Idol

Best Moment from last night: Paula's insanity. Seriously - she's either extremly unintelligent or there really is some truth to the drug/alcohol rumors. Actually she just seemed kind of "off" the whole show... But boy did it make for an entertaining night.





As far as my Idol recap - we're going out of town today so I've got to hurry up and pack. I'll make it quick.

David Cook was my favorite.
Brooke had 1 good, 1 bad.
David A. did good.
Jason Castro did ok.
Syesha needs to be on Broadway. I was thinking that long before Randy said it.

Yikes!

Earlier I called a local scrapbook store about signing up for their sidewalk sale in 2 weeks. They're allowing local crafty vendors and the fee is only $20 so I figured it would be worth it. Unfortunately they didn't have an opening when they called, but she called back this afternoon and said they made room for me. :) But it's in only 2 weeks! And we're going to California next week for 5 days, so really it's more like it's in one week! I'm so nervous.

I've been making a lot more bows lately because Ian's been working on my website and learning HTML, so I do have quite the inventory. I should post pics. Maybe. :) So I'm not worried about not having enough, but I do need to make more of the big sellers (big pink bows especially).

I'm also just nervous because when I asked the woman what other vendors would be there she said lots of hairbows...yikes! I am by no means a GREAT bow maker(I'm not horrible though...) so the thought of being surrounded by other bow girls makes me worried I might dim in comparison. But it will be nice to size up my competition, get some ideas, and get my brand out there.

So...I'm a bit nervous but really excited for the opportunity(thanks for the info, Amber J.!). Ya'll should come! It sounded like there will be a lot of really great products and even some items for the dad's/son's that get dragged along!

Family Scrapbook Studio
20892 E. Ocotillo Rd. Suite C101
QC,AZ 85242
Saturday, May 17 8:30am-11:30am

Olive Garden Update

Here's Ian's fabulous complaint letter:

This was our first time visiting the Chandler Olive Garden, we usually dine at the Mesa location. We were shocked at the poor service received during our visit to Chandler and now know to ALWAYS go to the Mesa location.

I'm sorry I can't remember the name of the two servers we had - one male and one female, they may have said something about being brother and sister in law?.., both were heavy set and I think both wore glasses. We were in the back of the restaurant where it seemed they hosted the larger parties. I think the last name of the male server was Lucero. I also didn't keep a receipt so can't supply you with a check number - but I know that my check was just shy of $50 and the other party with us had about the same size check.

While both servers were very polite to our party, both of them and the other employees who attended to us seemed very lacking in their service abilities. The following are examples of poor service received:

1. In our normal Olive Garden experiences, the entrees are politely served from behind and servers try to stay out of the way. Each time food or drinks were served to our party, items were placed in front of our faces and we were to grab them and pass them to the appropriate person. This was even the case for plates so hot that the servers used mitts or napkins to protect themselves while handing us a plate to pass down the table with our bare hands.

2. We ordered two Stuffed Chicken Marsala entrees, asking to hold the mushrooms on both. Both came out with mushrooms. Once this was pointed out to the servers, the male started pointing blame immediately to the female who took the orders. She then told us we only ordered one without mushrooms but that they could fix the problem. We decided to just pick off the mushrooms instead of waiting for another plate.

3. After the servers left and the mushrooms were removed, my wife cut into her stuffed chicken and found black burnt cheese covering the inside of both her pieces of chicken. We then waited for the servers to come back and asked for a new entree.

4. When we were getting ready to leave, we handed a bowl of minestrone to one of the servers and asked that it be placed in a take home bowl. The minestrone was never brought back. I asked the male server about it and he said he didn't know what happened. I asked him for another bowl and he said that would be fine and then walked to the next table and started taking orders. The minestrone never came. I explained the situation again to the female server, again asking for another bowl and she promptly took care of the situation.

5. When I received my bill, I noticed that the gratuity was already included which I figured was standard as it is at most restaurants for a large party. The interesting thing was that with the checks being split, we actually had two parties (5 people & 5 people). I was already exhausted enough with frustration, so I simply ignored this matter and paid with my gift cards. When returning my gift card, the server had the nerve to suggest that I leave the remaining balance on the card as a tip.

6. Upon leaving the restaurant, we came to the front door where typically an Olive Garden employee would kindly open the door with a friendly goodbye. There was an employee there and she was cleaning the windows. When she saw us coming, she moved to the side and started cleaning another window instead of opening the door for diners whose hands were already occupied with take-home boxes and children.

7. After leaving the restaurant and venting our frustrations with the other party who joined us, I said something about about "included gratuity" for the poorest service we'd ever seen. The other party advised us that their check didn't have an included gratuity. Needless to say, that only raised our frustrations further and we swore to never visit the Chandler location again.



Here is their response so far:

Dear Ian:

Thank you for contacting us concerning your visit to Olive Garden. We really value feedback from our guests. It is particularly important for us to know both what we do well and what we can improve. This knowledge helps us to deliver a delightful Olive Garden dining experience with greater consistency.

