August Foodie Penpals

 

Hi Everybody! I'm posting this a little late (imagine that), but last month I participated in my first Foodie Penpals Swap hosted by the lovely Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean.

This month I got a wonderful package from Amanda at Kitchen Kanvas. Everything in the box was wrapped in pretty yellow tissue paper, but my hubby surprised me by cleaning the kitchen and threw all the paper away before I could take a pic... But here's a shot of everything I received:

As you can see, Amanda put cute little notes on everything to let me know why she picked each item.

She lives in Idaho, so you know she had to send something with potatoes! : ) I haven't baked this yet, but I'll be sure and let you know how it turns out when I do.

According to Amanda, these are the cookies served on Delta flights. They are super yummy, and they're dairy free, which is awesome since I still think I've developed a lactose intolerance...

I'm not familiar with Huckleberries of the non-Finn variety, but they apparently grow all over the place where Amanda lives. I tried this spread out on a good ole PB&J, and it was quite tasty. It reminded me of a blackberry jam but a little more tart.

Another potato item... These are candy bars that she put in for Matt. They have milk in them from the chocolate, so I unfortunately can't try them. : (  But Matt said they were good. : )

 

 She included these Crystal Light packs since she saw on here that I made a goal to drink more water. Wasn't that sweet!? : )

The final item was some Mediterranean sea salt. She said she fell in love with it when she lived in France... Jealous!! I can't wait to cook with it. : )

Wasn't that an awesome foodie package!? I think I'm going to really enjoy being a part of this swap each month. Unfortunately, since I waited so late to post this you've already missed the deadline to be a part of September's swap. : ( Sorry... But you can join next month!  Click on the pic at the top of this post for more info. And I'll put a link to sign up when I post about my September goodies. : )

August Monthly Goals

March Goals:

• Lose 8 pounds I can't remember what I weighed then, so I'm not sure...
• Drink 8 cups of water a day Not every day
• Catch up on my pen pal replies Not even close
• Unpack the office I did work on this, but I'm not finished yet
• Hang up 3 more things in the house  I did one... Yay! : )

Yes, that's right... Those were my March goals. It's been that long since I did a monthly goals post. To be honest, I forgot all about them after my April hiatus... But thankfully the originator, Miss Angie over at My So-Called Chaos, has kept up with it and reminded me after posting her August Goals. So I'm picking it back up!

August Goals:

• Lose 5 pounds
• Finish unpacking the office
• Catch up on my pen pal replies
• Drink 8 cups of water every day
• Write at least 1 chapter in my novel
• Catch up on my 101 in 1001 posts

And I'll stick with those for now. Hopefully I'll do better this month than I did in March! ; ) Feel free to post your own goals and link up with Miss Angie. Each month you do, you'll be entered into a drawing she's having at the end of the year. : )

All By Myself

Okay, how many of you are busting out your best Celine Dion right now? I know I am! : )

I took that picture back in April when Matt was in Germany and missing both my birthday AND our anniversary... And while I'm not quite that sad, I am missing my hubby at the moment.

He left this past Monday for Mobile, AL. He'll be back Friday, but then he leaves next week for Nashville, TN. I'm going to drive up after work that Wednesday to stay with him a couple nights there... since he's flying out to Arizona the following week!

So that's almost an entire month without my hubby at home. : (  But at least I'll get to see him in between trips. And I'm excited about going to Nashville. I love going to all the shops downtown! : )  It's such a cool place.  I'm a little bummed that I won't get to go to Sweet CeCe's now though... Oh no, wait! I bet they have sorbet!!!! Yay, I hope they do! I love Sweet CeCe's. : )   *Sweet CeCe's is a frozen yogurt shop, in case you didn't know that. ; )

Speaking of, my last round of tests all came back negative, so my doctor is finally sending me to a gastroenterologist so I can have the lactose intolerance test done. I'm still pretty sure that's what it is though... I've been really avoiding things with lactose in them, and I can definitely see a difference. I'm going this Friday to get a stomach ultrasound, so that I can take it, along with all the other test results, to the specialist. I'm waiting to schedule my gastro appointment until I get that done, but hopefully they'll be able to see me soon.

