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2010 – Trying not to look like a bag of a$$

yarngirl — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:00:23 +0000

I have no sense of style.

Really, I don’t. I didn’t really have a LOT of style when I was skinny (back in the olden days I thought a size 8 was FAT … I’d now give a limb to be a size 8). I REALLY don’t have a sense of style now. I should be on What Not to Wear. Really, if you were to describe my style it would probably include words like … bag lady… lazy…frumpy…

I desire to be different. As much as I desire to be a size 8 again (and am working on that) I would like not to look like a bag of ass whilst heavier.

Thanks to Patricia over at A Little Hut (who’s blog I dearly love and who’s book Home, Paper, Scissors: Decorative Paper Accessories for the Home I own and should review here because I love it.) There are so many things I desire to make from

(Disclaimer: If you click on and buy Home.Paper.Scissors. via the link above I will be compensated (minimally) through Amazon Associates.)

I am going to work on a killer outfit, and post it to Bloganistas. Stay tuned, I aspire to look less assy.

Baby Gift Packages – Courtesy of A Devine Life (Robyn Devine)

yarngirl — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:11:01 +0000

First, allow me to promote Mrs. Devine over at http://robyndevine.typepad.com – I LOVE HER BLOG. I find so much about Robyn inspirational – which I will go into another time. I think Robyn has reached a maturity and insight that I simply didn’t have at her age (I *think* I’m about 8 years her senior. .

Just the same – she’s got great patterns and I’m going to whip up some sleep sacks and sweaters for go-to baby gifts.

I won’t steal her photos -but go check them out here.

Robyn – You rock.

Buy Yarn. Help Haitian Earthquake Victims.

yarngirl — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:41:21 +0000

www.yarnlove.com – 10% off all proceeds go to help Haitian earthquake victims. You’re gonna buy yarn anyway, let’s help the Haitians!

Are you knitting or crochet-ing for earthquake victims, contact me (yarngirl (at) yarnlove (dot) com) -we’ll talk about discounted yarns!

Don’t Buy Kenmore & Don’t Buy Sears Extended Warranties

yarngirl — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:09:03 +0000

UPDATED – At end of call #5. See below.

UPDATED – See below.

Sears Customer Service & Kemore Elite Stainless Steel Dishwasher Saga – Part 2

I’m not exactly sure when we made the first request for service this time around – but I know that the service call took place like Dec. 18th – I’m pretty sure because we had our annual Christmas party the next day and I was really looking forward to washing all those dishes.

Regardless, it’s pretty straight forward at the beginning …

12/18/2009 - First service call in December. A great, nice seemingly knowledgeable tech comes out, spends lots of time and ultimately says that these dishwashers [double drawer kind] don’t work well and are hard to work on. He can see that the water pumps (valves?) were replaced in August, so he doesn’t think that’s the problem. He advises us that he thinks it’s the motor, but to avoid buying the part and scheduling service to put them in and that NOT be the issue, he requested that we make another appointment to have he and a senior tech look again. We agree, and schedule for December 28th – understandably, it’s the holidays and schedules are tough.

12/28/09 – I’m not sure what four hour time period we scheduled, but I know that the original and senior tech showed up within the scheduled window. Long story short, they pulled out the dishwasher and determined we needed two new motors (one for each drawer) – which were ordered, and we scheduled repair call #3 for Wednesday, 1/6/10 between 8am and 12 noon. They requested to leave the dishwasher pulled out (unbolted) into the kitchen about three inches to save time when they come back to install the motors. I stupidly agree.

1/6/10 - We arrange to have my father-in-law stay at the house while my husband and I go to work. He’s there from 8am to 1:30pm and no tech showed up. I was in a meeting away from my phone all day, but when I got home and determined that obviously the dishwasher was not fixed (and still sitting pulled out of the cabinet). I check my messages and have a vmail from the tech at 2:49 PM, 1 hour and 49 min.

