Last Saturday our church, The Harbor, held a rummage sale to raise money for our pre-school program. It went really well. We had a crazy amount of stuff given to us to sell, and we were busy with shoppers all day. One good reason for the crowd is that we are in a great location. We're right off of the freeway, and everyone going to either Cracker Barrel or Hobby Lobby go right through our parking lot.
To make sure people knew we were doing a sale, we put some signs up--not billboards or anything, just those little signs that stake into the ground. We put several up, including one that went right where you turned off of the road into the parking lot between us and Cracker Barrel.
Well.
Around noon, some people came in to shop the sale and told us that they had seen a Cracker Barrel employee walk out to our sign, pull it up, and take it back into the Cracker Barrel with them. What?! Cracker Barrel stole our sign?? So our pastor, Chad, went over. He asked for the manager, introduced himself, and politely asked for our sign back. The manager was likely embarrassed that he had been caught. He gave Chad the sign, but justified taking it by saying "I'm trying to sell stuff too." I don't even want to take the time to talk about how ridiculous it is that he would think our rummage sale goods would be competing with Cracker Barrel. Whatever.
After Chad returned and relayed the story, most of us got pretty worked up about it. The main things we couldn't get over were: If he didn't want the sign there, why didn't he just tell us so? Does he even have a right to ask us to remove the sign? Who steals a rummage sale sign? Put up by a church?
Next we moved on to what action we should take next. We came up with several options: painting the words "Cracker Barrel steals from churches" on our windows, making a giant rummage sale sign, putting it in the back of a truck, and parking it right in front of Cracker Barrel, moving the bake sale that Abby and her friends were conducting outside to more directly compete with Cracker Barrel's cobbler sales. Chad reminded us, though, that churches shouldn't really partake in revenge, and we reluctantly agreed that he was probably right.
I debated whether or not to blog about it but I finally decided that the public has a right to know about what happened. We have no way of knowing whether the manager was acting out of independent outrage or following orders from the top of the Cracker Barrel chain (incidentally, do you know where the headquarters for the Cracker Barrel corporation are located? Tennessee? Alabama? Nope. New York City. Yeah, super authentic.) Regardless, I think I would want to know about this before I ordered my next stack of pancakes or slab of hamburger steak.
So there you go. The story of the church that was victimized by Cracker Barrel. Now that I've shared, I feel much better. Perhaps I'll even send a note to the manager, telling him there are no hard feelings and that I sincerely hope we didn't permanently destroy the market for country goods in Northwest Arkansas.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Always blame the laundry
Geez, it's been almost an entire month since I last blogged. That's terrible! When people call me out on it, I tell them, "I think about doing it every day, but something always comes up and I never get around to it." I can tell they think it's a cop out. Usually beacuse they something to the effect of, "That's a cop out!" But it's true! My days seem to be passing at warp speed. I don't expect you to take my word for it, though, so I am going to give you a rundown of what a typical day is like around here for me. I know better than to hope for any sympathy (and really, I'm not exactly worthy of any) but at least you'll know that I'm not just neglecting the blog to, you know, paint my nails or something.
7:00 Wake up to feed and change Aaron.
7:30 Put Aaron down to get Ethan breakfast (Abby's still asleep).
7:35 Sit down at computer.
7:36 Aaron starts fussing; pick him up.
7:45 Put Aaron down to get Abby breakfast .
7:50 Pick Aaron up again and get him to sleep.
8:15 Lay Aaron down; load dishwasher.
8:30 Sit down at computer.
8:31 Separate Ethan and Abby, who are wrestling in the living room floor for control of the remote.
8:35 Remember the laundry in the washer and dryer that I never finished the day before. Re-run both machines.
8:45 Get ready to take a shower.
8:47 Aaron starts crying; abandon shower.
9:00 Put Aaron in swing. Fold laundry from dryer.
9:05 Interrupt folding to get Ethan the first of the 12 snacks he will request.
9:15 Clean up milk that Ethan has spilled on the carpet.
9:20 Play a game of Uno with Abby.
