BOOKS!

Got this list, had to do it. I recently attended a fundraiser for a local library that burned down and were selling over 100,000 books at 2 dollars a bag. On the flyer stated: Trying to earn enough money to buy sprinkler system. I guess they should have thought about that before the fire!! The books in the bag are the ones I'm giving away to my mom and family. The ones below are my small collection in my living room.

On to the list:

Look at the list of (100) books below. Bold the ones you’ve read. Italicize the ones you want to read. Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in. Movies don’t count.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)

2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)

5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)

6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)

7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)

8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)

9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)

10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)

11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)

12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)

13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)

14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)

15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)

16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)

17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)

18. The Stand (Stephen King)

19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)

20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)

21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)

22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)

23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)

25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)

27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)

28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)

29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)

30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)

31. Dune (Frank Herbert)

32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)

33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)

34. 1984 (Orwell)

35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)

36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)

37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)

38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)

39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)

40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)

41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)

42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)

43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)

44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)

45. Bible

46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)

47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)

48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)

49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)

50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)

51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)

52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)

53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)

54. Great Expectations (Dickens)

55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)

56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)

57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)

58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)

59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)

60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)

61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)

63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)

64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)

65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)

66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)

68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)

69. Les Miserables (Hugo)

70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)

72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)

73. Shogun (James Clavell)

74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)

75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)

76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)

77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)

78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)

79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)

80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)

81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)

82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)

83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)

84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)

85. Emma (Jane Austen)

86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)

87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)

88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)

89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)

90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)

91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)

92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)

93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)

94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)

95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)

96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)

97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)

98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)

99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)

100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Nothing really.

I have been working my butt off trying to get things done to put up on my new etsy shop. I am still working on things, but as soon as they are done and the site is up I will post a link. I hope things sell!!

I did have the chance to get a package sent out to my brother. I really do hate customs forms. I didn't put half of the stuff on there so I hope it makes it. It was about 10 pounds of junk food so I'm sure he will like it.

Today my husband was about an hour late coming home from work. Had me in a small panic thinking he was dead somewhere when it was just a meeting he had to stay for at work. I guess it made it ok because in hand were some very pretty roses! It's our 3rd anniversary this next week and these were to make up for the last 2 years of nothing. I thought it was sweet.Other than that I have nothing. I hope things are going great for everyone out there and I hope to have swap pictures up soon.

New camera, new swaps

Howdy! I feel so much better now... I got a new camera. The old one was very badly hurt and it did cost so much more less to just buy a new one. So much to share, so little time!

First off my husband got this wonderful swap (via me) for his birthday. In it was all sorts of wonderful goodies that made breakfast so much fun. I was enjoying making little boy and girl pancakes and when I ran out of batter I turned on the eggs!!

Now the things that I'm sending out. Oh the list! First off I have 2 packages of beads and 2 flat goodies going out as well as 2 pringles cans. These were alot of fun to do and easy as well!

Then when I got done with those I decided to finish up my paint can swap. I went with a girly theme for the can and stuff inside. I stuffed it with pink m&m's, crafty girl mints, pink fuzzy socks, an eye mask, body butter, the cutest ever sock coin purse, tea, hot cocoa, and a few more things. Sorry the

pictures are so bad, new camera LOL. I do hope my partners like everything and I also can't wait to see what Joe has in store for me soon!

Welcome to the Social!

Hi again! I hate this not having a camera thing, it makes posting on a blog very boring. Sorry about that.

OK, so I am a new proud owner of the Zune MP3 player. I have no idea what I'm doing with it yet and some of the features are still a mystery to me, but it's still very cool. I downloaded a plug-in to copy youtube videos onto it and have about 20 or so albums and a few pictures and STILL haven't even touched the memory. These things are either going to fade into the background and forever live in the shadow of the iPod or truly be the iPod killer. The 2 things it has going for it are the wifi ability and the FM radio transmitter thing built in. The only thing that bugged me was the fact that it only runs on Windows XP or Vista if you send in for the cd... which means that I had to upgrade. Stupidmicrostupidsoft. So if any of you out there have one of these new doodads then please let me know a few pointers.

In swapping related stuff, it's been slow. Very very slow. I guess the winter storms have put a lag on everything. I did get a nice letter and pair of socks which was nice.

