On the Cusp

Tonight is the very last night of my 30s...tomorrow I turn the big 4-0...yep, it's true and I'm having a hard time believing it myself. I'm so thankful for those people who also share my disbelief that I could actually be starting my 5th decade (whoa, kind of don't like that 5 there just yet) - you make me smile with your, "No way that you are turning 40, I don't believe it." Aw shucks, go on...

The highlights of the last day of my 30s...my daughter confided in me that she told her kindergarten teacher that she loved her (this fills me with joy), I had a wonderful dinner out with my parents (only child), husband and kids, and I've just spent the last half hour snuggling my two and a half year old to sleep. I wish I was this reflective at the end of every day...counting my blessings, thinking of my highlights and filling myself with love and hope in those last few moments before I am lost to sleep for the night.

If there is anything I take into my 40s it is the idea that I can truly make a difference in the lives of the people around me, near and far, friend and stranger...kindness seems to have taken hold of me and if I can lighten the load, offer a hand up, brighten a day, cause a smile then so be it (in a quiet way, always a quiet way as is my nature). I think it is a big reason I started this thousand paper letter challenge (that is nearly complete...so soon...aaaahhh...not ready for it to be over).

What a world we live in where we have the means and the opportunity to make a difference in so many ways.  My grade nine students are all writing encouragement/compliments to each other right now (yep, sharing the love wherever I can and guess what...we are going to put them into envelopes and "mail" them via our class mailbox - yep, that's just how I roll mail peeps). They've come up with some great ideas too. Someone once told me that if you give kids the chance to be amazing they will be...so I'm doing my best to offer up those chances as I get back into the classroom.

I'd like to think that we all have the chance to be amazing. In fact, everyday we wake up with that chance. The chance to do right, to be kind, to hit it out of the park, to love all day long, to leave it better than we found it, and to make a difference. One of my vehicles for these ideas is handcrafted, old fashioned letters/notes/snail mail. It works for me. With the simple tools of paper and pen I can make a difference. Life is about finding your gifts and giving them away. Find your gifts and if you think you might have time to sit down and write someone a little uplifting note...do it, it will feel good.

"The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been."

Madeleine L'Engle

811/1000 - a wonderful 7 added to the count!

Perfect Timing

Where I live, students and teachers started the school year a little later than normal - for all kinds of reasons. So Friday, September 19th was actually my first day at my school and in my classroom (for this school year anyway). I have been home for five years with my babies (who are now 2 & 5 - so technically not babies) and I wasn't sure how it would go...my first day back (albeit part-time). I walked in, dropped my bags and looked around. I think, I was a little stunned, not to mention nervous about what to do and where to start.

As I was contemplating my next move, my husband walked in (he's also my colleague) and said, "Did you get the postcard?" Of course you remember that I just said I was a little stunned right? So I look around cluelessly and I see this old milk ad postcard on the corner of "my new desk" and think, "Oh he must have found some of my old stuff in his classroom or something." It was a postcard I hand't seen for a long time. He encouraged me to turn it over and read what it said.

Doesn't look like much....
"Turn it over" he said.

To my surprise the card was dated August 2014 and from a former student (heart skips a beat here). In 2009, before I went on maternity leave, to have my sweet Piper girl, I handed out a postcard to each of my Creative Writing 12 students. I addressed it with my name and the school's address. I even put a "forever" stamp on it so it could be mailed anytime. I told them that if they had some good news they wanted to share with someone I would love to hear it. Lo and behold...someone did...five years later. I think I might have been smiling the whole time I read the card. This dear sweet writer allowed me to share in her post-secondary journey in search of her passion (which she found), her current creative outlet (drumming), and maybe her biggest news yet (getting married). 

The timing couldn't have been more perfect. A wonderful message from a wonderful person when I needed to hear it the most. Thank you Tavia. You certainly are one of the most humble, creative and amazing students I've ever had the chance to teach. And in case the rest of you are wondering...I wrote her back (she included her return address - yay!). Now I'm knee deep in marking and paperwork but I have this little light shining inside, just a little spark that reminds me of why I do what I do.

