Win Free Home Furnishings

You'll want to run (as in super quick because the contest ends in a few days!) over to The3dStudio.com to enter yourself into their contest to win some cool home furnishings from AllModern.com

The prizes are real (not 3D Models like you'd normally find at The3dStudio.com!) and you get to pick the prized you'd like. Two of the choices are in the picturs you see above and the 3rd choice is posted HERE. Good luck!

Fourth of July Parade Stick

Now that summer is here and the kids are already bored why not make this fun craft together?

Photos and instructions can be found at Parents.com

Fourth of July Parade Stick Craft

The Final Chapter!

This was reposted from here... http://www.the3dstudio.com/blog_detail.aspx?id=737

On our air travel at least!

As of this afternoon, I'm happy to report that our US AIR/Orbitz travel situation has been resolved to our satisfaction!!

Thankfully, someone able to help fix this situation was referred to my blog and offered their help.

Thanks to The3dStudio.com for helping me get the word out about the problems I experienced (long live the power of the blog!) and thank you to those who fixed it. Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment and email me with helpful hints and travel suggestions. I appreciate the help and I am looking forward to our upcoming trip.

I'll be closing the comment section on this post, but will soon be posting on new topics including some helpful Disney vacation tips and tricks. It's how I stay sane as my (serious) countdown begins!

Did You Know When It Happened?

This is a repost of a blog post at http://www.the3dstudio.com/blog_detail.aspx?id=718

Did you? Did it happen in an instant, all at once, or did it take months or years to come to this?

Can you pinpoint the exact moment you gave up your voice and decided to just lay down and take it? Is it just easier that way?

I ask because I'd like to at least be aware of the warning signs before it happens to me. What a sad bunch we become when we experience bad service and we speak up not in protest of it, but in an effort to try to make it sound like its ok. It's not ok, people. The basic assumption was that I don't understand the fine print of airline contracts. I get the fine print - fine print is everywhere and I understand things that would make lesser heads spin, but that's for another blog post. Fine print should be the very. last. thing. a company with healthy service has to fall back on as their defense. It should NEVER be the first thing they have to run to.

The single most important thing to remember about any enterprise is that
there are no results inside its walls. The result of a business is a satisfied customer."
Peter Drucker

I've posted my original blog post in a few different locations, so some of the comments I'm referring to are here and some are elsewhere, but I'm going to address them all here. To tell you the truth, most of them were in agreement of my original argument, in that this sort of service is bottom-feeder shabby and the overwhelming opinion was that (and this is a direct quote from a comment I received on another message board) "US Airways is at the bottom of the dung heap".

"Biggest question: Isn't it really 'customer helping' rather than customer service? And wouldn't you deliver better service if you thought of it that way?"
Jeffrey Gitomer

That being said, I'll take a mintue (I type fast) to first address the negative comments or those that may have missed the point entirely - although I realize if I have to spell it out, you probably won't recognize that I'm talking about you anyway. I have a comment moderated blog. I've never not let a comment through (well except for that one time when my ex-husband found my blog, but he's never once said anything intelligent, and I always wished I had the option to censor him!) and I have no reason to start now. Just wanted to make it clear that no one is being censored, from the spineless anonymous posters right down to the blatant (yet lame) attempts at damage control by airline employees - although I have to make a suggestion to the latter group - you might seriously think about spending your free time a little more wisely - like looking for a better job, or at the very least, with a better airline.

"He profits, most who serves best."
Arthur F. Sheldon

Here was my original point, in a nutshell this time. I paid for a service and I am getting far less than the service I paid for. Now it seems that many of you have resigned yourselves to bad service and you are ok with that. I guess if you only have low expectations, then you will never be disappointed when that's exactly what you get. If that works for you, then great, but I hope you realize how you're ruining it for the rest of us! I, on the other hand, have standards a little higher (not including the now ex-husband) when it comes to getting what I pay for. I truly believe if we all resign ourselves to less than what we deserve, we are going to live in a pretty sucky world. And for the complainers - if this hurts your eyes, gives you a headache or you just can't understand simple logic, then please do us all a favor and go take a nap, it is a better use of your time.

