ariestess

Because it has become an issue recently, I must add this information: I live in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. That puts me in the Pacific Standard/Daylight Timezone, aka PST/PDT.

When I send out a swap, I send it by 11:59pm in MY timezone, which is also the Swap-Bot timezone.

I don't cater to anyone else's timezone. As long as the swap is sent out and marked as sent by the end of the day in my timezone, it's still listed as sent on time, as this is the way it was explained to me when I joined Swap-Bot back in 2012.

If this is an incorrect way of going about sending out swaps, I request that people link me to the section of the rules/FAQs where it says otherwise. Until then, this is the way I will continue to operate with my swaps.

On Sending Swaps

I press "sent" when I put the item in my mailbox or drop it off at the post office down the street. This sometimes means that I have missed the day's pickup, which means it'll go out the following day. I do try to take holidays and weekends into account when sending items out.

If you should receive a swap from me that's marked postage due, please PM me and let me know how much was owed and your paypal address, and I'll refund it to you.

On Rating Swaps

I admit I've been slow in getting some ratings done in the past. The issues that predicated that should be dealt with now, so I will rate as quickly as I can upon receiving your swap.

I DO consider the send by date a requirement to getting a "5" on a swap. This is how it was explained to me when I first joined this site, and it's how I've always worked with my ratings. For further information, please see below on how communication can adjust this.

On Communication

I'm BIG on communication. If I'm going to be late with a swap, I will PM you [and usually the swap coordinator, as well] with an ETA of when it will be sent, as well as once I've actually sent it. If I have tracking on a package for you, I'll PM you with that information, as well.

If you communicate with me that your swap will be late before the deadline, I'm usually quite good about still giving you a "5" if you keep up with your end of the bargain and send by your revised send date. If you don't communicate with me before the deadline, I don't know that there may be extenuating circumstances, so I will rate accordingly.

The short version

Dyke. Pagan. Pet lover. Writer. Creatrix.

The long version

I was born on 4 December 1969, which makes me a Sagittarius with Libra moon & Scorpio ascendant. But I was born like 3-odd weeks early, or so I'm told, so I need to look into the variations for a cusping Capricorn yet. At 10 years old, I knew I was at least bisexual, and that there was more for me than conventional Christianity. So eventually I came out to my family: In 1994 as a pagan & in 1995 as a lesbian. I interchangeably call myself either pagan or witch, and follow an eclectic solitary tradition. Despite the "chic-ness" of how it sounds, mine is a rather personalized path, currently more fluid than rigid, and will quite possibly stay that way. I've come to feel that life is more fluid than rigid, so I believe it's better to 'go with the flow' than try to hold back the flood.

I currently live in a fabulous house in the Puget Sound area with my partner and our good friend, as well as 4 cats. We've nicknamed our house "3 Dogs House" and all have nicknames :: I am Spotty, my partner is Doggie, and our friend is Soggy.

I have been writing in one form or another since I was about 7yo. Writing is in my blood; I can't NOT do it. Primarily I write poetry, fanfiction and original fiction, though I am known to dabble in meta from time to time.

I like a little bit of everything, but I'm seriously opinionated. I can be very silly...or very serious.

If you have a question, ask. Depending on how personal it is, I may answer it or I may not.

On Christmas & Easter

As stated above, I am pagan. While I primarily celebrate Yule and the Spring Equinox/Ostara, I am happy to receive swap items that are related to Christmas and Easter, provided they aren't religious in nature.

If you have questions about any other holidays, please feel free to PM me about it.

• crochet
• cross stitch
• scrapbooking
• doodling
• painting
• making cards
• iris fold
• beading
• jewelry making
• making candles
• making spa goodies

• purple
• pink
• black
• silver
• copper
• jewel tones

• donkeys
• sea glass
• lighthouses

• bottles of water

  I have a good-sized collection of bottles of water collected from various places around the world. I use these in some of my rituals, and love to add to my collection.

• harbor seals
• hyenas
• african painted dogs

• snakes

  Main favorites :: eastern/western diamond back rattlesnakes, black mambas, king cobras, & aruba island rattlesnakes

• anything from my collections above
• anything purple [bonus points if it's sparkly]
• fun postcards
• stickers
• fun note cards to use
• fun stationery to use
• pens & markers [I prefer 0.5mm or fine point pens]
• fun little stuff to put in my bujo
• yarns of all types
• Disney stuff [especially Eeyore, Princess & the Frog, & Moana]
• Miyazaki stuff [especially My Neighbor Totoro & Kiki's Delivery Service]
• Don Bluth movies
• coloring books
• little toys & trinkets
• silly putty
• stuffed animals
• toys & treats for my cats

• candy

  prefer dark chocolate to milk or white chocolate, UNLESS it's good Swiss-type milk chocolate

  PLEASE NO FOODS WITH ASPARTAME, NUTRASWEET, AMINOSWEET, NEOTAME, OR PHENYLALANINE. I am highly allergic.

• Kinder Egg toys

  The whole, unopened eggs themselves are illegal in the US, but I love collecting and making the toys. I won't honestly miss the chocolate all that much.

For the most part, if you send me something that meets swap requirements, but I can't use personally, it will go into a bin I have of "pay it forward" items that are used for other swaps or just to send to people randomly.

That being said, there are some very specific things that I absolutely DO NOT WANT.

PLEASE NO FOODS WITH ASPARTAME, NUTRASWEET, AMINOSWEET, NEOTAME, OR PHENYLALANINE. I am highly allergic.

