i never got to tell you about daisy's birthday!

it was quite a busy day for me and i had lots of e-bay to send off at the post office.

  running around for hours and getting life stuff accomplished was very nice...but, i am a little kooky about birthdays, in general.  i just like to  make a birthday special...and festive...apparently, that's really for me.

and that's how daisy's little outing came to be.  we went to town..daisy and fitzy seemed thrilled to be out for a ride in the car....i imagined it was because of the birthday fun...but friends have gently reminded me that daisy and fitzy just thought they were going to the beach!  well, that's not what their imaginary thought balloons told me!

daisy, on her 8th birthday still is the sweetest, most gentle, intuitive dog in my world!  she loves us all and is here with us through thick and thin.  she's been to montessori, grammar schools, middle school, high school and  she attended fairfield university!  she was THE most popular girl on the quad!  she's well rounded....she has played t-ball, softball, soccer, lacrosse and certainly her best sport of all.....swimming and plain old catch! 

this is fitzy....i'd know that snoot anywhere!  fitzy is a dog with the need to repeatedly remind me that her need for love is great, very, very great!

i think of it as "love in your face!"

and i've decided, if it's love she needs so desperately, it's love she shall have.  she's so sweet and gentle and soft as a bunny....it's the gentle that's a challenge when there's a crumb in the vicinity...within 3 miles.  this is a dog who has a nose for trouble...or, i should say, barbeques.

i really do love fitz!  she makes me laugh.  she can be needy, i think it's separation anxiety....she lived with 4 kids under 6, in a crate a lot, for almost a year, then she lived with a day care provider who had a billion kids at her home everyday.  i just don't think she ever got enough golden love.  she has her marley moments and we love her anyway!  she needs love she craves.  as i always say, daisy came to the nursing home with me to visit my mom.....she stopped for lots of the elderly people and loved having them pet her and talk to her......fitzgerald, fitzy, so delighted to feel the love, she jumped right up on my mom...in bed.....it was shortly after we arrived back home, that the nursing home gave us a call to let us know that next time, it might be a good idea to leave the dogs home! daisy always came with me to "gramma's house".....fitzy went once and got us kicked out!

we went to town. daisy and fitz waited for me in the car while i carried my e-bay mail like a tacky circus act into the post office...before i could gather up the boxes and envelopes, there was a fan club at the car windows.  they always meet the nicest folks.

as we walked through town, daisy and fitz started a sit in at one of the restaurants....they could smell the garlic.  i humored them but continued on!

of course, fitzy held out the longest.  i told them if they had brought their own charge card, i might have considered it...after all, it was time for birthday fun!

we stopped in the back of the stores and walked near the pond so daisy and fitz could get some water....i think after smelling the garlic, they were thirsty...that's what their thought balloons said.

daisy is not used to having a leash, but she understands...that's the rules...in town!

"daised and confused"
as biff likes to call them.  as you can see, daisy is looking towards the water....so ready for a swim!  fitzy, however, is still standing attention toward the aroma!  she reminds me of the dogs in "the lady and the tramp"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WxDdz-Anls

the wafting smell has their attention....like the dog in the old cartoons...when he got a treat, the cartoon dog was so happy,he floated up in the air!

after some water and some play, we were off for a birthday treat!
they had no idea what i had in mind!

the surprise was the little pet store...with oven baked treats...like the bakery for dogs!

they had some water at the little "water bar".....
after slurping up a few gallons, they were sniffing up a storm...and ready for a bite to eat.

fitzy's nose was leading the way!

daisy was checking to see if she had any friends coming along...she's used to rather large gatherings for her birthday.

daisy is ready too!

fitzy makes way for daisy...the lights are on, but nobody's home....at the store, not fitzy!

heaven!

talking over their favorites...

daisy taking a whifffff of the possibilities...

we thought it would be fun to have a little fun with the birthday photo...right in front of the pet store.

and the sled dogs are off!  fitzy isn't as good on the leash...daisy is very good...but, she's always busy watching fitz!

we stood outside the movie theatre and tried to figure out if there might be a movie appropriate for all of us...there was a cat on line ahead of daisy and fitz.

