Nard Removal --The Sequel

{What the??}

Remember when I wrote about freezing my nards off back in October during one of Landon's football games? Well that was nothing. Mother Nature is currently taking nard removal to a whole new low and it is ridiculous. The only good thing about it is that it's cold enough to wear my cute scarf from Paris.


The freezing temperatures make for some pretty photo ops outside, it's just that it's too cold to go out there and take the pictures! I snapped this one from my front porch and then ran back inside and said, "Man, it's cold out there!" (I seem to say the most profound things when I'm freezing.)

**How do you deal with the cold?
What does your scarf look like?
How often do you say something so
incredibly obvious you want to smack yourself?**

Here are the Winners from yesterday's Good Mail Giveaway
22--Robyn
26--Shauna
12--Crystal
1--Watson Family
4--Melinda

Comment Window Tidbit: I stood in line (with Michelle even) at Kohl's for about 20 minutes today and it wiped me out. I have no capacity for standing in lines at all!

Good Mail For Me and For You

Oh how I love good mail! I sent several items today and received several items today as well.


New blogging friend Kristy sent me this thoughtful, generous, wonderful package that left me speechless! She sent book lights for me and Michelle (she originally intended to get this here before Michelle left for Paris), lip gloss, post-it notes, book marks, 3 bags of peanut butter m&ms, a Sonic gift card, darling personalized return address labels and a variety of postage. To say I was giddy would be an understatement! Wow!


New blogging friend Sandy M. sent me this cute note thanking me for the mix cd I recently sent her. I love how sending good mail starts a cycle of sending more good mail.


Missy Claudia sent me this cute card which reminded me of blogger Andie and her love of shoes.


This card from Michelle arrived a couple days after she left for Paris (sniff, sniff) and included a gift certificate for the salon I go to! Goodness gracious, there may be a cut and color in my preParis future after all!


My sister-in-law Daniela sent a photo card with this self-portrait we took while she was here dropping off Gifford last month. I must say it was rather fun to be on the receiving end of a photo card.


Liz sent me this cute, sparkly thank you note for the recent mix cd I sent her.


New blogging friend Courtney sent me this very sparkly cupcake-filled Eiffel tower card to thank me for the blog contest quote cards I sent her recently. How creative is this card?


Kristi sent me this big envelope with these very cool postage-themed stickers and a nice note.

This time I'd like everyone who reads this post to comment on it and be entered to win my drawing. It doesn't matter if you've won before or if you are commenting out of the blue for a chance to win, just do it! It's just for fun, it's no big whoop.

**Do you find that the more you send the more you receive?
Have you avoided entering to win?
Would you pick a mix cd, stationery or good mail labels?
Do you love postage?
Is it important to you to be generous?**

Comment Window Tidbit: It has been a gloriously rainy day today and I'm loving it. I'm off to bed at 9:45pm to read while listening to the rain.

Winners

I relied on Random.org to choose the 5 winners for my good mail giveaway.

23--Robyn
19--Nikki
29--Amy (I need your mailing info)

3--Lisa
18--Melanie

A couple of you mentioned that you were hesitant to comment because you didn't want to lessen someone else's chances to win or you didn't want me to think you were commenting just because you wanted to win something. To this I say, pshaw! I WANT you to win, so comment away and one of these times you will win and we'll both be happy abut it.

**Did you NOT comment that post on purpose?
When was the last time you said, pshaw?**

Comment Window Tidbit: Why must they be doing construction on every street right now?? Even the detours are a mess. I would like to think it takes more than bad traffic to make me come undone, but it doesn't.

Winners

I have chosen 5 random winners to be recipients of some good mail from me. Please email me (stuart_jill@hotmail.com) with your mailing info (unless I already have it) and tell me if you'd like stationery, good mail labels or a mix cd. (And yes, I had a more substantial post in the works for tonight, but my photo uploading is sooooo freakin slow that I'm about ready to throw my computer out the window!).

Linda
Courtney
Miranda
Judy
Liz

**Which would you chose...
stationery, good mail labels or a mix cd??
Have you gotten something from me before?**

Good Mail For Me and For You--Plus Edit

This note from Natasha should have been in my last good mail report, but I had mistakenly put the photo in a different folder so I missed it.


Jane sent me this note to thank me for making her a set of quote cards for her birthday.


I recently sent Missy Claudia a set of these small, square cards but was still surprised when one of them ended up in my mailbox. The envelope was so tiny! Claudia can never be contained by the size of her stationery though, and ended up writing more on a notepad.


