Laura Gjovaag's Wishlist

Whether or not you get me a gift for my birthday or Christmas or whatever matters little, as long as you are my friend. I need the people in my life FAR more than I need physical things.

That said, if you want to get me something anyway, here's my current desires.

• Number one is Kiva. If you don't know what to get me, and want to make sure I'm happy with the gift, get me a gift certificate for Kiva. If you don't know what Kiva is, read the about section. In short, a gift to me goes as a loan to a small business in the developing world. When that business pays me back, I relend the money to someone else, thus supporting a bunch of people with a very small gift. As a bonus, you can follow along at my Kiva page to see what I do with your gift.
  
  If you cannot afford the minimum gift certificate, but still want to contribute, please donate a couple of dollars in my name to Kiva itself, to support the whole business of micro-lending.
  
  This is my number one wanted gift. If you can, get me this. Everything else on this list is just play.

Seriously. I prefer Kiva if you can afford it.

*sigh* If you want to get me something else, here's a list of other stuff I want. I don't expect any of this, but if you are determined to get me something, this list ought to give you some ideas. It also allows me to write out my desires so I can see what I want (versus what I need), so it serves a dual-purpose.

• Herbal Tea. I've been doing very well with hot tea helping my weight loss. If you want to get tea for me, please make sure it's herbal tea that is naturally caffeine free. My main brands are Bigelow Tea, Stash Tea, and Celestial Seasonings, but I'm not adverse to trying new things. I have yet to run across a herbal tea that I dislike, but I prefer fruit teas with a strong flavor. I'm not a big fan of chamomile or heavily spiced teas.

Here are some flavors I know I'll enjoy:
• Stash - Chocolate Peppermint
• Stash - Wild Raspberry
• Bigelow - Mint Medley
• Herbal sampler boxes. Usually 5 or 6 flavors, always a good choice.
• Stash Tea Gift Certificate


• Penguins - what can I say. They congregate around me.


• Dice - I like dice. Particularly strange or unusual dice. Dice are small, fun to play with, and cool. Singles are pretty cheap, and dice found at second-hand stores are often even better than new dice (once they are washed). So, yeah, dice = good.


• Doctor Who - DVDs. Ask Eric which ones we don't have.


• Amazon.com Wishlist. I try to keep this updated with a few items that I want. If you want something quick and simple and don't want to do Kiva (whyever not?) then pick from this list.


• LEGO - Always a good choice. I prefer small sets with a cool minifig in them, or sets that take time to build. Old LEGO, from second-hand stores, is also cool if it's been washed. Really cool would be a monorail engine (which is a discontinued set), as I have monorail track but nothing to run on it.


• Aquaman - It's really hard to find an Aquaman item I haven't already got, but if you are feeling confident, go for it.


• Computer Stuff - Blank DVDs, USB thumb drives, SD cards... so many things! A gift certificate towards a new computer is also good.