So hear/read my story and send a little spark out into the world! Share some good news, a thoughtful word or perhaps a little encouragement to a friend. I don't know anyone that has ever said, "Oh man, I hate getting nice cards/letters/notes/surprises in the mail." And in fact, maybe like this old, held onto postcard, you will send someone exactly what they need just when they need it.

804/1000 - pen pal mail, thank you cards, a random pirate package...4 more to the score!

Two Straight Lines

Summer is (more than) fading (it's over) and school is back in! And I'm back...in more ways than one. Back on the blog, back in the classroom (part-time), and back to meal-planning, baking, letters/notes/packages...

My daughter completed the Summer Reading Program through our local library and loved it! During the last week of August we had a great book that inspired me a little and I was so happy to think that it might inspire others as well (kids and parents alike). These two pages are from a Madeline book about politeness and manners (excuse these not so great phone pictures).

We also checked out a Curious George Thank You book where he writes thank you cards to everyone, including the mail carrier! I knew I loved that little monkey for a reason! My darling girls is selling mint chocolate GG cookies so she has a number of thank you cards to write as well. And suddenly we are in a season of fundraising - for school and activities. Funny how all of a sudden we are in that realm (no doubt frozen baked good and chocolate covered almonds ahead). So many thanks to our neighbours, friends, family and strangers as you support us in this new era of (school-aged kid) life. We'll do our best not to hound you.

Adding 12 to the count - which brings me to an even 800! Wow, only 200 to go. It's pumpkin month - enjoy all things autumn!

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.
~Anne of Green Gables

Summer Days & Fall Nights

     Oh Summer how I love thee! Your long days filled with family and friends, sunshine, camping, swimming, cold drinks, roasted marshmallows, and that sense, that time, has simply slowed down.  But as the nights start to feel that familiar touch of damp I know, that very soon, I will miss you. The back-to-school shopping has already started (my sweet girl picked out an R2D2 backpack - oh yea!), I'm starting to think about making food for frozen meals/lunches, and I've started my new fridge calendar...yep, all sure signs that September is coming. There are three of us going to school this September...my daughter to kindergarten, my husband to work (as per usual...over a decade in), and me (after a 5 year break...feeling like it's not real yet). But I only have one foot out of summer's door. Still loving the sunshine and looking forward to more beach exploring, swimming, sunshine, marshmallows, and memories.

Lofoten, Norway

     Received a very cool postcard from one of my favourite Norwegian families yesterday! Thanks to Elias who did the writing (I think). I love it! I know I don't send as many postcards as I used to (sometimes it is hard to sit down and write when you have a couple of kids on vacation with you needing you every moment, or at least thinking they do) but wow, it was so nice to receive...I think I'll try harder - it was such a gift to see which postcard was picked out, imagining them there and reading their note to us! Wonderful. And doesn't it look like a beautiful place (hiking, swimming, viking museums - they had a lot of fun!).

Happy August, happy back-to-school, happy memory making, happy letter writing...

happy, happy, happy.

788/1000 My count is up by 10 - some packages, some notes, definitely some love.

P.S. working on a very cool pen pal project with a friend - stay tuned.

Mailbox Monday

Love this neighbourhood collection of wooden, painted mailboxes! Each little area seemed to have one of these - some with a two or three and some like this! It was hard not to stop and check them all out ("Who is that crazy lady taking picture of our mailboxes?") but wanted to avoid international scandal - haha! I do love the communal feel and rustic nature of this collection. Hegra, Norway.

Hope everyone is finding ways to stay cool in this warm weather. More blogging coming soon. Have a wonderful week!

Mailbox Monday

This is my friend's mailbox (on right) in Norway where I send all my mail and packages! 

Had to include it - love it! Just peeking past it at the garden, the house, even the cars makes me wish I was there. It was a lovely, relaxing trip (now my mail enjoys that journey lol). Wishing I was there for strawberry season - best strawberries I have ever eaten (all that sun!).