My big countdown to some massive news is almost to a head. I can't wait to be able to share it!! Less than a week I hope.

That's all I have for today. I hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying your time!!

snow and swaps

I am so cold I can't stand it. I try and look at the positive things in life and learn from most of them, but seriously what good comes out of a blizzard? My husband and I had to dig out of the house. We had some friends stop by and help so that was nice, I made homemade cocoa and then later we all took a shot of tequila our neighbor had to "warm up." Not my idea of fun. I really don't enjoy snow.
As all of this was going on I thought I would go out and take some pictures... nope, cant. Camera is broken. I have no idea what is wrong with it so it ends up just making me want to throw it up against the wall. It's sorta sad too because when mail finally started back today I got some wonderful packages I would have liked to share. Of course I had to go pick them up because poor Joe is not to be found under the snow. I do hope he's ok.

Anyway, my wonderful mommy sent a massive care package to us. My son got art supplies, a transformer (an obsession) and more candy than he needs. My daughter tore into the box and found half of my stuff and a cute little puppy toy. After I chased her down I noticed she had things that were meant for me and had to rescue them. Johnny Depp socks. Yep. No Joke. Capt'n Jack on my monkey toes, gotta love that. My sister also made me the cutest earrings ever.
Down toward the bottom were "love dice." I didn't think much of it and set them down. Later I went into the kitchen and saw my hubby licking his arm. Strange. Then noticed he had the dice in his hand. He then looked up at me and asked... "how in the world am I going to kiss my back?" Always good for a laugh.


In swapping news I got 3 great packages. The first was from a few days ago for the good luck swap. Boy did I need it. I had such a wonderful swap partner and everything was great. I wish I could get pictures.

The second one was the rest of the thrift store swap. I find it interesting what other people seem to find.

and the third was for the magic yarn ball swap. I have to admit that the reason I decided to join swap bot was for a swap just like this and ended up not doing it. I should have because it is so much fun. I had a blast making mine to send out and didn't really think about getting one in return. My partner was great. She sent me 2 balls of bright green and blue cotton yarn and a pattern to make a scarf. Being that I am not the quickest at using the stuff and wanted to know what goodies were stuffed inside I decided to unroll them. My goodness, so cute. Cupcake/bonbon type goodies, cute post-it notes, socks, lipgloss... I loved it.

I guess that is all I have. Gotta go wake the man up for work. I hope to have pictures up soon. If all else fails it's a good reason to buy a new one ;) Later!

Not enough hours

I need about 20 more hours in a day to get everything I need to get done, done. I'm sure that may out there could agree with me. I usually don't like to get into my personal life too much, but after all I am human. Without getting into to much let's just say over the last few months things have really hit hard. Nothing tragic or overbearing it's more like busy and a little more stressful than I would like. I now notice more and more grey hair with every passing day (I'm only 26 here people!!). I guess I will update more on that when everything has calmed down and hopefully there will be a reason to celebrate.

Speaking of celebrations... it's happy busy time in our household!! It all seems to start at tax season :) I don't dread doing taxes like some do... I enjoy it! Sick I know. That might change if I ever have to owe back (so far so good... knock on wood)! So we get our return right on Valentine's Day, then it's my husband's birthday, our wedding anniversary (first day of Spring), my birthday, then Easter. Just a few weeks separate them!! I'm so excited. I am ready to go out and start working on my house/yard and see pretty flowers. I miss flowers and green grass.

I also started swapping again. I sorta put everything on hold around the holidays and then a huge shipment of mine got damaged or lost and I had to track those down and resend them. I think I have everything under control now and hope that my respective partners get what they were supposed to in the first place. I am glad to be starting up the swapping thing again, Joe looks sad. The only thing he has had for me the last month is a few GIGANTIC bills. Poor Joe.

Oh, in all of this time we also got a cat. It was a Christmas gift from my hubby and her name is Noel. We call her Ellie and she is beautiful. I used to hate cats because I couldn't breathe around them, but after my daughter was born I was cured of my allergies. Strange. I don't really know too much about cats, but this one seems a bit odd... it will eat ANYTHING. My husband wanted to test that theory and set out: a slice of cheese, french fries, and a scrambled egg and within minutes it was all gone. Today I caught her eating a leftover beagle with cream cheese that one of the kids left on the table. Are cats like this or am I just really lucky with one of the new hybrid cat-vacuums?

