Really, dinosaurs live in the sea. What kind of dinosaurs? Brontosauruses. Let me take you back to one of our Target trips, we were in the dollar spot, and I found some capsules, you know the kind with little sponges inside them. I bought a package thinking maybe Noah would like them since they are transportation ones. Well, he ended up loving them. I would let him do 4 at a time when he earned them. His eyes would look in amazement and curiosity to see what the shape would be. We used them all up and I told him that I would get more of them since they were only a dollar for I think 12. When we went to Target again they didn’t have them. I decided to look online at Dollar Tree’s website since this would be something a dollar store would have. They did, I didn’t however want to pay $48 for 48 packages of 18 capsules. I decided we would go to Dollar Tree since there is a huge one a few miles from my house.
We found the capsules and bought three packages of them. We got Farm Life, Wild Life and Sea Life that Noah called Sea Lof or something. Noah begged me to do capsules when we got home, he hadn’t earned them yet so, eventually he did. He wanted to do Sea Life. I carefully handed them to him as he dropped them in the bowl of water. These Dollar Tree ones take quite a bit longer than the ones we got at Target. First it was a red sea horse, then a yellow little dolphin and then green brontosaurs. I was like what is that, and then I realized it was a green dinosaur. We watched and waited for the blue one to pop out and it was a hammerhead shark. Noah being a smart little boy knew that dinosaurs aren’t sea animals and was disappointed. I let him do two more capsules and I am happy to report there were a shark and an octopus.
I am assuming that one of those tricky capsules made it in the wrong package. If you buy the dinosaurs capsules and there is a sea creature now you know why.
Showing posts with label Dollar Stores. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dollar Stores. Show all posts
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Thursday, April 29, 2010
I Got Something to Say
The title of this post is a quote by the character Jerri Blank from Strangers With Candy. I feel like I should share with my readers some things. I wrote a post a while back called When Blogging Relationships Go Bad about my horrible experience with a company I worked with on my blog. You can read the post here if you are not familiar with what I am talking about. The long of the short of it is, I was working with a company that promised me a full sponsorship to BlogHer in exchange for advertising, posts and even a Twitter party that ended up being a nightmare. I turned and looked the other way while she bashed other bloggers and even a NASCAR star. I did think it was wrong but I didn’t stick up for my fellow bloggers. I feel bad because I should have been the voice for the masses;I thought that she was being mean and rude. I regret that.
After a while I tried to let it go and not let it bother me. I have received numerous requests and comments asking me to tell who it is. I have remained silent as a professional courtesy but in light of the increase of new bloggers, I have decided to break my vow of silence and share with you all so you don’t get taken as well. It was Bea’s Gift Baskets. There I said it. Like I said there are quite a few new bloggers out there and I want to warn them, I don’t want anyone to be treated like I was. It still hurts; even more so with everyone starting to talk about BlogHer and BlogHer related events like the parties. It also still hurts that I spent all that time working on the posts and twitter party that wasn’t review related. They got free advertising. I got nothing but disappointment. I am sure you are thinking well you got those gift baskets at least that is something right?
I went to the dollar store, it is kind of new and yes, it still had eau du Dollar store smell. I was browsing around by the food and I saw an item that was supposed to be “gourmet” in one of those gift baskets. I was like wow; those are the exact same chocolate covered pretzels that were in one of my gift baskets. I just thought well they could have sprung for the Flips if they wanted to be cheap. The Flips are like 3 dollars a bag versus the dollar store ones. It makes me wonder how many more dollar store items are in those overpriced gift baskets.
There is nothing wrong with the dollar store, I shop there. I love the dollar store, but if you are paying 90 dollars for something you should at least get 50 dollars worth of food, a 20 dollar basket then the company nets 20 bucks or something along those lines. Maybe 40 dollars worth of food but there shouldn’t be items that you can get at the dollar store. I just think that is unethical and deceitful. That of course is my opinion.
