Thursday, December 30, 2010

New Years Resolutions!! Again? Really?

Nope. Well, not the same way anyway. This year, I'm going to do more than write the same list of inspiring goals, visions and fantasies that I've been writing every other year. Lose weight, take a class or two, exercise more, and on and on. Probably if we merged all ours lists, they'd all be pretty similar. Especially, the part about how the whole thing has totally slipped the mind within a week.

Not this time!! A group of us are going to focus on keeping these in view all year. There's nothing like sharing the energy to help everyone in the group keep an eye on the prize. Some are calling this a Vision Board. I'm calling mine My Life Book because it's all about the important things in my life. The first one in my book is a print out of the home page of my swim team's web site. Resolution: Get back on the team for the 2011-2012 season.

Anyone want to join the group and stay focused on the prize? Add your system or resolutions and we'll all share...


Elaine
http://www.cozyhomecollectibles.com
elaine@cozyhomecollectibles.com

Monday, December 27, 2010

Snow Days Sale by Trusted Sellers at Onlinebusinesssuccess




If the weather outside is frightful where you live, enjoy some relaxing time browsing last-week-of-the-year sales by your trusted friends from Onlinebusinesssuccess.   There's something for everyone here - and we hope you'll find exactly what you're looking for!

Birdhouse Books - 25% off storewide
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Birdhouse-Books
Vintage children's books, collectible cookbooks, ephemera (especially holidays)

Bitz of Glitz - 15% off storewide
http://www.etsy.com/shop/bitzofglitz4u

Nicalucks - 25% off storewide
http://stores.ebay.com/NICALUCKS
Books--mostly rare and antiquarian

Depression Glass Warehouse - 15% off books
http://www.depressionglasswarehouse.com/

Janes Variety And Gift Shop - 10% off storewide
http://stores.ebay.com/Janes-Variety-And-Gift-Shop
New women's clothing and accesories, collectibles, flower seeds

Book Corner Cafe N More - 25% off storewide
http://stores.ebay.com/Book-Corner-Cafe-n-More
Vintage Collectibles including books, racing items, ephemera and more

FamilyNiteMovies - 3 separate stores! - 19% off through 12/31
http://stores.ebay.com/samican2 - Sweaters, coffee mugs, dishware and misc.
http://stores.ebay.com/video-town - Adult movies
http://stores.ebay.com/familynitemovies - Family movies

FreelandEnterprises - 10% off storewide
http://stores.ebay.com/This-N-That-Freeland-Enterprises?refid=store
Jewelry, Makeup, Personal Care, Clothing, Hunting, as well as a little of THIS N' THAT......

KDMORE-CRAFTS-AND-MORE
10% on BLANKETS in Stock through JAN 10, 2011
http://stores.ebay.com/KDMORE-CRAFTS-AND-MORE

Stacey Kaye's Collection
http://stores.ebay.com/Staceykayes-Collection
Everything on sale $1.50 off
Magazines and Keychains

My Moms Books
20% off
http://www.mymomsbooksatebay.com/
Selling Books and Sewing Patterns

The Acquisatory
20-25% off Harmony Kingdom Limited Collectibles and some jewelry:
http://stores.ebay.com/The-Acquisatory

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Why is it...

That in the middle of thenight I can write fantastic blog posts in my head but when I get up and come in here??? It's empty space and cotton balls?

Our goal with this blog was to amuse and educate...and I'd like to think we do.  For next year, 2011, I am personally going to try harder to be more faith in posting.

Meanwhile, if you have questions about eBay or Amazon or Bonanza selling or you're befuddled by how to do something, post a comment and ask about it and we'll find one of us with experience to answer you.

Have a wonderful and Merry Christmas.

See you next week.
Beth

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Tis The Season

Well I`m a Day late with this but hopefully not a Dollar short ( or some saying like that) Tis the Season for Christmas Ornaments of all sorts.. This is just one of the many Collectible Disney Ornaments that adorn our Family Tree.. We have over 150 and each and every one is something from Disney.. Even the Lights have Mickey, Minnie and the Gang on them

And we have some extras that we`ve listed in our ebay store KDMORE-CRAFTS-AND-MORE

Merry Christmas Everyone !

