Meadow

Just to be clear -- I have PMed everyone I am supposed to have sent swaps to, explaining my situation, weeks ago. Every one of my partners replied, letting me know she received my message. I have been unable to send and of course, a 1 in those situations is completely understandable. Please know that I have NOT just blown anyone off with no communication.

As I explained in my PMs, when I joined and/or set up swaps at the beginning of January I had nothing going on. I had been unemployed for a year, the holidays were over, and all I had to do was continually look for a job. I had plenty of time to do swaps. In mid January I unexpectedly got into graduate school (I mean unexpectedly -- I had applied but been refused admission originally). Classes had already started and so I was already behind, and on top of that I had to get my computer account set up, buy books, figure out parking, learn how the grad school's multiple websites and online discussion boards work, AND deal with both student accounts and getting financial aid. On top of, of course, a huge amount of reading and at least one paper every week, sometimes two.

A couple weeks after that I was lucky enough to land a freelance job. This is my first opportunity to work in OVER A YEAR. I have been living off my savings and loans from family. I had to take it. Now I am working full time, the commute is 90 minutes one way. So I have that AND I have midterms.

I am so tired right now I could cry, but it takes too much energy. It's the weekend, yet I worked a full day yesterday and then came to school to work on a project. Today is Sunday, I got up and dressed up, went to meet with a potential client for another freelance job, and now I am at school again trying to get my midterm done, which by the way I was supposed to present on last week, but I didn't bc, I am so mentally tired I spaced on the dates.

So I am very VERY sorry to have disappointed people. I know how much it sucks! But something has to give, because I am already running on 3-4 hrs of sleep a night and still trying to function.

And no I don't really like posting on here a giant whine about my schedule, bc I am so very very happy to have the work and some actual income, and so very very happy I got into this graduate program. But apparently PMing people to apologize and explain I WILL send as soon as I possibly have a moment to rub 2 brain cells together, is not enough because people have short memories.

I love swap bot and if you look at my ratings before this year, you will see I took my swapping very seriously. I totally understand that 3 of my 4 partners (yes I did get one of them out before the tsunami of life hit, but you can't mark sent for 1 sent when you have multiple partners -- but look at my ratings and you'll see she rated me) are disappointed and they have every right to be. And I still have every intention of sending. But it might be after finals and that is MAY and there is just nothing I can do about it.

Ok I have to stop procrastinating on writing this paper! Swap-botters, I think you are all awesome!

I am a cross stitcher, a scrapbooker, a hiker, a letterboxer, a singer, a dancer, a reader, a dog-mom, a Netflix-o-phile, a road tripper, a traveller, a teacher, a learner, a Mac-addict, a photographer, a blogger, an art-journaler, a writer, and an ADVENTURER.

I love all things to do with nature, prairies, the ocean, bogs, creeks, rivers, wetlands, mysticism, spirituality, archaeology, history and creativity. I have been to 39 states (went to LA Feb 2008), and 3 countries outside the US (2 outside North America). I reaaaaaallllly want to go to Australia. I am a Chicago native and want to sell my suburban abode so I can move back to the city and live on the lake.

I collect handmade brooms and have a lot of postcards from around the world. I like making things but not keeping things. I love summer just for the garage sales. I have been teaching myself to play the mountain dulcimer and I want to start painting.

My Favorites:

colors: weathered blue-gray and pale yellow; also taupe or any kind of natural-ish color; greens and nature-y colors

scents: pear anything, cucumber-melon, eucalyptus, lemon-coconut-verbena, sandalwood, citrus, chocolatey scented items, anything "clean" smelling (like "ocean" or "air"), cinnamon, anything earthy without being floral. My favorite perfume is good ole Chanel -- No. 5 first, followed by No. 19, then Allure.

teas/coffees: I am not a coffee drinker. I love decadent hot chocolate, especially flavored varieties. I am really enjoying various fruity herbal teas, especially from different countries.

treats: I love chocolate. Milk and white chocolate, but not dark, unless it's dark chocolate surrounding orange something-or-other (like chocolate covered orange peels). I love mint, especially chocolate mint. And chocolate with fruit -- chocolate-orange, chocolate-raspberry, chocolate-strawberry... chocolate with peanut butter... Belgian chocolate... mmmm. I also like cherry things. Sometimes I like citrus. I don't like anything honey or coffee flavored or scented. My main pleasure is pastry of any kind -- cherry turnovers, buttery cookies, coffee cake...mmmm... Now I am hungry.

animals: I love OWLS. I have a Schipperke (a little black dog) and I love doggie things for her or dog-themed stuff...I also like birds, especially birds of prey like kestrels (and owls). Almost any forest animal will interest me.

art: I love the Dutch Renaissance, and my favorite artist of all time is probably Vermeer. I spent my 30th birthday going to the Netherlands so I could see a real Vermeer in person. (I pretty much love anything to do with Holland or Belgium, art or not... Except pot. Don't send me pot.) I also love architecture, especially Gothic, Ancient, and Chicago. I love Ancient Art, especially Assyrian, Babylonian, Mesopotamian. I like some Italian and Greek art, and I adore anything to do with the Pacific Northwest Coast. Not a big fan of modern art, Impressionists, or Romantics.

cross-stitching: I use size 26 or 28 needles. I use DMC floss and don't have every color. I like Weeks Dye Works or any other overdyed threads, 32 or 28 ct fabric, especially Jobelan or any kind of linen, and anything from Silkweaver (or that type of fabric). I usually like tans or pale browns or creams for fabric, but greens and purples attract me too. I don't like Aida in any count (too rough for me).

