Wal-Mart is an interesting place. I go there knowing I'm going to be annoyed at something, whether it's the associates, or lack there-of, the long lines, the somewhat empty shelves, the weird-o customers, the inability to find something, etc. But, I also go there knowing I will probably end up with what I need and get a good price.
Yesterday I had one of the most annoying experiences I have ever had at a retail store. Here's my story from the beginning:
I have been having this obnoxious sore throat for over a week now. It comes at night and lasts until breakfast. It keeps me up at night. It's awful. After a week of begging Mathew, I finally talked him into letting us by a humidifier. I figured some moisture might help? Well, we go to Wal-Mart Saturday night to get one, and of course the cheapest one was sold out, so we upgraded to the next cheapest. It sucked. Big time. Thankfully, Wal-Mart has the best return policy so we just took it back for a replacement last night.
Prior to going, I looked online to see what my options were going to be so I could be more educated this time and hopefully end up with a better one. Surprisingly, the cheaper one had good reviews and it said it was back in stock in the store! I was stoked. So off we go. After returning our crappy one, we went to grab the other one. The shelf is empty. We trek back to the customer service desk to see if they could check their inventory since we had seen they were in stock online. Stores have back stock...right? Well apparently, the girl was not interested in trying to help us. She had us go back to get the number of the item, which we did. There were like 5 numbers on the little sign, so we copied a couple. When we brought back the numbers, she mumbled some excuse about needing a manager so we left to find someone else.
Enter second associate. This girl seemed promising. Super nice, had a scanner, seemed energetic. Perfect. She followed us to the humidifiers and scanned the bar code. Inventory says there are 60. Yes! We were going to get our humidifier! Nope. She figured it must have been an inventory error or something and did nothing more. I was shocked. Seriously? Her little machine said there were some there, we saw online that if we ordered it, it would be available for pickup TODAY, and she still didn't go to the back or try to find someone else to help. Her advice was to go home and order one and wait for a week till it would be ready for pickup.
We did go home and we did order one right away. Less than an hour later we get a text saying our order is ready for pickup. I guess the inventory was right! Who would have guessed? So we go back and pick it up, but not before I had written a very lengthy complaint on walmart.com.
I thought maybe I would get an email with some auto-generated apology and maybe a coupon. Somehow my dad always gets coupons for complaining. Nope. This morning, I get a personal phone call from the manager at the store! I was mortified!!!!! He had me describe the situation and kept apologizing for what had happened. I kept apologizing for my outburst because I felt a bit overly dramatic. He also had me describe the girls that helped me so he could make sure it didn't happen again. It was definitely one of the most embarrassing phone calls I have ever had.
I am officially terrified to make a complaint to a store ever again. Now I'm worried those girls will lose their jobs, which is so not what I want. I just wanted my dang humidifier! So let this be a warning, if you complain to Wal-Mart, you will most likely get a response, so be prepared!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
My Favorite (Easy) Dinner Recipe
I would like to share with you one of my absolute favorite recipes. It came from my mom and it has become a staple at our place. It is SO easy and so delicious. You have probably seen similar recipes out there but I promise this one is awesome. Also, it produces great leftovers, which makes mornings even better when we are trying to put together lunches for work.
I'm going to give you the exact measurements for the ingredients, but usually I just guesstimate because most of them don't really matter. Also, sometimes I'll throw in some other left over veggies with the broccoli, like peas or carrots just to get rid of other leftovers in the fridge. Also, leftover chicken and rice make this recipe even easier.
*This has been waiting to be posted for a couple weeks...I was hoping to get a picture of it but the one I took looks bad, so just trust me, it's good!*
Ingredients:
12-16 oz broccoli (frozen or fresh)
4 oz can of mushrooms (I hate mushrooms so I always leave this out, but it's there for you crazies who like them!)