I’m now pissed. Before, I was inconvenienced and mad – but now I’m pissed. I call 1-800-4MY-HOME …

Call #1 – This girl wasn’t nice at the outset, even before I was stern explaining my issue. I explained that on our third service call the tech didn’t show up & that he didn’t call until almost two hours after the scheduled FOUR HOUR WINDOW. I can’t remember what she went to do, but she put me on hold and went away. I waited 6 minutes before giving up and calling back.

Call #2 – This girl was nice … she said that she could schedule us for the following Tuesday, 1/12 for another four hour period. I explained that this was unacceptable – and that I was not going to wait that I wanted the tech out at 8 am, Thursday 1/7. I don’t feel this is unreasonable given that we’re three weeks into this saga and they failed to show up. I’m not sure why this call ended, I think we were disconnected …but I’m not sure.

Call #3 – Stupidly, I thought I’d gotten to someone who could help me. This girl explained that only Houston dispatch could reschedule and that that they were closed (it’s like 8pm at this point) but they would be open at 6:00 am CST and I could call back and see if we could get Houston dispatch to help us out.

1/7/10 -More calling, not much help.

Call #4 – 6:25 am – I got another girl who explained that Houston dispatch doesn’t actually open until 8am CST. Awesome.

At some point, I’m not sure when – an entirely different office called to reschedule because they show that we didn’t receive the motors. We did receive the motors, and I asked this woman’s help scheduling for Thursday/Friday – she couldn’t do that, and told me that I should call the 1-800# again. So, I did…

Call #5 – Finally, someone gets Houston dispatch/scheduling on the phone and they schedule us for today, 1/11 from 10am to 2pm. Another awesome four hour widow.

1/11/10 – I hate Sears. I will never buy from Sears again. I have made it my personal mission to ensure no one else I know or ever encounter buys from Sears again.

I had to work from home, which fortunatly I am able to do for the most part. I arrive at home at 9:30 am, at 1:40 ish I start calling again.

Call #1 – Long story short, they contact Houston and tell me that the we’re next and the tech will be at our house at about 2:30pm.

Call #2; ~2:30pm – I call again, am told that Houston says the tech isn’t aswering his phone but am told again we’re the next stop.

Call #3 – I’m not sure what time it was, but it had to be about 3 pm. I have a meeting at 4pm back at the office, which I desperately need to get to. I’m officially IRATE at this point. I’m now told that Houston says the tech will be at our house at 3:30 pm. I say that’s not acceptable and ask for a refund – I am told that I will be transferred, but am hung up on.

Call #4 – Immediately after call #3 -I admit it, I lost it at this point. I demand a refund, I am transferred to someone in some department who tells me that they don’t offer refunds on dishwashers purchased in 2007. The best she can do is call Houston dispatch. I tell her that we’ve talked to them now three times, to no avail. She gets Houston on the phone with me to tell me that they will be at our house 45 minutes from then, it was 3:21pm. I (yell) explain that that isn’t acceptable, I need to go to a meeting and they need to be at our house at 6pm, I’m told they won’t do that. They ask me if I need to reschedule at which point I cried. I did – I said “Well, I guess I’m just f***ed, then?” And, agreed to have the non-existent tech come out at what should have been 4:05pm, that’s six hours and five minutes into my day dedicated to Sears ineptitude.

Call #5 – Made by my husband, I don’t know the outcome.

UPDATED POST BELOW:

It’s 5:04pm, my husband is calling AGAIN and there is still not tech.

Call #6 - Started by my husband, we got someone else (not sure who), who said that the tech “was running three hours late” and would be at our house “sometime after 5 pm”. Are you fucking kidding me? Really, I’m beyond giving a shit if someone is offended. This is THE MOST RIDICULOUS THING I’VE HEARD OF SINCE “On hold no one can hear you scream.”

