lots of mail

Friday: was cold again, my countdown to Valentine's Day bag:

I'm loving how she decorated the treat bags. Not so excited about the trim. Got a ride to work because it was cold again.
Had a happy mail tag in the mail:

It was a good one. I decided I'd keep doing the happy mail tag, it's hit or miss on what I receive, but I like trying to keep my envelope flat and sometimes I get some really nice gems.
Work was ok, until about the last half hour. We had this guy who didn't want to pay attention to directions and shoved two discs at the same time into the media box, weirdly enough, they got stuck and it wouldn't work. He wouldn't believe me that there was nothing I could do until I took out the discs and then wouldn't wait for it to reset and tried to get more out, after I told him we had to reset the machine. He didn't get the other discs and we had to reboot the whole machine because he couldn't wait a few minutes. Our desk phone kept dying (it needs a new battery, we're working on it), and someone turned in a phone 5 minutes before closing. It was a typical Friday night, in that we had  a bunch of people come in close to closing, because they never realize that we close at 6 instead of 9, or that's what they say, some are regulars, so I know it's not true.
I picked up some ice cream on my way home:

Sadly, the toffee one wasn't that great. I feel the need to buy some Heath bars and throw them in. The mint one isn't as minty as I want it to be (they never seem to be).
Saturday: My countdown to Valentine's Day envelope:

LOVE these. I love handmade embellishments. I might use these as ideas and try to make some of my own.
We had a double header of basketball. The men's game was a ton of people who didn't know the bag policy. I'm very tired of that. Walked home, it was a nice walk, I was sweating when I got home. I barely warmed up and had to go back for the women's game. It was ok, pretty quiet, and then we had this patron with her messenger style size bag who got really upset because she didn't want to walk back to her car and she just had supper with so and so and they were going to sit with them. Doesn't matter, she still had to take her bag back, I didn't see her come back in. There's always one person that thinks they are above the rules. Walked home after that game, too. Not as nice a walk, but the wind died down between when I left for the game and when I went home. Found some mail when I got home.
Heart tags:

Love how she used die cuts, also hers are way more creative than mine.
Favorite color, green, tag:

Interesting selection, but I probably won't use much of it. I liked the last favorite color tag of one thing that was more geared to my interests.
I got 13,000 steps on Saturday.
Sunday: laundry day. My countdown to Valentine's Day swap:

 Some nice appliques.
Other than laundry I did put together a favorites tag:

 She liked stickers and owls.
Made some Vintage Valentine ATCs

 And was lazy. I did watch a few movies.
Monday: My countdown to Valentine's swap:

 I'm not going to use the sequins, but I like the pink and clear gems.
Work was busy for a Monday, we're supposed to get a bunch of snow (3-5 inches) and some freezing rain tonight, so people I guess are freaking out and need a bunch of books/movies to keep them occupied. I don't know about you, but I have things at home to keep me occupied, I don't have to go to the library to get things. Came home and did my taxes. I was planning to do them on Sunday, but didn't get to them, then thought I'd do them on the 14th, because I'd be bummed anyway, but figured, it was a good a time as any. I'm getting a bit more than last year because of something I chose to change, so that helps. Got 6 items in the mail.
Grant a wish, stuffed animal:

 I was supposed to have this item on the 7th, the person sending to me posted on the 6th that she mailed it out. It's cute, but smells of cigarette smoke.
Favorite animal, lion, tag:

 It's cute, it's supposed to be a patch (my guess iron-on), I'm not sure what I'll do with it. I wish it was more of a sticker.
Private swap:

 I had a die that someone gave me in a swap and I don't have a die cutting machine, so I asked if anyone wanted to swap with me. We agreed on a regular letter size/weight envelope swap. This is much more than that. I'm not complaining, but I'm not sending more.

Toss Away tag:

 We were supposed to send 5 items we'd normally throw away. I admit, I just wanted to see what it was, will probably not do this tag again.
Favorites swap:

 This was something my partner forgot to include in the other package. These are neat.
Frozen in Time:

we were supposed to print 3 pages of digital ephemera, love these.
It turned out to be a good ending to the day.

