I work with customers every day at the flea market. For the most part, I love my job, though there is always room for improvement.

One of my biggest pet peeves with the customer side of things, Monique touched on and even aptly named the post. I’ve thought for months of posting here, the redundant questions I deal with daily.

Is this where you pay for things?
The sign above my head says “Cashier”, the lighted sign above your head says “Cashier”.. um.. yes.. you may pay for your items here.

Are you Open?
Yes… yes, I am open. Trust me, I have not been sitting/standing here, in the same spot all day for the fun of it.

I’m not done looking around, can you hold this for me because I don’t want to carry it around with me?
Yes, just put it on the next counter, not mine.. you see, other customers come up to mine counter who are ready to check out and I don’t have room to hold your stuff there.

You could grab a cart up by the front door.. No? You don’t want to push a cart around? Hmm.. wonder what Kroger would say if I asked them to hold my milk for me because I wasn’t done shopping and I didn’t feel like pushing a cart or carrying my own milk.. whatever, yes, I’ll hold it for you.. but if someone else wants to buy it, I can’t guarantee I will remember where it came from.

Ring.. Ring… (telephone)
me: Old Roberds.. may I help you?
customer: yes, I was just calling to see if you are open today?
me - thinking: well, duh.. I answered the phone.. do you think I want to come in on a day we’re closed just to answer the phone to tell people we aren’t open? WHY don’t you just ask “What are you hours today”?
me: Yes, we’re open 9-5 on weekends and 10-6 through thru the week.

Customer: Would you call the vendor….
… this [item] is $3.00.. will you see if they’ll take any less?
… I want this [item] will you see if they’ll take 60% less for it because I don’t want to pay this much for it.

Customer:I’m interested in [item].. would you call the vendor for me?
Me: Sure.. what is the booth number?
customer: I don’t know.. do you want me to go get it?
Me: well.. I can’t call the vendor if I don’t know who it is…

Do you take credit cards?
We accept cash and credit.
But, do you take credit cards?

Be Considerate.. No Cell Phones at the Counter…
For which when I ask “May I help you?” I get a wave and a “hold on” from the customer blocking my counter. How friggin’ rude must you be to think this is acceptable behavior, from an adult no less?!

One woman, a vendor at that… I repeatedly told her the amount, and she ignored me. I went to concession and made popcorn.. She got mad at me because I left her at the counter. Of all the rudeness!!

And then the vendors… this one gets me the most.
vendor: That vendor has x, y, z. or is doing x, y, z… why can’t I?

OMG.. How old ARE you? Didn’t you learn this when you were a kid, or when you had kids? Just because one person is doing it, doesn’t mean it’s OK, or allowed, or even that anyone else can do it. And for those that want to do something against our rules.. why do you think You are so special? Don’t you realize if we let you do it, we’ll have 10 other vendors saying “well, they are doing it, why can’t I?” And at that point, what good are rules? We have rules for a reason. Abide by them and all is good.

There is so much.. but the redundant questions.. for which I have made signs.. are the ones that grate on my nerves. What I keep thinking is our country is so concerned (rightfully so!) about our kids being able to read… yet, signs that are plainly visible, adults ignore. I know they can read them.. it’s pure laziness they don’t bother with it.

Earth Day is officially April 22, 2008. While celebrating our planet on this day is a nice idea, it’s even nicer to implement earth-friendly ideas throughout the year, every day if possible. With spring and summer right around the corner, it’s easy to do things to help you, your family and the environment. Here are some good earth day activities and ideas.

Create a Certified Wildlife Habitat in your yard by providing food sources (such as plants, seeds, nuts, nectar), water sources (pond, stream, bird bath), covered areas (rock pile, bird house, thickets), places to raise young (pond, thick shrubbery, nesting boxes), sustainable gardening (mulch, compost, chemical free fertilizer). Once you’ve done this, you may register your habitat for certification. Visit the National Wildlife Federation for this and more to do, not just on Earth Day, but every day.

