erisgrrrl

I have a 6yo little boy who is insane and awesome.

Until the end of August '09 my husband worked in a comic book shop/computer repair store so we're geeks to the max! I like to read X-men and Deadpool. (Remember to support local businesses whenever you can! My husband's job was lost due to a longtime local business closing down.)

Cooking is a major passion of mine- only eclipsed by my passion for eating! ;-) My husband has labeled my cooking style as "diva-ing" because I tend to go from smell to just add in bits of this and that to make something yummy! Right now I am obsessed with bento and with helping change the way children are fed in schools.

I love everything sparklie, pink, Hello Kitty and/or Japanese. I have extremely limited Japanese reading/speaking ability.

I don't have much spare time with a full-time job and kid but I try to do fun things when I can!

I consider myself very "old-fashioned" and very "alternative" at the same time. I want my son to be smart and kind and work hard. I want the best for him but I don't want him to grow up with the sense of entitlement that most kids now have. I have tattoos and piercings and Connor and I color our hair "funny" colors together. I encourage him to be creative and don't discourage him from playing with "girl" toys - in fact we battle with even labeling things as such. He doesn't have a TV in his room and gets limited access to the TV and computer - I'd rather he do something active or that is refining his motor skills. I yearn for the days of being able to send kids outside to play in the neighborhood and my wishful future includes becoming a "homesteader."

We have a cell phone but don't use it. I don't drink, smoke or do drugs but won't put myself in the "straight edge" category. My son already thinks that smoking and drinking are two of the worst behaviors a person can have and I hope he holds on to that for life!

I have a bit of a (bordering on unhealthy) container obsession. I love any little box or basket no matter how impractical it may be! I'm trying to wean myself from the habit but my husband shares the disease so it's hard! ;-)

I enjoy reading a great deal. I read the Twilight series and loved it. I got the first book of the Hunger Games series for Christmas and I'm twitching with withdrawal waiting to get Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

I like reading historical fiction (mostly about strong women) and food non-fiction the most...along with some crime/suspense. Recently I've read: Plan B, The Abstinence Teacher, Bangkok 8, The Last Days of Dogtown (by the author of The Red Tent -one of my fave books of all time!), Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind The Craft of Everyday Cooking, The Making of A Chef, Mister Posterior and the Genius Child, Crooked Little Vein The Reach of a Chef, Kon-Tiki, Fed Up, a book about diagnosing and treating hypothyroidism and a book about oppositional disorder in children. I've been passing around my copy of Fast Food Nation.

Night of the Avenging Blowfish and The Red Tent are 2 of the best books I've ever cast my eyes upon. I also adore the Ya-Ya series. I loved Good Omens, American Gods and Anansi Boys.

My husband is my comic book connection and I regularly read Deadpool (all titles) and X-Men (all titles including Wolverine titles).

I really read ALOT so the library is my best friend! I love being able to pull from my Amazon wishlist and read before committing to a purchase! Hungry Monkey is a great book with great recipes. I'm in the process of reading every book Michael Ruhlman has ever written - I'm on the last book of his "of a Chef" series and it's just continuing to feed my desire for a culinary degree!

I love to trade books too.... so if you're up for a private book swap let me know!! I buy books from the library on the cheap and the Borders in our town recently closed so I snagged a slew of books for $1! Those are pretty easy to part with once I'm done reading! :D

I have around 500 CD's plus the digital music on my computer. I have very eclectic tastes and none of the music snobbery of other folks my age. I love pretty much anything I can dance to or sing along with. My preferences lean heavily toward female singers (or bands that are female majority) and singer/songwriters. I ADORE covers and usually like the new version better than the original.
The bands in heavy rotation for me right now include: Four Year Strong, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Cartel, Fireworks, Avett Brothers, Cobra Starship, The Gossip, The Ting Tings, Mika, NOFX, Black Kids, White Tie Affair, New Amsterdams. The ones I'll always love include: Dashboard Confessional, Tegan and Sara, Ani Difranco, The Get Up Kids, Saves The Day, Brand New and crappy 80's anything! I'm shivering with anticipation of the best new music year ever including new albums from: All Time Low, Cobra Starship, Mika, The Gossip, Brand New, Motion City Soundtrack and Tegan and Sara. I'm super excited about the albums that have already dropped this year including: The Sounds, Taking Back Sunday, NOFX, Alkaline Trio....

The last time I was in L.A. for work I got to see Bruno Mars play live and I am IN LOVE! He is an amazing performer with a fantastic voice! I also got to see Christina Perri - if you haven't heard "Jar of Hearts" you need to go to youtube and find a live performance of it fast fast fast! She's got a killer voice and delivery!

I love TRYING to craft but often fail in the output. I make lots of blankets for my son and felt monsters for anyone who wants to look at them. I make jewelry for myself sometimes as well. I like to decoupage picture frames and am looking for really great female comic book covers to decoupage the side of my bento cabinet (yeah, I have so much bento stuff I had to move a dresser into the dining room to contain it all!). I'm currently trying to embroider tiny meats on my son's polos :D

Good Guys, Lie To Me, Top Chef, RuPaul's Drag Race and Drag U, iCarly, Dollhouse (RIP), House, Free Radio, Deadliest Warrior, Penguins of Madagascar. I terribly miss Pop-Up Video!

My son is the #1 thru #100 person in my life! :D I love him to death but I swear he gives me an aneurysm every day!

I enjoy picking up silly little things for him and welcome anything in a swap that he might like!

He is into "Plants vs. Zombies" (insane-o level obsession), bugs, dinosaurs, stuffed animals (mostly Build A Bear), Tech Deck Dudes and their newer counterpart Wild Grinders, Mighty Beans, Mr. Men and Little Misses, all things Halloween, play money (or foreign money), Spongebob Squarepants, Disney's Cars, maps, road signs, Hello Kitty, doctor stuff and quartz rocks. His favorite bands are The Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash, ACDC Paramore, Amy Winehouse, The Gossip and The Laurie Berkner Band.

He also loves to sucker me into making things for him that are far beyond my actual crafting ability!

When he was a baby he looked like these little monkeys on the clothes at Gymboree so I have a tattoo that includes those monkeys to celebrate my lil guy :D

I was flaked on my very first swap but was saved by Rejoicing. She sent the most fabulous package of pink goodness and I couldn't be more pleased with it! Thank you Rejoicing and thanks to everyone who goes out of her/his way to help out someone else in this way! :D

My hubby's name is Ben and he's the bestest! As I mentioned above, he used to work in a computer repair/comic book shop. So, obviously he LOVES all things geek. Wolverine, X-Men, Batman, Transformers (especially Optimus Prime), Buffy and GI Joe are some of his faves. He likes to draw and shares my obsession with tiny boxes/containers. He also loves pens and Sharpies. He likes cutes-y monsters, robots, bats, ninjas, pirates and Hello Kitty also. He loves to put together models and those cool little Lego sets that are made to be a car or plane. He doesn't really have very much time to read (the life of a house-husband is very demanding!) but he likes to pick up dark, detective type books.