(singing) "Isn't she looo-ve-ly ? Isn't she won-der-ful...?"

Current Mood : Happy and achy.

Look at what Beloved Hubby got me ! I’ve always thought this particular Lagoona was lovely, but I’d only seen promo photos – heck, the Mal-Wart I last went to didn’t even have tags on the shelves, much less any dolls. But when he heard I wasn’t feeling well, he picked up a few things, including this lovely, sweet, beautiful Lagoona ! I swear, the first time I saw her, I thought she looked like Olivia Newton-John, and even now, every time I look at her, I hear ‘I Honestly Love You’ in my head. And you know what a total sucker I am for 80s-wear. Was there anything I wouldn’t love about this doll ? (smile)

He said he went to the same Mal-Wart I did, and they’d just stocked the shelves Friday. The person he spoke with – who was stocking Barbie – said they’d just gotten in after months of no dolls at all, and a shopper  who was there while she was putting them out scooped up every one of ‘those black and white dolls’ in one grab. She felt a bit bad about that, she told him, because they’d been marked at just $4.13, and she was hoping a buncha kids would get them. But we all know it was probably a scalper. While I paid quite a bit more than four bucks for my greyscale Skull Shores Frankie Stein, I don’t regret it. It was within a few bucks of the normal price of the dolls, and it’s not like I stood a chance at getting one of the cheaper ones.

I had a vicious, painful stomach ache last night, felt like I was getting shivved from the inside. I’d go back to sleep and dream of pain, then wake up, clutching my oversized gut. It went away sometime in the early morning, around 6am or so, and I locked the door behind it with a big gulp of that nasty pink stuff. Then I dozed off and on all day. I think I needed it. Dearest Son checked up on me throughout, even though he’s still getting over a cold/allergies himself, and he made sure I had cold water for the prescripts I always hafta take. My getting-big sweetie…

I had zero interest in eating. But in addition to still being sore, my stomach was doing some serious, Hamlet-level orating, so I gave it some buttered crackers to shut up. When it did OK with those, I munched on some raw cauliflower and a bit of ham. Seems to be holding fine.

It was a really good day to be sick. We had a massive thunderstorm start last night, with some beautiful lightning strikes I got to see from the porch. It rained off and on all day, with birds filling the air during the brief dry periods. I heard wrens, jays, grackles, and others, amid trains, freight trucks, and dogs. But I most enjoyed just the sound of rain on leaves, on the windowsill, on Twilight Sparkle, and the wet earth. Tends to put me to sleep, though !

And I also got to enjoy my day-late library books, finally finishing The Good, The Bad, and the Barbie, by starting over from the beginning. So here’s my review. If you’ve ever read one of the ‘adult culture study’ Barbie books, like Forever Barbie or Barbie Chronicles, don’t spend yer cash on this one. It heavily quotes both, and several others. Most of the photos aren’t anything original or new, and the text is more of the same you’ve already read elsewhere, from an author that dares to have his/her own opinion, and those books were all written at least ten years ago. This volume’s author, Tanya Lee Stone, can’t be said to really have an opinion, which makes me wonder why she got the nod to write the book. I’d assume it’s another puff piece authorized by Mattel – it also heavily quotes Barbie and Ruth – but the credits say otherwise. So I really don’t know why this book exists, unless it’s for those who haven’t found Forever Barbie or Barbie Chronicles yet.  

I’ve already removed pretty Lagoona from her packaging and posed her for photos. Wow. She really is a gorgeous doll. Beloved told me they had her, a SS Ghoulia, two SS DracuLauras, and a Sweet 1600 DLaura, but nothing else. Still, it gives me hope that we’re not totally forgotten here in the doll desert !

Heck with the heart transplant - can I get a stomach replacement instead ?

Current Mood : Not even gonna describe it, it wouldn't be good for either of us...

Current Image Notes : I think this is the next book Ghoulia will be reading ! If I remember correctly, it came from Cracked.com.

