Cart Cover Giveaway!

Note: those without kids babies... this post is probably not for you...  For those who just want to know how to win and don't care why Kozy Pal sucks... skip to the bottom!

I was soooo excited in December, when I started looking for a shopping cart cover (dorky, I know).  CJ was starting to sit up (stably) on his own, and I hate trying to use the car seat.  You can either put the seat in the basket and buy 5 items (he usually holds the bread in his lap), or you can put him in the top section so you can't see where you're going, thereby knocking over display stacks of Pringles and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  The exception is the Costco shopping carts, which are large enough to hold baby rhinos, but sometimes you don't want 4,872 rolls of toilet paper, or 8 lbs of edamame.

After looking at them on Etsy and doing a Google search, I settled on an animal design from Kozy Pal Cart Covers.  The animals were print on a black background and the back of the cover was red, neutral enough, I thought, to use again if we have another child and its a girl.  I ordered it on December 26th, and received a confirmation email from their website that my order had been received, along with an order number.  $60 was charged to my credit card.   According to the website, the item was "In Stock and Ready to Ship!"  Also per their website, as long as it is not a custom order, they ship within two business days.  I thought I'd have my cover in a week and be leisurely tooling the aisles at Target in my Jimmy Choo's Crocs , with my kid regally waving to others like the Rose Queen.

One week went by.  Then two weeks went by.  I tried calling the 866 number on the website, and got a message that the party I was calling could not take my call.  No voicemail.  I tried the number again two days later, same message.  A day later, I used the "Contact Us" link on their website, and sent them a message, asking about my order and for someone to please contact me.  I even threatened to cancel the order.  Nada.  At the end of the third week, with still not response from Kozy Pal, I called the bank and disputed the charge.  They returned my $60 and began trying to contact the company themselves.

I went back to Etsy and bought another cart cover from Canadian Cozy.  I received a confirmation email, and then a day later, confirmation (with tracking number) that my cover had been shipped.  A week later, it arrived.  Its adorable and super soft, made with bamboo and cotton (no polyester).  I'm a little bummed it doesn't have a front pocket (it does have a side pocket on the inside left), but it does have a tiny loop up front I can hook a toy to.  And the company did actually send it when promised, and they were easy to reach, so I really have no complaints.

Unfortunately, two days after I disputed the charge, I received an email from Kozy Pal notifying me that my cover had shipped.  By this time, I was pretty mad, and sent them an email telling them so, which still elicited.... surprise surprise, no response!

So now I had two cart covers and was faced with the choice of which to keep and what to do with the other.  I kept the cover from Canadian Cozy, since, as my husband argued, the colors match everything else CJ has.  I left the Kozy Pal in the box, intending to refuse shipment and send it back, but curiosity got the better of me, and I opened it.  It is beautiful, the fabric is soft and the pattern pretty and neutral enough if you like a modern print.  While I'm not happy with their customer service (or lack thereof), the construction of this cover is quality.

So I decided to keep it and use it here as my very first giveaway!

 

  

 

You, dear readers (or anyone you know), can benefit from my poor experience with Kozy Pal and enter to win this lovely cart cover.  It fits any shopping cart or highchair,  is 100% washable and cotton (no polyester either), and comes with 2 convenient toy loops and a mom-pocket in front.  Installation is easy, and you can download directions for storing and installation here.  In addition, they no longer make this print, so this particular kart cover is truly unique.  It is brand new, unused, and did arrive wrapped securely in plastic.  I opened it and took it out only to take these pictures, I didn't even unroll it to get a good shot of the print, since I figured I would never get it rolled back so nice again.  Since they no longer make this print, I was unable to download a photo from their site.

There are three ways to enter the giveaway:

• Leave a comment on this post.  If you have nothing to say, just type in ENTER ME!!! and maybe a :) and I will.
• Shoot me an email at karen@cjs-playground.com with "kozy pal" in the subject line (no other shout out is necessary if you don't wanna)  
• Go to www.cjs-playground.com and check out the newsletter.  Subscribe by joining our mailing list, and not only will you receive the newsletter every Thursday, you'll automatically be entered in the giveaway!  For the month of February, every new reader will be automatically entered.

The contest deadline is February 28th.  A winner will be chosen at random and announced in the first week of March.

Spread the word, and let me know what you think!

