livingleather

I ship swaps and tags promptly, so IF YOUR PACKAGE FROM ME DOESN'T ARRIVE, or arrives damaged, with postage due or any other problem PLEASE LET ME KNOW! I know especially with international shipping, problems can arise, so please tell me. Bluntly: I can't fix a problem unless I know one exists.

TANGENT FROM USUAL PROFILE INSERTED HERE: At this point in my life, I'm recovering from a very bad breakup (I discovered a LOT of lies and deception) of a long term relationship right now, so I'd appreciate it if y'all would take it easy on the romance themed stuff ... and would love any stress relief, pampering for inside &/or out, meaningful life quotes, etc things you have to send on.

I now return you to our regularly scheduled profile.

I have an eclectic range of interests, including but not limited to:

*Edible landscaping, gardening, recycling, composting, vermicomposting and wormfarming. Pre-Gustav, I loved being able to step out of my house to get the ingredients of my next meal, whether it was fresh eggs from my chickens (and no, please don’t send me chicken-shaped things, I don’t collect those), fresh herbs, or berries. As I rebuild after the storm, I am doing my best to make my new home as energy-efficient as I know how (and yes, I’m on a budget, so it’s DIY), and once I finish the work that needs to be done on the house, it will be time to tackle the yard and I can plant the dwarf fruit trees I’ve been collecting, the fruit vines, the luffa vines, the shampoo ginger … so much to do! But I’m excited about it. (yes, I'd love seeds from your garden if you'd care to share edible or useful plant-type seeds such as luffa, soapberry, shampoo ginger, etc - but if you do send those on, PLEASE make sure to include planting and care instructions, not just the seeds ... and identify them, as well ... otherwise, they're just interesting looking confetti. If they're useful instead of or in addition to being edible, please include that information too! Thanks! Oh, and I'm in zone 8, but with the climate changing, sometimes zone 9 plants work here too.)

*I love to cook, especially from scratch. The healthier the better, as I think we can all stand to eat healthy. I’m NOT a vegetarian (I heart my heifer). I’d like to lose weight without depriving my taste buds – I’m not a vanity queen, but from a realistic point of view, it’s best for my health, and I’d feel better in the long run, and probably live longer too – and that’s important to me!

*I enjoy making my own body-pampering goods: solid perfumes, bath bombs, soaps, bath salts, bath cookies, salt scrubs (I STRONGLY dislike sugar scrubs, they leave me sticky all over!), you name it. I love things that smell great and that make me feel good, so naturally I’m a fan of aromatherapy. I’ve my own stock of essential oils and base oils, and have been gradually learning over the years how to successfully treat via aromatherapy as opposed to over-the-counter medicine. If I'm not making things for my own use, my preferred store that I patronize is LUSH (I love how they use recycleable materials, I adore their massage bars, and love how they use little to no preservatives)

*Fossil based jewelry: amber (not reconstituted, please), ammonite, etc. It’s a tradition in my family to house memories in jewelry, and due to that (and it doesn’t help that my skin doesn’t do well with plated stuff either) I prefer to receive ‘real’ things as opposed to plated. IE: Pewter as opposed to silver plate, sliver as opposed to gold plate (or gold filled), etc. When it comes to earrings, my ears can only take surgical steel. Due to past injuries, I can not tolerate heavy weight on my neck/shoulders (so no huge pendants) and I can't tolerate wearing anything above my collarbone, so please don't send me chokers, for they will literally make me feel like I'm choking. Necklaces need to be over 20" minimum for me to be able to comfortably wear them.

*Viewing the natural wonders of the earth: I think that sea dragons (a relative of sea horses, not the mythical beast) are gorgeous, especially the leafy ones (as opposed to the weedy sea dragons, there's two types, there's your miscellaneous bit of useless knowledge for the day). I recently found out from a fellow swapper that it’s actually possible to have an aquarium in your home of seahorses, so maybe it’s possible to do the same with sea dragons, as they are a relative – I plan to check into it when I finish fixing up my place. I love to go caving, and the only time I’ve had a bad experience was in a set of caverns in Alabama that had been so commercialized, the proprietors had ripped out stalactites’ and stalagmites wholesale and installed bleachers and a water/light show (water shooting up several tens of feet, further eroding the formations) and decked the monstrosity out with Christmas lights year round.

