I try not to get bent out of shape over little things. There are enough big things in life that are tough to swallow that it's better to laugh off the small annoyances--or at least shrug them off, if laughing is impossible.
But I can't help keep a bit of a tally. And usually my frustration is highest when trying to make purchases.
Like when I noticed that the 1/2-gallon container of half and half at P&C is actually more expensive per quart than the individual quarts are and my entire extended family has been duped.
Like when I went to use up my stock-piling Gap rewards cards and very happily added 2 pairs of really nice $10 jeans to my cart--one in size 2 and one in size 5 for the boys next winter, but, upon "checking out," find they are suddenly out of stock. And when I went back to pick different sizes, those sizes were out of stock, too--once I got to the payment page. And then when I tried to pick the original sizes again because, after all, they were still listed as being available, they were again listed as out of stock upon payment. Please. This is 2007. If you want me to shop online, I expect you to make your site work.
Like when I went to Dollar Tree yesterday morning and had to wait 10 minutes because their satellite that would transmit my debit card transaction wasn't working. The manager had to go and shovel the snow off of it, declaring this to "happen all the time in the winter." If you know it's going to happen, could you clean it off before your customer(s) arrive?
Like when the eBay seller says she will accept PayPal only to (after having bought the dress for Bronwyn, of course) have her inform me that she actually wants a money order.
Ugh.
But after having tallied them all, I realize they're really not big inconveniences and ought to be shrugged off. I suppose it's easy for all people everywhere to get myopic in their outlook, but I find that as a stay-at-home mom, it's particularly easy. Sometimes I actually am tempted to let my joy be stolen by the rising price of meat.
Until I make the tally and realize that Jesus is still on the throne.
If they change their auction agreement, you don't have to honor it. More, changing from Paypal is a way to get scammed--Paypal is very pro-consumer...it's easy to get your money back.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I did the grocery shopping this week and noticed the half and half price discrepancy and wasn't duped. (I rarely am, really; if ya think about it.)
RD
yeah-if she is insisting on a money order, i'd cancel the dress. not kidding. my mother in law got scammed once, but thankfully she had sent a check, so she could at least cancel the check. you can't cancel a money order. paypal is a pretty good system.
ReplyDeletei hear what you're saying about stealing your joy and all that. i think if i had to wait for them to wipe the snow off i also would be pretty upset. you thik they would think ahead of time. if all those things happened to me in one day, i'm not sure how i'd be handling it. so, props to you.
no, matthew was not preemie, though that was a question several people asked me when we started going through all this. we think it was more of a spiritual battle than anything (and a long one at that) and are glad that he is much more of a "nomal" kid now. he had started rapidly losing weight when he was about 12 mos and was still only nursing. we couldn't get him to drink from anything else and nursing was not nourishing him. my milk supply was rapidly dwindling (possibly due to pregnancy) and he was basically starving himself. we used a supplemental nursing system in which we could put formula and eventually, we ended up having to force feed him for about two wks straight before he would eat w/o a fight and actually enjoy it. we spoke into his spirit and just prayed. that was all we could do. it was not pretty, but it worked. OT and Speech still come to the house 2x/wk each but they think when it comes time for reeval, he will no longer qualify for svcs ad are quite happy w/his progress. Matthew really is a walking miracle and it has been a long, hard battle, but the Lord has remained faithful. For this, i am ever so thankful!
that story (though the brief version) is why i use the high chair marker w/the baby eating. i wish they had the tractor for 3s though, b/c Jonathan loves tractors. i may change the ticker for Matthew b/c i do so enjoy the tractor. it is rather cute. matthew does very much now enjoy eating and will try just about anything at least once. thank God!
ReplyDeletesorry to bug you again...keep forgetting to ask you-do you labor at home for awhile or just go right to the hospital-just wondered.
ReplyDeleteYou know, Mom told me about the 1/2 & 1/2 - but sometimes it seems easier to buy the big container - you know? We go through SO MUCH 1/2 & 1/2 in this house!! Sometimes the extra $0.10 seems worth it.
