The phrase "never a dull moment" seems, at times, to take on a life of its own in our home. Take this evening, for instance. As we were eating supper (only four of us!!), Shawn noticed a puddle of some liquid on the laundry room floor. (FYI - I have been plagued with "puddles" recently and, indeed, I have begun to think of them as "puddles of sanctification").
At first glance, it appeared that either the gallon of popcorn oil or the one of vegetable oil had leaked, but the substance was not completely oily. It was not the right color to be the disinfectant, which was next to the oil containers (I know - not a good combination). Hmmm, moving more things around, I ruled out the bottles of Gatorade, threw out the container of popcorn salt (had gotten wet), moved the case of Vienna Sausages and wiped the bottom of it, continuing to look for the source of the slightly yellow puddle. Finally, I had to do it. I stuck my finger in the liquid...and smelled it. (Ha! No, I did NOT taste it - fooled you, didn't I?) It had a slightly alcohol-ish smell to it, which confused me even further.
Sadly, I began to conclude that Charlie, our Black Lab, must have had a seizure in the laundry room, losing bladder control in the process (yes, this has become more of a problem recently). Odd that there were no signs of bowel issues, though, and the smell in the laundry room was not overwhelmingly of ammonia... Nevertheless, I set to cleaning up the mess with a roll of paper towels and a large plastic bag. (That is one way to get a floor clean, but not one that I would recommend.) My goal was to soak up the liquid with the paper towels first and then wipe the floor with a wet towel and dry thoroughly with a clean one.
Before solidifying my theory, though, I decided to investigate items on the bottom shelf, next to the floor. Wah lah!!! Success!! I was delighted (?!!) to discover that a gallon of apple cider had fermented, with gases building up to the point of causing a pin prick leak in the container! What a relief it was to know that I was only cleaning up sticky, icky, apple cider rather than...the alternative. (Yes, I did begin this by stating that we were eating supper. And, yes, the laundry room is right next to the kitchen, where we were eating. Lots of leftovers tonight...)
I guess they are pretty serious about the instructions to "keep refrigerated". Well, we can be very thankful that it busted a gut before we actually got around to drinking it, though! It is good to have opportunities such as these to put the detective skills I have honed over the years of parenting to use. :-) Now, on to solve the case of The Missing Toothpaste. Still can't figure out how a tube of toothpaste can disappear from a bathroom without a trace...
Parenting...it's not a job, it's an adventure!!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Trey's 17th Birthday and "THE RECIPE"!
Trey enjoyed his 17th birthday celebration almost as much as he did this Reese's Cup variation of Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Dessert. Here now, for the first time ever, I share The Recipe:
Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Dessert
Here is the recipe, as it was given to me many years ago (around 1990 or so) by Terri Cole (given to her before she was married, I think by her mother-in-law-to-be):
1 regular bag Oreo cookies
1/2 gal ice cream
1 jar ice cream topping
1/2 cup nuts (Spanish peanuts)
1 8 oz. tub Cool Whip, thawed
Take frosting out of cookies* and smash cookies in a plastic bag. Dump into a 13 x 9 pan. Cut ice cream into squares and place in pan, on top of cookies. Smooth. Dump jar of topping on top and smooth. Put peanuts on top, then Cool Whip. Smooth. Take reserved 1/2 cup of crushed Oreos and throw on top. Cover with foil. Freeze.
* While you are doing cookies, set out ice cream so it will be soft
OK, so here are some of our own notes, variations, and favorites:
** Be sure to feed the Oreo "guts to all of the kids in the family! Gives them a great sugar high!
** The cookies are best when crushed by a teenage boy; girls are way too wimpy at this.
** There is always a bit too much ice cream to fit into the pan. It was designed this way, so that the birthday person would have a little extra to enjoy (not really, but the kids seem to have made this rule up themselves).
** Some of our favorite ice cream toppings to use are Hot Fudge (MINE!!), caramel, butterscotch, strawberry.
** It can be fun to decorate the top with M & M's, candy sprinkles, or other items of your choice.
** You can use varieties of ice cream; however, we have found that plain French Vanilla seems to work best in most cases, as the other flavors compliment it best. Flavored ice creams may tend to be "too much", but don't be afraid to experiment!
** Some of our favorite variations are:
1) Reese's cup - cut up Reese's miniatures and add on top of the ice cream instead of peanuts. We tried caramel topping along with it and it was VERY well received. Then, cut Reese's mini's in half and lay them on top, along with the extra Oreos.
2) Hot fudge topping with M & M's on top.
3) Strawberry topping, with fresh strawberries on top, along with Oreos.
