operation christmas child aka it's almost that time of the year

It's time for Operation Christmas Child! I missed it last year because I was in France where it was not possible to do something like this. For those of you not familiar with this, this is sponsored by Samaritan's Purse. Every year, you can pack a shoebox, filled with toys, hygiene products, books, stationaries and other things for kids up to age 14. Then you give them to a church that collects them to be shipped off to other countries for kids who aren't able to get Christmas presents.

So yesterday, I went to target to get a box and made a stop at the dollar tree. Armed with a 20 dollar budget for the presents (since I haven't started working yet) I was able to get everything I bought into my box. I bought pens, pencils, pencil box, plush bear, toothbrush, toothpaste, jump rope, hairclips, hairbrushes, socks, notebooks, and puzzles. I think there's more inside, but I can't remember. And here's what it looks like:

Feast your eyes on my awesome packing skills (or not). Yes, those are winter edition oreo cookies you see. Because you know, one cannot do the Operation Christmas Child without these yummy things paired with coffee. Good thing I didn't consume the entire package in one sitting.

Yesterday, after reading a bunch of French stuff, I spent the rest of the evening cross-stitching. I figured I should work on them as much as possible before school start and all the madness starts creeping in.

What I'm currently working on. And no, I won't tell you what it is until I'm done.