Looking for a LOSER!

Well, I’ll say it, I have my moments of stupidity…or something just gets the best of me, that I’m so exited, everything I should have done ends up by the waste side.

My attempt to save money (I mean 100’s of dollars, if all went as planned) got the best of me, this time!!!  I’d come across a dude (“Jay” he said) from online, who seemed like a cool dude.  He said his grandfather had passed about a year ago, and he’d inherited a number of properties, spanning from Bowling Green, KY, to Middle Tennessee.  I had mentioned how I was having car problems, and he said the best option would be to actually just get a whole new engine, for my head gasket problem.  He said he could get me a great deal, because he knew a buddy who owned (or managed) a parts company, on an engine for me, and that he knew another guy who just wanted to earn a little extra money, and swap them out for me for $300.  Well, that was going to equal a total of $795, in all, which was MUCH better than the minimum of $1,200 I’d been quoted.  I’d met the dude, after we’d talked, gave him $495 for the engine and fan assembly (right around Labor Day), but still haven’t seen my parts!

I did have a phone number for him, of which, apparently, is no longer his.  Story of my life! 

I’d emailed him, he says the guy who has my parts supposedly called me at least 10 times, during business hours…yet, if a local number called me that many times, I would’ve responded, ESPECIALLY, if they’d dared to leave me a message (which they never did).  He then told me to leave my car, with the keys in it, in a Walmart parking lot, and to wire the guy who was going to fix it half of the $300…I may be foolish, at times, but I am no idiot!  Obviously, I wasn’t falling for that, so he then told me the guy who has the parts will deliver them to me.  Nope, never got them.  He said he was there at a time when my roommate says she was home (I was out of town on Christmas Eve, when he said dude was going to deliver them), but no attempts were made.

Now, my emails are undeliverable!!

What I do know about him (or what he told me):

Name: Jay (Scott, possibly – he said his father is Nick Scott, Jr. from Scott Enterprises.  Looking at their website, he looks far too young to be his father.  When I asked about it, he said the web page was 10 years old.  Then, when I did further research, there was a biography about how this guy has 4 kids…”Jay” said he was an only child.  RED FLAG, I know!)

Occupation:  Has a number of properties he owns around the area, but that he was going to be working for HCA, as a Radiologist of sorts, I think.  When I did email him once, a “Sam Coles” responded back saying she/he was from Century 21, yet I can’t seem to find anything on them, either.

Origins:  “Jay” says he was born and raised in the Erie, PA area.

Health:  Did I mention he happened to say he has lung cancer?  Oh yes, he apparently had a gallbladder removal, which ended up saying he had spots on his lungs, which he said turned out to be cancerous.  He said he would be relocating back to Erie, to stay with his family, because he didn’t know anyone here, for treatments.  Honestly, his text messaging and knowledge about the rental business and things seem to corroborate his stories.  He did show me fresh scars from his procedure.

Smoker

Here’s a couple of pictures I have:

IF YOU KNOW HIM, OR HOW TO GET AHOLD OF HIM, PLEASE PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!

Stink Pretties!!!!!

I have embarked on a new endeavor…one I enjoy, and have the ability to do pretty well with. I’m so excited to be a consultant for…Scentsy!!!

I believe it’s a company that makes such great products that everyone will enjoy…from wickless candles to perfumes, and they are very charitable! Last season, they supported Autism Speaks, and this season, it’s the Ronald McDonald Foundation. There are more than 80 scents to choose from, so everyone will find something they like. They are all unique and will make your home that much more inviting!!! If you’re a real estate agent, you NEED a warmer for your open houses…great smells tend to influence people in a positive way!!

It’s one of those things that you’ll never realize how much you would love it, until you own it.

Our wickless warmers are EXTREMELY SAFE, which makes them ideal for moms with small children…the wax doesn’t get much warmer than our own body temperature. The warmers are all equipped with a 15-25 watt lightbulb, depending on the size of the warmer. Because they are heated with just a lightbulb, they should be safe enough for someone living in the college dorms!! We even have over 65 college warmers in our campus collection. There are MANLY SCENTS, among others! If you are interested in learning more about Scentsy, please visit my website:

www.stinkpretties.com

I didn’t join, initially, for the money at all…it’s just fun, and it’s a great conversation starter 🙂 It’s only $99 to join, so if you think it’s something you might be interested in, I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have!! stinkpretties@gmail.com

A New Obsession

I get excited like it’s Christmas, it’s kinda sad, but it’s a good thing.

