Thursday, November 29, 2012

Our next defeat is scheduled for next Friday, 8 o'clock. *

Last night, Chris and I went to the VCU game.  I love that my work buys tickets for that because basically, I love basketball!  Baseball is cool, but it's long and boring and I don't pay attention the whole time (and they are the Richmond SQUIRRELS...gag me).  Basketball is something I can pay attention to - plus, there's the pep band.  I didn't take any pictures this year, I think I got about three last year (and by last year I mean February of this year).  The stripper boy from the Pep band was there, but his clothes stayed on - no patriotic boxers this year...darn.  Also - we didn't park in the Kroger parking lot like I did last time, which is good because they were actually towing cars this year.

It was a really good game - there were a lot of good plays but there was also a lot of sloppy playing going on by both teams.  Through it all I kept thinking, "basketball season is coming!" And then I got really nervous and realized that basketball season is coming!  It's been so long since I've played! I'm excited and nervous that maybe I lost all of my skill (assuming I had any to begin with). 

Anyway - The Rams won.  We were sitting next to a couple which I could just tell are season ticket holders because the woman knew all of the things the student crowd would yell (and she was quite older than them) - I've decided also that she was once a cheerleader.  It made it fun.  Chris and I kept trying to figure out what they said after a foul shot was made.  It was something like, "whoosh, VCU - garble garble garble" *Foot stomp*.  By the end we decided that they weren't saying words, only grunting, and that we should feel stupid for trying to figure it out throughout the whole game. 

I wanted to get a picture with Rodney the Ram but I never really thought you could, but Chris said he could get me one.  Then later, Rodney was in the stands taking pictures with people, once he was done with one someone else would call him over.  Chris kept looking at me like, "call out to him!" but I couldn't do it.  I get so nervous around mascots (I don't know if that is true, I'm making a generalization about myself here).  I can only think my nervousness stemmed from the debacle I had with mountain goats in Utah when I was 18.  Traumatized. Which actually reminds me of a poster a guy at work made and sent me once - I wish they had had things like this when I was younger, it would have helped a lot...


Needless to say - I did not get my picture with Rodney the Ram. Sad Day.

The game was really fun though.  It made me kind of sad that my college didn't have sports teams - I mean, don't get me wrong, being the selfish person I am, I'm glad that I got to play tons of sports instead but there's something about having that school pride.  But then I thought about it - how good would the Vikings have actually been? Team pride is easier when your team is kicking butt and made it to the final four at least once. So - I'm going to adopt VCU as "my school team" and hope to go to games for many more years.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Danny Devito, I love your work!

Sometimes I blame myself for product discontinuation.  Caramel Klondik Bars, Peanut Butter Twix, Dannon Raspberry yogurt (yes, I know it's still around - but I can't find them with JUST Raspberry, I find it sold in packs of four with blueberry - yuck), gingerbread man Ben and Jerry's. Green concealer (I had to throw in a non-food item).

The latest - some multi grain cracker I used to buy but stopped for some reason or another.  I've looked for them the last few times I've been at the store but they've either changed their packaging or are no longer made and the worst part is - I can't even remember who made them. 

I'm not in desperate need of any of these things and I can't quite explain why I think that I could have somehow stopped their demise, but I realized today that I do feel a little guilty.  It's probably why I buy double stuffed Golden Oreos and anything white chocolate every so often so that they know that someone out there appreciates this product. 

In other news - I randomly got the urge to find out whatever happened to Lindsay Lohan (maybe it's because "Rumors" came on my iPod...I mean...if I had that song on my iPod). 


She was apparently on Jimmy Fallon but didn't say a word and she's got some show or movie or something coming out on Lifetime (the victim network)....Liz Taylor...she will be Liz Taylor.

So then I looked up Lizzy McGuire (I know, I know, Hillary Duff).











She's a mom!

That's so crazy to me - but that's probably because I remember her as a little twelve year old.

I'm sorry to subject you to my random brain dump, my brain works in mysterious ways sometimes.

The other night I went out for tacos with 5 other people. We were evenly divided, three girls and three boys.  I sat across the table from the other two girls, with two guys sitting in the same row as me and one guy at the other end.  So in essence, we looked like two "L"s and I said, "this is cool, we're like two pieces fit together in a game of human Tetris". 



My friend laughed and said that she missed me and the way I think...I'm glad she appreciated it cause as soon as I said it I wondered if it was one of those things I should have kept on the inside...

