Wordless Wednesday

Winnie The Pooh, & Tigger Too

I was cleaning the house this afternoon, my mind was a whir of a thousand different things.

Gracie wasn't one of them.

I was focused. Focused on vacuuming the Husky hair that had embedded itself in my carpet. Focused on scrubbing my kitchen, emptying the dishwasher, hanging that picture, unpacking the box that had been sitting in my living room for 2 weeks, washing the towels, focused….

Until I sat down to take a small break.

The TV was on, or did I turn it on, I can't remember. A trailer came on for the Winnie The Pooh movie coming out this summer. I love Winnie The Pooh, I always have. Although I will confess that Tigger is my favorite.

And suddenly, there it was.

Overwhelming grief. It hit me and stole my breath. It hit me that I would never be able to stick Gracie in her car seat and go to the theater to watch Winnie The Pooh. I can't pull her on to my lap, and snuggle up to her and breathe in the scent of her hair while we giggle away at the silly old bear.

And it sucks. It sucks for a million different reasons, in a million different ways.

I miss my little girl.

Tasty Tuesday

This week's recipe is a tasty salad. My Mom made this for Father's Day and it was deeee-licious! Thanks Mom!

Berry Tossed Salad

Ingredients:

Salad:

1 pkg (10 oz) salad greens

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 cup kiwifruit, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 tbsp slivered almonds

Dressing:

1/2 cup mayo

2 tbsp and 2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp raspberry vinegar

1 tbsp milk

2 1/2 tsp poppy seeds

2 1/2 tsp seedless raspberry jam

Directions:

Toss all salad ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk dressing ingredients together. Drizzle over salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

You can also add grilled chicken!

Enjoy!

I Cried For You

I Cried For You

Katie Melua

You're beautiful so silently

It lies beneath a shade of blue

It struck me so violently

When I looked at you

But others pass, they never pause

To feel that magic in your hand

To me you're like a wild rose

They never understand why

I cried for you

When the sky cried for you

And when you went

I became a hopeless drifter

But this life was not for you

Though I learned from you

That beauty need only be a whisper

I'll cross the sea for a different world

With your treasure, a secret for me to hold

In many years they may forget

This love of ours or that we met

They may not know

How much you meant to me

I cried for you

And the sky cried for you

And when you went

I became a hopeless drifter

But this life was not for you

Though I learned from you

That beauty need only be a whisper

Without you now I see

How fragile the world can be

And I know you've gone away

But in my heart you'll always stay

I cried for you

When the sky cried for you

And when you went

I became a hopeless drifter

But this life was not for you

Though I learned from you

That beauty need only be a whisper

That beauty need only be a whisper

Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jog

And we are home again. We went down South this past Sunday to visit my family for Father's Day. It was a nice little vacation away from home.

We headed back this afternoon, and instead of taking just under 4 hours as usual, it took almost 7!!! Gahh! We ran into a major traffic jam in Vero Beach. There had been an accident, then a fire, and traffic had come to a complete standstill. It was a total mess. We ended up detouring off of 95 along with everyone else. We wound our way through back roads until we got to the next exit.

Phoenix was glad to be home and out of the truck just as much as we were! Needless to say, I am tired!

One of the cats gave us a nice greeting when we walked in the house. Boomer came running to the front door to say hi. Maggie, on the other hand couldn't have cared less. She was snoozing under the chair and didn't even bother getting up. Nice.

I am happy to report that the baby bird eggs are just fine. There are four, no more and no less. Momma was sitting in the nest when I got home and checked on them. It won't be too much longer and hopefully we will have babies!

I am also happy to report that the yard is actually looking halfway decent. There are still a couple of spots that will need re-sodding, but not nearly as much as we thought we would have to do.

I am aware that I skipped out on Tasty Tuesday, I took a break! It will resume next week!

My Little Mockingbirds

A little Mockingbird family moved into our backyard hedge several days ago.

We've enjoyed watching them. Feisty little creatures they are! They chase off birds twice their size. The cats love to watch them swoop down into the yard. One afternoon they even brought their lunch onto the porch.

I noticed that they were coming and going from the hedge against the back of the house. It's right outside our bedroom window, and they've been quite noisy.

I figured they must have a nest so I went out on Wednesday and sure enough. There was a little nest sitting just inside the hedge. It was empty.

Thursday morning at dawn, we were woken by incessant chirping. It was driving us crazy! This is the only downside to our little feathered friends.

