Freebies ! That's about it.

Current Mood : Yawnnnn....

Kind of a 'blah' day today, too - Beloved Hubby had some morning work to finish up, but he was home before lunch. After that, we mostly sat around or napped. Only Dearest Son seems to not have a running sleep deficit, as Beloved crashed about six hours today, off and on. It's currently bedtime, and he's still asleep from his last nap ! Hope he sleeps all night long. I caught a delightful two hours about mid-afternoon, but I'm yawning hard now.

I'm not really surprised he's tired - we both woke up about 2am this morning, and neither of us could get back under. So we got up, split the remaining potato chips, and goofed around a while, chattering and reading. It was one of the few nice things about this whole business of me being sick. I got a little quiet, private time with my Beloved.

Seems it's just fine that we couldn't go Monster High hunting this weekend - many places still don't have any of the new stuff, and for what I want to see, it's TRU or nobody. With funds being snug, I'd rather wait a week and pay a couple bucks less at Target or Mal-Wart. While it's not like a few folks who now bemoan paying $70.+ for Lagoona's Hydration Station now that it's advertised for $40., it still bugs me to see the 'Dawn of the Dance' dolls at M-W for $20. when I know I paid $25. each at TRU. And, yes, I was happy to pay it, since I finally had them, no regrets, but no need to be stupid about it, either. I already know TRU is almost always the most expensive outlet, unless there's a sale.

Toured craft sites for the first time in weeks. Found a good one - for free images ! I like to have lots of good backgrounds for doll photos, but there's only so many scrapbook papers, calendar pages, small posters, and such you can keep and store, especially when they wrinkle so easily, and are soon damaged beyond reuse, from a single fold in the wrong place. Heck, I got pretty good at pulling up a large wallpaper on my computer monitor and taking a doll's photo next to it - no printouts, no storage issues. I also like to have pretty stuff for photos here, when it's been a month since I made anything. Problem is, most image sites, like iStock and Shutterstock charge by the image, or require subscriptions. Turns out, there's several sites that don't charge at all, and you can even donate your own images ! I may just do that, it'd be good for my withering ego. Check out http://morguefile.com/ when you have time - lots of good stuff, for free !

Also, if you sew for American Girl size dolls, you probably already know about Liberty Jane clothes - http://www.libertyjanepatterns.com - but if not, check 'em out. They have *tons* of free patterns available for download. Fashionable, fun stuff, for AG, BFC, Ink., and Karito Kids sizes. They've also just started Ellowyne pattern sizes - she's a 16-inch Tonner spinoff. Not sure how her size correlates to Tyler / Elphie's, but there's a free tank top pattern...worth a shot ! Knits are forgiving, and I'm sure Fiyero won't mind if it's a bit snug on her...

They also sell patterns, but they're only four bucks. Sure, Simplicity on sale is cheaper, but these look really nice. I got the Ellowyne one already, and it's highly detailed and photographed, much easier to follow than McCalls. Might be worth your time, and it's hard to beat 'free'.

Right now, though, it's hard for me to beat 'sleepy'. Hope your Saturday was what you needed ! 

Maybe I'm cursed... I am a rather selfish and mean person, ya know...

Current Mood : Heavy headed, which is weird, since there's only various whining going on in there.  

Current Image Notes : About the only thing I haven't tried to conquer my insomnia - the spindle and spinning wheel from EuroDisney, Paris.

Kinda running out of options on my insomnia. It's really starting to weigh on my life now, and I don't know what to try next. I'm hardly using the inhaler at night anymore - usually a change of position or a stretch helps, and I'm using old 'Jedi mind tricks' to control my breathing when I first lie down, but still, I get maybe three hours before I'm gasping awake, and half the time, I can simply not get back to sleep no matter what I do.

I'm adding more water during the day, since I'm often cotton-mouthed when I wake up, and water is one of the few reliable substances in the house that's caffeine free. Dearest Son will drink up a double-batch of Kool-Aid in about a day and a half, and Beloved Hubby will go through a gallon of milk in a week, mostly via instant breakfast milkshakes, so I sort of reserve those two for my guys. That leaves soda, tea, and coffee - all caffeinated. Next grocery store run, I hope to pick up some Sleepytime tea or something.