Couponing.

I have been turned onto it by a good friend, and just by watching her, I realized she was onto something, rather than just being a little geeky.  And the beauty of it is I get to try so many different brand name products, and I’ve gotten a bunch of free samples in the mail. I’ve even come to like Harris Teeter, which can be expensive, but not if you know what you’re doing!

I anxiously await the Sunday paper for coupons, and for my All You magazine to arrive in the mail.  I visit money saving blogs and stores’ websites to find out what’s on sale.  I’ve turned frugal, ya’ll!

My last trip to Harris Teeter yielded great results, especially because it was SUPER DOUBLES, where they double coupons up to $1.98!!!!  It doesn’t get much better than that…check out my shopping trip, and I’m curious how much you think I spent.

Here’s a rundown of all I got:

Butterball turkey bacon

Green Giant Veggies (5 cans)

Nestle Toll House cookie dough

Success Boil in Bag Rice (2 boxes)

Balance Bar (2)

Zone bar

Barber Foods stuffed chicken breast (bought @ Publix)

Febreeze Air freshener

Glade winter collection sprays (3)

Pert shampoo/conditioner

Got2B hair lotion

Cottonelle moist wipes

Bic lighter

People magazine

Trident Layers (2)

So, what’s your guess?

Hotel Room Booking Tips

As a hotel reservationist, I’ve realized I have a love/hate relationship with people, mostly love, but sometimes hate.  It’s not nearly as bad as my Priceline days, but here are some tips to keep in mind when booking a reservation:

• The hotels we represent DO NOT want you to call them directly to book a reservation, that’s why they’ve hired us and only put OUR NUMBER on the website!
• If you are already looking online at rates for a hotel stay, please just save you and I the time it takes you to argue with me about rates, and JUST BOOK IT ONLINE! It’s the same price.
• Call the hotel directly if you are trying to modify reservations…we don’t make any m0ney canceling or modifying reservations…that’s why we give you the hotel phone # when you make a reservation!
• Please do your research online when it comes to checking rates. Again, we don’t make any money when you are just “checking rates”!
• Please don’t get upset with us when we tell you the hotels’ offices are closed.  We don’t make the rules, nor do we have the powers to magically reopen them just for you!
• If you don’t know how to google a hotel phone number, I’ll be happy to assist, but please do have pen and paper handy when calling.
• 90% of the time, you need a credit card to reserve a room, so please ask us up front if one is required to reserve a room…saves everyone time.
• When you have more than 2 adults in a room, the price will go up!  In some cases, it only takes more than one adult to increase the price.  Children 18 and up are no longer considered children either.
• If you are trying to reserve a room for a holiday weekend, don’t be surprised when the prices are much higher, or if the hotel is sold out.  If you are booking for a holiday night, and there happens to be availability,  the night of, the price will still be high.

Just thought this could be of use to anyone looking to book hotel reservations over the phone.  I, as a reservations agent, would certainly appreciate any compliance 🙂

Thank you for reading my blog, and have a great day!

Choose To Be A Leader!

“The boss drives people; the leader coaches them. The boss depends on authority; the leader on good will. The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm. The boss says ‘I’; the leader says ‘we.’ The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown. The boss says ‘go’; the leader says ‘let’s go!'”

–H. Gordon Selfridge,
American-British retail magnate

Isn’t that the truth?

Better Late Than Never

I know it seems like forever since my last posting, so it’s always better to follow me on Twitter because I don’t always have the time to update my blog, and it’s not going to get any easier for me to post anytime soon.   Since my last post, Christmas, my 27th birthday, and, now, Easter has come and gone.   Also, I got TWO jobs since Christmas, and am almost done with training in my most recent job, which I’m oh so excited about!

