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Calling large ladies…

2013.07.14

I’m looking for ideas on where to shop for plus-sized clothing without breaking the bank (that latter bit there being very important).  I tend to the very basic: Loose tops and bottoms, tanks, overshirts, shorts, cargo pants, etc. But I would like the option of flowy / dressy tunic-style tops, as well. Preferably ones that don’t help me look like a walking circus tent. 🙂

(And yes, I know the right answer is to lose weight and inches. I’m trying to work on that. However, in the meantime, I can’t exactly walk around naked. Nobody wants that.)

Here is my list of usual places to look. What can you add to them?

  • Avenue
  • Catherine’s
  • Dress Barn
  • Lane Bryant
  • Woman Within

Thanks!

meri

Lazyweb, Shopping

For the crafty people. (One day sale.)

2013.07.04

Joann is having a 1-day sale that consists of 4 items:

They’re also offering a coupon for 10% off your total purchase (regular- and sale-priced items, some exclusions apply) through Saturday. And finally, 4¢ flat-rate shipping, today only.

Enjoy!

Craftiness, PSA, Shopping

Maryland Sheep and Wool is a (very probable) go.

2013.05.03

I am making preparations to try to tackle Maryland Sheep and Wool tomorrow morning.

  • I’m doing laundry so I have very light, airy clothing.
  • I’ve found and rinsed my hydration pack.
  • I’ve made sure that my comfiest light weight shoes are available.
  • I’m winding more yarn for my current knitting project in case I end up needing to camp in my car to recover for a while, and stashing it in the separate knitting bag that will stay in my car against this need.
  • I’m putting the essentials in my pack (wallet (with only the cash I’m allowed to spend, and one “OMG, the car is on fire” emergency credit card), bandana, medications, witch hazel towelettes (they help a lot in keeping cool), protein bar, an apple).
  • I’ve made sure that my handicap placard is in the car.

Other than running out and buying a cane (and, really, there’s a shortage of places to get a sword cane at 7PM on a Friday night), and getting a good night’s sleep, I think that I’m doing everything I can to promote success. So, unless I wake up in the morning just feeling like crap, I’m going to give this a shot.

(My knee, while not feeling as good as it did yesterday, still feels a hell of a lot better than it did two days ago, so I’m hoping that the whole being able to walk thing will stick around for at least one more day.)

Thank you for the encouragement! I will do my best to not die. 🙂

Craftiness, EMRT, Events, Shopping

PSA: University of Chicago Press Free eBook of the Month

2013.05.01

Every month, the University of Chicago press makes an eBook freely available to the intewebs for five days. This month, it is “You Were Never in Chicago” by Neil Steinberg. It is available for free until May 5th.

If you sign up on their web site, you will receive email notification on the first of each month, when they post a new book. I have never received any spam related to this service. I am in no way affiliated, blah blah blah. Haven’t even read this month’s book yet. 🙂

Media, PSA, Shopping

Is this a baaaaad idea?

2013.04.29

The end of April approaches. This, in and of itself, is not a thing. However, the end of April (generally) means the beginning of May also approaches, and that is a thing. See, the first full weekend in May reveals people scurrying all along the Eastern seaboard to descend on the little town of West Friendship, Maryland, home of the Howard County Fairgrounds. See, the first full weekend in May and the said fairgrounds are home to Maryland Sheep and Wool.

(more…)

Craftiness, EMRT, Shopping

Ask LazyWeb: Where to sell books?

2013.04.01

As careful readers may remember, G and I just went through and culled about half of our collective book collection. While most of the books have found new homes, I kept aside about 4 paper boxes worth of them with the eye to selling them.

Now, of course, the trick is to sell them. The question is: where? Back in the day, half.com was the answer, but they seem to be part of eBay these days (not that that rules them out, just a data point). Amazon? Do you all think I’m crazy for selling books? (For those who think the latter, keep in mind a few things: 1) I’m unemployed. 2) I have a lot of free time. 3) I only kept books that I thought might have some specialty / specific markets. 4) I only kept books that were in new / like new condition.)

Ideas?

Lazyweb, Shopping

A request for those based in the Netherlands.

2013.01.14

Greetings!

I know a few of the folks who read this are based in the Netherlands. I’m hoping to get some input from one (or more!) of you on something.

I’m looking to acquire a board game. To the best of my knowledge, the name of the game is Mens erger je niet, which translates to “Do not get angry,” or some such. It’s an important part of G’s family history, and we’d like to get a copy. Now, I don’t know if this game is available in the Dutch equivalent of Toys-R-Us, or if it’s more esoteric.

The acquisition process logic goes something like this:

  • Is the game readily available? 
  • If so, for how much?
  • If $AFFORDABLE, would you be willing to pick up a copy and ship it to the US?
  • As a special added bonus, would you be willing to translate the instructions into English?

For this, you will, of course, be reimbursed. And, if there’s anything from the US that you’re craving, I can probably help out on that front. Or I can knit you something. Or design you a business card. Or use some other meager skill of mine to provide you with something you might want.

Mahalo!

Shopping

Living in the future is weird.

2012.12.14

This week, I’ve acquired a new (to me, but also new in box, though not newest model) laptop. I got a great deal on it, thanks to a friend’s wife’s company liquidating some assets. It is a pretty spiffy system, all on its own: Late 2011 MacBook Pro, 2.4G Core i5, 4G of RAM, 500GB hard drive.

But then, being a geek, I got curious. And ともだち (tomodachi, the system in question) is getting a couple of upgrades.

First up, a new hard drive. I’ve opted for the Seagate Momentus XT. It’s a 2.5″ 750GB drive with a 32GB SSD cache. It is, by all reports, quite zippy. It is also $121.54, at the time of this writing.

I also thought that I might upgrade my RAM from 4G to 8G or so, and went to crucial to check things out. Turns out, I can upgrade from 4GB to 16GB for $77.99.

Now, I’m a reasonably old-school computer user, though I know many of you are much older hands. I never worked with punch cards. While I had used other computers before, the first one I really started making my own was a 386DX/33 that I got as a high school graduation gift. My benchmark pricing memory was being shocked when hard drives hit a dollar a megabyte. (That’s megabyte, kids, not gigabyte.)

And now, I find that I can get a kickass little laptop for less than a thousand dollars (with an admitted lucky break). It’s mostly the upgrades that I’m able to get for less than $200 that are really making me feel like I’m living in the future. I’ve recently renounced the statement, “I love living in the future,” but moments like these that kind of make me want to re-adopt it.

Shopping, Technology

PSA: Shopping Deal of the Day

2012.12.14

Amazon’s Gold Box Deal of the Day is a Scotch Thermal Laminator. I’ve had this laminator for a couple of years, and it works fantastically, especially for the deal price ($16.99). It will even handle 5 mil pouches, though you have to make sure you have it on the high setting for that. If you need a hot laminator, I highly recommend you pick this one up today.

Office Supplies, PSA, Shopping

For you (closet) lushes out there.

2012.11.26

The closet bit is parenthetical because most of my friends who are lushes are very open about the whole thing.

Our friends at woot! have put up a pop-up store for the holidays, and they’re kicking it off right. There are a variety of drinking games up for sale, if you’re in to that sort of thing. (I know, I know, you don’t need no stinking game to help you drink, but it might be fun for a change.)

(Oh, and if anyone is looking for a custom -opoly board, we should talk. 😉

Craftiness, Shopping