I did it!!!

Hey guys!  So I know I have not blogged in a couple of days.  I ultimately blame it on my tummy.  I so need to get my rear in gear and start losing this weight and stop acting like it will magically jump off my body.  I have faith that if I get the weight off my tummy that will help a lot of my problem, and I’m really also starting to wonder if I am allergic to gluten.  Hummm…

Anyway, so early I posted about how I was working on knitting gnome hats for Blythes.  But my first 3 attempts didn’t go so well.  I mean they are still cute but I was obviously doing something wrong.  Well I tried again today working on my 4th attempt while my sister and I watched “Easter Parade”, watch it it’s truly a kickass movie, and well this attempt started out awesome.  I worked on it some more just a little while ago and just finished it.  It’s PERFECT!!!  because of how they look and the rainbow color I kind of want to call them my Seussian Gnome Hats…as in Dr. Seuss.  They make me think of the cover of one of his books that has rainbow tunnels and little furry animals.  If I find it I will let you know.  But that’s what I think of when I look at my hats.  I will take pictures of all four hats later on today and post pictures of them.  Then I will take the other three apart and attempt to reknit them.  Woot!

Other than that I haven’t done much.  Watching some vlogs and reading some blogs by authors.  And basically trying to get my lazy butt back to my novel.  I should actually go to sleep since I am yawning but I feel so sick to my stomach.  I did a product review for a big name company and the item is in its “testing” stage.  Which means if the product is to spicey or too hot I got to tell them.  Guess what I got to tell them?  Yeah the stuff was hella hot for me and my mom but for my sister and dad it was perfect.  It’s funny, the two hot-heads of the family, me and my mom, can’t handle the spice but the two cool-heads of the family, my dad and sister, can handle it.  In fact, if it doesn’t make my sister’s not run and make her look completely miserable then it’s not hot enough.  *rolls eyes*  Must be nice to have such a young stomach.  Ok, so mine isn’t that old, but it sure feels like it.

But that’s about it.  Been having some storms and much needed rain because we will be in a full on draught again soon, and been reading more, and yeah.  If I can just add exercise and watching my diet I’d be in business.  Oh I also came up with a banner idea for my shop, which I embarrassingly admit, was the main reason I hadn’t don’t anything with it..  I wanted a banner that would make my shop name make sense.  Also I took some pictures for my return to photostories, but that will need some editing due to what it will be so yeah, I have that to work on.  A lot to do and my tummy doesn’t want to play nice.  :-(  So not fair.  I hate not being able to do all that I want to do because I feel sick and panicked over it.  Oh well, gotta push through and forward.

And before I close I just want to say rest in peace Garry Coleman.  I just feel so sorry about his passing and the way he passed.  May the healing begin for his wife, family, friends, and fans.  I loved “Different Strokes” as a kid and it’s sad that he is no longer with us.

Well I think I will go write for a while now and then see if my tummy is ready to hit the hey.  Damn product testing.  I will not test anything like that again.  I’ll ask the family to but I refuse to do it.  Tummy is burning.  Hate that so much.  Ok, a picture post to be posted soon. Bye for now.  :-)

Loves ya,
Mouse

A little update.

So chapter 1 of my rewrite is done.  I literally just finished it and I’ve gotta say, I don’t hate it.  I hope the rest of the novel goes as well.  :-)

“A” is out of the hospital now, and I’m very thankful for that.  He’s a bit down and mo’ as he’s not feeling himself, but that’s temporary and then he’ll be back to his old self.

Another close person I know got some good news.  He was worried of being kept out of an important association and was so happy to learn he’s allowed back with open arms.  So glad for him.

Me, on the other hand, I’m dealing with the icky tummy still and I am really starting to think this will be a lifetime thing.  Trying not to stress about it too much, but it does bother me.  I’ve been napping a lot lately to kind of deal with it and I honestly want to nap now, and I just may, but I want to see if I can stay up until at least 10.  Then I can go to sleep for the night.  Just another hour and 15 minutes to go.  I can use that time to get ready for bed and do some reading since I haven’t done any in days.  I miss reading.

