TheFallenAngel

Updated 24 May 2009

I'm very slow to take offense, so please don't worry that I'll be upset by anything that you send to me. I'm a big girl. ;-)

I understand that life happens. If you'll be late (even very late) sending to me, please don't hesitate to PM or email me and let me know.

I've been flaked on in these swaps:

• U.S. and Canada Romance book swap #2 by @sweettoothmama
• for your lips! by @streghettamiry
• for teh lulz Mix CD Swap by @Nothing
• Play it loud - annoy the neighbours CD swap by @Slamminissa
• The Heart of Darkness... by @aly was angeled by @NaughtyElf - thank you so much!

Music, reading and crafting are an integral part of my life, so you can usually find me at home with my headphones on and a book or project in my hands. Actually, a book or craft project is within reach of me no matter where I go... you have to occupy yourself in the check-out line somehow, after all.

My goal in life is to learn everything that I possibly can before my time on this planet is through. I'm the type of person that knows a little bit about everything and a whole lot about nothing! ;-) If you were to name a subject, I could probably tell you something about it... and if I couldn't, you'd find me at the computer looking for books about it the next day!

I'm fascinated by people and why they do the things that they do, so sociology, psychology, history, human sexuality, religion, and spirituality have always been particularly interesting to me. Everyone has different personalities, motives, ambitions, and thoughts, so I love to talk to people and learn what makes them them.

Nobody would dare to accuse me of being "normal”. I'm curious about everything, find the oddest things fascinating beyond belief, say whatever comes to mind, am honest to the point of being rude when asked to be, have a wicked sense of humor, am sarcastic by nature, constantly have to remind myself that it’s not acceptable to curse during casual conversation, was baptized Catholic but identify more with Paganism, am very monochromatic, and have more than just a handful of body mods. Most people think that I'm goth, and the ones that don't think that I'm punk. I deny both charges, but I do suppose that you could call me "alternative".

In the end, I fit in everywhere because I fit in nowhere. I’m uniquely me, and I love it… even if it does get me into a lot of trouble at times, heh.

Movies: I honestly can't think of a single movie that I have ever enjoyed enough to call a “favorite” (although I did like Marie Antoinette because the wardrobe and soundtrack completely kicked ass). Unless I’m feeling like complete crap and don’t have the energy to do anything besides stare at a screen, I would much rather read the novel.

Television: I had a huge love affair with The X-Files when I was a teenager and still have all of the episodes burnt to disc as .avi files so that I can curl up in bed and watch them on the laptop when I don’t feel well. I've also been known to watch Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, House, and Dexter, but I couldn’t even tell you what channel they air on. In other words… if my daughter and husband didn't go through something that looks suspiciously like withdrawal when the cable goes out, I doubt that I'd even own a television.

Music: Although you'll find everything from country to rap on my playlist, I enjoy punk, industrial and metal more than any other genre. \m/ I don’t have favorite albums or artists, preferring to cycle through specific songs instead. I particularly like covers, remixes, beats that makes me want to dance, and songs that have an unusual or interesting element that sets them slightly apart from their peers. If you’d like to see what I’ve been listening to lately… or, more accurately, what I’ve forgotten to take off of repeat and gets played a hundred times by accident… check me out on last.fm.

Books: I will read almost anything that I can get my hands on, but my favorite genres by far are cult horror, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance. I especially enjoy novels that are different in some way and almost always dislike books that have hit the mainstream and become insanely popular. Religion is no longer the opiate of the masses… crappy books are! If you’d like to see what I’ve been reading lately, check me out on goodreads.com.

Crafts (To Make): I’ve tried nearly everything at least once because I like to sample crafts and then move on to the next interesting thing, but paper cutting seems to have stuck with me. The only things that I absolutely cannot do are draw and paint. No amount of practice will ever enable me to create anything more than a stick figure with leprosy, heh.

Crafts (To Receive): I’m always on the look-out for new things to try my hand at, so I love to see other peoples work and get instructions so that I can try it out for myself! I really enjoy receiving just about anything that has a subversive or magical bent, but some of the specific things that readily come to mind are feathered fans, altered journals and “dark” poppets because I haven’t been able to master these crafts yet.

Colors: The only colors I wear, dye my hair, paint my nails or decorate with are red, black, silver, gray and white. I try to quietly pass all other colors on to people who like them more. ;-)

Scents: I love sensual scents such as ylang-ylang, jasmine, neroli, sandalwood, patchouli, vanilla and cinnamon, and I like fruity and green scents when they've been combined with other scents that I love (for example, cherry and cinnamon or peach and sandalwood). My perfume has always been, and always will be, cK One for night and Lucky You for day.