4) Chocolate Mint - Chopped York Peppermint patties instead of peanuts, chocolate topping, crushed candy on top, maybe with some crushed peppermint hard candies, too.
USE YOUR OWN IMAGINATION!!! This is lots of fun and can lend itself to grand family preparations times!
MoneyGram Warning!
When I stop and consider who MoneyGram’s target clientele is, I am particularly angry over a recent months-long struggle I had with them regarding the refund of a lost money order. Some exceptions will apply, certainly, but many of the folks who purchase money orders are in what would be easily considered a “lower income” bracket, and many of them are not native English speakers. It would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the “typical” MoneyGram customer to obtain the refund that I finally received today, delivered via UPS Next Day Air service. Indeed, it was a very difficult situation for me to resolve, having been trained in such business practices.
What is all the fuss about? It took five months for MoneyGram to refund a lost money order, although all protocol was followed by me, the customer, as instructed. In the end, it appears (although the evidence is circumstantial) that they did their level best to NOT refund the money, in fact. Follow along carefully, as I share the details:
July 13, 2009 – I submitted a Money Order Claim Card for a lost money order, the value of which was $150.00. The cost of submitting this claim was $15.00. It was stated on the form, “Most requests are processed within 30 days; however, please allow up to 65 days for total processing.”
October 5, 2009 – Having allowed more than the allotted 65 days, I called to check on the refund, which had not been received. I was told that it had been returned to MoneyGram as “undeliverable” on July 21. When asked if we had problems receiving our mail at this address, I informed the MoneyGram representative that we normally had no problems at all. After verifying that they had the correct information (they apparently did), I was told that they would send another refund check, which should take around 1-2 weeks for delivery.
October 27, 2009 – Still not having received the refund, I called MoneyGram once again. This time I was told that the date the original check had been returned as undeliverable was August 11, rather than July 21. When asked what happened to the second check, the MoneyGram representative stated that it had also been returned as undeliverable, after having been mailed on October 7. I was not told what date that particular check was returned. Questioning continued from the MoneyGram representative regarding our mail delivery, but I assured the person that we had absolutely no problems receiving any other mail items. In fact, I informed them that our mail delivery personnel was quite liberal in delivering mail that did not even belong to us, as we still receive mail for the previous occupants after having lived in this house for over four years. Once again, I verified the name and address carefully, which seemed to have been correct in their records.
I was told that, at this point, I needed to fill out a “Purchaser’s Statement” and submit that form for the refund. In fact, I was told that this form was specifically for customers who had not received a refund check after two such requests. It seemed odd to me that they would need a form for this specific reason, and the fact that such a form existed, suggested that this was a common problem. Having received this form via email from a MoneyGram representative (it was not available on the internet), I filled it out and faxed it to the phone number I had been given during my phone conversation. (I was told that faxing the form would cut down on the processing time considerably.)
December 1, 2009 – Once again I called MoneyGram, as we had not received the refund. I was told by Stacy that the refund had been mailed again on October 28, the day after I faxed the purchaser’s statement. Having previously spoken with a clerk at the post office, I was informed that there were no delivery problems for our address that he was aware of. After having verified that they had the correct address one more time, I became angry and insisted that they wire the refund to me locally. I was told that they could not wire a refund, so I asked to speak to a supervisor. “Stacy” assured me that a supervisor would tell me that MoneyGram could not wire a refund, but I insisted on talking to one, anyway. (Perhaps I used an incorrect term, but MoneyGram states on their website at www.moneygram.com that money can be sent and received within ten minutes – that was at least the general idea of what I was insisting upon.)
Shortly, the same representative (Stacy) returned to the phone line and told me that she had spoken to a supervisor. Although they could not wire the refund, they could send a check via overnight service. I agreed to that option, pending receipt of a tracking number for the package. I was assured that a check would be sent via overnight delivery the next day and I would be called with a tracking number. All I needed to do was fax yet another Purchaser’s Statement with the information to them. This time, I called after sending the fax, to ensure that they did receive the faxed information.
December 2, 2009 – I called MoneyGram at around 2:00pm, to check on the refund. I was told that it was being processed and I would be called after 4:00 with the tracking number, which did indeed happen.
December 3, 2009 – Received refund from MoneyGram via UPS Next Day Service, almost five months from the date I first submitted the refund request. The address on the envelope was correct; only the first name on the package was misspelled, which should not have hindered any mail from being delivered. There was no apparent reason that an envelope, similarly addressed, would have been returned to MoneyGram as undeliverable, much less be returned multiple times, as was claimed.
