on, that someone had been snapping pictures and that we really weren't the only ones on the planet at that moment, although it had seemed as if everyone else disappeared :) So, I turned around and grabbed my girl, who, btw, was crying equally as much as I was.  She knew how much this meant to me.  I adore that girl.

Her amazing hubby, had been tipped off by my guy, that he was going to propose right then.  He ran, grabbed the camera, and thanks to him we have amazing pictures to show off.  He is the best :)

(Here is where I say...we were in our jammies...I had woken up not too much before this.  I really could have used some makeup and non-jammie clothes, and I would have if I had known a camera was going to be anywhere in the vicinity)

We had to grab our technology to start the calling/texting process to spread the word. 

I couldn't stop kissing him ;)

I called my girls to tell them the news.

And then we commenced to texting all of our family and friends to let them know the news as well.

And ... my sweetie's favorite pic, I am quite sure....

They added the picture to the end of the disc.  They said I cried so much that poor children had to run from the tears.  They are so mean to me ;)

Movin' and Shakin'

So the East Coast had a pretty impressive earthquake, by our standards, just a few days ago.  The epicenter of that quake happened just a short drive away from where I live.  Needless to say, that 5.8 was pretty darn scary in these parts.  My little man was taking a nap when it happened, and I am sure having his mom yank him up out of a deep sleep (after a rather comical attempt at running down the hallway to get to him in the midst of a shaking house) was a bit of a rude awakening.  My other kids were in school, and it was pretty scary for them as well.  None of us have really been through an earthquake, at least nothing of this magnitude.  Luckily for all of us, other than some pictures and other trinkets down, and a good bit of emotional wear and tear, we are all very well.  We find ourselves to be fortunate, because sadly some friends of ours were not as lucky.  Some have homes that are unable to be lived in, and some have lost some very precious items in the quake.  Also, sadly, we continue to have some pretty significant aftershocks ranging from a mere 2.2 up to the most recent 4.5 at 1:10 this morning.  It is quite unnerving to say the least. 

So, here on the East Coast this is quite a rare occurrence, especially the size of a 5.8.  I realize that on the West Coast, this seems like quite a small deal.  Over there, I am sure that a 5.8 is just a drop in the bucket compared to some of the quakes that they have seen.

Here is my frustration.  Even though this quake was felt from as far south as Atlanta and as far north as Boston, and I am sure even further, people have taken to making quite a bit of fun of the situation.  Pictures showing the "devastation" of the earthquake to include post it notes on the ground, chairs knocked over, a pen on the floor, and the like.  Even The Today Show took a chance to make light of the situation.  The Today Show

Now you have to know that I am one to be able to take a joke.  I like to think I have quite an active sense of humor.  But these kinds of things, I find in very poor taste.  Not because I have some big devastation story to share, or there were multiple deaths or buildings reduced to rubble for a 5 mile radius.  But because this is a very real, and very scary situation for those of us who experienced it.  Each person has their own story to tell.  We have a local school that is closed due to the amount of damage as a result of the earthquake.  Kids who don't know when they will start school, people who don't know how long it will take to fix the damage in their homes, children who are now scared and startled by every sound they hear that mimics that of the earthquake.

Sure, it wasn't the devastation that Japan has encountered.  But the fear remains the same.  Making light of it, just really pisses me off to be honest.  Parents sitting in their homes experiencing an earthquake only to become frantic afterward because they couldn't get a hold of the schools where their children were.  Are they safe? Are they scared? Did the school even know how to handle evacuating the children to safety? Was anyone hurt? How can I get to them? We had no cell phone service because the lines were so blocked with individuals trying desperately to get a hold of their loved ones to find out if they were safe. Friends frantic to get a hold of their besties to make sure all was well.

To me, none of that is anything to make jokes over.  It was and still is very real, and at times very terrifying.  There is ALWAYS someone in a worse situation than you.  That doesn't mean that your struggles are any less because they aren't as tragic as someone else's struggle.

So I want to send a big shout out to my dear friends who called to make sure my family and I were safe.  My friends who texted one another to see if they had spoken to us to make sure we were okay.  My dear friend who called the school for me to try to check on my kids because I couldn't get a call out.  I also want to thank my amazing friends who live on the West Coast and have not once asked me to suck it up and be glad it wasn't worse.  Your kindness and compassion is much appreciated and humbling.

