Scribbles 'n Scraps

Every year I sit down and write out some goals for the New Year that revolve around my scrapbooking. It usually consists of taking more pictures, completing more layouts, getting organized as well as other things.
This year I did something a little different.

Many people have seen the 101 in 1001 days. While I participate in that, I decided to do something a little bit different this year. This year I am doing a 100 challenges in 365 days. I started a few days ago with one or two of them, but will be doing most of the starting tomorrow. I have a whole category dedicated to memories which somehow relates to scrapbooking in almost every aspect.

I hope you will join me this year with my 100 in 365, by visiting this page, doing your own and then submitting your link. I am eager to see what others goals are for the year. Plus, its fun to make it a shorter time period so you have something you can feel proud of completing. I think every single goal I listed is attainable and that was my main goal.

Happy New Year’s Eve my Scrap Friends!

I thought I would include our email exchange so you could see what I was talking about in a previous post.

Original Shipment Confirmation dated 12/05/2007 7:03pm:

Dear 691521091,

Thanks for your payment! Order (invoice A46529 Item # C-691521091-04779, Baby Pandas Ornament Size: 3 inch Snowflake Porcelain Ornament; ItemNumber: 2547) has been shipped and should arrive shortly. Please email me at xxx@xxx with any further questions. It was a pleasure doing business with you.

My email to her on 12/13/2007 10:29pm:

Hi Dina,
I ordered three ornaments from you and received shipment notifications from you 8 days ago. I understand the mail delivery is much slower at this time of year, and with my luck they will arrive tomorrow. However, as of yet we have not received them. I was just concerned because of the length of time between the notification and today’s date as well as the fact I ordered several other items the same day and everything else arrived including two media mail items. I really just wanted to be sure they weren’t lost in the mail, as we are truly relying on these as gifts, of course.
If you need any further information from me, just let me know. We loved your shop and will certainly be shopping with you again.

Her email response back same date 12/13/2007 11:20pm:

Dear Nicole,

Order was shipped via USPS standard mail from NJ. Tracking was not provided.

USPS may be slow with deliveries at times especially during the holiday season. Let’s wait one more week to give post office a chance to deliver it to you and if you still don’t receive it please let us know and we will send replacement.

I am hoping you will get tem soon.

Happy Holidays,
Dina

My response back on 12/14/2007 12:23am (see I was trying to be nice!!)

Dina,
Thanks for the super fast reply. I appreciate it. I totally understand the slowness of the mail service and will certainly wait the week and see if they arrive. As I mentioned, they will probably arrive in the next day or so. Thank you again for getting back to me so fast.
Have a wonderful Christmas!

My next response when they didn’t arrive a week later on 12/19/2007 12:40pm

Hi Dina,
We still have not received the ornaments we ordered from you on December 4th. You asked if I would wait a week and today it would be a week since I emailed you. We are really concerned because the ornaments were a gift for Christmas and it is a tradition that we give each child one on Christmas Eve. The shipment notification was mailed out on the 5th and while the USPS is slow, they aren’t usually that slow with standard delivery. I really think they are lost in the mail and I am worried about that. Everything else we ordered the same day showed up last week standard mail.
Please let me know what I should do, or need to do. Do I need to fill something out?
Thanks so much for your time,
Nicole

Her response back on 12/19/2007 at 2:18pm:

Dear Nicole,

We will reprocess your order again and ship it out to you next day delivery via USPS tomorrow.
Please confirm your address before we process, also if you receive 1st package tomorrow please notify us:

NICOLE HUMPHREY
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Happy Holidays,
Dina

Grr…my last and final response to her on 12/19/2007 6:27pm:

Dina, the address is correct. That is so strange.
Thank you for reprocessing the order. It did not arrive today as I had hoped. If it shows up, I will accept the first delivery but refuse the second delivery so it goes back to you. Thank you for looking into this for me. I am still terrified it won’t arrive before Monday.

Thanks again for your attention to this,
Nicole

So, now what? I am so darn po’d and really I wanted the ornaments but at this point, the money back is equally as fantastic as the ornaments will mean very little at this point. Ugh!! Help my dear blogging friends! Any advice?

Our family designated 2008 as an active year. We plan to do a lot of different things.

For Christmas, two kids got roller skates, one got roller blades, everyone has (not for Christmas) a bike except Mike but we are getting one for him and all of us enjoy the great outdoors. Makes for a great goal setting scenario.

Knowing that Mike does not have a bike, my mom got the bright idea to purchase him some Hiking Boots. They are from Rocky Outdoor Gear and are totally waterproof, really sturdy and look so attractive. I want a pair! Plus he says they are super comfortable and really warm.

