Cyber Monday

Yep. It's been almost a YEAR since I've made a post. I apologize to those of you who have been holding their breath in anticipation for my next post. I have ALOT to fill ya'll in on. BUT, I'm not going to do that now.
So, for the moment, enjoy this little nugget:

Tomorrow is Cyber Monday. In the past, this would not have meant exactly nothing to me. Now that I am, oh - so - proud to say that I work in the dotcom department at Walmart (more on that later), it means a WHOLE lot to me. Especially, since Walmart decided to turn "Cyber Monday" into "Cyber Week".

For those of you who don't know (probably, the two of you who will actually read this, don't), the dotcom associates (there are exactly TWO of us) deal with all the site to store shipping. Site to Store shipping is when you are too cheap to have it delivered to your house. So, you have it delivered to the Walmart near you, for free, instead. I didn't know that Site to Store even exsisted before that became my job. I guess, instead of being cheap, I am just lazy and always chose to have it shipped to my front door.

Anway, I really need to get to the point, which is:

TIPS FOR ORDER ONLINE AT WALMART.COM

1) Don't be lazy. Really. You can order DVD's and Books, and other small items online at Walmart.com and pay only $0.99 cent shipping. I said NINETY NINE CENTS. I know some of you like to pinch pennies, but REALLY? $0.99? The gas you spend to get to your Walmart and back home, probably costs more than that. It's cheaper and less stressful to spend the extra $$$, on most items, to have it shipped to your home.

2) If you don't have it shipped to your home, understand it's going to take time. Meaning, you will have to wait until I find it in the backroom at the store. Do you have any idea how many packages I have to sort through to find yours? Alot. Deal with it, and don't be an ass about it. I firmly believe nothing comes without a price tag attached. You may have gotten free shipping, but you WILL pay for it by waiting.

3) The first email you get is a confirmation email. It confirms that you ordered the item and will give you an ESTIMATED delivery date. If you continue reading, it will also tell you that it will send you an email when the package arrives at your store. Please, do not show up for your package before recieving notification that the package is AT THE STORE. If you do, you are going to waste your time, and mine. I don't really care that you showed up on the ESTIMATED delivery date. If the package is not there, it's not there. I can't make it magically appear just because you don't understand the definition of, 'ESTIMATED'.

4) If your package is damaged or lost, IT IS NOT MY FAULT. You have to understand, I personally don't have alot to do with your purchase. It got loaded onto the Walmart truck, by someone else. The instock workers (which doesn't include me) pull it off the truck. The only thing I do, is recieve the item on the computer system, bin it (give it a traceable home until you pick it up), and then bring it out to you when you come to get it. If it's broken, or even the wrong item, that has NOTHING to do with me. So don't yell at me for it - it'll only piss me off, and make me less likely to help you out.

5) If your item is large, and you need help with it, don't be the idiot who says: "Oh, the label says, 'this side up' or 'don't lay flat' or 'fragile' so make sure that you follow the directions". Are you kidding? That box has been kicked, throw, lifted, transported, and stored in every possible position. It, pretty much, went through hell and back before you picked it up. I promise you, if it hasn't been broken yet, having it positioned on the wrong side in your mini-van for the five miles to your house, isn't going to do it any damage. I PROMISE.



Anyway. I hope that gives you all something to think about, BEFORE you place that online order - at Walmart.com, or anywhere else.

HAPPY SHOPPING!!!

Bite of Las Vegas

I am so behind on this blog that it is scary! But I am attempting to catch up.
Anyway...

In October, we went to the annual Bite of Las Vegas Food and Music Festival. The girls were SUPER excited, because Miranda Cosgrove (the actress on ICarly) was going to making an appearance. So we got up really early, drove to the concert site, waited in line for what seemed like a million years, but they finally got to see Miranda Cosgrove and get a signed autograph!

Besides Miranda Cosgrove, we got to see Christina Perri, Ryan Star, and the Plain White T's. All the performances were amazing, but I especially loved Ryan Star and the Plain White T's.

Ryan Star

Mark and Mercedes interviewing Miranda Cosgrove

The Plain White T's

It's a mess...

The blog is a mess right now, and there are several posts with nothing on them. I am aware. I am just trying to get it all organized. Bare with me! :) There are a couple of new posts though if you keep scrolling down!

Day 16: Home Sweet Home!

