Frugal Friday.....the August 28th Edition

 Not much to report in with this past week but here goes.......

* I went to Rite-Aid on Sunday and bought this.........

(Plus another drink not pictured.) This lot cost me .05¢ in Bonus Cash.

* I hit CVS early in the week for all this.........

Besides all those ECBS this all cost me $2.32 OOP in cash.

* I sold some fancy shampoo on eBay(2 different listings)last weekend and shipped it out on Monday.  Of course it was set to arrive to the buyer in AL right during Hurricane Laura. lolz  The buyer paid me before I could send an invoice with lower postage for the combined shipping so I will refund part of what she paid for shipping when she lets me know the package arrived safely.  

I accepted a bid on them that was lower than I had them listed for because A-everybody needs a break nowadays and B-I wanted this stuff gone and C-since I technically didn't pay any $$ for them, I'm happy with whatever cash I get. ;-)

* The Coupons dotcom app has an offer for free bananas until 8/31, up to $1.50 worth.  When we hit Walmart Thursday I picked up $1.32 worth of bananas(the sign was wrong with a higher price or I'd have gotten an actual $1.50 worth).  Receipt submitted and approved and I should have that $1.32 in my Paypal account any time now.

*  I thought I was going to get "Found Change Skunked" this past week.  I went to Weis(PMITA)Markets, CVS, Walmart and Rite-Aid this week and found nada change.  So I made Hubs swing into R-A after our outing on Thursday so I could pick up next week's flyer and while I listened to my R-A friend's tale of woe(before I told her of my "didn't find any change this week" tale of woe), at the register I looked down to find this..........

A nice shiny dime!
So much for getting skunked this past week! ;-)

Total Change found this week. .10¢
Total Change found this year....$47.72

* While at Walmart I picked up this stuff to finish off my $5 The Climb Ibotta Bonus.....

2 x Delmonte fruit cup packs
1 x Keebler cookies
1 x Kraft boxed mac and cheese
1 x pack of hard boiled eggs
1 x Perfect Bar
2 x Mead folders

Paid $11.17(w/.12¢ tax on folders) after $1.75 in coupons off on the fruit and cookies.
Earned $10.19 in Ibotta rebates on all this(including a .50¢ Del Monte Bonus and the $5 the Climb Bonus).
I am up to $126.25 earned on Ibotta in August.

* I also earned $1 on SavingStar for buying Domino sugar at Weis last Friday.

* After Walmart Hubs and I went to Red Robin for another Anniversary Week Lunch and used my last gift card for there.  Lunch cost me $7.20 OOP(including the $6 tip I left the waitress).

*  I also placed an online Rite-Aid order on my other card on Monday and it arrived on Thursday......

4 x Zim's Max Freeze=$20.96
4 x Sally Hansen hard as nails=$9.96
4 x Duracell batteries=$8.76
Subtotal...$40.68

Since my total was over $34.99 the shipping was free.
I had a coupon code to save $10 if I spent $40 making my total $30.68+.52¢ tax=$31.20.
I paid with Bonus Cash and earned back $40 in new BC, growing my BC $8.80 on this transaction.

I placed another online order on my account(same items except only 2 Max Freeze since I already bought 2 in the store this week so wouldn't get $5 BC but on 2 more, so I added 2 x Compeed items).
After $10 Coupon Code it was $35.68 so I used $34.80 in BC and .88¢ cash from my Paypal account I'll get back $34 in new BC and will submit the Compeed to Ibotta for another $10 in cash rebates.  Converting $10 of BC into cash on that deal.
Not too shabby either. ;-)

*  The garden is winding down a bit now but we are still getting a couple of tomatoes every day or two.  Hubs harvested some jalapeno peppers he planted too.  The collards are coming along and will be ready to pick after the first frost. Not many of the roma type tomato plants have done much and the squirrels and chipmunks have taken a liking to the fruits that are there. 
I do still have at last count FOUR acorn squash, one on each of FOUR plants that were suppose to be crookneck yellow squash plants! 
Anybody have god recipes for acorn squash? ;-)

That's about it from me today.  I've got to finish up putting away the toiletries stash in the guest bedroom and finish filling giveaway boxes this weekend so I'd best get off here soon.

Today is also me and Hubs' 38th Wedding Anniversary so there may be Take-out or Lobsters in my dinner plans tonight.   Yah for not cooking!  8-)))

Remember to keep it real and keep it frugal.

What frugal wins did y'all have this past week?

Sluggy

2019 November To-Do List Update

Here's how my November To-Do  List turned out............

NOVEMBER

* Pay Bills  DONE  Top of the list, always gets done before anything else.

* Read 1, 2 Books   DONE  I actually read THREE Books this month! (It surprised me when I sat down to go over what I read. lol)

First off was this one.............

"Hanging Mary" by Sarah Higginbotham
A very well done bit of historical fiction, the author takes us into the world of the folks who lived at Mary Surratt's boardinghouse on H St. leading up to the assassination by John Wilkes Booth and how Mary became the first women in US history to be unjustly hanged for treason.
You really get to know the people who had close contact with JWB and how they were affected as the author is quite gifted at making all the folks involved in this drama come alive.

