Sunday, August 29, 2010

The One with the Owl Cupcakes

Amber and I made these cute little guys for the Murri family reunion a few weeks ago. They were so much fun! We learned a lot from making them. I think I learn something new about cake/cupcake decorating with every cupcake we make.

Here are the details:
eyes - half of an Oreo cookie (cream side)
with a junior mint for the pupil
ears - other half of the Oreo cookie but shaped into ears
nose - banana runt candy
After all was said and done, we learned how to pipe on the fur with the frosting in a plastic bag. It was a lot of fun!


Amber and Mom separating the Oreos


The owls before they had their fur put on or their noses.


The final look! We had so much fun making these.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Dear Dish Network & Star West Satellite,

I hope your companies are set up to receive Google Alerts or something similar so you can come across this blog post. Seeing as how there is nowhere to leave a customer review on your websites, I've chosen to leave my review on my blog so you can hopefully come across it.

We are loyal Dish Network customers and have been for years now. We recently purchased a new TV and had someone come out to install a new receiver box and dish for the HD upgrade we are now paying for. The tech was from Star West Satellite and he was great. He was friendly and informative, and he told us if we had any questions to call Dish Network or Star West.

The TV came on Tuesday and we had two members of the Geek Squad at Best Buy put it up for us. They got everything hooked up for us, including the receiver box. We purchased an HDMI cable for the high def on the dish. As the guys were testing everything out they noticed the TV show was skipping and also blacking out here and there. Eventually it stopped working all together and there was no connection. They thought it was the chord so they connected it to the Blu-ray player. We watched about 10 minutes of a DVD to realize that it was not the chord. They even opened up a few different chords and hooked them all to the HDMI port on the receiver and the same thing happened to the TV show. They said it was the port itself that wasn't working and to call Dish for a new box. So my husband called the tech we used and told him about the problem. He said he would be out to our house sometime in the afternoon and that he was in Rexburg at the moment. This was at 2 pm. I had other plans that day and had to change them to stay home and wait for the tech. 6:30 rolled around and no tech had come around or even called to say they weren't coming.

The next morning my husband called the tech again. His response was that it was his day off and my husband needed to call Dish Network or Star West. He also said to just plug in the colored plug-ins to the TV instead of using the HDMI port. Isn't the point of getting a new TV to have high def on it? That plug-in was not going to give us the quality we were paying for. My husband called Dish Network in Idaho Falls and told them what was going on. He explained how the port was bad and we needed a new box. They told us it was our TV that was messed up. My husband told the guy that it wasn't the TV and everything that happened when the Geek Squad was over. The Dish Network person still didn't believe what was going on and wouldn't help him. So my husband called Star West. He told the guy he needed someone to come out and look at the receiver and to possibly bring a new one because the other one seemed to be faulty. The guy said it wasn't the box that it was the TV. Same deal as Dish Network. The guy (who I will gladly give you a name for if you ask me for it) said they'd have someone out to look at it.

The day continued and nobody called. So Tyson called Star West again and asked if someone was going to be coming out to our house. The same guy he talked to before said yes. But Tyson hadn't even given him a name. The guy still said someone would come out. Obviously they weren't going to because they had no clue who they were talking to. They were blowing us off.

After multiple calls to both places (there were more to Dish Network that were not mentioned here but refusal to help us out was still the result), my husband had to take matters into his own hands and talk to someone outside of Idaho Falls. He got on the Dish Network website and got on the chat help and explained what was going on. After giving the details the representative agreed with what was going on. They are sending us a new receiver box that should be here the beginning of next week. My husband was very grateful and told the representative that she was the only person willing to help us.

Last night my husband received a phone call while we were at the grocery store. It was the Star West tech. He told my husband he was going to find out if someone would be out to our house this week sometime. My husband was irritated but gracious for the call, seeing as he had to go through a whole lot of nonsense to get somewhere with this. Then a little while later he received another phone call from the same tech. He said we needed to contact Dish Network for a new receiver box. Really? We hadn't thought of that. That was what we were trying to do all along! But had zero luck with the Idaho Falls Dish Network. And we had already gotten the help we needed after a lot of nonsense. Too late on the phone call there.

We came home last night to find that none of our TV shows had recorded. Would you say the box was faulty? I think so. Don't even get me started on what I missed.

The problem with your company, Dish Network, is that you have a great product but your customer service is pure crap. You tell us to call if we have questions, but when we do that we get refused. Are you too busy for us? Are you just putting on a front so all your customers will think they're working with a good company? This economy isn't the best for you to be messing around with crappy customer service. Word of mouth goes a long way, believe me. Star West, your customer service is also rediculous. I hope we never have to work with you guys again.

I'm not one who normally complains about customer service. But when we're given the run-around and treated poorly with something like this, I'm not going to keep my mouth shut. We are good customers who pay on time every month and just upped our payments because of an upgrade. If you want to keep your customers around, you better teach your employees how to be better at treating the customer. The customer isn't always right, but at least come out and prove me wrong if you think I am wrong. And live up to what your techs tell your customers. If you don't want to help me, don't tell me you will in the first place.

