Becoming Overwhelmed

*sits down with a stack of cards. a slice of apple cake and coffee tag along and it's time for some cards over coffee*

The past few weeks the hobby has felt like more of a job, than a passion.

I have an overwhelming amount of sorting projects I need to complete. I have people wanting to trade. I have a couple of retail items to open. I have a card room to clean up. I have blogging to do. I just haven't felt like doing any of it.

ANY OF IT.

It feels like that "honey-to-do" list or when you were a kid and your parents gave you a list of chores to complete more than stuff I really want to do.

So, I have been dragging. I am behind on posts, haven't cleaned up my card room (hopefully I won't be punished and sent there), taking forever to dig out trade bait and mail it, etc, etc, etc.

I know, at least I hope, this will end at some point. Just got to get over the hump.

*takes a sip before moving onto the cards in this post*

One thing that might help lift some of this feeling is maybe getting myself to actually complete some of this stuff. Which is why I am trying to catch up on some blogging this week. Just may need some extra coffee to help motivate that.

To continue my third day in a row of blogging, let's show off my latest trade mail day with reader Oren.

*takes a sip*

If you have been a long-time reader, you know I don't collect or show off many hockey cards on this blog. But, Oren has been trying to slowly hook me in by sending me shiny inserts like this MVP Domains Kevin Fiala.

And these Pinpoints of Crosby and Marchano. 

They are very eye pleasing, just not sure enough to get me into hockey collecting.

The shiny didn't end there, this Sean Casey is stunning. Almost 3D look to it.

Then came two new Lamars for the side PC.

A V2 insert which when the card is tipped in different directions shows the player featured moving. Like Sportflix, but more advanced. I am not sure why we don't use this technology today. Their loss I guess. This is probably why I am chasing sets like this one which the Bledsoe is new to it by the way.

Curtis Martin Behind The Numbers relic. I like the die cut number with jersey as it's better than a plain square swatch. This was back in the days when these were game used by the players. Now they are just jerseys off the Fanatics shelves.

I don't collect Diaz or the Brewers, but Dufex I do. Also, the photo is also amazing.

Two 90's basketball cards. This is another sport I don't post a lot about, but when they are from the 90's, I will definitely post them. Especially when they are the Wave Of The Future.

And the final card from this mail day, is a Wander Franco rookie from Topps International Trading Card Day.

This one had a little mix of everything.

Thanks again to Oren for our latest trade! I am looking forward to the next.

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

I know I am not the only one feeling like this. I see others post about it at least on Twitter. I am sure I am not the only blogger like this either.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the hobby? let me know in comments!

Have a happy Wednesday!

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Trying It Out

*hears a noise, gets up from computer and sees that the cat had knocked stuff off a shelf. stops to think about picking it up now, but decides to come back down to laptop and coffee, because it's time for some Cards Over Coffee*

Today, kicks off the first post with my lightbox photos. I know these photos won't be perfect as I continue to figure out how to use it, but I think they are drastically improved from what they were. Glad I am trying it out.

*hears another noise, cat must be getting into something else or tearing apart the stuff they already knocked over. gets up, takes care of the mess, then comes back to sit to continue on with the latest #CardsOverCoffee post*

Another thing I was glad I tried out was trading with blog reader Oren. He has been my most consistent trader of 2021 as I have shown off a multitude of trades on here from him.

This is my most recent one that included cards from most PC areas,

NY Giants. The lightbox really shows off the shine on the Slayton card.

Fleer Metal universe! I can never get enough of it!

90's inserts. I have never seen these up close before.

Side Player PC in Curtis Martin. I still desperately need the Ground Zero parallel of his 1995 Summit rookie card.

Sets. This is only the third or maybe fourth towards my set chase of these 1995 Topps Boosters. Such beautiful cards and now they can be captured better on here with the help of the Lightbox.

90's Relics. Today's relics have no comparison to these.

And finally, a Lamar Jackson Score rookie card. What a game he had on Monday night against the Colts! He is fun to watch!

Thanks again to Oren for another fun trade, I know we just finished another yesterday so I will be showing those off on here soon as well.

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

I think the lightbox worked out well today even though I may need more practice with how I take and set up the photos. Otherwise, I am very pleased.

Thoughts on my mail day or the lightbox pictures are welcomed in comments below.

Have a great rest of your Friday and thanks for reading! Please add this to your blogroll or share the posts when you can. Thank you in advance.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Friends With Cards

*takes a lunchtime sip. Sips of coffee are good any time of the day. I have my latest round of cards from Cards Over Coffee reader Oren right next to me and I am ready to get the latest post up*

Little pieces of cardboard with pictures on it can be more than just that if you think about it deeper. They can symbolize joy, a hobby and even friendships.

  

I enjoy all three of those aspects and more within my little pieces of cardboard. The hobby has a lot of meanings to me, some deeper than others. But, one thing is for sure, I have enjoyed all of the friendships I have built because of the hobby especially since all of my "close friends" are no really so close.

