I complain.  A lot.  I am aware of that.  I prefer to believe that it means I have high standards and expect everyone else to live up to those standards (rather than I’m just whiny).

Since I complain a lot, I thought it would only be fair for me to give credit to a local organization for good customer service (after all, I am sure I would have blasted them if they were awful).

Joanna recently started playing the guitar.  We purchased a pack of 4 lessons for her and she liked them and wanted to continue lessons.  I wasn’t sure about the place where she was taking lessons so I did a fair amount of research to see if I could find another place.

I actually found a place 5 minutes from my house.  In the Small Town, nothing is 4 minutes from my house except possibly my next door neighbor.  So I signed her up for a semester of lessons.

She had her first lesson yesterday.  She absolutely hated it.  She cried the entire way home (5 minutes is a long time if you are trapped in a small car with a screaming 9 year old).

I want to be clear that we have done a number of activities at this organization that my kids have loved.  Libby took musical theater classes and thoroughly enjoyed them.  Joanna had a birthday party there that was absolutely fabulous.  The location is very well-respected around the community and now I understand why.

Since she had sworn she was never returning, I called the place to tell them she had hated her lesson.  I was very worried about what was going to happen.  I had already paid for a semester of lessons and as a small business owner, I know how reluctant I am to return cash (or in this case credit card) once I have received it.

The place couldn’t have been lovelier.  The gentleman I talked to sounded sorry that he couldn’t actually return the money for the lesson we had already experienced (I would never have expected it.  She may not have enjoyed it but we still took half an hour of his time).

This is amazing customer service.  This is the type of response that encourages me to whole-heartedly recommend the Enchanted Garden.  The classes are truly fabulous and the fact that Joanna didn’t enjoy her guitar lesson does nothing to decrease my enthusiasm.

Have you ever had a similar experience?  Did it work out well for you or was it handled really poorly.  Share a good or bad customer service story with us.  Small business owners, definitely take note.  Good customer service can make or break your organization.

It’s Wednesday and here in the Small Town, we follow along with the ladies from Blue Monkey Butt for What the Hell Wednesday.  This gives us the opportunity to share some of the things that are currently driving us crazy.

So lI can’t believe how late in the day it is, WTH!?!  I have had a really busy day.  I know, whine, complain, poor, pitiful me (don’t forget to take out the world’s tiniest violin.

I had a client meeting today, I have a big event on Friday and I have spent a fair amount of time on hold and talking with the insurance company.  Have I mentioned lately that I hate insurance companies (probably not this week).

But I am finally able to dedicate myself to the love of my life, also known as Small Town Mommy (yes, I really am that fond of myself).  No matter how busy I get, I want to be able to enjoy my time with Small Town Mommy and all of the blogs that I read.

Look at that, I got distracted again.  Now it is even later, WTH!?!  Maybe I should just save this post for next week.  Nah, things aren’t going to slow down then either, WTH!?!  I should probably be one of those organized bloggers who writes days in advance but inspiration hits best under pressure (or maybe things just sound a lot less dumb in my mind if I know I have to write something).

Anyway, back to some of the things that are driving me nuts (have we talked about me too much?  Too bad).  I was on a phone call this afternoon and Oreo came by with the latest sweater he is dating, WTH!?!  There I am, trying to sound professional, while in the background is prrr, prrr, PRRR (getting louder with every round).  He has turned my laundry room into his own personal singles bar.  He wanders in, picks out a sweater from the clean (notice it’s clean, never dirty) laundry basket and drags it off to his room.  He doesn’t even buy it dinner or a drink.  He is such a playa and the sweaters around here are a bunch of cheap floozies (mental note to the Small Town girls, never grow up to act like one of Oreo’s many conquests).

Well, I seem to have blabbered on endlessly (but everyone loves Oreo stories).  I am going to head on over to Blue Monkey Butt and see what those ladies have to say.  Meanwhile, leave me a comment and let me know, would you date Oreo if you were a sweater?

Oreo considers himself one of the girls.  As far as he is concerned, we have 3 daughters and he is the favorite.  Of course, this means that he likes to play with the girls.  While they will often play one of his favorite games like chase the cat toy, he understands that he sometimes needs to play what the girls want to.

Yesterday was one of those days.  Joanna was dressing up in one of Libby’s old Halloween costumes.  She wanted to be Little Red Riding Hood.  Anyone who knows the story knows that Little Red Riding Hood needs a wolf.  Oreo agreed to be the wolf (dressed as grandma).

Oreo donned his Snuggie and his wolf ears.  He tried to look ferocious.  He started mumbling, “the better to see you with.”

