It's 'Movie Night' for Ghoulia and Slo-Moe !

Current Mood : Feelin' lucky !

More big fun ! We found a great new desk for Dearest Son’s computer – it’s much better than the one he’s using now…which used to be my old sewing table, which was a really old surplus student desk. We’ve both outgrown it, and here’s this great one on the curb ! Lucky ! Especially since the old desk/table has to remain here, I gave it to FIL years ago. Well, more accurately, I put it curbside during a move, and he claimed it. He already can’t wait to use it, but right now, there’s no space for it !

Made an Aldi’s grocery run, which is always a treat. I’m hoping we still do that after we move, although it’ll be a bit of a drive. Maybe once a month…

The new MH ‘Create A Monster’ packs – the ones that don’t use water decals for facial details – are beginning to surface in California. It’s so funny sometimes, when you read fan boards. Seems as though the chief problem many people had with the original CAM sets is that it came with two sets of heads, hands, and lower arms and legs but only one torso and one set of upper arms and legs. Of course, the colors of the not-quite-two monsters were too diverse for much hopeful blending. Mattel’s getting much praise right now, because the eBay photos of the cat/witch (girl) and gargoyle/vampire (boy) packs show two complete sets – in the right colors ! – of everything in the package. Half the boards are singing, “Two torsos ! TWO Torsoooos !!!’.

But the same ones singing in that thread are the same ones still complaining about glue in the first run – the 2010 dolls, mostly – inside the heads, and eyes not being perfectly centered and placed. Yes, these are valid complaints, but after two years, ya may wanna let go. I got five Frankies. Pretty much all of ‘em have a slightly larger green eye. I honestly thought it was part of the character design (‘stitched with love’, ya know !), and I don’t even really notice it. But some of us are still nearly affronted by a slight mistake in a toy line two years ago. These two threads were a bit less than eight hours apart. There are times I really feel sorry for Mattel…

Oh, and a little note. The two that sold on eBay got $120. plus shipping. I wouldn’t be surprised if the new CAM prices start at $25. at retail level, instead of last year’s $20. After all, there’s a lot more in the package now !

I should have known, when those absolutely perfect return address labels showed up...

Current Mood : Jubilant !

We got the apartment ! Whoo-hoo ! We got the call this afternoon, and scurried right over to make the deposit and pick one of several new availabilities. We were also allowed to select our own move-in date – they’re kinda hurting for tenants, just like everyone else in the area, since it’s almost graduation day at the nearby University. Seriously, we will be  within walking distance of the campus. I know that’ll be problematic later on, but for now, I’m just gonna be happy !

I got to pick our location, and it was pretty much decided when they pointed out one as closest to the park. I already knew about the park, it’s part of the University, with lush grass, a creek and a pond, a walking trail, several bridges, picnic tables, and a full if rotating complement of ducks, geese, gulls, pigeons, and Canada geese. We won’t have stale bread for long in our kitchen !

It was on the ground floor (but I still plan on using those staircases !) and we discovered to our minor chagrin that it was right at one of the two pools, but hopefully drunken pool parties won’t be an ongoing feature as well. It has a parking lot close enough to plug in Venus-diesel if it’s necessary this winter, and has another walking path leading to the back of the park as well. Fairly close to the laundry center, and I already know where the bus stop is if we need that. Beloved Hubby is a bit overwhelmed, but like me, is mostly excited. We’ll begin the move on June 20^th. They’ve already got us set up for cable and a high-speed modem, and we’ll get our parking stickers when we pick up our keys. Wheee !

I’m so happy. It’s an all-bills-paid place, for about what we were paying for the last one – remember the one with the $300./month electric bill we moved into while getting out of another $400./month electric bill house ? The ones with landlords who swore there was nothing wrong with the air conditioner, and the utility bills never went over $100./month ? We’re really trying to avoid that. I’m sure the place won’t be 65 degrees in July, but we’ll have fans and a pool and an entire park to use. We may economize further and let one of the vehicles go – so the bus stop will come in handy. Frankly, with the school, PreviousCity is more friendly to us than this one is. While I’ve come to enjoy M & FIL’s community, I’m looking forward to return to our old one.

Besides, I’m going back to work. I’d like something close to my interests, like Hancock Fabrics or Dollar Tree, but at this point, I’ll cheerfully take orders at McDs, if it gets some of the pressure off his shoulders. May help with my self-esteem issues, too.

(grin) I’ve gone from only having a three-minute web video to look forward to, to having so much more, I can barely think of it all right now ! 

It’s Ghoulia Week !

Current Mood : Cautiously hopeful...