*Learning about the possible benefical properties of various stones and gems. I make jewelry when the mood strikes me, as well as dreamcatchers and other goodness.

*Camping

*Renfaires

*Bartering (anyone wanna come fix my house for me? huh? huh?)

*Gothic goodness specifically for a vehicle (excepting a license plate), as I own a white antique Cadillac hearse (I also do not need a hood ornament, as I had a very nice one put on after someone broke the last one off)

*Polyamory

*Single parenthood

*Bisexuality

*Leather/RACK/SSC/Pick-your-bunch-of-letters

*Going on cruises when work and $ permit

I enjoy the art of bonsai when I have the time :) ... but I don't think that's the sort of thing I could mail. My favorite flowers are oriental and asiatic lilies, and I have several Southern Mistress daylilies that my daughter presented me with.

Interesting fact: despite the fact that I don't drink coke, I collect coke codes. If you have some that you aren't using, I'd love them. They can be found on all sorts of things other than soft drinks, including the bottoms of cases of dasani water, which I love. On the topic of drinks, I also enjoy trying teas (except chai, which I've found doesn't agree with me!) from all over ... so far, the Tazo line is my favorite - I've found Calm on my own (my favorite Tazo tea so far), and was introduced to Joy (another Tazo tea I like) through a tea swap via this site. I enjoy fruity rather than bitter, and sweeten with honey rather than sugar.

I AM ALLERGIC TO THE FOLLOWING SCENTS: PATCHOULLI, CARNATION, AMMONIA.

I AM ALLERGIC TO THE FOLLOWING EDIBLES: ANY COLOR BELLPEPPER, ANY SUGAR SUBSTITUTE, CABBAGE, BLACK PEPPER, OLD BAY SEASONING.

I AM ALLERGIC TO THE FOLLOWING SCENTS FROM LUSH: KARMA, COSMIC DREAM CATCHER, SULTANA OF SOAP.

I AM ALLERGIC TO THE FOLLOWING SCENTS FROM BATH AND BODYWORKS: SENSUAL AMBER (@$%ING PATCHOUILI)

I love both ends of the spectrum ... high energy techno (as few words as possible, think extremely active workout music, Blade soundtrack is a good example of a baseline of this type of music, I'd love even more high energy), and the other end .. relaxation music .. I adore drumming, native american music, rainstorms, that sort of thing. The only thing I have found that I don't enjoy in this genre is when someone has tried to combine two types of relaxation music into one, like harp music in the rainforest, where you hear the harp and rain, with a screeching macaw and some monkeys in the background. yarg. not to my taste in the least.

I LOVE gregorian chants. REAL gregorian chants, not that crap some folk are putting out where they chant pop songs and try to make it sound like gregorian chant, or where they chant Old McDonald's Farm in pig latin and try to make it sound like gregorian chant (and yes, I've been given BOTH of those CDs by folk who THOUGHT it was the real thing, but it wasn't. YUCK. Definitely a time where the thought counted LOTS more.).

Favorite song? More than words, by Extreme, not the Justin Timberlake remake (blech).

Right now, it's the paranormal romance genre, without a doubt - but I adore books overall.

My main loves are (in decending order, other than paranormal romance, which currently holds first place): fantasy, children's fantasy (think Tamora Pierce), science fiction, teen-safe mystery (think Mrs. Polifax, Aunt Dimity series), misc fiction (MASH series is my fave, any of these books y'all find I would LOVE), occult research (mystical/benefical properties of stones/stonework, etc)

Oh, and one of my all time pet peeves is folk writing in books - unless it's the author themself/ves ... then they have the right, damnit, they wrote the thing.

I have a ROOM devoted to books. Yes, I have my own library. I am an admitted book-a-holic. About half of my books are signed by the author (swoon) and the majority are hardbacks out of pure self preservation as I will read a paperback into an early grave out of sheer overuse.