1/2 cup chopped onion (If I don't have an onion, I just sprinkle some minced onion or onion powder)
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 Tbsp milk
3 oz Velveeta (feel free to cut off a little too much...I usually do)
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup diced chicken (1-2 chicken breasts)
Breadcrumbs or a box of stuffing mix
Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 if you use stuffing
1. Start by cooking your chicken if you aren't using leftovers. I just throw a frozen chicken breast in some boiling water and let it go while I do everything else.
2. Then get the rice going. I always forget to start my rice early and then I have to stand around the rice cooker waiting for it to pop. Someday I will remember to buy Minute Rice.
3. Steam the broccoli. I'm lazy and throw the broccoli in a bowl with a little bit of water, cover it with a plate and cook it in the microwave for 5-7 minutes until it's soft.
Meanwhile...
4. Make the sauce. Sautee the onions and mushrooms over medium heat with cooking spray. Add soup, cheese, and milk. Stir until the cheese melts. Once the chicken is cooked, shred/chop it up and toss it in with the sauce.
5. *Optional Step* Make your stuffing. Cook according to the directions on the box. I just leave out the butter/margarine to save a few calories and fat.
6. Layer! In an 8x11 pan, put the broccoli and other veggies down first, then cover that with rice, then pour the sauce over all of that and spread it around. If you chose to make stuffing, which I highly recommend, put that on top of everything else. Bake it at 350 for 30 minutes. If you chose breadcrumbs, just sprinkle some on top and serve! No baking necessary with the breadcrumbs, as long as everything was made fresh.
Enjoy! I probably make this at least once a month. Give it a try!
I'm going to give you the exact measurements for the ingredients, but usually I just guesstimate because most of them don't really matter. Also, sometimes I'll throw in some other left over veggies with the broccoli, like peas or carrots just to get rid of other leftovers in the fridge. Also, leftover chicken and rice make this recipe even easier.
*This has been waiting to be posted for a couple weeks...I was hoping to get a picture of it but the one I took looks bad, so just trust me, it's good!*
Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole
Ingredients:
12-16 oz broccoli (frozen or fresh)
4 oz can of mushrooms (I hate mushrooms so I always leave this out, but it's there for you crazies who like them!)
1/2 cup chopped onion (If I don't have an onion, I just sprinkle some minced onion or onion powder)
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 Tbsp milk
3 oz Velveeta (feel free to cut off a little too much...I usually do)
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup diced chicken (1-2 chicken breasts)
Breadcrumbs or a box of stuffing mix
Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 if you use stuffing
1. Start by cooking your chicken if you aren't using leftovers. I just throw a frozen chicken breast in some boiling water and let it go while I do everything else.
2. Then get the rice going. I always forget to start my rice early and then I have to stand around the rice cooker waiting for it to pop. Someday I will remember to buy Minute Rice.
3. Steam the broccoli. I'm lazy and throw the broccoli in a bowl with a little bit of water, cover it with a plate and cook it in the microwave for 5-7 minutes until it's soft.
Meanwhile...
4. Make the sauce. Sautee the onions and mushrooms over medium heat with cooking spray. Add soup, cheese, and milk. Stir until the cheese melts. Once the chicken is cooked, shred/chop it up and toss it in with the sauce.
5. *Optional Step* Make your stuffing. Cook according to the directions on the box. I just leave out the butter/margarine to save a few calories and fat.
6. Layer! In an 8x11 pan, put the broccoli and other veggies down first, then cover that with rice, then pour the sauce over all of that and spread it around. If you chose to make stuffing, which I highly recommend, put that on top of everything else. Bake it at 350 for 30 minutes. If you chose breadcrumbs, just sprinkle some on top and serve! No baking necessary with the breadcrumbs, as long as everything was made fresh.
Enjoy! I probably make this at least once a month. Give it a try!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Stronger
Thank you to everyone who was so thoughtful and helpful in regards to my stress. I received lots of great advice here and outside of the blogosphere. I've tried really hard to allow myself time to take deep breaths. It has really helped me to be working now. I love love love my job and I get so excited to go to work every day. It has helped tremendously to be more busy.
