Monday, December 23, 2013

On the first day of Christmas (break)...

I have a love/hate relationship with breaks from school. I have ever since I was a student myself. I start break with a grand list of things I'd like to accomplish and I end the break with that same list mostly untouched. Of course every break I say I will try better.

I really need routine. When I don't have it, I get superbly lazy and also very anxious. Not a good combination. My goal for this current break is to try to keep some sort of routine... I will try to blog about it and see how it goes.

So Friday the 20th was the last day of school for the year! I love making that joke with my students, "See you next year!" Har, har. Saturday and Sunday were spent driving up to visit family. I got to visit with my grandma for several hours, which was actually quite nice. She is a trip. Ninety years old but still sharp as a tack. She is hard of hearing but otherwise still very with it. She still drives, actually, and watches Jeopardy! every day and reads every night. Also for the last twenty plus years she has eaten at Wendy's almost every day! In her own words, she is royalty there. They even get her tray ready for her when they see her in the parking lot and they give her little Three Musketeers bars. Every day she gets the same thing: chicken nuggets, a baked potato, and a junior Frosty. She has kicked cancer two times and has Type 2 Diabetes which she has managed well for a few decades. She is pretty awesome.

Over break I plan to get some work stuff taken care of, but I will do that after Christmas. For now my focus is trying to get the house in some kind of order. I did probably ten loads of laundry today and that's no exaggeration. We have two huge bags to take to Goodwill.

Well, I guess I will check in later. Happy Holidays!!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Antique Mall Update: Month 1

My first full month of having a display case at the antique mall is over. It was mildly profitable which is a good start and I hope to be an omen of the future.

I sold (prices after 10% commission):
Knife 7.20 - .01 cost (auction) = 7.19 profit
Gavel 7.20
Strawberry Shortcake ornament 4.50 -.75 (Goodwill)= 3.75
Xmas Tree teapot 9.00-1.50 (VOA)= 7.50
Australian penny 4.50-.01 (auction)=4.49
Lark Cherished Teddy 3.60-.01 (auction)=3.59
Miniature Taj Mahal 9.00-1.91 (VOA)=7.09
speckled frog 3.60-.90 (Goodwill) =2.70
Santa teapot 9.00-1.46 (VOA)=7.54
Back to the Future Delorean 2.70-.50 (Goodwill) =2.20
Fisher Price Little People bus 18.00 -1.00 (garage sale) = 17.00
owl necklace 4.50-1.00 (Amazon deal)= 3.50
Dukes of Hazard cup 2.70 -.10 (garage sale) =2.60
Fisher Price xylophone 7.20-1.00 (garage sale)= 6.20
hightop shoe trinket box 9.00 -2.99 (Goodwill) = 6.01
Webster's book set 7.20 -.96 (VOA)=6.24
Christmas music box 9.00-.45 (VOA)= 8.55
Snowman plate 1.80 -.45 (VOA) =1.35
bank shaped like a loaf of bread 9.00 -1.99 (Goodwill)= 7.01

Total, after commission and costs= $111.71 - $50 rent = 61.71

Sunday, December 1, 2013