Dog reading a book

Friday: Spent the day reading a book. Found my Valentine's Day swap in the mail:

 Not too excited about it. It's a cookie stamper, a lip mask, some Ghiradelli chocolate, heart stickers and Valentine's straws. I ate the chocolate, passed the lip mask on to a friend and put the straws in a tag. This one was a resend, I got a postage due on a different one the Saturday before and my partner was told to get a new one in the mail in 24hours. It makes me wonder what was in the other swap.
I put together a Hello Kitty tag:

 A heart shaped tag:

 Some handmade stuff for a loaded pocket:

 And a snail tag:

 My eyes were really bothered with the reading and then I started feeling the pressure on my nose again, so I decided to go back to the eye place on Saturday and talk to them about it.
Saturday: First day of my Countdown to Valentine's Day:

 an interesting selection of stuff, some stickers, sticky notes, and papers.
I headed out to the eye place about 9AM as I had to work that afternoon. They made an appointment for Tuesday to have the dr re-check my eyes and gave me different nose pads to help with me pushing my glasses up my face.
Found this:

 I'm trying to figure out how it's gluten free, does it suck out the gluten while it's toasting?
Also found some cool fairy things:

 I'd have loved to buy this guy, I just don't have any room for it.

 What I did purchase:

 12x12 paper pad, sticker book, Valentine's 6x6 paper pad, mermaid paper kit, sloth Valentine's stickers.
The Paper Studio stuff was 50% off, but I got really excited when I saw they were starting their clearance stuff. This may have been the first time I've bought paper in about a year or so. There were so many cute designs on this paper pad, I totally picked it up.  I certainly don't need more stickers, but these were too cute. I don't really have any Valentine's Day paper, finished my last paper pad last year. I might've just picked up this paper pack because it was Authentique and I never see that go on sale, plus it was vintage looking mermaids.

 snail picks, humminbird, resin sloths, heart picks, Valentine's kit, mermaid, cards.
I was thinking about the snail tag I was mailing out soon, and these guys were too cute. I was planning to keep them, but I still love them. The hummingbird was 30 cents, I couldn't pass it up. I was pleased to see these Valentine sloths were still there now that Valentine's is 40% off. In one of my Valentine swaps I got this felt bear and it looks like it was made from this pack. It was my favorite part of the swap. I thought it would be fun to alter the heart picks for friends for Valentine's Day. I love these cards, I keep picking up these card bases. Also, who wouldn't love this mermaid plant holder? I spent about $45.
I created this card for a card sketch:

The heart paper is from that Valentine's day pad I just bought.

I headed in to work about 1, and we were pretty busy. Finally a Saturday that was so busy I didn't have any time to think about stuff. The day went pretty fast as well. I had a wicked headache at the end due to the new glasses and nothing being in focus.

 Found a pocket letter in the mailbox when I got home:

 Sunday: Day 2 of the countdown:

 I have a feeling I'll be passing this on for a tag.
Got my laundry done and went in to work. My eyes and head were throbbing at the end of the day. Nothing seems to be in focus, it's very annoying. It felt like I was either really tired or slightly drunk. I felt that off.
Monday: Day 3

 a bunch of tags.
I changed my schedule so people could go caucus and ended up working in the afternoon. I was so upset with my eyes bothering me and just being in a bad mood that I opened all the packages in my Countdown to Valentine's day.
Put together a Valentine's Happy mail tag:

 Everything is from tags or swaps I've received.
The mail was rather late and not in my mailbox when I headed in to work about 3. I spent a big chunk of my time processing incoming interlibrary loans. They did not bother my eyes that much. It seems when there's more to focus on my eyes are worse.
Found a wish of a Valentine surprise in my mailbox when I got home:

 I was hoping they would label it Valentine surprise so I could open it on Valentine's day.
A pen pack:

 I like these pens except that they are ball point, the colors are really nice.
A wish of something minion:

 I have been proved wrong, you can go wrong with minions. When you buy me the cheapest possible stickers. I guarantee these came from the Dollar Tree, when I went to put them away, I realized I already had 2 other packs.
A pocket letter:

 This was bursting with goodies.
Tuesday: Day 4

 ribbon, mini notepads, washi samples
I headed out to my eye appointment. The dr, had me keep the new glasses on, had me read some lines and then did something with a light and then told me we should just go back to my old prescription. I was pissed. I went through about a week of hell with people telling me I just needed to get used to the new glasses only to be told to just go back to the old prescription. He didn't even do an exam, I expected him to do a whole new exam and give me a different prescription. I wasted about $150 on a new pair of glasses just for you to tell me not to use them. I just walked out the door I was so annoyed and then went to Dollar Tree.
I found a phone on my way there, and dropped it off at the police station on my way home.
Dollar Tree:

 wood stickers, stuffed monkey, a couple Barbie blind bags, some heart scatter, Peanuts bandages.

 sink drainers, sticky notes, a card, some Lifesavers gummies, chapstick, a pen, a pencil sharpener and a cute bag.
I only needed one thing, but since I was so annoyed, I bought some fun things for myself. Bought a few things to make myself a Valentine goodie bag.
I called the eye place when I got home asking if they had checked to see if the prescription was correct, I realized they never did that. They said it was and then I asked if I could just cancel the order on the glasses because I didn't need a new pair that was basically my same prescription. I only went because I figured it was time for a check-up. They called me back later saying the dr had tweaked my old prescription (because it was old and you can't fill an old prescription) and that they would still send the glasses out even though I told them not to. When I was telling people about this at work, it really annoyed me because last week, they agreed that I needed to get used to them, this time they do a complete 180 and say that I was right and it doesn't take that long to get used to glasses.
Found a pack of pens:

 I wore my old glasses all day and didn't have any problems. I kept mentioning to people that everything was in focus and I didn't have any headaches or issues with my eyes.
Wednesday: Day 5

 cute handmade rosettes.
I was so ready to be done with my week. After working 5 days straight with 3 of those having issues with my glasses/eyes I was done working. I had a basketball game to work that night and enjoyed the walk home.
I found a sms fun but not childish tag when I got home:

It's cute.
Thursday: slept in, it felt nice, granted I only had to get up early on Wednesday, but like I said, I was just so frustrated with the world. I can't focus on people and things today. Day 6:

 More handmade stuff and some embellishments.
Mostly just slacked off and watched YouTube all day.
Found a loaded pocket:

 With all these nice handmade items inside:

 A hearts tag:

 I really wanted something better
And a destash tag:

I want something that makes me really excited to get my mail. I'm just upset with the world and I need a break from it. I feel I really can't get away from it.

Crappy Christmas

Tuesday: Turned out to be a shitty day. Got up wicked early, opened my Advent calendars:

The wood veneers are from the Advent swap, the cupcake punch is from the 12 Days swap and the washi, ornament and figure are from mine.
We left a little after 7:15 to go to the airport about an hour away. Security was a little different for me this time as I haven't been on a plane in 4 years. One of the security guys waived me and dad to the front of the line (probably because dad is blind) and then messed up the lines and didn't tell the other security people. Also, I got patted down and had a hand test, whatever, I get they have to do what they have to do. We get to the gate and our flight that was originally supposed to leave at 10AM is now pushed back to 11:15 and then about half an hour later it was cancelled and there were no more flights that we could get on that day or the next. Fog in Chicago. We ended up getting an Uber back home. It was all I could do to not burst into tears the whole way back. I was just starting to get excited about having a vacation, haven't really had one in a year and I don't know when I'll have time for more than a day or so. When we got home, dad wanted to have lunch and maybe see if we could get a ride to my aunt's Christmas celebration. I just wanted to go home and wallow in my misery. So, I walked home, carrying my bag, I needed that walk for the tears and just to vent to myself. I unpacked everything and headed back out to the grocery store for some comfort food and milk. I had a Swanson's fried chicken dinner for lunch with a Mountain Dew, it helped.
I found some mail when I got home.
A Christmas Card:

Another Christmas card:

And my first Winner Takes All of destash:

This Winner Takes All is kinda like a lottery. We sign up saying what we will send to whoever wins and give a number. I won and was so excited. I don't win a lot. I should be getting 32 pieces of mail for this.
I spent the rest of the day online and watching movies.
Wednesday: I had an extra in my Advent calendar and in the Advent calendar swap, so I opened those.