I asked what the hell was going on and took this person through the entire day’s phone calls and you know what s/he said? “Oh, I see that at 3:30pm we told you that the tech was running late.” I also explained that the Houston guy I’d talked to said that they coming out at 6pm wasn’t possible – but, now he’ll be there “sometime after 5 pm”. When, they don’t know.

I’ve was nice for several calls. I was stern for calls. I now yell, none of these strategies seem to work any better than any other. So, I’m taking it to the Interwebs. Let’s see how much attention I can get. I’ll be back in 15 minutes with an update.

It’s 5:20 pm, still no Sears tech.

Call #7 – 6:00 pm – No tech. My husband just called again and supposedly the tech will call in 20 minutes. We’ll see. Hour seven.

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Kenmore
Sears
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Kenmore Elite Stainless Steel Double Drawer Dishwasher
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An Open Letter to Sears: The Kenmore Elite Dishwasher & Why Sears Sucks (Part 1)

yarngirl — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:36:53 +0000

This is a plea for help – I hope someone with some form of authority at Sears actually reads this and helps me. I am sure they won’t, but if you read this I BEG you to Tweet, Retweet, post to Facebook, Digg, Tumble, WHATEVER. Consumers should NOT have to put up with this – so, for all you out there who are now or will ever consider buying an appliance – let this be your warning – DO NOT BUY FROM SEARS. DO NOT BUY ANY APPLIANCE (OR ANYTHING, REALLY) FROM SEARS. DO NOT BUY A KENMORE APPLIANCE. MORE IMPORTANTLY, IF YOU DO – DO NOT BUY THEIR EXTENDED WARRANTY.

SEARS & KENMORE EXTENDED WARRANTIES ARE A WASTE OF YOUR MONEY.

Okay, enough yelling in one paragraph. I am going to do my best to ensure that anyone who ever searches the interwebs using a search engine finds my story – so there will be several parts. Here’s part one.

DO NOT BUY THE KENMORE ELITE STAINLESS STEEL DOUBLE DRAWER DISHWASHER

#1 Reason You Shouldn’t Buy a Kenmore Dishwasher – It doesn’t clean well.

Our Kenmore Elite Double Drawer Stainless Steal Dishwasher doesn’t clean dishes well. It’s Energy Star rated, and features two drawer sections of the washer allowing the user to wash one medium and one small load separately. We purchased this dishwasher about 2 1/2 to 3 years ago when our son used bottles a lot and I hated running a 1/2 full dishwasher every day.

If I remember correctly, this unit retailed at about $1800 at the time, but it could have been lower than that. The current equivalent is at Sears on line for $1529.99 – Check out the Kenmore Elite Stainless Dishwasher Here.

The washer never cleaned as well as it was “supposed to”. The sales person told us that the dishwasher didn’t require pre-washing/pre-rinsing. Not true. From day one, we found that the dishwasher cleaned *on par with the cheap dishwasher we replaced* if we pre-washed the dishes.

#2 Reason You Shouldn’t Buy a Kenmore Dishwasher – Kenmore Double Drawer Stainless Dishwashers are unreliable.

Beginning in April 2009 our Kenmore Elite Stainless Steel Dishwasher stopped working. We were settling back into our house after Hurricane Ike and we did get around to making a service call to take advantage of our Sears Extended Warranty. You could hear it turn on, etc. but the dishes weren’t even wet – thus, the Kenmore Elite Dishwasher didn’t actually wash at all anymore.

We were able to get service in about 10 days, which seems to be standard for those suckers who paid Sears in advance to service their appliance.

A guy came out, ascertained that the water pumps needed replaced in both drawers. He ordered the parts and then rescheduled for about another 10 days to give the parts time to arrive. So, round one – we were out of a dishwasher about a 20 days if memory serves.

Fast forward to December 2009- the Kenmore Elite Stainless Steel Dishwasher stops working again. Same story, you can hear it running but nothing happens. Dec. 15th we have our first service call, the very nice tech says he’s not sure what’s up and asks if we can schedule an “advanced call” for Dec. 28th – it’s Christmas Time and I’m feeling generous for some stupid reason.