9:30 Play a game of Candy Land with Ethan and Abby; referee argument over whether Abby cheated to get the Princess Frostine ice cream card.
9:45 Remember that there are no clean bottles; rush to clean them before Aaron wakes up.
10:00 Feed and change Aaron.
10:30 Prepare to lay Aaron down; abandon plan when Abby's friend from down the street rings the doorbell, sending the dog into a barking frenzy and scaring Aaron half to death.
10:50 Lay Aaron down; sit down at the computer.
10:52 Tell Abby and her friend that they can have a snack when they ask.
10:53 Listen to Ethan explain why Mario could beat Bowser at bowling.
10:55 Remember that I never switched the laundry in the washer to the dryer. Do so.
11:00 Sit down at the computer.
11:01 Tell Abby and her friend that they cannot play with makeup as they are requesting, becuase the last time they did they used 3 of our bath towels to get it off. Ponder how children with 2 million toys each can justify claiming boredom.
11:02 Let Ethan lead me to his room "without peeking" to show me the block tower he has built.
11:05 Sit down at the computer.
11:07 Surrender the computer to Ethan after he hangs on my arm whining about wanting to play games on Nick Jr.'s website.
11:30 Make sandwiches for lunch.
11:40 Spend 10 minutes getting Ethan, Abby and Abby's friend to all agree on a movie to watch while they eat lunch.
11:50 Sit down to eat lunch.
11:52 Aaron starts crying; pick him up and finish lunch with one hand.
12:15 Lay Aaron down; clean up from lunch; remind Abby that her friend has a house that can be played in, too.
12:30 Take world's fastest shower; put on the only clothes that aren't dirty or still in the dryer.
1:00 Tuck Ethan in for nap; threaten his life if he gets up.
1:10 Feed and change Aaron.
1:30 Jump out of my skin when Ethan materializes beside me claiming to have finished his nap. March him back to bed.
1:50 Lay Aaron down; sit at the computer.
1:55 Abby and her friend come back from the other house and--surprise surprise--ask for a snack.
2:00 Remember that there is laundry to be folded; start the dryer again to get the wrinkles out.
2:05 Pour myself a glass of Diet Dr. Pepper. It's not the first of the day, and it will likely not be the last.
2:06 Answer the knock at the door while kicking the dog to keep her from barking. Tell Abby's friend her brother is here to fetch her.
2:10 Play 4 games of Skipbo with Abby to keep her from dying of boredom, poor thing.
2:45 Abby's friend is back. Skipbo is abandoned.
2;46 Remember to return 2 phone calls from the morning--my friends and family are fortunately used to me calling them "right back" about 4 hours after they call.
3:05 Ethan wakes up and requests a snack 47 times in 30 seconds.
3:15 Watch the dance routine that Abby and her friend have created.
3:30 Sit down at the computer.
3:34 Tackle Ethan to keep him from climbing the entertainment center.
3:40 Hear my cell phone ring. Spend 10 minutes hunting for it.
3:50 Feed and change Aaron.
4:30 Dang-the laundry! Start the dryer. Again.
4:40 Closely supervise the kids playing with Aaron to ensure his survival.
5:00 Sit down at the computer.
5:05 Realize I should be figuring out something for dinner.
5:06 Figure out McDonald's.
5:07 Tell Ethan that I enjoy listening to him play Mary Had a LIttle Lamb on the piano, but it loses a bit of its magic after the 23rd time.
5:10 Sit down on the couch to play with Aaron myself.
5:30 Matt comes home. He sees me lounging with a smiling baby, Ethan watching Phineas and Ferb on tv, and Abby channeling Hannah Montana with her pal. He knows better than to be fooled by the tranquility.
Evenings are a wild mix of soccer practice, church, dinner, 7 more snacks, more feeding and changing Aaron, reading books and tucking kids in. Then it's time to collapse myself and prepare to do it all over again.
Hopefully you can see how this is an environment that is not always condusive to blogging. For example, I have been writing this blog post 2 minutes at a time for the last 7 hours. Soon, though, the older two return to school and Aaron's schedule will be more predictable. I figure by September, I'll be settled into the school year groove and be able to blog all the time.
