Are you all as sick as we are? It hit us like a ton of bricks. In the face. There are two kids remaining in Pea’s class. 11 are out with flu-like symptoms, as is one of the two teachers. We’re calling it crazy-croup-flu-strept because we don’t know what else to call it. But now the parents are getting it, too. Pea has been out all week, and although she seems to have finally turned a corner, we’ll keep her homebound through the weekend, to be certain there’s no rebound of whatever this is. I’m not doing another week of this. My husband is on the road, also sick. I’m here, sick too. Brutal comes to mind.

A couple of months ago, we received a letter from American Express that a severed employee of theirs had stolen account information from many account holders. We were among them. But not to worry. Because American Express was going to look out for us. Take care of us. Make sure that nothing happened to us.

Except that something did happen. A couple of weeks ago, some asshole in Dublin somehow got my American Express account information and purchased tickets on Air France round-trip. Totaling well into the multiple thousands of dollars.

Hey, thanks American Express, for catching that fraud. And then doing nothing about it. You are super-awesome. The barely minutes it took you to protect your ass? And Air France’s ass? Impressive. The ten days it took you to protect my ass? The 80 minutes my husband was on hold? The transferred calls? The misinformation? The replacement card that still isn’t here? The phone calls that I had to make to Air France to get to the bottom of this mess? The nights that I lay awake worried this would never be resolved? That we would ultimately be responsible for these charges? The fact that no one on the other end of the 800 number for Customer Service on the back of my American Express card was able to transfer us to your Fraud Department because you’d made major cutbacks in that department during a time when fraud is at it’s highest due to our economy being in the crapper? Not so impressive.

American Express, here’s a thought: the next time that an employee of yours, and I’m not even saying that these two incidents are related, but do the math geniuses, steals the account information of thousands of your customers, and you’ve already taken the cost-cutting measures of cutting back on your Fraud Department, just go ahead and do the wise thing: cancel the old accounts and issue new accounts for the compromised cardholders. You’d have saved everyone a lot of time, money and most of all angst. Seriously. Preventive measures, you know?

My car battery died yesterday afternoon. Right after our water heater sprung an impressive leak.

It could be worse.

Moving on.

Stella McCartney’s new line for kids at The Gap is finally out. It’s very impressive. And way pricy. Looking forward to it making it’s way to the sale bins. It will… But definitely worth checking it out.

A friend mentioned that Trendy Togs is having a Going Out of Business Sale. There are still some incredible deals to be found on the site if you have the patience (and time) to do some digging around.

If you can still find this cardigan at your local Target in your size, stock up. Incredible. At my Target, also marked down to $17.99 – a steal. You will live in this all winter, ideal for layering over tanks and tees, it’s the perfect weight. And the colors are impeccable. Nearly impossible to find, sold out on-line, but worth scouring your neighborhood box store for one or two. You will not be disappointed.

Okay, I need to get back into bed. I’m feeling a tad light-headed. Hope you are faring much better…