Then I read was this one.............

"A Soldier's Secret" by Marissa Moss
I didn't know going in but it became apparent quickly that this book was written for YAs(young adults/teens).  It was still enjoyable though and a very quick read.  Another historical fiction selection about Sarah Emma Edmonds, a woman who ran away as a teen from a miserable home life in Canada(then a British possession)and lived for many years as a man, including volunteering to serve in the US Union army during the Civil War.  Though the dialogue is fiction, the characters were real people who lived during that time.  Sarah survived the conflict and eventually married and lived as a women.  She is the only women who secretly served as a man during the war to be inducted into the GAR and receive a government pension for her Civil War service.  She wrote a memoir about her life which was published in the 1880's and she toured and gave lectures.  This book was based on her memoirs.
Dialogue was a little stilted and tiresome at parts but worth a read.

And finally I read this one............

"The Liberal Redneck Manifesto-Draggin' Dixie Outta the Dark" by Trae Crowder, Corey Ryan Forrester and Drew Morgan   

I really related to this book, being a Southerner and all. 8-)  They dig in and go after every stereotype and shed light on many issues that people from this region of the country are affected by and still dealing with.  They go after both the good and bad of the culture and delve into the real history of why things are the way they are there.  These guys are a comedy trio of self-proclaimed rednecks but they are educated and articulate rednecks who are proud of their region and history.  They have lived real, sometimes painful lives and have seen both the good and bad about the region and have thoughts and ideas that may make you go, "huh".
This book will get you thinking and it's a must read for anyone who isn't from/didn't grow up in the South.
I am the product of a NY Yankee father and a VA Southern mother and was raised in the South.  Most of my Southern relatives come from uneducated redneck stock(at least for 5 or 6 generations)so this book spoke to me.  Living and traveling widely in other parts of the country I've seen the regional prejudice first hand Trae and company talk about.  I'd be delighted to spread some learnin' about true Southern culture(both the good and bad)to other regions.
HIGHLY recommend!

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  Mailed off right away and gladly received.

*  Chester Surgery  DONE  My poor puppy lost his nuts in November.  He healed up rather quickly and didn't need the "cone of shame" but for 2 days.  The good thing is he is less likely to mark in the house now and we don't have to confine him as much.

* Repair DR Ceiling  DONE SORT OF  Hubs got the patch job done but he still has to sand and paint it.  It will get done as soon as I nag enough. lolz

*  Work the Polls  DONE  I did my civic duty.  It was a long day but enjoyable really.

*  Hem Hubs Pants  DONE  The denim was so thick and non-plyable that the machine needle wouldn't go through the multiple layers of fabric at the seams so I had to partially hand hem part of each pants leg. ugh.  But it's done.

*  House Train Puppy  DONE  Dixie is finally house trained...yay!!

*   List Items on eBay  FAIL  I looked back and I didn't list a single item in November(though I did sell stuff that month).  I just got too busy with other things.  I'm not listing anything in December either due to being too close to Christmas now and we have the out of town Wedding in early January so I won't be able to ship stuff out.

*  Go to HS Clinic  DONE  Had my appointment and things are going well....not great but the outbreaks are not as bad as before going on Humira.  Only time will tell how successful this treatment will be and for how long.
In other medical news I also had my sleep doc appointment in November and I am now down to being borderline for needing sleep apnea treatment.  go me. ;-)

* Work on Christmas Gifts  IN PROGRESS  I'm not really "making" anything for gifts, it's just about making up gift baskets, wrapping all of it, and mailing a couple of things.  After we get the tree decorated this week my dining room table becomes wrapping central and the tape and scissors will be flying fast and furiously. lol

* Clean Downstairs for Turkey Day  DONE  Got the place presentable.  'Nuff said.

* Change Curtains in LR  DONE  Got Hubs to finally help hang the Winter curtains up without too much cursing(Guess who did the cursing?!LOL)

* Hang a Picture  DONE  Ditto the item above.  It was a much more difficult chore than the curtains but nobody committed murder in the process(though there were murderous thoughts on both sides).

* Hang Curtains in Hubs' Room  FAIL  I got him the curtain rod out but he just didn't do it.  I need to hem those curtains so they don't cover the baseboard heating unit under the window but he needs to get the rod on the wall so I know how much to cut off the drapes.  And he really needs to do this soon because we'll have folks sleeping in the daybed in that room for the Holidays and that window gets the morning sun so I guess I'll go into nag mode soon.........

* Cook Turkey Day Meal  DONE  It all got done and on time.  Cooking ahead really helped me not to overdo physically.  Even not being as tired and rushed I didn't take a single photo of the day. I was just in the moment for Thanksgiving(when I wasn't running to Rite-Aid that is.)

That's about all I can remember.
I hope everyone tackled everything on their November To-Do List and are satisfied with how things turned out.