they seem o.k. letting the kitty go ahead of them...they have excellent manners and do take good care of our cats, jinx and happy.

fitzy looking like she's seen some take-out....daisy being coy...

i think the kitty wanted to borrow some money ....some just have that attitude of entitlement!

if that kitty wants pop corn too, there's no way we're sharing!

just hangin'

does this look like a doggy that will share??
hold the popcorn.

o.k. now that's really something
for the birthday treat!
daisy and fitz had some fun...town, a treat, the movies...age appropriate....showing,
"marley and me"  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cedG470nTD8
"beethoven"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eHgKg36xsY,
or "cats and dogs" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7zjFUgDI

daisy had a great birthday

When T.J. got home from school today, he looked up the hill and noticed me standing at the front door to welcome him home from school.  It's not often that I get away with that!  It seems that he was not in the least bit embarrassed to have me waiting there, although he did have something to say about me standing at the door.  He quipped, "Mom, I'm not embarrassed by you.  This time, I'm embarrassed FOR you!"  I actually think he was relieved to know that I hadn't been out in the real world all day.

No matter how cool we think we are, our teens just can't seem to recognize it!!  It's hysterical to me, not to them.
Do I really look like I'm concerned that my kids don't know I'm cool?  A legend in my own mind....ssshhhhhhhhhh.

Oh my, it was my pebbles pony tail i had forgotten to take out.  Funny how that happens when you don't get a shower for quite some time!  Oh yeah, I'm looking HOT today!  Not only am I thankful that I don't have to wear pantyhose everyday to work, since my only position is volunteer stuff, mom stuff, Me stuff and E-bay stuff.  Who could be happier than me not having to worry at a time like this?

Oh sure, we have wonderful friends who have welcomed us into their showers!  Don't take that the wrong way!  I just figured we'd have it figured out by now.  Looks like the health department may escort me to a shower if only to get the pebbles ponytail ripped out of my head.

 T.J. settled in after school, I got a text message from Grace to let me know it was time to pick her up after her lacrosse practice.  How Pavlovian of me!  The bell rings and i salivate.  Not always.  It depends on the tone of the text.  For awhile there, Grace had some demanding tones in her texts that were beginning to feel like ransom notes. That changed after I texted back and forth with her 4 and 5 times suggesting that she say please.....and thank you ......and would you? could you?, not just get me!  It took awhile but she got the "message".

As it turns out, Grace had plans to go see a movie with her good friend, Kailee. They both loved The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks and it has just been released.                                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDatVBiHUgM
Sometimes, 15 year olds love a real tearjerker. Kailee and Grace love the very scary movies and the tearjerkers.  It's fun to have a friend who shares that combo! We went to buy the tickets yesterday so there would be no room for error.  That's my first child, getting things done right!

After so much rain, today was Grace's first practice of the year.  All of the others had been rained out. Before leaving the house, the Pebbles pony tail was whipped into a sort of bun head.  Just the look I've been looking for!  I picked Grace up with 2 friends on the team and we went to get some refreshments in town. Fun for all of us!  Except one catch....I realized it might be best if I stayed in the car. At 15, they may have been relieved.

Clothing was a bit scarce considering that most of my laundry had been in the basement, sorted, in baskets on the floor, when the tides came in.  Our family is not lacking in the clothing department.  Of all of my Becky Home Ecky issues, laundry is usually not my problem.  That routine is very well orchestrated in this house. Biff and I have this down.
Although  I do my best to keep it all moving through the cycle well, Biff is tuned in and will move like wildfire when he hears a beep on his Timex Ironman watch!http://www.timex.com/Sport-Ironman-Products-Products/b/2223481011
Talk about Pavlovian.

So, here I am Thursday night, wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt and a fleece....very similar to my ensemble yesterday.  It's not that I hope to be the belle of the ball, but my take on relaxed fridays seems to be all week long this week.  It's all o.k.  Breathe.....breathe....breathe.  could I join some sort of crunchy cult to help me get through this? Maybe a 12 step hygiene group?  Speaking from first hand experience, it's not likely since no one would rent a hall out for the group to hold meetings.