Later that afternoon, on a whim, I went and checked the nest again. This is what I found.

Such a pretty little egg! I was unsure as to what kind of bird had laid it so I did a little research. I had guessed it was a Mockingbird, but I wanted to make sure. Sure enough, the eggs matched.

On Friday, I went out to check on the little egg and found this…

I was under the assumption that birds laid their eggs all at once. Haha, I guess not! So I did some more research, and found that they lay one each day, and can lay anywhere from 2 to 6 eggs! Hello!

So today, I went out fully expecting number three. I was a bit worried as they had been waking us up first thing for the past several mornings, and this morning all was quiet. I peeked into the hedge, and I wasn't disappointed.

I wonder if tomorrow will bring a fourth?? I'll keep you updated!

Tasty Tuesday

Gahhh! I forgot Tasty Tuesday again! Obviously I was too busy whining! Hopefully this weeks recipe will make up for being a day late. It was delicious! I had seen a recipe for Bacon Wrapped Chicken somewhere. You smeared cream cheese on top and something else then wrapped them in bacon. I looked everywhere but I couldn't find it! I found this recipe instead. I've convinced myself it's much better than the other would have been anyway! So here you go.

I am posting the original recipe, just because that's how I am. I made several changes and I will detail those at the end.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, sliced

4 slices bacon

1 tsp fresh chives, chopped

1 can condensed cream of chicken

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pound the chicken breasts until flat. Put a slice of cream cheese, and a teaspoon of chives into each breast and roll up. Wrap each piece with a slice of bacon, securing with a toothpick. Place in a 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine condensed soup, mayo, milk, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix until smooth. Pour oven chicken.

Bake in a preheated oven for one hour.

Okay, that was the original, feel free to go that way if you wish. I did notice as I was typing this out that the recipe only calls for 1 tsp of chives, then says to put a tsp in each chicken breast?? Anyhow! This is how I changed it up.

I didn't have chives on hand, so those were out. I didn't pound out the chicken breast. Instead I slit a small pocket into each breast, sprinkled with a little seasoned salt, and pushed the slices of cream cheese inside. I then wrapped each piece with two slices of thick cut bacon. You can't go wrong with more bacon!

Being a smart chickadee…I knew if I put these in the oven the bacon would come out nasty bacon mush, and nobody wants nasty bacon mush. So I browned them in a skillet until the bacon was just nice and crispy.

I mixed the condensed soup, mayo, and milk together. I didn't have lemon juice, and I skipped on the salt and pepper. The condensed soup is chock full of sodium anyway, and I knew the bacon would lend a nice flavor. Plus I had sprinkled some seasoned salt inside the chicken breasts.

I poured this mixture into my little baking dish, then placed the chicken breasts on top.

I kept the heat at 325, but because I had already browned the chicken they only took about 30 minutes to fully cook.

I served them with a lovely mushroom couscous, and green beans.

Enjoy!

I meant to take a picture, but we were starving and they smelled so good we dug right in! Next time around!

A Tale of Woe

Ughhhhh, it is HOT here! And SMOKY!!

The heat index is 100 degrees and I am miserable. There have been wildfires up here on and off for months now. It's been terribly smoky here for a little over a week I believe. It may have been two already. I can't remember. Everyone has been advised to stay indoors. That means being holed up in the house, and only running outside when absolutely necessary.

Phoenix is driving me insane. Prior to this nastiness the weather was beautiful. We could go outside for hours. Phoenix was in heaven. There was running, there was digging, there was sunbathing and general lounging. Now there is staring longingly out the window, smearing my glass with his wet nose. And clawing! Oh the clawing. I have tried keeping him busy, but there's just nothing like being outside. We've played hide and seek, I've thrown toys over and over, he's shredded his stuffies, he's chased cats relentlessly.

Phoenix is protesting, the cats are protesting, I am protesting, and the yard is protesting.

The yard is another woe. We spent a small fortune on sod, and it is not looking good. Half of the sod is already dying. I'm fixing to head down to A-1 sod and give them what for. We've been watering like mad because of all the heat and general lack of rain. Twice a day, every single day. I'm waiting for the water police to come banging on our door and cart us off to the prison for water wasters. Or slap us with a hefty fine. They'd be watering like mad too if they'd just spent an arm and a leg on grass.

Which leads me to another rant, why in the world is grass so ridiculously expensive???