Let's be honest, though. That laundry will probably still be in the dryer.
7:00 Wake up to feed and change Aaron.
7:30 Put Aaron down to get Ethan breakfast (Abby's still asleep).
7:35 Sit down at computer.
7:36 Aaron starts fussing; pick him up.
7:45 Put Aaron down to get Abby breakfast .
7:50 Pick Aaron up again and get him to sleep.
8:15 Lay Aaron down; load dishwasher.
8:30 Sit down at computer.
8:31 Separate Ethan and Abby, who are wrestling in the living room floor for control of the remote.
8:35 Remember the laundry in the washer and dryer that I never finished the day before. Re-run both machines.
8:45 Get ready to take a shower.
8:47 Aaron starts crying; abandon shower.
9:00 Put Aaron in swing. Fold laundry from dryer.
9:05 Interrupt folding to get Ethan the first of the 12 snacks he will request.
9:15 Clean up milk that Ethan has spilled on the carpet.
9:20 Play a game of Uno with Abby.
9:30 Play a game of Candy Land with Ethan and Abby; referee argument over whether Abby cheated to get the Princess Frostine ice cream card.
9:45 Remember that there are no clean bottles; rush to clean them before Aaron wakes up.
10:00 Feed and change Aaron.
10:30 Prepare to lay Aaron down; abandon plan when Abby's friend from down the street rings the doorbell, sending the dog into a barking frenzy and scaring Aaron half to death.
10:50 Lay Aaron down; sit down at the computer.
10:52 Tell Abby and her friend that they can have a snack when they ask.
10:53 Listen to Ethan explain why Mario could beat Bowser at bowling.
10:55 Remember that I never switched the laundry in the washer to the dryer. Do so.
11:00 Sit down at the computer.
11:01 Tell Abby and her friend that they cannot play with makeup as they are requesting, becuase the last time they did they used 3 of our bath towels to get it off. Ponder how children with 2 million toys each can justify claiming boredom.
11:02 Let Ethan lead me to his room "without peeking" to show me the block tower he has built.
11:05 Sit down at the computer.
11:07 Surrender the computer to Ethan after he hangs on my arm whining about wanting to play games on Nick Jr.'s website.
11:30 Make sandwiches for lunch.
11:40 Spend 10 minutes getting Ethan, Abby and Abby's friend to all agree on a movie to watch while they eat lunch.
11:50 Sit down to eat lunch.
11:52 Aaron starts crying; pick him up and finish lunch with one hand.
12:15 Lay Aaron down; clean up from lunch; remind Abby that her friend has a house that can be played in, too.
12:30 Take world's fastest shower; put on the only clothes that aren't dirty or still in the dryer.
1:00 Tuck Ethan in for nap; threaten his life if he gets up.
1:10 Feed and change Aaron.
1:30 Jump out of my skin when Ethan materializes beside me claiming to have finished his nap. March him back to bed.
1:50 Lay Aaron down; sit at the computer.
1:55 Abby and her friend come back from the other house and--surprise surprise--ask for a snack.
2:00 Remember that there is laundry to be folded; start the dryer again to get the wrinkles out.
2:05 Pour myself a glass of Diet Dr. Pepper. It's not the first of the day, and it will likely not be the last.
2:06 Answer the knock at the door while kicking the dog to keep her from barking. Tell Abby's friend her brother is here to fetch her.
2:10 Play 4 games of Skipbo with Abby to keep her from dying of boredom, poor thing.
2:45 Abby's friend is back. Skipbo is abandoned.
2;46 Remember to return 2 phone calls from the morning--my friends and family are fortunately used to me calling them "right back" about 4 hours after they call.
3:05 Ethan wakes up and requests a snack 47 times in 30 seconds.
3:15 Watch the dance routine that Abby and her friend have created.
3:30 Sit down at the computer.
3:34 Tackle Ethan to keep him from climbing the entertainment center.
3:40 Hear my cell phone ring. Spend 10 minutes hunting for it.
3:50 Feed and change Aaron.
4:30 Dang-the laundry! Start the dryer. Again.