The first job was working for a kitchenware company that tries to get people to attend, or host in their home, an event where they can sell their cookware and stuff.  My job was calling (a lot of times cold calling) people and “pitching” the event to them.  The problem was the pitch seemed all too good to be true.  And this is how they and all their competitors did things too (which I never would’ve thought there’d be that many companies doing the same type of thing).  And, of course, we are giving them a 3 day/2 night all inclusive accommodation package, of which we tell them there are no strings really, but, if I were called, I’d hang up on me too!  Nothing is for free anymore, and, really, we wanted you to spend the big bucks on their UBER expensive stuff.  For instance, I happened to see a 2007 price chart, and a cookie sheet was $85!!!!!  Who knows what it is now, but that better be gold-plated…and self-cleaning!  The hardest part of the job, for me, was trying to pitch to people, and getting shot down constantly.  I’ve never been much of a sales person, so I’m not good and overcoming objections.  I needed to make the appointments, AND for the people to show up to receive a bonus (which wasn’t all that much to begin with, on top of my minimum wage base pay), so I was quite often discouraged, which I’m sure didn’t help the situation.  I had to drive 30 miles each way to Smyrna, so the drive was just another reason I hated the job.  I originally took the job because I was told most agents make 4 appointments an hour, and about half of them show up, so it could be quite profitable.  I was also told the people we’d be calling had already shown interest in the company, but I quickly learned that’s not the case, either!  A lot of people we called just attended a bridal show, and had signed up for something at the door, and we bought the list.  I made some appointments this way, but I wonder, on average, how many of the people off the lists we buy actually show up to the events…not many, I’m guessing.  I met some cool girls that I worked with, but other than that, it just wasn’t the job for me.

Then, I went and interviewed for a company as a Reservationist, and I was offered the job on the spot!  I was ecstatic!  The only cons of the job are that it’s all the way in Hendersonville, and it’s not the pay range I’d like, but they do offer overtime quite a bit, so I definitely plan on taking advantage of it when I can.  This job is definitely more up my alley, I love hotels and resorts, and people, so I’m excited for training to finish up and hit the floor taking calls.  this company appears to have low turnover, which is a great sign of a good company culture.  The break room is really nice as well, and it’s the nicest call center I’ve been in.  They give incentives for punctuality, which means I’ll be on time EVERY day!

My birthday was a lot of fun, we went to a Thai restaurant, the food was WONDERFUL!  Love me some Thai food!  Some of my bunco babes came, as well as some chicas from small group, and another friend.  Everyone, I think, had a great time.  We were going to go see “Dear John”, but we would’ve been too rushed.  Instead, we just went and hung out at Starbucks for a little while, and had great conversation.  It was a great birthday, but man, 27 sure seems a whole heck of a lot closer to 30 than 26!

In other great news, my dad has moved back to this side of the Atlantic, which means I will hopefully get to see him more often.  He’s living in Canada, not far from Niagara, and I’m happy he’s closer to home.

My mind has gone blank being so late at night, but I’ll try to write again soon!

Fish Lure and Fruitcake

That’s the gift I took to my small group party this year.  It was regifted from a Dirty Santa game last year.  I though it was great.  And the fish lure was Cleveland Browns. Of all things.  I think I actually got to open the most gifts under the tree, because people kept stealing from me.  First, I ended up with a lottery ticket, then, I ended up with a blanket, and by the end of the game, I ended up with this…compliments of Kristen.

I was thrilled with this….even without the wine!  It sure beat the door draft blockers!  Oh, and my favorite part of the party was becoming the spoons champ!  I took Wendy down, ya’ll!  If you’ve never played spoons, find out how to play, it’s SO much fun!

The next week, I went to a party with the mix group, which is just 20-30’s singles.  I didn’t know many there, but there were a lot of laughs.  There was gingerbread house making…with graham crackers.  Some houses looked great, and others were a good attempt.  We played Dirty Santa there, as well, and I took a can of Spam and a can of Spaghetti.  I had a can of spam in the house (luckily, for a good gag gift).  Karma came around, and it gave me THIS…

A package of Gongju, which, according to ther part that’s written in English on the back of the package, it’s CHRYSANTHEMUMS!!!  I didn’t know people drank dried up flowers for tea!  The back of the package says to put 6-8 of the flowers in hot water, but I just can’t muster up the courage to try it.

I think the Christmas parties are my favorite part of the season.  It just gives everyone a chance to unwind from the stresses of the season, and enjoy what’s truly important to you!  I know, for me, it’s my family. In 2007, I couldn’t spend the holiday with my family, and then realized how much being alone on the holiday sucks (for lack of a better word). Then, last year, I realized I need MY family.  I went to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving, and it just made me terribly homesick.  I’m headed up to Michigan tomorrow, to spend the holiday with family, and can’t wait!  One of the perks of being jobless is having such a flexible schedule LOL, but I’m ready to have a little less flexibility!

