Craig's List Scammers - I Am on To You!

A while back I decided I wanted to sell my wedding dress. GASP! I know...While most people I know are very sentimental when it comes to wedding dresses, I decided that I want to remember mine as it was on the day of my wedding rather than see it 20 years from now yellow from time and in a box that cost me $200. And I am pretty sure that my future daughter or daughter-in-law will NOT want to wear this dress, no matter how classic I think it is. Styles change in 20 years and brides will probably be wearing catwoman white suits or wings by then...Who knows??

Also, I would get more joy out of knowing that someone who might not be able to afford this dress at the full price can wear it on her wedding day because she bought it cheaply from me. That seems to me like it makes for a better dress memory than a boxed yellow dress.

Anyhow...the first method I tried was Craigs List. This was clearly a mistake. I have received numerous "inquiries" from people trying to sell the same story: I am not local, I want to get the dress from my daughter/sister who is out of town but the size and cut seem to be a perfect fit; I want to pay through Certified Check and cover the shipping; please give me your address and phone number.

OH PLEASE!! I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to know that this has SCAM written all over it. Who in their right mind would buy a wedding dress from a stranger without seeing it in person? And pay by Certified Check? Who writes those anymore - not to mention that it takes 2 weeks for them to clear so I presume the idea is that once I get the check, they want the dress shipped. By the time I would realize the check won't clear, it would be too late.

So of course, I reply politely that I only deal with locals (which, btw is part of my ad) and that I can only do cash or PayPal transactions. Sure enough, I never hear back from them.

So imagine this - a group of people sitting around in a stinky basement sending such messages to people trying to sell stuff on Craigs List and trying to make an easy buck. PEOPLE, GET A REAL JOB, go to school or do something productive...and maybe LEGAL!

Following this experience, I decided my wedding dress will be sold on a website that might cost me $25 but at least I have a guarantee that I won't have to waste my time and energy with these losers....

Dog Days of Summer

Welcome to August, Virginia! What am I saying? Really, this whole summer has felt like August - hot and humid. And of course, we have the mandatory afternoon summer thunderstorms. Last week, the Thursday night thunderstorm broke a huge tree in our neighborhood, which took down an electric pole - with wires and all. The result? No power for half of the neighborhood from Thursday to Saturday night. Which half, you ask? Our half, of course.

What I missed the most was not the TV, Internet, or AC - but the fridge. When it is 82 degrees in your home, you really want a cold glass of water. But of course, tap had to do. We endured the heat for one night after which we migrated to our sister-in-law's house who was gracious enough to host us (her baby girl Leela kept us well entertained). These days without power really made me appreciate all the things that I normally take for granted: walking into my cool home, turning on the lights, TV/laptop, using our landline phone, and eating ice cream out of our freezer. It is hard to live without these things when you are simply addicted to them.

Other, more positive highlights of our summer include: the arrival of our first niece and Goddaughter, beautiful baby Leela, hosting guests from Austria/Romania, remodeling our master bathroom, attending a great wedding in the Duck, NC, hanging out with friends, enjoying produce from our garden and - of course - next weekend is our fourth annual Asssateague Island camping trip.

Happy Dog Days of summer everyone - and stay cool!