SassyBird

I'm a 36 year old, married to a Brit whom I met whilst living in England, Mummy to one fabulous sassy chicklet (2 1/2 years old) and three "furry children" - lulu dog, molly cat and biko kitty cat. Oh and don't forget, there's Sid Fishus, my punk rock beta fish.

I love to travel, especially to my "home away from home" - the UK/England. Love a nice cuppa tea! I have been delighted with all the tea I've acquired via the tea swaps. Union Jack/British themed items are a favourite.

I also love anywhere with sun, beach, and the ocean. I just recently completed my coursework and confined water dives for my open water scuba diving certification.

I like to dabble in cooking. My favourite chefs are Jamie Oliver (Naked Chef) and Gordon Ramsey. Love any of those British recipe cards you often find in Sainsbury's, etc. or articles on Jamie and Gordon (Sunday Mail inserts, etc).

I am politically aware and am fighting to save the environment and make a better world for my chicklet. I appreciate any items that are environmentally friendly, recycled, organic, etc. I fight plastic bag usage by bringing my own cotton bags so any of these are welcome! I also support a lot of worthwhile organisations like the Save Darfur coalition, Unicef, etc.

my more materialistic side is an admirer of all things kate spade and lulu guinness - girly girl things. I LOVE the British store, Accessorize.

favourite activites include spending time with the fam, being outdoors/hiking, browsing antique shops and flea markets, going to the beach/ocean, scuba diving, reading, learning about other cultures.

Jane Goodall is my hero! I am going to embark on switching my diet to follow her "Harvest for Hope" plan.

the Brit music scene and dance music primarily - Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Keane, Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks, Blur, Oasis, etc.

Placebo, U2, Green Day, and New Order, Duran Duran, Happy Mondays, Joy Division, The Clash, New Order, Manic Street Preachers, "old school" punk - Sex Pistols, Seven Seconds

also like "world music' - putamayo collections, celtic, african, etc.

To Kill a Mockingbird, old 60s movies (With 6 you get Eggroll, To Sir with Love, etc)

Brassed Off!, Trainspotting, well basically anything with Ewan McGregor - I adore Ewan McGregor!!

Snatch, About a Boy, Billy Elliot, Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days Later, Children of Men...

I also like movies in which provoke thought - Garden State, The King of Scotland, Rwanda, Shawshank Redemption

The Jon Stewart Show, Extras, Real Time with Bill Mahr, Hell's Kitchen, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (British version over the US one), Sex and the City, Scrubs, Rome series on HBO

Huge fan of the BBC shows - The Catherine Tate Show, Spaced, The original (UK)Office, Life on Mars, Clocking Off (miss that show!), Dr. Who series - love David Tennant!, the Earth series

documentaries, PBS shows, travel channel, travel docmumentaries - especially Ewan McGregor's "Long Way Round" series

• Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey by Jane Goodall

• The Jungle: Upton Sinclair

• The Kiterunner: Khaled Hosseini

• THe Last King of Scotland: Giles Foden

• colours: pink, brown, turquoise, green

• Ewan McGregor: such a fascinating person, the fact that he loves his wife and children so much makes him even more fabulous!

• tea: bagged preferably, dabbling into loose tea, don't like "flower" teas - lavendar and the like, not keen on licorice either - other than that, I love all kinds - black, white, green, herbal - especially fruity flavours!

• pens: of any description - ball point, roller ball, caligraphy but not so much the gel pens - I choose my pen and ink colour to match my mood

• nail varnish: any darker colour, OPI is a favourite

• amigurumi - those cute little crochet creations - in particular, love the animals - birds, bunnies, etc. if you can find these or if you make them, please indulge me! :)

• handmade items: I am so envious of those who are artistically inclined. please share your creations with me!

• funky, contemporary notecards - polka dots, gerbera daisy, monogrammed, etc. especially in the pink, brown, turquoise them

• picture frames: my home and my office are decorated with tons of photos of my chicklet and hubby. I'm constantly creating new collages. any frames are greatly appreciated!

• native/aboriginal crafts and jewelry: my husband has lived in africa and I was a cultural anthropology/cultural studies grad student so our home is themed with a lot of native crafts and artwork

• candles: like peony and vanilla scent - lightly scented, no lavender or rose please, not a huge fan of yankee candles either

• jewelry: dangly earrings in silver, clay or beads - no gold colours please

• sweets: love white chocolate - not a big fan of chocolate or dark chocolate. jolly ranchers, wintergreen lifesavers, peanut butter M&Ms. if from UK - LOVE Milky Bar buttons (white chocolate ones), Sherbet lemons, Refreshers, Wine Gums

• decorating themed magazines: love Elle Home: especially british version, Ideal Home (british),domino, blueprint, martha stewart

• IKEA: favourite store - clean lines, more modern, european style

• seahorses

• "toys" for my cubicle

• funky coffee mugs

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interests of my 2 1/2 year old daughter(for toddler related swaps):

• anything Charlie & Lola
• stickers of any description
• play dough and accessories (tools, etc.)
• books - she loves books!
• lip gloss - she loves Lip Smackers!
• anything related to cats or dogs
• accessories for baby dolls (bottles, nappies/diapers, etc.)
• bubbles

• no "country crafts" please - not into the hen, cow, chicken, red checker board themed items

• not so fond of lavender scented or rose scented items (everyone thinks I would love lavender because of the England connection)

• not into scrapbooking so these items will only be recycled in a swap

• religious themed items - I respect all religions and have my own system of beliefs, while I have the utmost respect for your views, please do not send me religious themed items

• don't really care for disney themed items

I would love to be "craftier". I have the 'vision' but not always the talent to back it up... I am trying to get into ATCs, notecards, etc.