And thank your online support representatives. Give them a raise even. Because they're the reason we are staying with Dish Network right now. And the only people worthy to call themselves good at customer service.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Broccoli Wedding

My mom grew broccoli for the first time and grew a really nice bunch.
So naturally we pretended that it was a bridal bouquet and took some bridal photos.

The diet Pepsi is to show a size comparison. And partially because I love it so much.

Beaming bride



Classic ring in the bouquet shot.

Throwing the bouquet


Sunday, August 22, 2010

Restaurant Review: Mangini's Pizza

On to happier things! There are more important things than free shoes.
***
Ever heard of the pizza place
Mangini's?
It's a take 'n bake pizza place in Idaho Falls and it is awesome!
We recently tried it and it so good. The prices are also really great. They are cheaper than Papa Murphy's. In fact, they take $2 off every time you buy a large or extra large pizza. They put a lot of toppings on their pizza and I love the sauce and dough.
We didn't try their cheesy bread, but it looked amazing!

We still love our Papa Murphy's,
but we highly recommend Mangini's as well.
The owner is super nice and we are happy to give them our business.
If you want to give them a try, they are located on the south side of Leo's Pizza off 1st St in Idaho Falls.
You're going to love it!

Our Review: 4 1/2 Stars

image via google image search

Saturday, August 21, 2010

I'm Such a Loser

I wish I knew how to read a calendar.
So I could see that today is actually the 21st and not the 20th.
I wouldn't be sitting here wishing I was still getting my new shoes.
Since it turns out the deadline to claim them was the 20th, and I thought today was the 20th.
And I didn't claim them till today.
Such a bummer.
It's amazing how something so exciting could turn into something so depressing.

Thank You, Recessionista!

I'm sure most of you girls in southeast Idaho have heard about the awesomeness that is Recessionista. For those who don't know, it is a store here in Idaho Falls full of clothes, hats, scarves, jewelry, etc. with brands found at Nordstram Rack and TJ Maxx, but with lower prices! It's a really great place. You can even have parties at your house with these products, like the party I had at my house in April (different company though. Remember this?)

For the last week and a half they have done "Ten Days of Giveaways" and given something different away each day to followers of the blog. The last day was for a pair of designer shoes.

And guess who won! If you guessed me, then you're right!

I was so thrilled when I heard the news. And I owe my life to my sister-in-law Britney for letting me know I won. I wouldn't have even known and would have missed my chance at a free pair of shoes. Thanks so much, Brit! I owe you big time!

And a huge thanks to Recessionista for the shoes. If you want to see which ones I chose you can check them out here! I am so excited to get them!

image via recessionistaparty.com

Thursday, August 19, 2010

4-Month Shots

Brycen had his 4-month shots on August 4.
He did really well with his check-up.
At the appointment he weighed 15 lb 15 1/2 oz. (50%) and measured 25 inches (70%).
The doctor said he looks great! Always a good thing to hear.
Shots are never a fun thing. He did really well though. He didn't cry for too long. He went to sleep as soon as I gave him his binky and his blanket.




For just having shots, he was in a great mood when we got home!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Two Miller Birthdays

This little cutie pie is three years old today.
Happy birthday, Lillie!


We celebrated two birthdays in the first week of August: Lillie's and Tyson's dad, Milan.
Lillie's party was a tea party theme. She invited all her cousins. Everybody came all dressed up. It was so cute! Erika did a great job.




Delicious cupcakes


treat table


Kristi, Bailey, Clark, Angie & Milan enjoying the party


The babies!
Andy, Jack, Saydie & Brycen


Brycen and Jack were so cute! Brycen kept grabbing onto Jack's finger.

Gramps took good care of Brycen while I took pictures.


Game time!



Time for tea!
The kids had a bell they rang when they needed more "tea" (apple juice).


Cooper was the only boy at the tea party (besides the baby boys.) What a trooper!



Lillie taking a whack at the pinata


Kate's turn


The best part of the pinata: picking up all the candy.



Brycen didn't make it through the entire party. He fell asleep outside.


Time to blow out the candles!





Cute lille Andy
(Elisha's little boy)


Time for presents!

We got her the Dr. Seuss book "The Lorax" and a stuffed Lorax to go with it.


Lillie kept saying, "Alli, look!" She's so cute.


And from her dad, a super huge and awesome doll house. Every little girl's dream! Her dad built it for her. Erika made all the bedding and other cloth work. She also painted it. Talented family!

No shock that the girls all loved this house. It is amazing.
...

Milan's Birthday

We celebrated Milan's birthday later in the week. This picture would suggest that it's Lillie's birthday again. But she just really likes birthdays and singing "Happy Birthday."

And she blew out the candle.

The cake
It says, "Happy Birthday / Good Luck"
It was Milan's birthday, and also our last party before Clark and Kristi moved to Reno. They will be missed!
During dinner Lillie came outside with something white on her face. She had gotten herself a little taste of the cake. Can you tell on the corner?

Milan & Clark


Jack
I love his hair!


Tyson & Brycen

Brycen fell asleep in the bumbo. That boy can fall asleep anywhere!