BlueBelle

Please contact me BEFORE you give me a low rating!!! I am COMMITTED to making my partners happy, and I want a chance to prove it to you!!!! I recently received a 3 rating with no communication or notice from my partner - a newbie who had completed only a handful of swaps at the time. I tried my best to make her happy. She didn't want me to resend, and said she would not change my rating no matter what I did. I'm not sure she understood Sender's Choice. My coordinator said that I'd done the best I could to communicate with my partner and make up this swap, and she then suggested I should include this explanation on my profile. I hope my future coordinators and partners understand. Please look through my ratings below and read what my partners have said. I'm a solid Swapper with 3+ years on Swap-Bot. Please don't leave me out! Thank you!!

My life I have a wonderful life, and I love it! It's not my intention to make anyone sick from reading this ultra-sappy, sickly sweet, wonderfully perfect and delightful post, but if you have a queasy stomach, you might want to skip to the next part! I don't believe this wonderful life was randomly dropped into my lap. It wasn't. I've worked hard to cultivate this happiness. I know how I got myself here, and I will NOT go back to the dark places I lived in before. I fully believe that your life is what you make of it, or what you believe it is. Gratitude is Essential!! And happiness is a choice.

I have been married to my DH (Dear Husband) since Sept. 2002. He's a wonderful, strong, and faithful man. He's saved my life twice, bringing me back from those dark places I mentioned before. The second time, he pulled me out and helped me find help and healing. I don't ever want to let this man down or have him question how much I love him. One of my favorite parts of our marriage began a few weeks before we actually got married. During our pre-marriage counseling, we took one of those personality/ relationship quizzes - the ones that show whether you are compatible in different areas like money, family, conflict resolution. Well, we scored 100% on Recreation. We recreate really well together. I guess that means that we're often on the same wavelength and have the same energy level. I love sitting back on the couch with him, relaxing and joking. Now - I really mean recreate, like the word recreation, not a code word for you-know-what! You know: hanging out, doing fun stuff we both love, hangin' with the kiddos, enjoying being together, or even just having an interesting discussion. Really. No hanky panky meant here. At least, I wouldn't talk about it on Swap-Bot!

I have two absolutely beautiful, caring, witty, and intelligent children. I really like them a lot as people. My son is 17 and a Senior in High School (when did I get this old?!) He is so kind, selfless, and humble. He has the sweetest heart. But he's not a pushover! This kid knows who he is and doesn't get sidetracked by peers or marketing or whatever. (So much more than could have been said about me at that age.) He enjoys being himself and pursues interests that, while they might be quirky, are completely true to his person. E.g., he's part of the Cheer Boys at school, which is a squad of male cheerleaders who perform at the girls' Powder Puff Football games. I haven't seen them perform yet, but I can't wait! I have no idea what to expect! I was not excited when my "little boy" started driving, but it's been awesome having another driver in the house. His little sister LOVES having him pick her up and looks so proud when they go cruisin'. Yes - he got a car as soon as he got his license. Yes - he was 16. But the darn thing is 13 years old, has nearly 250,000 miles, and was free! He's still cool with running errands for me, and I told him that if I ever ask him to run an errand he doesn't want to do, he should repeat to himself, "$1,400," and then say, "Of course, Mom!" Yep. Our car insurance went up $1,400 every six months because he started driving.

And my daughter, almost 11 and in 5th grade, brings so much light and joy into my life. She earned her black belt in karate last summer; which she takes with her dad. Dad's actually a few belts behind her because she's been in martial arts since she was 4, and he's trying to catch up. I am SO proud of her! She really matured over the summer, and suddenly, she's not a little kid anymore. I see a young woman sitting in the same place my little girl was sitting in just weeks ago! I love to laugh with her and to simply spend time together doing Girl-Stuff. We love to do Girl-Stuff (which could mean anything under the sun!) because it means we will be spending time just her and I, totally focused on being happy together. However - she is a child who requires a lot of patience and steadfastness from her parents. If you ever wonder what kind of kid requires a parent to be patient and steadfast, read about the Highly Spirited Child. Really. Look it up.

Recent developments - It took a long time for me to become an aunt, but it was really worth the wait!! In the last 4 years, I've welcomed 7 nieces and nephews! Most of the kiddos belong to my brother and his wife. She's had three pregnancies. The first required drugs and was a singleton - a girl. The second pregnancy required drugs and was a set of twin boys. The third was a natural surprise! Two more! My twin nieces were born in the middle of August. If you've lost count, that's 5 kids, aged 3 and younger - until my 1st niece turns 4 in October. Wow! Somewhere in the middle of all this, my husband's sister had a set of twin girls. Twins run in the family on that side. Her dad (my FIL) is a twin. Niece and nephew explosion! It's Awesome! I love that we live close enough to see them pretty often. Now that most of them can walk, holidays and family get-togethers are a riot!

