A new "DEAL of the DAY" site!

Woot.com, amazon's Daily Deal, ebay's Daily Deal and now . . . . . a Cow?  A Cow? Yep, a COW!  introducing . . . Matty!

THIS is Matty and Matty now brings you a Fantastic new Daily Deal Site, just in time for Christmas! So add Matty's site to your Daily Deals Checklist and Bag more Deals!

 

Matty's site is "More Moola Deals"

Yet another benefit of being a Member of OSI Rock Stars by Janelle Elms is participation in this new site! thanks, Janelle!

What has Shell been up to? Well, let me tell you!

Hello Folks! I've been really busy with life...had the gas shut off & have to fight to get it turned back on...still fighting, but looks good. I've been reading & commenting on our local news paper, & writing, calling & generally raising Cain with our reps in Washington. No one should have to go without heat in this day & age. I've called everyone, even the PUCO...but that's for another blog post. For now, I'm winning & I'm selling...so? Wish me luck!



This created a need for immediate cash. It just so happened that in that same time frame, a friend of mine saw this cute dog sweater & wanted me to make it for her Chihuahua. 

I made it, & a blanket. She came & got it while I was gone, so I did not get pictures. Another friend saw hers & wanted one, so...yep, I decided to make a few & list them on Bonanzle. 

3 friends later & STILL no pictures of a REAL dog wearing my creations.Then, I decided to show one to my "nephew" Cesar's mommy. She loved it! (of course LOL)

Now, Cesar Romero is 7 months of the cutest Chihuahua I've seen in a long time, & he loves his aunt Shell. See the pics? That's him looking cute in his black & cream sweater.

Cesar does not mind his sweater, his mommy says it's 'cause it does not rub him under his front legs. I love them 'cause they are a snap to make, which means I can pass on some savings to my buyers. Yet, these are also completely customizable to the type/size of your pet.

I love dogs of all sizes, and most of them love me, so this is close to my heart. I'll be making all sorts of clothes for pets soon. But until then, there's the sweaters, & the blanket. See how thick it is? Yet, it's light weight & easy to wash; which makes it an excellent travel blankie!

Soon, very soon, I'll have pics of Cesar's mom & sis in their own sweaters. You'll have to go to Bonanzle to see them, though. I'll have some Christmas stuff like this set of pot holders  & Christmas sweaters. All these are customizable to your needs, too.

Now, my daughter & grand are moving, so I'll be busy packing for them. It's bitter sweet for Jimmy & I; we get more alone time, but we'll see less of Eva & Jae :>(...but, she has a good job & a chance at an even better one! Something we do NOT have in our area. )

Checking My Christmas List

Each year for my holiday gift giving, I buy things throughout the year so that I really don’t have to do marathon shopping after Thanksgiving. Everything is even gift-wrapped and under the tree when December 1st comes around. Not this year though! The holiday season has crept up on me and this is different from my usual way of doing things. This year is also different in that I’ve joined the Online Business Success Yahoo group since I know I need to do a lot more with my online stores . And this group has some wonderful members who are always willing to help with encouragement, information, and help with all kinds of online/offline related problems!

So, it’s only right that I’d go shopping for some of my Christmas gifts from some of the stores represented from this awesome group.

For my husband who absolutely loves a good history book, I know he would enjoy “MacArthur, His Rendezvous with History” from Momsbks on Amazon.

For my son who is a budding photographer, I know he would love Shell Russell’s photo poster of the Highlandtown Lake at Sunset
She’s such a gifted photographer! Check it out here.

For my stepson who has hundreds of die cast collectible cars, he would love Beth Cherkowsky’s listing from Depression Glass Warehouse

For my brother, the fine wine connoisseur, a couple of lovely brandy snifters from Sushiboofay's.

For my sister-in-law who is one of the best hostesses I know and has gorgeous Christmas china, I’d choose Katarina’s Very Desperate Housewife’s Pfaltzgraff serving platter. I know she’d love it!

Ok, for me…I just love Kat’s Closet, switchflops in cork. Wow, these are so versatile and soooo cute!

It's not too late or, should I say, too early to start my Christmas shopping this week!

The Leaf Blowing Blues

Well Fall is here and of course I know why they call it FALL.
Every leaf from every tree in the neighborhood seems to FALL and find it`s way into MY Yard !

I only have a 3/4 acre but every blasted inch of it is covered with leaves from Maple Trees, Oak Trees and every tall piece of Bark within 1/2 mile from me I swear it`s True.

So today, since it`s about 45 -50 degrees here in Eastern Ct where I live, and NOT raining, I decided it was time to get rid of the mess out there.

So I go out to the Garage to get the Leaf Blower/Vacuum Mulcher that I bought 10 years ago when we bought the house.

