Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Lazboy Furniture: Whitehall, PA - Review

Now I am not at all into bashing companies so this is not what I am going to do, but I am going to provide a review of our experience with the Lazboy Furniture store in Whitehall, PA.

Let me say first that our experience should not be used against all of the Lazboy stores, since I know a few people who have had a wonderful experience with the store they went to. We decided to visit Lazboy because we were given such high recommendations for the quality of their furniture.

OK, so the store is amazing! Even I can't deny that. Many of their room set-ups are well put together, making the shopping experience quite pleasant. It also helps that their products are such beautiful pieces and very well made. Heck even the sales associate we worked with was great to talk to and worked well with us to get us the couches we desired.

Before I explain our experience, I wanted to share two things you should know about all the Lazboy Furniture stores:
     1. If your furniture piece is not in stock, the item will have to be custom made which can take weeks.
     2. They have a 48 hour return/refund policy.
         

Here is where the breakdown of the relationship occurred. We ordered our furniture the first week of March. When we ordered the pieces we were told that they were not in stock and would take 6 - 8 weeks for delivery which would have given us our furniture at the end of May. This timeline was PERFECT! We would still have a month before the first house party that we were going to hold.

As expected, the weeks had gone by. It was about the second to last week in May. So what is that, week 7? The hubs and I haven't heard a peep from our sales associate on the status of our furniture, so we decided to check in. That is when we found out there was going to be a delay in the delivery of our couches. When we question this, the first thing they said was that they called us about the delay. I have been waiting for this call, so I double checked my messages (since I was about 2 days behind). OK, yes she called BUT it was two days before we called for the status of the couches. So who cares that you called two days before we checked in. That seemed to be a bit of a problem since that should have been one of the delivery weeks. Someone obviously dropped the ball here. But that isn't the worst of it.

When we got more details on what is going on, they finally tell us that our furniture won't be delivered until mid JULY. Did you get that? They said JULY! WTFreak are we going to do for couches since the party was June 25. This was totally unacceptable and we needed an answer. Their sales excuse, "the fabric didn't meet their QA standards" (Quality Assurance for all you non-geeky readers). OK, but our next question was, "Were they making the furniture the week of the delivery?" See, this is where their return/refund policy is just plain BS. I can see if you started making the furniture that soon then of course you can't get a refund but to find out on week 7 (with one week left for delivery) that the furniture was going to be delayed because of the fabric was just soooo frustrating.

So of course, the hubs was graciously handling this situation even though he wanted to tear them to pieces. The obvious next step was to get compensated for our troubles. Yet again, another hassle. J had to speak with multiple managers to get what we deserved. Their first initial offer was to remove the shipping cost of one of the couches. Um, NO that was not going to do at all. We were going to be couch-less for this party so we needed to buy "replacement" furniture for it. In the end, they offered us a loaner couch (same design we purchased) and a discount in the price. The hubs gladly accepted. So we had a couch for the party. Not the most ideal ending as we were missing the other half but it worked out.

Want to know the funny part of it all? We got the call yesterday that the couches are now ready for delivery. A whole 2 days after the party.  :\

Friday, June 24, 2011

PROJECT 365: 6.17.2011 - 6.23.2011

6/17/2011 - Give me that camera!


6/18/2011 - The LOANER couch


6/19/2011 - Pushing Saya with the broom. 
Ghetto? Yes! But it saves our back.


6/20/2011 - Play time with Papi


6/21/2011 - I LOVE NY (and this pic)


6/22/2011 - WHOA!


6/23/2011 - A birthday project

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day

Wishing many blessings to all the Fathers, Mom's who play Daddy and all the pet Pawrents! Although, you should be recognized EVERYDAY, today is your special day! Enjoy it!


I especially want to wish a Happy Father's Day to my Papi and of course my Hubby! You two are the epitome of what a REAL father is and should be! 
Love you both! 

Abuelo (my G'pa), Tio Hector & my Papi


Hubby, Saya and I

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Saya - A Year in Review in Photos

I will say it again and again. WOW! The past year has flown by so fast and our little baby girl is about to be ONE in just a week! Being her 1st birthday is right around the corner, I thought it would be fitting to share some photos of the 1st year of Saya's life. Can see how much she has grown within the year? I don't think she even looks like the same kid. :)

Saya's life in photos...A year in review! Enjoy!


