Sluggy

What's Been Happening at Chez Sluggy

Frankly, most of what's been happening is quite boring so I don't mind if you just skip over this post. 8-)

This......

 

 

....is now firmly secured back into place in my mouth.
A big shout out to my Awesome Dentist!
She responded to my emergency call within the hour and 2 hours later I was in her office getting my crown but back in.
And she didn't even charge me anything. 8-)

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It's been a week now and still no word from the contractor about a new compressor for the HVAC system.
Sigh.
I am guessing this lack of information means we are going to have to wait for something to be shipped from overseas.
Sigh.

********************************
And while I am sighing.....lol.......let's discuss eBay sales.
I am just gob smacked at how anemic eBay sales have been.  It's so slow I just cant' even get up enough enthusiasm to finish listing the entirety of my 50 free listings!
I finally sold 1 item this week!
Then I had put an item on auction instead of BIN and it ended last Sunday for a very disappointing amount.  Even so, it DID sell, but as of this morning the buyer/winner has NOT paid me for it.
So frustrating....

And the other HIGHLIGHT of my eBay week was a potential buyer who wanted to buy a pretty rare NIB old Power Rangers toy I have listed.
It's so rare I have it listed for $175.
Gulp
And that price is very reasonable compared what others have sold for.
My target buyer is an adult collector, not someone's mom or dad buying this for Junior to play with.

Anyway, I get someone emailing me about the toy.
There are 3 possibilities on who this buyer is....either a collector, a dealer who wants it for pennies to resell it to a collector or a kid using his parent's eBay account.

Potential buyer says they really really really want it and to make HIM an offer.
What???   This person has it all backwards.....he's suppose to offer ME something.  lol

As for how much I want for it?
Duh....$175.

They go on to tell me they can't afford that.
So I retort that I have "Make an Offer" feature enabled on the item so they can offer me less.
(I also have MAO set up to automatically accept offers of at least XX$s so serious buyers aren't waiting around on me to respond when they make an offer.)

So they go and make me an offer.....guess how much this clown offers me?

$11

And when I rejected it I enclosed a note like this....
"$11?  Seriously dude??
Yah, I'm probably dealing with a kid here or someone pretending to be a kid so I take pity on them and sell it for nothing.

"$11 Man" has now been blocked from buying/bidding on my crap.

As of now I am up to 3 items sold(2 paid for)on eBay in the last 14 days.
Pitiful......

*********************************

In better news, over on Etsy I have now sold 21 items in the 19 days it's been open.
I have over 1000 views in my shop so traffic is building.
One thing I don't get over on Etsy is this "favorite" feature.  Someone can "favorite" an item in your store.  What significance does this have?  Is it making me money?  No.

If they like something so much, why don't they BUY it?? lolz
Someone buying one of my fabrics is the only true indicator of "favorite" I care about.  8-))

**********************************

And since eBay seems to be rolling over and playing dead and the local Fire Dept. lady who asks for donations for their raffle each year never called me this year, there is all this that went to the Salvation Army last weekend.....

 

And there is all this that is going there later today.....

 

And today I am collecting more items to ship off to Sallie's.  If we go out Sunday I might have another load full by then to drop off.

******************************************

I went to the Podiatrist earlier this week as well.

The verdict is that my feet are too small.
Earth shattering I know......lolz

Add in that my legs are not straight so when I step my feet roll to the outside and then to compensate, the feet roll to the inside, which puts stress on certain muscles and joints, which makes my feet hurt like a sonofabitch sometimes.
Ok, so he explained it differently but that's what I heard.

Otherwise my feet are normal structurally, nothing broken or severely out of place, and I have good range of motion.
So the only thing that will help me at this point is to continue to lose weight(duh)and to wear diabetic shoes with good insoles or some other custom made footwear, since my feet are oddly shaped(wide as they are long.....I have cubed feet).

The sound of "Ka-ching" is ringing in my ears since this doesn't sound inexpensive.
Heck, I am really going to have to get $175 for that Power Rangers toy now to pay for these sort of shoes! ;-)

The only other thing the podiatrist can do for my feet if icing, resting them and pricey shoes doesn't help is to give me cortisone injections where the pain is located every few months.  But we aren't looking at that yet.

*****************************

On the Turkey Day grocery tally to get to my gift certificate front......went to that store earlier this week and I am $6.48 from having spent enough to trigger the cert.   So Saturday we'll be picking up about that much in groceries and then I am DONE.

I've got my menu made up for Turkey Day too.  Now to make sure I have everything I need to cook it.

*********************************

Can you believe that November is half over already!?!?
Dang.

The first paycheck of the month flew into the account yesterday so now I can start paying bills.
Goody! lol

I sent off a check for Daughter's next 6 months of rent yesterday and then transferred that amount from the college account back into our checking account.

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I did a little genealogy work for someone this week.  Found them some goodies they didn't have.
I really need to email a couple of folks who contacted me from Ancestry and a post I did on Philip Packer a few months ago.  Might be that we all are related.