When he noticed we had the camera out, he started posing.

Then he realized he needed a bath.

Aren’t I cute?

I may have mentioned once or twice that I am an 80s girl.  I was born in the late 60s (ish) so I came of age during the reign of John Hughes, the Brat Pack and Duran Duran.  If you don’t know who any of these people are, you should be ashamed of yourself (and I could have babysat for you).

I love anything 80s.  I recently made my 12 year old sit through 16 Candles.  If you don’t remember it, it really isn’t appropriate for a 12 year old (my bad).  She hated it, even though it wasn’t appropriate (I will never figure out 12 year olds).

The reason I am providing you with all this background information is because of a new video on You Tube.

Small Town Daddy believes it is going to be a sequel to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (one of the best movies ever).  I think it is more likely going to be a commercial during the Super Bowl trying to exploit my love of the 80s to get me to drink beer.  But if it is a movie, I will be camped out at the theater to see it like some kind of Twilight fan (no, I still haven’t seen the 3rd Twilight movie).

What about you?  Would you see a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 2 or do you even know who Ferris Bueller is?  Do you have any Ferris Bueller memories?

Thanks to the ladies at Blue Monkey Butt, Wednesdays are all about What the Hell Wednesday.  This gives us the opportunity to share some of the things that are making us say What the Hell!?!

Last week was Internet blackout day to protest SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act).  Unfortunately, the unwitting victim of this protest was the Scottish Organic Producers Association (also known as SOPA).  That’s right, a few Internet trolls went after a group of farmers, WTH!?!  You have to wonder about someone who knows so little about an issue that he would attack a group of Scottish farmers.

Nine years ago, yesterday, my beautiful, wild, emotional Joanna came flying out to meet the world.  She hasn’t stopped moving since.  Yes, my youngest is now nine years old, WTH!?!  We keep trying to tell her to age backwards but she refuses.  It’s frightening to think about but in another year and a half, we will be done with the Small Town Elementary School forever.

Have you ever seen Dance Moms?  I absolutely love that show, WTH!?!  Usually I don’t like shows about people behaving badly but I think I like this one because it makes me feel good about my parenting ability.  I have also started watching Toddlers and Tiaras which has the same effect on me.  On a completely disconnected note, I also enjoy My Cat From Hell.

So do you have any guilty secrets about your television viewing?  What is your favorite television show?

Today is Monday and here in the Small Town, Mondays are dedicated to all things Oreo.  Welcome to Meow Monday.

We got 8 inches of snow this weekend.  Since we haven’t gotten a significant amount of snow since October, this was traumatizing for Oreo.  He hates the cold more than anything except his diet.

I promised Oreo that I wouldn’t allow him to get cold.

We whipped out a fancy babushka to keep his ears warm.

Then I wrapped him in a blanket.

Oreo was happy once he was warm.

What about you?  Do you like cold weather or do you prefer to be warm?

Apparently, I am a trendsetter.  Who would have thought.  Whenever I have a lot of work and no appointments I don my fancy work pajamas.

I have had friends who try to justify it by calling my fancy work pajamas yoga pants.  Apparently I am just preparing to do yoga and didn’t get a chance.  Of course, I have another friend who calls them a modern day muumuu (yes, that is the correct way to spell it, who knew).    Either way, I don’t care.  When I am trying to work, I do better if I am comfortable.  I am not distracted by binding, squeezing or pulling (and I’ve never sprained an ankle trying to walk in my slippers).

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal ran an article titled “Why Not Wear Pajamas All Day.”  Yes, the article is talking about teens but let’s be honest.  Teens set the trends and then the rest of us follow them.  I am now ahead of the fashion curve (go me).  Of course, the fashion industry calls it loungewear rather than fancy work pajamas but hey.  I choose to believe that I am ahead of the fashion curve rather than lazy.

So what do you think?  Is loungewear the next big trend or am I a lazy bum trying to avoid getting dressed in the morning?

Today is Wednesday so it’s time for What the Hell Wednesday, thanks to the ladies from Blue Monkey Butt.

I have been missing for a week, WTH!?!  Did you even notice?  I thought not.  Although that’s not true because you probably noticed that Oreo was missing on Monday.  Don’t worry, you will get your Oreo fix later.

I have been sick and we have been traveling (that’s why we haven’t been posting).  The girls had a 4 day weekend so we went to Boston.  We did all the touristy things and it was a lot of fun for all.  It would have been more fun if I had been feeling well but I have discovered that Nyquil is my new best friend.

While we were away, we had to leave the cats with enough food to last for 3 days, WTH!?!  Oreo was in heaven.  He gained back a pound while we were gone.

