Posh Daddy

Garage/Yard Sale

We plan on having a garage/yard sale soon, so I posted an ad on Pennysaver. I have never done this before, so when I finished, it said something like... You have completed your posting. If there is a charge to have your ad posted in written format, a representative will contact you and let you know.

While we were out and about today, I missed a call. I listened to my voicemail and was absolutely shocked to hear that they want $61 to run my ad for a week. Maybe that sounds normal to you, but I think that is incredibly expensive. I'm supposed to call them back and talk with them, if I want to run the ad. I just want to laugh in their face. Craigslist is free. I guess that is the cost of getting your information into other people's hands.

So towards the end of the month, we'll be having a sale to raise money to help us survive while I look for work. If you are in the neighborhood and you are interested in coming by, we'd love to see you.

Here is the ad that I posted:

Yard/Garage sale @8am on Sat. Oct. 24th and 9am on Sun. Oct. 25th. We have furniture (Entertainment Center, dressers, desk & lamps), clothing, baby items & toys, small appliances, electronics, memorabilia and much more. End @ 3pm both days. So bring your wallets or purses and enjoy the fun of hunting for that special bargain!

Is it wrong?

This afternoon, after several things happened... I took Ty's Lightning McQueen car away and hid it outside, when he wasn't looking. He kept pushing the buttons and waking his brother up. The car has lots of sound effects, phrases and songs that it plays. I think Ty knows that it is probably the most irritating toy that he owns and it bugs the crap out of us sometimes. I now would like to quote Dennis Leary, "Don't buy the toys that make the noise!" He has his little tantrums and makes enough of a ruckus that I just decided to hide the thing. You can't take it while he's looking because then he'll scream and that doesn't help his brother sleep. Is what I did wrong?

Our 2nd Annual day at the beach in Oceanside

We got up this morning and started getting ready. We dressed the boys, made some sandwiches, packed some snacks and loaded everything into the car. We headed to Oceanside.

This year, our annual trip was dedicated to Bob Christensen with a toast to his memory. On July 13th of this year he passed away. His wife, two of his daughters and two grandchildren were present today with their families. The Sherman family as well as some of the Thomas clan made it as well. The Rusnell-McQueen's were there too.

Our boys enjoyed the day. Trevor spent most of this beach trip resting. He did get to visit with new faces and felt the heartbeats of those he wasn't used to. He wore a hat and some sunglasses. Neither of these will his older brother tolerate. Ty enjoyed the sand, the various family and friends and the water. I think he enjoyed all the things to play with and explore. He met a boy of a nearby family who was interested in his car. This boy was not well mannered. He decided to throw sand in Ty's face. Luckily the boys mother finally noticed because I was afraid of what Momma Bear was going to do to that boy if he hadn't stopped. He he.

Ty and I went into the water. Grandma got a little wet too, but it was Ty and I in our suits. He would walk around in the water then go up on shore. It would look like he was heading back to our camp but then turn around and come back to the water. One such time, he came back and the water caught him by surprise. He tripped. He fell with his arms outstretched and caught himself. Before he could get up, a small wave washed over him. This soaked his head and wet his face. I think he sucked in some water too. I was to him in a flash and picked him up. I told him that he was ok. It took a couple seconds of convincing. He did not cry but was surprised. He was wary of the water but did go back in...  after a little bit.

We played by camp and enjoyed each others company. Ty played with Grandma while Mom and Dad spent some time together. There were snacks, some catch and conversation.

Today was a nice day. The weather cooperated.

Thank you.

P.D.

Update on the Boys

Trevy - He is still fussy quite a bit. On the plus side, he is sleeping more regularly and can make it through most of the night. We went to the doctor this morning, worried that he might have an ear infection but everything looked good and he seemed to be doing really well.

This little guy coo's like you wouldn't believe. If he is awake and looking around, I can usually get him to smile and respond to me vocally. I do a voice, that I think that sounds like Elmo saying Aah... Trevor gives me the raised eyebrow and then responds with a coo. As soon as you leave his sight he gets upset and wants you back. This happens sometimes.

Trevy is a different baby than his older brother. On the flip side, they are very similar in most things.
Trevy like to swat at things, Ty didn't really do that much. Trevy also likes to look around more. I can't wait for them to be able to play with each other.

