Happy Anniversary To Me...oh yeah and my husband too!

24 years ago today...well tonight at 6:20ish actually, I said "I Do".

Where has the time gone???

It seems like just yesterday, I met this good lookin', large biceped guy and now the rest is history.

I must say that he didn't realize that it was love at first sight as I did but I did manage to turn his thinking around after I pursued him and then the clincher.....fixed him a lasagna dinner.

We were not engaged for a very long period (9 months) and *ahem* I am not promoting short engagements so don't get the wrong idea. Although my beloved and I were young (20 & 21) we were not as young as some and my husband had a few very important requirements already in place:

• steady employment
• a house (yeah I know it was humble and needed work but he was the owner)
  
• 2 paid for vehicles (one for work and one for pleasure - even though he loaned me the pleasure car and I totaled it....lets not talk about that right now)
• and the most important one....a washer and dryer...woo hoo!

We have had our ups and downs like all couples but the good times far outweigh the bad.

So, you may ask; do I have any pearls of advice for a long lasting marriage? Well, I'm glad you asked.

1. Always think of the other person first; you'll be surprised how happy you'll be trying to make the other person happy.
2. Make time for your spouse; yes, working hard to provide for your family says "I love you" but if you never spend time with each other you'll start going your separate ways.
3. Let your husband lead.

So, next year will be the big 25...wow, a quarter of a century. We have kicked around the idea of taking a trip/cruise to Hawaii. We'll have to wait and see what the economy holds for our business this next year. But no worry; we have another 24 years to plan a fabulous vacation.

"And there to I plight thee my troth"
(yeah this was part of our vows...my father-in-law found this version and since we were his first wedding we acquiesced to his choice)

Till Death Do Us Part!!

Merry Christmas & Crazy Kids

The Whole DeMasellis Clan

This has got to be one of the oddest Christmases we've ever had. This is the first year that we were not all together on Christmas morning. Since Andrew is home on leave he is dividing his time between home and PA. Brooke's family gets equal time; although it's by no means equal. We actually are getting the better end of the deal. As part of his "exodus" (military term for vacation) Drew is required to "do" HRAP (hometown recruiting...something, something). He was obligated to report Dec. 22nd, 23rd, and 24th and then again next week on the 29th, 30th and 31st. So he and Brooke will be back sometime either Sunday or Monday.

Drew & Brooke

Our holiday has been a bit disjointed. Tuesday night we celebrated Christmas with my side of the family. Then Wednesday morning we celebrated Christmas with Andrew and Brooke before they took off for Pennsylvania. Last night we went to church for a very short service and then off to our friends house for some Christmas eve food and fellowship.



Well, it was a tad of a disaster due to me. I offered to bring a bean dip to share but when I purchased all the ingredients I was certain that I already had refried beans at home...not. Do you know that there is virtually no stores open on Christmas eve at 8pm that sell refried beans. After much sliding around (the roads were getting bad) I opted for Hormel chili with beans. I then assembled the whole "mess" at my friends house (much to her dismay I'm sure). Although my husband really liked it I thought it was rather gnarly.


I also had all the gifts wrapped last night even tho I was frequently interrupted by a "dinging" on my computer from some unnamed person attempting to chat with me.

I can only count on one hand how many times in my kids life that I've had all the gifts wrapped ahead of time and wasn't up to all hours of the night wrapping. I even had everything under the tree.

It was actually a nice leisurely time this morning. Since Andrew the early riser was not here none of us were up before 8am; it was a nice change...lol.


After the present exchanging (Jordon "played" Santa and doled everything out in a nice systematic fashion)

our oldest son Brandon, his wife Bekka and our "grand-dogger" Zoe, came over.


I proceeded to make a DeMasellis favorite; creamed beef....yummmmmm! We also had biscuits, hash browns, fried eggs made by Mr. D (he's a better egg maker than me) and orange juice. The finality of the meal came when Mr. D proceeded to make some rather funny comments (for the life of me I cannot even think what they were now) which caused Brandon to spew orange juice all over the table...AHHHHHHH. Well, at least we were all done eating by then and the butter was the only casualty.

