Happy February ! I think we're about done with that hat.

Current Mood : Relieved

And we're about to the end of what that poor kids' hat can produce. I may be able to cobble together a scarf or a hat (lol !) but I'm kinda done with it. You'll get to see the sad scraps that remain in a day or three. This is Clarice, a customized Ghoulia formerly known as G2, and another doll I'm on the fence about keeping. I've been up there so long, I should have splinters by now. But every time I look at her and play with her, I fall in love all over again...Darn you, Mattel.

Well. Seems like I promised a 'Bee Girl' review not long ago - so let's have at it. It arrived yesterday, after Amazon.com inexplicably sat on it for four days before shipping it, even though it never once went out of stock. Maybe the Monster High stuff is too far from the breakroom. Ah, well, I got it, and I'm more-or-less happy with it, and do not regret spending $11. for it. Even though I don't get a complete monster with this refill set, it's still worth the bucks.

Yesterday's photo shows why I forked over, knowing in advance I wouldn't end up with a new doll, and I probably couldn't use the arms, legs, or hands on the established characters either ( more later). Check out Clawdeen's shoes. Oh, yeah. Basic black FM pumps - I have wanted a pair for my ghouls since this line started. Oh, there's been some great shoes in the MH world, and I could easily write a paragraph on each, even the ones I don't really like. With each new release, every new photo, though, I've looked for a simple pair of basic black FM pumps. Didn't even care about the thickness of the heel, or even what color they were, since I could easily fix that. I just wanted that little something that's in every girl's closet as soon as she learns to master walking in the things. I have five pair of shoes, and one is basic black FM pumps.

But they simply weren't out there yet. Until Bee Girl, we had bolts for heels, shoes with no real heels, odd straps in weird places, shoes with vertebrae and fangs, knee-high boots and high-heel Converse sneakers, bubble shoes, wedgies with plastic ribbon laces, character-specific sandals, you name it. So it wasn't long before I yearned for the basic, and now I have it. They're a bit big - probably to allow for hosiery, and a squishy sort of vinyl, not rigid like Clawdeen's gold ones from Dawn of the Dance (close, but I wasn't much on the 'zipper' detail). Unlike a lot of MH  shoes, I can't really tell the right from the left, and they seem to fit the same either way. But I am happy. Far as I'm concerned, that was worth the $11. right there.

But wait ! That's not all ! The set includes that gorgeous (if made of cheap materials) dress Gloom Beach Clawdeen wore a few days ago, and it's worth having. And those glasses - totally to die for ! I love 'em. I've put them on nearly every doll I have, and they're hilarious. Especially on the guys, with their serious expressions. On Ghoulia, though, they really look great, since they pair off with her grey tone very well.

I can even use the wings without a "Create A Monster" body. It takes a bit of doing and a clear elastic or rubber band, but if the outfit has a back opening, it can work. I hope I can explain this right. If you look at the wings from the top edge, they have a sort of 'L' shape, with the long part of the L being the wing. Short part is where it presumably clicks into the specialty CAM body. What I did was undress my doll, and run a snug clear elastic around her lower back. I then tucked the wing with the short part of the L against her side, and secured it under the elastic. Did the same thing on the other side. The wings aren't perfectly parallel with each other, but it's off so slightly, even I could barely tell. Hmm. I may need to post a photo of this tomorrow, let ya'll see it, because I never can explain well enough without images.

All else fails, you could cut a pair of slits into a doll outfit and slide the wings in that way, so you could have them higher on her shoulders than my version does. Heck, pierce the wings with a hot needle, and you could sew 'em onto whatever you wanted. You're not limited by Mattel, not a one of us !

Unfortunately, that's about all I could do. None of the pieces - legs, forearms, hands - could fit in a standard MH doll body. You can kinda tell by looking that the new pegs are much bigger, but I tried. No soap. Kinda sad, because the hands are quite soft, like those Disney Princess Ballerinas Jakks Pacific put out a couple years ago. Woulda been nice to have spare hands. (sigh) Also, I actually, actively tried to remove my broken DLaura's lower leg, to see if Bee Girl's would work. I couldn't do it. DLaura's leg is installed in her knee very, very well.

