DracuLaura can't wait 'til Frankie sees *her* new bed !

Current Mood : What a thrilling, well-slept day ! 

Beloved Hubby left even earlier than expected today - he's driving two friends to Big Event Thang, and had made plans to meet up here around 10am. So, while I was up 'til 3am embroidering those stinkin' badges, it was OK, at least we'd get to sleep in a bit, and I was a twinge wired from the new inhaler, and would have been up that late anyway, if you want the truth about it. Slept like a warm, happy, horizontal brick for the first time all week ! So happy...

Until Beloved's phone rang. At 6:50am. Hard Luck Friend called to let us know he was about 15 minutes from our house, and forgot the exact way to it. (sigh) I'm sorry, but to me, it's kinda rude to be expected at 10am and show up at 7am. But, whatever. Bitterness does not become one. Clapped on clothes from yesterday, and went to finish up and help out. Ate a couple of the luscious strawberries we bought yesterday. They're so red and so delicious, it's like eating a flawless ruby ! I'm savoring them one berry at a time. It's better that way.

For some reason, late last night, the second badge I did glitched something fierce, and had to be cut out of Brody's feed dogs. Still not sure how it happened, I'm just lucky I caught it before he sustained damage. It could have gone so much worse. But recovery, resetting, cleaning Brody's entire bobbin race, and re-sewing that one from scratch made me run so late, I didn't sew the Velcro (tm) backing part, just got the embroidery finished on 'em while Beloved cut and Fray-Checked them. Besides, there'd be plenty of time, we'd be up early enough to get all our work done, get him packed up and fed, and still have time to wait for Beloved's friends...(sigh)

But that's about what happened anyway. While he finished getting his and Hard Luck's stuff loaded and his Diesel's back seat cleaned out (a task he'd put off ), I got the Velcro done and the badges trimmed and packed. I have to admit, the second run looked much better. I'm actually proud of these. Idly wondered if that's what happened - if our client didn't like them and wanted them redone - but Beloved said he wasn't like that, and the first run was good, too.

So he and Hard Luck were ready to go at 8:30. I'd offered to make Beloved a sewing kit, but he decided he didn't need it...until he saw that Hard Luck's uniforms completely lacked the loop Velcro (tm) for the badges he'd be getting at Big Event Thang, and also needed some minor repairs. Five minutes later, I had a repurposed Airsoft ammo bag loaded with two colors of Velcro backing, two spools of thread, a fresh pack of needles, scissors, a thimble, and the tube of Velcro glue we bought weeks ago, in a separate snack-size baggie, just in case.

Second friend was called and arrived shortly afterward, and when it was all done and said, they were on their way to the convoy at 9am. First, he had to stop for ice, and swing back for a couple things he forgot, but that just means I got more kisses. Also a surprise. Before he pulled off, he told me to check the oven. Huh ? I did - and there was DracuLarua's coffin bed ! He'd bought it while I was in line for the inhaler, stashed it in the Diesel, and hid it during the morning shuffle. He'd wanted to get me a new doll, or Lagoona's Hydration Station, but time was a bit short, he knew I didn't have this, and hoped I'd like it. I do. I have the sweetest Beloved...

I also have a box of fried chicken, three TV dinners, three kids of potato chips (with dip), two different loaves of bread, and plenty of soda. What did I want to do, now that Beloved was on his way, and Dearest was enjoying time with his grandparents ? Slept for five hours. Seriously. It's the most sleep I've had all week, and it was glorious !

Got my desk cleaned off and the blog caught up, and mostly puttered. They arrived safely, got checked in to both the motel and Big Event Thang, and the fun begins !

So tell me why I want another nap soooo bad ! Won't sleep tonight if I don't knock that off, so I pulled up Twilight Zone episodes on Netflix and set to debox and assemble DracuLaura's coffin-bed. I'd always resisted getting it before. I mean, it's pink in ways that would make Barbie murmur, "D@mn, that's pink !" to herself before looking for something more sedate in subterranean sublets, like a whiskey decanter box...

I'll write up a nice review tomorrow - this is already pretty lengthy ! Wanna take more photos, too. The short sneak-peek review is that I love it, and can't wait to share it.

Not sure what I'm gonna do with the rest of the night, or tomorrow. Thanks to the badges, I'm a bit burned out on embroidery right now, and don't know what to sew tomorrow. All else fails, I'll do some housework. I can always think of a few hundred things I'd rather do than chores ! 

