I have a stamp collection from my childhood, and I have no idea why.

Recently Jeff and I went to the storage unit to grab a few things, including my childhood stamp collection. I have a craft project I'm working on involving stamps, and have a way larger collection than I remember! I know some of them came from Grama & Grampa, or their friends. Some came from a "stamp collectors show" in the basement of an old building in Ottawa that I got my mom to take me to even though it was kind grungy looking and smelled old and I was too shy to talk to people or even really look at all the stamp collecting stuff. And a lot of the stamps were purchased sets from a mail-order company.

I don't know how I started collecting stamps. Was it:

Me: "Mom, can I start a stamp collection?"

Mom: "Sure."

or

Mom: "Hey Kristin, how would you like to collect stamps?"

Me: "Sure."

I don't recall. I know that I must have been in about junior high, maybe as early as 4th grade. I very distinctly remember we lived in the house near Triumph, because I remember laying on the living room floor looking at the stamp sets and figuring out which ones I wanted to buy.

Where the money came from for stamp collecting, I really don't know. Those stamp sets weren't cheap, and I also had 3 books to put stamps in, as well as the hinges.  Just a guess here, but I would say at least $100 was spent on the collection I have under my bed, and that's an amount I never could have earned in allowance...

I've tried over the years to give my stamp collection away.  I would think of someone and say "Oh, I bet he/she/they would like my stamp collection!" only to be told, no, thank you, not interested.  I've read online that there are tons of unwanted stamp collections out there.  Back in the day, before everyone was fully immersed in their on-line/couch-potato lives, a few things were true:

• You received a lot more communications via postal service, and with a real stamp.
• People were bored and looked for things to do to keep them busy.
• And people had either lived through or were being raised by people who had lived through the Great Depression, and therefore knew not to throw things away.

So someone looked at all their mail/envelopes that kept accumulating, and they had a light bulb moment.  A HA!  I will take these stamps off of the envelopes and put them into a book!  And then later, I can open the book and look at the stamps, all put together, in a collection!  A Stamp Collection!

Apparently just about everyone had a stamp collection (kinda like the sticker collections that every 3rd grade girl had in 1985), especially in the eastern European countries where fun was scarce and therefore rationed.  Now that the kids these days are more worried about how many likes their status got or how angry the birds are, there is no one to pass the stamps down to.  You can't sell them for much; the law of supply & demand and all.  The ones I have sure aren't worth anything, or at least worth less than the gas it would take me to drive them from home to the stamp place, if there even is such a place... 

Rhy was excited to see my collection, saying she had always wanted a stamp collection.  I gave her a few marine mammal stamps, since that's her favorite, but I don't know that she's interested in actually having a collection, since soon she'll have her drivers license and that really cuts down on the time you have for things like stamp collections.

So, once I'm done with this fun craft project (details to come once it's done), I'll have to decide what to do with the rest of the collection. I've gotten rid of the collecting books, except for the few pages that held stamps.  There's just so many stamps, I don't know that I really want to go through and look at them.  There are not a whole lot of postage stamp craft ideas on the interwebs to inspire me.

Which brings me to this:

• Would you like some of my stamps?  Any particular color or interest so I can pair you well?
• Any ideas on postage stamp crafts?  Also, once I reveal what I'm working on, there'll be info about either me making you one or me sending you stamps to make your own.
• Any charitable organizations or schools that you think might want them?  I know a co-workers church sends them somewhere and gets paid, but I'd like to spread the wealth if I go this direction.

Did you have a childhood stamp collection?  Do you still have it?  If not, what happened to it?

The newest marketing acronym?

WYSIWYG, pronounced "wissywig", means "What you see is what you get."  A lot of people know that one.  And it's fun to say.  Say it a few times, and if it's not fun to say, well, then I owe you a cookie or a beer or something.