Now, every Fall for 10 years, the old Black & Decker has served me well. It has the Bag with a shoulder strap that catches all the chopped up leaves after I Vacuum them up.
When it`s Full I then empty them into a Large Compost area down in the corner of the Back Yard that we`ve been filling for the Garden area.

So I`ve got the machine ready and now I have to get the 75 foot extension cord out.

Now I don`t know how many times I`ve asked my husband to please leave my Gardening/Landscaping tools alone .

I, By My Choice, do all the Landscaping here.

I have all my equiptment in one area of the garage so I know right where to find them.

WRONG !

I guess he needed one of the Cords for the Halloween displays and lo and behold did he put it back where he found it ? NO of course NOT !

Now I waste 10 more minutes looking for the Darned extension Cord.

Finally find it, down in the basement ?? Why was it there.. Only he knows..

Ok so I`ve got the cord, bring it outside, plug in the Machine and NOTHING !!!

It`s DEAD! Ugh! Now I start messing with the switch, and checking the plug, and changing extension Cords to NO AVAIL.. :<(

So I`m staring at a Yard Full of Leaves, and a Leaf Blower gone to Landscaping Heaven..

So the only solution is to get in my Car and head to Home Depot to hopefully find a new Machine.

Well this is the only Good Part of the whole day so far.
Well except for the part that I woke up this morning to see my Darling husbands smiling face, which meant we are still alive !!

So I go into Home Depot and right as you enter the Store, there is a Big Display of TORO Leaf Blower/Mulchers and they are ON SALE !

So I load one into my Cart, head for the Checkout line and , it gets even BETTER now.
There`s a Sign at the Check out area that says

"From Now until 11/11/09 (which is Veterans Day ) 10% Discount for All Military including Retiree`s on all purchases

Now I`m even happier for 2 reasons. 1) Sale Price & 2) a Military Discount.

See alot of stores and Businesses around here give Military discounts BUT usually it`s ONLY for Active Duty and NOT Retiree`s.

My husband is a 22 Year Navy Veteran

So I get my New Leaf Machine, saved some Money and I`m happily back in my Car to head back home and start the miserable job of cleaning the mess up.

I get back to the house, bring the box in, and found out my Sweet Husband had made a Fresh Pot of Coffee for me, and gone down the street to the Bakery to buy me a "I`m Sorry" Gift (cuz he misplaced my extension cord) of a Delicious Cinnamon Nut Coffee Cake.

He poured me a Big Mug of Coffee, Cut a Big Chunk of Cake for both of us, told me to sit down on the Couch and ENJOY !

And that`s where I still am right NOW LOL

Maybe I`ll start the Leaf mess tomorrow !!

Ebay's Blasted DSRs--I Hate Them!

So it begins with what should have been a relatively easy gallbladder removal. I had already been told by 2 GI specialists and a surgeon that it had to come out. I am not a fan of doctors or hospitals....especially surgery, but they convinced me that the situation was dire. Two separate HIDI scans could not even find my gallbladder as it was filled with so many stones. I didn't have a choice.



I am all set, get to the hospital 40 miles away at 6:30am, surgery set for 7:30am, they are telling me I'll be back home by 1:00 pm the same day. At 2:30pm that afternoon I open my eyes and all I could see were white lab coats with Critical Care embroidered on them. I shut my eyes and go back to sleep.....until the people wearing those white lab coats began to shake me, call my name, rub my shoulders, they didn't want me to sleep. I came to my senses enough to listen to the talk around me which included several critical care doctors, an anthestheolgist, my surgeon, and a host of nurses and other people I didn't know....and I immediately took a disliking to each of them. As it was explained to me I died several times on the operating room table, I simply quit breathing, and they continued to bring me back. Afterward, they could not get me out of the anesthesia. So they administered an anesthesia block and several breathing treatments to get me out of the anesthesia and it still wasn't working. Since it was now about 3:30pm I knew I would not be home by 1:00pm.



I was half dead, in pain, could not make my mind work well enough to carry on a simple conversation.....yet, I lay in my hospital bed worried to death about my DSR stars, especially my shipping DSR star. Not even death, nor how close I had come to facing it, or how badly I felt were thoughts that were a thousand miles away.... but my DSRs were first and foremost on my mind.



eBay has put the hoedy-doe, a curse, the evil-eye, a black magic spell on all sellers to maintain only 4s and 5s--or no 1s and 2s--within their star ratings. Instead of my being concerned about my lack of well-being, I was worried about my sales and not getting the items shipped that afternoon, or the next, or the next, or the next......or the next. Now tell me how insane it is that eBay has forced us to maintain a DSR count to the extent that nothing else in life matters. I know that's an extreme statement but it's true. I detest the DSR system of rating a seller and the horrible stress it places on us.