Song You Forgot : Kisses on the Wind, Neneh Cherry

Really had a sore tummy today, and slept late after Beloved Hubby left for work. So today's sort of a null-entry. I really didn't do a blasted thing. Sorry. Promise to pick it up tomorrow ! 

Happy Martin Luther King Day !

Current Mood : Wondering if there's any more potatoes left...

Song You Forgot : Jacob's Ladder, Huey Lewis & The News

Not gonna lie to ya, I spent most of today asleep. I'd just begun to sew a bit this  morning - more later - when it hit me. Another tummy twister. Slagged through what I was doing, ate some buttered rice with ice water, and went back to bed. Woke a couple hours later and felt better, but it didn't last. Had another scoop of buttered rice, mostly choking it down because if I don't eat when I take certain prescriptions, a 'poor me' tummy ache is gonna be the *least* of my problems, and crashed again.

That was pretty much my day - eat a little, take meds, go back to sleep, wake up to take care of m'self, eat a bit, go back to sleep, several times. I was hoping to hit the library today, but I forgot that it was closed for MLK day. It's not like I was awake much anyway.

But as evening vectored in on final approach, I was awake and feeling back to normal, so I ate some of the potatoes DFIL made for dinner, and didn't pay for it, so I also enjoyed most of the very juicy pork chop. That helped.

Today was another of those 'tired of shuffling this out of the way, let's get it done' days. Earlier, I'd gone rooting through my miniature sewing box - the one I keep in the bedroom for hand-sewing and on the go sewing - and cursed the 'song' skirt and so-80s Barbie jumpsuit I keep in there. You might remember the black 'short in front, long in back = song' effort from last year. Clawdeen modeled it with that strapless Barbie rose print dress I modified. I wasn't happy with how the back closure looked or worked, so it was in the sewing box, and the jumpsuit was slightly damaged. Hmmm...

My back closures have been looking better since I started following NG Creations' pattern directions, so I wondered - I made this skirt half a year before buying those patterns, would her directions work as well on something not of her design ? Had to take out the back seam, but I had good light for it, and a few minutes later, I was bearing it off to KJ, still loaded with that black spool of thread. And the answer is - yes ! I had to tough out sewing the back seam again, since I was getting sicker, but I am now happy with my 'song' skirt. It's no longer in the box.

And when I felt better, I was ready to try it on a doll...but who ? Sad to admit it, but Clawdeen's still wearing the rose-print dress, yet I didn't want to put it on her again. Instead, I reached for Dead Tired DracuLaura, who was wearing the 'Sweet 1600' dress that came with Clawd. You'll be surprised at how good it looks together...tomorrow.

Once I had that done, I wanted to get those markdown Frankie Stein Fearleader outfits I bought me for Christmas 'de-stitchified'. For whatever reason, Mattel loves to make Monster High clothes very character-specific, and what should be a simple cheerleader dress unfortunately got a decal of large blue stitches running across the chest and over the belly. It's unfortunate, because I think they would have sold more if the stitches were gone - some folks I know online probably would have bought one for each MH doll, if not for the stitch decal. But it may have worked out anyway, because a lot of fans bought the three-doll Fearleader TRU exclusive set, mostly to get the no-stitch uniforms and recycle/resell/customize the dolls. 

And while there's several methods out there for ditching the stitches, most of them still leave the residue beneath behind. I darn near ruined the first Fearleader outfit I bought, because I rubbed and scritched the residue so hard, I snagged the nylon and transferred some of the bodice's black to the waist ribbon, because I wasn't paying attention. Still had no idea how to do it better, but I was gonna try one suggestion - rubbing alcohol.

We had a whole bottle of it, too. In storage, in the shed. I kept meaning to go get it, but always forgot. Well, not today. After going for a walk in the park with Dearest Son and Beloved Hubby - and playing at the castle-themed playground with other kids and parents enjoying a springlike January ( ?) - there was just enough evening light for me to get it. Out from under the four boxes that had tipped over and landed on top of it. However, it wasn't light enough for me to avoid a patch of backyard doggie surprise. (sigh) At least I didn't track it through the house.