My mom gave me a good piece of advice after I had a long talk with her about some things I was struggling with. She told me that any time I feel overwhelmed or guilty for something from my past, to consciously replace that thought with something positive and encouraging. It seems really simple, but it's been good for me. It has been good to force myself to look for a positive. Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for the comments.
Moving on to another touchy subject. Weight. It's been discussed before on here. It's always been a huge part of my life, ever since I was the fat girl in elementary school. I bought TurboFire and I absolutely LOVE it. I've been eyeing it for months. It's probably the best and most fun workout I have ever done. I feel challenged and I basically am drenched with sweat by the time I'm finished. Pretty sure I will not be doing it anymore though and I am so sad about it.
I have thyroid problems as you might remember. After doing some reading and listening to my sister, it occurred to me that I probably shouldn't be doing such a high intensity workout. It just puts way too much stress on my body which I guess can actually make me gain weight instead of lose it. I want so badly to push myself and power through the workouts because I feel so strong. Afterwards though, I really feel the negative effects of what I've done to my body. I feel drained instead of energized from the endorphins. I just feel insanely exhausted all day and I wake up after 8+ hours of sleep feeling like I just woke up from a 30 minute nap. It's been so strange.
I really just feel like I need to take it easy on myself. It's so hard for me to stop the workout program because I feel like a quitter..but something just doesn't feel right. My body doesn't feel normal; it doesn't feel like it did back when I did P90X.
I decided that I'm going to try really hard to accept myself how I am. I don't need to be 10 pounds lighter to be a good person. I don't need to be as thin as the girls I work with to feel good. What I need to do is again focus on the positives. I need to be able to love myself at any weight. My body may not want me to be thinner and I can't help but think about the things I'm missing in life if all I can focus on is losing weight. I have let it consume my life and it needs to stop.
I definitely am not planning on letting myself go and allowing my health to deteriorate. All I'm trying to say is that I want to be a stronger person in ways that have nothing to do with my body. I still plan to try to eat healthy and go on walks, but I feel strongly that I shouldn't be working my body to the ground right now.
I have tried to have different thoughts when I look in the mirror. If I see something I don't like, I try to accept it the way it is and then find something that I DO like. This journey is going to take me a LONG time and I fully expect to have moments of defeat. But I will not give up. I'm going to find a way to accept my body whether I lose ten pounds or gain ten pounds. It shouldn't matter.
My mom gave me a good piece of advice after I had a long talk with her about some things I was struggling with. She told me that any time I feel overwhelmed or guilty for something from my past, to consciously replace that thought with something positive and encouraging. It seems really simple, but it's been good for me. It has been good to force myself to look for a positive. Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for the comments.
Moving on to another touchy subject. Weight. It's been discussed before on here. It's always been a huge part of my life, ever since I was the fat girl in elementary school. I bought TurboFire and I absolutely LOVE it. I've been eyeing it for months. It's probably the best and most fun workout I have ever done. I feel challenged and I basically am drenched with sweat by the time I'm finished. Pretty sure I will not be doing it anymore though and I am so sad about it.
I have thyroid problems as you might remember. After doing some reading and listening to my sister, it occurred to me that I probably shouldn't be doing such a high intensity workout. It just puts way too much stress on my body which I guess can actually make me gain weight instead of lose it. I want so badly to push myself and power through the workouts because I feel so strong. Afterwards though, I really feel the negative effects of what I've done to my body. I feel drained instead of energized from the endorphins. I just feel insanely exhausted all day and I wake up after 8+ hours of sleep feeling like I just woke up from a 30 minute nap. It's been so strange.
I really just feel like I need to take it easy on myself. It's so hard for me to stop the workout program because I feel like a quitter..but something just doesn't feel right. My body doesn't feel normal; it doesn't feel like it did back when I did P90X.