4:40 Closely supervise the kids playing with Aaron to ensure his survival.
5:00 Sit down at the computer.
5:05 Realize I should be figuring out something for dinner.
5:06 Figure out McDonald's.
5:07 Tell Ethan that I enjoy listening to him play Mary Had a LIttle Lamb on the piano, but it loses a bit of its magic after the 23rd time.
5:10 Sit down on the couch to play with Aaron myself.
5:30 Matt comes home. He sees me lounging with a smiling baby, Ethan watching Phineas and Ferb on tv, and Abby channeling Hannah Montana with her pal. He knows better than to be fooled by the tranquility.
Evenings are a wild mix of soccer practice, church, dinner, 7 more snacks, more feeding and changing Aaron, reading books and tucking kids in. Then it's time to collapse myself and prepare to do it all over again.
Hopefully you can see how this is an environment that is not always condusive to blogging. For example, I have been writing this blog post 2 minutes at a time for the last 7 hours. Soon, though, the older two return to school and Aaron's schedule will be more predictable. I figure by September, I'll be settled into the school year groove and be able to blog all the time.
Let's be honest, though. That laundry will probably still be in the dryer.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
This much fun AND I got a free t-shirt!
Saturday I spent a little over 6 hours at the Tyson Track Center helping package meals to send to Haiti. The event was sponsored by a nonprofit called Numana. I was a little apprehensive, because if there's one thing I can't stand it's inefficiency, and there was great possibility for inefficiency in such a large operation. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. These folks have turned meal packaging into an art. Each assembly line has the potential to be a finely tuned machine, churning out hundreds of meals in minutes. In 24 hours, over 1.4 million meals were packaged. Not too shabby.
I had a great time, and there was no shortage of bloggable moments. I'm feeling a little ADD today, so I'll give them to you in to-the-point bullet form:
- The first table I worked with (I was a coordinator,and my job was to manage a line and train people as they came to it) consisted of a couple of cheerful families of 4. We got along famously. Then a lady joined us who was a little, well, more senior than the rest of us and pretty crabby. She kept pointing out to me people at other lines who weren't wearing the required hairnet or gloves. I was not about to start playing health inspector, so I just kind of nodded and moved on. After about half an hour, though, I caught her shaking her booty to a Madonna song that was playing over the loudspeakers while she worked. I liked her a lot more after that.
- Midway through my shift, the crew from The Harbor (our church) showed up. My parents brought Abby so she could help out, and her buddy CG was there too. I set the team up at a table and got them started. We had a great time. I especially enjoyed that as a coordinator, I was the only one not required to wear an apron and hairnet.
- Somehow the lady from my first table ended up working with The Harbor crew for a while. When I saw her join the table, I snickered to myself, knowing that she would not hold back. Sure enough, she apparently called out Sarah for being too slow right off the bat. I have no idea what the team did to scare her off, but it worked and she was gone after a few minutes.
- At one point my dad thought it would be fun to, instead of handing the bag he had just sealed to Abby for boxing, toss it to her. This would have been a great idea if she had been looking. Instead, it smacked her in the head. Way to assault your granddaughter with relief rations!
- There was a guy with a microphone walking around, cheering on volunteers, updating everyone on how many meals were completed and spurring on competition between tables. At one point he started taking requests for music to be played over the loudspeaker. Someone requested "something by Usher." He said, "Is that a singer?" WHAT? The guy was my age, maybe a little older. Who doesn't know who Usher is? He was completely discredited in my books after that.
- After The Harbor team left, I worked with a group of high school students from a church youth group. They were 1) Really fun 2) Really fast and 3)SO young. How do teenagers keep getting younger?
- For the last hour I was pouring ingredients into the bags with two of the guys from the youth group. One of the ingredients is vitamin powder. It smells vaguely like ramen noodles, and if you don't pour it in the funnel just right it poofs out in a cloud and coats everyone nearby. I came home completely covered in a yellow film. On the bright side, I won't be vitamin deficient for some time.
- Abby brought home her disposable plastic apron and hairnet. She wore them all day yesterday.
