eBay is the bomb

Oh my goodness I'm in love with eBay (this isn't a new thing, its just one that I'm now vocalizing). In one day, I managed to sell two place settings of sterling silver from my first marriage. How kick ass! I had two settings, both brand new, still in their original packaging and never been opened (Have I mentioned that the marriage was VERY short?). I also had a brand new pastry server and an opened, but I believe unused, cold meat fork (when the hell would I have used a cold meat fork in my 9 months of marriage?!?!). The settings (each four piece) were selling for $125 at this cool store that you can register at (www.michaelfina.com) so i put one of the settings up on eBay on Monday afternoon with a "buy it now" option of $100 and a woman bought it for $100 less than 24 hours later. ROCK ON. When talking with her about shipping, I asked her if she had any interest in the second setting I had--if she did, I could just sell it to her and not have to pay eBay fees to list that one. She did want it so I managed to get rid of both settings for $100 each. AND, she's going to buy the pastry server and the meat fork for another $100 so because of eBay, I am now $300 richer minus a couple bucks for the eBay and PayPal fees. That's half the cost of the DJ for my June wedding!

So now I need to figure out how to get rid of my custom made platinum wedding ring from my first marriage that's currently just sitting in our safe doing nothing...I tried to sell it to a jeweler but I was told by them that most jewelers don't have a license to buy things, only sell, so thats why pawn shops do a good business. I also have the small problem of needing to get the diamond out of the ring since its a family heirloom and the cost of the custom design and making of the ring didn't include the diamond since I provided it. HMMMMM. Ideas anyone?

Another year gone

EEEK, I'm 27. That's weird. But as my elders would say--quit yer bitchin.

Hee hee, Cindy Staudt is funny

This was in today's Express under Letters to the Editor...
Wow, Gov. Erlich's aide should indeed be happy that Md. State Comptroller William Schaefer was ogling her [behind]. I mean, who wouldn't feel a thrill at having an octogenarian, myopic old crab demand that she leave a room twice so he can get a better view? It's every girl's dream!
--Cindy Staudt, Rockville, Md.

She probably wouldn't have complained if it was someone hot ogling her

Annapolis, MD State Comptroller William Donald Shaefer reacted angrily Wednesday to questions about whether he may have offended an aide to Gov. Robert Ehrlich.
After the young woman brought him a beverage at a Wednesday morning meeting at the State House, Schaefer stared intently as she walked back to the governor's office. Then, just as she reached the door, he summoned her back as people waiting to testify before the board watched.
When the aide, looking puzzled, returned to the table, Schaefer told her, "Walk again," and watched her as she made the trip again.
When reporters asked him after the meeting about the incident, he called their interest "dumb." he said "this little girl" ought to be "happy that I observed her going out the door."
At one point after the meeting, the comptroller went into the governor's private office and returned to say the woman was embarrassed by the incident.
But Schaefer, 84, was unapologetic about his actions. (AP)

EW? I can understand the line "hate to see her go but love to watch her leave" but Schaefer? Come on, that's just NASTY. Lets pass some laws to let the dirty old men be convicted for sexual harrassment.

Val Day

I love low key Valentines Days--Pigpen got me an LLBean down coat I was dying for and a sexy intimate board game as well as "in the mood," "not in the mood" pillow cases. He's so cute!

I went way overboard (yeah, not so much) and bought him a new raincoat for when we start trailering this spring since he managed to lose his other good one. We didn't even brave the public for dinner--I cooked pasta, pesto and sausage (as requested by Pigpen) for dinner. We are crazy romantics aren't we!?!!

I may think Valentines Day is a pretty dumb holiday and that it exists only for Hallmark, the florists all over the country and world wide chocolate makers, but I still love any excuse to buy Pigpen a gift! There is nothing more satisfying than making someone happy with a wrapped box.

"Stretching"

So Pigpen and I have been doing premarital counseling through a local LCSW. And its been an interesting experiment mostly b/c I've done a lot of therapy through the years (when you have your parents divorce, a broken neck from a car accident that wasn't your fault and your own marriage and divorce, before you are 25, therapy would hopefully be in your life.) but Pigpen is new to the world of LCSWs, psychologists and psychiatrists. He was very anti-therapy and vowed never to go, but when things got bad enough between us (as in we seemed to be fighting A LOT), he decided he'd try it out. We went once in Sept, but then our fall schedules were INSANE so we had to take a hiatus until the new year. We started again in Jan and have gone 3 times since then, including last night. And its REALLY been an eye opening experience for both of us (I think for him too--honestly, I can only speak for myself). I thought by going, we'd talk over things we were disagreeing on and Pigpen would see things more clearly and that he would change and we'd stop fighting (or really, I'd stop yelling, which is what was really happening, but whichever it is, I thought Pigpen would be the one to change--god, I'm such an only child.) But I think, of the 4 other LCSWs and psychologists and 1 psychiatrist I've been too, this time has been better for me to learn about me and the people in my life. I have used this LCSW in the past, but even compared to then, I really think these sessions with Pigpen have been more enlightening than all my other sessions combined. Last night, I agreed to a VERY interesting experiment. Recently, I've noticed (as has Pigpen) that I am VERY short fused. I am quick to react negatively and in a very nasty way when something ticks me off. I start fights that are really not big issues and depending on my mood, I get pissed off very quickly---and I'm really only getting mad and being nasty to Pigpen (which I HATE and desperately want to change). So last night, as I tried to figure out the cause of this anger (my job? hormones? the Pill vs the Patch?), I agreed to not EVER react. I must keep calm, keep my anger to myself and instead of yelling at Pigpen, vent by writing my anger down and not putting it out loud on Pigpen. That way, we can have a safe relationship again and Pigpen doesn't have to walk around wondering when I'll yell at him next. We're allowed to have anger by appointment only (Ah yes, the Imago Theory). I can't just react on the spur of the moment--instead I need to ask Pigpen if he is in a frame of mind to hear my thoughts and he can say yes or no and schedule another time to talk. So, I'm SO curious to see how hard this will be for me. I did great last night after our session, but I was only awake for another 3 hours after we left the LCSW. And this morning was fine, but knowing how up and down my moods have been over the past few weeks, I think I'm in for a real interesting time. Wish me luck, because I'm tired of being angry and mean and not much fun to be around!

Oh no, who's next?

This news saddened me. If Lance and Sheryl can't make it, WHO CAN?