Are you as tired of this as I am?  Sorry to bore you with the details.  It's just like how ya need to share the whole dentist appointment with someone....why is that?  People love to share the freak details of their life?

My mom used to go into great detail about certain things....the dentist, the phone call to the phone company waiting on hold and being transferred to 4 people for a 37 cent credit and my favorite.....the line at the bank.  She even knew that it made me crazy but she couldn't contain herself, she knew that she would find relief even if it was a risk......usually she plowed through the story in excruciating detail even though my eyes rolled, my head nodded and my whole body sighed a full body sigh!  It was worth it to her no matter what response she got!  Same here.  Eyes rolling, heads nodding and full body sighs don't seem to affect me on my blog....I just keep going on and on and on and on and on.  By the way, my mom knew these stories tortured me but she also knew i would grin and bare it....my kids have not learned the subtle version of grinning and baring!   YET.

this is not our house with this river crashing over the little waterfall but that's how i felt just thinking about our basement this week!

Hi there! I missed being here yesterday. It was not really that big a deal in the grand scheme of things.  Pretty much, the general feeling is that it just stinks!  It's a little overwhelming especially because there are so many bits and pieces to the problem. First, the stink, the mess, the wreck of it all. Then the energy that we have to expend on this rather than the stuff of everyday life.  It's really just a blip on the screen that stinks.

Not that big a deal in the life of life.  In the respect that our home is upside down and that feels more overwhelming than anything.  I feel like I'm so far behind I think I'm first.  I don't even want to scare you with photos.

O.k. This is kinda scary!  No shower for a few days. First we had no water due to septic, now we have no water due to the fact that the motor of the oil heater or something died when the water covered it!

The Pebbles pony tail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bawxxl9S91w pretty much sums it up! I must say I haven't felt like this since I was ready for my shower after a week of Outward Bound.
http://www.outwardbound.org/
 '
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Although Outward Bound was a sailing trip I took a few years ago, the first time that I ever left my family for a week!  It was for me....really for me....just to do something that I had always wanted to do.  Biff and I had been talking one night about all of his travel to Hong Kong over the years...we began talking about how great his boss is about keeping him motivated and trained and empowered as a salesman....and that's when I said that 

of all of the jobs I enjoyed and didn't enjoy, those companies never had the type of personal growth that his great boss offered him. 

Always willing to push his salespeople to their next level, Biff's boss is one in a million!  That's when I said of all of the little regrets that I had, the idea that I had never challenged myself in an Outward  Bound challenge.

That's when my life changed!  Before I knew it, Biff was on the web site with me looking at my possibilities for my challenge!  I put up all kinds of objections.  "i can't because it's too much money to spend for just me!"...."No, it's almost grace's birthday!  I have to help plan a birthday party!"...."What about after school? Who will be here for the kids?"...every objection that I put up had a reasonable fix.

Biff had everything figured out.  I was feeling like it wasn't o.k. to take the time for me!  After all of my years with my kids and family, all of the times I had felt stranded and abandoned while Biff was off on business to many different destinations...I was alone with babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers, grammar school kids and now it was time! 

Grace was in third grade, t.j. was a second grader and Biff was able to work his schedule around their long school day.  I called Outward Bound and figured they wouldn't have the sailing course that I had selected. I spoke to the woman for about two minutes and before I knew what hit me.  My credit card was charged and I  my information packet was on it's way before I had my morning coffee!

That was the beginning of one of the greatest boosts to my life after years of being mom.  It was truly one of the most awesome experiences of my life.  I think of that trip and what I learned, besides sailing, almost everyday!

The best part of all was that the whole time on the trip, I was so busy participating in our sailing, that i didn't have time to miss my family!  I did have moments that i was so awestruck by the absolute natural beauty in the nooks, crannies, glorious open space and the outrageous color of the Florida Keys! http://www.fla-keys.com/
That's when I thought of my family!  I did not ache for them, I just wanted to know that I could share this with them!

And at the end of that spectacular journey of many challenges, big and small, I got my first shower!  My showers during my seven day adventure had been salt water swims toweled off by a sort of Sham Wowhttp://www.fla-keys.com/, as seen on t.v.  My first shower on dry land was in a women's outdoor shower at John Pennecamp State Park!
http://www.pennekamppark.com/
A cold shower!

