500,000

In the midst of my busy schedule, I never realized that this blog has hit yet another milestone.

I am happy to report that this blog has finally reached half a million views.

In celebration, I thought it would be fun to not only drink a cup of coffee, but to re-visit some parts of the blog. I got this idea from Johnny's Trading Spot when he put in his recent post about his blog's anniversary who his first blog's comment was.

*takes a celebratory sip, tips mug towards screen hoping you will return the favor*

*moves on with post*

So, here are a few categories that I created based off from his idea;

First Post: The First Brew

First Comment: Hockey Kazi "I've got the next pot ready to go. Great post, can't wait for more." (I am not sure if he has commented ever again)

One Of My Favorite Posts: Let Me Help You This Valentine's Day

My first Christmas Post (we all know that is my favorite holiday): You Serious Clark?

My Favorite Segment: Coffee With. I love sharing my non-sport autos with you guys!

My Favorite Part Of The Blog: I love being able to draw from what I am doing and trying to be creative based on the cards I am showing off. Whether that be using a movie, song title, song or anything like that. I want to not only be a card blog, but an actual one you want to read with coffee.

I was trying to think of other categories but drew a blank.

If anyone wants to turn this into a BBA, that would be fun as well. Maybe even create some other topics that I may have missed.

Thanks again for reading this blog. Every visit, every comment matters. I love reading all of your feedback and replying to all of them as well.

I would also welcome feedback today as well. What would you want to read about? What kind of posts interest you? How much coffee will you drink today? You know, those kind of things.

Here is to the next 500,000. I have some changes planned and hopefully I can tap back into the first couple of years on this blog again. I had more comments back then.

Hope everyone has a great Saturday.

*takes a final sip for today*

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Gifts

Life has continued to keep me busy with College and family events and away from most hobby activities except being able to visit Twitter a couple of times a day.

I haven't been able to read a lot of blog posts. I definitely haven't been able to post any. And when it comes to just spending time in my collection, it has been weeks. I have two people waiting on me to send trade pictures and I just haven't had the time to dig out the cards. Not to mention the small list of people I owe mail days to and want to mail stuff to.

Sadly the thing that I used to spend the most time with, other than family, has become the last thing that I spend time with.

But, tonight, I am spending a few minutes with it. Well, on here I am.

I have pictures waiting and waiting in drafts have been wanting to be set free finally and I am going to let some out tonight. 

Even though I also have a tab open for my English class discussion board I am doing at the same time as this post.

*too late for a sip, but, we can do a pretend one*

In the time I haven't really been on here, I have received some really cool generous gifts from other collectors including two bloggers.

The first mail day which is the oldest of the three I am showing off today, comes from the always generous Johnny's Trading Spot.

He passed along a few unopened packs of Laffs trading cards and a stack of singles as well. The following isn't all of the singles he sent, just a few.

This is a set I have been trying to finish up for awhile now. I haven't had the chance to see if any of the cards that Johnny sent will help towards the set or simply just fit into my non-sport PC.

Either way, thanks Johnny! I need to take the time and hit you back!

*takes a break and switches over to the next tab to work on the english discussion board, writes another paragraph, comes back here*

Then came an expected but unexpected mail day from the legend of the night, Night Owl Cards

Here is a 2015 Allen Ginter Murray base card to replace the base I had lost. I still need to locate another Sal and another Q base.

And then came a nice 90's insert surprise!

Thanks Greg! Hope to find time to hit both you Johnny back!

*goes back to doing more work on the discussion board, the topic is a little too tense so trying to dull it down*

*comes back to blog*

My final gift to show off in this post was from @IT_guy8706 on Twitter/X.

He saw that I was looking for someone who could do some custom shirts for my upcoming 3rd/4th grade girls basketball season and he jumped on it saying how talented his wife was at making them.

He was right. Both came out excellent and I am so excited to be able to sport these this upcoming season. One of these is for practice, the other is for games.

Cannot say thanks enough to @IT_guy8706 and his wife!!

*clicks back to doing more homework, clicks back here to finish up tonight's post*

Well, I am hoping to maybe put together another post or two before I hang up the keyboard tonight but have to make sure my homework is done first and it's getting late. So we will see.

Hopefully my lack of posting doesn't hurt my chances at Blog Of The Year running. I came so close last year!

