School day, school day...

 

Current Mood : Worn out

Current Image Notes : PhotoFunia.com is a lot of fun ! 

 

Never got to Laundry Day. It became Dishes and School Volunteering Day instead. Was doing some banking when my phone rang - had I forgotten ? Well, I remembered yesterday, but yeah, it'd slipped me again on the day. Oh, well. Finished up what I was doing - and got the white glue I wanted for the fridge magnet project - and headed over.

 

First volunteer of the year is always a mess. Half the others forgot, too, and they're not answering their phones. And stuff's been backed up since before the break. So I was there a while. But at least we got it mostly caught up, and if maybe three folks show up between now and Friday, we should be all caught up. Here's hoping.

 

Once it was done for another month (or at least a week or two), I wandered the Dollar General across the street for a few. Saw some lovely star-shaped wire baskets in the 50% off Christmas section, but I'd as soon wait for a bigger discount. It's not imperative that I own yet another star basket at this time. I did splurge a bit and got a packet of pistachio nuts for a buck, and they were delicious. It's always the small luxuries that make a day.

 

Worked on a few small projects once home. The magnetic sheets were too weak to support the glass ‘gem', which I'd kinda figured. Found some more powerful magnets and attached those with SuperGlue. While I had that out, I decided to try to put tiny screw eyes into some Happy Meal Barbie miniatures. That was a complete failure, even when I heated a needle to start a ‘pilot' hole. SuperGlue may as well have been water. Just have to think of another way...

 

Got the trash can out and around, which included dumping the cat box and adding wind-blown branches from the front yard, all while waiting for Dearest Son's bus. Got to watch DC track and play with a mouse - and he was the size of a two-week-old kitten ! - before the mouse ran under something DC couldn't follow. I was actually kind of impressed with the grey mouse - despite DC nipping at him, he kept swiping at his tormentor, which always made DC back off a bit.

 

Came in after Dearest's return, and did some minor housework. I think the saying about the kitchen being the heart of the house may be true - I always feel better when ours is clean enough to cook in. Of course, I always say that after I've let it go to you-know-where for a week or two, but I'm trying to keep things from sliding too far into squalor. Using the ‘Degrees of Squalor' scale, found at www.squalorsurvivors.com, I've never let it get past Second Degree, but that earns me no stars in my crown. Third Degree is just plain nasty ! I tend to look at that site when I start to fall into the ‘Oh, why bother - I can't keep up with the messes, so why clean this one ?' line of thinking. It's sometimes the start of a minor depression, so I gotta keep on it.

 

So, not much time for dolls today, and little chance tomorrow, since I never got to the laundry. But I still hope to have a bit of sewing time ! In addition to keeping up with the dishes, I want to keep up with my sewing, too !

Maybe I'm sensitive to wood glue...?

 

Current Mood : Bad headache. Bye ! 

Current Image Notes : Here's a McD's coloring sheet, with the ad edited out. Have fun !

 

After my little spree yesterday, I made darn sure to stay home today ! It was sooo tempting to run out for just a minute, especially when I couldn't find that bottle of school glue we had around the place not long ago. But I stayed the course, used the wood glue I found, and still had fun, and got a lot done !

 

It was laundry day here at Chez Insanity, and four loads have gone through. Only dirty clothes are what's on our backs ! I'll spend most of tomorrow getting it all put away. Salvaged an old laundry basket we had on the back porch - it's on it's last legs, but it's still useful in the laundry room. Beloved Hubby was using it for something, but he doesn't need it anymore. Swept the porch and walks while waiting for Dearest Son's bus.

 

Finished updating the Barbie Pattern Catalog today, after cleaning and printing the last five pattern images. The last one took forever ! But that's done now. Shaped one of the magnet sheets to fit over the Lab vent, and it works perfectly. Now I can sew without torturing my feet, and it pulls up easily. The magnet part is facing down - I could even decorate this thing if I wanted to - and I think it's far enough away that it won't be a risk to any computerized functions in the sewing machine. Actually, though, my machine is so basic, I don't think it has any to risk !

 

That gave me an inch-wide strip of magnet to work with, so I selected a glass ‘Accent Gem' and started scouting around for a suitable image for my trial run. Could be anything, except possibly something from my printer. Inkjet images always run when they come into contact with anything wet. This is what I used the wood glue on. Next time I'm out, though, I'm gonna snag some cheap Elmer's. This thick yellow stuff is taking an eternity to dry.

