September 9th, 2008 by Jennine

When we signed up for high speed internet, we also chose to switch our telephone service to Vonage, a VoIP telephone service.

We’ve had our share of equipment failures with Vonage and I’ve spent several hours with India-based customer service technicians who have shown extreme patience with my requests to repeat what they’ve just said. Minnesotan and Indian accents aren’t exactly conducive to clear communication.

And while I understand there are bound to be challenges with Vonage, my main complaint against the company is their television commercials.

I do not understand the technology which allows a commercial to dramatically increase the volume on my TV and yet Vonage, despite their struggle with equipment failures, have managed to startle me on several occasions with their deafening advertisements, most often during the middle of the night after I’ve fallen asleep with the television on.

Companies are not allowed to change the channel I am watching so what gives them the right to increase the decibels?

I decided to protest in my latest interaction with Vonage Customer Service.

“Hello, my name is Sam. How can I assist you?” asked the man with a very heavy accent.

“Sam, I’m calling because my modem died again and I need a replacement.”

“I can help you do that. Can you give me the model number on the modem?”

“YES I CAN” I shouted and then resumed a normal speaking volume as I gave him the number.

“That’s great, Ms Johnson. Now let me troubleshoot the problem with you. Have you checked the power supply?”

“Yes, Sam. I PLUGGED IT INTO THE KITCHEN OUTLET and the power light DIDN’T COME ON.”

“I see that you are upset, Ms. Johnson. We will resolve the issue in no time, okay?”

“I’m not upset, Sam. I JUST WANT you to PAY ATTENTION TO what I’m saying by INCREASING THE VOLUME OF MY VOICE.”

He was silent for a moment and said “Is this in regard to the Vonage television commercial?”

“You mean you’ve had other complaints?” I asked.

“Yes, but never in this fashion,” he replied. “I WILL MAKE NOTE OF YOUR COMPLAINT, OKAY?”

He totally played the game with me and diffused my Vonage anger.

AND SENT ME A NEW MODEM NEXT DAY DELIVERY AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.

June 12th, 2008 by Jennine

I found the most adorable handmade greeting cards over at Etsy -a website which sells homemade items exclusively. This greeting card was crafted by Michelle at MF Cardworks.

Michelle is currently having a sale so I invite you to check out her site if you are interested in sending a friend or family member a card that makes Hallmark look like a lazy schmuck.

March 1st, 2008 by Jennine

Celestial Seasonings India Spice Chai is my favorite tea. Prepared according to the package and served with a bit of milk, it’s simply the best out there, and I’ve tried them all.

In many countries of South Asia and the Middle East, “chai” simply means “tea,” but there’s nothing simple about a cup of India Spice Chai. This complex blend of robust black tea and piquant spices like black pepper, cloves and ginger has its roots in India and is traditionally enjoyed with warm milk and honey. India Spice Chai was specially created by our Blendmaster to bring you an authentic taste of India with every sip.

Ingredients: Black tea, spices (cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper and Chinese star anise), roasted chicory, natural flavor and vanilla bean.

At around $2 per box, it’s as affordable as it is good!

February 26th, 2008 by Jennine

I saw these in the store and was immediately intrigued. Who wouldn’t want to taste a brown rainbow?

Chocolate Skittles comes in five flavors: S’mores, Chocolate Pudding, Chocolate Caramel, Vanilla and Brownie Batter. How they consider “Vanilla” a chocolate flavor is beyond me, however, I wasn’t going to let a technicality stop me from trying.

When I opened the packet I was surprised. They actually smell a little coffee-ish as opposed to cocoa or chocolate. I was expecting more of a hot cocoa mix of a smell, since they’re chocolate flavored and all, but I guess I was wrong!

I poured them all out and organized them by flavor because I’m just weird that way. The brownie batter and the chocolate pudding were a little hard to tell apart, maybe because I was using bad lighting, but the former is a dark brown and the latter had a reddish tint to it. S’mores was the most common flavor by far and outnumbered the others followed by a tie with brownie batter and chocolate pudding, then vanilla, with chocolate caramel coming in last with only five pieces.

