Sprezzatura

August 8, 2008 - I'm swamped with school right now so I won't be online very often for the next week. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

I was born in the wilderness of Northeast Ohio, went to high school and college in Florida, and have returned to the Midwest to attend graduate school. I'm a late bloomer who's returned to school after a few years in various office-type jobs. Now I steal time from my studies to do creative stuff - crafts are a real sanity saver for me. When I'm done with school (and sometimes it feels like that day will never come!) I hope to teach writing classes like non-fiction writing, technical or business communication, and maybe history of rhetoric. When people find out I'm an English student/teacher you wouldn't believe how many of them freak out and have flashbacks to their high school teacher marking up their papers with red ink. Don't freak out! I feel bad that many of us had a rough time learning to write in school - I hope to change that for students one day.

I am happily married to an incredibly smart, creative, and funny guy. We share our house with wonderful cats and our backyard with chipmunks, birds, and squirrels.

If I wasn't an English major I would probably be in costume design or history. I especially like the Renaissance as well as ancient Egypt but really just about every time period has something interesting about it.

Maybe it will help you to know that ever since I was in the third grade, people have referred to me as 'weird'. . .

Random likes: bees; peacocks and peacock feathers; iridescent and glow-in-the-dark stuff; cats; classic tattoo art; crowns; laurel wreaths; alligators; London and the UK; Lindor truffles; chocolate (dark, milk, or white!); coffee, iced coffee, and hot chocolate; celestial designs; fleur de lis; snow; dogs - bulldogs (French and English) - really I have a soft spot for any shelter and rescue pets; autumn leaves; Ohio-themed stuff; leopard print; paisley; Shakespeare; skulls (dia de los muertos style especially).

I am a fan of chocolate, I especially love Canadian treats like Aero Bars and Kinder Bueno Bars (OMG!), also Jaffa Cakes are yummy! No raspberry for me though, please. My favorite kind of hard candy is cherry Jolly Ranchers.

I have Craft ADD - I just can't seem to focus on one single art for too long! Sewing is about my favorite craft to do. I sewing everything from regular clothes to quilts to Renaissance costumes. Photography is next, this has been a hobby of mine since high school. Other crafts I indulge in are ~ stamping; painting; collage and decoupage; jewelry making; loom knitting; and crochet. I'm not a yarn snob - not yet anyway. :) I love working with variegated / multicolor yarns, and I tend to use bulkier yarns. Beads and charms are always fun to receive. I enjoy working with postage stamps - I love to decoupage them - my largest projects to date are a lamp and two end tables. I especially like UK stamps, my favorites are the brightly colored ones with Queen Elizabeth's profile (Machins).

Crafty items I especially like to receive include really long scarves; gloves and fingerless gloves; barrettes, pony tail holders and hair clips; refrigerator magnets; postcards; jewelry - I rarely leave the house without a accessorizing; necklaces, any length but I especially love long necklaces I can wrap around my neck again and again; longer bracelets (8" or stretchy); tote bags; super-long socks.

In my copious free time (ha ha) I like drawing, doodling, cooking, gardening and yard work, hiking and walking, cooking, reading, and window shopping. I have a reputation for being able to find the best bargains, so bring me along for shopping good luck.

Amadeus, 16 Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Shakespeare in Love, Marie-Antoinette, Star Wars IV-VI, the Harry Potter movies, Much Ado About Nothing, Elizabeth, Henry V - science fiction, historical, fantasy, or quirky.

Lost, Good Eats, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, Battlestar Galactica (the remake), The Simpsons, Heroes, House MD, The Prisoner, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Dexter, Monty Python. If I have the TV on for noise it's usually on HGTV or DIY.

My favorite colors are purple, green, and teal.

Egyptian, Medieval, Italian Renaissance, Elizabethan, Pre-Raphaelites, Fauvism ~ Matisse, Klimt, Dali, Frida Kahlo, William Wegman, Jerry Uelsmann, Edward Gorey, Anne Taintor, Kaffe Fassett. I'm also interested in steampunk.

I have really eclectic tastes - from the B-52s to the Beastie Boys (post-License to Ill) to Mozart! Also I enjoy New Wave 80s, Jimi Hendrix, Canadian bands like Moxie Fruvous and the Arrogant Worms, The Brian Setzer Orchestra and other swing revival music, I tend to study with Dixieland jazz in the background...there's even some classic country (Patsy Cline) in my collection.

clowns and mimes - things that say "diva" - really don't drink much tea, chai is ok - anything mean-spirited or judgmental - overly cutesy things - raspberry flavor - bubble bath (shower gel and scrubs are ok) - most Disney stuff, Tweety Bird and Woody Woodpecker

wow, that made me sound really picky! I'm not though, I'm sure whatever you send will be fine.

I have so much reading to do for school that lately I don't have much time to read for fun - it's very sad. I enjoy time travel, fantasy, alternate universe stuff.