My rant must end sometime so please check back soon because I am up and running again. I hope to talk to some of you soon and swap some goodies!!

Holiday Happiness

This whole swap thing is so cool. My mailbox is always full of something fun and today is no exception. I joined a couple of stocking swaps and just got my first one. Not only is the stocking very cute, but the packages inside look amazing.

I also have here a "scavenger hunt" swap package. We all put up a list of about 10 or so things and our partner was to find stuff on that list (about 6 of the 10) and send them. The results of my list:
1. "local art" - a beautiful atc.
2. "tea"- a Christmas tea mug and little tea tin
3. "something warm"- fleece blanket
4. "something useful in a purse/handbag" - mini 2007 calender
5. "craft or art trash/thrift store find"- I'm thinking this may be the crochet kit... either that or it came off my wish list
6. "something for the kitchen"- a cookie cutter filled with chocolate, this could also be for the tree.
7. "something for a Christmas tree" and 8. "stuffie or plush toy" could be either but I got a little Santa doll full of chocolate truffles.
8. also got a fairy charm/key ring. That could be from either my wish list or something useful in a purse
9. a really cute candle. could be something warm, for the kitchen, or just off of my profile.
10. something for the kitchen was also 2 sets of really cute magnets.

I hope I didn't forget anything there. It was a nice box of stuff that I will enjoy using!!

Swap overload!

My daughters 2nd birthday party was this weekend and during the time that my family was over I received 2 packages from swap partners. My mom was just as excited as I was and left with some of my goodies. I told her that she needs to join in on the fun!
Anyway, what arrived that day were....
More spices!! My grandma looked over them and I guess she even approved. I can't wait to try them in my next dish :)

Then there was my stuffed Christmas sock. The sock itself is so cute (which I'm wearing) and has stockings and lights hung all the way around it. Inside were all kinds of goodies. Here is a picture of what I got to keep (hope you like your stuff mom!).

Today I had to go and mail out some packages and while I was there I asked if I had anything today and the mail lady laughed at me (I really shouldn't call her "mail lady" because I do know her name. Hi Janet if you ever read this... you do a great job!) I think there was a little joyful sigh when I told her that I could take them while I was there. My goodness... here we go.
First off we have 2 sets of tea and extra goodies. The swap was for 6 tea bags so I was more than excited to see that I also got dish clothes and scrubbies and a sample of dish soap with one and cards and a bookmark with the other. I also had to fight the hubby away from all the green and oolong tea (it's mine silly man!!).

Then I opened the "snowed in" swap package. I will be enjoying this one for awhile. Inside was some great cocoa mix, handmade soap, notepads, magnets, a cd of great music, a veggie cookbook, and a cute paperweight.


And then, another ornament. This picture doesn't do it justice! I begged my husband to let me put up the tree just so I can hang it up... it didn't work. I guess I will just have to wait another 4 days.

Having fun!

I am a little late in posting pictures of swaps I have received the last few days. First up we have "It's not over till the fat lady sings" swap and I started this one because of all the people out there that take and never send in return. I personally have only had this happen a few times and so I also listed swaps that I would like to "re-do." Anyway, I got this package for the pink swap... in it was 4 pink tea light candles, a bar of rose soap, 2 skeins of yarn, tons of beads, a hand stitched wallet, journal, candy bar (didn't make it to the photo:), and cupcake papers. Needless to say, my partner was the greatest!!


Today my mail lady had to come back twice because there was so much stuff waiting for me. I was so excited and having so much fun opening all of these packages. From the "bundle up" swap I was not only amazed, but thrilled that it did make it here. I know my partner was having trouble making deadlines because of life and whatnot. Trust me when I say that the wait was well worth it! I first saw the cute little Mary Jane slippers, then the candy canes and hot chocolate.... then.... this super cute, ultra soft, and insanely comfy CUPCAKE! blanket! I love it!!

Then there was a package with ornaments (from Germany) that I am counting down the days till I can hang them on the tree. They will look great.