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Tis the Season

When you see this guy -

You know this guy (pointing up and down) is NOT far behind...and

 
Neither is the crappy attitude some folks get...Grinch This Christmas!
 

DSR Photo Challenge: Tis The Season

This month's photo challenge was "Tis The Season." I had a lot of ideas for this photo, but kind of ran out of time to really play with the idea. In the end - I settled on this shot. This is fudge made by my Sister-In-Law. Each year the hubby's family has a get-together around Christmas and she sends everyone home with a "care package" of items she has made. This year included a pecan pie, fudge, peanut clusters, some kind of cookies (haven't tried them yet) and a cheese ball. I told the hubby to save us about six pieces of this fudge and take the rest to work with him. He hasn't. I've been good....but today....I think I hear a piece calling my name! :-O

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Tis the Season... to panic!!

14 days til Christmas, how does this happen every year? Seems we have so much time to shop and prepare and then bam alll of a sudden the calendar is our enemy.
We just bought our Christmas tree yesterday, now to get it put up today, oh but I need to work, I need to list because tomorrow is the last day to launch auctions that will close in time for holiday shipping... yes we are already on the very last week for Christmas sales!
So take a deep breath, do what you can and don't beat yourself up if you didn't accomplish as much as you planned (yeah this is a self talk here). Start thinking about 2011, always love the fresh start of a new year. You can do whatever you set your heart and mind on don't ever forget that!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Our Online Family

The online world is so huge I often wonder how our wonderful family of friends ended up together. The story with our group is we all met in a variety of places and call the yahoo group OBS home. This is truly a family and many of our lives are like soap operas as you read through our posts. We all share many things and have grown together and I want to take this time to thank the person that brought us all together.

I would like you to meet Beth who sells at the  Depression-Glass-Warehouse on Ebay and many other venues. She has over 850 very unique items in her store and you can buy here with confidence.

I would recommend checking out the large selection of book's that Beth has listed. She has many different kinds from antique to children's and with over 500 books to choose from you can find a great holiday gift.

There is a nice selection of collectibles that are quite unique so stop by today to browse this great selection. You will find many one of a kind items and she is happy to accept reasonable offers also.

 You can also check out her top 5 Depression Glass items in a variety of beautiful colors.

There is a huge variety of  items and if you are looking for that special item for a gift this is the place to shop. You can be sure your item will be packed quickly and with care and headed your way as soon as payment is received.

She has helped so many of us in so many ways. She started this group and has always encouraged and yes at times yelled at us when we needed it. We truly are a family and like any family we have our laughter, our tears and even arguments.

I just wanted to take a moment to say Thank you to a very special lady that means so much to all of us.

December Rose


I don't think it's a record, but we had snow here in eastern NC for the first time in December for as long as I can remember. It began Saturday afternoon and didn't stop until well into Saturday night. I am not a fan of snow but it did set the stage for getting into the Christmas spirit. We decorated our Christmas tree early yesterday morning and seeing the snow covered ground while we worked certainly made for a nice Norman Rockwell Sunday morning. I went outside with the dogs pretty early and took a few pictures, my favorite being a pink rose in full bloom. The rosebush belonged to my mom, so it's special. The rose blooming in December was special, the rose and greenery surrounded by snow made it magical.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Surviving Holiday Selling Well!

Recently I was a guest on eBay radio and shared these tips for surviving the Holiday selling season - I hope there is something here to help you!
  1. Check your supplies & inventory. My point here was that you should take 15 minutes to save 15 hours.  Christmas shoppers are not as understanding about 'Out Of Stock' conditions so you need to keep that up to date! For shipping supplies, check out USPS eBay boxes and eBay seller Bubblefast
  2. Keep Your Routine - Christmas season is stressful - don't start any new programs or even diets! during this time. 
  3. Establish Cut-off Dates. Check the USPS site for Holiday Shipping Times and decide how your business wants to handle this. A lot of online shopkeepers ship right up to Christmas eve and their customers love it! But if this won't work for your family - don't worry about it - YOU are an entrepreneur so that YOU can make the business decisions that work for you.
  4. Communicate with your Customers! Use the wonderful eMail program that comes with your eBay store and let your customers know about your decisions on shipping dates, new inventory or out of stock situations. Keep them informed at this time of the year and they will be grateful for the rest of the year!
  5. BREATHE - remember, whatever Holiday Season you are celebrating - there is a reason it's special to you. If you please all your customers but your family never sees you this Holiday Season - there is something wrong! Remember to USE things and LOVE people and you'll be fine!
eBay Radio November 23, 2010

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Our Featured "Seller" of the Day- Lattegirltoo

  I've been supposed to be doing these blogs for about 2 weeks and I just couldn't "get started" but today I was reading a very inspiration email from this seller, and I wanted to "introduce" you to her.


