Garage Sale Psychology

Last weekend we had a garage sale. We did the very American thing of hauling all our junk out onto our driveway and selling it to other people so they could add it to the junk they already have.

But, as we were hosting our sale some things were brought to my attention.

One, I watch the show Hoarders on A&E way too much. I found myself trying to figure out if the person I was taking money from was a hoarder or not. I tried to profile everyone that stepped foot on our driveway. Could that lady be one? How about her? Is that picture frame just going to go on top of a pile that is almost to the ceiling? Is that vase going to end up on the front porch with all the other garage sale finds, never to be touched again? In the end I couldn't really tell one way or another but it was fun to speculate.

Two, I take things way too personally. As we all know, anything in the retail industry comes in waves. You get a crazy load of people all at one time and then you get 20 minutes of nothing. Well, those 20 minutes of nothing really took a blow to my psyche. I took it way too personally. When people weren't there I felt as if they saw our signs and felt as though it wasn't worth their time. They stuck up their noses at our junk. And the worst thing of all were the drive-byers. They would drive by, slow down as if they were going to stop, get my hopes up, and then decide not to stop. What? Is our junk not up to par for you? Are you too good to even stop and get out of the car? I felt as though they were saying, "Nope, your garage sale isn't even the effort of putting my car in park and taking the key out of the ignition." Well, humph! See what I do the next time you have a garage sale. Will I stop? No! See how it feels then. Although, you probably won't feel a thing because you are not nearly as unstable as me and don't take strangers' opinions about your junk nearly as personally. But doesn't that make me the more interesting person? How else would I be able to write this oh-so-interesting post for the enjoyment of all who read my blog? [All two of them.]

In the end, garage sales: good for clearing out your house, bad for your mental health.

This week on playing favorites we are venturing to Hollywood and onto the silver screen and the Great White Way. This week my favorite thing was the movie Paper Heart. In Paper Heart we see comedienne Charlyne Yi trying to figure out if love is real and if she will ever find it. She is convinced she will never find it, she may even be incapable of loving someone. But, love strikes her when she least expects it. Part documentary, part romantic comedy, with a little stop motion animation thrown in for good measure, Paper Heart is a hilarious and amazing movie. A great date movie or just a movie for when you need a laugh.

And now....I give you the trailer!

4 years too long without you

It's been four years since you left. I see you every time I look at your two beautiful children. I see you in Alexa's smile and her gorgeous eyes. I hear you in Tristan's laugh and I feel you in his mischievous spirit. We miss you my dear but we will be alright. We just need a little more time.

I promised you the world again

Everything within my hands
All the riches one could dream
They will come from me

I hoped that you could understand
That this is not what I had planned
Please don’t worry now
It will turn around

Cause I need more time
Just a few more months and we’ll be fine
So say what’s on your mind
Cause I can’t figure out just what’s inside

I hoped that you could understand
That this is not what I had planned
Please don’t worry now
It will turn around

Cause I need more time
Just a few more months and we’ll be fine
So say what’s on your mind
Cause I can’t figure out just what’s inside
So say alright
Cause I know we can make it if we try
Cause I need more time
Just a few more months and we’ll be fine

We’re off to new lands
So hold on to my hands
It’s gonna be alright
It’s a whole lot brighter
So stand by the fire
It’s gonna be alright
Yeah, the road gets harder
But it’s not much farther
It’s gonna be alright
You know that it ain’t easy
Please believe me
It’s gonna be alright

Please don’t worry now
It will turn around

Cause I need more time
Just a few more months and we’ll be fine
So say what’s on your mind
Cause I can’t figure out just what’s inside
So say alright
Cause I know we can make it if we try
Cause I need more time
Just a few more months and we’ll be fine

Home of the Brave

In honor of Veterans Day I had my kids make Thank You cards to send to troops that are currently deployed. They got really into it and we ended up with 35 cards just form my class. I sent out an e-mail to all the other second grade teachers and now I think we have almost 70 cards!

And they are too cute to boot! We brainstormed some things we could say in the cards and my kids came up with the best things: "You rock!" "Thank you for serving our country." "Stay safe." "Thank you for protecting us." "Thank you for keeping us safe." "Thank you for keeping us free." They are just too smart and sweet! They made me so proud when they came up with all these things on their own. Some kids even made pop-up cards! How cute is that?! I could have just made cards with them all day, they were having so much fun and really getting into it. One of them said, "Ms. Cole, I feel really good doing this. I could do it all day."

I am using the site, anysoldier.com, to find addresses for service members overseas. One service member acts as a contact for their battalion and lists the number of males and females in their group. You request their address and the site e-mails it to you. Most contacts list little notes on their page with news and wish lists of their troops. It's a great site!

Did you thank a veteran on Veterans Day? What are you thankful for?

