We recently started attending “Mother Goose Storytime” for babies 12 months and younger at our local library. They have been having it on Thursdays, but they’ve now switched it to Mondays during this 6 week session.

Well, Monday morning, as we entered the children’s department, I noticed a lady I didn’t recognize with another baby seated on the comfy chairs in the back. Jack-Evan and I checked in, grabbed our purple moon shaped name tag (which I had to wear, because Jack was too interested in eating it), and we headed towards their friendly faces.

As we came within 10 feet of the lady and her little toddler, Jack perks up, raises his hand and yells “Hey there!”. The baby receiving the greeting, looked at Jack, then promptly fell off of his chair and started crying.

It seems now as if greetings are Jack-Evan’s new found addiction, especially when it produces strange reactions in those he greets.

For the next 5 minutes as everyone was gathering, Jack held his hand in a perpetually waving motion, shouting “Hey there!” to everyone that made eye contact.

I’m hoping this is a sign of good things to come! As for myself, I’ve always been shyer than a country mouse, and I’ve always been afraid that my children would inherit my awkwardness. That’s one thing I love about my husband - he’s extremely sociable and does well around people - so he balances me out.

Hopefully Jack-Evan is going to be like his dad in this aspect!

5. Use spell check.
4. Weigh your clothes before auction begins.
3. Purchase your shipping boxes before the auction ends - or, in your haste, you may end up with two expensive “too big” unreturnable boxes.
2. Have someone with you to help haul the packed two 20″x17″ 20lb boxes into the post office.
1. Don’t cry when the postman tells you the total shipping cost for the two said boxes is $40.00 parcel post.

So this past Sunday morning, I stepped off the stage at church when praise & worship was over (I control the powerpoint slides that show the words to each song)  and began walking towards the pew in the back where my family was seated.  

The pastor was now at the pulpit, opening his Bible and waiting for all of the music team to take their seats.  Because of my position on stage, I was the last one reach my pew,  and everything was extremely quiet.

Too quiet.

Two feet away from my seat, I raise my head and make eye contact with Jack-Evan who is seated on his dad’s lap.  And what does the little 9 month old bugger do?  In his loudest voice, he says, for the very first time…

HEY MAMA!!!!!

Then he grinned as if all were right in his little world.

Do you ever get one of wild hairs that makes you itch to do something crazy?

Well, being the wild, crazy, hip chick that I am, I am selling off half of my closet.

Am I daring, or what?

Ok, perhaps not, especially since I will still have a whole slew of clothes that I really don’t need. But I’m working on it people!

You see, this past month, I’ve had an epiphany of sorts. I realized that stuff is just that. STUFF. And it clutters up our lives far too much. I even laughed aloud at myself when the fact that I was nursing emotional attachments to far too much STUFF slapped me hard in the face.

For instance, is it really necessary that I keep my prom shoes from 10 years ago?  Or those three nifty black shirts simply because I remember the moment I purchased them (and the shopping high that came with it)?  How about all 18 pairs of jeans in various shades?  

Before, I would have answered “YES!” and gasped my heart ala Fred Sandford style.  But now, I find that I no longer hold the same attachment to things that I use to.  Perhaps it’s part of growing up, perhaps it’s due to becoming a mother and forming an even stronger “attachment” to a living being, or perhaps (just perhaps) I’ve wisened up to the fact that too much clutter makes it hard to keep a clean house. Doh!

So here are 2 of my listings so far.  One of the auctions is for a 31 pc. set of career clothes (button down shirts, slacks) and another is for a 37 pc. casual clothes (jeans, cargos, pullovers). The career set includes a pair of brand new Banana Republic fully lined pants with all tags still attached ($88 price tag).  Both auctions start off at just .99 cent and I have no reserve price.  Shipping on one is just $6.95 and $8.95 on the other.

31 pc. CAREER SET

Not sure if it’s a real Furstenburg? Picked it up at a thift shop.

American Eagle

Clorox stain on inside collar, not visible when wearing.

Tag torn out (was itchy). Think it is from Express.

Buttons are diamond shaped.

I loved wearing these. All except for one on right are slim cut / trendy.

New white pants, with tags, from Banana Republic.

NWT, Banana Republic, fully lined pants

NWT, White Pants, Banana Republic, $88 Retail

Shirt is sheer / see through! Needs a tank.

Skirt on left has pockets. Flowers on right skirt are velvet.

37 pc. CASUAL SET

McDonalds Tee, made to look “beat up” and stained.

Yellow tshirt has dipped neck in back with criss cross straps.

Says “I (heart) Nerds” referring to the candy.

USC (University of South Carolina) Collegiate Tshirt

Humpty Dumpty (Orange), Pink tshirt says “Cute but Psycho: Things Even Out”.

Clemson University collegiate tshirt

Calvin Klein

Cargo pants - one on left is a faded brown thin cordoroy.

Two Old Navy boot cut jeans, one Sonoma jean

Four casual capris - 2 dnim, 2 khaki

These capris can roll up and button to make shorter.