The clean up began and so did the arm wrestling.

Then the new wii games were pulled out and the competitions began. We are a very competitive family....no one likes to lose and some of us are better losers than others...cough, cough... Brandon.

Caitlin and Jordon were trying out Jordon's new ipod docking station (gee how high can we blare it....they asked) while signing (not be be confused with singing) Christmas songs. Then there was chatting, texting and phone calls galore. With all the computers we have throughout the house, much communicating was going on all over; living room, dining room, office, etc.



Finally I've made my contribution to the family dinner later today at my sister-in-laws. Rosa Maria Salad (a cross between Ambrosia & rice pudding) and a cheese ball; nom, nom.






We will be having sandwiches and I'm sure all kinds of other goodies as well.


Haystacks, fudge, peanut butter blossoms.....yummmyyyy!!








Well, I hope all of you had as much fun as we did. Families can add a lot of dynamics to a holiday but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Mom

Husbands should not be allowed to drive small cars...thru snow drifts!!

It should be a law that husbands should not be allowed to drive their wife's car if there is any chance that the husband in question may even consider driving her car thru a snowdrift. Yes, somehow my husband thought that he could plow through a nearly 4 foot high snow drift with my itty bitty blue car. Needless to say we (as in Jordon and Steve) spent over 2 hours shoveling, snow blowing and plowing my car out from "on top" of a very large-ish snow drift.....in the middle of our driveway.

He was warned that no...it could not be done, but no....did he listen to the wife and children....NO, of course not. So, we were all late for our church contata tonight. Some later than others. It's a good thing that our wonderful friend who always keeps us plowed when it snows happened to call and ask if we were having problems with snow drifts...wow as a matter of fact...yes...HELP!

I'm happy to report that our cars are now snowdrift free and I am not reliquishing the keys to my car anytime soon.

Aveo Mom

Short Post

This should be the shortest post ever....how do you like the new colors and background...cool huh?

eBay Gift Card = WIN

I got a Christmas card in the mail the other day and *BONUS*, this was inside.

Now comes the hard part....what to buy!!

The possibilities are endless you know...

1. New electronic gadget
2. Collectible
   
3. Clothes
4. Clothes for the dog...lol
5. Hmmm, I could always re-gift (which was my sons idea-yeah into his stocking)

Gift cards sure have come a long way. It used to be you were limited to the store in which the card was purchased; now with Visa & Mastercard gift cards the receiver can shop anywhere.

I won't be rushing into my decision to spend my gift card; I'm weird that way. I like to hang onto gift cards and wait for just that right item. Since I don't have any one thing coming to mind I'll bide my time. It makes shopping a lot more fun anyway; knowing that I can buy whatever I want (well, at least within a $25 budget) and not feeling guilty for spending money not in the budget.

So, if you run into me on eBay, wave and know that I'm just looking around....but that I'll be back....cuz' I've got a gift card burning a hole in my pocket!!

Do you have a buying suggestion....I'm all ears.

Happily window shopping,

Me

Silas Marner....a thing of the past

As you have already noticed....the family book club never came to fruition. I read the first 3 chapters and thought I was going to slit my wrists...lol. As my sister put it; "It was the best cure for insomnia!"

So, Silas was thrown under the bus. Unfortunately for my son, that is not an option as it is a required read in his British Literature class - HA...stinks to be him!

On to more interesting thoughts now...

Only 8 more days until we pick our son up from Fort Knox!!! WOO HOO! We all sure have missed him these past 11 weeks. He will be done with boot camp tomorrow but then will spend the next week doing mundane tasks...like...cleaning, cleaning, oh, and did I mention cleaning. His dad, younger brother and I will be driving to KY next week to pick him up. His leave is just over two weeks...15 days to be exact. We are sharing his time off with his fiance and her family in Pennsylvania. Sharing is not always easy; even for adults. We realize though that his heart is now with his sweet young bride to be so mom must let go and let him be with his "one true love".
Trust me....I'm not that old that I don't remember what it was like to be young and in love. XOXO

