Emilie – It’s a boy!!!!

No, no…I’m not having a baby!  My sister is having another boy!  I get to be an aunt to a cute little baby boy, AGAIN!  She just found out yesterday and I am so excited!  She said she knew it was a little boy and his name is yet to be determined.  I think they’re trying to stick with the family names like they did for Anthony.  I’m just so excited!  I can’t wait to hold a little baby in our family again!  Anyway, check out the cute picture below.  He was waving!  See…he’s smart already )

Scammin’ the Scam Man ?????

OK – So I am cautious by nature. A little skeptical of things. Some call it paranoia. I say I’m “extra careful.”

When you hear us do Scam Man warnings on Murphy Sam and Jodi, it’s coming from a very natural place for me. So I was surprised to find myself being scammed just the other day.

Because Scam is a pretty tough word, I will leave the “seller” nameless. This “seller” was pulling a LEGAL scam on me. For the sake of argument, let’s say I was buying a washing machine.

THIS PART WENT SMOOTHLY ( AND VERY NORMAL):

I found the “washing machine” online. Seller has a legitimate website, even shows up in a few of those shopping search engines.

I had done my research on the make, the model – everything I needed and wanted to know before buying. I place my order as usual ( shopping cart to personal info to billing info to shipping info etc etc etc)

I got my confirmation email as usual. It said I would receive shipping info soon. At this point I don’t think anymore about it.

THIS IS WHERE THINGS GOT VERY WEIRD – AND I SHOULD HAVE TRUSTED MY GUT.

I get a second email that says to call the business office of this establishment to confirm my order before shipping.

When I got on the phone I was on hold for about 10 minutes. Finally a gentleman comes on that begins to read off the features of my “washing machine” . Nice guy, polite – begins speaking quickly.

“Hey—this is the older model- I just got a shipment of the new ones in yesterday. It saves water and electricity, plus is one of those cool front loader models. Let me check-it’s got a rebate…let’s see you would have paid…yes…it’s only $95 more after the rebate. Tell you what. If you switch to this one, I’ll give you the rebate off the top and give you the extended warranty that normally costs $115 for $25 bucks….We haven’t even put this one on the website yet so you’re getting it before anyone else….So ….”

You see where this is going.

But in my cynical nature I Googled the model he was talking about at the same time I was being bamboozled by his quick pace. Turns out the new model is $300 than the one I was going to originally purchase – and with the extended warranty I was going to pay $120 more in his store….OR $420 more than it would have retailed elsewhere.

SOOOO- If I had not slowed enough to double check the “new model” he was attempting to switch me to I would have overpaid by $420 instead of the great deal I was getting before.

This is the 2008 version of online bait and switch.

Bottom line from Mr Safety:

1) Follow the usual safety rules for online shopping. ( Good advice at www.safeshopping.org )This retailer had all the right credentials, except for the “call to confirm your order” which opened the bait and switch opportunity.

2) An online retailer worth their salt will contact you ONLY if they need more information because your shipping and billing address are different for your security ( this was not the case in my order, and was my first clue that something was up.)

3) If it makes your gut feel funny, don’t do it. If you’ve already done it, call back and cancel-and double check with your credit card company to make sure you are not charged.

Every have something like this happen to you ? Post a comment or send me an email murphy@murphysamandjodi.com

Sam-Vegging Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Healthy

Just want to jot down a few things about this pescetarianism from the past few days:

-Going vegetarian doesn’t necessarily mean eating healthier.  It’s possible to avoid the meat but still pig out on a ton of junk food…trust me, I now know after the weekend.

-Beer and wine don’t contain meat!  In fact beer contains the choicest barely and hops…at least that’s what the label said.  I found no meat listed on the label.

-I tried a Boca burger…it’s meatless.  It’s the “flame grilled” variety so it had the char stripes painted on it.  Can’t really attest to the flavor because I covered it with sauteed veggies and other stuff to avoid tasting the non-meat but still giving me the sense that I was eating a real burger

-I cooked French toast and bacon Sunday for the kids.  When you cook a pack of bacon and the kids only eat about half, that leaves a lot of bacon sitting there just talking to you…”c’mon man, just eat one slice, that’s not so bad”  I didn’t.  I avoided it and eventually crunched it up and froze it for later use.

-When I eat at a Mexican restaurant I’m 100% carne asada or steak fajitas. I never eat seafood at a Mexican place…just can’t.  That is until this weekend when I opted for the shrimp chimichanga.  I was surprised because it was quite tasty.  Also, I could eat a ton of chips and salsa…yum.

-Donuts are okay too…and a fresh honey bun is even better.

-So far I’ve avoided bacon cheeseburgers, chicken fingers and all-meat pizzas rather successfully.  Luckily Papa Johns is out with a new Tuscan 6 cheese thin crust pizza…talk about heaven.

-A can of tuna, two hard boiled eggs and some mayo ain’t too bad

-And for the “yeah but…” crowd: I know cheese and milk and eggs are all technically animal products.  I know this, but our rules are just to avoid meat, pork and fowl…not the other “technical” products. 

So far it’s not too bad, but the initial weight loss from last week came bounding back with the weekend junk food and munchies.  I now need to work on the binges and get back on the health track.

Answers about Heaven (jodi)

My 6 year old – Taylor – just asked some heavy duty questions about heaven.   Here’s how it went down.   (Tough stuff for a tired mommy)

Is MoMo able to breathe in heaven?  yes – it’s the best air to breathe anywhere.

Does she get to eat good food?  Of course!  Especially veggies – Momo loved vegetables.   

Does everyone in heaven have old hair?  No – some people have “young” hair when they get there.  Momo just had old hair.

Does Momo miss us?  Yes.  I know she watches us. 

When she looks out the windows in heaven, does she just see clouds??  I bet!

Can we take a vacation there?  I wish.   

These are the questions I would like to be more ready for – but Taylor just sprung them on me.  She seems satisfied with the answers……I was too. 

jodi@murphysamandjodi.com

Sam-Veggie Tales, Day 3

Pretty much the same ole same ole today.  The only real change and treat I had was for dinner.  No kids tonite so I grabbed McD drive thru.  Remember now…we can eat fish, so I went for the Filet-O variety.  Deliciously squared Haddock never tasted so yummy.

Yes there was mayo in the “tartar sauce” and I’m sure animal fat in the oil, but I’m just avoiding the animals if they walk…not their by products.  I swear there are so many directions you can take this vegetarianism…so many degrees and levels.  Now you know mine…the minimalist pescetarian.

Now to explain my salads.  As a child, teen and even in college I hated salads…I hated lettuce and tomatoes.  It was only as a twenty something semi adult that I acquired a taste for the things, and that was only if they were doused in dressing.  Nowadays however, I can’t get enough of the things.

My favorite restaurant salads are Caesars…plain is okay but it’s even better with blackened tuna or shrimp. Mmmmmm.  I also enjoy the unusual:  a coconut battered chicken with mandarin oranges…yum.   When it comes to making the salads at home and for this pescetarianism, I like to use the lettuce and tomato as my base and then load up with mushrooms for a meaty texture…since I can’t eat meat.  I toss on some croutons or crispy salad things and then I’m good to go.

Right now I’m hooked on Ranch and this Creamy Poppyseed dressing.  I don’t much care for the balsamic or Italian based dressings…too tart n tangy for me.

Oh, and if it’s around I’ll throw some peanuts on or maybe some feta cheese.  Feta rocks!  Really,  salad can be a meal and a delicious one at that.