If you're an author, and you send me one of your books, PLEASE sign it! If you want me to review it, please say so - I've been doing book reviews for years, and have no problem running another one past my editor.

If you plan to attend a con in the near future and wouldn't mind toting along some of my books to get signed, please drop me a PM. There may be a chance someone I'm addicted to reading may be there, and I'll send you goodies if you do me that favor!

Oy. hard one to answer. I am NOT a fan of horror flicks, first and foremost. Last one I saw was Percy Jackson, and I loved it. I'm looking forward to seeing Ghostbusters 3. Loved the HP series. Anything Pixar. Can't watch anything 3D as it will give me migraines, which suxs as more and more movies are hopping on that bandwagon.

Right now anything I see is entirely dependant upon my availability w/ regards to my work schedule, and I've pretty much been living at work lately.

I enjoy action, comedy, and drama. Anything with Jackie Chan in it catches my attention, as well as anything with Robin Williams.

I'd ADORE an good-quality avi of every movie made w/ Jackie Chan (http://www.jackiechankids.com/files/movie_page.htm), preferably in english, if not in english, with english sub-titles. I've only seen a fraction of his stuff, and I'm a huge fan.

Right now, Sanctuary, Warehouse 13, NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, Medium, Chuck, True Blood, Vampire Diaries, and House are what I'm trying to keep up with.

I loved Reaper, Jake 2.0, and Dead Like Me but it looks like those were canceled.

Usually the stuff I really Iike gets canceled after one season, like the Dresden Files.

Another hard one. Most of my goodies were lost in Gustav, so I haven't had the chance to indulge in a while.

The last thing that caught my crafty eye was making recycled postcards ... crafting postcards out of non-new items. So I'm enjoying that currently.

I dabble in a bunch of things. I sew without patterns, right out of my head, but to me it's simple stuff, I'd hate to 'attempt' a pattern. I'll buy fabric on impulse and instinct because it 'feels' right or 'looks' right, not because I have a project in mind - because I know once I have the fabric, the ideas will flow, I'll get hit one day with an idea for that bolt, or that type of fabric, and run to the sewing machine and poof! there's a creation. No predicting it.

I am NOT a fan of floral, traditional holiday patterns (aside from some halloween patterns, due to the hearse, I'll sometimes pick up something with skulls to make skullcaps out of, or spiderwebs to make a cloak out of, just out of a fit of whimsey) nor of pastels in general. Gem tones are my thing. I prefer to pick out my fabric myself, but will sometimes send some on, or use some for creative gift wrapping :) ... if we're in a swap that requires a fabric trade, I would prefer to not be sent any mardi gras, holiday, or infant themed fabric.

I used to crochet, but now I'm starting to show signs of carpal tunnel so that's off the table. Used to do tons of leatherwork, but nothing conventional. I love to grow things, especially things that will reward the planter (fruits, veggies, herbs) ... my latest find was a shampoo ginger plant - it actually produces shampoo, and I am so looking forward to trying it out when the season comes around again!!! BTW - if anyone has any information on whether or not the sap can be stored or frozen for use later on after the season has passed, I would HIGHLY appreciate it. My goal is to be as self-sufficent as possible, and I would adore being able to have all-natural shampoo and bodywash available 365 days a year.

I try to take care of myself, and I work in a stress-identified type of profession (first responder), so I picked up an interest in making body pampering goodies and in aromatherapy. I love learning new things to make in either of those arenas.

So, really, jane-of-all-trades, mistress of none. Published poet, no royalties. You see how it goes. grins

AVAILABLE FOR TRADE/SWAP:

(more to come as I unpack and see what survived Gustav!!!)