Of course, now that he is back on his diet, he can’t understand what happened to his food.  We have to feed the cats separately so we took some photos for you as Oreo waited (not so) patiently for his turn, WTH!?!

Since nothing happened, he decided to try knocking, WTH!?!

Posing for all those photos is exhausting (especially when you are hungry).

If we hadn’t been missing for a week, we might participate in the Internet blackout that is protesting SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act).  We feel free speech is very important.  Yes, Small Town Mommy is a content provider (sort of).  Since I used to teach communications law, we are very careful to follow copyright laws and not publish someone else’s content.  But we don’t like the idea of the government monitoring what we post.

Yes, I have had my material stolen.  Yes, I would have loved to have sued ESPN for a lot of money (I could use the cash).  But that would be wrong.  ESPN should not be held responsible for what some random goofball posts.  Neither should Facebook, Wikipedia, or Small Town Mommy.  Do some research to see what you think.  Here’s a great article from CNET.  Are you opposed or in favor of SOPA?  Or do you just not care?  Let me know in the comments below.

Today is Wednesday and thanks to the ladies at Blue Monkey Butt,  we celebrate What the Hell Wednesday!?!  This week is going to be a little bit different because I am going to share some groups with you that I really like.

I don’t know if I have mentioned it before, but I am not that crazy about people.  No, I am not antisocial but I do enjoy my alone time (okay, maybe I’m a little antisocial) (okay, a lot).

Even though I don’t like people, I have to interact with them anyway, WTH!?!  Unless you live somewhere on a farm in Idaho (and I have yet to convince Small Town Daddy of the benefits of a farm in Idaho), you will run across people all the time.

Since I run my own business, I have to interact with people more than most. In my type of business, the best way to grow is to interact with other (I have yet to figure out the trick to getting people to come to me, begging me to work for them, WTH!?!  If you know it, I will hire you to get them to come to me begging).

I don’t know if you dislike people as much as I do but I wanted to share 2 professional organizations I have found that I really adore.  If you like people, you will probably go nuts over them.  I actually searched out and joined both of them (and I believe neither one even knows I am also a blogger).

The first is Femfessionals.  This is a networking organization, designed to build connections between professional women.  It is a national organization with chapters all over the country.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t one in my area so I had to launch my own chapter (Femfessionals Danbury, since the Small Town doesn’t have enough professional women to start a baseball team).  Way more work than I would typically sign up for if I wasn’t getting paid but the organization totally rocks!  Femfessionals are supportive of each other and help each other to succeed.  Since I live my life this way anyway, I figured I might as well join an organization and make it official.  It is a great group and there is probably one not too far from you.

The second organization is Toastmasters.  I was lucky because a chapter already existed in the town next to the Small Town (starting my own would have pushed me right over the edge).  Toastmasters is a group that helps people to improve their public speaking skills.  This is valuable for everyone, not just professionals.  What if you have to speak to the PTA (those women can be judgy)?  What if you are very involved with some type of organization or movement?  Toastmasters can help you be more persuasive, compelling and interesting (I know, there are those that say I need this desperately even in my everyday life, so we are all hoping it will be successful, quickly).

Now I am not receiving any type of compensation, reward or even praise for letting you know about either of these organizations (they don’t even know I’m doing it and my personal interpretation of their missions may be totally off and get me yelled at, WTH!?!).  I just really love both organizations and think you might too.  Since I am always contacted about different organizations, I figure you are too, WTH!?!  Can’t these emailers leave me alone?

These are by far the best 2 groups I have found (and I have been to a lot of different types of groups).  If you would like information about either one (and you feel weird about contacting them) feel free to contact me.  You can leave a comment or send me an email at anne (at) smalltownmommy (dot) com.

Do you have any organizations that you really like and feel have been very beneficial for you?  Let me know and I will definitely look into them (I guess you could call this my resolution although I started in September, WTH!?!).

If you have a cat, you know that they usually bathe themselves.  Cats are amazingly clean creatures (especially when you compare them to elementary school children).  Unfortunately, if you catch a cat at the wrong time, he might smell (usually after a visit to the cat box).

Yesterday, Small Town Daddy told Oreo that he smelled.  Oreo was horrified.  He did some research and discovered that a bath would help.  So he got ready for his bath.

Then Oreo grabbed a bathrobe for when he was finished.

Notice, his bathrobe has a hole in the back for his tail.  Unfortunately, Oreo is larger than the average cat so his tail didn’t fit in the hole.

Oreo wanted to make sure his puff was close.

Then someone explained to Oreo what a bath entailed (WHAT!?! WATER!?!).

I’m outta here.