Since I'm not sure when that'll happen, it's nice cold water in the meanwhile. I'm sure even one glass of it is better than another one of soda. I'm slowly upping my water intake, because between my 'scripts and such, it may be dehydration that's bugging me. It might also be an iron deficiency - I've been subject to those since childhood - because my cooking is scattershot lately. Meals like fish and spaghetti are easy for me to make for dinner, but they're not very high in iron. So I'm eating raisins, a favorite remedy that's worked in the past. I always have trouble falling and staying asleep when my iron's low. Hoping to make a big ole taco dinner this weekend - beef and bean and yum !

Forgot to tell ya'll - I fell asleep cleaning the sewing table yesterday, so I didn't feel safe sewing. Seriously, I sat there returning threads and notions to their homes, and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..... Thing is, I'm getting more sleep, slowly. About four hours a night, and maybe an hour or two in the morning. But I'm still wiped out.

Add to my general malaise that the new Monster High dolls are finally starting to appear on retail shelves. Mostly the pajama-wearing 'Dead Tired' series - Cleo, Ghoulia, Frankie, and DracuLaura - and the Clawd and DLaura set. Hm. It's kind of funny that both 'couple' doll sets have 'C' and 'D' initials - Cleo and Deuce first, now Clawd and DracuLaura. Anyway, retail on the DT dolls is about what the Gloom Beach dolls cost, around $12. to $15., depending. Clawd & DLaura are pretty much only available at TRU right now, at $35., one of the most expensive MH toys shown so far this year.

 I have a short list of seven that I either want or want to see closer, but this isn't a good week for us to go doll-trawling. Maybe next week. It's kind of ironic, since that poster on my Flickr page said I should be more patient with the new stuff. Turns out, I don't really have a choice ! But, heck, it's not like Mattel makes one of anything, and if local retail shelves are any indication, MH is popular around here, but not sell-out levels yet. And we tend to get stuff later than others, so this is probably better all around. I'm just whining.

Mostly because I wanna see another Ghoulia - I love the DT version's red glasses ! - and the Clawde/DLaura set, one of the most expensive of the year's new dolls. I don't need another Ghoulia, of course, and I don't really want the DLaura doll in the set, but I still want to see them, something fierce. So, here's hoping for next week !

Maybe I'll be sleeping by then...

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 ?

Sick and tired of more than being ill and weak.

Current Mood : Too weary for words.

Current Image Notes : Believe this or not, I didn't make this - Alita Walters did, and she posted it to much acclaim and lols on the official Mattel FaceBook page. Sad. But still funny.

Perhaps it's because I'm still ill, maybe it's the fandom, or possibly it's other factors like little sleep and less money, but...I find m'self rapidly not caring what's next in the Monster High universe. At least, not like I used to care. The new characters failed to enchant, and the promised release dates for what I was interested in come and go with no updates, no definite information - I'm not getting crap from Mattel, I have to find out from FaceBook and Flicker instead. It's kind of hard to get worked up about new dolls when the US horde has been going berserk since Toy Fair, desperate for any information at all - and then the new stuff goes overseas first. Even the overseas Toy Fairs got more information than we did. Seriously, the latest line - Dead Tired -  is easier to obtain in Great Britain than it is anywhere Stateside. And the overseas shops have no problem including an 'expected by' date, something Mattel Consumer Relations has yet to do accurately since the doll line first came out.  I think Mattel just made a big mistake...

But that's them, and this is me. Today, for some bizarre reason, I got obsessed with the idea of hanging curtains. Years, inching toward a decade ago, I bought a box of random fabric at a yard sale for two bucks. That material's almost long gone now - I got curtains, tablecloths, several pillowcases, general rags, several donations, and some actual stuff to sew out of that box.

The curtains were nice Springfield ones, but they're kinda weird. There were three single panels - one orange, one medium blue, one hot pink, nearly identical. The orange and pink ones were the same length, the blue was cut to about 3/4 of that. They got folded into a 'Household Linen' box (i.e., they were shoved into the 'not sheets' former liquor-store brandy box that never gets unpacked, just moved intact) and never used, but I got a wild hair to hang 'em today, in our bedroom. We have three small windows, badly painted crap brown, covered with semi-broken dusty-white mini-blinds. Even these strange curtains would be an improvement.

