minion pencil case

Saturday: A friend and I went shopping. She gave me my Christmas present, a bunch of blind bags.

A Paw Patrol, a Littlest Pet Shop and three Lost kitties. My favorite is that blue kitty in the middle.
Our first stop was Petco, where I learned you can't hold a guinea pig unless you're planning to buy it. That really bummed me out.
I did take a couple pictures, though:

 Next stop was Target:

 I picked up this fuzzy sweater, it's an XL, but it was cheaper than an L, and since I won't be wearing it out of my apartment, I figured oversize was fine. I should do that with the warmer items, XL is fine if I'm not wearing it outside. I also picked up an Ugly Dolls plus blind bag.
Our last stop was Dollar Tree:

 aloe drink, all the sugar wafers, pastry crisps, cookies and cream Twix, salted caramel Milky Way, and a peanut butter heart.
I picked up the Aloe drink, hoping it would help my grumpy stomach. The sugar wafers are for a friend, she told me the other day, they were her guilty pleasure. I picked up the Pastry Crisps to have something a little more healthy to snack on at home. I picked up the Twix and Milky Way because they were different.

 unicorn stickers, lamb craft kit, gem butterflies, jar stickers, bird stickers, pom pom pen, magnets, tape.
I have no reasons for these.
I didn't have any mail when I got home, so I put together a few tags.
A collectors tag of pocket watches and unique washi.

  a Send me Something magical:

As I was cropping the photo, I noticed the corgi unicorn, totally magical.
And a pocket letter:

I was trying to go flat on these. I was originally going to just send the pocket watch stickers by themselves, but I added the washi, mostly to use the bubble envelope, I wanted to give them a little protection.
Sunday: was reading and laundry.
Monday: was a long day. I had a meeting with my supervisor about something that I had to kill time for between work and the meeting. I went to get my new glasses, picked up some lunch and badly timed it getting back as I had 5 minutes to eat my lunch before my meeting.
I found a llama tag:

 funny that I sent the exact same pencil pouch out, this one had a pen and a charm in it.
A wish of Please Deliver To labels:

 Not sure why it took the person sending to me a month to get these out.
A Countdown to Valentine's Day swap:

 This is like the Advent calendar swap I did for Christmas where half the items are supposed to handmade, I hope I get more of a variety than I did for the Advent calendar.
I was a bit disappointed though about the wrapping. We were supposed to put them in gift bags and decorate. Three of them were sticking out of the gift bags:

 How is it a surprise when I can see them peeking out?
And a happy mail tag:

 I originally thought it was mostly cards and stickers and then when I was adding it to my journal, I realized there were a couple more items.
Tuesday: I started wearing my new glasses, I feel I need to keep pushing them up my nose and that they put a lot of pressure on my nose. I tweaked with the nose pads all day. I got some stuff ready to mail.
A flip book:

 This one I used a new technique for. I have a tendency to keep the backs of the pretty envelopes I get in the mail thinking I will use them for something. So I chose 4, stapled them together and decorated them. It was fun to do. This page has a collage of stuff and some stickers.
Valentine's pocket letter:

 I actually made this one last year, but it came back to me in the mail because I was given the wrong address, I told them they could send me the $4 it would cost to send it back out, or they just wouldn't get one. They didn't want to, which was fine with me. It's not my fault you weren't paying attention and typed in the wrong address, that's on you.
Collectors: elephants:

 I was going to go with something else, but I needed to stick to flat items to cut down on postage. These are still cute.
Valentine's Day and Hearts:

 Again wanted to send something different for the Valentine's Day tag, but shipping.
I found a kawaii tag in the mailbox:

 Mainly it's the unicorn sticky notes, she added some stickers and the postcard.
I had a wicked headache at the end of the day, pretty sure it was the glasses. Also, my stomach was grumpy and I was really tired.
Wednesday: seemed to be better with the glasses. Work was busy, spent more than I wanted at the post office, but mainly because I took out money to cover my phone bill for Feb.
Found a sticky notes tag:

 I stopped at the grocery store on my way home (like every Wednesday) I was too tired to really think about meals, that's been happening a lot lately, I'm not sure why I'm so tired.
Had a basketball game that night, it wasn't too bad, I chose to wait for the bus because it had snowed that morning and I wouldn't be able to see any of the ice underneath it.
Thursday: I had plans with my aunts for shopping and lunch. We headed up to JC Penney's first. I've been meaning to head up there and see if they have any good deals on warm shirts.

