eBay!

EEEEEEe-Baaaaaay!
Okay. So I'm getting the hang of eBay-ing now after about 6 months of selling. I am having fun doing it weekly, and earning myself a bit of spending cash. I have always been one of those people that feels useless not working. I don't consider being a mom a job, that's just something I feel is a part of who I am and a part of my life.
To me a job = a way that I earn money. So I feel a little bit at peace now, having a little at home "job", where I can actually call it work by my own definition. I have worked since I turned 16, so not having a job to go to and being a stay at home mom, sometimes I felt like I wasn't doing anything, even though I take care of the house and kids and all that it entails.
Oddly I feel less stressed with the additional things to do. I know I'm very lucky to even be able to be a SAHM these days, with the economy the way it is. I guess it was just an internal struggle for me, I love to work, but I didn't want to send my kids off to daycare to be raised by a stranger for most of the days either. Now I think I've found my perfect balance, while homeschooling, I am able to pop over 3 ft away to my computer to type up some descriptions and upload a photo and walk right back. Plus with all the technology now, I can even be outside playing with the kids and still be able to function on my business end to answer questions. It's pretty great.

I think I'm on the track to getting back a bit of the old me, before kids. I have more free time since the kids are older, and they can even help sometimes, it's become a bit of the financial portion of homeschooling, how money is earned, and that it takes work to earn a dollar, but then after you have earned it you can spend it if you'd like. I think the eBay-ing portion that my kids help take part in ties in all sorts of things. I prefer to take real world things into the way that I teach, I hate worksheets myself, so why not be hands on?

I think we have all or more than a standard school does in our home. There's so many different ways to learn. While the kids cook with me, we learn fractions from the measurements and conversions. How many 3 and 6 year olds are able to do that already? The only thing I would say is missing is probably the social aspect of being around other children their age, but I think that it's actually better without to a point, they learn to interact with adults at a younger age and I think it results in proper conversational learning earlier. We even have hamsters in the house like a classroom. Granted, they are our little pets/family members, but they serve the same purpose that they do in a standard classroom. To respect animals and learn to care for another living being.

All in all, I've enjoying my days more lately, for some reason, adding on the eBay work has somehow given me more time to spare. Odd? I think I've just learned how to become more efficient with my time with the addition of eBay. So that I CAN get it all done everyday!  

Earning Money on eBay!

I wish that I lived closer to more shopping areas. Everything from the house is just annoying to get to, I have 2 freeways that I'd have to get on + the peanut gallery ("Are we there/done yet?") + angry drivers. No thank you. 

For now, I guess I will be working on just getting rid of the things that we don't need anymore in the house prior to moving cross country again. I really don't want to pack and move 5 extra boxes of stuff we don't need anymore, lol.

I have been eBay-ing pretty steadily since May this year, and it's doing all right for being just a way to sell out the items we don't need. I wish I could make more though, but to do that I'd have to brave the streets of tailgating drivers and work my way through the mall crowds. I guess I'll have to set that plan aside for when we move back to Texas, hopefully near the Galleria in Dallas and other malls so I can go shopping for great deals. 

Here's to hoping that I can earn a bit of good money for Christmas presents the rest this year.

I've gone and dug up the little cute stuffed animals that the kids don't care to play with anymore to incorporate into my ebay selling. They'll be my little mascots posing in my photos.

Aren't they adorable? Each one is for each person in the family (not counting the several hamsters we have, haha) I know it's probably a dead giveaway that I'm a female and a bit of a child at heart! 

I think there's a good number of things I need to do still to feel more professional in terms of being a buyer/seller. I do package all my items really well; Tissue paper, bubble wrap, extra protection with plastic baggies, etc. I think I need a few more things though, to make my stuff stand out. Maybe some cute ribboning for clothing items and smaller makeup items. 

I do take pride in my items being nicely cared for during packaging though, I've bought some stuff on eBay that was just awful in terms of the way that the seller wrapped it. I've gotten stuff in a beat up check box with globs of tape, things wrapped in grocery ads (that's a big no-no! The ink can ruin your item!)

I think I'll have to make a separate post on do's and don'ts for eBaying. There's a lot of people that just don't seem to care because the majority of items being sold are used. That doesn't mean that you can't care for it before it is shipped to a new home. I'm all for recycling packaging, I do it sometimes if the shipping box that I've received some retail orders from isn't badly beaten up, or re-using packaging materials like the foam that cushions your items. But really, people sticking a label on an old cereal box to ship in is just plain awful and lazy. 

And on that note, I will be off to work on a few more posts throughout the day for the next week's auction listings.

Missing Home & Grouchy People

Brrr!
It's getting chillier as the days go by!

Some serious contemplation lately, about where to live after we leave this freezing cold state. I miss Texas. Period. Born and raised there, being up here in PA, I feel like half alien.
After almost 3 years living here, I am still not used to how everything runs here, the pace is so fast and rough. Even people working the drive-thru windows are in a hurry. I guess I'm just used to everyone being friendlier overall, even if they are strangers. There's very little patience around here, and everything seems to be rushed. I wish the East Coast could learn to slow it down and take it day by day. I feel like a snail in a 500mph race. I actually enjoy browsing slowly through items at a store instead of trying to speed through the clothing rack. I have met some of the rudest people while just out for what I expected would be relaxing, but instead come home angry and frustrated because of what I encounter out in public.

People here don't care if you are a child or an adult, they treat you the same. So it angers me a lot as a momma bear when someone is just in such a rush and snaps at my 3 year old for being a 3 year old and studying a can of green beans like it's the most interesting thing in the world. Or the speed racers with the grocery carts. I once actually shouted at a elderly woman for nearly plowing over my 6 year old in the dairy aisle. She had the audacity to to try and blame my child for being where she was supposed to be rather than apologize for rounding a corner without paying attention. Called her a grouchy old bat that needs her depends changed.

