Happy Birthday Taylor!

Good morning!

This is NOT a picture of Taylor or a rendition of her. But, she's blonde and young ... and a girl!

I was unable to post on Thursday, August 23rd, so I thought I'd do a little "catching up" today. Hope it was happy, sweetie!

I am not totally happy with the hair on this one. Blonde hair is very hard to do.

Taylor started first grade on Wednesday. On her birthday, her mother allowed her to bring cookies to share. I called her at 7 a.m. on her birthday, but she was at her grandpa's, where she had spent the night. They called me back at 7:30 am, as she has to be to school soon after that. She is enjoying school this year.

She loves her new home, as does her mom. I also like it! It's much bigger, and I love the layout.

Papaw and I went yesterday to "celebrate" her 7th year in this challenging life. Due to the fact that they do not eat wheat or gluten -- most of the time -- we had two Suzie Q's (split in two) with ice cream. We went for a nice walk around the apartment complex, and later, a quick walk to the mailbox to retrieve the mail.

We bought Taylor a Playstation 2. That's what she wanted. Her other grandparents bought her some games for it, as did her uncle, Christian. Her Uncle John and Hillary got her a charger and extra remote for it.

Her favorite game seems to be Spyro. She played, mom play, papaw played, and, well ... I tried to play, but I stink at these things. All in all, we spent about 4 hours there. It was great fun!

Around 5 pm, we decided it was time to head home. The sirens had gone off, and my daughter and granddaughter got ready to head to grandpa's, as he has a basement.

We still headed home with the sirens blaring everywhere, and the car radio urging people to take cover. There was a tornado warning out, and the skies where definitely lively, although we saw NO swirling clouds. I've seen a tornado form before, so I know from experience what to look for. We hit one area that was bursting with heavy wind, but by the time we arrived home, it was pretty much all over.

I bought a book from an infomercial I saw on tv. I'm sure you've seen it. It is on curing weight loss. CURING is the key word here. The author is usually the host of many infomercials, but this time, he was the guest. He says this cure can be achieved easily, and is inexpensive. I figured for about $14.95, it was worth my time to invest in such a miracle. He also says you do not need to exercise. (What sounds too good to be true ... usually is just that!)

Of course, when I called, they wanted to sell me multiple books. I bought 2. It came with two of his other books for free. They then tried to sell me magazines -- they credit your card automatically (you need to call to NOT get more after the initial free magazines). I do not buy anything where I have to call to not have my card charged!

And then they offered me a FREE trip to FL -- which I quickly said no to. You know nothing is free.

I ordered a quick smoking CD which I am interested in.

All in all, I spent some money on these things. I even went for the extra speedy shipping, "get your item in 3-5 days instead of 4-6 weeks". When it didn't come by the 5th day, I remained patient, but upset.

I never received my email regarding shipping detail or total on order from them. When I called the infomercial number to inquire as to my package, it was 9 days later. I was given a "customer service" number, and told their hours were 8 to 5:30 and to please only call during the hours provided. Since it was 5:35, I did not call.

The next morning--the 10th day--, I called at around 9 am, and was left TERMINALLY on hold with music after going through a phone tree. Being as I was using my cell phone, I didn't want to eat up the minutes waiting, so I hung up. Later that evening, at home, I called at 4:50, only to hear a recording saying that their offices were closed, and to please try another time. Great! Not even any hours given to call.

On the 12th day, I came home from work to see that my prized books had finally arrived. Everything was there, and I quickly began reading.

I have my package now; and I've read most of it. Hmmmm. Sounds expensive ... and there is exercise.

(Side note: upon examining my billing notice inside my package, the price was lower than I expected. While I was charged for express shipping, my total shipping only was $29.85. My total bill was just a little less than $85. I also received a free newsletter.)

So. There you have it! Some of the things that were said in the book, I already knew. I've gotten bits and pieces of info from different sources over the years. But, here, a lot of the bits and pieces are all together.

All I can say is that when you order something off an infomercial, you are usually left with disappointment in some area. While this method may offer a cure, you must be willing to do some very different things that will cost you money. And exercise.

So that's it for today. I will be back tomorrow.