• Makeup of any kind -- I don't wear it and won't use it
• Perfumes of any kind -- Strong smells can trigger migraines
• Obvious junk/trash -- If you wouldn't be happy to receive it or display it publicly, then neither will I

This is by no means complete, so I'll be updating with time as things change.

• A :: apples, avocado, arrow motifs, animals, ASL, astrology, African painted dogs, Avalon, Atlantis, Arthurian legend, anise, ameythyst

• B :: bats, bagels, bananas, birds of prey, beluga whales, big cats, ballet, black, bottles of water [see "Things I Collect" for more info], bisexuality, Beltane, bindrunes

• C :: cats, crochet, carrots, crickets, coloring, coloring books [kids or adults], candy, copper [color & metal], cross stitch, card making, comparative religion studies, curling, Christ mythos [emphasis on the Gnostic interpretations], candles, crows

• D :: Dutch Bros, donkeys, dilly beans, dyeing my hair, doodling, diving, dogs, dachshunds, daisies, dark chocolate, Disney stuff [especially Eeyore, Princess & the Frog, & Moana], Damien [the series], Don Bluth movies, docks

• E :: elk [esp Roosevelt elk, aka yellow butts], earthworms, etymology, egrets, eagles, essential oils

• F :: fairies, fingerspelling, fish, fruit, fans, flowers, frogs, fawns, fog, foxes, fire, fables, fanfiction

• G :: ghost stories, ghosts, gravy, geese, grapes, gray, Greece [& all things Greek], Greek mythology, Gnosticism, Glastonbury Tor, gargoyles, Gargoyles [the animated series]

• H :: harbor seals, hyenas, history, hockey, honey, Hamilton

• I :: icicles, indigo, ink, icebergs, ice cream, iris fold, Imbolc

• J :: juice, jellybeans, jetboat tours, jellyfish, jaguars, juniper, jawbreakers [candy], jewel tones, Judas Iscariot [Gnostic interpretation]

• K :: kingfishers, kittens, kangaroos, kitchen witchery, knowledge, Kinder Egg toys [not the candy, just the toys]

• L :: lighthouses, labrador retrievers, learning, liver, lavender, love, lesbianism, lions, licorice, laughing, lakes, Lammas, Litha

• M :: music, Mary Magdalene [Gnostic interpretation], magic, marionberries, mountains, mice, monkeys, musicals, moon magic, moon [all phases], The Morrigan, Morgan le Fay, Mother Earth, maple syrup, mail, Miyazaki movies [esp My Neighbor Totoro & Kiki's Delivery Service], Mabon

• N :: night, nature, notebooks, numbers [4, 9, 13, & 44 especially], numerology, noodles, nuts, narwhals, nymphs, Native American/First Nations mythology

• O :: obsidian, oceans, owls, orchids, olives, octopi, Once Upon a Time, oak trees, occult, orchestral music, Ostara, Oregon

• P :: pickles, PURPLE, pink, pinnipeds, painting, postcards, pens [fine point 0.5mm or finer preferred], Pentel RSVP fine point pen [purple or black ink], pigs, peas, pizza, peace, piano, pagan, peaches, plums, poetry, peppers, Pacific Ocean, phoenixes, poultry, penguins, pyramids, pudding, psychometry, piano, pasta, photography, puddles, puppies, posies, pansies

• Q :: quietude, quills, quivers, quotes, quartz, quinoa, quesadillas

• R :: rabbits, rivers, ratties, red, rye bread, reading, rock collecting, rain, rubies, rice, roses, robins, Regina Mills, Robin Hood, rainy days, ravens, rituals, recipes, Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy, Redwoods, runes

• S :: selkies, seas, seals, swimming, synchronized swimming, Shakesepeare, songbirds, silver, sea glass, snakes [especially eastern/western diamond back rattlesnakes, black mambas, king cobras, & aruba island rattlesnakes, aka the hotter the better], stickers, stationery, silly putty, stuffed animals, soap making [glycerin only], stones, singing, shells, sharks, smiles, stars, spiders, sand, Samhain, salmon, spirituality

• T :: Thera, Tsagaglalal [She Who Watches], trees, tigers, twinkies, toys for my cats, tacos, tea, tomatoes, tomato juice, thunder, thunderstorms, teddy bears, talismans, tarot, tarantulas, tranquility, turtles, tortoises, Tillamook Lighthouse, Tillamook Creamery [ice cream & cheese]

• U :: unicorns, umbrellas, the universe, the Umbra, underdogs, unity, Umpqua Lighthouse, Umpqua ice cream

• V :: variety, vaginas, velvet, violet, vipers, vegetables, volcanos, violins, valleys, voodoo, variegated yarn, visionaries, violets, viridian

• W :: water, winter, West Coast, Washington state, Wisconsin, Wisconsin River, whales, wells, wishes, witches, watermelon, writing, whiskers, wizards, waffles, windmills, wolves, women, wings, webs, woods, wanderlust, wildflowers, wax, waves, wading, wind, Wicca

• X :: Xena: Warrior Princess, xylophones, xylitol [alternative to aspartame]

• Y :: yams, yo-yo, yarn, Yule, yoga, yogurt, Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, Yaquina Head Lighthouse

• Z :: zebras, zippers, zodiac, zen, Zentangle, zaftig

Welp, I used to have this section for bad traders, flakes, and non-raters, but suddenly it's disappeared on me when I was trying to update it. At this point, I'm not going to try to go back and figure out it again, as I'd archived all of the older swaps once I'd added the people here, but I'll just start over again and add people here as I need to...