Foods: I consider cooking to be a form of art and am more than happy to spend days in the kitchen prepping and preparing a single meal. I love international and period recipes (I am probably the only freak on the face of this planet that thinks it’s necessary to recreate historical meals for every holiday) more than anything else. My all time favorite dishes are rare steak, steamed carrots and yellow squash, grilled chicken caesar salad, brunswick stew, loaded baked potato soup, and creamed corn (from scratch, thank you, because the stuff from the can tastes like something a cat has thrown up).

Drinks: My favorite alcoholic drink is the screwdriver, my favorite cold drink is coke with grenadine (because commercial Cherry Coke doesn't taste quite right to me), and my favorite hot drink is a blend of instant suisse mocha and hot chocolate with whipped cream.

Seasons: My favorite season is autumn because it heralds in cooler weather, beautiful foliage and Christmas. I like winter for the first month because it gives me an excuse to curl up with a book and some hot chocolate (with whipped cream and drizzles of chocolate, of course!), but I eventually get sick of it being so cold.

Holidays: Christmas is, without a doubt, my absolute favorite holiday! I keep an eye out for presents, recipes and decorations all year long and always have the entire holiday season planned out well in advance.

Themes: My favorite themes are "unusual", "macabre", "black and red", "bath and body", "relaxation" and "books".

It would be sort of redundant to create a separate wish list, so you can consider anything that is in bold font to be a wish.

• anything from my Etsy favorites! I love getting things from there!
• handmade bath bombs, bubble bars, bath teas, bath salts, body wash, body scrubs, massage bars, body lotions, body powders, body sprays, alternative scent vials, foot soaks, foot scrubs, foot masks, foot creams, hand creams, cuticle balms, facial scrubs, facial masks, facial creams, conditioning hair masks, deep conditioners, hair de-frizzers, and gloss treatments.
• SFX dye in Blood Red. Yes, I like to dye my hair really red. ;-)
• lip gloss (in clear or red), lipstick (in red), creamy lip stain (in red), eye shadow (in cool shades), eye shadow (in red and vivid metallics), and mascara (in red and silver).
• body mods. I have nine tattoos (a dragon, the "ohm" symbol, and "vincit qui si vincit" on my left upper arm, an elaborate cross and "Ave Maria!" on my upper right arm, a dragon on the left side of my neck, "unforgiven" across the back of my neck, and mine and my husband’s initials in my cleavage) and fifteen piercings (eight ear lobe, 2 ear cartilage, left eyebrow, right nostril, and three that are "below the neck"). I'm currently searching for a design that features two dragons, in grayscale, entwined in a heart shape for my lower back.
• silver tone toe rings (size 3.5), anklets, bangles, bracelets, slave bracelets, belly chains, y-necklaces, reversed necklaces, chokers (13.5"), threaded earrings, and super long, dangly earrings.
• votive, ball, double-dipped taper, square pillar, round pillar, and carved pillar candles. My house is packed with candles, but I’m the type of person that doesn’t want to destroy them, so they’ve never been lit. Since I usually group everything in sets of three, I often wait until some unsuspecting (or suspecting, as the case may be) person gives me candles that don’t to fit in with the others and burn them. That’s probably why my husband always gives me two candles that are different sizes, shapes, colors and scents whenever he buys me flowers, heh.
• linen sprays, scented drawer liners, sachets, powders and beads that you put into the vacuum cleaner canister, scented oils for the clay rings that you place on light bulbs, and Febreze Moroccan Bazaar products (I love that scent!).
• hand dipped incense. One of my favorite things to do in the spring is to burn a lot of incense in a closed room, allow it to dissipate over the course of a few hours, and then open the windows. It makes the room smell wonderful!
• pillow cases, pillow shams, floor pillows, throw pillows, and reading pillows with “arms”.
• cool welcome mats, paper lanterns, a statue of Mary for my garden, sun catchers in my favorite colors (I doubt that they even exist, though!), and wind chimes in bamboo or pewter. I have a lot of space in the overhang around my house that I need to fill with nifty wind chimes so that I can hear them from every room in the house!
• books, books and more books. Some of the books that I want are on my Amazon wish list, and I try to keep track of what I'm reading on GoodReads. I'm a BookCrosser, so I don't mind receiving used books at all and will be sure to journal your labeled books.
• magazines. I read Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple, Domino, Ready Made, and Marie Claire, but I rarely ever buy them because all I do is cut them up in order to save the clippings.
• mix CD's (.mp3 format is preferred because I load everything onto the computer and sample it before ripping the CD and transferring the songs that I like to my .mp3 player, and having the file tags intact makes everything easier for me). I'd jump for joy at getting a copy of your .mp3 collection! I wouldn't want this from anyone who regularly does music swaps, though, because that would ruin the fun of getting a new mix.
• spindles of DVD-R’s, spindles of CD-R Audio’s, black cardstock, white cardstock, and red, silver and black gel pens.
• aromatherapy, crystals, conjure hands, talismans, divination tools, and tarot readings .
• sugar skulls, Christmas ornaments in black / silver / red, Christmas decorations in black / silver / red, unique rosaries (I’d love a rosary made from rose petal beads), prayer bracelets, a statue of Mary for the garden, cruciforms (or "four way crosses"), and other sacramentals.
• string dolls and poppets of the "dark" variety.
• red, black and silver dragons.
• mythological creatures, gods and goddesses.
• the odd, unusual, interesting and macabre. I love reading about funeral traditions, historical nut jobs (Elizabeth Bathory is a favorite), weird sexual practices, strange cultural traditions, and other things that most people would probably find disgusting, disturbing or useless.
• interesting journals, altered journals, Crane’s kid finish note cards, Crane’s kid finish letter sheets, handmade papers, sheets of parchment and vellum, sealing wax in red, black, silver and white, decorated envelopes, swap cards, and fine point pens.
• things for my kitties. Surprisingly, they seem to think that hair scrunchies make perfect toys.