In terms of patterns, I like pirate themes, whole pictures (rather than samplers or words/sayings), Amish patterns from TIAG, maps, landscapes, houses, historic farms, beautiful ladies, morbid or creepy patterns, etc. Anything unusual and not too cute.

scrapbooking: I like 12 x 12 patterned paper (patterns with no theme, generic patterns like flowers or stars, masculine patterns like plaids, nothing too cutesy, very subtle patterns/colors), adhesives, 3-D stickers (Paper Bliss for instance), anything new out, anything Ali Edwards would like, I'll love, and 12 x 12 Bazzill cardstock is ALWAYS a fave. I also use LePlume markers, Cats' Eyes ink pads, love metallic anything (especially copper).

reading: I love historical fiction, novels about Mary Magdalene, anything set in Tudor times, ancient times, Victorian England, etc. I read a lot of non-fiction. Anything to do with monasteries interests me. I prefer romance over mystery or fantasy. I love pulp novels from the 1930's-1940's etc. I collect everything to do with Laura Ingalls Wilder. My favorite novel is Run with the Horsemen by Ferrol Sams.

Also, this isn't really "reading", but I have been doing a lot of sudoku puzzles lately and I like Sudoku books a lot. I also like easy crossword puzzles.

cooking: My latest passion is cooking, and I am starting to learn to bake from scratch as well. I love and will use ANYTHING from Rachael Ray. I have her magazine from Sept 2007 on, but any back issues would be great. I have 3 of her cookbooks. I love her knives and equipment or anything like that. Any cooking gadgets you'd like to send me will probably get used as well.

misc: I love office supplies, especially pads of paper, pens, organizing items. I collect handmade brooms and love things that are woven of grasses or twigs (wicker, wreaths, square baskets, etc). I always like calendars, especially with nature photography. I like anything to do with US pioneer or colonial days, historic villages, museums, nature centers, historic homes, architecture. Love both Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan. I enjoy anything to do with pirates (not those movies that have been out lately though), cemetaries, vampires, voodoo, seasons, feminism, goddesses, anycient Babylonia and Sumeria, very early Christianity, texts and writing and ancient books, I am SLAVIC and interested in designs and trinkets and foods and traditions from Poland or Eastern Europe in general.

I love COVER songs. Cover versions of old favorites. Cheesy 70's pop. 80's new wave and retro. Hip hop and pop with a rap influence. I love people who can really sing -- Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera are favorites. I love disco and funk and dance tracks. I love remixes. Sometimes I also love soulful, emotional music -- Jennifer Nettles is a fave (Google her!). Mostly what I love is one song at a time -- usually I don't like entire albums of one person or band.

THE THORN BIRDS. I am obsessed with that cheesy 80's TV miniseries. Tender Mercies -- love love love. Almost anything M. Night (The Sixth Sense, The Village, Signs) and anything by Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Sense & Sensibility). My favorite movies to see are thrillers and dramas. And sometimes chick flicks -- but only if I like the clothes the characters are wearing. :-) I love movies with religious or spiritual themes. I love creepy movies, but not gory horror flicks). I love Jane Austen movies and 80's movies like Real Genius and Better Off Dead. Love historical dramas as well and pretty much anything set in England in the 1930's or 40's, or the 1800's. I usually enjoy Meryl Streep dramas a lot -- Out of Africa is one of my favorite movies of all time and I also love Sophie's Choice. I like movies with a sense of humor but not usually silly comedies -- however, I absolutely LOVE Seth Rogan movies (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad).

I enjoy or have watched "24", anything by Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly), Dancing With the Stars, Sex and the City, Boston Legal, America's Next Top Model, Grey's Anatomy, Gilmore Girls, Dance Life. I love dance-related shows (So You Think You Can Dance?, Dance Wars). I also love Entourage and Deadwood. I watch a lot of TV shows on DVD from Netflix. I have been watching all of Doctor Who from the very beginning (1961), in order. I am a Star Trek fan and enjoy The Next Generation, Deep Space 9 and Voyager. I have been watching all of The X-Files from the beginning, but I don't love it. Now I am watching Battlestar Galactica too and I DO LOVE IT. (I am also watching American Idol for the first time, and I hope David Cook wins!)

scrapbooking, cross stitching, art journaling, gluebooks, cooking