It was rather odd, since I felt nauseous all day, and while curtain-hanging isn't a Jane Fonda-level workout, it's not surfing Netflix Kids In The Hall episodes on the sofa, either. Plus, I didn't have curtain rods, or even window measurements at that point. Would these curtains even work ? No clue, but I tossed 'em in the dryer to ease out wrinkles, and got various implements like the step-stool tool box and the house hammer placed in preparation. Why was I so jazzed to do this, and why now ?

Still don't know, but it's done. Tried to reuse some dowels and the brackets from the mini-blinds, but that didn't work. Ended up using thumb-tacks right under the pocket part, pushed into the wall right above the window frame, then folded over to hide the tacks. Not bad for free, and better for being finally done. Hides several much larger nail holes up there, too. Evidently, I'm not the only 'wall curtain' enthusiast this place has known. Wonder what Beloved Hubby will think. He hates mini-blinds, completely and universally, so he'll probably like them, when he notices. Nearly ever place we've lived in, I've had to hide the blinds once he's taken them down, so we won't have to buy them again when we leave. Already got a spot picked out for these.

I think my next home project will be to sort out the hallway closet. Right now, it's packed tight with boxes of sheets and wadded-up comforters, but I think I can rearrange and straighten things to use the space better. (snort) I always come up with these little projects when the dishes and laundry are piled up ! And I still want to have some small sewing effort for tomorrow. Seems like a month's gone by since I had a Creative Thursday.

Oh, and the latest in the Prescription Wars Saga came in today. Yes, it is a cluster-bomb. But since this is long already, I'll write it up tomorrow. (sigh) If I wasn't already ill, this ongoing crap would make me heartily sick ! 

Story Time !

Current Mood : Off to laundry land !

Current Image Notes : Nope, don't even have this set, won't ever -  if you knew what it sells for, your jaw would drop ! Cute but not my bag - more inside !

Got a call from the Dr.'s office - they approved a 30-day refill of the expensive medicine, and it should be ready later today. That's all I was allowed anyway, so next month, I get to go back for another office visit. I'm hoping I can ask DFIL for some transportation help with that, since I doubt Beloved Hubby can take the time off work for it.

And I forgot to tell ya'll - remember back a few weeks, when Beloved bought me DracuLaura's coffin/jewelry box bed ? He said he had an interesting exchange during the purchase that he'd forgotten to tell me about. The young cashier noted the MH logos curiously, and asked Beloved if his kids liked them, he told her it was for his wife, to go with her ever-expanding MH doll collection. She then explained to him, in detail, why the Mezco 'Living Dead Dolls' that she and her mother collect are sooo much better - and yes, she did go on about collectability and series numbers, how long the dolls have been available in the market, the usual BS that most of us use (or used at one point in our collecting lives) to justify buying toys for ourselves when we're old enough to understand what an annuity is, and why lotteries are A Bad Idea.

Beloved was nonplussed. Exactly what was he supposed to do with this information ? Return the bed he just bought, and all the MH stuff besides, because a Mal-Wart cashier prefers stuff her store has never sold ? Frankly, given M-W's censorship track record, I'm amazed they sell MH dolls at all, given how easily some parents could be offended by them. But I digress. I'm all for liking stuff that's different, but I'm still trying to figure out why she needed him to know a buttload of info about dolls he figures I don't care about, right at that moment. I mean, if I cared one whit about LDDs, he'd know about it, 'cause I never shut up easily about anything I favor. (grin)

In the end, he nodded and smiled, and walked away while she was still talking. He hated to be so rude, he told me, but he had to get my new surprise hidden while I was still in line for the inhaler, and as far as he was concerned, he'd never heard of LDD or Mezco, and this chick's insistence made him even less interested. He asked me if I'd ever done 'street preaching' like that about the MH line, but he knew I hadn't. Heck, most of the time, I'm defending my choices from cashiers who comment that Deuce is 'femmy' or having to get past sneering staff who question why anyone would want 'that wicked stuff' in the first place. These are the folk I'd really love to show a Living Dead Dolls catalog to ! They'd probably combust.