Speaking of reading, what do you guys thing of ereaders?  “A” has a Kindle and I am just put off on them because they are kind of like the Ipod where the files you download are just for the Kindle.  Meaning if you buy another ereader you can’t put the files on there and I just don’t like that.  I have fallen in love with the Barnes and Noble Nook.  I want to get one this year before the Nook 2 comes out.  I’d rather get the old one that has the kinks worked out and then later get the new one after the “gotta havers” have had the chance to test, complain, moan, and get shareware to fix whatever problems there are with the new one.  So I’m hoping of getting one for either my birthday or at least by September since the new one is set to come out in October.  So what are you guys’ thoughts.  Do any of you have the Nook or another ereader?  How do you like them?  And if you don’t have one, do you want one?  Or do you not want one?  Why?

Ok, so that’s all I wanted to post about today for this Writing Wednesday.  More about my writing next week.  Tomorrow will hopefully be a doll related post.  Until then have a wonderful day, afternoon, or evening.  This girl is off to get ready for bed now and hopefully have an early start in the morning.  Byers for now.

Loves ya,
Mouse

3480 words in…

My rewrite of my story is coming along nicely.  Had to do some research for some parts of it, but it’s nicely coming along. I’d forgotten how much I love/hate writing.  It’s crazy how the story can come pouring from you at one moment and barely get past 10 words the next.  But I really am loving this rewrite and doing it in first person is becoming a delightful experience.  I think I will stick it out and see how it goes.  Fingers crossed.  Gotta try to get some sleep now.  Will write more about writing later.  Everyone have a brilliant Wednesday!

 

Loves ya,

Mouse

Getting It Together

Hi guys, so today has been one of those offish days.  I don’t know how many of you have read about or remember me talking about “A” in my blog before.  He’s someone very special to me and he’s been very sick for the past few weeks.  He was finally admitted to the hospital on Sunday and they thankfully found out what was wrong with him, but he’s had to stay in the the hospital for a procedure and observation.  All looks well and he should be released tomorrow, but it was a very upsetting time for me.  We thought he was getting better but he suddenly got worse again.  Come to find out he had a nasty bacteria in him.  He could have gotten it either from work, he’s a CT Tech, or at home.  I seriously doubt it was from home.  So yeah, that had upset me alone with my blues.  So no good for my tummy.  But then on tope of that we found out some upsetting news about my dad.  Seems there is something up with his heart and they want to cauterize his heart.  “A” tells me a minor procedure and it’s best to get it done and he will be ok but if it’s put off bad things could happen.  So now I have an upset mom, who’s blood pressure is not under control so she doesn’t need this, and now and upset dad who refuses to show it but I know he’s worried.  So yeah, this has been working on my nerves and my stomach like crazy.  So I spent a lot of time in bed today to just avoid it along with something else.

Seems my family has a history of unexplained stomach pain.  My great grandfather on my German grandmother’s side had stomach problems, my German grandmother had stomach problems, my mom has stomach problems, and now I have stomach problems.  I mention the German part to show that it’s basically from the German side of the family.  My mom takes a lot after my grandmother and I take a lot after both of them.  So I am guessing this all comes from that side of the family.  But we don’t know much about that side of the family so it’s a little frustrating.  My grandmother was always in the hospital getting her stomach looked at and they never found out what was wrong with her.  I hope medicine has come forward some since then and perhaps they can figure out what’s wrong with my tummy when I get a chance to go.  I’m still hoping it’s just the need to lose some serious weight and nothing that will stick with me the rest of my life.  It’s hard to function when my stomach hurts like this.

But other than that I’ve not done anything at all.  I’ve been just about as lazy can get and I hate that.  I had plans to exercise but that never happened due to me wasting time online looking at stuff that really doesn’t interest me but my mindset was “It’s better than facing what I should be doing.”, yeah still in a funk, but going to try to pull out of it.  Tonight I plan on working more on my novel and perhaps finishing my 4th gnome hat prototype.  That’s about all I can commit myself to tonight.  I need to get some sleep, even though I did take that nap, but I will be getting a call from “A” when he gets out of the hospital…if he remembers to call.  *sigh*  Boys.

