In case you were wondering...
The way to ensure that guy from Craigslist will show up on time even though he didn't confirm that he was coming? Take off your bra.
Living in the desert is so dry! (You know you wanna ask.) It's so dry that folding toilet paper in a dark restroom in the dark at say, 2:45 in the morning, will allow you to see the toilet paper light up from static sparking. And then you get to contemplate wiping.
But wait, there's more!
After asking if you can put someone on hold for a minute so you can dash into the restroom and pee, make sure you only hit the mute button on your cell phone once. Once. Or, I guess, three times would work. Twice will just... well, let's just say that I'm glad it was family and not some employer or teacher I work with.
My work here is done. Carry on.
Showing posts with label Craigslist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Craigslist. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Monday, November 07, 2011
What It Takes
Know what it takes to get the fridge sold for $150 on Craigslist?
Girl power. (And maybe invoking the "I transferred everything from the old one to the new one, so maybe you can clean it so I can take pictures" clause.)
Ahem, yes, I was completely willing to just let the delivery guys pick up the old one. Or sell it to Edison for a $50 rebate.
Know what it takes to get the guys who are coming to buy said fridge to actually show up?
Bra removal.
Women who work outside the home know what I'm talking about. Taking off one's bra at the end of a long day is a mini rite of passage. It says, "I'm done. Clocked out. Shuffling around until bedtime is my latest pastime."
It's magic, I tell ya!
It's magic, I tell ya!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
On the Subject of Chairs
Yesterday I had to return a booster seat that we'd gotten for Madelyn. It's been hard to find one that was made for the 30+ pounds club, and this one seemed perfect. Except that Madelyn couldn't possibly hate it any more than she does. After I returned it, I found my way over to the nursery furniture section, selected a glider and called Tom to discuss how we should spend the money from the return. We're pretty good on diapers for the first couple months. The temporal artery thermometer we've put on our shopping list I'm pretty sure we have in one of our creatively packed boxes in the garage. So a little discussion was in order, and I was pretty happy to have it in a glider with matching ottoman. In case you're wondering, I bought a couple rearview mirror extenders and a couple of mirrors so we can see Fynnie while she's rear facing.
We have two rocking chairs. The first came from my grandparents maybe... egad!... 19 or 20 years ago. And it was old then. It's a few years older than I am. We had someone out to talk about reupholstering a couch a few years back and the man was fascinated with Grandpa's old Lazy Boy. "I've seen this kind of fabric before, but they don't make it anymore." Well even if they did, it probably wouldn't come in this particular shade of yellow-gold. For all it's aesthetic hideousness, I love this chair. I did give it away once. To Tom. Then I married him to get it back. It sits upstairs in our loft. We aren't hanging out in there very often lately, but the other night I rocked a very tired and very cranky Mad-a-girl to sleep in it. As her little body twitched into sleep, I thought about how I'd nursed and rocked both of my babies in this chair. I look forward to those late nights when I'll be getting up with Fynn and taking her to that chair.
I was happy to learn tonight that Tom shares my fondness for the ugly chair. Who knows how many photos we have of a new dad, tired but with pride in his eyes, rocking his sleeping daughter. For a while, he was the only one who could rock her "just so."
The second chair is a traditional wood rocker. When we moved here, Margaret offered it to us. It's the chair she rocked her babies in. As my dad says, it has a charming squeak. Almost every night since we've lived here, I have either rocked or read to Madelyn in that chair. Tom has rocked her in it, too. It's a little tricky to read to her in the rocker these days because my legs don't really want to stay together and my lap is a lot shorter. Mad ends up straddling one leg; she's wobbly at best, and I have a hard time seeing around her head to read the words on half the pages. Tom, who usually sits on the floor when reading to her, has said that she generally prefers to sit next to him these days. But with Mama, it's up on what's left of my lap in "the wock."
This afternoon Tom mentioned that we could bring one of the chairs downstairs so I'll have a place to be with Fynn and still be around everyone else. It's a great idea, but which one to choose? The one in Mad's room needs to stay there. Now that I'm home, we read every morning and night, plus right before her nip-nappy-snip-snappy. And the one in the loft is right outside our bedroom. It would fit in our room, but it's fine where it is.
So I, a person who's always been against buying too many non-essential items, slyly suggested that the gliders at the baby store were pretty darned sweet. Tom, Mr. Rational Thinker, asked how much they cost. I had no clue. I told him the last time I knew was years ago, and that you could get them for less than $200. He suggested we check out yard sales or Freecycle. I suggested Craigslist.