Have a lovely week everyone! Happy 1st and Happy 4th!

Enjoy some time with family and friends and be summery!

Sweet Summer Reading

     Yesterday, my husband and I had an Auntie/Uncle date with our three beautiful nieces (9, 11 & 13 - these are of course, their ages, we don't refer to them as numbers - lol). And we decided to take them to a very cool bookstore near us called Kidsbooks. The ladies are so knowledgeable and we were excited to take the girls in for an end-of-the-school-year-beginning-of-summer gift/book. So the girls were able to say what they liked, the staff picked out a few options and then they sat down and perused each copy and made a decision! Of course, you know, I just sent the store a handwritten thank you note because they are awesome!

To round out the afternoon we headed over to Menchies for a sweet treat (their first time!) and fully indulged our sweet tooths (teeth?). Just noticed they do fundraisers too - always looking for new fundraising venues (yum, frozen yogurt) - making a mental note about that.

    Summer and reading go hand in hand! I know I'm compiling my summer reading list right now and starting the stack to pull from.  I think we are going to head to the library in a couple of days to see what their summer reading program looks like and get our sweet five year old excited about that - brings back so many memories! Of course, libraries are great places for recommendations as well and love that you can also rent movies and take out magazines and more. Reading on the beach, on the deck, in a hammock, in a tent (with a flashlight) tucked in a sleeping bag, in a book nook, at Grandma and Papa's house, at a sidewalk cafe...reading has always been a big part of our summer and I hope that continues. All of those places are great places to read and write mail as well.

     Connecting with characters in a book is not so different than connecting with people via the written word (aka letters & postcards). In fact, one of my favourite sayings is, "We read to know that we are not alone." Some of the world's greatest people and mentors are characters in books - share that with your kids and give that to yourself as well! Some books even have letters and postcards inside them (The Jolly Postman & Meerkat Mail for the younger set and Griffin & Sabine for adults - full of beautiful mail and an intriguing story/series).

778/1000 Sent a couple of great packages to Norway, one to Piper's pen pal, and a couple of cards - making it 5 that I get to add to my count.

Mailbox Monday

Visiting a store in Trondheim and came across this wall of post boxes - love them! Probably the only person in the world who stops to take photos of mailboxes on a trip but I thought they were lovely (not even sure which colour I would choose).

Mailbox Monday

Nothing says 'rustic' like your mailbox nailed to a tree! Love it!  

You'll notice a Norwegian theme for the next few 

Mailbox Mondays - this is in Leksvik.

Home Again, Home Again...

     I feel like I just went on a Flat Stanley adventure…mailed myself off to a friend’s house in Norway (transatlantic flights are definitely akin to being a little squished for 7+ hours – from my house anyway). What a lovely break, adventure, time to relax and hang out with my wonderful friend Bente and her family.  And now I have three lovely boys to write to (might be using Google Translation – lol) & send fun Canadian things. I have to compliment Elias (age 11) on his incredible English and thank all the boys for teaching me some Norwegian (cheese being my very favourite word!). I think one of the things I loved to do most was wandering through the grocery store - drooling over the chocolate and loving all the different products/packaging. It never got old - I'm just unique that way.

Another bonus to going away (besides the awesome travel itself) and then coming back (besides being picked up at the airport by my husband, hugs and kisses from my wonderful family, and a sweet boy who said, “wuv you too” for the first time to me) is that there is a little stack of mail waiting just for me! It’s kind of fun when it piles up – a sweet birth announcement for a beautiful boy, a silly letter from one of my nieces, a fantastic ‘old school’ note from a friend and a few other fun pieces. Let's all go "old school" and send out some notes to our friends!

And now I look forward to writing many cards of thanks for my hosts and for the people who took care of my kids and husband while I was away. Feel so blessed to have such amazing people in my life who love my kids as much as I do! What are your best ideas for sending Canadian items to my three new Norwegian friends (age 11, 8 & 6)? Leave me a comment.

