Not Joking!

I'm working on getting my money back to a prepaid reservation for a Ramada hotel. Here is a letter that I received from the hotel owner. All spelling and grammar is exactly what I read in the letter I received. Enjoy!


(Blogger won't allow the 5 tabs at the beginning of the letter used to indent the paragraph.)

Dear Ms. Johnson:
We are responding to your comments regarding your experience with our Ramada Limited regarding problem in your room. We have thoroughly examined this matter and found that our staff preformed their duties appropriately and professionally. I greatly appreciate your comment and suggestion in this matter I am so sorry you think that way we just finished 95 % of our whole hotels all rooms with new knocked down painting done, so all hotels room smell fresh new painting and none of room smell smoking smell, what you smell was paint smell not a smoke smell. We did give you non smoking room and what you smelled it was freshly new paint smell not a smoking smell. Next morning you come by and tell our desk clerk to switch to a different room when you come back and you left. We did not heard from you next day all day until 4:30 PM you called ant tell our second shift clerk you did find accommodation at where you working at Kessler air force base which close to you are an you was looking for long time finally you find room at base so you decide to stay there and want to cancel your reservation which your reservation prepaid and we not able to cancel at Buy now and no refund no cancelation type policy. I am so sorry but reservation you made it was Buy now no refund policy and we not able to cancel. And you did knew that when you made reservation. I do not have any authority to cancel or refund this reservation. I am so sorry for all trouble you had and I want to give one free stay at our hotel for future your stay. Please call us in advance to hold room for you and bring this latter with at time of check in.

We take pride of Ramada name. We are sorry to hear about your unhappiness. Thank you for choosing Ramada Limited. And looking forward to see you in future visit.



Its me again...

The owner/manager did in fact see this letter before mailing it, because it has his signature in pen at the bottom!!

FYI...the prepaid reservation was for a NON-smoking room. When I checked in the FD lady couldn't find my reservation until I gave her the conf#, and then she asked me for payment. I explained to her that it was a prepaid reservation, and she shouldn't need it, but also should already have my CC info. She was continually talking to herself about how the reservation wasn't coming through properly and the paperwork hadn't been done for it. She then told me when I was checking in, that the room was in fact a smoking room and that the were almost booked and had nothing else available due to a softball tournament. Also, there were ashtrays in the room!!! Don't tell me I was in a non-smoking room and that the smell was fresh paint...I'm not stupid.

There were many other problems like: Soupy cream cheese (little individual packets that said "Keep Refrigerated" were sitting on the counter in a basket), Stale bagels, FD representatives not asking for ID when making room keys (that's a big one!), and the personal phone calls while checking me in :)

I have to wait to call corporate until tomorrow because the office is closed due to a snow storm...lol. I'll keep you updated on the drama.

My 1st visitor!

I just got word that my sister is going to fly down here to Msssspp and spend almost a WHOLE week with us. The kids are excited that she is coming. Ivy's smile was ear to ear when I told her. Hopefully the weather will be nice and we will be able to go to a couple different parks, the beach, and hang out that the pool. We may even venture out to a zoo. I'm sure at some point there will be pictures to post.

The latest.

Ok...so now that we are partially moved in to our 1 bedroom fully furnished apartment, we are moving to a 2 bedroom two doors down tomorrow. There are plus and minuses to the move, but I think the positives out weigh the negative.

The biggest advantage, is more space for the same price. The kitchen, living room, and dinning room are laid out differently and seem bigger, at least the layout gives the appearance of more space. The children will have their own bedroom, which is nice for me, and my recent lack of personal space. With the extra room, that means there will be more closet space for storing items not used everyday and will reduce the clutter. Also the children will be able to have thier toys in thier bedroom, and be able to use it as a play room.

The down side to the move is the view and lack of sunshine that will be coming in the windows. As of right now I have 4 large windows in the living room/dining room that over look the pool/courtyard. In our new place we will be located in the corner of the complex and there will only be 2 large windows, and right outside of them is a brick wall. It will make things a little darker out in living area, but I guess I can start using the lights durning the day. I also love having the windows open and feeling the breeze (it's not humid here yet) and I'm not sure there will be much of a breeze in the new place.