Hang on to your slouch, ya’ll – this week is all about one of the most celebrated zombies in recent memory, the ever-adorable Ghoulia Yelps ! Since I mostly wanted Operetta’s first outfit for Clarice, my first ‘custom’ MH doll, anyway, it was an easy choice. Hope you like blue eyes and blue hair, ‘cause you’re gonna see a lot of it this week ! It also helps that, including Clarice, I have five Ghoulias…

I think she looks great in her new outfit. But in order to find her belt and bag, I had to drag out the underbed box…so I completely redid it. Y’see, before, I had some notion that one day, I might want to sell those first releases (especially if they were worth #1 Barbie money !) so I gave each doll a separate baggie of all the stuff that came with him/her. That was Ok for those first dolls. But then I lucked into all three ‘Dawn of the Dance’ ghouls…now what ? Separate baggies, or just add the few props to the ones they already had ? And then I got the beds and Hydration Station… it got so I tossed the shoes and wearable accessories in a container designated for them, and stuffed the rest in an underbed Sterilite box. Having the pets and purses in one place, the shoes and hair decorations in another, and the stands in a third got to be a pain.

So today, with the full, happy knowledge that I am never selling those 2010 dolls, I redid the box. Now all the pets are together, all the purses and props are together, and all the footwear and hosiery pieces are united. About the only things left underbed are the beds, and a box with cards, package leaflets, diaries, and other paper keepsakes. Everything has been reorganized, and all the purses and backpacks are together, so it doesn’t take a search warrant to find Clarice’s ‘Monster Mix’ cassette bag. Much better. And it was a great hour of digging through everything. Now… which Ghoulia’s gonna get Toralei’s outfit tomorrow…?

Not a lot else going on this Monday – still waiting to hear if we got approved for that apartment we want (and can mostly afford !). One of our creditors has assumed Beloved Hubby is deceased, which made some trouble. (sigh) I hate what big business has done…well, not gonna get political here. But thinking of politics makes me remember we can’t even take out trash ‘cause the pick-up cans are loaded and they don’t get emptied ‘til Tuesday. It’s starting to pile up just enough to make me look forward to 8am tomorrow morning a bit.

Otherwise things are going well. Turns out MIL isn’t nearly as, well…dependent as we’ve thought, she’s taking care of her own meds and most meals, and coming out a lot more. Heck, I’ve seen more of her today than I saw almost all of last month ! She came out so seldom, that unless she had her door open, we’d all go days without seeing her and just barely hearing her. I’m hoping this new trend continues ! 

What a difference a week makes !

Current Mood : Much better. Thank you !

Hard to believe the current tempest has mostly blown over, and the whole mess, start to near-finish, took less than a week. Oh, I know it’s not over yet, but things have settled enough for me to just enjoy the peace. Appropriately enough, it’s Mother’s Day here in the States, and I had a great day ! Hope yours was fun, too !

I told my guys that they didn’t have to do anything for me for Mother’s Day, since I got two new dolls last month. But we had some funds – yaaay for tax refunds ! – so we all got a few things we wanted, and something we needed. I have new headphones and what you see in today’s image ! It was so funny to see the four hooks arranged in the pegboard, all set aside for MH clothing packs, with all of three sets hanging on only one of ‘em. Well, there’s just one left now ! Happily, those were the two I most wanted, and I’d never seen either before. I’d never seen the one I left, either, but it was Frankie’s teal and red suspender outfit, and those colors next to each other make my eyes hurt.

It’s also the Thirteenth, so there were some MH goodies from Mattel on the ‘Freaky  Fab13’ site – an announcement of the partnership between WeStopHate.org, an anti-bullying non-profit, and Monster High. Very nice, and I hope it helps. I still remember those worst days of my young life, but they were short. Because most of us who were bullied banded together in high school, and the resulting group was too large to be threatened.  Even when split into smaller groups like on the busses, we still stuck together and stood behind each other. I hope other kids figured that out. Then again, it was the early 80s, that may not work anymore.

I’m petty, though, so I was more interested in the just-released new pictures of the school playset – it’s awesome ! I was seriously re-thinking it, since the price is fluctuating from the original $80. MSRP to $109. at TRUCanada, but I still so want it ! The original photos didn’t show all of the outside or the classroom…and it’s perfect, exactly what I would have wanted if I was designing it. Well, I probably would have gone with more bleachers and dumped the over-large speaker system, but that’s about it. Here’s hoping we’ll have the fundage for it when my birthday rolls around.

There’s also a slew of new doll photos out, and they’re all lovely, but when you already have five Ghoulias, it’s hard to really work up interest in buying another $20. one for her $10. outfit. Love to hear which ones you like !

