See ya soon, Howleen !

Current Mood : Relieved. 

We’re both nearly back to normal, just still tired. Dearest Son still shows no signs of it, so we’re gonna say it passed and be grateful. Heavens know Chez Insanity would have been far worse.

The MH message board – on a MLP board, if you can imagine ! – was curious about Howleen, so I took photos of her wearing tall regular-ghoul boots in response to one query. She can wear them, although her slightly smaller feet don’t quite ‘stand’ in the boot right. With her leg straight, the sole of the shoe doesn’t rest flat on the floor/ stand / ground. That’s easily fixed with a slight knee bend, but I figured they’d like to know. She also fits regular high-heels, but there’s a noticeable gap between Howleen’s heel and the shoe heel, kinda like she raided big-sis’ closet. It’s easy to angle photos to eliminate it. In open-toe heels, her toes don’t show, but that doesn’t always matter. And, as shown in today’s photo, she can wear a lot of Clawdeen-sized clothes, too. Isn’t she perfect in DracuLaura’s Scaris wear ?

So if you’re so sick of seeing Howleen that you want one, don’t worry, you won’t need to buy much for her ! The Dance Class version doesn’t include a stand - which seems silly to me, if there’s a line that’s gonna be posed, it’s one that comes with dance clothes – but she fits the standard ghoul one, no problem. If you’re so sick of seeing her, you don’t want one, it’s all good – I’ll move on to another ghoul tomorrow ! 

There's a Barbie I want. Seriously, I'm as surprised about it as you are !

Current Mood : Surprise ! There she is - 

Still ill, but improving slowly, both me and Beloved Hubby. With Dearest Son’s help – he was never sick at all, thank Everything ! -  I got the trash out and the laundry put away, so things are starting to smell better already ! Dishes, however…(sigh) It took me three ‘waves’, with a lot of rest in between them, but I got them all done today. They’d really piled up while we were sickest.

Beloved came home with great news – we’re going to the ballet next week ! His school is hosting a dinner and performance by the City Ballet, and he got tickets for Valentine’s Day ! It’s also just after our anniversary (big 15 this year, babies !), too, and DM & FIL have already volunteered to hang with Dearest that evening. I’ve never been to a live ballet before – I was sighing a bit about that while watching Princess Tutu a few weeks back – so I’m really excited ! I have no idea what they’re presenting, but I really don’t care, I’m just thrilled I get to see it ! More as I learn it.

And I’ve forgotten about Toy Fair again. It’s no real surprise, since Mattel seems to want to feature Barbie at Toy Fair and MH at San Diego Comic Con, and I’m sure there’s reasons beyond the few I came up with. But, even so, they’ve got a new Barbie coming out that intrigues me. Pictured today is both ‘talking’ and slightly cheaper silent Raquelle – I’m sure there’ll be further refinements as she gets closer to ship date. She’s part of the Life in the Dreamhouse doll series, and beyond that, I don’t know much. But I adore that quirk to her smile ! I may actually have to reserve $17. out of my MH funds for a Barbie – first time for that since 2010, I think ! Back then, it was my Barbie funds getting sapped for these weird new dolls…

If you’d like to see more Mattel has in store – including a digital dress Barbie (shoving  high-tech into simple toys never really sells or lasts, even I know that !) and some MH Thirteen Wishes dolls – peek in here and click around. The ‘As Seen at Toy Fair’ has a list of links for all kinds of soon-to-be wishes and daydreams ! No Ghoulias to be seen at all, though. But anyway, go peek at the high-res images there. I’ll be here when you get back.

Hard to believe I don’t get paid for that. Anyway…so far, the only new thing that’s sparked my interest is Raquelle, and that’s because because her mouth is so unusual. The 13 Wishes line looks neat, but I don’t really care about the new characters yet, and while the old familiars look great, I’m already swimming in their outfits. The new CAM lab – Color Me Creepy - is intriguing, but I’m not sure if I have the space for it. Makes me glad I traded Frankie’s bed, though, since the new Lab has most of the same features I liked about the bed - if I do decide to go for it. It’s under ‘Girls’ on that site, not Toy Fair or even MH. But between ‘eeh’ and ‘meh’, I’m really not enthused so far.