My favorite garden shoes (ok, I’ll admit it, they are my favorite summertime shoes.. I wear them all the time) are my sloggers. I bought my last two pair from Target for about $10. My daughter recently bought some similar shoes (what are they called, that have the holes in them that everyone wears?).. well, from another site (and I’ll give them credit if I come across it again - Found it - Hip Mama’s Place is where I first saw them) I found out about Polliwalks - talk about some adorable summer / garden shoes for kids!

Container gardening is an easy way to build a garden in confined areas. Try planting specific garden pots, such as a “salsa garden pot” using a pepper plant, a tomato plant and a few herbs like cilantro, basil or oregano.

Use the USDA Hardiness Zone Finder to make sure the plants you plant in your flower beds will withstand the weather in your area. Or just visit their site - National Garden Association for SO much info.

Set up a worm compost to get some of the best and natural fertilizer there is available and let those little red wigglers gobble up your kitchen waste. Setting up a worm compost is easy and doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. You can make a wooden box, or even use a plastic bin (like a Rubbermaid container).. the key is to provide moisture, bedding and your compost shouldn’t smell foul. One of my long time favorite sites for worm information is WormLady.com. She has great, simple information on worms red wigglers in particular, sells them and also has some links to further information.

If you aren’t able to plant your own garden, your area may have a food co-op or other program. These programs allow you to purchase local in-season veggies all spring, summer and into the fall. This helps the environment too as well as supporting local farmers! To minimize getting to burned out on the same veggies every week, go in on it with a friend.

Get active - meet up with your community and clean up the neighborhood. Whether it’s just picking up trash or planting flowers and mulching the local part, it all helps and this activity brings the community together.

Save energy by joining Project Switch - switch out your costly, ineffective incandescent bulbs to help reduce your carbon footprint.

Join the World Wildlife Organization for their countdown to this 2008 Earth Day - but really, Earth Day is every day - so no matter which year it is, every little bit helps. Make A Change.

If you eat meat, go free range - the meat is healthier because the animal is healthier and usually treated more humanely. Recent studies have shown free range animals contain Omega-3 (a fatty acid essential to human health), whereas contained/caged animals do not. Hmmm…

Now, for some fun activities and information, visit Earth Day at Kaboose - some terrific crafts - like coffee grounds fossils, lady bug rocks and tin can herb containers. Plan an Earth Day Dinner - Angel Hair Pasta with Asparagus and for dessert have some Mudpie Cookies.

Above all, make your earth celebrations activities you and your family enjoy. Happy Earth Day!

I first heard about mandalas from our home school group several years ago. Unfortunately, our family missed the mandala project as it was held the year before we joined. I never did look into it, but always remembered generically what they were.

Recently, I borrowed the movie The Last Mimzy which as a side note, I thought was a cute movie - I enjoyed the kids and I really like Rainn Wilson among other cast members - the kids are adorable too!

Anyway, in the movie the boy draws perfectly an ancient mandala. See the movie or read the link above for details. My point is it reminded me I’d like to find some to print. In the process, I wanted to find out just What is a Mandala?

A mandala is loosely translated from an ancient indian language meaning “circle”. However, in modern day, mandala has come to mean a term for a geometric pattern, not necessarily circular… it represents a microcosm of the Universe from our perspectives as humans.

Though, I believe it can represent a deeper awareness into our own selves.

In my search for a few mandalas to print and color, I came across a few sites with some lovely designs.. some simple, some more intricate.

Being what I consider an earthy mom (Teigen’s birth and Ryland’s birth, not to mention my parenting style), I found one mandala I just love. I think pregnant women would find peace and comfort coloring this particular mandala:
Marie Pré represents a fetus in utero. I love the lotus flower around the tiny infant.

There are many places to print mandalas, but here are a couple more I found of particular interest. If you find others, or create and/or color any and would like to share, please leave a comment.