Couldn't find the cotton balls, so I used fabric scraps, and shielded the MH decal and waist ribbon with masking tape. So the tape wouldn't pull up the decal by itself, I folded a bit of tape over itself, enough to cover the decal, then used more tape to hold it there. Same for the ribbon. Some gentle rubbing and a little scritching with the alcohol-soaked fabric scraps soon had most of the decal and residue off. Gonna let 'em sit overnight, and touch up tomorrow, then add them to the rest of the clothes Wednesday evening.

Glad I gave one of my three to Dearest Son for his Toralei doll at Christmas. I was pretty bored by the time the second one was done ! Tossed out some packages, got some props and new stuff put away, and got the library books together. In case there's time tomorrow !

Don't we all think of swimwear in January ? (grin)

Current Mood : Ow. Hurts to sit. 

Current Image Notes : Repeat ! Yeah, I know I don't usually recycle my own images, but I really feel icky today, and this is well-referenced in today's entry. Bear with me ? Thanks.

Tomorrow's gonna be interesting. Angelic Dreamz says they're gonna start selling / minor gouging Nefera and Operetta Wednesday. I'm not at all interested in either doll, mostly due to their webisode characterizations, partially due to them simply not appealing to me in any other way, not even clothes or shoes. Well, at least not enough to pay $30. for each, plus $11. shipping, because I sort~of like saddle shoes and really enjoy the diaries. (laugh) I'm mildly curious about whether or not Nefera is taller than Cleo, but otherwise, meh.

But the fandom, which often repulses me as much as it fascinates and includes me, is in full-slaver. So I'll have at least two weeks of endless photos of both dolls. I swear, I'm gonna take a buncha pictures of Frankie, Lagoona, and Cleo, just to counter. I'm contrary like that.

Today's entry's gonna be kinda short - I'm having often-violent stomach issues. I'm fine for a while, but then...well, you can imagine. Luckily, I have plenty of books to read when I need to recoup afterwards, or just lie down for a bit.

Here's today's secret : I won an auction for Skull Shores Abbey's swimsuit ! It was only for the suit and wrap, but I only paid five bucks, so it's all good. Believe it or not, I already have semi-transparent purple sandals to fit her. Won today, paid today, and even mailed today. With any luck, I should have it Friday or Saturday. I don't know why, but for some reason, it's important to me for my dolls' characters to each have 'their' swimsuit - except for Toralei. For one, she doesn't have an issue-suit, and two, she's a cat. I can see how she'd enjoy the social aspects of the beach, even if one huge sandbox provides a bit of a challenge to Nature, but I doubt she'd ever go into the water.

Ghoulia's swimsuits have proven more elusive and expensive - again, it's cheaper to buy the doll than buy the clothes. Just the swimsuit, cover, and purse cost more than the doll herself, for both Gloom Beach and Skull Shores. At least, if you can find the doll retail, you get the shoes and props. It'd bug me more, but weeks before GB Ghoulia came out, I bought her a Bratz swimsuit that fits her character and form quite well. So, in my mind, she has one, even if it's not her 'issue' one. If I ever find an inexpensive Mattel-made Ghoulia swimsuit, I'll give the Bratz one to Toralei, so either way, I'm good. Embarrassed to admit it, but Abbey's lack really was bugging me, ever since I first saw the SS dolls.

Oh, boy. Here we go again. Hope your evening is more peaceful than mine's gonna be ! (makes a run for it)

I guess I'm in 'sleep' mode...

Current Mood : Brack.

Ecch. Not sure what 'it' is, but the whole house has it now, yours truly included. I'm tired, all I wanna do is sleep, everything is irritating, I have zero interest in food, and I've only been on the computer for maybe an hour total, all day. Clearly, I'm ill.