Tag, I'm It

 I was tagged for this by Kys at Stir Fry Awesomeness (she is super awesome, btw), and in an effort to keep resolution # whatever-that-was (the one that says I'll blog once a week), here goes...

8 TV SHOWS I WATCH

• NCIS, the original
• Criminal Minds
• Fringe
• Bones (yes, my husband hates this too)
• Top Chef
• Intervention
• The Jersey Shore (this one is not by choice, but its a bad car accident with lots of carnage, you can't look away)
• Almost anything on the Food Network except Sandra Lee (somebody shoot her)

 8 FAVORITE PLACES TO EAT AND DRINK

• Our local sushi bar (no, I'm not telling you where that is)
• Oba Sushi (Pasadena)
• Boulevard (SF)
• Craftsteak (LV)
• Euro Pane (Pasadena)
• Fleming's
• Bette's Diner (Berkeley, CA for breakfast only, lunch is blah)
• Rutt's Cafe (Culver City, CA)
• Honorable mention goes to the Ritz Carlton San Francisco, which makes the best $11 cappuccino I've ever had

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO

• Wednesdays & Fridays (da Bug goes to daycare part-time)
• Paychecks.  Maybe someday I will get another one.
• Dinner out with the girls
• Massage
• Vacation
• Nap time, his and mine
  
• Spring in LA
• Our 5 year anniversary in Sedona with da Bug
  

8 THINGS THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY/OVER THE WEEKEND (that's how uneventful my life is, I had to combine 2 days)

• Bug's fever broke
• Dim Sum with Mom, Judy & CJ's 100-year-old Great Grandma! 
  
• Caught up on blogs... twice!
• Rutt's for breakfast, only a 40 minute drive for a $17 breakfast
• At dim sum, a button on my shirt popped open and my belly pooched out.  Sexy.
• Bug Bath.
• Uncle Jayson's visit.
• Grocery shopping in the rain, aka "quiet time"
  

8 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT WINTER

• Its not really "winter" in LA
• Rain
• Growing garlic, as slow a process as that is
• Winter soups and slow braises
• Hot baths
• Hot chocolate
• Boots
• Still being able to grill (in boots, after a hot bath, with a hot choco in hand)... it is LA, after all

8 THINGS ON MY WISH LIST

• a mini food processor
• a touchless soap dispenser
• front yard remodel
• kitchen/laundry room remodel to attach the cabana to the main house
• closets.  oh dear God, please send closets!
• a job.  not high on the wish list, but its there.
• shoes.  more please.
• financial freedom, aka unlimited funds.

8 THINGS I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT

• Food (can ya tell?)
• the Hubs
• Gardening (sorta, see item 1)
• Clean feet
• Education
• Reading
• Writing
• Personal responsibility & manifesting your own life. Don't cry me a river, I don't wanna hear it.  Do something about it.

8 WORDS I USE OFTEN

• "That's a dollar" (into the swear jar, that is)
• Feracious (this is one of my favorite words.  Its a cross between "fierce" and "voracious")
• "Um.... okay...."
• "What is wrong with people?"
• "Are you a stinky bug?"  He usually is.
• "Do you have any cash?"
• "... the store..."  everything revolves around the grocery store
• "Okay, but..."
  

8 THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM THE PAST

• To leave it there.
• If its inedible, its inedible.
• Once you've taken off those rose colored glasses, you don't want to look through them again.
• Always double the garlic called for in recipes.
• Always halve the chipotle and/or adobo called for in recipes.
• Say yes to the epidural.
• Write it down, write it down, write it down!
• Some things don't change.  Move on.
  

8 THINGS I CURRENTLY WANT/NEED

• A snack.  Seriously, its late.
• Closets.  We tore the doors off ours to put in the new hardwood floors.... 9 months ago.
• A lime/lemon squeezer.  I wore the enamel off my old one.
• The final crown to replace this temporary (in my mouth, not on my head).
• Dots Cupcakes.  All the time.
• To lose 8 lbs.  These two are probably not going to happen together.
  
• A haircut.
• A massage that doesn't hurt.

8 PEOPLE YOU SHOULD FOLLOW

• Stir Fry Awesomeness (of course)
• The Crazy Baby Mama
• Orangette
• Bake at 350
• Prague Blog

I'm supposed to tag 8 people, but if you feel inclined to share... please do!

