Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Really Mark's Work Wear World? C'mon...

I am not normally the "go to the Manager" type... I am usually just the "I'm not going to EVER go back there again" kind... but in this situation.... I am taking it to the top. There is such a thing as customer service... and I feel that this store should check into it... and possibly also some sensitivity training...

This is the story I shared on facebook... and also on Twitter.

So basically what happened was that Gracie was being a little monkey in the store..and throwing some massive tantrums. i am NOT even going to defend her... she was being horrible... She was fine in Costco and for some reason when we went into Work Wear she melted down... so I told the girl who was helping me find a present for my Son in law that I was just going to get a gift card instead, because she was just being too hard to manage. Then I called my daughter Krystal and asked if she could watch the kids while I finished shopping... I went in line and stood there for the ten minutes it took to get to the front, purchased the card and a couple toys for the kids... all the while trying to hold Gracie in one arm while she had her tantrum... At one point she actually ran away... (while i was in the middle of doing my debit transaction...) so I sat her on the counter where I could keep her until I finished... After that she actually calmed down, and a lady I knew in there gave me a kleenex so I could clean her up... I grabbed my purchases and took Gracie off to the side by the door (because we were leaving) and blew her nose, and was in the process of talking to her and wiping her nose and eyes... when the STORE OWNER came up to me and said...   "Maam, you need to take your child and leave the store." I was already embarrassed by Gracie's behavior... and anyone who has ever had a child misbehave in public knows how humiliating that can be. I guess I could have left the second she started acting up... but I had 4 days till Christmas, and I was on the East end, while I live on the North... so it seemed easier for me to finish my transaction, and then take her home - or to Krystal's to deal with the problem.
I was extremley angry, but even more humiliated.... I have never been actually removed from a store before... and REALLY... Kick me out after you take my one hundred dollars..... REALLY???? When I am already on my way out??

My friend who was in the store and gave me the kleenex came out to talk to me and then sat with the kids while I took my items back into the store and returned all of them.... The owner disappeared.... I never did see her again... so I had to give my complaint to the young clerk and assistant manager at the counter...neither of whom would look at me, or discuss the issue.

Later that day, I went to the North store, and met with the district manager for Sask. who happened to be there that day, and is her boss. He was very apologetic... and told me he would be dealing directly with the situation himself... he is supposed to call me back tomorrow.... I told him I felt that sensitivity training for his store owners is something they might want to consider. I don't expect anyone to like me or my children or the way they behave... but I do expect to be respected even when my angels are being rotters.... and to kick me out AFTER i spent my money? Not happening... What happens to the next poor parent who is having difficulty with their kids? I don't want anyone else to go through that...

We have also twittered the situation (without using the owners name) and have already been contacted by head office...
I won't be going back to that store regardless of any apologies or situations being dealt with... It was very embarrassing...
I have also heard back from several people including some employees of Work Wear World who have either had problems with the East end store themselves... or in the case of the employees of the other store have been hearing all kinds of comments and complaints from customers for a while that there is some serious rudeness happening there...
It looks bad on the company as a whole, so I hope that it is dealt with. Unfortunately, that was my first experience in a Work Wear World, and will probably be my last...

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Potty Training...

I can't THINK of anything I would rather do over the holidays then potty training...  :P


We are doing double duty here.. May as well learn computers and potty at the same time!  :)

Friday, December 17, 2010

Would you like to write? Guest Speakers wanted...

Starting in the New Year... we will be doing a New Thing here at One of the Jones...
I will be accepting articles from other on-line magazines about once or twice a week...
We would also like to host articles... guest speakers from other Blogs as well...
If your interested please submit your article/ post to
elijahssong@gmail.com and I will review it and see  if it would be suitable material.
Kinds of material we will be accepting?
Christian Material..
Health, Beauty
Stories..
Photography,
poetry...
any other ideas you have... however...


Please keep in mind, this is a family and faith friendly site,
so have fun.... but please keep it clean...
Hope to hear from you soon!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Santa Visit!

 This year Santa pictures were done a little differently..
The Southland Mall had you schedule it in, 
and then the kids had half an hour where they were able to sing some songs,
dance and have a story with Santa.
I think it probably worked with most kids..
but maybe wasn't so good for my high energy children... LOL!
Gracie didn't want to sit for the story time,
and Jeremy pulled shy and had a tantrum, 
because he was nervous....
but at least we managed to get them on Santa's lap for a picture..
(which by the way.. you do yourself now...)

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Glorious!


 When I see a day like this..
How can I possibly question the existence of an amazingly creative
and awe inspiring God.....






Terrible Beauty!


Terrible Beauty
Robyn Jones ~ 2009


Intricate snowflakes, frozen in place...
balancing carefully...
not a breath of air...
to send them shimmering to the ground
like fairy dust.
Visible one moment and gone the next...

Every branch, every blade of grass, every seed,
for as far as the eye can see,
wearing a jacket of frosty snow..
cocooned against the elements, 
keeping alive a spark of life,
For springs first warm breath.