I decided that I'm going to try really hard to accept myself how I am. I don't need to be 10 pounds lighter to be a good person. I don't need to be as thin as the girls I work with to feel good. What I need to do is again focus on the positives. I need to be able to love myself at any weight. My body may not want me to be thinner and I can't help but think about the things I'm missing in life if all I can focus on is losing weight. I have let it consume my life and it needs to stop.
I definitely am not planning on letting myself go and allowing my health to deteriorate. All I'm trying to say is that I want to be a stronger person in ways that have nothing to do with my body. I still plan to try to eat healthy and go on walks, but I feel strongly that I shouldn't be working my body to the ground right now.
I have tried to have different thoughts when I look in the mirror. If I see something I don't like, I try to accept it the way it is and then find something that I DO like. This journey is going to take me a LONG time and I fully expect to have moments of defeat. But I will not give up. I'm going to find a way to accept my body whether I lose ten pounds or gain ten pounds. It shouldn't matter.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Stress and Relaxation
I need some advice. How on earth do you clear your mind and relax?
I am definitely a Type A personality. I get worked up over the smallest things, I am insanely hard on myself, I get easily saddened/tired, I am super paranoid about everything, and it's impossible for me to just sit, do nothing, and relax. I know those don't all describe Type A, but oh well.
In my Turbo Fire stretch video, she talks to the Type A's and asks us if we can allow ourselves to let go and relax. I try, but I seriously can't. The second I try to clear my mind, something else jumps in and I start worrying about it or I think about everything I want to do that day. I don't understand why it's so hard for me to just chill out.
I'm so used to being in school and being extremely busy, which helps distract me from lame worries (Seriously, if you heard the things I worry about, you would think I am ridiculous). Right now, I just stay at home in a basement apartment all day, sewing, and watching Boy Meets World. I'm really lonely and bored. Thankfully, I start work on Monday and I couldn't be happier to have something to keep me busy and keep me around people. However, that doesn't help me solve the real problem of being able to relax. It kills me to just sit on the couch and do nothing. I feel so lazy and unproductive and plus just sitting makes clearing my mind even more difficult.
I'm sure this probably sounds very pity-me, like I know some of my other posts have sounded, but I genuinely need some advice. How can I clear my mind and allow myself to relax? I need so badly to calm myself down.
I am definitely a Type A personality. I get worked up over the smallest things, I am insanely hard on myself, I get easily saddened/tired, I am super paranoid about everything, and it's impossible for me to just sit, do nothing, and relax. I know those don't all describe Type A, but oh well.
In my Turbo Fire stretch video, she talks to the Type A's and asks us if we can allow ourselves to let go and relax. I try, but I seriously can't. The second I try to clear my mind, something else jumps in and I start worrying about it or I think about everything I want to do that day. I don't understand why it's so hard for me to just chill out.
I'm so used to being in school and being extremely busy, which helps distract me from lame worries (Seriously, if you heard the things I worry about, you would think I am ridiculous). Right now, I just stay at home in a basement apartment all day, sewing, and watching Boy Meets World. I'm really lonely and bored. Thankfully, I start work on Monday and I couldn't be happier to have something to keep me busy and keep me around people. However, that doesn't help me solve the real problem of being able to relax. It kills me to just sit on the couch and do nothing. I feel so lazy and unproductive and plus just sitting makes clearing my mind even more difficult.
I'm sure this probably sounds very pity-me, like I know some of my other posts have sounded, but I genuinely need some advice. How can I clear my mind and allow myself to relax? I need so badly to calm myself down.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Tutorial!
