Ellama1

Hello! I believe I am all caught up on things that are due. Please let me know if I am mistaken - I will gladly rectify. I'm going to be slowing down on swapping for a while...got a bunch of upcoming things to do and lots of money that needs to be spent, so until that all evens out, I will be at a minimum. Still, if you have an idea, run it by me and I'll see if I have the time and cash-ola!

I normally rate the same day I get my goooods. That's 99% of the time. Then there are those night where I am captured by a monster and made to lay down with her and my brain gives up and falls asleep. So, no ratings those nights! If I haven't rated you, please pm me. The other teeeeeny tiny possibility is I got lost on my dashboard and missed something! :O)

If you're going to be late for whatever reason, let me know. I appreciate honesty a lot and my lenience will follow. I'd rather you be late because something important came up or heck something not so important, than you mark sent and then nothing. Or just leave it hanging which can be annoying. :O)

I won't be mad or write horrible things in the forums about you! And if you ever have to choose between finishing the stuff for my swap and feeding your kids/pets, or getting some sleep or some other crucial part of living - please, I can wait! lol

Also....Hope you don't mind -

I use:

• 100% cotton
• fleece
• felt (WOOL felt included)
• good condition vintage linens - quilts too - you guessed it - thrifted!
• ribbons & trims (ooo, that embroidered stuff!)
• buttons
• Eyelet trim
• Elastic The list really could go on and on, but why? :o) And I stopped typing thrifted because there were too many more! I am happy with thrifted items as long as they are not unusable and/or nasty!

I like science, history, languages (ohhh!), most everything has it's winners. Not into romance novels...Sorry Reginald, bare to the waist and Lady Victorianna, breathless with anticipation (yikes). Recent reads: Pope Joan, Jewel, A Dirty Job (by the oh-so-funny Christopher Moore), A Year in Provence, Empress, A Series of Unfortunate Events #7, The Secret Life of Bees, The Mermaid Chair, Diaper-Free Baby, The Little Book of Venom, Baby Stuff, Crazy Quilting, African-American Quilts, California Landscape Garden, Crazy Like a Fox, Clip-Clop, Ella Sets Sail, The Book of Animal Ignorance, Dear Fish, Mommy's Best Kisses, No More Diapers for Ducky, Too BIg for Diapers, The Monster at the End of this Book, Daddy Hugs, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Peter Rabbit Peekaboo, Who Lives in the Rainforest, Cutie Pie, The Birth of Venus, Polar Bear ,Polar Bear What Do You Hear?, Cute Stuff, The Gilded Chair, Little Beauties, The Birth of Venus, Duck Says Quack!, I am a Mantee, The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, Piglet is Entirely Surrounded By Water, The Constant Princess, Dream Catchers (how to make them - wow!!), The Ultimate Sewing Book, Vogue Sewing, Itsy Bitsy the Smart Spider, Who am I?, Spiderman, Little Beauties, Toujours Provence, (Eyes, Nose, Fingers and Toes)

I like funny, witty, often too ascerbic...of course there has to be a measure of manners, although it is refreshing and astounding to occasionally see someone "show their "A"". I am drawn to the unusual, quirky and weird. If something fits that description, my eye and person are immediately pulled to the one bizarre item in view...either in the grocery store, antique shop, thrift store, the park. Anywhere. I can't say I have to have whatever thing it is, but I tell ya- I enjoy finding the strange. I have recently been in love with old-fashioned/vintage items. I love woodcrafts, vintage/heirloom quality usually makes my heart a-flutter. I have piles and piles of fabric, as well as more ribbon than I can use in a reasonable amount of time still I'd welcome more. We also love buttons in this house. My husband is into little shield-like metal buttons, so we are always on the look out for that type. I just like the unusual and ones that have great practical use...like eyes or accents on plushies/soft toys. We're also a Star Wars family. All the kids in the extended family as well are Star Wars obsessors. We have some babies in our family and I love handmade items for them. My long of "want to do" crafts is mostly items for children. I will get to you, you list!!!! The kids are as follows: Girls: 14, 10, 7, 3, 4 months. Boys: 10, 7, 4, 3. (These are not all mine! :O) ) I like to garden and can't wait to get a little fruit/veg patch going, as well as companion plants to help them grow and ward off pests. I want a chemical free garden that I can nourish family and friends through and get a whole heck of a lot of enjoyment from. My favorite color is grey, which I have been told is not a color...so maybe I have a favorite non-color. Adding that, of course, I love almost all the other colors, except horribly pukey greens, sickly pastels and awful awful awful red-violet (you know that crayon, right??). I love animals, live and as motifs. Some of the current faves are (some are kid-inspired): Pandas, Armadillos, Pigs (piggeees!), Horses, Cows, Elephants (emp!) Moose, Deer (oh, and fawns), Turtles (turty), Hippos (opens mouth wide!), Dolphins, Whales, Birds, Walruses (Awlruh), Ducks, Hedgehogs. Platypus, the requisite dog and cat, Rats, Dragons, "Nemo (memo) and Dory (dor!)", Dinosaurs, Owls, Kinkajous, Kangaroos (hop hop), and the (as my husband calls it) "cutest animal on the planet" - the wombat....all wombats are called "Herbie Wombat" by him. And he makes them do this little snort, then some indescribable adorable noise. Did my vows include keeping him even if he's being so disgustingly cute? I gotta think back........ My big kid alternates between pretending to be a dog and a kangaroo. Complete with the hopping or licking...hooray for wet "dog" kisses.

