Yes, there's a common thread here, give me a moment...

I got my income taxes done and mailed off this weekend for 2004. I'll have another halfway decent refund, though I guess I'm going to be applying it to bills instead of keeping it. But that's another story.

Anyway, I got to cleaning, took some things I've been holding onto for a while and listed two auctions on eBay (under this same handle if anyone wants to go have a peek).... But I also got to thinking about the big bins of Beanie Babies I still have that myself and an old girlfriend had collected together. I got to checking other auctions and eBay is certainly a buyer's market for stuffed animals right now. There are lots larger than mine going for dirt dirt cheap. But I found out my parents got a book on tax deductions, and they suggested $4 per stuffed animal if you donate them. The only thing is, I'm still not making enough where itemizing deductions vs taking the standard is making a big difference, but the old girlfriend I mentioned before is. Plus she owns a townhome now, so she can deduct her mortgage, etc. So I think I'm going to give the 100+ toys back to her (wishing I'd kept some of the others rather than trying to list them and getting pittances for them), and let her donate to one of the area charities always looking for things they can put in their resale shops. Should be a good $300-400 donation.