I have been trying to sell a couch via word of mouth for awhile.  Inquiries, but it still sits in the house that I am going to move from and have no intention of taking the purple couch.  So I decided to put it on Craig's List.  I have sold one other item an air conditioning unit that was in the garage.

The purple couch sat idol on the list for near a week.  I got an email from a girl who wanted to buy it.  She sounds nice.  I think she is a college student.  The purple couch is in the living room, so they will have to come inside the house to carry it out.  I am sure all will be fine, most people are good people.  I told a friend that Summer is coming over to buy the purple couch.  Also, if I never post again…you will know that inviting them in and accepting her cash may not have been a good idea.

Make sure to have your items outside of your home, or meet the person in a public place.  It is sad that our world is so wacky that I have even written about this.  Follow me on twitter @lorispall

There is nothing worse than not knowing how much you have going out each  month, especially if you suddenly lose an income.  Dealing with the stress of whatever the reason for the income loss at the same time of trying to figure out where your money is actually going is going to result in double the pain.

Make an honest list of how much you have going out per month for expenses.  Do not round up or down, write it down on paper.  Grab a calculator and do the math.  Know how much your annual bills are per month and factor that onto the monthly expense list, do not try to hide anything.  Haircuts count.

Some items billed annually and semi-annually are - insurance premium, car tags, dog tags, property taxes.  Think about everything you pay, every check you write.  Count the cash that you take from the ATM and know how much you spend in eating out, entertainment, gifts and groceries.

You do not have to do anything drastic when you are reviewing, but I assure you it will open your eyes, and help you if heaven forbid you lose an income.

Analyze each bill with a fine tooth comb.  Right now, my latest project is:  Can I survive on channels 2-27 on television and save $22.83 a month?  That is $273.96 a year that you could use toward your rainy day or emergency money.  I do not even really watch tv but I like to have it on.  I actually enjoy having around 5 on at a time when I am cleaning.  Maybe I will just give up cleaning, and television watching all together.  Follow my analysis on twitter @lorispall

So, I had this really old green crock pot that I got at a garage sale in the mid 80's for around $2.00.  I have used it, kept it and moved it.  I have stood by it because it still worked, and the olive green suddenly fit into my kitchen color pallet.  I did not like cleaning it, because it did not have the removable crock.  But, it worked and people rave about how they work better than the new ones.  I felt lucky.  And then I decided to get rid of it.

I tried to sell it at the garage sale for $20.00, people laughed.  I could have probably got $3.00 if I had started it at $10.00, but it was still worth it to me to keep it for when I made Fat Camp Corn Salsa or a roast.

I took it to 3 days at a flea market, packed into the car, and put on display 3 days in a row.  I think I marked it down to $5.00, or maybe I tried to give it away.  Nonetheless after the flea market I still had it.  In tact, still good, a little rusted but not in a gross way.  No frays on the cord, but I was ready to get rid of it.  That is when I listed it on ebay.

I had seen the vintage crock pots in bidding wars on ebay.  Final bids with the product going upwards of $60.00, and I had one.  I listed it low because it was definitely in used condition.  It was very clean and worked very well.

During the process, I had an ebay message asking me to purchase only the lid for around $12.00, someone bid on it and then needed to withdraw their bid and no one else bid after that.  I think the final sale price before shipping and handling was the listed price of $12.00, plus shipping and handling.

At the end of the auction, a pleasant surprise that the person who needed to withdraw their bid actually paid me.  I had replied to their withdrawal message indicating that I was okay with them not completing the transaction, I mean I am not supposed to part with this thing right?  I was considering selling it to the person who wanted to buy just the lid.  But then, I would still have the pot itself and I do not know if my borderline hoarder would allow me to throw it in the garbage, I even wondered to myself if I could break it so I had to toss it.  But, ebay Edy bought the crock pot.  Then it was time to ship it!

I will add the next chapter the next time, gotta run.

If you would like the recipe for my sister's Fat Camp Corn Salsa, send me a comment and I will send you the free recipe.

I really feel for LeBron James, having to decide if he should stay in Cleveland or not.  This may be a very hard decision for him.  If he leaves, he will be judged and hated by some fans.  This is not fair.  He may be thinking about how he will miss his home and friends.  

The revenue he generates is unreal.  Sell out crowds, property tax, income tax and merchandising alone bring in so much money for the city.  If he leaves and Cleveland fans quit supporting the Cavs - that is on them!  Absolutely everyone goes to see King James play ball, but hopefully fans also gained a love for the team and choose to continue to support our Cavs.  To expect LeBron to carry this loss on his shoulders would be unreasonable, I would imagine he has thought of this.

Hopefully LeBron, you make the right decision for you and yours.  Your story is amazing and you do seem to be a respectful person.  Goodluck deciding what to do if you have not already done so.

I hope people remember that LeBron does not make the most money on the team.  I hope people remember when you would not take a free Cavs ticket.  And I hope people continue to support the Cavs and downtown Cleveland, Ohio no matter who plays on or coaches our Cleveland Cavaliers.

Google Threw Up On Their New "Classic" Homepage

I love Google.  It is a good search engine, it offers applications for me to keep my schedule, store documents and even set up my personalized iGoogle page.  But, the new wallpaper on the previously simple Google homepage is very distracting and is sort of giving me a headache.

There is the ability to change the wallpaper, but they are all pretty busy looking.  I liked going to Google and being surprised by an inconspicuous memorial, anniversary or even a vintage video game icon each day.  You knew Google was there,and paying attention.  Now, the whole page is splashed with less than flattering wallpaper.  All I can say, is thank goodness I have set up iGoogle to manage my experience or I might have to switch search engines.