Weekly update

Sorta, I just realized I hadn't posted from last week. Oops. It wasn't a very busy week. Sunday, I finished up art projects and read stuff. I'm actually pretty excited that I have been reading the books I have checked out from the library. I am really good at just renewing them. I've either read them or taken them back. I currently only have seventeen checked out.
Tuesday, I was supposed to have a thrift store shopping trip planned, but that got cancelled the Friday before. I thought I'd do a little retail therapy because I was rather bummed about it. BAD IDEA. I had to go to Target to return some pens and I had to go to Walmart because the other Walmart didn't have the tape I wanted.
I always start out about lunch time, I don't know why. By the time I got to the McDonald's I was hungry, so I stopped in to try one of their new burgers, I got the pico-guac. You get choice of meat and bun when you order. I decided to go with grilled chicken and their new artisan bun. I think I should have just gotten the sandwich and a drink, when I priced it later, it would have been cheaper, oh well.
Here's the sandwich:

 It was pretty good, but I got full halfway through. I also decided the fries on top of all that were too much. I'm tempted to go back just for the sandwich and try it again. It was also rather messy.
I saw this outside of Target:

 First stop was Target, like I said I had to return some pens, and of course they don't have the ones I want, so I have to go somewhere else to find them.

 a bralette, shaper shorts and tape. These were all actually on my list. I LOVE bralettes, they are so comfortable, it's like you're not wearing a bra at all. This one is a mint green, the straps criss cross in the back, it was $13. The shaper shorts were also on my list, I like the black color, though they are a bit shorter than I'd like. Part of the reason I get them is because my thighs rub together when I wear skirts and dresses, so I wear them, it's a bonus that they kinda hold in my fat, they were on clearance for $8. I also need more scotch tape, last week when I was at Walmart, I found a set of two for $5, I couldn't justify that when I could get a pack of two at Dollar Tree for $1. When I was in Target I saw these and was afraid I wouldn't be able to find the Dollar Tree ones, so I picked them up for about $3.

 This minion is actually a solar powered light and I certainly didn't need him, but he's a minion, he was on clearance for $7. The Scotch washi has yellow birds on it, I decided they were goldfinches and Iowa's state bird is the goldfinch, so I bought it, it was $3. It's kinda weird that one roll of the washi was more expensive than 4 rolls of clear tape. The action figures I found in the toy section, they were blind bags and all were about $1. Everything else was $1 from the dollar section. I just picked up the straws because they are cacti, I don't know what I'll do with them. I love the Tsum Tsum sticky notes as well as the gel pens. I love the sticker pack and the whale erasers and the mermaid pin and the paper tape. I spent about $32 at Target.
Next up was Walmart, again I was looking for a tape runner. Of course they were all out, so I'm trying to decide if I want to go to Hobby Lobby and pick up the refills for way more, even with the 40% off coupon.

 Three bralettes and a bra, a shirt and some underwear. Again with the bralettes, last week I picked up a black one at the other Walmart and wanted some more. The black one and white one at the top were on clearance for $4 each. The beige one was regular priced at $5. The black bra was on clearance for $5, but I've learned once you give up underwire, you never want to go back. The shirt was on clearance for $5, and I meant to pick up the XL, because Walmart runs small, but got the XXL and it's way too big. I also needed underwear, this pack was on clearance for $8.

 I love this notepad set, it was with the Mother's Day stuff for $4, the earrings were on clearance for $0.50 each. The Wonderball was $1, the stickers were $0.97 each. I really need to stop buying notepads, I have way too many. I couldn't pass up the earrings, I've already worn the owl ones and gotten compliments. I picked up the Wonderball for a friend. I always like to look at the sticker aisle, but I only purchase the 97 cent ones. I spent about $48 at Walmart.
Last stop was Dollar Tree, I was so happy for passing by on my way to Target, but then while I was in Target I remembered I needed a new shower pouf and shower gel, so I stopped on my way home.

 Paper tape, gift bags, note cards.
My Dollar Tree rarely has the paper tape, I walked by it the first time, and then remembered I needed gift bags for Mother's Day and my mother's birthday. After picking them out and turning around I found a whole bunch, I only picked up a few. Butterflies, houses, brown design and a pink design, I've already used the brown design. I liked the tiny gift bags, the first one says "Life is tough, so are you". The note cards were in the Mother's Day gift section, I just picked them up cause they were cute.