773/1000 Adding two to the mix.

Mail is Good.

Earlier this week I received this lovely card in my mailbox!

So blessed to have such lovely friends! Really, my heart just warmed when I saw the handwritten name and address. Oh and that lovely teal coloured envelope. But really it was the words inside and the person who wrote them that absolutely made my day. Thank you so much! You know who you are! Guess what people...you could be doing this for someone right now or who knows maybe there is one on its way to you!

The other cool thing I received this week was in this beautiful box.

This is a Tea-zer from Steeped Tea - I was lucky enough to be the recipient of this monthly mail out! I get two random 50g bags of tea for 6 months! So exciting to see what I will get and try something new. Looking forward to trying Strawberry Shortcake. I do love blank-of-the-month type gifts. Just really extends the love and there are so many cool ones out there (wine, cheese, beer, tea, treats/products for pets to name a few).  

Another great gift-of-the month would be a magazine subscription...my mom sent my daughter a subscription of Chickadee and she loves getting it every month! We talk about who sent it to her and then read through it together and man does she ever read through each issue a lot (well used). She talks about how she has a collection of them is quite happy about it. She also get a free monthly Lego Magazine which she adores as well. The mail can bring so much happiness, a break from the mundane (flyers, bills), a moment with a friend, a laugh, a smile...yep, mail is cool like that.

771/1000 Just one for now.

P.S. It's Mother's Day on Sunday. Do you have a mom in your life that would love a card? Your Mom? A single Mom? A Mom you admire? Make it happen!

Mailbox Monday

Venezia

Mailbox Monday or Casella Postale Lunedi comes to you from Venice, Italy. My lovely cousin was visiting Italy (with her 4 month old son - who was a rockstar on the plane by the way) and snapped this great photo of this fab mailbox. Dreaming of travel!

Have a great week everyone!

Books and Silliness

     My oldest niece just turned 13 this spring and she's just lovely! As an English teacher (on hiatus), professed book lover, and avid reader I always feel sad when kids in my class don't like reading. Not necessarily class novels - as much as I love Lord of the Flies it probably isn't exciting for everyone (I even like the black and white movie - seriously?). But I am a strong believer that non-readers just haven't found the right book yet (to get them started). And this is the case with my niece. She liked reading for a while I think but then suddenly wasn't interested...until now! It just took a certain series of books to flick the switch for her.

     It's really cool because my husband and I have been able to 'feed' her books, so to speak, from our book shelves. Sharing books and talking about them is a special gift. And I definitely advocate sharing your favourite books with friends and family because they really are a little piece of who we are - we often find ourselves in books and that is part of their beauty. Easy to pop in the mail or even an excerpt that really means something to you.

No shortage of books to lend here.
Two of our five bookshelves that we purge often.

     In addition to lending out books this week I received another silly letter back from my niece J and had a great time writing her back - maybe, I'm enjoying it more than she is? Either way it's a lot of fun to be creative with it to see what silliness I can come up with - pancake fights, bacon jewellery, and skunk jerky - oh it's on!

     And pleased to report that on my way out to run errands I mailed her letter and when I came back to my car my two year old pointed to the mailbox and said, "mail." Now he has new words everyday lately but have to say this is one of my favourites this week! Yep, he knows what his Mama is up to - love that kid!

     Then on my way back from running errands I stopped to check our mail and lo and behold my 11 year old niece S (J's sister) sent me a silly letter - Oh we've started something here! So looking forward to sitting down and writing back! So S tells me she's travelling the world...and other crazy hijinks. Both nieces only live a block and a half away actually (with sister K too) but there is something magical about mail and what we are doing here. Keep that in mind. Mail is not always about distance, it is often just about relationships.

770/1000 1, 2 & 3 to the count this week! Slowly but surely.

P.S. One of those fab letter is going to Stephanie with something special inside for guessing the movie from my last post! And it was Finding Forrester. Way to go Steph!

The Random Drop Off...