"Customer complaints are the schoolbooks from which we learn."
Author Unknown

We originally paid to be on Flight 1 at a time and route that was convenient to us. At the time there were many other choices, but since we wanted a popular choice, we paid more. Non-stop flights cost more because they tend to be more convenient for many travelers. Some people who left me comments at various sites choose not to see that as fact. Go ahead, try it - pick a date about 8 months from now, price it out at non-stop to a popular travel destination like Orlando, later in the day and then with connections that add hours onto your time in the sky and end way into the evening. See how the nonstop costs more? Yeah, that's convenience you're paying for - and I'm perfectly ok with that.

"Here is a simple but powerful rule -
always give people more than what they expect to get."
Nelson Boswell

Flight 1 was at capacity (of course that means it was really over-booked as they all are) soon after we finished making our reservations. Then a few months later, in all their airplaney wisdom, US Airways, opened a new flight number at the same time as our original Flight 1. Of course we didn't know this because stupid customers as we are, we were not checking in hourly for the past 6 months to see what the airline might have up their sleeve. We trusted that we had paid for a service, had our receipts and we were good to go! They also filled this plane - we'll call it Flight 2. Now they have two full airplanes, each full of people who's money they are now holding hostage. So then they see that they have this bogus connecting flight going to Charlotte with a less than overbooked plane. Hmmm, how can we fill some of these lame seats? OH, I know!!, I know!!! Lets take the people who already paid full price for a non-stop, conveniently, timed, direct flight home from Orlando and shove them onto this less-desirable and cheaper flight instead!!! Brilliant! And the best part? We've seen their comments scattered around the internet (and don't fool yourself for a SINGLE SECOND thinking they don't actively troll the world wide web for this type of thing) where they constantly continue to support our stupidity and greedyness all in the name of a collective shrug and a "that's just how it is with all airlines these days", so we know they'll lay down like a bunch of sheep while we run them over with our fine print!!!! YES! Great idea and they all pat themselves on the back, while lining their suit pockets with our money. And this is ok with you? All because the fine print says that it's ok for them to quickly collect your money and endless fees when you actually want to bring a suitcase and maybe even sit in a real seat and then change their minds on the terms later?

"There's a place in the world for any business that takes care of its customers--after the sale."
Harvey MacKay

There's a word for that sort of thinking... CRAZY. They should just rename the airline to CrazyTown. Welcome to CrazyTown, would you like a $5.00 can of Coke? Welcome to CrazyTown, oh, you have a car seat for that baby? We'll need to put it next to that window per FAA regulations. Oh, since you're now in CrazyTown, there's gonna be an extra charge for that! :) Oh, you wanted to actually sit near your 2 year old little girl and one of you will be in an aisle or window seat to do this? No, no, no, this is CrazyTown, we'll put her over in this seat a few rows up from you, next to this man who is a complete stranger to both of you! Yes, that will work perfectly! Insert wink! and forced crazy-smile here... Thanks for flying CrazyTown Airlines, we hope you enjoyed your flight! Unfortunately it sounds as if some of you are already living in CT because idiocy like this is just another day and another rule or another set of fine print to be swallowed like a morning stupid-pill.

"There is only one boss. The customer.
And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down,
simply by spending his money somewhere else."
Sam Walton

For the people who wonder why I wouldn't just be happy to be on Flight 2 (aside from the obvious fact that it doesn't resemble at all what I was paying for) and take the misery of the connecting flight. I will be traveling with a 19 month old little boy (in addition to a 6, 9 and 17 year old and my boyfriend - but they can deal with it). While he is literally my most perfect baby ever and very happy and mild-tempered, I do not feel it would be in anyone's best interest to put him through two airline flights in one day totaling OVER 7 hours. I think it might border on child abuse to be confined to one seat or one row for the better part of your day as a 19 month old. I think the passengers around us would probably tend to agree with this line of thinking. It would be abusing them all. I'm also not a sadist, so I receive no pleasure from abusing myself!

"Being on par in terms of price and quality only gets you into the game.
Service wins the game."
Tony Alessandra


These particular comments in general can give you a little insight into the posters...

shutupdammit - Really, I'd love to comment back with something witty, but I'm afraid it would be a bit like having a battle of the wits with an unarmed opponent, hopefully you've already started your nap and you won't be bothered by all this logic.

Jumpgate - I beg to differ, not every airline, books a second flight and then dumps the passengers from the first. This ain't my first rodeo, but yet, US Airways is the first airline to treat me badly for something completely within their control. And when you take the time to write this... "Sorry - but this is air travel in 2009", you are the sort of person I'm talking to in my first paragraph. Did you feel it when it happened?