We are sorry we disappointed you on your visit to our Gilbert restaurant. Your experience has been shared with our management team, and we have asked that you be contacted in response to your email. You should hear from one of our managers within five (5) business days. If you do not, please feel free to call us at 1-800-331-2729. Our regular office hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.

After speaking with our manager, we hope you plan to give us another opportunity to serve you. We realize that delighted guests are the key to our success and we want to continue being your choice for Italian when dining out.

Lidia
Olive Garden Guest Relations

I'd say I'm pretty happy. I'm glad they're taking our claim seriously, and it sounds like something is being done to ensure that kind of service isn't given again. :) Thanks honey!

Idol

Best moment from last night: Carli Smithson




I don't particularly care for the lyrics of the song, nor I have I seen the musical(so I don't know in what context the song is sung)...but I loved Carli's performance. She's back! Yay!

Altogether, though - I didn't love the night. My MIL called me and said she was surprised that they chose Andrew Lloyd Webber's songs. I hadn't really thought about it until then, but I agree. Especially since Simon is always criticizing the contestants for sounding too "Broadway."

Here's my recap:

David Archuletta - He wins second prize for the night. Very smart choice. He and Carli were tied for me until I watched Carli's video again and decided she wins for the performance factor. I thought David picked a beautiful song and did something great with it.
David Cook - Great performance...it was just too out of character! I would have enjoyed it so much better had I not known what David usually sounds like.
Syesha Mercado - I'm liking this girl more and more each week. I very much enjoyed her performance. I think she's found her niche.
Jason Castro - OK I honestly listened to the whole thing with my eyes closed. I'm not kidding. And I really liked it! Isn't that funny? I've jokingly said it before but he really does sound better when I'm not watching him. Try it:


Not amazing...but better.

Brooke White - Oh you poor sweet thing. I'm so so sorry.
I really like her and I sooooo wanted her to do well. I really had high hopes for this week. I thought it was going to be her week. But, alas...NO. I think she would have done really well if not for the initial mess up. I think that rattled her and she lost her nerve. If Idol voters feel as sorry for her as I do, she might stay. And she's VFTW's pick.

It'll be interesting. :)

Breaking the bank

The girls emptied their piggy banks a couple of weeks ago so I took them to Toys 'R Us yesterday. My girls are so uniquely different. It was so fun to see what things they chose to buy and how they chose them.

Mckenna literally wanted the first thing she saw which was an orange swimming noodle. The next few things she picked were also chosen very early in the shopping trip. She chose a stuffed jaguar(which looks exactly like one we already have, but is about 4 inches bigger), a spiderman umbrella(when we brought it home we realized it was broken so we'll be exchanging that), and a key chain with Troy from the movie, "High School Musical"( a movie which my girls have never seen but are so in love with).

Once Mckenna had chosen her items she would not change her mind. I kept finding other things that I thought she would like better and she would want them until I said she had to put one of the other things back. Then she'd think about it for a few seconds and say, "I will get that next time," and we'd move on.

Emma was totally different. She knew before we walked in the store that she wanted something with Hannah Montana or Gabriella from "High School Musical." We didn't reach that section until we were almost through the whole store. Emma enjoyed walking through the store and looking at all of the toys, but wasn't really interested in any of them until we reached the right section. Once she found her cosmetic set, she was ready to go and didn't want to stay in the store any longer, as she was anxious to open her box. It was such a fun trip!

Father/Son Campout

Ian and David went on the ward Father and Son campout Friday night. They had a great time being manly. And by being manly I mean snuggling in the same sleeping bag to keep warm. Here are a few of the pictures:

Ian said David could have climbed on these rocks all day.

Hiking is hard work.

Olive Garden

(I told you I'd blog about it, Amber...)

Last night we went out to dinner with our good friends, the Jardines. We'd planned to go out with just our little family, but Mckenna really wanted Brooklyn's family to come. So we called and they were amazingly able to come at the last minute(much to Kenna's excitement).

The wait for a table was about an hour so we went shopping at some nearby stores, and then came back just in time for them to seat us.

From the moment we sat down I could tell our server was new. Not only did she introduce herself with another waiter, but when Ian asked about one of their drinks she had to whip out her little cheat sheet to tell him what it was made of. Ian and I were probably not making things easier on her by changing our order halfway through, but it was apparently too much for her to handle so she had to rip that paper up and start again.

Once we got everyone situated(high chairs, drinks, crayons, food ordered) we settled in for a night out with 6 kids. The kids actually all behaved really well and the night would have been really great if not for the following 3 things:

1. Amber and I both ordered the Chicken Marsala without mushrooms. When they brought our food out, BOTH of them had mushrooms. We decided it wasn't too big of a deal since they can just be taken off the top and put aside.

2. As soon as I began to cut into my chicken I realized that the cheese inside was totally burned. Not just a little cooked. It was black. I even tasted it just to make sure - and it was smoked. Nasty. I felt bad sending it back, but I honestly wouldn't have eaten it. The staff was very nice and friendly about it and someone else(manager? cook?) brought my food to me with the warning that my plate was EXTREMELY hot and would burn me if I touched it. Which brings me to #3:

3. Who brings a burning hot plate to a table with 6 kids sitting at it? That's just ridiculous. I should have touched it so I could get burned and sue.