Okay, I'm done whining now. I have to go clean my house, so I can make dinner, then schlep myself over to Walmart.

I'm going to try and find Phoenix a good toy that will keep him occupied. One of those treat dispensing toys that he will have to figure out.

For now, I'll chase him with the vacuum.

The Rainy Day

The Rainy Day

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,

But at every gust more dead leaves fall,

And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold and dark and dreary;

It rains and the wind is never weary;

My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,

And youth's fond hopes fall thick in the blast,

And my life is dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.

Tasty Tuesday

This week brings another oldie but goodie to Tasty Tuesday!

Italian Style Pork Chops

Ingredients:

2 cups saltines, crushed

1 1/3 cups grated Parmesan cheese

2 tsp Italian-style seasoning

1/8 tsp garlic powder

2/3 cup butter, melted

4 pork chops

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place pork chops on foil lined baking sheet for easy clean up.

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients.

Mix well, then generously top each pork chop with mixture.

Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

Right Where I Am: 3 Years, 2 Months & 2 Years, 4 Months

Many thanks to Angie from Still Life With Circles for sharing this incredible project. Such an awesome idea. The Right Where I Am Project encourages readers to share where they currently are in their grief. Whether it be fresh, years down the road, or somewhere in between. I have read so many different bloggers stories; their reflections on where they are, and where they've been. It's been incredibly insightful and comforting, knowing I'm not alone on this journey.

I recently watched a great movie…Rabbit Hole. If you haven't watched it, you should. There is a scene between mother and daughter about grief. This was so powerful to me. It broke me and reassured me at the same time. It broke me, because it affirmed what I already knew…my grief over the death of my babies will never end. I will carry it with me always. It also reassured me, because I knew that even though I would always carry this heartache around, it was what I had instead of my babies. It reminds me they were real. It linked us, and that's okay.

I know I will do no justice to this scene, so here it is…

Today, I feel somewhere in the middle. It's been just over 3 years since I miscarried with baby #1. It seems impossible that it's been that long. My children died within exactly 10 months of each other. Becoming pregnant with our daughter Grace was what helped me along in my grief with my miscarriage. I stumbled along, but becoming pregnant so quickly afterward brought renewed feelings of excitement and hope for our future.

March 19, 2008 and January 19, 2009. I will remember both of those days for the rest of my life. I remember each with clarity, like it was yesterday.

My grief is no longer what it was. In the days after, it was raw, it was ugly, and it hurt like no other. And it got worse before it got better.

Today, it's still sad, and it always will be. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere, when I least expect it. I even ask myself, "Where did that come from?" It usually disappears as quickly as it came, and I move on with whatever I was doing. Usually.

I do have dark days from time to time. Days that overwhelm me, days where everything goes wrong, and I just want to climb in bed and stay awhile, and sometimes I do. But in the words of Longfellow, "Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary."

I still think about my babies every single day. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I've grown. I can carry on conversations about them without losing it. I can look at babies, even hold them. Boxes of baby wipes don't diminish me to tears anymore.

It does still wear on me though. Endless Facebook posts about friends and their new bundles of joy get difficult. The "Hide" feature has come in quite handy.

I still have a hard time seeing little dark haired girls around the same age that Gracie would be. They brings tears to my eyes, and whisk me away to thoughts of her, and what she would look like, and what kind of little personality she would have.

The hardest is seeing parents upset with their children. I watched a Mother scream at her young child one evening over something so completely stupid. It took everything within me to keep my mouth shut. I wanted to shake her. I wanted her to feel one ounce of the daily pain I feel so she would get it. I don't think that will ever go away.

My life is vastly different now. I am different. I'm no longer the person I was before, and that's okay. It's made me stronger in some ways, weaker in others. It's deepened my compassion towards others. It has also made me deeply aware at how trivial some things are. Along with that an aggravation with people who think their life is falling to pieces over the most minor of things. If they only knew.

Most friends have changed, and I'm still coming to grips with that. I'm not bitter anymore, but I still ask why. I see it in other peoples loss also. Friends stop calling, writing, and coming around. Why? It's like we have a dead baby disease. It's heart breaking. When tragedy hits, you really do find out who your true friends are. I am immensely thankful for mine.

I am marching onward though, somewhere in this in between. Waiting…some days patiently, others not so much, for what life will bring. Hoping, hoping from the depths of my soul, for my deepest desire.

