...A Bit Too Honest

So, Scott read my last post and told me it reminded him of those car bilboards or commercials for Tony Divino. You know their "a bit too honest" campaign. click on commercials if you want to see what I'm talking about.

He wanted me to make a few corrections. His product is superior to all the other plumbers and his warranty, even though he doesn't call it a lifetime warranty, ends up being better coverage than the other guys. I believe that he really is better than the other guys but the other guys sometimes have better sound bytes.

My Undercover Call

I feel horribly guilty. Scott wanted to get some information on a competitor and he asked me to do the dirty work. In the money mailer this month we received an add for $150 off a water softener-but it didn't explain how many grains or where the water softener was made or anything. Scott receives calls from potential clients and he has to sell himself in five minutes or less and it helps to know what the competition is boasting so he can help his callers to know how he compares with the competition. This is such a difficult market for so many businesses right now. It's scary. How do you put yourself out there and set yourselves apart from the rest? These days, Scott and his brothers lose big jobs over a difference in bidding with a competitor of merely $50.

So, I told you I felt guilty. The hardest part about the call I just made was that Scott's competition was so personable and I had a hard time hating him (as my position of competition insists that I do). I got on the phone with this nice plumber and he instantly made a connection with me. He asked where I lived and when he realized I live near his area he wanted to know if I knew his wife who just retired as a teacher at the nearby elementary school - How much more evil could I get! His wife is a retired elementary teacher. I'm sure she would never call up the competition and pump them for information, undercover.

To know my true wickedness, you must know that whenever I see other plumbers' trucks out and about in the neighborhood and surrounding areas, some inner warrior comes out and I want to throw a rock or a tomato at their truck or slash their tires. But on the phone, I felt that feeling that they are all just good guys who are trying to do their best and make a buck or two. And some of them have wives who are like me, just trying to survive and have a happy little home with their families.

Another tricky thing was trying to pretend that I didn't know anything. I've heard Scott talk about water softeners for so long, I've heard how many grains they have, and I've heard all about the resin and salt and how hard the water is in Utah and that you shouldn't buy from Home Depot or any of the nationwide brands because they sell water softeners built for softer water (if that makes sense). So those national brands gum up with all our hard water and they don't run as efficiently as some of the locally made brands. I knew all this stuff and it was hard to just sit there and listen to his version of it.

I know business is rough and I felt bad lying to the guy and I felt bad using up his time and I felt bad using my maiden name. He gave a good schpeel. I want to use him. I want to buy a water softener from him - I mean we're talking about a lifetime warranty. That just sounds good, doesn't it? My hubby doesn't offer that. Poor Scott. What's a guy to do. He's just a small operation. Just he and his big and little brothers and sometimes not even that. His competition has recorded calls for quality assurance. They have a secretary gosh darn it. Poor Scott. Poor, poor, poor...

Kitty's Got A Brand New Dress

Today, Aunt Jeni surprised Kate with a special dress for her and a matching dress for her kitty.

Now Kate wants "Other Puppy" to have a suit so he can dance with "Kitty".

For All You Bangerters

I've got a little quiz for all the Bangerters out there. These are pictures from about 1920. They are each of one of your Bangerter Grandparents. Can you guess which one is Mildred Pauline and which one is John Howard?

And Kristi, Cherish, & Anna: don't you think the second picture looks JUST LIKE SUZIE?

I'm dying to know what you all think.

We Were Doorbell Ditched Last Night.

Cookies, nope. Candy, nope. Bag of flaming manure, nope. Someone dropped off a brand new, in-the-box, over-the-stove, stainless steel MICROWAVE! We've been living without one for months and months. Scott installed it tonight. And we can barely imagine who could have given such an expensive, thoughtful, out-of-the-blue gift.

The box had an envelope with our name on it (misspelled and in youthful, feminine handwriting) with a note: "We love you. Heard you needed one of these."

Thank you, mystery giver! How will we ever repay you?

Cooking "The Books"

Something I love even more than the dentist: reconciling my checkbook with the bank. I love it! I crave it! I prefer it to french fries. Once a week I pull up my bank information and I reconcile it against my digital check register in Excel. It's sweet. I keep up to date with all our transactions and check them against what the bank shows.

I even put together a separate budget worksheet that gives Scott a snapshot of where we stand. It shows which bills are paid, which ones are coming in, a rough estimate of how much more money we need for the rest of the month, the balance in checking, savings, the monthly totals for every month of the year, and what checks/deposits are outstanding. I have formulas to help with all that in Excel. I print it up for him almost every Monday. He asks for it (nicely) if I'm late. And thanks me profusely (as if I'm a genius even though I'm not) when I give him that piece of paper. It's good as gold to him. I swear he loves it more than all my affections combined. I get all sorts of uneasy if too many days pass by without my completing that little job. Takes 15 minutes and all is well with the world when I'm done!

I know reconciling ones finances with the bank is a lost art. People don't think it matters anymore in this digital, now, today world. I hear of people who never even bother. I bother. It's my favorite.

Online Bill Pay is my second most favorite thing. I love that 7 or 8 days into the month, I usually have all my bills and I just go online and wham. Done. They go out just in time, no mail, no hassle, no fuss. done.

So, I just can't help but ask, do you reconcile your finances with your bank on a regular basis? Is it something you love more than french fries? Do you online bill pay?

Today's Escapade: A Trip to the Dentist

My mouth is still a little numb from getting a cavity filled today. But I had to pause and say that I love going to the dentist! Getting a cleaning is one thing to love-the fresh, clean feeling of a bright, sparkling smile surpasses, for me, even the joy of chocolate. And I live for a short time afterwards with renewed desire to floss and care for my pearly whites.

But even better than that is the feeling of partial numbness that comes with a filling. I'm not being sarcastic at all. I really love it. I love that the dentist starts with that cotton swab slathered in analgesic-type ointment and after a few seconds brings out the shot of Novocaine and he is so careful not to let me see the needle. He is so gentle, I hardly even know he is poking me several times with it, except for that occasional burst of medicinal coolness. And he tells me that he will be careful and he reminds me to breathe (I honestly would have forgotten).

And then the dentist leaves me for a moment with a good movie to watch on a nice flat screen TV placed strategically above my head to make it easier to see. I wait, and focus on the sensations of the Novocaine radiating into nothingness. And then when it's time, I love to have my chair tilted back so far that my head is just a little lower than normal.

Now, the drilling isn't fun. I'm not altogether crazy. The sound is horrible and there is always a momentary twinge as if the drill went just a tad too far, followed by a grimace and the dentist's reassurance that seconds are all that is required for completion. But amid all the drilling, my favorite part is to lay there while the dentist tells me everything he is doing and he goes on and on about what a great job I'm doing. I'm doing NOTHING, he's doing all the work and he's telling me how excellent I am, practically gushing over my composure like I'm some rare talent. Seriously, I was even late and messed up his schedule and he is still all smiles and asks about my Christmas and works me in like I am his most important patient. He even thanks me for still making it in. And on my way out, when I hand over my debit card for the measly $106 dollars to cover my new, shiny, white filling, the dentist walks by the front desk with a quick pause to tell me again what a great job I did and to assure me that no one will ever know I had anything done.

I honestly love it. Granted, I've never had a root canal so my experience is limited, and this is only my second cavity to fill, but really, don't you love going to the dentist too? Does your dentist rave about you, too.