jumping on the amazon bandwagon
Yup, I have a store now. It was pretty fun putting it together, actually!
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Archive for shopping
a social life? me?
Last night, when Deb called to see if we were still on for a visit today, I had to admit that I had forgotten. But hey, I’m totally up for visitors, I told her, so c’mon over!
I tried to make the house look like it’s not ravaged every day by Viking warriors. She called a little while ago to tell me that she was kind of lost trying to take the scenic route, so I actually got a little bit of paid work done, too.
With my wacky calendar, I’ve realized that I do need to be using my PDA — even though it’s crappy, not back-lit, and keeps accidentally turning on. When I dragged it out of the electronics drawer, though, I discovered that it’s dead. (*trying to hide my glee*) So I’ve been sneaking peeks at possible replacements. I want an actual PDA, not a smartphone. I think I’ve come to a decision.
I wonder if Deb feels like shopping. I know she’d better feel like having lunch, because I’m getting hungry.
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fireworks, my birthday, and other stuff
I’m officially another year older, although I always start thinking of myself as my new age way before my birthday. So it’s not too traumatic or anything. I’m still eager to have my hair turn completely grey/white. Anyway, we celebrated at the in-laws’ because Sister #3 and Moon both have early July birthdays, and Saturday worked out for scheduling a family party. Got some awesome presents: sock yarn, Simply Sensational Socks, Freaks and Geeks, the Complete Series on DVD, Dosha Yoga DVD, some $$ and a Starbucks card. The next day, Pete and the kids gave me an awesome laptop bag combo, a stitch marker necklace, a sheep cell phone charm and a embroidery pattern with monkeys on it. I’m feeling quite gifted!
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earth day birthday, and returning a bag
Yep, he’s 12, and he had a pretty happy birthday. For one thing, he managed to get the very thing he wanted most. It’s not just a birthday gift (we wrapped it in Christmas paper and sung “Happy Christmas to you, Merry Birthday to you…”) and Peter traded in some stuff to help finance the whole thing, lest you think that we’ve suddenly come into an inheritance or something.
We gave him another game, too.
Now, about that knitting bag.
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obsessions
One.
My family long-ago dubbed me Queen of All Purses, so it’s no surprise that I can’t stop thinking about this:
I know I already have two awesome knitting bags, but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up the search for the PERFECT bag. When I saw the Namaste collection, the most difficult decision was which one to order. Truth be told, a messenger bag seems to be the best fit. I love the way traditional purse/bags look, but I keep going back to the diagonal-over-the-shoulder thing.
If I like the new bag as much I think I will, the Lady B will be going back — or on eBay.
Two.
I thought I was addicted to American Idol last season, but that was when I only loved one or two of the top 10, and not nearly all of them. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are nail-bitingly nervewracking at our house. Moon has lost two of her favorites in a row (the aforementioned Bucky, and now Ace), and she’s crossing her fingers and toes that Elliott won’t be next.
We’re Yaminions. (Although I’ve been pulling for Taylor Hicks from the start, and not just because he looks like he could be my age. He’s entertaining enough to be parodied on SNL, ya know.)
Moon’s already bugging me about buying tour tickets. And in case you didn’t think I was geeky enough, I’ve crocheted a beanie for Ace.
what i’ve been up to during 4th of july weekend
- Dragging Pete and the kids to War of the Worlds (despite it not being a Pete-friendly movie). Overlooking my current distaste for Tom Cruise enough to enjoy the kickbutt alien tripods.
- Being sung to by restaurant employees and hoarding my free birthday mug.
- Unwrapping the book I wanted
and a gift certificate to Lakeside Fibers.
- Accompanying Patti (with Peter) to Petsmart to look at the shelter kitties there. Falling in love with a cat named Morty, who is going to come home with Patti in two weeks (yay!).
- Driving around trying to find a good spot to watch Rhythm & Booms. Pulling over and putting the hazard lights on next to James Madison Park. (We weren’t the only ones.)
- Taking my parents to Hubbard Avenue Diner and Olbrich Gardens.
- Trying yet another spectacularly good flavor of Michael’s Frozen Custard (PB Crisp).
- Starting a new knitting project. Ripping a huge chunk after losing my place and creating an inadvertent jog in the lace border.
- Getting the nerve to wash my recently completed T3 sweater, after looking at it nicely folded on the sofa for several days.
- Working on web stuff but obviously not updating my own site.
- Deciding that a lame list will have to do.
coffee on the rocks!
During the Farmer’s Market on Saturday (the kids got up and went with us – it was awesome), I discovered that I do indeed enjoy iced coffee with a splash of sugar-free vanilla.
I could go for some right now, in fact.
Anyway, the whole experience made me wonder about cold brewing systems. Not that the cup I enjoyed was made that way, I’ve just been reading stuff. I went ahead and added one to my birthday list.