I swear, I think I’m really starting to feel my fever for MH fade, because so far, I’m glad I got what I did, happy I kept it all, and I don’t want much more. Just a few more boyfiends…

I suppose it was inevitable...

Current Mood : Read on - 

...but I feel like I caught Beloved Hubby's malady. Flu, virus, whatever, I feel like crud. So, while I sleep like a corpse, here's a photo of Howleen and her new Hula Hoop*. Enjoy your night !

  

*It’s actually one of the plastic bracelets from the Favor pack I bought Sunday. But at least I found a use for the much-too-small-for-me things ! 

Play day !

Current Mood : Playful

Well, she is ! 

Beloved Hubby’s feeling better by degrees, but getting back to his usual robustness has been slow going. So I was glad he took today off and just rested. We spent all my fun money yesterday, time to play with it all ! Found places for the pencils, stored the Valentines cards for later, pulled out some stickers, opened the Winx packs and put new shoes on Howleen, prepared the fat quarter for the laundry. Beloved claimed one of the favor-pack tops, and had fun spinning it on the table beside the sofa for a good fifteen, twenty minutes. He and Dearest Son ended up having top fights for a few minutes more.

The yellow boots Winx set is great. The headband sports a logo-shaped butterfly, but the figure pops right off. Two look headband ! The boots fit Howleen so perfectly, I got her to stand alone in them. But they kinda look ‘hot’ with a swimsuit, and not in a good way, so I put her in the new pink bow sandals instead.

I can tell you that Target’s house brand Market Pantry “Chickadee Crackers” are a very good approximation of Pepperidge Farms’ “Goldfish”. The taste is nearly the same, they’re just flat, and not as ‘poofy’ and air-filled as Goldfish. They’re shaped much like the Twitter logo, and I enjoyed imaging I was eating twits Tweets. About 70c cheaper for the same amount of crunchy cheezy goodness.

I asked to borrow Luna for a quick photo, and took that one. Now I’m thinking of doing more, kind of a ‘ghoul and her pony’ kinda thing. What’cha think ?

Ok. So. Catrine. I’ve decided against obtaining one. Can’t find one, not gonna hunt one down, don’t really care anything about the character, too little space = not feeling the need for Catrine. I realized early enough this go-round that I was craving ‘new’ not specifically Catrine herself. Heck, I knew something was up when I was seriously considering snagging the were-cat Fearleader set from TRU. Still, the big decision maker came when I read Catrine’s bio page, and nothing struck me. There was nothing described there that melted me in the slightest. It wasn’t enough that she was a cat, a white cat, she was pretty with pretty clothes, or big eyes. She was just another doll to me, not even a character, really. To contrast, back when she came out, I didn’t want Cupid, and resisted her until she was shown leading a radio show. What I used to do in my much-much-younger days. I resisted Operetta until I caught her Southern twang and passion for grits. Sure, it was played for gags, but when I noticed her hair was done up in 40s-vintage victory rolls…aaahh ! Want !

Thing is, each MH character hosts a part of me in them. It sounds amazingly self-centered, but it’s true, at least for me. Even Cleo’s ‘mean girl’ persona kinda reminds me of my own snarkiness and obliviousness, especially at that age. The dolls that don’t appeal don’t mean anything or don’t harbor any of my history in them. That’s how it was easy for me to pass along Toralei – even taking a chance on buying her in hopes that she’d grow on me, or as I learned more about her, I’d love her…failed. I didn't wanna be Toralei, and I just couldn't separate the doll from that notion. That’s why 'me = my dolls' isn't the case for everyone, thank Everything, and it probably doesn't work at all for kids. If it were universally true, some dolls would never find a good home ! Plus it'd be a lot harder to sell some others. 