I loved it!  I still splash a little cold at the end of my showers just for that invigorating burst that I enjoyed during so many !6 a.m. swims in the Florida Keys in January!  Heart Stopping Cold whether we liked it or not!  I always loved it once I got in!  So every shower since has given me those little Outward Bound joys!

Did you notice that when I write of Outward Bound, millions of exclamation points are used!  That's a feeling that has stayed with me since!

The ponytail seems reminiscent as well!  One of the most wonderful things that happened after all of my dreams to share that beauty with our family who would love it so much, I got a phone call from Kit, my good friend.  She was calling to hear about the trip.  Kit also was amazed to hear that the trip began and ended at John Pennecamp State Park in Key Largo. She had just booked a camping site there for the family's spring break!  I was blown away. That's when Kit said that the camping site was for 8!

Without a doubt, this was a trip we would make happen.  It seemed meant to be.  It fell into place so easily.  If only to share the beauty with the family and friends, I was psyched.  We made it happen. We only camped as a family with Kit's family.  We had all camped every summer at one of the Boston Harbor Islands.http://www.bostonislands.com/ Overnight! 24 hours of camping and we were back to our real life and a home with real showers....we were no hard core campers. Biff had a long history of great camping trips with his twin brother, but family camping was another story!

It may be one of the most memorable trips of our family vacations. It was amazing that it came together so simply and yet, it wasn't so amazing when you think of the power of prayer or intentions and visualization.  I know that seems earthy crunchy....as my favorite aunt used to say of her granddaughter, "she's my little earth muffin!"....but, that's all I can believe after the way it all came together.

Back to life in stink land, it's not great...it's certainly inconvenient....it's definitely not my dream vacation for spring break....stink land is no disneyland....i have to keep in mind that this will just be another funny story in our life of family memories.  We have had a lot of laughs at the dinner table.  We all know it's temporary.  It smelled life threatening at first, but it's not now.  As my wonderful and memorable Dean of Students at college used to tell us, "A.Y.T.C.", adapt yourself to circumstances. Thankfully, as a family, we do that well...even if a bit shaky at first. We adapt.

I guess that's the only way to go through life. Adapting to all of the changes.  We've all experienced lots of change throughout our lives....it seems in retrospect,the easiest transitions have been when we roll with it rather than against it.

That's the challenge at hand, especially since I just brought down my laundry to the BASEMENT before the septic and raging waters, simply finding something to wear. Isn't that an everyday challenge?

Even with this concussion, when I have pushed too hard and not had rest, I feel it.  I'm trying to go with the flow, but it's hard when life is calling every which way.

My sleep has been mixed up, starting my e-bay biz with lots to do, I'm helping coordinate a blog for a group of parents, I'm working on me, we've got our family with kids' needs changing every day, we've got our basic home necessities to take care of and now we have new events to deal with!  Life is always changing.  It's certainly challenging but we've got to roll with it and not fight it. Hence, the pebbles pony tail.

Wow!  My e.e. cummings makes a difference in my typing .....it's really challenging to use capitals. I wish I had readers who were followers and make comments, so I could see if you care about my typing the e.e.cummings way.  One of my old friends, an exceptional writer, suggested that my writing with no caps and in my talking style with lots of dot dot dots may be doing myself a disservice....I respect her and love her ....it's just hard to CHANGE when i find my e.e. cummings style so much more my story style.  Wow.  This was pretty tricky for me.  Do you have a preference? Do you care?  I admit, I would like more followers....it would be fun for the ego!  Although that was not the purpose of my writing this blog.  Callie thinks it matters to people who really respect this English language that is gradually falling to the wayside in our lives in America.  It's not really a political statement, it's Callie's love of writing!  And love of me....now that's nice to know.  I wish you could let me know what you think....and if you even care...i know, it's not Shakespeare here.....but still?

please note...i wrote this in the morning before i realized that we were ankle deep in THIS!  now, i'm crying!  literally, gagging!  the only thing worse would be if biff went out of town, as earlier planned! misery loves company!