Here's another exciting bit of news:

We are having a "friend" visit us for a few days soon. This friend has offered to help us in moving our business to a single location. Yeah! Many hands make light work and we can use all the hands we can get right now. We are currently running our business out of three locations; it has been a bit of a logistics nightmare. Plus, one of the locations is our home. Working out of ones home can have some benefits (no fighting the traffic to get to the office, no required business attire (one doesn't even have to dress if one doesn't want to..lol), multi-tasking (work, laundry, making dinner)) but working from home also has some drawbacks; limited privacy, inability to park ones own car in ones own garage due to shelves of product and no longer having the use of a once beautifully finished basement (again due to shelves of product).

So....this "friend" is going to come in handy. Why the quotations you ask? Well, this is no ordinary friend but a "special" friend of our daughters. By special I'm not implying special-ed (well, as far as I know...lol) but rather in the sense of extra-special male companion. Yes, you heard right....this young man in question is coming to stay at our house and has agreed to subject himself to the bosses (aka "the dad") work-a-holic tendencies . Our daughter will not be here. She still has one more week of college before Christmas break so we will have the "friend" all to ourselves....to do with as we please....for instance:

• grill him of his intentions
• examine his work ethic
• what are his household habits
• will he eat moms cooking
• you know, all the important stuff

It's a "parents-of-a-daughter" dream come true.

** Disclaimer ** Don't worry daughter....we promise to go easy on him......

+ evil laughter +



We have never formally met this young man but from the countless chat sessions, web-cam discussions and phone calls we have had, he seems to be a fine, polite and upstanding citizen. If we find anything to the contray after this visit I will have to edit this blog and deny ever having seen him....we do own guns and have 44 acres on which a buried body would never be discovered....again with the + evil laughter +.

No seriously, I'm sure everything will go smoothly. About the only thing that may go awry would be his changing his mind about our daughter due to her "crazy" parents. It is a package deal you know....love the daughter and you have to at least tolerate her family....lol.

Keep tuned...I'll let you know if he survives!

Until next time,

The MOM

Book Club Assignment #1

My son informed me (last night, mind you), that the first 3 chapters of Silas Marner were to be read by......today!?!

He has downloaded it on his ipod and at 10pm last night said he was "going to bed" to listen to the first 3 chapters.....yeah right! He would have been snoring before the narrator got to the end of the first page.

Instead I forced him to sit on my bed with me, while I read aloud; was that snoring I heard by the end of the first page?? I kept nudging (nice adjective for kicking) him inquiring of his state of consciousness. Yes, yes, I'm listening he insisted. By the time I rounded out the second chapter, I'm not sure he even knew his own name let alone who Silas Marner was. I relented and sent him to bed with a stern look and his overwhelming affirmation that he would indeed get up early and "read" (listen) to the 3rd chapter.

As he was bounding out the door this morning for school, I don't recall getting a serious response as to whether or not he had actually finished the 3rd chapter.

I on the other hand, am at least enjoying this little book. It's a tad wordy (and some of the words I'm probably butchering; but heck my kid doesn't know the difference...lol) although it is understandable. I've recognized the title over the years but I had no idea what the book was about (except for greed). I'm sure when this little project is over, I'll have a better appreciation for this piece of literature than shall my son and at least one of us will have enjoyed the "reading".

Part of the assignment involves answering questions....I'll post those either later today or tomorrow.

More to come,

The Narrator

It's A Hard Knox Life

Yes, as you can tell I am a very proud Army Mom; hoorah!! My second oldest son Drew, enlisted in the Army and left for basic training on October 7, 2008. He is stationed at Fort Knox, in Kentucky. He is training hard and soon will be learning everything he ever wanted to know, or was afraid to ask, about the M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank.

