About Me - February 12, 2014 - I'm extremely ill at the moment and don't know when I'll be on swap-bot again.

We may have different interests, but as long as it's legal I'm willing to shop and swap for it!

I've suffered from major/chemical depression for almost 27 years and Social Anxiety Disorder for 13 years. Yep, I'm nothing but parties and hijinks!

I'm very sarcastic, have gallows humor, very open-minded (and thus confused on most things), not political, huge imagination, massive dreamer (daydream all day, dream every night) and nothing like the me in my head. Oh and I can be extremely shy and quiet. I love to read and am a knowledge junkie (Hello fellow Mental Flossers!)

Plan for the best. Prepare for the worst. Have faith in the rest...or rock, paper, scissors.

Books

I like mysteries (cozy or humor), mental floss books and stupid crook/people/quote/signs books.

I do read YA and children's books. I even have a Paddington Bear book signed by Michael Bond! I love Paddington, Winnie the Pooh (old, not new), Richard Scarry, Enid Blyton, Frog and Toad, Little Bear, Madeleine L'Engle, Margaret Mahy, Astrid Lindgren, Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, Susan Cooper, Vivian Vande Velde and Diana Wynne Jones. If only I still had them all...

Used books are great if they're in good (readable) condition. Please don't send me a Bookcrossing book, because I'll feel really guilty for receiving it. (I donate all my books to the local library, so it's journey will end with me!)

Postcards

• Unless the swap calls for it, I prefer them blank in an envie, not naked.

• I like vintage, lighthouses, multi-view, artistic, kitschy, alternative, humorous, unique, recipe, first day of issue (postage stamp pcs), pre-stamped, odd material (like wood, metal, plastic, fabric), photography, street art, indie, hotels, cartoons/Sunday comics, celebrities, whatever is popular or famous where you live, owls, Moomin, Garfield, snarky, cats, dogs, Snoopy, any of my favorite books/shows/movies/music, "Did You Know", myths/legends and anything from the ETC list listed further down.

For touristy postcards, my favorite places are: Florida (esp. Clearwater, St. Augustine, Amelia Island or the Florida Keys), Pennsylvania (esp. Erie), New York (esp. NYC, Jamestown, Chautauqua, or the Finger Lakes area) California (esp. Santa Monica, Venice, or Carmel), Japan, Ireland and England.

Thrift Store Items

I like Garfield the cat or Snoopy from Peanuts comics type of items, bookmarks, entertainment/kids/craft or women magazines, coloring books, mystery books, postcards and note cards.

Colors: Silver, greens, blues and creams

Animals: Cats, dogs, birds (esp. owls, ravens and chickadees), turtles, pandas, koalas, wolves, panthers, hedgehogs, hamsters, frogs, flying pigs, dragons, leopards and narwhals.

TV Shows Crossing Lines, Elementary, Face Off, Double Divas, Haven, Sherlock, CSI, Warehouse 13, Blood Relatives, Bones, Doctor Who, Auction Hunters, American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Person of Interest, Unforgettable, Blue Bloods, Mythbusters, Ghost Hunters, Brad Meltzer's Decoded, The Dead Files, World's Dumbest, Orphan Black, Bridezillas, Snapped...I think my TV watching revolves around CBS, PBS, BBC America, SyFy, Tru, A&E, History, and all the Discovery channels!

MOVIES

I haven't been to a movie theater in ages, so my faves are all oldies. Murder By Death, Clue, National Treasure, The Matrix, Speed...will add more when I think of them!

MUSIC

I listen to all sorts of music: international, classical, pop, rock, hard rock, lite rock, easy listening, oldies (as in the 1940s), r&b, etc. My current faves are Muse, Imagine Dragons, Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis, The Lumineers, fun., 2CELLOS and Adele.

