NewsOn6 Interview

Could this be the start of something big?

It all started a few days ago when I was about to leave work. I was gathering all my stuff and glanced down at my phone and noticed I had a missed call. 

I didn't recognize the number and the voicemail had not popped up yet. I figured the call had something to do with the project, because no one ever calls me besides my family, a couple friends, and of course bill collectors.

A few minutes passed and finally I heard the beep! I had a voicemail! "Shoot, no service", I said out loud. I quickly ran outside to see if I could get a signal and listen to the message...finally I had service! 

It was an unfamiliar voice, "Hey Matt, my name is Chris Howell and I am a reporter with channel 6 television news and I stumbled across your website and was kind of interested in your project and wanted to know if you would like to do a story on your project? Let me know if you're interested." 

He left his number and then the message ended. Did I want to do a story? It was a no brainer for me. 

"Heck to the yes", I said to myself. 

I called him immediately and expressed my interest in doing the interview. We set up the time and day and it all fell into place from there. I called Amy and told her the good news and she was all for it. 

As we were talking a thought came to mind, "Ohh nooo", I said, "if we do an interview that means we have to clean the house!" Amy followed up with, "Even worse, the house is not even finished being painted and we have stains all over the carpet from Anna's juice and whatever else she has thrown on the floor!" "Ohhh nooo!!", we both said at the same time.

Well, take it or leave it, our house is what it is. We at least had time to clean the house, everything else would just have to do for now.

The morning of the interview had finally come! 

We tidied up the last few things around the house and then waited, and waited some more. "What time is it even?" I asked Amy. "6:30AM" she said. I guess that 's what happens when you have a kid who is an early bird. You wake up really early, do a bunch of stuff and then realize that it's six freaking thirty in the morning! 

9:30AM rolled around and here he came just as he promised. It was Chris Howell from channel 6 news! My heart pounded and nervousness set in. 

I had been on TV before, but this was different. This time it was just Amy and I and our project. 

And our unfinished house, just as I promised 

Everything went great and hopefully he got the shots he wanted. All in all it lasted about an hour. I thanked Chis for his time and he wished us the best of luck. 

The story will for sure be on the internet. To get it as a featured story on the main stream news might be a little more challenging because my site deals with religion and faith. 

News stations tend to be a little hesitant about airing that kind of stuff. 

How about this, I challenge NewsOn6 to take a risk and air this as a feature story! Everything is in God's hands and He alone will do what He wants to with this project. However people hear about this project, whether it is on the internet or on main stream news does not matter. God will get the word out however He chooses!

Update: It really disappoints me to tell you this, but because of an insanely huge snow storm we had, our story got cut. Supposedly our footage somehow got deleted. Better luck next time. 

Trade Mobile 1.0

It is what it is

Let me rewind a little bit and take you back in time to a land far far away. It all started in Arizona in an unknown city (unknown because I can't remember the name) with a guy who really loved his daughter. 

This gentleman had it all going for him. He had a business worth one million dollars and because of some tough times he lost it all. 

Close your eyes and envision this van in it's pearly white years. Now open them.

Wow, those are some bright colors! 

His daughters birthday was coming up and he had nothing to give her. He wanted to throw her a birthday party, but how could he afford it? He thought, "what if I throw her a party and let her and her friends paint the van?"

As you can see that is what he did. His daughter and a bunch of 11 year old girls went at it and had the time of their lives. I imagine this little girl will never forget the party her daddy threw her. 

The guy on the right got the van from the guy I was telling you about

This is Bill Martin

He's the guy that started FreshStart Fellowship, FreshStart Broadcasting, and of course Bill Martin Ministries (the guy I traded my guitar to). Bill and his wife left everything and moved from Arizona to Chelsea, Oklahoma  to start new FreshStart Fellowship. 

They bought the crazy colored van I told you about and then loaded up their essentials and made the 1,100 mile journey. Bill listed the van on Craigslist and it wasn't long until someone offered him top dollar for it. 

He could have very easily taken the money which would have aided in his ministry, but something held him back. I'd seen the van as well on Craigslist and immediately knew it was Bills van because of all stories I heard about it. 

I wanted that thing. It just felt right. 

