Lettermo2015

   Who else is excited about The Month of Letters 2015? I have been involved for a few years. To be honest, I didn't do a great job. 2013 I did really well getting my mail out to people but then got behind and was in a huge funk because of stuff like the marathon bombing. 2014 I don't even know if I got anything out. So, 2015- new year. I prepared by writing a list of people who I had written to before or who had written to me, checking out their blogs, writing to the international ones so they could receive it at the beginning of Feb, and finding some new friends. I'm hoping for a really successful year. (Things that will make this successful for me: 1) Sending mail every mail day of Feb. This will greatly help with my 366 project. 2) Meeting some new people who I can continue connecting with throughout the year and 3) Hopefully getting some good mail.)  You should challenge yourself with Lettermo too. (You know I'm always looking for mail!)

     Here is my outgoing international mail... if I can get to the post office.

    These postcards are headed to Turkey, Germany, England, and Australia.  

The 366 Project:

Sent: 32

Received: 15

   Oh yeah, and it snowed. I present to you "BLIZZARD 2015"

Oh... shoot, wrong Blizzard.

   It wasn't bad. We have about 22 inches of snowfall but the drifts are huge. This is the front of my house so it is blocked from the wind. I'm 5'10" and the snow there was almost up to my waist.  It snowed for another 8 hours or so after those pictures were taken. I was trying to get into my car to get my school bag to do some work. I still have not completed the work I intended to but I'm relaxed and happy. (for now.. lol)

Miss you too!

   I got a kind "PS. I miss your blog." from a friend, so here I am! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas. Mine was good. It was just the right balance between relaxation/busyness, family time/alone time (extended verses small family) and gifts/budget. My only "complaint" is that the hamster Timmy got from Santa died the next day. So, we got a new friend, Blizzard. She's a biter. I'm hoping this will stop when she gets used to us. I'll put a picture of her at the end of this post. It seems to be messing up my formatting at the moment.
    Tomorrow I will show you some cool cards and gifts I have gotten over the past month.
     I was thinking about New Years earlier and about resolutions/goals. Last year I didn't make resolutions, I chose one word to focus on for the year (rejuvenate). First of all, it feels like yesterday that I picked the word- which made me think that I really did think about it quite a bit during the year.
     What are your resolutions/goals/focus words for 2015? I'll talk about mine in a few days.  Happy New Year if I don't see you before then!

    Meet Blizzard.

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.