So Where The Hell Did You Go????

Well,

hopefully people will understand once I get it all out.

Last time I wrote it was in May when I pulled the tendon in my butt. Since you know about that, I will backtrack...

We had a WONDERFUL time in Tucson. I enjoyed Tucson more than I expected, it has a lot more greenery than I ever thought, and the dry heat was much better..have to admit it. We seriously started thinking about making a move to AZ in the summer of 2008.....

Which means, I was in limbo when I came back. Do I build up stores? Do I liquidate? Do I buy more?? I had no idea how to handle it. Self motivation at this point was very cloudy.

We came back, and all hell broke loose.

The butt tendon thing, which took forever to heal.

We had 3 deaths in the family at different times. Maybe I will elaborate later, but it is just too draining.

I was bit by a cat and for weeks I was so sick we honestly thought I was going to die of rabies. It took three months, many doctor's visits, days and days of being in bed sicker than ever, and three courses of very strong antibiotics to finally get over it. By the time we were done, the better half and I were so scared out of our minds about impending death, that all our efforts went into "real life" and spending as much time as possible getting odds and ends done, spending time with family, yada yada.


Then over the course of the past 9 months, it just continued.

I am having constant troubles with my sons' school. As some may know, I have three on the Autistic spectrum. Three boys attend one school and I am sick and tired of teachers who have a God complex. This has been a daily drain for me. So much so that we have decided to go back to homeschooling next year. I home schooled my kids up until my daughter was in 5th grade. I never thought I would do it again, but here we are.

This constant thorn in my shoe kept me focused on one thing, keeping track of teachers and problems.

We have also had a severe urinary tract infection in the house, two bouts of bad cold rounds and one bout of sever flu. With a son in an after school program for special needs kids and six people in one house, you can imagine all the germs we come in contact with.

Let's not forget the computer virus, the repair, the setting up a new computer.

Let's not forget the car troubles and buying a new car. Well, a 66 Ford station wagon, and a REALLY cool one, but still.

Then..

My better half had a heart attack scare. That's right. We were now in the same boat all over again. Doctors, not feeling well, medications, not knowing, etc.

This past year has been one thing after another. Each one harsh, each one extremely draining.

So people, this year has been very difficult for us.

The good news?

We have decided to move to Arizona and we plan to by July of this summer. So, at this time I won't be building up anything. I will be liquidating like a mad man. It just isn't worth the cost of moving it, nor the work involved.

We hit so many sales, we always find more. So hopefully by fall, we will somewhat be up and running again.

For now, what remains in the stores will stay there until June. At that time I will pull it all out.

I sincerely hope I didn't hurt anyone's feelings by disappearing. I just had too much on my plate.

Love.

Pulled a Stupid Tendon

I have gotten some emails wondering where I was so I figured I should post something...

We got back form AZ and had a GREAT trip..more later..then we took the next week to heal from the trip...then I pulled a tendon in my butt. You heard me right..sigh...it started getting better after a week so I dove in and got things done...only to wake up the next day in severe pain..this has happened twice. So, I am not at the computer much due to not being able to sit too long. And I can't roam around taking pictures, listing, etc until it is healed.

We are also battling some weird summer flu..all in all, all fine..just healing. THANK YOU for the kind words folks!

I Have Been Tagged

Well, I am supposed to be packing..but I haven't slept in a week and I am avoiding all I need to do...so, I figured I would blab. Blabbing is always fun.

I was tagged by my new dear friend Christina from her blog My Tangerine Dreams

I am supposed to talk about 5 things about myself, quirks or oddities I guess, that I possess. I think the quirks are more interesting reading material....but I actually found this to be quite difficult to do. I live with four children, three on the Autistic spectrum, and their father's whole family, my ex husband, had a very "quirky" yet demanding way about them. I was raised around very laid back type of people who just went with the flow and were quite spontaneous...

So, I really try not to be quirky where it gets in other peoples' way. You know, kind of like when you are at a party and everyone decides to go to Taco Bell and that one person says "No, I won't eat Taco Bell. I heard they have problems with cleanliness" .............. So it ruins it for the whole group while billions of people eat at Taco Bell just fine every day type of thing??

So, I spent two nights lying awake thinking about this....and I think I know mine now....and I can see where they could become a problem at times.

#1 You will always...and I mean ALWAYS see me in a tie dye t-shirt and jeans.
No, I am not kidding. I HATE to dress up....AT ALL. I guess that should be number two, but it fits with the reason I am doing number one, so let's combine them. The tie dyes put me in a relaxed frame of mind..and a mental vacation at all times...I need this with my life. I get a lot of compliments on them. I usually cannot go anywhere without someone saying something, and them wishing they could wear them to work to..ah, the joys of being self employed and I get to say "neener neener." This is such an issue my better half and I will be marrying barefoot, in some type of hippie garb to avoid dressing up. It is all about avoiding dressing up.

