More outgoing than incoming :)

     Came home from vacation to find 2 things in my box. I guess this is the result of not responding to my letters for ages. I'm still catching up- dear friends, I have not forgotten about you. 

Incoming...

 From 12 year old Postcrosser, Alexandra, from Minsk, Belarus. Thanks!

 From Julia in the Netherlands.  Very cute.

  
These were the stamps on the back of Julia's cards. Any of my Dutch friends want to tell me what these pictures are from? Is it a children's book illustrator? (Timmy and I were discussing this.. inquiring minds want to know!)

Outgoing..

     Lots of outgoing:

 Sent to a Postcrosser. Hyannis, MA is a wonderful place to visit in the summer (if you don't mind crowds).

 Sent to another Postcrosser- Motif #1 in Rockport.This is about 30 minutes north of where I live.

This is sent to an 11 year old Postcrosser from Russia. Boston Museum of Science. Good stuff!

 I've always liked this postcard and was just waiting for someone who likes old photographs. This shows a football game between cops and prisoners taken at Sing Sing (they think) between 1930 and 1935. Cool. If I remember correctly, this card is headed for Germany.

 This is sent to a unit on active duty that I connected with through AnySoldier.com.

 Sent to a Postcrosser in Canada that is somehow related to a library.

 I've rotated through a few soldiers on Adopt a US Soldier. Thomas, Lauren and Jason have come home. I have 1 returning home on Sunday. I have one woman I e-mail since mail is not easily delivered to her base. Then I have these 3 soldiers- 1 whom I've had for a while and 2 new ones who, ironically, are serving at the same base.


    I have more to send out tomorrow. I'm determined to catch up. 

The 366 Project:

Received: 43
Sent: 113
   

Other...

    1)  Here are my kids, just because I like them and think they're cute.. lol.

 The most smiley, sweetest kid.

     In his first official baseball tournament. They're playing kids a year older than them but having a great time.

     2) I've determined I'm not going to say "I'm going to put this on the blog tomorrow" or "If I have my act together, I will..." because then I feel horribly guilty. This also goes for penpalling. I need to give myself flexibility to write when I have something to say and most of my friends would totally understand that and be fine with it. Penpal guilt is pretty awful and it's worse if you're dealing with any other issues with it.
      3) Vacation was good. We played a lot in the water- at the beach, pools, waterparks, etc. We went to an amusement park. We had a lot of family time and a LOT of driving in the car. Although it doesn't sound really exciting, it was a nice trip. Timmy and Matt got stung by jellyfish. That wasn't fun. For those who are wondering: Yes, apparently if you pee on a jellyfish sting it will stop the pain. However, vinegar works better- which is what we used. They had some at the lifeguard station. Who knew? I also learned that if you rinse the area with fresh water first, the things that are making the sting will continue to fire and it will hurt worse. You learn something new every day. 
     Timmy also had a little adventure. He was swimming in the ocean about 10 feet offshore when he felt something in the sand under him. He reached down and picked this up! We had him go to the front desk to ask if anyone had said that they lost a watch. Nobody had. Since we had no way of knowing how long the watch had been there and who had lost it, the hotel manager thought "there must be SOME reason it came to you!"  So, when we checked out, we went down to see if the watch was claimed and now it is Timmy's.  Boy, is he excited! Maybe I'll have him write a letter to Casio.   I was impressed the watch was still working. They asked the people around them but it wasn't anybody's. I'm sure if you see Timmy, except at baseball, he will have the watch on and gladly tell you his story. :)

     I hope you're having a blessed day.
^"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."- 1 John 4:9-11
     3)  

 

Pre-vacation post

    Hello! I am going on vacation tomorrow. I am so excited.  In the meantime, I've been writing like a madwoman. (mostly postcards but I have not forgotten about you my dear penfriends.)  Here is the outgoing mail for the past few days:

Outgoing...

 To someone who wanted a MA map card

 A few postcrossing cards

 A "scripture encouragement" card. I wrote Psalm 139:1-6 on the back

 You can't see it too well in this card but 1) that moon is a cutout and 2) the card is all glittery. This is the House of Seven Gables in Salem, MA. Showing some Salem love after a class I took there this week.

