Mail and Swaps and Christmas Going-Ons and Books

I mailed a lot of Christmas cards. A lot. I joined some swaps on swap-bot.com. I particularly like that site during the Christmas season because there are a lot of swaps going on.

I have also entered some ornament swaps, as well as a chocolate swap.

I have mailed one ornament swap in November, the other in December. Here's what I sent:

picture taken at the office hence the blurry, low quality pic.

 One of the swaps I participated in was Dawn's, of course. Since this year there were over 100 participants (!!!), she hosted a giveaway. I won! Yup! I did! I felt a bit silly, because I knew I used every possible entry for the giveaway. But I am sure I will overcome these feelings once I receive the nice things Dawn put together. The plan is to wait for my sister to come home and open it together and get overwhelmed by all the goodies. 

this is what I sent for the swap hosted by Dawn.

From another swap I participated in I received a beautiful wooden reindeer.

Other than these swaps and some simple Christmas cards swaps, I haven't participated in any other. I sent some postcards via post-crossing. That is something I plan to participate in again next year. I have so many beautiful ones, plus the ones brought as souvenirs by my colleagues from the places they visited over the last year. I plan to someday organize them all in an album. One day.

Last weekend I completed the puzzle I got for my birthday. For a moment last weekend I thought I had lost a puzzle piece, but all are in their box, safe and sound. Here's the final result:

Next one? A 1000 pieces one!

As every year, there's ShoeBox! It's a national campaign, resembling Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child. I left everything for last minute, but last night while I was getting the boxes ready I was reminded again that I do like to put together a gift. I was also reminded that my wrapping skills are not much improved since last year.

 
the mess before

 the final product: presents for a teenage boy and a little girl

And last but not least, the books I mentioned in this post arrived! I got them today at work and I was super excited. This day was good simply because they were right next to me, on my right. I was so giddy every time I would glance their way. Can't wait to read them. I am currently reading North and South. I came to a passage that I so like and I don't want to move past it. When that happens I just browse the Internet aimlessly or do anything else, just to prolong the unique moment of knowing there's a good passage in a good book waiting to be read (or reread) - I don't want it to end.

The two new books sitting between Little Women and Rubik. Yes, I do need to organize my books.

Let me walk you through this year's birthday gifts.

It all started about 2-3 weeks ago with a present from my sister. She gave me a summer-y dress. She planned this in summer. While we were shopping for dresses for her wedding. She bought me that dress before she bought her wedding dress. #bestsisteraward I don't have a picture of the dress, but just know it's pretty and I'm ready for spring-summer to come so I can wear it.

The day before yesterday my friends from work surprised me with a little wisely worded gift. I didn't expected that because I tried to keep everyone in the dark about my birthday. In a beautiful present bag was a pillow which has written on it: "Keep calm because you only live once" and a birthday card. I love cards! 1. I never had a "keep calm" thing, so this was cool. 2. "You only live once" is an inside joke of ours so this will forever remind me of them and our special little awesome out of this world fantastic and funny Skype group. #yolo]:)

Yesterday I let everyone know it was my birthday when I went ahead and brought candies to work. Yeah, all the happy birthday kisses. To last me a year, thankyouverymuch.

My birthday was a low key day, all in all. After work I went to McDonald's with some friends. Yes, we like to be classy and eat fancy salads with just leaves and no dressings. No, we do not. We appreciate food so we ordered hamburgers and French fries because when in McDonald's don't try to pose as a special princess who eats organic food. Just eat those hamburgers&fries. No picture from yesterday, but it was more than nice to hang out with my friends outside work.

Later in the evening Andreea came to say Happy Birthday and she gave me a handmade card, as she does. I just love that she said I'm her "most mature cousin" of hers. I laughed and laughed and laughed some more, but only on the inside. And since we're almost there, she added "A Happy New Year!" Because why not think ahead, you know?

My birthday, which apparently lasts more than one day, continued today as well. Bia gave me her present. She's good at presents giving. Let me show you.

I laughed so hard at this! It's happy birthday in several languages, which are: Romanian, English, German, Greek, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish; I love the Indonesian, Somali, Norwegian, and Hungarian (duh!) touches. Of course, that she wrote every unknown language between brackets is the good part. Wouldn't want to get them all messed up, now. These were written on the envelope the birthday card was in.

Here's the birthday card. Inside it was written short and concise and wise, and yes, Bia, we should resume reading Narnia, and a printed order of two books was slipped inside.

These two books are on my to-read list and now they are going to be read as soon as the books arrive. She added a little comment under each book order and they are spot on, especially the one for The Girl on the Train. "Messed up book you feel the need to read". The best.

Next up - a puzzle! I have been talking about wanting to do a puzzle for so long, I'm surprised I didn't expect to get it for my birthday. It's here and I'm doing it this coming weekend. The picture is of Skiathos, which we visited this past summer and of which we took way too many pictures. I miss it! So beautiful. And now I have a puzzle of it.

I have always been a "open the present nicely, maybe recycle the paper for future gifts" kind of person. Not this year, baby! This was the "rip that present open" year. It felt good, I'm telling you. Proof? Here it is:

And thus was how I was celebrated and offered gifts on this middle of my 20s birthday.
Here I was thinking birthdays are overrated. Pff, baloney!