Merry christmas!!!

Weston and Hayley's Open House 11.29.08

A tip on tipping... from one who's tips pay the bills!

By Liz Pulliam Weston
I used to feel generous because I tipped 20% in restaurants. It was a shout-out, I thought, to my brothers and sisters on the wait staff: Been there, done that, so glad I don't have to anymore.

Tips are handled much more sensibly in other countries, but the prospects for reform here at home are pretty dim.
The ground rules seem to change frequently, so you never seem to feel as if you've tipped the right person or the right amount.
Some guidelines
Whom, how much and when to tip
Staff Appropriate tip
Waiter/waitress
15% to 20% of pretax bill
Bartender
$1 to $2 per round or 15% to 20% of tab
Wine steward
15% of bottle's cost (less as price rises), clearly earmarked on bill
Room service
15% to 20% of pretax bill (if not already included)
Valet parking
$2 to $3 when car is returned
Taxi driver
15% plus $1 to $2 per bag
Hotel doorman
$1 to $2 to hail cab; $1 to $2 per bag for help with luggage
Hotel bellhop
$1 to $2 per bag
Hotel maid
$2 per night, paid daily, clearly marked 'Housekeeping'
Skycap
$1 to $2 per bag, $2 minimum, in addition to any fee
Hairdresser
15% to 20%
Manicurist
15% to 20%
Spa services
15% to 20%
Food delivery
10% to 15% with $2 minimum
Golf caddy
$20 or 50% of the caddy fee, whichever is greater

But what if you get lousy service? Post says he caps his tip at 15%, then talks to the manager or maitre d' about the problem. "Not tipping doesn't correct bad service," Post said.
Stiffing is also a bad idea because:
The poor service you got may have been beyond the wait staff's control, such as problems in the kitchen or management's failure to have enough workers on the floor.
The federal minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 per hour, so wait staff depend on tips to earn a living wage.
Wait staff often must divide their tips with other workers, such as bussers, bartenders and head waiters, so stiffing a bad waitress can end up hurting innocent parties.
Like me, Post would like to see the U.S. adopt the European system of paying wait staff living wages so that tips return to their original intent: rewards for really good service.
Until then, though, we're stuck with what we've got.
(And by the way, if you don't want to tip because you consistently get poor service at restaurants, consider whether the problem might be you. I know I used to give friendly, polite folks a heck of a lot better service than grumpy, condescending or demanding ones.)

"Tip" is not an acronym for anything; it doesn't stand for "to improve performance" or "to insure promptness." The word tip, as currently defined, was in use by the mid-18th century, long before acronyms came into widespread use during the 1930s and 1940s. (Think of the classic World War II acronym SNAFU, for "situation normal -- all 'fouled' up.")
And even if "tip" were an acronym, "to insure promptness" is the wrong use of the word "insure"; to be correct, the word used would be "ensure."
There. End of lesson. No need to send me a tip.

The rest of the article:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/HeresATip20PercentIsTheNew15Percent.aspx?page=1

A Father's Love

I had to watch this for my class at school and although I had seen it before it still got to me. It is an amazing story of a father's love. Thought I would share it with you all.

Our BFF Jessica Simpson

On thursday a couple of my dearest girlfriends and I went to soo our other dearest friend... Jessica Simpson!!! Ok so were not really that close, but we sure wanna be!!! It was soo much fun! She is amazing live and gorgeous as ever... I love my girlies :)

Ummmm yes, this IS Jessica with Ken Paves (her REAL bff and hairstylist) drving away in his porsche after the concert!! Any offers TMZ??!! haha

Maddie's moves!! haha

So our little girl has allergies and will not stop itching her face which has caused her to get sores on her pretty little face because she scratches too hard. I tried to get a cone for her but she is one smart cookie! She figured out that if you hit it hard enough on the wall it will break! Crazy girl! So i was running out of options and saw these holiday booties at Petco. I figured it could help her scratching cause any more problems while they healed. But she HATED them! she did not know what to do with them on let alone walk!! Isn't she so funny! haha My mom and I couldn't help but video it :) poor baby

Vote Yes on Prop 8!!!!

And they want us to be tolerant???
Join with me in voting Yes on prop 8!!! Restore marriage!!

Weston and Hayley are married!!

So, my little brother just got married... it's so crazy to me that both my little sister AND brother both got married this year.. maybe one day it will happen for me. But I am soo excited for Wes and Hayley to begin their life together, they are so passionate together its a little sickening sometimes :) but so cute. Can't wait for their open house out here (I made the invitation above for it). CONGRATS!!! LoVe Ya!!

Happy holloween!!

...from Madison :)

Pumpkin patch with Gina and Sebastian

Gina off to find some pumpkins

Little sebastian in his ghost outfit.. sooo cute!

...and soo not happy with the idea of taking some pictures!! Couldn't resist snapping a few of him crying, too cute! 

I just LOVE my baby girl :)

A day at the beach...

Trey loved the water! go go go! haha
Trey and Daddy...
Chris and I soaking up the sun
Cory and Chris taking a dip in the water


Yes, fishing... we were here for hours! haha only caught one little sand shark and a sand dab
Beautiful San Clemente :)

Tagged!

Ok so i haven't really been on here for awhile and was browsing a little and noticed that I had been tagged! (thanks Laura haha). So I might as well get this over with! LOL

How To Play This Game of Tag:
Post these rules on your blog
List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post.

3 JOYS

1.Having a supportive and loving family

2.My not-so-little baby girl Madison (my dog :))

3.Spending time with Chris

3 FEARS

1.Not being able to have children of my own

2.Being alone

3.SPIDERS!! haha

3 GOALS

1.Finish school!! getting closer now! haha

2.Get into the best shape of my life!! 

3.Become a mommy :) 

Current Obsessions/collections

1.The Twilight series for sure!!! I'm sad that they have come to an end:( But hopefully Midnight Sun will come out soon- I can only hope:)

2.working out and eating right

3.Photography

Random facts about me

1.Pink is my favorite color... close behind is blue

2.My middle name is Jewel..and my mom's... and my grandmother's :)

3.I Love love love Christian Bale!! haha and Edward Cullen :)

 

Now TAG YOU'RE IT!!! Mom, Kati, Chelsea, Michelle, Lyndsey

The best photographer ever!!!

Check out the beautiful pictures that the talented Mollie took from Kristen and Brandon's wedding day!! They are amazing! Can't wait to see them all!! Thanks Mollie.. your great!!
http://www.molliejanephotography.blogspot.com/

My little sisters wedding!!!! :) July 12, 2008

At the family dinner the night before at the institute... first time meeting the families!!!

Grandma and Papa
I caught this picture of Kristen and Brandon... so in LOVE!
~Together Forever~

At the San Diego temple
"Sisters, sisters.... there were never such devoted sisters..."

The beautiful bride and groom

My dad and his little girl dancing to Butterfly Kisses
Their first dance.... soooo cute!!

One amazing week!!!

Well.. I have recovered from our long amazing week in Mexico and finally able to post a few pics! There are soooo many that I am sure to add more soon!!! The resort was amazing with all inclusive drinks and food (which was bad for our group! I don't think they made any money from us!) We laid around by the pool mostly everyday right next to the swim up bar and ice cream parlor... around noon we would all do the water arobics with Enrique! Then off to the Olympics down on the beach and then grab some food at the buffet. Nap time by the pool again and then nights at the lobby bar. The wedding was spectacular! It was a beautiful day and the ceremony was beautiful as well...After the ceremony we had surf and turf at the Mayan and then off to the Discoteqa for more partying and dancing!! An amazing week we will never forget! next year maybe Jamaica???