Part of the Problem . . .

Yesterday was a crazy day. I don't usually have really crazy days, or days that are wasted doing absolutely nothing I had planned to do. But, yesterday was one of those days.

I had woken up at 6am to go on my morning bike ride while the girls and Nathan slept. When I got home, Maejae was awake and playing on the floor and Nathan was getting ready to leave. I thought to myself, today is going to be a productive day. I set out with a plan to get the floors vacuumed and laundry done so I could do a craft with Natalie. I had done 3 loads of laundry, and was just about to pick up a few straggling toys to vacuum when there was a little knock on my door.

I was in a hurry to run a few things upstairs so I answered the door without looking through my peep-hole. BIG MISTAKE. Day of productivity . . . down the drain!

In comes 3 men (why I let them in my house is beyond me). I am dumb. They are Kirby Vacuum salesmen and they want to show me a few cool tricks their vacuum can do. Well, we had recently had our carpets shampooed and I was less than impressed with the outcome. So, I figured that if they could get my carpets back to looking new, I'd give them a shot at their sales pitch. Little did I know - their sales pitch is 3 hours long. YES - 3 HOURS!! I was livid. Finally, I texted Nathan and told him to get his butt home because apparently when a girl says "that's not in our budget right now" it means nothing to salespeople. They wouldn't take "no" for an answer and kept trying to bargain with me.

Finally, I said, "I need to talk to my husband before I make any decisions, and he is on his way home now." Enter "PART OF THE PROBLEM"

The salesmen boss dude (the one who apparently is in charge of bargaining) has the balls to try one last sales pitch before Nathan gets home. It went like this: (S-salesmen and J-Jenn)

S: ok, that'd be great to talk to your husband, but let me ask you . . . who does the cleaning in the house.

J: Well, considering Nathan is in med school, I do most of it

S: So, don't you think your needs and comfort while cleaning should come first

J: I actually don't mind cleaning my house

S: Well, don't you think your children deserve cleaner, healthier carpet to play on

J: Oh man, it's not that bad . . . How much is it?

S: Well, we'll get to that part. Do you think you would benefit from a Kirby Vacuum?

J: Sure, I guess. But, how much is it.

S: Well, I'm not supposed to say until we have you committed, but it is $1999 and an additional $400 for the carpet shampooer attachment.

J: Yeah, that's way too much for us. We don't have that in our budget.

S: Well, that's ok. Think of this . . . I'm just saying, think of all the extra dirt our vacuum pulls up compared to yours. And, think of how versatile it is. It really is an investment, and one I think you would enjoy for many years. 3 Carpet cleanings a year and it's paid for.

** Thinking to myself: we only get our carpets shampooed once a year - we're not that dirty. and at $300 a year, we're looking at 8 years of carpet cleanings for this to pay for itself. Hmmm, not good on the salesmen's part.

J: Possibly. But, like I said, we don't have $2400 in our budget to purchase a vacuum right now (yes - you read that right. $2400 for a vacuum)

S: Understandably. What if I cut you a deal? Would you be willing to purchase it if I gave it to you for $1500

J: Sorry, that's still too much.

S: Ok, the best deal I can do is $1100 for the vacuum and I'll throw in the carpet shampooer.

J: Like I said, I need to discuss this with my husband as it is not in our budget to make such a purchase

S: Well, think of it this way (talking very fast so I can't break in). When your husband wants a new car, or a new TV, I'm sure he gets in his mind what is best for him, and what he wants. I'm sure he wouldn't have to wait for you to decide on his purchase. And this vacuum will make cleaning easier for you, and will guarantee your children a cleaner environment. Don't you feel you have the authority to make this decision based on your needs without your husband's permission?

** ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

I was so livid that I promptly sent Nathan a text that read, "how long."

To which he replied, "4 minutes"

I was so mad I could barely even get out what I wanted to. So, instead I said, "my husband and I are very open about our budget and I will not be making this decision on my own. I told you I didn't like the price and it was not in our budget. You will need to wait for my husband to get home and discuss this with him."