I came home four days later, on a Saturday afternoon, to several sales that should have already been shipped. Because it was Saturday I still could not ship until Monday. I wrote letters of apology and included a small gift in each package for being tardy with my shipping. I lost my Top Seller Rating Badge although my dashboard reflects that I still have it. I have talked with eBay twice to find out where the badge went that is supposed to show on my listings and they don't have an answer. So I will have to patiently wait until it pops back up again.....maybe next year sometime?



I learned my lesson the hard way about being prepared. I should have put my eBay store on vacation the week prior and I should not have had any current auction listings in the event my surgery didn't go as planned. Even though my doctors and surgeon assured me that everything was going to be just fine--that I would be home the same day, and that I would be able to function quite normally within 24 hours-- I quickly found out how wrong those doctors were. The moral of my story is this:

no matter what, if you are going to be out of place and know in advance, make preparations to put your eBay store on vacation. Do something with your current auction listings in advance. Do what you have to do to protect yourself in the event that some little something gets in the way of your plans. Those DSR stars *must* be the center of your universe or else you'll pay. In several different ways.



Oh eBay, how dare you spite my effort

With your DSRs, 4s and 5s

I'll keep a penny in my shoe

And hope that I'll survive.



You have mojo'd me with your insanity

That keeps me on my toes

An ounce of bat's blood, black and thick

Only I will know.



The curse you've put on your good sellers

Will return to you threefold

Your stocks will bomb, your metrics will melt

Your name, no longer gold.



For I am cursing you dear John

And all you've done to us

My simple spell will show its face

In one you dearly trust.



A lizard's tail, a slimy snail

A spell of witchcraft and voodoo

To you eBay, and your DSRs

And those blasted 1s and 2s

Our home here on the web has quite a talented and varied group of authors that have become like family. We all sell a variety of items and on a variety of venues and help and support each other all we can. We laugh together and celebrate our successes and help each other through our disappointments. I am very proud to be part of our wonderful online family.

We also have a some of our members in need of prayers right now and we do all we can to help each other through these difficult times.

We all are gearing up for our Christmas holiday season on eBay, Amazon, Bonanzle, Ecrater, ioffer and many other places. This time of year we are like Santa's elves busily adding stock daily to all our venues for your holiday shopping. In the coming days you will see posts from our online family sharing their items for sale and often the stories that go along with them.

Please stop by The Book Corner Cafe and check out some of our items for sale this holiday season.

Trick or Treating Seller Style

Happy Halloween!

I couldn’t wait for Halloween the day with all the books. NOT candy. Today is my favorite Book Sale. I wait all year for this day. I haven’t gone to many sales this year with my plentiful inventory so this is a treat.

The day started out with terrible gale winds and rain. Right off Lake Ontario and they kept up all day. (Just heard it’s raining down in Philly for the series) See this rain won’t leave all our special events. Should I also mention, Go Yankees!

I left for the sale at 8ish, had to stop at my little one man post office in Dexter, NY to mail two books from yesterday. “Travels With Charlie” and “They Came To a River” darn Post office doesn’t open till 9:00. Ok can’t wait, off to the sale to back track to mail before noon when it’s closed.

Sale starts at 9:00 and I’m running a little late, wish this wind and rain would stop. No parking spots left in front and I’m not parallel parking in an almost spot. Wait for a traffic light, park down the block in a municipal lot. Money in pocket, keys and cell in another pocket, purse locked in the trunk. Lug back up to library. I’m a little further back than usual. About body number 25. I see some familiar faces, checking to see who’s a seller and who’s a shopper. Then there are those people who budge. Guy behind me said "they need a book of etiquette", I agreed because I’m not that close.either. Twenty minutes to wait and counting. The wind has umbrellas turning inside out. Yeah, we are in! I can’t believe some people actually stopped to hang up their coats, no sense of urgency. Better for me!

I head for the children’s room with my two big canvas boat bags. It didn’t even take an hour to fill them. Sat in the corner on the floor to reevaluate my finds, removed a few, repacked the bags and wondered if I could lift them and make it to the car. What a deal all books are .25 cents. I spent $13.50. They had cd’s, dvds, and more. I stuck to books. Think I found a few goodies I always do. One year I bought a Hobbit book and sold it for over 600.00. So do I love this sale?

The sale is at the Flower Memorial Library in Watertown NY. This is the most elegant building I think I have ever been in. Marble everywhere you look, winding staircase, balconies over looking the rotunda. They remolded it a few years ago and kept the original grandeur. http://www.flowermemoriallibrary.org/fmlrev32702.html

There are books in every room, basement upstairs on the floors in all the halls, 100’s of thousands of books. The sale goes on for two weeks. Each day prices go lower till bag sale for a $1.00 in the end. I hope to get back one more time.

I came home after the post office stop. I listed 34 books, with scanned pictures. You can find them in my Ebay store, http://stores.ebay.com/mymomsbooks?refid=store

Amazon, Alibris and a few other places on the web.

Still raining and windy a perfect Halloween for me.