GrrrMeoww

I have a craft addiction that has eaten most of my house....just ask my husband....there's ephemera on every available surface when I'm working on something! lol

I have five wonderful animals which I love dearly, two dogs, a lab named Bella, and a husky named Holo, (from Holo/Horo in "Spice and Wolf") two cats, Musashi and Katana, and one husband, Mike. :P

I've been married for almost 10 years now, and we have been together for nearly 13. Yep, 13; we met just a month after I turned sweet 16. :) We were married on Halloween of 2003, and plan to celebrate our 10th anniversary by renewing our vows in Vegas....wow that's coming up pretty soon....

I'm a little eccentric...in a few different ways...I wander back and forth between goth/punk and anime geek, love creepy Japanese horror movies, the occasional ghost hunting trip..

I love little apple dolls, living dead dolls, and skelanimals, zombies, ghosts,...and also cupcakes, kitties, kawaii, and vintage floral Victorian stuff.. :D Ya...I'm a little odd, but so is everyone else. People are darn weird sometimes, don't you think?

Note: I love collage ATCs, but if the only thing on it is clip-art you printed off your computer and a big fat sticker, it does not show any confidence in your own artistic ability, and it will not get a heart. It's not a difference in personal opinion, it's common sense. If you insist it isn't, in fact, a lack of confidence, then it's a lack of effort, instead. Call it what you will.

(A sticker should only be used in collaboration with other art techniques- assuming you have created something on your card yourself. It should never stand alone, or be the focal point, and it should never take up 30 percent of your surface space! A big fat sticker is not art. Period.)

It's called an Artist Trading Card for a reason, and I think many people have forgotten what that truly means.

• Bullet for my Valentine

• Killswitch Engage, Breaking Benjamin, A Perfect Circle

• Hamasaki Ayumi

• Tommy Heavenly 6

• Wakeshima Kanon

• Plumb

• 30 Seconds to Mars (Jared Leto is SEXY)

• NIN, A Perfect Circle, Atreyu, Flyleaf, Fireflight, Sara Barielles

• Paramore

• Within Temptation, Abe Mao, Jolin Tsai, Mucc, Evans Blue, Lady Gaga, Letters to Cleo, Yellowcard, Jimmy Eat World, Reggie and the Full Effect, Metallica, Mindless Self indulgence, Jack off Jill

• Shiina Ringo

• Hikaru Utada, NIN, The Cure, Lacuna Coil, Fiona Apple

• t.A.T.u.

• VNV Nation, Depeche Mode, Short of First (Alas...they were a Detroit local band that no longer exists...), Finger Eleven, The Used, Linkin Park, Staind, Queen of the Damned Soundtrack :)=

and then there's a whole other list of songs I love by bands that I can't normally stand...like Muse...I only like that one darn song from the twilight soundtrack lol

Anything with vampires, werewolves, or fae...mostly paranormal romance stuff.

• Sherrilyn Kenyon, Karen Marie Moning, J.R. Ward, Laurell K. Hamilton, Anne Rice, Kim Harrison

Some manga too:

• Vampire Knight, Fruits Basket, Fake, Chibi Vampire Karin, Chobits

• Yaoi titles by June Publishing

I've rated like 1200 on netflix and I doubt that tips the iceberg of how many I've seen even in the last 5 years...but...

• Interview with the vampire

• The 5th element (Did I mention I love Milla Jovovich?)

• Resident evil (s)

• Underworld (except that last one that didn't even have kate beckinsale in it), Milo and Otis, Memoirs of a Geisha, Izo, Saving Face, Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story, My Big Fat Greek Wedding

• Girl with a Dragon Tattoo

• Death Note, 30 Days of Night, Vampire Journals, House of 1000 Corpses, Return of the Night of the Living Dead 3, Fido

• Secretary

• Dracula 2000, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, The NeverEnding Story, Hudson Hawk, The Count of Monte Cristo, Religulous, Deathproof, Planet Terror, Silent Hill, Schoolboy Crush, Spaceballs, The Lost Boys, Bulletproof Monk, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Honey and Clover

...the list just goes around the world a few dozen times.

TV:

*Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Castle, Angel, Firefly, Lost (except the last season yuck!), Desperate Housewives, Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, Vermillion Pleasure Night, Bloodhound: The Vampire Gigolo

• The L-Word (Especially Shane...Yum...I HATE JENNY!)