Which, doesn't make a lot of sense. Look at me in 1987.

How hysterical is this? I had no problem then, what is my problem now? I was heading to church, BTW.

So now it is all about comfort and abstract colors of the hippie people.








I usually by tie dyes from: psychedeliccircus.com

I have been buying from them for years...like this one...








......Or this one








Or this one...

















#2 I have an eyebrow fetish. You read that right.
An eyebrow fetish. I am obsessed with eyebrows. Probably because I hate my own. But I noticed that it is always the first thing I look at when I look at magazines, or people in general. Very weird. I only came to this conclusion about 3 months ago. Luckily I was in the office of my Autistic son's therapist, who I adore, flipping thru magazines I don't allow at home, like Cosmo, so I blurted outloud "Anne, I think I have a severe eyebrow fetish I can't control. Can you help me?" She just laughed and walked away. I should probably ask her what that meant.


#3 I cannot stand the sound that Pillsbury dough cans make when opened. It scares the crap out of me and it makes no sense whatsoever, but I hate it with a passion.


#4 My two favorite sandwiches are: Bologna and banana with mayo and a tad mustard / Toasted bread, peanut butter and bacon. YUM.

#5 Number 5....hmmm..this is your last chance to hear whacky stuff about me...and seriously, for the life of me..I can't get this out of my head.

I want to be the Argentina Gnome. I really do. From the first moment I saw this little guy's picture..then scooting like a fiddler crab..it became one of my life dreams. The ability to dress like that and put mass amounts of people into fits of hysteria........what a feeling. Who wouldn't want this??

So that I think is enough to digest for awhile...maybe, just maybe...I will be tagged again and be required to do part two....

Ok...so I am tagging: Kristin

Robin

Eternity Forever

OH Arizona...HERE WE COME!

That's right....Saturday is the day we embark on a 16 hour straight shot drive with a 16 year old teen girl who has no patience for her three siblings...., a 14 year old Autistic son who loves to sing songs from the 70's.... out loud, a 10 year old severely ADHD son who HATES doing anything but playing on his DS and sees no benefit from human contact or nature, and a 9 year old very sweet but sensitive son who has a carb addiction and severe motion sickness.

Ah.......the joys of road travel...

Wish me luck.... My fellow parental units...
I am destined to teach my kids all about the joys of road trips, coolers filled with smashed turkey and cheese, endless sing alongs..and family involvement. If I do not come back.............pray.

Stuff White People Like 11-20

This is a continuation of my completely useless series on:

Stuff White People Like

...A Blog that happens to ring too true....at times....

and yes, I am white..lily white..

Here is....

Part One

Now on with the show..

#11 Asian Girls

"95% of white males have at one point in their lives, experienced yellow fever."

Well this is just odd. I... don't know what to even say to this. I think I will leave it up to the men.

#12 Non-Profit Organizations

"It is a known fact that white people make up 95% of non-profit organizations. They can’t get enough of them.

They like working there for a number of reasons, the most important of which is that it gives them a sense of self importance. This is important so that they can tell their friends and parents that they are “helping” society, and not just working to make money.

But the sweet side of non profits is that you are paid a competitive salary for your field. So you can be working at a non-profit and still make six figures, and you don’t have accountability or pressure. Again, like most things with white people - you can’t lose!"

I copied the entire post. ...and..quite frankly I find this to be extremely sad. I honestly do not offend easily.. I am from the school that says people who are easily offended are looking for things to be offended about......but this.....slightly offends me. Are they saying the millions of people who work under the top hoohas also get paid? There are millions upon millions of people who work for FREE.... I have never met anyone who got paid for doing their Org work, yet I have met hundreds who never got paid and used their own resources to continue the efforts out of the goodness of their hearts.. To the Girl Scouts, Blood Drives, SPCAs, Clothing Drive People and more...I salute you for doing the work because it was in your white heart to do the work..or whatever color you may have been.......

#13 Tea

"And now people are into Green Tea, Chamomile, Chai, White Tea, Red Tea, Jasmine Tea, Oolong Tea, Black Tea, Orange Pekoe, and other specialty blends. They are even opening stores and websites devoted to sending white people all sorts of tea"

Asian people don't drink tea? Should I go on?