Sorry this post isn’t more doll or crafty or even writing related but it will be in the coming days.  Tomorrow is Writing Wednesday so there should be something to talk about then.  I may post some pictures I took today while on a ride if I think they are interesting enough to blog about.  If anything, they will be going up in my Flickr this week.  Ok, now I’m just babbling.  More later.  Bye for now.

Loves ya,
Mouse

The creepiest dolls!!!

Hey all, so I was hunting around "Da Tube" this evening and I came across several freaky dolls from the 60s and 70s and I just had to share them with you. If any of you think Blythe dolls are creepy, just wait until you see THESE gems, and then tell me which is the creepiest doll.

Up first is this little possessed beauty named "Baby Say and See" by Mattel. I will NEVER understand how this doll made it through concept to mock-up to prototype to the assembly line and into the arms a little girls. Not following? Watch the video below.



See what I mean now. Crazy scary doll. If I would have had that doll as a child, omg, I would never have slept. And I know my mom would NOT have gotten rid of her because I'm sure she was pricey. So I would have been stuck with the creepy thing for years until she secretly met with a tragic end with a hacksaw. *innocent whistle*

Ok, so the next creepy doll I came across was "Little Lost Baby" by Ideal Toy Company. Now at first this doll would have been right up my alley. She was an "abandoned" doll that needed your love. A note asking for you, the little girl, to take care of her. On the box it shows the doll smiling...crying...and sleeping. Umm??? How is that possible? In my time if a doll had several faces it meant you had to get different dolls with that face. So surely that was the case with this doll right? LOL...watch the video below to find out.



Ok, not try to tell me that was not the creepiest thing you've ever seen. Ok, maybe not the creepiest, but darn it all, it's right up there near the top of creepiest things. The part where they switch gets stuck and you see two heads just gives me the shivers. I would have HATED having that doll. Simply HATED it! Ugh! *shivers* Moving on. *shivers*

Ok, so this next doll was best left for last as she creeped me out the most. This little one is named "Baby Laugh A Lot" by Remco. Not only is the doll creepy, but the commercial is creepy. Ok, first watch the video below to get a review of the doll.



Ok, so in all fairness, this doll's voicebox must have corroded some over the years because she isn't really suppose to sound that way. But the original voice isn't much better. Now watch the commercial for the doll below.



Ok, so when I saw this commercial, first I shiver at the doll's evil laughter, but when those girls turned their heads like possessed puppets I got so seriously freaked. No, really, freaked out. I clicked on the link for the parody and it's exactly what went through my mind when I saw the commercial. Check it out below.



Yeah...that's all I gotta say about that. Just...yeah.

Ok, so tell me, what do you think about these freaky gals? Too cute for words? Would have been your best friend? Would have "accidentally" been left on the bus on the way home? I mean I don't even think the dogs would go near these things, so forget blaming it on Rover why she disappeared, even your parents wouldn't believe that one after you set those dolls free from their confines. *shivers*

So yeah, just had to post about those dolls and give you all a chill for the day. New post coming tomorrow. Until then, be good kids. Bye for now. :-)

Loves ya,
Mouse

Intermission...

Until I come back with a new post for you, I give you the next Oscar winning movie. ;-) Enjoy. :-)



Loves ya,
Mouse

*Taps* Is thing on???

Hey peeps and peepettes. I know it seems like forever since I posted here. My only excuse is I have been dealing with a nasty batch of the blues that I have not been able to pull out of. So I just sit on the computer collecting links to blogs and sites I want to revisit instead of organizing the ones I have and just overall becoming more evolved in online communities and in things I want to be doing right now. But I am slowly pulling my rear out of the hole I dug for myself and have called home for the past month or so. If I owe you a response to a comment, it's coming I promise. Sorry to the suckage at responding. The blues were strong with me this time.

Here lately I've been focusing on organization to make everything I want to do easier to do and easier to post about. I tried making several blogs but it just doesn't work for me. I like to have it all central on this blog, so I will be closing those other blogs and posting everything here again. I will be posting a bit of everything here, but I am sure it will all entertained. I was trying to keep this blog doll related, but it honestly does not work for me. I like to promote just one blog and when I finally get my shop open I just want one blog to link back to. So I will be closing my crafting and writing blog and bringing both on over here. I will be keeping writing posts to Wednesday and crafts will be worked in when I feel like it along with other random stuff, or I may make random stuff for weekends. Not sure, but in order for me not to get flustered it will be here somewhere. Humm, what else?