Friday, June 17, 2011

PROJECT 365: 6.10.2011 - 6.16.2011

6.10.2011 - Luv my PHILLIES!


6.11.2011 - Baby's view watching Papi baby proof the house


6.12.2011 - Saya's new bounce toy


6.13.2011 - Books for Saya, Nelysa & Elias
Thanks Lynn Fam!


6.14.2011 - This is what a tantrum looks like


6.15.2011 - Channeling Michael Jackson with her one sock 
(instead of one glove)... she was born on his 1st death-iversary


6.16.2011 - Yes, that is Dora strapped to the truck

30 By 30: Update - Week 1

Today is Day 5 of my new lifestyle change in which I battle my way to reach my goal of losing 30 pounds by the time I am 30 (which was exactly 6 months yesterday). This update will be a little lacking, as I do not have the proper tools yet to help measure my success. Once I get these tools, I will supply all the data I can including pictures (eek!).

Let's get started...Here are my beginning stats:

Weight: 184 lbs (lost 6 pounds a couple of weeks prior to starting this change)
Size: 14 bottoms and XL or L shirts

Today's stats:

Weight: 181 lbs
Size: 14 but making my way to 13
Workout: None as of yet but has tried to walk as much as I can

One thing I have to learn to do is LOVE myself. How can I show true love to other people if I cannot love myself and give myself the respect I deserve. Since this is a lifestyle change and NOT just a diet, I will be working on my self esteem as well as my physical changes.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom, 
I never tripped over toys 
or forgot words to a lullaby. 
I didn't worry whether or not 
my plants were poisonous. 
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom, 
I had never been puked on. 
Pooped on. 
Chewed on. 
Peed on. 
I had complete control of my mind 
and my thoughts. 
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom, 
I never held down a screaming child 
so doctors could do tests. 
Or give shots. 
I never looked into teary eyes and cried. 
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. 
I never sat up late hours at night 
watching a baby sleep. 

Before I was a Mom, 
I never held a sleeping baby just because 
I didn't want to put her down. 
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces 
when I couldn't stop the hurt. 
I never knew that something so small 
could affect my life so much. 
I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom. 

Before I was a Mom, 
I didn't know the feeling of 
having my heart outside my body.. 
I didn't know how special it could feel 
to feed a hungry baby. 
I didn't know that bond 
between a mother and her child. 
I didn't know that something so small 
could make me feel so important and happy. 

Before I was a Mom, 
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night 
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. 
I had never known the warmth, 
the joy, 
the love, 
the heartache, 
the wonderment 
or the satisfaction of being a Mom. 
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, 
before I was a Mom 

Source: received in a chain letter from my MIL. I thought it was great so I had to share!

Friday, June 10, 2011

PROJECT 365: 6.03.2011 - 6.09.2011

06.03.2011 - New earrings - Deep plum flower


6.04.2011  - Papi's nap time with Eryanna Kaya :)


6.05.2011 - Her very 1st chair


6.06.2011 - Eat & Enjoy... If you can!


6.07.2011 - The lonely red wagon!


 6.08.2011 - How do I work this thing?


6.09.2011 - Thanks Lynn Family!

Monday, June 6, 2011

30 By 30

I am going to start yet another project, but this time it is all about me. 30 By 30 is my goal to lose 30 lbs by the time I am 30 years old. That gives me just over 6 months to accomplish this goal. Hard? Absolutely! But I am up for the challenge. With guidance from my brother (Certified Personal Trainer), I will work my way to being healthier, slimmer, trimmer and more energetic (Saya is kicking my arse). Plus, I am looking forward to being married to my hubby again...I miss wearing my wedding and engagement rings :)

Here's a few numbers for you... 30 lbs will get me to be 5 lbs less than my pre-wedding weight, just 15 lbs more than my pre-Joshua weight (which is another goal) and only 20 lbs away from my pre-college weight (ultimate goal). Hope that didn't rattle your brain.

