Gayle

For CherylLaVon and her family. My thoughts and love are with you always.

If Everyone Cared

From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you'd be mine
But here we are, we're here tonight

Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

And I'm singing
Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive

And in the air the fireflies
Our only light in paradise
We'll show the world they were wrong
And teach them all to sing along

Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
(I'm alive)

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died
When nobody died...

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day when nobody died

-Nickelback

I'm a forty-three year old SAHM of several, including two adopted boys (who aren't really boys anymore, but they're my boys, so there), three might as well be adopted boys (who also aren't really boys anymore) two stepdaughters (both grown), a 18 year old daughter, 13 year old son, and a 4 year old daughter. I have also collected quite a number of people who call me mom.

I live in the state of Washington, and hope to go to grad school for my Masters in history some year. I want to specialize in African American History and African History. I just have to pass the GRE.

I have a passion about learning about other cultures. I'm thrilled with anything considered cultural at all, including crafts, books, stories, etc. It doesn't matter the culture, I'll love it.

I'm also a firm believer in tolerance of any kind. I cannot abide racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, or any of that. I'm all for equal rights for everyone and judgment for no one based on anything besides their actions. There is no excuse in my mind to look down on a group of people for any other reason. In my opinion, any reason for doing so, be it religious or cultural or what have you, is just an excuse for someone to look down on another person or group and expect it to be considered acceptable. It's not. Period.

Favourite Colours: Red, black, silver

Favourite Flavours: Peach, cherry, orange

Favourite Season: Winter

Favourite Holiday: Christmas

Favourite Flower: Lilac. Also roses.

Favourite Candy: Twizzlers, M&Ms (plain is my favourite), Sixlets, Junior Mints, York Peppermint Patties, gummy candy, Chewy Cream Savers (especially chocolate and orange cream), Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Mounds. Pretty much any chocolate, though white chocolate I can't take much of.

Favourite Drinks: Pepsi, Mountain Dew Livewire, iced tea, tea, Chai

Dislikes:

Black licorice

Candy canes and peppermint type disc candies

Coffee

Raspberry and strawberry and melon flavoured things.

Not overly fond of the colours orange or pink (except darker pink) or bright yellow

I'm not really a fan of anime and the like.

Allergies:

Metal. I sadly can't wear metal jewelry because I break out, although loose bracelets (and I love bracelets) I can do for a few hours at a time. Even the hypoallergenic stuff torments me with hives and itches. Tis a ponderous fate.

These are a few of my favourite things:

Winged Horses

Wolves

Snowmen ☃

Black Panthers

Penguins

Scarecrows

Anything fantasy oriented

Anything nautical

Vintage things, particularly Victorian

For Swaps that might include my non-adult kids

Jason, 14, is a typical boy. He likes cars, toy weapons, video games, and sports (particularly football). He's getting more into music as well, and likes such groups as Metallica and Linkin Park. He's not so big on books, but would love things to go with his bike and anything snack-like. His favourite colour is green. He usually prefers fruit candy over chocolate, though he loves that, too. He's also a big fan of the Oakland Raiders.

Madison, 4, is the easy one! She loves hearts, stars, butterflies, flowers (I started a swap with this theme because of her), and she adores stickers and paper and pens (she prefers pens over crayons, even). She also loves Disney Princesses (especially Sleeping Beauty), Hannah Montana, and Sesame Street stuff, especially Elmo, and she's gearing up to be a clothes horse. She's also become quite enamored with My Little Pony. She loves clothes (wears 6). She also loves light up things, and obsesses over any lights she sees. Lately she's been obsessing over polka dots. She loves the colours orange and purple (purple being her absolute favourite) and adores gummy candy, suckers/lollipops, and M&Ms. Of course, she, like most kids, loves anything sweet.

I love all sorts of music, though I'm not fond of opera and I can only take so much of instrumentals. I listen to anything from country to pop to classic rock to metal to hip hop. You name it, and I probably have something in that genre.

My favourites are Sawyer Brown, Martina McBride, Louis Armstrong, Survivor, Cruxshadows, and many more.

My all-time favourite movie is Amistad. I don't see that changing anytime soon. I also love the Harry Potter series of movies (as well as books), Miracle on 34th Street (the original only), Nightmare Before Christmas, Lost Boys. Mississippi Burning, Rosewood, the Lord of the Rings series and others.

My favourite overall show is the original Battlestar Galactica. I haven't seen the new one and don't wish to. I also really like Lost and American Idol Overall, I don't watch TV too much.

I'm not very good at creating crafts, sadly. I've been known to be all right at painting ceramics, although I haven't done it for awhile. I do want to start scrapbooking at some point soon.

I've also started doing decorated matchboxes, and I have a lot of fun with that. I'm getting better at it, and love any practice I can get!

I'm very excited because I just got a sewing machine for my birthday, and I very much want to learn how to use it and start making things with it! I can't wait!

Any craft goodies are more than welcome, but I especially love ribbon, shaped buttons, and cool beads. I love it all though, and I can usually find some use for anything that you might send. Hopefully I'll get brave enough to branch out into other areas soon, and I have plans to try and start working with wood, such as with unfinished hinged boxes and wooden plaques. I'd like to start coming up with ways to pretty them up.

Other than what I can make, I love knitted things, crocheted things, and I guess pretty much anything. I'm not picky there.

The Belgariad, American Gods, Anansi Boys, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Bleak House, Pride and Prejudice, Black Like Me, Souls of Black Folk, Their Eyes Were Watching God, A Tale of Two Cities, pretty much anything by Agatha Christie, Black Elk Speaks, Moby Dick, House of Seven Gables, the Harry Potter books.

I pretty much love any classic novels, and fantasy is my genre of choice. I'm not big on either sci-fi or romance novels. I also love mysteries, especially the older ones.

Memo pads, stationery, address labels, buttons (particularly cute shaped ones), ribbon, kitchen stuff (Southwest colours for decor), beads, ephemera, cute papers for matchbox making, tiny matchbox stuffers, candles (all scents welcome), incense (ditto), magnets, postcards (both written on and not), office supplies, pretty tins, purses/bags, charms, picture frames, fiber, stickers, mugs, cute boxes, cute socks, neat tee shirts (size XL), things for thick hair, nice or cute pens (I like any colour ink but blue), Sharpies, and anything at all made by you!

I've also started collecting keychains from other states and countries. So far I have the following:

States:

Washington
Arkansas
Pennsylvania
Georgia
Hawaii
South Dakota
Florida
Wyoming
Kansas
California
New Jersey
Tennessee
Colorado
Michigan
Maryland

Countries:

Belgium
New Zealand
Canada (the different provinces are still welcome, of course!) Germany

"I wish people'd be nicer to each other. I wish kids and adults and everyone would think before they make fun of others cause they got no idea what that someone else is going through. They don't know if that person they're teasing or poking fun at is fragile enough that they'll take a razor to their wrists. Me and other gang members get alot of flak for who we are and the lives we lead and the assumptions people make, but you know what? A whole lot of us would never treat anyone the way people treated my sister. If you can't have respect for your fellow people then you don't deserve it yourself. And you might just find out that someone hurt or killed themselves cause of your words. Is it really worth having the kind of fun that might do that? Is someone's fun worth someone else's life? I don't think so. Too bad alot of people put themselves first like that. World would be a better place if we all showed a little caring and compassion. What good is having a good life if you make someone else's darker? I think it feels better treating people with caring. Maybe we'd all be happier if everyone felt that way."

-Spare Change (gang member who lost his sister to suicide when she was 12 because this simple lesson escapes too many people)

Be kind to each other. Please.

Peace to you all, both inside and out.