Burning Water

Most, if not all, would agree with me when I tell you I cannot cook. I really do try, I just am not all that domestic.  I seriously have a 6 ingredient maximum for any recipe, which includes salt and pepper (and count as 2/6 of the recipe).  I found a recipe on another blogger’s website and thought I’d give it a whirl…just throw some chicken and a few ingredients in a crockpot and let it go!  Oh. I let it go alright…like 2 hours longer than I was supposed to (accidentally napped for far too long), so the chicken was a little dry, and it just didn’t look or taste I thought it would!  WHO screws up a flippin’ crockpot recipe??? I can’t even manage to make the packaged dough cookies look pretty when they come out…all turned into one big cookie (the pan was to blame, but you’d think I would have noticed the funky bend in the middle, of course not).

I would love to be able to cook more than macaroni and cheese and Knorr side dishes (you just add milk and water…haven’t managed to screw them up yet), but I’m really a lost cause!  The only other thing I can do well is sauerkraut and polish suasage (4 ingredients), so I really hope my future hubby doesn’t mind it every other day, or he’ll have to take up the cooking.

Oh, and there is my sausage dip.  It’s 3 ingredients, and everyone loves it (non vegetarians, that is).  If you’ve noticed, I either bring that or buy something if I have to bring something.  Last time I tried to be different, it just didn’t work out.  I tried making salsa rolls…slather cream cheese on tortillas and put salsa, and roll up.  I got that part down.  Then, cut. This is where it went downhill.  It looked AWFUL, and was embarrassing, but I didn’t have anything else to take.  I told everyone it tastes better than it looks, but I’m sure people thought otherwise.  I can make Thai fried rice, but it’s not consistent…some days it’sbetter than others.  There’s a pork dish I’ve made. I saw it on Food Network, and the fact that kids were helping Giada cook it was the only thing that gave me hope…and it turned out good, but it’s rare if I make
it. There’s a slight glimmer of hope for me in the kitchen, I guess, but I feel like I should be so much better.  My mother and her mother are fabulous cooks. Guess I got my dad’s genes in that area 😦  My little brother even cooks better than I do!

Any tips you can offer me?  If you think your kids could do it, then that’s my kind of recipe!

Thanksgiving 2009

Turkey day, this year, was FANTASTIC! The food was phenomonal, and the company even better!  The Merrell clan was nice enough to invite me over for the holiday, seeing as I have no family in the area.  I would have loved to go home, but it’s just too long of a drive for dinner, plus, I’ll be up there for Christmas (God willing).

My sausage dip was a hit (usually is, not bragging, just sayin’), but I think the star of the night was the turkey!  Sometimes, turkey, in my opinion, isn’t all that good, ends up too dry, but this turkey was WONDERFUL!  Stefan had been working on it since the night before, and it paid off! We even had asparagus, which I’d never had at thanksgiving dinner, but it was perfect.  There was the green bean casserole and sweet potatoes, and mashed potatoes that are a staple, and did not disappoint.  After dinner, Andrea and I helped the kids decorate a gingerbread house, which was fun.

I put the tree together, and looked fabulous.  Then Emma got hungry..It was a great little activity for the kids, just not something you wanna eat after a 3 year old had his fingers in his mouth and up his nose while touching everything.  I kept making him use “hanitizer” as they called it, but just wasn’t quick enough sometimes LOL.  Then, little Sarah decided she wanted to try some too, which led her to taking the candy off the house, licking the icing off, and putting it back!  After watching her brother just stick his finger in the icing, she realized it was so much easier doing it that way too!  The kids had fun, and we got some good laughs, so it was a win win.

 

Then, I was introduced to 2 new card games, called Blink and SkipBo.  I couldn’t beat Andrea at Blink, but had slightly better luck ast skipbo…until Emma beat me!  It was all in fun, and I’m glad I now know how to play skipbo.  Last year, my friend, Sarah, bought the game for us to play when we went to her house for Thanksgiving, but couldn’t figure it out.  I think really we were just VERY unmotivated at the time.  It was a lot of fun…and you’d be surprised how much a 6 year old can trash talk!  I was getting looks and her telling me I was goin’ down!  LOL

 

Andrea was nice enough to send us home with leftovers, which, I think, were better the 2nd time ’round!  And she included a piece of her pumpkin log, which is AMAZING!

