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Wouldn't you know it, I still didn't get that cloth diaper package. :-P
Friday, April 22, 2011
You've Got Mail!... FINALLY
Today, in overcast Virginia, it's raining cats and dogs-- and mail! Evidently, those yahoos at the post office decided I could get some of my mail now.
Earth Day and GIVEAWAY!
Today, the blogosphere is abuzz with either Earth Day chatter or Good Friday ponderings, which, as a friend on facebook pointed out, really makes today feel kind of like an epic face-off. So I am feeling like a total heathen as I write an Earth Day post for you.
I'm pretty sure I've professed my love for reusable feminine products here a time or dozen. They are tons more comfortable, and last for years, saving you money. In fact, these are what got me started with cloth diapering-- after experiencing for myself the drastic comfort difference between plastic and cloth, I thought, Shoot! I bet cloth is way more comfortable for babies, too! Oh yeah, and that thing about saving the environment is pretty cool, too.
I bought some cloth pads and a Moon cup from GladRags, and have never looked back. Actually, I kind of missed using my pretty pads when I was pregnant, and sewed a few of my own-- why exactly a pregnant, soon-to-be-breastfeeding mom thought she had to make pads is beyond me (although they were great post-partum), but that's crazy nesting for you.
You ladies who don't use cloth pads, I can totally sympathize with the dread terror of that cloth leaking! This is why cloth panty liners are a good way to test the waters, so to speak-- you can use them when Aunt Flo has transformed into a much more manageable Aunt Dot. :-P
So in honor of Earth Day and my love of all things cloth, I'm going to give away three custom-made cloth pantyliners! Made from thirsty, trim microfiber sandwiched in between cozy 100% cotton flannel and fastened with a durable metal snap, these are an easy little way to be a little more "green".
I'll get a picture up as soon as I can of an actual pantyliner. Funny how things get misplaced when you move! Meanwhile, take a look at your selection of fabrics! You can get all three in the same print, or get three different prints! (sorry for the wrinkles, I'm still in the process of unpacking my fabric stash).
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| From left to right: Ladybug, Pink Plaid, Heart Rows, Plain Pink, Heart Argyle |
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| From left to right: SpongeBob, Groovy Brown, Brown Squiggles, and Orange |
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| From left to right: Pale Green, Blue Hibiscus, Green Dots |
HERE'S HOW TO WIN!
Leave a comment telling me about something you do to be a little more "green". If you wrote a blog post about Earth Day, then by all means, leave a link! I love seeing who is leaving comments!
Giveaway will end 11:59 P.M. EST on Saturday, April 30th. Winner will be drawn by Random.org and announced on the blog as well as emailed. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, I'll be forced to do a redraw! Don't make me do that! ;-)
Saturday, April 16, 2011
A Sad Tale of Incompetence
1. Before we left Oklahoma, we did the change-of-address thing.
2. At the end of March, I won a few giveaways and ordered some cloth diaper supplies.
3. I gave my new address in Virginia for all said items.
4. We moved to Virginia. And I waited.
5. And waited.
6. And waited.
7. I haunted the leasing office, where packages are dropped off, for two weeks.
8. In that time, we got ONE piece of mail. Period. No bills, sales flyers, or anything.
9. On Thursday, after watching me come in and out for two weeks, the landlady finally decided to let me in on a secret: UPS leaves packages, but the USPS doesn't. I would have to go to the post office itself.
10. Since it was 4:40 P.M., I jumped in the car and raced down to the post office.
11. I dashed in and breathlessly asked the woman working if I had a package. She wanted to know if I had one of those brown "Delivery Attempted" notes. I told her I never received one. She said something snippy and disappeared into the back for a few minutes.
12. She came back empty-handed and said something to the effect of, "It's probably in limbo because forwarding things takes a while, you dolt." Never mind that I told her repeatedly that these packages were addressed to our NEW address.
13. Yesterday morning, I called the merchant I ordered the diaper stuff from. She gave me a package tracking number. Evidently, the USPS attempted one delivery on the 5th, and my package had been sitting in the post office ever since.
14. Armed with this new-found knowledge, I called the post office. I got to hold for a while as the employee searched for the package. Not finding it, she then referred me to the Delivery Manager.
15. I tell him the situation. He says he'll search for it and call me back.
16. I wait.
17. And wait.
18. An hour and a half later, I call him. He informs me that he was waiting till the end of the day so he could talk to the person that delivers my route. Would it have killed him to communicate that, instead of leaving me hanging??
19. At the end of the day, he calls me with the answer. Are you ready for it?
20. They have been forwarding our already forwarded mail to the people who previously lived at our new address.
21. Yes, you read that right.
22. And here's the kicker:
23. That diaper package? It got forwarded that very morning.
24. Which means it was totally there when that rude employee "searched" for it.
25. So let me get this straight: they attempt ONE delivery, don't leave a notice where I can find it, don't try to follow up with the second or final notice, and then let it sit around for two weeks--in a place that can't be found when someone halfheartedly tries to find it.
26. And this is just one package. I'm not even talking about all the bills and other goodies we've been missing.
27. Meanwhile, some random stranger is getting all our mail.
28. (BANGS HEAD ON WALL REPEATEDLY).
