28 February 2009

First road trip to ATL


Our drive to ATl was uneventful.  It started out with rain pouring down in increments and then finally tapered off to some nice roads but still very cloudy.  As long as the roads were drive I didn't care what what the sky looked like.
We arrived too early to check in so we went right to the mall.  Finally a real mall, but we didn't stay too long.  I hit the Aveda shop where I could finally exchange the things I've been trying to exchange forever. (We don't have an Aveda store where we live only Spa/Salons that wont take exchanges unless you purchased it from their store). I was so glad to be able to get the things I actually not that there is anything wrong with that I had, they just weren't my preference.  (It was my bad though because I am the one who was in a rush and purchased the wrong ones to begin with).  Oops, I forget to say we stopped at Gap kids first as we found that one first, and I of course bought some clothes for the little one.  I only went in there to get some gray sweatpants to replace the last pair but he saw some Star Wars t-shirts he really wanted so who was I to say no :) OK yeah I could have but I had a little spare cash so why not.  The only problem was that the t-shirts cost more than the sweat pants, are you serious..  Amazing what you pay for a logo.  After this short trip to the mall we checked into the hotel and stayed there about 2 seconds.  I decided to go everywhere I wanted today so we could enjoy Cirque De Soleil tomorrow properly.  On the way to the hotel I saw a Container Store (where i got some really nice containers in Arlington VA) and i was so happy I could pick them up here instead of having to pay their ridiculous shipping costs. After check in we headed there for me to pick up some more containers I like that have lids and flip up handles.  OK I can't explain it well so see picture below:



After that our usually thing when we're on a trip is that K gets Mac Donald's so we set out for the closest one (or so I thought).
I have  a Pioneer Z2 (I think) in the car and the navigation system in that thing sucks.  First off even though I bought it last year, the map is from 2001 (WHAT) and when I tried to get a new map the first thing it says is you need the newer firmware.  Well guess what my piece of junk system wont do, read the firmware disk so even if I had the $130 up-grade disk I couldn't install it because the software is not the right stuff.  My point is, I started down the street I thought I was suppose to be on but then the nav tells me to go right so I go right then it tells me to go right again so I do and then it says take another right which lands me right back where I just was.  Stupid stupid thing. we get to McDees which is only .9 miles away once we are on the right road again.
Now K is enjoying his food and I decide what a perfect time to head to CostCo (not so much I find out once i get there).  The place was packed so much so that I couldn't even get a cart.  I grabbed the only thing I can carry which is what I hope are the Tortilla chips I like and can only get at CostCo.  They are the same brand but not the same shape and I don't have the patience to see if the description is the same as the ones I like.  I grab three bags and head to the cashier because the place is just to packed to look at anything else.
Back to the hotel next but we see a Toys R Us and a TJ Maxx as we head towards the hotel and decide to of course pull in to check things out.  I end up getting a new black purse and K gets some new Ben 10 toys.  Now back to the hotel but we stay only for a few minutes as I am starving (but of course K isn't).  
I am to the point of not caring, so I text a friend and get the down low on a good Japanese restaurant and we head back out.  We end up at this place called Nakato Japanese Restaurant.  This one was not the same as Fujiyama's where we go all the time back home but it had its good and bad points.  I ordered only for me except for some extra steamed rice for the little one.  We were in luck to, the other people at the table hadn't know they could ask for only onions so the chef ended up with a lot of extra veggies which were passed on to K (nice). They even had mushrooms in it which he loves.  The place back home charges extra for mushrooms so this was a good thing.  He even ate all of the veggies and some of my chicken which shocked me as I thought he would still be full.  I also liked the noodles better here and the service was pretty good too (although most of the time the service at Fujiyama's is outstanding).
One thing I can definitely say though is that Fujiyama's clear soup is WAY BETTER than the restaurant we went to here in ATL.  The bill wasn't too bad either especially since my child was able to eat veggies for free :)
Well after my son has been playing with his new Ben 10 toys for a bit he tells me that one of them isn't doing what it is suppose to.  He has a Ben 10 watch and when you put the figures on it, it is suppose to say the name of the figure that is on it.  Well one of them was saying the wrong name. After we get back to the hotel and ready for bed, my son decides that this is unacceptable and he wants to go back to Toys R Us and exchange it.  We head back out and I ended up buying two additional ones besides the exchanged one.  I figured some of the ones we saw there we hadn't seen back home so they may be hard to get later and I don't want to have to pay ridiculous shipping if it comes to that.  We checked all of them immediately when we got back to the hotel and all were good to go.
That's it for now, much more than I expected to write but you never know what will flow from your fingers once you get started.
I'll update tomorrow once we get back home.


26 February 2009

The Hot Tub Story



I have been contemplating for a long time on which hot tub I should spend my 'First-Time Buyers' tax loan on. Thank goodness I found the website below to help me along without it I would have been lost. http://www.spadepot.com/spacyclopedia/spa-buyers-guide.htm

Even with this assistance it was a very hard choice and at the last minute funding became an issue so I had to scale back :( The one pictured below was to be the choice but ended up not. I am sad but really I did not need a 6 person tub, I will mostly be the one using it by myself whenever I possibly can. Hopefully once I get my actual choice together I will post a picture of it.


The winner is: Belize 1000LS Hot Tub Lounger Spa
















































25 February 2009

USAirways surprise

Here is the response I received within a week of writing them. I am a little impressed. This was a quick turn around and much better than the last time I had to deal with an issue.


Dear Ms. (me):

Thank you for contacting US Airways. We appreciate and welcome all inquiries, concerns, and compliments, as your feedback is important to us. Please accept my personal apology for any difficulties or inconvenience caused by the delay of your flight departing from Augusta . I realize you expected your flight to depart as scheduled; so did we. Any delay is costly, both financially and in customer satisfaction.

It is not our intent to create difficulties for our customers and realize that flight delays are very frustrating for everyone involved. We work hard to avoid these situations; however, safety considerations must remain our number one priority.

We are unable to offer reimbursement for expenses incurred as a result of flight interruptions. We are able to compensate only for the flight interruption itself and to convey our apologies we have authorized two Electronic Travel with Us Voucher (E-TUV) in the amount of $75.00 as a gesture of goodwill. We hope you will allow US Airways another opportunity to regain your confidence. Your E-TUV is valid toward the purchase of travel on US Airways. Please be advised the E-TUV is not valid with Internet bookings. The E-TUV must be redeemed one year from the date of this letter. In addition, please take a moment to read the terms and conditions listed below to receive the full benefit of this compensation. When you are ready to make your future travel arrangements, please call our Reservations Department at 800-428-4322 and provide the E-TUV code listed below.


Ms. (me), we know that you have many choices when it comes to traveling and we thank you for choosing US Airways.

Sincerely,
J. Pequeno
US Airways Customer Relations
Corporate Office