The tests came back from my son's Y-DNA sample last week too.  Very curious findings on that and not at all what my Hubs thought his DNA is/was.  More later on that.

****************************

Speaking of living rooms......when I went to return the wheelchair we rented in October I stopped over at Big Lots since I was in that area.  They have a sofa advertised that I think might fit in the living room plan.
It's a small chaise sectional like the one we found at Just Cabinets this Summer......

It's a better maker than the other one at Just Cabinets and they want $100 less than JC for it.
Comfort is comparable to the other one too.
In person though, this one had this green cast to the color.  I am thinking it was because of the fluorescent lighting in the store but can't be sure.  Maybe I'll go back with Hubs and see if they'll let me take one of the pillows(the backs are the same fabric as the upholstery on the sofa)outside to see it in natural light.  I didn't think to do that yesterday.

Here is the other sofa contender.....

What I REALLY want is a leather or faux leather chaise sofa in this color and small size/style.
If anybody knows where they sell that, please let me know!  I hate to have to settle this time.

Here's the co-ordinating accent chair.....

Only thing is this chair is for looking at and not sitting on.
Very uncomfortable so I think I'll take a pass on this.

They also had this recliner that I think my Daughter would just ADORE for her Birthday.......

Now how to get it to Louisiana is the problem! lolz

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This weekend I need to get out into the garage and do some organizing and cleaning since the temps are going to get into the 50's(and maybe 60's)here.
It's a disaster out there....again!
Too much hauling stuff into the garage and NOT putting it away in the correct spot and not enough hauling stuff OUT of the garage.
Plus we still have boxes out there from cleaning out the dining/living room so those need to be dealt with.

And Hubs and I have been on a liquor bender of sorts.  The last few months have been a Spending Spree of adult beverages.  And as I don't NEARLY drink the stuff as quickly as Hubs seems to be going through it my stuff is all over the place.  Add in that some beer I bought this summer for #1 Son for part of his Christmas present he doesn't want.(He is uber picky about not letting beer sit for 2-3 months between when you buy it and you consume it)  I now have about 3 6-packs of microbrewery beers I can't give him and I don't drink beer! lol  I'm going to try to get Hubs to drink it instead....I don't think that will be a hard sell. ;-)

And the bbq smoker & wood chips needs to be unearthed out there, so we can use it soon.

Otherwise this weekend we don't have much planned.  Cleaning, Salvation Army, a quick trip to the grocery store, maybe cleaning out the roots from the garden beds but no other outside work as the leaves are all raked and hauled off already.  I could get Hubs to rake the leftover leaves into the back garden bed though to decompose there.  Yep, I think I'll do that.

*****************************
Ok, I have stuff to do.....more fabric to photograph and measure for Etsy, toys to list on eBay, a garage to organize and on and on and on.

So what's going on at your place this week/weekend?

Sluggy
 

One Last Bit of February Decluttering Porn & Short Fat Ken Dolls

Let's close out February on this Leap Day in style, shall we?
How do we do that?
Why with Decluttering Porn, that's how!

Micro Machines Star Wars Action Fleet vehicle set
Micro Machines Star Wars Playset
McDonald's Playset
Lord of the Rings Mt. Doom Figure set
Star Wars role playing card game
Set of Miniature Teddy Bears
GI Joe action figures Keychain set
Power Rangers Trans-Armour Cycle with figure
Micro Machines Star Wars Endor Playset
4 x Micro Machines Star Wars vehicle sets
Small Soldiers stuffed toy
Power Rangers Card game
2 x 101 Dalmatians pens
101 Dalmatians cookie cutters
Hot Wheels truck

Set of John Wayne Racing Champion Cars
Small Soldiers Chip Hazard Room Defender figure
Star Wars Ep.1 Anakin's Pod Racer
2 x Micro Machines Star Trek Vehicles sets
Power Rangers mini Megazord figure
Power Rangers Zeo Ranger figure
2 x 101 Dalmatians mini pillows
2 x 101 Dalmatians water globe toys
Set of Dilbert magnets
2 Throw Blankets
12 Political Beanies

Star Wars Micro Machines Endor playset
Beast Wars Micro Machines playset
Numi blooming tea set
Pink & Yellow Power Ranger Dolls Set
20 Posters
4 Johnny Lightning cars
Drew Carey Doll
Small Soldiers Archer figure
Power Rangers playing cards
3 hand dyed Beanie Babies
Set of Power Ranger cupcake papers
Hot Wheels set of Reggie Jackson cars

81 more items outta here!!

Yes, turns out this was NOT the brilliant idea I thought it was years ago.
The Drew Carey Doll has not become a much sought after object of desire.....

...unless I want to take the doll out of the box and sell him as a "Short Fat Ken in Suit".  Which is what this guy does....he's hit on a formula to unload a buttload of these dolls.  Check out  one of his auctions HERE.

And speaking of Drew Carey, has anybody seen him lately?  I dare say he's looking mightily hot....

