Inconvenient Convenience: Word Counters

 

Counting my words again!

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month, one group member picks a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we share what we all came up with.

This month's number is 33. 

It was chosen by Me!

~ I've often used this post to air my complaints about the lack of customer service. Today it's about convenience, inconvenience, being denied the choice of shopping in store, being forced to shop online.

~ I like the convenience of shopping online, comparing prices, availability, ship time and fees, even having the convenience of being able to choose store pick up (if that's an option), or home delivery.

~ What I don't like is not being able to see and touch the merchandise. They can use all the descriptive words they can imagine, but it's just not the same as hands on.

~ Hubs needed a new laptop, knew what he wanted, but it was expensive. After daily checks, Hubs found it on sale. We checked our local store and success! Hubs and PurDude drove off. 

~ They were gone quite a while when PurDude called to ask what time I'd planned dinner. Dinner I knew immediately that had to be a bad omen since it was only one thirty.

Chicken and Snap Pea Dinner

~ So . . . they found the laptop, and took it up to the counter to pay. But it was ringing up at regular price. "That's because," the clerk explained, "you're looking for the online price."

~ Could he get the online price? No. Hubs had to stand in the check out line and order it online for store pick up. Once ordered, Hubs asked again for the sale price.

~ No, again. PurDude and Hubs were told that they now had to wait about an hour for order fulfillment. To fulfill the order, for the item Hubs was holding, in the checkout line.

~ Almost two hours later they returned empty handed. Update: the order is in the fulfillment queue and would be filled when his turn came, no exceptions for a customer standing there, they'd email.

~ Six hours later, after speaking to another store employee, Hubs was told the order was being expedited (LOL), he'd be emailed soon. Seven hours after ordering, the store closed. No email, no laptop.

~ Silence from Best Buy. The order wasn't ready in an hour, or another half hour, nor was it being expedited. All lies. Twenty seven hours after ordering, they agreed to turned it over.

~ Their claim of shopping convenience? Turning away a customer holding expensive electronics in one hand and a credit card in the other, telling him to pay online, then wait . . . a day? Decidedly inconvenient.

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

Chicken and Snap Pea Dinner         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups instant brown rice

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

1/3 cup Canadian bacon, chopped

3 oz snap peas

1 can chicken and rice soup

1 1/4 cups chicken broth

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8 X 11 baking dish.

*Sprinkle the rice evenly onto the bottom of the baking dish. Top with the chicken, Canadian bacon, and snap peas.

*Mix together the chicken and rice soup, chicken broth, onion, garlic and pepper. Pour even into the baking dish. Cover with tin foil.

*Bake for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the tin foil, and bake for another 30 minutes, until the rice has absorbed the liquid.

*Stir before serving. 

 

 

Nineteen Little Monkeys: Word Counters

 

Counting my words again.

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month, one group member picks a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we share what we all came up with.

 This month's number is 19. 
It was chosen by Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings.

As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme. This month I've chosen to take my cue from the number Mimi chose, 19, and its current significance in this country. 

Nineteen Little Monkeys (The Devils Go Down to Georgia)

~ Nineteen little monkeys,

not right in the head,

knew they lost, so tried to cheat,

but Georgia saw red.

~ Nineteen little monkeys,

not right in the head,

conspired together to act on the,

lies that they had spread.

~ Nineteen little monkeys,

not right in the head,

instead of treason, red. white and blue 

you should have bled.

~ Nineteen little monkeys,

not right in the head,

forced to show up in Georgia, take

a picture they'd dread.

~ Nineteen little monkeys,

not right in the head,

few afraid of court so took,

a deal. Guilty, they plead.

~ Nineteen little monkeys,

not right in the head.

Karma is a bitch, they say,

let's talk about what's ahead.

~ Nineteen little monkeys,

not right in the head,

no more desserts for you,

soon it'll be gruel and bread.

Caramel Apple Peanut Butter Bars

~ Nineteen little monkeys,

not right in the head,

forget those billable hours, you'll

make license plates for pennies instead.

~ Nineteen little monkeys,

not right in the head,

especially in the showers best,

be careful how you tread.

~ Nineteen little monkeys,

not right in the head,

guess you'll soon be sleeping on,

a hard steel bunk bed.

~ Nineteen little monkeys,

not right in the head,

hope you like your new roommate,

soon you will be wed.