Monday, November 26, 2012

This is 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain*

18 - days that I missed my self-imposed deadline

10 - pages of my rewritten first story

2 - number of chapters

1 - Query Letter


So I did it - last week I sent my query letter and sample to another literary agent.  I chose to do snail mail this time - made it seem more official - of course, that means it will take longer than the last one.  This agent's list of clients looked promising, I seem to have a bit in common with them and have been told I write better than at least one of them. 

And here's a fun tidbit of information that G-Sauce sent me a few weeks ago, "Twilight was rejected FOURTEEN times before publication."  Then she threw in, "Keep on trying and you might end up a millionaire".

Thanks G-Sauce!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Weezin' the juice!*

I had a very humbling experience at the 7-11 the other day. My mom took my nephew and cousin to get slurped and I wanted one so I tagged along. When we got there I helped Tommy get one, I put the cap on and started to pull the lever. Wild Cherry slurpee started ooze into the cup, I slowed the flow a little as it reached the top and then I pulled slightly to get the last bit in. In my mind I was thinking I'd show Tommy how slurpee pouring was done.

But suddenly the slurpee surged and sweet, red, ice cold droplets flew through the air-mostly landing on Tommy's face. He looked at me and I looked at him, his facial expression unreadable, I couldn't tell if he was about to cry or laugh and I waited a moment to see how it would all turn out.  Neither happened - he looked at me for a few seconds and then he said, "it's really cold." I tried to find napkins but they apparently don't put those out by the coffee anymore.  The cashier must have heard the panic in my voice as I tried to find napkins to clean up my nephew.  Some of the slurpee had landed on my hand and I had gotten it off, but my hand still had little red stains on it and I worried Tommy's face was going to have red droplet stains. 

The cashier gave me some napkins and I got him cleaned up.  Then we got slurpees for those who didn't come with us and I had trouble still with the slurpee machine - not as bad as when Tommy was standing there, but I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me.  I mean - it's not that hard to get a slurpee!  That's what I get for thinking I was going to show a five year old how it's done.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

There's always gonna be another mountain I'm always gonna wanna make it move.*

This year has flown by and I can't believe that tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  Which means that in my personal life, Christmas is allowed to pop up (I don't care if all I heard at the dentist the other day was Christmas music - it was too soon).  Once Christmas comes the end of the year, then my birthday and then the end of life...just kidding - I just couldn't think of what pops up right after my birthday.  I hope it's not death, I'd like to have a few things under my belt before then. 

Point being - it's Thanksgiving tomorrow and I wanted to do a post where I give thanks for some things.  I've been struggling with a lot this year but that doesn't mean that there aren't things to be grateful for.  Last night at Institute we had an awesome lesson on Revelations - one of my peers shared his thoughts from his personal study of Revelations and he asked if the world was growing more evil or more righteous.  Then he said it was both and explained the parable of the wheat and the tares.  So - I'm going to use that parable for 2012 - the bad and the good grow together, the presence of one does not mean the non-existence of the other.

So with that in mind - I want to focus on the tares.  Some things I am grateful for:

The gospel - numero uno - no matter what happens in my life, I know that the safest decision for me is to stick with the gospel.  Despite how I feel, any doubts I have, what I'm letting fall apart in my life, etc. I know that the one I can't afford to ever give up on is the gospel.  It's is my safety net, by sticking to the things I believe, or the things I struggle to believe but want to believe, I find answers, comfort and peace.  I struggle to know what the right thing to do is, but if I hang in there, I find the answer while sitting in church or institute or reading my scriptures or during my prayers.  You can't find a sufficient answer to most of my struggles by doing a Google search.

My family - a close second.  My family is fantastic! Sure, we have our quirks, just as any family, but this year especially - I realized how much I love my family and how grateful I am for them.  They are so supportive, they make me laugh (and cry - but not cause they are mean to me), and they love me no matter what. 





My boys - I've already written a whole post on them, but rest assured, they are some people I am most definitely grateful for and have leaned on them more than they know over the past year.  I honestly don't think I would have made it through the last few months without them.


Amber - I typically don't throw out one individual because then I feel the need to name other individuals and then I'm going to forget someone - it's a given.  But if we're talking about the things/people I am grateful for this year, she's on the list.  Amber knows my very worst and still thinks the best of me (I'm still trying to figure out how that works).  Amber helps to remind me to look at myself the way that Jesus and Heavenly Father see me (and frankly, the way she sees me).  She has given me my metaphorical slap in the face when I am being irrational, she helps to build me up and calls me out on my crap (in a nice way).  She reminds me to do the right thing and then believes whole hearted that I will do it.  I couldn't ask for a better supporter in my corner!



