Customer Service - Aeropostale

I like giving kudos when I get customer service that makes me feel good, so I want to say "Thanks" to the Aeropostale folks.

I took my son shopping for clothes to get him ready for college, and Aeropostale is one of his favorites for shirts. We had some $10 off $50 coupons that I wanted to use. I asked the clerk if I could ring up in separate transactions so I could use 2 of the coupons. She was so gracious and helpful, and helped me maximize my savings.

I'm not in any way affiliated with Aeropostale - just a happy customer

Earndit

If you remember, I have a FitBit pedometer which wirelessly uploads to the web. Recently the FitBit developers released an API so that other developers can access the FitBit users' data (with our permission, of course).

The cool programmer guys at Earndit can now use our FitBit data to award us points based on our activity levels. Other tracking devices can be read, too, including Nike Plus, Foursquare, Everytrail, and Garmin Connect.

Sponsors have donated prizes that we can redeem for our points. Just recently, I was the winner of a month's supply of Greek yogurt from Stonyfield Farm. Today I got my 30 free yogurt coupons!!

I'm not in any way affiliated with Earndit

Richard Montanari

While I was browsing in the "M's" at my library, I stumbled on this series by Richard Montanari.

It's set in Philadelphia and features detective Jessica Balzano (who is a mom to a toddler and is a prize fighter in her spare time) and Kevin Byrne (who has a surprising talent that I won't reveal). It's the classic pairing of the new, fresh rookie and the seasoned, seen-it-all veteran.

So far, I've read two of the series and I have more on my shelf to read. Montanari has me intrigued with the characters and I want to see how they develop and what happens in their lives.

Harker Moore

I found this 2-book series by Harker Moore while browsing my local library shelves. I can only find 2 books written by this author, and I wish he/she had written more.

The main character is a Japanese-born detective so he brings a different perspective to the typical detective scenario. His wife was born blind and she intuitively sees.

I kept waiting for the author to bring more of the Japanese childhood views into the novel. When he did, I liked it, but I felt he/she could have done more with that.

Also, with his wife being an intuitive. I really, really wanted the author to develop her character and have her give valuable input into the cases based on her visions and feelings.

I refer to the author as he/she since I couldn't find any information on him/her. I got the feeling that this is a pseudonym for an author wanting to explore a new character and not wanting to write under their "known" name.

Customer Service - AA Aquarium

I had a fantastic customer service experience with AA Aquarium this week. I had bought a Green Killing Machine UV sterilizer for our fish tank since we had algae bloom that we couldn't fix.

The UV sterilizer worked amazingly well and cleared the tank within 5 days. The UV lamps are supposed to last 3 - 6 months, but we decided to run ours continuously. So the light indicator went out, meaning that you're supposed to change the UV lamp.

We did, but the light indicator still did not come on. So I contacted the AA Aquarium folks and they promptly sent me a new control box for the unit. I installed it yesterday, put in the "old" UV lamp, and it's now working great.

I always appreciate a great customer service experience, and I'm a huger fan of AA Aquarium now.

I'm in no way affiliated with AA Aquarium. Just a very, very happy customer of theirs.

Big East Tournament

All I can say so far is, "WOW!!" I'm having basketball withdrawals this afternoon since I've been watching all 4 games each day. Today we're down to 2 games, starting at 7 pm tonight.

I almost feel that the NCAA tournament is a let down after the Big East tournament. This feels like the teams are playing for the national championship. The games have all the drama and excitement.

What a week, though. With controversial finishes and last minute buzzer beaters, it's been tremendously exciting so far.

Jeffrey Ford

I recently finished "The Shadow Year" by Jeffrey Ford. It was unforgettable in a really quirky way. I already want to read more of his books and wish that our library had more of them.

It is an unconventional mystery story with some supernatural elements. But it's an engrossing story of childhood as well, so it was very touching.

His other books look intriguing, too. I have received one of them from Paperbackswap and will see if I can find the others.

The Paperbackswap link does include my referral id, and if you join using my link, I get 1 book credit

Boston Celtics Trades

I'm just a basketball fan and don't follow the NBA religiously. But I really like the team chemistry of the Boston Celtics (at least as it appears outwardly. It may be totally different than it appears to us fans).

So I'm confused about the trades from yesterday. From looking at the sports analysts, I'm not the only one. This close to the playoffs, it doesn't make sense to make such drastic changes.

But I hope Danny Ainge is looking in his crystal ball and sees something for the future. Maybe it's one of those "this will hurt now, but will be better in the long run" deals.

Jack McDevitt

I love books about time travel, and this one was great. It had so many time travel loops going that it was mind-blowing.

The story is that Shel and his friend, Dave, journey through time in search of Shel's missing physicist-father.

The book's ending was wonderful, too. I was telling my kids about it the other day. We were discussing undiscovered literature and how would you know if you stumbled on a "new" play or manuscript by a famous author. And that's all I'll say so I don't give anything away.

Removable Wall Decals

My current project of interest is finding some kind of decoration for my great room. I'm interested in removable vinyl art, so I don't have to nail a gazillion holes in the wall.

I found these wall quotes at Kohl's, and I'm sure other places have them as well. I'd like to try them and see how they look over doors and over my sofa.

I'd also like to find a beach scene wall decal, maybe 3 feet by 3 feet for my bathroom. I've been scouring the search engines but haven't found yet. So I'll keep looking.

Slow Cooker

I've just recently learned how to cook with a slow cooker. I don't know why I didn't try it before. They are absolutely amazing!!

I'm not usually a very good cook. But with the slow cooker, the meat comes out fork tender every time.

I'm experimenting with sauces now. The other day, I used apple butter for a pork roast - Wow!! Today I'm trying peach preserves with bacon bits over pork chops. The kitchen smells heavenly. I can't wait to eat it.

Applebee's

Applebee's recently hosted a pancake breakfast fundraiser for our high school tennis team. We had so much fun!! We raised about $1200 total.

The staff was outstanding. They had tickets printed for us that we pre-sold. Then they supplied all the materials and food and cooked the pancakes. We had to serve, clean up, and make coffee.

The kids really enjoyed it (the adults did, too). It was a great team-builder as well as fundraiser The time flew by, and we all got to know each other better.

Thanks again to Applebee's!!