Nathanael has found out that if he stays on track, he will graduate from Kessler 0n May 11th. If this is accurate, our time here in MS is going to be much shorter than we originally expected. He originally understood that he wasnt starting Tech School until April 9th and then would graduate from here 14 weeks later. So, in all, I think I can handle looking at a brick wall for 7 weeks, if it means getting an extra room and more space.

The children and I really are enjoying our own space, and I'm excited about not driving long distances for a few weeks. However when it is time to go, our traves will take us 12 hours from here!! Again, we aren't planning on going anywhere until then! :)

Grab the popcorn, I have a story to tell.

A little background information.

I have been in contact with a management company (since March 18th) about a little cottage that I was looking into renting here in the Biloxi area. Before arriving to MS I had already signed an application, faxed in my proof of income, and been approved to rent the cottage All that was left was signing the lease and getting the keys.

I drove down to MS on Friday March 20th and after finding out that I would be arriving in town after the rental place closed their office, I started trying to make arrangements for the key to be picked up before they closed, and then I could finish up the paperwork on Monday when the office reopened. I was a little upset that they wouldn't take my CC# over the phone and allow someone to pick the key up which meant that I would have to find somewhere for the kids and I to live for the weekend. Oh but who knew that God was in control and there was a good reason for this minor setback? I wasn't thinking about it at the time when I was frustrated, but I can see it now.

Over the weekend I did a little more research on places in the area to rent. Nathanael and I found a 2br 1bath apartment fully furnished for the same price as the cottage, however all expenses were covered, and wireless internet and cable TV were included. It seemed a little too good to be true, but I called the number and left a message. A few moments later a man called me back and I explained our situation, and he was more than willing to work with us. He was currently out of town, but could meet with me on Monday to show me the apartment.

Now we come to today...(Monday).

I called the management company about the cottage and inquired about getting an appointment to view it. They told me that all I need to do was come to the office and they would issue me a key. So...I drove 15 minutes to the office (with the kids), I guess it isn't normal to "show" the property to possible renters, because they basically handed me the key and I was on my own...The girl at the desk made a copy of my drivers license and wanted to hold on to my credit card (but they wouldn't run it). I then got into the car and drove 15 minutes to the cottage (with the kids) (and no one representing the house) I unloaded the kids and proceeded to open the gate...but it wouldn't open. I tried for a few minutes, pushing and pulling, lifting up and pushing down, but the latch wouldn't budge. I called the management company and explain my dilemma to them the girl on the phone told me that no one has ever had a problem getting in or out. When I asked "Well then can you tell me how to do it?" The answer I was given was "I've never been to the property, let me see if anyone else can help you." Of course she puts a man on the phone and he proceeds to talk to me as if I'm just a dumb girl that doesn't understand anything and says "all you need to do is..." I tried to explain to him that I understood what he was saying, but that the latch wasn't moving, and he wasn't describing the latch that I was looking at, and then it came out that this man hadn't been to the property either! He then asks me to take pictures with my cell phone and come back to the office...(I'M NOT JOKING!) At this point I'm a little upset. I did it though, I took the pictures and drove 15 minutes back to the office (with the kids) and now I've just wasted 45min of my day.

Now we are at the office for the second time...The girl (who originally helped me get the keys, and who answered the phone knowing that I couldn't get the gate open) asks me what I thought of the place as she hands me my credit card. I'm sure my answer came out a little rude...but I said, "I couldn't get in the gate!" and she looks at me with a shocked expression and apologizes. She goes to get the manager and as he is walking down the hallway from his office he rudely approaches me with a "Hey." which I purposely ignored and pretended I didn't know he was addressing me. Then as he is closer to me he states that no one has ever had a problem with the latch, and the proceeds to explain to me how to do it. He rolls his eyes as I inform him that the latch wasn't moving as he said it should. He then huffs and says that he could drive out to the property and open the gate.

At this point I really didn't care if I got the chance to view the cottage, but I told him that I would appreciate it if he would drive out there, because I could tell by his attitude, that I was putting a kink in his plans. He leaves me standing at the counter as he goes back to his office. About 3 minutes later I noticed out of the corner of my eye that he passed by the hallway in the back of the office building. I then notice the sunlight reflect off the back wall, and then disappear. I questioned to the man at the counter, "Was that the manager who just left the building?" Yes it was, and all the man behind the counter had to say to me was, "He drives the big white truck, and he drives like he wind blows." I kid you not when I got out to the car, he was already pulling out of the parking lot, and had never told me that he was even leaving the office.