One of my favourite movies has a great line in it to help the guy get the girl, "An unexpected gift, at an unexpected time." He does get the girl. I'll send you something fun in the mail if you can tell me what movie that's from. 

I really like the idea of that unexpected gift at an unexpected time! In fact it seems to be popping up all over the place this week (how unexpected). A friend just wrote on Facebook that for the last four or five years her family has received an Easter basket on their doorstep and they truly have no idea who it is from. This is so cool! And today a friend had the water service guy in her office bring her a coffee - how sweet! I brought someone special a soy cinnamon dulce this week too (although she knew I was dropping it off but she loved it just the same)! Which had me thinking about putting up my own Facebook post and asking all of my friends what their favourite coffee shop beverages of choice are...so maybe one day I can surprise them (so many different options)! Okay, I might just do that!

Oh and how could I forget this! My sister-in-law came by with these beauties for me! I mean one for each of us. They were delicious and fun. Thank you!

An unexpected gift!

On the news there has been a push in the last 48 hours for people to become organ donors in my little corner of the world. One of the ultimate unexpected gifts and at an unexpected time. My husband and I have been donors for years (although him longer than me). I somehow had this irrational fear about it (darn movies and urban legends) but I got over it and saw all the good it can do for others and that was the most important. Congrats if you are one and if you aren't...what are you waiting for?

Mail is super cool but the random drop off...a little gift to make someone's day - on their desk, doorstep, windshield...maybe they need some encouragement, some love or just because. Feel free to write a little note to go with it (always working the mail angle - haha). Not sure what to drop off? A favourite hot beverage or a $5 gift card so they can pick, chocolate (this is always good, unless you are allergic of course, but try to find out what their favourites are...dark, milk, peanut butter, sea salt...with bacon...oh yes that is a thing and so good), actually any favourites of anything (snack, cookie, lotion, bubble bath, candle), flowers, a good book and so on...

Share the love!

767/1000 4 new ones (and one is a birthday package for Piper's pen pal)!

Lollipop Tree

I went journal and card shopping this week...have I told you that I love paper? I picked up a lovely package of blank cards with a lollipop tree design on the front (shades of pink) and come with the brightest pink envelopes. Lollipop Tree! They just make me so happy! Imagine walking to your mailbox and upon opening it you find the brightest of bright envelopes with a special note from a friend - it is so simple (almost effortless) and the joy it can bring it priceless!

How lovely!

Now a couple of weeks ago I received a super silly postcard from my 13 year old niece. I sat down and wrote her something equally silly back - it was a lot of fun. I'm including her original postcard so she can see what I'm responding to in case she forgot her questions. We'll have to see what happens with this! Here is a peek at what she sent me (and you know she's getting a lollipop card back).

So fun!

I think she needed to do some writing so her Mom gave her the option of writing a letter to someone. Glad she had fun with it and chose me! Writing letters is so great for kids - it is a great way to create a social bond beyond social media, practice writing for an audience, work on penmanship, and clearly there was a little creativity going on here! Fantastic. And you know what...there was no stamp but it was delivered to my mailbox anyway - thank you Canada Post! I'll be sending out a few other letters this week but my favourite might just be the card I'm sending to my niece. Have a few moments - get silly or thankful (always nice to send a little card of thanks or encouragement to a friend).

763/1000 I think I sent some more out but lost track - Eep! So adding three to the count.

Mailbox Monday - Special Delivery

Through rain, sleet, snow...

We went to a Lego Exhibition as a family on Friday and came across this Lego gem! 

A little Royal Mail truck! How sweet!

Have a lovely week everyone!

We have had a few summer-like days here. So wonderful!

Mailbox Monday

So some super awesome people got my kids this super awesome mailbox for their birthdays (4 days apart...and 3 years too). Thank you Auntie Harmony, Uncle Dylan, Cohen & Everleigh!

Gift for Mom and kids - yep!

Wooden mailbox, letters and stamps
(that stick on with velcro).

Super Rad!

Have a great week everyone!

Piper wins!

