Furniture Rant

All right, so I don't often use this blog for ranting, but today I am going to....just to get my frustrations off my chest.  So, as most of you probably already know, Jeff and I bought new living room furniture back on March 5...nope, that isn't a typing error.  Seriously, at the beginning of March.  When we ordered the furniture, Ashley told us it was on back order until April 21.  I wasn't happy about having to wait 6 weeks for my new furniture to be delivered, but I figured it was a small price to pay for new furniture.  Well, being the planners that we are, we went ahead and got rid of our old furniture the Saturday before the new stuff was slated to arrive, thinking that would save us a ton of time when the new furniture arrived.  The day after we got rid of the old stuff, Ashley called to tell us that they needed to delay the shipment AGAIN!  It seems that our new tables were still on backorder and that we could get a partial delivery on the couch and some of the accessories on May 8 or we could wait and get the entire delivery on May 28.  Since it can be difficult to try and juggle work schedules to accomodate a furniture delivery once, not to mention twice, we decided to wait until the full order could be delivered on May 28.

As the day approached, I started to get excited again...mostly to just have furniture in our main floor living room.  Jeff had called Ashley on Thursday and they said that the furniture was scheduled to be delivered between 11:00 and 3:00 on Friday...but that it would only be a partial order, since the tables were still backordered!  Jeff and I even preapred the floors on Thursday night for our new furniture by sweeping and mopping them.  I had changed all my normal Friday tasks until later in the day, so I could be home for the arrival.  That positive thinking lasted until Friday morning at 8:30 am!

On Friday morning, Ashley called again to tell me that upon examining my new couch, it was found to be damaged and none of my furniture would be delivered at all on Friday!  Needless to say, I was a little (okay, more like a lot) pissed and called to yell at them.  Now understand that last week marked (count 'em) 12 weeks since my furniture had been ordered...I think I had a reason to be a little upset.  Well, when the customer service lady at Ashley, after relaying my story to her, asked me, "What do you want me to do about it?" I just about lost it.  I told her that I wanted a definitive time that my furniture (all of it) could be expected to be in my house.  She told me that she needed to speak with the manufacturing facility and that she would call me on Saturday.  My exact quote was, "You better...or I will call and cancel this order."

Saturday mid day came and went and no call from Ashley...so Jeff and I jumped in the car and went to the actual store.  After waiting for what seemed like forever to speak with the manager, he got our delivery set for June 8...while I am not happy with  the service I have gotten through both the store and customer service, I just want my furniture.  So, June 8th looks like the day.  Am I holding my breath?...certainly not.  But if my furniture is delayed one more time, I will indeed cancel the order.  You have been forewarned, Ashley Furniture!

And all was not lost, as the manager did give us a store credit for all our time and hassle!

Furniture companies...grr!

A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

This is just a post of all the random things I did in Florida over my vacation.  Let's see...where to begin? 

Visiting T-Mobile

I visited my brother's new T-Mobile store in the University Mall in Tampa.  He is the manager of this store and it is set up to resemble an Apple store, with lots of demonstrations and funky colors on the displays.  I got to meet some of his staff and just hang with him for a while.  I was so impressed by him when he is working...to be a manager at 28!  I am so proud of you, Jim and all that you have accomplished!

A Blast from the Past

I also drove through Jeff's old neighborhood and took pictures of his old house.  Talk about a blast from the past...that is the first house Jeff owned; he built it and was where I used to come home to on breaks while in graduate school.  It is also the place we brought Kira home to and the place we had when we were married.  It is hard to believe that he hasn't lived there in over 5 years!  Oh, the memories we made in that house.  It was nice to see that the new owners are taking care of the place...I mean, that is all you can really hope for when you leave a house, right?  With the exception that some of the trees need to be trimmed, the house looks amazing.  Too bad it is too small for us now and we have moved on.

 

The crazy antics of Saki

Saki is my sister's cat, but he doesn't seem to notice...he acts just like a dog most times!  I have never seen a cat that runs to greet you when you come home and just loves attention.  Standoffish and independent certainly do not describe this cat!  He did provide lots of entertainment while I was visiting and helped ease the pain of missing Kira and Koda a little.

See...even when I wasn't out and about, I was still having fun.

A Reunion 13 Years in the Making!

One of my absolute best friends in school and growing up was Crystal Turner.  She lived nearby and we spent a ton of time together growing up; however, as life sometimes does, we grew apart after high school.  So, needless to say, when we reconnected through Facebook a couple of years ago, I was so excited to catch up through email and see where life had taken her.  She has done so well for herself and lives right down the street from my mom.  When I found that out, I knew we had to get together while I was in Florida.  We decided on dinner at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar (a favorite of mine) and had such a great time catching up.  Jeff's parents were there having dinner as well, so she got to meet my in-laws and I even got them to grab a picture of us at dinner!

Let's just say that we had so much fun at dinner (which included 7 absolute and cranberry's for me and 7 glasses of wine for her), that driving home was a little difficult.  Luckily, we didn't have far to travel and we went back to her house for some more catching up.   We wound up chatting and reminiscing until almost midnight, which was fine for me but poor Crystal had to get up in the morning and go to work.  At least I was at her house long enough to sober up for the drive home.  Crystal, I had the best time ever catching up with you.  I don't think I have laughed that much or that hard in a really long time!  Thanks for being a great friend and I promise to not let another 13 years go by before we catch up again.

Beachin' It!

