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Hey guys, pardon the non-bingo post (oh my can you believe?? They are below though - no fear).

I just wanted to post to say how happy I am to be helping host this. I love swaps. Wanna know why? The very first 2 swaps I joined, I met two of the greatest ladies. I was spoiling one, and was spoiled by the other, and now they're two of my very best friends. I can't imagine not 'talking' to them on a regular basis, or not having had them impact my life. They're two of the greatest ladies you can imagine.

The funny thing is, if Devon had chosen not to reply to me when I sent her e-cards or emails or commented on her blog; or if I'd ignored Amy when she sent emails to me or visited my blog - I'd never have gotten that chance. As it is, I did, and they did, and we're now ALL friends.

On the other hand, a few of the folks I've spoiled or been spoiled by, I'm not very close to. We chatted some, but nothing big. I still made sure to try and find nice things for them, and they did the same for me. I've been lucky enough to have only 1 or 2 folks who ever chose to ignore me completely - and ya wanna know what? That makes it awfully hard to send things they'll like.

I don't know why each of you is here and traveling with us. Hopefully, you loved the idea as much as I did when Sharon and Jessi told me about it, and you're looking forward to spoiling your pal. Please, keep in mind though that there's someone out there who is trying to spoil you, too. They want to hear back from you. They want to know what you like and what you don't, and they want to get to know you.

It's really simple to take the time to email back your spoiler, or to drop a note or a blog message to your spoilee. Maybe you'll meet a Devon or an Amy and maybe you won't - but at least you won't have ruined the fun of the swap for someone else who's dying to hear back from you.

[Edit: For those unfamiliar with the terms, Upstream Pal or Spoiler are both the person who sends to you. Downstream Pal or Spoilee are the person you're sending to.]