Great Info Tips

Once again the northeast U.S. is in a heat wave. Saturday and Sunday seemed to be the worst. While there has been a breeze, it’s been a very warm one. Mother Nature seems to think we need to be on the hotplate a little longer, extending the heat wave a few more days and denying us the rain we need to keep the crops growing and the cooler air heading in our direction.

During a Phillies game broadcast on Thursday afternoon it was like watching a sheet of water hit the stadium. They play their baseball games about 50 miles from here. We didn’t get a drop of rain. They did have a lot of people without electricity with downed trees and poles, so maybe we can consider ourselves lucky here, but we really do need to be able to stay cooler.

I am not a summer person. The heat and humidity take their toll on me. My body reacts in different ways, ranging from sweating to feeling like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck. Yet I know once winter comes I will say that I long for summer. Can’t change me on that one!

Summer has just begun. Longer days, shorter nights, heat, humidity, and feeling miserable. I am ready for winter!

“You’re ugly, fat and I hate you!” These words were spoken to a mother. Granted, she isn’t the slimest person in the world, but when these words are spoken by your daughter, then it hurts big time. This daughter also said she will never be fat and ugly like her mother. She is currently about 8 lbs. underweight for her height. Beautiful girl, pretty mom. But the nastiness that comes out of the mouth of the daughter needs to be curbed. Grounding? Taking things away? Doesn’t really work. A single mother, she admits she spoiled her daughter. How can this be changed? How can mother and daughter come  to terms where there is respect? Right now this mother tends to bend over backwards for the daughter. Not good, but she won’t listen to reason.

What would you do? Have you ever had such a problem? Do you know of someone who did? How was that resolved? I never had this problem. I could always talk to my daughter to resolve problems. The worst part of this problem is the child is only 6 years old. What is going to happen when she turns into a teenager? I don’t see any good things coming from this attitude she has at her age now.

Recently I had problems with two different products, a pair of jeans and a measuring cup that was defective. I had good results from the jeans company and am still battling with the other company. It doesn’t seem fair being a consumer to have to wait forever for responses. I am in customer service and I understand more now than ever before how customers feel when they are due a replacement or refund. Let me explain.

I bought a pair of jeans which I felt were the most comfortable and nice looking. Since I have to wear dress pants 4 out of 5 days, I only wore the jeans on weekends and Friday dress down days. I didn’t have this pair even a year when the material started to wear near the zipper. Odd place for a woman’s pair of jeans to fray, but it did happen. Being able to sew, I repaired the area as best as I could. Then a few weeks later I noticed the material fraying in the back of the jeans, one area near a pocket and one area near the seam. I don’t wear my jeans so they are a second skin so I couldn’t understand this fraying. I called the company for Lee jeans. They offered to check the jeans if I would send them in a prepaid envelope they would provide. I said I would do so. Once the envelope came in the mail I put the jeans into the package and sent them back. Within 4 weeks I had a refund from the company. They could not determine why the jeans frayed, but they were understanding and wanted to make sure I was a happy consumer who would buy another pair of their jeans.

The other product I had a problem with was a measuring cup we purchased at Wal-Mart. We never noticed the red markings on the outside of the cup rubbing off until after we were home and had washed the cup. The red continued to rub off even after 3 washings. I emailed Anchor Hocking with the concern, asking that someone get back to me. I got a nice email from Amy H. who informed me in the email response that “Once we have received the product, we will promptly reimburse your postage expense.” It cost me $15 to send the darn thing to them. I had to make sure it would not break so I went to UPS to have it shipped. Anchor Hocking received the defective measuring cup within 3 days. I, however, am still waiting for the refund of the money I spent having the darn thing shipped! It’s almost 50 days since I sent the first email. Why does this have to take so long when I was assured that I would receive my postage expense promptly? A phone call to the company today did little to help. Amy will have to call me back. I gave my cell phone number so I won’t miss the call. That was 2 hours ago. They have more than likely gone home for the day now and I will have to wait again. This is infuriating to me. Nothing should take this long. Needless to say I am no longer planning on buying any Anchor Hocking products now or in the future and I will not back down from that.

So you see, you can get some good results, but then there is always the one company who doesn’t seem to care all that much about their customers. If anyone has had good or bad results from inquiring about defective products from any company I would like to hear about your experience. I will update this post when I finally get a refund for the postage from Amy at Anchor Hocking.

?Is it an ant or a termite you just found in your home? There are some ways to tell.

Ants have 1 pair of wings, bent antennae, a pinched waist and you can see their eyes. Termites have 1 pair of wings, straight antennae, a broad waist, and you cannot see their eyes. Both can swarm, follow the one in front. can cause wood damage, and colonies can be active around the clock all year. Proper identification is necessary for successful treatment. Ants have a distinct waistline while termites do not. It’s like ants having a belt in the middle of their bodies. While there are different varieties of each pest, ants are less costly to treat. When in doubt, call a professional pest control company.

Studies have recently shown that dismissing bedbugs as not being a public health pest is wrong. People can suffer not only bites, but also pain, suffering, emotional distress and a fear of never being rid of these pests. Government agencies still have not concluded that bedbugs may need to be listed as a public health pest in order to combat these pests so they do not become an epidemic as they have been in the past.

Bedbug infestations can occur in no time without the victim knowing he has them in his residence. Sensitivity to bites can be influenced by previous exposure as with other allergens. Reactions can be delayed a week of longer making it hard to narrow down the spot where the victim actually got the bedbugs. Elderly residents seem to be not as affected as others when it comes to recognizing bedbug infestations. It’s important that any nursing homes or even caretakers of the elderly be on the alert for any bedbugs present in the home. Bedbugs cannot bite through clothing, but will bite wherever there is exposed skin.

Welts and itching from bedbug bites are the body’s immune system reacting to the allergens in the pest’s saliva. Many residents will report sleeplessness, emotional distress, anxiety and stress from knowing they have bedbugs in their homes. Lately it has been reported bedbugs have been found in various places such as subways, waiting rooms, trains, buses, and movie theaters. You never know when you might bring these pests into your home.Unfortunately bedbugs can “hitchhike” and spread rapidly from room to room so they can find a human to feed on.

There is a lot of misinformation everywhere. If you are not sure you have a case of bedbugs your best bet is to call in the pest control professionals. Most companies will do a free inspection and alert you to the fact that there is an infestation. Just taking your mattress and box spring and putting them in the sun won’t get rid of all the bedbugs. Nor will wrapping the mattress and box spring in black plastic and having the sun beat down on them get rid of bedbugs. These pests need to have professionals get rid of them.

There are mattress and box spring covers that can be ordered to help with any bedbug fears. These covers are made of high quality, durable materials that have been tested to be bed bug proof. Bedbugs still in the mattress or box spring would then die of starvation over time.There are manufacturers and insecticide companies trying to find other solutions for the bed bug problem that seems to be infesting the world.

Bed Bug