in need of american goodies...

hello!

so, i dont have much to update but people have been asking me for suggestions of things to send, so i compiled an extensive list...

Things Kara Would Like to Have in Togo:

Food Stuffs:

• Sauce Packets (for pastas, rice, salads, etc.) -- things like "Just Add Noodles!"
• Packaged Meat (i.e., chicken, tuna, crab, etc.) -- cans of tuna or the bags of chicken chunks.
• Snacks (granola bars*, crackers, chips, cookies, [chocolate covered] pretzels) Nuts (peanuts are cheap and easy here, so not plain peanuts--perhaps flavored or a nut mixture with almonds and cashews--yum.)
• Candy (don't worry about it melting, chocolate for example, as long as its well packaged, i'll still eat it! also, candy is a great thing to give to kids, so big bags of dollar store candy is nice to have around-- so far, my family has loved candy canes for christmas and butterscotch candies)
• Spices (spices are kinda expensive here and I generally have to go to Lome to find everyday things like Parsley and then when I get there, I never know the name in French so I never end up buying it anyways! my life is lacking in the spice department)
• Flavor Drink Packets
• Tea Bags
• Coffee (i just got a coffee press, YAY!! and coffee is somewhat hard to come by/expensive, so...mmm)

Toilettries:

• Shampoo; Conditioner
• Body Wash
• Face Wash: St. Ives Apricot Scrub (there are 2 that I like: the blue-label "Blackhead Control" and the green-label "Refresh and Renew" -- the blue Blackhead one is scrubbier though, and tougher on Togo dirt, so I prefer blue)
• Deodorant: Secret Flawless Invisible Solid in Completely Clean Scent
• Make-Up: Eyeliner: CoverGirl Perfect Point Plus in Black; Mascara: Black; Eye Shadow: Pretty, earthy-tone colors

Clothing:

• Undies from Victoria's Secret, Size: S-M (they just had their Semi-Annual Sale! I hope you all profited..)
• Bras: Victoria's Secret PINK Collection Wireless* T-Shirt Bras, Size: 34B (underwire bras are really hard to hand wash!!)
• Tank Tops: Spaghetti Strap or other thin straps with built-in bra; other wife-beater (not politically correct, I know....) type shirts in various colors; also, anything cute--some days I want to be cute (but cheap cause it'll prolly get ruined and material that can easily be hand-washed in a bucket, i.e., not delicate).
• T-Shirts: whatever, cheap, it'll get pit stains and ruined anyways. black and white show sweat least. Fruit-of-the-Loom V-neck T-shirts are good, Size: Small. of course tho, cute stuff.
• Dresses: long spaghetti-strap cotton (with a little bit of spandex so they fit nicely) dresses are fun. try Old Navy. but cute! ***keep in mind that I can have dresses copied in local fabric here, so if you send me cute dresses, I'll be able to get the pattern copied and will quit asking for more!***
• Jewelry: earrings! big, fun, beautiful things...you know me... hoops, pretty things, etc...

Other:

• Pictures: DUH! I want to be able to display my far-away loved ones!
• Picture Frames: thus far, I've just been propping my photos up against stuff, then the wind comes and knocks everything down. Em sent those plastic L-shaped ones that you can buy at Wal-Mart for just a few dollars -- PERFECT, really improved my quiality-of-life, but I still need some more!
• DVDs: I've really taken up "movie watching" as a hobby so movies or tv series are greatly appreciated -- anything in English... (TV Series I enjoy: Family Guy, the Office, Futurama, Seinfeld, Weeds, Friends) also, any Discovery Channel-ish things...
• Journals: Journal-writing is another hobby I've taken up. I'm on my 2nd journal now and will finish it sometime in the near future and would like to have another ready for all my african tales.
• Newspapers and Magazines are fun to read...

i know...it's long, it's detailed, and it's absurd...BUT, i have a lot of long lonely days to fantasize about things in america. so i apologize...

lovies!
-k