Sorry for any confusion. I was briefly in the hospital and could not get online. All is well now so things are back to normal. If anyone has any swap-related concerns please feel free to message me.

I just want to make sure everyone knows this. I also want to explain the when and how of my rating activity.

I work a mixture of all three shifts and I work an odd schedule as far as what days I work. My normal scheduled hours are 10.5 hour days. I hardly ever work just 10.5 hours. It's usually 12 hours.....occasionally 16 hours. With this crazy schedule I don't have time for a lot on the days I work other than work, sleep and kids. When I have a short day (just the 10.5 hours) I try to do some rating. Most of the time I have to save doing ratings until the weekend. For me the weekend is Sunday and Monday.

I have gotten a few hateful messages about not rating as quick as they felt I should. I'm sorry if anyone is offended by a few days delay but I promise you all.........I ALWAYS RATE.

I have also gotten messages saying it shows I have logged in on a particular day........why didn't I rate them? The reason for this is I sometimes log in on my smart phone on my breaks at work. I look at my messages, read stuff in the Public Forums, check out the newly posted swaps. That's about all I can do from work. I do not carry my mail into the plant.

I love private swaps that are rated. If you are interested please message me and we can set something up.

My name is Dawn. I'm a 40-something divorced mother of 2. I live in central Indiana and work in an automotive factory. My 22 year old son is into art and hunting. My 19 year old daughter is animal crazy. She volunteers with a coyote rescue. We have two cats. Yahtzee - he is tiger striped and Pip - she is part Munchkin and is black and white. The name Pip came from the black dot in the middle of her white chin....like a pip on a domino.

Postcard collections I'm working on:

Indiana Postcards.....especially older/vintage/antique ones

Jetoy cat postcards

Recipe postcards

Sea shell postcards

Raccoon postcards

Map postcards

Baby animal postcards

Postcards with cutouts

Odd shaped postcards

Lenticular postcards

Holiday postcards

Legend Of.....postcards

I like a wide range of movies. Some of my favorites:

The Outsiders

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory......the original version with Gene Wilder.

Phantom of the Opera

Chocolat

Carolina

Coyote Ugly

Ghosts of the Abyss

I don't like most science fiction, extreme war movies (Saving Private Ryan), black and white movies and movies that are completely subtitled.

I am a reality tv addict. My favorite is

I also watch:

The channels I usually watch are The Food Network, A&E, Bravo, The Travel Channel, TLC and Discovery.

I do counted cross stitch. I mostly do Christmas ornaments but I also do bigger projects at times.

I scrapbook. All of my scrapbooks are 12 x 12.

I am in the process of making a quilt. I have never done this before so this is an experiment. All of the squares are different and have a link to something personal.....things I like, favorite holidays, reminders of places I've been and people who are important to my life. It may turn out to be hideous......I think every color and hue of the rainbow is included in it.......but it will mean a lot to me.

I've started trying my hand at ATC's. I love making them but I'm not top-notch at it so far. *** Update*** I have stopped joining the beginner ATC swaps. I thought the point of Beginner Swaps was to let those who were new to the craft to practice and trade with other beginners. When seasoned ATC crafters who joined the swaps kept putting down my ideas and belittling my skills I decided it was time to give the swaps up.

I collect playing cards to make decks that have a different picture/design on the back of each card.

I'm also working on a project that will use only Queen of Clubs and Jokers.

To finish my first deck of cards I still need:

Diamaonds - 5, 8, J, K, Jokers

Spades - 7, 8, Jokers

Hearts - A, 2, Jokers

Clubs - A, 10, J, Q, Jokers

Creative Writing - mostly fiction and poetry.

Recipes

Lined recipe cards. Actually any recipe cards but especially lined ones.

New, unused postcards.

Poetry

My favorite poet is Emily Dickinson.

Other poets I like are Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Lord Byron, Alfred Tennyson, Robert Frost, Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman.

Raccoons.......even have one tattooed on my ankle.

Fox.....especially the red ones.

Penguins

Beluga whales

Baby seals

Giraffes

Sea horses

The beach.....ocean, shells, palm trees, sand castles.

Mermaids

I love to travel.

The Wizard of Oz.......especially Glinda and the flying monkeys.

Counted cross stitch Christmas ornament patterns

Ephermera......especially vintage cards, valentines, menus, reciepts, recipes, book pages

Jigsaw puzzles.

I'm fascinated by the RMS Titanic. I am interested in everything about it from the disaster itself, to the people who were on the ship to the government hearings that were held here and abroad. I admit it.....I'm a Titanic geek.

The colors black, green, peach/coral and blue.

Relaxing in a bubble bath with a good book and a cold drink.

My favorite word is

The flowers I like are bleeding heart, lilac and lily of the valley.

The smell of things baking (gingerbread etc.), lilacs, tuberose and lily of the valley.

My favorite number is

The sound of water.......rain/thunderstorms, ocean waves, fountains, babbling brooks.

Laughing

The only cartoon characters I have any interest in are Happy Bunny, The Flintstones, Hong Kong Phooey, Garfield and the characters from the Toy Story movies.

I like stars and star-shaped things.

Coloring........I have my own coloring books and big box of crayons.

I collect Little Golden Books......only the ones with the metallic gold on the spines. I have about 600.

Goldstone

Kitchen gadgets.

Cheesecake

Novelty, antique, natural material and unique buttons. I have my grandmothers button tin and have started one of my own to hand down some day. There is a purpose to them just in case you think it a waste of time to send me some just to sit in a tin.

DMC floss......all colors.

Quotes

Antique hand fans.

Dreamcatchers

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer......the Rankin & Bass version.

Nesting dolls

Mythology

Sudoku

Watermelons

Astronomy

Lightning and storms

Astrology

Native American legends and folklore

Sock monkeys

Stand up comedy such as Ron White, Bill Engvall, Brian Regan, Gabriel Inglesias

Mexican food

Wishing on shooting stars.

Novelty cotton fabric and flannel.

Nascar......Dale Earnhardt Sr, Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Trevor Bayne and Cole Whitt.

Sprint car racing........prefer dirt to paved.

Moon and star motif

Address labels

Decks of cards made up of a 54 different backed cards......except the red/blue Bicycle type. I have plenty of those.

Tarot cards......especially older decks.

Trivia

Haunted places

Ghosts

Skulls

Ritter Sport Chocolates

View-Master reels

Board games........love to play them and to repurpose the pieces from games that aren't complete anymore.

Peacocks

Coffee and tea of any type.

Orange, grape and clove flavors and scents.

Lip gloss

Cheap chocolates.....generic stuff.

Make up......just don't wear it much.

Crocheting and knitting.

Seafood of any type.

Mushrooms........allergic.

Golf and tennis.......those sports are boring to me.

Vera Bradley things

Stationary without lines.

Politics

The sound of water with music recorded over it.

Stuffed animals.

Mean, hateful and rude people.

Coupons