Marital Conflicts and My EBay Disappointments of the Week

The counselor and I have three distinct conflicts in our marriage. I don't mind sharing, because I'm willing to change at least one of them.

First, he is a University of Arizona graduate and totally nuts, like practically religious about his college.

I, on the other hand, am an Arizona State graduate. I remain calm and in control when I drive past the campus or hear the ASU fight song.

I don’t sing my University fight song as a lullaby to our babies the first day they’re born the way the counselor does. I rarely wear ASU t-shirts or clothing. I’m way too mature for silly things like that, but hey, that’s what a great education gets you. The counselor on the other hand is usually decked out in some sort of U of A jersey or sweatshirt (most likely something I picked up at $1.00 day at Goodwill). You might be thinking “What’s the problem, Laura?”

The marital conflict arises when he rubs in a U of A win over ASU, say in basketball or football. Honestly, I don’t care who wins, but if he pushes it enough, I fight back with a whammy. Something like “Who really cares?”

Yeah . . . I’m that mean.

And he might say something like “You’re just jealous because ASU lost.”

Then we kiss and make up.

The wildcat and sun devil live happily ever after.

Our second conflict has lightened up over the years, but can still be a source of contention. The problem is cookies.

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

I make them often, like every day. My home has a revolving door. I have company all day long, children, friends, family, neighbors and I love to hand out cookies. How can I have a guest in my home and not have something to share? So the conflict comes in two fold. First of all, I rarely have cookies left by the time the counselor arrives home later in the day. He sees the empty baking bowl where amazing fluffy dough once was. He’s a witness to the dirty cookie sheet, but the cookies. Where are they? All gone! Given away to loved ones. Sorry, honey. But when I do have cookies left for him, he likes them chewy. I tend to overcook things in general (probably because I’m chasing a naked kid down the street or something like that), so my cookies usually turn out crunchy. I’m trying honey, and I’ll get it right. Just stick with me for another 12 years and you’ll get your chewy cookies.

So with all this going on, what could possibly be the third marital conflict that burdens are usual happy hearts? It’s EBay! This conflict is a matter of poor organization on my part. I’ve been doing EBay for 6 years now. I have almost 4,000 positive feedbacks and close to 10,000 sales. My problem is storage. Where in the world do I keep all these clothes (name-brand, I might add)? Well, much to the counselor’s dissatisfaction, I’ve kept them in a pile in the back of our bedroom.

How did this all start? I live in a house with mostly tile, except for our bedroom. The last thing I want to do before I take my EBay pictures for the week is sweep and mop a clean corner of the home, so I simply vacuum our bedroom carpet and take the pictures in there. At this point, clothes (super cute & name-brand, mind you) are all over the room and taking up space. The mess freaks the counselor out.

I remind him that I make money doing this; that it’s all for a good cause and I’ll have it cleaned up in no time. But the reality is that EBay pile has been sitting there for almost year. I filter out the old and bring in the new, but the pile remains in the corner.

Now, the counselor is a patient man. He didn’t complain when I accidently shipped his expensive camera to a friend of mine in Utah (I thought it was hers). He didn’t get upset when I spilled an entire bucket of yellow paint on our newly tiled floor. Actually, I was the one who cried while I watched him clean it up. And he certainly was understanding when I ate the meal he ordered at Costa Vita instead of mine (I loved your chicken nachos with mango salsa, thanks honey). So, I have finally taken his complaint to heart. I vow to clean up the EBay pile in our bedroom and move it out to the garage.

This I do for love, for marriage, for happiness.

Now, if I can just find a place in the garage.

My EBay disappointments of the week would fit perfectly here, wouldn’t they? So, let’s do it!

I found this gorgeous just dry-cleaned and pressed Northern Isle Men's XXL Blue dress shirt at Goodwill on $1.00 day.

Of course, it was for the counselor, but when he tried it on, he noticed one distinct problem.

The counselor does not for see working at Thrifty anytime soon, so this one is going back to Goodwill.

You may remember my good luck with this US Army military vest. I found it at a yard sale and paid $1.00 for it. Later, it sold on EBay for $9.99.

So, I thought I'd try this military jacket on EBay, certain it'd be a huge hit. I've posted it three weeks in a row and it finally sold for $7.99. Between the $1.00 I paid for the jacket, my EBay & paypal fees and overall annoyance, I'm certain I barely broke even.

These Gap Size 16 NWT pants sold for $9.99. They are really lovely and I shipped them right away. So why did I receive dissatisfactory feeback?

The customer didn't like the color. I wonder why she didn't consider the color when she looked at the picture and decided to purchase them?

Lastly, I've found amazing blazers throughout the years, but for some reason they don't sell well on EBay. Sure, it can be hit and miss, but overall, I think woman like to try blazers on before purchasing them. Or maybe they are looking for a perfect match for the business suit. Either way, this lot of 2 beautiful Ann Taylor blazers haven't for two weeks straight, even at $9.99.

I already have two huge bags of clothes to donate to the Garrett Tanner Benefit Yard Sale. Hope to see you and your donations there this Saturday.