My job - yup - believe it or not, I actually do like my job.  It's changed a lot over the past year and I'm kind of excited about that.  I like the new responsibility, I like feeling as though some of what I do does matter (I still handle the lame stuff that I don't see the point to). 



Traveling - I love that I can travel! From visiting the northeastern states back in May to Arizona in September.  I love that with a little time and saving and some impulse agreements with friends, I get around.  I love Virginia, it is where I lay my head down at night, it is where I have my family and am loved and have a life - but I love getting out there and seeing what else the country has to offer (since I haven't gone global yet). 


Nature - I've been on a lot of hikes this year, I've run a lot of miles outdoors, and I've worked on my yard quite a bit - basically, I've had a lot of opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors.  I love nature, I find it fascinating and an incredible way to communicate with Heavenly Father.  In a way, nature reminds me of the power of God and the insignificance of me.  As a license plate I saw yesterday said, "I'm little" - I truly am little, nature could wipe me out if she wanted, but despite how small I am or how prideful, the Lord still reaches out to me and tries to help me become a better person. 



I'm certain that I am missing a million things - but this will have to do.

Monday, November 19, 2012

You've got numb tongue?*

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

I had the world's longest weekend! I wish that were a good statement I just made - but it was long as in, completely exhausting! Physically, mentally, emotionally, grammatically.*

I was debating whether or not to break this weekend up into several post - but I think I can condense it enough into one...mostly because I didn't take a lot of pictures and my writing, while long winded, can be shorter if I need it to be.

Friday started off with an exam.  I've been taking an Intro to Property-Casualty Insurance course and Friday was the final exam.  I was incredibly nervous - do you know how long it's been since I've taken an exam that matters?  I had taken a million practice exams online but I was nervous that I had focused on that information too much and that the final would be everything else that I had forgotten sicne beginnign the practice exams.  I started the exam, answered the first question and then from 2 to about question 10 I just kept shaking my head and thinking, "you dirty rats." I had NO CLUE what the questions were about!  I didn't even have a vague memory from class about what they were asking.  Things got a little bettwe 11-44 and then the last 6 questions I knew that I knew them.  So I was confident with 6 of them, and I could only miss 15...so I went back through and tried to develop confidence in A LOT more of them.  Then it came time to finally hit the submit button.  I held my breath, clicked the mouse and....I PASSED!  I don't know by how much - I don't care, it just said PASS. 

From there I went to the eye doctor for another test.  This time...I FAILED.  He said my prescription had gotten better, gave me a sample set of contact lens and I popped them in.  When I left the place I couldn't read any signs or license plates! NOTHING.  It was scary.  I put in my old contacts, which are, you know old, and fuzzy but I can read things more than 6 feet away.

Then I went to lunch with Chris and Nick and Nick's friend Scott.  From there we picked up Ruth's friend Ellen from the airport. From THERE Chris, Ellen and I went Sam's club to buy the food for the regional activity.
Where do we put the rest?


Then I went to Joanna and Ben's to hang out.  The kids danced to some classics like Queen and ACDC.  Here they are dancing to TNT - I love all of it.  If you hear a small motor running while Ava is dancing - that is Olivia, she came over to sit in my lap for the show.  The last second makes me laugh every time - watch to see why (it probably makes me a terrible person).


Then I went back to the boy's house for a huge birthday party.  Then home to crash.

Saturday morning I woke up to a very nice message from a friend which helped to improve my mood.  Then I went and ran the Munchkins Run(5k) with Arianne...that's two races in one week - go us.

Then I came home, at lunch, tried to get a little nap and realized that I was running out of time so I took a shower and went to a double baptism at church.  I left from the baptism to go to Kroger to get the last minute things for the dance and then went to Chris' house to get ready.  I got partially ready and then Chris and I went to the hotel to set things up.  From there I finished getting ready.
Chris and I playing around with the props while we waited for people to arrive.

The dance was a lot of fun! Ben informed me yesterday that I out-danced him, he just couldn't keep up. 
 
