I never give to the first person that responds. They are the gimme types. They either sell the stuff, or hord it all in their attic, that is if they bother to either to reply to your e-mail or come get it if they do. I think some have auto reply to all freecycle e-mails and sort through the offers later. Lame I say. That tactic does not work with me. I take e-mails for about 1 week and then give to the person that either needs it most of I feel is most appreciative, or just made me laugh in their response. "I'll take that" does not meet any of those requirements. I love it when folks say HI "my name" say what they want and a little about why they want it. And are polite enough to sign their name. I just posted a freecycle list of things. Subject was somthing like "102 misc items". I got over 40 replies. That was a month ago and I am still trying to sort it all out. I reply to 1 or 2 at a time, to not get too confused and offer the same items to more than one person. All seem very greatful for what I give them, and stay to talk a little, which is great for me, since I can not go into public due to severve chemical sensitivities. I usually drag them out to my garden for show and tell. I ask if they are interested in seeing my garden first though. The last lady that came, offered me tons of leaves from her propery when she heard I was allergic to the moldy hay I picked up from a farm. This lady is even going to chip up the leaves for me. I am so happy. I need the leaves since the ground under a few of my trees is bare either from the leaves blowing away, or me stealing them for mulch. She said she had like 2-3 feet of leaves under her masive trees. She is trilled to have found a home for them. I also learned a lot of useful gardening tips from her. She said that she has no fire ants due to the fact sugar ants eat fire ants. She said you can't kill your sugar ants if you want he fire ants gone. Wow, what a tip! Fire ants like poor dry soil and the sugar ants like the nice loose stuff. She said if you do not have that kind of soil, to leave out flower pots of good loose soil for them to live in. Due to her good gardening and ant control techniques, she has converted her whole street to organic. Major feat, since my whole street uses toxic chemicals that they do not bother to sweep off the sidewalk. I have to walk in the street to avoid the junk. She sets a good example, others are anxious to copy. I was so impressed. She offered to bring the leaves to me, since I can't drive due to car fumes, but I am eager to see her property and said my hubby will bring me over there. I said, I wish I had something to give you then I said, oh I just gave you a lot of things, including a brand new printer. I guess when you give someone something you no longer want it really does not feel like you are doing much. I feel the leaves are worth more to me than the printer, and other things. Free cycle is great despite the no shows, the rude e-mails from the demanding sort, the folks that want and never give, and the folks that make tons of appointments to pick up their things and still never come. I give um one chance now and move on, especially if the do not e-mail to say they were sorry they forgot. I have a list I keep with names and e-mails of no-shows, folks that came but took a long time to do so folks with auto e-mail replies, I'll take that" folks that do not bother to answer e-mails folks that show up folks that are very nice So if I get more than 1 request for an item, I can look through my list and stick with those that come and are pleasant. When I am more selective in who I offer stuff to, I have less problems with no shows. Mary

I lost an inch the after my first month of hooping. I started out hooping 5 - 10 minutes a day. Now I usually hoop for about a half hour at a time, but not every day. Usually about 4 days a week. I find that I'll pick up my hoop, thinking that I'll just go for about 15 minutes, but get into the movement and don't quit for a half hour or more. I usually watch TV while I hoop. For anyone who is interested in advancing beyond "waist hooping" I bought a video from Hoopnotica.com that is very good at teaching some basic moves. I also bought their travel hoop, which I was able to fit into my carry on bag. If you buy from them use this code to get a discount: TS0926

Hello fellow China Collectors. I am collecting dessert/salad plates in mismatched patterns. I collect the sugar bowls and creamers too. I am working on a business plan to rent props for parties. I have always adored "girlie golden items" sweet flowers...painted tea pots items the pin up girls from the curvy era would use on their kitchen tables dawning an Apron and a smile. I do not care about the value of the dishes. I use them all every day. The trade name of Shabby Chic which still has all of us women in admiration of it's sweet design, calls my name in every dusty shop - mothball smelling - church basement - ninety degrees in the sun venue. I so enjoy the treasure hunt that my IBS starts to rumble. I am caught up in the frenzy of my own accord...fortunately prior to stepping into the hunting grounds...I prepare my quest with great walking shoes...cool loose clothes...a light meal. I can not Thank You all enough for posting pictures of your lovely finds and prized China. My seek and find missions are the highlight of my weekends. I am now collecting cute plastic - backyard fun acrylic plates and wine gobblets for my event planning company. I paint old furnishings. One day...God willing...I will either get this business rolling or my Family will sell it all in an Estate Sale - when I am old and grey. I hope they will keep my bird bud vases for these little pink birdies take little space up on a windowsill.. I am certain a nice Middle Aged Women like myself will see them and use them or loan them out for a grand Tea Party some fine day - after I have left this sweet soil. Enjoy your finds...no dust on the dishes...fine or dinnerware...Share you collection with a few girl pals paired with crumpets because girls - or boys - we all just go around once.

You will want to give them an e-mail. Set up a free one in Yahoo, Google or whatever, because they will send you an e-mail receipt when you return a DVD (it's usually in my in-basket before I get home). They will also send you different offers, like a free movie night around the time of your birthday. I've not found the credit card usage to be a concern. And since there are just 4 locations in your town, Pooh Bear, you might want to keep a printout of the addresses in your glove compartment. Sometimes, when I've gone to return a DVD, the machine is full (usually on Mondays, in my neck of the woods). So you'll have the back-up info right at hand (and with a smartphone you can usually check if the next machine is available for returns -- and what it has in stock!). I use Redbox in conjunction with Netflix. Had Hulu Plus just for its 1-month trial; just wanted to catch up on episodes of a certain show, then dropped it. There was just not a whole lot there I was interested in. I also used Amazon's instant streaming for another TV show I was catching up on -- great variety there. My only issue with Redbox? They can stock some weird movies (the machines in my area tend to have a lot of horror flicks! All-year-round, not just with Halloween coming). The movies in the kiosks are not necessarily going to be the hot ones that just ended their movie runs. But they stock some interesting ones! And some games, if you or your family's into that. If you happen to see the movie "The Visitor" in a Redbox kiosk, try it! I seems to turn up frequently. Here is a link that might be useful: IMDB --