Ebay Drama

Auction ended 3/11

3/24 I received the necklace in the mail this morning, but it is nothing like the one pictured. I think I got the wrong one! What do I need to do to get the one in the picture? Thanks,X
P.S.If you no longer have the exact necklace in the picture, I will be ok with a refund instead, just let me know as soon as possible so I can keep looking. Thanks!

3/24 Hi,I am so sorry for the error! Happy to take care of it and will see that you receive what you should have. Thanks for letting me know, Y

3/25 I'll send the one I received back today and look forward to getting the right one. Thank you! X

4/9 I'm wondering if you've received the returned necklace - I mailed it back on the 26th or 27th. When should I be expecting the correct necklace to arrive? Hope it's not a problem replacing or refunding it! X

4/9 Hi! Thanks so much for your email. I have received the necklace back (thanks so much!) I have your correct necklace packaged up and will be shipped tomorrow. Thanks and have a great weekend! Y

4/9 Great! I'll look forward to receiving it X

4/19 Still waiting for the necklace - do you have a tracking number? I have the perfect shoes to go with it, so I'm extra anxious :) X

4/21 Hi!Wow, it should have arrived long ago. I just sent it regular mail so - no tracking. Let me just go ahead and replace it and have also just issued a refund - want you to enjoy on me! Y

4/21 Wow - that's very generous of you! Thank you so much. I look forward to receiving it and shopping again next time I need some bling :) X

~Feedback rating-neutral, comment: Got wrong necklace, requested right one, never got it but refund no problem~ Apr-30-10 08:29

4/30 You gave me a neutral? I have been communicating, gave a full refund and promised to get the necklace to you. Wow.-Y

4/30 I didn't want to ruin your feedback, but at the end of the day, I got the wrong necklace first, never got the right one (still wondering if it'll come), shipping took forever and I lost well over a month in the deal waiting. Your communication was wonderful, and I noted that, and I appreciate the refund, though I'd expect nothing less if I never got the necklace, which I haven't. So I felt it was important to note with honesty the problems I had, even though you were helpful in trying to solve it. But two necklaces lost in the mail - that's just weird. You sure you got the right address? (the first one came to the right place...don't know what happened) I hope you understand, it's not personal, just trying to be honest in my feedback X

So what do you think? Was X justified in her feedback or did Y get the raw end of the deal? (I'm not saying which one I am, and if you know -Todd- don't give it away, ok?)

Award-Winning Poem About Gum by Janelle

I was chewing gum in bed,

While laying down my head.

My mom kissed me goodnight.

I tried with all my might,

To not let her see,

The gum that was inside me.

As she went out,

I let my breath out trying not to shout.

I was doing a test,

Because I was kind of a pest.

Could I chew gum all night?

If it worked, I would treat myself to a kite.

I soon fell asleep,

After counting some sheep.

I slept until morn.

What I saw was forlorn.

There was gum,

Way down to my bum!

"This can't happen to me!"

I started to plea.

I learned a lot, laying on my cot.

I learned my lesson,

And stopped my gum obsession!

My thoughts upon reading Janelle's poem:

1. I would KNOW if she were hiding gum from me - I'm no rookie at these tricks

2. I'm glad she recognizes that sometimes she's "kind of a pest"

3. I don't understand rewarding yourself for successfully being "kind of a pest", and with a kite? Those things never work! How about with a ...nevermind. I can't rhyme anything else that makes sense either.

4. I love that she rhymed "gum" and "bum" :)

5. Clever use of the synonym "cot" for "bed"

6. Janelle - You're pretty awesome :)

(She won a national "Funny Me Poems" award sponsored by Scholastic books - top 10 out of thousands!)

Universal Truths

Received this via email (don't know the author) and I have thought nearly every one of these thoughts practically verbatim. I would've made my own, but this guy took all the good ones :) :

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
10. Bad decisions make good stories.
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever.
15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Crap!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
20. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
21. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.
22. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
25. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?
26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent an idiot from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?
29. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers.
31. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
32. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my behind everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

Crime < Punishment

Now I'm the first one to do it, and I take out the biggest chunk when I have to bite my kids' heads off for being naughty. But I have to say, I really don't think my girls' offense was big enough to send them weeping to the principal's office last week. So here's the story:
Several weeks ago (I mean six or more maybe) Brooke and Janelle came home singing a song about someone spilling applesauce, set to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb". I remember asking them about it, and it seemed fairly innocent if not a little obnoxious. Then just last week both girls came home upset and probably fearful of what their dragon-mother would do when she found out they were sent to the office. From what I can piece together, they sang the appplesauce song, along with a third friend, all those weeks ago, and as far as they could tell, the spiller of the applesauce thought it was funny too. But the other day she (the spiller) came home and mentioned it to her mother - I don't know how or why it came up, or how it was explained, but it made the mother VERY concerned that her daughter was being harrassed. She called the girls' teacher and said something to the effect that the three girls were singing a mean song to her daughter and wouldn't stop. The next day at school, they were told in no uncertain terms that what they had done was mean and had upset the girl and her mother, and they were to miss the rest of the week's recesses and to go to the office as punishment. At the office they were given a chance to explain and told to make up a nice song and write apology cards for the girl. She was one of their friends so they had no trouble doing that. More than anything, they were kind of shocked that so many weeks later their dumb little song came back to bite them in the butt. Was the girl truly offended and simmered with anger for that many weeks before exploding to her mother while the three girls were oblivious? Did the mother misinterpret her daughter's story and think it was something much worse than it was? Did the teacher misunderstand the mother and assume the three girls really were ganging up on their friend and continually harrassing her with their nursery rhyme variations? Good grief. I told them, much to their relief I'm sure, that I didn't think they did anything heinously wrong or deserving of the punishment they had received, but that SOMEWHERE along the line, someone seriously exaggerated the situation!

Answers

I was going to offer a $100 prize for any winners, but unfortunately no one was able to get them all right :(
The answers are A)Brooke B)Alli C)Sophie D)Claire E)Eden F)Janelle

Their own father didn't know who was who, and I wouldn't have either if I wasn't familiar with the pictures themselves. Talk about cookie cutter babies!

Who's Who of the Bevans Girls

While out in Missouri with my parents, I took the opportunity to look through some old photos and was really able to see for the first time how much my babies look like I did, and how much they resemble each other. I wish I had a baby picture of Todd to throw in the bunch to see what physical characteristics he contributed. For kicks, and since you're obviously not busy doing anything more important at the moment, see if you can match up the pictures with the correct babies: Alli, Sophie, Janelle, Brooke, Claire and Eden.

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

I also came across this gem - my kindergarten class picture. At least one person out there should recognize the cute blonde with the ribbon in her hair next to me :)

Eden Meets Missouri

Eden and I made a trip to Missouri last week for her to meet grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and a bunch of bugs that populate the state. We had a great time visiting historic sites, eating Meg's homemade ice cream, and trying not to stare at the Amish.

Kristin and I at the valley of Adam-Ondi-Ahman

Hanging out with my mom and her Red Hatter's group. We had to wear pink and lavender since we're not old enough to be official Red Hatter's, but we had a great time and I completely plan on being the Grand High Red Hatter Lady when I come of age.

Steve and Meg and their boys David and Michael

Kristin and Jaren bought this stunning house out there recently. Some parts are a definite fixer-upper, but check out this ballroom!

and this bidet!

and their view overlooking a lake!

Far West

one of the cornerstones laid for the temple

and my welcome home present