Spices!! Oh the spices!! I love to cook so that was my drive behind joining this swap. Who knew that I would open my mailbox to these?? I am going to have so much fun trying these out (and I've never seen them before so that's even better).

Because it's raining, cold, and just because I can I'm going to sit down tonight with my new book, sip great coffee out of my new mug, and enjoy the rest of the day!

Thank you so much to all of my swap buddies!! I hope that everyone who received from me is just as happy!
Till next time...

Little stars and Joes goodies

I received these little papers to make origami puffy stars. I'm now addicted and had to order some more paper. Here is a picture of the cuteness that I have started in the record bowl that will be full by the time I get done :)

Aside from that I also received a box full of goodies from a partner on swap-bot. It is supposed to be one little gift every day in December counting down to Christmas day. I don't think I can hold out so I had to hide them out of sight.

Here is also a pair of cute socks with a couple of treats and a random CD mix. Both are keeping me warm and happy today!!

In other news: I am beyond sick of filling out customs forms!! I think I have done about 30 of them in the last 3 months and I hate doing it. The kicker was today. I sent my brother's Christmas gifts to him in Japan (this is the second time for some of them because *sigh* the customs forms were not filled out right). I had to fill out his address a total of 6 times for 3 packages then pay almost a hundred bucks so they would get there in a timely fashion. There are also different customs forms for how much things weigh, that is where I made the mistake the first time. I just hope that they make it there this time and before Christmas!! So... little bro if you read this, I hope you enjoy your $10 gift in your $80 dollar box! :)

Swap Happy

I came home yesterday to the most amazing package. QuirkyBindi from nervousness.org and I did a personal swap and this is what she sent me. It was full of candy, stickers, stamps, chopsticks, soap, an anklet, notepad, postcards, hair ties, cupcake papers, origami stars and more paper to make them, heart beads, a record bowl, the cutest ever cupcake pincushion and so much more!! Thank you so much :)



Then there is the swapbot stuff that overloads my mailbox (and I LOVE!!) Oh, we also got a new mailbox. My mail carrier begged me to get a new (bigger and better) one. I like to call it mailbox 2.0, or Joe for short. So Joe was sitting outside waiting for me with a cute pair of socks from Sue (who also had me for a partner in another swap and sent a wonderful tea cup, but for some reason I can't get the picture from my camera to here *sad*)


And... a envie stuffed full of candy from Sweden!! Had to open the milky way as soon as I took a picture. So strange. It was 2 bars and no caramel like we have here in the states. It was more like a 3 musketeer bar. Very good though. I had enough stuff to share with almost everybody! My daughter claimed the candy necklaces, my son latched onto the fizzy candy and powder filled fruit. My husbands grandfather was given the licorice lollie (and liked it...) and I am now in love with the basta pasta things. Sweet, sour, and good!! Way too much to eat in one day but I have been sneaking into the kitchen every once and awhile to grab something :)

To kick this post off I thought it would be fun to share a little picture of my pumpkin for the Halloween season. We actually have several sitting outside, but this one is my favorite. I'm sorry for it being so blurry. I often tell my husband that Johnny Depp is my next husband... only he doesn't know it yet. Hey! Let a girl dream!!

On to swapping news. I'm behind in posting pictures....again. Sorry for not giving credit where credit is due. I have received some really great packages in the mail this last week. One of them was the ATC baggie swap. I have 3 partners and so far I got this over-stuffed bag! It was so full it was spilling out of the sides and top. It took me awhile to sort everything out. I loved it!!

The picture on the below is 4(?) different packages. A stuffed mailbox once again. There is tea, 2 cd's, a notepad and magnets, my second puzzle book, and a whole envie full of goodies from a swap I did on nervousness.org .

I also got my "pamper me" swap. Where to start?
On the left is homemade soap, chocolates, fuzzy slipper-socks, pumpkin candle and lotion. Oh man that lotion is wonderful!

I feel funny about putting peoples names on here, but feel free to leave a comment. Even if it's something like... hey glad you liked what I sent or I sent that and just wanted to say hi.... I would love to hear from you and please take the credit of what you sent!!

My postal worker looked tired

I have been having some serious trouble uploading pictures so I'm a little bit behind. The other day I walked out to check my mail and there were no less than 6 packages and a letter. It was just like Christmas!! So here are some pictures of the things I have received.