I looked at the baby store tonight, and you can still get a glider with an ottoman for less than $200. Of course, you can get them for two to three times that much as well.
Then I checked out Craigslist. I found one in an area Tom would be passing through on his way home tonight for $65, one up in the mountains for $40 and one in the next town over for $75. The first was already sold, the second wouldn't be such a great bargain after driving about an hour of mountain roads to get to it and the third was available to check it out tonight.
Tom stopped on his way home, inspected the chair, loved it, talked them down to $65, left and called me on the way home. Without buying the chair! Argh! *ohm* He had a good reason. We've already spent extra money this week on other stuff, like a "World's Best Big Bro" shirt for Corey. But in this case, we'll be fine. Dude should have just gone out to his car and called me, then either bought the chair or told them no thank you.
We'll be there at 10:00 tomorrow morning to pick it up.
We have two rocking chairs. The first came from my grandparents maybe... egad!... 19 or 20 years ago. And it was old then. It's a few years older than I am. We had someone out to talk about reupholstering a couch a few years back and the man was fascinated with Grandpa's old Lazy Boy. "I've seen this kind of fabric before, but they don't make it anymore." Well even if they did, it probably wouldn't come in this particular shade of yellow-gold. For all it's aesthetic hideousness, I love this chair. I did give it away once. To Tom. Then I married him to get it back. It sits upstairs in our loft. We aren't hanging out in there very often lately, but the other night I rocked a very tired and very cranky Mad-a-girl to sleep in it. As her little body twitched into sleep, I thought about how I'd nursed and rocked both of my babies in this chair. I look forward to those late nights when I'll be getting up with Fynn and taking her to that chair.
I was happy to learn tonight that Tom shares my fondness for the ugly chair. Who knows how many photos we have of a new dad, tired but with pride in his eyes, rocking his sleeping daughter. For a while, he was the only one who could rock her "just so."
The second chair is a traditional wood rocker. When we moved here, Margaret offered it to us. It's the chair she rocked her babies in. As my dad says, it has a charming squeak. Almost every night since we've lived here, I have either rocked or read to Madelyn in that chair. Tom has rocked her in it, too. It's a little tricky to read to her in the rocker these days because my legs don't really want to stay together and my lap is a lot shorter. Mad ends up straddling one leg; she's wobbly at best, and I have a hard time seeing around her head to read the words on half the pages. Tom, who usually sits on the floor when reading to her, has said that she generally prefers to sit next to him these days. But with Mama, it's up on what's left of my lap in "the wock."
This afternoon Tom mentioned that we could bring one of the chairs downstairs so I'll have a place to be with Fynn and still be around everyone else. It's a great idea, but which one to choose? The one in Mad's room needs to stay there. Now that I'm home, we read every morning and night, plus right before her nip-nappy-snip-snappy. And the one in the loft is right outside our bedroom. It would fit in our room, but it's fine where it is.
So I, a person who's always been against buying too many non-essential items, slyly suggested that the gliders at the baby store were pretty darned sweet. Tom, Mr. Rational Thinker, asked how much they cost. I had no clue. I told him the last time I knew was years ago, and that you could get them for less than $200. He suggested we check out yard sales or Freecycle. I suggested Craigslist.
I looked at the baby store tonight, and you can still get a glider with an ottoman for less than $200. Of course, you can get them for two to three times that much as well.
Then I checked out Craigslist. I found one in an area Tom would be passing through on his way home tonight for $65, one up in the mountains for $40 and one in the next town over for $75. The first was already sold, the second wouldn't be such a great bargain after driving about an hour of mountain roads to get to it and the third was available to check it out tonight.
Tom stopped on his way home, inspected the chair, loved it, talked them down to $65, left and called me on the way home. Without buying the chair! Argh! *ohm* He had a good reason. We've already spent extra money this week on other stuff, like a "World's Best Big Bro" shirt for Corey. But in this case, we'll be fine. Dude should have just gone out to his car and called me, then either bought the chair or told them no thank you.
We'll be there at 10:00 tomorrow morning to pick it up.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
And It Smells Like...
Wood!
Okay, so I commenced the whining too early. Monday morning I called Perfect Dresser Dude; it was still available and he agreed not to take any buyers until we could get there to check it out. We left at 9:30, found the place, spent about two minutes confirming that it would work for us and 10 strapping it into my Escape with about nine bungee cords. A quick stop for gas and snacks that Mad could spill all over my newly vacuumed interior, and we were off.