But sleeping for now..
Terrible in their frozen beauty,
As silent as death...as deep as a thought,
Dreaming silently under gray skies,
Shivering in anticiapation, 
for the seasons to change their fickle favors once again...


Thursday, December 2, 2010

Christmas Lights Across Canada...

For the past four years, Kendal and I have been trying to make it to the Legislative Building 
to watch them turn on the Christmas lights..
Tonight we bundled everybody up..
grabbed our SIL Esther...
and finally did it...

I didn't realize what a big event it was,
There was Santa and his reindeer...
prizes, hot chocolate, crafts and face painting...
and all without me and my camera...
(How's that for a first!)
My hubby did- however
take one of this very cool gingerbread house of the Leg

made by Safeway...with his cell phone.

When we got home, I did take some pictures of our facepaint..
unfortunately the kids was pretty messed up,
Mine was still pretty good...







Monday, November 29, 2010

The Wedding 2

If you're fat and you know it drink green tea......

A while back I said that I would keep you updated on some of the healthy changes
I was going to make in my diet...
So far, I have done pretty good..
One of the changes was to change from Cow milk
over to Almond milk...
(For more on that click Here ... or Here )
Another change I have made is to drink green tea...

Now I know a lot of people LIKE green tea...
I can't profess to be one of them...
To me it just tastes like dirty socks...
HOWEVER...
that being said...
I am now drinking two cups a day...
no milk and no sugar...



In my research of green tea.. I found these possible benefits....

University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea
inhibits the growth of cancer cells...

other possible benefits

  • rheumatoid arthritus
  • high cholesterol levels
  • cardiovascular disease
  • infection
  • preventing diabetes  
  • cavity prevention
  • immune boosting
  • conception aid

Apparently this is due to the fact that it has high concentrations of polyphenols and flavenoids
Please click on the link if you would like to know what these are..
I haven't a clue... LOL!

What I DO know is that after I started drinking the stuff...
I started to lose weight!!!!
So far in a fairly short period of time,
I dropped ten pounds..
At the time, I didn't even know that green tea could help with that...
but I checked into it, because there hadn't been any other significant weight loss before that!
Wow.... so cool.

The health benefits at this point seem far more dramatic then the side affects..
which seem minimal...
The only thing to keep in mind, is that if you are pregnant,
it is probably better to stay away from it,
as it can effect the way your body uses folate
which is needed during pregnancy.
It also contains tannic acid, which when consumed in excess amounts can
increase the risks of miscarriage.
For that though, you would have to drink 8 or more cups a day...
For more info about green tea and pregnancy ... click here

It also has a reputation for helping with fertility...
A study done by the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland, California revealed that the chances of conceiving doubled for woman who daily drank more than one- half cup of green tea containing caffeine (American Journal of Public Health, 1998). Because this wasn't the case for the other tested caffeinated beverages, caffeine wasn't deemed the causing agent. Some credit was given to the possibility that the polyphenols and hypoxanthine, compounds found in tea, resulted in a greater number of viable embryos, and increased maturation and fertilizability of oocytes.


Green tea also has far less caffeine in it then coffee does...
there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six - eight ounces of tea
compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee...
However, if you are going to add green tea to your diet,
it would be best to limit how much coffee you are drinking...


So far as I know there have been no documented cases of death by green tea...
so drink to your health...
(and if you don't like it... plug your nose!  :)

Note of interest..
For those of you who really CAN'T stand the stuff,
and can't handle the taste
They do sell green tea capsules at the health food store..
(follow the directions...)

For more information on the health benefits of green tea... please click here


This just looks wrong.....LOL!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Santa Parade!

The Christmas season is here!  Once again we headed off to the annual Santa Parade....
However.....
This year was far colder then normal.. -25....
Good thing we brought blankets...
and extra clothes.
Not only was it colder, but the parade seemed much longer then normal as well...
My 18 year old...in typical teenage fashion
didn't have a coat. or gloves. or a hat.
My two year old...
in typical two year old fashion...
was refusing to wear her gloves...












Monday, November 22, 2010

Goosed by a Reindeer!


On Sat. we brought the kids to the Cathedral district
to go see Santa and his reindeer and visit a craft sale or two.....
We parked at Safeway, and I was taking Gracie out of her seat,
when I heard.. "Excuse me"...
I turned around and 
SCREAMED!
because...
This (reindeer) was standing directly behind me 
with Santa...
and his horns were...
Well...too close for comfort...
Funny thing is...
It must really be Santa, 
because we never saw him
in the parking lot, or when we got out of the car...LOL!


I should add... 
that the reindeer apparently was as scared as me..
because he decided to pee.
almost on top of my son...
and imagine my chagrin, 
when said toddlers decided it was good times to 
jump on the frozen reindeer pee...
Even worse.. the next day
Gracie found her own stuffed reindeer 
and informed daddy in a gleeful voice...
that it poop  ed.
(insert evil little girl giggles here....) 
sigh.