I'm not usually a rude person by any means but anytime it involves my kids, or their safety, I will clearly speak my mind. I think I've cursed at people out of my windows while on the road more times in the 3 years here than I did while living and driving around the DFW / Austin Area for 6+ years. I have tons of stories to tell about the horrors of going out in this fast paced environment. I can only hope that the months go by quickly and I can go back to where I'm comfortable at. My home state of Texas. 

Missha - Super Aqua , BB Cream - Love Them!

'Tis the season to get baking...
Made a batch of cake pops the other day, but I didn't take pics, so I have nothing to post up lol. They were well received though, the chocolate hadn't even dried yet and they were disappearing off my pop stand... 

Let's see. What else...
Squeak (the hamster) is so funny, last night we made some popcorn, and she scurried out of her house real quick to stand up on her plastic house to beg for some popcorn. A really funny little hammy we have. There's a pic of her below peeking out of her bedding to say hi.

I LOVE Missha brand skincare. Missha is a Korean skincare and cosmetics line. I first got introduced to them several years ago, when I was visiting Korea and my cousin bought me a makeup set. It's wonderful! And the price is really reasonable, almost like a steal compared to some of the prices for cosmetics these days. I bought myself a few things, restocking some of the stuff I'm running low on and trying new things. I guess it's like a mini-haul? Not sure what a haul is exactly, but I see a lot of YT videos that are called haul videos, and it's always full of things that the person making the video has bought. 


So let's see, for this order, I bought 10 items, and the total was still only $60. Isn't that amazing? Below is my current skincare lineup, in the order I use it in.

#1) Super Aqua Refreshing Cleansing Foam - Great foaming cleanser. I like it because it leaves me feeling clean, and not with the weird slimy feeling that some other cleansers do. I know people praise the Philosophy cleansers, and I too gave in and decided to give it a try. $10 for a travel size bottle of Philosophy was a waste of money. I hated to use it after a few tries because of the weird slimy feeling it leaves. I now use what is left as a brush cleaner. The Super Aqua Foam does what it's supposed to and leaves you feeling clean. Almost squeaky clean, which is what I prefer in a cleanser. I hate cleansers that leave you feeling unclean and oily. 

#2) Super Aqua Cleansing Water - It's basically like a toner, at least that's how I use it. I love it. It's refreshing, it doesn't really have much of a fragrance to it; I don't know about others, but I'm not fond of heavily fragrance-d products. I picked up two of these this time to restock my supply. Hehe.

#3) Super Aqua Water Supply Essence -  (on Sale now for $9! Regular price is $30, get some now) LOVE This stuff. It smells great, and is a wonderful moisturizer. I apply after washing my face and it does what it's supposed to, leaves my skin soft and it's got a nice smell to it, sort of like baby powder-ish and clean scent. It's not oily or greasy to me. The texture is somewhere between a liquid and a cream, it's kind of both I guess. It's not super runny, but it's not really a stiff cream texture either. I still have another one of these in my stash so I didn't buy any more with my current purchase. 


All in all, the Super Aqua line of products that I use, I am really pleased with. It's effective and it's definitely affordable.


The rest of the things that I ordered, I haven't tried out yet so I can't give out a definite review on them yet. They're two different moisturizers, I thought that I'd try them out on M's skin, see if it helps out the dryness due to eczema. We'll have to see! 

Also, when you sign up with Missha, you will get a deluxe sampler with your order. It's really cute, and it's a wonderful way to try some of the products without paying full price. After trying the BB cream sample in my last order with them, I bought the full sized one.

Missha BB Cream is famous over in Korea. BB Cream is short for Blemish Balm Cream. It was originally made to help cover scars in Germany I think? This is my new foundation. It works amazingly well compared to other foundations that I have used over the years. It's a thick liquid texture that you pump out and apply. It covers everything and really does give me the appearance of perfect skin. It smells great, and it is three in one, Whitening + Anti-Wrinkle + UV Protection (SPF 42 PA+++)


Over the years, I have played with many different brands of foundation trying to find the one that would work for me, I would have weird flaking issues with Clinique's City Base Foundation, then I shelled out money for Smashbox Photo Finish to even out my facial "canvas". I tried Estee Lauder, which is what my mom likes to use, but that didn't wow me either. Cover Girl is cheap, and there's a reason why, their liquid foundation is so thin, it doesn't cover anything and just makes you oily. But with the deluxe sampler, when I tried the BB Cream, I was hooked. I think I almost look airbrushed when I have it on! LOL 
Now the only downside to this fabulous BB Cream is that there's a very limited amount of colors that it's available in. It's super popular in Asia, but the craze hasn't really hit the states yet, so I guess they haven't had a demand for lighter shades to work for those that aren't Asians. Maybe when the word spreads and the BB Creams are as popular here in the US as they are in Korea, they'll have a larger selection of shades! 

You can put on BB Boomer, which helps to "set" the BB Cream. I found that when I use the boomer + BB Cream it does help it stay longer. You can use the BB Cream by itself, but it's best when the Boomer is used with the BB Cream.  


Now, I am partial to Korean Cosmetics because I am Korean, but honestly, the cosmetics themselves to the work they are supposed to do and the whole line is so reasonably priced that it earns that much more brownie points with me! Next post will be a review on the BB Deep Cleansing Oil that I got with this order and the moisturizers that I mentioned that I haven't tried yet. I might just have to order another stash pile to keep as backup before the sales are over... I love Missha. I thank my cousin for introducing me to this line waaaay back in the day, I think it was like 1999 or 2000.


Well that's all my chatter for today, I know my blog is called Piggy's Kitchen, but I was excited about my purchases and wanted to share!