January Foodie Pen Pal Reveal

It’s Foodie Pen Pal reveal day.  Ummm….do you have any idea that that means?  It’s this really cool program where you send a food package to someone, and in turn, someone sends you a package.  Before you send your package out, you contact your pen pal to get a little information on them: their likes, dislikes, preferences, etc, etc. etc.

You send the package in the mail.  O…M…G….  People still use snail mail.  It's so exciting to find something in your mail box that isn't a bill.

Here’s the package I got this month from Ilona, who blogs over at Ilona's Kitchen.  I let her know that I LOVE POPCORN, but never mentioned my unhealthy infatuation with Cracker Jacks.   Jiffy Pop!  I’ve been telling my monkey about this for months and never bought it.  Thanks to Ilona, we get to try it! The gummy worms were great too -- I actually threw them in the Monkey's lunch bag.   

I wish I had taken a picture of what I sent to Lauren, but guess what? I don’t have to, because she wrote about it here.  I found from her site that she is a health enthusiast, and she told me she liked peanut butter.  It only made sense to send her peanut butter Girl Scout cookies!

If you are interested in becoming a Food Pen Pal, click here.  You do not have to be a blogger -- you just have to love getting surprised in the mail, and be committed to sending a box to another pal.  The maximum you spent on the package is $15, plus the shipping.  It's so worth it!

Christmas Traditions

Hi.  My name is Maureen, and it’s been two days since I bought my last Christmas ornament.  That’s right, two days.  I went the nearest Hallmark the day after Christmas so I could purchase the latest Han Solo Keepsake ornament. I have what some may call an addiction to Christmas ornaments.  My husband would like to call it an obsession.

I can easily spend an hour in the Hallmark store, admiring their latest creations.  I can get lost in the Disney Days of Christmas Store at WDW.  I don’t even blink when the cashier asks for $70.  My reply “Oh, that’s all?  Let me get some more.”

Ornaments tell a story.  It can be one you share, or one you keep to yourself. 

This one?  My cousin Michele gave it to me the year I found out I was pregnant with the Monkey. 

And this one?  My Uncle made this for my mom the year I was born.  Needless to say, it’s kind of old.

These were new additions to our tree this year.  My monkey LOVES Nemo, so this was only natural that we get it.   The R2D2 one is all me – it combines my love of Disney and Star Wars.  It’s ultra nerd material.

Here is one of my favorites. Two tiny little hands helped to paint this one.

I started an ornament collection for my daughter the year she was born.  It started off innocently enough.  I would purchase ONE thing that reminded me of her – and I would purchase it after the holiday when it was on sale.  I would write the year that I purchased it on the box or tag, and then I would put it away in the special box.  The first year I bought her a Scooby Doo one, because I love Scooby.  The next year, I bought her a Dora the Explorer one because she was in love with Dora.  The next year she got a Sponge Bob one.  Then something happened the next year.  Instead of buying one, I bought three – Star Wars, Transformers, and Charlie Brown.  That was the year she discovered the coolness of Optimus Prime, and with me as her mom, she has no choice but to like Star Wars.

I was looking through the box yesterday, because I had to put away the Monsters Inc. and Darth Vadar ones I just bought her, and I took a walk down memory lane.  I found two Lightening McQueens, a few Buzz and Woodys, and a lot of pigs.  Remember, the Monkey is obsessed with pigs, so a lot of people give us pig decorations.  I just put them away in the special box.

When she has a house and family of her own, I’ll give her this box.  My hope is she will use these to decorate her tree, and perhaps she can tell her children their stories.  She will tell them why she has an iCarly and a Lego Stormtrooper ornament.  And perhaps she will start a special box for her children, and continue with this tradition.  That's my hope.