Identity theft is not a joke, Jim...millions of families suffer every year.

So bear with me on this one.

On Thursday, Jessica and I went to Southern Star for lunch. It was quite yummy, I must say. After we paid the tab, Jess wanted to stop by Warehouse Row to look for a necklace because she forgot to put one on that morning. We shop, she finds a necklace (along with a few other items) and goes to the counter to purchase them. She slides her card and types in her pin number....the guy says to try again because it didn't like the pin number for whatever reason. She tries again and once again, the machine doesn't like the pin number. The guy says, "Well, why don't you just run it as credit because it's a good card...it just doesn't like the pin number." She says ok, and we finish up.

We go back to work & finish the day out. I go for a run after work, then head over to Hobby Lobby. I go to the counter to purchase a few things & give the girl my debit card. She asks to see my ID because I don't sign my card & I show it to her. She looks at it, says thanks and I wait for the receipt. She hands it to me, I start to sign when I see Jess's name under the signature line. What? I look at the card and it's Jess's! It had gotten switched at lunch apparently. Now, please don't think we're ditzy blondes...we both belong to the credit union at work, so we have the exact same card...and this has actually happened a couple of times at Southern Star before. So, anyway, I say to the girl, "Oh! This is my friend's card...they must have gotten switched at lunch. Can you rerun it with my credit card so I don't charge to her account?" She looks at me and very reluctantly (and with a huffy sigh) grabs the phone to ask for a manager to come to line whatever. I say, "If it's going to be a lot of trouble, and you don't mind, we can just run it on her card and then I'll pay her back tomorrow." She says ok and I sign Jess's name.

What? How can this happen in today's society? Not only did retailers allow both of us to use the other's card, but both made it even easier for us to do so...the guy at Bass told Jess to run her debit as credit to solve the wrong pin number problem. The girl at Hobby Lobby actually asked for my ID and saw that it was a completely different name, but still allowed the transaction...and then was irritated that she would have to correct the situation, so then allowed me to use a card that I freely admitted wasn't mine. Insane!

So, we all learned a lesson here guys...consider yourself all educated in the ways of stealing someone's debit card!

Light's Out!

Did anyone participate in last night's Earth Hour?

It was funny...we actually didn't even though we were both very interested in it. We had only one light on all evening and had the tv off...until about 8:15 when Ben decided the internet was no longer fun (we were on laptops, and not plugged in) and turned the tv on. Bad Ben and Stacey.

Anyway, so we installed our first compact flourescent a few weeks ago. Blogger is having problems, so I'll attach a pic of it later.

I'm not sure how I like it so far...it casts such an eerie light on the room...but it did make painting my toenails easier for some reason. What's really funny is that since we've installed it, we have hardly used that lamp, so yes we've made a step towards reducing our load contribution, but it's apparently due to the fact that we don't really care for the light and now only have one lamp on instead of both! Haha. Anyway, I suppose we'll get used to it.

I'm curious - how many of you have heard about the Energy Right program from that big power company I work for? Has anyone taken part in the energy audit?

Demand side management is an important concept...the country's power demand will outweigh capacity in a few short years. So, while doing the audit is helpful in lowering your energy bills, it's also crucial for each of us to be responsible about our usage since together we can reduce energy needs significantly.

I always find it interesting that people attack the power companies for their emissions, yet few do anything to help curb their own emissions influence. Hopefully, this program will help.

PS The compact flourescents contain Hg, so make sure that you carefully dispose of them!

Maybe I'll add video of a gondola coming in and my Lehrer Report like interviewing skills of my wonderful husband. Ok, maybe not.

To bed. Big day tomorrow.

Cool restaurant

One of the cooks at Fire and Ice

Too much Stella made me whoo-hoo one too many times. Hehe. But he was a cutie.

My hubby really loves food...

Live, love, eat...that's him. Going back for Wolf's Herb French Fries as a second.

So, I'm happy or something in this one. Hehe.

See the gondola in the mountain.

Ben looking out on the lovely lake.

At Lake Tahoe...

Why, that's me of course....taking a break from skiing. I've never seen snow on sand before.