Swapping!

I decided it was time I do a swap with my Yids on Ravelry. This is my first swap and I'm nervous I will send the crappiest box ever. Please help me...Jenn...? I need some good ideas. E-mail or PM me some ideas so my Pal doesn't see it...just in case!

Now, just so you know, this will be a Passover swap so if I'm going to send any type of food, it needs to be small enough so my Pal can finish it before Passover starts. It must be kosher too, but I can handle that all on my own. :) The same goes for any body-type products I send...unless my Pal will just "sell" it with the rest of her stuff that isn't kosher for Passover...Hmm...I should ask the moderators what we are doing about that kind of stuff. It might be better not to send something like that after all. ARG!

Instead of writing a Megillah in the thread of the group I'm doing the swap with, I figured I would write about my likes and dislikes here.

Hello Super Secret Swappy Pal!! (I need to find a synonym for Pal that starts with an S....) HockeyRachel (and others) had some additional questions that she posted in the official swap thread that she would like everyone to answer. Here it goes...along with a bunch of other information. Hope I don't overwhelm you with all the bullets. I love lists.

• Coffee: I do not drink coffee that often. I try to avoid it at all costs for various reasons. When I do drink it, we have a Keurig machine at work (the only place I drink coffee) and it pains me that the coffee we get isn't fair trade. I fight with myself about whether I should really be drinking the coffee they provide to us for free. I drink French Vanilla, and only French Vanilla unless I'm getting coffee at Starbucks. Then I get whatever has the most calories and other good for you things like fat and sugar. It's always some blended. I'm a gluten, it's true.
• Tea: I'm more of a tea drinker. Mostly minty type things but green tea is high on my list. Black tea hates me and I hate it back. We had a falling out a couple years ago and I said, "Good riddance." I like loose tea but need a better contraption to put the leaves it.
• Chocolate: I'm supposed to stay away from chocolate, but I do love me some hot chocolate. The Land o' Lakes white chocolate stuff is awesome and I love Hugs.
• Looks or function: I'm in the process of "going green" as they say. I'm all about functionality because of this. My goal is to not buy sponges and just use only dishcloths. I want to cut down on my paper towel usage too. Make me dishcloths. Any colors, any pattern--I don't mind and I actually really like the eclectic look/feel.
• Bags: I'm a pro at making market bags but I could use sturdy (webbed), wide ribbon for the handles.
• Knitwear:I'm a huge fan of hats! I just made a slouchy beret and while I love the striping the yarn did and the overall look of the beret, I have no clue how to wear the damn thing. It's only slightly slouchy, as I wasn't sure if I could handle something crazy.
• More knitwear:I work in an insanely cold office building and could use fingerless mitts--I have small, boney hands and type all day long while singing to myself.
• Color preferences: For whatever reason, everything in my wardrobe is slowly becoming green. I have numerous green sweaters and just bought a sweater's worth of green yarn at a Super Bowl sale (50% angora, 50% wool!!!!!!!). I have 2 hats, 1 scarf, 1 cowl and 2 market bags that are all green. Please don't send me green yarn. I still have a ton of green to use.
• Patterns: I have a bright red coat and want to make Urchin....I'm thinking a blueish/purplish chunky yarn would be perfect for it and will look great with said, red Paddington Bear looking coat. I'm also a fan of the Montero hat pattern that Brooklyntweed blogged about recently.
• Books: I made the decision to forgo shopping at Barnes and Noble (and other large book retailers) for the entire year if it can be helped. I love used books and can't understand why someone would be offended if they got a used book as a present! If you are going to throw a book or twelve into the mix, get me a used one.
• More books: I love Agatha Christie and am working my way through the Poirot series in order. I'm up to the Mystery of the Blue Train and it's a good one. I eventually want to read the Harley Quinn series in order as well but don't own any of those.
• Cooking: I'm teaching myself to cook and eat healthier and am all about the easy. I love my crock-pot and want to learn to make more in it.
• Sports: I just started playing roller derby and am having a love affair with it. Did you know there are pattern books specifically geared towards derby items?!
• Homemade: With the whole "going green" thing, I want to make my own cleaning and bath products. I've already made my own body scrub and love it but I could use recipes for other items that are nontoxic and safe for the environment. I know there's a lot I can do with vinegar and lemon juice. Help me out!
• NERD ALERT: I'm a Harry Potter nerd (Ron, Neville and Luna are the greatest) and have recently "read" Eragon and loved it. I'm an audiobook kind of girl with larger books--it gives me something to do at work and while I knit and crochet (that's right, Pal...I'm bi-craftual). I'm also a Twilight geek.
• Notions: I need stitch markers for knitting and crochet. I like the snag-free ones and usually knit things on size 8 needles. I have a couple different ones faved on Etsy. I fave things in my free time.
• Other crafts: Scrapbooking=love. I have so many ideas of various books I want to make and right now I'm just working on the main one but I want to make one of just pictures I've taken with my iPhone and another that is themed off of the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music and have the book filled with things that I love and that make me smile. I'm thinking both will be smaller, notebook sized maybe, and it'll help me get more creative since there's less space and I want it to be rockin' with all sorts of mixed media popping out at you. And actually, I can incorporate the two books into one....that would work out really nicely now that I think about it. I have nothing to start the new book. Acid free items are always welcome in my scrapbook stash. :D
• All natural: Yep, I'm a hippie at heart and my bath products are all natural...everything! Shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste...even my makeup. No chemicals here.
• Roving & soap: I still want to make soap sweaters using roving and homemade, natural soaps.

Okay, so I think that's way more info that you need but this way you have a ton to choose from and you don't have to wait for Mindy or Rachel to get in touch with me if you have more questions.