But I did take a nice photo of my just-deboxed-today Clawd - thanks again to Parareality for making that happen ! And to Beloved Hubby, for funding (grin) !  - and his beloved DracuLaura. Thought ya might like to see what she looks like with both hands ! Still not sure what I'm gonna do with her hair. Contrary to others' experiences, mine is still a shaggy mess, and I've boiled it twice and washed it three times. All it did was make her bangs stand up at a straight angle that would make the horizon jealous. It's soft, but doesn't do anything. Doesn't flow, doesn't brush... just kinda sits there. I wonder what wigs fit Monster High dolls...

Anyway. Clawd is wicked awesome. His ankles and wrists are jointed, just like Gil's, so most of us are hoping that's a trend that continues with the male dolls. Heck, most of us'll end up re-buying the guys just to get the bend-wrists ! They help a lot in posing, even though today's photo was too hampered by the stand to show it. Dead Tired DLaura is wearing the dress and necklace that came with him, and I fully admit that the dress was a good chunk of the draw ! It'll look good on any ghoul, and I hope to replicate the ribbon 'lacing' on one of my outfits soon.

Back to Clawd. It's hard to tell, but on the left lapel of his super-cool jacket is a tiny gold button. It's a circle with the 'Skullette' logo ! It occurs to me that, since you can barely tell it's there anyway, it would make a good ring for a ghoul, possibly even a guy. So mine may get snipped off sometime. Still, it's the little details like that...that makes me think someone cares about this line. Something I've not sensed in Barbie playline in years.

I think my first Clawd (Forbitten Romance) was flawed, as it was impossible to get his head to look down. That's one of the reasons most of my photos of him look weird - I can't move his head past where it always is in the pictures. His chin is always up, like he's being a snob or just got hit. This is completely wrong for the character, especially since his ghoulfriend barely comes up to his shoulder in the webisodes. New Clawd still doesn't really look 'down', but his head angles much better than FR's did.

OK. I'm now so tired, I don't even want the pudding cup I snagged. Goin' back to bed. On the plus side, I'm nearly done with all my library books ! 

Yaaay - new books to read !

Current Mood : Very, very tired. 

Current Image Notes : I have a tip in this book somewhere - they even paid me ten bucks for it. Now, thanks to the library, I can have fun trying to find it !

Not sure what I got into yesterday, but it followed me into today. Too bad for whatever it was, I had work to do ! Dearest Son's education picks up right after his January birthday, so if I wanna establish a working routine, it was now or never. Gonna try the 'one major task a day' thing again, it was working fairly well until I got uber-sick.

Decided on bedroom cleaning Monday, dishes Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, laundry on Wednesday, and Bathroom and dining / Arena area Friday. Since I was out of it yesterday, I had dishes and laundry today - or I could hold off and have dishes and laundry tomorrow. Bleh. Got the dishes done before lunch, and got the laundry going before I got nauseous again. I couldn't make m'self eat for nothin'. Still, with laundry, I have about an hour between loads to rest, so I did, and still got it all done. It helped that there were only three loads ! It's all washed, dried, and put away, hooray !

You may be wondering if we've moved, and the sad thing is, we haven't. But DMIL does no housework at all - I mean, none ! I'm almost jealous, except for the fact that she barely moves more than thirty feet in a day - and DFIL is frequently tired and hurting, so he doesn't do much. And frankly, half the time he does dishes, I end up redoing some. I'm not perfect, but I actually wash knife blades and the backs of plates. It's far easier on me to see what he does as a bonus, instead of getting upset when his 'share' isn't done. It's much quicker for me to improve my 'tude than it is for me to change anybody else's...well, anything ! 

So I'm fairly tired still, especially after we went to the library and out to eat tonight. But the good news is, Beloved Hubby's off for the rest of the week ! We can sleep in, watch movies, and relax tomorrow. And I have lots of new reading ! In fact, I think I'll go lie down now...so sleepy.  

Feelin' icky...

Current Mood : Urrrghhh....

Sorry, everyone. Not feeling well today. Gonna take it easy and try not to get sicker. Hope your day was much better ! 

It's been cold two days in a row ! Not a good sign...