To be honest with you - dancing is like a drug to me and I don't remember a whole lot about the dance itself except that when we got to 11:57 I was super sad that the dance was almost over.  I had one more slow dance and I danced that with Scott - but I couldn't slow down - so it was a medium-speed dance.

Chris did a great job as the Regional Committee President (though he keeps trying to say he's the co-chair and that I'm the other chair).  Whitney set up awesome photo props for people to take pictures and Ben did a great job bringing the Jimmy John's sandwiches and dancing with me (his two responsibilities for the dance). 



Cam smelled GOOD


So Friday night I learned that my nephews know and love the song Gangnam Style and that Tommy thinks the words are, "Hey, Chicken Lady".  So when that song came on Spencer, Caitlin and I sang it special just for Tommy.  Here it is. (p.s You can see Nick getting down to the music right before the chorus - that makes us happy).


Thursday, November 15, 2012

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light.*

Some days I just need some "pick me ups" - and a blog post.

Here are some random videos from my camera - but they make me smile so I thought I'd share.












Sunday, November 11, 2012

We did it! You a little more than me!*

 Lildonbro here - reporting LIVE (as in Alive).  So today was the half marathon - this makes two.  I woke up at 6:30 and got ready and Vivienne gave Arianne and I a ride down to the race.

Before - I'm a little freaked out by my "arm" it's actually my runner's belt, Viv took the picture as we got out of the car on some road, it looks like a gloved hand, but it is not.

After our warm up walk we found the starting line!
The race started off well.  I decided that I would run WITH Arianne, which is new for me, I don't run with people.  I've TRIED to run with Kat before, but those munchkin legs of hers are miracles on any race course and she quickly leaves me behind.  It was interesting to be running along and see all the sweaters and gloves tossed to the side, Arianne and I even saw a woman picking through them.  Not sure if she was sent to get someone's or if she was just looking for a good find.

We were between miles 3 and 4 when Arianne said, "Oh look, there's Christian!" I looked over and saw him and was like, "Oh what is he doing here?" and then I saw the other boys (Chris, Nick, and Ben) and realized that they might be there for me.  I waved them down and they cheered louder and yelled out my name.  Let's add this to the list of reasons why I love these boys (see this post for a refresher).  It was probably one of the sweetest things any group of boys has ever done for me and when I was running and got tired, I kept remembering that moment and it helped me to push through the weakness and the pain....because there was weakness and pain...in abundance.  I'm hoping writing this post will help me to remember that this year I mean it when I say I never want to run another half again.

I bought a pair of Brooks shoes (I was told they're really good running shoes) and I still had the issue where I felt as though the toes on my right foot had broken.  I had to run on the ball of my right foot because if I curled my toes or put any pressure on them, they felt as though they were breaking.  I think the issue here is my foot.  Because overall, these were some pretty darn comfortable shoes (and cute!)


Between mile 7 and 8 I lost Arianne, I would keep looking back and she would point forward and tell me to keep going, so I stopped looking back.  She caught up with me briefly close to mile 8 but then fell back to a pace that was better for her.  I was proud of her though, she stayed at a 10 minute mile for at least 7 miles!

Once I hit 9 miles I realized that it was the longest I had ever run consecutively and I determined that I would run this entire race (last year I walked quite a bit because of the broken toe feeling).  It took a lot of pep talks, a little bribery (I knew they would have pizza and I told myself I would get some this year if I didn't stop running), and remembering how sweet the boys were that morning to get me through to the end.

When I finished, my legs felt like jell-o and my fingers wouldn't bend well enough for me to text Arianne.  It took some time but I was able to tell her where to meet me.
We did it!


And I think this is why I run.  The bib, the medal, the sticker/magnets, the food, and the feeling of accomplishment.

...it only cost $55 right now to sign up for next year's...

Results:
2011 - 13.1 miles in 2:27:46
2012 - 13.1 miles in 2:15:22

Friday, November 9, 2012

If you don't run, you can't win.*


It starts tomorrow folks.  One more half marathon to go under my belt.  I bought plenty of magnets - I figures this would help me fight the urge to EVER sign up for another half.  Plus - after tomorrow, I have technically run a marathon...right?

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

That's an interesting story where you revealed absolutely nothing about yourself.*


I voted this morning! That's the sticker they gave me - special just for 2012.  I expected a generic "I voted" sticker but they surpassed my expectations.  I thought it was funny when I was standing in line that they give us stickers. I had never thought about it before but the other night my friend said something about how she was going to vote so that she could get her sticker.  So when I was standing in line I began to wonder if that was the motivation for more people? I mean sure, your voice can be heard, but look at the cool sticker! And as an adult, you get to wear that sticker all day and no one thinks you're being immature, but rather patriotic. 