Jean capris, tan shorts, red shorts, cargo shorts.

The back of this slinky black shirt dips very low.

Some commercials  would have you believe that “L-o-v-e” comes packaged in petals and chocolate, red & white, paper hearts and hallmark cards, dinner and a movie, candelight and music, or in one commercialized day in February.  

I say, it just ain’t so.

So where is “L-O-V-E”?

“L-o-v-e” comes packaged in hats and coats.

“L-0-v-e” comes packaged during a slide on the snow. (Quick! Did you miss it?)

L-o-v-e  comes packaged in an afternoon nap.  Shhhhh….

“L-o-v-e” comes packaged in a playful grin.

“L-o-v-e” comes packaged in the everyday, ordinary aspects of life.

You know, those things that we overlook in our day to day, hurried existance.

Things such as a husband’s hearty laugh, a baby’s drool, a mother’s homemade meal
or simply
that single moment in time which is now gone forever.

These have been going around Facebook recently, so I thought I’d play along.  Why?  Probably because my life is a lot more boring than it should be at 6:05 am on a Sunday morning.

1. I hate being farted on.  (Ok, I’m sitting here in bed, in the dark, beside my sleeping husband .  Those of you with husbands may understand my miserable plight).

2. I use to dream of becoming a veterinarian when I was little.  That, and a country singer, until a) I realized vets sometimes put animals to sleep and b) I can’t sing.

3. I get my G’s and J’s mixed up if spelling orally.  I don’t have trouble in print form though, thanks joodness.

4. I can’t tell my left from my right and have to do the little “L” shape with my left hand to remember.  My husband gets very annoyed at this sometimes.  Other times he’s a peach and thinks of creative ways of telling me direction without using the words “left” or “right”.

5.  Shyness plagued me throughout childhood, especially around boys.  I don’t think I said 2 words to an un-related male until I hit 7th grade.  What’s worse, I remember those 2 words.

6.  I will admit to googling my own name.

7.  Some of my favorite memories of childhood include spending summers with my Granny and cousin Troy.  Granny always promised to take us “down the street to play ski-ball if we were good”.  I just realized last month that to this day I have no idea where (if any) ski-ball places are located near her house.  It saddens me to suddenly realize that my childhood fantasies of playing ski-ball all day as a reward probably could have never came true anyway.

8.  I idolized my cousin Carrie as a goddess growing up and subconciously (or perhaps even a bit conciously) ended up trying to model my life after her.

9.  I have very vivid memories of early childhood (before the age of 3).

10.  Red nail polish looks hideous against my pale white skin.

11.  I grew up hating pale white skin.

12.  The older I get, the dumber I feel.  

13.  When my Granny died, I rescued a used bar of soap from her bathroom sink.  Really, a bar of soap.  It was one of the only things I got from her house. I was quite touched to find it, and still have it stashed away.  I loved my Granny. 

14.  Cooties were never an issue with me, and I remember having crushes on nursery school buddies when I was a toddler.  Perhaps that’s why I was shy.  (See #5 and #9)

15.  I still have a trapper keeper from 4th grade filled with notes, papers, reports, tests, and an award for a spelling bee I had won.  On the paper I taped the award to, I had proudly wrote “I won the spelling bee compatishion!”

16.  We shot video of a deer casually walking through our backyard a week ago (uh…we live in the city, in suburbia, just 2 miles outside of our large state capital).  My uncle, who goes hunting every year has been known not to see a deer for 3-4 years in a row.  We have warned him that our backyard is now offlimits during open season.

17.  I stuck the tip of an ink pen deep in my knee once when I was 5 years old, and remember hiding behind the floor-model TV, crying,with the pen lazily bobbing back,  trying to avoid Dad who was wanting to get it out.  Now that I think back, it must have been a humerous sight.  Too bad those where before the days of snap as you please digital cameras.

18.  I have an acute fondness for children’s programs from the 1980s.

19.  I am named after “Lisa” Douglas on Green Acres.

20.  Dogs have always been a part of my life.  The only time I haven’t owned a dog since I was 3 years old was for one week during 2002 after my last childhood dog “Floppy” died.

21.  I once managed a 600 member forum group for collie owners on MSN groups from 2002 to 2005.  I still own the website that sprung off from the group - www.CollieDogOwners.com (and my online store www.CollieShop.com).  

22.  The taste of anything fermented makes me gag.  I just can’t help it.

23.  I own 3 desktop computers, 3 laptops, and 1 handheld.   That’s what happens when you neglect finding new homes for your old electronics when you upgrade.

24. When I was 7, I started a paper airplane company and recruited my Uncle George to be my first salesman.  They were going to be sold for a nickel, and I would staple them so they wouldn’t fall apart during flight (thus making them more durable).  Hey, it was 7 year old logic, mmmkay?  It wasn’t until I was grown that I remembered this first business venture and how wonderful my Uncle was for not dashing my miniature hopes and dreams.

25.  My husband has my initials tattooed on his wrist.