We often go hiking as a family at state parks but we don’t do major hiking because not everyone has boots. Now Mike and my son have boots. It’s time for the girls to get some hiking boots so we can go too, and keep up! LOL
The deal is that now we have to figure out what kind we want, how much we want to spend and what style will work for both longevity and comfort.

While my mom and I were shopping for boots, we looked at a lot of different kinds. I also really liked a few pairs of Hunting boots but many of them come with different camouflage prints and well, that’s certainly not for me. I found one pair by Gearbox that I really liked, they were super insulated and when I tried them on they were comfortable.

Metboots carries both of these lines and their prices are highly competitive and their site is super easy to navigate through. I was pleased to see that both the pair that Mike got for Christmas as well as the pair I really liked are cheaper through them, then anywhere else I’ve seen. If you are in need of a good pair of sturdy outdoor hiking or hunting boots, I strongly suggest you check them out and consider getting them there. (they offer a 100% satisfaction policy!) Plus, they offer a lot of other types of workwear including for doctors, nurses, chefs and others who spend a great deal of time on their feet. I’ve bookmarked them. I hope you will too.

Okay, so I waited to blog this until I had given this company plenty of time. I am not going to reveal the name of the store just yet. I will release that tomorrow in another post. But here’s the story. I’d love advice on what to do, even though I suspect I know what I will need to do.

On December 4, at about 8pm or so, I purchased three ornaments for three of my kids. This is a holiday tradition. On Christmas eve, each child receives and ornament that has something to do with them, or represents them or their personality in some way. I was so incredibly excited, because my son is a major dragon addict, and I had found a place that had a dragon ornament. In addition they had a panda cub ornament (my eldest step-daughter’s) and a chimpanzee (my middle step-daughters). So I was totally excited that I had the ornaments done and taken care of the first week of December, right?

Well, by December 13, I had heard nothing from the company. Not a word. I wrote her an email and asked about them. She informed she felt the mail service at this time of year was very slow, and could I please wait another week and then email her. Uhm. Sure.

So I did. I emailed her again on December 20, completely aware of course that even if she mailed them out that EXACT day there was little or no chance of getting them before Christmas. Right?

So she emails me back that she will “re-process” the order. Uhm. Okay. And that if I receive the other set tomorrow, to please notify her immediately. Well, that sounded funny to me since why would she expect me to receive it the next day and was she planning on holding my order to see if I received it (pretty much guaranteeing that it would not be here on Christmas Eve.) So, Christmas eve, it was not here. (imagine!) so we went out and purchase a couple of back up ornaments for the kids. Not exactly what I wanted to get them, but they were nice.

Today is December 29. Guess what? Still no ornaments. Not package one or package two. *sigh* At this point I totally don’t expect to receive them. Period. However, the fact that we paid for them (they were like $12.95 a piece or something) is starting to really tick me off.

So some advice? Use credit cards when shopping, especially when having something delivered. Because you can always dispute the charges when the statement comes. I know that’s what we plan to do. It’s probably the only recourse I have at this point. Anyone have any other ideas? Oh, and if you want to get a loan to help you pay off those high credit card bills, make sure you choose the right place to do that. It could wind up costing your more in the long run.

In the lively spirit of the 101 things in 1001 days, I decided that this year I would attempt to create a similar concept or project. My concept is ABSOLUTELY open to the public, although originally created more for myself as a “Self Improvement New Years Resolution”.

The whole theory stemmed from realizing that I was truly enjoying the original 101/1001 concept, but that many of my items took a long time to complete. Plus, I liked the idea of adding things I didn’t already have on there, and being able to set the goal to complete them in a year. I am trying to make this year my best year yet.

To learn more or join me on my venture, visit the 100 Challenges page.

A friend of mine and I got in an interesting conversation with a couple of our other friends about visiting the dentist. Apparently most adults do not visit the dentist. I will be the first to admit it has been a couple of years since my last visit and it is definitely time for me to make an appointment. I was surprised to learn that one friend goes every 6 months for a cleaning, while another every year. More of our friends haven’t been to the dentist in two years or more. I think if someone did a study on it, the statistics would be interesting.

Well, since I have decided to get myself into the dentist, I have also been faced with the task for finding a dental plan. My problem is mostly that I am self-employed, and while I certainly make enough to pay for the dentist, and for a dental plan, it is more difficult to find one that works with my employment status.

I was really happy to find discount dental plans because I am certainly seeking a low-cost plan. Often, because of being self-employed, our rates and plans available to us are much higher cost than for others. Traditional plans have these totally expensive deductibles, all these stupid claim forms to fill out and waiting periods of sometimes up to six months or more.

However, discount dental plans offer a more suitable solution for me and you. First, inexpensive plans and several to choose from, as well as a much shorter wait and either no or only a one time claim form. The benefits far outweigh those of a traditional plan.

So, now that I have found my dental plan, now it’s time to make the appointment. Yuck!