29. There, I feel better.
30. The Delivery Manager said the package "might" come back in a few days. That's scary.
31. Meanwhile, I am stuck using primitive methods to deal with Oscar's transition diapers because my flushable diaper liners never arrived.
32. Yeah! I totally started Oscar on solids! I'm hoping to write about it soon.
33. I think the most annoying part is that I can't take my business elsewhere. No matter how badly they blunder, I'm forced to do business with them anyways. What's a girl to do?
34. Blog about it, duh.
35. And maybe try to revive the alternative delivery industry...
2. At the end of March, I won a few giveaways and ordered some cloth diaper supplies.
3. I gave my new address in Virginia for all said items.
4. We moved to Virginia. And I waited.
5. And waited.
6. And waited.
7. I haunted the leasing office, where packages are dropped off, for two weeks.
8. In that time, we got ONE piece of mail. Period. No bills, sales flyers, or anything.
9. On Thursday, after watching me come in and out for two weeks, the landlady finally decided to let me in on a secret: UPS leaves packages, but the USPS doesn't. I would have to go to the post office itself.
10. Since it was 4:40 P.M., I jumped in the car and raced down to the post office.
11. I dashed in and breathlessly asked the woman working if I had a package. She wanted to know if I had one of those brown "Delivery Attempted" notes. I told her I never received one. She said something snippy and disappeared into the back for a few minutes.
12. She came back empty-handed and said something to the effect of, "It's probably in limbo because forwarding things takes a while, you dolt." Never mind that I told her repeatedly that these packages were addressed to our NEW address.
13. Yesterday morning, I called the merchant I ordered the diaper stuff from. She gave me a package tracking number. Evidently, the USPS attempted one delivery on the 5th, and my package had been sitting in the post office ever since.
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| The new uniform of the USPS |
14. Armed with this new-found knowledge, I called the post office. I got to hold for a while as the employee searched for the package. Not finding it, she then referred me to the Delivery Manager.
15. I tell him the situation. He says he'll search for it and call me back.
16. I wait.
17. And wait.
18. An hour and a half later, I call him. He informs me that he was waiting till the end of the day so he could talk to the person that delivers my route. Would it have killed him to communicate that, instead of leaving me hanging??
 |
| You wouldn't like me when I'm out of laundry. |
20. They have been forwarding our already forwarded mail to the people who previously lived at our new address.
21. Yes, you read that right.
22. And here's the kicker:
23. That diaper package? It got forwarded that very morning.
24. Which means it was totally there when that rude employee "searched" for it.
25. So let me get this straight: they attempt ONE delivery, don't leave a notice where I can find it, don't try to follow up with the second or final notice, and then let it sit around for two weeks--in a place that can't be found when someone halfheartedly tries to find it.
26. And this is just one package. I'm not even talking about all the bills and other goodies we've been missing.
27. Meanwhile, some random stranger is getting all our mail.
28. (BANGS HEAD ON WALL REPEATEDLY).
29. There, I feel better.
30. The Delivery Manager said the package "might" come back in a few days. That's scary.
31. Meanwhile, I am stuck using primitive methods to deal with Oscar's transition diapers because my flushable diaper liners never arrived.
32. Yeah! I totally started Oscar on solids! I'm hoping to write about it soon.
33. I think the most annoying part is that I can't take my business elsewhere. No matter how badly they blunder, I'm forced to do business with them anyways. What's a girl to do?
34. Blog about it, duh.
35. And maybe try to revive the alternative delivery industry...
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| Carrier Pigeons Express: more reliable than those OTHER bird-brains. |
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Highlights from our crazy cross-country move!
It was an interesting trip to Virginia. We were too cheap to get the cats properly sedated, so we opted to dump a mountain of catnip into each cage and hope for the best. And it actually worked-- Meatloaf and Mel were so high, they had a trip within a trip, kind of like Inception for cats. My folder of carefully selected CD's somehow got packed into the U-Haul trailer, so we endured the 24-hour trip with two CD choices: Phantom of the Opera or some album by Muse. I'm pretty sure we deserve a medal just for that. Somewhere in Arkansas, we hit a sparrow, but we didn't realize it was lodged in our grille until halfway into Tennessee. According to Adam, that poor little bird had "a 700-mile funeral procession".
But we made it here in one piece, and I am in *love* with Virginia! Or, more accurately, I'm in love with the washer and dryer in my apartment. It's been quite an adventure. Wait... what? There's no slot for quarters? The machine will fill with water even if the lid is up?? What is this new-fangled "clean-rinsing" detergent? Needless to say, our clothes are the cleanest they've ever been while I try those babies out! I've actually been having some stink issues with the cloth diapers since moving here, so that's not cool, but I have some Rockin' Green samples coming in the mail and am planning a nice long soak for them soon.
So that's about it. I moved to Virginia and got a washing machine. Life couldn't get any better! At any rate, it feels good to get back into blogging and to wade through my giant mass of unread emails. And maybe unpack a box or two.
I leave you with a picture of Oscar (on the right) and his cute little cousin...
Yeah, she's totally grabbing his ear. You'd better watch out, little guy, because I hear that those Virginians can be pretty crazy. :-D
So what did I miss this week? What's going on in your neck of the woods?
So what did I miss this week? What's going on in your neck of the woods?
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