On Wednesday, since it had been so long since I had been, I decided to drive out to the beach.  It is funny how when you live in Florida for as long as I did (23 years) and have the ability to go whenever you want, you take the beach for granted.  Now that I live in a landlocked state with no waterbody for miles and no beaches, I was more than eager to get back to the beach....but as a tourist this time!

As I started to make my way out to the beaches, it struck me just how beautiful the Palmetto/Bradenton area really is.

Seriously...there are palm trees everywhere and the sky was just so blue and gorgeous!  Who wouldn't want to grow up in this paradise?

I stopped at the causeway to take a couple of pictures...people were boating and jetskiing and even had horses out on the beach!

I then headed out to Anna Maria Island and got some beautiful shots of the ocean..and my toes in it for the first time in probably 9 years!  I just drove and when I found a place I liked, I got out and stayed awhile.

Next, I was off to Longboat Key and Coquina Beach...both were absolutely spectacular!

Finally, I was off to Lido Key, which is by far my favorite of all the beaches.  The people were friendly and I just had the opportunity to sit on a bench on the beach, relax and take it all in...for the first time since I landed in Tampa!

Ahhh...there is nothing better than sitting in the sun with your feet in the sand!

After just being on the beach for a while, I decided to walk to St. Armand's Circle for a big strawberry milkshake at Kilwin's Ice Cream Shop.  It was so delicious after such a lazy day in the sun.  St. Armand's Circle is a cute little shopping area in Sarasota.  It has special memories for me since that is where Jeff and I wound up after dinner on our first date.  We also got some ice cream that night over 12 years ago!

What a glorious day spent at the beach...after looking at all these pictures, aren't you feeling more relaxed?  That's what the beach does to you.  Amazing!

Lunch with a Good Friend

On Tuesday of my vacation I was lucky enough to hook up with an old friend for lunch.  Me and Jessica were friends in high school and college, even though we were a couple of years apart in age.  After college I lost touch with her until we happened to reconnect through the magic of Facebook.  When I announced that I would be visiting Florida, we decided to meet up and catch up.  We met at Gecko's, a favorite Bradenton area restaurant, and had some good food and even better conversation.  We had so much to catch up on...we are both married now and Jessica has a son, who is 5 and graduating from VPK this year.  Crazy! 

Also, she and her husband have been to Ireland, so she brought her pictures from the trip and gave me a ton of good traveling advice- attractions not to miss, places to eat and things to do.  It was great to have a friend that has been there...it was like having my own tour guide.  Thanks for the inside information about Ireland and the cool tour book; I am sure it will come in handy in November.

Finally, here is a picture of me and Jessica...can't believe it has been over 9 years since we have last seen each other!  Let's make sure we don't let that much time pass again before our next visit!

Love you, girl!

Sunday Family Dinner

On Sunday, Jeff's parents had both families over for a huge family dinner.  And, although I have said it before, I will say it again...I absolutely love my in-laws.  Not only did they raise their youngest son to be the greatest husband I could ever ask for, they love my entire family unconditionally.  It is so nice that both families get along so well; makes for a stress free vacation and visit for me.  And dinners at my in-laws never disappoint.  Mom had marinated steak, crab cakes and two different kinds of shrimp coupled with homemade mac and cheese (my specialty), corn casserole (from my mom), a huge salad bar and grilled corn on the cob.  Then, Joe, Julie and the kids brought apple pie from an orchard in North Carolina for dessert.  The food (as always) was wonderful and it was nice to be able to spend time with both families together.  It was especially nice that both my brother and sister were able to make it down for the festivities.

After dinner, we sat around and chatted and passed the phone with Jeff around so that everyone could talk to him.  We missed him like mad at this family dinner!

It was such a fun night.  Finally, just wanted to post that this is what happens when you leave a camera unattended in the presence of my brother...

Silly brother, remind me not to do that again!

Belated Mother's Day Dinner with the Family in Florida

On my second full day in Florida me, my brother and my sister took my mom and her husband out for a late Mother's Day dinner.  Since this was the first time all of us had been together in almost a year and a half, that was reason alone to celebrate.  We let my mom choose the place and she decided on Texas Cattle Company in St. Pete, so that is where we headed.  But not before I got some updated pictures with my family.  First, we took a picture of my mom as she opened her Mother's Day cards from me and Jim.  We had a bet going to see whose card would make her most teary eyed!  We are still arguing over who won.

Here is a picture of me and my little brother...I can't belive he is four years younger than I am and so much taller.  I love him and was glad he was willing to take a picture with his older sis.

Mike also took one of all the Pac kids together...man, my mom did good with us.  We have all grown up to be responsible and caring adults...and I guess it doesn't help that we are all cute as well!

On the way to dinner, we all hooted it up in the car and even saw a homeless man with the most hilarious sign ever.  It said, "Why Lie?  I Need a Beer!"  How perfect.  Almost made me want to stop and give him a few bucks for alcohol...almost.  Hey, at least he was honest!

At the restaurant we ordered drinks, yummy appitizers and steaks and prok chops.  I had a steak shish kabob that was delicous.  My mom and Mike indulged in these blue tropical drinks that were HUGE...needless to say, my mom was a little tipsy by the end of the night!

After dinner we all just sat around and laughed; there were times I thought we were going to be thrown out of the restaurant we were so loud!  But, it was a nice night coupled by the fact that we are hardly all in the same place at the same time...so when we do all get together, we (and the people around us) are in for a rip roaring, boisterous good time.  Here are some other goofy pictures we took a we headed out of the restaurant and home for the night.  And, no worries, we let my brother (the most sober one) drive home!

Great memories!