PineyBob - So, being a "Customer Advocate"... is this a paying gig for you or a volunteer position? Thanks for the non-offer, but I wasn't asking for your help or your helpful insight.

In my original post I was hoping an executive from US Airways would do the right thing and step up to the plate for an unhappy customer. I tried to go through their channels. I contacted their "Customers First" line of help only to be ignored completely. One thing I have gathered from all the comments, private messages and emails I've received, is that it's not necessarily about doing the right thing with US Airways. If that's the principal US Airways is proud to stand behind, then I might want to modify my original request and just ask that some allmighty US Airways executive use their pull and put through a refund for me so I can get my family on a Southwest flight where I'll also save $900 for non-stop, direct and conveniently timed flights to and from my vacation destination. But, again, after hearing many horror stories on how US Airways works, I won't be holding my breath for that either...

On a more positve note, my Dove Promises wrapper reads... "One's best success comes after one's greatest disappointments." So I guess you just never know how things will work out!

Personally I'll be hoping for the best!

A Note to US AIR - You have my $ now how about some service?

or... How US Air is singlehandedly trying to RUIN my family’s Disney World vacation.
or.... Dear US AIRWAYS, I HATE YOU.
or.... Greed Doesn't Pay.

I’ve experienced bad customer service before – who hasn’t? Luckily, I’ve also experienced wonderful customer service. I do my best to let my friends and family know about both types of experiences. Word of mouth is a powerful tool for all consumers and companies.So today I’d like to share my experience with what I believe to be the worst airline in the history of the world – US AIRWAYS.

I’m a planner. I don’t always follow through, but that’s another story altogether. I like to plan my Disney World vacations in particular. My family can joke all they want, but vacations don't happen as often as I'd like them to, so I want to do everythign I can to make sure they are as enjoyable as they can be. I think it’s reassuring to know where I’ll be eating and playing several months from now and especially handy to have those coveted dining spots reserved well ahead of time. It’s all part of my vacation enjoyment!

The same holds true for my hotel reservations. If I know for sure we’ll be able to afford a vacation in a certain year, I want to make sure it’s done right! Especially when dealing with Disney, things need to be booked several months if not a year or more ahead of time. I like to stay at a certain resort, and can narrow down my preferred resort location right down to the side of the building, floor and room # if I’m given the option (and since Disney does things right, I usually get my preferences fulfilled and then some). Disney always pleasantly surprises me.

Since the hotel reservations are made so far in advance, I also prefer to secure my airline reservations well in advance. We are a family of 6 these days, so it’s not like I’m just trying to get one or two seats – we need some ROWS of seats! In addition to my village, we also travel with extended family so that makes us a group of 12! So planning ahead is beneficial for many reasons.

For our upcoming trip, we (our entire party of 12) booked our airline reservations with US Airways in three seperate groups. Unfortunately in hindsight, this airline choice will turn into our BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER. See, when we booked we thought we were being smart in planning ahead. We watched the price and availability for a few days before hitting the submit button. As the plane was filling up, we were getting nervous. We knew we had to bite the bullet and just do it! You see, hitting the submit button with my family size would cause anyone a slight pause. The damage for this flight for our group of 6? $2,785.14. (Not including the $15.00 per bag EACH WAY and the $5.00 surcharge EACH WAY for each window or aisle seat we use – can you say price-gouging – I guess I should just sprinkle my small kids around the airplane so we can all have a middle seat). Yes, that’s $464.19 EACH to travel from our desert SW home to the House of Mouse in FLA. My boyfriend sees it as a whole lot (as in way too much) of money to get from one place to another (and he would be just as happy to stay home and relax for a week and a half), but I see it as money well spent to get my family to Mickey’s World as quickly as possible, during the most convenient time for our family of small children. That $464.19 per person was SUPPOSED to pay for a non-stop flight that was convenient for our family. That’s what you pay for, right? You make your choice out of the available options and you purposely ignore the horrible choices. Cause why would you pay almost THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS for something HORRIBLE, right?

Apparently US Air doesn’t see it this way. If their customers have to settle for horrible, it is apparently ok with them. They recently cancelled the fully booked flight we had a reservation on and decided my small children (and the rest of us) would be better off being reassigned to a connecting flight and add over TWO hours onto our FIVE HOUR FLIGHT. Does that sound convenient to anyone? Of course, not.

