It's All About The Service!

“Thank you for waiting, your patience is appreciated” – I’m loosing my patience very quickly!

I’m writing this blog whilst I’m on hold with Verizon. This seems to be something I do pretty often.

Why is it so hard to get things done these days? A simple task like querying something on your bill should not require 4 phone calls and about 2 hours of my time!

I’ll tell you why things have got so much harder – for one, they have gotten rid of all the hard working employees and we are now made to sound like idiots and try to communicate with a computer system who can never bloody well get us through to the right person and when you do actually get to speak to someone they generally don’t know how to help you either so they try and transfer you and get it horribly wrong and disconnect you and you have to start all over again!

But to me, the biggest problem is that these companies do not really care about us as customers. They say they do, “you business is important to us”, But what a load of BS. With the millions of other customers out there, your business is not as important to them as it should be. You would think that with so many similar companies offering the same services they would be fighting for your business and making sure that they kept you, the customer happy. Not kept you fighting with them every step of the way?

What has happened to good customer service? There is nothing that makes me angrier than incompetence. When I am paying for a service I expect to have that service, without fail, at all times. And when I have a problem, I would like to speak to a human being! With so many people unemployed and willing to work, should we not be creating jobs and not destroying them along with your customer base?

To me, it’s all about customer service and this should start with the person answering the phone, or the front desk receptionist, the face of the industry. But why is it that so often these people are on some little power trip and end up being completely useless and often rude.

These people should be able to help; if they cant they should be able to put you through to someone who can. I’m all very willing to give a tip and give credit where credit is due but to me, if you work in the customer service industry – which so many of us do – it should be able the customer and only the customer. You need to want my service and want to keep my service. Without sounding like a spoilt brat – it should be about me – the customer!

So I’ve just written this whole blog and published it and done few other things and guess what … I’m still on frikken hold!!!

For The Girls

So a little known secret about me is my love for country music. It all started way back when when I was introduced by the queen of country (ok in my opinion) Shania Twain. I still dream that one day I will sing From This Moment at my wedding (don’t worry wedding guests – it will never actually happen).

But the point is that country music has meaning. So many pop songs are written by song writers and sold to somewhat talented artisits, then put through a mixer in the studio and come out sounding thankfully nothing like the raw version and somewhat decent.

Country music however is written with soul, with purpose and with meaning. Country artists can actually sing, play instruments and make you feel what they are singing. The reason for this is that many of them actually feel their own music.

One song that I need to share with people is For The Girls by Martina McBride. I think the main reason for this is that I am a woman and I know that so many women have experienced everything in this song. And mainly because I know that my girls have gone through this or are currently going through this. This song explains womanhood and everything that comes with it – it is what truly makes a woman. Maybe I just wanna dedicate this song to my girls – you know who you are. This one’s for you. To Listen click HERE

This is for all you girls about 13
High school can be so rough, can be so mean
Hold on to, on to your innocence
Stand your ground when everybody's givin' in

This one's for the girls

This is for all you girls about 25
In little apartments, just tryin' to get by
Livin' on, on dreams and spaghettios
Wonderin' where your life is gonna go

CHORUS
This one's for the girls
Who've ever had a broken heart
Who've wished upon a shooting star
You're beautiful the way you are
This one's for the girls
Who love without holdin' back
Who dream with everything they have
All around the world
This One's for the girls
(This one's for all the girls) - 1st time only

This is for all you girls about 42
Tossin' pennies into the fountain of youth
Every laugh, laugh line on your face
Made you who you are today

REPEAT CHORUS

Yeah, we're all the same inside (same inside)
From 1 to 99

REPEAT CHORUS

(This one's for all the girls)
Yeah, this one's for the girls
(This one's for all the girls)

Friends in Faraway Places

friend

–noun

1.a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
2.a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter:
3.a person who is on good terms with another;

To me these definitions do not even describe the word friend and what it really means to me.

To me, a friend is so much more than words. To me a friend is someone who knows you maybe even better than you know yourself. Someone who knows your thoughts when it's too painful to say them out loud. A friend is someone who you don't have to ask to be there. They know when you need help, guidance or space. To me a friend is someone who you create an unbreakable bond with.

A friend is so much more than that person you went to high school with. A true friend is - your person.