We are a no-cable-house. If we have access to it, we have no self-control. That doesn't stop us from buying (and renting) seasons of Lost, 24, Dead Like Me, Deadwood, Sopranos, Arrested Development, etc. We totally watch tv, just not in the regular sense. My faves are: Firefly, Invader Zim, Arrested Development (watch this! hilarity and absurdity with fantastic writing!), Deadwood (fantastic Shakespeareanesque (look at my new word!) writing, though the coarse language was hard to get used to), Dead Like Me, Alias, Dark Angel, Voyager, Taken, The Thorn Birds, Shogun, Lonesome Dove, Centennial, The 4400, Good Times. Secretly I like all the singing and dancing shows (I love seeing people being able to express their talent and just enjoying it - even if they aren't spectac). And let's face it, you can't help but love the ones who are terrible at it too. Though some should really reevaluate why they are doing it and possibly find an activity better suited to their particular talents), and the Home and Garden channels too!

I am a happily married mama of a busy busy toddler. I love being outdoors. I enjoy animals (sometimes for dinner -EGAD!). I like trying new things.

I don't like:

• Hollandaise sauce
• Veal
• Easter pastels
• turtlenecks
• cruelty to animals
• spilling food on my white shirt
• kids spilling food on my white shirt
• ANTS
• Cordyceps fungus
• fou-foura
• fretting
• white-Minnnie-Mouse shoes
• caffeine (besides Dr. Pepper!!)
• that country look that consists of the yukk combination of powder blue and dusty rose (bleeeeeuch)
• meanness for its own sake
• those bubble-eyed goldfish and whoever decided doing that was a good idea
• capers
• Banana or watermelon flavored items

I love:

• A good laugh
• Historical fiction
• Ellen Degeneres
• Chamomile, Fruity & Rooibos Teas
• Beautiful, weird or interesting ribbon, buttons, and oh oh oh fabric
• Asian themed items
• Reusuable shopping bags
• A nice kitchen towel, even knitted or crocheted!
• Mychelle products
• Handcrafted items
• Embroidered Goods
• Sweaters
• Stickers (even letters) & Stamps
• Comfy, fun shoes
• Wool
• Office Supplies
• Scarves - esp silk for play
• Good home cooked food
• Organic/Natural products
• Science/Archaeology books
• Space/Science Fiction
• Horror movies
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Skeletons/Skulls
• Travel and related paraphenalia
• Horseback Riding
• "Muddin"
• Photographs
• Wooden toys
• Robeez (I love not to lose shoes!)
• My stork scissors
• Scandinavian motifs
• Sciency outline pictures - like x-rays or silhouettes
• Alphonse Mucha (sigh)
• Learning of any kind
• Linguistics
• Sanrio is cute
• Halloween!
• Americana (not the overly complicated country versions...simple like)
• Any kind of nesting dolls...matryoska, I think
• Outdoor activities (casual type stuff - playing, hiking, nature exploration, etc)
• Cooking
• Baking
• Cozy spot to read
• Animals
• Sign language
• EC
• Thrift Stores, Consignment Sales - treasure hunts are for us!!!
• Glass bottles/jars ( love the ones with designs :O))
• Sweetgrass baskets
• Crib Quilts
• Old corningware/ pyrex bowls (good repair also - faded ok)
• !!!!!Sesame Street!!!!
• Quilts
• Vintage linens
• Alan Rickman
• Okapis
• Daniel Craig
• Milla Jovovich
• Postcards
• Black Cherry Cool Cups
• Cupcakes and ice cream cones (with ice cream!)
• Musicals (NOT Westside Story. Sorry - hate it!)
• Grits (NEVER with sugar!)