I did it, I wrote a tutorial....check it out!
http://ruffles-and-polkadots.blogspot.com/2012/07/tutorial-anthropologie-inspired-ruffled.html
http://ruffles-and-polkadots.blogspot.com/2012/07/tutorial-anthropologie-inspired-ruffled.html
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Crafty Stuff
Remember how I mentioned I was starting a little sewing/craft blog? Well, it's up and running...with one baby post. Now that graduation is over, I hope to find time to REALLY get things going. But here is just a little intro: Ruffles and Polka Dots
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Blessings
This past week has been quite the roller coaster. I don't think I felt so worked up and jittery in a while. As many of you know, Mathew has been trying to find an internship for the fall. His catalog expires next July so if he doesn't finish all of his classes, he will have a whole new load of classes to take before he can graduate. So, this fall was his last chance to do an internship in order to avoid catalog expiration. You can probably imagine the stress and anxiety I have been feeling. My schooling has just really taken a back burner. I just don't really care if I'm the top performer or getting straight A's for the first time in my college career. I know I will be graduating and that is all that matters on my side. All I have cared about this semester is helping him find an internship. He is so busy with school and works so hard that I couldn't just make him do it by himself.
*I do not want this to sound like an "I'm an amazing wife" post...I just am trying to convey the stress that I have been experiencing lately*
Well anyways, many many many prayers have been said, just hoping we would get blessed with an amazing opportunity....or just any opportunity. I was on campus a few weeks ago thinking about this internship thing (of course) and I had this surprising thought to text Angela. I wasn't sure why, I didn't know if she actually knew any engineers but I decided to listen to that little prompting. I sent her a text and within an hour maybe she had already called me with an incredibly perfect (like perfect as in Mathew's ideal area of mechanical engineering) opportunity. I was floored. I seriously could not believe it. The second Mathew got home, we searched the website and found out everything we could about the company and then he majorly got out of his comfort zone and gave the place a call. They asked for his resume so he emailed it and before the end of the night, he had an interview the next day. Again floored. His classes were cancelled that day (surprise? I think not) and so we made the spontaneous trip to Layton in the morning.
He was so dedicated and determined to do well in this interview. Interviews make him really nervous, they are basically nonexistent for working farm jobs haha. So he woke up early and went to a practice interview on campus. It finished just in time for us to get on the road. I literally drilled him with interview questions the entire way down (I guess Junior Miss came in handy), and he was so ready by the time we pulled up to the place. I, being the nervous wreck that I am, was crocheting my life away in the car while I waited. I was just trying to keep my mind as busy as possible while trying to hold as still as possible in the blasted hot car. He was in there for forever, so I figured it was a good sign. Anyways, so the interview went well, except he didn't get asked ANY of the questions we drilled, even the ones that I have been asked in every job interview without fail.
Fast forward a week. He submitted the application but hadn't heard anything yet. I was going crazy! She was so insanely prompt at first that the second it slowed down a bit, I was so nervous. So we began the process of checking out other options. Nothing was moving forward and I turned into miss crazy again. Then miraculously one afternoon while I'm sitting in textiles and monitoring Mathew's email (I know I am seriously insane) he got the answer to our prayers. The reason we hadn't heard anything was because the background check was being processed, and as soon as it was finished, he'd receive an offer letter and start date! I was about to cry in the middle of my class I was so happy. So yeah, after this massive long story, Mathew has a paid internship!
Then the apartment hunt began. This is something that stressed me to my max when we moved to Blackfoot last fall. I just knew we weren't going to be able to find a short-term lease in our price range. Miracle of miracles, I got on Craigslist last night and a girl had just posted that they wanted to sell their lease that ended in January...exactly when we would need to move back to Rexburg, and RIGHT by where Mathew would be working and across the street from the mall where I was hoping to work at JCP. I of course immediately called and it just seemed too good to be true. It could not be this easy. We worked everything out today and we are going to Layton again this weekend to sign papers!
I just feel like so many prayers have been answered and worries have been diminished these last couple of days. We were getting so discouraged after so many companies were saying no or not responding. I was feeling helpless. Even though I pretended there was, there really wasn't anything I could do. I couldn't call the companies for him. I couldn't interview for him. I definitely couldn't do his homework for him. But those were all things I was dying to do to help.
