Today's mail

366 Project

Sent: 14
Received:14

     Today I received 2 postcards which bring my sent/received today to equal. I'm way behind with what I wanted to mail so maybe I'll take tonight to send a bunch of postcards out and finish the letter I'm working on. I'm also taking part in the Month of Letters Challenge in February, which challenges you to :

1. In the month of February, mail at least one item through the post every day it runs. Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture, or a cutting from a newspaper, or a fabric swatch.
2. Write back to everyone who writes to you. This can count as one of your mailed items.

  Although I'm getting a late start, if I mail something every day, I should be able to get at least 23 things out. 

    Here's what I got today:

 This card is my first Lettermo mail this year! It is from Michelle. I can't wait to respond. I have something special I'd like to send back to her.

 
   This is from Pedro in China. It is of West Lake, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. (I collect UNESCO cards so I was really excited to get this!) The card is really pretty.

Olympics

     How many of you watch the Olympics? Although I'm not a huge sports fan, you can't help but be impressed by the dedication of all of these athletes from around the world.  Meghan Duggan, captain of the US Women's Olympic Hockey Team is actually from our town. I have never met her but I think it's awesome that she made it back to the Olympics. I will try to catch a few of her games on tv. 
     We are going to do a little "Family Olympics" over the next month. Today we made some Olympic rings for our front door, made team flags and competed in our first event- The Snowball Toss. I made Olympic rings in the snow with some food coloring. The object was to see how many snowballs you could toss that would land in one of the rings. I won this event. The boys tied for 2nd and Matt didn't play. The kids are excited about this. Many events will be pretty goofy but we'll have fun. Do you have any suggestions for us? The boys are 5 and 8 so we want it to be something each boy could be successful at while still having to try and enjoying themselves. They do not all have to be sport related. 
     What are your favorite events to watch in the Winter Olympics? 
 

Blizzard mail

Blizzard!!!!

    Hello from snowy Massachusetts. We're supposed to get 16-24" of snow tonight, which is nothing compared to what some of my friends get for snow, but a lot for here. Here are some pictures of the storm right now:

 Timmy in action

 Matt, David and Timmy sledding in our side yard. (Well, Matt is pushing rather than sledding!)

 David.. who really flies with a good push.

 The side yard/driveway. We live next to a shop, hence the classy dumpster. Past the dumpster, next to the snowy truck, is a huge pile of lobster traps. A fisherman from Gloucester stores them here. (Just some random info. for you :) )

 Looking down toward the highway.

 Across the street.

 Timmy.

Timmy probably secretly hoping to run David over.

     I'll take more pictures for "after" shots.

Incoming....

    Only got 1 letter today. It was from Linda, a penpal from AL. I loved a little sticker she had on there.  It made my day.

  The other day I was super excited because Matt texted me that I got a package from Italy. I wasn't expecting a package from Italy so I was a bit surprised. In fact, I don't even have a penpal from Italy. I got home from work and rushed to my mail. I pulled open the package and found a postcard and a box. The postcard from Postcrosser Lamberto in Italy. (Impressive- he's the number 1 postcrosser in Italy for postcards sent and distance sent!) In addition to being a super postcrosser, he seems really nice. In addition to the postcard, there were 2 pairs of Timberland sunglasses in there. What a cool random act of mail kindness :)

Outgoing....

    What blizzard? Good thing John was working at the post office and waiting for me to come by. lol. (The post office is closed tomorrow here. No mail delivery I'm sure. Maybe this will make Monday and awesome mail day!) 
    Today I sent 3 Postcrossing postcards and care packages to soldiers 2 and 3. May I just say I hate customs forms for the military packages? Thanks. Here's the loot:

 I ran out of shipping tape so duct tape had to work for my top package. (That's a Month of Letter sticker on there too!)

Other...

    We tried the miso soup and Chinese noodles sent in the food swap. They were tasty. It's a good thing we have Ramen noodles because here were the directions:

 In Japanese, I believe it says: "Dear Jen, it's instant soup and noodles. Are you really trying to read the directions? Let me draw you a picture... dummy."  The pictures worked..lol.

