kangarueg

i am the single dad of a 17 year old son and 2 australian heelers - brothers from the same liter. they just celebrated their first birthday! (and no, i am not particularly fond of cats....) i think i have a pretty good sense of humour.... after all, my son is 17 and still alive! (some days that is more of a miracle than he realizes!)
i lived in australia for several years and cannot wait to go back (after my son graduates and goes off to college.) currently, i live in va, and teach art at a small private school. (be sure to check out my ATC group above. i am teaching art - fine art and crafts both - using ATCs! heaps of fun. come and join!) i am a southerner, born and bred. born in florida, educated in north carolina, worked in louisiana, fell in love with a girl from texas and now living back in virginia! guess that's pretty southern! i am probably a bit of a red-neck too, if truth be told. i drive a truck, a motorcycle and a mustang (not all at the same time, though!), and the truck has a gun rack in the back where i keep my shotgun. i have a confederate flag in my room, and i have half dozen tattoos. (even so, i do not have a still on the back 40, i do not live in a trailer - with or without wheels! - and i have never been in love with, let alone been married to, a cousin!)

currently, there are 3737 items on my ipod. it's pretty eclectic, if i do say so myself. there is a large selection of big band and swing music from benny goodman, artie shaw, tommy dorsey, count basie glenn miller, and duke ellington to big bad voodoo daddy, cherry poppin daddies, stray cats and squirrel nut zippers. there is also a bunch of 70's and early 80's music - like police, queen, billy joel, the cars and christopher cross. fleetwood mac and steely dan. there is a lot of australian music, also - yothu yindi, little river band, men at work, inxs, midnight oil and icehouse. there is NO country music, and NO rap - on purpose!

i enjoy crafts and fine arts. i am just now starting to do atcs, and am almost finished with an altered book. i guess technically speaking, my stained glass and flameworking are also crafts. as for the fine arts, i also enjoy painting - oil and acylic - drawing, and pottery - wheel thrown and hand built - and photography

i write (not as much as i should!), mostly for my own enjoyment. my favourite super heroes are spider-man, wolverine, flash and aquaman - more or less in that order, quickly followed by superman, batman cyclops and gambit. odd combo, i know. go figure.
seafood is my favourite type of food, followed by mexican and italian. chocolate chip cookies are my favourite snack and meatloaf and scalloped potatoes are my favourite comfort foods! i plant a garden every year, and raise corn, beans, potatoes, cukes, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, capsicums, and three or four types of hot peppers. i like puzzles, and logic games, and crosswords.

as a general rule, i like mysteries, fantasy and sci fi. my favourite writers, though, are mark twain, charles dickens, erma bombeck, issac asimov and ray bradbury. (interesting mix, eh?) i also really enjoy "how to" books - crafts, arts, drawing and so on

ummm, really don't go to movies that much. even when i do, they don't seem to "stick" with me .... i remember liking the lord of the rings and rat race. after that, every thing else gets rather fuzzy

i like watching amazing race and occasionally some of the survivors. i really liked MASH when it was on. battlestar galactica, monk and psych are also good. and of course, you know i watch doctor who, primevil and torchwood!

my favourite colour is brown (and shades there of). honestly! I also like primary colours together (red, blue and yellow) but am not real keen on yellow by itself. and green is not real high on my favourite list, either! my favourite animal is the kangaroo. even though i am now living in the states, i still consider Australia home. i like pizza, seafood and meatloaf (not at the same time, but!) i LOVE chocolate chip cookies. i love exploring and teaching colour theory. i like using phantom colours (colours that "shake" when against each other) and tones and shades and complementary colours.... i will stop here before i bore someone to death! I like atcs that have texture or some dimensions (not just flat). i like lots of different types of art work, but especially things that are neat, and good, and pleasing to the eye. i like impressionism and outsider art. i like realism and photorealism. (don't really care for mannerism, but.) i am not into stickers much. i have a heap of them just sitting on my desk... never seem to get around to using them. and haven't seen many projects that look good with them. just in case you missed it, i am a GUY - (single dad) - so i really don't get into frilly, pink, cute, lacy, sassy, girly/female kinds of things. sorry, that's just the way i am wired. i share an interest with my son in comics and superheros (see above). that has actually been something that kept us talking through the death of his mom, through those hard teenage years and through my illness. i like hiking and sailing and riding my motorcycle. i like the newness of spring, the warmth of summer and the smell and colours of autumn. i love to travel, and meeting people completely different from myself. i love hearing and sharing stories about places not like home, and the adventures that are to be had there.

every feel like you have too much going on and can't keep track of everything? i have to have a better way of keeping track of rating and sending - SO, here is the list of what i am waiting on:

waiting to receive:

waiting for rating:

sunshine atc from mfinley524

waiting to send:

re-send to (for a returned swap)

this list does not mean i have been flaked on - it's simply a way for me to try to remember who and what i need to send to, and who still owes me what!