hoppyloo

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I LOVE TO DO ONE TO ONE SWAPS - It makes things a bit more personal I think :) If you think you have a great idea to share, let me know - I will probably love to swap with you! Just send me a PM :)

I am married with 2 children...a son of 17 and a 15 yr old daughter.

My husband is a teacher, which he has retrained for..he used to be a designer. He is Head of the design and technology department at a nearby school..Im very proud of him and love him loads!

My son is 17 and having gone through a particularly horrible patch seems to be emerging as a lovely young man Im happy to say! He is in the 6th form at a great school, studying English Lit, Drama and Business Studies. In his spare time he has a parttime job in a greetings card shop, and he plays guitar (electric and accoustic) as well as his pride and joy, his XBox 360 (thats where all our internet allowance is going!) He reads a lot and lives for his music. He still manages a hug for his Mum - which I love!

My daughter is 15 going on 25 - oh the joys of a teenage daughter! She is very pretty, but cannot accept that and hides behind too much makeup - Im hoping she will realise soon that natural is best! (Tho she is very good at makeup - much better than me!) She is studying very hard at school - in fact I think maybe she is taking it a little TOO seriously - we will see (Studying seems to be a good excuse for getting out of anything she doesnt want to do!) She is very artistic and creative, and loves to bake - she's a great little cook! Very into fashion, she knows what she likes - and what she definitely doesnt like (to my cost!) She has been vegetarian for a good while now, and we eat veggie as a family several nights a week.

I was made redundant in September 2011, and am still looking for work - keep your fingers crossed! Im looking for part time work that fits our family.

We live in a lovely old Edwardian Semi - been here for almost 3 years now - and still working on it! I love it and after moving house far too many times, we feel very settled here, and I cant imagine living anywhere else :)

We have a dog and 2 cats.

I love to craft...paper crafts is where I started my journey. When I discovered altered art.... I have never looked back! I am always looking for something else to create, and to swap ideas and creations is fab :) My daughter also loves to craft and at the moment is really enjoying making dotee dolls and ATCs

My adore vintage pyrex...the coloured glass and patterned types. I have also got a nice collection of vintage Phoenix glass too. I love anything vintagey.cottagey, and garner nearly all my little trinkets from boot sales and charity shops.

I hate waste, and prefer to recycle/reuse where i can. Im not brilliant at sewing (but am getting better!) I have learnt to make my own tote bags, usually from recycled/repurposed fabrics. I dont use plastic bags anymore, and am trying to build a collection of "cool" reuseables!

I try to be happy, but have a bit of a tendency to look at the dark side until proved otherwise. But generally happy smiley

Mulchy greens, purples,blues, brown and dusky pink vintagey colours are mine at the moment :)But I love all the vintagey colours.. green (like my almost complete pyrex dinner service!) custardy yellow, blue etc, also darker, muted shades(olive green,raspberry etc)

I cant stand coffee in all guises (apart from the smell of fresh coffee which I love - strange eh?!) I love vanilla tea, but please do NOT send me tea - we have enough to keep us going for a very long time! LOL

At this time of year I just love curling up with a big mug of hot chocolate (anything but cinnamon or mint flavour) and my kids - sometimes DH gets a cuddle too! - who arereally good at snuggling in! Im really mean and wont turn the heating on - so we all look really colourful on the sofa cuddled up with our multicoloured crochet blankets! I WISH I could crochet, but being left handed apparently makes me unteachable!

I am a lousy gardener, but adore flowers..especially those with a scent, and big blowsy roses! We are going to dig up part of our new garden and turn it over to veggies this year - so keep your fingers crossed! We have also taken over an allotment - last year was our first, and we had to learn a lot, very fast! Hopefully we will have an even more productive year this year. I love to preserve and will try to pickle or jam pretty much anything!

I love to be snuggled up in cosy things when the weather is cold... scarves, gloves, hats and especially thick wooly socks! No good at knitting tho....... (tiny clue there!) Update - I have learnt to knit dishcloths!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas! And one of our best traditions is that we only buy one or two decorations for the tree every year, and write the year and the name of the person who chose it on the bottom. I started this the year we were married, and now the kids just love to check our family history every time the tree goes up! Obviously the tree is a real mishmash of colour and style, but thats just the way I like it!

I love anything vintage... but not necessarily for display...I like to be able to use my pieces for their original purpose if possible

I dont do makeup really... am very much an "au naturel" kind of girl! (except when going somewhere special!) But lips balms are the exception.. I cannot live without lip balm and love to try different types. But I love to smell nice, so bath/shower smellies and perfumes/EDTs are great!

As for favourite "smells", I love flowery scents... especially sunflower, rose etc. I also love the kind of "baking" scents...vanilla, etc! I like my home to smell good, so I usually have a candle burning (my favourite is Yankee Candles when I can) or failing that, oil in a burner

I dont like "cutesy" stuff...cartoons etc just dont do it for me Im afraid! Although my daughter loves all that, so it wont go to waste if it does land on our doorstep :)

Anything else you might need to know? just ask!!

We all love Croatia! We are going there this year - and cant wait! This will be the 3rd time we have been - it seems we go every 4 years!

Almost anything goes...except rap,garage etc (I guess that just shows my age hey?!) I really enjoy country/folk music and meatloaf (both of which I am only allowed to listen to when noone else is home!) John Martin has to be an all time favourite..hes not too well known, but has the most haunting voice I think im stuck in a bit of a time warp really!

Rarely get to the pictures unfortunately. Cant remember the last film we saw at the cinema! And when we watch a dvd I usually fall asleep and miss the end anyway!!

Never seem to watch anything regularly... always forget whats on! the tv doesnt play a huge part in my life...unlike this here computer!! But I have to admit to a bit of a penchant for reality TV..big brother etc...strangely addictive dont you think!

Altered art (ATCs, altered books, shrines etc) Anything vintagey/retro..but I really dont do "cutesy" stuff (unless its headed my daughters way!) cooking papercrafts Basically I love to "cut and stick"and paint and ink.... the messier my hands are the happier i am!! Simple sewing - since I joined Swapbot I have learnt about dotee dolls, which I love to make, and have tried my hand at simple aprons and bags too :) I am also rediscovering the art of writing "proper" letters .... its so nice to receive something personal in the mail! So, that has started another collection.... pens of all descriptions and colours!!

All four of us enjoy cooking and trying different food. I am at the moment using my slowcooker loads.My daughter is vegetarian, and we eat veggie regularly as a family - it has shown me a whole new way of cooking really tasty and healthy food and at the same time has helped to keep my food budget at a much more manageable level - so its all good!

My husband ADORES savoury peanut flavour snacks! His absolute favourite is the little orange coloured cheese crackers sandwiched with peanut butter - no idea what they are called - we would love to swap for those!

In fact all nutty things are loved in my house...(could there be a reason for that do you think?!) Chocolate always goes down a treat (especially with DD and myself.. its a girly thing, isnt it?!) and the kids just love to try candy they havent had before. The kids and I cook a lot together - my daughter loves to bake (helps that I do to!) So any baking/cupcake supplies are always welcome - We love to experiment! My son is the Christmas mincepie maker in the house - in fact this Christmas just gone, he and I spent a marathon 3 hour session baking over 200 of them!

We all ADORE peanut butter M&Ms - so frustrating that we cant get them over here - if anyone would like to send us some, wed be SO happy! (just PM me if youd like to swap!)

My husband has had to cut lactose out of his diet, due to IBS, so if you know of any lactose free "treats" in your area, Id love to swap with you - he does miss out sometimes!