      This was tasty. The noodles tasted different than the noodles that are in our similar noodles. I was also surprised that the miso soup flavoring was a liquid. Many times with instant foods in the US, the seasonings are dehydrated. My penpal Akiko said that the curry and the pasta sauce that was sent in the swap should be put in boiling water, heated in the package and then used on the food. Hmm... I'll try them all soon. Timmy wanted to try the soup and he really liked it too. (Tim says: "That soup was awesome- a little spicy but very yummy")

     In other notes, I just got a postable. If you'd like, please update your address for my online (secure) contact book.  A lot of people from A Month of Letters are using it. It will certainly make things easier if I'm trying to send a letter from school or something.
    
    Have I rambled enough yet? Maybe I'll go finish Ashley's letter (seriously) and write a few letters. 

Outgoing packages and LetterMo

Outgoing....

     I'm so glad I'm doing LetterMo. It will start getting me caught up with my letters. (Guilt is a great motivator too!) Here is my outgoing mail today... so far. (I'm hoping to write at least 1 letter tonight.) 

 
These are 2 packages headed out to 2 female soldiers that I support through Adopt A US Soldier. Soldier 1 is getting the large box. It contains snacks, drinks, hygiene products and some cards and letters from Timmy's Boy Scout troop.  I hope she likes it!
    The envelope is for my newest soldier. (Soldier #4- I'm not using names and locations because of the OPSEC rules)  This is just a small getting to know you package. She e-mailed me and said that she needs to get some paper so... here it is, a notebook, some girly stationary, envelopes and some Brach's candy conversation hearts for a treat. Of course there is a letter in there too.

Other...

     What is LetterMo?  It's the Month of Letters challenge. I'm hoping to send and receive lots of cool mail and make some new friends. Of course, I'm planning on catching up with my current penpals first. I plan to be writing a lot!  Here is the challenge:

"I have a simple challenge for you.

1. In the month of February, mail at least one item through the post every day it runs. Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture, or a cutting from a newspaper, or a fabric swatch.
2. Write back to everyone who writes to you. This can count as one of your mailed items."      Sounds fun right?  Possibly terrifying if you don't like to write, but it's right up my alley.

If you're visiting from LetterMo, welcome to my blog :)

1st mail out for The Month of Letters

Outgoing...

 
     First mail out for my Month of Letters quest: a postcard to Galiena in Russia. 
US-2060598

  
Valentine's Day themed. It says "In sickness and in health I lub you." I don't think they celebrate Valentine's Day in Russia so I'm writing about that. First postcard out with more postage too... ugh.

Mystery Envelope 22

Incoming...

     Today I arrived home from work to find a large, stuffed envelope in my mailbox. This is from a round robin I often participate in. One person starts an envelope with 10 items in it and then the envelope passes between 5 other participants before returning home. When you receive the envelope you take out the items that you'd like and replace those items with items of similar value. This envelope started in Japan and has been sent to me by Verlustangst in Malaysia. Here's what was inside:

4 postcards that will be perfect for my A Month of Letters challenge or for Postcrossing.

     A flower handkerchief

 A 5-Spice Mix. I think I'm going to keep this to try it. You cook it with chicken, peas, carrots, mushrooms and baby corn.

 Sorry for the bad picture. This is a bracelet on top of a small patch of bubble wrap.

 These are toothbrush holders. They clip on the top part of the toothbrush and they have a suction cup on the back. Hey Miss Tricia, this could work at the preschool! I love the smiley faces.

 Pencils. I might keep these to give out as student prizes. They'll be excited to know that they're getting something from a different country. (Even though most of the stuff they have is also from different countries)

 Lip gloss. I'm keeping this and I'll probably add in more Lip Smackers from the huge pack I got for the lip balm swap.

 Matryoshka keychain. She was round and wouldn't stay put.

 An expo2012 pin from Korea

 Eyeliner. I couldn't pull off gold eyeliner though I was tempted to see what I would look like

  I will update what I added to the envelope before I send it out. Any suggestions? (It should be pretty light and worth the value of the things I took out.) It will head to The Netherlands, England and Brazil before heading back to Japan. 

Outgoing...

    I have a letter headed out to The Netherlands but I want to wait until I photograph it. I also plan on finishing another letter tonight so I'll take a picture of that too.

The 366 Project 

Sent: 8
Received: 4
    

Other:

     I have decided to join A Month of Letters to help keep me on track in February. It looks fun. If you've ever wanted to start writing, check out the site. If you'd like to send me a letter, or want one from me, message me. (I need to finish catching up with penpals first but I anticipate being caught up before February.)
     Have a great day! Thanks for checking in.