First, he has the pleasure of enjoying 8 weeks of "BCT"; Basic Combat Training. He refers to himself as a 19K but I have no idea what that means. I'm gleaning much information from his letters (his brother and I run to the mailbox every day to check for letters and fight over who gets to read it aloud) and the website I linked to above. Believe it or not, he actually gets to come home for Christmas. His basic training is over December 12 and his father, his younger brother and I are driving to Kentucky to pick him up. He will get to be home for over two weeks. He doesn't have to report back to the base until January 3, 2009. Unfortuately, I will have to share him with his fiancee. I wouldn't mind the sharing part so much except that she lives in another state; over 6 hours away.

My son, surprisingly is a great letter writer; if you overlook the misspelled words and misuse of grammar; lol. He is very descriptive; giving day by day accounts of what's going on there. He's written most of these missives on Army stationary; very cool. He tells that all the guys talk about are the 3 "F's"; Food, Family and Fun. They swap stories of their favorite meals and count down the days until they get to see everyone again. He longs for a day to lay on the couch and watch a movie all the while eating nothing but junk food; that sounds like "heaven" he writes.




I was proud to hear that Drew took 4th place out of 140 men in the Pugil Stick competion. I wish I could have been there; although as a mom, perhaps I wouldn't have enjoyed watching someone beat upon my son.








Last Sunday we received an extra special phone call; my cell phone rang and I recognized the area code for Kentucky. Drew had attempted to call on two different occasions but wasn't able to reach us. We were so excited to hear his voice; even though he only had exactly 5 minutes to talk; we throughly enjoyed every last second. He had written that he had been sick for some time. Of course I've been worrying but praying helps greatly. He still sounded sick to me but he assured me he was feeling better; he said that the gas chamber experience a few days prior had cleaned out his sinuses; awww gross. (click the link if you dare)


We said lots of "I love you's", "We're so proud of you", "Keep up the good work", and "We're praying for you daily". The call was over before we knew it and I was left crying. As a mom, it's very difficult to know that one of your children is going thru a rough spot (even though I know he'll be a better person in the end) and not want to somehow "fix" it for them. He and I will both mature as a result of his enlistment.

Well....I must be about my day. It's quite cold today (only 20's I think) but at least the sun is brightly shining.

Until next time,

Military Mom

Family Book Club...want to join?

My youngest son (and child) is a junior in high school. One of the classes he currently has is British Literature. His next "project" is to read the classic "Silas Marner". I was telling my sister of his latest assignment and told her that I thought I would read it along with him. I don't recall having had to read this book while I was in school, although it's been awhile (no I did not attend school with dinosaurs) but I think I would have remembered. My sister also said she had never read it either and would like to read it along with us. A few days later my sister-in-law was over and noticed the book laying around (the reading assignment has not begun) and we told her of our plan to loosely form a "book club" - Definition according to Wikipedia: Book Discussion Club is a group of people who meet to discuss a book or books that they have read.

So far we now have 4 of us who are planning on reading together. It's not a long "read"; according to my sis-in-law she could read it in one night, but my son claims it's going to be a 3 month project (this may be how long he hopes to drag it out for-he's not a big fan of reading, unless of course it involves texting; but that's not even real words...don't get me started). His teacher is going to assign the amount to be read and then questions...ooohhh I love to answer questions... {hand shooting into the air bobbing wildly....oo, oo, me, me, pick me....) The competition alone to get the "right" answers is enough to get me involved...I know I'm a tad too competitive (especially familial competition) but I can't help it...I'm wired that way.

So, do we have any other takers? Anyone else want to get in on the book club? Let me know and we'll add you to the group. I'll post the reading schedule soon!

Ready to read,

Glenda

A.K.A - eBay2Tr

Sick & Tired of being Sick & Tired!!

No one likes to be sick and I'm no different. I've been "out of commission" for the last 5-6 days. It's amazing though; as a mom and a self-employed business owner, sick or not....life must still go on.

Although I've not been out of pj's and robe for the last 3 days I am still "working". I usually work at my desk but I've been at work from the living room recliner with my laptop. One nice benefit of working in the living room is being able to "multi-task"; laptopping & tv watching...woo hoo...