We get to to cottage, (now I've driven a total of 1hour, with the kids, to view this place) and I told him that I wasn't going back to the office again, and that he would have to wait for me to view the cottage and take the keys back with him. He goes to the gate and guess what...he can't get it open. Oh but of course there was a good reason, it was locked from the inside, and he says that the previous renter must have left it that way for his dog.

HOLD THE PHONE....
They hadn't checked the gate to even see if it was open since the previous renter left? You've got to be kidding me!

To make this long story as short as possible....I go inside the cottage and it looks nothing like the pictures.

The desk with the office chair that was pictures in the living room doesn't exist and the couch that was in there wasn't the same on that was in the picture, and it was literally falling apart, no end table with lamp, no pictures on the walls, no blinds on the windows, and no rug no the floor. In the pictures, both bedrooms had a full size bed with sheets and comforter, a desk and a lamp. When I went in the first room, there was a full size bed, but it only had one sheet, and there were 4 dusty pictures from the wall laying on top of the sheet....no light in the room. The second room only had a twin size bed, and no bedding. The man said that he THOUGHT they might be able to get me some bed linen.

Lets just say I'm thankful I wasn't able to get the keys on Friday. I would have never guessed this cottage wasn't ready to move into when the description states "in excellent condition. Renovated in 2006, it offers the charm of yesteryear with the conveniences of today. It features 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, approximately 1000sf and has hardwood floors and ceramic tile in the wet areas. Fully furnished and has a screened porch, a rear deck, and a fenced yard. " and the girl that I was in correspondence with since the 18th knew that I was needing something that I could move into with just the stuff packed in my car.

I signed the papers today on this place....

The pictures aren't 100% accurate, but the decor is the same style. There is a pool and a washer and dryer facility on site. All utilities are included in the rent and that includes the wireless internet, and the cable TV...for the same price as just the rent of the cottage (utilities weren't included there) The only down side to the apartment that we will be living in, is that it is 20 min from base instead of the 2 minute convenience that the cottage had, but I think the kids and I will be much happier here...

The End.

There's much to tell...

So the kids and I are in mIssIssIppI now. We arrived Friday evening and were able to spend some time with Nathanael before we went to our hotel room. We spend one night at the Ramada in Ocean Springs, and now we are staying at the TLF (Temporary Lodging Facility) on base, Hopefully Monday we will have arrangements made and finally have a home all to ourselves for the remainder of our stay here in MS. There are a few places that we are looking into, I just hope that one of them works out.

God has really been watching over us during our trip and stay here in MS. He has crossed our paths with some VERY gernerous people who have been very giving of their time. I have a peace about me that we are being looked after, and everything will fall into place.

The children and I got to spend almost the ENTIRE day with Nathanael. He still has a curfew, and isn't allowed off base, so we spent the entire day on base with him. Nathanael and I took the kids to the playground, and Ari showed us both how daring he was to go off the BIGGEST slide, and Ivy had her very first Teeter Tauter (SeeSaw) experiance. We then visited the commisary and picked up some fruit, sausage, cheese, and crackers for lunch and ate outside under a tree. Nathanael then found out that he could visit us in our room on base, so he came over and we had frozen pizzas for dinner and watch various Strawberry Shortcake DVDs and also most of Peter Pan. We gave the children a bath and just when it was time to put them to bed, Nathanael had to walk his way back to the dorm to make it in time for curfew. So yes...we did a lot of walking today beacuse there are many rules still for Nathanael, and one of them is that he isn't allowed to "ride" in a car...even as the passanger. The day was wonderful.

I am ready to relax now...Just made myself a cup of Tazo :Calm: tea and I think that I will play some bookworm before going to bed...Melissa and Hadassah...I did show it to Nathanael, not sure if he is as hooked as I am, but I'll get him...Bwahahaha! :)

Lackland AFB,, TX

Random Photos. I will post more stuff later.