Today is January 11, 2010 – My “Elite” Kenmore Stainless Steel Double Drawer Dishwasher hasn’t worked in a month. Next post – why “Customer Service” at Sears is a misnomer – otherwise known as the saga of trying to get our Kenmore Elite Stainless Steel Dishwasher fixed. I’ll give you a preview, there have been two visits, two missed visits, 9 phone calls (with 2+ departments per phone call) and an entirely lost temper and my dishwasher still doesn’t work.

Stay tuned – I’m forwarding the link to this blog post to Sears Executive Management. Hey remember – PASS IT ON! Please – I can’t get a refund, and apparently I can’t get my dishwasher (which is under warranty) fixed – others should know what they’re getting themselves into if they buy there.

What to do with old CDs?

yarngirl — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:26:47 +0000

I’ve been wondering about this for a while – and thanks to the trusty interwebs, now I know. I figured that CD recycling existed, but wasn’t sure where or what level of effort is involved. I already fail to recycle glass because it requires an extra trip I can’t make myself take (a mile away).

I am a lazy green warrior.

So, 30 seconds on the Google and I found the “CD Recycling Center” – best part about it, VERY SIMPLE. If you’re like us and over time are moving all your CDs to digital formats to listen on to on your iPod – DON’T THROW OUT YOUR OLD CDS!!!!!

Send them to the CD Recycling Center – and they’ll do that little bit to preserve resources and reduce landfil.

Best Christmas Album. Ever.

yarngirl — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:00:42 +0000

If you don’t have it, go buy it – A Charlie Brown Christmas – Amazon has it for $9.99. My best friend gave me this album a few years ago, and I listen to it over and over every Christmas. I don’t pull it out (and by “pull it out” I mean I don’t tune my iPod to play it) until the day after Thanksgiving each year lest I over play it throughout the rest of the year – God forbid I get sick of it.

Wait – that brings up an important point… no one actually buys CDs anymore, so go download it from iTunes. They’ve got it and it’s only $7.99 … so you (a) get instant gratification and (b) save $2. AND, it’s better for the environment, and Charlie Brown would like that.

PS -If you happen to actually buy CDs and click that link and happen to purchase this album, I do participate in Amazon Associates and might make $.02. Just FYI.

Today’s iPod Genius Playlist

yarngirl — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:24:57 +0000

I’m not sure my Tivo thinks I’m gay, but probably vampire obsessed. I’m currently watching (or waiting to watch) True Blood, Buffy & Angel. Given I think electronics are smarter than we give them credit for … my Tivo probably also knows I’m reading The Sookie Stackhouse Books (one can’t quite get enough of Vampire Bill) and listening to the Twilight series on audio book (finished Breaking Dawn yesterday). Add Dexter, and maybe it thinks I’m a serial killer? Add Bones and I’ve got a “thing” for death … or something. But, I digress …

Keeping w/ the theme of having my electronics tell me what I like – enter Genius Mix on my iTunes/iPod. Granted, it doesn’t suggest music I might also like (a la Pandora) but does mix-up the music I do have into shuffled mixes that I of course like a lot, because they use the music I already have. I’m presently impressed with my iPod’s ability to put together songs that are certainly of the same genre, but which I might not have put together myself.

My current Genius Mix titled “Brit Pop Mix” has played in the following order …

Coldplay – A Message
Dave Matthew’s Band – The Best of What’s Around
The Fray – Hundred
John Mayer – Bigger than my Body
David Grey – This Year’s Love
James Blunt – High
R.E.M. – Holiday … had to skip past this one, love R.E.M. but this isn’t my fave
Matthew Ryan – Hold On Firefly
The Shins – New Slang (the song that will change your life)
John Mayer – No Such Thing

I’m making a list, and checking it twice.

yarngirl — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:00:08 +0000

I used to be what I would describe as “highly organized”. Most would probably have called it anal retentive, obsessive …something along those lines. As early as I can remember I wanted or had a desk. Hanging file folders, all labeled and orderly held all my important documents. Whether they were my stickers for trade or my old bank statements.

