Tara: Incoming & Outgoing

A few weeks back I sent out the bottle I had picked up on my trip to Colorado Springs.  I sent it to Tara because I couldn't remember if I owed her a letter or not.  I figured that mailing her a bottle would make up for any pen pal faux pas I had committed.  She blogged about receiving it here.

I ended up decorating the back with a few random stickers.

These bottles are really cool, it's unfortunate that you can't just order them online.

As it turns out, I did owe Tara a letter, I just didn't know because I hadn't gotten to her letter in the "pile of mail to be replied to" yet.

She sent me this great transparent envelope and wrote to me using the stationery she made for the Letter Writing Social that she hosted.

So I wrote back to her, using the very same paper she had given me!  That's Mr. Zip, aka Zippy, who was created to encourage people to put zip codes on their outgoing mail.  Really interesting wiki on the origin of the zip code here.  I had no idea that zip code didn't exist until the 60's!

The Liebster Blog Award

My very first "follower", Penny from Hippo Mail, tagged me with this cute award :-)

The Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have 200 followers or less.

The word 'Liebster' is German and it means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

Here are the rules:

1. Each person must post 11 random facts about themselves
2. Answer 11 questions the tagger has given you and give 11 questions for the people you tagged
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post
4. Tell them you've tagged them. Remember, no tag backs!

11 Facts about Me

1. I have trouble describing the color of my eyes.

2. If I could afford it, one of the luxuries I would treat myself to would be eyelash extensions.

3. I wish I could have been a kid forever.

4. My ears are lopsided, so I had plastic surgery when I was 8 to make it less noticeable.

5. I just got a big-girl bed last year.  For 31 years I slept in a twin sized bed.  I've upgraded to full sized.

6. I took dressage lessons for two years.

7. I still eat snow, and I hope I never stop.

8. My nickname in elementary school was "hippopotamus girl".  I loved the learning, but hated the environment and the viciousness all the way through high school.  I wonder about those people, as they live their lives, if they have any concept of the damage they did to me and countless others.

9. I like to be barefoot. I like aggressive looking hiking boots and sneakers and I adore a sexy stiletto, the higher the better (as long as there is no platform on it).

10. I believe in Astrology, God, and the Science of Evolution and I really don't care what kind of Catholic that makes me.  I find all kinds of spirituality fascinating.

11. Last Thursday someone asked me what my hair color was and I didn't know how to answer the question.  Seriously, I had to think about it.  Which proves, beyond a doubt, that I am a blonde through and through.  Right now my hair is brown.

My answers to Penny's questions:

1. Which was the last good book you've read?
The last book I read that I really enjoyed was Let's Pretend this Never Happened by the one and only Bloggess

2. What's your favorite season?
Winter, all day long.

3. If your house was in fire and you had to leave it, which non-living thing would you try to save?
Oh man, Sophie's Choice there.... my laptop, keepsake box, and the footlocker of family pictures.

4. Do you have any collection?
I collect vintage (and current) weimaraner items. I have a bunch of old magazines to eventually be cut up and framed, print ads from the 50's, postage from other countries, etc, all to eventually go on my "Wall of Weimaraners" mixed in with images of my own dogs.

5. Which is your favorite Pokémon (if you have one)?
Don't have one...

6. What inspires you?
I don't know what inspires me. But what I do know, if I may loosely quote Oprah: I am trying to live to my fullest potential as a human being, seeking out my purpose so I can do what I was put here to do and do it exceptionally well.  This quest inspires me constantly. 

7. What is your favorite dish for breakfast?
Almost anything that involves bacon.

8. Do you have pets? How many and what's their names?
I have two weimaraners named Luna and Chevy.

9. If you could choose any country to live, which one would you choose, and why?
I would choose America, because I love it here and because we have the National Parks. I do believe we live on the most beautiful continent on the planet.

10.What's your ringtone?
Boyfriend's ringtone is Pumped Up Kicks.  Regular ringtone is a song called Invisible.

11. What's your opinion about lizards?
Eh, I respect them, but I don't want to touch one.

Okay, this was harder than it looked!  I am going to tag Tara, because I think her blog is relatively new and she has not been tagged.  Also because she is a pen pal and just sits around all day eating bon-bons with her feet up and has lots of time to do this kind of thing.    By that I mean she also has a new job and is working all the time so I hope she uses this as a mental break.  Hi Tara!!  You can recycle the same questions I answered!

I can't come up with 11 people, so I am sorry about that.  Most of the blogs I read have LOTS and LOTS of followers or have been tagged already.  If I've missed you, play anyway!

If I'm not familiar with your mail blog yet, let me know!  I love seeing what other people are sending and receiving!

1st Letter Writing Social

So last Saturday, the 21st, I attended my very first Letter Writing Social.  I was able to meet two of my new pen friends, Tara and Emilie, who were the organizers of the social.  Tara even made cookies that looked like envelopes!  These are some of the photos I took while I was there.  I wrote a letter to my boyfriend on one of Tara's typewriters, which was difficult with a broken finger but fun just the same.


The best part of the whole thing was browsing other peoples stuff, swapping materials and chatting.  I was too distracted to really write a letter :-)