And to those of you who are posting on links and saying that we are all just too sensitive and need to get over ourselves.  Kiss my ass. I'm just keeping it real here.  I really wanted to be a lot meaner ;)

KW

Ring a Ding Ding

This “blog” is more of a poll, I just wanted to say more than a poll would allow (imagine that!)

The time finally comes to make things “official”. And what’s most important? That you love each other, right… ok yea that’s a plus but I’m talking about a ‘girl’s best friend’ here…. A Diamond ring!! Every girl’s dream is to be proposed to in the most romantic way possible, but most times you only see that in the movies L Yet, whether you jump on stage at your favorite concert and pronounce your undying love or you’re sitting on the couch in your house & say “oh yea, ya wanna get hitched?” the question is this, does the guy go out on a limb & pick the ring or do you shop together?

Ladies, would you prefer your man to ask you to go shopping & ruin the whole element of surprise? Or would you rather not have a clue & be happy with whatever you get. Come on, I know there are some divas out there that need to stand up & say “oh hell no he ain’t pickin’ it by himself!” I mean, this is something that will be on your finger forever, or at least until it’s upgraded ;-)

Men, would you prefer your woman to tell you EXACTLY what it is she wants? Not just the cut, but basically all but walk out of the store with it on her finger? Men get nervous about this step in life, whether they know she’ll say yes or not, it’s a huge step & you want that girl to be smitten & gloating for days about the “rock” you gave her.

My opinion?? So glad you asked. I’m all for the element of surprise!! I love surprises & who doesn’t?!? Too many things in life need to be planned & this (usually) only happens once in your lifetime so I want it to be as memorable as possible. I don’t need to have my “dream ring”, there’s time for upgrading down the road ;-) I want something that was picked over by my significant, meaning THEY put thought into it. They shopped around by themselves, looked at many styles & maybe even asked the sales clerk to try it on just so they could get a visual. Let them inquire & find out diamonds aren’t just round. They’re Marquis, Square, Princess & even Teardrop shaped. So let ‘em sweat a little & go with their heart to choose that diamond they think expresses their love & will compliment you.

I know there are true romantics out there & I would LOVE to hear about your special moment. Needless to say, I’ve been lucky enough to have been proposed to not only twice but by a man, and also by a woman. Now this is NOT a bust on men, I have faith in many of you, but for me, the experience was two different ends of the spectrum. No details will be given (mainly because there aren’t any) about how my ex husband proposed, but when it comes to “fairytale” proposals, Kelly won hands down! But what I will say is this, WHEN the time comes, do it from the heart. Tell her why you want to spend the rest of your life with her & how much she means to you. That is what wins the girl over, not the ring, I promise ;-)

NOTES:

~ I may be old fashioned, but no matter how you go about choosing the ring, get on bended knee when you ask, it's just that "heart stopping" moment that will make it special no matter where the proposal takes place.

~I’m all for women proposing to men too!! So this advise goes both ways!

Duplicity?

Sadly, I have many events in my life that have made me question the validity of "organized religion."  I do not say this to start a debate on whether there is a God, or if he created the Heavens and the Earth.  I definitely will leave that to each individual person to decide.  What I find troublesome is the hypocrisy that you may run across with the institution of the church and those who tend to function within it. 

This all stems, I am sure, from a fairly...ok why sugar coat...a flat out nasty, disheartening, and ugly experience with a church that I was a very active member in.  That went down so poorly, that I realize that this may completely cloud my judgment of the institution of the church.  But here are a few examples that lead me to believe that my decision to stay away from it is a fairly wise choice.  Realize...I am not downing the beliefs of the church, or its validity in existence...I am completely confused with the individuals who linger within.  You will, hopefully, see my point. hypocrisy

A man who is a control freak, emotionally abusive to his children, and unwilling to take responsibility for his past "indiscretions" in his prior marriages and other various blame shifting to avoid responsibility....standing up and teaching bible study, studying to be a someday paid minister, and being recognized as a leader in a church.

A man who is living with a woman, has been proven to be abusive to his ex-wife and his children, who makes no attempt to work, and better yet even files for mental disability in an effort to continue to be unemployed, and makes an almost daily ritual of getting drunk to the point of passing out...being given, on a regular basis, the weekly offerings donated to a church by its members. 