hi there! it's only tuesday and it has hit the fan!  our save the day septic guy is on his way.  who ever thought my life would come to this?  it's not like i was in my all women's college economics class and the professor spoke of the supply and demand of the septic system.  well, last night before dinner, the anderson brothers were in demand!  supply/demand!  i guess i fully understand business.....finally!

time to shove THIS.....have no fear....the anderson brothers have stepped in THIS before!

we are in full supply of this(mixup the letters and you get sh..) and there apparently is great demand for the anderson brothers.  we are, no pun intended, #2 on the list.  yup...that's us., #2.  there were 4 people that called our heroes before 7 last night!

our kids were wondering just how someone decided to go into this kind of business.  biff was explaining that forever and ever, in life, there have been people who have been smart enough to know that there's money to be made when there's a job that no one else would want to do.  hey, for the anderson brothers, life gives other people lemons, they make lemonade!

i can hear my professor's voice right now. an elderly hungarian man, who had lived through some tough times before coming to america. one of the economics lessons that i will always remember began with an orange.  o.k, of all of the boring black and white information we learned, this was my most visual...no wonder i remember this, with the accent and all.

little white haired, distinguished, blue eyed dr. horvath told us of "suuuuu-ply and deeeee-maaaanD", "i

was a leetel boy in hunnnn-ga-reeeee......there was very leetel food for dee fammmmm-eee-leee.  my seeee-ster had one oranGe and i had one oranGe.....i sat quieTTTleeee and beGan to peeeeel the oranGe slow---leeeeee, very slow-leeeee and the jooooos, it was making my mouTH water so......i took one biTe and eet was the mmmmmost WONderfullll taste that i had in quite sum time!  i was soooooo haPPeeeee to have thissss fine oranGe.i ate my oranGe, peeees by peeeees and was savoRing this jooooos of the oranGe.  when i was feeeeeneeeesheD with my oranGe my seester offered me her oranGe.      so haPPy to have her share, i took the peeeeses of that oranGe.... and i began to eat.  EEEEt was never so tasty as the first as that first oranGe! 

you see, when i haD the first oranGe, eeeet was most deeeee-liciousss and thennnnn, the seconD oranGe was not as spesh-eel.  this eeeeez suP-Ply anD Deee-manD!"

that is but one tid bit that i have taken with me.  much of my college learning was more life lessons than EEEEEEEk-o-nommm-eeeeeks...and certainly, this lesson of supply and demand comes to life this morning. our fine mr. anderson is in big demanD this morning!

thankfully, if there is anything out of this stinky story to be thankful for, grace and t.j. woke up this morning very slowly....biff and i poked and prodded....i called out to them.  finally, when they did pop out of their beds, they were moved by the aroma in our lovely home.  it was not pancakes. it was not bacon and eggs.

they were so moved that it got them right out of the house and off to school, concerned that a trail would follow them off like pepe' le pew from bugs bunny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hBFEObtQdM&feature=related 
i loved pepe' le pew!

did you ever have so much of THIS going on that you feel like stopping a dump truck and saying,"come on back, come on, come on....back it up, back it up....a little more....just a little bit more.....o.k......DUMP IT RIGHT HERE!  o.k. you got me that's it!!STOP!

oh! speaking of supply and demand, my littlemarymixup e-bay is doing just great!  i've found plenty of wonderful things to sell!  our supply is too great....so, we'll see if our over supply is what's in demand for others!!  i have so much to list....supply.....and not enough time.....too many demands for me to be in too many places today!  if you like the e-bay supply....keep watching, i have way more to list!!
http://stores.ebay.com/littlemarymixup

when it rains, it pours.

when it rains, it pours!  and i mean that quite literally.  it is really raining and it is really pouring. it's pouring buckets of water..... quite the metaphor for our lives right now!! this is our time of year that we try to live lean, as they say.

who is "they" anyway....all i know is when i use any example for my kids about motivation or visualization and explain that "they say that...." basketball players have to visualize getting the ball through the hoop....and that we have to visualize what we want, our kids always respond with, "who are they...there is no they....they did a study.....people just make that stuff up....it must be parents that make that stuff up!" i work a bit on my explanation and just shake my head...someday, they'll understand what i've been talking about....someday.