Jeannie, who is one of my Etsy customers, sent me this thank you note for some good mail labels I made for her recently.


Miss Kacey sent me this darling notepad recently. I love everything Kacey does and was lucky enough to win her recent giveaway (along with commenter Jenn). I ended up getting 2 sets of stationery, one for Missy Claudia and one for Betsy (I forgot to take a picture of the cuteness) but the girls both loved their cards.


Natasha sent me this beautiful, letterpressed note and totally made my day.


Michelle surprised me with this thank you note, which arrived Saturday. I didn't see her writing any notes during Creative Friday, so she must have been rather stealthy about this and done it before or after I left. She included a Cafe Rio gift card (woohoo) for helping her clean her garage last month.


This colorful delight is the stack of thank you cards I wrote yesterday. I had made the cards at Michelle's house on Friday, but ran out of time to write them. It was so nice to sit on my bed with a clipboard and write all of these. It felt like a very relaxing, Sunday thing to do.

**I'll be giving away a few items to some random commenters, so tell me what you think.**

Edited to add: I must be going senile, because I totally panicked after reading Tasha's comment (thank you) and searched through all my photo folders until I found the picture of the gift she sent me, then ended up finding 4 more things I needed to post! There is always a danger of forgetting to post something, but wow this has got me worried! If I've ever not posted something you've sent, it's purely by mistake, not a statement of some kind.

Tasha sent me these 2 sets of acrylic stamps and a package of embellishments, so nice!


Michelle brought these to Creative Friday a couple weeks ago (unblogged about thus far) as an addition to my delightfully, color schemed birthday gift from July. I love these!


While searching through my photo folders (shouldn't it be pholders?) I found another good mail item from Claudia. Everything she sends looks like art.


Whitney's friend Madison's mom (now my friend Gaylene) is so good to us. She took Whitney for an entire day to do fun things with them and then brought us a box of Krispy Kreme donuts when she brought her home. Clearly she knows the way to my heart! (Both taking Whitney for the day, ha, and bringing donuts upon their return.)

**Do you like quotes?
Have you ever received a tiny envelope in the mail?
What do you think of my colorful stack of envelopes?
Are you a sucker for donuts?
Are you forgetful?**

Giveaway Goodness

It's funny how a giveaway brings the lurkers out eh? Saturday posts usually have a low number of commenters, but somehow last Saturday's post ended up with 32 comments. Hmm.

I have such a hard time not sending something to everyone, so I'm very happy to have Random.org to do the number choosing for me. Of course, I kept saying "okay, one more" until I ended up with 11 winners! What can I say, I'm a giver. Ha.


Here are the winners

Melissa--I need your email and mailing addresses
Charlotte--Pick a genre
Charity--I need your mailing address
Marlyn--I need your email address
Kerrie--I need your email and mailing addresses
Kim Sue--Pick a genre
Sandy--Pick a genre
Kristy--I need your email and mailing addresses
Kate--Pick a genre
Anne--Pick a genre
Jill W.--I need your email and mailing addresses

My email address is stuart_jill@hotmail.com

**What genre of music would you like for a mix cd?
Tell me and you just mind get one in your mail box.
(Dance, Acoustic, Brooding and Moody Delight, Country, 70's, 80's, Current, American Idol, Church Stuff, or Anything?)
What's up with lurking and not commenting?**

Good Mail For Me and For You

I have been the recipient of several good mail items recently and want to document them. That also means I'll be picking a few commenters at random and passing on some good mail to you, so come out of hiding and say something please.


Claudia really outdid herself with this mailing. The large, vellum envelope arrived on a Saturday afternoon, and I could tell by the weight of it that it held some serious business so I saved it for my bedtime reading by headlight. It actually ended up moving into my Sunday, pre-nap reading because the letter was 42 notepad pages long front and back! Needless to say, I felt caught up on her life after reading it.


Jen sent this really nice note thanking me for some good mail I'd recently sent her. Her notes are ones to savor and always end up making me feel great.


Kristy sent this thank you note for some extra good mail labels I'd recently included in a order for her.


Crystalyn sent me this cute thank you note for the birthday stationery I sent her.


Shannon sent me this get well package the week I was I sick. This was particularly nice because she was sick too! I had never tried these Pomegranate Lemon-Aid Mints before, but I love them (I just wish I could make them last longer than a minute).


Liz sent me this nice note for the belated birthday stationery I sent her.