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

Caramel Apple Peanut Butter Bars         
                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 stick margarine, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

6 (about 3.5 oz total) Snickers fun sized candy

1/2 Honeycrisp apple

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup apple or caramel apple flavored breakfast cereal

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 X 13 baking dish.

*Cream the margarine and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and peanut butter. Mix in the flour and salt to form a dough. Press into the bottom and about halfway up the sides of the prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, but leave the oven on.

*While the crust is in the oven, cut each candy into 5 slices. Peel, core, and chop the apple into small pieces.

*Sprinkle the chopped candy over the crust, followed by the chopped apple, then the cereal. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the entire top.

*Bake for about 35 minutes, until browned and bubbly. Cool on the counter for 1/2 hour, then refrigerate to cool completely before cutting.

The Apple Bites Back: Word Counters

 

Counting my words again.

 

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month, one group member picks a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we share what we all came up with.

 This month's number is 45. 
It was chosen by Diane of On the Border.

As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme. This month I've chosen the theme The Apple Bites Back.

 

 

~ Can an apple frustrate you for a day? A week? A month? I lived all of these years not realizing just how aggravating an apple can be. Now I know. And although this story has an acceptable ending, the beginning and middle? Not so much.

~ It started with changing cell providers. They rewarded us well. I wrote about all of the perks in my post Swag Bag Sister Wife. One of them was free Apple TV, which sometimes had the only rights to a Red Sox game. Sign me up!

~ The cell store clerk had Hubs to set up an Apple account, associate it with their free offer, and just in time to get the first Sox game Apple TV was showing. Signed into the IPad app (for later use), and watched via our Roku.

~ First sign of trouble, whenever I got on my IPad, it asked if I wanted to sign in as Hubs. Nope, declined. A month later, Apple sent Hubs an email saying our free month was over and we had to pay to continue. Wait. What? 

~ At game time Apple TV wouldn't let us in. Cell provider app showed us as active on Apple TV, but Apple would not recognize the login we'd set up. We missed the game. I started a DM with the cell provider.

~ The customer service agent worked with me for two days via DMs. We had to delete Hubs' original Apple account, set up a new one with his personal email, connect that to the cell account, and we were good to go. Or so it seemed.

~ Got onto the channel. Yay. It required payment to watch. Boo. Three days, more cell account reps and a trip to a cell store, nothing. THEY promised us free TV, THEY, not us, had the Apple agreement, but told us to deal with Apple ourselves.

~ Hubs drove to the store where he'd originally signed up for the cell service. Yes! Five time's the charm. They deleted Hubs' second Apple account, signed us up for the free TV using my IPad account, and we had Apple TV. For reals this time.

~ Then I tried to updating an IPad app. It would not allow me to unless I signed in as Hubs' original Apple account, now deleted, nonexistent. Which, of course, it wouldn't recognize. What else wouldn't it let me do? Download any app. Oh, HELL no!

~ So, my IPad in hand, Hubs ended up at the Apple store after all. After explaining the whole loooong story to the rep there, who answered with "you need to see a tech, I'm just the door guy," Hubs got an appointment. In an hour. 

~ When granted an audience with an actual tech, Hus once again explained the whole long story, then he turned my IPad over. The tech did his tech stuff and looked at Hubs. Good news: he could delete the nonexistent account and restore my IPad. BUT . . .

~ Bad news: although I could then use the IPad as before, wiping Hubs' original Apple account would . . . wait for it . . . lose us Apple TV. We'd come full circle. Full nauseating, frustrating circle. We bit the apple and that damn apple, it bit us back. Again.

Apple Gingerbread Cheesecake Parfait

~ But why? The TV used my Apple account and I'd deleted the app from my IPad, so there should be no association. But the tech was adamant, I had to choose. I waived the white flag, give me my IPad, take your freakin' Apple TV.

~ Confused though, I checked and was right, we still had Apple TV. Hubs drove home feeling good. My IPad had relinquished authority back to me. It worked! Apple TV worked!. Unfortunately, when he got here he realized that one of our garage doors . . . did not.

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

Apple Gingerbread Cheesecake Parfait         
                                   ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients (makes 4):
1 Milky Way candy bar

1 TBSP butter

1 apple

1 TBSP sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

10 oz cream cheese, softened

3 TBSP apple juice

5 TBSP sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 cups gingerbread, chopped 

      My Caramel Apple Gingerbread recipe HERE

Directions:
*Place the candy bar in the freezer for 30 minutes, then take out, chop, and set aside.