Can anyone tell why I might be upset with the weather?

This is the forecast for Wednesday March 11 - Sunday March 15.

Well, I did make a SUN dress. :(

Its not completely done, but I think it is looking good.
I still have a few more lbs to shed before it will fit the way I want it to.
I also have a few more things to sew.
I have to put some hooks on the top of the back. I still have to sew the straps in place and the bottom still needs to be hemmed. I'm proud of it so far.

Current Events.

Nathanael is doing well. Praise God. I talked to him a few days ago, and even received a letter the other day, and he said that his back is fine...no more pain. I'm not exactly sure what was wrong with it...the Drs really only gave him muscle relaxers, which weren't taking the pain completely away.

As long as he can complete all his physical goals...so many push-ups and running in a certain amount of time, he will be able to graduate on time.

I am currently in SC at Nathanael's parents house. I will be leaving here on Monday March 9th and make a short stop in Chattanooga to put some stuff in storage. On Tuesday I will drive to Nashville and take a nap. Then at 2am Hadassah (my sis-n-law) and I will drive with the kids 14+ hours to TX where we will get to see my knight in blue armor...lol I'm so excited.

I will continue to update.

Please keep Nathanael in your prayers.

Yesterday (Tuesday) Nathanael called me with more upsetting news. He was going to the Dr to get his back checked out, and never got to find out what was wrong. While he was waiting to get checked out, he came down with a fever and therefore was removed from his flight and was placed in a "Hospital" and has to wait to have his back checked out. They have given him muscle relaxers and a fever reducer. He said that they have told him that if his fever doesn't go away in a timely manor, he can be recycled.

He was a little down when we were talking yesterday. He has tried very hard and has been very dedicated the whole time he has been in BT, and now its just a little depressing because he really can't control his health or how his back heals.

Please be praying for him physically and mentally. And, if you get the chance, please send him some uplifting words. No packages or food. or anything embarrassing please. Thanks everyone.

Happy Valentines Day

I got 2 phone calls today!!

Nathanael's flight had a 2 hour base liberty pass, and he got to call me twice! We got to talk for a long time. It was so nice. He even got to talk to Ivy and Ari for a while.

Nathanael sounds well, however please keep him in your prayers. While running he seems to have done something to his back. He was kind of vague when talking about it, so I'm not exactly sure what is wrong. He isn't allowed to do any physical activity right now, and I think he said that if his back continues to hurt they are going to do x-rays. There is also a possibility that he might get recycled....which means he could be in Basic Training for an extra week or two. He was doing really well keeping all his goals that he needs to do to graduate, but not being able too do the physical activities it might be hard for him to accomplish the goal in time for graduation...please pray.

Random news, he met someone who is in an earlier flight who he went to school with at the community college...its a small world after all.

Oh Happy Day!

I got two more letters today!!!

FYI...

They don't peel potatoes for punishment...

Oh I do miss him so much and can't wait to see him. Tomorrow, Friday 13th will be one month before I see him. I don't know if it really counts as one month. but Im still excited!

So far...

OK...so this is what I have accomplished today. Nothing is sewn together here...just pins holding it together. The lining is in the dryer. I wanted to pin the whole thing together to see what it would look like all one pattern, and I think I've made up my mind to make the midriff solid black. I think it would help the dress not look so much like a potato sack...and more like a dress. I think I might also change the straps to be more of a "tie around the neck" kind of dress if I can figure it out...or at least make them thinner.

As of now, the dress doesn't fit me...ya...well I didn't realize that the pattern didn't go up to my size cause the back where it tells you how many yds you need has all the sizes. Oh well...motivation to lose more.

I won't be able to get to work on it any tomorrow. Going out with a friend in the morning, and then over to my dads house for the evening. Maybe Thursday. I'll keep you posted.

Starting a new project.

Am I INSANE!?

As if taking care of two children, while living out of a suit case, and trying to visit everyone before time runs out, and don't forget losing weight wasn't enough...

Now I'm starting a new project? Not to mention, I have 2 large projects not finished, and 2 orders not started...

I'm going to tackle McCall's M5094 DEF (I haven't made my final decision. When I'm finished it may be a combination of the three...with a slight alteration by me.