I'm fairly certain the "boss" salesmen did not like my response. He quickly changed his methods and said, "Ok, I would be happy to talk to your husband. But, I don't want to overwhelm him so I am going to step out and I'll return when he gets home."

Finally - 1 salesmen gone, 2 left to kick out. At this point, the other 2 salesmen were packing up and getting ready to leave when one of their phones rings. I could hear the "boss" on the other line.

S: Listen Will (2nd salesmen), this has been 2 1/2 hours of your time. Don't lose this sale. You need to show him how much dirt is still in his carpets after they use their vacuum."

W: Ok, how?

S: Do the demo again.

AHHHHHH! No - No - No. You are not doing another 2 hour demo with my husband to try to sell us something I have clearly stated we cannot afford. I was mad. Plus, I had a chiropractor appointment at 4pm and it was 3:30pm. Finally, I see the car (I keep the door open when strange men are in my house, as if that will really help me in an emergency).

I am so glad Nathan is home that as soon as he walks in I say "sorry, hun, but I gotta get ready for my appointment." I dashed upstairs as fast as I could. Nathan talks loud, so I could hear him saying, "that's a lot of money, we have not budgeted for a large purchase this term, etc". The guy won't give in.

Then, a knock on my door. I am flustered, annoyed, irritated, etc. It is my dear friend Kristen. She pulls me outside and says, "oh Jenn. These guys are bad news. They are horrible and don't let you say no. Don't do this Jenn. Don't buy it." I told her I wasn't going to. Then she says, "ok, I can stay here and watch your kids while you go." So, I leave the house - 2 minutes before I'm supposed to be at the doctor's office - Ahhh.

As I drive away I see Nathan and Kristen, the 3 kids (Kristen's son was there too) and the salesmen. It doesn't look fun.

I was so MAD. Nathan came to my appointment after he was finally able to KICK them out of the house. He says, "well, he told me he would sell it to us for $800."

$800!! Why would he try to sell it to me for $1100 (which was apparently the best deal he could offer me) but then tell my husband $800? Ugh. These guys are sketchy. Then Nathan says, "Kristen was so funny." Turns out, the salesmen offered to come to her house and do a demo. To which Kristen promptly said, "Don't you dare."

I wish I was as gutsy as Kristen!

Nathan said he handled them very well. But, the "boss" dude wouldn't give in. Nathan goes, "Jenn, he was good. He said I wouldn't have a problem paying for it cause I was in med school and I could finance it, or put it on a credit card. He was still selling up until I closed the door on him."

Ugh. SOOOO many problems with this. The REST of the Problem:

1) Allowing your company to enter a house with only a woman present is not smart. To bring 3 MEN into my home was kind of an invasion. Granted, I should not have let them in. But, still. Not good business practices.

2) It should NOT take 3 hours to try to sell something to people. You ruined my day, my productivity, and both of my daughter's days (they did NOT get mommy time).

3) Don't you DARE assume that I don't have a close relationship with my husband and that you can manipulate me into buying something because "I don't need my husband's permission."

4) No, I actually don't need my husband's permission to do anything. BUT - we are a TEAM. I love him more than anything on this Earth, and we WORK TOGETHER. You bet your BUTT I will talk to him before making any decisions on ANYTHING that costs over $50.

5) We choose to live with a budget. We LOVE our budget. It keeps us responsible as consumers. It teaches us the difference between wants and needs. It teaches us that there are reasons to reward yourself and that sometimes an extra want is ok, if purchased within your budget. DO NOT tell me how to run my finances.

6) CREDIT! Are you kidding me? We do not have credit card debt, and hopefully NEVER will. When you have a budget, and stick to it, you do not need to use credit. DO NOT try to tell me that it is ok to buy a vacuum on credit when I have a vacuum sitting in my closet that works just fine. This is not a need, it is not even my want. It is a cool vacuum, but I don't need it, and I don't want to spend that much money on it. Therefore, DO NOT tell me, or my husband, that we can finance it. C'mon.

