Ladies, please send in your questionnaires! There have been dozens of you that requested them, and now I need your responses! Pretty please?

I feel sort of weird writing all about myself, but since I don’t have any other responses in yet (ahem!) I have no alternative. I’m sorry in advance – I’m not very exciting!

I am Heather/BellaBuggy, moderator at Here Comes the Stork.  Xochilt recently celebrated her one-year ‘mod-iversary’ and she asked me how long I’ve been a mod.  I can’t even remember! 5 or 6 years?  And I’ve been a member longer than that!  I’m a HCTS dinosaur, and happy to be – it’s a wonderful place!

In addition to being a moderator here, I wear many different hats.

Most importantly, I am a stay-at-home mom to three daughters – Annabelle, Caitlin, and Lillian.

I also co-own (along with my parents) a website, Garden Party Teas, so you’ll find me more actively selling there than on eBay/Amazon.  We recently had our website redesigned and added a Tea Party Forum, and the very talented Rebecca designed that logo for us.  (Thank you again – we love it!)

I am an inaugural member of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel, helping people plan their Disney vacations.

I’m Hopelessly Flawed, and I blog about it.

In my ‘spare’ time I’ve also been known to coach youth soccer, teach Sunday School and VBS, garden, read, and run.  These days I’m doing very little of all of the above.  It seems the ‘spare time’ is few and far between, and I’m doing good just to get through the daily grind!  I’m also nursing a torn calf muscle at the moment, so physical activity is pretty limited.

So that’s my bio-in-a-nutshell, and from the questionnaire, I chose the 5 random questions:

If you could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Easy! My favorite Old Navy yoga pants (if these ever wear out I will be emotionally devastated), v-neck Wal-Mart tee, Fit Flops.

If you were doing a ‘favorite things’ giveaway (a la Oprah), what would you include?

Well I can’t afford the big stuff like Oprah, so I’d have simple pleasures.  The Glee Soundtrack, Heeltastic cream, the movie Enchanted, Steelers football tickets…and maybe a minivan.  I’m sort of in love with mini-vans.

If you hadn’t married your spouse, where would you be right now?

Well first I imagine I’d be living somewhere else.  I had planned to go back to Pennsylvania in college (before he came along), so I’d probably be there.

If your life story were made into a movie, who would play you?

Ashley Judd.

I actually have no idea.  I don’t know how people know things like that.

If you could talk to John Donahoe (CEO of eBay), what would you like to discuss/say to him?

Dude.  The feedback thing.  It needs to be adjusted.  Sellers shouldn’t be punished for 3 star ratings.  If sellers can’t leave honest feedback for buyers, then eliminate the ‘feedback for buyers’ option entirely.  It’s pointless.  And don’t weigh feedback so heavily when determining top-rated sellers.  It gives buyers too much power.

That’s all I’ve got on me this week!  Now please – send in those profiles!

Filed under: Saturday Spotlight by BellaBuggy
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The end of another week! I can’t believe it’s the end of the first week of November.  This year has flown by!  It feels like I say that every year, though.

“When your children are young, the days are long but the years are short.”

How very true.

And now on to some highlights from the forums this past week!

1) I hope you all enjoyed a great Halloween!  Many of our members shared their Halloween photos here, and we had a giveaway of a Starbucks gift card to one lucky member chosen at random.  The winner was Angie/oriskanystorey! Congratulations Angie!  Be sure to PM your mailing address to Heather/BellaBuggy to claim your prize!

2) Do you sell gently used toys?  There is a very informative discussion about My Little Pony’s going on right now in the General Selling Chit Chat forum.  Thank you to our many members who are willing to share information and help one another!

3) Did you know that we have a Sales, Deals and Coupons section of the forum?  Who doesn’t love a good bargain?!  Member Rochelle/rocky291 shared yesterday that there are great bargains to be had at Target on Olay products.  It’s not quite as simple as a ‘sale’ though – if you know the scoop, you’ll get huge money back…and possibly your whole order free!  Pop in to read about how she did it.