~1 Hello Kitty Coffee Maker (New In Box) [will accept cash, trade or cash/partial trade: $25 US]

~Ceramic Goblets, 2 white dragon crawling up/around black goblet, 1 mermaid guarding her treasure on 'sea' goblet. [will accept cash, trade or cash/partial trade: $45 US each, have 2 other dragon goblets in non-mint condition, may be good to alter, $25 US each]

~Ceramic Tankard, est. 2' tall: wizard gazing into crystal ball on one side, knight facing off with dragon on other side. If memory serves (lol, typing from memory), crystal ball is painted with mother of pearl, lance of knight is painted with 10k gold. Handle of tankard is dragon's tail. Top of tankard is black castle. [will accept cash, trade or cash/partial trade: $200 US]

~Solid Onyx knives (assorted colors, two different styles) [will accept cash, trade or cash/partial trade: $35 US/1knife, $65 US/2 knives]

~Poetry (mine, already written)

~Poetry (mine, pose a topic, written upon request)

~Assorted stamps I've received on mail I've gotten worldwide

~Stickers (big and small, assorted and/or in sheets, not sure what flakes are, so I'll just say big and small)

~Recyled postcards (postcards made from already used items, or combinations of not-new items - I love finding neat, funny, or unusal images)

~Rubber duckies! (various types)

~Notecards w/ envelopes

~Greeting cards w and w/o envelopes

~Tea

~Hot Chocolate (various flavors)

~Cajun/creole food

~Community coffee

~Cafe' du Monde coffee (CDM)

~Mardi Gras beads and other assorted Mardi Gras memoriablia upon request

~LUSH products (if I don't have it, I have a store in town) ... for the full list of what I have on hand, please PM me (I have a lot of discontinued and retro stuffs).

~Christmas cards

~Christmas tags (paper or sticker)

~Various patches (first responder)

~Cavern/caving flyers (spelunking, etc) for areas throughout US

~Snowball flavoring (unsweetened concentrate)

~Maps of Louisiana

~Haunted themed (houses, tours, etc) flyers for Louisiana areas

~I'll take any Louisiana, Mardi Gras, King Cake, Voodoo, Baton Rouge, or New Orleans themed requests under consideration

~If you like to read, I also have books for sale (autographed and non) at alibris.com/stores/domdepot, and I would be more than willing to do a value for value based swap for any of my inventory that catches your eye.

WISHLIST/WHAT I'D LIKE TO SWAP FOR:

~ REALLY LONG wooden spoons. (I have two 12 quart T-Fal pots that I adore, and love cooking stews and soups, but I can't use them to their fullest because the longest wooden spoons I can find at Target, Walmart, and even the specialty kitchen stores I've visited leave me with about an inch (and I'm probably over estimating here, I have j-u-s-t enough room for part of the first joint of my thumb and forefinger to grasp the handle to 'attempt to stir' with a full pot, so needless to say, after that realization, I'm down to less than ideal batches unless/until I can find longer wooden spoons as that doesn't give me enough maneuvering room to effectively scrape the bottom, or enough of a grasp to effectively stir a stew.) I'd say I'd need a spoon to be at least 18" if not longer to be effective, and longer would be highly preferable. I'm going to try to get some measurements of my longest spoons that I've tried and of the pots and put them up here soon. I love to cook from scratch, and I love to cook soups and stews, so this is a big wish/want for me.

~Soapnut seeds (or if it could be found, a sapling) for the sapindus mukorossi variety. I'd like to grow a few of these wonderfully versatile trees. I understand that these can be ordered by request from naturoli.com.

~ Anyone who is a quilting fanatic and has too many quilts lying around their crafting room ... pssst ... I have a king size bed that is NAKED!!!! NAKED I say!!! (headboard is walnut color, linens are black, carpet is hunter green, walls are lowes valspar paint color winter in paris, ceiling and molding are in ultra white) (NOTE: currently under negotiation! Wish me luck!)

~ Long-burning incense sticks (the kind that burns for 45 minutes or longer) ... please NO incense cones

~ Christmas ornaments that look like fairies (hard to describe, 6"+ high, ceramic)

~ A hubcap for a 1999 Saturn SL1 (some unthinking so-and-so didn't put it back on right after I took it to the shop and it went flying off somewhere, so now I've three hubcaps and look like I'm driving around with a donut constantly)

~ Concentrated scents for bath products (for me to add to bath bombs, bath salts, soaps, etc that I make) - I adore amber, cucumber melon was sent to me recently and that was a BIG hit

~ While it's rather easy for me to locate christmas tags, I have trouble locating 'regular' gift tags, so I'd love some handmade non-holiday specific gift tags (the ones that tie on, not the stickers).