7) When someone says, "NO" you need to LISTEN to them. END OF STORY.

So - after doing 3 loads of laundry and thinking I was going to have an awesome day with my girls . . . I ended up sitting on my couch for 3 hours listening to a sales pitch and getting very frustrated with the entire situation I had gotten myself into. What a waste of a day.

Then - I got a phone call while at the chiropractor. My brother, Jason, got in an auto accident. He was stopped at a stop light when a truck plowed into him going about 60 miles an hour. The back of my brother's truck is now in the cab of the truck. Jason is ok - minus the back and neck pains, and sore muscles, but it still wasn't the best way to end a crazy day.

So, to end on a happy note, I went with my friends, Kristen and Ashely, to our ward's enrichment night and ate lots of chocolate covered fruit and sponge cake! See, the Lord even looks out for me without my knowing. It just happened that enrichment was on a night when I truly needed a break!

So - lessons learned here:

** DO NOT, under any circumstances, open your door without looking out that peep-hole. DO NOT, at any time, invite 3 men into your house because you don't have the heart to tell them "no". DO NOT put your children's safety in harms way because you are concerned about hurting someone's feelings. Plus, I have AWESOME friends who always seem to rescue me. And, lastly . . . I honestly, positively, absolutely, have the BEST HUSBAND in the world. He seriously saved my butt on this one. And, I'm glad we really do have such an honest, open, trusting relationship.

Blogger is not my friend . . .

I am horrible at this blog thing. I am trying to decide if I should just dump it, or if I should recommit to writing on it? I can't seem to find the time to keep up on the journals, baby books, scripture reading, sewing, and a blog. That's all on top of being a wife and mother! So . . . either something has to go - or I have to find a way to incorporate my blog into my journal. Any ideas??

Ugh

Will someone please tell me how to stop scammers from leaving comments on my blog about stupid stuff? I have to keep deleting random comments that say stuff like, "buy gold from me today" or "*#*&^#*&Y." It's very annoying!

Awesome!

It is STILL raining!!! That is a good sign for our biking adventures tomorrow.

But, I just have to ask my AZ friends? We've all been here for about 2 years now. Don't you think that the amount of rain (just today) is WAY more than all the sprinkles of rain we got the other 2 years COMBINED! No wonder everything is flooding - the desert doesn't know how soak up all that rain.

It's Raining!

Tomorrow my birthday present should be arriving via UPS. I am getting this totally awesome bike trailer. It has a million pros: fits both girls, aluminum wheels, sturdy, new, and green (which matches my bike). The cons: It is apparently too cool to be in stores, so Nathan had to order it, forcing me to sit patiently for that UPS guy to ring my doorbell tomorrow! I can't wait!!!

And the reason I can't wait: I LOVE the rain. It makes me think of home in Oregon, and brings with it cold-weather activities. One of those activities is riding bikes in the rain, and coming home with the big skunk tail from all the dirty water spraying on your back. It is going to be so much fun! It has been raining all day today, and I noticed that the washes on 59th are quite flooded. So, I am hoping it rains a little bit longer. That way, I can take my girls on a bike ride and show them some muddy water rushing down the wash tomorrow! Seriously, I'm excited!

But, today we're doing some inside rainy day activities. So far, we have watched a movie, drank hot chocolate and watched the rain (while Natalie explained to me what the bird in our back yard was doing), read a few books, and made a few crafts. Then we had lunch with Daddy at school and took a quick trip to JoAnn's with Ashley so I can get started on my next project. All in all, a perfect colder, rainy day at the Larson house here in Arizona! Except for maybe Nathan - he had an exam this morning, and is going to be studying until dinner time. But, he did well on his exam and will be home in time for dinner, and some games. We love our daddy!!! And, we love the rain :)