4) As you saw on the blog last weekend, we’ve started a new feature called the Saturday Spotlight.  Moderator Xochilt was kind enough to be our first volunteer.  Would you like to participate? Moderator Heather/BellaBuggy posted all about it, so get the info here and then remember to return your questionnaire!  Pssst! That means that those of you who have already requested one need to send them back in! *giggle*

5) In the Hot Auctions forum, member 3littlepunkins shared a big sale she had on a very common childhood toy.  You might even have one in your house!  Want the full scoop? You’ll have to be a member!

Would you like to get in on the action?  We’re always happy to have new members, and we’d love to help you with your in-home business today!  Click the banner below to join!

Filed under: Forum Friday Five, The Daily Stork by Rebecca
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Filed under: The Daily Stork by Rebecca
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Happy Monday!  With Halloween behind us, I usually find that the rest of the year flies by in a blur!  Does the clock seem to speed up at your house, too?  (I know it does if you are a toy seller!)

I’m working on Christmas shopping already, but also trying to take the time to truly appreciate the month of November.  One of our members, Kris, is especially good at reminding us all to be thankful.  Every day in the month of November, Kris posts a ‘What are you thankful for?’ thread in the Off-Topic forum.  What a great reminder to count our blessings!  Today, Kris, I am thankful for you and your on-going contributions to HCTS.  Members like you are what make our website the successful, helpful, caring place that it is, and I am very grateful.  I couldn’t do it without you!

The other thing I’m thinking about right now is…

Pumpkins!

Have I mentioned how much I love them?  And November is the best month of the year in that regard!  So here you go – my own personal ‘Top 10′ pumpkin edition!

1) Pumpkin Seeds – yum!

2) Pumpkin Pie – double yum!

3) Pumpkin Scones – you see where this is going…

4) Pumpkin Lattes – save a bundle over buying at Starbucks!

5) Pumpkin Wallflowers – good sale going on now, too!

6) Pumpkin Wallflowers – an even better sale!

7) Pumpkin Wallflower promo codes – okay, maybe a bit of a stretch, but it saves 20% + $3 shipping! 20HOLIDAY

8 ) Pumpkin Cookies – gluten free, too!

9) Pumpkin Cupcakes – gluten-free

10) Pumpkin Hats – so adorable!

Filed under: Shopping, The Daily Stork by Rebecca
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Welcome to the first edition of the Stork Saturday Spotlight!  Today the spotlight shines on…

Xochilt!  (And clearly, it’s a teeny-tiny spotlight to shine on such a teeny-tiny picture!  We need a better photo, don’t you think?)

Besides being a moderator at HCTS, Xochilt (pronounced so-shee) is a wife, mother of three, and former real estate agent.

25 things you probably don’t know about Xochilt

1) I dream of living in Ireland, though I’ve never been there.
2) I am in school full time (online)
3) I can’t bend my right pinky finger since I cut a tendon when I was twelve.
4) I can’t say the word “decision” without a big accent
5) My favorite part of selling on Ebay is the research.
6) My least favorite is taking pictures
7) I went to middle school with Venus Williams for one year
8 ) I can’t remember the last time I wore makeup
9) I am obsessed with the Harry Potter series
10) I can say all 50 states in alphabetical order, super fast!
11) My name means “flower” and it doesn’t fit me at all
12) My favorite all time movie is The Goonies
13) My favorite comedian is Adam Sandler
14) I love sushi, but I’m picky about where I eat it.
15) When I first started selling on Ebay, I kept a list of the countries I had shipped to
16) I really dislike cleaning my house
17) I’d like to be a writer when I grow up
18) I would love to live in a place where I could walk everywhere
19) I have always wanted to go to Disney World
20) I am a Lady Gaga fan
21) I am completely, totally, terrified of earthquakes
22) I don’t know how to swim
23) I can’t cry at funerals
24) I’m not a picky eater, but I hate cooked carrots
25) I see Ebay as a total blessing for my family in so many ways

Thank you so much for participating this week, Xochilt!