The above is a picture of a CD from the Rainbow CD swap, an atc and bag of rose chai tea from Israel, 6 bags of wonderful tea, a TV guide crossword puzzle, and an actual handwritten letter.

Here we have 5 amazing tins of mints. Wintergreen, peppermint, cinnamon, choxie dark chocolate mint, and green tea with pear. I can't choose a favorite.
Now we have my "wish swap" package. WOW! I don't know where to start. I got a shawl and pin, a little Harry potter shrine box with tiny little scarf, paper, buttons, beads, fairy postcards and paper, and a really nice card with a 1'' pin of the landmark of Berlin. Amazing swap partner and it came all the way from Germany.

Thank you again to everyone who sent stuff. I also have a bunch of tea and atc's but I don't want to put someone's artwork up here, but I assure you that they too are great!!

CD in the mail

It worked!
Part of me is actually surprised because I don't know how many people do these things for "free stuff." I just got 3 CD's in the mail over the last couple of days. One of them was full of local music from the Chicago area. Most of the bands and people I've never heard before so that was a treat. The other 2 were from that love life one I mentioned earlier. The stories behind the music are very interesting. One of them gets me to laugh every time.

I don't think I'm going to post pictures because I'm pretty sure that everyone has seen a CD before. I am expecting more stuff here really soon so that should be nice. I started more trading with ATC's and I'm really nervous about my work being out there. Never seems like it's good enough and I worry about that.

My Wishlist

Ok, here we go.

Color likes: blues, brown, green, pink, black... almost anything really
dislike: orange as a primary

Handmade:
handbags
ATC's
altered tin for atc's or small box (3x4 inches)
hand spun yarn
hand dyed yarn
postcards
journal
altered book of some sort
anything knitted (because I'm knittarded)
anything nightmare before christmas!
funny t-shirts or hoodies... i love hoodies!!
a shawl (triangle one or batwing)
granny squares or squares for a blanket, any size or color... knit or crochet
I'm really not that picky so i would love anything that you can do really well and would like to share :)

Store items:
anything from another country outside of america! candy, t-shirts, paper, whatever
your favorite book
local music
fliers or newspapers for local bands (or just bands) for the town, or a club...
coffee and chocolate!
coffee mugs
scrapbooking supplies (to make atc's)
photo albums (I never seem to have enough)
a book binding kit... maybe an awl or homemade paper or leather
old crochet patterns (or new ones)
1 inch pins or buttons of anything

General
I love Tim Burton films, long scarves, music, writing, drawing, my 2 kids, anything that has to do with my house or making it work better, cute things, anything funny or crazy, blankets, cupcakes, coffee, "teen" shows ie gilmore girls, one tree hill, the oc..., paper,
wine, fairies, crochet, yarn, postcards, pins and buttons

Pink Swap

Hello again. I just thought I would let everyone out in internet land know about the swap I just started up. It has to do with anything pink!! This could be a ton of fun. Just think of what you could send (and get) from someone. You can find it here at: http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/967

Items could be anything!! yarn, buttons, candy, pens, paper, CD, a new car... OK maybe not a car because the price on it should only be around 10 or so dollars.

I hope everyone that stumbles here goes and gets a FREE account at swap-bot.com and joins in the fun. There are many more cute and fun swaps on there that are waiting for you! Ok, now I'm just starting to sound like an advertisement. Blah.

Either way, I will post pictures soon.


In other swapping news, I just sent out 2 CD's here in the states to girls. The theme was about our love life. I happened to have an old email from my husband that he sent me years ago that were all song titles so I found the songs and sent those. I cant wait to see what other people send me. I love to know about lives other than my own.
The other CD was to the United Kingdom. Very cool. The theme on that one was "local bands." I was drawn to that one because if anyone knows this family then they know that we live with local bands. It was fun trying to get people to let me burn there stuff and send it so far away.

Till next time....

Welcome

I just started up this blog because I also just started internet swaps. I thought it would be fun to post pictures of thing I am making along with pictures of thing that I got from other people. I get sick of opening the mailbox only to find junk and bills (on top of bills on top of bills).

I will also be posting other projects as well. I hope this gives everyone a chance to be a little more creative and share with me! Lets have fun!!