Been working on writing and crafting in my absence. Writing was going ok. I was working on revising my novel from 2008 and then it hit me that since it has been so long the story has changed for me and it's not Andrea's story. I've been reading my guilty pleasure lately...the Twilight series, don't judge me, and well it has me made me see the appeal of first person novels. I have also started reading "Along For The Ride" and it's also written in first person and it also backs up the first person appeal. Seems teens like to read in first person because it makes them relate to the character better or puts them in their place. So I will be trying it out and let you know how it goes. I might post excerpts of both versions here and ask you all to vote on it for me.

Along with writing I've also been reading a lot more. I try to squeeze in reading every day. I was reading a bike while I did 15-20 miles on my exercise bike...but I have not done that in a few days. Gotta get back to that. I need to find out who done it. I'm currently reading a Hannah Swensen Mystery. I was collecting these books and not reading them. I just thought the concept of a bakery and recipes mixed in was interesting. Then I cracked one open the other day and I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it. In all honesty there are some parts of it made me roll my eyes. Just a little overly dramatic but still pretty good. As for how I feel about Twilight, I will leave my final say to when I finish all 4 novels which should be in the next month or so since I just read a little a night before bed.

As for crafting, I have been working on some cross stitching again as well as trying to work on a gnome hat for Blythe dolls. So far I have three prototypes that have been worked out and I am not 100% happy with either of them so I am working on a 4th one. Once I get one the way I like it they will be for sale in my shop just in time for...summer. Humm, well I'm sure someone will want knitted gnome hats in the summer. Not all places are humid like NC. :-) I will be making a post about the hats and the cross stitching I've been doing as well. I still need to make a pdf file for the cross stitch pattern for my website. Oh speaking of my website I had a squee and happy moment a few minutes ago. :-)

Ok, so years...and I literally mean YEARS ago, I held a small summer camp for dolls and then posted about it on my website at the time. Well my site has changed a lot since then and so I have a new one but I had since lost my old site. I thought I had seen it somewhere so I went looking for it on old computer and floppy disks...yep floppies. Well I didn't find them there and I was just so sad about that and that did not help the blues. I wanted to put up my old stuff so readers of my stories can see where it all started from and hopefully to eventually see how my picture skills have improved. Well today while looking for my computer glasses, tinted glasses that help soothe the eye strain, I found my old cd roms that I put files on. I check one that said Michelle's Files and omg!!! My complete old website was there!!! I was freaking out. LOL! I felt all sentimental and happy at the same time. So I will be posting my old stories on my new website. I am wondering if I should post the old website as it is just for giggles. But it is pretty ancient. It also was one of my first image doctoring experiences with that sight. The Hollywood sign on it was doctored to say Dollywood. Very proud of it if I do say so myself. *polishes nails shirt* So expect to see my first meager toe-dipping into the world of photostories. Finding this persuades me to finally get off my ass and work on my next round of photostories. So yeah I have a lot going on in the next couple of weeks and I hope you will join me on hopefully an very interesting journey. :-) Ok, now that I've written a novel, getting good at that thankfully, I will close for now and update you more later on. Right now I'm off to write, work on website, and then return to Forks for 30 minutes or so. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! :-)

Loves ya,
Mouse

What the hells?!?

Ok, so I was just looking at window that was open in Mozilla when I loaded up my past session, and what I saw shocked the hell out of me. Ok, so as you may have guessed, I am a fan of Blythe dolls. I have yet to have a Neo Blythe, but I have been looking at nude and "factory girl" Blythes to just start off with.

Well in looking at nude dolls I not only saw that the "factory girls"...which are bascially stolen Blythe doll pieces put together and sold online, were almost the price of some new releases. So I pasted on this, until I see a much lower priced one. Factory girls tend to have things wrong with them so I don't want to take that chance at spending money on a girl for her hair and learning the roots are bad and I have to reroot anyway. Might as well get a new release.