I just wanted to share this with my fellow bloggers and readers. Maybe even the weary traveler passing through my blog. I don’t want to see anyone taken by Bea’s Gift Baskets like I was. So, how can we prevent this from happening?
1. Make sure you get everything in writing. Granted I had everything in email and that would have been fine, but when you are dealing with something like this extra forms like contracts are a good way to go. I know she didn’t mention contracts once until after she pulled out and didn’t want to do what I consider the right thing.
2. Don’t turn the other way or put up with others that talk bad about other people. Chances are they are bad mouthing you to someone else. You should work with companies that conduct their selves in a professional manner.
3. If your gut tells you it is too good to be true, it just might be or if the person gives off a weird clingy vibe you should probably walk away. Always trust your gut and your heart.
4. If a person you are working with is lying to others, 99% of the time they are lying to you.
5. Talk to others about their experiences, I know that everyone can make up their own minds about things they want to do, but listen to what others have to say and keep it in mind for when you make your decision.
I hope you find these tips helpful and keep them in mind in the future. Thanks for reading!
After a while I tried to let it go and not let it bother me. I have received numerous requests and comments asking me to tell who it is. I have remained silent as a professional courtesy but in light of the increase of new bloggers, I have decided to break my vow of silence and share with you all so you don’t get taken as well. It was Bea’s Gift Baskets. There I said it. Like I said there are quite a few new bloggers out there and I want to warn them, I don’t want anyone to be treated like I was. It still hurts; even more so with everyone starting to talk about BlogHer and BlogHer related events like the parties. It also still hurts that I spent all that time working on the posts and twitter party that wasn’t review related. They got free advertising. I got nothing but disappointment. I am sure you are thinking well you got those gift baskets at least that is something right?
I went to the dollar store, it is kind of new and yes, it still had eau du Dollar store smell. I was browsing around by the food and I saw an item that was supposed to be “gourmet” in one of those gift baskets. I was like wow; those are the exact same chocolate covered pretzels that were in one of my gift baskets. I just thought well they could have sprung for the Flips if they wanted to be cheap. The Flips are like 3 dollars a bag versus the dollar store ones. It makes me wonder how many more dollar store items are in those overpriced gift baskets.
There is nothing wrong with the dollar store, I shop there. I love the dollar store, but if you are paying 90 dollars for something you should at least get 50 dollars worth of food, a 20 dollar basket then the company nets 20 bucks or something along those lines. Maybe 40 dollars worth of food but there shouldn’t be items that you can get at the dollar store. I just think that is unethical and deceitful. That of course is my opinion.
I just wanted to share this with my fellow bloggers and readers. Maybe even the weary traveler passing through my blog. I don’t want to see anyone taken by Bea’s Gift Baskets like I was. So, how can we prevent this from happening?
1. Make sure you get everything in writing. Granted I had everything in email and that would have been fine, but when you are dealing with something like this extra forms like contracts are a good way to go. I know she didn’t mention contracts once until after she pulled out and didn’t want to do what I consider the right thing.
2. Don’t turn the other way or put up with others that talk bad about other people. Chances are they are bad mouthing you to someone else. You should work with companies that conduct their selves in a professional manner.
3. If your gut tells you it is too good to be true, it just might be or if the person gives off a weird clingy vibe you should probably walk away. Always trust your gut and your heart.
4. If a person you are working with is lying to others, 99% of the time they are lying to you.
5. Talk to others about their experiences, I know that everyone can make up their own minds about things they want to do, but listen to what others have to say and keep it in mind for when you make your decision.
I hope you find these tips helpful and keep them in mind in the future. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
What I have learned from Dollar Stores
I love shopping at dollar stores. Everything is a dollar or under. No need to check price tags or ask how much something is. It’s really easy to go crazy in them though. I have been known to come out with 13 rolls of double sided tape or other random items that they sell. They always seem to have that hard to find candy like Now and Laters or Ring Pops. Throughout my many years of dollar store shopping I have learned some things I thought I would share with you all.
