Action Packed…
There wasn’t a moment of down time this weekend but luckily I was busy in a good way. Yesterday I met up with Kim…she likened meeting to a blind date which is exactly how it was! But after a minute I felt like I’d known her forever. Kim is a such a great person and we have so much in common. She is also a very accomplished writer and was nice enough to share her wisdom with me. Talking to her was great but I realize now just how unprepared I am! Writing is a long, hard road and I really need to focus and get busy.
But as always, life gets in the way of all the things I need to do and instead of working on my book this weekend I ended up doing everything but. From visiting my cousin in the hospital to doing groceries, to getting ready for Maya’s Fancy Nancy extravaganza next weekend…things were crazy. And on top of all that, we hosted a couple of Ali’s co-workers and their families for lunch today.
Since time was at a minimum I went with my standby “company menu” which is code for foods that I am fairly confident are fit for consumption by people other than my immediate family. Lets just say that my cooking is a work in progress.
We had roast beef:
Salmon with onions and capers, the marinade recipe is here:
I took a little help from my friendly neighborhood Bristol Farms and bought this butter/cream laden quiche:
Roasted Potatoes:
Date Muffins, recipe is here:
Strawberry/Avocado/Spinach salad. Since I couldn’t eat most of what I made this salad was definitely the highlight for me:
I even set out tea, like the good Indian daughter that I am:
I thought my tablescape was pretty impressive until I saw how nicely Maya had set her own table for her friends, complete with paper plates, plastic cutlery, napkins, paper cups, and Valentine’s Day cards for decoration. Considering that the cups say “1st Birthday” on them, I just hope that Maya had the foresight to dust them off before her friends used them.
I’m not an advocate of paper plates but I have to admit that after such a busy weekend I was relieved to have 3 fewer plates, cups and forks to wash. Right now my mom is reading this and is thinking, “Ameena, how lazy can you get!”
Pretty lazy Mom, pretty lazy.
Customer Service…Or Lack Thereof
While I started this blog to improve my writing skills, I recently realized that having a blog reaps so many other unexpected bonuses:
1. My blog is a fabulous platform for making fun of Ali and Maya.
2. I have met and continue to meet so many new people. Tomorrow I am meeting Kim for the first time. After reading her blog every day for the last few months I have come to the conclusion that she is my long-lost sister. What a coincidence that I just so happen to be in the market for another sibling.
3. I can use this blog to complain about things and reach a much wider audience than just my family. I believe Ali appreciates my blog for this reason alone.
I know most of you couldn’t care less about window treatments or crappy customer service, because I certainly couldn’t, but allow me to complain for just a minute about my horrible experience with 3 Day Blinds.
As I mentioned a few posts ago, I have been on a home improvement spree. This has a little to do with the fact that parts of our condo are becoming safety hazards, and a lot to do with making sure that our place looks somewhat presentable when Ali’s co-workers come for lunch this Sunday. We might not be classy people but we can pretend to be, and I was hoping that 3 Day Blinds would help us maintain the facade.
Since our shades have metal rods sticking out of them, I decided they should be priority #1 on our lengthy list of things needing attention. I ordered new window treatments on Monday (I hate calling them treatments) and since then 3 Day Blinds has come by to measure, re-measure, install, and re-install. And guess what? The shades are still damaged and still don’t fit properly.
Not only has the product and installation been a disaster but 3 Day Blinds customer service is even worse. When the installer came in for the first time on Thursday I asked him very nicely if he wouldn’t mind removing his shoes and he said no. So I politely explained that I have white carpet and a child and would he please take them off? He just looked at me and said he couldn’t take his shoes off and if that was a problem than I was welcome to reschedule.
May I take a minute to point out that on the cover of the pamphlet provided by my now impossible to reach sales representative it says:
3 Day Blinds – You’ll Love the Treatment.
Well 3 Day Blinds, I don’t love the treatment, I don’t love your blinds, and your slogan is a sham. I vote that you revise it to read:
3 Day Blinds – Not Ready in 3 Days, or Even 5 Days, and We Have a Policy Against Shoe Removal
While it is too late for me, please consider this post a public service announcement to avoid 3 Day Blinds like the plague.
What is your worst customer service experience?
The “Park-Moms” Scare Me
Yesterday after school I took Maya to the park…she’d been asking all week and since the weather was finally decent I concluded a few more germs weren’t going to kill her and off we went. So we get to the park and I take a good look at my outfit: Lucy Hatha Yoga Pants (can’t say enough about how much I love these – I now have 2 pairs!), a bleach stained hoodie (don’t ask), my glasses (just couldn’t do the contacts), and a Target hat that goes hand in hand with my glasses. I have no idea why but the hat makes me feel less like a librarian and more like a incognito movie star. At least in my mind anyway. Everyone else is probably just thinking…what a nerd. And what a cheap hat.
Then I take inventory of Maya who is sporting paint-stained Target’s best from head to toe. Her hair is also in a million directions and her face has something on it that looks suspiciously like chocolate. To top it all off she is wearing blue socks with her pink ensemble. Nice, huh?
Then I look at the rest of the kids surrounding us…the 4-year-old kid trying to push Maya off the spinner is sporting True Religion jeans. Her sister, a cute toddler named Shanghai (how cool is that name?) is sporting a Burberry plaid skirt and Uggs. Another random little boy, who looks no more than 8-years-old is texting on his iPhone as he waits for a turn on the swings. I am NOT making this up. Oh, and my personal favorite? A “tween” flashing her megasized Coach bag.
And the “Park Moms” are something else. There is this group of ladies who I’ve seen regularly for more than a couple of years but to whom I am invisible. Normally that would bother me but in this situation I am okay with it because honestly, they kind of freak me out a bit. They are in a competition to see who can be the skinniest (sorry, I swear I am working on this judging thing but these girls are eerily thin) and who can wear the most labels at once. I’m not going to lie, they look fabulous, but they also come to the park decked out with huge Prada bags and high-heeled Chanel boots. I love Chanel as much as the next person, but I certainly don’t wear it to the park.
When our time at the park finally concluded, thanks only to the sun setting, I dragged Maya out to the parking lot. And as we darted in between the mass exodus of SUV’s, whining children, and fake air kisses, I looked at my ragamuffin daughter, saw my frizzy hair in my peripheral vision, and thanked my lucky stars that I am not, and will never be, a “Park Mom.”
What kind of people scare you?
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