Hope is the thing with feathers

that perches in the soul,

and sings the tune without the words,

and never stops at all.

Urbanspoon Stalker

Earlier this year, Richard and I went to a little restaurant in St. Augustine for lunch. It had been featured on a well known TV network, and was highly recommended.

By the way, in case you're wondering, I'm withholding the details of this story on purpose. Mainly because my blog is public, and the owner of that restaurant is just a little too wacky for me.

Back to my story. The restaurant reviews were excellent, and being that we aren't too far away, we were excited to try it out. So one fine afternoon we headed down there.

The restaurant is small, but wasn't too crowded. We sat at a window seat, and were promptly greeted by our server. She was very nice, and gave several recommendations.

The food came out pretty quickly, and we dug in. Richard's meal was so-so. As he would say, nothing to write home about. Haha! Mine on the other hand, was really tasty….until I bit down on something really hard. I thought I had broken a tooth it hurt so bad. I immediately reached in and pulled out a small, black, metallic looking object.

We alerted the owner, and explained what happened and showed her the offending object. She gave me a funny look, took the piece of whatever it was, and disappeared into the kitchen.

She was gone for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here starving, digging through my food, wondering if I should keep eating. She finally came back to the table, minus the object, and informed me that she didn't know what it was or where it came from, and that it most definitely did not come from her kitchen. Her attitude and demeanor were shocking. I sat there completely embarrassed as she insinuated that I was a liar. She showed no concern over my well-being, gave me a sarcastic "sorry", and walked back into the kitchen.

Our waitress came over and profusely apologized. She was more understanding than the owner, and seemed very embarrassed by the situation. We paid the bill, gathered up our belongings, and walked out.

When I got home, I wrote a review on Urbanspoon. I've been a member for several years, and like to make people aware of the good and the bad. I was frank, never mean, but just explained exactly what happened.

A couple weeks later, I noticed my review was gone. So I wrote it again. Again, it disappeared. Yet again, I posted my review, and a few days later it disappeared. Befuddled I contacted Urbanspoon and inquired as to why my review kept disappearing. I was told because of "legal issues" they had to remove my review. They told me I would be better off contacting the Health Department. Ooookay. So I wrote another review, this time I kept the details out of it, and said I wasn't allowed to share my entire experience, but that it was horrible, and we won't ever return. I also wrote a more detailed review on another site. There. Done. Now I can move on. Or so I thought.

I logged in to Urbanspoon today to write a review for a great little Chinese take-out place, and noticed that I had a follower. The name, and picture seemed oddly familiar so I clicked on the profile. It was a lady, she had no reviews, no followers of her own, and was only following me. Strange!

It suddenly dawned on me who she was. She was the owner of the restaurant!

Hello! Crazy much?

I also noticed that my two bad reviews on Urbanspoon had been marked down, and removed. I checked the other site where I had also left a review, and it was still there, but was marked negatively also.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but this freaked me out a little! Mainly because this woman is obviously watching my every move. My Urbanspoon account is linked to my Facebook account. Thank heavens I had made it private, and you can only see my first name.

This, I reminded myself, is why I never use my full name on anything. Think about it, how easy would it be to find someone that way.

So here's a friendly little thought to ponder. Do you write reviews? If so, do you include personal information? Information that could be used to locate you, and figure out where you go to school, or to church? Scary thought!

I always used to think, well if you're not doing anything wrong who cares if everyone knows everything about you. You know, that whole "people who are private have something to hide" mentality. Wrong! I went for lunch at a little restaurant, wrote a review about my experience, and now I'm being followed and observed by the owner!

I did contact Urbanspoon about all this. Frankly, I haven't found them very professional in my few interactions with them. They refuse to remove or block her from seeing my profile and reviews. They claim it is public information. Yet, the only two negative reviews out of many, many reviews I have written have both been removed since she's been following me. Kind of makes me want to write a bad review for another restaurant just to see what happens!!

If you think Urbanspoon is an unbiased site, where you can read the good and the bad, think again.

As far as my experience at the restaurant...In hindsight, I should have immediately gone to the health department. I also should never have given her that object, whatever it was. Now it's her word against mine. If I had kept it, I could have given it to the Health Dept. and they could have proceeded as they saw fit, and possibly identified what it was.

Good lesson if you ever find yourself in that kind of situation!!

Rooms To Go - Part 2

The continuation of our Rooms To Go nightmare.