———————————

Would you like to be featured in the Saturday Spotlight?  Please send a private message to BellaBuggy in the HCTS forum for more information!

Not a member yet? Join today and get to know Xochilt and thousands of other women who make their living online!

Filed under: Saturday Spotlight by BellaBuggy
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If your kids dressed up for Halloween, come and share!  If YOU dressed up for Halloween, come and share close-ups!

Every year we have a Halloween Picture Share, so this year I thought I’d add a little more fun to the mix.  One of the posters will be chosen at random to receive a Starbucks gift card!  You have from now through Monday morning to share your Halloween pictures, and at noon on Monday, November 1, a winner will be randomly selected.

Not a member yet?  What are you waiting for?!?!  We have all the tools you need to learn and grow your online business, and as you can see we have a lot of fun along the way!

Filed under: Freebies, Giveaways and Prizes, The Daily Stork by Rebecca
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(a day late)

Filed under: The Daily Stork by Rebecca
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Did you see the latest Clickin Moms blog post? My dear friend and former HCTS owner Kendra is giving away a new CANON EOD 5D and some other cool prizes!!!

You just need to comment on the blog to be a random winner. BUT, you must be a member of CM to win. You can join my clicking below. There is a coupon code for 20% off- TREAT. If you are already a member, skip to the text below the banner.

Then go to this blog post and leave a comment:

http://www.clickinmoms.com/blog/?p=1087

I hope a stork wins it!!!

Filed under: The Daily Stork by Rebecca
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I hope it is happier at your house than it is at mine!  Unfortunately we are sick so I have nothing good to report.

~However, Heather tells me that she is still selling Halloween costumes!  This is down to the wire time for sure, but if you have any left and you don’t want to hold onto them until next year (and why would you???) then get them listed – TODAY!

~Still trying to qualify for toy selling on Amazon?  You have 7 days!  Close but not quite there yet?  Consider posting in the Amazon forum with a link to your store – your fellow storks might be able to find something they need and help you out in the process!

~Need a winter coat?  Old Navy is offering a 50% discount on one piece of outerwear to all of their Facebook fans! Coupon is good this Tuesday-Thursday only, so don’t delay!

You must ‘like’ them today to get the coupon!

Old Navy 50% off Outerwear coupon

~Planning a Halloween party this weekend?  Want some fun snacks?  When one of our members asked for recipes, she got lots of hauntingly good responses!  See for yourself what kind of creepy Halloween snacks you can create this weekend!

Have a productive day!

Filed under: The Daily Stork by Rebecca
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Once again, we bring you five (of many!) things that have been happening in the HCTS forums this week.  If you haven’t already, please stop by and participate in the discussions!

1) Are you planning to sell on Amazon this holiday season?  Have questions?  So do many of our members!  Stop by the Amazon forum where we’re discussing topics like returns, refunds, feedback, and last-minute qualifying sales – plus a whole lot more!

2) Great pictures are good for business! Need help getting them? We’re talking lighting techniques in the General Selling forum.  Stop by and share your strategies for getting that perfect picture!

Hint – professional studio not required!

3) Hot, hot, hot! Check out the hot auctions forum to see all of the plush sales that are bringing in the big bucks this week!  Also, a reminder to please be sure to share when you have an especially great sale.  This really helps our members know what to be looking for when they hit garage sales and thrift stores, and we all benefit from the sharing!

4) Need a fun and festive food idea for your Halloween party?  Check out these creative Halloween snack ideas in the Off-Topic section!

5) And finally – have you ever felt discouraged with the ‘customer service’ aspect of our business?  It’s easy to get frustrated when you have an unhappy buyer, and sometimes it feels like the bad outweighs the good.  But then you have an experience like Kim did on Wednesday that turns it all around.  Warm fuzzies!

Not a member yet?  Then by all means, click the banner below to join so that you can read all of the above and much, much more!

Have a great weekend!

Filed under: Forum Friday Five by Rebecca
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