This woman joined my yahoo group about 2 years ago...and WHAT A WOMAN! She immigrated here as an adult and has built a wonderful life for herself and her family thru her efforts and her husband's.  She's the mom to three adorable kids (I've seen pictures...they are gorgeous kids).  Here's the "interview" I did with her about 2 weeks ago.

1. I am not expert in particular area. I like branching into new categories because in the process as I educate myself and that's it's just like another dimension opens up for me.



2. I've been selling online since 2001 and adore every minute for me. It's so thrilling for me, that I cannot call it a business. It's just gives me too much fun. researching & learning about new things gives me as much thrill as making a profit.




3. For me being able to immigrate to this country, start a new life and being fully accepted by fellow Americans, that's the lottery I always wanted to win. And I did. I will never stop struggling with the question - why me?


Why was I able to escape without being caught and thrown in jail like other desperate people?


When I sat on a lounge chair in Mexico behind rope fence and watched the vendors carry literally their whole store on their backs, I was thinking this could have been me, how come I am so fortunate and these people barely make $50 a day?


When I see my classmates moms dying and leaving small kids behind ( this October & November we lost 2 moms due to breast cancer) I think - this could have been me.


Have a great weekend, Beth!


Let me tell you, Katarina has earned her spot on the beach. She made adorable bras for both BLINGMYBRA campaigns on eBay and she's a RESEARCH FIEND!  She finds the Best examples of things.


But check out some of her items: ok but THIS is my favorite one...
Slovak Coffee


This is soooo yummy!! Don't buy it all, leave one more for me... LOL


The woman's fashion sense is totally awesome, very European and tasteful ...like this... Italain Leather Bucket Bag style purse.








I like this too - not that it would fit ONE leg... but it's adorable  Ladies Blanket Dress





But she also sells some "little things"...Like this page of toys Very Desperate Housewife's Collectible Toys

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Looking up AGain

Just a quickie supplement to the "LOOK UP!" theme -

I had a mentor tell me repeatedly, about shopping in antique shops, to look up, look down and look under..so with that in mind - LOOK UP! then look down and go outside and look around - it is a pretty time of the year ---
This is my breakfast companion...sometimes lunch too - he's actually on "Lookout Duty" right here

This is the "small" tree across the street - it is at least 75 feet tall

This is the shopping center at the end of the street -


And this and down below is where all the leaves  around here go to die....
HAVE A GREAT DAY  - See  you later!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Countdown To Christmas SALES!!!

This sale runs from November 13th until the end of November. Watch for more updates as we add and subtract items or feature certain categories..

Beth, will have selected items (a lot of them) for 20% off from Nov 13th until the end of the month.
DepressionGlassWarehouse for elegant gifts!


Trish – 15-25% off selected items
BIRDHOUSEBOOKS for ephemera and children's literature. Among other things, Trish has a huge assortment of vintage paper.

Bob 10% off storewide
BOB'S NEAT STORE You never know what you'll find in Bob's Neat store...check it out!

Katarina
One Very Desperate to Sell you something Housewife!

10-40% selected items
VERY DESPERATE HOUSEWIFE She has the best deals anyway and now with a sale?? Shop here for fashion items or just plain great deals!

Elaine 15% storewide
CozyHomeCollectibles has a large assortment of collectible china, delft and other vintage decorative items. Make an offer! She just might take it!

Suz 15% off store wide
MYMOMSBOOKS
Suz has tons of children's books, along with other great collectibles...another place to make an offer and stock up on great books for the grandkids or the little newbies in the family.

Marion 5% storewide

FREELAND ENTERPRISES for great cosmetics, and other useful things!