*Also, I definitely do not want this to sound braggy or self-righteous. That is not at all my intention. We just feel incredibly blessed at the moment and I have needed to get these feelings of stress and excitement out for a while.*
We are so excited to move to a new place for a while. He is excited (even if he doesn't show it) to work at such a cool place. Oh by the way, the internship is at a place called KIHOMAC and they redesign and rebuild airplanes for the Air Force. Now that this stress is gone, I'm sure I will find something else to worry about. Maybe someday I'll start worrying about school and my graduation speech...but not today. Today has been a celebration day.
*I do not want this to sound like an "I'm an amazing wife" post...I just am trying to convey the stress that I have been experiencing lately*
Well anyways, many many many prayers have been said, just hoping we would get blessed with an amazing opportunity....or just any opportunity. I was on campus a few weeks ago thinking about this internship thing (of course) and I had this surprising thought to text Angela. I wasn't sure why, I didn't know if she actually knew any engineers but I decided to listen to that little prompting. I sent her a text and within an hour maybe she had already called me with an incredibly perfect (like perfect as in Mathew's ideal area of mechanical engineering) opportunity. I was floored. I seriously could not believe it. The second Mathew got home, we searched the website and found out everything we could about the company and then he majorly got out of his comfort zone and gave the place a call. They asked for his resume so he emailed it and before the end of the night, he had an interview the next day. Again floored. His classes were cancelled that day (surprise? I think not) and so we made the spontaneous trip to Layton in the morning.
He was so dedicated and determined to do well in this interview. Interviews make him really nervous, they are basically nonexistent for working farm jobs haha. So he woke up early and went to a practice interview on campus. It finished just in time for us to get on the road. I literally drilled him with interview questions the entire way down (I guess Junior Miss came in handy), and he was so ready by the time we pulled up to the place. I, being the nervous wreck that I am, was crocheting my life away in the car while I waited. I was just trying to keep my mind as busy as possible while trying to hold as still as possible in the blasted hot car. He was in there for forever, so I figured it was a good sign. Anyways, so the interview went well, except he didn't get asked ANY of the questions we drilled, even the ones that I have been asked in every job interview without fail.
Fast forward a week. He submitted the application but hadn't heard anything yet. I was going crazy! She was so insanely prompt at first that the second it slowed down a bit, I was so nervous. So we began the process of checking out other options. Nothing was moving forward and I turned into miss crazy again. Then miraculously one afternoon while I'm sitting in textiles and monitoring Mathew's email (I know I am seriously insane) he got the answer to our prayers. The reason we hadn't heard anything was because the background check was being processed, and as soon as it was finished, he'd receive an offer letter and start date! I was about to cry in the middle of my class I was so happy. So yeah, after this massive long story, Mathew has a paid internship!
Then the apartment hunt began. This is something that stressed me to my max when we moved to Blackfoot last fall. I just knew we weren't going to be able to find a short-term lease in our price range. Miracle of miracles, I got on Craigslist last night and a girl had just posted that they wanted to sell their lease that ended in January...exactly when we would need to move back to Rexburg, and RIGHT by where Mathew would be working and across the street from the mall where I was hoping to work at JCP. I of course immediately called and it just seemed too good to be true. It could not be this easy. We worked everything out today and we are going to Layton again this weekend to sign papers!
I just feel like so many prayers have been answered and worries have been diminished these last couple of days. We were getting so discouraged after so many companies were saying no or not responding. I was feeling helpless. Even though I pretended there was, there really wasn't anything I could do. I couldn't call the companies for him. I couldn't interview for him. I definitely couldn't do his homework for him. But those were all things I was dying to do to help.
*Also, I definitely do not want this to sound braggy or self-righteous. That is not at all my intention. We just feel incredibly blessed at the moment and I have needed to get these feelings of stress and excitement out for a while.*
We are so excited to move to a new place for a while. He is excited (even if he doesn't show it) to work at such a cool place. Oh by the way, the internship is at a place called KIHOMAC and they redesign and rebuild airplanes for the Air Force. Now that this stress is gone, I'm sure I will find something else to worry about. Maybe someday I'll start worrying about school and my graduation speech...but not today. Today has been a celebration day.
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