My favorite "oldies" are The Commodores, The Stylistics, Hall and Oats, Kenny Loggins, The Doobie Brothers, The Temptations, Frank Sinatra,Kool and the Gang, Abba, The Carpenters, The Bee Gees and Carole King. I've also dabbled in pre-2000 boy bands (I usually sighed over the gay one who I wanted to protect or the one who even I could see needed some help...maybe CPS) and still have Enya moments. Yes, I'm in my 30s. It's not nice to judge

FOOD

Nestle Coffee Crisp, Nestle Carnation Hot Chocolate Variety Pack (has Coffee Crisp hot chocolate...addicted!) Kinder Eggs and most Kinder chocolate, Nestle Smarties, Mars Maltesers, Cadbury UK products - haven't had most of it, but my faves from when I lived in the UK are flakes/fingers/roses/time out/drinking chocolate (shouldn't have chocolate, but I'm a rebel and it's a gift to myself!), Hula Hoop crisps, anything lemon or peach flavored (except tea), mints, gum, most UK foods/sweets, most Japanese hard candy, cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds...can't think of anything else at the moment! Oh, love hot chocolate and seasonal tea. Or green tea and orange pekoe in general.

ETC

• Simon's Cat
• Moomin
• Garfield the Cat
• Baby Marvin
• color ink pens
• Coin purses, wristlets and tote bags(for my books and mags) Eco-bags are fine!
• bookmarks
• clean, soapy, lemony citrus scents.
• miniature animals and vehicles (vending machine, gashpon and quarter machine size)
• England and Ireland items (especially humorous and touristy stuff)

• Bookmarks, postcards or sticker memorabilia from my fave movies, TV shows and music. Or any bookmarks, postcards or stickers that advertise books

• Sugar skulls designs, skull designs (love Alexander McQueen skull designs and wish it was in my price range!)

• Mystery Mosaics (those coloring books that look like tons of squares and you don't know what the picture is until you color in the squares)

• Matryoshka dolls/designs
• Kawaii monsters
• Robots
• Paper toys and paper dolls
• Fairies
• Ghosts
• Steampunk, rockabilly, retro modern, alchemy gothic, pin-up
• Origami
• Craft Kits
• Hedgehogs and hamsters
• Frenchtons/Faux Frenchbo, Pugsand/Daugs Jack Chi, Puggles, French Bulldogs, Pugs and Boston Terrier dogs/puppies
• Short-hair cats and kittens
• pin-back buttons
• Twisters (as in tornado. Love the imagery, not the reality)
• the full moon
• Scrabble (I wish there was a solitary version. No one will play with me because I usually win)
• Nonograms, aka Picross, aka Pic-a-Pic, aka Paintdoku, aka Griddlers, aka, Hanje puzzles
• Logic Puzzles
• Glass, ceramic, metal or stone beads

• Considerate swappers who follow the rules!

• I don't really collect anything at the moment due to life being so....life like, but if it isn't for me I'll make sure it has a good home (I promise not to let the mutt eat it because vet bills are expensive)

For My Mom

• African - American note cards, postcards and/or stickers. She also likes pass-it-on cards and Snoopy .

For the demon mutt

• toys for our Puggle, Bailey. She's 5 years old and weighs about 31 pounds. Cheap toys are great because the diva's a heavy chewer!

• Anything with bugs and insects. I have arachnophobia and entomophobia. This includes ladybugs and butterflies.

• Anything dealing with rape, assault and acts of physical and mental violence/abuse. Too personal, too close to my heart, makes me cry and helps the depression. So no postcards or brochures please!

• Although I don't like glitter, I won't throw a fit if you use it (Some of y'all use Martha or Stickles and I know those are expensive!) Please don't send me glitter for my crafts. I seldom use it and when I do, I use glass glitter (which is basically just crushed and sanded glass)

General Dislikes

• Blood and Gore (as in guts spilling out because I'm a wuss)
• the colors white and black (they get dirty easily!)
• Octopus or squid type creatures (they're like underwater arachnids!)
• Horror (I prefer thrillers and chillers over slashers)
• War
• Discrimination
• Loud noises (when I'm not lost in my head or a book, my hearing is insane...like I can hear through walls and windows insane)
• cigarette smoke (sorry, it hurts my nose!)
• Converters (those who feel the need to make you think the way they do because their way is the only RIGHT WAY)
• Phobias (I have so many!)
• Thoughtless and inconsiderate swappers. I have to take a lot of swap breaks due to swappers that make my depression worse. Swapping shouldn't feel like a chore or a job, so I really don't like those who take all the fun out of this site.