Addition savings on the following sites
My eCrater Store: FREELAND ENTERPRISES ON ECRATER

Marion's Bonanza Store


My Addoway Store

Bev 10% storewide:

Video-Town For Adult Entertainment - VHS

FAMILY NITE MOVIES for the whole family

GRANDMA BEV'S STUFF

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The E-commerce Merchants Best Season - eBay Tips and Tricks

I swear it was only a short while ago we were all scraping through the slow times of the summer months. People were out sunbathing, vacationing and not thinking about shopping online. If you were like me, you couldn't wait for the fall and the holiday shopping season... and now it's here!

Not only is the holiday shopping season here, it will be over in the blink of an eye! I am finding it hard to believe that Christmas is only 44 days away. EBay is reminding us every day with a countdown right at the top of the page, not sure if I like it, gives me a panicky feeling inside.

Ok so it's not too late to take advantage of this great time of year for selling! Here are things that I have been doing to increase sales:

1. First you can't sell it if it ain't listed. So get those items up and visible.

2. Price competitively but definitely don't be the cheapest out there. I tend to look at completed listings for an idea where things are selling, then look at currently available to see what the supply and demand looks like - I tend to price on the high side of the middle margin.

3. Use Fixed Price or offer a BIN - why? People don't want to wait anymore. Sadly the exciting days of online auctions are waning, unless you have something that is a rare item and a bidding war is bound to ensue.

4. Free Shipping - ok I know I know this is a pain point for many sellers, but I can attest to it's effectiveness in drawing in the sales. EBay promotes sellers who offer it, and customers love it because they don't have to worry about being overcharged on shipping (which is still a practice going on hot and heavy on eBay)
How I set the price is when I'm doing the searches above for pricing, I use the highest with shipping option - so I can see what the total price is people are willing to spend.

5. Don't be afraid to price your items at a point you yourself wouldn't pay. This was a big mental hurdle for me. I'm cheap! But not everyone out there is like me I have found out over this past year. I can price my items at their true value and still sell them... and so can you! So don't short change yourself.

6. Now get out there and draw attention to yourself. Facebook is an excellent tool for this, as is Twitter. Other ways to get your items seen is write a blog, comment on other people's blogs, in every email you send out should be a link to your store or items for sale, call into radio shows... there are so many ways to feed those search spiders! It doesn't matter how low you price your items or how many sales you run, if no one knows you are there stuff won't sell.

Ok if you've read this far you are motivated to get selling... so give yourself some goals and get listing, because remember only 44 days - and less if you are not reading this on the day I wrote it

Sunday, November 7, 2010

The Trials & Tribulations of A Fish Pond

Hello Folks in Blogger Land.

I`m Kathy from KDMORE-CRAFTS-AND-MORE and here is my Latest addition to our Group Blog


I have titled this Trials & Tribulations because this Backyard Fish Pond has been a Thorn in my side since we (meaning my Husband Donald ) decided we needed one 6 years ago.

We have had our Koi fish scooped out of the Pond by Raccoon and Skunks that frequent our yard, we have had problems with Algae build up so thick you can`t see the bottom of the pond, we`ve had some kind of Bacteria kill off all the fish, and we`ve had numerous Filter Systems fail and cost us $100`s of dollars to replace them UGH !

Now our newest problem is LEAKS !

We thought a few weeks ago that the water was being pumped out of the Pond because during a very strong 45 mph wind, it had blown the return water hose OUT of the pond.


So we refilled the 500 Gallon pond up to the top again ( BTW this REALLY irritates me because we have City Water and that`s $$$ for me ) only to have my son tell me a few days ago that the Pump was SCREAMING ( it does this when it`s sucking air & not water )

Sure enough, there`s no water in the Pond again !


So now we have to scoop the 3 Koi we have left ( we had 10 in there at one time ) and get them in a BIG Bucket of water to save them from sure extinction !

Next I ( hubby has bad knees so he can`t do this anymore ) have to suck up the last 3 inches of Water and a Bunch of leaves too from the bottom of the Pond, get inside and SEARCH for the dang Leaks !


Well I found 4 different places where the Pond is Cracked ! eye yi yi


So off Hubby goes to get some Water Proof Sealant and Plastic Liner fixer stuff..


So this is what my Fish Pond looks like right now.


Here are the 4 different Cracks once they were sealed.


