It's All About the Adventure - Right?

A couple of nights ago Carson got a text saying that he'd won a $100 Walmart gift card for visiting a website. We called the number provided and were told that we would receive a 10-day free sample of BromaCleanse - some kind of weight loss stuff (and isn't that the least informative website? What is the stuff? What's in it? What does it do? Do you see any links?). AND we'd receive the $100 Walmart card after calling a 1-866 number the following morning to confirm that we'd talked to Harry Hernandez.

Now here's the deal. Harry Hernandez spoke of two separate products. One that's $29.95 per month - I think that one is for website access. The other was $79.95 and is for a 30-day supply of BromaCleanse. Both would be automatically charged to my account (isn't that convenient) unless I called to cancel my subscription. Huh.

I was told that we'd be charged $3.34 for shipping and handling and that I needed to call the 1-866 number the following morning because not very many people actually won the gift card. We went ahead with the order - any $100 before Christmas is great - right?.

I had a gift card with about 4 bucks and change still on it. Hello - I'm not completely naive.

So - now I just need to call another 1-866 number within 10 days to cancel my subscription if I'm not completely satisfied. Now here are my questions:

1. 10 days from when? The day we made the call? The day they shipped the product? The day we received the product? The day we actually took the product - which I'm thinking may be some kind of diarhea inducing pill, and who would really want that?
2. Are those 10 days calendar days or business days?
3. What are the two separate charges? Do I need website access? I don't think I'm going to be going to your website to figure out why I can't get away from my porcelain goddess for more than 10 minutes at a time - I'm fairly sure I'd quit taking the product and then head to my nearest ER if that didn't fix things.
4. Why did the $3.34 show up in two separate charges? I've got one for $1.56 to DETXHLTH in Salt Lake City and one for $1.78 to CLEANDIET in Riverton.

I'm supposed to get my 10-day sample in 5-7 business days. The gift card is supposed to show up in 3-5 business days. Will they figure out that they can't charge additional $ to that gift card, or have they figured that out already and I'm wasting time trying to figure out if I can get around the scam?

Now Haunting Etsy

I finally did it! I've opened an Etsy shop. You can visit me here.

What if...

The last time I posted was September 25, which would have been my dad's 65th birthday; BUT today is October 4, and it's been 34 years since he died. That's a lot of time.

I've been feeling a bit of competition for Jon's time lately because I love to talk to the man, but so do his sons. I love to hear him tell me that I need to chill out. I love to gross out our boys by kissing in the kitchen. I love to joke around with him. I love having inside secrets. I love to watch him stop what he's doing and make sure that whichever niece is in the room knows that she is his most favorite.

I know that my dad loved to spend time with me. I know that he had a sense of humor. I remember one night when he got home from work a little bit late. I remember hanging on his arm while his hand was in his coat pocket and reaching into the pocket to pull out what he said he got for me. It was a piece of paper. Turns out that it was a speeding ticket, and he told me he got it so that I'd know what one looked like.

My dad died the Monday after General Conference, and my mom said that he decided to stay home from church with me & Cory that last Sunday. I guess that they didn't watch conference on TV or listen to it on the radio then. I don't have any idea what we did that day, but I like to think that he went to sleep content following his last day on earth.

There are a lot of things that would have been different for me if he'd been around. I have to wonder

• Would I have been nearly as boy insane (that's right, not just boy crazy) if he'd been here?
• Was I just seeking male attention?
• Would I know more about cars and what makes them hum?
• Would I have shot a gun other than at the birds eating my grandma's raspberries?
• How often would I talk to him on the phone?
• Would I know his LDS conversion story?
• What would he have been like as a grandpa?
• Where would we have lived?
• Would I still have gone to Utah State and met and married Jon?
• Would he have put Jon through the wringer?
• Would I have been better at basketball because he practiced with me?

I am blessed with an incredible father-in-law and stepdad. Both of these men have taught me many things. I'm grateful for the relationship I have with both of them, for the understanding they offer and for the pearls of wisdom even when I think I don't need it. I'm grateful for the experiences they give me. I'm humbled by the times they do little things that only matter to me.

So - I guess tonight I'm meandering between pity party and gratitude. Kind of a somber place to be.