But I plan on using the legs for shoe attempts - yeah, I'm the idiot who hasn't given that one up yet ! - so it's not a total loss. The head I really hate not being able to use. It's so pretty ! The wig is rather cheap, and depends on the hair covering the very visible clear 'skull cap' it's rooted to, but it fits the CAM head. I have no idea if it fits a regular MH head, as none of mine are bald enough to try. Heard a lotta complaints that the LIV dolls and wigs are much better, and also fit. I rather like Bee girl's face and hair, and hope to figure something out for her, even if it means spray-painting a second-hand find.

So, on the whole, I'm quite happy with my $11. purchase, if not with Amazon.com. I got the shoes I've been wanting a long time, a cool outfit, awesome glasses and wings, and some other pieces to play with. Long as you're not expecting a complete monster experience, or hope to swap with your older dolls, I think you'd like it too. 

Now I wanna sew something in purple...

Current Mood : Worried

Must've been 'Clawdeen Day' today !

Finally cracked open the Clawdeen 'Fashion Entrepreneur's Club' outfit this morning. I confess, a good chunk of the appeal of this was the shoes. I put them on Ghoulia, to go with the 'Galactic' dress, just as I intended as soon as I noticed them on the peg at Mal-Wart. Beloved Hubby commented that they certainly looked futuristic. I said they reminded me of something Barbarella might wear, and he agreed.

And if my memory can be trusted, Mattel's only used three of the MH shoe molds more than once. Prototype photos show Clawdeen sporting a pair of the same 'Barbarella' (giggle) shoes in yellow for the upcoming two-pack Target exclusive with Howleen. Ghoulia's '#1 Fan' sneakers from the TRU-exclusive Fearleader set got repainted for her 'Comic Club' clothes, and the white snowboots under basic Abbey's fur legwarmers also got a recolor for her 'Snowboarding Club' outfit.

It was a bit difficult to get Clawdeen's boots on Ghoulia. Either the doll's big toe or little toe gets caught between the straps. I held them in my hands a bit, to warm them, then sort of pushed down at the middle while sliding them on Ghoulia's feet. That helped. Other notes - the 'claw' mark on the purple briefcase isn't repeated on the other side (yaay !), the 'Trapper Keeper'-like file folder is paper, and only shows pockets drawn on the inside, and it fits neatly inside the briefcase. My particular outfit was really hard to remove from the paper doll, as the tiny white plastic t-thingies were so short, I had to use embroidery scissors to cut them. One left a hole in the sleeve. I hate those t-thingies.

I also got an eBay win in the mail - when I was still deciding if I wanted just the 'Bee Girl' dress or nearly the whole set, I won an auction for the dress only. I forgot I bid, truthfully, and was surprised I got it with the pocket-change bid I made. I liked the vivid purple, and it was a near-perfect match for Gloom Beach Clawdeen's hair. Plus, she was already wearing those shoes, and it'd been a ridiculously long time since she scored anything new to wear. So she got it.

I'm a little disappointed with the dress, honestly. It's made from the cheapest sateen I've ever seen - it's almost like cardstock stiff - and so tight, I wondered if the Create A Monster bodies were smaller than yer standard Monster High ones. It was a real squeeze to get it over Clawdeen's hips, and the snug Mad Doll Stand 'saddle' pushed a visible poke in the skirt. That's tight ! Yet, the sewing is very good, only one loose thread (I got used to far more in Barbie clothes), and the fabric print actually goes all the way around the doll !  It's sad that I'm so excited by that, but there it is. I made sure to take today's photo so you could see it, too. I think it looks great on her.

With all that - and a buncha other housework - I didn't quite make it to the Arena to sew today. Uncle-in-law got hit in a car accident this evening, which totaled his car. Either the air-bag deployment, or possibly the crash itself, possibly both, hurt him somewhat. Not even his fault, some jerkazoid plowed into him, running a red light while Uncle was waiting to make a legal left turn, with the light on Uncle's side still green. Beloved Hubby just got home from work and had to take him from the accident site to the hospital. Wish there was something I could do.

Wish him a swift recovery, if you can. I know we'd all appreciate it !

Didja miss me ? (hugs !)

Current Mood : Grateful and joyful

Whew ! I'm back ! Gonna take me a while to get back into the swing of things, but I hope to be back up and running soon. Heaven knows I'm at least 200% better than I was just a month ago - and what a month it's been ! 

