Was this character part of your childhood?

He was certainly part of mine, although not quite as early as 1981 as the title suggests – I was born in 1988. I grew up with the British Pat, but I’m told that there is also an American Pat these days. As a kid, I loved getting mail. My cousins and I would send each other letters with as many stickers, sweeties, bookmarks etc as we could possibly cram into an envelope and I remember being so excited to come home from school and check the post each day.

Now I can usually count on Union Gas, Rogers, or the tax man to send “goodies” to my post box, but unfortunately these are of the bill variety. However…. last week, that was certainly not the case. I actually received treats!!!

Delivery #1: Product samples.

I have a confession to make. As much as I like to keep my eats as squeaky clean as possible, I do have a weakness for Crystal Light. You know how some people are just “water people” and drink it all the time? Well, I’m just not one of those people. This is especially true as the weather gets cold and I don’t want to drink anything unless it’s warm. Crystal Light has been a good solution to this problem and I have used a daily tally system to prove to myself that I actually drink more water when it tastes nice and fruity. The samples I received were of some of the newer Crystal Light flavours, and my favourite right now is the Dragon Fruit Mango White Tea. Some of them seem waaay too strong for the amount of water that the packet recommends for 1 single pouch, but this flavour isn’t quite as sweet and the taste is quite different compared to your typical powdered juice. Have you tried any of the new flavours yet?

Delivery #2: My monthly reading material.

All except for my Self mag arrived last week, just in time for me to finally finish last month’s mags. If you missed my reviews on each of these, check out this post.

Delivery #3: The Nutrition & Wellness Specialist Course Materials

Back when I created my vision board, I said that one of my goals is to become Nutrition & Wellness Specialist (NWS) certified by the end of 2010. Well, I’m pleased to report that I registered 2 weeks ago and I will be doing the course in early November. I’m SO excited! If you’re interested in finding out more about this and what exactly I’ll be certified to do, stay tuned for Thursday’s post.

Delivery #4: A big box.

What’s in there??

To start, lots of this:

Note: I would have been just as excited if the box contained only bubble wrap. Somehow it makes me regress and behave like a 5 year old. Did I put it all on the floor and stomp on it until all the bubbles had burst? You bet. But the excitement didn’t end there.

A while ago, Jess from How Sweet It Is held a giveaway for some very cool cooking sauces from Saucy Mama. Now, you must know that I never win anything. Except this time – I actually won! You’ll be seeing more about these tomorrow because I plan to incorporate one of my fancy new cooking sauces in Try Something New Tuesday 28. Whatever I create will likely involve shrimp!!

Something to do for your health today:

Since starting my new job, I’ve noticed that I feel a lot more sedentary than usual. In my attempt to rectify this situation, I’ve thought about a number of things including getting up and walking around each hour, leaving the office at lunch time, and stretching at my desk. I’ve got a post coming up in the near future related to desk workouts, but today I thought I’d share this great article with you. It provides suggested stretches for your neck, spine, and shoulders, 3 key areas that tighten up when you sit for long periods of time. I did all of them yesterday and noticed a very significant difference in the way I felt at 5pm on my way home. Give ‘em a try and let me know what you think!

Before you go…

• I want to know: What’s the best thing you’ve ever received in the mail?
• Have you taken my egg poll yet? Check it out at the bottom of this post – it’ll just take a second!