So that's what's going on with me lately... Are you having a good summer? : )

Another Lovely Mail Day

Happy Friday! I had a very happy mail day today, so I thought I'd share some of the love with a mail post. Hope you enjoy! : )

Here are my latest outgoing. I wish there were more... I need to work on that!



A pen pal letter swap on Swap-bot




This is a pretty girl postcard that I sent for a "What are you currently reading" swap




This was for my other partner in the "What are you currently reading" PC swap. She collected map cards.



This the little fox cutie was for a "Woman Postcard" swap



I drew/colored this envie for a Mail Art swap partner who loved the Winnie-the-Pooh series. I love Eeyore! : )




The back... I love Piglet too!

And here are some lovely incoming pieces:



A cute polka dot pen pal letter




A PC I received in a swap




A swap-bot package I received. Love the tape!



I got this pretty envie for the Giant Friendship Book swap I host each month on swap-bot



This cute little bubbledog notepad was sent to me for the "Etsy - N is for..." swap




A pretty homemade envie




An awesome owl ATC I got as an extra in a swap




I received this for a Mail Art swap. It's hard to see, but there's a pretty white stamp on the left side.




A cute birdhouse PC I got for the "What are you currently reading" swap




This was sent to me for the "Woman PC" swap




A lovely envie I received for another Swap-bot swap

 And that's it for now. Hopefully my next mail post will have a lot more in the "outgoing" section. : )  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Versatile Blogger Award

A couple weeks ago, the lovely Kary over at C'est La Vie awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award. This award is given out to anyone who the blogger believes has truly great content. Thanks, Kary, although I'm not sure I agree with that... Ha, ha! ; )  I would say that about Kary's blog though, so be sure and go check it out!

Rules:

•Thank the Blogger who nominated you.

•Include a link to their site.

•Include the award image to your post.

•Include the award image on your blog.

•Give 7 random facts about yourself.

•Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award, including links to their sites

•Let those bloggers know they have been nominated

7 Random Facts:

1. I'm trying to learn to crochet (mostly via youtube) because my niece asked me to make her a hat. My Granny taught me how to do a simple chain when I was young, but until now that's all I knew how to do!

2. I love to lick the knife whenever I spread anything... peanut butter, mayo, you name it. But don't worry. I don't stick it back in the container after I've licked it! ; )

3. I am obsessed with Draw Something. I love it! My drawings aren't the best, but I enjoy laughing at them and some of the ones I'm sent by others! ; )  My username is angellarae if you'd like to play.

4. Did you ever see that show on VH1 called Motormouth? People set up their friends by hiding cameras in their cars and taping them singing along to different songs... Well, ever since I saw that show (ages ago), I worry sometimes that one of my friends has hidden a camera in my car. Because I sing ALL THE TIME, usually as loud as I can!

5. I think I've developed a lactose intolerance. They're still running different tests, so we'll see... Luckily they make lactose free ice cream, because I'm not sure how I could survive without milkshakes.

6. I've never had much of a green thumb. So I was really excited when I planted some green bell pepper seeds and they actually grew and began producing peppers. Unfortunately, all my peppers are turning brown, and I have no idea why! : (

7. I've never been a big drinker, so when Matt and I would be going to party where I knew there would be drinking games, I'd stop on the way to grab a 6-pack of Yoo-Hoo. : )


Okay, now I want to learn more about y'all...

I award:

Laura at Life with Laura

Gracie at Gracie Bella Butterfly

Liesl at Fabulous Fashions 4 Sensible Style

Sarah at Overthinking Mama

Diana at One Crafty Fox

Lauren at Letters, She Wrote

Hope you all have a Happy Wednesday! ; )