He's single, funny, rich, a Libertarian, is a close personal friend of Craig Ferguson and he gives money to libraries. 
Damn.....some days it's too bad I'm married! ;-)

I'm sure Drew would be thrilled to know he was included in a blog post about porn.....

But I do love his tv work.
And the various openings to each of the 8 Seasons of his tv series.....

Sluggy

Is eBay Selling Worth Your Time Anymore?

While I wait on tax documents to get here so I can power through the taxes, and the much dreaded FAFSA(yes, I said that word!), I've been going through and calculating my eBay numbers.

Yes, if you sell stuff on eBay it's income and you had better report it.
I'm just sayin'.....

Even with just selling stuff for 2 months last year, the amount of paperwork and numbers I have to wade through is mind numbing.  It took me three solid HOURS to get through it tonight!
Ugh.

After deducting all the fees, supplies and the costs of the goods I sold, I netted a whopping.....you'd better sit down for this!......$1710.10.

And that's not deducting for the portion of the storage unit fees I incurred to store the things I sold.  I "could" deduct that IF I could come up with an acceptable formula to divide the storage unit fees between the square footage the eBay stuff occupied and the square footage where all the non-eBayed stuff sat.  I could also try deducting lots of other things too....like part of my internet connection cost, part of the cost of my computer/printer/paper/ink/etc.  But all that takes documentation and effort and sends up audit flags.   I'll just take that hit and not even bother.  I am beyond caring to go there.lol

So in the end all the fees I paid to sell this stuff?
It almost cost me as much as I netted!

I will not depress myself by figuring what my hourly wage was to make that $1710.10.
But I suspect I'd be better off wearing a paper hat and asking if you want fries with that! lol

This all just confirms my belief that selling on eBay as an income stream is so not worth it.  Might have been years ago but now?.....nah!

It's a great way to get rid of things you have laying around the house and such.  Or selling off things you don't want anymore.
But as a sustainable fulltime job?  Not so much.

I'll stick to Focus Groups and some Survey work.....though my patience for that stuff is wearing thin too lately.  ;-)

I need to find someone who wants to pay me to sit around and drink adult beverages!
Yah, now THAT'S the kind of work I could so get into!!  8-)

Sluggy

It's Time for Another Brain Dump

So I came to bed the other night.  I am laying there tossing and turning as is my usual MO, when Hubs started laughing.  I turned to make a sarcastic remark to him and saw he was dead asleep!
I have never known him to laugh in his sleep.  I was almost tempted to wake him up just to see what was so darn funny that I was missing.

I could have used a laugh after having Daughter home again for 15+ days.
Why oh why do winter college breaks have to be so loooooong?!  I don't remember mine dragging out for MORE than a MONTH!!
I love the girl but geez, she is Drama Central and High Maintenance.
Plus she and the youngest don't get along, which ramps up the negative energy around here.
I sort of got use to having some tranquility in my life the past few months.

And yes, both of my college student kids brought me Dirty Laundry for Christmas!
Fortunately, they both have working appendages and can run the washer themselves because after I told them what it was going to cost them to have ME do their stinking laundry, they made time to take care of that chore themselves.
Some day......I'll get them fully trained. ;-)

I am happy with how the whole eBay thing turned out this season.  The weirdos and stoopid buyers are good for a laugh(usually that's after the fact, NOT while I'm having to deal with them!lol).  I didn't have any buyers flake on me and not pay....this is a FIRST for the Holidays!
I sold a good deal for ok to good prices but there were some big ticket items that didn't go before Christmas.  I put the store on vacation settings about 5 days before Christmas because, from past experience, I KNOW I don't want to deal with the panicked last-minute Christmas buyers.
Ever.
Again.
I was going to wait a week or two into January to open the store back up, but a little voice instead of me said, whattheheck!....open it up the week after Christmas.
And I'm glad I did because I sold 3 of those big ticket items between Christmas and New Years!
Go me! ;-)


Hubs was home all week from work from the day before Christmas until  this past Tuesday.
I'll just say this.....
3 kids, 1 husband and 2 annoying dogs for 1 week solid can drive a person to drink.

I think this Husband Day Care is a GREAT idea!
I just remembered it's alternative name....the BAR.lol

Between my glasses of wine nerve medicine, Hubs and I got some quality couples time in and did some paperwork/filing/getting stuff together for taxes so it's not all on me to slog through.  We also sat down and went through our goals for 2012 and went through the financial stuff to see just where we are with the money at the moment.
Speaking of money, I am trying hard to ignore the fact that I have to write checks amounting to $15,000+ in the coming weeks.   It's the price we pay to keep the two oldest in college and NOT HOME!


Funny Spam Time!
I did a review of a product back during the summer of 2010.  It was a boxed supper-type product called "Good Earth"....it's from Betty Crocker or something and based on the meals they serve at Good Earth eateries, of which there are NONE around here, so I am clueless as to what they serve.
Anyway, I get a comment to moderate about 6 weeks ago.....a comment posted on that Blog Post from over a year ago.

Here is the blog post title...."Good Earth Review and GIVEAWAY TIME!"