Say hello to my lil' friend...and go shopping with us !

Current Mood : Relief !

The Inhaler Saga continues ! Called the M-W pharm today, found out my prescription was 'on hold' for some reason, but they'd fill it within the hour and I could call back for the cost in that time. Which I did. Now, I didn't actually for one second *believe* that it'd be that easy, did I ? Turns out the inhaler they had to get authorization for on Wednesday - they're out of stock on it. So the pharmacy has to get another auth from my Dr. for a full-size $40. inhaler, instead of the 60 dose $9. one. Same medicine, just a different size container, but we're still in fax limbo.

Of course, with the pressure systems still arcing through our state, my reserve inhaler is getting pretty thin. I didn't think it'd be a problem when I called Tuesday to get another one, but now I actually need it, and we're still effing around with it. Pharmacist said she'd call the doctor personally and get it handled, but I'm really getting tired of being jerked around and I'm scared a little, too. $20. says they had the blasted inhalers in stock when this whole cluster-bomb started...

And it's not like I have nothing else to occupy my time. The eight 'big badges' we mailed off a week or so ago...never arrived. The buyer chose this morning to tell Beloved. Guess what I get to spend the rest of the day redoing ? They have to be ready when Beloved Hubby leaves for Big Event Thang tomorrow morning, to get to him in time, since it's a Big Event item. Nothing I love more than redoing something I was happy to finish nearly two weeks ago - and it's repetitive and boring, too ! I'm just glad we have enough supplies left over.

But wait - there's more ! Now I can't logon to Blogger. Keep getting returned to the same sign-in screen, and I've changed my password twice. Unfortunately, the latest one reflects my mood and is unprintable. Could sign in yesterday, wth ? Maybe if I dump my cache...

Sheesh, I know it's my turn in the Barrel of Misfortune, and really, this is Mild Frustration more than any real issues, but I'm still feeling a bit put-upon right now. Sorry I'm whining.

Okay. A couple hours have passed - Beloved was home early, and our day rapidly changed ! DFIL picked up Dearest Son while I was crashed, thank Everything Beloved was here. First time I sleep for more than a half-hour all week, and it's when Dearest is leaving !

Never did eat lunch, so I was roarin' hungry when we went to - finally ! - pick up my inhaler. As predicted, $40. for a 200-dose device, darn it. While I waited for it, Beloved wanted to check out a few things for his trip, which was fine with me, I wasn't up to a lot of his standard rapid walking ! I barely had it paid for when I was on a bench, using it. Confession Corner : My old one's been on fumes since Tuesday. I haven't been out of control, but it's scary when you know the device is nearly empty, and you're not sure when the next one will be ready - or even 'if' ! I also need to admit this - for all the negative reviews I read about ProAir, it worked darn well for me. Sure, it smells and tastes like a Primatene Mist (do they even make those anymore ?), nasty as a cat fart in the face, but wow. It really worked for me, and I didn't feel that 'medicine hitting the back of my throat' sensation. Nice.

Met up with Beloved and we did a bit of shopping. Nothing new over at Monster High central, but I'm still tempted by the Moxie Teenz shoe sets. Just not today. Found a nice keepsake box of Barbie stickers - 800 for $5. ! - that ordinarily I'd have considered a score, but I'm just not into Babs yet. They also had Cars 2 sets, which Dearest seems unexcited about, so I didn't get that one, either. Wish they'd had MH !

From there, we dropped off groceries - including some TV dinners for me during my very rare solo weekend - and headed out on a work errand of Beloved's. And we picked up a box of fried chicken on the way home. Yaaay !

And I finally got to work on those blasted badges. I swear, next time we mail anything, I don't care if it's 50c worth of used fly-paper, we're gonna use Delivery Confirmation. At least that would have told us the darn things hadn't arrived with a bit more notice. With my cat-nap sleeping this week, I was gonna be up late anyway, but there were more fun things to do, ya know ? Oh, and I can sign on to Blogger again, of course - but dumping my cache has left me with a ton of sites and no passwords. The fun never ends...

Is anyone else half-asleep ? Or is it just me...? (yaaawn)

Current Mood : Ready for those stinkin' badges ! 

I figured, since we'd have to work on the last of the badges tonight, I'd kinda take it easy today - and I could barely stay awake in the first place. Got a decent night's rest last night, but evidently my sleep backlog isn't caught up yet.