It's that time again for....playing favorites! One [there are actually two this week] of my favorite things this week is The Sartorialist. This wonderful blog provides us common folk with daily pictures of those more fabulous and chic than us. But, it is great for fashion inspiration and confidence. You think, "If she can do it, so can I!" I got hooked on this great blog by this wonderful friend.

The second favorite of the week is another blog. This time a pretty hilarious one. It goes by the name Overheard in New York. It brings you wonderful tid-bits of life that are overheard by passersby. All of these eavesdropped conversations are hilarious and some make you worry about the human race's survival. Some also make you a firm believer in natural selection. So check it out and get a laugh!

This edition of Kidisms is brought to you by a very polite kindergartner. Part of my after school duty is car duty. I stand by the line of cars and put kids in their cars. Well, I was walking one boy to this car on Friday and I noticed that he was in kindergarten because of the finished project he was carrying. I remember helping my teacher do that project when I spent a semester in kindergarten.

So I was walking him to his car. He pointed to which one it was. The point was confirmed with a wave from Dad in the front seat. [Always look for the wave, it is the perfect confirmation for a not so confident kid.] I opened the door and he climbed in the car. He turned to me and said, "Thank you." I was a little taken back that a kindergartner just thought to say thank you to me in the car line. I said, "You're welcome." He turned to me again and said, "Have a nice day!" What? A kindergartner just told me to have a nice day. I don't even get that from most of the parents I see in these cars.

Thank you little kindergartner for re-kindling my hope for humanity. Thank you indeed!

My current theme songs

So these songs have been on repeat lately for me. For obvious reasons.

And for those that are more of the gangster persuasion...

I almost forgot!

We booked our trip to NYC!! That's right, Big Apple, here I come. Oh to be a college graduate and have the most wonderful parents ever! NYC has to be one of my favorite cities of all time, a close second to London. I am super excited to be going when we are too! The week before Christmas! I have never been to the city during Christmas time! All the store will be decorated for Christmas and the tree in Rockefeller Center will be lit! I'm hoping for snow. Fingers-crossed.

We are staying in a very posh and swanky hotel. Sofitel on 45th St. We got a great deal! [It's French, that makes it automatically cool and trendy don't ya know.]

How quickly will we get bad looks for being the touristy tourists that we are?

Well, I'm trying to make us be as un-touristy as we possibly can while we're there. We have been there a few times so we're practically like real New Yorkers, right? Yeah, I didn't think so either but we can dream. Anyway, I looked up a bunch of restaurants to eat at that aren't your normal tourist places. None of them are in Times Square. I prefer to go to places that locals go to. It's the best way to see the city, any city, in my opinion. We are only going to be there for three days and I'm not gonna waste it in the T.G.I. McFunster places [as Anthony Bourdain would say].

We have a bunch of stuff already booked. A night tour that specializes in holiday lights [how p.c. are we], of course Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the new Ground Zero museum, Empire State Building, the U.N., etc. My dad is going to try to do a ride along with NYPD while we are there [so jealous by the way]. We can't leave without seeing a show? But which one to see? Any suggestions? I'm really hoping for Mary Poppins! I never got to see it when I was in London.

I'm going to try and blog as we go along to keep you all up to date with our galavanting. How else am I to make you all envious and green with jealousy?

Lazy Sunday

It's officially noon and I am still in my p.j.'s and my comfy slippers. There are plenty of things I should be doing, i.e. laundry, vacuuming, etc. But instead I am watching the Real Housewives of Atlanta: The Reunion [closet fan, my favorite is Kim, she is such a train wreck. You can't help but look!].

In other news, we won yesterday! Go Noles!

And....I saw the greatest costume at the game! Can you spot Wilson? Everyone's favorite backyard neighbor!

In other other news.....the Gators won the Georgia/Florida game and the Tebow hype train rolls on. Ugh! Will it ever stop?!?!? Notice I say Georgia/Florida not Florida/Georgia. Almost like we in the South call the Civil War: The War of Northern Aggression. It's just the FSU fan's way of displaying the hatred we have for the Florida Gators.

Moving on....I saw the worst movie I think I've ever seen this weekend. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant. I really wanted my $9.50 back! I would have taken a few free bags of candy in exchange. What a waste of one and half hours of my life! My hope is to save you all from this fate by warning you about this movie.

But, the movies did redeem themselves by giving us the cinematic genius that is Michael Jackson's This Is It. Such a great film. After watching it I was so sad for him. He really was on top of his game and he could have definitely done the 50 concerts they had planned. And, those 50 concerts would have been the best concerts he has ever done. The things they had planned for those concerts were amazing and beautiful. Such a sad ending for a talented and creative person.

Happy November to you and I hope you are having a wonderful Lazy Sunday too!