Here's a brief summary of what's gone on if you're interested - I figure a day or two of this and I'll be back to my usual shallow doll-obsessed self, so if this isn't your bag, I don't blame ya, and completely understand if you skip this whole entry. But for the interested here goes. 

We finally had the time and money for my follow up appointment about that infection I picked up on my leg. I got to see my practitioner - who pretty much ordered Beloved Hubby to get me to the ER. Not about my leg, that was healing fairly well. I was instead retaining so much fluid, parts of my stomach area were going hard, possibly due to sepsis. Scary. 

The local ER admitted me almost on the spot after a blood test and an X-ray. Turns out, my old friend peripartum cardiomyopathy had come back, with a vengeance. And I was working with a serious miscomprehension about that particular malady of mine. What I got is basically pregnancy-related heart failure, mine developed when Dearest Son was still natal. I thought, with the prescriptions and care, my heart might not recover totally, but it wouldn't get any worse. Especially if I never got pregnant again, which was not the case here, either. 

It can get worse. Slowly and barely detectably, as mine did. My poor heart has expanded again, and was barely beating, so my fluids pooled up something awful. How awful is this - in a month, including nearly two weeks of intensive hospital care, I lost 63 pounds. And I was not doing any aerobics here. 

We got it mostly taken care of at the local hospital, and once they saw our taxes, it was paid for by Medicare - or possibly the Veteran's Administration. I was transferred to the VA hospital after a week at the local one, and I'm still getting follow-up care there. I may have to have a device installed to help my heart, and I'm on six prescriptions now, instead of four, but I feel fantastic ! 

I guess you can count the oxygen as the seventh prescription, especially since it's done wonders for me. The local ER put me on a breathing tube early on, and I've been sleeping like a rock ever since. Yep, I'm still on one, the VA arranged a subscription oxygen delivery service before I left the hospital. I have three sizes of oxygen tubes - and an air exchanger for home use that saps the oxygen out of the air. I still fall asleep if I'm still too long, but Beloved says I'm still at least a year behind on sleep ! 

He's been so wonderful throughout all this. And both our local hospital and the VA have treated me kindly and respectfully, even when I've been almost shaking with worry and fear. I was a pretty good patient, though - I was nearly always asleep ! 

There's more going on, but this is long enough already. Tomorrow, you get to hear about the yard sale and the move - it's a doozy ! Then it's back to Monster High and sewing tales before you know it. 

Thanks for all your get-well wishes. They helped ! And I'm glad you've come back to check on me. I'll try to be fun and silly again just as soon as possible !

Enjoy Beloved Hubby every chance you get

Current Mood : Sleepy but happy - with lots to look forward to !

Yet another everyday day, I'm still on the sofa, but there's not much going on. Dearest Son has expanded his skills to repairing his Razor scooter - he said it was broken, and now says it's fixed - so he's pretty proud of himself.

I spent half of our time at Dollar Tree the other day looking for another sudoku book, but they didn't even have those super-easy chintzy search-a-word ones. I was enjoying the cheap book of it I had, but it vanished during the move. Ranks, because I was about 3/4 done. Last time I finished one of those books, I think was my tonsil surgery when I was twelve, and Dollar Tree didn't exist yet !

Instead, I got two books, Escape from Bridezilla, a paperback novel from Jacqueline deMontravel, because I can't seem to pass up bad wedding adventures, and Columbine, a hardback study of the school shooting, because I'm a bit too close to that topic, too. Bridezilla is OK so far, just sort of bland - although the page and a half on revisiting childhood-denied breakfast cereals was unique. Columbine takes the tact from page one that Harris and Klebold were sniveling cowards and Janus-faced liars, and the author's hatred leaks off most pages, even when their names aren't mentioned. I confess, after spending my high-school years semi-bullied, I see things a bit differently, so this book promises to be interesting.

For some reason, I could barely stay awake today, but that came in handy tonight - Beloved Hubby and I had a serious talk, which we both needed for some time. We're in for some changes soon ! Major and minor, but at least we'll be moving towards something, instead of constantly chasing and scrambling to make yesterday's bills. I'm not sure where or when all this is gonna happen, but I know it will, and you'll know when I do ! 