• Nip/Tuck

ETC:

• Les Miserables, CATS, Phantom of the Opera, REPO: The Genetic Opera, Rent, Chicago

• Any paranormal romance book you happen to find...media mail is cheeeeap hint hint :P

• Any Yaoi Manga title by June publishing.

• DECO/WASHI TAPE! But who am I kidding- everybody asks for this stuff lol

• Tea!! ^^^Especially 3 in 1 coffee or tea sachets/mixes- don't see those much in the US!

• I especially love lipton Black Kiss Milk Tea and green tea latte mixes...and there's a sakura tea latte mix I'd really love to try, or anything sakura flavored~ :D

• Absolutely ANYTHING by Twinings

• Jasmine Tea

• Matcha green tea powder

• Herbal tea- any flavor as long as there's no licorice in it!

(Please, no cheapo grocery store brands!)

• Any darn thing to do with vampires. Stickers, Posters, Postcards, Jewelry (I have fang earrings :P) movie memorabilia [Twilight (Fave character: Jasper!), Vampire Diaries (Fave character: Damon), Buffy (Fave character: Spike), Kindred: the Embraced (Fave character: Julian Luna), Dracula, True Blood (Fave character is Eric Northman * especially with long hair!)] etc..I seem to have a thing for bad boys...lol

*Warning: Rant Follows~~

• P.S.- REAL VAMPIRES DO NOT SP...exist. Who gives a crap if they sparkle, wear stupid little blue rings to go in the sun, are serpent- tailed beasts who eat newborn babies (lilith/lamia), feed on the "blood of the moon" (varcolaci) or are shambling corpses who rise from the grave to eat their loved ones(strigoi, vampir)? (See original folklore, before Bram Stoker). They are FICTIONAL CREATURES...as in created in the minds of their authors! If all authors wrote the same thing, we'd be bored to death by now. What is the deal with all the twilight slamming? Product of the 90's kid generation...you can only like something if A: All your friends like it, and B: If it fits into your purposely narrowed definition of what each genre "IS". What happened to just liking whatever you like because you're an individual? You're a allowed to dislike something...but why spread hate because of it? Can't you just focus on the things that make you happy?~ This program brought to you by: Kristin Stewart does, in fact have facial expressions. (If she didn't, she'd be a cyborg. Or something. Hello people! Humans have facial expressions. Period. The retarded things that circulate on the internet and become "common knowledge"....sigh...the world is doomed.

• End Rant.

• Anything that came from Japan. J-rock, J-pop, Books/newspapers/magazines/CDs/movies in the Japanese language, of course tea,coffee,sweets, anything to do with Bento, keychains, stickers, stationary, cosmetics, soap and bath salts, tea ceremony utensils, drawing pens and brush pens, postcards, manga, souvenirs...ya...pretty much anything.

• Tabi socks would be awesome

• Figuring out odd things to make with found objects, abstract art/sculpture style, and making practical things out of "junk", like circuit boards, creepy tubes/wires, random metal parts, watch gears, broken jewelry bits, doll pieces...anything that looks cool. I especially like anything with a "steampunk" feel to it.

• Making envelopes, and decorating mailers.... Scrapbooking, cardmaking...random paper crafts and ATCs/Inchies/Twinchies (Used to trade those a lot on nervousness.org and Art42)

• I love vintage stuff, antique and/or distressed look, things that have "weathered", and wabi sabi.

• (Almost) All things ridiculously and sickly cute. Kawaii, cupcakes, lolita clothes + magazines, kitties...but note my dislikes please! (NO children, even if they are kawaii or Moe)

• I especially love Kutusitanyanko, Sentimental Circus, San-X (in general)... Maneki Neko, and Japan-themed Hello Kitty (wearing a kimono, headband, kanzashi, or with sushi, or other traditional costumes, props, or backgrounds), and food/sweets with faces on them lol...

• All things macabre, unusual, dark, scary, or misunderstood. Ghosts, Cemeteries, Horror Themes, JTHM!, Halloween!, BDSM, LGBT, Vampires, Zombies, Fetish...etc.