Here is the comment......verbatim....
"okay so i have to read the good earth for school but it is soo boring every time i try to read it i doze off because it is soo boring.  HELP!"

Yes folks, she thought my product review was a review of the classic book, THE GOOD EARTH by Pearl S. Buck.
I should have directed her to the excellent old movie of the book with Paul Muni and Luise Ranier.  I believe Ms. Ranier won an Oscar for that role?(I just looked and Ms. Ranier is still alive at 101 and is having a birthday next Thursday!)
Of course, if the commenter found the book boring I kinda think she'd find the film stinko too.  Maybe an updated version starring Lucy Liu and Jet Li as poor dirt farmers in rural China would be more exciting to her?  Or maybe not......

What I DO know is that Mormons are H.O.T.
I have more keyword searches hit on my blog for this one word than any othere topic.
Maybe I need to talk about Mormons and my favorite "Plig" family more often?
Or I could just direct you over to This Blog HERE to get your fix of Those Wacky Browns.
Thanks go out to 444 Express for the heads up on that blog.
*And on a side note--don't Google Search Images for the word "Plig"....unless you are looking for lots of images of pigs.

Other keywords sending me viewers recently are.....
cat hoarding
cat hoarders(these are perennially among my tops search words....WTF?!?!)
mead xpanz 2" organizer binder, new release (huh?)
good grades in school ornament

And my most popular post last week was my BRAIN DUMP from mid November!
Really?
That train wreck of wackiness gets 144 pageviews and saving $34 THOUSAND DOLLARS in 1 year gets 20???
Even my jackwagon Sunny D and Rum(yum, yum)post got 49 hits.
I give up!
People are wacked......

And speaking of wack jobs....

There is a blog(which shall not be named here)I have off and on followed for a year or so.  It touts itself as a PF(thats "Personal Finance" to all you non-PF peeps)blog.  She isn't a prolific blogger like yours truly, but she posted a monthly networth accounting and then shortly afterwards, a spending accouting each month.  After a few months I noticed that her networth always went up yet her spending was always MORE than her income.  After seeing this consistently I commented and was "pooh-poohed" with the retort that her checkbook always balances out and any overage is covered by their savings.....though they never show this savings acct. in their accounting each month.
The numbers just didn't add up for me.

And over the year she continued to overspend their income by $1K to $2K each month(except for 1 month when it was only $250+).  They never lived within their income a single month in the last year.

And then she stopped posting her spending report this past summer and soon after her networth report.
When they bought a rental property when they had no money to do so and it needed renovations as well, and they continued to spend on frivolous crap(eating out and expensive hobbies)and had HELOC loans, credit card balances, 2 student loans still(in their 30's) each month, along with all the other bills and a mortgage, I threw up my hands.

Let's review--
Spending more each month than you make.
Buying rental property with advances on credit cards and HELOCs.
Buying rental property that needs renovating and you don't have the cash and/or the ability to do any of the work yourself.
Still paying off Student loans will into your 30's.
Eating out and spending large amounts on food each month.
Spending on non-essentials like fancy manis, hair salons, coffee, clothing.
Taking in rescue cats that have chronic conditions that need serious vet care(surgery/pills/etc.)on an ongoing basis.
Going on expensive vacations.

While she is NOT giving out financial advise, I hope people don't see this as a good example of how to handle your finances.
Of course, she is not disclosing everything so there may be money stuff coming in/going out that the blog doesn't show(and after her previous blog was brought to my attention, I honestly believe this is true), so I shouldn't judge her just from what she posts.
It's just my humble opinion folks that she has a long way to go in her money journey.  I just hate to see people make that journey to Money Valhalla even longer and more painful than is has to be.

I really need to sit down and figure out where the blog and my life by default is going in 2012.  I need to set some new goals and review old goals to see what still works for me and what I need to trash.
I also need to update/redo the blog list as it is sorely out of date.
In addition, I have to get rid of the Holiday theme and find something a tag more exciting than my green background.   Hopefully what I come up with won't hurt your eyes like a Mexican Bus....

Sluggy

eBay Follies....Longish but Kind of Funny

It's been a pretty good week on eBay for me.
Yah, yah, I know....y'all are getting tired of hearing about this, right?lol

While things aren't flying out the door I've been kept busy with getting rid of(selling)things.  In the past 27 days I have listed 140 items.  Not quite the 150 I wanted to get done but it's close enough for me to feel a sense of accomplishment. 8-)

As of this morning, I've sold 49 items and I have a couple of Best Offers to rule on so I might be up to 50 by this afternoon.

Cyber Monday's sales were steady but not frantic.
And then on Tuesday things dropped off substantially.....except when I get something listed, there is a frenzy of questions to seller(and/or offers if I put that feature on an item)within the first few hours of it being 'live' on the site.  I actually sold something within an hour of listing it yesterday.
But unfortunately most things don't fly off the shelf like that. 8-(
eBay is way down from what it use to be like during the High Selling Season of Oct/Nov/Dec.
Ahhhh, the good old days....lol

I've had some really interesting potential buyers this week.

