Tuesday Night Lights

All of Landon's football games are on Saturdays except for one glorious night game on a great field. I knew this game was coming and was so excited for him to get to have this experience that I emailed a bunch of family and friends to invite them to cheer him on.

Whitney decorated lunch sacks before we filled them with movie-theater popcorn and m&m's.

The energy before the game was palpable and it was so fun to be out there on a nice, warm night under the lights with "Eye of the Tiger" playing over the speakers.

Landon is number 0.

The boys on the other team were almost twice as big as our guys, so we ended up being unevenly matched, but our boys played great.

I was so touched by the great cheering section we ended up with! From back to front--Lori, Randy, Austin, my mom, Lucas, Whitney, Me, Robyn, Ashley, Michelle, Brother Johnston, Brother Pyper and Olivia!! It was such an amazing show of support and love that I felt weepy about it. 

I was especially touched that these two guys from church game, they had been at the church for meetings and to do visits but drove the 15 minutes to come to almost half of the game. These two guys have been Landon's leaders/teachers over the years so this meant a lot.

Despite playing well, the final score was 6-44 (ouch), but we heard later that their coach said we were the best team they have played so far. I think their size at this age level is carrying them more than their skills because it took like 4-5 of our guys to bring down theirs.

Post-game photo of Landon and Lucas.

Back to Work

Yesterday was my first day back to work and I got to ease in with a 9-3 schedule (as opposed to next week's 7:30-3:30 schedule). It was weird to be back after a couple months off. I'm perplexed as to how I can feel lost about some things and then like I never left about others. We've got 16 next teachers' names for me to learn, so that will be an adjustment, and next week we'll have 600 new 7th graders to learn and help. Crazy.

Today was a better day at work, especially because Jenn and her cute daughter Megan stopped by to wish me well.

They brought me a cute vase with my favorite flower and a Costco-sized bag of peanut M&Ms!! Goodness, I'm going to have to lock the drawer I keep these in or they'll be gone in no time! It was mighty thoughtful of them to visit me and bring these treats, I'm sure they will help get me through tomorrow which is our crazy district meeting in the morning and back-to-school night in the afternoon so I'm looking at a 10.5 hour day followed by 2 visiting teaching appointments!

Good Mail For Me and For You

Well here it is, my first good mail post of the new year, remember to comment on this post to be entered to win a good mail item from me, also I need your help with the questions at the bottom of this post please because I'm gathering information about correspondence and need outside input.


Sweet Collette showed up at my door with a large, heavy, wrapped box a couple weeks before Christmas but said I could open it then. I was so happy and amused to see that she'd bought me a case of the fabulous muffin mix that she'd made her book club muffins from (the ones I couldn't stop thinking about). These are seriously good muffins, but the mixes can only be purchased atLehi Roller Mills (which I didn't realize) so I'd been searching the stores in vain. We have already used 3 of the mixes, so I'm rationing the other boxes, but it's hard because they're so good and because I love the way they make the house smell.


Shauna sent me this very cute Eiffel Tower ornament to commemorate my trip this year. I'd never seen one of these before and was very happy to add it to our tree.


Kacey sent me this cute sparkly Christmas sign (I love these) to add to our Christmas decor. I love the way she packaged it, why don't I ever think to do that?


Shannon sent me these seriously thick, soft socks (complete with no slip grip on the bottom) and a book for my cozy reading pleasure, her note was rather nice too.


Kim Sue sent this darling Happy New Year card that she made using her new macro lens (I want one too!), I love it.


Michelle D. sent me a sweet thank you note for the birthday gift I sent her for her 40th birthday/surprise party.


Natalie sent me her Christmas card and a thank you note for the monogrammed note cards I sent her belatedly for her birthday.


I love it that she wrote this on the back of her envelope and that she wrote the note at work in the first place. I'm all about making time to squeeze in correspondence.

I also enjoyed her homemade good mail label.

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


My sister Robyn sent me this nice thank you note for helping her out with her one-car woes (which are no more) and child care over the past month. She had just surprised me with a gift certificate for a pedicure (woohoo) the day before as a thank you, so this was a double whammy of gratitude.


And this little box of goodness is from Katherine W., but you're going to have to wait to see what's inside in a different post all together. Intrigued yet?

**What inspires you to send good mail?
What keeps you from sending it?
How do you feel when you receive a thoughtful note?
Do you keep the notes people send you?
What makes certain notes better than others?**

Good Mail For Me and For You

It feels like ages since I've done a good mail post, but it has only been a month (quite an eventful month I must say). It was very nice to come back from my Paris trip to find a nice pile of good mail waiting for me. As always, if you comment on this post you'll be eligible to win some good mail from me.


