Sweet Valley Surprise!

Hey everybody! Click below to read about some things that have been going on around these parts!

I enjoy many things about this blog. I love being able to share the stories in my head with you all and I love being able to have lots of toy talk. All of this has allowed me the opportunity to get to know some amazing people. People that I have come to consider as friends. I love this because I have only a few friends in my non-Internet life, so to have more people I can count on for fun conversation and stuff is always a great thing. Also, every now and then, I send things out to folks just like they will send me things. 

Now I want to be very clear, I never expect a single thing from anyone. Lord knows I have more than enough. So, to expect in any way that I should receive anything is just crazy! I'm not that girl. But with that said, I am very appreciative when I am sent something. 

So my friend Sarah (that I met through this blog) recently sent me something. I adore Sarah. We are always catching each other up on things and we both have a shared love for books that we grew up with like Fear Street and Sweet Valley High. She also has a knack for meeting cute famous guys like Stephen Amell and Charlie Hunnam. She is super fun and when I received a package from her I was beyond surprised! 

Sarah loves Paris so this card from her is a great reflection of that. I also see this card and think of the Jem and the Holograms song: Twilight in Paris. It's a really good song and this card is really pretty with some kind words inside.

Sarah also included a sheet and envelope of some really cool Aladdin stationary! I adore this. I'm one of those dorky girls that is totally obsessed with stationary. Actually I'm obsessed with practically everything. This sheet of stationary was also special because it was part of a stationary set that Sarah had grown up with. It's nice to be able to share something like that with a friend.

She also included a matching envelope! Too cute! I love the entire design. I like the idea of an entire image on an envelope. That's a lot of fun.

This is another piece of stationary that was from Sarah's childhood. I am very honored that she wanted to share that with me. I am not sure that I will ever use these pieces of stationary because that is how obsessive I am. I like to hold onto everything. I am working on it though, I have been parting with things of my own and finding new homes for all kinds of stuff. It is a nice feeling. 

Another item Sarah sent me was a VHS tape of Maxie's World! I am so excited for this! Maxie's World was a cartoon show based off the Maxie doll line by Hasbro. The line was around in the 80's and it was essentially a way for Hasbro to try their hand at being successful in the world of tall dolls. They had Jem of course, but Maxie lasted a little longer. It was a very interesting line and one that I remember fondly if only for my cousin who had a bevy of Maxie items. Now I just need to find a VCR...

The final items that Sarah sent are two books that will be part of my summer reading! Sweet Valley High books! They are both thrillers and I am living for each one. Most of you know I was an avid reader of the great literary classics of the 90's, like Fear Street and anything by Christopher Pike, but I also loved me some Sweet Valley High. The series had hot mess written all over it in the best way possible. There were all kinds of romance dramas, evil twins, and tragic accidents at prom. I can't say I read every book, but I loved checking in on the twins every now and then. 

Sarah though is the resident super Sweet Valley High fan. She knows her Valley High! The fact that she'd send me some of those books is really nice and thoughtful. Beware the Wolfman finds Elizabeth and Jessica on a thrilling adventure in London trying to capture a savage werewolf that wants them dead. Will they survive? I will find out this summer when I am on vacation! (I doubt I will be taking one, but I can always pretend!)

Speaking of vacation, Murder in Paradise looks to be a great little romp with the twins. Jessica and Elizabeth go on a spa trip with their mom and things soon go awry once a dead body is found and soon the twin's mother goes missing! These girls just have crazy luck. Thank goodness their stories got recorded. I love getting lost in fun stuff like this. I loved it when I was a pre-teen/teen and I love it now as a grown ass woman. It's the best. 

So I have nothing but the biggest of thanks to Sarah for sending me these really great items. I am going to enjoy them! For those who have been reading this Diary for awhile, Sarah might seem familiar because she was the first featured in one of my Clip 'n Save Reader File features from ages ago. Check it out here to learn more about her awesome interests and why she is so darn cool. 

Also, if you haven't noticed yet, I have made some changes to the side of the blog. Let's be honest. I know nothing about web design or how to make things look fancy. But, I finally got things together and posted some cute little banners to the side for those interested in hearing and reading some of the stuff I do elsewhere. At the top is the banner and link to the Geek Fallout Podcast. I join a group of nice guys (Chris, Rich, Brian, and Evan) for a fun podcast. I also recently sat in for an episode of Geek Fallout: The Comic Episodes where the topic was Archie Comics, if interested click here to check it out. I also sat in on an episode of Random Nerdness which can be heard here. Chris Lockhart edits and hosts all three podcasts with a group of wonderful people. These podcasts are a part of the Atomic Geeks Network and it is very nice to be a part of this experience. I never in a million years thought I'd ever be asked to be involved in any of this. I'm just a silly little dork girl that still plays with her toys and stalks the aisles at Target and Toysrus. I am having a ball getting to know all of you from so many different aspects of the collecting/nerdy/geeky/dorky/whatever community. It's the best!

There are also two other banners and links to sites that I write for. Nerd Society is super fun and features some wonderful writers posting articles about all kinds of great nerdy things from vintage toys to video games to great fanfiction based off of K-On! I have recently branched out and started interviewing cosplayers and am in the process of writing a series of articles on a group of Jem fans that attend the yearly JemCon, a truly truly outrageous convention for all things Jem. I am really proud of these articles and hope that you find them interesting too. (I've only posted one so far, but there are more to follow.) 

Finally the latest banner I added was for Retro-Daze, a website that I have had the joy of writing for since the fall. I contribute two articles a week. Mostly. There might be a week here and there where I take a break to come up with new material. The folks at Retro-Daze are awesome. I love the content they put out and I enjoy sharing all kinds of retro goodness over there. It's nice because I can use the Diary to focus more on the misadventures of toy Miss M while I share all my fun retro memories on various topics over there. 

So that's about it for now. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to check those other spots out. I strive to make this place and anything else I write or talk about something that will be entertaining and engaging. I have a lot to say and I hope that it is fun. As for the Diary, stick around! I've got some great stuff in store for the month of May. Toy Miss M is now living at Wayne Manor and it is only a matter of time before the story heats up for summer! I hope you are all doing well, and enjoy the week!