Update: I’m too impatient. I just picked one up at Gloria Jean’s during my lunch break.
no longer the shame of the neighborhood
And why? Because after Pete and I went to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday and saw all the colorful, lovely plants there, our overgrown lawn and dead potted plants looked even more pathetic than usual. Which motivated us to mow, weed and plant. Amazing what a few flowers can do.
Did you know gardening is exercise? It is, and I have the sore glutes and thighs to prove it. I’m sure we burned enough calories to make up for the baked goodies we brought home from our trip to the square. (Huge cinnamon rolls — with frosting! Four kinds of cookies! Cheese curds! Cheesy flatbread! Oh, and we bought some excellent lettuce, too.)
In other news, our gym membership expires in two days, so I decided to motivate myself to start exercising outdoors by purchasing a new pair of running shoes. The visibility factor is an added bonus.
spendy
I have a new bag to covet. Just a little smaller than my current Timbuk2 bag, and fewer extraneous straps. Hmmm.
Okay, I found one on eBay, and I’ve put in a bid. *fingers crossed*
Speaking of eBay, I now have $220 with which to buy some sort of business software. The copy of QuickBooks for PC that I had won is now on its way to Florida. I was planning on buying QuickBooks for Mac, but I’ve read a few negative online reviews. So, anyone familiar with QuickBooks for Mac? Or MYOB?
Better yet, got one you can sell to me … cheap?
assorted rambling … again
Before Pete and I went to the symphony last night (which makes us sound really classy, doesn’t it?), we had dinner at Bluephies. It was our first time there together, and whoa. Good stuff.
Today we took the kids to see Robots, which was pretty entertaining. Almost as entertaining was our trip to Circuit City, where we shopped for (1) a headset-ready phone and (2) a portable CD player for Moon. We also investigated Vonage, the newfangled phone service which uses a broadband connection. Only $24.95 per month, with unlimited calls nationwide. Pete spends a lot of time on the phone these days with his coaching — so we went for it. (Now we have to set up the router and everything.)
After we left the store, we found out why Moon was so very patient and attentive as we shopped. She thought the guy helping us out was hot, hot, hot.
Peter, we placated with sugar.
another miracle!
We still have hardly any snow here in Wisconsin.
Shopping miracle #2 happened this afternoon…imagine my joy! When I plunked down my purchase, the clerk asked, “Where did you get that?”
“Um, here in the store?” I offered. (I had called and put it on hold. It might have been the last one from the day’s shipment.)
“Wow, I didn’t even know we had any in stock. I’ve been trying to find it for the past three weeks. Whenever we get any in here, it’s my day off, and they’re gone by the time I’m back in.”
You know you’re on a roll when even the sales staff has trouble getting the thing you happened to locate at exactly the right time.
everyone say, ‘awwwww’
All hail, it is here! Now all I need is my Airport card, and I’ll be set.
This little laptop is so cute, it’s too bad Apple isn’t making them anymore. My theory is that they were too loveable for corporate America. It wouldn’t do to have business people hugging their laptops and kissing their little foreheads. (The apple is right on the forehead, you know.)
In this case, I’d rather reuse/recycle than buy new. (It’s way less expensive, too.)
the last place i expected to buy shoes
So I spent the day at the Body Mind Spirit Expo, and it wasn’t just about metaphysical stuff. There was a shoe vendor there, too. I kept glancing over at their display, and I finally had to go over and check it out. They were selling Earth shoes (remember then from the ’70s? I do) and I ended up buying these in shiny patent leather red. They are soooo comfortable, even better than my Birkenstocks.
bed tales
Did I mention that Pete and I decided against the Tempur-pedic mattress? In fact, he cancelled our order the morning it was supposed to be delivered. He had belatedly been sold on a Self Adjusting Mattress which actually saved us money.
Of course, that meant we had to set it up ourselves. So last night we had the fun and joy of hauling our king-sized mattress and double boxsprings up the stairs and out to the garage. It brought back memories of our first move 18 years ago, when we got stuck on the staircase and became verrrry snippy with one another.
Setting up the new bed was supposedly a “one-person job,” but it ended up taking three of us over an hour.
Mistake #1: Not taking the mattress and base out of their boxes before bringing them into the house. D’oh!
Mistake #2: Reading the frame assembly directions incorrectly and having to undo everything midstream. (We’d still be futzing around with it if not for Moon, with her cool head and logical mind.)
By the time we finished, I was crabby and sorely needed a workout, even though it was almost 10 p.m. (So I went to the gym.) Pete broke down the boxes and put our organic cotton sheets on the bed.