A member of a church board verbally "bitch slapping" a disabled person who is a tenant of the house they rent from the church and telling them they have to kill their dog or move out in three days.

A woman who is so wrapped up in herself and her own wants that she blatantly disregards the wishes of her own son (who is so obviously desperate and miserable living with her) and uses God as her crutch for her own piss poor behavior.

Now let me make this clear...I have no issues with drinking, having a great time, cursing, living with a person prior to marriage, and all of the other things that some would call "sinful" in nature.  Who am I to judge someone's lifestyle and determine if it is "too sinful?"  My issue lies with the fact that if you put yourself on display, take a position of leadership, or present yourself as someone of great moral character to a point of "I am holier than thou, you are but a sinner," along with that comes great responsibility.  If you are going to stand on the basis of "I attend church every Sunday" or "I am going into the ministry" or "God never makes mistakes" I believe you have to have some sort of common sense if not decency about your behavior.  And yes, I will hear the ever present argument of "A church is a place made up of imperfect people, so it will not be perfect."  With that I do agree.  But if you stand as an active member, demanding respect and credit for being so, I believe that you need to go about your business in a different way than your typical person walking around on this planet.  You put yourself in the shoes of a minister, you need to behave as such.  You say God is in control of your life and never makes mistakes, well you have a certain responsibility there as well.  If you are going to act as a member of a board of a church, you can't go around being a bully.

Look we all want to be good people. We all want to make a difference.  I know I do.  But I won't stand on a premise and demand respect because of it.  I will stand and be strong in who I am as a person, believing what I believe, and not cramming that down someone's throat as a badge of "You have to respect me because God says you do."  I will respect a good, kind, decent person....flaws and all....and I will love you for it.  But what I won't respect or love is a person who makes excuses for their piss poor behavior and takes no responsibility.  And when they do that standing on the premise of WWJD...it kinda gives a big screw you to Jesus himself.  I am not sure I want to be on the receiving end of that smack down.

Tattoo or Not to Tattoo

For those that have tattoos, let me ask this. Do you have that one tattoo that you regret? Maybe you were young & it's just meaningless now? Did you put your ex's name on your body? How about your name on your body so when you're drunk the police can identify you? I can answer yes, unfortunately. Not to ALL of the above, but yes I have a tattoo that I regret. One, because it's so "typical" - ya know the rose/heart thing, ugh. Two, because yes I was young(18) & naive & got my ex's initials tattooed on my ankle. Luckily it's nothing obnoxious that I can't have covered up (which is in the works) So don't feel bad, many of us have ink that we wish was erasable. This topic came to me when I saw celebrity tattoos as a headline in my email. The following are pictures of a few that I just couldn't resist sharing my thoughts on..................

#1 Steve-O - granted, we're all aware that he's a 'jackass', but a self portrait? Is this so if he's "getting it from behind" they can still remember what he looks like?! Creepy.






#2 - Asia Argento - "here's looking at you"... really? Is this what mom meant when she said she had eyes in the back of her.... uh back? I've heard about a 3rd eye but aren't they usually brown?









#3 - Jenna Jameson - She has the quote "I'm not afraid, I'm born to do this". Is that so... hmm I bet that makes mama proud to know that her daughter feels she was brought into this world to be a porn star. So heartwarming, isn't it?






#4 - Hayden Panettiere - A beautiful girl should have a beautiful saying tattooed on her body, such as the Italian quote "Vivere senza rimipianti" which means "to live without regrets". Unfortunately the tattoo itself is a regret due to the fact that the spelling is incorrect.









#5 - Miley Cyrus - This equal sign is Miley's effort to show support of gay marriage. Kudos to Miley but really, could you be a bit more supportive than taking a pen & inking 2 lines on your finger? Now that we know Miley supports gay marriage, sheesh it'll be legal worldwide by next week! Show support by protesting, rallying, writing your congressman, donate your millions to gay charities.... but uh thanks for the effort, I guess.




#6 - Eva Longoria - Tattoo? what tattoo? what were we talking about, sorry I got distracted by Eva's "tit-twos"







In a nutshell, isn't it reassuring to know that celebs are just as careless with tattoos as us "average" folk, we all make mistakes, just be careful on how permanent those mistakes may be!