Category: Daily Life

Amazon Mom

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This blog post did not end up at all where I expected it too, thank goodness I have writing to help me get my thoughts straight.

A screen capture of Amazon MomAmazon is that company you love to hate right? Some things they do blindingly well (You can’t beat their selection, the Kindle is awesome and let’s here it for Subscribe and Save). Then there are those things that they fumble.

Have you heard of Amazon Mom? It is a savings program targeted at families with young children. The discounts can be significant plus, regular shipments of necessary items can show up on your door step with just one click? Awesome. Where was this 11 years ago when I was digging the least milk stained clothes out of the laundry so I could schlep to warehouse stores for diapers and wipes?

Despite the fact that we are long past diapers, wipes and formula, I still purchase one product regularly via Amazon Mom. The pediatrician, she tells me it is about biology, and that he’ll grow out of it. But, for me, it s about precious sleep and not having to change wet, smelly sheets in the middle of the night.

Amazon recently sent an email announcing changes to the Amazon Mom program. For me, my 15% savings via Amazon Mom will go away because I didn’t join Amazon Prime. Small problem, I AM a member of Amazon Prime. My membership is subordinate to my husband’s primary Prime membership. We share the same physical address and everything I emailed customer service and was told “sorry, you have to join Prime to retain the savings.” Really Amazon, Really?

I’ll admit, I love Prime. Two day free shipping is a wonderful thing and moderately priced overnight shipping has come in handy a time or two as well. But really, the benefits such as free streaming don’t matter because we share the same geographical space and even the same electronic devices. There is just no point to having two accounts.

I emailed my concerns to customer service and explained that I would simply sign my husband up for Amazon Mom and because I do 95% of the purchasing, all the emails detailing specials etc. would be electronically round filed. Their loss. The reply was professional, but non-committal except to say that they weren’t currently accepting new Amazon Mom memberships and the program would reopen late winter.

As I write this, I’m it occurs to me that my complaint is kind of lame. Amazon is after all a business trying to make money and ultimately what it comes down to is that I’m only peripherally a member of the target audience for this program.

Ever have a temper tantrum about something and upon further reflection realize maybe you were wrong? Yeah, I’m 43 and still learning it isn’t all about me <grin>. I guess I’ll have to be grateful that I was able to get the discount for as long as I have.

Whew!

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'Girls running in B&W' photo (c) 2010, Mark Hesseltine - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/I’ve heard it said, “Life is a Marathon, not a sprint.” I agree, that this is true, but any distance runner will tell you there are times when you just have to sprint to get through it. This weekend was my sprint.

Five days as a single parent

  • Two snow days
  • One holiday
  • Two weekend days of subzero temperatures

One semi-regular occurrence of frozen pipes. Not in my house, but in my purview.

Stops at L.L. Bean, Books-A-Million, Walmart (my own personal hell), the farmer’s market, the bank and Toys ‘R Us.

Fifteen meals

Two dogs, 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Four karate classes

Some fun, like an afternoon skiing and tubing, playing some games and making homemade soup and bread.

I DID IT!

And, other than the small stain on the carpet where one dog puked up said chocolate chips, there was no damage done.

Don’t mistake this as complaining per se.  I know I am blessed and that right at this very minute people are running marathons that are far tougher than mine.  I’m just taking a few minutes to celebrate my personal victory.

My supervisor

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My cat winnie peering from on top of the stero which is on top of the hutch on top of my desk.She frequently sleeps on the job. then gets mad when I tap her paws.

Four paws hanging over the edge of the stereo.

Apparently I only require close supervision during the winter months.  In the summer she feels I am capable of completing my duties unattended.

Oh the guilt!

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ETA I no sooner finished this post when I hear about Amazon’s Price Check app and their latest promotion. I’m really disappointed in Amazon. I’ll have more to say in a future post.

Three different views of the Kindle 3GRecently my friend Cammy and I made our annual trip to the local Main Street Holiday Celebration. My friend and I strolled the street, shopped and enjoyed the discounts, the atmosphere and a fantastic cup of hot chocolate! Our last stop was a quick trek into our local, independently owned, bookstore. As we passed through the door I averted my eyes and generally tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible. I felt like a lapsed Catholic walking into a church. Please don’t let lightening strike me down.

My name is Lee and I am an e-book reader, exclusively and I feel REALLY guilty. I believe in the power of the small business I’ve owned several small businesses myself I understand the need, the drive, the desire to make your own way through this world. Books are so wonderful, I truly can’t imagine a better product to bring to the marketplace.