Sharing much info, a gallery, coloring pages as well as color meanings:
In Search of Mandalas (a translated page)
Free Mandala

And lots of fun info to be had at the Mandala Project - including a mandala made in the sand, mandalas found in nature and a mandala quilt. As well as joining a group to create mandalas.

I have been slightly out of commission the past week and a half. Mostly due to health - Crohn’s Disease commonly causes depression, so between feeling pretty crummy and dealing with a lack of energy, I was barely doing anything internet related.

My husband is on his “required” 30 leave from work, so I’m happy to have him home, to say the least! And Easter was fun, though pretty cold… I saw where others woke up to snow - egads.. I’ll pass on the winter weather - I’m so ready to start seeing an increase in temperature.

I’ve been making some rounds this morning and trying to post some comments, but blogger seems to be having issues with their comments..

To Entrecard Favorites - thanks for all the link love! And for the raffle win. I received your credits the other day and couldn’t figure out just why, ha! Now I see. Great idea and again, much thanks.

Barrs By The Bay used (in part) my crockpot soap tutorial to make a batch of hydrangea scented soap in her crockpot. I don’t think it matters what soap making method you use, it’s fun to make!

Ok.. so.. I’m back and I have more to post… but work calls.

Originally uploaded by madaise.

We went to the Cheesecake Factory on Monday for lunch. Here, it’s at the “The Greene” and outdoor mall.. very nice. We like going a couple times a month, and more in the summer when the fountain is on. The boys can spend hours playing in the water there.

Ry wanted chicken fingers and fries and Tege ordered roadside sliders. I didn’t think to get any pictures of the food, other than the drink and the bread - which ended up being the only thing the boys really wanted to eat anyway. Next time I’ll just order extra sour dough bread and well… dessert, which we all opted to skip this time (and I was SO thankful to cut things short).

Here are some other Cheesecake Factory pictures I’ve taken.. this outing and another - but not all of the times we’ve been.

I’d like to thank these fellow entrecarders for using their hard earned entre-credits to advertise on my site for the week of March 2 - March 8th..

Sunday - Paws Awhile - I’m such a dog lover - this site is for INDog rescue and rehabilitation. Currently running a contest until March 29th.. check the site for details.

Monday - That Grrl - Laura’s blog is fun to read.. she’s very real.. enjoyed her Thursday 13 this week and reminder to make sure you have strong passwords for your accounts.. she posted about that as well.

Tuesday - so you wannabee a Domestik Goddess? - this domestik goddess (irl Rebecca) is worth visiting (read her profile, it’s worth it) lives with therapy dogs (a greyhound even… a sighthound, how could I not love this goddess, just for that?) is a freelance write, decorator and doesn’t mind some dirt on the floor.. she’s also on the last bit of her pregnancy..

Wednesday - Kater-Bug Cakes - some cute cakes - the cat in the hat and the lady bug cupcakes are too cute .. but I *love* the mickey hat cake.. and the easter basket cake - wow!!

Thursday - Biyahilo Tourist Attractions - beautiful sights to see on this blog - lovely pictures.. makes me ready for a vacation!

Friday - Cromely’s World - as I was skimming through Cromely’s posts.. I came to one in which he’d packed for a week away from home.. and forgotten slacks.. he of course went to what he refers to as his personal storage facility - my favorite store Target and saved the week. (psst.. Cromely.. I think you should change your blogger profile answer… )

Saturday - Fitness Life Club - Get fit with Pat King.. seriously.. there is so much information on this site..

Thank you all..

And for those who still don’t know about entrecard.. it’s like a social / blog advertising site. You create a 125×125 image to represent your site (referred to as your “card”, think business card, or social card).. you “drop” your card (think hand out, if it was real life) on other sites.. for each card you drop, you get a credit.. each site you drop on, they get a credit.. credits build up and you use those credits to “buy” advertising space on each others sites… it’s really simple, fun, and you get to know other bloggers, by site and by card.

If you join, look me up - Momma Muse.. and drop me a card - I always reciprocate drops.