Hello Lolo!

Last Friday night I had to run a few errands before I could get ready for Twins Fest the next morning, which included a stop at Shopko. I've been searching for a blaster of Panini Prizm Basketball, but have yet to find any in Marshall.

After doing a little digging, I saw a box of Topps Winter Olympics with 8 packs and a guaranteed autograph or relic card.

I tore through the first six packs and saw some nice cards, but no auto or relic, which left two packs.

On Pack 7, I noticed a different card, but could tell it wasn't a relic. Not going to lie, I expected noting exciting until I saw this.

I was so surprised I almost dropped the card, and got even more excited when I flipped it over.

I was beyond surprised to pull a Bronze Paralell!

Excitement doesn't even begin to cover it. Can't wait to watch the Olympics in a few short weeks!

Crackin Wax Topps Series 1 Jumbo Charity Case Break

One of the more popular aspects of collecting lately have been the group case and box breaks. There are several breakers that I've used and been happy with, but this one is more about breaking for a cause.

My friend Topher over at Crackin Wax does a variety of baseball breaks throughout the year and all of his proceeds go to various charitable organizations instead of in his pocket.

Right now his 2014 Topps Series 1 Baseball Jumbo Break has just seven spots left (down from 9 this afternoon) and is set to break on February 5th starting at 5 p.m., but don't worry if you can't be there right at 5! You can watch it later on Youtube to see what happens.

Teams left as of 1/27/14 at 8:10 pm are:

Athletics
Blue Jays
Diamondbacks
Indians
Rockies
Tigers
White Sox

This is a great first case break to jump into if you've never done one before, or if you like to be charitable!

And be sure to tell him where you saw this. It won't get you anything special, but hey, it's nice to know if anyone reads this!

2013 Topps Chrome Football Blaster

Being in Marshall we don't have an LCS anymore, soi have to feed my chrome need with blasters.

I picked up a football blaster earlier this week and it wasn't too bad. I like chrome with the refractors. At least makes you think you pulled something in most packs!

Shopko was out but Walmart had plenty. Only thing I'm torn about is the guaranteed Jersey card in each box. It's nice to know it's there, but I always wonder if that means there isn't a shot at an autograph then.

I snapped shots of each pack and the jersey card.

Rookie refractor and mini in Pack 1.

Nice Geno Smith insert and Patrick Willis refractor in Pack 2.

This was the refractorless pack in the box.

Rookie refractor in Pack 4.

Best pack at this point with the Blue Jake Locker Refractor.

Another Geno Smith insert. I'm kind of partial to these.

Final pack had a rookie Xfractor.

The last piece in the box was the guaranteed jersey card. I had opened two other blasters with decent cards that were numbered.

This is the best yet. Tavon Austin numbered 55/75. These are nice looking cards and they do add to the set.

I'm sure I'll be buying more chrome and then there is Twins Fest this weekend. A few dollars will be spent!

Great In Theory, Less So In Practice

With Twins Fest right around the corner, I've been busy picking up cards for autographs and while Sportlots.com is great, sometimes I have to go elsewhere for singles.

I found a seller on eBay that had several cards I needed and didn't go crazy on shipping. I received them yesterday and noticed they were sealed shut inside the top loader.

This wouldn't be a big deal, but it essentially says if there's a problem and I open it, they won't accept returns. Not a big deal when it's one card, but a little harder to do when there are multiple cards in one top loader.

I'm sure they are fine, but could be interesting if they're not.

This makes great sense when you're dealing with singles. So many opportunities to mess with things, but not so hot for multiples.

Mail Day: Eric Hartzell Toronto Fall Expo Panini Prizm Cracked Ice 3/30

I've decided to start documenting my mail days so I can remember when and where I picked things up!

Yesterday I received a 2013-14 Panini Prizm Cracked Ice Toronto Fall Expo card of Eric Hartzell numbered 3/30.

These cards could only be found at a special event at the show. 

You might be wondering why I'm buying hockey cards all of a sudden, but it's pretty simple. I've always wanted to be able to collect cards of some that I personally knew and this is my chance. 

I met Eric when he was dating my niece in Sioux Falls and went to a few family events where he joined us. Now he's part of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization as a goalie.

He helped take his college team, Quinepiac, to the championship game last season. Pretty excited to start collecting him. If you have anything of his, please check with me if you are willing to part with it!

It's been way too long

The other day I thought to myself that I needed to get back into blogging. I always have plenty to say, so I hope to be a little more active this time around.

The last time I blogged, it was a pretty heavy topic - my brother-in-law's passing in Iraq. I hope not to get to that level again, instead focusing on my collecting and anything else that comes up.

On the collecting side, Chad Greenway is my main focus. We are both South Dakota natives now in Minnesota, which is a big draw for me. I recently took inventory of my collection and am just shy of 300 unique cards. If you are a collector and have one I don't, I'm definitely interested! I'll be linking images of my cards soon.

I also collect a John Carlson, Riley Reiff, most any Minnesota sports teams and Notre Dame alumni.

I hope to hear from my fellow collectors that I know are out there and that they keep me honest! I need to do this more and share what I find/buy/trade for.