Altrec Order

EDITOR'S NOTE: UPDATED INFO AT END OF POST!

For his birthday, I ordered a pair of Sole Signature DK Response inserts for his shoes.

He has a lot of foot pain and needs something to help alleviate this pain while he is running (as well as after he runs). He wanted to give these nifty shoe inserts a try. So, I ordered them.

This is what they are supposed to look like when you recieve them. This is what my husband's looked like when he took them out of the package....
They look extra comfy, right?

Maybe not.

I have contacted the company and am curious to see how they fix the problem.

The inserts are made by Sole. The order was placed through Altrec.com

They might want to start by not shipping heat molded inserts to the South in the heat of summer in a very flexible envelope. Lately, the daytime temperature here has been over 95 degrees with a heat index of 105+, so when the mailperson folded the flexible envelope and shoved these into our black mailbox...they might as well have been thrown into the oven!

In the meantime, anyone know somebody who has a foot shaped like this???

UPDATE:

The company (altrec.com) originally wanted me to print out their pre-paid postage return label and return the inserts. Since they can't do inventory swap at thier warehouse, they said I could either wait until they receive the return and give me credit or I could go ahead and just order another pair (pay for these a second time) and then be credited when they receive my return.

It took a couple of emails, but they saw my point on customer service and integrity and were willing to go ahead and work through this with me. That is, until they realized that they no longer have any size 14 inserts in stock. To make it better, they don't know when they will receive more inventory of the inserts either.

I am going to send them back. I will get my credit. I will be purchasing another pair from another retailer and paying for shipping from them (which was free on altrec.com).

My husband will get his inserts....he will, he will!

What the heck is blogfrog?

I have been tweeting and facebooking (is that a word yet, or did I just invent it?) a lot lately about blogfrog. If your name is Sue and I call you mom...ignore the rest of this post because you don't need another Tetris or Ebay!

Ok, back to Blogfrog. My favorite aspect of Blogfrog is that it allows anyone reading my blog to interact with one another. I have had several of my friends say that they read "such and such's blog" that they saw on my blog roll. Well, now you can all interact with each other and tons of other folks who are active in the blogging world. You don't have to have a blog to interact and anyone with a Blogfrog account (it is FREE! and there is no spam!) can answer posts or start new posts. I would love to see some of you start interacting in my Blogfrog community.

You can learn more about Blogfrog here

Even better, you can check out my little bitty needs some people to start interacting community right here

Just fyi...don't like my topics? That is fine! Start a new one...pretty much any topic is welcome!

AND, AND, AND this is a big one....got a suggestion on how I can grow or make my community more appealing? Let me know!

A note from the teacher...

All this madness started with a note from Kale's teacher a few weeks ago. She watched me pull the note out and read it. She then laughed at me because her theory had been right. My eyes about feel out of my head. The note was to let me know, that despite it probably being a shock to us (his parents), Kale was ready to start wearing underwear. After I got done picking my eyeballs (they bugged out) and chin up off the floor, I laughed too. The only word I could muster: REALLY?


She told me he had been asking to "go" during the day at school and was pretty much staying dry in his pull-up. Meanwhile, at home, he was pretty much avoiding the potty. No amount of asking him if he needs to go, asking him to sit and try, or just waiting for him to say he needed to go was working.

I took Kale and the note home. On the drive home, I found myself a little sad by the idea of my little boy leaving the diapers behind...yes, I know this sounds insane...who in thier right mind would mourn leaving behind the cost of buying and changing diapers! Still, it was just another reminder that my baby is quickly becoming a big boy...ugh! We arrived at home and Ep came out ot help us unload from the car and I handed him the note. His eyeballs hit the driveway and I scrambled to grab them...ok, not really, but they did bug out! I believe the only word he managed was: Really?

So, we went inside and Kale put on underwear. He was on his third pair by bedtime. We weren't so sure he was ready for this. The next day at school, he proved just how much of a different kid he is there. He stayed dry ALL DAY!

Since then, its been a journey. He still has accidents quite frequently at home. I am thinking about moving his potty to the kitchen area, as that seems to be where he pees in the floor the most (and then tells me to "fix it mommy"). Just this morning, he created not one but two puddles there. They were a few inches apart because he tried to inch his way toward the bathroom while clamping his legs together. I tried not to laugh or groan at him. Spend a day with us right now and it will be clear to you that we don't know what we are doing with this whole potty training business. We just know there is a lot of frustration, confusion, and a little bit of humor involved.

Oh, and we are thankful that the note from the teacher was not similar to the ones we can't help but expect to get when he is older....

That story

Editor's note: This was written two days ago. I wanted to ponder it and meant to publish it. Then I got my feelings hurt by my husband and wasn't very inspired to hit the "publish" button. In fact, I thought about erasing this whole thing. Hey, I am who I am. If nothing else, I am honest. But here it is...so go ahead...get on with my THAT story.

My heart has been breaking lately for the victims of the flash flood here in Arkansas. As of today, there are 20 people who had life taken from them as a result of this fast and furious flood. Its made me think about some things. And it makes me wonder....and I just heard Tim McGraw sing about "My Best Friend"....so here is where I am.


