Tuesday Chit-Chat & Randomness

Hubs and I have solved the IRS/Brown Family dilemma.....
Kody and wife #1 file as married with 7 dependents(their kid and his and wife #3's 6 kids).
Wife #2 files as Head of Household(as she has a job)with 6 dependents(her and Kody's kids)
Wife #3 does not file a federal return(don't know if she has to file a state return or not in her state)...she has no income, child support or alimony so Kody take the kid deductions
Wife #4 doesn't file either as she has no job/income...unless she gets alimony and/or child support.  If her ex-husband pays child support, he takes the deductions on their 3 kids probably.  If she gets the deductions and receives alimony and/or child support then she does file as Head of Household.

Now next year(meaning for 2011 returns), Wife #4 with have a new kid with Kody, so he gets another dependent deduction. 
But since the moved to Vegas none of them have jobs....well except for the money TLC is paying them to be on the show, their tax stuff all changes for 2011.
 
Which brought up another point in Hub's mind. 
How is TLC paying them?  Since only 1 Sister Wife is legally married, they can't just pay Kody or Kody and wife.  They would have to pay each of the adults separately, which means they ALL have income now, even the SAHM ones.  So all but the 1st wife files as Head of Household now?
Ack....I need a Tylenol.....

At the suggestion of Sharon I have moved the Follower Button/Feature to the top of the blog.  She said it might encourage more people who drop by here to actually follow.  I feel like Sheldon a bit when I look at the blog because something just seems 'off' to me with it there.  No matter what I say to the contrary, I guess I don't adjust to change well.......

I do believe that half of France is shopping for the Holidays on eBay this year.  I am getting multiple inquiries each day about the shipping costs of this or that to France.  I've sold a thing here and there in the past to someone in France, but nothing like lately!  I thought France was in an economic crisis?  Seems the folks there with money still didn't get the memo.

And another observation about eBay......I get questions about shipping outside of the US frequently because I am one of the few US sellers who welcomes international customers.   I have learned over the years a few things.  One thing I'm going to say is going to sound sort of bad.  I'd call it a stereotype except that sometimes those have a basis in fact when you get down to it's core.  Here is my Un PC observation from many years on eBay--If you get a question about shipping to Netherlands, you might as well just ignore that person.
Why?
Because if they live in Netherlands they won't pay whatever the shipping cost is.
Why won't they pay it?
Because it will always be too expensive to them.
Yes, people from Netherlands are tightwads frugal shoppers.  I got it into my head that these people were cheap back in the 1980's.  My mother-in-law(one of the most frugal people I have known)had a book of money saving ideas.  One of those ideas was to cook beans under your mattress.....well, heat them up, then turn off the stove and put the covered pot under your mattress....the residual heat plus the insulation from the mattress would 'cook' your beans without using any additional energy.  I thought that tip was unique and strangely bizarre as a 20-something.  And that tip came from someone from, you guessed it.....Netherlands!  In face quite a few frugal tips were from persons from Netherlands.

Not too long after reading that book, a college friend went to visit someone who lived in the Netherlands.  What fun and exciting activity did her friend entertain her with?  They went walking.....walking for miles out into the sea in the muck left behind when the tide rolls out.  It's even got a name-Wadlopen or Mud Walking.
Wow!.....now that's living large.

I guess in my next life I might want to find myself located in the Netherlands.  My frugal butt would be much smaller and I would fit right in with that culture.
Except that mud walking thing.  I'd confine my exercise to biking or walking around town.

Here's something that I don't get.  Well I DO get it, but why anyone does it is a mystery to me.
I have a moderate feature on comments here on the blog.  Yes, I am a control freak that way.
The only thing that will get your comment banned is grossly inappropriate comments(slander, vulgar cursing, etc.)and spam.
I am constantly getting comments to moderate that are spam.  People who leave comments that are SORT OF innocuous and SORT OF say something on topic but have either 1-hyperlinked words in the text of the comment to sales sites or 2-the person's User Name, if clicked on, takes you to a sales site rather than their Blogger ID page.  Now you KNOW they are just trying to get either page views on their sites or trying to get people to buy stuff.  I don't appreciate being used nor does my teensy tiny blog.
If you are out there, doing this and reading now, KNOCK IT OFF!
Everyone else keep calm and carry on.....

I am off for some last minute Turkey Day food shopping.  Then to start digging out the dining room, baking pies and brining the bird.

Sluggy

Brain Dump....Random Things on My Mind

Ok, if MARK can do a Photo Dump on his blog, I am allowed to do a Brain Dump on my blog.
Yes, I said Brain Dump....deal with it!
You know....just putting all the random crap that bounces around in your head out on cyber-paper so you can stop thinking about it.

*I woke up this morning and my teeth all seem loose.  I don't know WHAT I was doing in my sleep(grinding, clenching?)but they seriously hurt!  I take pretty good care of my teeth and have regular check-ups.  Heck, last time the dentist couldn't find a speck of tartar on my chopper and I have no gum disease.  But today they hurt like a bitch and I am waiting for the Tooth Fairy to be making an appearance.