 I brought Timmy here a few weeks ago.

 More postcrossing sends...

      I also sent some Reese's Peanut Butter cups to my dear friend, Anita, in Hungary and a special package that I want to keep a surprise. (Sorry for the ugly packaging..lol) I'm also sending out 3 more postcards that I hadn't photographed.

Incoming...

One letter and 2 postcards since my last post. 

 This is a letter from a new pal. I look forward to getting to know you, Lisa.

 This is from a woman in China. She also sent me a recommendation for a song by Faye Wong, Red Bean.

This is a beautiful castle/hotel in Germany. I'd love to go there. Very pretty. Thanks! Any of my penpals live around here?

The 366 Project

Received: 41
Sent:104   <---- Woohoo!!! Over 100.

Other...

Look who lost his 1st tooth?  Very exciting.

 
We're also excited to be going on vacation. If I have my act together, maybe I can share our best picture from the day when we're there. 

     I hope you all are having a blessed day. I really appreciate all of the friends in my life. Write me a comment about what you've been up to this week.

Package from Germany...

    Ok.. so on a bad note, I'm totally behind in tracking my mail so I'm going to start counting things as I sort through them. I'm way ahead of my numbers right now.

Incoming....

    I was super excited to see a package I had been expecting from my good friend Jenny in Germany. Not only did she send a great letter, as always, but she also sent some yummy chocolate, marzipan, and a really cute notebook. I love the Ritter chocolate. I'm eating 1 little square a day; rather... I'm trying to eat 1 little square a day. 

Outgoing...

    I just have 2 intro letters going out to new soldiers. Nothing visually interesting :) 

The 366 Project:

Received: 37
Sent: 86

Other stuff...

     I'm home for the summer so I have a lot more free time. I have enjoyed spending it with family and friends. This week we celebrated Independence Day. I "adopted" a few more soldiers to write to on Adopt A US Soldier.  I also have adopted a soldier at Any Soldier. A few of my soldiers have returned home to the states so I looked to support some more people.
     Yesterday my kids, along with some friends, rode in the Horribles Parade. They won an award and were very excited... and hot.

         Earlier this month I got to go see a former student of mind on Broadway. I was so proud. I went to see him in April in the ensemble but  I went back to see him as the lead a few weeks ago. He's in Cinderella and he's such a great guy. His name is Andy Jones, keep an eye out for him! If you have a chance to go see it, you should!  Everybody that I met in the cast seemed like really down to earth, kind people.

   What are you all doing for the summer? Anything good?  I look forward to hearing from everybody.
 

I'm back....

Wow, it really has been too long. I have not been doing too much writing lately. I have been very busy and honestly, didn't have much to say after the events of the Boston Marathon bombing back in April. I have many late postcrossing cards to register and then I need to being writing again. I will go back to my 366 count when I start getting back on track. I have appreciated all of the letters that have come in for the past few months. Sorry for the late responses. See you at the mailbox!

Oy! So busy!!!!!

     I just wanted to check in. Life has been insanely busy- even when I'm specifically trying to slow things down.  I have been praying for many of my penpals as they celebrate birthdays, deal with marital struggles, family sicknesses, everyday life, serving in the military, planning for exciting vacations, etc. Please know that I have not forgotten about you.  I will write when I can catch my breath a little!
     So this month I finished being the music director for our school musical. (The Little Mermaid Jr) All in all, the kids did well and I really enjoyed working with them.  I also am planning 3 assemblies for our elementary schools. Next I have to bring some students to our District Festival. Having some workaholic tendencies, I sometimes struggle with not working all of the time.  Honestly, I really love my job too so it doesn't always feel like work.

     On a less hectic note, my little guy turns 5 tomorrow. He is one of the sweetest children I know. He has a beautiful smile and is always extremely helpful. I love his little giggle. Happy birthday!

2 good mail days

Incoming....