*A woman who bought an item from me about 7 years ago bought something from me last week.  How do I know this?  Because she sent me a long email telling me this, with many details, which jogged my memory and I actually sort of remembered her.  She was nice to deal with back then and still is, but the main thing I remembered about her was that she was very cheap and never wanted to pay for Priority mail shipping and was always trying to get a better deal out of me.  She is still sending me chatty emails and I just don't want to be her friend so I feel bad ignoring her.
That's the thing about eBay.   Some buyers want to have a relationship with you beyond the buyer/seller interchange.  They cross the line from friendly buyer into needy territory......I want your money but I really don't want to be BFFs if I meet you on eBay.lol

*Someone emailed me about a Star Wars action figure case I am selling that is out of production(from 1999)but new in the package.  She wants to replace a vintage case her son had gotten years ago, now that her grandson was using his SW toys, because that old case was falling apart.  She asked me a bazillion questions that the only way I would know the answers would be if I ripped open the sealed package and inspected the interior of said case.  This is not something I would under any circumstances do(unless the person bought it first and PAID FOR IT and asked me to open it before shipping it off).
After those bazillion questions that I couldn't possibly answer, she wanted to know how long would it take to get it without telling me WHERE she wanted it shipped to OR WHAT MAILING RATE she wanted to pay for. 

Then to top this all off and push it into the "Seriously, get a clue!" category, she offered me half of what I was asking for it...and I had NO Best Offer feature enabled on the item NOR is my price for this item outrageously high.

Since I am a nice person(most of the time...lol), I answered the 2 questions I could, told her why I couldn't give her more information, told her I wasn't taking half of what I needed for this item and directed her to a listing for a lovely used identical case for cheap and said goodbye.
I could have ignored her or told her to kiss my pastey white a$$ but I've still got a little bit of Holiday spirit left......but it's wearing thin I tell ya! ;-)

*How about two different cases where potential buyers emailed me frantically wanting to know where my listing disappeared to when I sold an item that they had put on their "watch list".  One even demanded that I relist the item so they could buy it!  The nerve of someone else buying it...humph!  Well if you really wanted it, you should have bought it instead of just watching it.
I have never understood why someone puts a Fixed Price/Buy It Now item on a watch list.....it's not like it's an auction and they don't want to miss the end of the auction and bid on it then so they win it.  You just have to hit the button and Buy It idiot.....no auction sniping needed!lol

*The impatient buyers from overseas.  I don't quote overseas shipping automatically in my listing details like I do domestic shipping.  Overseas shipping is a tad more complicated with too many variables to just give a cookie cutter response.  Some items can't go cheap rate(1st Class)due to size or weight restrictions.  And then there are countries where I will not ship to using 1st Class rates....countries with massive corruption in their postal systems(many of which are privately held)where packages regularly go missing and end up stolen.  That would be Italy.....Jamaica......and parts of Mexico to name a few.  I am also reticent to ship to places with oppressive communist or dictator-ish governments.....like some "use to be Soviet Union" countries, China, parts of the Middle East.  If you are in those places you need to wait until you ask me if I will/can ship an item to you and what rate I will allow it to go.
Add in that often overseas shipping is a LOT more anyway than these buyers assume.

I will get overseas buyers who ask me for a shipping quote and then since I don't answer them immediately, they go ahead and buy the item. 

I've had one of them last week do this and then pay me without including any extra for the shipping of the item. lol

This week I had a guy buy without finding out the shipping to Italy would be at least $40 since I won't send 1st Class rate to there.  He ended up paying for Express Mail rate for $48!  Heck, I thought Italy was declaring bankruptcy....this guy obviously didn't get the memo yet.;-)
Then I had someone buy without finding out the shipping to China.  I've already had one package returned to me from China that was undeliverable so I am reticent about sending there anymore.  Seems like China actually holds their citizens to the "you can only import certain goods/certain value of items per year" rule.  If someone in China(Hong Kong not withstanding)asks for a shipping quote I remind them to ascertain whether the item is allowed to be received by them.

Another person yesterday in Canada bought an item and immediately paid me.  They chose a random number out of the air and included that much extra in their payment for shipping.  They sent no note or explanation about this payment, including no expectation of which shipping rate they assumed this extra bit of money would buy them.  So now I have to figure out the shipping options quote and email them.  If what they sent is enough to cover the shipping they expect, that's fine, but if it isn't......I have to refund the whole payment and wait for them to send me to correct amount....and I have to email them and hope they see my email and respond in a timely fashion.   That's the thing that gets me.....buyers expect me to instantaneously respond to their inquiries, shipping their package immediately after they pay and post feedback a nanosecond after they pay me.  But when I need information out of them?.....Oh, they are in no hurry whatsoever to respond.  But if their non-response means I can't ship their item and it gets held up for any amount of time, they are hell on wheels bitchy at me. *sigh* lol