 

Found those DPrincess trading cards that came with Happy Meals a few months ago. Interesting ! Had three Snow White ones, so I got the worst of the lot and started cutting. Spread the glue on with a small paintbrush, both pieces, then weighted ‘em down and waited. Waited some more. Still waiting, it's still wet. But it should be dry tomorrow, and so far, so good ! Cut a piece of magnet to fit - and the paper backing came off. Guess what ? Adhesive on the magnet sheets is completely dried up. Goss only knows how long Dollar Tree has had these, for that to happen ! No big deal, was gonna use other adhesive for the magnet in any case, but it's still funny. And a darn good thing my projects weren't dependent on the sticky back part of the magnet sheets !

Would you believe I brought two *more* dolls home today... ?

 

Current Mood : Satisfied

 

Spent on dolls : $4.82

Spent on crafts : $2.15

Spent on fun leftover Disney Princess / Cars Christmas junk : $9.07

 

Current Image Notes : This is a Ballerina Barbie paper doll I downloaded. Then I added one of her outfits - I think it's the Snowflake dress. 

 

Gosh, didn't I have a fun little spending spree ? I also picked up some groceries and misc. besides, but they didn't count !

 

Forgot to refill the water jugs when I went grocery shopping yesterday, so it was over to Mal-Wart this morning. It seems silly to refill, but why toss out jugs then buy ‘em again ? Besides, with winter comes crap weather, so it's never really a bad idea to have drinkable water ready to go. I tend to buy a gallon or two of M-W drinking water once or twice a month, and use it for cooking. We're on a well, and... let's just say I'm hyper-concerned about Dearest Son, and leave it at that. A fresh jug is 67c. Filtered refills are 33c. And, the more money I save, the more there is for my stuff !

 

With that in mind, I decided to check the holiday leftovers again. Now everything was 75% off, and they really meant it this time ! Found a mini whisk attached to an egg nog mix bag, and snagged it - Beloved Hubby's been looking for a tiny whisk for a while. And heck, one day, we might even want egg nog. Found two Cars photo frame ornaments, less than $1.50 each, and sparkly DPrincess frame ornaments. They were originally $7.50, but I snagged the Belle and Snow ones for $1.87 each. Also got a ‘jelly ball' miniature snowglobe with Cinderella inside, for 50c. It lights up like a disco !

 

I thought I was done when I spotted a box of copper-colored ball-shaped ornaments, marked down to $1.25. Beloved's favorite color is orange, and these were darn close to orange. He always says there's no ornaments in ‘his' color - wait ‘til next year. I'm thinking of decorating a few during the year...

 

Pleased with the new acquisitions, I stopped by the Thrift. Completed my circuit quickly, since it'd only been a few days since I was last there. The Barbie bins didn't look any different, but I decided to dig through anyway. I was nearly done with the last one when I saw a familiar skirt. It looked just like Snow White's - I'd bought her there last month, and here's another one ?

 

Not quite. This was Sparkle Gem Princess Belle ! Same fabric, same glitter design, only her gems were pink, instead of red like Snow's. Her hair was yanked into a tangled ponytail, and as usual, her jewelry and shoes were AWOL, but otherwise, she appeared brand-new. Sharing space in the $3.99 bag was a male doll wearing Royal Style Beast's mask and padded coat - with blue shorts and no shoes. Hmmm. Couldn't tell if it was RS Beast or not, but heck, I could put any Ken in the costume - which also looked near-new. Decided to buy that set, and also a cute beanie-style American Airlines plane. For sentimental reasons.

 

Dollar Tree was also fun. Found the window clings I used for the tail end of December's entries on half price, but it's not like I needed ‘em ! Most of the leftover holiday stuff was outside. Found the clear ‘Accent Gems' I wanted for a project. They're basically glass bubbles with flat backs and curved fronts. I've seen them used for photo fridge magnets - you glue the image to the flat back, and once it's dry, attach yer magnet. These are nice and big, too. I'd have loved to use the green ones, but those aren't transparent. Gotta have transparent.