Hopefully tomorrow once the Sealant has CURED, and it`s a little Warmer outside also, the Pond will be lined with a Heavy Gauge Black Plastic lining, and we will fill it up ( Water Company really loves me this past month ) and Cross Our Fingers & Toes, that the Water stays in and we can put the Fish back in their swimming pool LOL

It`ll be just in time too for them to start to Winterize themselves and settle down to the Bottom for a Long Winter`s Nap in CT.

Oh the Woes of having a Backyard Fish Pond !

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Breast Cancer Research Benefitted From The Generosity of Friends

Well, it's almost over - NO...not the political campaigns thing...those fools will be back again in the spring for the primaries. BUT the BlingMYBra campaign is in it's final phase for this year. We've got 85 bras up for auction and one website for sale.   


We've (we being Kat...did I tell you she does all the work? She does) already sent a couple of thousand dollars in donations in to eBay Giving Works to benefit the Susan G Komen for the Cure program already.  We're hoping someone makes a last ditch offer for that gorgeous website http://www.cozykidbedtime.com/
http://www.cozykidsbedtime.com/

- which is turnkey. It was donated by the Cowie family and is all set up and ready to go, with training to be offered by Shawna Siegel and her crew at 1Choice4YourStore.com.  Visit here to see all the details and make an offer!  YOU could be up and running by November 15th if you buy and pay immediately. Take advantage of the Christmas Shopping season to get it off to a great start!
 
But..back to the BMB story-  Kat Simpson of katskloset, took over the reins this year and has personally listed every single one of the 180 - 200 bras donated by amazing folks all over the continent.  eBay and non-eBay sellers and eBay employees "blinged" bras. People had parties, people worked in silence, people worked in memory of friends and family who have suffered and in the hope that no more will suffer as we'll find a cure sooner. Kat videoed them all, did most of the photography, and all of the listing single-handedly.
 
Christy Librizzi of KayCee Studios kept our eBay store organized and magnificient. Karen Locker tweeted and promoted and ran our CAUSE page on Facebook as well as helping adminsiter the Facebook fan page which was created and optimized by  Dany Byrne of Ghostleg Media and Cindy Shebley of Clovercity Sells made and ran our website and set up the fan page all while maintaining their own businesses and the WebsellersCircle.com.
 
eBetsy and Jon Monjott helped - eBetsy and Danni Ackerman of UdderlyGoodstuff   wrote all our press releases and distributed them.
 
Bev England of Grandma Bev's Stuff on eBay helped on Facebook and with wrangling bras and finding our amazing BRA ARTIST VAL who sewed so many of the celebrity bras
 
AS for the BRA ARTISTS?? I can't begin to keep them all straight. If you haven't visited our blog, please do = BLINGMYBRA and see all the bras and all of Kat's amazing videos. There are sooooo many generous people who donated including (but never limited to) the folks at Hydes' Cafe in Texas who held two "BlingMyBra parties" and gave Melinda Jackson of Galleria Gifts, 40+ bras to bring back to us, the folks in Colorado who were not to be outdone by Texas and who  had their own Bling My Bra party and then got the bra autographed by the founder of Susan G Komen for the Cure - Nancy Brinker (that one is listed right now -quick run over and bid...).
 
There's the indefatiguable Melinda Jackson of GalleriaGifts and TheRiverTheRanchAndTheBay podcast who not only went to Hydes to bling a bra and pick up all of them but went to the Dallas Cowboys and got a signed bra (which believe me, I will hold over the head of the Phila Eagles Wives organization which never responded to my letter...frownie face here...)
 
Marlene Gavens who helped us by doing a fantastic Owl Bra (her logo is a Wise Owl and her business is The-Savvy-Seller.com and she also went the distance and make the bra for John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing.
 
A special thanks to Lee Mirabal of EBRN radio - which produced the eBay Radio Show for allowing us to takeover whole segments of her shows to talk "Blinged Bras" and continued prayers for her husband John. (he had a horrible health problem last month and is just  coming home this weekend (last of October 2010).
 