 I did find a beautiful green sweater, it was much more than I wanted to pay for it, because I'm cheap (17), a nice striped shirt (10), a warm pair of gloves for the single digit days we get, I found out my leather gloves are just not doing it for me (25), they were the most expensive item. I picked up some pajama pants (5), and a couple pairs of leggings (7 each). So I got 6 items and spent about $100, I was not pleased, I'm cheap, I don't like to spend money on clothes. I know I'll get use out of these, but I'm still cheap.
We also headed to TJ Maxx, I didn't find anything I wanted to spend my money on. We had made plans to meet my mother for lunch. and then went to Walmart.

 I don't need another wall calendar, this one just made me smile, now I have to find a place to put it. I did need the double-stick tape, the shampoo and conditioner, the air fresheners and the leggings. I needed something heart shaped, and I can mail these glasses flat, they are kinda cute. I picked up the grumblies because they were a buck each. Found out I only got one new one, but I LOVE the grumblies. I didn't need the foam stickers, but they were monsters. I also didn't need the chocolate, but it was less than a buck.
It was fun, but there's nothing I can't get to in Ames. It would have been more time if we hung out more. When we got to JC Penneys we all kinda went our separate ways and in TJ Maxx and they didn't even come in to Walmart. I have found I feel more rushed when I go shopping with other people, I always feel like I'm taking my time and they're bored waiting, not always true, that's just how I feel. When I was in Walmart, I was hurrying and it kinda made my eyes hurt, like they weren't catching up with me while I was looking around, plus I was hurried, because they were just waiting in the car. By the time I got home, I was developing a headache, it was rather annoying as I really thought I was used to the glasses.
I kept tweaking with them and adjusting them. I'll be heading in tomorrow to get them adjusted and go to Hobby Lobby, mostly cause I want to and I need something with snails on it. I was hoping Walmart would have stickers or a cute notepad, but no such luck.
Found a collectors: minions tag:

 It's a pencil pouch, so cute.
a unicorn tag:

 I was thinking I'd need a new journal soon, this will work.
A WTA of 50 stickers:

 and another WTA of cute pencils:

I was starting to give up on getting any more WTAs. I only have a few left and they're all international.

St. Patrick's Day owl

Tuesday: I had an appointment. I was debating whether to leave early and get my Target item before the appointment, but when I got up it was -5, so I waited. I asked my mom if she could give me a ride, as she keeps saying if I need to go anywhere, she'd give me a ride. I told her I had to go to Target and then had an eye appointment at 11, she said she had an appointment at 11:30, so she couldn't help out.
It was about -3 when I left and a wicked cold windchill. I found out the eye exam was much cheaper than I thought it would be. My medical insurance does not cover it. I got eye insurance this year, basically just to get a new pair of glasses. The doctor said my prescription didn't change much, which is nice. I feel it's been about 5 years since I got my last pair of glasses. I ended up getting the frames free and paying under $200 for the lenses. I have a pretty strong prescription, so I expected to pay a bit, and was surprised when it was less than I expected.
It was 0 when I got done, so I figured I should just go to Target and pick up my item. I had asked to extend it and when I logged onto my account it said I had until Friday to pick it up, but the emails they sent said I had to pick it up by Tuesday.
The sidewalks weren't too bad. I was amused that Burger King didn't have theirs done, but the empty lot right next door did. There were footprints where I needed them and parking lots to walk through. I have tentative plans to hang out with a friend on Saturday, originally we were supposed to go shopping in our downtown area, I texted her asking if we could go to Target and/or Dollar Tree instead, so I didn't do a bunch of shopping at Target. I picked up my item.

It's cold in my apartment, I'm in the basement and I want to know if it's actually cold, or if it's just me. Turns out it's a bit of both.
There was a bunch of free samples in the bag:

 some food, shampoo, body wash and detergent. Not sure if I'll use them, but the shampoo smells wonderful, it's a lavender scent.
As I was waiting for my legs to warm up I looked in the dollar spot and then wandered over to the toys.