*You know what irritates me?.....Ok, that's a very long list....but something recently.
Mormon mommy bloggers.
Let me say first off, I have nothing against Mormons....unless they are on my front doorstep trying to give me literature.  (But then again, I don't want ANY devoteé on my front doorstep selling me religion.)
I believe everyone can/should believe what they want.  But please, keep it sacred and to yourself, much like your genitals.  Don't be whipping those or your religion out in public to beat anyone over the head with it to prove that yours is better than mine.  Ok, bad metaphor but you know what I mean.

Mormon mommy bloggers are fascinating.  So domestic and so uplifting and perky all the time most of the time on their blogs.  You can't tell me that even the most patient Mormon mommy blogger doesn't have moments when their brood drives them stark raving mad and they don't want to throttle their kids....C'mon!
And this NieNie person?  I want to know what her husband does for a living to afford all the money they seem to be dropping on airplane tickets, trips, stuff, etc.  And he must have one heck of a flexible schedule to be jetting off everywhere at a moment's notice.  And she needs to lay off the proselytizing and Mitt Romney links because she is driving folks away with that. My advice?....Stick to photos of your kids and telling your survivor story cuz those rock!

*And since we are on the subject of Mormons, it's but a short step to my next BD topic.....those Sister Wives folks on the TLC channel.
I confess, I have watched that show from the beginning.  I really like some of them though I do think that Cody guy is full of himself and tad bit narcissistic.
I woke up earlier this week as I was coming out of a vivid dream.  The dream was about the Sister Wives.  In the dream I was worrying about the IRS implications of the Sister Wives family.  I know.....I have too much time on my hands even when I am asleep.
But you have to admit, that come tax time, being part of a polygamist family has to be a nightmare!
Wife #1 is legally married by government standards and they have 1 kid & 2 incomes.  So they take a tax hit.
Wife #2 also works and has 6 kids.  Not legally married, does she file as Head of Household or Single?
And she makes out with 6 tax deductions.
Wife #3 is the problem for me.  She also has 6 kids but doesn't work so has no income to claim.  What must the IRS drone who gets her return think?  7 deductions and no visible means of support.....
Wife #4 has 3 kids from a previous marriage....who takes the deduction for the kids?  She must get some form of child support.

*I have had my eBay Store reopened for almost 2 weeks now and I am already having problems with stupid people. 
I had someone send me a Question to Seller asking the specific size of a miniature doll, as well as asking me to take the doll out of the sealed package and to email them more close-up pictures of the doll.  First off, if they had actually READ the listing it says that the doll is 1" tall.  There are 3 close-up pictures of the item where you can see that the said doll is visible.  And if I opened the sealed package it would no longer be New in Package as the listing states.  They also did NOT give me their email addy so I could email them the photos that they can already see in the listing.

I have had someone forget to pay me for 1 week though this was not a deadbeat but an eBay regular who just lost track of their dealings.  I quick nudge rectified the situation.

The worst has to be the people who don't know how to negotiate.  On occasion I put the "Make Me An Offer" feature on listings.  If you are unfamiliar with that, it allows potential Buyers to offer you less than what you have listed the item for.  You can then accept, decline or counteroffer them.  I believe they have 3 bids or chances to make an offer on any item before the system automatically rejects their dealings with the Seller.   When you make an offer to a Seller it is a good thing not to piss them off by offering them some outlandishly low sum.  And if you are in a counteroffering/bidding situation with a Seller, you need to man up and meet them halfway...or at least that is my take on things.  I had someone this week offer me $15 on an item I listed for $30.  While not outlandishly low, it was pretty insulting.  And seeing as I had just listing the item 1 day before, I was not about to sell it for that little.
So I made them a counteroffer by knocking $5 off the item, making it $25.
And guess what price they came back with?   $15.50.
I come down $5 and they come up .50¢.
As Suze Orman would say.....Denied!
So I send back a new counteroffer......$30. LOLOL

*And now I know I will piss off many of you with this one......
What is this fascination with the Pioneer Woman?
I just don't get it.
Ok, she cooks.  She takes photos of cattle and cowboys' rear ends.  She's written a book.
Can somebody please explain to me why I should care?lol  I've seen her recipes.  Not impressed.
And no, this does not come from some kind of jealousy or blog envy.   What she has works for her but it's not what I want.
I just don't get whatever it is everyone else sees.  If you put shots like the one above on her blog I might be easier to convince that I need to read her. ;-)

I see it as something similar to all this Oprah worship women do.  We get fixated on people and then can't get enough of them.  I think I am missing some female gene thing.

Whatever......
Ok, I guess my brain is empty enough now for some new thoughts.

So tell us.....What is on your mind?

Sluggy

eBay Question for Those Who Buy Stuff There

I have a quick question for all you eBay shoppers out there.
Have you ever used the MAKE AN OFFER feature on an item to try to purchase it?
And if you have, do you have any guidelines for how much you offer for items?

I am just trying to figure out if I am Waaaay off base as a Seller with my thinking on these MAKE AN OFFER situations.....or if I just attract all the weirdos?!? ;-)

Leave us a comment if you will.....much appreciated!

Sluggy