The timing was great, too. We didn't have much traffic coming down the hill, and going up was a breeze. By the time we were almost to our off-ramp, the southbound traffic was jammed up with trailers and boats and cars full of hungover Vegas losers. (Okay, and maybe a few winners, but statistically you know I'm right.)
Corey had spent the weekend at my mom's, but they arrived just before we did, so the dresser came in and upstairs immediately. No foul stench stinking up the place, and it looks nice, too. For now it's in the loft until we can move the desk that has been Mad's changing table into our room.
We spent the afternoon hanging out. Tom grilled burgers and corn. A cooling breeze blew through the house.
That evening I got an email from another person who was interested in the dresser I had posted on Craigslist. I gave him a call and our address. The guy actually showed up. Even better he was excited about the dresser. He loves to refinish pieces and believes that this dresser might actually be solid walnut. To me the top looks like a veneer, but I could be wrong. I don't refinish, I have only finished raw wood. This guy seems like more of a semi-pro than a hobbyist, so I took the opportunity to show him our dining table (like that was hard, it's still sitting, 3/4 finished, in our garage; it was right next to the dresser). We talked stains and stripping agents. Hopefully I'll remember all about Blue Lightning when the time comes (yeah, that link is more for me than for you, unless you're interested in helping with my table and chairs, lol). We were in total agreement that Tom and I should have never selected chairs with spindles in the back. In a complete reversal of traditional roles, Tom stated, "But it's pretty." Yes, dear, it's pretty.
The man paid us and promised to send pictures when he's done with his latest project. It was then that I remembered we'd never introduced ourselves, not even on the phone. After he and Tom loaded the dresser ("upright, please") into his truck, we exchanged names and went our separate ways.
And with the purchase and sale of the dressers at $45 a piece, Mad and Fynn's new dresser is still free, which is way better than $100!
Okay, so I commenced the whining too early. Monday morning I called Perfect Dresser Dude; it was still available and he agreed not to take any buyers until we could get there to check it out. We left at 9:30, found the place, spent about two minutes confirming that it would work for us and 10 strapping it into my Escape with about nine bungee cords. A quick stop for gas and snacks that Mad could spill all over my newly vacuumed interior, and we were off.
The timing was great, too. We didn't have much traffic coming down the hill, and going up was a breeze. By the time we were almost to our off-ramp, the southbound traffic was jammed up with trailers and boats and cars full of hungover Vegas losers. (Okay, and maybe a few winners, but statistically you know I'm right.)
Corey had spent the weekend at my mom's, but they arrived just before we did, so the dresser came in and upstairs immediately. No foul stench stinking up the place, and it looks nice, too. For now it's in the loft until we can move the desk that has been Mad's changing table into our room.
We spent the afternoon hanging out. Tom grilled burgers and corn. A cooling breeze blew through the house.
That evening I got an email from another person who was interested in the dresser I had posted on Craigslist. I gave him a call and our address. The guy actually showed up. Even better he was excited about the dresser. He loves to refinish pieces and believes that this dresser might actually be solid walnut. To me the top looks like a veneer, but I could be wrong. I don't refinish, I have only finished raw wood. This guy seems like more of a semi-pro than a hobbyist, so I took the opportunity to show him our dining table (like that was hard, it's still sitting, 3/4 finished, in our garage; it was right next to the dresser). We talked stains and stripping agents. Hopefully I'll remember all about Blue Lightning when the time comes (yeah, that link is more for me than for you, unless you're interested in helping with my table and chairs, lol). We were in total agreement that Tom and I should have never selected chairs with spindles in the back. In a complete reversal of traditional roles, Tom stated, "But it's pretty." Yes, dear, it's pretty.
The man paid us and promised to send pictures when he's done with his latest project. It was then that I remembered we'd never introduced ourselves, not even on the phone. After he and Tom loaded the dresser ("upright, please") into his truck, we exchanged names and went our separate ways.
And with the purchase and sale of the dressers at $45 a piece, Mad and Fynn's new dresser is still free, which is way better than $100!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
I Seem To Have Missed Out On the "Easy" Part
We've decided to find a dresser for Fynn and Mad to share. My brother's family gave us one that they were just going to put out on the curb. It's perfect, except for the cigarette smell that we can't seem to get rid of.
I'd been hoping to find one through Freecycle.org, but we're not having any luck. Since we are committed to spending less than $100, I have spent the past three weekends driving around our area looking for yard sales. So far I've come across three dressers. None would withstand my use, let alone that of two little girls in a few years.