I really enjoyed my visit in England, but after being gone for two weeks, I was really ready to come home. We had to be up and ready really early to catch the shuttle bus. Luckily we got there in plenty of time, without any problems this time!
Unfortunately, we weren't lucky enough to get a free upgrade to first class on the way back. And the flight home was alot longer for some reason. And I had to sit next what may very well have been the world's most annoying lady. Needless to say, it was not a good flight and by the time we landed in New York, I was tired and ornery.
Then Patricia got stopped by immigration. She was pulled back in their office, so that they could check her out and make sure she wasn't a terrorist or something. They wouldn't let me wait for her there, so I went to baggage claim and got our bags and waited for her there so we could go through customs. She never came, and never came. Pretty soon I was the only one left at the baggage claim area, and I was informed, and not very politely, that I was not allowed to wait there either. No one would give me any information, and everyone kept yelling at me for loitering. I'm not really sure what they wanted me to do, since I couldn't go through customs with somebody else's bags, but they wouldn't let me leave them anywhere for her either. UGH! Finally, they decided that Patricia isn't really a threat to national security and let her go. We made it through customs, and boarded our plane in just the nick of time. I was just really happy to leave New York behind!
The flight to Vegas seemed to take forever. I was just so ready to be home, and in my own bed. I almost cried tears of joy when I finally spotted the strip from the plane window!
Brian met us at the baggage claim... with a surprise. He rented a limo to take us home in!!! While the chauffeur loaded our bags, we climbed into the back of the limo to find a dozen roses for both Patrica and myself and a bottle of Champagne. It was definitely at awesome experience to cruise down the strip, sipping Champagne in the back of a limo!
Brian definitely scored some bonus points for that one!
The next day, we met my mom and Kirk in Cedar City to get the girls. I was so happy to see them! I missed them so much!
Overall, it was an amazing trip! Definitely and experience of a lifetime! But it also made me appreciate home, and my family alot more!!!

Day 15: Hampton Court Palace

Hamton Court Palace (home of King Henry the VIII)

Cruising down the River Thames

Day 14: London!

We decided to leave Ipswich early Sunday morning to give us two full days in London before heading back across the pond. Apparently, though, they close down the railways on most Sunday's for maintenance, so we had to take the bus.

The bus ride was about two hours, and took us right into the heart of London. We were able to see a few cool sights from the windows along the way - including the some of the building they are constructing for the next Olympics. From the bus station, we caught a cab to our hotel room.

We checked in, climbed about a million steep, narrow steps (elevators and escalators are something of a scarcity in England), and took our bags into our room. Upon first seeing our room, I almost wanted to laugh! It was so tiny! And the bathroom was even smaller. I really thought that I would never find a bathroom more tiny than the bathroom we had in our room on the cruise ship in Hawaii, but this one had it beat. I literally could have sat on the toilet, showered and brushed my teeth a the same time. But the room, was clean, bedbug free, and fairly cheap - so I wasn't complaining!

After dropping our bags off, we headed out to see the Tower of London. One, of the nicest things about London is that the public transportation system is awesome! It's impossible to walk to far without running into a underground station. We found it was easiest to buy an Oyster card - which is basically a prepaid subway ticket. For a flat rate, you can ride the subway as many times as you want using the Oyster card - we bought two days worth of Subway passes.

The Tower of London was amazing!!! Once again, we rented an audio tour - it was very much worth it! I think my favorite part was seeing the crown jewels. Especially the part where I almost got kicked out because I failed to notice the sign that said you couldn't take pictures. :)

Anyway... if anyone wants to know more about the Tower of London here is a awesome link: http://www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon/

The Tower of London
The White Tower

Changing of the Guard in front of the building where the Crown Jewels are housed.


A memorial sculpture to all those who were executed (beheaded) on the tower green including Anne Boylen, Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey.

Graffiti in the Beauchamp Tower (where prisoners were kept).

Me in the Beauchamp Tower window.

Me and some Beefeaters or officially known as Yeoman Warders (Tower of London guards).

The Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula - where many famous executed prisoners are buried.

The ravens of the White Tower. Legend is that if the ravens ever leave, the tower will crumble and fall.

Tools of Torture in the Bloody Tower.

After visiting the Tower of London, we decided to go on a open top boat ride down the River Thames to Big Ben and the house of Parliament. Here were some sights we saw along the way:

Tower Bridge, the Major of London's Residence, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Saint Paul's Cathedral Random Buildings, Cleopatra's Needle, The London Eye, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben

After getting of the boat, we walked down to Buckingham Palace. The flag was raised, so it meant the Queen was in residence that night!

Buckingham Palace

After visiting Buckingham Palace, it was getting late, so we decided to start heading back. The subway station just happened to be right next to Trafalgar Square. So we decided to get a cup of tea and enjoy the view of Nelson's Column before getting on underground. This is when I got a phone call from Brian. He was in a panic - well more like freaking clear out - because the U.S. Government had issued a warning for all U.S. citizens in Germany, France, and the UK to use caution, and beware of possible terrorist attacks. I calmed him down, and promised him that we were in no danger. In fact, never did see anything about it on the news in England - I only found out all the details once we got home. It was however, a little unnerving.

We got off the subway, at the station closest to our hotel. However, we somehow got a little turned around. Yeah. We were lost. I never did tell Brian about this though, because he is STILL freaked out by the warning the government issued while I was there. The good part about being lost, is that we stumbled across little Italian restaurant, that had the best Italian food ever. After wandering around, we had worked up an appetite! And luckily, someone there knew where our hotel was able to give us directions. We were only about a block away!

Day 13: The Theatre