Secret Fast Food

A few months ago, after my friend Angela and I had finished a night yoga class, she got into my car so I could driver her to hers.  She hadn't yet shut the door when she said,

"You went to McDonalds?!?!"

In the front cup holder was a kid-size Diet Coke from earlier in the day.  I thought briefly about telling a white lie and making up an excuse.  After all, I live in LA, work in the film business, and with my Spanx can fake a size 4.   But the truth is, there is no explanation for a kids meal in my car, as the only kid in my car ever is my 7 month old, and he has yet to develop a taste for cheeseburgers. 

So I 'fessed up.  "Hey, it was that kind of day,"  I said.

What I meant was that it was the kind of day where the only chance I really got to eat was in my car, driving from one errand to another, feverently hoping the baby didn't freak out before we had gotten all our errands done.  You  know what I'm talking about, especially new moms - when you're home and he's awake, you feel the need to be with him all the time so he doesn't roll into the coffee table or the dog bowl.  When he is asleep you are busy washing or making bottles/ doing laundry/emptying the dishwasher/taking a shower/defrosting dinner/going to the bathroom/desperately searching for that last hit of meth so you can make it through the day.  By the time you've finished those things (and gotten in a good cry) he's awake again.

Angela's next sentence immediately made me feel better about being caught.  "I'm not a Happy Meal fan," she confessed.  "But have you had their McGriddles?!  Oohhhh..." then she rolled her eyes, licked her lips and gave a shudder.

See, we are not alone.

2010 To Do's

Its late.

Everyone is asleep and I should be heading that way as well.  The hubs is going back to that whole working thing tomorrow after two weeks off, and three cigarette-free days.  Here's to hoping tomorrow is day four.

The kid is finally sleeping quietly, after an evening of strange screeching, and an afternoon of napping that resulted in him waking up screaming for no discernible reason.  I am actually afraid the screeching is not really screeching, it's his precursor to speech and therefore now, his preferred way of communication.  The waking screaming part I attribute to his poor last night of sleep, given that his father had a nightmare at 3am and decided to bring the baby into our bed to comfort himself.  Like a live teddy bear that claws and kicks, that kind of comfort.

So its two weeks after my son's first Christmas, and three days into the new year, and I think I am supposed to be waxing reflective on the wondrous changes of the last year and all the things I plan to accomplish in the new year.  I'm supposed to be making resolutions, even though I don't really believe in them.  I'm doing neither of these things.  Please, I don't even have a picture of the hubs and the Bug in front of his first Christmas tree!  I'm thinking I forgot to buy thank you cards at Target today.  I'm thinking if I go to bed now, I can read for 20 minutes and it won't yet be tomorrow when I fall asleep.  I don't think over the last few months and marvel at the huge changes in my life... I guess I'm just living it because what is also really on my mind is how I have to clean this house since my housekeeper took January off to go to Belieze.

So here's my half-ass attempt, my long-term to-do list for 2010 (since I'm already done with the grocery list and the to-do list for tomorrow).

In 2010 I will...

• try not to eat dessert for breakfast.  This sounds basic, but is actually really hard for me.
• try to get my baby to sign.  It seems to be all the rage.
• pay down some debt.  Seriously.
• go back to work.  See previous item.
• lose at least 8 lbs to try to stave off the diabetes.  This doesn't sound like a lot of weight, but for some reason I can't get it off.  Maybe its the not exercising thing.
• blog at least once a week.
• actually follow the blogs I follow, at least once a week.
• get my website up and running and grow my readership.
• cultivate patience and grace.
• slow down and be present.

There it is, I put it out to the universe/blogosphere.  Now I can go to bed and read for 17 minutes.

Christmas Past, Christmas Present

Christmas was my Aunt Margaret's favorite time of year.

Aunt Margaret was my mom's oldest sister, and the sibling that lived closest to us growing up.  She spoiled us more than relatives (aside from grandparents) are supposed to - all the big, fun, expensive stuff of our childhood came from Aunt Margaret and Uncle Leon.  My brothers' first Atari, and then the first Nintendo (back when they were not hand-held versions, and still needed an adult to hook up to the television).  She used to take me back to school shopping and buy me an entire wardrobe for the rest of the year, and often it was clothes my mother would never have let me wear, had her older sister not purchased it for me.