One of those friendships I built was through email. This was a first one for me in my ten years of being apart of the online hobby community. Usually my email is the last place, besides Facebook, I try to start up any form of trading or interaction. I have gotten some funky requests over the years in my email that I usually don't respond to, but for some reason I felt good about the one Oren sent me and gambled. I am glad I did.

Not only have I acquired some excellent cards in our trades, but we have also created a solid friendship.

Speaking of our outstanding trades, we just made another and once again, it didn't disappoint.

*takes a sip of a dunkin' hot mocha that my wife just set down next to me, time to show off the goods from this trade*

There was a great mix of cards in this trade,

Alec Ogletree Purple Power /49

Mario Manningham Certified Potential

Lamar Jackson Thunder & Lightning (love the parallels in these)

Amani Toomer Stadium Club rookie (this is a picture of him as a kick returner which is how he got his foot going in NY)

 

Hakeem Nicks Bowman Chrome Rookie Refractor /99

Mark Brunell (side PC player) game worn relic from Gridiron Gear

Jerrel Jernigan Topps Precision red inked auto

I have always wanted one of these, 2001 Topps Super Bowl Bunting swatch. This fits perfect in my unique relic PC, this one just makes me sad. Super Bowl 35 was an embarrassment for the Giants I prefer not to go any deeper into. At least the relic is cool.

Believe it or not, this autograph had me hooked. Imagine how popular I would have been in 1998 carrying around this bad boy. I have been wanting autographs of guys like this and landed a Tim Couch auto not too long ago. I can finally cross Leaf off my Top 100 wants.

By the way, Ryan Leaf may have never turned his career around, he at least turned around his life after a rough stretch.

The final in this trade, but not really final card as I will get to that in a minute, is Vance McDonald Happy Holidays Santa Hat swatch for my Christmas PC.

*takes final sip of the Dunkin' coffee before finishing up today's post*

I did receive three other cards in this trade before I came on vacation, but didn't have time to upload them. I will include those in my next mail day posting from Oren which I know will be sooner rather than later.

So thanks again to Oren for the trade and I am looking forward to the next.

*takes a look around for something to eat, need to finish this up so I can grab something*

The hobby has provided me with an outlet in life when times get tough, just look at 2020 for example. Last year I started some new sorting projects, moved my card room around, traded away stuff I never wanted to and started to build sets again. It was a nice distraction which also helped me make some new friends through trading last year as well. The hobby has always been there for me and I have always been there for it and supporting others when I feel they need a pick-me-up. Who needs a stress relief ball when you have a piece of cardboard with someone's face on it to make connections..

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

So Glad I Didn't Pay This Part 1

*takes a sip of morning coffee, it hits the spot on this very cold bitter day.*

Panini Prizm. One of the most popular products, at least for football and basketball, out there. 

It's a product I enjoy to rip every year to land some of the top rookies and NY Giants cards for my collection. This year in the hobby as we all know, has been a different. The days of walking into a retail outlet like Walmart to find a pack, blaster or hanger of cards just isn't there. So top that off with the most popular product of Prizm, the odds of finding any in a store are the same odds as winning Powerball or a years supply of coffee.

So instead of wasting time texting my father to stalk Walmart or putting myself in Covid's way by going there, I went searching for ways to trade for some via the internet.

It didn't actually take me very long before I found an online card shop that had some Prizm they were willing to trade and we made a deal. What I didn't know, was that what I traded for came marked for what they were going to sell them for in the shop.

My mind was blown. (insert the Will Ferrell GIF)

*takes another sip of coffee. Looks outside his kitchen window at the wind blowing and waits to see a witch on a broom circulating in the gusts. Nothing yet. Probably even too cold out there for a witch*

Today I will be showing off one of the breaks while following up with the other tomorrow. 

I just had to show you what I got from this "expensive break".

*takes a sip, begins to rip*

(before I do a small breakdown, take note of the price. Yeah, $60 for a hanger box! Insane!!)

Every hanger box of 2020 Panini Prizm football comes with one pack of 20 cards. If you go by the $60 price tag, that means every card in this box should be valued at $3. Normally, I believe the hangers would go for $12-$15. Each hanger comes with 4 exclusive Red Ice Prizms.

*opens box, takes a sip*

I pulled the pack out and on top is Blake Jarwin. That's gotta be a #hobbyfail start right?

The second card is this Julio Jones. This years base card design is similar to years pasts which is fine for a product like this. Also ignore the green reflection on the card, the room I took the picture in has brightly colored walls. This is just a base card.

The next base card was the last best base card I found. This one was of Jets/Patriots great Curtis Martin.

Overall, there are 400 base cards in the set broken up with 300 being base and 100 being rookies.

Speaking of rookies, ONE. ONE ROOKIE IN THIS PACK. Rookie cards are what this product depends on and it appears Panini made it extra tough this year to find them. Cam Akers wasn't too bad of a find though after his big game last week.

