Thursday, May 31, 2012

Painting the Outside of the House

In the last few years, we have completely re-done in the inside of our house.We did most of the work ourselves. I love having major projects and I drag the hubby along for the crazy ideas I have. Here is a post on the kitchen update: LINK


Our home is a modular house and it was built in the early 1980's. Thankfully the original owners put vinyl siding on three outside walls of the home. And it is a lovely cream color (not a crazy avocado or powder blue like some of the inside of the home was).


The front of the house looked like this...until yesterday. 


It is a four bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home with a basement/garage the size of the house. We love the open floor plan inside the home and it is (more than) plenty of room for the two of us. 


Before getting let go of our jobs this past December, we had plans on putting vinyl siding up the front. That way we would never, ever have to paint the house again. This plan was put on hold when we lost our jobs. And so the house is getting painted. We are going to match the front of the house with the vinyl color -a very light cream. 


My husband (who detests painting) decided that it would be a good idea to paint the gutters & rain spouts white. Great idea...a whole lot of work! 


We were going to start today but he surprised me and started yesterday while I was out thrifting. I came home and put on my paint clothes. We were able to do a first coat of white on all the rain spouts & gutters on the front of the house and prime the brown boards. No more brown! 


Here is what our home looked like at the end of yesterday: 




Today we will be putting on the second (and hopefully last) coat of white on the gutters and the first coat of white on the gutters around the entire house. 


Then tomorrow I can start painting the front of the house the pale cream color. More updates later this week. 

And stay tuned because tomorrow I weigh-in. I took off three days this week from my Isagenix plan and wound up eating 6 cookies, 3 cupcakes and a whole bunch of "bad" food. Yikes!

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Wednesday Hodgepodge

I am linking up today for Wednesday Hodgepodge hosted by Joyce.

1. What can the average citizen do to honor a military veteran and/or those currently serving?
Send cards throughout the year - LINK

We travel a few times a year and during the layovers, we get something to eat. If there is a man or woman in uniform in the line with us, we pay for their meal. ________
2. Besides a flag what is something you own that is red, white and blue?
I had to literally walk around my house. I have a skirt with red, white & blue. Here is a photo of what it looks like (from the Anthropologie website): 


 
________
3. Does love really conquer all?
In human terms, I don't think so. In Godly terms - YES! God forgives no matter what we have done or not done.
________
4. Strawberry shortcake or blueberry pie?
Neither. Could I choose chocolate covered potato chips instead?
________
5. Do you share personal stuff with your hairdresser?
If she asks. I go to a "cheap-o" hair place and I don't think they really care.
________
6. Does money lead to selfishness?
Not for everyone. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Give me a few million bucks and I will let you know.
________
7. What piece of furniture in your home most needs replacing or refinishing?
The couch in the master bedroom. We re-did our house over the last few years. The master went light blue with accents of silver, gray and white. It is very clean and modern. We were given a couch from the retirement community where we worked and although it is clean, it doesn't fit in with our modern style. Here is a photo of the current couch: 

This would be our dream couch: 
________
8. Insert your own random thought here.
I love my life. I am so happy to be able to spend time with my husband each day. Tomorrow we are painting the front of the house and I am actually looking forward to it.

Wednesday - Recent Ebay Sales

I am on day 11 of being sick. I have a terrible cold, double pink eye and strep throat. I went to the ER Saturday and they have me medicine for the pink eye & strep. My eyes are slowing clearing to white but my throat is still quite painful. I had a friend mention that after taking 10 days of the strep meds, she wasn't feeling better and went back to find she had bronchitis. I am on day 5 of the meds and I am praying they work. 


Through all of this, I have been selling on ebay. I haven't gone shopping as much as usual but the items I had on before I got sick are selling. 


1. Talbots dress, sold for $27. 


2. Merrell shoes, sold for $22.50. 


3. My local Goodwill gets Target overstocks. Although most are priced too high for reselling, these powders were just $1 each. They sold for $15. 


4. Athleta is a brand that is owned by the Gap/Banana Republic company. It sells pretty well on ebay. This skirt sold for $23. 


5. Ralph Lauren black denim skirt, sold for $25.50. 


6. Talbots jacket, sold for $19.50. 


7. Garnet Hill floral dress, sold for $23. 


8. Hayden Harnett dress, sold for $35. This dress (well....not this EXACT dress but the same maker, style & color of dress) was worn by Jenny McCarty back in 2007. 


9. J. Crew dress. This one was out of season but still sold for $29. 

10. Ann Taylor dress, sold for $30. 

11. Adrianna Papell dress. This was one of my favorites from the last few days. Sold for $33. 


For those of you who are wondering how I am doing on my Isagenix plan, I will post a weight update on Friday. I took off for three days due to being sick but I started back on yesterday.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day: Recent Ebay Sales

I apologize for not having one of these posts sooner. I am on day 9 of being sick and still feel terrible. Thankfully you cannot catch anything by reading this post :) 

Here are some things that have sold on ebay for me within the last few days: 

1. Ann Taylor sweater with little ruffles down the front, sold for $17. 
 2. BCBG dress with nude lining and a black lace overlay, sold for $25. 

3. Evan Picone dress in a beautiful cobalt blue color, sold for $21. 

4. A used Jantzen swimsuit, sold for $27. 


5. Talbots linen dress, sold for $20. 


6. Ann Taylor LOFT dress, sold for $18. 


7. I found this ring awhile back. I brought it into my local jewelry store and they confirmed that it was 10K and diamonds. It sold for $87. 