Hope everyone has been well and in comments tonight or tomorrow or even a few days from now whenever you read this, let me know of any recent gifts from the hobby you have gotten.

*Coffee-less Card Blogger Out*

Underdog

*it wouldn't be cards over coffee without having both cards and coffee, so here we go*

Being an underdog means being someone or something that is thought to have little to no chance at winning something. 

Or it may also mean you are watching a cartoon dog from the 60's fight crime. 

I prefer the latter of the two. That was a great cartoon.

But underdog will soon be the role I will be playing again....once again, not the cartoon dog. I wished.

*takes a sip*

I have had another one of "those years" but haven't really posted anything about it on here like last year.

For today's post, I will recap the year up to this point and fill in parts I haven't touched on yet and maybe some I have a little.

1. Back in March, I was diagnosed with Diabetes. It's something that runs on both sides of my family and I figured at some point it would catch up with me, and it did. My A1C at that time was 6.8 and a three month check in after diagnosis and a weekly shot brought me back down to 5.5.

2. Back in May, my sister-in-law and nephew came for a visit, and we played some wiffle ball. Being the sports guy I am, I couldn't let this fly ball just float and hit the ground, instead I did a long reach to try and catch it and felt a "pop". So, after a couple months of PT and pain, I was told to have an MRI and I went today. The results fortunately weren't as bad as I thought they could be, I do have shoulder bursitis and tendonitis. I will know my treatment plan next week.

3. I have been having some bowel issues the last couple of months and my heartburn has returned so I spoke with my Gastro doctor who suggested I get a Colonoscopy and Endoscopy done. I will be having that done in November. I heard colonoscopy's are a blast (yes pun intended)

4. On top of this, I am getting my hernia repaired at the end of September just to make sure that isn't part of the problem for my stomach. I will be out from lifting for 4-6 weeks. This is the hernia I had last year that I should have already had fixed.

5.Other issues have kept arriving as well such as broken cars, dead washing machine and a fridge a week later which has made it tough both on finances and the hobby.

6. I have started writing again for Bags Unlimited after a ten-year hiatus. I will be doing one article a month.

And finally, the latest news. If you follow me on Twitter, you will already know what I am going to say.

After almost 25 years away from school and at the age of 42....I am going back to get a degree and hope to graduate by 2028 with an associate's degree in Design and Media Studies.

I have never gone to college in any form so all of this will be new to me.

The easiest comparison is to Billy Madison or Rodney Dangerfield in Back To School. That's how I feel. I will be online and go, "hey kids" with my hat on backwards, holding a skateboard wearing the "cool clothes".

*takes a sip with a cane nearby, well not really, it's a pencil*

All courses I will be taking will be online and there will be a lot for me to figure out as an "old man".

I will certainly be an underdog in this situation overall between health problems and figuring out my direction.

I could be Kurt Warner level underdog with everything against me.

2001 Pacific Crown Royale Cramers Choice Jumbo Award Game Used Relic

But this latest mail day, featuring Kurt Warner, reminds me that no matter the odds against you, the underdogs can come out on top.

Kurt Warner's personal story of triumph is something I should follow. He had the odds against him, but yet, he triumphed his way to the top being led by faith. If you don't know Kurt's story from grocery store employee to Super Bowl MVP, go Google it. It's a worthy read.

*takes a sip before finishing up today's post*

As you read this you may also be asking, why go back to school now. Well, I want to be the first in my family to graduate college or even go and I want to prove I can overcome my underdog story.

What this also means is that this could be my last post for a while which is why I have been absent. I need to finish signing up for classes, getting that article done and classes begin for me on September 2nd.

Hopefully I will find time to post in-between classes but life, classes and coaching 3rd-4th girls' basketball this fall/winter comes first. Then posting blog articles. I am also deep into a HUGE sorting and purging project in my collection. More details on that in my next post...whenever that may be.

Also, before I officially close out today's post, I need to thank Johnny's Trading Spot for a recent mail day. They post will be coming up next as well. Once again, there will be a delay, but I hope to hit Johnny back with a mail day of his own before that happens.

*takes a final sip for a while*

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

How'd I Do?

I have been right out straight the last month or so.

Graduations, appointments, and family visiting from all over has kept me schedule crazy.

Recently though, I have been setting some time aside for blogging. Even though I have other stuff such as actual card work to be done in my little spare time right now.

But I am doing this for you guys :)

So, you better have your coffee and you better be readin'!