~ A statue of Ganesh in the 1-2 feet or taller range with his trunk turning to his left (you can read more here http://www.lotussculpture.com/ganesh1.htm ) and with him having a minimum four hands, the more the better. Hopefully not garishly colored (I'd prefer a solid material that hasn't been painted in dayglow colors).

~ I'm into a lot of alternative therapies, so I'm also interested in obtaining violet wands &/or their accessories, as well as any extra unused e-stim or tens unit pads or accessories I could use with my unit. If you have an extra unit lying around that you don't want, I can always use an extra in case mine craps out.

~ A face cradle for a massage table: a few years ago when I was purchased one as a gift, it was delivered without the face cradle (has the holes for one, but also a padded hole for a face in the table). My table is a dark-ish blue, but I'm not picky about the color of the face cradle, anything will work, I'd be grateful to just HAVE one.

~ Recommendations (as I don't expect anyone to send me any as postage would be extortion) of sweet red and white wines (I hate bitter), especially moscatos/desert wines. (note: I already have a wine journal, courtesy of one of our swap-botters! Thank you!!!)

~ Molds suitable for making soaps &/or bathbombs. I'd love to get my hands on some lye for soapmaking purposes as opposed to nuke-n-pour glycerin soap. If you send me soap base that's not melt and pour, PLEASE send instructions on how to use it, I wouldn't want to waste any :)

~ Ceramic pots suitable for bonsai use (shallow .. .only 1-3" deep depending on how big the pot is, preferably rectangular in nature, drainage holes, etc).

~ I'm drinking a lot of tea right now, so containers of honey are always welcome :)

~ Surgical steel or acrylic tongue piercing jewelry (14 gauge, 1/2" length, straight barbell style, no adornments/decorations please)

~ 16 gauge piercing jewelry suitable for earrings, either surgical steel, acrylic or titanium.

~ On the topic of LUSH, I'm also interested in swapping goods: I'm allergic to patchouli, among other things, and LUSH, like other folk, tends to guard their secrets about their ingredients closely and just put 'perfume' at times when it's a mix of essential oils ... sometimes, some of which give me migraines. Unfortunately, I don't find out about products containing my triggers because of this until I get the product in my mail ("damnit, this one TOO?!?!) and after one sniff and stab of pain, it's put to the side. Sooooo, if anyone out there has gotten any LUSH goodness that they just didn't have the smell agree with them upon arrival that they'd like to swap, PLEASE PM ME. I'll let you know what I have. I'm interested in (most) massage bars, body butters, buttercreams, and (most) solid shampoos. Unfortunately, I'm not able to accept anything with the following scents in trade: Dreamsicle/Cosmic Dreamcatcher, Karma, Sultana of Soap. I also don't use emotibombs, as with our water pressure they dissolve WAY too quickly.

~ I use LUSH massage bars as moisturizers, in addition to massage. One travels with me everywhere in a tin in my purse. Of the LUSH massage bars, my favorites so far are Business Time and Each Peach's a Pear. If I was given a choice, at this point I'd like to try any massage bars I haven't already tried (I've already tried Mange Too, Fever, Business Time, Each Peach's a Pear, Sexy Boy, Therapy, Black Magic, Play Your Cards Right, Soft Coeur, Wiccy Magic, Sore Labours, Strawberry Fields, and Cosmic Dreamcatcher/Dreamsicle.) Heavenilli, Nutts, and Ego are the only ones I can find on the USA LUSH website that I haven't tried to date. If nothing new to try was available, I'd love some more Business Time, as I'm almost out :) ... and, of course, I'd love some more tins to store them in.