(happy sigh) Maybe I’m completely wrong and tomorrow will be a disaster, but for now, I’m happy and content and loved. Thanks for helping me back to that place, ya’ll. Hope I can pass it along soon !

Aftermath blues...

Current Mood : Recovering.

Current Image Notes : Is it wrong that I really want one of these ?

Well, as the old song goes, Thank God and Greyhound He’s Gone. Living room’s trashed, with laundry and loose papers everywhere, there’s more clothes (dirty ? clean ? I don’t know) piled on the dining room table, and the kitchen’s so bad, we actually took textbook buyback cash and ate out. Guess who had a crapload of cleaning on her agenda today ?

At least the living room didn’t take much effort. I hung the shirts already on hangers in the two-feet-away closet, piled all the rest in his chair, tossed all his stuff in his computer armoire and closed the doors to it. It’ll stay there ‘til he gets back, and it’s not like he can whine about it. The way he left things, nobody could use the living room or dining room table for the sock mountain, land of laundry, paper snowfall, and scattered half-used toiletries. Frankly, from what I could tell, he spent most of yesterday on FaceBook instead of cleaning up after himself, so I get carte blanche to clean the mess my way. Like BIL and Uncle, he didn’t so much pack as he took what he wanted and left the rest wherever it was. (sigh)  

Meanwhile, Beloved Hubby curb-shopped two nice black meeting chairs. Once home, he and Dearest Son got ‘em fresh and clean, then removed the chairs’ legs, and the casters from their bombed-out office chairs. I helped attach the ‘wheelie parts’ to the ‘new’ black chairs, and poof ! New computer chairs – for free ! And the old, ridiculously worn chair seats and former chair legs broke down small enough to fit in a pick-up can. Nice.

Then it was time to change the oil in Venus-diesel. It was good we finally got that started, because that was how we learned her serpentine belt was nearly shredded. Some of it wedged under the hood latch release, and pieces and strings of it were everywhere. Some of it, no doubt, is somewhere between here and the Greyhound station. Easily repaired, and not even that expensive – we were very lucky it didn’t snap completely, leaving him stranded.

We had a brief chat with MIL today, and made sure she was OK – and knew that she was always welcome to come out for meals and companionship anytime. I’ll check on her during the day, too. She activates a white-noise machine when she wants to sleep, so if I hear it, I know not to bother her. So far, so good. After some residual morning anger / frustration, I think I’m adjusting and ready to make things go as well as possible. I just have to put FIL completely out of my mind or I’ll get geared up again. Right now, he doesn’t matter anyway.

And I appreciate my online friends more than ever. Thank  you forever, guys !

Fare thee h#ll, FIL.

Current Mood : I don't really wish him h#ll, but I hope that bus seat has a small, annoying lump in it. 

Sincerely, thanks for the loving support, guys. You don’t know how much just letting go of it here helped – and reading that ya’ll saw it much as I did - helped. I know you didn’t have much choice, you only got to read my side of the tale, but I tried to be as impartial and truthful as possible. I was able to regain my calm after I posted last night and Beloved Hubby and I talked ‘til nearly dawn. His fears are valid, and while I may not believe anyone, much less FIL, could abandon MIL like that, it’s still an issue that needed to be discussed. So we discussed the heck out of it. And we made contingency plans for everything we could think of, that should help both of us feel more in control no matter what happens next. All else fails, we’ll do the best we can with what we got. Like sensible people always do. Like always. 

Sure, most of this mess ain’t ours. But what matters is what we do about it. Sometimes sitting around is the best you can do, but this isn’t one of those times. We toured the place we hope to move into, and filed an application. We should know Monday if we passed. I’m kinda nervous due to how speedily we left the last place, and moving in with his folks probably doesn’t enhance our standing, but we cast our own die, and either way, it was important that we did so.

Even if we get in, an apartment there won’t be available ‘til month’s end at the earliest. At least we’ll be able to take our time moving in ! (grin) Trying not to hope too hard, but it creeps into my thoughts. Despite what else is going on, I’m trying to keep only positive thoughts in my head. It actually helps that it’s pouring down rain – I love the sound of rain.

As bad as this is gonna sound, I haven’t spoken to FIL since Tuesday morning. I’m afraid of what I’ll say if I open my big yap around him, so I’ve done my very best to avoid the chance. Beloved understands, but it’s his theory that treating him badly will encourage him to react badly, so he’s driving him to the bus stop. I say, he’s already acting badly, maybe if he’s aware that others exist and may not always fall over in agreement with whatever he wants, he’ll give his grandiose plans a second thought, but we’ve had to table it for now. I refuse to help him hurt the people I care about, so my flappin’ mouth will stay here.