 I picked up another 6 pack of surprizamals, an LOL marshmallow pop, a Cutetito Fruitito and a hedgehog.
When I went after Christmas shopping, I picked up a different surprizamals pack and it turned out to be a set I already had. I got a couple new ones, but most were duplicates. This set was twice as big and I didn't have any of them ($12), I really just wanted a marshmallow pop ($2), one of the YouTube channels I watch just opens blind bags, the cutetito fruititos were featured recently, they scented and their 'burrito' shells are actually fruit themed. I totally picked this one up because the shell is printed like a dragonfruit inside ($10), the hedgehog I picked up because I was in JoAnn's and they had some for $14, this one was only $3.
Opened:

 I love all the Surprizamals except the Husky. I have the smaller version of the hedgehog and I love collecting hedgehogs, I now have 3 small ones and the large one. This one fits perfectly in the palm of my hand. Also, the yeti, I love yetis, after watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Small Foot. The sequin keychains are the sequins you can flip, the green bear is silver on the underside. The pink pig is matte with blue on the underside. The ladybug is black underneath.
This all ended up free because I'm still whittling away at my gift cards, they'll be gone soon, though.
I put together a tag of Valentine's Happy Mail:

 glitter hearts, gift bag, some ephemera, stickers and washi samples.
I was so cold when I got home that once I could feel my legs again, I hopped in the shower. I stuck my hair up in a French braid after it dried for awhile.
I found a couple pieces of mail on my way to work. It felt colder when I left for work even though it was 15 than when I went out in the morning.
SMS yummy and crafty

I was so excited to get this in the mail, before I knew what it was. The Russell Stovers are very sweet and I have no idea what I'll do with the pain pallette. The last time I asked for something crafty I was sent a craft kit, I was hoping for something like that this time.
I also received a homemade tag, it was just some please deliver to labels.
I was so tired that when I got home I just changed into my PJs and went to bed.
Wednesday: I woke up feeling off and my feet hurt. They hurt all day and I was just really tired. I didn't get any mail. And got some disappointing news from work, I applied for a job and didn't get it.  I'm ok with it, I kinda wanna go shopping though. I'm tired of musical chairs, I want new blood. The pair of leggings I wore totally died on me, so I need some new ones. We finally got warm temperatures, but we're getting freezing rain and snow the next few days.
Thursday: was a very lazy day, I spent the day reading Ghostland, started and finished it. I find these days to be the best days. Those days I can just relax on the couch, under my blankets and read.
I did put together a pen pack tag:

 A sticky notes tag:

 And a kawaii tag:

Friday: I had plans with a friend to go to our Downtown Dollar Days. It wasn't that interesting. Turns out not many stores had specials. Our first few stores didn't have any deals. The third was X% off on everything, I don't remember how much. I picked up something for my dad, his birthday's in about 3 weeks.

 The next two places has deals but nothing we were interested in. The next stop was a flower gift store. I found a few things:

 Everything but the gnome and pretzels was in their bargain basement marked at 60% off. They do this with Christmas stuff after Christmas. The gnome apparently was just put out that day. The pretzels were part of the special deals marked down to 50% off, though they're normally 50% off after a certain point. I picked up the glass reindeer ($2.6) and white ceramic reindeer ($2) for my brother. I might give the Christmas hedgehog ($5) and the hedgehog napkins ($3) to a friend that collects hedgehogs, or I might keep them for myself. I totally picked up the owl ($6), the mouse ($3.5), the gnome ($3.5) and the pretzels ($5.25) for myself. I was about to leave and was checking my receipt and noticed they had charged me full price for the mouse ($8.5), so I went back and the cashier changed it, but then charged me tax on it twice. The cashier kept blaming that it wasn't updated in the system, which I get, but the marked down price was right next to the original, it's not like she couldn't see it.
I've decided I'm done with this place, I hadn't been there since before Christmas and before that, October. They're the place I ordered my 10 year anniversary flowers from and they not only didn't deliver them at the time I asked, but were kinda rude about it. I only went back in December as I was striking out on finding stuff for my brother's girlfriend for Christmas. There's nothing I need at this place, they do have some of the cutest things, but I'm tired of giving them my money and not getting great service back.
Our last stop also didn't have any deals. I had a bunch of individual Russell Stover chocolates, but since the whole reason I went there was the deals, I put them all back and didn't buy anything.
I found a SMS crafty when I got home.