Earlier this year I "signed on" to receive a random act of kindness from my friend Tracie (I was one of five) and in turn offered to do the same for five other people, who in turn would offer to the same for five other people, who...you get it right. I did the same thing last year in January 2013 and it was a lot of fun. I have to say that I haven't had a chance to pay it forward to my peeps just yet for this round. I need to get my thinking cap on for sure! But now I am inspired because I received the coolest gift from Tracie last week!

Super cool for so many reasons! I love it because it is a great family piece, it is handcrafted (love the craftiness), and if you don't know...I love scrabble! So what an amazing and thoughtful gift! A big thank you to Tracie (who also happens to be the mom of Piper's pen pal). And she is on my list too...

And while a pay it forward challenge is cool you certainly don't need a reason to send out a random act of kindness - I sometimes think that no reason is the best reason - an unexpected kindness! And yes, the cost of postage has gone up but still under a dollar to send some domestically, under two dollars to send to the US and under three dollars to send letter mail internationally is really a great deal (it flies all over the world from your hands to a friend - less than a latte, seriously). So while I was initially bummed about the prices I know it won't stop me from sending out love to my friends and family near and far.

Send out some love, send out some kindness and send out some mail! You just might get some in return (words, photos, magazine articles, a recipe, coupons, favourite quotations, nail art, a lottery ticket, an old note from junior high, a copy of a yearbook message or photo, a poem, a picture of cool graffiti, a pressed flower, a gift card, a postcard of a favourite piece of art or place, scratch and sniff stickers, bookmark, art...I think there are a few new ideas in there since I last wrote a list). Do with it what you will!

760/1000 Seven more!

Telling Time...

     I just checked in to see when I published my last post...March 3rd...whoa, what happened. I've been thinking about posting quite a bit but the sitting down and typing got lost in time. It seems that right now as a mostly-stay-at-home Mom I tend to see time a little bit differently than I used to. I don't mean that I don't know what the date is or keep a calendar on my fridge (because I do, a very detailed one at that) but time seems to be "coloured" in my brain a little differently.

     It has been 26 days since my last post or...5 family birthday get togethers, one friend birthday party (first one ever for my sweet girl), two weeks of being sick, two weeks of spring break (the same two weeks unfortunately), eight days with 4 kids under 5 in my care, one Pinterest book nook project and lots of other little adventures in between. Oh and mail - there has been mail going out too (of course)! Maybe, this is how we should all be measuring time - adventure by adventure!

It was a Lego party.

She had a great time.

Her penpal even came!

   

     We are in fact, just wrapping up our last few days of spring break and trying to squeeze a thousand things in - get the snow tires off, cleaning (everything), book nook, marking (for hubby), seeing friends and family, working on birthday thank you notes, a House Freezing party (yep, you read that right, it's a housewarming party but we are going to watch Frozen, drink tea and eat ice cream - how rad is that), making work lunches and writing some blog posts (haha). Can anyone else relate - do you see time this way? Or is it just crazy me?

 Lots of thank you notes heading out to friends and family - thank you for making birthdays so memorable for both my kids (who are now 2 & 5 - Oh my!) FYI that's a peace sign and a high five. Also, filling out a store receipt feedback form for Samantha at the Lego store in Lynnwood for finding the super cool Lego birthday kit (for half-price to boot) - it was exactly what I was hoping for (and maybe, I'll send her a little personal note too).

It's been a busy 26 days. I'm looking forward to a little bit of down time so I can sit, read, drink tea and write some of you lovelies some letters that I've had on my mind lately (they are in my head, just need to put pen to paper). Here's to telling time, adventure by adventure and letter by letter!

753/1000 Appreciation is on its way with 25 pieces of mail...

Mailbo[ok]x Monday

Books are good.

So I had completely forgotten about this book from my childhood and happened across it a few days ago in one of my favourite places (oh you know where) and thought I would share it with you for Mailbox Monday! It was a little trip down memory lane for me as I browsed through its pages. An old favourite is a great gift to give someone in person or in the mail.

