Jessica at Little Indiana does a great job of showing off small towns in Indiana. Her story about a produce shop in Madison Indiana caught my eye with her colorful photo of the store front. I am adding A. Dattilo Fruit Company to my list of future travel destinations. You can find the company online, but Jessica’s article makes me want to visit the colorful shop and experience it first hand. How about you?

Find the shop here.

This Saturday will be the 20th year for the national Letter Carriers Food Drive. Our local food donations will go to Food Finders Food Bank. Hopefully, this weekend will add to the supplies at food banks all over the United States to help feed the hungry.

We received our food drive bag in the mail, did you? Of course, we can add as many bags or boxes of food as we want. Our mail service is making it so easy to donate to a good cause. We are filling our bags ahead of time so we will be ready before Saturday – and encourage you to do the same. Together we can make a difference! Read more about the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. They even supply logos and video to help pass the word along.

How cute are these necklaces?? I found them on one of my favorite sites, Money Saving Mom. She posted three ideas for inexpensive Mothers Day projects. My favorite is the this pendant made from washers, which I am betting I can find in our garage. Scott will laugh if I start digging through his hardware stash – he knows I have a rather large supply of craft supplies of my own! You can find Christy’s great detailed set of instructions at Thrifty and Thriving.

I am not technical minded, so I was at a loss when I began having problems adding or changing item specifics in my Blackthorne listings. Since eBay rarely notifies users of system problems (they own Blackthorne) I did what I always do…I checked discussion boards to see what other users were saying. Other eBayers are usually my best source of information.

There weren’t many postings on eBay boards, but there was enough to know that it wasn’t just me having the problem.  Blackthorne had posted an answer to user complaints/questions on their discussion forum. Their instructions were simple: Update to the newest version 04.08.026, and update categories. It worked like a charm, so I am sharing the information. Hint: Make sure you backup your database before running the update.

I have set a personal goal to list at least 5 new auctions a day during this special. There are a lot of other obligations on my calendar this week, but with some creative scheduling and focus I can do it. I have been frustrated by low sales on eBay and increasing my listed inventory should make a difference.

I am not a regular Starbucks customer, but I plan to give their Frappuccino half price special a try. The sale is 3 to 5 p.m. each day May 4-13, 2012. According to their store locator – there are seven locations within easy driving distance of my home.

My family likes icy coffee drinks and we had some on our recent trip to Texas.  I am always in “save” mode and so it didn’t surprise anyone that my first taste of a McDonald’s Carmel Frappe was purchased with a buy one get one free coupon. That set the stage for me to become curious when I heard about this Starbucks promotion from Money Saving Mom. I wonder how the two drinks will compare?

I know the Starbucks deal is designed in part to bring people like me in the door…and it is working. I am even sharing the news because I thought you might want to go, too. I may even enter one of their daily contests by sending a photo on Twitter.  Check out the contest on their Frappuccino Coffee Drink site under the Community tab. It looks like fun. (Especially since I just recently started taking photos with my phone.)

My dilemma will be choosing a flavor. Any suggestions?

$14 for a Disney Fire King mug might make sense if it were authentic, but this is a poor condition cup with a Robin Hood STICKER on one side. This doesn’t appear to be an honest mistake – like a Pyrex dish with a Fire King lid, which could easily be done by someone who does not know their kitchen ware brands.

This error seems more obvious. What do they think will happen when this is used and washed?

We traveled through Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois in between home in Indiana and Wichita Falls, Texas. I discovered how to put cell phone photographs on Facebook along the way there. Here are a few of my less than professional snap shots. I am rather proud of the Lamar street sign because LaMar is my sons, Ronnie and Nathan, last name.

Nathan had to be at work early today. I felt sorry for him because he did more than 12 hours of driving after we ate breakfast with Ronnie in Texas. I stayed up awhile, after getting home to Indiana about 1:30 a.m., to make sure all packages were ready to ship out so I could allow myself to sleep in. (I was still in my pajamas when I did make it back to my keyboard many hours later.) I know I do not sound very inspiring…but times like these are when working from home advantages mean the most. I was able to spend time with family and then re-enter my work week at my own pace. I am most grateful!