She loved Christmas.  For reasons still unknown to me, my family celebrates Christmas on the 24th, not on Christmas Day.  Growing up, Christmas Eve was always a huge party, and by huge, I mean 30+ adults, and then children on top of that.  Margaret always wrangled the adults and the food, which was usually potluck and plentiful.  In an unusual (at least to me later in life) twist for a Chinese family, there was always a pinata.

She always made the kids gather round the piano, my mother would play, and she would make us sing Christmas carols, and she would make us sing all of them.  She even passed out little booklets, so everyone knew all the words.  This was the price we happily paid for the stacks of presents that formed a ring 4 feet around the tree.

I love that it's a fake white tree behind us!

When the time came for the actual gift giving, the kids would be gathered together and Santa would make his entrance.  Santa was whichever uncle happened to have a few extra pounds that year, or whoever had gotten out of it in the last two years.  Santa would enter through the front door with his Chinese accent, carrying a black garbage bag full of toys.  When he was done distributing what was in his bag, he would give an accented ho-ho-ho and leave out the front door.  Margaret and the aunts would take over giving out the rest of the gifts, and every person's name would be called out individually, and every person would have to fight his/her way to the tree to get it.  As you can imagine, this took forever. Our Christmas Eve parties lasted well past children's bedtimes.  (That's my little bro Eric, my Dad and my Mom).

We've been without my aunt for a few years now, and this season is always when I miss her most.  While we try to keep up the big Christmas Eve party tradition, its not quite the same.  We are no longer forced to sing, although now we're lucky if someone remembers to turn on some Christmas music.  There's no pinata, although now that there are more kids, I'm starting to think maybe we should bring that tradition back.   And now its those kids who ask during appetizers, "When can we do presents???"

I wish she were here to see it.   And this one, CJ on Christmas morning.

To F*!?-wad, What Yo Mama Apparently Didn't Teach You

Has anyone else noticed a lack of common courtesy these days?

Generally when my husband and I complain about this, it is in reference to the little things.  People don't hold doors open for each other.  A driver cuts across 4 lanes of traffic to get in front of you and you graciously let them in, only to receive not even a little wave of acknowledgement in return.  People don't say "please" and "thank you" anymore.  People don't say "good-bye" to end a phone conversation, they just hang up because they are done speaking.  A couple stops to talking in the center of a busy sidewalk instead of standing off to the side.  Common courtesy has gone out the window and rudeness is the accepted norm.  We're so busy getting what we want and going after what we want - nay, what we deserve - that we don't take a moment for basic human respect.

That's one of my pet peeves.  And I understand that there isn't really anything I can do to change any of that, but I also think that people do it unconsciously, and because they are never called out on it, never need to rethink their actions or their lack of action.

What I can't tolerate - and what I won't tolerate, is deliberate, unnecessary, and uncalled for meanness.  It is one thing to flip off the driver who cut you off on the freeway and then slammed on his brakes; an offense has occurred.  An offense singular to you has occurred.  It is quite another to be mean and rude for no purpose other than being mean and rude, and it is yet another, even greater offense to do that under the guise of being "anonymous".

I wrote a pithy little sardonic post a while back about watching paid programming while feeding my 4 month old son at ungodly hours when only paid programming is on television.  As you can see, there were two comments on the post, one wanting to know how the Magic Bullet worked out for me, and the other saying it worked really well for her.

Then today, this comment showed up:

"Anonymous said...

Ahhh, another fat, silly, dumbed-down American with too many shiny plastic cards, waiting to be spent. You and others like you are idiots. I'm sure you swallow all the ads, hook, line, and sinker. You believe in penis enlargement too, eh? That says a lot about the fat, dumb-assed americans. I guess we get what we deserve, when losers like you are bored at five in the morn."

...and fucking lit me off.

Now, I don't know which one of us he was referring to as the "silly, dumbed-down American"; probably he meant all three of us, since only the a silly, dumb American would buy a product advertised on television which happens to make perfectly good shakes, purees, marinades and baby food.  But I have the feeling that both kys and Mrs M will agree with what I'm about to say.