 

I had a great turkey day, and hope everyone else did as well!

 

What was your favorite part of the holiday?

 

Backtracking

I’ve been incredibly neglectful of my blog lately, and quite a bit has happened.  If you’ve followed me on twitter, you probably know the majority of my past few months. If you haven’t followed me on Twitter, here’s the gist:

• A kiitten fell into my lap!  No, really, it did.  A friend of mine had a litter of kittens, and needed a home, so Mike, the stray roommate we took in, said he’d take one.  When I moved, he came with, because Mike wasn’t around the apartment with Utt and Futt all that much to care for him.  Originally, his name was Gabriel (not my choice, and he isn’t that much of an angel), but I’ve since changed his name to Bolt.  He tries to bolt out doors, and is VERY quick.  Isn’t he precious?  He LOVES this laundry basket!

• June 27th – Went to see Legally Blonde, the musical, with my friend, Jennifer, who had 2 tickets, and her hubby isn’t so much of a fan of musicals, she thought to invite me.  It was hilarious, I really enjoyed it!  I had no idea musicals could be so good, or funny even.
• June 28th – Jeremy and I got into an argument, over the ratio of dirty dishes to clean dishes in the kitchen…the kitchen was ALWAYS a mess, and hardly had any clean dishes, and were lucky if we could even use the faucet, they’d be piled so high.  If they were mine, they’d been cleaned, but I didn’t cook in that kitchen much because it was always in a disarray.  Basically, I asked if the kitchen was ever going to be clean, and he said he was “fixin’ to do it”….he’s ALWAYS “fixin'” to do something, but never gets done.  He then told me he wanted me out by the end of the month, and I calmly said “no” which ticked him off, and so he called the cops telling them I was trespassing!  At this point, I’d already lived there over 2 months, and it’s not like I just snuck in the house and have lived there undetected.  I went in my room, waiting for the county sherrif to show up, and prove that I’d established residency.  He then comes in my room, yelling at me, telling me that if I’d asked nicely, maybe he’d do the dishes.  I asked him if he, at the age of 23, really needed to be told to clean up after himself.  He then proceded to grab my duffel bag of dirty clothes, and throw them out the front door.  I, of course, went running after it.  As I was picking up my clothes, I made the comment to Chris, Jeremy’s boyfriend about how he’s got a real winner, which set Jeremy off, and he then began shoving me out the door.  My buddy, James, was outside the door as well, and he and Chris told him to stop, as I’m yelling.  Jeremy stopped, then ran back to my room, and smashed my floor lamp in his rage.  I, then, feeling unsafe, called the cops, myself.  Cops came, and asked me if I wanted them to arrest him.  I felt, ONLY because he didn’t actually hit me, that it wasn’t necessary, but the officers advised I leave for the night, which I did.  Jeremy, being the liar he is, told the cops my lamp was broken from the door swinging open, which was never the case.  Jeremy tried changing the locks previously, and I asked the officers tell him not to change them on me, and they warned him.  The officers stayed until I left, which I was grateful for.  I stayed the night at my good friend, Jennifer’s house, and was grateful she took me in.
• June 29th – As if I hadn’t already had a rough weekend, it only got worst when i was pulled over by a cop, for expired tags…I passed him only because he was on his cell phone, and figured a man can’t multi-task, and pay attention to my tags at the same time!  He’s an exception, I suppose.  He got me, and decided to mark me down for 2 infractions, instead of just expired tags, which cost me an additional $12.
• June 30th – found me a new place to move, thought it would be great, living with a couple of girls, back in Bellevue, and pretty cheap.  Put down first months rent that day, needing to get away from the messy living situation I was in.  I was grateful for her taking me in.  The downside was it was only 3 months, because the one girl was getting married, and her and her husband were going to live there.  I didn’t care, just needed to feel safe.
• July 2nd – MOVING DAY!  Was SO glad to be done with the drama.  Didn’t unpack half of my stuff, knowing it was only a short term lease.  The first weekend there, I thought I was in heaven…the sink was void of any dirty dishes, AND I could hear the vacuum being used!  NEVER would’ve happened at the old place!