Very Interesting or Very Scary...

Okay, before I got sick I was going to post about an incident that happened at Target.  It's nothing terrible and I didn't shout at anyone, it was rather boring in fact!

I had taken one of the girls shopping with me for a new toaster.  This is a big deal in our family because of our luck with toasters.  When Steven and I were first married, we didn't receive ANY toasters for our wedding!  Not one!  So, my mom went out and bought one for us. 

It was awful!  (sorry mom!)  It burnt every piece of toast and it would literally launch the toast toward the ceiling after it was done burning it.  It was kind of an adventure every morning trying to figure out where the toast would land.  :)

We kept that one for a while because it was easier than buying a new one.  lol  In other words, we were too lazy to go get another one.

Well, when we got fed up with burnt toast we purchased another one.  It wasn't much better.  It wasn't as much fun either.  It never hurtled our toast at us, but it often ate it.  It is not advisable to use a knife to dig out toast bits while the toaster is plugged in.  Don't ask me how I know.

That toaster lasted until we started having children.  Then we saw something that would change our lives forever.  A 4 hole toaster.  It was a thing of beauty.  It was sitting there on the shelf at the store all shiny and new and it called to us. Okay, to me really, but it was calling none the less.  There were dreams of making toast for two people at once and peace would reign supreme.  It was so lovely standing in the ailse at Wal-Mart imagining my peaceful life serving my family breakfast made with this wonderful invention. 

I was hooked and I HAD to have it.  I convinced Steven that it was the most logical choice since we were only going to have MORE kids and they would want MORE toast everyday.  He, being the wise man that he is, agreed!

When I unveiled the new appliance, there were squeals of delight heard throughout the house.  Okay, it was mostly from me, but there was quite a bit of it!  I was sure that this would simplify my life and make our family breakfasts more peaceful.  heehee

This poor little toaster served us faithfully for 8 years.  It mostly toasted our bread the way we wanted it and only ate a few for itself every now and then.  It has been a wonderful addition to our family.

Well, a few months ago, one of our dds was making toast and wasn't treating the toaster with as much love as she should have and she broke it.  GASP  There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.  (And maybe some whining on my part.)  I did not handle it like a grown up.

I mourned and pouted while trying to decide how to proceed.  Could we survive without our toaster?  What were we going to do?

Steven came home to the turmoil and promplty took control of the situation.  He took pliers and moved the broken piece to the correct setting and declared it usable.  He was so proud of himself.  Too bad that he didn't realize the toaster was now tainted and the broken side couldn't be used any longer.  We humored him and thanked him profusely for solving this problem for us.

The next morning after he was gone, the broken side was declared off limits.  Now, everyone would have to WAIT for their toast and chaos would reign. 

What was our life coming to??  Nothing good, I was sure of it.  I pouted and whined every morning for a month.

I finally relented to buying another toaster. 

Now, to the shopping trip.  We looked for another 4 hole toaster because we needed to be kept in the manner that we had been accustomed to.  I was shocked to find not a one like the one I had sitting on my counter at home.  There were some very nice, expensive ones and then there was the one I picked. 

I have to admit that I was just buying one to get it over with and didn't put a lot of thought or time into it.  I just bought the cheapest 4 holer I could find.  It didn't feel right and I didn't want to be there buying a new one. 

We took it home and it sat in the box for a week.  I just couldn't bear having a different toaster in the house.  It wasn't MY toaster.  The girls got tired of not getting to toast their bread and finally opened the box to use it.

It wouldn't work.  It was broken.  Seriously.  One side would not even accept the bread.  This toaster had attitude!  I knew it was the wrong one.

I let it set in the box for another week before I worked up the courage to try and find another toaster.  I prepared myself for the shopping and gathered up the defective one only to find that I didn't have the receipt any longer.  ugh  This just gets better and better.

Well, I decided that if I was going to have to buy another new toaster, they were just going to have to refund my money w/o my receipt.  I was getting a little testy by this point.

We got to Target and walked up to the Customer Service Counter.  The lady was smiling and asked if she could help me.  Quite a few things went through my mind at that point but the only thing that came out was that the toaster was broken and I needed a new one.  She asked for my rec't.  I braced for a fight and told her that I didn't have it.  Her next words left me speechless.

"That's alright."  That's what she said, seriously!  She went on to explain that if I had the card that I put the purchase on, she could pull up the receipt that way.  Dumbfounded, I handed her my debit card and watched the computer work its magic.  A few seconds later, there was my purchase with the toaster on it. 

Am I the only one creeped out by that?  How is it that they can do that?  I felt invaded and unprotected.  Who else can do that?  What are they doing with that power?  These are questions that were swarming through my mind when she gave me my cash back and wished me a good day. 

I'm still not sure what I think about it...

I did finally make it back to the toaster aisle and spotted the one I wanted.  It was a beautiful 4 holer that called to me.  It had a setting for bagels, frozen bagels, toast, etc.  It was beautiful.  And they were out of them. 

To say that I was distraught would not have been an understatement.  I couldn't even look at the other ones.  They were just mere shells in comparison.  But, I had to pick one because if I came home without one, Steven said that HE was going to come and get one!  aagghh  I couldn't let that happen.

The girls talked me through the panic and I finally looked at the 2 holers.  Logic won out and reminded me that the girls were old enough to wait a few minutes for their toast.  I bought the shiny silver 2 holer and gave up on my vision of peaceful breakfasts forever.

It was sad, I was in mourning and refused to use the shiny new foreigner that was sitting on my counter taunting me.  That is until I needed to toast my bagel.  I debated about whether to just eat it cold, but our oldest encouraged me to just give it a try.

Wow!  It was wonderful!  It worked perfectly and toasted my bagel to perfection. 

There haven't been any fights break out because someone had to wait for their toast.  In fact, it works so well, that they enjoy making toast for eachother. 

Maybe peace will reign for breakfast after all!