I am concerned that the checks which were supposedly “returned as undeliverable” may never have, in fact, been mailed by MoneyGram. My particular situation was eventually resolved; however, considering that many customers who purchase money orders may not have the resources, time, and business experience to pursue a refund request for five months as I did, it appears that MoneyGram may be taking advantage of a great number of people by not providing refunds according to their stated protocol. Such business practices are particularly heinous when they have the potential of targeting a segment of the population such as those who would purchase money orders (lower income, less educated, many non-native English speakers).
What is all the fuss about? It took five months for MoneyGram to refund a lost money order, although all protocol was followed by me, the customer, as instructed. In the end, it appears (although the evidence is circumstantial) that they did their level best to NOT refund the money, in fact. Follow along carefully, as I share the details:
July 13, 2009 – I submitted a Money Order Claim Card for a lost money order, the value of which was $150.00. The cost of submitting this claim was $15.00. It was stated on the form, “Most requests are processed within 30 days; however, please allow up to 65 days for total processing.”
October 5, 2009 – Having allowed more than the allotted 65 days, I called to check on the refund, which had not been received. I was told that it had been returned to MoneyGram as “undeliverable” on July 21. When asked if we had problems receiving our mail at this address, I informed the MoneyGram representative that we normally had no problems at all. After verifying that they had the correct information (they apparently did), I was told that they would send another refund check, which should take around 1-2 weeks for delivery.
October 27, 2009 – Still not having received the refund, I called MoneyGram once again. This time I was told that the date the original check had been returned as undeliverable was August 11, rather than July 21. When asked what happened to the second check, the MoneyGram representative stated that it had also been returned as undeliverable, after having been mailed on October 7. I was not told what date that particular check was returned. Questioning continued from the MoneyGram representative regarding our mail delivery, but I assured the person that we had absolutely no problems receiving any other mail items. In fact, I informed them that our mail delivery personnel was quite liberal in delivering mail that did not even belong to us, as we still receive mail for the previous occupants after having lived in this house for over four years. Once again, I verified the name and address carefully, which seemed to have been correct in their records.
I was told that, at this point, I needed to fill out a “Purchaser’s Statement” and submit that form for the refund. In fact, I was told that this form was specifically for customers who had not received a refund check after two such requests. It seemed odd to me that they would need a form for this specific reason, and the fact that such a form existed, suggested that this was a common problem. Having received this form via email from a MoneyGram representative (it was not available on the internet), I filled it out and faxed it to the phone number I had been given during my phone conversation. (I was told that faxing the form would cut down on the processing time considerably.)
December 1, 2009 – Once again I called MoneyGram, as we had not received the refund. I was told by Stacy that the refund had been mailed again on October 28, the day after I faxed the purchaser’s statement. Having previously spoken with a clerk at the post office, I was informed that there were no delivery problems for our address that he was aware of. After having verified that they had the correct address one more time, I became angry and insisted that they wire the refund to me locally. I was told that they could not wire a refund, so I asked to speak to a supervisor. “Stacy” assured me that a supervisor would tell me that MoneyGram could not wire a refund, but I insisted on talking to one, anyway. (Perhaps I used an incorrect term, but MoneyGram states on their website at www.moneygram.com that money can be sent and received within ten minutes – that was at least the general idea of what I was insisting upon.)
Shortly, the same representative (Stacy) returned to the phone line and told me that she had spoken to a supervisor. Although they could not wire the refund, they could send a check via overnight service. I agreed to that option, pending receipt of a tracking number for the package. I was assured that a check would be sent via overnight delivery the next day and I would be called with a tracking number. All I needed to do was fax yet another Purchaser’s Statement with the information to them. This time, I called after sending the fax, to ensure that they did receive the faxed information.
December 2, 2009 – I called MoneyGram at around 2:00pm, to check on the refund. I was told that it was being processed and I would be called after 4:00 with the tracking number, which did indeed happen.
December 3, 2009 – Received refund from MoneyGram via UPS Next Day Service, almost five months from the date I first submitted the refund request. The address on the envelope was correct; only the first name on the package was misspelled, which should not have hindered any mail from being delivered. There was no apparent reason that an envelope, similarly addressed, would have been returned to MoneyGram as undeliverable, much less be returned multiple times, as was claimed.
I am concerned that the checks which were supposedly “returned as undeliverable” may never have, in fact, been mailed by MoneyGram. My particular situation was eventually resolved; however, considering that many customers who purchase money orders may not have the resources, time, and business experience to pursue a refund request for five months as I did, it appears that MoneyGram may be taking advantage of a great number of people by not providing refunds according to their stated protocol. Such business practices are particularly heinous when they have the potential of targeting a segment of the population such as those who would purchase money orders (lower income, less educated, many non-native English speakers).
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