“Save Money, Get Frustrated, Wal-mart”

Posted on by Jennifer GB

Walmart’s motto “Save money, live better..” doesn’t really hold up. My local store here in upstate NY gives me a headache sometimes and mixed emotions. On one hand, my son works there part time as a zoner in the toy department where he’s been for going on three years. He does his job well and they are good with him since he is autistic. Keeping the shelves neat and tidy fits right in with his condition. He’s paid pretty well for being part time (more than I make an hour which is sad because I work for the State) and he seems to really like it.

On the other hand when I order groceries through them to be delivered, its always hit or miss. Yesterday they delivered an order while I was at work and the kids were home. When I saw the order they left, I realized they’d left out a case of water and ALL the refrigerated items that were on my list. Its not that they were out of them, they just didn’t bring them. So I started calling the store at the local number last night to get some assistance with it figuring I could pick up the items. No one is picking up the phone in the store. Not in electronics, not in deli, not in customer services and of course, not in Pick up/delivery. Now, pharmacy answered and they transferred me to customer service where it rang for five minutes straight and then went to a fast busy signal. I’ve been calling through the morning, since last night, and still no one is answering any of the phones in the store. I ended up doing the “missing items” refund request through the Walmart app on my phone. The total of missing items was $98. Needless to say their customer service sucks balls. Id go elsewhere but I’m not miss money bags and the other grocery stores in the area are more expensive. Delivery is easier because of the hours I work and saves me money because I’m not impulse buying when in the store and usually hungry when I shop (so, so bad). That’s my gripe for right now through I could write about my whiny spouse and him getting upset because one kid has another cold and how he’ll get it for sure, and has only been healthy for about a week in the last three months and how frustrated he is and how he threw a tantrum and went to bed before 8pm last night…but…..well I just did, LOL!

Seriously, I need a week by myself on a warm and sunny beach in Positano Italy with the smell of Amalfi lemons wafting through the air. Someone please get that for me as a present.

Anyway, back to the old grind.

Ciao!

Another Fresh Start…

Posted on by Jennifer GB

Yea, I’m writing this at near 5am on January 5th, 2020. I always have these entries written in my head before I log on…hours before I log on and then when I get to the keyboard.. *POOF*…gone. Old age? Early onset senility? Who knows. It goes along with walking into a room with something i wanted to do or get and forgetting by the time I get there.

So I am my BF’s house. We crashed here so we could hang out late into the evening and we didn’t have to drive back home which is near 90 minutes away. We brought the whole family..including our three dogs. My husband was not thrilled with this. Honestly he isnt thrilled with the whole leaving the house on the weekends kinda thing. It’s really quite annoying. When we dated, he said “I’ll go anywhere with you and do anything with you because I want to spend time with you.” I warned him i traveled a lot, visited friends long distance a lot (because of a medieval recreation group Ive been in for 27 years) and that he had to be ok with that. He agreed said he was fine with that. 7 years later, not so much. Maybe some background history is in order. He grew up a bit of a loner, his Dad having one of those jobs that moved them around every few years. He said making friends was pointless if he was leaving in a short amount of time. So, he’s content to come home and either putter around the house on the weekends or just relax watching t.v. or video games. I was raised differently. My family was very social. I was raised by two teachers so I lived in one home for 18 years before moving to my Grandmother’s house across the street after she passed away. We went to friends houses on the weekends, even during the week. Summers were spent traveling around and vacationing up in New Hampshire on a lake with another family for a week. I loved it. I had/have dreams of traveling and seeing various sites around the world. I’ve been to Ireland, Italy and a few spots in Canada as well as 2/3’s of the United States. I have a list of places I want to visit. Him…not so much. He says he wants to travel but i think deep down inside that isnt true. Yesterday driving up he complained about going somewhere where he will sleep on an uncomfortable bed, sit on an uncomfortable couch and be uncomfortable in general. Massive chip on the shoulder and just bitchy. “But if I dont go you’ll be pissed at me”. How the fuck am I suppose to feel after he says that statement and we are halfway to the destination?! Honestly it makes me question a lot of things I realize over the years we have been together. Sweet romantic gestures in our first couple years and now nothing. Yea i know…that happens a lot. That’s settling into a marriage right? But those are the things that made me fall in love with him. The gestures, the promises, the plans we made. And now? Now it’s come home from work, eat dinner and fall asleep on the couch watching manly reality tv. (FYI I HATE reality tv. DRAMA! DRAMA! DRAMA!!) Take out dinner once a week. No desire to go anywhere on the weekends. No desire to do the home improvements we want to do because he’s tired (construction worker) and wants to relax. (then why did we buy a fixer upper house for God’s sake?!?!)