*Core, peel, and chop the apple. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the apple, 1 TBSP sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, just until the apple starts to soften. Refrigerate to cool.

*Beat the cream cheese with the apple juice, 5 TBSP sugar, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. 

*Divide the chopped gingerbread into the bottom of 4 short (8 oz) rocks or juice glasses. Press lightly.

*Add an apple layer onto the gingerbread. Spoon or pipe the cream cheese mixture onto the apple layer.

*Top with the chopped candy pieces. Refrigerate.

 

None by None: Word Counters

 

Counting my words again.

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month, one group member picks a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we share what we all came up with.

 This month's number is 27. 
It was chosen by Me.

As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme. This month I've chosen the theme None by None.

~ Do you remember ant farms? Ever have one? Not me. Ever want one? Still not me. Especially not now, anyway, and definitely not on my upstairs landing.

~ It started with siding. When we had some replaced on the west side of the house, the worker accidentally broke our window. And replaced it, of course.

~ We had no problems. Actually, I was pretty happy, the original window didn't open, was just glass, but the new one opens for a nice cross breeze.

~ Fast forward about three years, when we noticed one day, a big blank ant was crawling down the wall under that window. Then later, another. Oh, no.

~ The ants were marching. One by one. And two by two. And lots by lots. According to google, looking for something sweet. That could be a problem.

Strawberry Banana Bread

~ Recon mission: identify ingress point. We knew it had to be around that window, but never saw exactly where. Choosing between kill and deter, we chose deter.

~ They don't like cinnamon (those insect heathens). So I although I rubbed the window ledge with it, I certainly wasn't sprinkling it on my wall and carpeting.

~ Don't know if that deterred some, but certainly not all. Plan B time. Hubs found a gentle, indoor safe insecticide. And they stopped. For a few hours . . .

~ Sorry, I'm not sharing my baked goods, wall, stairway, and even (how far do ants go?) my bed {{shudder}}. No more Mrs. Nice Girl, this is war.

~ Plan C: divide and conquer. Vinegar's another deterrent. I sprayed the window, wall, carpet. Hubs sprayed a stronger insecticide outside, in the rocks and up the house.

~ The ants aren't marching. Or they've changed course (hopefully not to my neighbor's house). All's quiet on the western front, but us? We stand at the ready. 

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

 Strawberry Banana Bread         

                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 overripe banana

1 ripe banana

1/4 cup oil

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2/3 cup strawberry yogurt

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 tsp cinnamon, divided

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sugar

3 TBSP strawberry preserves

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a loaf pan.

*Set aside 4 slices from the center of the ripe banana and set aside. Hull and slice one of the strawberries and set aside.

*Mash the remaining ripe banana, along with the overripe banana in a bowl with a fork. Whisk in the oil, brown sugar, egg, and yogurt.

*Mix in the flour, 1/2 tsp of the cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Hull and chop the remaining strawberries. Fold into the dough. 

*Pour the dough into the prepared loaf pan. Even out, then arrange the reserved sliced banana and strawberry onto the top.

*Mix together the remaining cinnamon and the tsp of sugar, sprinkle over the top.

*Bake for 55 - 60 minutes, until the center of the top springs back to the touch. 

*Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edges and removing from the pan. Whisk the strawberry preserves to loosen. Paint onto the top of the bread using a pastry brush. Cool completely before slicing.

Take Your Swing: Word Counters

Counting my words again.

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month, one group member picks a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we share what we all came up with.

 This month's number is 31. 
It was chosen by Mimi of Messymimi's Meanderings.

As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme. This month I've chosen the theme Take Your Swing.

~ I've been playing the lottery. A lot. If you follow this blog's facebook page (if not, stop by and join us), you've probably seen the memes I've posted. About my losses {{sob}}.

~ Actually, it's Hubs who plays, on my behalf. I had chosen some numbers many years ago, ones that have meaning to me. Numbers I associated with luck, like dates of birth.

~ Hubs must have those numbers because every now and then in the past, but regularly lately as the pot approaches a billion dollars, he comes home and hands me a ticket.

