howunremarkable

**As you can see, I'm away from Swap-Bot for now and trying to get my life back in order. I plan on returning eventually and making up swaps I owe, but unfortunately that just isn't something I can do right this moment.

If I haven't rated you for a swap or thanked you for a wonderful item sent via the Wishlist Group, I'm sorry. I received some lovely items and tried to make sure I thanked everyone. If you got lost in the shuffle, I'm sorry.

Thank you all for your patience. I hope to catch up on all my owed swaps and I feel terrible for my inactivity. I never meant to flake on any of my swaps. Life just got in my way this year.

I look forward to swapping with you all at some point in the future when I can be more dedicated. Thanks for your understanding.**

I am twenty-something years old. I turn on the subtitles when I watch movies. I think ducks are neat. I will (hopefully) soon be starting a program in holistic health counseling (nutrition therapy, specifically). I am obsessed with craft related web sites, but I have very limited craft skills myself. I wish I read more. I am most productive at night. I am a vegetarian. I want attempt a zine one day. I hated kawaii when I signed up here, but I'm beginning to get attached to some of it (yay for food/clouds/etc. with faces!). I think Mountain Dew and cilantro both taste like soap.

I'm also a Passion Parties consultant--I do fun, confidential, in-home parties for women showcasing products that help them to enhance their relationships. Just let me know if you'd like a catalog! I'm always happy to pop one in the mail.

All of my packages come from a smoke-free home.

movie love
Bottle Rocket, Lost in Translation, Broken Flowers, Requiem for a Dream, Amores Perros, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Clerks, The Edukators, Ghost World (one of my favorite movies of all time), Shaun of the Dead, The Emperor's New Groove, American Beauty, Lilo & Stitch, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Pete's Dragon, Juno, foreign films (especially those containing Gael Garcia Bernal), anything with Bill Murray, Empire Records...(and many, many others)

music love
Modest Mouse, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Distillers, Arctic Monkeys, Wilco, The White Stripes, The Strokes, Spoon, Rilo Kiley, Regina Spektor, Rancid, Pixies, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Iron & Wine, Feist, Cat Power, 90s music, Bob Dylan, Lily Allen, Ingrid Michaelson, Stars

I'm constantly trying to expand my music collection, so I'm very willing to hear new music. As a general rule, I'm not a fan of "top 40" type music (although there are always exceptions). I'd like to get an indie hip hop mix, but I've never really been able to find anything...

book love
anything by Charles Bukowski, The Bell Jar, She's Come Undone, Little Children, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Slaughter-House Five, Requiem for a Dream, the Harry Potter series

(general likes and interests)

rain, the colors blue & gray, holistic therapy, Etsy, handmade jewelry, pouches, handbags, small boxes and bowls, glass flower vases, silver, Burberry plaid, unique necklaces, small dogs, indie blogs, decaf coffee, Earl Grey tea, clever packaging, pinback buttons with neat sayings, feminist themed items, mix CDs, yoga and meditation, maps (particularly antique-looking ones), foreign languages (especially Russian), trivia game shows, Charles Bukowski, ATCs, American Sign Language, blogging and journaling, old fashioned keys, zines

I can never have enough...

â—Š address labels and swap cards

â—Š ATCs! I am always looking to expand my collection.

â—Š blank notecards (especially interesting/unique ones)

â—Š items for my dog, Newt, a male Cairn terrier (weighing about 15 lbs.)

â—Š reusable grocery or produce bags

â—Š books and magazines on vegetarianism, yoga, crafting, alternative/holistic health, and feminism (new or gently used)

â—Š pinback buttons

â—Š tote bags

â—Š mix CDs (especially ones with clever themes)

â—Š moleskine journals (any size)

â—Š zines (I especially enjoy themes of veganism/vegetarianism and feminism. Perzines are great too)

â—Š organic and natural items (I'm switching all of my bath/body/cleaning products to those that are more eco-friendly, and I'm always looking to try new brands/scents/etc. See my Etsy favorites for ideas!)

