Retail Experiences

1- THE DVD PLAYER FOR THE CAR
In the past few weeks I have bought 3 (count them….3) dual screen DVD players for the car. The first one I bought at ToysRus, using the gift card, so I didn’t have to charge it. I got it on sale, got a free DVD with it, and used a coupon for 20% off, saving me another $50. So, it was an all around great deal. Until we opened it on Christmas day and Ryan informed me that one of the screens didn’t have a working backlight, therefore you couldn’t see the movie on the second screen. So, back to ToysRus I went to return it. They didn’t have any more in stock, didn’t know (and didn’t care, from the look of the sales associate who I asked) when they would get any more.
So, I looked online and found a similar one at Walmart.com (also available in stores). So, to avoid the shipping, I went to WalMart and bought another one. I brought it home and Ryan informed me that this one must have been a return, because it was already broken. Ugh.
So, I returned that one to Walmart (a different one–not the scroungy one at 106th South where I bought it), and bought a different brand. This one–so far–looks good. Although the cables between the two units are short and we don’t know if we can put one in the middle seat and one in the back seat, it looks like it will work. Hooray!

2- THE PURPLE BRA
While birthday shopping, I went into the bra store to stock up on a few essentials. I found this really great Bali bra in the clearance section that was marked at $5.99. Wow. But when I tried it on, I realized that it wasn’t white like the picture on the package, but purple. Oh well, I’ll try it on, and then I can find it in white. Fits great. So, I look for it in white. There are no whites in the clearance (blue, yes. white? no), but the sales girl found it for me in the regular section. It’s $19.99. Ok. I’ll get it, but I’ll also get the purple one, too, since really, what does it matter what color your bra is (unless you are wearing some sheer white outfit or something very low cut that shows your bra). So, she rings up the purple bra, and it’s 1/2 OFF the $5.99. Wow, so I went and grabbed the blue one as well. I mean, who gets a bra that fits for 3 dollars? Well….me, that’s who. So, now I have these blue and purple bras. I’ve personally never strayed from the basic white, so it feels kind of funny to wear them. I feel kind of exotic and sexy (under my same old regular clothes, of course). What’s your most unusual bra like?

3- THE STOLEN PIN
Last night as I was digging in the pile of coats in the mudroom for a shoe or something, I found a pin. Not just a pin, but a fancy broach type thing. It was still on the little card, with a price tag on the back for $1.99. It looked like it must have come from Big Lots, where I took the kids Christmas shopping. But I don’t remember anyone buying it. So, I asked Jenna where it came from. She kind of avoided answering, and said she thought her friend’s mom would like it for Christmas. I asked her if she had paid for it, and she again avoided my question. So, it appears Jenna stole this pin. I did not fly off the handle about it, but told her I would have to think about what we would do about it. I did quickly inform her that taking something without paying for it is stealing, and that Heavenly Father frowns on that kind of activity (as does Mommy). So, what should I do. It’s really such a small pin that it’s not a huge deal. The last time one of my kids stole something, I traipsed back to the store where it came from (Barnes and Noble), told the clerk that my daughter had taken the Barbie book without paying and we would like to return it, asked them to reprimand her, and they said “Oh, thanks.” So, it was more a punishment for Me to have to drag my kids all the way back there, and she got nothing out of it. Any suggestions?