So, you may wonder.....hmmm what are you finding so entertaining on the boob-tube? Well, I'm glad you asked. Below is a list of my favorite tv. programs:

• The Dog Whisperer


• Jon & Kate Plus 8


• Little People Big World


• Law & Order


• House


• Cops

Quite an ecclectic collection, I know.

Well, dinner's in the oven, I've no more computer work to attend to so I think that I shall attempt to "spiffy" up so that my husband doesn't have to come home one more day to my alter-ego "Hagaleena".

I'm off for the transformation; wish me luck....lol

Until next time,

Glenda

eBay2Tr

A lot going on

I know, I know...good grief it's been forever since my last, first and only other post. I promise, I will take this posting business more seriously.

Now that other family members are putting me to shame in the blogging world, I'll have to try to live up to their standards..lol.

Lets see....what has happened since.. July? A lot believe it or not!!

We have had to cut down on the amount of people in the "food-chain" of employees. We are now down to just a skeleton crew. Michigan's economy is a tad "stalled" right now, but at least we are keeping the lights on....wait, the room just went dark; jk.

Our only daughter left for college in August. She is attending a college within our lovely state of Michigan and only 2 1/2 hours away; just far enough away for her independence and close enough to come home occasionally (did you read that Caitlin; save your parents gas money and don't race home on every whim). She is struggling with "unemployment". She vowed to work only at "fun" places and yet no "fun" place has hired her, so she (after much nagging from mom to "get a job") finally gave in and applied {shock, horror} at McDonalds. With fingers crossed I hope they call her soon.

A big change took place on October 7th. Our middle son Andrew enlisted in the Army-hoo rah. Oh wait, is that a term dedicated to only Marines...what do I know.

Drew, is in basic training now and it's funny how his letters have changed. The first few were sent from "processing"; not really boot-camp yet. He regaled us with stories of 4 day weekends and getting pizza for the whole group; 550 soldiers. He often wrote how much "fun" he was having!! Well....since arriving at BCT (basic combat training), the "real deal" as he put it, the letters are shorter, less frequent and say things like....

• I've got to go...I'm getting yelled at AGAIN
• Please pray for me EVERY DAY!
• I miss everyone soooo much

He still admits that this was a good decision and that it's "ok" but that it is not the "fun and exciting" time he envisioned it to be before he left.

We are so proud of our son; defending our freedom and maturing into a man...I will definitely have the Army to thank if he comes home and actually picks up after himself...that in itself will be worth it all for me anyway...lol.

Last but not least, we are nearly empty-nesters...only one child left at home. Our youngest Jordon is a junior in high school. He misses his siblings greatly as he was close to both Caitlin and Drew and in only two short months "lost" them both. He realizes that they are not gone for good and he talks/IM's/Texts daily with his sister but it's just not the same here at home. It's very quiet. I'll talk more next time about the impromptu decision I reluctantly made to ease his loneliness.

Well, I have many emails to attend to regarding my new found wealth from Nigeria so I must be going for now.

Until next time,

Glenda
eBay2Tr

Very First Blog Ever....this is intimidating

Hello world wide web!

Blogging I'm told is a great way to let everyone know about yourself, your hobbies, interests and even your business. So....that's why I'm blogging. Not that anyone would care to read about my personal life (crazy as it is) but rather I'm going to try to write all about our "family run", full-time eBay business.

Along the way, I'm sure I'll be adding bits and pieces of our personal lives. A lot of you might be able to relate to what goes on around here if you have any of the following things in common with us:

• You have owned and operated your own business
• You've ever worked out of your own home
• You are married and work with your spouse
• You are a parent
• You are a single adult and work for your parents
• You are a married adult and work for your parents
• You are a married adult and work for your in-laws
• You are a parent of teenagers
• You are a teenager working for your parents
• You are an adult and work for your friend
• You are a mom
• You are a crazy person

As you can see, we employ a wide range of folks. It's not always easy running your own business (especially with part of it out of your own home) and we don't claim to have all the answers, but I hope we can shed some light on how we got started; the trials and tribulations along the way, and how we have become Gold eBay Powersellers along the way.

Until next time,

Glenda
eBay Sales Coordinator
I-Liquidate