November Member of the Month: Jamie Marshall(me!)

- Tell us about yourself, your hobbies, personal life, and interests!
Hello all!  The name is Jamie Marshall(some where in the familyline is was Von Marshall but they dropped the Von(or Van—excuse my lack of German) and am a 30 year old girlie living in Arizona and was actually born here.  I live with my boyfriend of 7 years and I am crazy and work in the Childcare field

- Describe yourself in only 5 words!
Honest, respectful, random, thoughtful, creative

- How and why did you start pen palling?
Well, I don’t really have any friends so one night in 2009 I was searching around the internet, wondering if there was still such a thing.  Well lo and behold, I came across a website called interpals.net and am still paling with some of the girls who were my first pals.

- What do you like/dislike about pen palling?
I like that you can be yourself. Usually, well, I have found that when you meet a person they judge you, based on what you look like, how you act, etc.  And become your friend to see what they can get out of you.  I have had friends in the past that have written me e-mails saying that they hated being my friend. Yes, true story.  What I dislike about pen-paling is when someone is requiring rules.  I mean, sometimes when I have the time I will go all out on making my letter fantabulous, sometimes it may be a intro letter.  And then later on they’re like, “How come you haven’t wax sealed your letters in a while?”  Um… excuse me?  We are all living busy and hecktic lives.  I do not always HAVE THE TIME to wax seal letters, you know?

- How many pen pals do you have and where are they from?
at least 15 right now.   The majority of them are from the USA, a couple from Canada and Europe.

- What do you look for in a pen pal?
Someone who I have common interests with.  Someone who is loyal, and doesn’t write more than a paragraph.  Someone who doesn’t judge

- Where do you find new pen pals at? Do you rely on friendship books, Facebook, or other websites/blogs?
Well, I started out on the interpals site, but then I went to facebook  and then just continued to stay around there.  I am not to keen on FB’s because I don’t want any possible creepers getting my address

-          Do you keep track of your mail? Share your tip on how to stay organized.
I have my own 3 ring binders for those I write with often. I don’t have a binder for everyone,  I have a couple zippy large ones that I place possible “own folder” pen-pals.  I should create a fact sheet, but I haven’t done that yet

 "Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point."

The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of

new members!

Just wanted to give a shout out to our latest members of our little group here.
SHOUT OUT to:

Julie Siemen

Ashley Jo Will

Ashlie Yazzie

Andrea Meryl

Just to name a few..... 

if you are new, and I missed you, I'm sorry!!  

Question of the Week: November 24th

I am starting a Question of the Week thing.
From Saturday, November 24th, 2012 to Saturday, December 1st? (not sure of the date here)
If for some poopy reason you cannot view the video the question is:

What is the yummiest thing you cannot live without having on that Holiday table?????   YUM!
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Answers:

Tiffany Keaster Mlsna STUFFING!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sherri Johnson Akers my Mom's red cinnamon applesauce!! To DIE for!!
jamie Marshall Anyone else?? Cannot live without the Italian dressing tomatoes. That and of course mashed potatoes. I get those at Chris's mom's events. Oh and when she makes tamales... Though that's an every other year thing. 
But yummy!
Misty Ann Ring During the holiday season I can't live without mashed potatoes! Ha-ha. And pecan pie.
Bre Aponi  Ummmm I love Honey Baked Ham.... so good.
Julie Siemen Pumpkin pie, yummy!!

October Member of the Month: Tiffany Keaster Mlsna

I'm a silly lady and forgot to post the interview questions from Tiffany for the Member of the Month for October!  I'm such a silly silly girl.  Well, better late than never:

- Tell us about yourself, your hobbies, personal life, and interests!
*waves* Hello! My name is Tiffany Mlsna... let me help you before you stumble over that Mlsna (mole-snuh) it can be quite the mouth full. I am 27 years old, I'll be 28 in just a few short weeks on the 20th of November. I have two delightful young children and a very wonderful husband. We have been married 4 years now. I am currently a stay at home mom, but I do work part time as an Optical Tech... and glorified Optician. My hobbies are quite simple seeing as I have very little free time or alone time... I love to read, write, listen to music and learn. Yes I love to learn. I am interested in the paranormal and I am attempting to write my own novel. foreseeing no more computer crashes that is. I enjoy life and I try to find something positive in everything.