- While I was there the music played constantly, so I must have heard easily over 100 songs. So why, why, WHY is MmmBop the one that is still going through my head?
That's just wrong.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Hold up there, Romeo
When Matt and I found out back in 2002 that our first baby would be a daughter, we joked about having to fight off the boys and keep a baseball bat by the front door. We now have a boy-crazy 7 year old, and rapidly multiplying gray hairs to show for it. We've slowly grown accustomed to Abby talking about her boyfriend or why Troy on High School Musical is soooooo cute.
However.
I was not prepared for this.
I was finally going through the pile of papers she brought home from the last day of school (don't judge me, I have a newborn). In the spring her school does a post office project. The third graders serve as the postmasters, and everyone writes letters and "mails" them to the other classrooms. Abby sent and received dozens of such letters. I found one in the pile from a boy in her class who I know to be sweet and kind of quiet. I opened it. Here, with the spelling errors corrected, is what I read:
Dear Abby,
You are cute and charming. You are awesome. I think you are the awesomest kid in the whole world. I love seeing your face. It is so beautiful and you are my favoritest friend in the whole wide world. I love the way your eyes sparkle and I love the color of your skin.
Love,
(Boys' name withheld to protect the apparently-not-so-innocent)
WHOAH THERE. This is written by a SEVEN YEAR OLD! To MY DAUGHTER!
She never told me about this letter when she got it, despite my having asked every day if she sent or received any good mail. She still doesn't know I've seen it and I don't intend to tell her as I'm fairly sure I don't want to hear the rest of the story, if there is more.
If you need me, I'll be online researching all-girl boarding schools.
However.
I was not prepared for this.
I was finally going through the pile of papers she brought home from the last day of school (don't judge me, I have a newborn). In the spring her school does a post office project. The third graders serve as the postmasters, and everyone writes letters and "mails" them to the other classrooms. Abby sent and received dozens of such letters. I found one in the pile from a boy in her class who I know to be sweet and kind of quiet. I opened it. Here, with the spelling errors corrected, is what I read:
Dear Abby,
You are cute and charming. You are awesome. I think you are the awesomest kid in the whole world. I love seeing your face. It is so beautiful and you are my favoritest friend in the whole wide world. I love the way your eyes sparkle and I love the color of your skin.
Love,
(Boys' name withheld to protect the apparently-not-so-innocent)
WHOAH THERE. This is written by a SEVEN YEAR OLD! To MY DAUGHTER!
She never told me about this letter when she got it, despite my having asked every day if she sent or received any good mail. She still doesn't know I've seen it and I don't intend to tell her as I'm fairly sure I don't want to hear the rest of the story, if there is more.
If you need me, I'll be online researching all-girl boarding schools.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Are you with me?
Have you heard about 2 Million Meals for Haiti? It's a huge effort by the Razorback Athletic Department and several corporate sponsors to package (you guessed it) 2 million meals for Haiti--in 24 hours (7PM Friday, June 25-7PM Saturday, June 26). If they accomplish the goal, it will set a world record. To do it, they need 10,000 volunteers over the 24 hour period. Volunteers need not sign up--you just show up ready to work a 2 hour shift (or more). I am really excited about this, and I want to get together a group to go on Saturday. Will you go with me? If you're interested send me a message or leave a comment and tell me if there's a certain time you prefer. I'll set a time pretty soon and send out details. I think I can register a group so that we can work together. Yay!
Here is the website if you want to read more details:
www.razorbackrelief.com
GO TEAM AMENMOM!
Here is the website if you want to read more details:
www.razorbackrelief.com
GO TEAM AMENMOM!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Enough about the baby...
We now return to our regular, petty blogging.
I have a question. It's a biggie. And I'm betting that most of you have an opinion on this subject, some of you quite a strong one at that. I know that topics of this importance and sensitivity are risky to bring up, but that's the kind of fearless blogger I am.
Here we go.
Should Sonic carhops get tips?
