A Tale of Two Auctions

We've already identified that I am not patient. I am also deeply affected by shiny things. Let me be the first to inform you, oh dear reader, that these are a deadly combination. At least when one is attending a furniture auction. Or better yet, TWO furniture auctions. 

Case in point. 

Over the summer my friend and partner-in-crime decided to attend a local furniture auction that I have bought from in the past. Their auctions were always on Saturdays which meant that I would do a write-in bid and that was that. Sometimes I won....but mostly I lost. It may or may not be because I'm so danged cheap. I'm not admitting any fault. 

But with my new business and life of leisure, I don't always work Saturdays so we decided to attend. I did my due diligence and the day before I previewed the furniture pieces (but not the box lots) and made notes as to the items I was interested in and how much I was willing to pay for them. 

I was prepared! 

So Sam, G-Man and I showed up bright and early to preview the box lots and make our notes. We decided to divide and conquer (mostly because all the ones I was interested in were later in the auction and I don't have the patience to stand and wait) Sam bidding on box lots and I would bid on furniture. It went wrong from the beginning. The very beginning. The bidding was fierce and items were going for retail pricing and above. It was borderline ridiculous. But something stopped me. 

After the 10th item I was interested in went for 3x what I would be willing to pay for it and I lost a few good deals because I wasn't first bidder, I decided to throw caution to the wind. I would be first bidder on everything that came up....that way if other bids followed I could bow out....if they didn't....I would have gotten a bargain, right? Seems reasonable? Yeah....to me too. 

Until the next item. 

Up went my bidder number! 

And then.....crickets.....just crickets....of course except for the annoying yip and cadence of the auctioneer pounding in my ear. 

And in the blink of an eye it was mine. All mine. 

Then I decided it might be a good idea to take a look at what I had just bought. Since it was a china cabinet. 

A humongous china cabinet. 

A gargantuan lump of a huge 1960's china cabinet. 

Heaven help me. 

Check back tomorrow for the end result!

 

Day 6 of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge-What I'm Afraid Of

1. Failure
2. My mouth
3. Scorpions
4. Getting old
5. Not traveling
6. My kids getting hurt
7. My husband dying (or getting hurt of course...but the actual fear is of losing him)
8. Not making a difference
9. Making a mistake
10. My parents aging
11. Being told no when it really matters
12. Losing my conscious contact
13. That our generation and those before have irreparably damaged the planet
14. War
15. Being in a car accident
16. Being out of control
17. Losing my eyesight
18. Letting my husband down

Not necessarily in that order. List may be larger than it appears. No judgement....scorpions are scary here in Arizona!!

Day 5 of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge-My Proudest Moment

My Proudest Moment

Well of course this has to do with my kids. Don't they all make us puff up with pride and "look at my baby and what they did!! They came out of me! I changed their diapers" kind of misplaced ego. But of course they can plunge us into the greatest despair as well. Hi's and Low's...that's what the little hellions are I tell you!! It's all Hi's and Low's. I will never forget the first call from the principal. Now mind you it was kindergarten for my oldest and I was clearly delusional that my perfect little angel couldn't possible do anything to prompt a call from the principal! But she sure did...there was a reason that we called the two of them "Chaos and Mayhem". I'm not kidding...they answered to it!

But I digress...I've had so many proud moments with them. Dance recitals, singing competitions, art exhibits and those wonderful A's on the report card ( I should have appreciated them more!!) And it sounds kind of funny but some of the things I'm most proud of today is what truly cool adults they are.

As we know...adulting is rarely fun but my little redhead rebel is happily married and has a very contented life and my "never-the-same-hair-color-twice" little Meggie-Moo has grown into a lovely, smart, compassionate mini-me.

The offspring and I at E's wedding

So I guess that is really my proudest moment. That somehow against all odds, in spite of faulty parenting and tough breaks, they have turned into lovely young women who make a substantial footprint in the lives of those they love. Including mine....love you Chaos and Mayhem!

Day 4 of 30 Day Blogging Challenge-My Dream Job

My Dream Job

My idea of a dream job-NOT!!

Now this is a tougher thing to talk about for me. I am one of those strange people that has no boundaries around my job. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

I am blissfully unaware of where ME ends and the JOB starts....and vice versa. Now the good thing is I've always had jobs that I've loved. They've never been J-O-B-S for me....but how I lived my life.

Except for one....I had one job that I worked at for a year when I was 19. It was a bakery. I was the manager. It was horrible. First of all...yes the smell of carbs can be exhausting. But that never stopped me from eating them. Second of all bakers are flakes. Let me say that again. BAKERS ARE FLAKES!!! SO there were more than a handful of days that I'd work all day and then get the 1am call that the baker hadn't shown up and I'd have to bake all night then work again all day the next day. All on salary. Dang it! Plus....you've been kind enough not to mention which anyone who knows me knows. I CAN'T COOK! I suck at it....so I'm sure I was brilliant at my job. I walked away from that one with zero regrets.

And 20 extra pounds.

Dang it!