Audiobooks, audiobooks, audiobooks! I'm ALWAYS listening to an audiobook!! I'm a member of Audible, and I check out a ton of books for free via my library's online service called Overdrive. As far as traditional books go - I loved The Help, Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and Sandman stuff (although it's been years since I read anything Sandman), the poetry of Pablo Neruda, Walt Whitman's Blades of Grass, Clan of the Cave Bear, Valley of Horses, and the Mammoth People (the rest of this series just wasn't as good as the first three), People of the Earth, People of the Fire, People of the River, and more of The First North Americans series, hardcover books with good bindings that can be altered, and craft books with fabulous pictures.

I'm totally into Ralph Fiennes, Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, and Gary Oldman. My husband knows he could lose me to any of these, but he's OK with it because my chances are pretty darn slim.

One of my very favorite movies is the Royal Albert Hall's 25th Anniversary production of The Phantom of the Opera. Holy smokes. It leaves me speechless every time. The whole production was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. And the actors who played The Phantom and Christine did so as passionately and as artistically as I have ever seen. Ever. Anywhere. I'm in love with The Phantom (whose real name is Erik, which I just found out). I would just die to melt into that movie.

I also like Wreck-It Ralph, O Brother Where Art Thou, Alice in Wonderland, Despicable Me 2,The Other Guys, Avatar, The Young Victoria, The Last of the Mohicans, Dangerous Beauty, Anchorman, Elf, Zoolander, the Star Wars movies (yes, all 6), The Pillars of the Earth miniseries, and Hairspray, Hello Dolly, Grease, and Cry Baby because my daughter and I sing and dance to them. We like to sing and dance together a lot!

Almost any documentary, Vikings, The Walking Dead (I can't believe the new season won't start until November!! Argh!), Kitchen Nightmares, the Curse of Oak Island, the Dead Files, Man vs. Food, and Top Gear if my hubby has the remote. I also have a 10 yeard old daughter, so I know a lot about The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.

Crochet and any kind of paper craft! Making friendship books, journaling, junk journaling, art journaling, collaging, making/ repurposing journals and envelopes. I also collect ANY THING that I can tuck into a page. I have piles of images, words, and phrases I've snipped from magazines, play bills, and old picture books. I like collecting all kinds of things and ephemera that I can use as a memento. I LOVE clearance sections, book sales, thrift stores, antique stores, dollar stores, and flea markets. I especially like picking up tidbits and curiosities that had other purposes, and then turning around and using those things in my art/ journaling. Score!!

NOTE: I WILL TAKE ANY HOMERS. I don't understand why homers are limited in so many of our swaps. Isn't that the whole point of swapping? Filling up FBs, LBs, etc., and sending them back to their owners? I've received a few of my own filled books/ bags, and I was so grateful that I want to return the favor. I also think it's important to make a new FB or some kind of bag or even write a nice note or card for the person who sends your homers back to you.

I like: Journals, journals, journals (especially with thick creamy paper); FBs; writing; gel pens; fountain pens; blue ink; pink ink; purple ink; anything else purple; all kinds of paper and envelopes; handmade books; paper sack books; all kinds of craft stuff - adhesives, printed or textured or cool papers, paint, embellishments like paper flowers, ribbon, buttons, any kind of ephemera, rub-ons, and alphabets; stickers; images from magazines or old books that I can collage with...

Vintage stuff; funny or clever quotes; crochet; humor; learning; whimsy; shoes; reading; fashion, costumes, retro/ vintage/ historic clothing, retro patterns and fabric; fairies, fairy tales, and make-believe; dreaming; anything from other countries; anything that another artist has made; the summer solstice; hot tea in the winter; handmade lemonade; and a cold glass of iced tea in the summer.

I love natural/ nature inspired things like trees, flowers, butterflies, herbs, gardens, lavendar (my favorite), and all kinds of birds. My fav bird is the owl. SO cute! I have owl everything!! (Except shoes. If you see shoes with owls on them, let me know!) I also like little birdies, too. I can never pass up something with owls or little birdies on them. I like my nature stuff depicted both as cartoons and as realistic drawings or actual pictures.

PCs - I like postcards with churches, beautiful scenery (anywhere in the world), gardens, flowers, birds, funny quotes and cartoons, off-color humor, whimsey, kitsch, works of art.

No thanks - I like cute cartoon animals, but I don't like stuff with puppies or kittens on them. I'm a Christian (Lutheran, in fact). I don't mind the more natural pagan spiritualties, but things from any other religions will be pretty meaningless to me. I like vampires, but I'm NOT into the most recent incarnation - i.e., Edward, whatever. The first vampires I met will always be my favorite - LeStat and Louis from Ann Rice. I'm not easily shocked or offended; I could probably be more modest and refined. So no need to be squeamish about what you send. Just no death and gore.

Thanks! Can't wait to swap with you!