when one of the kids has an head ache or some other bother in their body, i'll say,"just breathe.  breathe into where the pain is and feel it fade away."  o.k., it is a bit sensitive new age...but it helps. after that, t.j. will let me know,"mom, that's like you with cream...you have a cream for everything!!  itching cream, sunburn cream, heating the ache cream.....you give us cream for everything!

sometimes that's all i have....it's just one of those things....when the kids were younger, the creams could do anything....anything....like a super power.

i do have some creams that do help....like aloe for sunburn and heat cream for muscle aches....but, they've lost their powers.  so have i!

so, back to "they".....and they do say that when it rains, it pours!  today, it's more real than you know.  it's that time of year.  we try to live simply in these early spring months.  we have plenty of plenty in our lives, but at this time of year we feel best to stay tight. 

we had hoped to plan a little family vacation...just us...just family.  we need this time. we desperately need time together.  just us. alone. biff and i, grace and t.j. and time to have some fun together.  we need fun.  it's true.  so much of the school year, we have to be on everyone.  it's just life.  with teens, it seems like it's more so.  at this time of year, in between seasons....we all feel in between.....life!

for the last few years, we have planned....really semi planned....kinda...maybe....sorta planned to get some time away as a family.  to a warm, sunny beach. nothing super crazy.....just to be somewhere that we all love and where we all can have fun together! fun in the sun...they say.

it seems that even when we think it can happen, it's not quite....not quite in the cards, as they say! they.

this year has been the same.  we have some miles to use for planes and hotel.  we have all kinds of options.  it just doesn't seem like the right time.  business wise and money wise and getting that sinking feeling wise.

i try to live by that feeling...good, bad or in between.  this felt good, good, good, not quite sure, it's good for all of us and it's worth it, yes, good, good, business needs attention too, not good, not good, good for us, good for the family, good........and just not good, not gonna happen, not such a good idea, no!

no. it was that sinking feeling that did it.  sometimes biff is the one with the sinking feeling or caution.  sometimes, believe it or not, it's me. we went back and forth and back and forth....we finally came to the conclusion that we had that stinkin' sinkin' feelin'.  i hate when that happens!

so, now that we've disappointed ourselves and our children....we're making alternate plans...again!  last year, at the last minute....we were blessed with an invitation to southampton with our friends.  we were saved.  it wasn't sunny florida, but it was sunny, chilly and the best beaches in the world, bike rides, family, friends, great dinners and fun for all.  it was great....and we all had a wonderful vacation!

a few years ago, we had a similar situation....also with heavy rain that spring, we stayed home over spring break....and we had to rip the wall to wall carpeting out of our soaking wet basement!  slowly and steadily.....throughout the whole vacation, we  ripped out the whole basement carpet....that had been installed just the year before.  with tears in my eyes and dripping water from bits and pieces of that huge rug, biff and i trudged up the bilco stairs and....dragged the waterlogged carpet out to a dumpster.

talk about a metaphor for life...at that moment in time, the rug was pouring water, my eyes were pouring water and life felt like we were in the dumps.  it was not fun in the sun, but we did survive and we did have fun....somehow.  we know how to make the best of things.

we have never been able to get that basement back in order until.........finally, this year we got it back...almost.

and the rain came. and the rain came. and the rain came!  we pulled up everything we had down there....again.  we let it all dry.  dry in the sun. dry with the doors open. dry.

then, began the putting back together. little by little. we do have lots to get done though.  just as we prepared to get it back in order.........

more rain.  lots more rain! more and more and more.

as the say, when it rains it pours.  only this time, we had finally given into the reality that it may not be the best time for a trip.....when it rains it pours!  nope. that's not it.

we had some moments when it rained and it poured.... we told the kids that plans they were a changin'. it was not easy. not for any of us. yesterday, all i said was, "as

long as we're not toting a million pound drenched rug out to the dumpster, it will be a nice vacation...we'll think of something fun to do!

this afternoon, i dashed out with the dogs....in the pouring rain....to take the dogs to the farm to let them run and expend some energy....oh, they did!  fitzy ran off to unknown places....biff was passing by...he called to fitzy too. thankfully, she came back.  she burst through the car window!  proud of returning on her terms! 

