Beep Beep! UPS Just Arrived!

Yep! I got my Favorite Things Swap package from my swappee (or swapper?) Angela, and I was so excited! Oh, wait. I guess I should explain first, shouldn't I? Our Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap is a swap where we buy about $20-$30 worth of our own personal favorite items, and send them to our swap partner. They, in turn, also send us a package of their favorite things. Got it? Okay, on to the goods! First, I couldn't believe what a BIG box it was. Holy cow! Do you see that sucker?!

So, enough wasting time with the camera. I want to dig in!!! I scrounged through all the packing peanuts and found three separate gifts full of all kinds of things.

And then I found one lonely little bottle floating in the peanut sea. It was a bottle of Sam's Choice Kiwi Strawberry drink. The tag attached says, "This is ALL I drink! ALL day! EVERYDAY!" So I'm thinking maybe it's a big favorite? Ha, ha.

First, I opened the plastic-wrapped gift basket. JACKPOT! There are two treats I am trying hard to restrain myself from eating RIGHT NOW since I haven't had lunch: one is a chocolate Easter bunny and the other is my favorite candy bar, a Snickers! (I found out that Angela has the same favorite candy bar as me!) Angela says she loves Easter for its meaning, getting to dress up her boys, and also for the candy. She gets to eat her son's bunny every year because he hates chocolate. (Sneaky!) Also in the basket is Chapstick. Angela says she never goes anywhere without some sort of lip balm like Blistex or Chapstick. (This is funny. You'll see why when you get my package, Angela!) It's the shimmer kind, which I've been curious to try and now I can! Angela also sent me her favorite mascara because it separates the lashes so well. (This is also funny. I have no eyelashes, so maybe I can use it on my daughter? Just for special occasions, I promise. She is only five, right?) There's also a set of Uno cards, which is awesome because we love to play Uno in my house - and so does Angela. I'm thinking I can keep this set in my car to play when we're out at the park or hanging out. Angela also sent me her favorite laundry stain remover, made by Dreft. She says she is a sucker for stain remover and this one works really well. How did she know a stain spray was on my grocery list to buy? Thanks for saving me the trip! Angela sent her favorite Dial body wash, which I have never tried before and am looking forward to because she says it smells so good. And I also get to try a new facial cleanser that she sent, Olay dual action cleanser + pore scrub. Angela says it has worked wonders on her skin. But what's the thing I'm most excited about in that basket? It's the book Angela sent, Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson. First I have to finish about 3 other books I'm procrastinating on (including Parenting with Love and Logic and You: The Owner's Manual) and then I'm starting this one. I have been wanting to read a book on raising boys for a while!

So, on to the second package. I went to the pink gift bag next, and opened it to find the cookbook Deceptively Delicious. I've heard good things about these recipes, and need to try to sneak more nutritious ingredients in my family's diet. Now if I can just figure out how break the chicken nugget addiction... Angela, tell me your favorite recipe inside of it!

And the last package in the box was a GREEN gift bag, which I mean in two ways: the bag was the color green and full of Green ideas. Angela wrote that her son's passion for animals and the environment started making her go Green. She sent things to help with that: a reusable shopping bag (love those!), baking soda, vinegar, two condiment squirt bottles (I'll explain in a second), and her own homemade cleaner. She suggests I fill one condiment bottle with baking soda and the other with vinegar then use them to clean things like toilets and sinks. And her homemade cleaner is good for everything except glass and wood. How thoughtful and cool is that?

I just love getting mail on a daily basis. I'm one of those dorks who runs to the mailbox right after the mail is delivered to see what we got. Even if it's junk mail or advertisements, I am still excited to see what arrived. So having a HUGE package delivered by UPS makes me want to break out in "The Wells Fargo Wagon" song from The Music Man. "...it could be something for someone who is no relation, but it could be... yes it could be... something special... just for me!" (Sing along, y'all!) So, thank you so very much to my new friend Angela. I love all the favorites you sent me, and I can't wait to start using them all and having some of your world overlap mine. Now let me know when you receive my package, so you can laugh about how our favorites are so similar. Enjoy!