~ Some say playing is foolish, chances of winning are one in a bazillion. But . . . two dollars isn't a hit to the budget, someone ultimately wins, and the lesser prizes are great.

~ Try a new recipe, or eat the same old things. Sometimes we take our chances. Because this I know, odds are meaningless if you don't play. To win, you gotta play.

Orange Everything Chicken

~ I know people, even now, who say similar things about voting: there are over a hundred million Americans registered to vote, what are my chances of affecting the win?

~ I'm a huge Red Sox fan, so let me say this: step up to the plate (ballot box) and swing for the fences. We can't win if we don't all play. 

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

Orange Everything Chicken         
                                                ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2/3 cup orange juice

1 tsp orange zest

1 tsp Everything Bagel Seasoning, my recipe HERE

Directions:

*Cut each chicken breast half into 3 - 4 pieces of similar thickness.

*Mix together the orange juice, orange zest, and Everything Bagel Seasoning. Place the chicken pieces into a resealable bag and pour the marinade into the bag with the chicken. Refrigerate for 4 hours, turning the bag now and then to be sure all of the chicken pieces are coated.

*Preheat your grill to medium, about 350 degrees. Place the chicken pieces on the grill and discard the remaining marinade. How long you need to grill your chicken will depend on the thickness of the pieces and the heat of your grill, approximately 7 - 10 minutes per side, until the chicken is completely cooked all the way through.

Souls Sold: Word Counters

 

Counting my words again.

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month, one group member picks a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we share what we all came up with.

This month's number is 44. 
It was chosen by Diane of On the Border.

As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme. This month I'm writing about an addiction, of sorts, about sold souls.

 

~ I have, many times over the years, been in awe of the all encompassing foresight of the founders of this country. How much effort and thought they put into plans for every contingency, even circumstances unfathomable in their time. Well, in awe until now.

~ I'm going to talk about addiction today, or what I consider a form of addiction. I mean no disrespect to those who suffer with and fight off personal addictions of all sorts. I don't claim that my views are medically sound, just personal observation.

~ Narcissism. It's an addiction to self. It most likely has its roots in insecurity, but how it manifests is dangerous. Unlike many addictions, it's not only dangerous to the narcissist, but to everyone around them, through self aggrandizement, manipulation, arrogance, and lack of empathy.

~ Narcissists feed mostly on power. They don't have the emotional tools to deal with disappointment. If they don't like dinner, they could throw their plate against a wall. If they do like dinner but are angry about something else, they could throw their plate. 

Seared Scallops with Canadian Bacon

~ To achieve the insatiable need for power and adulation, they will use any conceivable (and inconceivable) strategy. Lying, cheating, exploitation, stealing, alliances made with anyone who will stroke their ego, and broken when those people no longer serve their purpose. There are few boundaries.

~ Like most addictions, the current high won't last. Addiction is hungry. The high isn't just needed again, it has to be bigger. And if they're surrounded by other narcissists, feeding off of them, stakes get even higher, the behavior even more erratic and unthinkable.

~ As I said, I am in awe of the foresight of those who envisioned this constitutional republic, based firmly in the tenets of a democracy. But now they have met their match, never imagined a political party run by narcissists who've sold their soul. 

~ There is a step we need to take to buttress their vision, fight off authoritarianism, fill in an unforeseen hole in our politics. We need to amend the constitution to disallow any convicted felon from running for office. Hasn't happened yet, but it could . . .

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

Seared Scallops with Canadian Bacon         
                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1# sea scallops

salt and pepper to taste

3 TBSP canola oil

2 TBSP butter

2 oz Canadian bacon slices, chopped

Directions:
*Place the scallops on a plate covered with paper towels. Top with a few more paper towels and refrigerate for an hour.

*Gently press down on the paper towels, then discard them.

*Sprinkle both sides of the scallops with salt and pepper.

*Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Add the scallops to the pan carefully, the hot oil may spit, if it does, turn down the heat just a little bit. Cook for 2 minutes without touching the scallops at all.

*Remove the pan from the stove, quickly move the scallops to a plate, add the butter and Canadian bacon to the pan, swirl around then return the pan to the heat and add the scallops, cooked side up.

*Cook for about 1 1/2 minutes, until the scallops are cooked through, flake apart and are opaque in the center. Move the scallops to a serving dish, drizzle the butter and Canadian bacon over the cooked scallops and serve immediately.