I must admit my sleep was a bit erratic, as I was keyed up from my workout, and we rotated the bed position. I can tell it’s going to be great, though. An added bonus is that we’ll have less dog hair in the bed since it’s at least six inches higher than the old one… pretty much corgi-proof.
garage sale, part 2
Long story short: no one showed up. Not a soul. I sat outside for most of three hours before deciding to call it a day. Pete and I packed our stuff up and hauled it to Goodwill (save a few choice items). Although we didn’t make much money, it felt good to give all that baggage the heave-ho.
Nichole and her husband JM came over later to get their assorted leftovers… after moving their entire household this week. We all went to Cold Stone Creamery, where we played 10 Days in Africa, which is a very good game even though Moon won. (Yeah, so I’m competitive too.)
stuck in a garage
Okay, so yesterday I got up at 7:30, not 7. It didn’t really matter so much, because it was pouring rain and nobody was out looking for bargains. The morning was verrrry quiet, but Nichole came over to help out in the afternoon and things livened up a bit. Zan and Turbo hung out and tried to entice passersby over to the sale.
After we closed the doors for the day, Peter and his friend decided to have a sleepover. We ordered pizza and took the kids out to Cold Stone Creamery. The school principal was standing in line, which of course was kind of bizarre for the kids. School administrators eat ice cream! Who’d have thunk?
F (the friend) woke up sneezing in the middle of the night, which I suspect was due to the close proximity of dog hair. (He fell asleep on one of the sofas.) Eventually he got back to sleep, but I was a wreck in the morning. Days like this, coffee is a godsend. At least today was sunny, and we had more shoppers. Although we didn’t make a lot of money, we were most triumphant: we sold the chairs (the broken one was thrown in for free)! We also said goodbye to our oldest lawnmower (no, not the run over one), a broken teakettle, and one of our three vacuums.
It was decided to leave the sale up until next weekend, since the setup is the hardest part. So if you’re looking for rock-bottom basement bargains, stop by next Saturday. You’ll be amazed what a dollar can buy.
almost ready
Tomorrow morning I will be getting up by 7 a.m. to post signs in hopes of drawing bargain hunters to our garage. We are already wondering what the most oddball item to sell will be. Will someone take home the three okay kitchen chairs and the one broken one? What about the mini-vacuum full of fire extinguisher residue?
Just in time, the Onion features Tips on Holding a Yard Sale.
sleeping arrangements
Pete and I decided to sneak out yesterday morning and shop for a new mattress. The closest furniture store happened to carry Tempur-pedic mattresses, and as soon as we tried one out, we were hooked. Nothing else even came close. (It’s kind of strange, lying down on the test mattresses. It seems a bit forward or something.)
The store was in its final day of a Tempur-pedic special. We ended up with a free pillow ($89 value!) and bed frame. We’re getting a queen, which is about a foot and a half smaller than our king bed. It’ll be delivered next Saturday.
When we left the store, we headed downtown to Home Environment to get some organic cotton queen-sized sheets. The farmer’s market was still in full swing, so we walked around the capitol square and bought a few goodies: organic cheese, broccoli and scones. A completely lovely morning. I’ve now accomplished two of my summer goals, and the mattress wasn’t even one of them.
garage full of junk
I’m one of these people who feels burdened if I have too much stuff. And believe me, I’ve got quite a burden built up over the years.
My solution? Why, I usually donate bags of clothes and doodads to Goodwill. Every few years, though, I get the urge for a garage sale. It’s 2004, and it’s time.
This afternoon, I convinced Pete to help me move the treadmill from the basement to the garage. It’ll be our showpiece – the big item that makes the sale-goers curious. We had used it religiously for several years, but then Pete started jogging outside, and I decided nothing was more boring than treading. It’s just been taking up space.
Treadmills are awkward and heavy objects. We almost were stuck on the stairs a few times, and Moon had to help me push. Triumphantly we dragged the beast out the door.
My spider sense tells me I have a lot of work ahead.
the coolest ’70s doll ever
So I was reading the summer issue of Bust magazine a few weeks ago, and ventured upon an article about doll collecting. Which is something that had never interested me, not in the slightest. Such an enthusiasm for dolls always seemed a little freaky and creepy to me, to be honest.
I turned the page and saw a face I vaguely remembered from my childhood. The face you see before you now. Blythe. She of the mysterious, changeable eyes. And now I want her.
My fantasy is to find her tucked away somewhere among my keepsakes, but I don’t think I kept a single toy from my childhood. To be honest, I can’t remember if I actually had a Blythe or just saw the commercials on TV. Anyway, a vintage Blythe is apparently beyond my means. (Check eBay and you’ll see why.) She’s on my birthday list anyway.
I’ve been satisfying my Blythemania by looking at SqueakyMonkey (where I snagged the photo) and ThisIsBlythe.
So I’m wondering, do you remember the original Blythe? Did you have one? And if you did, what happened to her?