It’s also why I don’t have very many Create A Monsters. It’s hard to remember their character points and flaws you yourself gave them when you often forget their names !

In an unrelated note, I’m also not getting that MH-themed $20. collapsible tote. Ticked me off too much when every other character one – from Mickey Mouse to SpongeBob to Dora – the exact same size from the exact same manufacturer, is only $14. Forget that !

Wish I could keep all this money I’m saving…

Oh. Superbowl Sunday was today ? Explains a few things...

Current Mood : Happy, but still worried about Beloved. 

Beloved Hubby woke up weak, but feeling better, so I ran out for orange juice and a few tempting treats so he’ll eat. When he’s sick, it’s like getting the Earth to move orbits to get him to even nibble on anything. So I got a few fave fruits and snacks, and arranged them on the dining area table for him. Predictably, he called this foul play. As he poured some juice and reached for a bowl.

Actually, everyone was tired this morning. I was so worried about him, I barely slept, and Dearest Son had picked up the house headache. So we all complained, watched some random TV shows on Netflix (I think there was some MacGyver in there somewhere), ate and napped ‘til early afternoon. Beloved read instead of slept, so he was ready for a nap when Dearest and I were finishing up before heading out to Target and Mal-Wart. I had a short list of things we needed, and off we went !


Was hoping to slip between the post-Church crowd and the pre-game muddle, but we ended up in the middle of both. It was like a week before Christmas. At least it was still fun ! 

Dearest found the new Princess Luna pony, packed with another Rarity – I think he has three that size now – and I helped him with it financially, in exchange for exclusive photo shoots with Luna. Truth to tell, I kinda want a Luna m’self, but it seems kinda silly to have two of ‘em in the house. Our local Target had the Power Ghouls superheroines, but I really wasn’t much interested. They also had some Scaris, but no Deuces, and all the Frankies had wild, awful hair. If all three of ‘em weren’t almost the same, I’d swear they’d been removed from the packaging, had something like sunglasses removed, and then taped back up. It was a shame.

Finally saw the blanket. Nope. For whatever reason, the size is listed as larger on the website. It’s also that slightly furry material that just felt off to me, so I’m not getting it. Glad I got to see it before I ordered it !

Even the Valentines section was a wash – I was hunting for the MH ones with pencils, not the ones with ‘blood drip’ hot pink bracelets. That kinda rustled me a bit, because if it were red instead of pink (and even that was kinda hard to tell), it’d look like a kid cut his/her wrists if they wore ‘em. Ick. No My Little Pony cards at all, which is odd. Did they just not make them this year ? We’ve looked in several stores at other times and not found any yet.

Got our shopping list accomplished and headed on to Mal-Wart. Yes, I managed to clear a Target without buying anything with MH on it or for it. Celebrate the moment, ‘cause it didn’t last long. I went nutz at Mal-Wart ! Found the MH pencil valentines – still no MLP ! -  and got a second Favors pack, so I could quit worrying about whether or not I should get it for more of those little doll-sized Decomposition Books. This one has stickers, rings, and tops instead of the Party City one’s lip whistles, prisms, and doll-size DracuLaura skateboards. The tops are actually well-balanced, btw.

Also found the other two Winx wings and shoes set, in the markdown section, again for just $2. each. Howleen now has all three, with today’s pink bow and yellow boots purchase. They only had two more of them left. I got the last yellow boots pair, which I didn’t have before, and they fit Howleen so well, she could stand unassisted in them. She can fit the pink and blue pairs, too, without even a boil soak, but they’re open-toe sandals, and her toes don’t show. Ah, well.

Also in with the markdowns were some MH folders, so I got the two I liked best for 50c each. The fabric section is getting sneaky. This one doesn’t have a cutting table, just precuts in with the Crafts section, and I found several fat quarters I liked. But the price sticker behind them said they were $3., instead of the usual 97c. I looked again – these were half-yard pieces, and there were full-yards, too, folded up small and looking just like the fat quarters. Huh. Put the one I had down and got the pink leopard spot quarter, because I can get a lotta use outta that one !