The pen is from the swap, the chocolate, ornament and washi from mine.
I also opened my purchases from Monday:

Count Chocula is from the cartoon blind bag, Ariel in her pink dress and Ursula are from the two Little Mermaid blind bags, and Wall-E wasn't a blind bag. My favorites are Ursula and Wall-E, I believe Ursula is my favorite Disney Villain.
One of my groups posted Christmas wishes, I granted a few and asked for happy mail, which is too tall of an order for some people, as I got one grant.
Wish of something sarcastic and Easter stickers:

I was granting the something sarcastic, but then didn't really know if these were considered sarcastic or not (funny, yes, I just wasn't sure about sarcastic), so I popped some Easter stickers in there as well. I had just gotten the quotes from a winter pocket letter, I think they're pretty great. "Everyone's all Ooohh, isn't the snow pretty, and I'm just over here thinking is it June yet?" "I'm not going outside until the temperature is above my age" (actually our temps have been in the 40's and 50's, so we're already there), My favorite winter activity is getting back inside.
Wish of something panda:

I couldn't find the one sticker sheet I really wanted to send her, but knew I had others as well.

It felt like a normal day off from work, except that everyone kept wishing me a Merry Christmas. I didn't want to deal with them. I changed my facebook profile picture to a grumpy emoji and wanted to tell everyone to buzz off.
I went to supper with my parents to a local more upscale restaurant, it's the third time I've been there and I'm never impressed with the food. I got a mac and cheese dish, it wasn't that good. I gave them their gifts and mom game me a gift of earrings and some Target gift cards. Dad said my plane tickets were supposed to be part of my Christmas gift, so here's some gift cards to cover that.
I've decided to watch all my movies alphabetically to see if I really want to keep them all, so I finished the night with The American President (keeping this one).
Thursday: I got up and went to the post office. I mailed the two wishes from above, a pocket letter, gifts for my brother and his girlfriend, and gifts for a friend.
And then I went shopping, I always go after Christmas shopping, it used to be a great way to get gifts for the next year cheaply, but as mom keeps pushing not to do big gifts, I just bought stuff for me this time (a bit too much for me). First stop was BAM, I keep meaning to go there, I just haven't.
Found this:

Was tempted to buy it, but I already have the book.
I also saw they still had Harry Potter Advent Calendars and a couple others. What I bought:

Gnome, Godzilla blind bag, two Little Mermaid blind bags, The Perfect Guy chocolate, some Almond Roca for my dad, he mentioned the other day he was craving these. Total spent $37
I am a bit disappointed that the gnome was not marked down and of course I wasn't paying attention at check-out and didn't realize it until I got home, typical.
Next stop was Walmart, they were pretty busy.

Long-sleeve t-shirt, Kit Kat, coffee tags, Dino Strike blind bag, double stick tape, Niffler ornament, Minion ornament, Christmas cards, squishy card holder.
I keep checking the men's section for long-sleeve shirts, they seem to have better ones than the women's section. The Kit Kat I found in the check-out, it's dark chocolate and mint. The Dino Strike blind bag was with the toys in the Christmas clearance aisle, but it didn't ring up at half price, I ate this one and put the other toy I figured was on sale back. Sometimes I think stores do this on purpose, see if you're paying attention and when you get home and realize it's not what you thought it was priced at you will decide it's not worth it to return. I was so excited to find the Niffler ornament and the Minion ornament. These ornaments are so much regular priced that they are still kinda pricey for me at half off. I picked up the cards for next year. I wanted one of these squishy card holders, but I wasn't going to pay $5 for them originally, $2.50 is ok.