Lately one of the local car dealerships has been running TV and radio ads saying "the price you see is the price you get."*

Does that make the new marketing acronym PYSIPYG?  Say it!  Out loud!  PYSIPYG! 

Oh, funny.

*Okay, maybe they say "they price you see is the price you pay," but it just wouldn't have been as funny...

A Happy Birthday Wish to my Best Cousin...

*I would just like to note that I had no idea "Best Cousin" has a definition until the Google told me.  So, if you found this based on a Google search, a.) eww, and b.) no.*

Do you have a Best Cousin?  A Best Cousin is short for Best Cousin Friend or Best Friend Cousin.  I'm not sure when, but I started calling my cousin Susana my Best Cousin long long ago.

Susana is about 11 months older than me, and she lived close enough that we got to play, hang out, have sleep overs often enough.  We were even pen pals for a while - you know the age, when you think getting mail addressed to you is just about the best thing ever?  And oh, man, did we play Barbies.  We played Barbies so hard...  We used Del Monte yogurt covered raisins as Barbie food, and now I'm so sick of yogurt covered raisins - I don't even like plain raisins anymore!

Well, yesterday I missed my Best Cousin's birthday.  *sadface*  I have a tenancy to catch that just a few days late - and I hate that my brain can't wrap around Susana's birthday.  So, mi prima, Happy Belated Birthday!  I hope it was one of much joy and happiness, or, if nothing else, a really nice meal with your family.

And, since I seem to be having problems figuring out the scanning this morning...  I give you a picture of multiple cousins...

Rebekah, me, Tina, Leah, & Susana - taken at Paul & Trinity's wedding reception in 2005

And a bonus little kid cousins picture...

me, Marcos Alan, Tina, Becky (who now goes by the grown-up Rebekah), & Susana

I love you chica!

What I learned on our Alaskan Honeymoon.

After every experience you probably learned at least a little something, right?  Well, after a 15 day honeymoon in Alaska, I would say that I learned a lot.  I know what I liked, what I would never do again, and what I would like to do differently next time.  Yes, next time.  Jeff's already planning, or at least daydreaming...

1.)  Airplanes suck.  Bad.  They're so small.  The seats are so narrow.  They're just plain uncomfortable.  Problem is, we used a travel agent to book our airplane flights, so we have no idea what else was available.  Next time, we will book our own flights, and then maybe we would have a wider plane.  Also, by booking our own flights, we could check into buying 3 seats instead of 2, simply because it would be more comfortable.  Also, I would rather not fly.  But, it's just kind of inevitable when you're headed to Alaska and you live in Wisconsin.

2.)  Don't assume you have to book a "tour" in order to go to the place you want to stay/visit/experience.  If you think you HAVE to take the tour from the tour company, then it's called marketing.  Get on the interwebs, look up that place that you want to say/visit/experience, and call them.  Even if you have to organize your own transportation, you will be okay.

3.)  Try it, you might like it!  I am not outdoorsy.  But the BackCountry Lodge was perfect for us.  The name could have scared us me off.  The fact that there is no TV/Cell Phone could scare people off.  But we ended up loving it.  All except the mosquitoes.

4.)  Often times "touristy" things in Alaska cater to Cruise Lines.  AVOID if possible.  Take more time to search and you might find a great B&B in a train or a small one-day cruise captained by the owner.  And you'll be able to avoid the huge crowds of people.

5.)  If you do the "touristy" things, consider your timing.  We went up to the Arctic Circle for midnight on the Summer Solstice.  We knew that a tour bus would be up there at midnight as well.  So we decided to take our picture with the sign as soon as we got there because we knew we would not be able to get a pic, just us, at midnight.  Find out when the tour groups will be places and go at a different time.  I guess that means you should look into group tour stuff so that you have that information.

6.)  Don't always count on the transportation you've arranged; have a backup plan.  Sometimes the ferry breaks down.  Either have a back-up plan (if we'd been in a car we would have just driven to Valdez) or someone who can make a back-up plan materialize in no time.  We are still very thankful to Pia for her amazing work getting us a hotel room and train tickets when we ended up stuck in Whittier.