This might be the time to also tell everyone that this was not some last minute reservation where we were hoping to get squeezed onto some flight. These 12 US Airways reservations were made exactly EIGHT MONTHS, 2 WEEKS and 3 DAYS in advance of the flight reservation, which is still a few months away.

Yet all of that planning didn’t stop the greedy money-makers at US AIR from scheduling another flight within a ½ hour of our booked flight and then letting that new flight fill up with new passengers (who all obviously booked later than us as it was a newly scheduled flight) and then CANCELLING OUR FULLY-BOOKED FLIGHT. Not only did they cancel our flight, but they sent us an email at 11:00 p.m. (via Orbitz) a few nights ago letting us know that we had been switched to a connection (obviously on a flight where they needed to fill some seats!) that would add two hours to our plans. Yeah, I don’t think so. If I would have wanted a connecting flight I would have made that choice at the time of booking. So instead of kicking off someone that made a more recent reservation on the newly opened flight, and giving us that spot since we booked WAAAAAAY in advance of every freaking person on that new flight, they just switched us to a totally inconvenient flight, with not so much as a single word about the refund we should receive since obviously a connecting flight has much less value than a nonstop, direct flight. GREED, plain and simple. Oh and a healthy dose of stupidity, obviously.

So the next morning, a member of our party gets to sit on the phone with Orbitz for 78 mintues. Many of those minutes were on hold while Orbitz tried unsuccessfully to get a call through to US Airways. Wouldn’t you think being Orbitz they’d get a special bat-phone to use? Nope, they have to deal with the horrendous customer service of US AIR just like you and me! Maybe it’s comforting to know US AIR treats everyone with the same service. Unfortunately that service happens to be CRAP. Some of the 78 minutes were actually spent in the shower while another traveller in our group waited on hold and the operator was never the wiser. That is just about as sad as it gets. You can take a shower and brush your teeth while on hold, waiting for US AIR to answer the phone.

After it was all said and done, the only remedy that US AIR was willing to make for us, their ever-so-dearly-paying-customers is to now put us on a plane that leaves Orlando at 7:30 IN THE MORNING. Do you have any idea what time you have to leave your Disney World resort to hop on the Magical Express Bus to arrive at your 7:30 a.m. flight? 4:30 a.m. Yes, I will have to wake 4 children up at 3:30 a.m. (give or take) to get dressed and get ready. Does that sound like ANYONE’S idea of how a vacation should end? Do you think the executives at US AIRWAYS end their vacations at 3:30 in the morning? I highly doubt it.

So now, not only is the last day of my vacation NON-EXISTENT (we were originally supposed to be on a flight that left Orlando at 5:20 p.m. – because that’s what I chose and PAID for – convenience to leave at a time that worked well for us), but the day before will now be ruined as well because not only will we have to pack up everything, but we will also have to be in bed early because we will be waking up at the ungodly hour of FOUR-THIRTY A.M.!!!!

It’s especially nice knowing I just paid over $500 a night (it's actually $792.17 per night including our park admission) to have the last two days of my vacation ruined. Thanks for that, US AIR.

I would like to put a request out to US AIR. I would love nothing more than a response (in addition to my flight changed to the new non-stop flight that replaced my original flight) from a US AIR executive (I won't exactly be holding my breath, but feel free to leave me a comment here - my comments are private and moderated and it will not show up unless I approve it and I'll reply directly to you with my contact info) that can explain how this sort of thing can happen to a paying customer of theirs. How do they explain the total disregard of any type of acceptable customer service whatsoever? How can it be that when you opened the schedule and added that flight right next to ours, and then cancelled our flight that we did not get first dibs on the space on the new flight? How in the world do you explain how you could bump the people that had booked first? Why is it not first come, first served? Why were we not moved to the new flight at the same time that we originally booked? Why are we getting penalized for planning ahead and throwing our money at you first? There was not even a tiny hint of trying to make this right. It’s about as wrong as it can be; they know it and they could care less. That’s what they give you for your money at US AIRWAYS.



Of course, if someone at US AIR can make this right by changing our flight to the new flight they opened up after they cancelled ours, I’ll be the first one to hurry right back to this post and shout it out to the world-wide-web, letting everyone know, because, like I said, word of mouth is a powerful tool. It’s just unfortunate to see how US AIR uses their greed power over their customers.



EDITED: If you have any doubt about their customer service record, you can read some of the eye-opening comments on this blog I found...