Current Mood : Sleepy 

Got five loads of laundry washed, dried, and all put away - even Dearest Son's stuff. It was more than usual because Beloved Hubby cleaned out the Diesel and brought in two weeks' worth of shrugged-off sweaters and sweaty sweatshirts from where he tossed 'em in the backseat. He was cleaning stuff out to make room for work tools before heading out, and I was doing laundry, so it was a good time to get it all done.

Not much else going on - the seller I bought my Comic Club outfit from has already shipped it and it should be here  Friday. So it should be on Ghoulia Saturday ! Still not sure why I'm so obsessed over it, except that I get that way when I finally decide I want something. I want it now, since I've kvetched over it for weeks !  Now all that's on my list is Gil and Abbey, which I actually sort of hope will elude me a little while longer. It's harder to appreciate new things when you get them all at once !

Got another medical appointment Friday, and Beloved's already got that day off, so I'm looking forward to it. He also brought home some plastic glue, so I can fix Ghoulia when I have some quiet time. I hope to get to that soon - my tummy's still slightly upset. Not sure why this tummyache is going on unusually long, but I get to see my 'primary care physician' (wow, that sounds so important !) next month, so I'll ask. None of the meds they have me on list stomach issues.

Hope your day is more fun - or that you at least get some stuff done !

It's just not Ghoulia's week !

Current Mood : Better

McRib Count : 5 (yesterday)

Urggh. Had an off-and-on tummyache since last night - which is why this and yesterday's entries were late. It was all written and ready to go, but I hadn't finished editing the image yet, and couldn't stay upright long enough to get it done. I was in bed by 9pm and slept through the night. Woke up today at normal time, ate a bite of breakfast...and got a pitching tummy for the trouble. Add a darn near repeat tonight, but I had the image done, just didn't have the 'get up and go' to get it done. 

Some rest got me to rights, but by lunchtime, my stomach was roiling again, and this time, I hadn't eaten anything... but I had to, because my prescriptions all have 'take with food' stickers. I've learned to not ignore that advisory. Also the 'drink lots of water' one, although that one takes a while longer to kick in. I was able to eat a bit of cheese, then had a quick bite of lunch and felt better. Two hours later... I ended up taking some generic Milk of Magnesia, which should tell you how bad off I was. I won't swallow that swill unless I am truly in pain desperate.

So, as a result, I got nothing done today. I'd meant to iron my new pattern - I cut all the S pieces yesterday - so I could scan it. I like to iron them, it doesn't take long, the iron's on low heat, and this one is full of shape-altering wrinkles. I'd also planned on doing laundry, so it doesn't get so far behind this time. (sigh)

About all I did get done was clearing out and throwing away the Monster High Fearleader set's box liner, after getting all I wanted out of it. Oh, and breaking a doll. Arrrgh. I noticed the 'Super Fan' Ghoulia had a black paint mark on her finger, about half the size of a pinhead, so I thought to swap that hand with the Physical Deaducation's one, since I've decided to keep Fan instead.

For some reason, the wrist posts seemed incompatable, taking much more of an effort to remove and reinstall than usual, so I decided to return the hands to the original dolls. I was working on PhysDead's - now I was having a bit of trouble getting the original hands back on ! - when, snap ! Her arm bent at the elbow, and popped right off, leaving the post inside her upper arm. Growlmutterwhine. I can probably glue it back, but it'll always be weak there, and I certainly can't trade or sell her. Ah, well. I may make her a fitting doll, and keep her on the Sewing / Computer arena with short-haired DracuLaura.

It's just not a good week for Ghoulia !

I'm not dead yet...

...but they're not sure if I'm getting better or not !  Seriously, I've been hospitalized for over a week now, and  just last night was released. I'm weak and on oxygen, and our home internet isn't working. So, for now, here's a place-marker to reassure you I'll be back soon as I can - miss you !

Hangin' with Lagoona...all four of 'em !

Current Mood : Still slightly ill...