8. Oilily sweater - this one sold to the UK for $39.



9. Talbots skirt, sold for $27. 


10. Lilly Pulitzer jacket, sold for $39.

 11. Ann Taylor suit, sold for $30. 


 12. Ralph Lauren blazer, sold for $30. 

13. Chico's top, sold for $17.

 14. Citiknits turquoise 3 piece set, sold for $23. 


 15. Burton jacket, sold for $22.50. 


 16. J. Crew polka dot skirt, sold for $18. 

17. Laundry by Shelli Segal silk dress, sold for $22.50.


 18. Adrianna Papell dress, sold for $33. 



19. Some skirts that sold for $15 a piece: 


-J. Crew lime green skirt
-The Limited black & tan skirt with a ruffle down the front

-Talbots striped skirt


-Tommy Hilfiger ribbon stripe skirt

-Vintage Valentino black skirt
 -Ralph Lauren jean skirt
-Talbots striped skirt
-Talbots silk skirt


I sold a bunch more but I will stop there. It has been a busy week.


After taking a few days off of my Isagenix plan, I am starting back up today. I just needed to eat Ramen noodles and cupcakes after feeling miserable for so long and so I took a 3 day break. I will continue to post on my weight this coming week. 

We leave for Ireland in about two weeks and I have a goal in mind. I need to lose just a few more pounds to hit it!  

Here is a Monday link up for you: 

 

Saturday, May 26, 2012

My favorite place (NOT!)

I hope everyone out there on the "world wide web" is having a wonderful Saturday. It is gorgeous and sunny here in PA. 


Guess where I was (again) today? I was at my favorite place. 

It truly must be my favorite place since I have been there no less than 4 separate times in the last six weeks. Back in late March, I was there for days on end. In April, I visited for about 4 hours. Just two weeks ago I had a quick visit. And then today I was there for about a half hour.


Where was that? The hospital! You know that you have been to the ER too many times when you know the names of the nurses by hearing their voice. 


Earlier in the week I posted that I have had the worst sore throat in my life. Today I woke up with pink eye. I have had pink eye no less than 20 times in the last 10 years and so I know it well. 


It is obviously Memorial Day weekend and so I had no choice but to visit the ER. Thankfully everything there is fully covered and so it costs me nothing to go. 

I went in for my pink eye. It turns out I have double pink eye and strep throat. They were able to see me immediately and get me out of there within 15 minutes. Isn't that awesome? 


Within the hour I had prescriptions for both and I am back home.


I am actually thrilled to have strep throat. After being sick for a week straight, I am glad there is an end in site.


So...happy Memorial Day everyone.

From, the girl who is staying in bed for the holiday weekend

Friday, May 25, 2012

Isagenix Update - Day 21

Well, I just finished my third week of the Isagenix 30 day plan. I have 9 days to go. If you remember, last week I was down 7 pounds. 


I weighed myself today and I have lost.... 7.5 pounds. I only lost 1/2 pound this week - ha! I wasn't expecting a huge weight loss since I have had a flu/cold/virus thing this week and have stayed in bed for a lot of the week. In fact, that is where I should be now instead of doing a blog post. 


Yesterday was supposed to be a cleanse day where you don't eat anything and just drink these special berry drinks all day. Well, I cheated. Last night I had ramen noodle broth (my hubby had the noodles). I have been experiencing one of the worst sore throats of my life. My voice was down to a whisper yesterday. 


I have 9 days to go. My goal was to lose 8-10 pounds during the 30 days and I still have a shot at it. I just bought my second 30 day plan from Isagenix. Yup, I like it that much. The second time you order, it is less than $300. I am going to take the shakes with me to Ireland in June. They will be a great start to the day over there. 

Well, I have to go lay down again. I have to bake cookies later for the church yard sale tomorrow! I will post more this weekend. I hope everyone has a most wonderful Memorial Day! 


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Selling on ebay full-time...

As most of you know, I sell on ebay full-time. This is my "job" and although I get to make my own schedule, it is a lot of work some times. But I truly enjoy it. 

I have helped many people start to sell on ebay - over the internet and in person. I would love to answer questions if anyone has them. I know about 100 people read my blog every day and I am truly grateful to those readers. 


So...feel free to ask any questions and I will answer them. Here is a guide to selling on ebay full-time (which I need to update since I do currently have an ebay store): LINK


And here is a most recent screen shot of my sales for the day, the week, the month, etc. 



And a closer shot of the sales: 




Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Recent Ebay Sales

I woke up yesterday feeling so-so. Today I woke up with a full fledged cold: sore throat, headache, chills, runny nose and a cough. Ugh. I am going to try to list on ebay and we will see how it goes. I am already behind my normal schedule due to the fact that I am exhausted. Colds take a lot out of me. 


I was able to price five bins of items for our church yard sale on Saturday. I love holding yard sales. This one will feature approx. 25-30 tables. It is free to use a church table and the community loves the event. I will mostly be selling household & sewing items but will add a few of the ebay items that don't sell by tomorrow to clear them out. We have three weeks until we leave for Ireland and I want the house clean! 



Here is what has sold over the last two days. I have 300 or so items coming off of ebay tomorrow and about 10% of them have bids. These are items that haven't sold in the past and I just threw them back on ebay when they had their listing sale. 


1. Ann Taylor dress. The white label is their "Celebration" label. They sell bridesmaid's dresses now and this was one of those. Sold for $40. 



2. Talbots shorts, sold for $16. 


3. J. Jill linen dress, sold for $16. 


4. Chico's top, sold for $36. This top had previously sold and had been returned. I re-listed it and it sold for more! 


5. Anthropologie Guinevere sweater, sold for $30.

6. Talbots dress, sold for $19. 

 7. This dress sold for $20. It was made by Carmen Rion and I loved the way it looked. It was linen and I think the back photo sold the dress. 

Have a wonderful day!