 It's much better than the one I got on Tuesday, it's what I'm thinking of when I ask for something crafty. I'm also amused that even though they were a week apart, how quickly some people send things. The first one was sent almost at the last minute, this one was sent 3 days after the tag.
A Dollar Store tag:

 These are really cute.
I also got a sweet note from a friend, she suggested I come visit her, I think I'll look into it.
I put together a kawaii and grant a wish tag of gummy candy

They're going to the same person.
It was a pretty good day. Shopping with a friend, good purchases and good mail.

Llama pencil pouch.

Thursday: I was at the bookstore all day. It was a cold day, the high was 12. It didn't feel that cold to me because my coat rocks, or I'm just used to being out in the cold, or a bit of both. We were pretty dead in the morning except one lady that came in with about 10 pieces of clothing that she bought for Christmas presents, but they didn't work out. There must've been a sale when she bought the items as they were all discounted. She kept getting annoyed with us because when we brought up the receipt on the computer, it had the sale prices and we had the actual price on the items, so we had to match the items up on the actual receipt, which had about 20 items on it. It took awhile, but we got it all done.

We also had a person return an articulated hand because the thumb was broken, we may have had way too much fun with that because we were still kinda dead in the afternoon.

I had a couple pieces of mail when I got home.

A sticker palooza:

 We had to send each other 10 brand new packages of stickers. I like what she picked out, except this tiny package of gem stones.

The tape runner is there for size comparison. I could see sending this as an extra, but as one of the 10? There aren't any size requirements, so it worked, I would just think common sense would say not to include as one of the 10.
Also, found a Valentine's Grab Bag swap:

 There's lots of variety in here and I've already used a few things for another swap. My favorite item is that felt bear.
Friday, we had a winter storm warning. It didn't start snowing until about 10, this is what it looked like when I was waiting for the bus to go to the library:

 Visibility was bad, but if more people would use their headlights, it wouldn't have been that bad. The library was dead, at one point someone commented there were more staff than public in the library. The one Friday we didn't have lots of people come in at the last minute.
We got about 5 inches of snow and then it drifted. It took me twice as long to get home because everything was so drifted. It didn't matter if sidewalks got shoveled, you couldn't tell.
I found a Winner Takes All of stationery:

 These are cute, I really like the ones on the right.
I also got this really cool junk journal:

It was for a happy mail tag, she said she was going to just send the papers, but then thought she'd try to make the junk journal. I love how it turned out, I'm not sure I can use it for anything.
I honestly thought I pulled out 3 items from my mailbox, but when I went to open them, I only had 2, I retraced my footsteps and looked in the mailbox again, but I didn't find anything.
Saturday: was cold, the high was wicked cold, we were in a blizzard warning pretty much all day, and when that ended we were in a wind advisory warning. I didn't go outside. I spent the day reading. I did venture outside to check the mail, but there wasn't any.
Sunday: I got my laundry done and spent the day working on tags and swaps.
Wish of planner stickers:

 Send Me Something colorful but not yellow:

 This was a fun tag. We had to say Send Me Something this but not that, it was supposed to be descriptive words, but some people went a little too specific.
Send me something cute:

 I got the sticky notes for a kawaii tag and the postcards as a WTA.
Happy mail:

 The notecard is from Staples, the postcard, handmade envelope and and stickers from tags, the memo sheets I had in my stash and the ephemera piece I got from Hollar.
ATC:

 I always just clean the scraps off my desk to make these.
Pocket letter:

 This was made using a sheet of last year's calendar.
Stationery destash wish:

 I've been getting a bunch of stationery for the WTA.
Something wearable wish:

 Figured I'd send on one of these numerous bracelets I keep getting in my International Blessings box. This one can be adjusted.
I was sitting down to work on something and started wondering when my Countdown to Valentine's swap had to be sent and realized it was the 22nd, so I freaked out and finished that.

 Monday: it was still cold, the high was 9. I wore my fleece lined leggings in to work and on my way home. I packed a different pair to wear at work. I've decided it's not so much the cold that gets me, it's the wind. If it's just wicked cold and not windy, I'm ok.
I put together a llama tag when i got home.

Again, no mail, this time because it was MLK day. I'm not a fan of no mail days, it also seems like they come after Sundays a lot. Three days of no mail does not make me happy.