That's my new Lagoona ! Funny how I've gone from one in 2010 to four in 2011. Mattel didn't even offer a second Lagoona until this year, and then, like with Ghoulia, they really pulled out all the stops ! I'm relieved - no more hunting, or hoping. All I want are the new clothing packs, and if the Fear Uniforms are any indication, once they're in stock, they're around for a while. Folks are still payin' $20. for 'em on eBay, but they're not me. If retail is eight bucks, that's what I'm gonna try to pay - unless I can get it for less ! Beloved Hubby doesn't mind paying a bit extra for shipping, since it probably costs less than the diesel it takes to tour Target and TRU hunting for stuff !

Today was...not good. Oh, it was still lovely outside, and we're going on nearly a week with no air conditioning (which is great, since our last bill was outrageous !), but I woke up feeling like aquarium crud and afraid to eat anything, lest it get worse. So I ate a baked potato...and it got worse. I think maybe two hours' spacing may not be enough for all these antibiotics I'm on, so I'll try to allow more time in between them. After all, it says right on the pharmacy sheets what they can do to me, and I know they ain't lyin' !

As a result, I wasn't in much of a mood to sew or even watch Netflix today. I figured I could let my fingers rest up for a little while, pick up the next project tomorrow. So I salvaged a belt from a pair of Barbie pants and a buckle from a damaged Barbie jumper, and put those away.

Beloved came home with a deli ring of multi-colored Jell-o, which I ate about half of - it was perfect ! Cool and delicious, and unlikely to do anything else to my screwed-up stomach. He opted for a melon, so we both ate light for dinner. I'm about ready for bed already - and I'm hoping for kind dreams, for all of us !

Sorry I went AWOL again...

Current Mood : Dare I write it..."overwhelmed" ? 




...while I'm OK, I'm still weak and haven't been playing, much less taking photos of anything. Hope to get the 'locker' Monster High dolls soon, too. I've been writing, and hope to catch up tomorrow. Photos are gonna rank, though ! (grin)


Hope the sweltering end of July has gone better - and healthier ! - for you !

(incoherent noises and random sounds)

Current Mood : ARggghleblarghle.

I'm just gonna say it. Nothing got done, I'm miserable, and even having all these wonders about me, I still want to sleep until all this is over ! Hopefully tomorrow, I can trade a few shiny things for a better attitude, and come back improved. 

Wishes and hopes...and maybe even plans.

Current Mood : Guess. 

Current Image Notes : Now *this* is how I imagine Ghoulia's loft bed ! Love to have the skill to make this in sixth-scale ! 

(sigh) Another day of great intentions gone right out the window at dawn. Got a robust four hours of sleep this morning, then made breakfast for Dearest Son and bathed Oliver-kitten...and fell back asleep in front of the TV. Nothing was on, the sofa was just suddenly, amazingly comfy.

I noticed I'd crashed sitting straight upright. I can nod off for a bit like that, but it's not 'real' sleep, like what you'd get for several hours at night. But still...our bed was still kinda messy from sheet-washings earlier this week, so maybe if I made it up a bit differently, with the pillows supporting a more upright position, then maybe...

It took a while, since I had to actually move the bed around somewhat, and it'll require daily adjustments if it does work, but I have high hopes ! And our bed looks more like a quilted oasis again, and less of a pile of motley pillows and lumpy blankets.

Air conditioning's working better, and it actually turns off now, for short periods. Beloved's still taking about getting an air purifier, since everyone's still coughing and the new AC filters need to be changed about every week and a half now. But I'm grateful - things are getting better, my breathing's slowly improving...it's just taking much too long !

Ah, the joys of rental...

Current Mood : Breathing deeper...

I think things are getting better. Beloved Hubby, who doesn't suffer from any of my health concerns, woke up nearly as sick as me today, and after a lot of back-and-forth questions, he cancelled his work day, called DFIL, and headed off to Lowe's. Came back with a new shop vac, more duct cleaners, and a new filter system with a double-filter housing set, and proceeded to take our central air conditioner apart. DFIL picked up Dearest Son early for a visit - and a showing of Cars 2, in the new 3D theater near their home - and to keep him safe from whatever was in that AC unit.