To me, the most important thing about your Person, is that even when you are worlds apart they are still there for you. No borders can keep a friend away, they will always be there, with words, with kindness and with support.

The most important thing is friendship. Family can be friends, friends can become lovers, the point is that the root of anything should be friendship. A friendship that is unbreakable is a solid foundation for anything.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my People. You are my rocks and mean more to me than you know. There is so much in this life that I could not have done without your love, support and most of all friendship.

BBQ Chicken & Pineapple Quesadillas

Well I think I can finally say that I'm getting pretty good at this whole cooking thing. once I've decided what I actually gonna make for dinner then it's smooth sailing and things seem to go pretty well. It's the decision part that still gets me. I am so grateful for all the sugestions and recipes - please keep sending as they do make my life slightly less complicated. Also big ups must go to Ree Drummond - The Pioneer Woman who is a huge inspiration and her recipes are not only delicious but fool proof. And her writing makes cooking fun which helps a whole bunch too! But don't take my word for it - see for yourself - http://thepioneerwoman.com/

So last weekend I even went so far as to create a menu for the whole of next week. I then made sure that I had all the ingredients and even had a shopping list and everything. Well I can officially report that I cooked nothing off that entire list this week.

But it's last nights dinner that I want to brag about. With much help from PW and a little modifying my side (I don't have a grill ot a grill pan) I'd say it was a huge success. The Other Half even said he may share his lunch left-overs with his work people!

So here go's:

What you’ll need:

Flour Tortillas
Monterey Jack Cheese (or Mozzarella will work too)
Pineapple
Chicken Breasts
Barbecue Sauce (or any kind of chicken marinade I guess)

First you’ll need to chop up the pineapple. This can be a task and again I say you will get nowhere without a good knife set! Chop the pineapple into cubes or triangles or whatever works (for chopping help see PW’s recipe at http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/grilled-chicken-pineapple-quesadillas/ )

Now this is when the changes come in because I’m still trying to furnish my house and kitchen and therefore don’t always have the necessary tools. So I fried the pineapple for a little bit, really just to heat it through and get the juices going – so delicious!

Next you’ll need to pound the chicken with the soft side of a mallet or do like I did at PW’s recommendation – use a big can of tomatoes – a mallet is another thing missing from my kitchen…

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and fry. While it’s cooking add some BBQ sauce or marinade and let cook.

When it’s done remove from pan and cut into slices.

Now comes the fun part – heat tortilla’s – I just pop them in the oven for a few minutes. Then it’s time to assemble. Of course there are many ways of doing this – this is how I did it…

Sprinkle grated cheese over half the tortilla; arrange the chicken evenly over the top. Throw on some pineapple slices and you can add some other goodies too like mushrooms or red pepper. Next add some more BBQ sauce and fold tortilla in half to form a semi-circle. Press them down a bit so they stay closed.

Heat oven to around 350°F (180 C). Place stuffed half moon tortillas onto baking tray and bake for 8 minutes. Turn and bake for an additional 3 minutes or until crisp.

When they come out, cut into triangles and serve!

Washington DC - Things to Do

So I’ve decided to add yet another angle to my writing portfolio – Washington D.C – things to do. I figure that since I am new to the area and learning all there is to do here I might as well share what I learn as I go along so that if any of you plan to visit here in the future then maybe I can give you some hints or tips of what to see and how to see it.

So my first little outing was to some of the Smithsonian buildings. Now to break it down for you – I was a little confused at this – the Smithsonian is not just one museum but a plethora of things to do.

Founder of this world renowned cultural education, James Smithson was an English scientist who devoted his life to research in chemistry, mineralogy and geology. The funny thing is that even though he never visited the USA, he bequeathed his estate of around 15 million dollars to establish the Smithsonian Institute, what he said to be an institution for the “increase and diffusion of knowledge”.

The first Smithsonian building, The Castle is actually today nothing more than an information centre with an over priced cafeteria. But still worth a visit to explore the garden and see the Castle Exterior which is pretty regal – and you can nab some free brochures.

For some pics click HERE


So, next on the Smithsonian list was the Free Gallery of Art. Now don’t get me wrong, I do have culture and do love to do Cultural things, but there are some things that are not really very high on my list of things to do. I love art museums when I find the art interesting. I love ancient relics when they have an interesting story behind them. But there are times when to me a piece of broken porcelain, is simply just a piece of broken porcelain.