~ Of the buttercreams, so far I've only tried the Almond, Lemslip, and the Ring of Roses buttercreams - of the three, I enjoyed Almond the most due to the scrubby exfoliating factor, Lemslip has a lesser exfoliating effect, but I noticed it had a slight 'facial peel' effect - all of the citrus essential oils combined to encourage dead skin removal and new skin renewal, so I'd love more Lemslip. I'd like to try any buttercreams I haven't tried before (Heavenly Bodies is the only one I can find on the USA LUSH website).

~Of the body butters, I've tried King of Skin, You Snap The Whip, and Buffy, and I have Aqua Mirabilis, Running to the Embassy, and Shnuggle waiting for me to try. While I love the exfoliating sensation of Buffy, I'm not crazy about the smell. My two favorites so far: If you're buying me something as part of a wishlist swap, King of Skin will last me much, much longer, and is my preference when it comes to longevity ... but when it comes to pure hedonism, You Snap The Whip is my preference when it comes to smell - one of my housemates gifted me a small piece of it for Christmas and I finally had the opportunity to try it out last night and now I'm in love! I'm interested in trying out the other body butters (The Soft Touch is the only one I can find on the USA LUSH website).

~ The only solid shampoo I've tried is Godiva. I just got in Seanik, Ultimate Shine, Hard, and some Gentil Lentil, but haven't tried those out yet. I would love to try any I don't have other than the one for blondes, as I have auburn/red hair (Dr. Peppermint, Squeaky Green, Jumping Juniper, Trichomania, and New!) are the ones I can find on the USA LUSH website). I'm also interested in trying out the hair treatment Jasmine and Henna Fluff Eaze.

~ Since I've found that I love the blackcurrant scent of You Snap The Whip Body Butter, I'd love to try The Comforter Bubble Bar and Sweetie Pie Shower Jelly as they both (in theory) have the same scent. I'm also interested in trying out Joy of Jelly shower jellies, as well as Dreamwash and Gumback smoothies.

~ I'm willing to try just about anything for aches and pains (and achey feet), so I'm interested in trying the Volcano Foot Mask (I've seen some interesting reviews).

~ I have chronically dry skin (especially on my face) so I'd like to give the following products a try and see if they can work for me: Mask of Magnaminty, Skin Drink, Skin Nanny, Skin's Shangrila. I LOVE Paradise Regained cream and Oceansalt cleanser.

~ LUSH tins, for storing bath and body products. These are the aluminum storage containers folk get when they buy two of something, and invariably, folk will end up with more than they need over time. Me, I don't have enough as 1) I make bath goodies and 2) you can never have enough non-rustable pampering containers, ESPECIALLY those that are really easy to travel with. I'm looking for ANY of these - the ones for shampoo, for solid massage bars, and the ones for the body butters. I'm also interested in the empty black pots (and their tops) that Lush sells their products in.

Housemate#1 loves: things suitable for being in a bathroom that have elephants (or ARE elephants) on them. Pride items. Leather (lifestyle) items. She's a Dr. Who fanatic. ANYTHING from Ireland.

Housemate#2 loves: Marvin the Martian (and his dog, and Valentine, the monster from out of space that is on Marvin's cast of characters), and Betty Boop.

Bio-mom of kidlette loves: Dragonflies, Dragons, Fleur-de-lis. She'd also love any perfume samples of a spicy nature (except for avon, apparently they use an ingredient in some of their perfumes she's allergic to), and if anyone can get ahold of a perfume called Wild Fig, she'd be estatic. She also is interested in a perfume called Hypnotic Poison by Christian Dior.

The kidlette: she's ten, and really getting into reading. She loves the Aunt Dimity series, but I have all of them except for Aunt Dimity goes Down Under (it just came out in hardback), so we'd love that. I'm also trying to track down any of the OLD (did y'all know that folk have tried to 'update' ND with cellphones and internet? pah! I want the classic hardbacks I grew up with! lol) Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Bobbsey Twins novels I can find (I plan to introduce her to my Ms Pollifax collection next!). Diabetes (juv and otherwise) runs in her genetic background, so please don't send her sweets (sugar substitute or the real stuff, please don't, we don't want her to get a taste for it). Please don't send her makeup or fingernail polish, due to school regulations as well as clean-up concerns. She loves girly stuff: her favorite colors are pink and purple, she can be counted on to be obsessed with the latest tween fad (and drops them just as quickly, can you say peer pressure?) and loooves animals - if she had her way we'd adopt them all. As it is, I own two siberian huskies, a miniature daschund, and a cat. My mother ended up with ten cats. My housemates have another two cats and another two miniature daschunds. And STILL the child wants more.