 Pretzels, Advil, washcloth, mini notebooks, paper clips, shower pouf and body wash.
I love frosted pretzels and I was hungry again. Advil is so expensive, I picked up these packets to put in my purse. I love these magic washclothes. The mini notebooks are for a swap, we're to alter them. I also needed more paper clips. I read somewhere that you need to replace your shower pouf every three weeks, that really just said to me I got to visit the Dollar Tree every three weeks. After getting home I realized I really needed shampoo not body wash.

 stickers. I picked up the horse ones because I had used them in an art project and needed more. The jungles ones were just cute as were the rest. I'm pretty sure I haven't used my other big sheets like this one, or my lacy ones. I picked up these butterflies before but sent them off in a swap. I did use one the other day to make a paper clip.

 More stickers, ephemera and a card. I've seen people hauling these butterflies and while I could make them myself, I don't actually have a butterfly punch, this is the only sheet I found. Of course rainbows, I don't know if you've noticed I've picked up a few of these lately, I need to make something cloudy and rainbowy. I picked up the muppet cards mostly because I wanted to know what they were, basically they're just cards about friendship. I picked up the card for the teacups. I picked up a few more of those new flower stickers, my favorite is the hydrangea ones, I have two sheets I haven't used. I also just liked the butterflies.

 Garland, pens, marker, erasers. I picked up the elephant garland for my boss. I got the pens because I love gel pens and am using mine too much so I'm running out, I may actually have to go buy more. I bought all the items on the bottom mostly because I saw other people haul them. I'm sure I'll send the erasers out in friendmail, but I have no idea what I'll do with the marker.

 solar things, toys. I picked up the two solar things for friends, but now I'm not sure what to do with the unicorn one, it's a little too bulky to mail. I picked up the box mostly because I saw someone else haul it. I love the little toys in it, but I don't need them. I picked up the other two because they were The Good Dinosaur. I admit, sometimes I pick things up at the Dollar Tree just because they are name brand. I do like dinosaurs, but again, I don't need them. I spent about $42 here.
On my way home, I passed by one of our second-hand stores and was taking pictures of teapots for my co-worker, I went inside to look at one more closely.

pitcher, dress, book, lacy piece. I got the pitcher because it was $1, then I had to pick up something else, because I was pretty sure they didn't want to use a card for just a buck. That's why I got the book, it's an interesting read anyway and came from England. I picked up the lacy piece to add to my total, and send out in friendmail. Then I found the dress. My original thrift store trip was to find some new to me clothes, so I was checking out their skirt section. This dress was just hanging on the front and I didn't expect it to fit me because a lot of their stuff is vintage and sizes were different then, but I tried it on and three people in the store told me it was cute, so I got it. It was $13, so at that point I should have put the book and lacy thing back. I spent about $21 there.
When I got home and saw how much I spent I felt rather bad and am not really interested in spending money for awhile. I have been using cash since then, that feels nice.
I did finish a few swaps last week as well, a spring pocket letter:

 some paperclips:

 some clothespins:

Another pocket letter:

 a journal:

 I got this tag in the mail:

 and a swap that included this beautiful flip book:

I also finished a tag for my mother:

Wednesday, I went to the post office and mailed off my swaps. Friday I went to a garage sale. I picked up some more teapots, a carebear and a book. I had a few more on my list, but they started later and I didn't feel like going out again. Saturday, I opened at the library then took my mother to lunch.

Ugh

Not a very exciting week. I did receive some cool mail this week, 

Sunday, I worked on getting some swaps put together. I couldn't sleep when I went to bed, so stayed up until 2:30 making a pocket letter.

This showed up on Monday:

 It's a loaded bag filled with goodies and project life cards.
Also had a hard time getting to sleep Monday night, when I finally did, I woke up a ton of times.
Tuesday, I finished packaging some swaps to mail out. I was telling my co-workers the other day, I get annoyed at how much I spend on postage, but when I get my return swaps, I'm so excited to get them, so I guess it's worth it.
Couldn't sleep Tuesday night either, I have no idea what's going on with my sleep, but I had to open on Wednesday, so I was rather irked.
Wednesday I mailed off 9 different swaps, spent about $20 in postage, which really isn't that bad for 9 swaps. Also, helps that I get the experienced clerks at the post office and not the ones that don't know what they're doing and overcharge me. I've also been having a hard time getting into books I'm reading, on Wednesday, I got a true crime one in on inter-library loan and read all 400 pages that night, so I guess I just needed a good book.
Finally got some sleep Wednesday night, I was so exhausted when I got home from work on Wednesday, but I couldn't even nap.
Thursday, I slacked off most of the day, took a look at some of my books that were due on Friday. Thursday morning, my heat kicked on, I looked at my weather app and found out it was in the 30's outside.
I found this in my mailbox:

 It's my surprise Dollar Tree swap, on one of my facebook groups, we had a $5 limit and we had to go to Dollar Tree and buy some stuff for our partner.
I also found this in my work mailbox:

 I love that someone got me a minion peep, I'm not so sure about banana creme flavored marshmallow, though.
The book I chose to start reading happened to be requested by someone else, so I had to finish it Thursday night (actually it was after midnight when I finished it).
Again with the colder weather Thursday night. I wore my light winter coat to work Thursday and today. The forecast for the next few nights is in the upper 30's, but I am not liking this weather. It's almost May, this shouldn't be happening, maybe it's because of those 80 degree days we had in February.
It rained all day today, but by the time I left work, it had stopped. This was in my mailbox, with the envelope soaked:

It's one of my spring mini pocket letters.
I'm feeling rather overwhelmed lately, it might be the lack of sleep, but I know there's a bit of work stuff bothering me and some crafty stuff and maybe this giant pile of books staring at me.
I'm so good at bottling my emotions inside and no one ever sees when I'm having a bad day, but sometimes I wish they could. Some days I wish for a physical hug, or just someone to go out with after work, someone to shop with.
I also feel I have a bit too many swaps that I've signed up for, so I withdrew from the ones that don't have partners assigned. I think I need to scale back my swaps a bit, or maybe just sign up for the ones I'm really interested in.
And the books, I have 28 checked out right now, most of them are pretty thick. My mom told me once, that I didn't have to read them all, I know that, but I feel a little obligated to do so. I just keep renewing them and not even starting them. I have suspended the other books I have requests on and nothing becomes active until middle of May, but May does start next week. I'm thinking I need to cut back on art and other stuff and just read. Reading keeps me really sane.
I'm also a little antsy because I haven't been to any garage sales yet. I was hoping to go to a few this weekend, but with the cold weather, there aren't that many happening, and none in my neighborhood. Next weekend, I'm going to one on Friday, maybe two, I have a citywide one a friend and I are going to, on the 9th, I'm going thrift store shopping with another friend. I really want to do some retail shopping tomorrow after a stressful night at work tonight, but after balancing my checkbook, I really shouldn't. I have to pay rent on Monday, of course I keep telling myself I shouldn't stress over what I have in the bank right now, there was a time I only had $200 in the bank, and I'm nowhere near that right now. I have signed up for some extra work hours in May, so that will help.
I really wish I knew what would make me feel better. I really need to work on a few more swaps to get mailed out next week, so I'll probably end up doing that this weekend.

Hacksaw Ridge

This post is just a catchup from the week, I happen to be watching Hacksaw Ridge at the moment. I posted about Easter and my shopping haul on Monday, check that out, here. I'm attempting to not spend money as I might be going on a fun shopping trip in early May, plus garage sale season is starting up.
I haven't done much this week beyond my shopping trip on Monday and grocery shopping on Wednesday. I had a great mail week, though.
Monday:

 Journaling card swap. I love the clipboard, the lined and flower ones. She also wrote my note on a tiny library card.

 Journaling cards swap from facebook. I love the brightness and color on these, my favorite s being the bicycle ones.

Button swap. My favorite one is the purple lion one on the bottom.

Singing in the Rain tag swap. I love the quote.
Tuesday:

Favorite animal pocket letter swap. I love the stickers she included.
Wednesday:

Paper clip swap. I sent my partner an owl and a "D" paper clip, her last name starts with a "D". I love how she personalized mine with a "W" and an owl. My favorite it actually the coffee cup, I love coffee stuff (except the actual drink), I think they are wicked cute.
Thursday:

Mermaid pocket letter. I love how she use die cuts for the mermaids as well as adding real sand on the bottom.
Friday:

Dollar Tree Surprise swap. We were instructed to pick out $5 of stuff from the Dollar Tree and send it to our partner. I love the fish stickers. I also love how she added the paper clips so she didn't have to worry too much about weight. I already have the flower and owl stickers.
Saturday:

Spring pocket letter swap. It's so nice and colorful. Love it.

I hope next week will be as eventful. Also, hoping I can keep up not spending money.