Never the less, I gave it a try and to my pleasant surprise actually learned a few things.

The Freer Gallery of Art actually boasts an internationally renowned collection of Asian Art and is home to the world’s largest holdings of works by American artist, James McNeil Whistler.

Now the one room which did actually draw my attention was the Peacock Room. The story behind it is that in 1876, a wealthy ship owner asked James Whistler to advise his architect on a color for his dining room shutters and doors. The architect had actually designed the room around a painting by Whistler, The Princess from the land of Porcelain”. Whistler proceeded to cover the ceiling with Dutch metal or imitation gold leaf, over which he painted a lush pattern of peacock feathers. He then gilded the walnut shelving and embellished the wooded shutters with images of four plumed peacocks.

For Pics click HERE

Baked (supposed to be crispy) Potato Wedges

Well folks we'll call this one a success. For me, the potatoes could have been crispier but The Other Half really liked it so that's what we'll judge it on right.

So here go's:

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions
What You'll Need:

* 3 to 4 large potatoes
* seasoned salt
* olive oil
* a baking sheet

Step 1 - wash the potatoes under running water

Step 2 – cut the potatoes into wedges (and with this I cannot stress how important I have found it to have really good kitchen knives!)

Step 3 – lightly grease a baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil and place wedges neatly onto it

Step 4 – sprinkle more olive oil over wedges

Step 5 – sprinkle both sides of wedges with seasoned salt

Step 6 - bake in oven at 400 degrees (approx 220 Celsius) for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Half way through the cooking time, flip the potato wedges over to ensure the most crispy and golden potato wedges.

Food!

So in my quest to become a Domestic Goddess I have decided to add a little of my kind of creativity to it and start blogging about my daily meals and menu finds in the hope that a) people will know that I'm learning and my mom will be proud of me and b) maybe I will be able to help others as so many have helped me.

So I start tonight - not today, unless you want to know how to make left over spaghetti with cheese and ketchup for lunch? No, tonight I will be making BBQ chicken with crispy potato wedges. The BBQ chicken should be easy enough, it's the potatoes I'm worried about as the "Crispy" part is pretty essential, otherwise they're just potato's aren't they, and what's so Goddess about that?

The idea is that if this is a success and I find it pretty simple and stress free to accomplish - and of course if it gets the approval from The Other Half, then I will share the recipe with you lovely people tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

Domestic Goddess - Help Needed!

So I consider myself very lucky that for the past couple of months (or forever) I’ve been very spoilt with home cooked meals and planned menus. I now find myself in the dilemma of being the one having to plan the menu’s and cook the meals. Now I have to say that I do consider myself a good cook when it comes to complex gourmet type dishes and dinner parties, but the whole cooking for two thing – everyday - does not come easily for me. I am uninspired to think of something different to cook every day and I am also terrible at planning ahead. I therefore suck at doing the whole monthly shopping thing and therefore always find that I never have what I need in order to cook what I want.

The Other Half realizes this about me and so sweetly offered to go to the grocery store on his way home from work and do a big shop. So I now find myself with heaps of frozen chicken, frozen fish and a few other things in bulk – like chips and salsa…

So I thought I might as well make the most of it and I tried to do a fish dish the other night. Now for those that know me, you may recall that I don’t do very well with stinky food stuffs, let alone cooking stinky fish. And I have to say that this frozen fish was pretty stinky. But I pushed along and I have to say that it all actually looked pretty good. I couldn’t actually eat it but hey – at least it looked good. The Other Half ate it and said he liked it – but bless his heart, he probably just didn’t want to hurt my feelings – at least he didn’t die of food poisoning!

So the point of this blog is to enlist some help from my darling readers.
Please post or send me one or two of your favorite recipes. Now please people, keep them simple. I’m looking for things that I can make as everyday dinner kind of things. But also, feel free to throw in something exotic or exciting – we love trying new things.

Looking forward to trying everything out – and I promise to let you know how it goes!

The Ikea Experience

So we have moved into our new house, much of our furniture was unable to actually make it into the house, and we now need to furnish the apartment – on a budget!

Off to Ikea we go. Now I’ve heard that this place is and experience, but really, I had no idea!

We arrive with a vague idea of what we want but with no idea of how many options we would have!

To paint the picture – Ikea is a super huge store that offers absolutely everything you can think of when it comes to furnishing your house or putting on the finishing touches. I mean everything!