Funny thing is, yeah, I already knew about LDD. They've been around since 2000, and are easily found in comic shop-type venues and flea market 'collectable' booths. They just never 'caught' with me, mostly for the same reason Madame Alexander dolls don't grab me either. It's usually the same doll, over and over and over, just the outfits, hair, and sometimes makeup change. Ever seen the Alexander Star Wars set ? It's cute as heck, if you don't mind that the only thing that separates Luke and Han from Leia is that her mouth is painted smaller than theirs. The fellas are nearly identical, save for hair color. Heck, the three I've seen even gave Luke the same brown eyes Han & Leia have. Error !

LDDs probably have several head/body molds in use, but when you see a bunch together, it's like a Madame Alexander display - you can't help but notice they all look the same, even though this one's dripping blood down her dress and that one has an 8-ball for an eye. I'm sure they're quality dolls, but I'm simply not interested in paying big bucks for the same doll over and over again in slightly varying appearances. One of the things I like about MH is that, so far, no two dolls have had the same head mold. And while it bugs me sometimes, I kinda respect that each one has his/her own wardrobe style that often doesn't look 'right' on another doll. Get a bunch of nude, mussed-hair LDDs or Alexanders in a pile, and you'd probably be hard-pressed to identify which one wore the Marie Antoinette gown and which one was the executioner.

Not much else going on, so I'm gonna post this early before I get drained. Dearest Son and Beloved are so patient with me, but I'm tired of being tired already. Maybe I'll generate some energy if I use some. Can't hurt - much !

Insomnia Deluxe

Current Mood : With a side-order of no energy.

Current Image Notes : This is an album by Ben Lee. Have no idea who he is or what he sings, but I really like it !

Whoo. Heckuva last week or so. Still having major sleep issues, and with that big ole no-energy issues - it's not only hard to write anything interesting about how I sat around watching American Pickers episodes, it was hard to sit upright long enough to write that one simple sentence. Last night, I dreamt some nebulous thing was trying to kill me in my sleep, so I stayed up all night. You'd think I'd get some prime writing time in - or at least dress a few dolls, but when there's maybe two hours of sleep between you and the last 36 hours, oddly, ya don't feel like doing much. Even with the inhaler, I'm basically a slug, and have been for about two weeks now.

Still, I really should have dropped a short note in. Didn't mean to worry anyone, but when yer too wiped out to even cut/paste an already-written entry and image, you probably need to take yourself out of as many outgoing social engagements as possible, no matter how lightly taxing they may be.

But I feel some energy returning, and just in time to do battle with yet another round of Prescription Wars, so that was today's 'Must Do'. (sigh) And yes, there's issues. The refills I already had on file are fine, the one I have on file but haven't had filled yet is AWOL. Even though I called last week and was reassured it was there, now that I'll need it soon, it's gone. Arrrgh.

Here's the deal. On my last Dr. visit, nearly a year ago, they kindly gave me enough freebies of the expensive script to last nearly a year, but they also wrote out the script and it was submitted to the pharmacy with the others. I got one set of refills - minus the $$$ one - before the pharm lost all my scripts, and they had to be called in again. Got two more sets, still not needing the $$$ one, all's well, except now potassium isn't $4./month, it's now $20. And still, no one can tell me why. But anyway.

We moved, and I got a set of refills, but while I didn't need the $$$ one, I verified it was there waiting. So, of course, now that I need it, it's gone. They only show the one that expired in 2010. (sigh) Pharm is supposed to call when they find the correct one, or when the Dr. authorizes a refill again. I'm sure they love me at the Dr.'s office right now. They're probably still growly about the inhaler kerfluffle.

Speaking of the new inhaler, it still works very well, and I don't think it's the reason I'm morphing into Jabba the Hutt's green-eyed sister. About two years ago, I had a similar spring/summer, and about all I could do was ride it out. At least now, I got Netflix for entertainment ! The directions aren't just whistling around when they tell ya to clean the thing weekly, either. Evidently, the finer mist clogs easily, and it doesn't take much before you're getting only part of a dose instead of a whole one. Luckily, a water rinse and a quick scrub with a cotton swab takes care of business. And I can already tell by pressure, scent, and taste when I'm not getting all I should. It's amazing how quickly we adjust.