#14 Having Black Friends

"The number of black friends white people possess also illustrates their comfort with black culture. Here’s a handy guide to the number system:

1—The white novice. This black friend is the gateway to helping white people understand gang signs and Vietnamese beauty supply stores. This black friend is probably the only black friend for many white people and when they all hang out (because white people hang out) they bring their “mutual” black friend with them.

2—The white black club-goer. Two black friends serve as bodyguards when white people go to black clubs to see how exactly one “pops, drops and locks” it.

3 -4—The white BET-er. See Justin Timberlake/ Robin Thicke/ Jon B for more information. For old school reference, see Michael McDonald.

5 and up—Impossible."

I am finding this whole 11-20 thing to be quite boring. My first 3 best friends as a child were black, 3 of my children also had first best friends, plural, that were black..obviously there are no issues about having black friends, although I did not tell my kids to go out and make them their friends either..I don't have any black friends now to speak of that I see often....and I would find it sad that anyone would want violent friends...what's my point? I don't have one. I find #14 goofy.

#15 Yoga

"Yoga is also an expensive activity. It gives white people the chance to showcase their $80 pants. The cost of four yoga classes is equal to the amount of money it would take to pay for uniforms and travel costs of an AAU Basketball team in the inner city. Lastly like other stuff that white people like, yoga feels exotic and foreign (ties into post #2 about eastern religions) and deep down in some way, white people feel that participation makes up for years of colonial rule in India."

I would love to take yoga...unfortunately, I can't afford to.

#16 “Gifted” Children

"White people love “gifted” children, do you know why? Because an astounding 100% of their kids are gifted! Isn’t that amazing?

I’m pretty sure the last non-gifted white child was born in 1962 in Reseda, CA. Since then, it’s been a pretty sweet run.

The way it works is that white kids that are actually smart are quickly identified as “gifted” and take special classes and eventually end up in college and then law school or med school.

But wait, aren’t there white people who aren’t doctors or lawyers, or even all that smart?

Well, here is another one of those awesome white person win-win situations.

Because if a white kid gets crappy grades and can’t seem to ever do anything right in school, they are still gifted! How you ask? They are just TOO smart for school. They are too creative, too advanced to care about the trivial minutiae of the day to day operations of school."

Mmm..sorry, I see plenty of white trash that isn't gifted and I call it like I see it....drugs, lack of family unit, parental guidance and inbred breeding...does not a gifted child make..

I have four "gifted" children thank you very much and I will show the test scores to anyone to prove it. Oh, and guess what? They are also required to be well behaved and assets to the community. I know..a novel idea.

#17 Hating their parents

"But take note that this hatred can be used for gain. White people love to talk about how much they hate their parents, so if you are in a situation where you need to gain a white person’s trust, ask them about their parents. But under no circumstances should you try to one up them, regardless of whether or not you were an orphan, abused, or watched your parents get shot. If you bring this up, the white person will never talk to you about their problems again, and you will be unable to gain their trust."

So, do I dare say what I am really thinking? ....

#18 Awareness

"An interesting fact about white people is that they firmly believe that all of the world’s problems can be solved through “awareness.” Meaning the process of making other people aware of problems, and then magically someone else like the government will fix it. This belief allows them to feel that sweet self-satisfaction without actually having to solve anything or face any difficult challenges."

Well, sad to say I agree here. Too much talk and not enough walk...but is this a white thing? Dunno. I'm not exactly seeing other races fixing the problems before white people are making others aware of them...

#19 Traveling

"White person travelling can be broken into two categories - First World and Third World.

First world is Europe and Japan, and man, this travel is not only beloved but absolutely essential in their development as white people.

The second type of white person travel is Third World. This is when they venture to Thailand, Africa or South America. Some do it so that they can one up the white people who only go to Europe."

Well this is odd. I love to travel...but I don't particularly want to go to any of these places. Gawd..I hate questioning my race. What do you call it when you are an American white person who feels they should see all there is to see in America first?

#20 Being an expert on YOUR culture

"White people are pretty conflicted about their culture. On one hand, they are proud of the art, literature, and film produced by white culture. But at the same time, they are very ashamed of all the bad things in white culture: the KKK, colonialism, slavery, Jim Crow laws, feudalism, and the treatment of native americans."

No. No. ....No...I am not. I am completely proud of what America stands for and do not feel an ounce of guilt over anything I did not do nor the color of my skin. I was born white, I did not choose it but I do choose what I do and how I behave...I feel sorry for any race that does not hold themselves accountable their own thoughts, judgments, and blame while not being able to let go and move on. I really wish there was a way of going back and undoing all the *horrific* things white people have done..with the ability to see what would have happened over time instead.....oh yes. I am sure everything would be perfect for everyone.

Soo..What AM I Listing Today?

