hooksnstamps

Born & raised near the NJ shore but now live in York, PA. I love it here -- there is so much to do within an hour or two drive, but I really miss being near the beach.

I'm retired after 25 years in banking. I've been married to my high school sweetheart for 39 years. We have 2 grown children and 4 grandkids -- ages 2 to 16. In March 2009 we lost our grandson, Montie, at the age of 10. He had a severe case of Marfan Syndrome and had just returned home after his 13th surgery. He was our miracle and survived many more years than expected. We all miss him terribly.

We also have 2 canine kids -- both Shih Tzus named BooBoo & Max.

In 2007 we bought a midnight blue Saturn SKY convertible -- we call it our midlife crisis car! We love jumping in topless (the car, not us) and just going for a ride to nowhere.

I'm a list maker & an organizer. I'm a fanatic about having my books, CDs, DVDs, etc. on the shelves in alpha order. When I want to find something I don't want to spend a lot of time looking. My DH says I'm obsessed. Whatever!

I love classic rock from the mid- to late-60s, but not heavy metal. My favorite artists from that era (I like their more recent stuff too) are the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers, Santana, Jimmy Buffett, Jim Croce, Brooklyn Bridge, Bob Marley, Spyro Gyra, the Doors, Fleetwood Mac. I also like the John Butler Trio, John Mayer, U2.

For quieter times I like any meditation or relaxation music William Ackerman, Michael Jones, Andreas Vollenweider, Manheim Steamroller, James Galway, Josh Groban, Johnny Mathis, Andrea Boccelli.

I love anything by Janet Evanovich! I also like James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, Michael Connelly, Clive Cussler, Sue Grafton, Leonard Goldberg, Margaret Truman's Capitol series. I subscribe to Real Simple, Readers Digest, Redbook, O, Smithsonian magazines.

Love to watch any movie from Disney -- old classics to new releases -- and action/thrillers, comedies, concerts.

We hardly ever watch TV so I have no favorites there, unless Penn State football counts!

I love to crochet and I have more yarn than I think I can use in this lifetime! Now that I have a little more time, I crochet prayer shawls (for the women) & prayer lap robes (for the men) for my church. I also do baby blankets because the church gives baby blankets or quilts to the new babies of our members.

I handstamp all my own cards but I don't do scrapbooking. Christmas cards are done in one big assembly line.

I like to make things from stuff I find or stuff left over from some other project, especially stuff from nature (leaves, acorns, pinecones, dried or pressed flowers).

I love flowers so I have gardens on all sides of my house & all along the back property line. I do nature photography -- scenery, gardens, birds & animals. I also photo places we visit on vacation or day trips; the best ones are printed in 5x7 size and hung on our "travel wall" in the family room.

I collect lots of different things -- I have collections of elephant figurines (wood, ceramic, glass), Demdaco angels, bird figurines, Hummel figurines, coins, Santas (both figurine and tree ornaments), rubber stamps, books, music (CDs and vinyl). My DH collects ceramic mugs from places we visit and baseball caps. We are just a couple of pack rats!!

I love puzzles -- all kinds -- jigsaw, lnumber, logic problems, internet games, games on facebook, etc.

I used to do a lot of counted cross stitch but haven't picked it up in a couple of years -- I have a 1/2 finished one of Noah's Ark & a bazillion kits waiting for me.

I love brownies, chocolate...especially dark chocolate, fresh fruit, nuts (except walnuts), cheese, wine, hot cocoa, chocolate, original Coke, gummy bears, chocolate ice cream, mashed potatoes, a good steak, vanilla chai and did I mention chocolate?

Other stuff I enjoy: learning about other people, summer, smiley faces, Maxine from Hallmark, stickers & doodads for my cards, markers, Penn State football, games, the beach, cruises, Hawaii, sticky notes with fun messages or pictures, clear rubber stamps, fun earrings (pierced), scented candles (especially Christmas scents), sounds of nature, massages.

Colors: any blue, yellow & pastels

walnuts, seafood, cigarette/cigar smoke, spicy food, horror books & movies, coffee, strong perfume, rude people, cars with loud thumping music, and stickers or rubber stamps with the vintage look

If you can't convince them, confuse them.

If its not fatal, its no big deal.