As a kid I remember Paperback Booksmith, the bookstore at our local mall or as I knew it Nirvana. I could get lost in the young adult section in the back left corner for hours. The walls were lined floor-to-ceiling with dark wood shelving and the wood floors creaked when you walked on them. The cashier looked down upon customers from on high and was The Oracle of Knowledge with regards to what was available and what was out-of-print.

College and graduate school took a major toll on my pleasure reading. After grad school when I was working and had the time to read, the mega-bookstore had emerged. I was lured by the giant selection never mind that I had no interest in a 400 page retrospective of the hub cap (does anyone really?). There were books lots of books oh my! Then came marriage and motherhood and that huge time suck that is parenting. By the time I came out of the haze of diaper changes and sleep deprivation Amazon.com had firmly entrenched itself in the public psyche and the psyche of one very tired overwhelmed mother who relished the idea of good books inexpensively delivered right to her door.

Before I knew it, I’d fallen in with the herd mentality and independent books stores were paying the price with their balance sheets. Still, I wasn’t reading as much as I wanted to. It was too much work and much of what I wanted to read was not available in large print. Then came the Kindle. That was probably the final nail in the coffin of the independent bookseller for me. The Kindle rocks my world. I’m visually impaired and small print has always been a problem. The Kindle changed all that. Within the 1st year of receiving my first Kindle read more books than the previous 5 years combined. I could read. I could read a lot without eye strain, and it was good.

Oh, but the guilt! As traditional publishing has floundered and Amazon has assimilated itself in almost every nook and cranny of our collective retail consciousness, the independent bookseller has struggled. I buy local when and where I can but I can’t extend that thinking to my bookshelves. With very few exceptions if it’s not available on the Kindle I don’t read it. This is especially true now that I’m in my mid-forties and short arm syndrome has set in (a rant for another post). I need the flexibility of being able to enlarge the font and the reduce eye strain.

To independent bookstore owners everywhere, I’m sorry, really, I am.

Rise ‘n Shine! Or, not.

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'Blue GE Alarm Clock' photo (c) 2009, alexkerhead - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ I woke up at 5:53am and thought “great I have 5 more minutes.” When I rolled over again it was 6:23am. Panic! The bus comes in less than 20 minutes and if he doesn’t see you standing there, he rolls on by.

I’m a heavy sleeper. I do not wake quickly. I jumped out of bed but couldn’t figure out what to do next. Eventually, I made the decision to drive Fish to school. Since A-man was home he could get Mim to his later bus. I headed for the shower but then thought I should at least tell Fish what was going on so she didn’t panic if she woke up.

Like her mother she wakes slowly and startling her is not a great way to start the day. I called her name softly, no response not even a rustle. I reached into the top bunk to scratch her back but she wasn’t within arms reach. I patted around a bit and finally figured out there wasn’t anybody in the bunk bed. I turned and headed downstairs. When I hit the landing I could tell the light in the kitchen was on. When I hit the 1st floor I could smell toasted Eggos. I called her name still no answer but I could hear somebody banging around in the mud room. When I peeked in, she was loading up her backpack dressed and ready to go. When I asked her why she didn’t wake me she said “I thought I’d let you sleep.” Can I get a collective “Awwwww!”? I got some clothes on and drove her to the bus stop. Once in the car I thanked her and she told me that she was kind of proud of herself. I assured her she should be proud.

I think when we become parents we all have things that we are going to do differently than our parents. Mine was being up with my kids in the morning. My mom was a night owl and had her own challenges so from the time I was in 5th grade on, I made my own lunch and breakfast and got myself out the door. This wasn’t bad there were no major problems, but I always kind of wished I had one of those moms who was there in the morning. So I set out to be that mom for my kids. During elementary school this wasn’t that big of a deal they were both on the same schedule and generally needed some prodding. This year they’re on different schedules and Fish is on the bus at 0’dark hundred. That means I’m up at a quarter before 0’dark hundred. Did I mention I wake slowly? I’m not necessarily the best company but I’m there. Turns out, my presence is unnecessary.

After school, we talked more about the morning routine and she explained that she’d really rather get up and get going by herself she wants the independence. I want to sleep so hey, it’s a win-win right? Well, she’s still my baby, it’s dark and cold out and while not far, the bus stop is out of sight from the house.