• Miniature stuff- little soda bottle lip glosses, unusual dollhouse furniture, Re-Ment sets!, sample sizes of cosmetics and bath stuff, anime figurines etc :) Mini envelopes! (The kind you know you can't actually mail...lol)

• I really like long letters and thoughtfully written postcards, too. Any little thing that uses up some of the boring downtime I have while my husband is at work is much appreciated. Long letters use up a lot of downtime! lol

• Tea with licorice

• FBs, Slams, Sticker bags

• No Mono-Theistic religious items. (Shinto, Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism, Wicca etc. are OK)

• Babies/Children (this includes kawaii/moe)

• Disney/Pixar

• School-teacher type stuff, like apples, pencils, abc's, smiley faces...

• Hannah montana/high school musical or other tween show related items

• Dinosaurs

• Disney Princesses

• Cars/trucks

• Bugs

• Lisa Frank

• I don't have kids, I can't have kids. Please don't send me anything with children on it. Can't stress this enough.

I will always rate a 5 if you send the minimum required, even if I don't like whatever it is, and I do greatly appreciate any extras that may come my way! :)

Kindly remind me if I've forgotten to rate something- once it goes into the "sent" folder, I tend to let things slip my mind...

Just so I don't forget which things on my sent dashboard I haven't received/rated yet:

• Fantasy Penpal Swap 3- Cristie
• Kawaii Penpals- Natsuko
• Weirdo- Bizzitybam (not late, just a reminder for myself)
• Private: Kawaii Swap- ILoVeCoWs (also not late, just a reminder)

Will add things as I send them, and remove as I receive. Keeps things organized lol....I hate scrolling through the sent folder. Maybe I should get some sticky notes for my desk? :P

"Hey hot stuff!" swap- Serena Kiti's stationary says,

"Story- Good luck and happy with egg friend. It's funny and amusing story for you. We show you the rael friendship. Come and join us quickly, and feel us what you want."

[hahahahaha who translates this stuff??]

Penpal letter- (non-swap-bot) stationary says,

"We are rabbits. A long ear is one's most charming feature. All are friends."

RAoK- (sendsomething.net) stationary (2) reads,

"Everyone likes a big dream. The drama opened with the story of a dream. A sky full of curiosities. Even the sky knows my mind. It's my dream from childhood. Dream is before your eyes."

"Hello! My friends. Happy! I am full of play mind!"

From Bizzles' send for the Kawaii Swap with a Twist:

"He loves her who is little Red Hood." (it says, as he is gnawing on her head in the picture...lol)

"I want the catfoods please please please. Cat chat cat chat?"

"Stardust, scattering around, A single tear of drop, slitting down. (yes, it says slitting) They're far beyond the mid night stage."

Have you ever seen a post office cancel a picture of a cat instead of the stamp? Upside down, on the wrong side of the envelope? ...Now you have. Told you my post office is retarded. Hmm..I do not know how to make this picture smaller...

In this swap, each person writes as an imaginary character, to the other partner's character.

My name is Kharu. Akhkharu, actually, but I digress. My people have a hard time saying my name, so I allow their folly in shortening it to suit their underdeveloped tongues. Once, long ago, my name was better known- as was I and my brethren- but things have changed, and I find myself in an unpleasant predicament. For years, I struggled through curious minds and the pages of a book to come into this world and make it to my liking. I, however, misjudged which creatures were the ruling party. I was summoned into the body of the noble Felis catus, only to find myself limited by the frustrating inability to communicate to my less intelligent house- keepers.

To Jacob, The elder brother in "The Singing Bone"

" My dear friend Jacob, I write to you for assistance in these perilous times. The world is not what it once was, and I have discovered it too late.

I desired far too long to be among the physical living, and when I was finally summoned into this dimension, my error in judgement was made clear.

I beg your help now from the underworld, because no one yet remains on this Earth who is innocent and pure of heart.

I must be banished back from whence I came- it is my only hope for survival. I recently overheard my human subjects conversing on subjects best left un-detailed. They mean to subject my vulnerable flesh to a torturous monster known only as "The Vet". Horrors untold surely await me if I cannot leave this realm immediately!

You must return to the underworld, find your pure brother, and give to him my talisman, which bears my seal and summoning words.

Surely by now he has forgiven you for your greed, by your own gruesome death at the King's hands. Only he can save what remains of what I am, and restore me to what I was before.

Make haste, and tread lightly, friend- Death would not permit my return, should he learn of my intent.

May the gods be among you~

Akhkharu"