I love my car!

Okay. I bet there aren't many people who love their four-year-old dented car, but I love my car. I drive a black Honda Pilot. It is a 2004 and it was used when I found it three years ago. Okay, to be honest, my husband found it on Ebay and I wasn't too pleased with him at the time because it was black and dented and he bought it anyway. Fortunately, he was right and I learned to love it. I even kind of love the dent because the biggest blemish on the exterior was not caused by me!

So how do I love my car, let me count the ways:

10. My car is the perfect size. Although I can fit all of our camping gear in the back or fit 8 people, it does not look huge or feel huge to drive.
9. The cargo bay is huge and with all the seats down I have hauled furniture of all sizes and plenty of home improvement supplies from Home Depot. And it still has the beautiful third row seat that unfolds from the floor.
8. I get great gas mileage for an SUV.
7. I love my gray leather seats. They are so soft.
6. Four Wheel Drive. Okay I know it is not a necessity where I live, but hey it has taken me to many rough camp grounds, Big Bear, Mammoth, Yosemite, and I have never gotten stuck anywhere. After sliding all over the place in snow and ice in Mississippi, I have no desire of ever experiencing that again and with my Pilot and 4 wheel drive I have no fear of sliding down a hill ever again.
5. My car has this great sunglasses holder in the ceiling so I always have a safe place for them and they are always easy to find.
4. The DVD player is one of the most amazing additions to a car. Come on, once you have kids you never experience peace while driving. The DVD player has allowed me to enjoy long car rides with some quiet, or the opportunity to actually talk to my husband uninterrupted, or actually listen to music of my own choice!
3. The seat warmers! Oh my gosh, a warm tush on a cold night is amazing!
2. Did I mention the DVD player has wireless headphones for the kids? Peace and quiet in the car, can you imagine?
1. It has this great open area between the 2 front seats that perfectly holds my purse and has plenty of room for 2 cupholders, two power outlets for a phone and something else, a change holder, and some CDs.

So I promise I have not received any incentives for blogging about my Honda Pilot. I just love my car!

I Hate Ebay! Well Not Really But Every Time I Sell On Ebay I Get Screwed!

I have to say I just don’t understand why every selling transaction I have at Ebay is messed up. Usually, my main mistake is in estimating shipping costs too low. Then I end up spending my supposed profit on the shipping costs. Anything I earn is never sufficient to cover the time and frustration I put into the auction and shipping.

After I do a sale, I usually remember what a waste of time it is and vow never to sell anything again. Unfortunately, at some point I forget this vow and repeat the process. Don’t they say insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different outcomes?

Well, my last sale with Ebay was the worst. My loving husband gave me a voucher for a free round trip plane ticket for valentine’s day. I tried to think of a way to use it that did not involved spending more money I did not have. I could not come up with anything. Finally, I come up with a plan. I notice listed on Ebay are tons of these vouchers. I can sell my voucher and earn a good bit, enough to pay for the cruise I want to take for our Anniversary in September. I check out how to list such an item and go for it. During the auction, it seems like a great idea. The bid price slowly goes up and soon it is close to $400. Everything is great until close of auction. I pack up the voucher, go to the post office, and ship it out to her. I want to send it insured but am told I can’t because it is a voucher. I have to ship it registered mail, which costs me about $25, much more than I charged her for shipping. Then because it is going registered mail, it takes weeks to arrive. Apparently, this is the most secure level of mail so it is slow. From this point on, everything goes wrong. The buyer is pissed the mail takes so long. She accepts my item and I have to help her get voucher changed into her name for her use, which takes much time and effort. The buyer books her plane ticket and THEN reports me to her credit card company to retract her payment! So far, I am still out over $400. They buyer has a free round trip plane ticket and continues to claim, she told her credit card company that she cancelled the retraction but papal continues to state her credit card company maintains she disputes the charge. I do not know what to believe, but it appears likely she cheated me and I am screwed. I want to believe in the goodness of others, but with each day, Paypal asks me to repay them 400 and something dollars!