 

Found magnet sheets, too - two 6" by 9" ones. One of them's going over the vent in the Lab. Depending on the season, my feet either freeze or roast when I sew.  What can I say, I'm the one who wanted the sewing machine in front of the window. With the magnet sheet covering most of the vent, it shouldn't be so extreme anymore. The rest go to the fridge magnet project !

 

Once home (and near-broke !), I heated up some leftovers for lunch and examined my new dolls. Belle's hair is still in the factory set under the ponytail, and a bit of brushing had her like new. The clear elastic that once held her jewelry down is still across her shoulders. Very pretty doll. For some reason, she was wearing Crystal Fairytopia Barbie's pink sparkly snap-on breastplate over her signature gold dress. I'll probably donate that - the huge purple ‘gemstone' butterfly is kinda weird.

 

Under the Beast's mask, the male doll turned out to be Beach Glam Ken. Oh, well. Still a good-lookin' fella, he just looks a lot like Surf's Up Beach Ken, a guy I got for Christmas last year. Maybe I'll recolor his eyes or something... Y'know, Mattel can change skin tone and eye color and have a nearly completely different looking Barbie. But almost all Caucasian Kens look the same no matter what their hair and eye colors are. Odd.

 

And it also seems that I'm amassing quite the collection of ‘mask' dolls. First was the Star Wars Amidala doll - doll's gone, but her costume and mask are still here. Then there was the Ogre/Princess Fiona doll from Shrek. While this isn't my first Beast doll, it is the first I've had with a mask. I bought the 1991 doll fresh off the shelves, but never opened him. He's been lost to me since '98. Wedding Prince - who's now Inaba with a wig - didn't come with Beast accoutrements. So it's funny to me that I now have a Beast mask, that has to be brushed. Seriously, it's got gorgeous Barbie hair rooted in it. It has a curl set into it and everything.

 

Finally got all the dishes done, too. And general day-to-day life has resumed the usual pattern. Whew ! I'm glad it's all over for another year.

 

Current Mood : growing exhaustion...

 

Another fun day, mostly around the house. Finally got the grocery shopping done, and had a chance to look through holiday leftovers and sale stuff. Nothin'. Most of the toys on markdown here are Dora and Bratz, and even those are the big ones that no one seems to buy, ever. The holiday craft stuff is still full-price. But I got the chow for the week under budget, and even used coupons from the newspaper. So far, the paper's paid for itself and saved us a buck extra.

 

Spent some quality time in the Lab, bundling up the recently-washed fabrics. Haven't bought any in a while, but I haven't been tying it up, either, so that needed to get done. Here's a giggle - I used the stray pieces of yarn I saved, the ones that came with the Barbie Knit Hits knitting machine. Used ‘em all, too.

 

Also image-edited and printed out two more pages for the Barbie Pattern Catalog. Only have about one more page to do, and it's updated. Now I'm really glad I didn't bid on that Japanese pattern book. Whenever I think I need more, all I really need is to go through what I already have !

 

And, it looks like I survived the first non-holiday yard-sale-free weekend. Believe it or not, there were some this weekend, but they were in other towns too far away. I'm even thinking of skipping my usual Monday visit to the thrift store, since I barely have room or time for what I have already. Since we're back to normal schedule tomorrow, and I need to drop something off at Dearest Son's school, I may visit Dollar Tree while I'm in the area instead.

 

Well, back to the dishes. More I get done today, less I gotta do tomorrow. Plus, I gotta make up for not getting off my duff all weekend !

Christmas is officially over - the tree has been Garaged !

 

Current Mood : whimsical

Current Image Notes : It's not every day your name's on the cover of a 70s comic book ! I really need to research who 'Bobby Sherman' is, though...

 

Well, about all I can say for today is that I took down the Christmas tree and stored for another year. Had to do it today, while Dearest Son was gone. He knew I would, but it's always better if it's a done deal by the time he's home tomorrow. Used two cardboard spools I emptied from the yard sale lace fest to wrap the lights. And the long bag Dollar Tree gave me for the wrapping paper I bought now shields the tree ‘trunk' from garage dust.