Smores:Sweet at first, but once you start chewing it a graham cracker-like flavor appears. There’s a tiny hint of toastiness to it too. No chocolate flavor to be found.

Vanilla: Very buttery. I feel like I’m eating cake frosting with this. Very, very sweet.

Chocolate Pudding: Pretty flavorless. I chewed these and smacked my mouth quite a few times trying to find the flavor. It’s just sweet, with a hint of cocoa, but it’s practically not there. Disappointing.

Brownie Batter: Ugh… this tastes like… someone took fake, store-bought chemical-y brownie mix and blended in a tablespoon of cold butter. Maybe that’s what brownie batter tastes like to some people, but whoever it was obviously never had the homemade stuff. Yuck.

Chocolate Caramel: Again, this just tastes sweet. I don’t get any chocolate flavor or any sort of caramelized/burnt/milky sugar. Just sweet.

My two favorite flavors of the bunch, the Vanilla and the S’mores, didn’t taste of chocolate at all (not that they should have, considering that only 1/3 of a S’mores is chocolate and vanilla is, well, vanilla) and the other three didn’t even have any flavor - much less chocolate flavor. So try these if you’re curious because they’re not awful by any means.  These just aren’t chocolatey like I expected.

That won’t stop me from buying the next bag.

February 17th, 2008 by Jennine

The folks at Yankee Candle managed to out do themselves again with one of their newest fragrances called “Greenhouse”. If you’ve ever walked into a florist shop and thought to yourself “Oh, I love this smell!”, you’ll be happy to know that you can have that very aroma in your own home.

A beautiful blend .. the heady perfume of delicate rose blossoms intertwined with spicy green herbs. Experience the authentic, true-to-life fragrance, with pure natural plant extracts, and renowned Yankee Candle® quality that have made us America’s favorite. The traditional design of our signature jar candles reflects a warm, relaxed sense of style that’s always at home. Convenient and easy to use, these long-burning jars provide hours of true fragrance enjoyment. They’re also the ideal gift for any occasion. 

It is my new favorite scent and it’s a perfect way to welcome spring into your home.

February 14th, 2008 by Jennine

Lunar Pages Web Hosting is known for its excellent customer service.

I have been with this web host for over a year and have always been surprised by their response time to my questions. It has never taken more than two hours to receive an answer, even when I am up in the middle of the night working on my site.

Lunar Pages caters to both business and individuals and has several different packages from which to choose. The control panel is user friendly. They are affordable and competitively priced.

I highly recommend checking then out if you are in the market for a hosting service.

February 13th, 2008 by Jennine

If you are familiar with Aveda products, you know it’s difficult to find anything negative to say about them. Brilliant Hair Spray is no different. My mom asked me recently “What’s the one Aveda product you wouldn’t want to do without?” My answer was this  spray.

Brilliant is a medium hold spray. It doesn’t make your hair feel stiff or weighted down. The scent is outrageously delicious and it leaves a beautiful shine. Some sprays make your hair appear to have a matte finish. Not this one. It is somewhat expensive compared to what you can purchase at a retail store but it does last longer because you use less. In other words, I’m willing to sacrifice a couple trips to Starbucks in order to have this in my home.

Thank you, Mom, for your gracious gift.

February 13th, 2008 by Jennine

We switched our phone service to Vonage about six months ago after we dropped dial-up in exchange for high speed internet service. 

At first I was hesitant to cancel our landline, not knowing what to expect with Vonage, 
however the monthly savings in doing so made the risk worthwhile. Not only did Vonage
cost less, it had features we were unable to get with our normal phone company.

Vonage has turned out to be a smart decision. The only downside is when our internet server
is down, so are our phones. Thankfully Vonage has a feature where you can have calls transferred
to a cell phone in that event. The sound is crystal clear. The instructions for set up is super easy.

Customer Service is great!
I’m in love.