Promotion Box!

Eric got promoted while he's over there, so I sent him a quick box of congratulatory goodies, including the cards the two grade-school aged girls I nanny made for him. Oh yes. The Justin Bieber card. It's amazing what kids do with a pack of blank cards and some crayons. I also stuck notes in all the envelopes saying if you text me <insert a word> check your e-mail! And the mystery words, when he finally texted me, prompted me to send links to articles, new songs, and some new pictures. It was my attempt at making a more interactive box, I suppose. But yes! 

Working on a new box currently, so that should be up in a week or two!

Care Package #4: Alien

My boyfriend LOVES the movie Alien, and since the sequel, Prometheus just came out and he actually got to see it at the base he is at, I figured this was an appropriate theme for a care package!

I printed off movie stills and used star and planet stickers

I also made little alien attack "survival kits" which were brown take-out boxes from Michael's filled with useful things and little presents all fitting a theme.

For the "Clean" kit

Printed labels

Complete!

For the "Hydrate" kit

Almost finished!

"Relax" had tea, a back massager, and a cigar, "Energize" had homemade granola bars, "Love" had a shirt I'd been sleeping in, the contents of "Clean" are shown above, and "Hydrate", of course, had the Mio!

A package of notecards, as usual

I forgot to take a picture of the box finalized, but the rest of the space in it was taken up by items he had requested, a Method hand soap refill, toothbrushes, and Annie's cheddar bunnies, among other things. I also included an article I printed off with little-known facts about the movie Alien. It actually ended up getting to him the same day he saw Prometheus, so it worked out perfectly :)

Care Package #3: Pirate Treasure Chest

I used glitter sticker numbers to order the envelopes of this Kate Spade stationary set.

Each envelope has little notes inside

Jumbo pill box filled with Reese's Pieces and notes, one for each day of the week 

Snacks, pill box, shower stuff!

Ziploc bags are amazing

All packed up!

I wanted to do a fun, silly theme, and decided to go with a Pirate Treasure Chest :) I am told the candies survived the heat and everything made it safely. This one was fairly quick, just scrapbook paper, stickers, some drawing and sticker letters, and little envelopes I found at Target. I was in the process of finals and moving when I put this together, but my next one is going to be quite elaborate and will celebrate one of E's great loves (aside from moi, of course). Can't wait!

Care Package #2 - Hoping Time Flies

As soon as I sent off my corgi package, of COURSE he e-mails me asking for some specific items, namely his x-box controller, some lotion, and face wipes. So I had one evening to quickly pull this package together, without a pre-meditated theme. I chose some scrapbook paper I had in my stock, and lined the inside, and just left it plain in the interest of time. I wrote (not pictured) on the bottom, which is supposed to look like a chalkboard, that I hoped time would fly, etc.  

This was what was going into the package, but it needed some work.

I double bagged the lotion in case of spillage, bubble wrapped and bagged the controller just to be safe, and put the giant Costco trail mix into snack baggies, which I then placed into a gallon size ziploc, so he could take a small bag of it and go. Much more convenient, I thought. I also wrote some great memories in a couple greeting cards and tied them with white curling ribbon. 

These items I decided were okay on their own

All packed in nice and tight! And of course I put a couple layers of bubble wrap over the top of it all, because I know this package may have to bear a lot of weight in transit, and I don't want my items getting crushed of course.

And thats it! A quick, last minute, late night, throw together of a care package!

Corgi Care Package #1!

Well, it took exactly a week for this care package to reach E, so without further ado, my corgi-meme themed care package, to honor my boyfriend's obsession with the breed and the internet.

 One large flat-rate box (with customs forms, of course!) After this picture was taken I addressed it and used clear packing tape to seal EVERYTHING. I went maybe a little overboard...

 Bubble wrap to protect the contents, and a pack of the cards shown here

Sticky notes explaining contents

A stand-in for the corgi puppy we will get when he gets home

All carefully packed in!

Favorite snacks, silly fun things, and practical stuff like his beloved hand sanitizer

I simply covered the inside of the box with scrapbook paper. 5 sheets fits neatly, with only a little trimming on my part for two of the flaps. Next, I printed pictures I found online of corgis and corgi-memes, and glued them over the scrapbook paper. I followed that with some paw print scrapbook decals and lettering stickers to add a little extra oomph. I got everything on sale or with coupons at Michael's, so it was very inexpensive to do. And voila!