Some of you may not be avid Sonic-goers, or (horror of horrors) may not even live near a Sonic. But around here, Sonic is not just a fast food joint--it is an addiction with a cult-like following. Their food is good, but most people worship Sonic for their freakishly delicious sodas and drinks. The ice, the styrofoam cups, the precise carbonation-syrup mixture--these folks know what they're doing. And every day between 2 and 4, drinks are HALF OFF. Sometimes you can barely get in the parking lot.
I digress.
Sonic is different than other fast food places in that it does not have a dining room. Instead, you pull your car into one of many parking spots, order over the handy speaker, and have your tasty goodness delivered via a cheerful carhop, who is occasionally on roller skates. This creates a unique hybrid of counter service and full service, which is a grey area that creates the tipping dilemma. I know people who are staunchly on both sides of the issue.
I have contemplated this for some time, and I think I fall into the "Don't Tip" camp for a few reasons:
1) If you pay by credit or check card (which I almost always do) you are not given the option to add a tip onto your card. Surely if the powers that be at Sonic wanted you to tip they would set this up.
2) Carhops make a full hourly wage--not the half-minimum wage that servers at restaurants get. So tips are just icing for them.
3) Most of the time, my order at Sonic is only a couple of dollars. Tipping etiquette says that a 15% or 20% gratuity is good. So I'm going to tip the kid a a quarter? Or during Happy Hour, fourteen cents? This seems silly.
Now with all this said, if I happen to be paying in cash, I usually let them keep the change if it's not a lot. I'm not adamantly opposed to tipping the carhops, I just don't think it's necessary. But I realize that it's theoretically possible, though highly unlikely, that I could be wrong, and so I want to open it up for discussion. Are there reasons I have completely overlooked that I should be making an effort to tip every time? Or am I accurate with my analysis?
Okay, all this talk has got me craving a Diet Dr. Pepper. Lucky for me Sonic's open late!
I have a question. It's a biggie. And I'm betting that most of you have an opinion on this subject, some of you quite a strong one at that. I know that topics of this importance and sensitivity are risky to bring up, but that's the kind of fearless blogger I am.
Here we go.
Should Sonic carhops get tips?
Some of you may not be avid Sonic-goers, or (horror of horrors) may not even live near a Sonic. But around here, Sonic is not just a fast food joint--it is an addiction with a cult-like following. Their food is good, but most people worship Sonic for their freakishly delicious sodas and drinks. The ice, the styrofoam cups, the precise carbonation-syrup mixture--these folks know what they're doing. And every day between 2 and 4, drinks are HALF OFF. Sometimes you can barely get in the parking lot.
I digress.
Sonic is different than other fast food places in that it does not have a dining room. Instead, you pull your car into one of many parking spots, order over the handy speaker, and have your tasty goodness delivered via a cheerful carhop, who is occasionally on roller skates. This creates a unique hybrid of counter service and full service, which is a grey area that creates the tipping dilemma. I know people who are staunchly on both sides of the issue.
I have contemplated this for some time, and I think I fall into the "Don't Tip" camp for a few reasons:
1) If you pay by credit or check card (which I almost always do) you are not given the option to add a tip onto your card. Surely if the powers that be at Sonic wanted you to tip they would set this up.
2) Carhops make a full hourly wage--not the half-minimum wage that servers at restaurants get. So tips are just icing for them.
3) Most of the time, my order at Sonic is only a couple of dollars. Tipping etiquette says that a 15% or 20% gratuity is good. So I'm going to tip the kid a a quarter? Or during Happy Hour, fourteen cents? This seems silly.
Now with all this said, if I happen to be paying in cash, I usually let them keep the change if it's not a lot. I'm not adamantly opposed to tipping the carhops, I just don't think it's necessary. But I realize that it's theoretically possible, though highly unlikely, that I could be wrong, and so I want to open it up for discussion. Are there reasons I have completely overlooked that I should be making an effort to tip every time? Or am I accurate with my analysis?
Okay, all this talk has got me craving a Diet Dr. Pepper. Lucky for me Sonic's open late!
Friday, June 11, 2010
An equation
Talented photographer (Jason Hudson) + Beautiful baby (Aaron)=Fantastic pictures
Which one is your favorite?
Which one is your favorite?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)