I ran it by the wife and i'm sure you can guess what her reaction was. I wanted that van and I was going to get it no matter what she said. Mistake #1 

I emailed Bill and told him I would trade him the Saturn for the van. Mistake # 2: Make sure your wife actually knows all the details, and don't agree to anything until she does! If momma ain't happy, nobodies happy.

I know what you all are thinking, "how is that a fair trade?" It did not matter to me. I wanted that van and I wanted to help out if I could. Mistake #3: Don't make decisions on emotions.

I figured it might be a little easier to trade the Saturn than the van. To my shock, Bill emailed me back breaking the news; He had a buyer. Let down. 

Long story short, he passed them up and traded me the van to help the project out. 

Surprisingly the van and the Saturn's value were not much different. 

Moral of the story: 

Don't trade a decent running car for a multi-colored van. And most importantly, don't go against your baby mommas will. She is normally right. I will leave it at that.

And now for something a little off subject.....

Remember Dirty Tyson?  He's TMOOD's number one Traveler. He goes everywhere a trade goes, even if he has to be a carry-on.

The chickens gotta get his 5 minutes of fame. You can read all about him here. For every official trade that is made there will be a contest. How it works is for every trade that is made, there will be an official picture that is taken. DT likes to be a part of those, but he doesn't like to take all the attention. Sometimes he will hide in whatever picture he wants.

He likes to hide, but the thing is you have to find him. Sometimes in  Kind of like "Where's Waldo?" Contest details will be explained more in a later post, sometime before the next trade takes place, which is soon I am hoping! 

Back to the van: Even though I laid the line down telling my wife I was going to get the van no matter what she said, she laid her cooking pans down and said no more cooking till you paint that thing. I hardly know how to cook anything besides Ramen. I could not risk it. I broke and said I would paint it.

What are the plans? The plan I have told her is that I am going to repaint it a nice solid color that does not stick out, but little does she know I have other plans...hehehe.  Trust me it will still get a lot of attention when I am done with it.

The van is in decent shape, but is solid as a rock. It has a few a lot of issues here and there. No more Mr. Incredible name calling from my sisters (they called me that because I was way too big for the Saturn). Pretty much, I made a bad move and I'm paying for it. That's a whole other story for another time. 

I'm out, 

Matt

Introducing....

Hi, folks! Matt is letting me, his lovely wife, guest post tonight! 

The truth is, he is doing homework that he put off for a week (due tomorrow, of course) so I got the fun job of introducing TMOOD's (confused? it stands for Trade Me Out of Debt) smallest family member: 

Dirty Tyson

You're probably wondering why the heck we have a ceramic chicken named Dirty Tyson (a.k.a Dirty, DT, Dirty T or just plain ole Tyson).

 I was the lucky one who plucked him from under the tree at a christmas party this December. I deserved it really seein' as last year I brought a ceramic punch bowl shaped like a snail. (Hard to explain, but trust me, it was HID-E-OUS!!!).

Anyway, here sat Dirty at our house, lookin' all sad and bored and wishin' he had somethin' better to do. He looked at Matt with his wee beady eyes and it's all Matt could do to refuse him. He instantly became a permanent figure Matt would have to have with him on trades.

So, whenever Matt makes a trade, Dirty Tyson comes along for the ride. He likes to pose somewhere in each trade photo to make his presence known. If you look back at Matt's trades and look hard enough, Dirty T is sure to be found.

Dirty T is known to spread some love and cheer, and rumor has it that he has a giveaway up his sleeves when the next trade happens! Stay tuned, and take a look back at the previous trades photos to see if you can find him!

The X Factor Trade Complete: Trade # 2

We drove all the way to
 Bristow, Oklahoma to make this trade 

It was a lot easier to find than Porter, Oklahoma

My sister, Bethany Loerke took the pictures for this trade and 
also supplied the snacks, I'm pretty sure I ate them all by myself!
We had a great time. One that I will never forget.

Without further ado, I introduce to you...Item X!

Feeling let down because I worked it up to be something huge?

 Don't, it gets better

Why a Linksys Dual-Band Wireless Gigabit Router by Cisco? Why not? First of all, this thing rocks! All you have to do is plug it into your outlet and your modem and then you can take your laptop anywhere around the house and get an internet signal, all unplugged. 