No wonder we're all ill. I don't think that thing's been cleaned since it was installed. Dust was wad-thick, and could be brought out with a hairbrush in clumps. Some of it was so bad, he had to take components outside and clean them there, since he feared making me more sick. It was still early morning, but he worried about me, so he got the fans going in our bedroom and blocked the door from dust entering. Told me to read, sleep, whatever, but to not come out until he was done. I had yet another bad night of insomnia, and fully expected to have more trouble with it, but before I knew it, four hours had passed, and our door was open. I'd actually slept !

And our air conditioning unit was clean. It now had not only new filters, but a whole new system of filtration, and he'd reassembled the cleaned components. He was also mildly worried about how the AC ran all day without stopping, and it pretty much did the same thing today - but tonight, it actually stopped for an hour. Whew. I hope this $130. investment helps our power bill, too - but I already felt better in the house. I was breathing much deeper, although I was still kind of weak.

I figured we'd both still be ill for a day or three, while the gunk in our lungs got swept out, but I could already feel some improvement. Even Beloved said he felt better. I found myself craving fruit and salad, so he took me out for one. The Braum's garden salad is delicious - full of green crunchies and cheese and carrots. Spoiled mine with a small order of fries, though. My appetite is still half what it used to be. When we go out for groceries, I'm gonna snag a bag of apples and oranges. When my system makes demands for fresh food, it's best to listen. Especially since its normal requests lean more towards corn chips and sour cream and onion dip.

Beloved took several photos - this is the one least likely to make you lose your salad ! - to show our landlord. It's still hard to believe, but there's the evidence. (shudder) Not counting the time, we spent serious money on this project - but it's still cheaper than an ER visit ! 

Not dead yet, but not really getting better, either...

Current Mood : Worried. 

I'm percolating an idea. Thinking that maybe, if I make 'Forbitten Romance' DracuLaura a nice dress, maybe I can trade her for a set of 'Dead Tired' Ghoulia's clothes and glasses. That way, I'd have what I want without having to buy another doll, and I'd actually be finding one a new home, all for much cheaper than simply buying a DT doll. After all, Priority mailing a doll would only be five or six bucks - a DT doll retail is $14.50.

I'm also giving real thought to the 'who would go / who will stay' question that's haunting my Monster High-obsessed mind. Thing is, some of 'em, I almost *have* to keep. All three Clawdeens for instance. Each one - basic, Dawn of the Dance, and Gloom Beach - has a completely unique hand mold. And I enjoy having all three. Cleo has two, as does DracuLaura and Frankie. I'd have only bought two of the Gloom Beach cuties if it hadn't been for those exciting hands ! And it looks like Classroom 'Home Ick' Frankie has new hands. So far, Lagoona and Ghoulia just have one. Whew ! Of course, I can always put the 'blah' hands on the doll I least want and find her a new home, and keep the cool hands I like...

Anyway. Since you got 'Crew 2', the ghouls in the Sewing Arena yesterday, today you get 'Crew 1', everybody what's on my desk. These are all Basics, first editions of each character, whatever else they're called. These are the ones pretty much guaranteed to not go anywhere besides the Arena and back. What can I say, I'm always sentimental, I still remember Beloved Hubby bringing DracuLaura, Lagoona, and Frankie home - he went all out for me. So those dolls are mine forever !  

Hm. I really need to do a 'hand inventory' of all the MH girls. With photos. Might be an interesting side-note to the line's history. Just...it's not gonna be right now. I swear, I'm getting sicker. This morning, it was all I could do to get up, keep up with Dearest Son, and make sure both of us got showers. I have no idea what's wrong, other than Spring's kicking my butt. Thing is, by this time, it's normally over, not getting worse ! Beloved Hubby's being very understanding, but the house looks like heck, and I'm not able to do much besides sleep and think of what I should be doing, and what I want to do.