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Bad blogger.....

WOW! I am seriously falling behind in the blogging department...
The busier I get with the photography thing.. the farther I am falling behind in everything else..
including my blog...LOL!

So... lets see.. Other then work, and home stuff.. what have I been up too...


Well...Gracie had her second birthday party....
It was late this year because we had some stuff going on in October 
and couldn't have it..
We took the kids to It's a Blast..
Pretty exspensive to rent a room for half an hour..let me tell you.
I don't know what was wrong with my brain...
but I was REALLY disorganised...
forgot the birthday candles..
forgot forks. 
forgot THE CAKE!
(lucky me, at least i had ordered it...so hubby went and picked it up)

Gracie had fun anyways, and was so impressed by the Spongebob cake
that she dropped all her presents and clapped her hands 
when daddy brought it in... 
They had fun... that's what counts right?
Not that her mom is missing her brain...LOL!

Last Sat. we had my hubby's work dinner...
It was in Balgonie, which is about 20 minutes outside of Regina...
or ... it would have been about 20 minutes out if it hadn't been so foggy...
I had to drive 70 kmp, and couldn't see anything in front of my face...
It was actually pretty scary.

However, it was dinner theater..
a play called "Lonestar Love Potion",
and the food was FREAKING amazing!
So Props to the cooks!  
It was the best Christmas party we have been too since we have 
lived in Regina.
Again... the drive back wasn't too much fun though... :/


Thursday, November 4, 2010

The Villagers of Stiltsville


The Villagers of Stiltsville

Perhaps you don’t know,
then, maybe you do,
about Stiltsville, the village,
(so strange but so true)
where people like we,
some tiny, some tall,
with jobs and kids
and clocks on the wall
keep an eye on the time.
For each evening at six,
they meet in the square
for the purpose of sticks,
tall stilts upon which
Stiltsvillians can strut
and be lifted above
those down in a rut:
the less and the least,
the Tribe of Too Smalls,
the not cools and have-nots
who want to be tall
but can’t, becuase
in the giving of sticks
their name was not called.
They didn’t get picked.
Yet still they come
when the villagers gather;
they press to the front
to see if they matter
to the clique of the cool,
the court of the high clout,
that decides who is special
and declares with a shout,
“You’re classy!” “You’re pretty!”
“You’re clever!” or “Funny!”
And bequeath a prize,
not of medals or money,
not a freshly baked pie
or a house someone built,
but the oddest of gifts—-
a gift of some stilts.
Moving up in their mission,
going higher they aim.
“Elevate your position”
is the name of the game.
The higher-ups of Stiltsville
(you know if you’ve been there)
make the biggest to-do
of the sweetness of thin air.
They relish the chance
on their higher apparatus
to strut on their stilts,
the ultimate status.
For isn’t life best
when viewed from the top?
Unless you stumble
and suddenly are not
so sure of your footing.
You tilt and then sway.
“Look out bel-o-o-o-w!”
and you fall straightaway
into the Too Smalls,
hoi polloi of the earth.
You land on your pride—-
oh boy, how it hurts
when the chic police,
in the jilt of all jilts
don’t offer to help
but instead take your stilts.
“who made you king?”
you start to complain
but then notice the hour
and forget your refrain
It’s almost six!
No time for chatter.
It’s back to the crowd
to see if you matter.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Pumpkin Hollow...


Gracie REALLY likes popcorn apparently.... 


Last weekend we went to Pumpkin Hollow, which is quickly becoming another Autumn tradition for us... Unlike Corn Maiden Market, you do have to pay to go in, but it is really fun for the kids... This year, they had a corn maze in the shape of the Rider's Logo.. the kids loved it so much we had to go through twice... They had wagon rides, a train ride, a play area with a corn box, some animals, pony rides, a corn shoot, and a concession... The kids had a great time, and so did we...


They also had a place inside the store where you could take pictures 


Gracie inside the chalk house...


Jeremy pretending to drive his "pirate ship"


The corn box...Gracie kept trying to swim in it...

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Corn Maiden Market

Autumn is my very VERY favorite time of year... I love the colors, the temp, the places I can take my kids..
Since we had Jeremy one of our fall traditions is to take the kids to a place called Corn Maiden Market in Lumsden...They have had a Pumpkin Festival every year where they have a huge Pumpkin Patch, face painting, a haunted house, sometimes a hay bale maze and make pumkin soup, hot dogs, and hot chocolate.... We love that place so every year we bundle up the kids and take them out there....take tons of pics of kids on Pumpkins and buy lots of vegies... However.. this year we were kind of disappointed. They CALLED it the pumpkin festival.... but when we went out there... there was NOTHING going on... no hot dogs.. pumkin soup... haunted house... nothing. We took some pics of the kids and went home...  :(  I am hoping the lack of activities was due to the fact it was bad weather this year for pumpkins... because otherwise we are going to be losing a tradition...  I felt kind of bad, because we have told everyone we know about how much fun we have out there...and then this year they didn't do anything...