Great stuff...from Etsy to Ecrater.

Getting a few things done a day. Having a blast with the people on flickr and Etsy..they are all a bunch of very neat vintage lovin huhahs..I seriously cannot believe how much better I feel being away from eBay. It is like breaking away from a toxic relationship...you know the kind...we all do. The kind where we think we should stay for one reason or another and don't even realize the serious damage it is doing to our souls...the kind that we make excuse after excuse over insisting that we cannot leave or change..that we need it for one lousy reason or another...that is eBay for you...and you won't get it until the wounds start to heal...

I sold 9 things my first week of Etsy. The people and attitude are amazing. The creativity, positivity, helpfulness...sigh...the old eBay....9 years ago...I will keep pulling you people away...one by one. To make you see that emotional abuse..is still abuse...don't let the bay fool you into staying. I am not missing eBay shopping either..OH MY..I cannot believe the stuff to spend money on at Etsy. I have all my special occasion gifts perty much selected..and I will be buying from people who love what they are doing, small hands, big gift..loverly.

Now on with the hoopla.

Amazing Rose White Queen Chenille

Yes, you see them right...Nash Cruiser skates from early 1980s..

Beautiful Costume Jewelry Earrings from eras past...

Kitsch Bowling....

The Nugget Has Been Featured on Vintage Indie.......

Check out the Vintage Indie Blog to see the vintage trim we are selling in our shop!

This item has been featured twice now within the past couple of days by different people..nice compliments...thank you!

Things You Can Find Added To Our Stores This Week!

Amazing 1920s Lipstick Tube Travel Toothbrush...coming soon...

New Old Stock Vintage Rare 1940s Westinghouse Electric Chrome Deco Mid Century Coffee Pot Percolator

Brand new again, never used, original paper on the strainer....
why buy new when you can have this??

Vintage 70 10 Cup Unused Old Stock NOS Corning Corningware Cornflower Electric Coffee Pot Percolator

Brand new, never used, with trivet.....

A few more things we are digging out and adding to our inventory. This is just a small sampling of what was dug out this week.

1950s 50s Seaside Souvenir Shop Abalone Abolone Jointed Fish Necklace Pendant Costume Jewelry

Vintage Girls Dress Lace Trim Pleated White Gold Yellow 1940s 1950s 1960s Whole Bolts Yards

Vintage Girly Girls Frilly Dress Lace Trim Pleated Poly Pink Edges 1940s 1950s 1960s

Vintage Lucite Bolo Tie California Gold Rush Panning Pan 1950s Aqua Gold Leaf

POT LUCK Spooner Oldham LP Jazz Soul Fusion HTF VGC Vinyl Record

1983 Vintage Ben Cooper Star Wars Return Of The Jedi Halloween Costume NIB

Vintage California CA Gold Rush Advertising Mini Miners Old West Cowboy Sales Rack Display

Vintage Pink Blue Floral Clip On 1940s 1950s Costume Jewelry Earrings Lot Beads Beaded

Amazing Vintage Silk Iridescent Sequin Micro Beaded Purse Handbag Evening Clutch Cream

Vintage National Hosiery Stocking new in package. You can find these at our ecrater and BISI locations. Click here to see them at ecrater.

We are digging out some great vintage goodies this week. Here are a few!

Amazing condition 1958 PINK electric Treasure Chest blanket by Montgomery Ward...you can find this in our Etsy store

1945 Swinging Guide To Sin In San Francisco..how cool is this??

You can find this in our BISI store!

Stuff White People Like 1-10

I was wasting time this morning over coffee and found this blog mentioned on another site. It looked too good to pass so I clicked. I think I peed my pants. No. Seriously. If you don't possess a sense of humor nor the ability to laugh at your own race, this site is not for you.

My better half; who is from Connecticut, said this blog is all about the mass amounts of democrats living in parts of Fairfield and Litchfield Counties. He should know, he spent over 30 years in CT. The rest well, gotta love it...


Stuff White People Like


While reading through the posts, I found one about vintage. I think this may have been the start of the trickle. SoI thought I would share my views on where I differ from the list...and it started with vintage...see..I am on topic.


#1 COFFEE

"They are also fond of saying “you do NOT want to see me before I get my morning coffee.” White guys will also call it anything but coffee: “rocket fuel,” “java,” “joe,” “black gold,” and so forth. It’s pretty garbage all around.

If you want to go for extra points - white people really love FAIR TRADE coffee, because paying the extra $2 means they are making a difference."


Now now...I am very serious when I say you don't want to see me before my coffee. It is very true. But the affects last well into my third cup, so technically you don't want to see me until after my third cup. However; my male better half hates coffee and quite frankly, I will drink yesterday's coffee reheated in a dirty mug, thank you.