We're finally back with a WINNER

Sorry this winner announcement has taken longer than it should have. The day before I was going to annouce a winner, Blogger decided that their blogs that are redirected to other URLS would stop working! Of course, I don't think they really sat and decided it, but in the Blogger world (if you had a blog that is redirected somehwere else, like I do http://www.HappyDaisyAZ.blogspot is redirected to http://www.HappyDaisyAZ.com) you got an error page whenever you tried to get to my blog. Today is the FIRST day I was able to log in to HappyDaisyAZ.com. I guess you get what you pay for! If by chance you were one of the few who knew you could type in http://www.ScrapCandy.com and also be redirected here, then you were in luck, but not many people know that! Phew - that was a lot of rambling - sorry!

ANYWHO... We have a winner for the BOX-O-SCRAPPY-GOODNESS Giveaway!

dddddrrrrruuuummmm rrrrroooooollllll please....

ScrappinMargie!!!

Margie - if you see this will you please email me at Tracy@ScrapCandy.com or leave me a comment here with your email? Don't worry, I won't publish the comment if you do it that way. I'll go leave a comment on your blog but I didn't see your email there so I'm hoping you'll see the comment! Margie has a super cute blog, so I hope you'll go check it out and leave her some commenty goodness while your there!

Stay tuned - more fun giveaways are coming!

Friday Fun Giveaway Days are BACK!

I could list the million reasons I've been away, but you could probably go check a hundred other blogs and find the same reasons, so I'll spare you the gory details and leave it at "I've been busier than I ever have in my entire freaking life and it's wonderful".

Ok, now that I've gotten the pathetic excuses out of the way, I want to let you know about a GIVEAWAY! I have a ton of wonderful sponsors who have contacted me to dontate goodies for upcoming giveaways! In an effort to get the giveaway ball rolling, I'm going to sponsor the first giveaway myself!

Many of you know that I the owner of ScrapCandy.com - don't bother to go there now, cause you'll just be brought back here to HappyDaisyAZ.com! :) I still own name and trademark, but I recently sold and closed the store (see busy comment above!) because I am involved in some new and exciting ventures. Sooooo, because I've closed my store I have a bit of inventory I can give away to some lucky readers!!!

I'll be picking a winner's name Tuesday, June 16th. The prize? A USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Box FILLED with scrapbook goodness! I'm not sure what exactly you'll get until I pack it up, but I can promise it will all be brand new and brand name supplies. I'll put together a mix of supplies which might include paper, stickers, embellishments, idea books, tools and crafty ScrapCandy goodness!!!

If you sell or make an item that would interest my blog readers and would like to sponsor a future giveaway, please email me at Tracy@ScrapCandy.com for Sponsorhip details.

Here are the rules to enter this giveaway!

1. In order to receive an entry you just need to be a follower of this blog (don't worry - it's not a sheep like follower, it's a friend like follower (and it might just help you win something really cool!) - it's over on the top of the right hand sidebar - you just click on "Follow this blog" and voila! you're a follower of HappyDaisyAZ and you're automatically entered in this giveaway and all future giveaways!

If you're already a follower, then don't sweat it - you've got one entry already! You do have to at least be a follower to be entered to win. The other options are for additional entries.

2. Once you become a follower, you can receive a second entry for spreading the word via a blog post on your own blog. You just need to let your readers know about this giveaway and include a link back to this HappyDaisyAZ blog post. Then just come back to the comment section and let me know once you posted a blog entry so I can come by and visit your blog!

3. You can also receive an additional entry by Tweeting (on Twitter, of course) about this giveaway. A link, either to the giveaway post specifically OR to www.HappyDaisyAZ.com MUST be included in your Tweet. Then come back and let us know in the comment section that you Tweeted with a link to your tweet.

4. One more chance! You can receive yet another entry if you make a Facebook post or message board post (on message board or online forums that contain somewhat relevant topics to the stuff we discuss at HappyDaisyAZ; photography, scrapbook, crafty, moms, babies, Etsy, Disney, etc.) with a link back to http://www.HappyDaisyAZ.com mentioning this giveaway. You just need to stop back here and leave a comment letting me know where you've posted with a link.

As always, I love receiving and reading your comments. So if you get a chance, I hope you'll say hi to let me know you were here!

This giveaway contest starts NOW and will end when I pick a winner on Tuesday, June 16th. The winner will be contacted thru the email contact on their blog or by leaving a comment on your blog (so make sure you're blog has a way to contact you) and will also be announced here on Tuesday.