Somewhere along the way, between college (when I would still have described myself as “highly organized”) and now … the wheels came off. I no longer know where anything is, I don’t reliably use any form of day timer, Franklin Covey or otherwise. Most days I find it amazing I get to work w/ my clothes on – and as nakedness at work is frowned upon, it’s good I can at least accomplish that. But, you probably get my drift – even getting out the door seems too hard, getting anything beyond that done gets harder and harder. Work gets all my organizational attention (and even that feels like it’s slipped) and organizing & managing the rest of my life has been orphaned.

The worst part about this (in my opinion) failing, is that my life requires a lot more organization than it did when I was eight and had my stickers all neatly filed by type. Now I have mostly legit, important things & necessary things (oh, like my son’s birth certificate or immunization record) – and they are never anywhere to be found.

While actually having access to these things is important, most frustrating to me is the time I waste looking for things I know should be in one spot waiting for those rare occasions I need them. I need to get my our crap together, cause it’s the entire household that is in need of some serious organization, clearing out and simplifying. Either that, or something else has to give – and I think it might be my sanity.

Where do I start? Advise anyone? There’s about 4 trillion different places I can think to get advise on this, but I feel so overwhelmed … so, while trying to figure out step #2, I’m going to start a list of things I know I either need or want to do so make some aspect of my life run a bit more smoothly.

One – Christmas 2009
Two – Christmas 2010 2010 Gift List (including important dates on which I should send cards).

I made the fatal error of starting my Christmas shopping on Nov. 30th. I’ve done okay – as my list isn’t that long, but I’ve got some critical areas where I’m lacking and I now am a bit afraid that things won’t arrive in time. So, this year I’m going to put together a list of cards, gifts, etc that need procuring for 2010. I’m going to start a gift stash (for those last minute kid’s birthday parties) and gather gifts throughout the year. Downside, I have to (a) store them and (b) remember them when gift giving time comes. Upside, this time next year, hopefully my Christmas shopping will be done.

Three – Organize all my personal and business contacts
Four – Assign a project to my yarn stash, or pass it on
Five – Scan all “important” papers & file on Backpack
Six – Clean out my office (that crazy pit of despair at work that has reached embarrassing levels)
Seven – Clean out & organize our “middle bedroom” that is full of my stuff
Eight – Create a file of “real papers” that we keep for necessary reference like birth certificates, social security cards, etc.

That’s what I can think of right now … I know there’s so much more.

[Updated Post] A wee sweater …

yarngirl — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:30:33 +0000

A good friend (Laura, of http://whitefluffyfrosting.blogspot.com http://whiteflufflyicing.blogspot.com) asked me a few months ago to make a sweater for her cousin’s baby girl.

A few weeks ago ... mostly through the back of the sweater.

There are two four reasons this thrilled me: (1) I NEVER get asked to make ANYTHING. I don’t if people don’t want the things I make, or don’t want to ask…or what. But, I love being asked. (2) It was officially my first commissioned project. (3) Laura liked the sweater I gave her son Ethan enough to ask me to make one that she’d be proud to give away. A huge honor and compliment. (4) I get to knit a wee sweater for a wee little girl. As the proud mama to a son who was born looking more like a toddler (ever one in the delivery room said “He’s HUGE!!!!”) … this is a joy. Also, I seem to mostly have baby boys to knit for, so double thrill.

Pattern: Jasmine Lace Edge Cardigan
Yarn: Berroco Comfort DK
Color: Purple 2722 (about 2 skeins)

I finished the sweater and handed it off to Laura for gifting this weekend – and of course got busy and didn’t snap pix of the final product. So, I’m hoping she’ll get some for me – with it on the beautiful little girl. And I can add them to this post. An FO sure was nice!