Have a wonderful week!

Sweetness

This story starts back in November when a new friend started reading this blog for the first time...and she liked it. Really liked it. Which makes me incredibly happy and makes me think that my little challenge is not just my little challenge. It's been shared with readers, friends, recipients of my mail and all mail that might have been inspired by a blog post along the way. And this sweet friend liked my blog/challenge so much that she wanted to help me meet my thousand paper letter challenge! And so...

How Lovely!

she offered up hair clips for me to send out to some little girls in my life. She simply said just tell me how many you would like - I just want to help. How nice is that! My friend and her business partner have a little company called Hair Candy. Super excited to get these out to some sweet girls (already three have made their way out into the world). So thank you, thank you, thank you to a very sweet friend! You may have already met her in my last post  - yep, that was her (and her awesome family) making people happy on Valentine's Day. How lucky am I to have met her - thanks Melissa!

728/1000 some hair clips, some thank you notes, and some randomness.

A Little Inspiration...

Last week I posted some ideas about Valentine's Day and I had to interrupt our regularly scheduled Mailbox Monday to share this with you:

Just got in from a handing out "Free Kisses" on the streets of
Steveston. The amount of smiles we shared has filled our hearts:)
Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

My friend Melissa took some inspiration from my last post and came up with this incredible idea! Melissa and her beautiful kids handed out "Free Kisses" to the people in their community - this would absolutely have made my day if I was passing by. In Melissa's words: "It was a great way to spend the evening. Some people told us it was the only valentines day gesture they received all day. The kids handed out a couple hundred and every person was really happy about accepting a 'kiss.' Made us feel great about the people in our community."  Oh my goodness, they handed out "a couple hundred" - I am just in awe of this gesture. She said she was inspired by me but have to say I'm feeling incredibly inspired by her brilliance and sweetness. Truly a Happy Valentine's Day story (for many).

*Thanks to Melissa for sharing these pictures and her story with me.

Valentine's Day

Radio, tv, the Internet, magazines, store fronts are all a buzz with flowers, diamonds, expensive dinner dates and chocolates...which are lovely (really lovely) but I worry about the expectation it puts out there for Valentine's Day and the entitlement that follows for those that are figuring out this like/love thing (which might just be all of us). There are so many ways to show love, to support friends, to be kind that are special. So ignore the hoopla and make it about love on your own terms!

I received some sweet tea towels from a friend - just because!

Love them!

And Piper received this fabulous hair clip from another lovely friend (more about this later).

Piper was thrilled with this Hair Candy Hair Clip
made just for her!

Not your typical Valentine's Day Fare are they? But amazing nonetheless. Think outside of the roses, chocolates, diamonds, dinners etc. scenario and share love with those around you in amazing ways on Friday!  

Love people you've never thought of loving...your neighbours that you don't know yet (baked goods, a plant...foster a little community), your children's teachers  or office staff (they have to deal with a lot of kids hopped up on Valentine's Day sugar  - maybe a coffee card...maybe something stronger), drive through worker (it's not the best job is it and they are working on Valentine's Day - sucks), buy a bag of chocolate hearts or heart lollipops and just hand them out to everyone you meet, bring flowers to any office/residence/hospital/library for the staff room, if you go out for dinner by all means overtip, fill coin operated coin parking meters, offer to take a couple/group photo for someone so they can be in the photo, or don't plan it out at all and just be open to making someone's day. 

It can certainly be a dark day for some - remember that too and appreciate that/honour that. And if you can lighten their burden, do. If nothing else reach out and have a conversation with them on Friday. I saw a card recently that said something along the lines of "it could be worse you could be dating a total idiot." So I guess there is that. I just saw a cool "new" holiday out there in cyberspace scheduled for February 13th called Galentines...where you get together and have fun with your girlfriends (the gals) - oh fun! Don't forget to love those close to you too an extra little bit today just because! Why not?