We struck a compromise, I only have to get up in time to drive her to the bus stop. She gets her indepndence. I get more sleep, but still get a few minutes to see her smiling face in the morning. I know she’s safe and I have a few minutes to enjoy my tea and journal in peace and quiet before her brother wakes up. It just strikes me as funny that something I thought was so important was an imposition on my daughter’s quest for independence. Yet another, reminder, she’s not me 🙂

Touch-a-Truck

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The PTA sponsored a Touch-a-Truck event as a fundraiser last weekend. We took Mim and had a blast. Trucks are COOL!

A boom Truck with an American Flag on Top, AMan helping Mim into a truck, Mim driving and Mim in front of a Giant tractor wheel.The weather was perfect allbeit a little breezy.  They had an awesome turn out and raised some money.  There is talk of making it an annual event.

 

Snowtober

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Yeah, so um, THIS happened.

My car buried in 21 inches of October snow

Which lead to THIS.

Front walk of a house all decorated for Halloween with a good 10 inches of snow still on the ground

In New England we joke about making costumes big enough so the kids can wear their winter coats, but never have we had to dig out the snow boots for Halloween. That is until 2011. We saw 21 inches of snow at the peak of accumulation, but we were fortunate that we never lost power. Still, this will be something my kids can brag about to their grandkids. “When we were kids, we Trick or Treated in THE SNOW!!”

Thank you Nancy Achilles

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Stupid people tricks.  yeah, that’s me this morning.

Mailbox on Inclinephoto © 2008 J.D. Page | more info (via: Wylio)I was going to my son’s Christmas play this morning, sneaking in a quick errand then back home to my keyboard to write. Great plan, that is until my quick errand went awry.

See, I had two envelopes, one with an address and a stamp and one with To: Michele From: Lee written on the front.  It contained paperwork from the recently completed Girl Scout Fall Product Sale. Paperwork that was due today and the absence of said paperwork would make a ton of extra work for another volunteer.  Guess which one I mailed?  Yup, the Girl Scout paperwork.

First there is that stunned shock of OH NO I DIDN’T.  Then as I heard the loud steel bang of the mail box chute closing there was the panic of OH YES, I DID!!

I called Michele and she suggested calling the Post Office.  I finally reached a nice woman from the local distribution center who said the carrier that services that box hadn’t left yet.  She took my number and told me she’d call me when he picked it up.

The mailbox was 7 minutes from my house.  I wasn’t home but 10 minutes when my phone rang and the nice woman was telling me she had my wayward envelope and asked how far was I from the box.

WHEW!!!

I drove to meet her and thanked her profusely for making a special trip.  Then I asked her name and which office she worked out of (I was thinking I’d send a note to her supervisor).  Her name was Nancy oh, she IS THE POSTMASTER of CONCORD!

She wished me Happy Holidays and we went our separate ways. She didn’t have to do that.  As Postmaster, I’m sure she has a few other things to attend to, especially this time of year, but I am really grateful that she took the time to help me out.

That my friends is the spirit of the season!

Home Sweet Home

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Small Town USAphoto © 2008 Sean | more info (via: Wylio)

I attended writer’s class over the weekend and in the course of a getting-to-know -you conversation, it came up that I was a transplant. My fellow attendee asked me how I like living here. I still surprise myself with the answer to that question, I love it.

I didn’t exactly come here kicking and screaming, but I wasn’t particularly excited either. In the almost 8 years we’ve been living in New Hampshire, I can honestly say I’ve grown to love the place. When we moved, my husband clearly thought this was a forever kind of thing. Me? I wasn’t so sure, but I was willing to give it a try.

After this most recent conversation I got to thinking about why I love it here. It all comes down to one thing. People. We live next door to my mother-in-law and her husband and the rest of my husband’s family is all within a 40 minute radius. They are close enough to help (and to need help), but they all have their own lives too.

Our town has an awesome sense of community. It took me a while get connected, but once my kids got into the schools, I met scads of people who share similar values and are passionate and fun loving. There are thriving service groups such as Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4H and even a Lions Club. We have an active seniors group who meet regularly and look out for each other.

We don’t always all see eye to eye, so our town meetings are lively but typically respectful. All is forgiven by the following Tuesday as we all gather for the annual DARE Pizza Night. It doesn’t matter if you have kids in the elementary school or not, DARE Pizza Night is a do-not-miss-event. Usually the event raises over $3,000 for the program.

We aren’t the only town with this kind of community in New Hampshire, but from what I can gather, we are in the minority. I’m glad to have found kindred souls, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you to those who live, work and volunteer to make this place such a great place to live.