I almost didn't get to vote this morning! My license has an old address on it because the DMV decided that to save money they give you a card when you move.  A big, cumbersome post card that you have to carry around with you until you renew your license.  I lost that card about 4 months ago.  So the lady had me state my full name and address and then she was like, "do you have anything with that address on it?" Uh...yeah, that stupid postcard that is probably in my room somewhere.  But then I remembered that I paid my water bill yesterday and whipped that out.

I have one complaint and then I'll let you go for the day.  When you are looking at the ballot, and you've voted for the people, there are the little amendments and such that they want you to vote "yes" or "no" to - but they word them in such a way that I have no clue how to vote.  I read something and I'm like, "Yeah, I DON'T want that" but then I look at the buttons and I'm not sure if "yes" will keep that from happening, or if "no" is the key to getting what I want.  ...Does anyone else have a problem with these or is it just me? It's probably just me - like the time I surveyed people and realized I was the only one with a problem putting together IKEA furniture. Ces't la vie.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Any process you are going through will get tougher before it gets easier.*

Yesterday was an excellent day! Actually - this weekend was just excellent. 

Friday night, we had a bon fire out in Goochland. 

It was a lot of fun.  People made smores and roasted Starbursts and struggled to find some kind of balance between freezing cold and burning hot.

Chris, Ben, Jessie G. and I left early and went downtown to see Richmond In Light.  This is basically an art show spread through several streets.  All the pieces have something to do with light.  I went to this two years ago with Bryant and neither of us really knew how to take it.  There were a few pieces that we liked - and we liked them because we gave them interpretations.  This year wasn't much different.  There was one piece that was a two quarter pieces of a globe, one piece solid and one clear, then there were some faint lights flashing images on it.  I offered my interpretation - the world through the ages as they develop their relationship with God.  There was once piece that gave the appearance of being interactive - but it was not - and the people in charge of the exhibit had a good laugh.  That was kind of funny. 

Saturday we had our evening session of Stake Conference.  I love the Saturday evening - I don't know if it's the speakers or lack of children distracting me or what - but Saturday is my favorite.  If you would indulge me for a bit I’d like to share some things from it.

Lately I have been struggling with several things – being a good disciple of Christ, forgiving others and forgiving myself.  I’ve also been fighting thoughts and feelings that I am not good enough, that I don’t deserve certain things, that I am going to miss the opportunity for some things, and that I have forfeited others.  Call it what you may, I called it a spiritual rut.

All of the talks were good Saturday night, but here are the highlights that helped me to start off my week in a good mood with more hope for my future.

Brother Palmese shared his favorite scripture with us (Moroni 10:32-33) which talks about being perfected in Christ and how this is open to all men, if they will apply the Atonement to their lives.  He said (and I’ll paraphrase) – Sometimes we hang on to the things of the past and think that the Atonement will apply to others but not to ourselves.

I think there are times in my life when I believe the Atonement will work for others, but that for whatever reason, it is not applicable to me.  But it IS applicable to all those who seek it.

Then there was a talk from a sister I didn’t know, her entire talk was about forgiveness – and as I said, that is something I have been struggling with.   She said that to forgive is to turn over to God the ultimate right to judge. We can remember the offense but we are not obsessed with it.  She talked about transforming our hearts into forgiving hearts and how that is a gift we give ourselves.  I have long known that holding on to anger or a grudge or what have you, does not affect the offender the way it affects you.  Something I have strived for is to be a forgiving person, and to be quick to forgive (because this is NOT how I was growing up).  So lately, when I felt the offense was too great, I found that I couldn’t let it go.  Not that I wanted to punish the offender, I certainly did not, but the pain and offense sank into my heart and at some point the anger took over so the pain could not. Something else she said stuck with me, she said, “The Atonement can make whole what once was broken.”  I love this statement because I can see it on so many different levels; our hearts, our relationships, our covenants, etc.

I kept waiting for some magic seven step program that she was going to unfold and teach me how to let this one go – but instead, she read 3 Nephi 12:44, “I behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you.”

These words were hard to swallow – but very necessary in helping me with the things I am struggling with.  Added to Saturday evening were the Sunday session and a CES Devotional Sunday evening. 