     Both pieces of incoming mail are responses to Lettermo postcards I sent out. I look forward to responding to both of them!

 Jackie- Did you stamp this or print it? Very cool. I would like to make my own postcards but I'm generally just bad at art. :( I try. I'm thinking of trying a mail art project this month. I'll see...

  Angie (from Mailbox Happiness)- I love the postcard from you too. Great idea. I just read your blog last night about how your writing has evolved over the month so it was nice to get your postcard today. I approached writing a little differently this time. Most of my first correspondences this time were just about what was going on here and general conversation, rather than the awkward intro letters. Now that people are responding, I will respond and tell them a little more about me and my family. It is a lot easier knowing more about them too. All of the people who have written seem like they are great letter writers. Nobody left me in a situation where I didn't have anything to respond to or talk about. Good stuff. I'm really glad I am taking part of LetterMo this year.

Outgoing...

     Package for Ashley, 2 soldier letters, 2 postcrossing cards (Finland and Russia) and 3 Lettermo postcards to people who signed my postable. 

What's a Postable?

     Postable is an online address book. From what I've read, it is very secure and lots of people that I've contacted through Lettermo are using it. Basically, it stores your addresses online and you can access it from wherever you are. This will save me (and, more so, Matt) a lot of frustration since I won't have letters hanging out all over the house. (Except letters in a "special spot" like Ashley's. Ugh. I will find it.)  It will also be nice if I'm on vacation and pick up some postcards for my friends. So, please feel free to sign my Postable and let me know if you have one of your own. I'll send any new friends a postcard  :)
 

Mailbox happiness!

Incoming...

     We went on vacation for a few days and I came home to a lovely stack of mail. Here it is:

 From a postcrosser in Belarus. I don't have many long cards like this.

 Timmy loved this pig card from a postcrosser in the Netherlands.

 Here is a winking gnome from Stefanie, a postcrosser in Germany.

 From postcrosser, Liyn, in China. They work for a chocolate company. The chocolate looks delicious. The top of the card says "Every piece of Choc Choco tells a story" My chocolates are usually screaming in fear.. lol.

 This is from a Lettermo friend from Georgia. I love postcards that are mail related!

 Another new Lettermo friend. Missy is from Arizona. I love the Mother Theresa quote. Missy, if you're reading this, you should check out a woman named Mama Maggie Gobran. She works with the street children of Cairo, Egypt and is the most humble person I have ever heard speak. If I remember I will add some of her quotes to your letter.

Mail from South Africa, Australia, Maryland and Virginia. The woman in South Africa is a fairly new penpal and the other 3 are fascinating new pals from Lettermo. I'm so excited to that I joined this year.
  Reading back in the blog, I realized that I needed to update a few other pieces of mail too.  This was from last week. Sorry I have not been good about updating this week. 

 Package from my friend, Akiko, in Japan!

 Ooooh! Exciting.

 Oops... this was out of order. Great postcrossing card. It's in the other room so I don't remember off the top of my head where it is from.

 Tea from Japan- this will make me feel beauty... good stuff.

 Nice postcard from Akiko

 Tsurago Castle in Japan

 "The Big Bad Wolf and the Seven Little Goats" Akiko, is this a story? We don't have this story here. You will have to tell me it.

 Tea!

 Chocolate- white, milk and dark!

 New Lettermo friend from Indiana. I love the card. She made the photo below as well.

       Lastly, I got a letter from Wendy (Lettermo) in Australia. I grabbed it on my way off for vacation so I didn't take a picture.
     I can't complain about not having any mail this week! Hopefully it keeps up like this and I can write like a madwoman to keep up!

Outgoing...

    Didn't take any pictures of mail on vacation but I mailed 3 of my soldiers, a penpal package (Melanie's) and a few Postcrossing cards. Here are my new numbers since it's been a while.

The 366 Project:

Received: 31
Sent: 59

     Today is the 52nd day of the year so I'm still on track!!! Woohoo! 

    Off to write some letters.  Today I saw that my page has hit 2000 page views. Yeah!