Garage Sale

Garage sale this past weekend. And it was pretty successful!

I love having garage sales. One of the things that I like the most is the prep work. I know that sounds silly, but it's great to have a time once a year to clean out the garage - move everything and sweep out all the dead bugs, leaves and debris. I also like clearing out stuff - making closets and cabinets more roomy! I've been gathering stuff, really since my last spring's sale. And I did a run-through of the house this past week to grab stuff that I could sell. Stuff I just didn't need anymore. My collection started out pretty small, but by the time I had everything out and arranged on Friday night, it was looking good.

What I do is get everything cleared out of the garage - cars included - on Friday and then set up shop. I loved playing store as a child, so this is my grown-up version of that! I have sections (housewares, clothes, gardening, etc) and try to price and merchandise things well. I have found that things sell when they look good.

My sale started at 7 am - I do open the garage doors at 6:45ish - for those early birds. They tend to buy stuff, and since I'm already up... This year, I didn't have any early birds. So my husband drove down to the end of the street to check the sign on the busy street. The dew had wet the sign so much that it was folded onto itself. When he came back to report this, I made a new sign. So with a fresh sign, the sale began!! It was pretty steady all day. Shoppers about every 20 minutes. And for the first 3 hours, everyone that came in bought something! My streak ended about 10:30 when a lone guy came in - he apparently was looking for something particular. He walked in and in about 10 second was already gone. He was my only non-buyer - even to the very end of the day (when pretty much nothing was left). Amazing!

This year's sale was smaller than last year's - I had about half the stuff. So I wasn't expecting to make that much. I was generously hoping for close to $100. But I made about $150!
And I only had the sale until noon. Which was perfect timing. Because about noon is when pretty much all the stuff was gone. I boxed up one little box to put up for next year. And filled one bag of trash. Success!

Cherries

I have been waiting for this moment for a while. Since spring hit in full force. Every week at the grocery store, I've been looking in the section with the blueberries and the strawberries for my beloved cherries. They had some a few weeks ago. But they were from Chile and about 10 bucks. No thanks.

But today, my Washington State cherries were there!

I never really was a cherry fan, but when I finally tried Rainier cherries a few years ago, I LOVED them. The stems and the pits didn't bother me - as I thought they would. So when we went to Seattle 2 years ago, I got some cherries from Pike Place Market. There was nothing better than than $1.50 cup of cherries that I ate in Seattle while walking through the market. They were so good! (And I look forward to getting some more this year!)

So, when my Washington State cherries make it down here, I love to get them. The sweetness mixed with the sour - and the juiciness just make them great. Maybe not as good as in the Market, but still a great summertime snack!

Re: Bridge

They seem pretty confident with the schedule of the completion of the bridge - with this official sign.We'll see...

EA Active

A new Wii game. More of a workout than a game, though.

We had gotten Wii fit when it was first release. I enjoyed certain aspects of it, but some of the "games" just didn't work quite right. And there was SO MUCH down time between the transitions of each workout exercise. After about a month, it lost its appeal and fun. So when my husband told me about a new Wii fitness game, I was skeptical. After I learned about the details, it sounded a little more interesting, though. And he was really excited to get it. So that was the quest yesterday to get this "game."

I was so exicted to get started with it yesterday. It was great. There is a set workout, so you don't have to toggle between each individual exercise. And little motivational goals and "trophies" to strive for. What I liked most is that there are a variety of pre-made workouts (a TON of them) and then you can also create your own workout with stuff that you like - and it will tell you the balance of the workout (like calories, upper and lower body). And the exercises look really fun. There are basic weight training things and cardio. Then there are sports themed workouts and even a dance section.

With workout #1 of the 30 day challenge, I only scratched the surface of what this program can offer. And the workout was fun but challenging. And it kept flowing quickly - with the timer in one corner and calories burned in the other! I was excited to do the next day's workout!

Today was day 2 of the challenge. Ouch. Lots of lower body stuff - lunges. But it's amazing how much I feel like I've done - total body - from a Wii game!

I look forward to day 3!!

Costco Fun

I went out today on a quest. It didn't start as a quest. I went to get a Wii game - EA sports fitness. Went to Walmart to just get it really fast and cheap. But they didn't have it. So where to go? I could go in the opposite direction to Target, or I could go to Best Buy. Then I thought about what my husband had told me. That the game would be the same price everywhere, except Costco.

Huh. We needed some paper products anyway. So that's where I headed. They had the game! Lots of them! I got my FOUR items. And then got in line. They unfortunately don't have an express line at a warehouse store. So I was behind a lady that had a cart that was rounded up so high - with stuff on the bottom and hanging off the sides. Surprisingly, they got her cart unloaded really fast. She had enough stuff to fill a flatbed truck, and she did - at least a hand held flatbed cart. I didn't hear how much the total was, but the cashier said "OK, here's the damage." My husband later asked if she was maybe shopping for an office or something. But she got about 10 slabs of various meat, so I'm thinking no. She said something about her teenage boys being at home - and Memorial Day is coming up.

I checked out in a hurry. I had been surprised about how fast that the lady in front of me had been. But then I had to get in line behind her again. The "let me count your items in your cart before you can exit the store" line. So I played with my phone for a minute. Then both of us were walking out to the parking lot at the same time. Stuff was falling off her flatbed cart. And as I was thinking, "Wow, she better have a BIG vehicle" she stopped at hers. It was a tiny, sporty Acura. As I walked to my Jeep, one aisle over, I couldn't help but laugh. And then it got funnier.

The lady was wearing a flouncy, full mini skirt. She probably shouldn't have had on that short of a skirt on in the first place - too short for me definitely! And she kept bending over to get stuff off her cart and wedge it here and there into her tiny car. And the wind was blowing - a lot. Her flouncy skirt was flouncing all right. It was quite a show. Maybe not the best huge warehouse store shopping outfit. The car and the skirt was all wrong. But I was very entertained!