So bright and early one morning, over an hour early by the way, table number three arrives. Unfortunately, the same nasty delivery man from last time did too. His name is Larry come to find out.

This delivery was the worst one. He came in and asked what was wrong with the table. I explained, in great detail, showing him everything on the underside of the table. He wasn't happy. As he walked out to the truck, he informed us that the table was fine when he delivered it last time. Wow! That's right ladies and gentleman. We break perfectly fine table for the fun of it, so we can endure the unpleasantness of repeated deliveries. I would have liked to have said that to him, along with a few other choice things, but I held my tongue.

In they brought the new table, and started putting it together. They had the equivalent of children's tools, so my husband told them to hang on a moment and he would grab some real tools so they weren't killing themselves. He grabbed his tools and let them use them. We also realized they weren't putting the new legs on, but using the old ones instead. We immediately asked why, and Larry caught massive attitude and started arguing with us. We never did get a straight answer, and I just told him to forget about it since the legs weren't the problem. As they were finishing up, Richard noticed the large staples sticking out of the bottom of the table. This had happened last time, and some fell out onto the floor and I nearly impaled my foot on one. Richard asked them to hang on a moment and let him grab some pliers. This massively aggravated them even more. As he walked away, they started talking about him and making fun of him. I was standing right there.

What do you do in that situation? I was beyond flabbergasted, and so ready to get these men out of my house before I lost it and went postal on them.

Anyway, Richard removed the staples and the two guys flipped over the table. Again, I reminded them not to shove it together, and to check the tabs first and the notches underneath. They placed the leaf in, and again it did not fit. Larry informed us this was an easy fix, and removed the tabs. They then proceeded, even with our protesting, to shove the table together. It broke, just as I had told them it would. The other delivery guy said he could fix it, and proceeded to start unscrewing everything underneath the table. I had to tell him multiple times to just leave it alone. Larry told me to have them send out a tech and they would fix it. Ahhh.

So again, I got on the phone with c/s. This, unfortunately, was not a nice one. She didn't care that the delivery guys broke the table, or that they were rude. After all, they subcontract them out, and there's nothing they can do. Really? That's your defense? How does RTG do this? Perplexing. She then proceeded to tell me I needed to go pick out a new table from the showroom. This was when I discovered how RTG really does business, and an important tidbit everyone should be aware of.

Once you purchase furniture from RTG, they will NOT give you your money back. No matter what. That paper you signed when you purchased the furniture, has a lovely little clause on the back. It's nigh impossible to read, but it's there. It listed two exceptions. The first being if you cancelled your order within 48 hours of placing it. Who would do that? You haven't even gotten your furniture yet. The second, and I'm quoting, "If you do not cancel the sale within 48 hours, only 80% of the purchase price will be refunded to you. No refunds are available, and sales cannot be cancelled after merchandise has been delivered in good condition". So the loophole is the "good condition"…but wait! They, and they alone determine what good condition is. And they and they alone have the right to either refund your money, or have you pick out another piece of furniture to exchange.

In my opinion, these are shady business practices. I know some may disagree, but that's the way I see it. At no point were we made aware, or even shown the back of the sales order. The terms and conditions are printed in a very light shade of grey on a white background, in very tiny print. It's almost impossible to read. I truly believe if people knew this going into the purchase, that they would have a lot less business. RTG holds all the cards.

Back to my phone conversation with the c/s rep. I asked her why I needed to pick out another table. She told me because this one isn't working out for me. Ummm, really? I think a better answer is, RTG can't deliver an undamaged table. I told her there was no other table I wanted, so if they couldn't deliver an undamaged table, I would like to get my money back. She absolutely refused. Wouldn't even entertain it, and said she would send a tech out.

Thankfully, the tech was extremely nice. We explained what happened, and she took one look at the table and said have them send you another one. She was the one that told me we could refuse delivery and make them put the furniture back on the truck. She was the first, and only, completely frank and honest RTG employee I've interacted with. She also told me to tell c/s to have someone else deliver, and refuse to let Larry the nasty delivery man in my house again. This was a Thursday, she let me know someone would call Monday or Tuesday.

Okay! Information in hand I waited for the call. And waited, and waited. Friday rolled around, so I picked up the phone and called them! "We've left you messages" the c/s rep informed me. Ehh, no you haven't! You would think a company this size would have their act together? She again tried to have me pick out another table. I refused, and delivery was set up yet again. With different drivers I might add! She told me since we had been having so many problems, she would have them check the table at the warehouse. Great!