unicorn activity book, bags, Kinders.
The book didn't ring up at 50% off either, but since it was a Christmas book, the cashier changed it. Thought these bags would be cute to use, and I wanted these Kinders earlier, but wasn't interested in paying full price. Total spent $53.
Next up was Target:

socks, gloves, ornaments, Surprizimals, How to Train your Dragon blind bag, toys.
I've been trying to find knee highs, but no one seems to have them. I have found sweater weight ones, and everyone's carrying crew. I need knee highs for my boots, I'm having the hardest time finding them. One of my coworkers said Target had them. I found these and a couple pairs with cool patterns, but I don't buy the cute patterned ones because no one sees them. I guess I'll have to go online next. I couldn't pass up these cute green gloves. I was excited to find the Minion ornament here, too. I picked up Harry Potter, because even though I haven't read the books or wish to watch the movies, I do like the merchandise that it's producing. This ornament was missing his hands and whatever he was holding in them. I thought he still looked neat. I picked up the other ornaments because they were cute, fox in a coat, blue yeti, fairy and a mushroom person. I was looking for a specific blind bag, but couldn't find them, I found this value pack of Surprizamals of 6 for $12, since they are normally $4-$6 each, this was a good deal. I wanted more blind bags, but only found the How to Train your dragon and the slime guys. Total spent $47. I used my gift cards.
Last stop was Dollar Tree:

tassel paperclips, washi, squishy Hulk, loofahs, Russell Stover chocolate, hair bands, Toy Story activity book, horror movie?, more chocolate.
I admit, the paperclips and washi were just cute, so was Hulk. I needed the loofahs and hair bands. They were putting out Valentine's Day chocolate, so I picked up a couple of these tiny hearts, they're really good. I picked up the movie cause it sounded like a horror movie, and the other chocolate just sounds good. Total spent $14.
I hit 10,000 steps shortly before I got home, and found 3 items in my mail box.
Winner Takes All:

of cards and washi samples. I love that Alice in Wonderland washi.
Wrapped flat item:

It was a stamp set:

Probably going to pass it on, as I don't really use stamps.
And another Winner Takes All:

of happy mail. I had to look at my records to find out, as there was not a note.
Like I said I should have 32 of these Winner Takes All coming in, they were supposed to have them mailed by yesterday, 13 people still have to send.
I spent way too much money, but the walk and spending money on me helped with my mood.

Christmas swaps

Friday: I found a Christmas Happy mail:

 Not sure what I'll end up doing with the towel and oven mitt. I like the rest.
And an ATC:

 Very cute.
We had an after-hours work party. It was ok. It was good food and good company.
Saturday: I went to a sale.

 I picked up the Precious Moments ornament for a swap and then realized it had the writing on the back. I picked up the Santa for my mother.
Saw a tumbleweed on my way to my next stop:

 I wasn't aware we had tumbleweeds.
I stopped at our British foods store:

 I was disappointed, it was mostly tea/teapots and incense. There were some holiday crackers (the ones you pull open) for $42, I wanted some, but not for that price.
Last stop, HyVee Drug:

 I needed the Chai, I picked up the lady for a swap, though I'm not sure if I'm using her for it. And of course the Russell Stover chocolate.
And then I realized I forgot the Mtn Dew

 so I picked it up and a couple cute postcards.
I found this I Spy book from a Little Free Library on my way home.

Sunday: I put together a Dollar Store tag:

 I tried to go flat with some sticky notes, that didn't quite work, see a photo further down.
A Kawaii tag:

 I got this for a past Kawaii tag, thought I'd send it along. It turned out to be flat enough for one stamp.
Favorite color: Purple.

 I had the hardest time with this tag. Apparently I don't have a lot of purple things. I felt bad just sending the gems. I kinda cheated, as this is one of those color change sequin pillows, one way is purple, one is blue. I switched it to the purple side, put in the gems and a postcard.
My Crafty Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar all packaged up and ready to go:

 I didn't like that every package had to be embellished. I basically used a bunch of envelopes I had gotten from previous swaps with a number I had gotten on a previous swap. We were informed the reason they were supposed to be embellished was so we didn't just slap a kid's number sticker on them. Since the envelopes were already embellished and I added the punched numbers, I kinda felt like adding more to them made them look worse, but I try to follow instructions. I ended up wrapping 3 because they didn't fit in the envelopes, I didn't really embellish those, as the wrapping paper was very busy.
Monday: I went up to the mall after work. My 12 Days of Christmas swap partner and I don't really have much in common, so shopping my stash wasn't working. Figured I could find some things to purchase for her.
First stop: Walmart

