Renatta

I am in my 40's, but still love to play with toys. I've been married for more than 10 years, thankfully to a guy who's the same way. We have no kids, but two dogs - a Golden Retriever named Murphy and a Border Collie named Jasmine.

I keep pretty busy working from home, and following my husband around when he travels for work, and getting together with friends or family that live nearby. I also enjoy road trips to visit my disabled mother regularly.

I have lots of casual friends (which I make easily) and a few very close ones (which have been formed more carefully over the years), and I love getting together with them. But I'm basically a solitary person, never been afraid of going to lunch or the movies by myself and sometimes prefer it.

This is a tough one! I read a lot, and almost always have several books going at once. I'm in a book club which gets me reading more "serious" books once a month; otherwise I lean heavily toward sci-fi/fantasy, mysteries, alternate history, occasionally a little romance, and I love young adult books in the same genre.

I'd have a hard time listing all my favorite books, because there are so many and it changes. But these are a few that I've found worth re-reading: "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follet; "The Eight" by Katherine Neville; "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon (whole series); Harry Potter series, of course; "Angle of Repose" by Wallace Stegner; Immortals series by Tamora Pierce

Some favorite authors: Patricia Briggs, Jeaniene Frost, Kim Harrison & Carrie Vaughn for vampires and werewolves; Stephen King & Dean Koontz for other horror; James Patterson, Catherine Coulter, Tammy Hoag & Iris Johansen for mystery/suspense; Cornelia Funke; Jayne Ann Krentz, Julia Quinn, Amanda Quick, Jo Goodman & Judith McNaught for romance; Libba Bray for the Great & Terrible Beauty trilogy

And a few more: Susan Wittig Albert, Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Crusie, Dan Brown, Kathy Reichs, Orson Scott Card, Christopher Paolini, Shannon Hale, George R.R. Martin

Hmm, I probably watch way too much TV! I love the quirky/sci-fi/fantasy stuff best: Eureka, Warehouse 13, Dr. Who & Torchwood, Medium, Sanctuary, Dollhouse, Pushing Daisies, Firefly, Eli Stone, Wonderfalls, Stargate SG-1 (& Stargate Atlantis). But I also watch a few dramas or comedies: Lost, Castle, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Boston Legal; and when nothing else is on, I turn to HGTV: Divine Design, Designed to Sell, Curb Appeal

We have a huge DVD collection because we enjoy watching favorites more than once. My movie favorites run along the same lines as TV – I love the sci-fi and fantasy stuff, but also some dramas and mysteries as well as older films. Absolutely no war films (although my husband likes them), no bloody horror, and I'm a prude about blatant sex and bad language in movies, so I am very careful about anything rated R. Oh, and I must confess I'm a widescreen snob! I prefer films the way the director intended them, rather than cropped for TV.

I love: Independence Day, Armageddon, I Robot, Harry Potter. Also: While You Were Sleeping, Return to Me, Ever After, Ella Enchanted, Just Like Heaven. And musicals: Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, The King and I, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. Anything Hitchcock, or with Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, or Jimmy Stewart.

My favorite color is blue, which shows up in the color of my car and a lot of my clothes. My office is painted "raspberry truffle" and "iced coffee" -- very warm and inviting, with two walls of each color. My favorite suitcase is deep purple. :o) I don't care for neon colors, prefering colors that can be found in nature.

I love gadgets!! I can't go anywhere without my BlackBerry, iPod and PDA, and if I'm going anywhere out of my neighborhood or overnight you can bet my laptop and digital camera will be with me as well. Makes it hard to travel light, but thankfully I am married to just about the perfect guy, who understands completely (and has his own supply of gadgets he can't live without).

I know I've written a lot already, but I've since been browsing other profiles and realized that I haven't really written much that would help a potential swap partner make some decisions. So here are a few more ideas:

I love Re-Ment! Really, I'm completely addicted. To the point where I have every set made except for the very first series of Japanese meals, and a few of the secret or special color sets. Yeah, I'm that crazy about Re-Ment. So there's nothing I need in that department -- if you want to do a setup that includes Re-Ment as part of it, I would welcome the pieces because you can never have too much Re-Ment, LOL! I just wouldn't want someone to send me their only copy of something, so if that were the case you could simply let me know where the Re-Ment goes in the display, and I can use the pieces I already have for the post-trade photos and displays. Just a thought.

I love photography, and get together regularly with a couple of local photography groups. In addition to Re-Ment, I also collect fashionable dolls (10"-12") and View-Masters, as well as a few other things that seem to accumulate without my help (like giraffes, snowmen, and salt & pepper shakers). I also love to sew (clothes in miniature and for myself, plus household items), do jigsaw puzzles and play games (board & computer). I'm also addicted to my computer, and can be found there at least part of every day.

My favorite decade for artwork and graphics would have to be the 50's; I love vintage advertising and Ann Taintor style humor and artwork. Not so crazy about the psychedelic colors of the "groovy" 60's and 70's. Give me Donna Reed over Twiggy any day. I love 1950's comics (Brenda Starr), and the muted colors of the era. I like some Victorian-style things, but nothing too frilly or fussy.

However, I do like some gothic mixed in there! I love gargoyles, creepy old houses with lots of gingerbread trim, and bookcases that swing around to reveal hidden staircases. And of course the bookcases must be filled with musty old books and busts of long-dead composers.

I like setting up dioramas in 1:6 scale (Barbie-size), decorated like Crate & Barrel, Pier 1 Imports, IKEA, and Pottery Barn instead of anything Victorian or ornate. Anything with clean and simple lines.

Disney!! I love Disneyland, and we go at least once every couple of years. I love it all -- the princesses, the miniature villages, the shop display windows, the cast members wearing costumes that suit every different area, the dumb jokes on the Jungle Cruise ride. It's all good.

I don't keep scrapbooks, but I love pretty papers (I find other uses), pens/colored pencils/markers, journals/notebooks, office supplies, cute Christmas ornaments, kitchen gadgets, magnets, keyrings. I have pierced ears and like anything a little dangly but not too ornate or heavy. I love chocolate (just not dark), dessert recipes, handmade cards, scented candles & lotions.

Reality TV

Cilantro, mustard, hot/spicy foods

Anything that smells like smoke

Country or rap music

Coffee, tea or alcohol

I just got braces! So now I have to scratch anything chewy, crunchy, with nuts, or with excess sugar off my list.