Snail Mail FTW

Life can get so hectic and busy... it's always nice to find something in my mailbox and to see that someone took the time out of their busy schedule to handwrite a note to tell me they were thinking of me, to inform me of some exciting news, or to give me a few words of encouragement when they know I am going through a hard time.

Recently, I have been making the effort to find the time to write more postcards and send greeting cards and thank-you notes. Luckily, I live in an area that is relatively close to many tourist areas... Big Sur, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Salinas, San Francisco, and Yosemite, just to name a few... I love browsing the racks of postcards and seeing which ones jump out at me. They say things such as, "Send me to your mom!" or "Wouldn't your Godparents love to hang me on the fridge?" On my recent trip to Yosemite, I made certain to visit the gift shops to buy postcards to send to both family and friends.

"Go Green" Stamps

I even enjoy picking out which stamps I will use. On my last trip to the post office, I bought some really cute and educational "Go Green" stamps that each have a tip on how to easily make small changes in your daily life to have a positive impact on the environment. The Post Office has a wide variety of stamps for almost every occasion and finding stamps that were related to my interests and hobbies makes the act of sending cards that much more special to me!

The other day I was talking with a friend and through our conversation, I found out that she was unaware that the post office sells stamps that are specifically priced for postcards. Currently, First Class stamps are priced at 44 cents per stamp for standard envelopes and large postcards, but stamps for regular sized post cards are currently priced at 29 cents.

Although it is more environmentally conscious to live in a paperless world, it's nice to receive something tangible from someone we love... especially when they are located over 2,000 miles away! On average, I would say that I check my e-mail about a dozen times a day... However, e-mails seem so impersonal anymore. My mom sends me a weekly TGIF message electronically, but it's always more enjoyable to find a postcard or greeting card from her in my mailbox. I'll admit it's disappointing to find an empty mailbox most days, but when I get onto my tippy-toes, peer into my mailbox and finally see something there... it makes all those other days seem insignificant!

Live Your Life... Now!

A few weeks ago, I was asked by a friend if I wanted to go to Yosemite National Park. At first, I was a little apprehensive, thinking about the cost and logistics. I have lived in California for well over a year now and once I found out I'd be living here I made a list of things that I wanted to do before I leave. I have put off a number of these trips and activities thinking that I will do them in due time. However, it dawned on me that evening that if I didn't go, I would just keep waiting and never end up going to Yosemite while stationed in the state of California. So, the next morning, I jumped at the opportunity and we began making plans for our trip to Mariposa and decided to spend a whole day exploring the park.

How epic is this?

Needless to say, it was an excellent trip... if we stayed home, we would have had a horrible weekend stuck inside due to all of the rain, but because we drove inland a few hours, we experienced Yosemite on one of the most beautiful days I have seen in a long time!

We got some beautiful pictures and made some great memories! I have always loved hiking and the environment, so while we were in the park, we took a the opportunity to a little bit of a conservation project and picked up trash along the trails throughout the day.

If you've been planning to do something that means a lot to you, you should find a weekend and make it happen!

I am member of Leave No Trace and make yearly donations to their organization.