 

Was tidying up the living room a bit when I found the doll clothes that the thrift store bundled with Tippee Toes. Decided to take a second look at them. Yes, every last item save for a decent baby blanket was too big for the doll it came with, and three of the shirts were still cheap, dirty, snagged nylon in designs I sincerely disliked, so my dolls would never wear them. Into the donations bin they went ! But three other shirts and the  blanket had potential. One, a denim a-line sleeveless shirt, was made by Bear Stuffers, but with a bit of side-seam alteration, it'll fit the Princess Dorrie and the LDPs just fine. A yellow long-sleeved turtleneck, made by the ‘Made in China' toy factory, will also fit them with a bit of alteration and sleeve-tucking. The third is tagged by and for Bitty Baby dolls - those are kinda pricey, and were sold by American Girls, not sure if they're still sold now that Mattel owns ‘em. In any case, there's several patterns made for them, and I've been wondering if their outfits would fit Timey and Dottie. Probably not, those sleeves are awfully narrow for them. But it does fit, if rather baggily, on the LDPs. Again, sleeves are too long, but that's a simple fix. So, bonus ! Not bad, a doll and three blouses and a blanket for $1.99 !

 

I also pulled out the Barbie Pattern Catalog I made last summer, and typed up a full index. Made a list of the new additions that haven't been cataloged yet, too. So I have that going on for tomorrow. This may or may not amaze you - the Catalog is over 220 pages long. And it's only Barbie patterns. Doesn't include the ones I have for Elphie and Fiyero, for Timey and Dottie, for the LDPs, for the MSBs, or Baby Chrissy, or Crissy, or any of the other dolls I have patterns for. Just Barbie. Whew.

 

You know, one day, I'll have to make a separate Doll Clothes Pattern Catalog...

The Second slipped away from me !

 

Current Mood : Relaxed

 

Not much doll-related went on today, either. Played with the kitties, read some websites, watched old DVDs with Beloved Hubby, made lunch and dinner. Things are still kinda tight for us, but I'm trying to think positively, and make small changes that don't seem like much, but will eventually add up. Every little thing can matter, after all.

 

Last year, where we really screwed up, was eating out. We love it ! Unfortunately, it's not something we need to do as much as we did last year. So I'm re-finding my limited cooking skills, planning menus, and grocery lists to fit the menus. Even posted dinner for the week on the kitchen whiteboard. Y'see, if I ask the guys what they want to eat, we won't dine until 9pm. They never know what they want, just what they don't want. Well, with advance menu planning, it's easier on everyone. If the main course isn't a favorite, have some salad or double up on the side dishes. Or suggest a dessert, or even pack extra for lunch or snack. I just hate the floundering around part. If I know we're gonna have spaghetti, I can have it on the table at a decent dinner hour. If I haven't a clue, it's gonna take forever.

 

Beloved Hubby urged me to go out if I was restless, but I wanted to do the menu and grocery shopping first, before I do any recreational spending. I have the grocery list ready to go, and once that's done, I may head out afterwards. Not really much I want locally, though. I mostly just want to look around Dollar Tree and maybe GoodWill. Since Target jacked up my rice crackers to a ridiculous price, I find myself not going there very often.

 

I'm thinking of saving up for a trio of MAD doll stands. The main advantage they have over the usual Mattel ones is that the base is transparent, and not an inch thick. Maybe a quarter-inch. With the doll positioned well, they're nearly invisible. I'd like to have a couple, so I don't have to prop my dolls up against something for photos. Shipped within the States, three would be $22. Don't think I'd ever need more than that many. Anyone have any experience with these ?  http://www.madaboutb.com/main.html

 

Tomorrow's gonna be busy. Along with groceries, I plan to take down the Christmas tree, and wash dishes. I won the latest battle with the trash guys - I wasn't sure when ours was getting picked up, so I shoved it out Wednesday afternoon. It was picked up at 7:25am today. I think I'll just start pushing it out there when I'm bus-watching on Wednesdays.

 

Ah, this mad, thrill-a-minute life ! When will I ever be immune to its charms ? (smile)

 

Happy '09, Ya'll !

 

Current Mood : Happy

 

Hey, ya'll ! Hope you had a great first day of '09. I spent it by doing whatever I wanted to - at least, whatever that didn't involved shopping ! I honestly believed everything was closed today, so I updated the music on my Mp3 player, cleaned images off the camera's memory chip, cleaned out desk drawers, ate a week's worth of chocolate truffles at a sitting, and read a lot. In short, I blew off what I was supposed to do, and just futzed around. Had fun walking down memory lanes with half-forgotten music, reading end-of-the-year stuff - I really liked the LOLCats' resolution video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsJYrW9Ylb0, or on the legendary home page of I Can Has Cheezeburger, www.icanhascheezburger.com .