This router is a lot better than the Polaroid and its trading value is higher. I have to say a big thank you to Mystery X (I will explain later) for helping the project out. The router has taken the trading adventure to a whole new level. 

Keep reading and you will understand...

"What's up with you holding the baby, and the 

other baby dangling from the ledge unattended?" 

Mystery X wished to have their identity kept private for security reasons and I figured that taking the picture with the babies would not give their identity away. I had to have someone to take a picture with to prove that I actually made the trade!

Isn't she so cute and such a little doll? 

Can I let you in on a little secret?

She is a doll! No really, she is not a real baby.. this is a doll! Mystery X makes these things. They feel like a real baby (weight and all). Every little detail says, "this is a real baby". 

She (okay, I have revealed that Mystery X is a She) has made tons of custom dolls like this one. She showed me a photo album of the ones that she has made and I am still trying to convince her that they are real! 

She sells them for a very fair price, but even better: She teaches classes on how to make them! Contact me and I will hook you up! Okay, I am tired I called her Mystery X. I will now call her....hmmm..since I am Cherokee, how about a Cherokee name? I shall call her Suna Lei Awi (Pronounced: Su Nah Lay E Aw Wi) I'm going to use the English translation because Suna Lei Awi is too long and hard to say. In English it means Morning Dear. Actually this is her real name in Cherokee, but her birth name we will just keep between me, myself, and I. 

Morning Dear hand paints and sculpts each one unique unto itself. Each hair is applied one at a time! She probably knows the exact number of hairs on their heads! At times it can take 8 hours just apply the hair! 

Do not be intimidated, she will teach you step by step how to make these very dolls. Her class is a 6 week long class, one day a week, and only 2 1/2 hours long each sessions. The program is very affordable and well worth the effort. For me to say that is huge! I am trying to trade myself out of debt! 

She also makes handmade soaps, candles, and much much more. Contact me and I will get you in contact with this one of a kind doll artist. Each doll is made for a purpose. Many times this purpose is for comfort after an individual has lost a young child. Or maybe you just want to be reminded of what it feels like to hold your dear little baby again after your children have grown too big to hold. 

Why not travel back in time to your childhood years and enjoy one of these life-like creations. I caught myself forgetting that the baby I was holding was not real!

I hope you have enjoyed reading about this trade!

Signing out once again,

            -----The Mustard Seed Guy-----

Update:

As of 2012, according to my sources, the above classes are no longer offered in Oklahoma. If I hear anything different I will let you know. 

The X Factor

Welcome to the preview of the X Factor Trade

It's official, the Polaroid Camera with Film will soon have a new home! 

Due to some minor security issues, the exchange will probably be delayed for a week. 

We'll call this new item "X". I have to call it X because I can't give away all the details. Anyway, Item X is definitely bigger and I would say way better than a Polaroid Camera. 

So far, the camera has set the record for taking the least amount of days to trade (15 days). I posted it on Craigslist on December 23rd, 2010. It took until January 7th, 2011 to nail the trade down and get a confirmation. And that matters why? It doesn't, I just wanted to point that out.

Are you annoyed yet because I haven't told you what X is? Too bad :) You'll just have to keep checking back to find out.

Happy trading and thanks for reading!

The Poley

 

Deep breath innnnnn....and now out.....

Trading up takes patience and a drive to not give up. 

I am still under my 20 day mustard seed mark. I can't let the mustard seed (19 days) beat the Polaroid in days taken to be traded. 

We've had some decent offers for the camera, the only problem is you have to be able to separate the real offers from the "I'm just going to mess with you and send you fake offers."

I will not let this camera defeat me! I will win! In closing I will say this: Think long and hard and ask yourself this question "What do I have that I am going to get rid of anyways, that would help Matt out in the project?" 

Trades I would consider: Honestly anything bigger or better than a Polaroid Camera with film. Here's a few things I  randomly came up with on the spot: a shovel, a rake, a tent, hot air balloon ride,  a head lamp, electric weed eater, anything to do with the outdoors. 

This camera will trade! 

Watch out Craigslist, here I come!