I got to talk with MIL for about ten seconds today. Reassured her that we were here for her, we’d talk later, and everything would be OK. She thanked me, told me she loved me, then disappeared back into her bedroom. (sigh) Hopefully things will get better slowly. It’s all I can hope for right now.

Here’s a laugh for ya, for reading all this. Monday, when I was going nuts *before* everything got spun around like a snowglobe in a hurricane, the one thing I could think of to look forward to was the next Monster High webisode, due to air yesterday. I finally remembered and got to watch it today. I’m actually a bit glad I missed the debut, I really needed the laugh today.

Now. Time to find that new normal…

The whole ridiculous story, a day early. Enjoy.

Well, ain’t we lucky ? The Doomsday Event Horizon will dawn bright and early tomorrow, so I may as well tell ya’ll what’s going on. It’s still gonna be sketchy, since most of it’s not my story, but it does affect us, and I’ll try to stick to the facts and let you draw your own opinions. Ready ? This all starts several months ago, when BIL moved out to be with his online girlfriend and her two teenagers from a previous relationship…

They got pregnant immediately, but she has just as many health concerns as me (if not more), and unfortunately, the baby was born three months prematurely, weighing under a pound. A stressful and difficult time for all involved. BIL’s girlfriend is, of course, permanently at the hospital with the baby while she’s in intensive neonatal care, and BIL and the teens remain at home. BIL is having trouble with the kids and working, so he asked FIL to come help. During all this, MIL and FIL have been falling in love with BIL’s new family, and have been increasingly impatient with Dearest Son, to the point of shunning and ignoring him, and being short with us as well. Dearest acts out when the dog gets more praise and attention for breathing than he does for helping clean the bathroom, which leads FIL to ramp up his previous actions. This is why we’ve been trying to move out of here ourselves, before things get any worse. Dearest, by choice, has been avoiding his grandparents unless we’re nearby for the last two months.

Well, I guess it won’t be an issue much longer. FIL is leaving for BIL’s tomorrow. Leaving MIL behind until July. We were informed Tuesday. While we were planning on moving out at month’s end. I have no idea what MIL’s prescription schedule is, if she'll need any refills any time soon, what pharmacy they use, if she has any upcoming doctor’s appointments, how the house bills are gonna get paid, what the house bills even are, and, if we do move out, how we’re gonna manage two homes. When Beloved Hubby expressed his concerns, FIL flew at him, and we still don’t know the answers to any of that. Rather than deal with us like adults, FIL ended up saying something really regrettable (and acting it out violently) to Dearest Son yesterday, and then acting like nothing happened when we discovered Dearest almost rigid with tears and fear. We’d been gone for seven minutes to pick up a pizza. And FIL pulled this crap. I had to go for a walk to keep from doing anything even worse over it. Today, I found out that he’s going to meet some Facebook friends in another state and going to a writer’s seminar while he’s helping BIL.

I realize all that may sound like a tempest in a teapot. But MIL has pretty much become a bedroom hermit, and it’s nearly impossible to engage her. She even asked FIL not to go, but what she wants doesn’t matter, I guess. I don’t even know if she knows her prescription schedule. Her 24*7 care has been suddenly dropped in our laps, and we still don’t know what she needs – it’s not like she’s a stray cat or something ! We can’t afford MIL’s prescriptions or the upkeep on this place if FIL takes the checkbook with him…how can anyone be so…

Well, that’s not the point. Point is, Beloved is pretty much torn up during Finals, I am beyond furious, and Beloved’s having second thoughts about moving out. I can’t help but think if we don’t, I’m gonna die here. The only way I can stay here and be sane is if I get carte blanche to clean *everything* while FIL’s gone. We did as best we could shortly after we moved here – with much snark from FIL and it’s all gone back to crap again. I can tell ya’ll that we don’t have near enough money, tax return or not, to pay the mortgage when it’s waaay more than the rental place we’re trying to get. Do we stay and be miserable, or do we take care of us and hope for the best ? Frankly, Beloved’s kinda scared FIL won’t return, and I don’t even want to think about that. MIL will always have a place with us, but it may not be their house anymore. I honestly don’t know.

So, with all this going on, you can see I haven’t been able to concentrate on frivolities like dolls and sewing, except in a desperate grasp to maintain me in the middle of a tornado. I know FIL probably needs a break, but is going away for nearly two months the best way to accomplish that ? All this could have been handled so much better with very little extra effort. In the end, I feel like FIL is running out on us all, and just doesn’t care. And  it’s just taken for granted we’ll put our lives on hold to take care of everything for him.

Maybe I’m the selfish one. But I’d never do this to Beloved unless I’m dying.