But what shocked me the most were the new actual Blythe dolls. Now the two in question are old releases that were limited. But these dolls come nude. Now before you say, well even nude limited releases can be expensive, wait until you see how expensive I am talking about. Here's an auction for a nude "Denizens of the Lake Eleanor" Blythe doll for roughly 1000 dollars. You get nothing but the nude doll where I found her completely dressed here for less. Now I also did find her completely dressed here for more. She was limited to a production of roughly 1000 dolls in 2008. Has the price of a two year old limited doll really risen that much that she'd be worth that much, or is someone price gauging? Yeah I think we all know what it is.

The next shocker here, although a little less pricey, is the "5th Anniversary Darling Diva" Blythe. A nude gall will cost you 900 dollars. And I found her dressed here and here for basically 1,200 dollars! In the famous words of Michelle Tanner, "No way, Jose!", seriously.

Another thing that shocked me about the dolls was the shipping. On the first nude doll, for a flat rate box, 99 dollars! Seriously, wtf? Just simple shipping and they can't tell you and guarantee when your girl will show up. For the second nude doll shipping was 59. I can understand that a tiny bit more, but not by much. The dressed dolls in their boxes I could understand it being almost 60 dollars. One of them though is 85 dollars and I really think that is a hair high.

But this all got me wondering. Am I just being cheap? Jealous because I can't afford to drop a thousand down on a nude doll to call her my very own? Granted, neither doll appealed to me, but if they had they would be so off limits to me it wouldn't be funny. Do people actually buy these dolls at these crazy prices? And is it really ok to expect this much for the doll and still expect crazy shipping. For those prices you can get a vintage Kenner Blythe instead that is a little more worth the price...ok I don't really believe that either. I guess I am just irritated that people make these prices so crazy, and they are usually not in the doll hobby but they know someone somewhere out there will pay their price to get what they want. And as long as people are paying these prices no one will bring their prices down. I mean seriously. Do you guys remember those Barbie Mary-Janes that came with certain dolls or in a Skipper shoe pack? Those used to fetch a pretty penny too. I once saw a pair go for almost 100 dollars because they were "VHTF". Ok, I get that, but come on, 100 dollars for a pair of Barbie shoes? Now I don't find that any more and the prices are a more reasonable 2 bucks or more, but back then those prices were crazy and just shameful of the people who posted those auctions.

But like I said, maybe I am just being cheap and bitter because I live a poor person's life as of late. Let me know what you think. Crazy auctions or crazy blogger? ;-) Talk to you guys soon.

Loves ya,
Mouse

Just had to share this with you all.

In a blah mood, so I hit the "Tube" and found this interesting gem I had to share. It's pretty cool. Safe for work and kids.



Bye for now.

Loves ya,
Mouse

Penelope

Sorry guys that I didn't get back to you like I said I would about my Blybe Penelope. RL happened and so I pulled away from the doll world for a bit. But I am back to give you what I promised. I decided to try something new and post a vlog for this entry about Penelope. I tried to make it as short as possible but I had a lot to say. One thing I didn't say in the video that I learned after I finished it is that Blybe heads wobble a tiny bit. It's not a firm hold like Blythe. Nothing really noticeable until you grab her head, but just thought I'd mention that in case that's an issue for anyone. But yeah, enjoy the video, and feel free to drop me a line about anything you are curious about.

Oh, also I will be getting back to comments this week. So super duper sorry I didn't do so before. Maybe I will make a vlog about that one too...maybe not. LOL! Here's the video.

Penelope from Chelle on Vimeo.

This is a video review of my Blybe doll Penelope. I bought her through the Ebay seller siriporn.robertson: http://myworld.ebay.com/siriporn.robertson/. If you want to ask questions about Penelope please feel free to leave me questions on the blog post this video is in. You can reach my blog here: http://dashausdermaus.blogspot.com/.

Loves ya,
Mouse

If you are interested in a Blybe doll you can search Ebay for Blybe or you can use my seller: siriporn.robertson. I liked dealing with her and will do so again in the near future.

Well that's all I really wanted to post about in this one. I'll be trying to play catch up over the week while trying to balance out life in general. Fun times. LOL! Talk to you all soon, be good until then.

Loves ya,
Mouse