Well, not much else to write about. Got some laundry done today, including two new-to-us pillows from a job site. Homeowners are sprucing up their place to sell it, and that always involves going through the closets and thinning the herds. The lady of the house kindly offered the still-in-plastic pillows to Beloved a few days ago, but I just today had the energy for laundry, and those were first on the list. Well, them and socks and underwear. It's been a bit since I washed clothes... Anyway, they came out great and I can't wait to try them out. They're quite firmer than what either of us are used to, but maybe it'll help me sleep a bit better. Can't hurt to try !

Happy June !

Current Mood : I agree with the monkey ! 

Hard to believe it's Wednesday already. Even though Beloved Hubby didn't really take Monday off, he had a short day, so it seemed like an extended weekend to me. Anyway...

Happy June ! Hard to believe it's June already, too. The local school system is moving to a year-round schedule, so the kids only have off two months this summer, and one the next. While I hated the endless summers as a kid - we lived so far out into the sticks, it was a half-hour drive to a small and crappy general store halfway to town - I kinda feel bad that they don't get much time off anymore. But heck, the kids were out of their braincases bored when we had those weeks of snow, so I figure the schools are just doin' their jobs.

One brief bit o' bad, then I'm moving as far away from it as possible - did my normal 'wake up rounds' online this morning. Nothing unusual. Read a few online comics, amass a few points at Designs By SiCK embroidery, look for new friends' photos at Flickr, check a Monster High site or two for any new news. I should have known this was coming. First MH message of the day, I kid you not : "It's June now, so Spectra BETTER be at Wal-Mart or Target today, OR ELSE !". (sigh)

Moving on...got about four hours sleep last night, which is the most I've had in so long, I can't remember ! I only needed about four 'hits' on the inhaler all day yesterday, although admittedly, I didn't do or move much on Tuesday. Still, it's an improvement, and I'll gladly take it !

Been reading 'Thrift Store Dolls' (http://thriftstoredolls.blogspot.com), and enjoying all the neat photos and brief slices of doll provenances. Makes me kinda miss my 'scoop it all up and drag boxes and bags home' yard sale and flea market Barbie days. Well, just a little. But it is nice to remember, and see someone else still getting to enjoy it all.

Couple that up with a few more episodes of Hoarders, though, and I think I was on the verge of trouble when everything hit the fan and we moved. Well, it was never as bad as what's on A&E - things were often cluttered, but the kitchen and bathrooms were never non-functional or covered in nasty, and trash may have piled up, but it was out on the curb on Trash Day - but unchecked, I could have developed behaviors very similar to what's on darn near every episode. Most of my personal junk/hoard was confined to the doll and sewing Lab, but if you knew how packed to the rafters that place was, you'd have dropped a dime to A&E on my behalf. I'm still amazed that 1) I got rid of so much when we moved and 2) I had so much to get rid of, and still have nearly 100 dolls today.

Part of me is secretly glad I don't shop like I used to - weekly flea markets and thrift store runs, and organized yard sale circuits. I already feel random twinges of guilt when I think of all I spent on stuff I don't have anymore, and don't even miss. Beloved is more philosophical about it - if I enjoyed it while I had it, then it wasn't a waste. And part of me still wants a day every week - or two - to poke around as I please, even when I know we don't have the resources yet. I'd probably be a bit more at ease if I had the mental shape to sew, but I know it's not there right now. Although I'm nearly off the inhaler, my hands still shake, and I'm still wheezing, and my mind is in a holding pattern somewhere over Dunnowhattheh#ll. I think that's near the Great Lakes - it's quite humid.

It sounds weird to say, but I'm still grateful we had a financial crisis that yanked me up by the collar before I really did some serious damage. At least now, I can look back and see things a bit more clearly than I would have otherwise. And this place is much easier to keep clean - which is a plus, since I hate cleaning ! (grin)