Yeah, I know. I’m ranting.I’m focusing on the bad. Every spouse has complaints and such they don’t like about their spouse after years of being together. I love him, but its a love/hate relationship sometimes. I’m sitting here with one of the dogs that had to go out at 3am. None of the other dogs would settle because we didn’t bring their crates. The one dog had a couple accidents (never has them at home) so I am thoroughly embarrassed about that even though they had no problems with it. He moped around on the sofa the whole night not saying a word and being completely antisocial. It looked like he was pouting at the fact that he couldnt be napping incessantly on the couch at home. I thought the bed was as comfortable as our own but it was a bit warm in the room (hell we crack a window in the winter..we like a cool bedroom to sleep in) so I stayed downstairs and lounged on the couch with the the one pooch I took outside. She settled and napped but now she’s whining and wanting her two “siblings”. Im dwelling and stewing over everything.

Then I thought, perhaps he acts this way because he has anxieties that he is afraid to tell me about? i know he has them about some simple things like answering the house phone and going to the bank for some reason. (don’t ask I don’t get it either) But my question is, could that be it? I dont know. But its making me want to just LEAVE him home and go do the things I want to do on the weekends like travel and visit friends with my boys. I love him. I’m not leaving him..but damn it there has to be some kind of compromise or something so that love/hate doesnt become more hate than love.

What do you think? And now the dog is whining to go out again. I think the chew bone my friends gave her as a christmas present didnt agree with her. Joy. Next posting with be more positive, about the holidays and such which were wonderful!

Ciao…dog duties call.

Thanksgiving Eve…

Posted on by Jennifer GB

Second day of waking up early to a weird dream regarding SCA life.  Yesterday’s dream was upsetting..someone I consider a good friend turning on me for lack of a better term and giving our friendship the brush off stating in so many words I was not worthy of her friendship.  Last nights dream was about someone asking to fight for me in crown tourney and I guess I said yes because we were walking up in the Greeting line before crown. Just odd in my dream I said yes to this fighter..but before we got to the thrones i woke up.  Like I said..weird..but not upsetting.

About half an hour after I woke, hubby woke. One thing I adore about this man is we never lack for things to talk about. Conversation went all over the place (after dream explanation) and came around to us needing to get in shape. So we bit the bullet at the early hour and went and walked the treadmill and cheered each other on (literally I was bouncing around doing cheerleader chants I remembered from when I was a kid…made him laugh and stumble a little..which…worth it!).  

Dropped the boys to their Dad last night for the holiday week. I miss them already. Funny how you long for alone time and then an hour after the kids are gone you miss their presence. That is me.  Speaking of kids, my oldest had his 18 month scan (which has been reduced to just MRI and CAT scan, YAY!) and have not heard back from them yet. That was two weeks ago. They have never been good at calling with results, but when I go to the appointments, they always say that it was all good. So I am assuming no news is good news.  

We have acquired the fixings for Thanksgiving dinner. Its just the two of us. Hubby mentioned it would be nice to have a couple people but its just us. We had hoped his parents who were vacationing abroad could change their flight and join us for dinner but it wasnt in the cards.

Well I still have to work today. Twenty minutes before I have to leave. Not sure how the day will go as it sounds like several staff will be off. Me being the new hire/low man on the totem pole, in I go. 

Tonight..there will be WINE!!! 

Ciao!!