Music: - Norah Jones - Mary Chapin Carpenter - Motown - Garden State Soundtrack, esp In the Waiting Line - Tori Amos - Moulin Rouge Soundtrack - Madeleine Peyroux - George Strait - Anita Cochran - Everly Brothers - Show Tunes - Harry Connick Jr - Elvis - Boyz2Men - Steve Miller Band - Outkast - k-os, Superstar pt 2 - Bill Withers - Otis Redding - Marvin and Tammy - Kelly Clarkson - Johnny Cash - Queen - Songs with the word "California" in them. I don't know why. - Tim McGraw - Dirty Dancing Soundtrack (I'll admit it. :O() - Pictures at an Exhibition - Sing Sing Sing! - Tennessee Waltz - Farmer Hoggett - Forrest Gump Soundtrack - Black Eyed Peas - Dave Matthews Band - Aerosmith -Tom Petty

Movies: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Pride and Predjudice - Star Wars' - Harry Potters - Lord of the Rings Trilogy - The Money Pit - Shaun of the Dead - Amelie - Priceless - L'Auberge Espagnol - Murphy's Romance - Elizabeth - The 13th Warrior - Turtles Can Fly - Hot Fuzz - Napoleon Dynamite - My Life Without Me - Gone With the Wind - The Sound of Music - Mary Poppins - Oklahoma - Disney Movies (NOT Home on the Range!!) - Barefoot in the Park - Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - Alien collection - Star Treks - Sliding Doors - Love Actually - All My Babies - Under the Tuscan Sun - Serenity - Underworld - The Nightmare Before Christmas - The Lady in White - Willow - Sweet Home Alabama - Steel Magnolias - A Walk to Remember - The Great Outdoors - Spaceballs - The Golden Compass - Boys on the Side - Ever After - Moulin Rouge - Dr Zhivago - Gone With the Wind - Billy Elliot - The Ten Commandments - Quo Vadis - The Glass Slipper - Party Monster - Saved - The Fifth Element - The Hours - The Secret Life of Bees - My Fair Lady - He's Just Not That Into You

On a quest for: ~ FELT FOOD!!!! ~Issues of Threads magazine ~Sesame Street items: Vintage linens (sheets, curtains, tablecloths) to repurpose, so if they're ripped or worn in some places, we don't mind! ~Vintage Sesame Street toys, not plush. Mostly those little ones like the Little People and the playsets and accessories they go with (think early 80's) ~Handmade Sesame Street items - wooo! ~Lilo & Stitch fabric/linens ~Sesame Street anything except plush ~Fabric with pink whales on it ~Panda or pig fabrics ~Vintage Star Wars linens ~Remnants or pieces of kimonos, not the faux, costumey stuff ~Armadillo fabric

So...here's my not-so-great list that seems very small and narrow. So, please feel free to keep an open mind about my open mind and not my closed list when choosing what to send!

There are very few things I do not like. One of the top things I do like it is: A cigarette smoke infested item....I'm talking about so imbued that the smell cannot be removed or if it is, it takes too much effort to be worth it. Also, no naked-y stuff. Not interested really. No gelatin, fake sweeteners, hollandaise recipes, styrofoam, dirty items, markers that have a stinky smell, any edible forest creatures or pate. :O) So, no stinky pate markers made from deer and rabbits, especially!

Things we do as an attempt to live more sustainably (is that a word?) and responsibly: - Steel reusable drink bottles - Recycling at every opportunity (Thankfully our county accepts most everything!) - bumGenius diapers to suuplement disposibles - Donating unwanted items rather than chucking them in the trash - Repurpose items that have outlived their current use - Eco-friendly cleaners (most all really do work and lack that harsh chemically smell - yuuucko) - Tap filter for our water - no more buying cases of water bottles - Powdered laundry and dishwashing detergent - weighs less and lasts longer than liquid - Pack lunches and snacks whenever possible - Shop the warehouse store (Great deals/less packaging) - Support of and planning a native plant garden for wildlife - Natural pest control - Thirft shops (recycle!) - Driving the Hybrid when possible - Using reuable shopping bags when I remember to bring them in, otherwise being sure to turn in plastic bags and reusing paper ones for toting items or as wrapping paper for packages - Buying organic when possible, as pesticides hurt animals, birds and our water, oh yeah... our babies! - Shopping the local farmer's market - Shopping for items made using sustainable resources (Check for the FSC and Interface, Inc!) - More to come...

Mystery Vintage Item by IZLA - angel by FOOF4E

Favorite Color Swap by cassiecards -