When I started BlingMyBra last year, I never envisioned it getting this big or reaching so far. I thought it was wonderful we got 40 bras which came  from my friends, relatives and listeners to the podcast kat & I started - The River The Ranch and The Bay. . I still do. And this year, I'm just in awe of what Kat and her crew have done.  I'm so proud to know the people who organized this year's campaign and who've pushed it so much further than I ever thought it could possibly go.  Look at these...aren't they amazing?  BLINGMYBRA GALLERY
 
THANK YOU ALL - now go bid...BLINGMYBRA isn't over quite yet!!
THANK YOU for reaffirming my faith and confidence in people..
Beth Cherkowsky
http://www.depressionglasswarehouse.com/

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Eastern NC in the Fall


Two colorful trees in my yards. These are pretty representative of what the fall season in eastern NC is all about.

Friday, October 8, 2010

BlingMyBra Campaign

October is a very busy selling month for any online entrepreneurs and this October is even busier for our OBS Group. Last year Beth started a Bling My Bra campaign to donate money for Breast Cancer since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. She and many others made and donated bras and worked tirelessly to promote and get bids on these bras to donate money to Breast Cancer Research.

It is again that time of year when our campaign is now headed by Kat of KatsKloset and a great board of Directors. Bling My Bra has taken off and has it's own  Facebook Page  and BlingMyBra Twitter account.

So if you are looking for a fun way to donate to Breast Cancer Research please check out a wide variety of bras on Ebay on and let's all do our part to raise awareness for Breast Cancer.

Friday, October 1, 2010

My Barefoot Adventure in NYC

This week Janelle Elms took NYC by storm... (where do you think the rain came from?? She brought it all the way from Seattle for us parched East Coasters). And in her generous way, she managed to set aside one day to meet with some of her raving fanatics for lunch and chatting.

I've been a member of her OSI Rock Stars group for a year and a half now and because I didn't get to go to any of the eBay on Location, Amazon, Bonanzle, eBay Radio or ECMTA events, when she said she'd have time for a meetup with some of us locally, I knew I was going.

Now, I'm old, I have bad knees and so I dressed comfortably, changed shoes 3 times to find the ones that wouldn't bother me and would be comfortable for a day of trekking on the train and thru NY, sometimes by foot.

So, how then did I end up in NY in this lovely boutique hotel with my shoes disintegrating rapidly all over their lobby you ask? Danged if I know. The shoes were fine when I left home. Fine on the trip up on the train. Got off and starting looking for the other folks we were meeting (Oh I had a traveling companion for the train part of my trip. Kristin J Bowen-Hudson, a fellow rock star, came to my house and my husband chauffered us both to the train). As we started walking to meet the other 2 Rock Stars, Marlene Gavens and Janet Zeh so we could taxi to Janelle's hotel, my shoes started falling apart. Literally - actually - the tops seperated from the soles, right foot first. Then the rubber soles, the reason I chose to wear those, because it makes them incredibly comfortable to walk in, started distintegrating. By the time we arrived in the hotel lobby, big chunks and lots of itty bitty pieces were falling off all over the place.

First we met Wendy Siegel and got to chat with her while we waited for Janelle and then, all of a sudden, there was Janelle! Janelle met us in her lobby and while we all chatted and took pictures, the shoes kept disintegrating. I mean it's disconcerting to feel them breaking apart while you sit there...and I felt bad to be "shedding" all over this lovely lobby, the poor Door Man kept trying to sweep up the pieces and more kept falling apart. He finally gave up til I left.

Before Janelle went off to do her weekly internet radio show, Ask Janelle on www.wsradio.com (1 PM EST every Wednesday), she pointed me towards Broadway and Filene's basement and the other Rock Stars charitabily agreed to go shopping too.

Once outside on the sidewalk I realized, NO WAY were the reminients of my once comfortable Clarks going to make it two more blocks, walking.


look at the edges in the middle - where the big chunks feel off! OMG!

What's a girl too do?? Well I behaved like a bumpkin, took off the shoe parts left and walked barefoot to Filenes. 2 blocks on the sidewalks of NY. Wendy, being a native New Yorker thought I was nuts, and kept worrying that I'd lose a foot or catch something deadly before the 2 blocks were up! But I managed it and we arrived quickly at Broadway.

Where I put the rest of the shoes back on, schlepped down to the shoe dept and bought a pair of walking shoes on clearance! ($59.95 regularly - 45% off... so even my Budget Manager couldn't complain too much).