It is laid out with various rooms on display to give you ideas as to how you want to do your rooms and then there is every possible option to make it your own. You look around for hours and get ideas and then when you’ve made your decisions you simply write down the product code and other info and move onto the next step.

The next step is actually getting your stuff. Now when you are writing down the info of the furniture you write down the isle number and bin number. I was not entirely sure what this meant when I was doing it but I was soon to find out.

Basically you make your way into this HUGE warehouse, with countless numbers of Isles and Bins where you – yes you – find your items. Everything is flat packed and it is up to you to put it onto a cart and go checkout.

Now we were most happy to discover that most of our items actually fitted into the boot (trunk) of the car! Ok I have to admit that even though I will never admit to liking the Camry due to the lack of excitement it offers, I am becoming increasingly impressed with what it has to offer – in this case – boot space. We only had to have a few longer items delivered which was also a pretty painless experience.

So all that was left was to get everything home and built – which was my job. Yes I was partly dreading it but pretty excited as I’ve always considered myself a bit of a handy-girl. So borrowing a tool kit from The Neighbor, I got to work.

I have to tell you that even though the tasks were pretty simple considering, it was still exhausted! It took me a full two days to put everything together.

I have to give credit to Ikea in that their stuff is good, the experience was great and thankfully, the instructions were simple! I have plans to go back this weekend and maybe get a couple of extra’s.

The U-Haul Experience

Ok to paint the picture – we are moving up to DC with more than a little stuff, most inherited. We have a Toyota Camry (yes I know – boring!). So needless to say we needed help. So to U-Haul we turn…



We picked up a rather large truck and a full flat bed trailer and have every intention of doing this all ourselves. We manage to pack the truck and load the car onto the trailer and off we go!




About 3 hours into the drive we realize that the gas is going down faster than we anticipated and we now have the mammoth task of getting this rig through a gas station – thank goodness for Americans and their Truck stops.



14 hours later and about 4 more tanks of gas we find ourselves almost into the city. Now comes the thought that even with “The Other Half’s” amazing truck driving skills, there is no way we are firstly going to be able to maneuver this all through the downtown DC streets, and secondly if we do, there is no ways we are going to find space to offload the car off the trailer.

So an abandoned parking lot we find and proceed to offload the car there. We then drive the final few minutes in separate vehicles. (I will not get into the fact that I got caught at a red light and left behind with an almost dead phone and no idea where I’m going – I got there eventually).

We finally arrive at our destination (a few minutes apart because of my detours). We are very happy to discover that there is a barely used alley behind our house where we can park and offload the truck – which we proceed to do.

So as we are unloading we discover that the majority of our inherited furniture does not actually fit through the door of the apartment and we are forced to leave it in the truck and find something to do with it the next day. (I’m gonna take this opportunity to throw in an “I told you so”).

Next day arrives and we are up bright and early to find a furniture store to buy the furniture and then return the truck and trailer. All I’m gonna say is that the odds were against us on this particular morning and the furniture now sits in the U-Haul storage facility (minus half a glass table cause I broke it).

The bottom line is that I am still in two minds as to whether I will ever use U-Haul again due to some complications. The final moral of the story is that I hope to not have to move again or a very long time!

The Big Move - It's Happened!

Ok so it’s been a little while since I’ve written and a lot has happened. I think I’m gonna document all my little experiences as a part by part series so expect a lot of posts coming up!

So the biggest news of all is that we are now safe and settled in Washington DC. For the details of the trip see (The U-Haul Experience).

As you know I was more than a little nervous as to what I was getting myself into as I was moving to a city that I had visited for a mere few hours and moving into a basement apartment which I had not seen.

Well I hereby consider myself pleasantly surprised. Our new home is adorable. I find adorable a fitting word as yes it is pretty small but for us it is perfect. It’s a one bedroom basement but with lots of light and just enough space. For more details on the décor see (The Ikea Experience).

Although I have not yet fully explored the neighborhood, from what I can judge it is fantastic. I have sampled two of the local little restaurants which were excellent and our street is so quaint and actually very similar to London – except the sun has been shining constantly since we moved in.

So as you can see I am a very happy puppy right now and all that is left to do is find a job! Our next furniture purchase is also gonna be a sleeper couch so please come visit!