At last - glasses that fit Ghoulia !

Current Mood : Delighted

Still improving, if only by slight degrees. Slept several hours last night, and stayed awake most of today without fighting or forcing it. It only slightly occurred to me that, without the influx of my usual soda, I'm missing caffeine and sugar - stuff my system seems to really need. The lemonade is providing sugar at least, as are the fruit juices. They tend to coat my throat, though, so I usually alternate each with a glass of water. 

Before I get into raving about the new Ghoulia, her locker, and all her new goodies - and believe me, I will ! - allow me to finish raving about Lagoona and the Hydration Station ! Be amazed when I tell you that Lagoona's leg fins are still attached, without elastics or glue or anything. My first Lagoona's fins wouldn't stay in, so I took 'em off and stored 'em before they got lost. Once they were securely stored, I rarely used them afterwards. Out of sight = out of pictures at Chez Insanity ! 

The Hydration Station still enchants me, so today, I did a test run of taping the lovely colors and bubbles while I had the camera out for Ghoulia's photo shoot. While the footage was much steadier than Dearest Son's, I'm still gonna need the tripod, and evening hours. At 3pm, ya just can't see that much. But I know about what I want to do now, and how to time it, so in the next few days, I may well have made my first Monster High video. 

Sure, there's several review ones out, where kids read the box out loud to you, then show you ten seconds of lights, but mine's just gonna be light / bubble display. It'll be a quiet video, since my voice is still pretty rough. Eventually, I'll be brave and healthy enough to talk, but everything starts small if it wants to grow. 

Now, on to my new Ghoulia ! I'm gonna take my time and photograph everything on these latest dolls, just for fun. After all, it'll be a while before I buy any more. I'm still deciding which dolls I can give up in exchange for another locker - I kinda want an even set of four - along with clothes, shoes, and just one other doll, so ya never know what's next around here ! 

Mattel's done it to me again - my full intent with the 'locker' dolls was to score all the props they're unlikely to sell anywhere else, and sell the dolls. Sound familiar ? - I had the same intent with the 'Dawn of the Dance' initial trio. Too bad I looked into Ghoulia's face - it's so pretty ! Now I really want to keep her, and I don't know if my intent for the other two will work out either. I really have to thin the herds, though. Anyway, this Ghoulia is gorgeous, and I can't stop looking at her. Arrrrgh ! 

Also hard to believe but true is the fact that the two pair of shorts she wears in-packaging are completely separate. You won't even need a seam ripper or scissors to use them separately or together, they stretch to fit. I confess, I saw someone else pair the longer red shorts with the dress, and liked the way it looked - otherwise, I'd have contemplated ditching that dress, since it didn't look like anything special, ya know ? I'm already about halfway convinced to give away Frankie's 'home-sewn' issue dress, simply because I hate it. Frankie's next to be deboxed, but it may be a day or three yet - I'm savoring. 

The booklet, a guide to Physical Deaducation, is the best part, as usual. Witty, silly, and cute, they always add just a perfect touch of fun and sparkle and imagination. Last time I checked, there were several scanned on Flickr and other fan groups, if you're curious and wanna do some minor research. Or you may wanna hold off 'til you have your own, and enjoy it more...

The lockers are the next best thing, ever. The little skull lock opens and closes, which is so darn cute, I can hardly stand it. The little hook in Ghoulia's - for her water bottle - keeps falling out, but that's the only thing I can complain about ! They're just the right scale, and a large raised 'MH' on top allows this locker to fit together with others, since there's a recessed matching 'MH' on bottom. Very nice. And why I want at least four. Darn you, Mattel. The shelf within is placed just right, too. It's like an engineer went in and measured them from the cartoon webisodes. And I am in love ! You'll be seeing a lot of these lockers - especially once I have the fourth one. 

 I haven't played much with Ghoulia's white glasses, since, for the first time, she has a pair that fits great on her now ! Seriously considering snipping a few other pairs, like the My Scene ones, and adding an elastic strap. It certainly made photography much easier ! Her shoes, halfway between her super-hi-top Converse boots and a pair of sneakers, go on and off easily, and look good on her. 

I really have no complaints about the 'locker' series so far, except that it's only made me hungry for more ! And lately, when I have no appetite, that's saying something special.