C'mon Google, at least give us the option to Keep it simple…Please?

Please tell us this is just one of those one day things and tomorrow it will be back to the Google Homepage we know and love.  Is today the anniversary of the invention of computer screen wallpaper?

Really?  Who were the first ones to trend these two phrases? And do the people mean that their skin feels good when they indicate such?  And are they referring to themselves as to how they actually are at the end of the day?  Are they comparing how they feel at the end of the day, or could it be late afternoon or even the beginning of the day?  I know right?

It is really interesting how catch phrases catch on.  Does this mean that we are really listening to one another, or are we just a bunch of copy cats?  Unfortunately, I think it is the latter of the two.

Dandy Dandelions, Very Easy to Grow and Maintain

Dandelions are really a useful plant to use in landscaping.  I have some tried and true methods for using them as borders and in flower beds, and now I am forced to become a dandelion killer.  I am sad to be in this group, but since I am selling my house I am forced to join the troops.  How did dandelions become so hated?  I believe they were actually planted to be useful to us.  The leaves can be eaten and some part of the plant can even be made into wine.  Dandelion flowers also attract lady bugs which are known to eat garden pests.

In as much as I hate to use chemicals to keep my lawn green, I have succumbed to do at least that since I live in a neighborhood.  However, the edge of my patio was surrounded by dandelions.  They eliminated the need to trim, and I could mow right over them.  All that is necessary is to dead head them so they do not overtake the lawn, they are also quite therapeutic to pick as they are a couple of days into a bloom.  Just the yellow head can be plucked off, or the entire stem or any part of it and they continue to grow.  Your hands will smell good too when you are done.  I have also allowed dandelions to grow in the back of one of the flower beds, and I had a bed dedicated to dandelions.

It all started with a potted dandelion that I allowed to continue to grow in some leftover soil from the year before in a simple terra cota planter.  I actually loved it so much that I moved it to  my new home.  After the planter broke is when I decided to just allow some controlled dandelion growth, and it has been very good for my lawn in the long run.  As I have planted the dead headed seeds, I have ended up with very large dandelion plants that have large flowers and tuberous stems.  If people do not look really closely, they look like a huge yellow flowered and beautiful green plant.  The dandelion is in the same botanical family as the daisy, and if allowed to grow large enough resemble it quite a bit.

Give yourself a little break.  Allow some dandelions to grow, your lawn will thank you for it.

As a child, this was always so frightening to say as I was ready to be alone in a dark room for hours.  I would be unable to sleep sometimes and worry about dying.  Years and years later, this prayer has come to mind as I prepare to go to bed and I feel as if I may actually die.  I pray that I won't, I pray that I will be able to contact 911, I pray that I will survive and I pray for the strength for God to help me to eat better, exercise more and live a much healthier lifestyle.  I have an author/minister friend Patricia A. Thomas who made me feel so good during one of our conversations.  I was telling her about some of the things I struggle with and that I worry I have let God down.  Her response, "He knows we are a mess".  That was comforting.  Still though, we have to never stop trying to be the best we can be.

I should go and get checked out since I am worrying about dying at my fairly young age, but eeek.  Do we really want to know?  What if I need surgery?  I have never had to stay in the hospital overnight.  Who will hold onto my purse?

For those of you trying to recall the entire Children's Bedtime Prayer that starts with:  Now I lay me down to sleep, search for it at www.google.com and you will find it.  I do not have permission to use if that is required by the author.  You can also find it in these things called books at your local library.  It is actually a sweet little prayer.  Much more structured than how I pray to God as an adult.

The Good Experiences

If I wrote about the bad, I am afraid I would either be too upset or possibly allow angry feelings of disbelief to resurface.  I do realize this is the case in life, but I still cannot believe that there are businessmen and women who have very bad ways of conducting business.  The unprofessional, unapproachable, immoral, or just down right in the people business, does not surprise me, and that is a sad fact that in our country today, I expect to be screwed over when I try to get service.  We need to be smart consumers, and share lists of questions to ask these bozos when we need to choose one.  I am not going to vocalize anything about the businesses who have treated me poorly, because I do not want them to have ANY publicity.

Now, onto the good.  Doesn't that just feel better?  It is hard to choose good people to take care of you, your family, your pet, your car and your home.  Not everyone is out for your best interest, and not everyone is in a profession they should be in.  I have been so lucky to find the dentist, the veterinarian, the hair dresser, the mobile lawn mower repair guy and the eye doctor who are great to do business with.  These are the ones that first come to mind, I also have several restaurant, grocery store and other retail reviews about my good experiences to share.  Find everything in the links to the right, as it is published you will find useful information when making your decisions on who you share your hard earned money with.

Look for links to these individuals on my site.  I do not know if I should start with a review of the dentist who does not use Novocaine, the veterinarian who visits in home or the eye doctor who has the coolest logo in town!  If you are from Columbus, Ohio and would like more information on one of these, or another type of service professional or business - click on Comment and send me a message, I will post a review within 5 days if it is not already posted on the Columbus Ohio Business Reviews link to your right.

WHO CARES?

It does not involve us.  It involves him.  If you choose not to support him anymore, don't watch him, don't purchase any merchandise and don't glorify his actions by caring. 

In the long run, he will probably be just fine.  Look at Bill Clinton. 

I believe Tiger was playing the mistress thing like golf course holes, he had 9, then wanted to go 18.