Here's the kicker...It has to fit me! I'm not just making a dress that will hopefully fit someone, It HAS to fit me, and look good! I'm making this dress to take with me to Nathanael's graduation. I've lost 10lbs, and have about 10ish to go for my goal...20lbs would be nice, but I'm not pushing it. I'm kind of nervous about making the dress, since my weight will hopefully change before I actually wear it, but I figure, if I'm the one making it, shouldn't I be able to do the alterations?? :)

I bought the main piece of fabric today at JoAnne Fabrics. It was costly, well for me since I normally buy remenents...but I think I'm really going to like it. The fabric is in the was as we speak. I haven't decided what color I'm going to use for the middle above my waist, either a bold color, or just black?

And if you can't tell by the first two pictures, the fabric is actually embroidered.

Hope it holds up in the wash...We'll find out in about 30 min I guess.

And hopefully in the end, I will be as beautiful as this princess...

I missed a call. :(

I'm so sad. Nathanael called today. He called the cell phone. He left 3 messages. I missed all the calls.

I went with my dad tonight to a bible study, and my phone had fallen out of my purse. When we were getting ready to leave, someone asked if I had pictures of my kids, and I looked for my phone but couldn't find it. I had my dad call it when we got back in to the car, but it went straight to voicemail. I was so worried cause I thought maybe it had fallen out of the car. I had no idea where it was. I felt between the seats right before I got out to check if it was on the ground, and there it was. FROZEN and off. Not until I dropped my dad off at his house, did I know that Nathanael had tired to call. Who knows when he will call again...

He has gotten my letters, said it got about 14 all at once. He sounded good. Wanted to make sure everyone understood NOT to send packages or food.

Please keep praying for him. He mentioned that he can only send letters out on Sundays, so it will be a while between each letter I receive. I will keep you posted on any more news.

For your viewing pleasure.

Howdie I'm using an iphone. Can't figure out how to type in the main box. So this is all in the title. :)

I got to hear from him again.

Seems the AF needs my drivers license again...Luckily Nathanael had a great recruiter who said if I emailed him a copy he would fax it for me. You see I'm living out in the middle of no where land and it is quite a drive to anywhere...so I'm thankful.

However I'm still a little frustrated. The other reason he called was because he didn't know that he needed to take any of his school loan information with him, and not he may not qualify for the payment plan. I have to get the info together myself, which might be difficult since they can't talk to him and get his permission to talk to me, this could get sticky... On the other hand it might turn out to be a blessing, because supposedly you can only have one or the other in terms of the paying off current loan debt OR the GI Bill. And it is starting to look better to do the GI Bill since Nathanael didn't finish school first and doesn't have an insane amount of debt.

If you have any opinion or information on the matter, do share. Thanks.

HE CALLED!!!

I got to talk to Nathanael!

I got his address, so if you want to write him, email me and I will send it to you.

...

Its almost been a week since I have seen or heard from Nathanael. I actually did get to talk to him on Monday evening, but that was before he flew to TX on Tuesday. I'm sure he is fine, I just miss him, and it would be nice to hear his voice.

The kids and I have written him a letter every night, and are waiting anxiously for his call so we can mail them off. The kids each get a blank piece of paper, and some crayons. Ivy has been drawing the family each time, then having me label whos who so Daddy will know when he looks at it. I usually try to recap the day, and write about anything funny or cute that the kids have done. Sometimes waiting till the evening has been hard to remember everything. I need to start jotting stuff down as I think of it, or as the kids do it. That way his letter might be a little more interesting.

I've been faithfully working out. I have a Wii Fit. I've done it everyday for one week now, and I can tell a difference. Tomorrow when I weigh in I'm hopful for a loss. I get weighed everyday and of course it is fluctuating...but I'm also taking it at different times of the day. I haven't really been counting my calories or anything, just trying to take smaller portions and be a little more aware of what I'm eating. When the kids ask for a snack, I try to give them things like apples, oranges, or banannas, that way if I want some, I'm eating healthy.

I hope to lose quite a bit before I see Nathanael again. I'm not really concerned with the number of lbs that I lose, just the way I look.

I'll keep everyone updated when I hear from Nathanael. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.