Found the bag of badge fabric cutaway scraps and got those sorted, and redid the still-usable stabilizer bits box. Just have to remember to dig through 'scraps' and 'tiny scaps' interfacing baggies next time I wanna embroider anything.

Decided to get an image of Lil Louise's new shoes - the ones I sewed yesterday - for today's entry, and it just seemed that she was missing something. So I made her a hair bow. It's even on one of those clip things that you have to squeeze to open. Got a bunch of those in a crafts box lot a couple years back, and kept about half. (snort) Back when I had my hair long enough for bows (just a year or so in the early 90s, it's not an optimal look for me), I never made any. It was easier to snag a couple pretty ones at Dollar Tree, all ready to go. So now, it's funny to me how easy it is to make them. Still, it always looks cute on a doll or a kid when the bow matches the dress - not so much on 30+ year olds.

Saw where a couple folks found the Monster High Lagoona's Hydration Station... aaaand it's now further down on my little hierarchy. This morning, it was still on the 'maybe' list, but it has since slipped a few notches. Oh, it's still quite nice, and if it was just handed to me, I'd be happy to own it, but...for $40. bucks, it's mostly another prop and a duplicate of a doll I already have. What I liked in the preview photos was her outfit and shoes, and her shorter-seeming hair, and all those things have changed. She also has solid grey eyes for some reason, and her makeup is darn near grey, too. I prefer my more colorful girl and her green eyes ! 


Plus, I'm already reminded, by Frankie's Mirror Bed, how soon props and big pieces get unmanageably in the way, so I think I'll give the Station a pass. Wow. This may be the first time since DracuLaura's coffin /jewelry box bed that I actively turn down owning something MH-related. And I actually wanted the Station at one point, something I can't say for DLaura's coffin.  We'll see how I do when these actually reach retail shelves, but I'm still planning on limiting this year's purchase to just four dolls, with maybe one or two others, depending.

Whoop ! Beloved Hubby's home - with two-inch-wide black Velcro (tm) ! Luckily, I made sure he had the 40% off coupon before he left this morning. Time for me to get to work. Hope your day had a bow on it ! 

Jam-packed Saturday !

Current Mood : Weary but very happy and proud of m'self.
Spent on Ghoulia-cool fabric : $1.07

Last night was both scary and hilarious on the Monster High sites. After weeks of 'New Students are coming to MH on Friday the 13th !!1!!' teases, all that happened was, Mattel finally published official photos of Spectra Vondergeist and Abbey Bominable, on their official sites. And they published the 'lost' Chapter 13 from the first book - it's basically shoehorning Ghoulia into ComicCon this year. That's it. And they were actually kinda stingy with the images, waiting 'til mid-afternoon and dragging it out into the evening.


Meanwhile, many fans had taken the frequent little messages to mean that TRU and Mal-Wart had been sitting on stocks of both new dolls for days/weeks/months, and they'd be released early this morning...so they made plans to be there and be the first. Too bad that the release dates for the new girls isn't until sometime in June and August...which they also didn't state until well into the afternoon.


Shortly after the photos and dates (June for Spectra, August for Abbey) were posted, the hue and cry went up. How could Mattel possibly make their fans wait soooo long ??! It's just not fair !!1! (sigh) Ya'll, it's the middle of May. It'll be June in two weeks. I'm sure you can somehow find a way to drag yourself over the tortured landscape of your life, and somehow get through the days between now and then without these dolls for company during it.


Geez, and I thought I was looking forward a bit too much for MH merch... I have no drama at all in me, compared with some of these rabid fans. Maybe it's having so many MH dolls right at my elbows (seriously, I have that many, they swamp both joints !), but aside from hair and clothes, I don't see anything truly unique here. They're pretty, but I bet they're recycled head molds. I really want to like them, even with that nasty business over the leaked prototype (?) photos, but I just don't feel anything at all like that 'spark' I got last summer. I look at the images and shrug. I really don't want to feel that way, but I do. At least they're still wildly inventive with the original cast !