- Describe yourself in only 5 words!
Honest, respectful, random, thoughtful, creative

- How and why did you start pen palling?
I started in 1995 when I came across a horse crazy magazine. There was a pen pal ad in there that described a girl much like myself. I decided to give it a shot. In 1997, French class, I was required to write a letter to this girl in France... It wasn't as much fun when I was required to write LOL, but I still enjoyed it. I was a steady pen pal all the way up until 2008 when I had complications with my pregnancy and decided to give it a break. Now in 2012 i decided to pick it back up again :)

- What do you like/dislike about pen palling?
What I like about pen palling is making friends from all over the world. I love the thrill of getting a letter. When I get a letter it feels like the person that wrote me is sharing their life with me. It's the simple fact that they took the time to write... me. What I dislike about pen palling is when I come across those individuals that put rules and regulations on your letters... "you can only use blue ink, your letters must be X amount of pages long and you only have 4 days to reply" That takes the fun out of it. This is a hobby, not a job. And I have two kids, a husband and a job... I can't always respond right away.

- How many pen pals do you have and where are they from?
I have about 30 pen pals. A majority of them are from the USA. I have a few from Ireland, England, New Zealand and the Netherlands. I wish I had more over seas pals.

- What do you look for in a pen pal?
What I look for in a pal is someone that I can connect with. Some one that has at least a few things in common with myself. I also look for pals that are interested in learning more about me, as I am interested about learning about them. I find it very difficult to write a one sided letter.

- Where do you find new pen pals at? Do you rely on friendship books, Facebook, or other websites/blogs?
So far a majority of my pals I have found either through face book or word of mouth from another pal. I do not do friendship books, the idea of having my address floating around to who knows where is a bit unnerving.

- Do you keep track of your mail? Share your tip on how to stay organized.
I have all of my letters organized by pal in their own folder. I organize them by first name. I also have a sheet that I have my pals fill out, or I fill it out for them, that has their information such as likes, dislikes and birthday. This helps me make sure that I don't forget any important detail about my pals.

Credendo Vides - Believing is Seeing ~ Tiffany Mlsna

Member of the Month and Photo Contest Winner

Hey everyone!  We all hope that everyone had a great Halloween if you celebrated.  How time flies so quickly!!!  Here we are at the beginning of November all ready.

All right, for starters to announce the October Member of the Month.  The winner is Tiffany Keaster Mlsna.  Congratulations!   Jamie loves this picture and that's why she posted it!  Of course this dress has to be from the Renaissance Era!  The interview for Tiffany will come very soon.


Secondly, we have the October Photo Contest Winner.   The theme, of course, was Pumpkin Carving.  What else would the theme for October be anyhow? Summer?  The winner for this little photo contest is Joyce Wright.

That's it for now!!

If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail us at: friendshipforalways@gmail.com 

101 members

I just wanted to announce that we just gained our 101st member in our True Friendship...  group!  That's fantabulous!!

 

~Jamie

---

Cursing aloud, she succumbed to the storm, sitting up and opening the drawer on the nightstand beside her. Inside, beside the mandatory hotel bible was an unopened bottle of Tylenol.  Hastily, she opened it quickly, brushing her auburn hair aside from her mouth as she placed the pills on her tongue and swallowed hard. What was she thinking, leaving so suddenly, without a plan in tow?  ---Second Chances.

 ---

August Photo Competition Winner: Tigre!

Meet Bre Aponi's Tigre.

Member of the Month for August: Samantha Julius.

