Yellowstone National Park

Years ago whenever we went on a trip it seems we’d always forget our camera. You know, trips to Disneyland, Sea World, family reunions, etc. And like most families, it always seemed like when we did remember, or rent, a camera it was Keith (Dad) who was taking all the family photos.

I’m not sure where or when I decided to take up photography as a hobby but a can still remember my first attempts which seemed to always be out-of-focus and pictures of friends and relatives without heads. If I tried to  photograph a wild animal my cheap camera made them look like tiny specks on the print.

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Mothers wear many hats; we work a full time job outside the home, we’re a wife, homemaker and a mother. The hardest job, to me, is not working outside the home or even being a homemaker, but being a mother. I have two boys that are grown up now but when they were young I was fortunate enough to stay home while they grew up. My husband and I raised them both the same– to believe that they could do whatever they wanted to in life, if they really wanted to and put their mind to it. My youngest is a manager in a store with a wife and a two-year-old daughter; it’s wonderful being a Grandmother.

So why am I writing this?  I’m having a very hard time understanding why the day before Mother’s Day I found out that our oldest son was in jail.  All he had to do was pay his fine ($100) and do his community service (a few hours) and he’d be off Scott free, but he choose not to do it.  I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t answering any of my messages until my husband & I went to his apartment to find out from his roommates he was in jail for not paying his fines and that he was lieing to us. I think deep down, but I didn’t want to believe it, I knew where he was though it didn’t make the truth any less painful.  How can two children raised the same way and given the same opportunities be so different? We are invited to our youngest son’s house for Mother’s Day. From this mother to all mother’s and mother’s to be have a Wonderful Mother’s Day.

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What amazes me lately is all the competition that is selling on the Internet. I’m not talking about you and me, but about storefront businesses that are selling online. Businesses like music stores, Goodwill stores and even Amazon are selling the same products you and I are selling online. So competing with these companies can be a challenge for smaller sellers.

I don’t have a lot of time to devote to my online business. Since I work full time putting in 40 plus hours a week I only have a few hours a night during the week and on weekends to devote to my business.

What I don’t understand is how books and other items selling for one cent plus shipping are being sold-how do they expect to make a profit…or do they?  I recently sold a book, that I didn’t make anything on, in fact I lost money. It was a book that I had in inventory and had to put on sale. By the time all the fees were taken out I lost money on the transaction-I did save shelving costs and on disposal costs, however.

There are many reasons why we start selling on the Internet but I thought it was to make some extra income so we can take it easy and not work so hard. Maybe I was wrong!

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Well I made it through my second year of selling on the Internet!  Made an appointment with our tax preparer—and if you don’t already have one I highly recommend you do get one.  I still haven’t made any money but we came really close last year and this year we will.  I’ve learned a lot about having an e-commerce business over this past year.  Keep up with my spreadsheet for instance.  Not only what items I bought but what was sold, how much the item sold for, fees taken out what I got paid.  I also found out I needed to know what my inventory at the beginning of the year and my ending inventory were, as well as our beginning and ending bank balance, and subscription fee.  I saved by cancelling two subscriptions that I really didn’t need.  If I had only kept up with the paper work throughout the year I would have been much better prepared .  But I’m learning!

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Miche Bags Mean Never Having to Switch Purses Again

Have you ever been frustrated because you changed your purse  for a special occasion or for the seasons only to find out you left your favorite lipstick or your keys in the other handbag?

My daughter-in-law introduced me to this incredibly innovative, fashionable and cutting edge purse!  All I did was decide what size purse I wanted (aka base bag) then picked out the cover I want called a shell.  Now when I need to change my purse for that special occasion or even for the seasons—I just change the shell.

I was so excited about these bags I started talking friends and decided to become a Miche representative.

If the idea of ONE purse excite you, I’d like to invite you to check out my web sight at www.valormiche.miche.com.

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Calling All Books!!

Hey everyone!  Just thought you’d be interested to know if you have any hard cover books you’d like to get rid of I’d be happy to take them off your hands.  Give me a yell & I can give you more details.  Looking forward to hearing from you! Ilene

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Great BBQ in Vegas!!!

Keith & I went to a BBQ Restaurant that just opened, Lynard Sknyrd  BBQ in the Excalibur.  What a great place to go.  The atmosphere was great & it was like a Southern BBQ very laid back.   The staff was really friendly and as soon as we sat down our waitress, who was dressed in daisy dukes, t shirts & boots took our drink & food order.  The menu consisted of brisket, ribs, chicken & sausage They also have combos with two, three different of meats, your choice, & two & three sides and cornbread.  Keith & I split a combo with three meats & two sides.  We choose the brisket, ribs, sausage, coleslaw, fries and of course it wouldn’t be a southern BBQ without cornbread. The flavor was wonderful, brisket was sliced thin, the ribs fell off the bone and the sausage was  amazing. The only issue I had was because the brisket was sliced so thin that it could have been a bit hotter.  I would differently recommend this restaurant if you are looking for a good Southern BBQ with reasonable prices.  Feel free to comment!

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Welcome to Ilene Shafer’s Website!

Hi, and welcome to my new website! The purpose of my site is to talk about stuff, all kinds of stuff; from customer service, to great products, places to go, things to see, and yes even some places to avoid.

I hope you enjoy my ramblings and look forward to getting to know my readers.

Again, welcome aboard!

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Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

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