Still can't sleep much at night, but I think I've figured out the 'always wake up at around 2am' thing, though. It's not good. I can sleep for a few hours, but I wake up in a panic around 2am - last night, I had to fight to breathe for a few seconds, which is scary as anything. I honestly don't know what to do, but hope things get better soon.

Oh, fuuuuuudge.

Current Mood : Bewildered, with frequent f-bombs .

It's been an interesting day since yesterday - one of those 'a lot's happening, but there's not really much going on' kinda things.

Shortly after posting yesterday's entry, I was admonished for the Flickr post that contained the image. Whether or not it was the responder's intention, I ended up feeling attacked in my own post, so I sort of retreated for a bit. After I defended myself in epic-length paragraphs, of course. The person who took issue with the image and my opinion - that I was tired of getting jerked around with no information from Mattel, and that overseas stores seemed to get more reliable info than Consumer Relations had ever provided - told me that Mattel didn't owe me squat, much less a release schedule, and I needed to be more patient.

Well, I can understand both viewpoints, but it still kind of bothered me to be smacked down for voicing my own admittedly infantile opinion in one of my own Flickr pages. It's not like I was going after someone else, I was simply using my soapbox (that I paid for) to voice my views. Still not sure how I feel about the author, she's a respected fan I've gotten along with before, so I just let it go and moved on. Long as everyone can say their piece, and know that they're unlikely to change anyone's mind and can step away before it gets messy and mean, I'm fine with it.

OK, the last (hopefully) salvo in the Prescription Wars saga. Now with a surprising happy ending ! You may remember that I'm on four daily 'scripts - three fairly cheap, one expensive - plus an as-needed inhaler. During last year's Dr. appointment, I was given so many freebies of the expensive prescription that I didn't need to actually buy any until this week. But I made sure the $$$ one transferred when we moved, yatta yatta. Called it in Tuesday, would need 'em today.

And, whoever guessed 'They lost the $$$ script' - come up and claim your prize ! That's exactly what happened. Even after verifying that they had it in my name, several times since December, when it came time that I actually needed it, poof ! It was gone. This necessitated another series of calls to my beleaguered Dr. office, and I soon got a call that a one-month supply had been approved, and should be ready Wednesday morning. Place your bets...

Whoever put cash on 'It's not there at pick-up', do ya wanna double down ? Your luck - or simple knowledge of the amount of sheer cluster-bombery at Mal-Wart pharmacies  - is astounding. Because, yes, it wasn't there. We were just lucky that Beloved Hubby was off early enough so that the Dr.'s office could be called yet again. We had approval - again ! - but it'd take over 30 minutes to be filled. And that was with 'critical' typed on the priority slip.

By now, I was having a full-scale attack, and had to sit down. While my body was darn near shut off, my mind was racing to the foregone conclusion that, yes, this was pretty much M-W's last chance, and they blew it. Time to find another pharm when the 'scripts get renewed.  I caught my breath and hit the bathrooms - and the Monster High shelves on the way back, still nothin' new - and still had time to wait. Got to see three other screwed-up prescriptions and three clients much angrier than me, so sadly, I felt a little better. Nearly an hour later, I had my month's supply of 15 pills. I have a cute orange splitter at home - these pills are much cheaper if we buy 40mg and split 'em than if we simply buy 20mg ones.

Picked up Dearest Son from his midweek grandparents' visit, and dragged home. I was so relieved to put the hard-won pills away with the others. Wait, what ? There should be 15. One full sheet of ten, and a half sheet of five. Why are there two sheets of ten, and a five partial ? Yup, someone kinda messed up - I got a 50 day supply instead of a 30 day one. A reliable, upstanding adult would not hesitate to return the extras...but I'm not going to. There's a good chance they'd toss 'em out anyway, for safety. And frankly, after all the chasing around they've made me do between them and the inhaler, I prefer to think of them as a karmic reward. I'm gonna be lazy and selfish and dishonest and keep them. So there.

Any recommendations for a good pharmacy ?

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...?