To kick off Sunday Conference, a young man I have met once or twice bore his testimony.  I’m not sure what the issue this young man has, but if I had to guess, I would say that he is high functioning Autistic – but I’m in no position to diagnose people.  He is a sweet and very honest young man (at least from my interactions).  When they asked him to bear his testimony, they mentioned that he is an exceptional young man and a good example, I agree with this statement.  His testimony was simple but very powerful and an excellent start to the session. 

 President Waters talked about Faith being an action.  Something he said that really stood out to me was “Don’t make perfection the enemy of excellence.” He also said (paraphrasing) don’t let Satan tell you that your striving isn’t good enough. 

Then (I promise I’m almost done), from Brother Gerald Causse’s CES Devotional last night, he gave us three things to help us find happiness.
1)     Recognize your personal worth – He said that you are known and remembered by the most majestic being (paraphrasing again because I don’t write fast enough sometimes).  Then he told us to imagine if we could view ourselves through Heavenly Father’s eyes.  This really struck me, and I took a few moments to consider how the Lord saw me.  I threw up in front of my mind, all the things I don’t like about myself and wiped them away as tried to imagine how the Lord saw my imperfections, my meager offerings, my failed attempts. I didn’t have much time to dwell on it, but the brief time I took filled me with an indescribably-positive feeling.
2)     Become who you are – Remember who you want to become. If you were to receive a letter from your younger self stating all the things you want to become – would you be on track? Or better yet, what if you were able to receive a letter from yourself as you were and with the knowledge you had in the pre-mortal existence?
3)     Trust in God’s Promises – “God is watching over you, and has made promises to you” We need to believe in those promises and to not give in to the “Eat, drink, and be merry” philosophy that is the opposite of hope.

I apologize if I was not able to convey even half of what I felt this weekend or be able to connect these highlights for you the way I connected them for myself.   But I came away from this weekend feeling more determined to do those things that are of most worth to me.  To pray more diligently, study my scriptures better, to allow myself to hope for the future, and to forgive others and myself.  Last night, and again this morning, I prayed for those I felt despitefully used by and found that I am not as angry as I had thought, I do hope the best for those people – I just don’t want them in my life anymore.  I’m not sure exactly what qualifies as forgiveness – but I know this is a step in the right direction and it is a gift I am trying to give myself. 

Thursday, November 1, 2012

You're gonna scream your guts out, you'll be so happy.*

As some of you may recall, my CamelBak broke when I was hiking around in the Grand Canyon in September.  I was heartbroken - mostly because I love my CamelBak.  I ended up taking it to REI because I had another hike planned and I needed a new one and several friends had told me to take it back to REI (where I purchased it a little over a year ago).  I kept telling them, "but I don't still have my receipt" and they all said it didn't matter.  So I took a chance on an unknown kid* and took it in.  I figured, all else, maybe I could buy a new pak without the bladder (since that was still good).  The lady at REI was so helpful and she went and got the exact same pak I had (yay!) and replaced my broken one with the new one....for free!  I was thoroughly impressed!

So then I blogged about the last hiking day in Arizona when the CamelBak broke.  I got a comment from a nice lady, Claudia, in the PR Department for CamelBak asking me to e-mail her because they would like to replace my CamelBak.  I e-mailed her back and informed her that REI had already replaced the pak for me but that I was very impressed and grateful that she reached out to me.  I told her that I was very impressed with both companies for their customer service! I mean - they read my blog post and wanted to replace my broken CamelBak - I didn't even have to go to them!

Claudia wrote back letting me know she was glad I was able to get my pak replace without any issues but also let me know that if I ever have issues with my pak that Camelbak has a "Got Your Bak" lifetime warranty! So if I have more issues with mine, then I know where to go.  I thought that was where the e-mails would stop, but the next day she e-mailed me asking for my address to "keep me posted on the latest news and products".  I gladly gave her my address because I'm impressed with CamelBak and wanted to know what else they have. 

Yesterday when I got home, there was a large box on my porch.  On the side was written "CamelBak".  I took it inside and opened it up and here's what I found!



I was seriously geeking out - it's the nicest thing any company has ever done for me (since they obviously topped REI on this one...but REI is still a close second). 

This pak is legit - I haven't tested it out on a hike yet (since I just got it last night) but it has extra cushioning for the back (I'm really excited about this actually cause on the long hikes you start to feel it).  I can't wait to get this thing out on a hike - who's in?!

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