Still, though, the anger kinda shocked me. I know Mattel hasn't done the best job promoting this line - heck, they really haven't been promoting it at all, IMhO - but some of these 'fans' were getting threatening. Just 'cause it takes three months concept-to-retail shelf for a collector Barbie doesn't mean MH is subject to the same time frame. Since Mattel tends to use the most static doll body they have for collector dolls (gambling that the doll will never leave the box), those can be done waaaay ahead of time - about the only thing that puts a Barbie at collector level is an ornate dress and limited numbers. MH is not the same - the bodies alone are pretty tech, and I bet are a real witch (ha-ha) to assemble. And even so, that doesn't give anyone the right to be a bully over toys. I'm the last person on the planet to tell someone else to grow up, but I hope some of these people survive puberty - and Heaven help us all if they're already on the 'making car payments' side of it.


Anyway... Brody and I finished embroidering the last of the badges today. Hooray ! Did I mention they needed to have Velcro (tm) sewn to the backs ? *All* of them ? I'm sure Beloved Hubby told me, but I completely forgot. Beloved noted my weariness and volunteered to do it, but he had major problems. After the third volley of curses and scary thumps coming out of KJ, I nudged him out of my chair and took over. He was impressed with how fast and accurate I was with the Velcro - to me, I was unbearably slow, but it was short sides and long curves, with a narrow valley of correct (i.e., not showing) placement, so I had to take my time.


Got about halfway done with the set I was working on - the ones I'd just finished that morning - when we ran out of the Velcro (tm) he'd bought for both sets. And Hancock Fabrics closed in an hour. So we printed up the 40% off notions and a cut of fabric coupons they always e-mail me and dashed over. Bought the last strip of matching Velcro they had - enough to finish one set of badges, not enough to complete both. Since the larger badges (those in the first set I finished on Thursday) have to be mailed Monday, we'll have tomorrow night to work on 'em. There's also three other Hancock's we can check for more Velcro (tm). The smaller badges go to their new owner at tomorrow's Airsoft game, so we got those done. There went the afternoon and into tonight. Whew. Good thing I learned how to sew the hook (hard) side of Velcro last month ! I also got a ton of small scraps - fabric and Velcro - for my own sewing. I love little bonuses ! I even got to give my unused 40% off fabric coupon to the nice lady behind me in line. I love doing that.


What kinda ranks is, now I know how to make badges, and can attach Velcro to the backs. New skill. If I weren't so tired of these, I'd love to make some of my own !


Found an adorable fat quarter that's perfect for Ghoulia, and since it was on sale for 99c, snagged it. Beloved also replenished my Fray-Check (although the Airsoft projects used less than a quarter bottle, he wanted to get me a fresh new one) and got me six yards of 15-inch wide Pellon lightweight interfacing, for cutaway stabilizer. The past couple days completely emptied my stock of used dryer sheets and whatever those weird 'in a tissue box, but not Kleenex' things I got from the hospital years and years ago. I can only assume they were disposable washcloths or something, all I know is, they got included in my things when I was discharged, and they made fantastic stabilizer. Wish I knew how to secure more. All that remains are small scraps barely big enough for another tiny MH logo.


But the Pellon looks to be just as good. Softer, and without deep folds in it. And it was on sale - 77c for each three-yard package. Even when it's not on sale, it's only 99c. So if it works on the next experiment, I know what I'll stock up on ! I also saw a battery-powered Pintastic - you toss glass-head pins into the hopper, and it feeds 'em to you, heads-up. Push the small lever, and they pop up to you a bit. I was entranced, but $30. is a bit much, and with my sewing, kinda hard to justify. Hmf. Seems like June Taylor is the only online distributor, and they're having a special - $45. ! Whatevs. If you'd like to see it, go here - http://store.junetailor.com/store/p-176-pintastic-automatic-pin-dispenser.aspx . (bonks self on head) Oh, it was on Edit, not Compose - that's why I had to futz over and over with the link and image ! Well, live and learn...or die ! 


I may do some embroidery experiments tomorrow, while Beloved's at the Airsoft field. I'll have all morning and most of the afternoon to m'self and Dearest Son. Not sure what I'll do yet. Right now, I'm tired of both sewing and embroidery. I may watch movies or enjoy some doll time.


Oh ! Ya'll will be so proud of me, I gotta tell you this ! The very last set of badges was running in Brody, and was about 1/3 done, when I remembered - that bobbin wasn't a new, full one. It'd probably run out at any minute, and I didn't have any ready to go. With Brody still stitching away, I grabbed the 70wt bobbin thread and an empty Brody bobbin - and wound it on KJ. KJ's winder is not automatic - ya gotta use the foot pedal. So, for a brief period today, I was running both Brody and KJ at the same time. I felt such power...


