Secret Santa: The Conclusion

The exciting conclusion to Secret Santa 2013!!

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A bath set and clue #7

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A candy bar and clue #8

And finally a grand puzzle to decipher my clues and reveal the identity of my Santa…..

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And it was my coworker Michelle!! My reward for figuring it out was…….YARN!!

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Merry Christmas to all! I’m off to my parents for an old fashioned Christmas of my childhood 🙂

Customer Service: It’s Important!!!

Remember my goodies from yesterday? Well, there is an interesting story about how those goodies got from Knit Picks to me.

I had them shipped to my work address because I dislike packages sitting on my doorstep out in the open, especially at the holidays. So the package was supposed to arrive on Monday but it got there on Saturday. Well, we don’t accept deliveries on Saturday so it went back to the post office. On Monday, I went in search of package. Online tracking told me to contact my local post office, just a block away from my work. So I stopped by at closing time and asked for my package. They looked and couldn’t locate it, sigh.

I went home and called Knit Picks. They could see the same info I could, the package was sent back to my local post office but they couldn’t tell which one, double sigh. But what came next surprised me. The Knit Picks representative told me no problem, we’ll ship you a replacement right now. No questions asked, no haggling, no arguing, no foisting me off on the United Postal Service. The rep was pleasant and apologetic about a problem that wasn’t even their fault. I hung up a very happy customer.

I did have an ace in my pocket. I have an Aunt who is a long time postal employee in another city. I asked her for advice to find the original package. With her help and the internet I thought I found my package and asked for re-delivery. Easy peasy! So I hopped on the phone and called Knit Picks and cancelled my re-shipment. Again they were pleasant and grateful that I had called back in a timely manner and canceled my order. Again, I was very impressed. They even left notes on my order in case I couldn’t locate my package and really did need a replacement.

Now, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses from here. The post office called me the next day and told me they couldn’t find my package per my internet request. So I went in person to my local office first thing they opened and inquired about my package. I am a frequent visitor to this office and strive to be pleasant to all the employees. They have a hard job and I appreciate what they do…even when they are grumpy. They took my info (again) and told me they would keep looking and call me on my cell. In less than 2 hours they had found my package, put it on a truck for delivery, and personally called me to update me. They were nothing but courteous and helpful. The package simply got shuffled.

This time of year can lead to flaring tempers and harsh words. This just goes to show that a pleasant attitude and perseverance can go a long way. I tip my hat to both Knit Picks and to the USPS this holiday season.

I’m off to leave feedback with both companies about the wonderful customer experience I received while resolving my wayward package.

Happy Holidays and Happy Knitting!

My Favorite Holiday Treat

Now that we are past Thanksgiving I feel the need to dive head first into the holidays!

One of my favorite holiday rituals is an adult hot cocoa….

Step one mix up your favorite hot chocolate:

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Step two, add two shots of peppermint schnapps:

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Step three, mix and enjoy!!

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To me, this tastes like a liquid Thin Mint cookie….mmmmmm!

What’s your go to holiday beverage?

Warm Heads, Warm Heart

A group of ladies I work with have banded together to adopt a family on need this Christmas. In fact we adopted our part time cleaning lady who is a single mom with six kids aged 18 to 5. We almost had to pry a useable list from her because she and her family always make do with what they have. Our goal is to collect a couple of presents per person and all the supplies for a grand Christmas dinner!

I thought long and hard about what I was going to contribute…and the I had a flash of genius! Everyone needs a warm head this winter….

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I have three hats and three headbands, so enough for each kid. And I still have time to make something special for momma!

Now their heads will be warm and so is my heart!

Happy Knitting!

Nerd Alert Moment

Just a short post to show my final Christmas present to myself (finally arrived from Amazon)… I think I have a serious yarn/knitting problem!

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It’s so amazingly gorgeous and makes me smile. I may or may not have squealed when it arrived. I just had to share this nerd moment.

Hello, my name is Rachelle and I have a yarn problem and I don’t care who knows it!

Family Photos

The Mathews household was short on funds this year for the holiday season so we decided to take an alternative approach. A dear friend of mine is an amazing photographer and he agreed to help us out. So on a very cold October day we tromped around a local park to take a few photos. There was a wedding in the same park and at least two photography clubs running around. The dogs were so wound up by all this activity that they were spectacularly uncooperative. We managed to at least get two good family shots, which were then turned into Christmas cards and framed photos for Christmas gifts.

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Not so bad right? The family really loved them as gifts and it was nice to give gifts from the heart (and save a little money)!

We had few minutes of good light left and so I had the photographer snap a few new head shots for my work/linkedin profile/facebook/etc. I haven’t had a head shot taken since I was 18 years old, lol.

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Now I’m off to some knitting and cleaning. I am attending my first meeting of a local crochet/knitting guild and I want to choose some items to donate to their knitting for charity baskets! I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow afternoon!

Happy Knitting!!!

 

Good News!

The husband has a new job!!!!!!

Sorry for the delay in the rest of my Scandinavian Christmas posts, but my hubby got the best Christmas present ever! I still vow to get them out 🙂

We found out the day after Christmas and have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off since, rounding up paperwork, negotiating benefits, changing class schedules, etc. This new job is in IT AND will let him continue to work on his Computer Information Systems degree.

After 8 1/2 months of looking in this terrible economy we both are very excited. I will be sad to lose my housekeeper, crock pot stirrer, and doggy day care that would do wonderful things while I was at work. But the paycheck will be worth catching up on bills!

May your New Year be wonderful! (I’ll be working a 12+ hour day at my big kid accounting job to close out the year…..)

Christmas Morning

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Before we got to peek at what Santa brought we had tea and monkey bread!

Then SANTA!!!

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Santa brought me me lined yarn bags with grommet holes! Lined with knitting sheep fabric and nice wide zipper openings. The photos above are the small cake/skein bag. The photos below are the large skein bag!

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How did Santa know!? Lol, looks like I have some knitting to do!

Merry Christmas to all! Stay tuned for more Swedish Christmas traditions 🙂

Happy Knitting!