Pictures

I am trying to collect picture of me, my husband and our family for a "project" I am doing. It is almost nearly impossible to find a picture of anyone NOT doing the following:
• Not looking at the camera
• Looking at the camera, but looking quite surly
• Making a funny face (in dealing with this project, funny faces are NOT funny)
• Not even in any pictures

Or, I find a picture of the subject that I want and the photo is blurry. Or it's a very close-up self portrait. These are fine - but a whole collection of them all together from different locales can be a little weird.

I do enjoy the photos that I have - the memories that are in them. It is great to look back and see fun times that I have had. That's why I take pictures - the memories.

Landscapes - I'm really good at and I enjoy getting the lighting just right for a good shot. I have many of my favorite "scenery" shots hanging up in the house. But people, whether I'm taking the picture, someone else is - they usually don't turn out the way that I really want them - especially with photos with me in them. At least I have the memory!

Rafting

While in Albuquerque, my husband went rafting on the Rio Grande. He told me that he had an "exciting story" to tell me about the trip. You never want to hear that there is an "exciting" story when someone has been white water rafting....

So his story was this:
He was in a raft with 3 larger guys in the back (along with the guide) and a tiny girl beside him in the front. When they got to a big drop, a wave knocked them back a little - so there were all leaning into the middle like they were supposed to. Then a second wave hit them and the boat tilted toward his side, and he started to fall out. The 90-pound-when-soaking-wet girl grabbed his life vest and pulled him into the boat. She kept him from falling out. He told me it was right about when they were going to take the "action shots." The people in the raft behind them were amazed that he stayed in the boat AND held onto his oar.

So the action shots:
When he got home from his trip, we checked out the pictures. The one where the first wave hit, you could only see everyone's head. That second wave, you could only see the guide's head - and yep, the boat was tilted down toward him. A lot tilted! You could only see his oar. After the wave passed, you could see him falling out of the raft. In that picture, the guide is crouching forward, with a little fear on his face and his hand stretching out - as if he knew something bad was about to happen. But he did not fall into the Rio Grande!

I was a little scared/relieved when I heard the story. The pictures made it that more amazing. And scary.
(of course the pictures are for sale, and an outrageous amount of money)

New show

I have found a new show that I love to watch. It is on Lifetime - called "Cook Yourself Thin." It's three ladies that revamp favorite meals. Each week, they have someone on the show that has a reason to lose a few pounds, from an upcoming high school reunion to just doing for themselves, to feel good! And the recipes are great! They take common recipes and use "secret ingredients" to decrease the calories. My faves so far have been a French Toast Tart (french toast baked in a muffin tin). And I really want to try the Mint Chocolate Chip cupcakes! They really do focus on having the foods that you like and still losing weight - and just eating better! And they are quick to say that it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change - which I like. They don't really talk about adding in exercise or other healthy choices. They come back to the person in 6 weeks to see if they have lost weight/a dress size. And of course, they always have. What fun would the show be if they didn't.
Super fun show - with good recipes and ideas for eating healthier!

Flight

My husband had an exciting day yesterday. He was flying to Albuquerque for business. He got stuck in traffic on the way to the airport. Four wrecks in about 10 miles on the interstate. So he ventured off the freeway and went to a side street - still heading north. That's when I got the text "not going to make it." He had left in plenty of time to get to the airport, check his bag and still have time to wait at the gate. But now it was looking like it was going to take a miracle for him to get to the airport before the flight took off. So I called him, he was trying to find a street that cut through to another main road heading to the airport. A friend at work told me what the street was called. That helped him a little. At 8:58, he was about 10 miles away. The next text I got was this: "made it" at 9:22. I text back "define made it" but he had already turned off his phone. So I figured he was on the plane. But I couldn't believe it.

He had made it to the airport, parked in long term parking, printed his boarding pass, checked his bag, went through security and made it to the gate.

That evening, he told me the amazing tale. Somehow he had gotten through traffic to get to the airport and parked in the first spot that he had seen in the garage. And of course it was the farthest from the airline that he was on, so he grabbed his bag and RAN to the counter. He got his boarding pass and checked his bag. Then he RAN to the security area. He went through very fast (no carry-ons at ALL - lucky!). Then he walked fast to his gate (which was of course at the very end of the terminal). He bent down to tie his shoes (that he had left untied from security) and as he stood up from that, the plane started boarding.

AMAZING!

I was praying the whole time that he would make it. I just didn't know how perfect and how unbelievable it was going to be!
And - when he got to New Mexico - his luggage was there!

Tissue

I've always been a Kleenex girl. Several months ago, during a bout with a horrible runny nose, I needed some with lotion. The store was out of Kleenex. So I got Puffs with lotion.

I'm now a Puffs convert. No more Kleenex at our house. There are many reasons that Puffs are superior to Kleenex. The first, and very important, is with that first tissue you pull out. With Kleenex, you ALWAYS get two. And they are so tight and crammed in there, it sometimes is impossible to get them out. So you get pieces of 2 tissues. Argh. With Puffs, the first one comes out easily. And each one after that just unfolds with ease. And really before you even get to that first tissue, opening the box with Puffs is so much easier. You just have to peel back the perforated cardboard, unlike Kleenex with the angering plastic situation. And with the lotion... Kleenex makes you keep some of that lotion on your hands for a while after you use the tissue. Puffs with lotion is just enough lotion - soothing on the days you need it, but not annoying on the days you don't.

So it's Puffs for me! Plus I have a friend at work that used to work for quality control at Puffs. I've heard about how they make and test their tissue! Puffs it is!