Unfortunately that glorious power has got up and gone. Gonna catch some well-deserved sleep. Kinda proud of me today...(yawn) G'night ! Hope you sleep well tonight.

I guess Blogger got sick about the same time I did ! Glad I feel better than it seems to...

Current Mood :  Confused - is Blogger OK ? 

*ed note * - Blogger's had some problems off and on since Wednesday - they had to remove some posts, but say they'll put 'em back up soon. That's why the Wed. entry has vanished. I got it backed up, like always. If it's not here tomorrow sometime, I'll repost then. It's not like it's a big loss - there wasn't much going on Wednesday, ya know. 

Well, my 'no sleep' prediction was accurate - seems like I'd barely lie down before I'd have the same stupid dream (something about online coloring book subscriptions, shipping things and fraud) and I'd gasp m'self awake. This happened pretty much every half hour, nearly all night long.

So I got up early, and took the meds I'd forgotten yesterday. Well, when you're already sucking down steroids to breathe, you tend to forget the other stuff. It's funny - most people on steroid therapy report rampaging hunger and insatiable appetites. Me, I can barely be motivated to eat at all, which is probably where this slight dizziness is coming from. My body is running around at 60mph due to all the 'speed' in the inhaler, my mind is under six inches of cotton. Maybe if I can pound down some buttered toast, I can get it together enough to get the day going.

That helped. The black bobbin thread on the last embroidery Airsoft patch I did last night really looked great, so the three I'm doing today will have that, too. I also have to do a test stitch-out of the second design, so I can let Beloved Hubby see where any changes need to be made, get the client's approval, and bust butt getting those done Friday and Saturday. I swear, on Sunday, I'm sitting on my butt, waiting for the wails of  'There weren't any new dolls out on Friday !' to hit the Monster High message boards.

Mattel's starting to cheese me off a bit. This coy habit of alluding to things without actually saying 'This is when these are due out' is just frustrating. Even if every mass retailer and toy store in the US has been sitting on crates of MH newness, it's doubtful tons of new merch will hit the shelves early Friday morning, which is what they're hinting at. And they never did say exactly which of the dozens of new products due out this year are included on the 'New students hit Monster High on Friday the 13th !!1!' little fan-news releases they've been pushing out.

Maybe I'm wrong and still hopped up on inhaled speed, but I still feel that Mattel could be handling and releasing their information better than they are. And yeah, I know, it's all just toys. But when it's what you've chosen to look forward to, well...sometimes I forget that.

I'm wondering what to make first, when all my obligations are out of the way...?

At least there were lots of new Neflix movies to watch today...

Current Mood : Wheezy

Kept putting it off, but today I had to start those Airsoft patches we've accepted the commission for - they're due Sunday. Beloved Hubby's going to a huge annual Airsoft game at the end of the month, one that's so big, people from other countries attend ! Not counties...countries ! It's all weekend long, too, so he'll be camping out. In an effort to keep some of his costs down, he's trading patches for some equipment, and another set for straight cash. In short, our approximate thousand dollar investment in Brody and all the necessary supplies will net us nearly a hundred bucks ! Seems like a drop in the bucket, but I'll take it anyway !

Did half of the equipment trade one today, and will finish it tomorrow. Then I have Friday and Saturday for the other. We haven't been paid yet, so the sooner I get it done, the better.

It actually works out - we've had thunderstorms all day, and it's really kicking my asthma up. So monitoring Brody for a while is fine, and it gives me a break from laundry where I have to sit for a bit. It doesn't give me any time for doll sewing for the rest of the week, but I already got my doll time in earlier this week.

Got a little laundry done in between embroidery runs. Still having a little trouble with the tension. The bobbin thread still occasionally shows on the front. When I discovered that I'd used 40wt thread in the bobbin, instead of the usual 70wt, I figured winding and using a couple of correct thread bobbins would fix it. Nope. It actually got worse. Not sure what to do, I'm running out of time. Thinking of doing up the last one today with black bobbin thread - 70wt, of course ! That way, if it does appear on the front, it won't be so visible. Most of the colors in this badge are dark, and a slight black edge will probably look good. Better than white does, that's fer sure !

Well, I gotta get back to it. Tonight's gonna be tough, I can already tell. Even leaning back on the sofa makes me gasp, so I'm not anticipating much sleep. At least the rain's due to move on - sunny skies and new hopes in tomorrow's forecast !