Emily W. sent me this pack of pens to help me get past my current pen woes. Is it wrong that there's something empowering (in a child-like way) to having many colors of pens? I think not.


Robyn sent me this nice thank you note for watching her kids recently.


Linda sent me a thank you note for including some extra sets of labels for her with a recent order (she buys good mail labels and sends them to her blogging friends), but she sends so much good mail I just had to help keep her stocked up. She also sent me this cute Easter-themed dish towel.


This is the cute tag she had on the towel, isn't that a great idea? Why don't I ever think to make things like that?


I'm not sure this counts as good mail (more like anxiety mail), but I got this invitation to my 2oth high school reunion! I don't see how it's possible that I could be that old, and yet high school is rather distant in the past now. The question is will I go or not? It's June 20th...that's not enough time to get skinny, but then again I've known it was coming for 20 years now!


Patsy sent me this postcard, complete with good mail label, from her trip to New York.


Natasha sent me this fun postcard from her recent trip to Santa Fe. I love the mailbox theme!


Adam brought me this mirror on game night, just because. I'm still trying to figure out where to put it, but definitely appreciate the thought.


Becky sent me this thank you note for the birthday stationery I sent her.

**When was the last time you got a real letter in the mail?
When was the last time you WROTE a real letter?
What's your process for notes (do you write them
immediately or do you just have good intentions)?
Do you ever get notes that make you feel great?**

Deliveries & 5 Prizes

I have gotten behind on documenting my good mail lately, which is evidenced by the multiple Shmalentine's offerings I have today, oops.


Kacey sent me this cute, glittery "Be Mine" sign which I love. Thanks Kacey!


Lori sent me this thank you note awhile ago for helping her rearrange her apartment when she got her cozy, new couch.


Natasha (who gave up blogging for Lent, wow!) sent me this holographic postcard when she went on a business trip to the Hard Rock Hotel in Mississippi. Thanks Natasha!


Heather always has cool stationery and postcards and sent me this one for Shmalentine's. Thanks Heather!


Michelle did a good mail express delivery on Shmalentine's Day while we were at Landon's basketball game (she has a key to the house). She made some of these cute candy-looking cupcakes inspired by these made by Janae but posted on Patsy's blog. Phew. Thanks Michelle!


Claudia sent me this nice quote card for Shmalentine's Day in one of her lovely vellum envelopes. I'm always amazed when those make it through the mail. Thanks Missy!


Carlo sent me this darling Shmalentine that included postage stamps because I'm "First
Class". How cute is that? I love anything that involves postage! Thanks Carlo!


Michelle sent me this thank you note for watching Eva the day she accompanied Max at his cello competition. She writes very nice thank you notes that make me think I'm a nice person. Thanks Michelle!


Amie sent me this eyelash curler the day after mine broke! I had emailed her to ask where she'd gotten the one she gave me last July for my birthday so I could replace it, and she said she'd look into it. What the? Instead it was delivered to my house, along with a Windex coupon, the very next day. Thanks Amie!! My heinous period is a little less so thanks to you.


I was the winner of one of the 5 homemade prizes Hannah was offering to her first five commenters one day. I had no idea what the prize would be and had actually forgotten about it, but then came home to find an envelope with this inside waiting on my porch. She made this great canvas of art based on my word for the year. She also included an envelope attached to the back of the canvas with a print out of my post about my word for the year. How cool is that? I need it too, because things aren't going so well with my word so far. Thanks Hannah!


Nikki sent me an incredibly nice note letting me know that she read my blog every day while she was on vacation, even though she couldn't comment. It was very kind of her to let me know that. Thanks Nikki! (By the way, Nikki's post yesterday was excellent, check it out.)


Laurie M. sent me this nice note along with a cut out of the word Shmalentine! I have no idea where she got it, but I love it. Thanks Laurie!


Michelle also sent me (that's 3 items in this post alone) a cd, some cute "J" stationery and some tasty Dove Chocolates. Clearly she knows what I like. Thanks Michelle!


Ann sent me this French hot chocolate mix, which looks and smells rather fancy. I need Michelle to translate the instructions for me though since they're in French. Thanks Ann!


Shannon sent me this container of Headache Soothing Balm to rub on my temples when I get a headache. It smells wonderful so I've been taking hits off it even though I don't have a headache. Thanks Shannon!

I'm going to Pay It Forward and send something to my first five commenters!

**Have you been documenting your good mail?
Do the notes you receive remind you that you're a nice person?
Have you won anything lately?**