I'm pretty easy to please (even if this list makes it seem like I'm not, heh), but I know that it helps me choose things to for my partners when they list the things that they don't care for, so I'd rather not receive (or don't have a use for)...

• I'm allergic to lavender, so pretty please don't send anything that contains it to me. The stuff won't kill me, but it does me miserable until I see the doctor for a steroid injection! I'm also allergic to latex, but I can't think of many things that my partners might send that would cause a problem... heh.
• please don’t use me to destash. I don’t like clutter and keep my own stash to a minimum, so unless you have something amazingly unique, it’s just junk to me.
• cheap things that fall apart quickly.
• tea and sweets (since my daughter is diabetic).
• I don't really care for colors other than my favorites (black, white, gray, silver and red), but I absolutely loathe yellow and gold.
• I dislike "cutesy" things. I am a proportioned dwarf (screw this "little people" crap... I don't define myself by my size and could care less about the term that doctors use to describe a condition that I have), so a lot of people mistake me for a child... I've been yelled at for "playing with the ATM" when I've forgotten my PIN number and told to get back in line by teachers at my daughters school. ;-) I'm probably wary of "cutesy" because it makes me look even younger, and freaky men in old vans end up pulling up next to me on the street. Yes... that really has happened to me before! :-\
• bar soaps, liquid bubble bath, bath confetti, bath oils, shampoos, daily conditioners, leave-in conditioners, and massage oils. I also avoid any bath and body products from the dollar store because they often don't list lavender as an ingredient.
• melon, "ocean" and “fluffy” scented things such as frosting, marshmallows, baby powder, bubble gum, or cotton candy.
• nail polish, blush, bronzer, foundation, concealer, powder, make-up remover and sun screen.
• rings, ear cuffs, stud earrings, hoop earrings, and any sort of gold tone jewelry.
• shaped candles, jelly candles, jar candles, normal taper candles, and candle holders.
• diffusers and potpourris.
• incense holders, cone incense, and loose incense.
• Harry Potter and Twilight. I still have nightmares about the time my husband and I accidentally walked into a bookstores release party for the last Harry Potter novel… it took us half an hour to figure out why nearly every person in town was contaminating the fantasy section by wearing capes and waving wands around in the air while skipping about like a bunch of bug-munching nuts. We now prepare for these sort of events by locking the doors, turning the lights off, and peering through the cracks between the boards covering the windows in case some crazy person dressed like a wizard or vampire needs to be taken down with a tranquilizer dart before reaching our front porch.
• Wiccan stuff (I'm a Trad Witch, not a Wiccan) and crucifixes.
• evangelicalism. Please don't try to convert me... I'm quite happy as a Catholic, thank you.
• cutesy dragons. Eww!
• post-it notes, stickers, and scrap booking supplies. The only paper crafts I really enjoy are those that require an x-acto knife.
• magnets, ATC's, inchies and post cards.
• brads, eyelets, buttons, beads (unless they are glass, crystal, or interesting in some way), and fabric.