Do you have a story that is THAT story? You know, one that you never get tired of telling, the one that means so much to you? It might be a story that makes you smile, cry, laugh, or all of the above. I have a couple of THAT stories. I can't tell you my one favorite, but I can tell you two my "tied for first place" favorites.


They are:

The story of Kale's arrival and the lessons he taught us (and continues to teach us)

The story of God throwing Ep at me


Most of you know the one about Kale, so here is my Ep story.


I should tell you that I like telling this story not just because its how I met my best friend and love of my life, but because its also one of my best examples of how God reminded me of some things. I should also tell you that this is the abbreviated (yet still long) version.


I was dead set on being in charge of my life at the time. I made my own decisions. I did what I wanted, when I wanted, how I wanted, and nobody ever better try to tell me different. I was 23 and knew all I needed to know in life. Are you laughing yet? I was entering my final year of college, dating a guy to which I had once been engaged, and trying to figure out what was going to be my path after my professional stint of being a college student was over. I knew how many kids I was going to have, how far apart they would be in age...I knew it all. The thing was, so did God. See, this was before I truly acknowledged the fact that God was in control and my life was His. I believed in God, felt entitled to a certain life because of my belief in God, and talked the talk without walking the walk. As much as I fought God on it, he threw Ep at me. I walked in to all four of my classes that fall to find this guy sitting in each and every class. In class, I mentioned my dad being a state trooper. I walked to my truck after class and found a note: "Call me....xxx-xxxx. Ep" and I still remember looking around and wondering how he knew which truck was mine. I later asked him that. He gave me his standard--"I don't know." Ten plus years later, I can tell you how...he is watching when you don't realize it...and he is much more observant and knowledgeable than he lets on to be. He knew which truck was mine because he had either purposely or coincidentally noticed me getting in/out of my truck at some point. Will he admit it now...nope...claims he has no idea...doesn't remember. I didn't call him. See, he wasn't in my plan. But he was in God's. So after class the next day, Ep approached me and asked me if I knew of Capt Fletcher from the state police. I told him no, but I bet my dad knew him because my dad seems to know everyone in this state, especially the people who wear or once wore uniforms. Ep laughed. He understood. He told me that his dad (Capt Fletcher, yet retired) does know my dad. Turns out, his parents remember when my mom was pregnant with me. Despite the fact that I was supposedly exclusively dating this guy from my past...I started going to lunch with Ep. There were times that lunch turned into dangerously close to dinner time and we were still at our lunch spot. And that still makes me laugh. We once spent 3 plus hours in a Taco Bell in Fort Smith. Our butts fell asleep. We didn't care. The people who worked there must have thought we were insane. At times we would sit there in complete silence for minutes on end, yet it wasn't uncomfortable and most of the time we were looking deeply into the other person's eyes. I know that sounds mushy. Really, it was the first time I remember feeling like someone was looking into my eyes and seeing straight into my heart and soul. Honestly, that is how it felt. Every great once in a huge blue moon while, we still have one of those moments.


Eventually, it came to a point where I needed to make a decision. I was ready to cut things off with my boyfriend and see where things went with Ep. Then I chickened out. I took the safe route...the route that was at least familiar, despite not being sure if it was the path I wanted for my fiuture anymore. Then God reminded me who was in charge and gave me a swift kick in the hiney. To this day, that journey brings a sly smile to my face. Its not just a special story about me and Ep, but also one about how God will lead you down the path you need even when you don't know the best path to take. I now know that that other guy wasn't the one for me. I would have never respected him the way that a wife should respect her husband (which is the way I respect Ep...really, quit laughing...I do!!!!). I would have never seen the world the way I have. I would not be who I am now. I wouldn't know that I love adventure, that the world is truly bigger than me, that I love to climb, and I don't know if I would know what its like to be loved for just who I am (even on my bad days). This path that God kicked my hiney down...the path with Ep...its exactly the path for me.


Of course, God knows that Ep and I have struggled (what couple hasn't?) and that we have had our share of speed bumps, frustrations, tears, and moments of doubt. Yet here we are. Ep is my other half. I still know who I am, but yet I would feel so lost without him. He and I both have grudgingly made changes as we adapt ourselves to what "we" need instead of what "one" of us wants/needs. We don't slow down often enough to really just sit and look into each other's eyes...we have too many distractions such as this noisy two year old who rules our home, iPhones, tv's, and the list could go on. I once asked Ep if he remembers much about when he first met me or what he thought of me the first time he noticed me. His reply? "I wondered who you thought you were." I don't think he meant that in a quizzical/deep way. I think it was more along the lines of "who does this chick think she is anyway?" with a roll of the eyes. Well, that should have been his first clue to run...and run fast. He didn't. Thank goodness. He chased me. He chased me until I chased him back and that is when he ran. And boy oh boy did we go on some adventures with all that chasing and running. Some were good adventures and some weren't so much fun (yet just as life altering and lesson teaching).


The bottom line is this. When tragedy strikes in a way that shocks me, I always ponder it for a while. This latest tragedy made me wonder if I were taken off this earth in a swift moving flood, would my husband know how much I love, value, and cherish him? Would he know that I still laugh out loud at the story of how we became (and are still becoming) "us"? Would the man who is constantly moving forward, for once, not roll his eyes at me looking backwards in time? Would people know how much I love him and how much he means to me? Would he know that he is my THAT story?

I hope so.