Ty - There is much more going on with him. Since Trevor's arrival, Tyler has been fussier and whinier too. That aside, he seems to understand a lot of what we say. He chooses whether he wants to listen or not. He goes through moods, I've noticed. There are times where we'll ask him to make the sounds of animals that he is familiar with and instead of doing them, he'll give a coy smile and tilt his head down and to the right. A cute item worth mentioning is that he now will "give kisses." This means he'll walk up to you and stick his face up to yours. He doesn't yet make the motion with his lips and make the kiss sound. He like to hand me animals and kiss them. He laughs like crazy, I'm not sure why.

Something else to mention about Ty is that he is climbing more and getting around and exploring quite a bit. By the time people read this, he'll be 16 months old. I can play with blocks with him. He takes things apart more than he builds, but he gets right in there and participates. He recognizes the nurse that gave him his shots most recently... he cries when he sees her. She tries to be nice but the little smarty isn't interested.

I am proud to say that I am raising a little American. Thankfully, little Ty gets excited about Pizza. Dominoes has been offering their Dominator pizza for quite a while now. What a deal. A large pizza for $5.99 + tax. This is a good sized meal for us. Ty can easily eat a piece if not more... but we limit him to a piece.

Take care and I'll share more later.

P.D.

Newport Beach trip

Today I had an interview in Newport Beach. That isn't were the job is but it is where the interviewer happened to be today.

After the interview, we went and visited a beach for the kiddies. They had a whale buoy in the water and another one onshore to play with. There was also some playground equipment and some swings. The playground was in the shape of a ship. Ty met a couple of strange kids playing around the ship. I say strange because Isaac, the little boy, dug a hole in the sand on the lower level of the ship.He hung up a couple towels so that his neighbor, a little girl about the same age, could go to the bathroom. Ty wanted to play under there and Isaac kept saying don't go in there. Luckily the little girl had run off to tell her mother that she needed to go to the bathroom and wasn't under there unbeknownst to Isaac. When Isaac saw her leaving he shouted to her that he had already dug the hole. So strange...

I took Ty down to the water. He fell down a couple times in shallow water but it didn't seem to bother him too much. Momma bought the boys some sand toys, so later Ty and I were sifting sand and building in the sand. While heading to the car, we had to walk about 1/8 of a mile. Both boys were so tired that they were asleep by the time we reached the car. Ty has never been this sleepy. See below.

When we left the beach we went and grabbed some lunch on Balboa Island. Then we got to do something I have never done before. We took a ferry ride while sitting in our car. Ty was looking all around, he really liked it. It was a weird feeling but a rather short trip.

We started heading towards home. I decided to take us down the Pacific Coast Highway or PCH. We think we found Lauren's parents house in Laguna Beach, the main character from The Hills. We were going to drive by but it was in a gated area.

We continued heading south and decided to visit the San Juan Capistrano Mission. I may have gone there for a school outing but I didn't recognize it. It was closed for tours or the day so we continued home.

We drove near the coast when we could then took the 5 down to Oceanside Harbor. We were able to see the sunset at 710 PM and see some boats come in. After that we headed back to Fallbrook. It was nice to get out for the day.

I loved our family road trip.

P.D.

Job Hunting

Thankfully, I've had some help from friends and family recently with my job hunting. There have been some additional job ideas thrown my way. I went to an interview yesterday and I think it went really well.

My interview was supposed to start at 2pm. I arrived around 1:45 to fill out paperwork. I interviewed with the man for quite some time. We talked a great deal, he asked some questions and gave a run down on the process.

I left around 3:45. That made me feel good about the interview. I know that what will be, will be. I realize it is out of my hands now but I have the paperwork ready to go and do the pee test. I was also offered a dollar more than what the listing said the starting pay is.

I know that I shouldn't put all my eggs in one basket and sit around waiting for a phone call. I have another interview soon. I'm finding it hard to do the research on the company. Part of me is scared too. I'm afraid of entering the workforce again as an At-will employee.

Thank you everyone for your support and help in these difficult times.

Interview with Macy's

Today I had a job interview with Macy's. The process was a little different than I was used to, so I wanted to share with everyone what transpired.

I applied online. I think CareerBuilder or Monster guided me there. I filled out an application online. A couple days go by and then I got an email saying that they were interested and that I would need to click a link that would take me to a page that would allow me to select an appointment time. I clicked on this link everyday for a few days and finally an interview opportunity showed up so I took it. It scheduled me an interview about 2 weeks out.