â—Š shipping supplies (envelopes, bubble mailers, tape, etc.)

â—Š pen pal letters, especially if you think we have things in common. Or if you've participated in NaNoWriMo and want to share advice. I would very much like to get a letter from someone practicing Buddhism or Paganism...Information about your beliefs and lifestyle is something I'd find very interesting.

â—Š very basic vegetarian recipes (I'm not much of a cook...)

â—Š profile based ATCs (particularly those based on the themes listed below) made by you or ones you don't need in your collection

â—Š ATC making supplies (if you send me personalized back labels I will love you forever. seriously.)

â—Š blog links...I'm always looking for new reading material.

â—Š visits to my blog (leave a comment if you see something that interests you! I always like to know who stopped by)

â—Š handmade bookmarks (especially if they match my favorite themes)

â—Š those binder pages that hold 9 trading cards...I need to get my ATCs organized!

As far as colors go...

â—Š I am very partial to blues, grays, black, brown, and softer colors

â—Š I'm not usually a fan of busy or bright patterns or fluorescent/electric colors

When it comes to themes, you can't go wrong with...

â—Š Ghost World (the film)

â—Š mythology

â—Š dinosaurs

â—Š ducks

â—Š shipwrecks & boats

â—Š Bill Murray

â—Š feminism

â—Š dandelions

â—Š yoga/meditation

â—Š Charles Bukowski

â—Š vegetarianism or veganism

â—Š hedgehogs

â—Š cute robots

â—Š foods, mushrooms, or clouds with faces

â—Š holistic/alternative heatlh

â—Š Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the original cartoons...you know, from way back in the day)

â—Š Buddhist symbols/quotes/themes

â—Š Goddess symbols/theme

â—Š quotes...preferably not sappy or inspirational ones, but rather some neat ones from songs/movies/generally cool people.

(I want to collect more ATCs in these categories, so I will be delighted if you send me one.)

The scents I love most are...

â—Š vanilla

â—Š cinnamon

â—Š coconut

â—Š grapefruit

â—Š the occasional food-like scent, particularly if it incorporates the scents listed above

â—Š I tend to shy away from most fruity and flowery scents

You just might become my favorite person ever if you send me...

â—Š an altered journal matching my interests

â—Š a decorated album for my ATCs

â—Š a tarot deck

â—Š items that might help me complete my 43things goals

â—Š some very small sterling silver earrings (cheaper metals make my ears hurt)...I have four piercings in one ear and two in the other.

â—Š a bento box

â—Š personalized ATC backs

â—Š spiritual items that correspond with Buddhism and paganism (particularly items that are Goddess themed)

â—Š something you've handmade especially for me

â—Š books from my Amazon wishlist (used is great!)

In summary...

â—Š if you incorporate my favorite themes into it, I will love it. really.

â—Š as much as I love oddities and knick-knacks, I'm really attempting to avoid having my room pile up with too much "stuff"...My ideal swap items are those that are thoughtful and functional (although you are more than welcome to help me feed my ATC addiction!).

(Some things I find a bit underwhelming...)

Despite the fact that this list is a mile long, I really do like most things, especially if a lot of thought is put into the package. Mail in general makes me a happy camper.

â—Š anime

â—Š Christian items

â—Š Tim Burton movie items...(they give me the heebie jeebies)

â—Š gum (I don't chew it ever...)

â—Š toe socks (regular socks are great though!)

â—Š conservative political paraphernalia

â—Š strong flowery scents (no lavender, please)

â—Š floral print items

â—Š figurines, stuffed animals, etc...they just take up shelf space in my room.

â—Š ...I also have a silly fear of octopi.

â—Š I generally don't care for folk-art/Americana style items

â—Š I'd prefer not to receive cosmetics and perfumes...I'm very particular about the items I buy. I also don't wear nail polish.