#2 Religions that their parents don’t belong to

"White people will often say they are “spiritual” but not religious. Which usually means that they will believe any religion that doesn’t involve Jesus.

Mostly they are into religion that fits really well into their homes or wardrobe and doesn’t require them to do very much."

Well, no, I am the same religion as my mother and I work very hard at being the good person God wants while trying to understand his tools for a clean and healthy life. But otherwise, I frankly agree 100%...and again, I am a white person.

#3 Film Festivals

"White people can’t enough of Film Festivals. Especially Sundance, Toronto, and Cannes. The reason why they love them so much can be due to a number of factors."

Too many factors to list...but I think they have something here...although, I have never been to a film festival and never plan on going. Yes, I have taken a film class. Ahem..ok..I have taken two film classes. Why? Because as point #2 points out..it was the easiest choice...

#4 Assists

"One explanation is that white people still feel guilty over slavery, colonialism, and the crusades so passing is a way to make up for it. But more importantly, it makes them feel good to help others."

I think this has something to do with basketball...which being white, I know little about. However, I don't have any guilt about slavery, colonialism or the crusades and quite frankly, the media cannot make me start. I wasn't there and had nothing to do with it..remember that. Although, I do like helping others...but I do that just out of liking to help others.

#5 Farmers Markets

"White people like Farmers Markets for a number of reasons. The first is their undying need to support local economies (see future post), and the idea of buying direct from the farmer helps them assuage the fears instilled in them from reading Fast Food Nation (and yes, every white person has read this book)."

Well, I would like to think I love Farmer's Markets...and I do see a lot of people in overalls and they do drive tractors, but to be honest, I always leave disappointed. The prices are always high, the fruit and veggies are usually bruised, sometimes things smell like poop. And no, I have never read Fast Food Nation..but I have been meaning to.

#6 Organic Food

"Never mind the fact that if the world were to switch to 100% organic food tomorow, half the earth would die of starvation.

But white people don’t care, just so long as they aren’t eating pesticides they are pretty sure they can live forever.

It’s almost guaranteed that if some Columbian drug lord can start offering “organic” cocaine, he’ll be the richest guy ever"

Well. I do choose to buy organic in some situations...but otherwise...gotta agree with this one too. 100% organic crack sounds really good.

#7 Diversity

"White people love ethnic diversity, but only as it relates to restaurants.

Many white people from cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York will spend hours talking about how great it is that they can get Sushi and Tacos on the same street. But then they send their kids to private school with other rich white kids, and live in neighborhoods like Santa Monica or Pacific Palisades.

But it’s important to note that white people to do not like to be called out on this fact. If you run an ethnic restaurant you can be guaranteed repeat business and huge tips if you act like your white customers are adventurous and cultured for eating food that it isn’t sandwiches or pasta."

Well, I actually copied the whole paragraph on this one. I honestly believe there is a lot of truth here. But for me....frankly, I LOVE my Chinese and Mexican dives around the corner. But I also have a lot of respect for the people who run them....because they are good people. You can be black white purple or green..if you are a drain on society, you are a drain, if you are an asset, you are an asset. I need a fajita plate special.

#8 Barack Obama

"Because white people are afraid that if they don’t like him that they will be called racist."

I don't like him.

#9 Making you feel bad about not going outside

"And much like most things with white people - they win both ways. If you decide to go with them, they feel good about getting someone off the couch and “into the fresh air,” and if you don’t decide to go, they can spend their entire time outdoors saying “boy, this is great, X doesn’t know what he/she is missing!” and running on a mix of self-satisfaction, Odwalla juice and muesli."


Is it wrong that I agree with this one too?

I belong to a social group for my Autistic son and I swear, the waiting room is filled with nature loving democrats with no TVs and truly, moms talking about food choices while thumbing through organic gluten free catalogs discussing what hike they are going on the next weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I love the outdoors. I am a mountain girl. But I am just not willing to fight three hours of traffic filled SUVs with two people inside to get to a mountain or spend my time in the city with 1000 other people on a two foot wide nature trail.

#10 Wes Anderson movies

"White people love Wes Anderson movies more than they love their kids.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) “I know a lot of people said they didn’t like this film, but I thought it was fantastic.”

I would have never even known who Wes Anderson was if I had not seen the above title listed. I am a huge Bill Murry fan..a junky, many Bill movies are in my top 10 favs..but this move put me nightynight. Maybe I am not white after all.

I never did get to the vintage part, did I? More to follow...

What's vintage without a lil Tom?