i needed the walk too...to expend my energy or lack thereof.  thinking about what to do over vacation to have a little time....somewhere else.   i was soaked through.  my hair was dripping.  my face was wet. i was cold. the car smelled like wet dogs. i was beginning to smell like wet dogs.

that's when i got home.  just after biff.  he was already inside.  grace greeted me at the door.  our backyard is so saturated that our odors form the septic tank are seeping into the basement!!  well, it's true. now, the sh.. really did hit the fan!  when it rains it pours!

this e-bay has been so much fun!  i have a lot to learn...everyday is  different.  it's a surprise everyday! it's exciting to mail out the auction wins!

http://stores.ebay.com/littlemarymixup

who would think? me? at the post office?  one of my greatest issues....mail!  postoffice...getting the mail to the post office!  packaged!

it turns out, i love packaging the merchandise. i like it to look pretty when the winner receives it!  it really is my little store!

o.k.....it was a little tricky to get it done on friday.  i had some o'neill boots, in original box for pennsylvania....a black leather jacket for florida, a dooney and bourke bucket bag for new york state that was changed to florida because it was a birthday present for his mom!....a camera to turkey, for real! i mailed something to turkey!  if you know my mix ups, you know that was a huge event for me...in the post office.  i even had to get through the customs paperwork...can you tell that i'm feeling proud?  turkey wasn't the biggest trick, although writing out the address gave me writers cramp!

my biggest challenge was.....grace's pink electric guitar!...only going to pennsylvania but how about the box! i looked...i called people....i stopped a delivery truck!  i remembered our garage....a safe haven for boxes and tubs...i found it!  i had to take out some of the shelving that came with it..."new in box" as we say in the e-bay world!....i packed up the guitar...with lots of newspaper and a very large lid from one of our plastic tubs.. a little extra touch...so it wouldn't arrive....broken!  it was great!  esxcept for the top 4 inches....i wrapped that up  with boxes and taped it all together.  you've never seen a more mixed up looking package....i know it will get there safe though!! even the woman at the post office gasped!  the big job was taken care of...i really did it....grace had the turkey customer and the electric guitar customer.....next time, she'll have to come with me....i've already let her know that i'd have to charge her for that kind of stress!!  by the way, i was the last customer in the post office....living on the edge...but i got it done!  even with my postal issues.

i must admit, i have to learn where the best location is to contain the merchandise!  i have so much to sell that i don't have it all up on e-bay yet!  the descriptions take time...the research takes time...and keeping organized to mail it all takes time....where to keep it is my bigger project.  i started out in the family room!  we've outgrown that area...i have it all in tubs and i know what's what...but it doesn't do much for the decor!

this is what we have...not even from the antique stores that i frequent....not even from stores...not even from the outside world....just stuff.

do you have stuff?  you probably move your stuff out immediately.  i know, you don't have junk in your junk drawer.  your closets are organized.  your garage has cars.  your kids have nothing more than they need...the ideal amount of STUFF!

not us.  and we give away. we hand me down. we share. we sell.  we work at clearing out.  always.  that's my mission in life.  getting it out! i desperately want to be free of too much stuff!  i want to live simply.  the stuff just complicates things!

we are very blessed.  blessed to have such abundance...that doesn't mean that we need to have it all under our roof!

today, i have to get some more listings up!  i have to bring t.j. an english paper that he left on the kitchen table...i have to get our dogs out for a big run...in the rain...i have to clean the paw prints on the kitchen floor.

hey!  how did that happen?  it's only monday...i had kids and biff here all weekend...why is it more upside down on mondays?  anybody have the answer?  i still can't figure it out!

we did some outside work. we did lots of laundry.  we took care of a couple of projects....and today....it's all left for me!  i guess that's o.k. but i think i have the answer....i'll say."pick up your stuff

or i'll sell it on e-bay!" it might just work...i'm on a roll, don't stop me now!

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no photos in this post...they won't upload...something new to figure out! i'd better go bring t.j. his paper...it's pouring out there...really puring...connecticut news keeps reporting floods! oh, great...i better start selling everything we own in the basement!  watch for it all on e-bay!!