 Hot chocolate bomb, bottle brush tree ornaments, Hershey's chocolate and warming oil for the swap. The Dove peppermint bark is for me. Total spent $12.
I wandered through JCPenny's but didn't find anything, so I headed to the Hallmark store, figured they'd have candles and essential oils, they did:

 All of this is for the swap. Total spent $13.
I avoided Claire's even though I wanted to shop there, headed into TJ Maxx. I wasn't that impressed with their selection of stuff, but I found some things:

 decorative napkins, holiday travel spa pack, kindness cards, jewelry dish, wrapping paper. All of this was for the swap, total spent $13. I also returned the sports trivia cards, so it was $6 cheaper.
I walked over to Kohl's found a few things, but I'm not spending $10 on sticky notes or bag clips, no matter how cute they are. I found a monster on clearance.

He ended up being a buck, just for me.
I walked around the outside of the mall to Walgreens, I don't go there very often. They didn't have a ton of Christmas stuff out.

 All for me. Actually the hedgehog is for a friend, I picked up the Russell Stover chocolate for the swap and then decided not to use it, I'll either end up eating it or giving it to my dad. I picked up the Ooey Gooey cakes to try, I didn't get to try any in St. Louis, they were great, I'd totally buy more.
Total spent: $26
The blind bags:

 I picked up one of these cat guys at Target a few weeks ago, I love them, I'd totally buy more, they're pricey, but I'd still do it. The dog, you press a button on his back and he gets all mean.
I went to the mall to kill time until 4pm when a local store was doing a fundraiser for the library. By this time it was about 10 of 4, so I hopped on the bus and headed back towards the library.
As I was heading to the store, I got distracted looking in another store window and had to pick up a few things.

 This is our local arts center store, they sell stuff made by local artists. Everything but the pin is a magnet, it's basically all for me. I'd love to send out the Ames, IA magnet, but I'm afraid it would break. I added the Pride pin to my bag. Total spent: $14.
And I finally made it to my last destination. It's a fair trade store:

 A cute bag, a star ornament, Matryoshka keychain and a couple Tagua seeds with cute sayings. It's all for me, but I might pass them on in the future. Total spent: $26.

I ended up spending way too much and am kinda done shopping for awhile.
I found a collectors tag of a squishy when I got home:

 I wish they had picked a more exciting squishy, it was from wish or alli, I'm sure they could have.
Tuesday: I switched shifts with a co-worker so she could attend a basketball game, it felt like Wednesday all day, which in turn made me forget to do things.
I remembered to get a couple things put together right before I went to bed.
Grant a Wish: Cute Christmas ornament:

 I ended up sending to the same person as my Dollar Store tag above, it was no longer a one stamp envelope.
Christmas happy mail:

 this one however ended up being one stamp. I sent some die cuts, stickers, washi, tags, card and some project life cards.
Wednesday: I spent a lot on postage, mostly because of my crafty Christmas advent calendar, I sent it in a medium flat rate priority box.
I received my mega destash swap:

 I really like this paper collection.

 not sure I'll use any of these.

 Lots of flowers and die cuts and trim. Good selection.

 And a bunch of die cuts, I won't use the stamps.

 Mostly cards and sticky notes and paper scraps.
I'm annoyed that she sent it on Monday when it was due to be sent out on Saturday. I hate following rules when other people don't.
Thursday: I got my 12 Days of Christmas swap packaged up and ready to go:

 I really like the wrapping paper I bought at TJ Maxx. I used some tiny wreath ornaments I picked up at Hobby Lobby with paper scraps and stamped numbers to number them, I love how they turned out.
I put together my Wednesday tags.
Wacky Wednesday: Edible:

 and I ended up sending to the same person for another Christmas ornament;

 I mostly read a book all day. I did receive some cute Christmas tags.

 I wish people would include notes.
And a sticker sheets tag:

Not happy with the kid's stickers.