I got this fun, Halloween package from Linda and have been wearing these Halloween bootie socks in the office when my feet get cold. They're rather comfy and aren't something I would buy for myself.


Melanie sent me these awesome Paris magnets and a double dinosaur sandwich cutter for Whitney. She LOVES it and has been making dino toast and dino sandwiches every day!


Rebekah sent me this amusing wall art that she made from one of my freezing flag-football self-portraits. I got a good laugh from this, and really appreciate her thoughtfulness and the statement because, I CAN do hard things!


Linda sent me a very nice thank you card (she really knows how to write a good note) for the birthday stationery I sent her.


Anita sent me a $10 Sonic gift card in this cute card to thank me for the stationery she won from one of my good mail posts. I was definitely blown away by this!

I like it when people write little notes on their envelopes they send, it's a bonus.

Missy Claudia has been in action with her cute notes.

Here's another one from Claudia.

And one more from her.

Lelly sent me this cute Halloween card.

Last night we received a tray full of these glorious homemade rolls. I "bought" these at our RS service auction in September and was very happy when the giver offered to bring them Sunday afternoon. I really have to learn how to make these!

I sent 5 cards today and have a bunch more in the works.

**Have you sent anything lately?
Do you wear festive bootie socks?
Do you like notes on your envelopes?
Do you have a good roll recipe?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I think I have about a 15 minute window for staying awake while reading, UNLESS it's in the middle of the night, then I seem to be wide awake and fidgety. Aargh!

Creative Friday--Denver Visitors Edition

The Paris countdown continues, but we squeezed in another Creative Friday.


Michelle made raspberries and cream for dessert, and all I can say is oh la la about that.


Oh happy sight! I forgot to bring envelopes (what the?) so Michelle brought out her well worn, yet oh so pleasing box of envelopes for me to raid.


Michelle worked on her marvelous birthday tags again and made a bunch of cute birthday cards to enclose with those gifts. It was good to see her stamping again. (We used to make cards with rubber stamps all the time, but have turned more to the computer in the past couple years.)

I put two birthday packages together and wrote 6 cards.

Michelle's Aunt Denise and her two daughters Charlotte and Emily came over to say "hi" before I had to leave. The 3 of them are bloggers so we've become friends. (Michelle sought Emily's knitting expertise immediately upon their arrival.)


Emily recently cut off a pair of track pants and saved the cut-off part for Whitney! She also gave me two items she'd knitted (I forget the name, but they're sort of a faux glove type thing) to give to Whitney because she knew Whitney would appreciate them. How thoughtful!


This was our 2nd (annual?) back-to-school, group o' 5 self-portrait. I can't believe it has already been a year since our last one!

Whitney was thrilled with the gifts from Emily and immediately went to work turning one of them into a dress for her T-Rex! She just cut some arm holes and voila!, instant fashion. She was obviously delighted with the results.

**Do you ever have raspberries and cream?
Do you do stamping?
Did you mail anything this week?
Are you friends with your friend's relatives through blogging?
Ever seen a T-Rex in a dress before?**

Just Plain Nice

Remember how the kids and I flew home from Illinois on a Wednesday night then I had to unpack, do laundry and repack before going to Park City 15 hours later? Well, during my brief time at home, Michelle came over to share some thoughtfulness and help me regroup before I left again.


She brought Cafe Rio lunch for us AND Wendy's lunch for the kids!


She brought (and had made specifically) 2 loaves of her marvelous bread so that I'd have something to take with me to go with the dinner I was in charge of making while in Park City.


She also took the kids home with her for the rest of the afternoon until Randy was finished with work AND kept them all day Friday. This can be challenging with Whitney because she's not always super happy to play with Eva, and I really hate the thought of her complicating Michelle's day.


It was such a thoughtful and quick visit, but just what I needed before heading out again. We haven't had a Creative Friday since May 23rd! Say it isn't so! No wonder I haven't been sleeping well and am out of sorts, why didn't I think of this reason sooner?

**Can you believe her thoughtfulness?
Have you missed Creative Friday?
Anything Just Plain Nice in your world?**

Home Again, for the Moment

We're home!! Being gone from May 29th-June 17th is really something, especially for our family since we don't travel much. I am completely overwhelmed by the thought of trying to get caught up on posting and reading blogs, and don't even know when I'll be able to do so because I'm leaving again in 15 hours ($#@!) for our 2nd annual Girl's Getaway Weekend to celebrate my mom's birthday. (Who's life am I living right now because it doesn't feel like mine?!)


I'm happy, weary, hungry, and delighted by the clean house, pile of good mail, the welcome home pie (from Michelle of course), and cups of Sonic ice I found waiting for me! Woohoo!

