Don't smoke or drink either. And there's no question that desert is a major food group! :)) I use Olivia Care Olive Oil Soap on my face and in the shower - love the Verbena scent and all those suds! In the winter I don't need moisturizer. I buy it at TJMaxx. For 20 years I've used a Buff Puff on my face. For facial moisturer Jergens Skin Firming Lotion. I've used several others that I really liked, and every time I ran out and went to buy more, they were discontinued or had added obnoxious fragrance. How exasperating! I don't like the strong fragrance in the heavier duty "regenerating" lotions. I find that smiling works best on the Howdy Doody lines - hate those things! Can't bring myself to lay out $20 for a tiny little jar so I guess this is it. Sherry

As a 9 year old kid in Elk City, OK in 1950, I met Tim Holt, Fuzzy Knight & Randolph Scott who were some of my favorite cowboy movie stars that made personal appearances at a local movie theatre. And, during our town's 50th. anniversary in 1951 I met & shook hands with Jess Willard who had been the Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World, 1915-1919. He lived in my hometown during the early days & helped lay the bricks that paved Broadway St. and are still there and "in use" now in 2006! Moving ahead several years and after I had moved to PA...my wife & I saw Richard M. Nixon as he arrived by helicopter and dined at the then-famous Bookbinder's Restaurant in Philadelphia one evening while we were eating dinner there also. Then later, during the mid-1970's, we saw "The Duke" John Wayne in New York City getting out of his limousine and greeting the gathering crowd at Rockefeller Center. Guess that's about it... LarryD

Glassed in porch, instead of deck; small sunroom on right corner, instead of small corner porch

We have been living for about 5 years in a house we bought after only 2 days of looking... and decided to get into a place quickly rather than rent at all. We grabbed the house that fit our needs best that was up for sale that week and in our price range. My husband is a music teacher, I'm a graphic designer and was a stay-at-home mom...now that we've been living here some years we have a better idea of the neighborhoods available and also have different ideas of what we want in a house. The house we're in now was built in 1973, and built so cheaply, it's really kind of awful. Popcorn ceilings in every room, for instance. The people we bought it from did a quick flip with it, used the cheapest materials they could, put in carpeting without stretching it...you name it. We could put a bunch of money into getting the ceilings scraped and all the trim replaced and the cheesy, featherlight doors replaced...but it's just not going to make it into a nice house. My question is: how much of the deferred maintenance has to be done before we sell? I know buyers want a house they don't have to work on, but if we're going to have to pay for the work either out of the house price or out of our pockets, it would be a lot less disruptive of our lives to let it come out of the house price. A quick synopsis of what needs to be done: exterior paint, roofing, carpet replace in all rooms, wooden deck teardown and replace in the back yard, cabinets in the kitchen updating/replacing, repair laminate flooring in kitchen, re-do bathroom (including replacing vanity with a pedestal sink, replacing tub insert, and replacing flooring) I hate to say it but this sounds like one of those, he who decides to buy in haste gets to repent or sell at leisure. While I do not know your market, sounds like you may have paid too much back in 2001 since this was before the big run up. This may be your problem more than whether you need to replace the laminate. As for what you should do, a friend who is trying to sell a similar house in our area (where it costs 4x as much) found a handyman who was someone's cousin's BIL. For less than 1000 he touched up her paint, repaired her bathroom, and generally made the house look presentable. Neither she nor her DH is handy but you do not have to be to comparison shop or get estimates. Building a deck and painting are not that complicated, my BIL did it as a teenager (second floor off the kitchen). Not suggeting you build it but rather try to get a deal when it is built. She was advised to leave her 1960s kitchen alone, just make sure anything broken or torn was repaired. Stick a scatter rug over the linoleum if it cannot be repaired When you first posted I assumed you lived in an area with 400k starter houses as I do. It simply does not make sense to put in another 30% in a house worth 130k Many young buyers want a fixer both so they can save off the price, since there are plenty of DIYers who are handy and because it gives them control over the outcome rather than living with someone elses taste I would make ssure nothing is broken or would immediately elicit a yuck reaction. If the paint is peeling or chipping paint it. If the deck is ready to fall over, then definitely replace it but do it cheaply. As housing worsens, it will be a lot easier to find cheap labor in a few months time. Plus you cannot paint outside until spring anyway I would also get a couple of broker opinions, they may see things that you do not and even know who can fix this cheaply