My pets: I'm looking for siberian husky-proof H-type harnesses (as opposed to collars) that can be worn on a 24 hour basis. I have male in particular that is such a contortionist he can chew through a harness in under an hour, I've defeated the local vets and pet stores. I prefer harnesses both for their additional security (siberians are houdinis) and because they place pressure on the shoulders, and don't have possibility of choking when the dog has a hyper moment.

If you're sending me personal care products, PLEASE don't send me dollar store stuff. As I age, I'm trying to take better care of myself and my skin, and as a result I'd much rather have quality over quantity. Additionally, on that note, please don't send me facial care items that are not specifically listed on my wishlist ... I've FINALLY found what works for me, and I'm not going to stray :)

I'm not really into paper crafts and don't do scrapbooking; While I like to try food from other countries, I try to eat healthy so please don't send me candy or chocolate, unless the swap dictates; I don't have much use for quilting stuff, lace, or ribbon; I don't collect postage stamps or key chains. While I read like a fiend, I typically finish a book in one session - so I don't use bookmarks. I have crowns, so I don't chew gum. I'm allergic to ALL artificial sweeteners.

I'm not a fan of scented candles, but I love incense - especially dragonsblood, amber, and nag champa. I'm not a fan of floral scents, and am allergic to scents/smells of ammonia, carnation, & patchouli.

I don't collect postcards, so unless we're in a nakid postcard swap, if you send me postcards as part of a tag (such as a send me something tag) or lucky parcel swap, etc ... please send them onwards in a package: you'll save on postage, and I'll get more joy out of them: for instance, I just received three nakid postcards as a send something to the person above you swap, and they would have been PERFECT for a friend of mine's wall art, as that friend collects OLD comics and these were glorious images of stamps with images of those old comics on them, blown up - had they not had personal messages to me on the back. So I'm adding this message to avoid that frustrated sound coming from the back of my throat in the future.

I'm not a pastel kind of lady. Gem tones are much more my thing.

Please no religious items (unless if buddhism/eastern thoughts ... I'm a fan of Ganesh in particular. I would LOVE to find a statue of him about a foot or two tall (or more!)with the trunk to pointing to the appropriate side for a house, as opposed to temple use. So far, no luck tho'.). I personally identify as more spiritual than religious.

Unless I'm in a swap that particularly calls for them, I don't really want ATCs, FBs, stationary, memo pads, FQs, office supplies, decotape, ribbons, or inchies/twinchies. I don't use fingernail polish, fake nails, or other fingernail adornments. I don't use embellishments, vinyl clings, or 'bling' of any type. I don't collect used stamps, I don't use rubber stamps or ink pads. I don't scrapbook. I don't use recipe cards. I don't collect kawaii, or dotees. I'm not knowledgable enough with regards to friendship books or zines to even step into that world at this point in my life. At this point and time in my life, most (if not all) of my creative energy (heck, pretty much all of my energy) is being spent on rebuilding my home after Huricaine Gustav. If this is all you have to trade, please don't be offended if I send this on to someone who collects it.

I suffer from migraines, and as such, I can't tolerate most perfumes. I really can't tolerate the smell of cigarette smoke. If you are a smoker, please try to keep your swap items away from it or air it out before sending. I am allergic to the following scents: patchoulli, carnation, ammonia. I am allergic to the following edibles: any color of bellpepper, ANY sugar substitute, cabbage, black pepper, old bay seasoning.

Flaked on by:

Laura83: Christmas Cards Swap

shelleydeanne: Wacky, Silly, & Unusual Holidays - January