Many things! In bullet points!

-- Mainly, I worked a bunch. It took me 4 hours to pack orders on Saturday. So many steps, omg. I also did some pearl knotting work, ordered supplies, and did preliminary work on custom orders.

-- Saw ParaNorman. Full disclosure: I tend not to be too into animated films. I don't think they're inferior or childish by any means, but they just don't often grab me like live-action films do. Anyway, I loved ParaNorman. I think it should be required viewing for all schoolkids AND their parents. Parable-ness aside, the animation was... interesting. Definitely a gorgeous film, but in a lot of ways reminiscent of old-school stop-motion, even though it had a distinctly new-school Coraline stop-motion vibe. Anywhoo, it was a good movie.

(I was glad that Laika didn't end up making a Tim Burton-esque film, considering the horror elements. I mean, I like Tim Burton and all, but his last five years of movies have been so tired and repetitive, both in terms of aesthetic and theme, to the point where he's treading water and not making any new headway. I have no desire to see Frankenweenie because it looks SO stereotypically Burtonesque.)

-- Went on a mini shopping spree. It's been a while since I had any fun money, so I did splurge a little bit for myself. I took advantage of the $5 for $15 antibacterial soap sale at Bath & Body Works (Warm Apple Cider smells amaaaaazing) and picked up some Autumn Leaves oil from Yankee along with a handful of Pumpkin Apple votives. I now have a handful of home oils (including Slatkin & Co's Leaves, Cider Lane, and Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin, plus BPAL's Samhain is WONDERFUL as a home oil) that I use to re-up scent in my wax tart burner... it's like getting two tarts for the price of one. Picked out a few nail polishes at Ulta... their house brand's Sun Of A Gun (a non-fluorescent orange creme, the closest I could find to a pumpkin spice in a creme finish), Shag by Butter London (a bronzey foil), and Every Month Is Oktoberfest from OPI's Germany collection (a pretty wine purple). I still need to find new riding boots for fall, but so far, nothing has struck my fancy.

-- In the realm of Stuff Adults Do, we steam cleaned the carpet. Ahhhh, stain-free carpet makes my inner Virgo VERY happy. It even got up a stubborn stain I've scrubbed many times. Very happy with the result.

-- TV Sunday: True Blood and Breaking Bad. Two of my favorite shows, but for completely different reasons. Anywho, while watching True Blood, I simultaneously heard millions of people scream [Spoiler (click to open)]"OMG IT'S BILLITH" at the same time. And a minute later, it was trending on twitter. Haha.

-- Today's plan: I have two pearl knotting assignments to do, I have to run the piece Verve is doing for the Inappropriate Hafla, and then I am curling up with a book. Maybe I'll finally get through the last 1/3 of Outlander.

-- Speaking of the Inappropriate Hafla... it's Sept 8th this year. I will be vending again, as will Minxes's Trinkets, Belle Nova, and Venus Out Of Bounds. If you're coming, bring $$$. There will be shinies to suit EVERYONE.

What it is:

For the past six years, I have done a care package swap for my friends-list. The premise is this: if you enlist, your name gets thrown into a hat. You will receive the name of one person, and someone else will receive your name. Your goal is to put together a small care package for that person. Letters, candles, incense, chocolate, bath goodies, foodie goods, craft-store finds, etc. Something nice to brighten his or her day. You might even get a new friend out of the deal.

I know I had a lot of fun last year, and we average 15 - 30 people depending on the year. This is not solely a chick thing-- every year, several dudes also participate. I try to pair dudes up if it's possible. I also tend to pair up international swappers, but I do ask if US swappers are OK with shipping internationally in the case that that is not possible.

Also note that since LJ has been slowing down, this swap is now open to my facebook friendslist. Welcome newbies. Please read the guidelines extra-carefully.

To participate, please read 'general guidelines,' then fill out the questionnaire below, sending it to sihaya09 at gmail dot com with "Care Package Swap" in your email title.

This Year's Timeline:

September 12th, 2012 -- Sign-ups close
September 14th, 2012 -- Swapper notifications
October 1st, 2012 -- The last day to notify me of a back-up need
October 15th, 2012 -- Last Day to put packages in the mail

General Guidelines:

Package Contents:

-- General price range will be $20 - $25, though if you'd like to invest more, that's fine-- in my years of running this, I'd say $25 is the average worth per package, though some people do go all out! And $20 is not a mandatory minimum-- if you're good at crafts or you have a knack for finding thrift store treasures, that's cool, too. I just wanted to give people a ballpark. Popular items in many past swaps have included: scented bath and body products (bath bombs, soap, etc), candles, stationery, yarn for knitters, fun socks, teas & coffees, and, of course, chocolate. To get a better idea of what goes into packages, check out past Care Package Swap Squee posts.

-- Please include at least 4 items in your package.

-- Please include your name and your email somewhere in your package so your recipient knows who to thank when the package is received.

-- PLEASE read your recipient's questionnaire thoroughly. If someone has young children, use common sense, and do not send them potential hazards. Please try to put together a package that you yourself would be delighted to receive.

Shipping your package:

-- All US domestic packages MUST have shipping confirmation/a tracking number. It costs about $.85 via the USPS, and it's worth every penny.

-- Be sure to package all breakables so that they do not kersplode in transit.

Deadlines:

-- For deadlines, see "This Year's Timeline" above.

-- Please, please, do not ask to participate if you are unsure about your ability to follow through on your end. Yes, there are generous people who will throw together back-up packages so that no one gets left out. No, that does not mean that it's okay to flake. Please note: October 1st is the absolute last date to tell me that you need to bow out, and in bowing out, you are saddling someone with the responsibility of putting together your package. You will not be eligible to participate in future years. (This is very rare, but still worth saying.)

Admin Stuff:

--If you need a quick link to the Care Package Swap tag, where all information resides, please bookmark this link. (Note: I have made all non-squee posts from past years friends-only in order to streamline for newbies.)

-- I try to run a tight ship- there will a check-ins near the mailing deadline that I expect you to respond to. I also post a thank you/ squee thread for those who wish to gush about their package (although you should also personally email your swapper with a thank you). If you don't have an LJ account, that's okay- you can post comments to LJ using facebook log-ins (anonymous commenting is off, though).

-- If you are specifically concerned about something (a past package, sharing your address, etc) but would like to participate, please let me know. I will do my best pair you with someone I can personally vouch for to help avert any potential problems.

-- If you have ANY questions, please email me at sihaya09 at gmail dog com.

Got it? ( Take me to the questionnaire!Collapse )

I will assign swappers/swappees and mail you your recipient's questionnaire. I will also keep a list of swappers/swapees, so if someone doesn't send their package, I'll know, and will find some way to compensate. Like I said, this is very rare.

Everybody, have fun!