But even though eBay selling during the Holidays can be stressful...especially if you are an ethical seller with a conscience who cares about during things the right way....this year I am NOT letting it get to me like I did in past years. 
Because basically, I don't give a shit. ;-)
I don't care about my rating....ok, I do care to do things the right way, but if you have a hair up your ass and just want to go on eBay to screw with someone and ruin their Seller reputation to make yourself feel like a big deal(I've dealt with those in the past), I don't care if you leave me unwarranted bad feedback.  The whole feedback system is a joke and has been for years since they took any serious repercussions against Buyers out of the equation but left all the feedback power in the hands of the Buyers.  Sellers can't do anything to a bad buyer.....can't leave them negative feedback.  But a bad buyer can not only leave sellers uncalled for bad feedback but they can ding them on their 5 star rating for something that is beyond the sellers control--the cost of postage/shipping.  If I don't give FREE Shipping(something that I have to pay for out of my tiny profit and more and more buyers are expecting even though I can't write off the cost of shipping like huge corp. like Amazon can)and charge what it actually costs to ship something, my SHIPPING AND HANDLING Star gets downgraded by them.  This star really needs to be called something else since I don't CHARGE SHIPPING, the Post Office CHARGES it. I merely collect it.  And not only that put I get the great honor of HAVING TO PAY eBAY A FEE ON THAT SHIPPING MONEY THAT I DON'T CHARGE OR GET TO KEEP.  AND i GET TO PAY PAYPAL A FEE ON THAT SHIPPING MONEY I COLLECT FOR THE PO TOO.
And yes, I am shouting here.....

So I don't give a rat's a$$ about what my buyers think about my prices.  You buy it or you don't, your choice.  You pay me what it costs and I ship your thing to you.  You want to leave me nasty comments, fine.  Have at it!  I don't care because when I am done selling off my crap I am leaving eBay and it's Black Hearted Business Model far behind.
Cutting ya loose eBay....with a smile on my face(ok, maybe a smirk!)and a skip in my step because I'll never have to endure this again.

Yah, I'll miss the funny buyers and shaking my head at the "WHAT were they thinking!?!?" buyers but I am retiring as a Master Shipping Box Reconfigurer. 
I'm hanging up my postal scale, tape, yardstick and scissors after this last hurrah.

Sluggy

One More Day....

....Until December!
I see all of you out there, you KNOW who you are!, talking about having your Christmas buying all wrapped up or nearly wrapped up.
And it's not even freaking December yet!
Come on......

WTF?!?!lol

I can't compete with this so I won't try.
I have bought throughout the year in years past, but with teens and older who don't want 'stuff' anymore I just don't buy much anymore.

I do give gift cards or money, which I can do late in the game and it's so much less stressful.
I ordered some gift cards with our c/c points over the weekend.
Now I have to get something for Hubs and my family 'Secret Santa' person.  The immediate family draws names and we each give 1 nice present to our SS person.
And I'll wait until this weekend to start freaking out over getting this done and getting the house in shape to decorate a bit.

I did buy 1 item for the Nephew for Xmas that was discounted 40% so reasonably priced on Black Friday.  And that was it for BF, except for the Gift Cards(that aren't gifts)I got at Rite-Aid.

Since I was online working on listings all day on Cyber Monday I did a little window shopping though.
I also wrestled with myself most of the day over the Deal of the Day on Amazon......

A $499 600 Pro Series Kitchen-Aid Mixer.
After sale price, rebate AND additional discount if you opted out of the Free Year of some magazine, the price was $183 and change.
I debated over buying this all day....never did hit that order button though.
I'd love to have it but with the kids leaving home, I find I make less and less baked goods.  It would end up being a very pretty and expensive counter tchotchke I'd have to dust.


With reopening the eBay Store, I haven't had time for much else the last week except for throwing food on the table or clothes in the washer.lol

Here's something shipping out today......

3 3-pack gift sets of CARS cars.
I sold them for $69.99.
I paid $5 each on clearance at Target 3 years ago.
My "geiger counter hands" strike again!lol

On the other hand, my 2 local Tag Sale Doll/Toy buyers crapped out on me.  There will be no $153 for me and less crap here to unload.
I'll repost all the Tag Sale stuff tomorrow....Pay Day!lol

There is major consternation in the local online Help Site. I'll post separately about that brew ha-ha when I have more time.

After a week of 60 degrees the temp has dropped and I swear it looks like it's going to snow at any minute.
My poor confused plants.....lol

I got an invite yesterday to go to Scranton and protest Barry Obama.
He's in town politicking and yammering on about something or other.....and causing major clusterfuckness on the 2 Interstates around here.  Thanks so much Washington and don't wait dinner for anyone who has to commute around here today.
Screw your Presidential convoy!  Why don't YOU sit your ass in traffic like the 99% do.....

I decided to stay home and stay pepper spray-free.
Of course, I do have a nice camping tent and I could probably drum up some people and start our own local OWS group.
Maybe if it was still 62 degrees and I didn't have work to do...you know, to make some money so I can support myself and not have to rely on the Government for handouts.

I'm more concerned about this protest right now....

 Sluggy