*takes a sip/gulp before looking at the parallels*

The first parallel card I found in this break was a Green Prizm of Xavien Howard.

Then came the Red Ice Prizm parallels.

Mercole Hardman Jr. These are eye pleasing.

Joe Mixon

Kirk Cousins

Oh, rookie parallel. James Proche. Almost Joe Burrow...same division at least.

And there was also one insert to find,

Go Hard Or Go Home is a new insert line in Prizm this year. Can't go wrong with a Lamar Jackson find. There are 10 of these to find in the set.

*enjoys the rip just as a rip*

I think it's plain to see not every card in this break was valued at $3. The "money hit" was most likely the Cam Akers rookie card but even that really isn't something to brag about. It will however make my first rookie card of him so it's a nice collection piece regardless.

Tomorrow I will be showing off a blaster box and the results from that. Will that one hit home or will it crumble? Grab a cup of coffee and come back tomorrow to see.

Speaking of grabbing a cup of coffee and crumble, my stomach tells me it's time for breakfast and another hot cup.

Hangin' With Donruss

*takes a sip of coffee on this brisk 38 degree morning. Yesterday's highs got into the 50's and today will be about that as well. Another sip to keep warm and realizing that the season is changing fast is needed*

It's game day Sunday for the Giants. This used to be a time of excitement for me but as this season has progressed the Giants have looked worse by the week and today face the LA Rams who have played well thus far. If the Giants can keep it within 10 points I would call that a win especially after losing last week by 20 to a practice squad 49er team.

Enough with the sadness, we get enough of that this year already, I am just glad I actually get to watch football.

Yesterday marked my year end BBQ where I use the grill for the last time before the weather gets any colder. It will be put away today for next year as it would be hard to grill on my deck full of snow.

With it being game day, I thought it would be fun to show off my break of 2020 Donruss football.

My father was able to grab two hangers for me and two for himself before it sold out. My first blaster, which I opened was embarrassingly bad so I won't show that. However, the one I gave my wife to open was pretty solid so we will do that one. Not that I mind showing off bad breaks, but I think today I want to focus on the positive.

*takes a sip, begins to rip*

Every Hanger Box of 2020 Donruss football comes with 50 cards. Each box also promises 4 Press Proof parallels and shots at autographs and relics.

The Donruss base card design has kinda stayed par for Donruss for some time now. Nothing new about it.

Other than players in new places. It is weird seeing Rivers in a Colts uni.

The base set has 350 cards with 50 rookie base and 50 Rated Rookies as well. I didn't find any Rated Rookies in my pack and the best rookie I found was the Giants first round pick offensive lineman.

Up next we find the 4 promised Press Proof parallels which are red.

 

Can't complain about any of these guys with Watson and Kelly leading the way.

 

Other parallels include, Aqueous Test, Season Stat Line /500, and Jersey Number /99

 

Press Proof Parallels Of Red, Silver /100, Silver Die-Cut /75, Gold /50, Gold Die-Cut /25, Black /10, and Black Die-Cut 1/1.

 

*takes a sip*

 

For me though, it's not about the base or the parallels or even the hits, I come to Donruss for the inserts/nostalgia and their shiny appeal.

 

Nostalgia Factor kicks it off here with the Donruss 90 design. I think this would have made a better base card design. Panini should had chosen a different Donruss design from the 90's to use for their base designs instead of using them for inserts.

 

40 cards with this design is what you would be chasing. I won't be as they left off the Giants from the checklist for it. How could you not at least make a Saquon one?!

Gridiron Kings with one of the NFL's best young players. There are 15 of these to collect.

I found it interesting that Panini added a Optic preview set to this. It feels un-needed but I always do enjoy a chromed card find. This one is a blue /99 parallel. Not the greatest player to pull but hey, it's still a rookie QB. Other parallels of these to find are Holo, Pink, Red & Green, Red #/99, Gold #/10.

 

There are 100 of these to chase with Rated Rookies and rookies included.

 

How can you have Donruss without Elite Series? YOU CAN'T!! There are 60 of them to collect split by rookies and veterans.

 

 Best card of the pack found here!

And second best card.

Not that Nick Chubb is that shabby either.

24 Highlights to collect

17 cards in the Retro Series to collect. This has a 90s appeal.

42 of The Rookies to Chase

Dominators another Donruss fan favorite is still in here with 40 cards to chase

And to finish my break off, what appears to be a 80s looking insert ends it with Action All Pros. There are 18 cards to collect.

 

*takes a sip before closing up this post. Honestly, that's a lie. I just finished up this cup and am brewing a second one. I have to use the Keurig today because this guy forgot again to grab a can of coffee from the grocery store the other day thinking that he already had one at home. You should never ever do that*

Donruss once again was an entertaining break. It gave me all the feels with the nostalgia and the shiny goodness. I do wished I could have pulled some better rookies-at least I got that Burrow insert-or some more PC cards, but I will take what I get and can always search for the other stuff another time. It's all apart of the hobby fun.