ReplyDeleteSo, don't get bent out of shape, darling sister. You can laugh at the family dollar thing with the snow shoveling and all - seriously, that's pretty funny, right?
And guess what? My computer is here, the software is on its way, and the order should show up sometime while I am Vegas -- yea!!
Take it easy, Bri. Nice party last night.
Yep, things like this are pretty annoying. And you're right...the price of meat has no claim on our joy. ;)
ReplyDeleteThis post made me think of the gas mileage on our minivan...it is 3-4 mpg less than what it was advertised to be, which made me very nearly furious. However, after figuring out how much extra that was going to cost in gas (certain that it would be a fortune) and realizing that it actually amounted to much less than I had anticipated, I got a bigger perspective on the situation and decided it wasn't worth getting upset over, anyway. It is amazing how easy it is to let our circumstances dictate our attitudes, though. Definitely something I need to keep in check.
ReplyDeleteCan relate. I remembered the story I was going to tell you. Call me tomorrow if you find time. I'm in the book and you're not. Besides, I think if I call your (old) house for your number one more time I'll be put on the black list!
ReplyDeleteI don't even pay attention to the unit pricing sometimes and do the math in my head b/c I've found them to be wrong, too. But yeah, I knew about the 1/2 and 1/2. And for anyone interested, Giant Tiger has Byrne Dairy milk for only $1.99 gal. Beats P&C's almost $3.00. They sell 1/2 and 1/2, too. : )
ReplyDeleteBrietta,
ReplyDeleteHayla actually is getting better. I mean she is still on the go but now we are finally trying out a schedule that kind of just fell in our laps starting yesterday. We used to wake up at somewhere around 11 a.m. together. But it switched thankfully. Now we get up around 7 or 8 a.m. I get up at 7 a.m. before her but today she woke up herself. She can nap in the day. Like right now it is 10:44 a.m. and she is napping. Then I will make sure she is up by probably before noon. Then she can stay awake for a while and can nap as long as it is before 4:30 p.m. After that time she wont be sleeping much until 10p.m. or so. That is the time that Keith will definitely be home and gives a little time to do work or whatever. So it has been working great that she wont be up too late bugging the people downstairs or Keith. We used to be up until midnight or later/earlier. lol. So does this sound crazy? I finally am feeling like a mother though. My child actually is acquiring a schedule. I can't believe that people ever doubted me? I knew it would happen...YAY! lol. I still need to work out kinks in the schedule and that is why I am writing everything down so that I can work it out. Like that whole staying up until 10 pm and not being able to nap after 4:30, may get hard. She will have to take little naps then. So anyway do you have anything to help wean a baby off of nursing? That is the next thing people are having a problem with. I mean Hayla and I are fine with it, except when she always needs it to sleep and when she gets sleepy in church I make Keith take her back! I want to be able to hold her without having her think I am going to nurse her. So if you have anything to help me, I would love it! Ok this is way long so I will let you reply.
AnDi
Sounds like my kind of "annoyances". I really love it when the cashier/bag boy "seems" to completely ignore the fact that there are no bags hanging on the end of the counter, what are you supposed to do with the groceries?
ReplyDeleteOh well.
I don't buy 1/2 & 1/2 much. We like flavored creamers more. I used to buy it, but too long ago to notice. I am with Kathy... I do my own math, you can't always trust the sticker, esp. if it has recently been marked down. Sometimes you can only use coupons on the larger items. I buy gallon milk at the grocery store here in Ogdensburg for $1.79, or at Stewarts. They have a reward program, & nice husbands will stop there on there way home from work! It is only $2.10 for a gallon. I don't know how much 1/2 & 1/2 is there?
So, which book did you decide to read first?
I'm so used to you updating everyday that when I came here tonight I was actually a tad annoyed! Believe it or not, that's a compliment!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update on Jack's Dr. visit. I really do appreciate you sharing the details of why we can continue to be amazed at what our God has done. We are also looking forward to the March visit.
ReplyDelete