Which is that this comment was completely and totally unnecessary.  It was mean just to be mean and scathing.  Dude, I don't know you and you don't know me.  You don't know how much of a loser I really am or actually how fat I am, but I am quite clear now on what an asshole you are.  Not only are you an asshole, but the fact that you chose to make your oh-so-intelligent comment (that's sarcastic too, in case you couldn't tell) cloaked as "anonymous" tells me that you are not only a giant fuckwad, but that you are a coward as well.

Let me tell you this too, fuckwad, that I am a proud, intelligent American who does not believe in penis enlargement, with too many shiny plastic credit cards which I will use to purchase whatever the fuck I please.  And unlike the fact that I, in no way deserved your rude and unnecessarily cruel comments, you are totally getting what you deserve in my response, simply because you chose to be mean.  Presuming I don't actually know you (and if I do, you are even more of a chickenshit for being anonymous), I didn't ask you to read my blog.  You don't like it, you don't like my writing, you don't like me, close the window and move the fuck on.  Did your mama teach you to be this rude or is it just a trait you picked up in your non-American country?

You want to be smug, you want to be mean, you want to be rude?  Fine, that is entirely within your right.  You read the post, I opened myself up for comments and you gave me yours, I get it.  But grow a pair and quit leaving your comments as "anonymous".  My name is Karen and I stand by what I said.  Who the fuck are you?

I'm Back... sort of...

Geesh, its been so long, I don't even know where to start...

Let's start with a CJ update.  Last week we had his 6 month kidney ultrasound.  Today, we went to see the pediatric urologist to look at the results.  We didn't even bother to go into an exam room.  Our appointment was so late in the day, he just looked at the ultrasounds on his computer while we waited in the front room.  He said since no one else was coming in, he could check CJ really quick right there in his carseat in the stroller, so we unbuckled him and unbuttoned his button-up-pants-jammy-thing.  Dr Koh peeled away one side of the diaper, moved his little pee-pee from side to side and said, "Yep, looks good."  I told him I had only broken it twice ("A" broke hers 3 times!).  He kind of chuckled and moved on, I guess he knew what I meant.  Or didn't care.

Anyway, CJ's ultrasounds look good.  Dr Koh says there is only a little swelling of the left kidney, which could indicate continued reflux in that kidney, so CJ needs to stay on his daily antibiotic.  Last June at the first ultrasound, both kidneys were very swollen, so this little bit of swelling is good news.  He seems hopeful that at the 1 year mark his reflux may correct itself naturally, and  he may just grow into what I call his big-boy kidneys.  Cross your fingers, this means no surgery.  So he still gets his daily bubble gum (flavored amoxicillan) and we'll take some more pictures in June.

At Thanksgiving, we started him on solids.  Last week we finally purchased a high chair, after someone in my Saturday mommy group said it "changed the way I feed."  Here's what's changed:  instead of needing one napkin to clean him up, I now need three and a wet nap chaser.  He loves the high chair and loves to be fed in it (especially if it's apples), but is always trying to help me by grabbing the spoon as it heads into his mouth.  Or by turning his head at the last second, so I shove apple onto his cheek.  Or by taking a spoonful of apple, swallowing half, and then sticking the hand farthest from me into his mouth to mush it all up a little more.

We finally had to cut his hair.  Rather, I finally had to insist that we cut his hair.  Because it was super long all the way around, it had separated itself into three distinct areas.  There was top - our favorite - with the cowlick up front, and the cowlick in back, which poufed up like and Elvis souffle.  No matter how long the top got, it never weighed itself down.  It just kept getting higher and higher and curling like a 10'er off the North Shore.  Then there were the super long sideburns, which worked for the Asian gansta look when we put a hat on him.  Then there was the back, which started to change texture.  It became very coarse, and then because he would sleep on his back, began to knot itself like it wanted to dread.

The same rainy day we cut his hair, he caught his first cold.  He became congested and snotty and then screamy since he couldn't suck on his pacifier and breathe at the same time.  And he loves the suction bulb, let me tell you.  You'd think I was cutting his arms off instead of trying to get a few boogers out.  The best part about the whole thing - aside from the continued snottiness and screaming - is that he managed to give his cold to Daddy, and now Daddy has spent 3 days hacking it up and running a fever. You know why I'm not sick?  Someone needs to drive the bus.

So that's where we are.  I'm driving the bus.