The interview was today in Temecula. We all went. There are 2 Macy stores close together at the Temecula mall. One for women's clothing and the other for everything else, I think. I went to the wrong one. I got to where I was supposed to be. There were 2 other people waiting and I tried to go and check in. They directed me to wait back out by their kiosks, which happened to be where the other 2 people were waiting. I pulled up a chair and another person arrived a little lost. I helped her out and told her that this was where we were told to wait.

They had some greeting cards on the wall, so I decided to check those out for a bit. It was quiet and everyone seemed nervous and awkwardness was in the air. I struck up a conversation and introduced myself. Everyone introduced themselves and we chatted for a few. They took all of them first and I stood there and waited until one of them finished. It was probably only 10 to 15 minutes but it certainly seemed weird because nobody gave me a clue as to what was going on. A Manager came out and took each one of them one by one.

So, I interviewed with Brenda. Here's where it gets interesting. We go into an office and sit at a table. She starts by asking me about my previous experience and asking if I had any retail experience and we talk about my last job. She then tells me that there are NO open positions at this time but they are interviewing now for when they do open up and also for the holidays.

I forgot to ask for a business card and Brenda said she would pass my application along to the department that I expressed interest in. At least I brought in a copy of my resume.

We'll see what happens I guess.

P.D.

Job Interviews

Today, I broke out one of my business suits to wear to an interview. I didn't get asked to this interview, but I wanted to look professional as I walked into the place to grab an application. We ran some errands, then I stopped by a furniture store that had posted that they were hiring. I had to type up my War and Peace novel then submit it to two managers who also interviewed me.

They asked about previous jobs and I volunteered information about being out of work and collecting unemployment. I'll know by the end of the week. I felt like I did well, but this was a sales position and they mentioned that they already had a couple good people come in. That gave me the feeling that although I did a good job, I probably wouldn't be hearing back from them. Mitchell, the interviewer was pretty straightforward and friendly enough.

It always seems like there is someone else out there that is better than you...

This is the time that I wish I were the best at something. Something that I could do to support my family. Problem is, I do well at almost everything but I'm not GREAT at anything. Being a well rounded person has its perks but it sure isn't helping on the job front.

I called about a different job opportunity today and I got their answering machine. To me, that is a signal that they already have received more calls than they can handle and they're just waiting for the tape to fill so nobody can leave another message. I left a message and tomorrow, I'll try again and leave another, just so they know I'm serious. Weird game we play... Who makes up the rules?

Where is the right job for me? I don't know yet. I'm searching and keeping my head up. I've got a great support team behind me. I just need help locating the next career opportunity. If you can point to it on a map, let me know so that I can get aimed in the right direction.

P.D.

Wild Animal Park at night

We ventured off to the Wild Animal Park yesterday. We tried to go to the zoo but got too late of a start. I think we showed up around 5 pm. The boys and their crazy schedules... It was still warm but we got to see Dino Mountain. This really interested Tyler. I think they said there were 23 life size robotic dinosaurs to see. I took pictures of their description and the dinosaur because, it seems like they changed some of their names. I don't remember some of these from school. I'll share a picture and post the rest on Facebook. We left after dark was a bit of an experience. Luckily we've been there so many times otherwise we were very much in the dark coming up from the tram. We slowly made our way home.

Sweet Dreams.

P.D.

Selling Items on Consignment

Sometime soon, we plan to have a garage sale at our home here in Fallbrook. We are considering selling items on consignment for people that live locally. I think it may be a good idea to advertise to people in Fallbrook that we would help them sell their item, that you may typically find at a garage sale.

Here's are some options that I have thought of.

Selling Options:

Option 1- We sell an item for a set amount of money. If the item sells, then we get a small bonus too.

Example - Elicia gives us a couch and wants a minimum of $250. To sell it, she pays us $20. If we can sell it, she gives us an additional $10.

Option 2 - We are given a couple items that we can sell and keep what we can get. In exchange, we sell another item for free.

Example - Frank gives us two bedroom lamps to sell and keep the proceeds. He also gives us an entertainment center, which we sell for him for a minimum of $200

Option 3 - We are asked to sell an item and we ask for a set percentage of the sold amount.

Example - Donna wants to sell an old 52" LCD television that works great. She wants a minimum of $300. We ask for 10% of the minimum, $30. If it doesn't sell, we give back $15 and keep $15.

So... What do you think? Do you have something that we can sell?

Give some feedback

Which option interests you most?

Which option interest you least?

Suggestions or comments?