Figures. No Catrine (more later), no new Create A Monster, not much Scaris – but I still manage to spend nearly twenty bucks on MH stuff – or stuff for the MH  I already have !

Tell ya tomorrow about my Catrine decision. I’ve already written a book tonight ! 

No snow at Howleen's beach !

Current Mood : Worried over Beloved, who's ill...

I got three e-mails from TRU, offering me a 20% off any one toy coupon, then reminding me to use it or lose it, today only. Feh. Twenny percent off simply puts their prices where everyone else’s (Mal-Wart, Tar-zhay) already are, and those other stores are often better stocked besides. Not impressed, TRU.

They also trumpeted the return of their ‘no upfront fees’ layaway. Ya’ll know me, I hit the ‘see more’ instantly on that one. Uh-huh. Non-refundable $5. service charge, a 20% deposit, and all taxes are payable up front. Tell me again, TRU, how that’s a no-fee up front layaway ? My University sadly didn’t require a semester of econ – I wish they had – so I may be a bit slow on the uptake of how that works. Sure glad there’s no up front fees !

Besides, Beloved Hubby worked all day and came home sick. No way was I buggin’ him about going anywhere today. Made sure he had fluids and medicine – glad we restocked on chicken noodle soup this week ! – and let him rest.

Yet, even with him tucked in and Dearest Son absorbed in playing his old Wii games again, I just couldn’t go back to the swimsuit pattern. I know, hit me with a fish, you’ve heard all this before. But I at least got off my butt and cut the legs off Howleen’s Dance Class outfit. I soon wished I hadn’t. Y’see, I’m lazy (no, really ! ) and didn’t want to pick the threads sewing the legs to the leotard, because then I’d have to sew the hem back. So, very carefully, I cut the legs…and cut into the leotard once on each leg, in different places and for different reasons, of course, and still had to sew a hem on each leg hole to repair the snips. Arrrgh.

But it’s done, and I like it much better. Haven’t done anything to her hair, save to pull it back into a single ponytail, for the photo. Those little claw hands are kind of a pain, they always look like they should be grasping something. I had a really neat photo all done and edited when I realized she really should have a soda or something in her upraised hand, the image somehow looked unfinished with it empty. And you can imagine how much fun balancing a rather heavy plastic cup in her soft vinyl hands, attached to not very tight arms. Messing with that messed up her hair, changed her posture, moved her head, required new positioning….I think I spent more time on that photo than I did hand-sewing those leg hems !

But it’s done and I’m happy with it. Beloved’s home all day tomorrow, thank Everything. I plan on letting him get lots of rest and reading ! And if he has a nice afternoon nap, maybe Dearest Son and I might sneak out to Target…

Happy February !

Current Mood : Achy, breaky, head.

Well, I can now say that Bluetooth devices are a PITA. We finally got the dongle Dearest Son’s wireless birthday headphones required – and it was a real pain to get it to work. Beloved Hubby finally did, but then we made the mistake of trying his headphones out on my computer, and they were great ! But getting them to work on Dearest’s computer again was a cluster bomb, and I had to do a near-full reinstall to use them on mine again. Although he’s shy about admitting it, I don’t think he enjoys them as much as we thought, so we may trade. I still have my corded $20. Sonys, and he loves them so much, he broke his nearly identical pair. H likes to wildly dance around with YouTube videos, which often strains the cord. We thought cordless would be the way to go, but even I’ll admit, these aren’t very comfortable.

While I have to admit that sewing was a no-go today – I’m still getting ‘floaters’ in my line of sight occasionally, and I have a massive headache starting. So instead of showing some new stuff I didn’t make, please enjoy a photo of Howleen with her hair down, wearing a gathered scrap experimental blouse. See ya tomorrow !