Well as you know my name is Samantha and I'm from Christchurch, New Zealand. I am a single mother to my lovely 2 year old daughter, Bella-Rose. I was born 9/8/1991 and have lived in Christchurch all my life. It's an okay place to live but everything is limited after the earthquakes. I have a lot of hobbies so I don't know if I should list them all but I like art, reading, photography, poetry, writing, pen palling. I'm obsessed with Vintage/Victoriana, in love with music, I love Tim Burton movies, my favorite holiday is Halloween and admittedly still gets dressed up myself. If I had to describe myself in 5 words I'd say I'm energetic, quiet, shy, lovely and blunt (and yes there are some conflicting traits in there). I started pen palling through interpals and it had always been something I wanted to try but I was a lot younger at that point. I started pen palling when I was 18. The only thing I dislike when I comes to pen palling is pumping out a long letter and only receiving a short response back. I have about 15 pen pals including some inmates. Mostly from America. I don't specifically look for anything in a pen pal, just people I have some common interests and hobbies with. I've never used a friendship book before I still don't quite know what they are about? I get most of my pen pals from interpals or in group (only joined to true friendship) I left another group after some drama. I don't like drama. I keep track of my letters by organization of a folder with a label sticker with the pals name on it. And I also put 'replied' written on the very bottom left hand corner on the back of the envelope. Just so I can remember if I have replied yet or not... I can sometimes be quite forgetful. I've been thinking of jazzing my organization skills up a little so if anyone has some pointers I am glad to accept

Member of the Month: Bre Aponi

This is the interview for the Member of the Month winner for July, 2012.   - Tell us about yourself, your hobbies, personal life, and interests! -- Wow I'm not so great about talking about myself *lol* but here it goes! My name is Bre Aponi and I am 25 currently. I live in NC with my two cats: Tigre andJB. I have a jewelry business (EmotionAsArt) and I also work doing childcare and pet sitting. I'm a full-time student working on my Medical Office Administration degree and I hope to finish with it soon. My hobbies are photography, drawing, making jewelry, pen-palling, and I love to travel! I also collect shot glasses, used stamps, postcards and anything with seahorses, butterflies, wolves or Native American related   - Describe yourself in only 5 words! -- Honest, Caring, Loyal, Generous, Artsy   - How and why did you start pen palling? -- I started pen-palling in 2008. I have always loved writing letters and when I moved to NC (the first time) I was lonely because I didn't know anyone. I searched online for people who loved writing letters like I did and really fell in love with pen-palling. - What do you like/dislike about pen palling? -- What I like about pen-palling is being able to meet and form friendships with people from all around the world. Getting to know more about new countries and languages and just being able to conversate with people who live a thousand+ miles away. What I dislike about pen-palling is coming across a pal collector or someone who is dishonest and uses people. Sadly I've met quite a few.  - How many pen pals do you have and where are they from? -- I currently have 30 pals. I wish I could take on more but I'm limited financially. I have pals from: USA, Australia, Netherlands, Saipan, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, England, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Finland, Czech Republic, and more. - What do you look for in a pen pal? -- In a pal I look for someone who's honest and shares common interests with me. I have found over the years that when I have some common interests with a pal that we have a lot more to talk about  I'm really not picky about age or anything else. I like meeting new people especially from places that I have never been too. Gives me a chance to learn more about a new place and a new person!! - Where do you find new pen pals at? Do you rely on friendship books, Facebook, or other websites/blogs? -- Right now I'm not looking for new pals but I like to find them via Facebook groups or through my pals.  - Do you keep track of your mail? Share your tip on how to stay organized. -- I do keep track of my mail. I have box for incoming mail and one for outgoing mail then I have my letters sorted in a large box by pal and country.

July Photo Contest Winner

Ashley Levado won the July Photo contest.
The Theme was :Family Fun.

Member of the Month....

The Member of the Month is......... Bre Aponi Yay!   An interview and more to come later! Jamie  "Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point." The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of

contest question

Contest question #1

Where would you love to have a pen pal from and why?

    ** Winner will be announced on the 24th of this month.

Jamie

 "Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point."

The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of

Jamie's Stationary attempts.

I guess I can use rain as an excuse, but I have seen a lot of people I communicate with make their own stationary and envelopes.   I decided to try and have my way at it too.        If anyone wants to use them, I have a word file so you can print it out for yourself.  Just tell me.     Jamie  "Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point." The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of

More stationary.

Made by Bre Aponi Made by Bre Aponi Made By Bre Aponi Made by Bre Aponi.

Stationary, stationary

Jamie  "Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point." The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of

STATIONARY, CONT.

Jamie  "Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point." The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of