In order to be successful at this goal, which I believe is attainable, is to totally give into the program that I will be using. Resorting to my ways of the current and past time will keep me where I am at. Making changes really is the only way to get this done and I have finally reached that point where I am ready. I have known and come to terms that I am overweight but what I see in the mirror is not the same person I see in pictures and it is heartbreaking. The pictures show my true self and I am amazed at how much I need to work on. Sad to see it but thankful as well. 

Besides my self image issues, my health is at risk every day that goes by that I am carrying this weight. I huff and puff and can't keep up with my youngin' at all and I can see it is boring her like crazy. I want to play more, run more and overall be more energetic.

To accomplish my goal, I will need to start making changes such as:

  • Eat more fruits and veggies
  • Refrain from drinks with empty calories (soda, specialty coffee drinks, smoothies, etc.)
  • Eat more lean proteins and good carbs
  • Stay away from fast food
  • Eat out less
  • Drink more water
  • Eat more small meals ( 6 - 7)
  • Exercise at least 3x a week
As I go through this program, I will document my progress and results which will include pictures. I must warn you, the beginner pictures will not be for the weak stomached but you can choose to look away. I need to see them and maybe some of you do too!

Follow and support me as I work my way back to healthy!

Disclaimer: I absolutely know I am contradicting my previous statements about not caring about the number but in this challenge it is kind of hard not to pay attention to it. It is only a part of the end goal, not the whole determination of my success.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Where's The Love?

This topic is something that I have been wanting to talk about for some time. It can be controversial, so I wanted to make sure that I was properly getting my point across. Are you intrigued yet? Well here goes nothing...

Making the decision to be a Stay At Home Mother (SAHM) or a Working Mom (WM). Let me start off by saying that the purpose of this post is not to show bias to one group or another or to judge anyone. In fact I was more interested in writing this post to express my disappointment. I am disappointed in us women in how we treat one another because of the decision we made. We are supposed to be empowering and providing encouragement to one another instead of knocking each other down. Women have worked too hard for so long to earn the respect of our counterparts, so lets not set us back for nonsense like this. Why are we judging each other when we have no clue about what each other's situations are? 

Yes, we are all entitled to our own opinion BUT we should be sensitive to who our audience is. Why? Because it is the right thing to do, dang it! I am sick and tired of being belittled (whether intentional or not) by other people because I didn't follow the path they were able to choose. I am so damn happy you were able to do that, and I am glad it worked out in your favor but your life is NOT my life (Thank GOD!).

We all chose to be either a SAHM or WM based on what we knew was best for our family but like many things in life, there isn't a cookie cutter solution that works for all. The family dynamics of the past have changed and as humans we have to adjust in order to survive in this world. For instance, those of you that don't know me personally or my situation, I have a live-in disabled FIL. This addition to our family made us make many sacrifices (and continuing to do so, unfortunately). As a result, us having a 2-person income was a must, so I had to sacrifice the idea of being a SAHM. Do I regret it? Heck no! I know what I had to do in order to make sure my family would stay afloat. As long as I can help to provide food, clothing and shelter for my family one way or another, I'm golden!

So please, please, please... STOP THE HATE

In fact, the next time you see a family member or friend who is a SAHM, WM or even a SAHWife, go ahead and give them a great, big hug! OK... don't do that as that can be a bit creepy BUT be sure to show them your appreciation for what they do. Something as little as this can make someone's day a little brighter.

No matter what your job title is, we are all hard working women! We work 24/7 until our children are adults themselves and even then we always get to play Mama. So a big KUDOS to all my beautiful SAHMs and WMs! Keep doing what you're doing! One thing is for sure, a mother's work is NEVER done!

xoxo

*Getting off my soapbox now*

Friday, June 3, 2011

PROJECT 365: 5.27.2011 - 6.02.2011


5.27.2011 - Breakfast of Champions?


5.28.2011 - Eli's face painting


 5.29.2011 - Signature of the AC repairman


5.30.2011 - Nap time on Teduardo after swimming


 5.31.2011 - No, I am not pulling EVERYTHING out of Mommy's cabinet



6.01.2011 - Spinach + Cheese ravioli was here...Signed Saya :)


6.02.2011 - America Runs on Dunkin