7.)  Do something or stay somewhere that makes you feel at home.  Vacation can really be a lot for some people.  Moving around from hotel to hotel got really exhausting, so staying at the Anchorage Grand, basically in a small apartment, at the end of our trip, and cooking at "home" and staying in watching TV felt good.  It was relaxing to not HAVE to be Doing Something all the time.

8.)  Pack light.  If you're going to be in more than one hotel, definitely pack light.  You'll be happy in the end that you only have one shoulder bag and a small wheely-backpack with you.  Schlepping sucks.

9.)  Look at the map.  When you're told to take a taxi from point A to point B, you might find out that those points are only 3 blocks away, or you'll find a hotel close to your transportation.  Seriously, people, look at the freaking map.

10.)  I almost forgot this one.  Going to Alaska does not require going on a cruise.  If you like cruising, by all means, go that route.  But if you're not going to Alaska to enjoy the amenities of a cruise ship within the majestic surroundings of Alaska, then skip the cruise.  Google sometimes makes us think that "travel to Alaska" = "cruise to Alaska".  Be bold and think outside the cruise ship!

In the end, as long as you enjoyed yourself and the people/person you were with, it was successful, right?  Now, if you end up heading to Alaska, let me know!  Ask me in advance for info/recommendations!  If you've already been, add your thoughts in the comments!  (Loretta, I'm looking at you!)

This was our last view of Alaska...

That's Mt. McKinley, above the clouds, from the airplane.  We didn't have a window seat, so a big Thank You to the college student from LSU that Jeff leaned over to get the shot.

Don't worry - we'll be back.

See the full itinerary here...

Introducing... the Party Cup Box! It's gonna be a thing!

I'm the HR Chick at my job.  There is only the VP of HR, HR Manager, and me.  So I get the lower end jobs.  Like Retirement Parties.  Retirement Parties are one of the best parts of my job because it's a happy time.

We don't go over the top on Retirement Parties.  The retiree decides if s/he wants a company-wide party or a department party, and we go from there.  It's always at lunch time, or breakfast if it's a night shifter...  so we (the retiree & I) select what kind of food and I go from there.  Sometimes I order pizza, or subs, or I use the local Hy-Vee grocery store* and get the party catered.  All have been popular choices.

But no matter what the food is, we always have to figure out drinks.  For the smaller parties, I buy pop (or soda, or pop, or coke, depending on what part of the country you're from...) in 2-liter bottles.  The problem has always been that there is a bottle-neck at the drinks.  It takes time to pour those drinks.  And the 2-liters are never cold...

So at the last party, this spring, I was putting ice in the cups and pouring pop when people were arriving for the party.  I felt very behind, like I didn't have enough done by the time the party started.  So yesterday I invented...

the Party Cup Box!

I took a paper ream box - luckily one was almost empty - and put cups in the bottom, filled the cups with ice about 1/3 full, put more cups in, the ice, one more layer of cups, and filled with ice one last time.

I used the smaller 12 ounce cups we have at work, and was able to get 45 cups into that box, and it used one bag of ice (but I don't know how big the bag was...).  I covered the cups with the plastic shopping bag, just in case the lid of the box was dirty, and put the lid on.  There was room in the ice freezer, and I popped the box right in there.  Ice stayed frozen, and it bought me a good 15 minutes before the party started, so I was able to get the pop poured before the employees arrived.

This worked out so great for me; I'll definitely be doing it again at future parties where I know I have freezer space to put the Party Cup Box.  Anything to make Party Day easier, amiright?


*Fun Fact:  Hy-Vee catered our wedding.  We had a taco bar, 3 Chinese entree choices, ham, and fish.  Yum!  And it cost us about $8 per person.  Best choice for taste, best choice for price!