1. Just because it is a dollar doesn’t mean you have to buy it just to buy it. I have stopped doing that now. I used to find things I thought I would want and then never ended up using like picture frames.
2. Everything looks so much cooler in the dollar store. I think it is the lighting but once you purchase something and get it home or out in the sun it loses it’s wow appeal and you realize that wasn’t as cool as you thought.
3. You can find some really cute stuff sometimes at the dollar store. When Noah was born or heck I might have been pregnant with him I went to the dollar store and bought a package of plastic squeaky whales. They are some of Noah’s favorite toys. I have many pictures of him when he was a baby chewing on them. I wish I would of bought more.
4. The merchandise is always changing and varies from location to location. If you go and look for something and find it, it might be a good idea to get it while it’s there.
5. Just because it claims to be a dollar store, that might not be the case at all. There are stores out there that say they are dollar stores like Deals but not everything is a dollar. I classify stores like Deals, Dollar General and Family Dollar as discount stores. So, be careful when you go in to a store that claims to be a dollar store. It’s better to get clarification and know what you are getting in to. I didn’t do that the first time I went in to Deals and I looked like an idiot. So, I am saving you my disgrace.
6. This is the most important one of all. All dollar stores smell the same. They have their own Dollar Store odor. It is as if it is pumped in through the vents like an air freshener. It stinks. It doesn’t matter how old the store is, it can be the store’s grand opening and it still smells that way. It doesn’t matter if they are a Dollar Tree, a Dollar palace or a Mom and Pop locally owned Dollar store. It doesn’t matter where it is, even in other states dollar stores stink. Even the ones in malls. I have no idea why that is. It’s weird. I could be blindfolded and have on ear muffs and I would still know if I were in a dollar store.
I hope my post about what I have learned from Dollar stores will help you on the next trip you take to one. I think I will start wearing nose plugs because the smell gives me a headache. I remember my old best friend and I would go to the dollar store all the time and before we went in we would take a big breath of fresh air. If you have any other dollar store tips I would love to hear them so leave me a comment!
1. Just because it is a dollar doesn’t mean you have to buy it just to buy it. I have stopped doing that now. I used to find things I thought I would want and then never ended up using like picture frames.
2. Everything looks so much cooler in the dollar store. I think it is the lighting but once you purchase something and get it home or out in the sun it loses it’s wow appeal and you realize that wasn’t as cool as you thought.
3. You can find some really cute stuff sometimes at the dollar store. When Noah was born or heck I might have been pregnant with him I went to the dollar store and bought a package of plastic squeaky whales. They are some of Noah’s favorite toys. I have many pictures of him when he was a baby chewing on them. I wish I would of bought more.
4. The merchandise is always changing and varies from location to location. If you go and look for something and find it, it might be a good idea to get it while it’s there.
5. Just because it claims to be a dollar store, that might not be the case at all. There are stores out there that say they are dollar stores like Deals but not everything is a dollar. I classify stores like Deals, Dollar General and Family Dollar as discount stores. So, be careful when you go in to a store that claims to be a dollar store. It’s better to get clarification and know what you are getting in to. I didn’t do that the first time I went in to Deals and I looked like an idiot. So, I am saving you my disgrace.
6. This is the most important one of all. All dollar stores smell the same. They have their own Dollar Store odor. It is as if it is pumped in through the vents like an air freshener. It stinks. It doesn’t matter how old the store is, it can be the store’s grand opening and it still smells that way. It doesn’t matter if they are a Dollar Tree, a Dollar palace or a Mom and Pop locally owned Dollar store. It doesn’t matter where it is, even in other states dollar stores stink. Even the ones in malls. I have no idea why that is. It’s weird. I could be blindfolded and have on ear muffs and I would still know if I were in a dollar store.
I hope my post about what I have learned from Dollar stores will help you on the next trip you take to one. I think I will start wearing nose plugs because the smell gives me a headache. I remember my old best friend and I would go to the dollar store all the time and before we went in we would take a big breath of fresh air. If you have any other dollar store tips I would love to hear them so leave me a comment!
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