So now 30 years and many many many hours later I find myself in a position that I get to choose my dream job. And take my life and make it into what I want it to be. I've spent countless blood, sweat and tears working to help others succeed and now I have a chance to do that for myself. My expectations are different. My goals are different. My needs are different. So here they are:

1) To make a difference in the world
2) To be creative, not just with my mind, but with my hands and my heart
3) To get dirty
4) To not have to wear makeup every day
5) To have something tangible that I can be proud of
6) To make people happy
7) To inspire someone
8) To collaborate with others
9) To innovate
10) To have the ability to stop what I'm doing and meet a friend for coffee and an attitude refresh
11) To have the occasional weekend off with hubs
12) To hang with my fur-kid

And there she goes....wish me luck!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's topic: Your proudest moment

Day 2 of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge-20 Facts About Me

20 Facts about me!?! I'm not sure I have 20 interesting facts but here it goes!

1) I love travel! I would go anywhere for just about any reason. And I get wanderlust really quickly. I usually am planning one trip while on another. I can fool myself sometimes by just going somewhere for the weekend to reset my "impulse" button.

2) I don't drink alcohol. Although I frequently find myself in bars since hubby is a musician. It is way more fun watching people drinking and being idiots than being the idiot myself! 

3) I love my dog! Probably not a surprise to many of you since he has his own hashtag. #puppersthejunkyarddog . His name is Puppers and he absolutely rules the roost here. The other truth is that I love him way more than he loves me. He is totally my hubs dog....totally. I just beg him to love me and he tosses a bone my way every now and again!

4) I am a book fanatic. I only read at night now and I frequently lose track of time and read into the wee hours than feel regretful and remorseful the next day while I'm trying to haul my tired butt out of bed!

5) I'm a goofball. I accept and embrace my goofiness however hubs who is a closeted goofball thinks he's hip, slick and cool...He's not. As evidenced by this photo...he's a total goof too. It's one of his finest qualities!

6) I was a mighty cute kid! And I was raised in San Diego. Both of these facts are equally important to "who I am". I did, however, have no hair which I'm sure you are all kind enough not to point out! 

7) I have ZERO patience! Waiting in line? Nope! Holding on the phone? Absolutely not! Filling out forms? Are you kidding me? I'll be tapping my fingers and fidgeting and swearing under my breath. The photo below is one that I IG'd waiting in line at the Post Office which was making me seriously Cray-Cray (As if taking a photo at the Post Office isn't crazy enough)! I just have people to see and places to go and if you are in my way....YOU ARE IN MY WAY!!!

8) I'm a warm weather gal. I've lived in three locations in my life. 

• San Diego
• Hawaii
• Phoenix

Get the picture? I am one of those that throws on a light jacket if the temps plummet into the 70's. You get it, right?

9) I like to color my hair. Alot. Different every time. I'm not one of those that you can call a brunette, or a blonde or a redhead....I'm more like all of the above...and then some. Who knows what's next? Red?

10) I have amazing, talented, beautiful, kind, ingenious daughters. Two of them! They challenge me, and fill me with love, and drive me crazy, and love me to pieces. I never thought of myself of the nurturing kind of parent...and they would probably tell you that I'm not, but they sure changed my life and I can't imagine a minute without either of them!

 11) I live in Arizona. This is quite a fact. I never thought I'd live here but I've actually been here 10 years August 1st! It's been a long strange trip! In my time in Arizona I've come to the following conclusions:

• I love monsoons...they are super cool. And saying the word "haboob" is even cooler!
• I've developed an appreciation for the desert landscape. All cacti are not created equal
• Spring and Fall here are absolute Heaven. Summer is Hell personified. Winter is cool
• Misters are awesome. Pools are awesome. And the people are the best

12) I love old stuff. I often wonder if I were born in another time or another place. It's possible! But I am so drawn to the gentility of another time and the lifestyle of another place. Since I can't be there....I try to fill here with as many old things as I can that speak to me or lift me up!

13) I'm adopted. That's just kind of a fact...not terribly interesting. I was adopted by an amazing couple when I was 3 months old and I always grew up knowing that I was wanted and adored and took a journey to find my family. Then several years ago I got the chance to meet and get to know my birth family and they are amazing people too! I just couldn't be more blessed!

14) I adore my girlfriends. I have the best and the most beautiful girlfriends on earth. I love them fiercely and they are my family. That is all!

15) I am very sarcastic. I speak it fluently. To a fault. Not everyone appreciates it. Sucks to be them....Ok but to be honest it is not just my defense mechanism but also evidence of my sparkling personality and quick wit. If I'm not sarcastic...how do you know how smart I am? I do try to close my mouth and only be sarcastic in my head but see #18

16) I suck at fishing and camping but I actually like both. I'm a terrible fisherwoman (see #7) and I don't like to get dirty or have worm guts under my nails but as long as someone will plop me in a chair with my toes in the water and help me cast so that no one loses an eye when I try it....I'm 100% in! As far as camping...again....do the setup and give me smores. I'm your girl!

17) Coffee is a non-negotiable. I've tried...I've cut back...It's not pretty. I need coffee in the morning and I need it bad. In fact, I can't really make coffee without coffee first so it's preferable that you hand it to me in a steaming mug while my feet are still in slippers. For you that is.....

18) I have resting bitch face. I have exercising bitch face...I just have a bitchy face. And I can't hide my emotions....my every thought comes right through my eyes. Whether or not they are rolling. I can't hide one single tiny thought....it's all right out there for the world to see. Dang it! 

19. I like to write. Probably comes from having a father that's an English professor and a mother that's an attorney. Words and wordsmithing comes easy to me. I guess that's the blogger coming to life, huh?

And finally......If you've held on this long....drum roll please!

20. I love Bravo. It's my biggest dirty secret. My hugest shame...The housewives, the yachties, the cooking shows...i love it all....I watch it in the middle of the night or Sunday mornings when hubs is still asleep (he won't tolerate the nonsense). I just love it. There...it's out!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post: My Favorite Quote