The Termites from Hell!

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Okay, so the termites weren't from hell -- they were actually easier to deal with than the termite guy!  Knowing how important it is to me to get things done, especially in a timely manner, you'll understand how this story could drive me insane.  Over three weeks ago I had a termite inspector come out to my home -- it was obvious I had termites.  No big deal . . . . .every one in this area, where wood meets dirt, has termites.  So, I call this guy out who has done some work for me in the past.  He gives me a quote, I call him to do the work, I call him to do the work, and then I call him again to do the work.  That should have been my first warning sign.  I basically had to beg this guy to take my money to treat my termites.

Finally, he sets a date and time and doesn't show.  Would you believe I was surprised?  He resets the date and time and manages to show up on the set day but not at the correct time; he comes in the afternoon instead of in the morning.  Needless to say, it's a Friday and he can't finish the job.  Can he come back on Superbowl Sunday and finish the job?  I say, of course, since he'll be here at noon and it should only take about three hours.  Guess what?!  He didn't show, and he didn't show, and he didn't show.  For two weeks I call his phone almost daily and I send him texts and he doesn't return any of my calls.  My phone messages get nastier and nastier until, finally, he calls me back!  I answer his call, I say his name, and to my surprise there's a woman's voice on the other end of the line!  I had been leaving hate messages at the wrong number but the woman felt sorry for me since she could tell I was getting upset and she finally called me back to let me know I'd been calling the wrong number!  Bless her heart -- I wish I had her address so I could send her flowers!  I'd charge that cost to the termite guy (even though it was my mistake)!

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Flash forward, I finally have the right number and begin my stalking, hateful messages again.  He finally calls me back this past week and schedules for Friday afternoon at two.  Guess what?!  He cancels, but at least this time he called me before the appointment time.  Can he come Saturday between 11 and 12?  I say yes, because my family and I don't have plans to leave the house until maybe 3pm on Saturday.  I called him at 11:30 to see where he was and he was only twenty minutes away and was on his way.  Two hours later he rolls into my driveway with his wife and two babies!  He wanted me to meet his family . . . . . . .I could have screamed!  I'm still just absolutely shocked.  So, I invite his wife and her two year old into my house (the three month old is asleep in the truck.)  His wife, who is in a wheelchair, was just "hanging around" in my driveway so I couldn't leave her out there. . . . . . . (Oh, and I learned from his wife that they'd been running errands all morning and that they had more to run!  I don't think he had any intention of showing up at my house today.)

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I spent the next three hours entertaining his wife and watching the two year old; my youngest is ten so my home is definitely not childproof any more.  I just drank a lot of coffee and poured a bunch of Baileys Irish Creme into my coffee cup!

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Oh, the best part was, when he left, he told my husband and me that if we have a barbecue this summer, we should call them and invite them over to eat with us.  Yes, you read this sentence correctly!  We were to call him and his family over so that we could feed them at our home.  I'm stupid -- I didn't know that's how it worked.  Okay -- it's over.  I went to dinner with my husband, finally, and I drank heavily!  Our plans for the day were ruined but we still had our dinner.

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Change of subject:  so, I helped three families save money by converting their homes to healthier, safer products in January so my February check jumped $40!  I'm very excited about that. . . . .  .I'll let you know how many families I help in February (I'm behind!)

Working my plan . . . .

Remember in my first blog (it was so long ago!), when I gave myself the goal of setting two appointments?  Well, I met my goal and even went one over!  I introduced three people to my company and helped them change their lives for the better. . . . .  .that's three families who will now use only environmentally safe products in their homes!  Not only will they rid their homes of harmful toxins such as formaldehyde, bleach, and ammonia, just to name a few, they'll no longer be pouring phosphates (fertilizer) in their drains, which eventually ends up in our rivers, lakes and streams (horrible for the ecosystem!).  Shopping with my company is a win-win situation for all involved; I know it sounds cliche', but having lived it for ten years, I feel like I have the right to say that.

These things said, I'll tell you one story:  One day, about 9 years ago, I was cleaning my toilets.  (No, that's not the last time I cleaned them!)  Any ways, I had been shopping with my company for about a year.  My daughter, who was maybe 1 1/2 years at the time, came into the bathroom, picked up the toilet cleaner, and sprayed it right in her eyes and on her face.  Would you believe nothing happened?  She had no stinging or burning in her eyes at all; she wasn't happy, but she also wasn't hurt.  If I had been using any other toilet cleaning product from the store, I'm sure we would have been in the emergency room.  It was at that point that I decided even if I never told another person about this company, I'd never go back to buying harmful  products from the store.

Okay, this is the same daughter (on the right) many years later -- see, her eyes are fine.  We're sitting in a cafe in Strassburg.

Oh, and one more picture: (don't look if you have a queezy stomach.)

If you have a choice in laundry detergents. . . . (oh, you do!), which one would you choose:  the two outside jars (very common store-bought brands) having the nasty chemical reaction, or the one in the middle that's clear and is less expensive than the other two?! It's no wonder so many people, especially children, suffer from asthma and eczema.  They are breathing those fillers and rubbing them on their skin.

See how easy it is for me to share this information -- it's actually a responsibility.  I will introduce at least two more families to my company in February.