By this time, my chairs were set to arrive. Yes, this went on for over a month and a half. Ridiculous. So I scheduled table number four to come with the chairs.

Delivery day rolled around, and bright and early they showed up. They were friendly and courteous, we were amazed! They brought the table in, and let me look at it. It was badly damaged and scuffed on the top. The side was so badly damaged that the paint was gone. So much for checking it at the warehouse!! The chairs, thank goodness, were okay. So I refused delivery of table number four and called c/s yet again.

The rep answered and I explained that we had refused delivery of a table this morning, and needed to schedule another. She asked for my info, and after looking it up, said "Oh, the table" and promptly put me on hold. She was gone forever, and when she came back she told me I had to pick out another table. I explained that I had been over this, and that RTG didn't have any other table I was interested in. She put me on hold again. She then asked what was wrong with the table I refused. I explained it was badly scuffed and damaged. On hold I went again. I think I had "Dust in the Wind" stuck in my head for a week after that. They played it over and over and over. Torture!

When she came back she apologized for putting me on hold so many times. She was a nice one. I am convinced that it was because of her, I was able to get another table delivered. Come to find out, the warehouse had refused to send me another table. They had put that I needed to pick out another table. Who does business like this?? So we arranged for delivery of table number 5.

I was honestly convinced that table number 5 was not going to work, and the leaf was going to have the same problems. I just knew we were going to have to go down to the showroom and demand our money back or threaten a lawsuit or something. At that point I was ready to just keep the table if it wasn't damaged, and ask for a percentage off because of the screwed up leaf.

This morning, table number five arrived. The delivery man wasn't overly friendly, but we were nice and patient. We had them unwrap it outside and took a look at it. It was undamaged, no scuffs, no gouges. The real test would be once we got it inside.

They took the old table, and set up the new one. We told them not to worry about the leaf, and to just leave the table upside down.

After they left, Richard tightened the legs and removed the staples. We put the leaf in, and you will never believe it.

It fit!! We were amazed. Thank heaven!!!
Unfortunately, we realized that the leaf would not lock in place. Whoever had installed the locks had gotten them way off. Rather than try for table number six, my handy husband was able to reinstall the locks so that they locked properly. 

Even though we finally got a complete table, I will never shop at Rooms To Go again. This experience was a nightmare. It took almost two months to get a dining room set. RTG makes a lot of promises, promises they don't live up to. They tout service, convenience, and value. They promise the best in service and delivery, and that your piece will arrive in showroom condition.

After our purchase, I got online and did some research on RTG. I came across thousands of complaints against this company. Complaints I became all too familiar with. What's more disturbing, is that they are in good standing with the Better Business Bureau. I honestly don't understand how they are still in business. I guess most people just put up with it. Or maybe we're just massively unlucky! Haha.

Whatever the case may be, the next time I need furniture I will avoid Rooms To Go.

Rooms To Go

As I sit here waiting on yet another Rooms To Go table to be delivered, I thought I would blog about our experience with Rooms To Go.

If you're reading this, and contemplating purchasing furniture from RTG, you may want to rethink that decision and refrain.

Back in mid April, we started looking for a dining room table. We were in the Regency area and decided to stop in at RTG to take a look. They had an okay selection. One table in particular caught my eye. I spoke with the salesman and he told me how much it would be out the door, and that they would Scotch Guard the chairs for free. It was a decent deal, but I wanted to keep looking. Ashley Furniture is very popular up here so we headed there next. They didn't really have anything I was interested in. They were featuring a lot of counter height gathering tables, which were nice, just not what I was looking for.

Next stop was American Signature, they didn't have a thing that I was interested in. So we headed back to RTG. This time to the closer location, next to the Avenues. Once in the store we tried to get the assistance of a sales person. They're usually hounding you, but this time nothing. We waited for about 15 minutes, and kept getting ignored, so we decided to leave. The employees at the Regency location had been much nicer, so we drove the 45 minutes each way to that store. On our way we called to make sure the table and extra chairs were in stock, and everything was on the up and up. We were told they were available for next day delivery, and to come in and they would take care of us. We were also told this table is being discontinued, so if we wanted it, we should come in as soon as possible. Things went downhill from there.