**Have you ever taken a 3 week trip before?
Have you ever come home to a welcome home pie?
What would you do first?**

Oh My Goodness

I haven't posted any good mail since March 2nd, so I'm way behind. This has been a good month for me that has brought a card in the mail almost every day (woohoo).


This envelope from Claudia was filled with quotes written on little notepad paper. I think it's cute that when she loves a notepad or stationery a lot she makes sure she uses it. I have never written a note on a notepad like that before, I'm way too much of an "in the box" thinker and would only use it for notes.


Jessie sent me this thank you card back in January for the baby gifts I sent her, but somehow it didn't get posted until now.


Lori sent this note to thank me and the kids for "heart attacking" her apartment for Valentine's Day.


This is another little note from Claudia, check out the envelope. I sometimes wonder how her letters make it to me at all.


Shannon sent me a copy of the magazine her home and garden were featured in this month. She had posted about this honor on her blog and I asked where I could get a copy of the magazine, so she sent me one. The photos are gorgeous, so I'm dying to visit her home and garden in real life. Wow, wow, wow!


Cheryl sent me this thank you note for the good mail labels she ordered from me. It was totally unnecessary and yet so nice.


Natalie sent me this thank you note for the good mail labels I sent her as part of my Pay It Forward post. She always has nice things to say about me and my blog, and I must say I really enjoy that about her. Ha.


Claudia always thanks me for the letters I write her even when they're full of blunt advice. I've sent her some things this year (I write her weekly) that I've been afraid might push her over the edge of friendship, but even when she bristles at something I say she still ends up thanking me for caring enough to say it. What a great quality to have, I need to be better about this myself!


Jenn (who started blogging again after a 7 month absence) sent me this thank you note for the birthday stationery I sent her. I always call her Jenn, but she signs her name Jennifer, so now I'm wondering if I should switch, though I'm not sure if I can.


Ann sent me this postcard, and cracked me up by pointing to where she lives in the picture. She wrote, "Can you see me waving?"


This is one of Claudia's signature swirling text cards. I don't know how she writes these notes without getting dizzy because I definitely have a problem when I read them. Notes from her are never boring, that's for sure.


Patsy sent me this thank you note for sending her a double set of good mail labels when I sent her order. She is great at sending good mail so I really wanted to make sure she had a good supply.


I got this note from Claudia complete with a napkin diagram of a little car accident/incident she was in.


Jen M. sent a super nice letter in this card. It has been a blessing to get to know her through blogging, and I love that we have become good friends.


Amanda L. sent me this darling card to thank me for some 3x5 cards I sent her awhile ago. She uses them for everything, so when I saw a colorful pack of them one day I got them for her.

A pretty card from Missy Claudia.

Kathleen sent me this nice thank you note for the good mail labels I made her, even though she ordered them from me. That was a nice thing to do, and it's always great to get feedback and find out that someone likes what I made for them.


Darlene sent me a thank you note for these notecards I sent her. She was one of my Pay It Forward winners from the last time I posted about good mail. Maybe I should Pay It Forward every time.

Claudia sent me this lovely card.

Robyn sent this thank you note for the birthday gifts we gave Ashley and Jared.


Esther sent me this nice thank you card for some good mail I recently sent her. She's Claudia's best friend so she calls me "Missy" too.


My sister-in-law Amy M. sent me one of her gorgeous photo thank you cards for going in on the birthday outfit we gave her as a family.


Kim Sue recently sent me a thick envelope of printed responses to comments I'd made on her blog posts (so sweet!). All this time she's been replying to things I've said or asked, and just recently found out that I wasn't getting any of them so she went back and printed them out. Wow. I don't know how to change my settings so that people can reply to my comments, does anyone know how to do this?


Amie (aka The Coupon Lady) has become the Queen of Rebates and has taken to passing some of them on to me. I was so surprised to get this check for $7.50 in the mail one day (from Coors Light no less) and thought it was hilarious that the day I took it to the bank to cash it I was also cashing two reimbursement checks from the church. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of them, and I wonder what the cashier thought. (FYI--Mormons don't drink, hence the humor.)


Tasha sent me this nice thank you note for the birthday stationery I sent her. She liked the cards so much she ordered another set of them through my Etsy shop, how nice!


Natasha sent me this rather creepy postcard last week. She's still not blogging because she gave it up for Lent, but hasn't forgotten her blogging friends. I am so NOT a Mardi Gras kind of girl, it totally freaks me out.

I am going to start Paying It Forward on all my good mail catch-up posts like this. So 5 commenters chosen randomly will be getting something from me.

**Have you gotten a swirling text note from Claudia?
Do you give friends blunt advice
when you're worried about them?
Do you have Good Mail Labels?
Are you a Mardi Gras kind of gal?**