ARTaylor

I am a 20-something mother of one incredible little boy and the spouse of an equally amazing man - these two men fill my life with laughter, love, joy and chaos. I was born and raised in Oklahoma, flew away from the nest and attended graduate school at the University of Chicago. After my son was born, during the final year of my master's degree, my husband and I decided to return (permanently? semi-permanently? or briefly? this is yet-to-be-determined) to our home state in order to allow our son to bond with the family who has supported and loved us through all of life's trials. I am an avid connoisseur of philosophy, history and anthropology. All of my degrees have been in the humanities and the study of religion (Islam in particular), philosophy and law. I also studied Arabic and French and continue to try to expand my knowledge of these languages and others. If I were independently wealthy, I would stay in school for the rest of my life. I LOVE learning, I love the atmosphere of higher education and never intend to leave it. I currently work as an admissions officer and while I'd much rather be in a classroom, I am content for the moment. My favorite activities are reading, writing, drawing or painting, watching movies with my love then talking about them after, having too much wine/cider/beer and doing swap-bot and non swap-bot crafts with my bestie, Brittany and chasing my little cotton-headed prince around as he experiences the world. I am building an Amazon and Etsy wishlist for those type of swaps, but I imagine I will primarily be interested in the hand-crafted swaps because I get the most satisfaction from those. I want to travel the world and my ultimate dream is to earn my Ph.D., become a professor and take my spouse and my son to a different country every Summer and truly experience the culture there. While tourism is fun, it's exhausting and not very rewarding. My favorite thing to do while traveling is to meet people where they are - find 'hole-in-the-wall' pubs, tea houses or coffee shops where people congregate. Talk to them, share stories. I've been lucky enough to be invited into the homes of hosts when I traveled to Turkey and there is no better experience than sharing a meal with people from other countries, cultures and religions.

The Brothers Karamotzov, Ishmael, Misquoting Jesus, The Fall, The Stranger, The Fountainhead, Memnoch the Devil, The Righteous Mind, Critique of Pure Reason, Hayy Ibn Yaqdhan, The God of Small Things, Siddhartha

What Dreams May Come, K-PAX, Girl Interrupted, Practical Magic, Dogma, Interview with a Vampire, The Fountain, nearly anything directed by Darren Aronofsky, Prometheus, Good Documentaries (on a variety of topics)

Dexter, Breaking Bad, Dead Like Me, United States of Tara, Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, The Walking Dead, 30 Rock, South Park, Orange is the New Black, Misfits (not the new seasons), Key&Peele

Baking, paper crafts, ATCs, home-decor, holiday crafts, jewelry, knitting, mixed media, painting, clothing/fabric crafts - honestly, I love doing anything creative. I'm better at some things than others, but I love to take on new 'crafting' challenges. For example, my husband is REALLY into the Alien movies (with Sigourney Weaver) and for his birthday I sculpted a 'face-hugger' (google it, it's horrifying) from clay and will be creating a foam rubber model of it. I've never done any of this. So, from knitting, to ATCs, to special effects, I love all things creative and love to learn new things.

Tool, A Perfect Circle, Yasmine Hamdan, Lana Del Ray, Kidney Thieves, Arvo Part, Mikky Ekko, Puscifer, Erra, The Doors, Bring me the Horizon, anything my husband plays

1. Books - surprise me.
2. Surrealist Art
3. Art Supplies (paint, good brushes, charcoal and pastels, calligraphy supplies.)
4. Specialty paper and unique fabrics
5. Trinkets, cards, sweets, tea/coffee/spices from abroad. I don't like kitschy, cheap souvenirs, but I love seeing what 'things' from home are important or beloved enough to be shared with an outsider.
6. Music - my spouse and I are always looking for new music.
7. Jewelry - I don't like gold or diamonds and prefer things that are subtle, but interesting in terms of design or materials. Silver is my favorite metal.
8. COFFEE and Tea - I love trying new coffee or tea blends and getting interesting new cups to enjoy them in.
9. Candles - can one ever have too many?
10. Alcohol - duh! In all seriousness, I would love to get samples of specialty liqueurs, fun cocktail recipes, etc.

Alex Gray, Rene Magritte, Frida Kahlo, Sylvia Plath, Rumi, H.R. Giger