The upside of all that driving around is that I can now say with assurance that Tom and I picked a solid neighborhood for our first home. Every neighborhood we'd looked at in a nearby town (which would have put us 15-20 minutes closer to everyone else) is a shambles. Of course, ours went through something like that right after we closed escrow, so there's hope for those places, too. It's just that more of them looked worse there than anything we had around here.
Since random driving around isn't accomplishing anything other than using up gas and confirming yet again that I should let go of my complaints about being so far away, I have added a couple of strategies to my bargain hunting repertoire.
The first was to check out local resale stores. Two crap dressers from the 70's at one place, nothing anywhere else so far.
Second was to check the PennySaver. Note to self: If you want a shot at something listed there, maybe checking your mail for the latest edition more than once or twice a week will help move you up in the queue.
Third, today we stopped by an independent furniture store. They have a utile dresser (no idea of the quality since it was all wrapped up) for $125. However, we are committed to staying within the budget we've set.
Fourth, I have begun haunting Craigslist. Everyone says it's so easy to get great deals on Craigslist. Now I have found some amazing pieces of furniture for very reasonable prices. In Los Angeles. In Koreatown. In Santa Monica. In my own local listing (Inland Empire, which sounds better than it is... or maybe sounds like someone trying to boost their own ego, which would be exactly like it is), I find crap. Much like the crap that I've seen at those yard sales and resale shops.
I did find one this afternoon that seems perfect. Even better, it's $45, an amount equal to what I'm asking for the dresser we already received from my brother's family, thereby making it free. Best of all, unlike my brother and his wife, the current owners of the perfect dresser do not smoke in the house. The downside? It's located about 55 miles from here and the guy didn't call me back until 8:15 tonight. And Tom would rather drive down there in the morning than go tonight when there will be minimal Vegas and River traffic. The guy would not promise to hold it.
If all of this doesn't work, we have one last option. Tom works for a company that is well-known for its home furnishings. We know the furniture for kids sucks, but the rest of it is generally good to great quality, if you want to spend those prices. They have an outlet store a bit more than halfway down to San Diego. He'll be calling them every Tuesday morning (after their shipments are in) to see if they have anything we might be able to use.
Are there any bases we haven't covered here?
I'd been hoping to find one through Freecycle.org, but we're not having any luck. Since we are committed to spending less than $100, I have spent the past three weekends driving around our area looking for yard sales. So far I've come across three dressers. None would withstand my use, let alone that of two little girls in a few years.
The upside of all that driving around is that I can now say with assurance that Tom and I picked a solid neighborhood for our first home. Every neighborhood we'd looked at in a nearby town (which would have put us 15-20 minutes closer to everyone else) is a shambles. Of course, ours went through something like that right after we closed escrow, so there's hope for those places, too. It's just that more of them looked worse there than anything we had around here.
Since random driving around isn't accomplishing anything other than using up gas and confirming yet again that I should let go of my complaints about being so far away, I have added a couple of strategies to my bargain hunting repertoire.
The first was to check out local resale stores. Two crap dressers from the 70's at one place, nothing anywhere else so far.
Second was to check the PennySaver. Note to self: If you want a shot at something listed there, maybe checking your mail for the latest edition more than once or twice a week will help move you up in the queue.
Third, today we stopped by an independent furniture store. They have a utile dresser (no idea of the quality since it was all wrapped up) for $125. However, we are committed to staying within the budget we've set.
Fourth, I have begun haunting Craigslist. Everyone says it's so easy to get great deals on Craigslist. Now I have found some amazing pieces of furniture for very reasonable prices. In Los Angeles. In Koreatown. In Santa Monica. In my own local listing (Inland Empire, which sounds better than it is... or maybe sounds like someone trying to boost their own ego, which would be exactly like it is), I find crap. Much like the crap that I've seen at those yard sales and resale shops.
I did find one this afternoon that seems perfect. Even better, it's $45, an amount equal to what I'm asking for the dresser we already received from my brother's family, thereby making it free. Best of all, unlike my brother and his wife, the current owners of the perfect dresser do not smoke in the house. The downside? It's located about 55 miles from here and the guy didn't call me back until 8:15 tonight. And Tom would rather drive down there in the morning than go tonight when there will be minimal Vegas and River traffic. The guy would not promise to hold it.
If all of this doesn't work, we have one last option. Tom works for a company that is well-known for its home furnishings. We know the furniture for kids sucks, but the rest of it is generally good to great quality, if you want to spend those prices. They have an outlet store a bit more than halfway down to San Diego. He'll be calling them every Tuesday morning (after their shipments are in) to see if they have anything we might be able to use.
Are there any bases we haven't covered here?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