 

Beloved Hubby finally chowed down on some truffles, too, so now the box is half-empty and it's not completely my fault. Removed the empty dark brown paper cups, and folded them into small triangles I cut with an old pair of Dearest Son's school scissors, until they looked like lacy brown snowflakes. Once I had them all cut and unfolded, I rained them down over Beloved's head. He was not expecting a shower of brown confection cup snowflakes, that I can tell you. I'm glad he thought it was funny, too.

 

What can I say, I was re-watching Princess Tutu at the time, and was in a romantic, if silly, mood...

 

In more economical news, I successfully beat back a longing for yet another Japanese pattern book. This one was on eBay, at a very reasonable price, and the included photos showed how to make a really nice coat. I hardly ever make coats. Well, making the dress on New Year's Eve kinda reminded me that, while Japanese pattern books have great illustrations or photos for directions, they somehow manage to skip the step that has you shoving several inches of fabric through a half-inch space between the armhole and the neckline to turn it right-side out again. Twice. Instead, I hooked the images and saved ‘em, and didn't bid. Checked later, and it closed at over $20., plus $7. to ship.

 

While I don't really do resolutions, I do try to improve me, which isn't easy. I'm a real piece of work ! (grin) This year, I'm gonna try to sew at least once a week, without buying any new fabric or patterns, and continue the ongoing Challenge of sewing something new for every doll I own, using patterns I haven't tried before. That should keep me busy !

 

And, as you can see, the '09 revamp of last year's Disney Princess calendar's working pretty well ! Forgot to put the fancy bow back on, though - it hides the hanger really well.

Happy New Year's Eve !

 

Current Mood : Overjoyed !

Spent on dolls and stuff :  $6.18

 

Alleluia, bring on 2009 !

 

I had a nice final day of 2008 - got something mailed off that's been preying on my mind, did some banking for Beloved Hubby, and got to hit the Thrift. It always amazes me how, even after the holidays, some of the stuff I put back was still there... so I snapped it up !

 

Mostly, it was stuff in those 50c grab-bags - I now have a Polly Pocket-type Belle yellow ballgown, the one I didn't already have. It's silly, but I have the blue dress, the green one, and the pink one from a yard sale. Now all I have to do is find the right size Belle doll... The other had some Barbie-scale canned vegetables. I am a total sucker for those. And the third had an adorable miniature ‘chibi' ogre Fiona, about two inches tall. Too cute ! I also scavenged two changepurses - gonna remove the silk roses from one and redonate it - and a few cars for Dearest. He also wanted to go through the bags before I put ‘em in the donations pile, and picked out a few more small toys. That I'm sure I'll be picking up next week. Oh, well.

 

I also, for some odd reason, bought a 1980 Tippee Toes Mattel doll. Someone evidently donated a raft of 70s-80s Mattel dolls recently. I also saw a 1972 ‘Bye Bye Diaper' doll, a 1977 ‘Hug Me' stuffed doll, and a Fisher-Price Baby Soft Sounds, also from 1980. Made me wonder what I'd missed last week !

 

Part of Tippee's appeal was that she caused a minor controversy. Her original ad showed the doll pushing her stroller down the sidewalk, with a genial sort of traffic cop pantomiming an astonished expression, since the doll was bare-bottoming it out in public. Ire was raised - oh, my, dolls goin' commando, what hath man wrought ?! - and Mattel reshoot the ad, this time featuring her lacy underwear. She was also featured on their Christmas card that year.

 

Plus, she looks like Timey's little sister ! (happy !) I gotta figure out what her hair is supposed to look like, right now it's a bent-in-the-back shag, and maybe find her stroller someday. Her outfit - and panties- was original, always a plus. The other clothes in the bag with her are useless as well as ugly. Redonate !!

 

Once home, we kinda did our own things after dinner. I picked up the pieces from that dress I only barely started about 9:30 and got to work. Eesch. I am waaaay out of practice. It took me hours to hem the skirts, and I was about to walk away from it again. But I kept on it, and I got it done, about five minutes to midnight. It's not quite as nice as the one pictured in the Barbie in Japan book, but I figure those are made by pros anyway. If mine remotely resembles it, it's a testament to their skill and mine !