4. When the girls were done with their soup I combined it into one bowl and handed it to the server. I asked him to wrap it up for me in a take-home bowl....I never saw that soup again. Later, Ian asked the same guy about it. He seemed to understand what Ian was telling him yet...still no soup. I finally asked the waitress and she appologized and brought out a fresh bowl of soup in a plastic bowl to take home.

5. Every time they brought our food to us it was either handed across the table in front of our faces or handed to one person to pass to another. Sometimes they would hand us a hot plate while their hand was protected by a hot pad - mine was obviously not... They also didn't even warn me on those times. I kept having to request water refills, or hand them plates off the table while they were trying to put new plates on a totally full table.

Even after all of that, I probably wouldn't be nearly as upset as I was when they handed the check to Ian and said, "You still have a balance of 3.64 on your gift card. You can either wait and use it next time or just add it as an additional gratuity." ARE YOU KIDDING? Do you honestly think you deserve anything in addition to the 15% you just added because our party was greater than 8? Not to mention the fact that gratuity was only added to our tab and not the Jardines...most likely because they knew there was NO WAY they'd be getting anywhere near a 15% tip from us. That actually angered me. Most of the stuff throughout the night was just borderline annoying. But when it was all added together with the fact that the woman had the nerve to ask for more money - after forcing us to pay her more than she deserved already...well I (obviously) left the table more than just annoyed. Oh and one more thing:

As we were walking out of the restaurant there was an employee washing the windows of the exit door. She kindly stepped aside to allow Burke to open the door and hold it open for the rest of us. Burke's arms were totally full so he had to open it with his foot and hold it open for all of us who were carrying leftovers, kids, and diaper bags. She couldn't even open the door for him.

I will never go back to that restaurant. I LOVE Olive Garden and have had many great experiences. I would have to say it is on my list of the top ten favorites for me. So I won't be veto-ing OG's in general, just that one(it's in Chandler).

Normally when I am upset by a business I whine and complain and vent for the next week but never do anything about it(like the time Ian and I were split up while traveling with our 3 kids and all in vain because the plane was late anyway). But by some amazing miracle I convinced Ian to write a letter to that restaurant. He promised he'd do it today, I'll keep you updated. :)

What the?

Dear Parents,

Today at (my daughter's school) our campus received a written message of a bomb threat said to occur tomorrow.


Are you kidding me?? First of all - I never take bomb threats seriously. I figure if someone really wants to do some damage and make a point - they're not going to let everyone know first. That's just ridiculous. But when it's a threat against my own child - you bet your butt I'm going to take it seriously. I am fiercely defensive of my children's' lives and safety.

When I went to pick up Emma from school yesterday all of the kids were waiting in their classrooms for the parents to pick them up(they are normally all waiting at the gate) and as I went to pick her up, she was sent running to me while her teacher hollered that there was an important note in her backpack. I thought it odd that they were in their classroom, but just assumed it was from the heat...? When I got in the car and read the note, I asked Emma what happened at school today. She said something like, "There were some mean people that might try to hurt us so we had to stay in our class and watch a movie. We put blue paper on the window and it turned purple and the firefighters came in our room to tell us we were safe." As I drove away I felt tears come to my eyes.

I had a hard time sending Emma off to public schools. I know I can't shelter her forever - but I want to. I never want her to experience bad words, offers of drugs, horny boys, catty girls, or any other thing that could possibly dent her innocence. The only reason I succumbed to allow her to go to public school was something my mom said years ago. You can't shelter your kids from the bad things in the world or they'll never learn to stay away from them. My children need to experience the evil to know the good. To make the right choices they have to know the wrong choices. But I (in my naivety) never thought sending her to school would expose her to potential bombs.

I know I'm blowing this out of proportion(no pun intended) but I will do anything and everything to protect my daughter. So when I receive a note that says someone wants to blow up my daughter's school - just know she will not be there to see it.

It broke my heart this morning to have to tell her why she couldn't go to school. I don't want her to have to know about bombs, bad men, or ill intent. She is too young to have to comprehend that. Luckily she has that happy-go-lucky attitude about everything and was excited to stay home and play.

Oh yeah...and Ian said I should keep her home too. :)

For Danner

1. You've been blogging this long and you still click to comment on the wrong post?

2. I didn't write the article, I suppose I should have noted that. Here is the link.

3. Here is the men's.

4. All that said...I agree with you on most of your comments. Especially the flirt thing...hello?! Since when is flirting good for marriage? And I was rather confused on the "ammendment" thing. I think they were just trying to copy the constitution's ammendments, but it was a bit odd.

Thanks for your comment!! I love those kind of responses!

(for those of you that are clueless as to what I'm talking about, click here to read Danner's response to this.)

Idol

Thank you voters. Thank you. The girl is gone.

Now can everyone win? I love all of them. I don't want anyone to go home. I want to put them all in my pocket and bring them home with me. Please?