Once we arrived we were greeted by a very friendly and enthusiastic Gary. He was nice, he was professional, things were good…until he told me the set would be $300 more than I was originally quoted. That's a pretty big difference. He went over all the various charges, and since it was the only table I had found that I really liked and we all know how picky I am, we decided to go for it. Once everything was totaled up, there was still about a $60 dollar difference that wasn't making sense. So my dutiful husband scrutinized everything and realized that we were being charged for Scotch Guard. It was supposed to be free right? Um no, it isn't free. But the other sales guy told me it was included, yeah well it's not. So do you want Scotch Guard? Well, yes I do. I love that he just slipped that in there. He never asked us if we wanted Scotch Guard at first, just added it knowing full well it was extra $$$. I digress.

So we paid for our purchase and then proceeded to set up a delivery date. Remember I was told next day delivery? Yeah, that didn't happen. They scheduled the table and four of the chairs for the following week. Which wasn't a big deal, other than I was told something different. The two arm chairs, I was informed, aren't in stock. Ahh, now you tell me. By this time I was starting to get a bit more than agitated and uncomfortable. So we set up delivery for the arm chairs for a month and a half later. Yes, a month and a half. My main concern after Gary told me the chairs weren't in stock, was that he had also said over the phone that the table was discontinued. I was afraid that I would get the table, then the arm chairs would never be delivered and I would be up the creek without a paddle. He assured me that would most definitely not happen. That is the one, and only thing that has actually come to pass.

You would think that after all that, we would have said, you know what no thank you, and walked away. But we didn't, and I regret it!

To date we have had four tables delivered. Yes I said four!

This first delivery brought two chairs that wobbled terribly, and a table badly damaged on the top. There were deep gouges, and multiple scuff marks. I pointed this out to the delivery guy, who immediately caught attitude and informed me that he didn't do it. Um, I didn't say that you did, I was just pointing out that this table is damaged, and I don't want it or the two chairs. He told me I would have to keep it, that he can't put furniture back on his truck. He told me he would note that the table and chairs had damage, and that they would deliver another one, and take this one at that time. Had I taken a moment to think about that statement, I would have realized that this was ludicrous. Of course they can put furniture back on their truck. They're going to take it on the next delivery, so why not this one? So I signed, he left, and RTG called a few minutes later. I explained everything and we set up delivery for table number two. If they try to tell you to keep the furniture, don't listen. Demand that they take it.

A week or so later, table number two arrived, along with two more chairs. And so did a delivery guy with an attitude. They brought in the new chairs, and we checked them to make sure they were okay. All was well. We pointed out the two wobbly chairs and then moved on to the table. They set up the table, minus the leaf, and I took a look at it. Everything looked good. No scratches, scuffs, or gouges. Shouldn't we make sure the leaf fits, says my wise husband. "The leaf fits", says grouchy delivery man. "They are made specific to each table". He was in a hurry, and he couldn't be bothered. Oh I'm sure it will be fine I said. I'm starting to wonder if I have rocks for brains.

On a whim, my husband checked the two chairs again. One wobbled just like the old one. He asked if they had taken the correct chairs, and was given much attitude and told that they took the chairs that they were told to. We pointed out that the new ones didn't wobble, but this one did, so there must have been a mix up somehow and a new chair must have been taken out to the truck instead of the old one. The delivery guy refused to go check, and told us if we wanted to get the other chair we'd have to do it ourselves. My husband had to take the chair out to the truck, climb in the delivery truck, and find the new chair and bring it back in.

They were over an hour late for that delivery, and Richard and I had to leave immediately after them. Needless to say we weren't able to check the leaf until that weekend. We pulled the table apart, stuck the leaf in, and yep, you guessed it…it didn't fit. The holes didn't line up, and neither did the tabs. Upon further inspection, we realized that the underside of the table was badly damaged. It was obvious that whoever had gotten this table before us had slammed the leaf together, and broken the wooden pieces underneath. It had then tried to be repaired by the warehouse I am guessing. Wood pieces didn't color match, and there were obvious repairs.

So I called RTG again, and explained the situation.

As a sidenote, you are very fortunate if you A - get a friendly c/s rep who actually gives a care in the world, B - actually speaks clear English, or C - isn't a complete drone. I talked to a LOT of c/s reps, and I can only think of 2 or 3 who didn't make me want to scream and pull my hair out.

Anyhow, they set up delivery for table number three. Boy was that a doozy.

I'll blog more later, as this one has gotten obnoxiously long!