*takes a sip from a freshly brewed cup*

One of my recent visits came from my parents. I have already mentioned on here many times how my father still collects and we do trades/exchanges.

By now, I assume you know what this is leading up to.

Which was our latest exchange. My father was looking for some cards to sell at our version of a Goodwill, we don't actually have one of those here but a consignment kind of store, so I offered up four deep boxes similar to the one above of all of my duplicates.

In exchange, I got the following.

An old antique looking cat tin. 

This had the cards in it.

A bent-up Griffey card. Fortunately, I already had this one.

The 90's Jags were my second favorite team to watch. McCardell along with Brunell, were two of my favorites.

TJ Watt!

Not sure if this guy is any good, but I don't turn down rookie Prizm parallels.

Chrome blue parallel Williams.

Lisa Leslie die-cut.

This guy made a big impact last year.

My first look at 2024 Select football.

This was a pleasant surprise. I think this would fit well with Johnny's Trading Spots shadow card showoffs.

Clark!

Kickers are people too!

Shiny!

Shiny again!

Another Clark!

Not sure how this guy played last year, but I really like the design. Need a Nabers like this.

And finally, everyone's least liked WNBA player Reese. She is still a great player, just doesn't get the hype that Clark does. I think that gets to her.

I think I fared well. I didn't need a ton in return, just a few things especially since most of what I sent was regular base.

 

After going through those, to my surprise my mother had brought me cards as well. Not sure where she got a Ziplock full of WNBA cards, but I will take 'em.

Here were a few of the highlights,

(my first favorite WNBA player growing up who played for the Liberty)

Not a lot of named stuff in this group, but some. I will mainly save these for my girls' basketball team I will coach in the fall/winter.

Then there was one more surprise for me she picked up,

Sweet! Haven't opened any of this yet in 2024.

You all will have to come back for a Coffee Break to see how the pack went.

*takes an informal coffee break sip now, starts to feel hungry and needs something to go with the brew*

Cards weren't the only thing fun with my parents visit. We had a BBQ, watched some TV and I played Around The World against my father which I lost badly because of a recent shoulder injury. More on that another day.

Let me know in comments what you think was the best card I acquired in my exchange. 

In the meantime, keep sippin' and coming back for more here on Cards Over Coffee.

*bites donut that was found, takes final sip for post*

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.

The Three Blog Mailings

With so much to catch up on, I have been using nighttime to get some blogging done and trying to keep pace with what I have to get posted. The only problem with this is that I am using the little bit of free time I have to do this. Which means blogging is taking place of sorting cards or playing a game of Madden.

As I get caught up, I will have to find a better balance so I can enjoy all three downtime things.

But here I am until then.

When I took a couple months off in the fall, which by the way was a nice refresher, I struggled with getting mail days which led to no content to post about and led to thoughts of retirement from blogging. 

Things started to change in December as my mailbox found quite a few mainly from bloggers, former bloggers and possible future bloggers. 

Like Crocodile Sports Cards who I won a football prize pack from his contest. 

The box was loaded with vintage (like actual vintage in the 70's, 90's is not vintage), 90's, and even cards from today. A mix of teams, players, rookies and a few stars.

Some examples to follow,

(absolutely adore this card)

Thanks Croc!

Then there was a very generous mail day from The Diamond King that arrived pretty fast despite how slow the mail was around the holidays,

A Trout for my player PC

Shiny!

Then came the eye candy of an Shohei Ohtani rookie! Pretty stoked to add this one.

Thanks DK!

And finally, Johnny's Trading Spot saw my comment on one of his recent posts

 

About this Keenan McCardell and how I didn't have it for my set chase. Guess what, the always generous guy sent it my way. Now I can cross this one off! With this addition, I now have 36 of the 120 or so autographs. I am not sure I will ever be able to tackle the big boys but would be fun to try and get close. Here is my list of needs if you are curious or have some help for me:1995 Pro Line Autographs

Thanks as always Johnny!

This is just the beginning of the fun mail days I have to share.

Hope everyone has a fantastic Friday! I have basketball practice tonight to prep for our first game tomorrow so I know I will have a great one...and busy one.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Don't forget you can start to nominate cards for the 2025 Coffee Card Hall Of Fame!! Cards don't have to be autographs, patch cards, super star cards. It can be whatever you think is Hall Worthy! Find details and current nominations HERE.