The rest of the day was spent in comfort. We ate lunch at Isabella's where for some reason, they couldn't remember that Kristin wanted COKE...not DIET COKE and catsup and they assumed that Janelle and Marlene could somehow eat soup with no spoon. The food was ok, nothing to write home about and surely not quite worth what they charged but we'll forgive them for all that for two reasons:

1 - they left us alone for 3 hours while we talked and chatted and laughed (and kept asking for COKE and Catsup)

2. they went and found me a sharpie so Janelle could autograph the SUPER Bra that Kristin is making for the BlingMyBra campaign on eBay. So Kristin's bra is now autographed by the Superwoman herself, Janelle Elms (and they were both so gracious to do that. THANK You!! You ladies ROCK!!) and thanks to Janet and Marlene for great pictures (Marlene made the owl bra last year and if you're a fan of her podcasts, The Savvy Seller or website of the same name, YOU can bid on it this year again! It's really cute!

We abandoned Janelle outside the restaurant, to grab a cab and head back to Penn Station, where Kristin and I took the NEXT train home... Thank you Kristin for the great company all the way up and back. I'm amazed by your creativity and energy!

ME?? I'm still tired but I had a good time so who cares about that. I have no incredible garnets of ecommerce intel to divulge to you from my trip except that "class shows" as my mom always said and those 5 women prove that! Next time I'll come home with "The Commandments According to Janelle" I promise. Meanwhile I'm still in awe of how smart she is and what a bundle of energy.

How are they gonna keep me down in Philly after I've seen NYC (and Janelle even scoped out a Flea Market up there for me?)...not hard, my shoes never fell apart walking in Philly..

Friday, September 24, 2010

Brian Wehrle Still Missing - One Year Later

Hard to believe, but it has been one year ago today since my friend's brother Brian Wehrle went missing. His car was found in Chattanooga last December, but their have been no new leads since then.



Although I expected they would probably do a candlelight vigil, when I talked to my friend on Monday she said that they weren't really planning anything special for today. Sounded like some of his brothers and sisters might have a quiet dinner with his life-partner. A way to let him know they still think of him as part of the family and to provide mutual comfort for all.



Anyway, I'm once again getting the word out that he is missing. Hopefully, someone - somewhere - will remember something or some new piece of evidence will turn up.


Information about a reward and way to contact the police is listed below~


A $10,000 reward is being offered -
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Johnson at 770-834-4451 or Det. Joe Shaw of the Chattanooga Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit at 423-643-5055. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can call Crimestoppers at 770-838-7867.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The Bucks Keystone Kops try to capture a parrot!

So, locally someone posted a "lost Bird" poster all over the place. I mean every store in the shopping center has at least 2 - one on the door or window and one on the register area.

The bird who answers to a non-bird name like Charlie is a green parrot. He's been on the lam for over 3 weeks but today both my adult son and I spotted what we thought might be him,in the pine tree behind the house.



are indoor cats, declawed before we ever met them (all 4 wheels) but you'd think they were panthers the way  they've been carrying on.

Well their humans, my son and his father went out to try and entice this "bird" off the tree. Because? Because if it's Charlie the parrot there is a $1000 reward for nabbing him.

First of all, can I tell you the two vice-presidents here, Cosmo on the left and Max on top of my computer..., raised such a ruckus no bird in it's right mind would have come anywhere near the house unless, lassoed, knockedout and fricaseed.

We whistled, we chortled, we threw peices of bread in the air (well I did) and talked bird baby talk. And when the "suspect" came down within sight, it was a parakeet, not the green parrot with pink neck ring we needed to get the reward.

Where is the parakeet you ask? The last sighting had him still in my pine tree and he/she/it is making periodic forays down to the bird feeder for bird seed.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Photo Challenge MY TOWN Auburn Alabama

We are actually located in Montgomery, Alabama but I wanted to send in this picture of my youngest son at the Auburn Campus for today's mission photo :)

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Photo Challenge #1: My Town - Dallas, Georgia



I tried to take a photo showing what was DOWN my road, but it showed up in my email SIDEWAYS (what's up with that?).


Instead, I guess you will get to see what is directly across the street from me when you're standing in the driveway. Just before I took this - some geese were flying around over there. If I had took the photo a little more to the right - you may or may not have seen a lake (hard to see when the leaves are still on the trees unless you know where to look!).