Meanwhile at our house my husband and I are pretty low key on the gifts and by that I mean...we don't tend to spend a lot but we do tend to think a lot about the gift or card or gesture (and that's why I love him). My love language is gifts and he knows this but this past weekend he did all of the laundry - ALL! So maybe, service is one of my secondary love languages - it was so thoughtful and to boot he let me sleep in on Monday (Family Day). Those are great Valentine's gifts right there (or any day). A huge thanks to him! He needs to do nothing else (he'll be glad to hear that). 

"Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude."

AA Milne - Winnie the Pooh

711/1000 Four pieces out the door

Mailbox "Fun"day

It's Valentine's Day this week so I opted for Mailbox "Fun"day instead of Mailbox Monday. Yesterday my daughter and I went to my best friend's (Harmony) daughter's (Everleigh) first birthday - she is an almost Valentine's Day baby (February 13th). And for her first birthday Harmony decided to embrace a Valentine's Day/Love theme! It was a lot of fun and let me tell you that Harmony makes THE best sugar cookies (delicious and beautiful) but what fits in best with this little blog of mine is the craft all the kids got to make...a Valentine's Day mailbox (clearly she is my best friend for a reason). She is incredibly crafty (in a good way) - her kids are lucky to have her and so are her students.

Here is the set up:

Yep, those are diaper wipe boxes!

Action shot!

And here is Piper's finished product!

The cool thing is...you still have time to make one (if you are so inclined). Thanks Harmony for giving me some Mailbox Monday material and throwing a great party! A very Happy 1st Birthday to Miss Everleigh!

Have a wonderful week everyone! Here in BC we are celebrating Family Day (mostly by watching the Olympics).

A Little Reading Material...

Back in November I posted Snow Mail where I mentioned that I was "hand" making Christmas presents for my nieces (aged 12, 11 and 9) but it was top secret because it was before Christmas (clearly). So I thought I would take today's post to share what I made for them. My nieces like to read before bed and I wanted to "make" books for them to read before bed that was personalized for them. And then I thought they could trade after they had read their own.

I started with three journals. I first thought of the idea in January but didn't get started until September. My goal was to fill the whole book but I probably ended up doing about 50 pages (next time I will start earlier - which is why I am posting this now in case anyone else wants to give it a go).

Three Awesome Journals for Three Awesome Nieces!

I filled them with magazine articles, jokes, craft instructions, inspiring quotations, favourite photos, interesting facts, How to's, poems, comics, top 10 lists...all things I could have potentially sent them in the mail too. And all short, bite-sized bits so they could pick up and put down at their leisure. I did a lot of reusing and recycling - going through old magazines and catalogues & picking up more at my local thrift shop.

A few sample pages.

I even wrote each of these sweet girls a poem.

I had my husband draw a comic - his go to is always a skeleton (he says it is the one thing he can draw). He picked a sport each girl is involved in.

Soccer.

Gymnastics.

Swimming.

I also "spelled out" their names. Here is an example of one. 

J-A-Y-L-E-N

And while I wish I could have filled every single page (I just ran out of time), I'm not sure the journals would have been able to close if I had.

I'm happy to report that they loved them. The next day after Christmas they flew to India for 2.5 weeks so this turned into something they could read on the plane or during a layover. I know they liked them because when I went over to see them the other day my oldest niece asked if I could fill in the rest (aw that felt so good!). 

I'm thinking I'll do something similar (but start now) for next Christmas but this time I will do more of an interactive book with areas for them to fill out and things for them to do and so on. Right now I'm brainstorming and thinking word puzzles, journal entry type questions, scavenger hunts... I did something like this for my husband when he decided to go on a trip to Europe for the summer after we'd been dating for a short 4 months. He still has it.

He used the second half
as a journal for his trip.

A Sampling...

Lots of ideas if you want to start your own or if you want to just send a few things in the mail to friends. You could even start a journal and send it back and forth to each other - each filling in a few pages at a time (of writing, photos, or bits like I put in the books for my nieces). What fun!

707/1000 25 pieces of "heart" mail this week...and just like that I broke 700!