 

But seriously, my sewing skills are growing as flabby as my butt. And tonight was fun. After wrestling with Tripod to update the site, I realized that I want to sew again. But tomorrow's taken - I have a project to finish before school goes back in session.

 

Happy 2009, everybody !

I can nearly see 2009 from here !

 

Current 'Mood' - Tummyache.

 

I guess tomorrow is the big ‘make something' day, ‘cause today sure wasn't ! I'm not feeling too well today, but I'm actually getting a bit excited that 2008 is nearly over. Like most everyone else, I had a great year, but a lousy December, so I'm ready to have it done with.

 

It's also a long-held superstition that it's somehow bad luck to take the Christmas tree down before New Year's Day. So I also get that to look forward to. It's not even in the way that much, but still, to me, the holidays were over at least a week before they really were. So I want all the paper, ribbons, and decorations gone already. Geez, I'm a Grinch once the day is past !

 

Got a good start on the dishes, but not much past that. I kinda took it easy this morning. Hopefully, I'll feel better tomorrow, and can catch up. May put off the laundry until Thursday - because, by then, I'll have two or three more loads to add to it !

 

Someone over at In The Pink took photos of the doll-size goodies that were in that $20. Barbie Advent calendar I saw at Target. A week after the thing's done, and now it's marked down - to $9.99. I'm glad I didn't get it. There's maybe one purse, the ice skates, and a pair of fur-topped boots I would have liked in it, which to me isn't worth $10., much less $20. On the plus side, I have some fake fur I can super-glue to a pair of boots my dolls already have... shoot, I have lots of fake fur, and lots of doll boots !

 

Not much else going on, so I'm gonna hit the ole hay early. Get a good start on tomorrow. Wish me luck sewing something !

Monday work day blues...

Current Mood : Pleasantly tired

 

Busy getting-ready-for-the-end-of-08 day. Got the last of the DPrincess holiday stuff scanned, so I could put it away. Although I didn't use it, it might get wrecked in storage, so it's safely copied on the hard drive. It took some doing to hack through the mess on my desk to get to the scanner, so that was next.

 

Once my desk was cleaned off - and wiped down, too ! - it looked so good, the rest of the Office looked like crap. So I got busy. Dug through piles of misc. junk and papers, excavated flat surfaces buried in junk. Filled a Mal-Wart sack with stuff that belonged in the Lab... that place never stays clean for long ! Got a set of bookends for Dearest Son's desk, and got him to put away toys and Lego bits that appeared when I swept. About two hours later, I had the room swept, wiped down, sorted, and de-trashed. Even got the rug vacuumed - and while it was out, gave the living room a quick run-through.

 

While cleaning, I found a tube of Super Glue. My Happy Meal Malibu Barbie toy had fallen apart this year, and glue was on the grocery list. Not any more ! She's fixed and dry, just in time for ornament storage. Oh, well !

 

Exchanged purses for an older, bigger one, and decided to donate two, and an ancient CD fanny-pack. Someone'll get a kick out of it ! That gave me more space in the purse box, so I got it tidied up, too. And I found my old Nightmare Before Christmas watch ! I thought I lost it, but it's been in one of my old purses - ever since I took it in for a replacement battery that the store didn't have. The floor of my closet was still a mess, so I moved some things around, and added a de-flapped box for the Knit Magic, yarn, and stamp pads. Angled well, it gave me enough space for a laundry basket, too. Much easier to get to stuff now !

 

Much better. Now, if I can just keep the energy going with laundry and dishes tomorrow...

 

Printed up a day grid for the DPrincess calendar I'm gonna reuse this year, when I realized the month banner also contained the year. No prob. I soon found a font I liked, printed out a few "2009"s to cover the printed 2008s.

 

Beloved Hubby worked late tonight, but came home with gifts from one of his frequent patrons. A box of See's truffles, another of assorted chocolates, and a round canister of butter cookies ! The wrappings were just beautiful - I saved the ribbon - and the jingle bell decoration is now an ornament ! I'm allowing m'self one truffle a day...

 

So, yeah, not a lot going on. Never got to the "sew" part of the day. But sometime between now and Wednesday, I'm gonna sew something !