Waiting

I've now sent 2 care packages and am about to send a third, but decided not to post their content/design online until E receives them. I think it will take about ten days to get there, but we'll see! I'm excited for one to arrive so I have an idea of a timetable and can perhaps start including baked goods/homemade treats with the help of a vacuum sealer. It all depends on how long packages actually take to reach him to see if that will be a possibility in the future. I LOVE to bake and cook, so I really hope it will be something I can do for him, cause I know he misses my cooking ;)


Only one box was of the meticulously thought out variety, the second was thrown together in one night after a text from E requesting certain items. The third box will be much of the same, though I did learn some tips and tricks for packaging that I will be sharing soon!


As for how I'm doing, I think the worst thing about this so far is the utter disruption of my routine. With him gone, I'm not quite sure what to do with myself all the time, although finals start next week, so school will be all consuming for at least a little while. After that, I'm moving back to California, where E has not been a part of my daily life, so it will be easier to deal with, I think. 


I've been without him for up to a month before, so this part doesn't feel so awful, it's mostly the knowledge that it wont end in another two weeks....it will keep going for another several months...and that is, frankly, quite depressing. 

Care Package Project #1

Confession: I think most affordable note cards/stationary sets are UGLY. Or the ones I do like, are usually a bit too feminine for me to send to him. Plus that stuff is expensive. I admit, I did splurge on a beautiful set of Kate Spade cards that will probably go into the next package. Beautiful, expensive stationary I can't quit you! Too bad I'm a student on a pretty strict budget. 

For now, I decided to play around with making some of my own. I bought a pack of 10 flat cards and envelopes and a few sheets of scrapbook paper at Michael's. Thanks to a coupon and a sale, this cost me a total of about $3. 

I originally planned to line all the envelopes in the paper, but found it was easier/more effective for me to just cover one side of the note cards instead. I experimented with a few different styles, and came up with these:

I wrote in a silver metallic sharpie on the other side, just fun silly things that maybe will brighten his day. I packaged all ten up, numbered them, and left instructions on a post-it to open them whenever he needs a pick-me-up or some love :) 

I have a few actual greeting cards that are going along too, but this set is purely for fun.

This first care package ROCKS you guys. I should be able to share it in a day or two :)

How Do I Feel?

Thats the question people love to ask me now that the date is only a couple days away: How are you feeling about it?


Frankly, mixed up.


Part of me is gripped by panic every time I think about the good bye and how painful that is going to be. Even mentally poking at that scenario makes me want to just bawl. And it's stressful!


On the other hand, I'm so sick and tired of the build up, I mean, we've known since December! There's a part of me that just wants to be on the other side of this, to just start building my own routine and getting through this deployment so it can be over. I'm ready to send care packages and graduate and get through this so we can start our lives again.


So thats how I'm feeling today. I wonder what I'll be saying a week from now. That thought terrifies me a little, yo. But I can't stop this, so I just have to try and thrive on my own for a few months.

Card Stock

The start of my collection :)




Check out my Pinterest for more cards I love!

Drink Mix Tasting #2 [UPDATED]

Overall, the winner of our drink mix tastings so far was Mio Green Thunder which tastes kind of like green Monster energy drinks, without the carbonation (and without the gasoline taste of the peach-mango flavor). It does have caffeine, which isn't good for around-the-clock hydration, but it does taste the best. 

The other winner is Mio Orange Tangerine! It tastes pretty much exactly like flat orange soda and we both liked it a lot. I was very glad that it too lacked that gasoline flavor of the Peach-Mango flavor. Mio mixes with water pretty much instantly and you don't have to wait for powder to dissolve. There's also less packaging involved which means they're a little better for care packages as they need less space. Also less to throw away, which is always a good thing. We found them to be portable and easy!

We also got a few mixes from REI that promised hydration and were free of fake sugars.

The Vitaltye, to us, tasted like watered-down gatorade and was kind of unpleasant and weak. The GU Brew tasted like chalky off-brand Tang and was very difficult for us to drink. The Coco Hydro Coconut Water mix tastes like coconut water with just a hint of pineapple, and if you like coconut water in general, you'll probably like this mix. This was E's favorite of this batch.


Coconut water also provides really excellent hydration, so I'm hoping this is a taste E can really acquire and love while he's away. He's never tried any kind of coconut water before, so now I'm interested in giving him some other types, though the mix form will be easiest by far in terms of sending in a care package. This mix also comes in original and pomegranate raspberry.


Off to Costco soon to try to get some of these in bulk!