Nanowrimo 2010, it’s a wrap!

I did it!!! And with 22 minutes to spare!!!  I didn’t think I would be able to do it.  I was over 30k behind on my words and wrote roughly 25k of those today.  Oh my God I am so proud of myself of pushing through and doing it. This month through some curveballs at me.  Oh, I glutened myself again on accident because I read the label and thought the product was safe but when I felt sick I checked out the product more closely and found it’s produced on machinery that has gluten on it.  It’s pay to not research.  So I am healing from that, but I forced myself to finish this Nano. I would have been so upset if I didn’t finish this.  I have several short stories instead of one long novel, but it’s meant to all meld into a novel.   But I know it’s crap and I will toss it, but it helped me speed up my typing time and it helped me learn more about my writing and this is why I do Nano, to learn more about myself and my writing.  I’m glad it’s over for another 365 days and I plan to go back to my regular writing and I hope to pick up writing every day as I have learned I get better with practice.  So yeah, I wanted to share my awesome win with you guys as well as bid a farewell to the end of November 2010.  I learned so much this month about myself and just things in general and I will say while I was sick most of the month I don’t regret a single day of it.  Well I’m off now.  Typing 25k in one day is exhausting.  I will talk to you tomorrow.  Oh and don’t forget your rabbits ok.    Bye for now.

Loves ya,
Mouse

Have you met Andy Mills?

So I was hunting around the web today looking for the price of Doll Reader, I got a gift certificate to spend at Barnes&Noble and I was thinking of getting a Doll Reader.  So I went to the website to get an idea on the price and saw on there front page about Tonner’s new doll named Andy Mills.

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I will return to you soon.

Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know that I am focusing on finishing my Nano right now.  This month threw me off so bad with Nano, it’s almost over, and I haven’t even hit 30000 words yet!  Ack!  But I believe I can knock this out by today or tomorrow actually.  So I will be busy until the end of the month then it’s back to dolls and blogging and interacting with you all.  I know I could just give up on Nano, it’s not like we win anything, but I would be so disappointed in myself.  So I am determined to do this.  So yeah, I shall return to you in a couple of days.  Be good until then. 

Loves ya,
Mouse

The things you find on Craigslist. *A doll post!*

So I know I haven’t posted much on the hobby as of late.  I just have been dealing with my own personal stuff and would rather post on my own doll stuff than stuff that’s already been posted about several times.  But today my friend Sarah send me a link to something on Craigslist that I just had to share.

So Sarah was looking around at the different ads on CL and suddenly came back with a “OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!”.  I was curious what was up.  She called me in order to hear my response to the ad.  So I clicked on it.  There were two small blurry pictures of dolls.

Ok, nothing out of the ordinary really.  Somebody selling a big lot of Barbie dolls.  So what, right?  Well then I looked at the asking price.  2000 dollars!!!  I kid you not.  Take a look at the ad here.  I’m showing you that one because the number is messed up by two numbers and I really don’t want people calling “Dan” and asking him what he’s smoking.  LOL!  So me and my friend had a good laugh over this until she hit me with another “Omggggggggg!!!”  She sent me another link.  It was an older ad for the dolls that wanted 2500 dollars!!!  LOL!  Ummm, ok.  Yeah once again we had a good laugh…until she hit me with ANOTHER “Omgggggggggg!!!”  LOL!  Seeing a trend here?  Well it was a link to another older ad for the dolls.  This one was one of three that were posted all asking for the same asking price of 3000 dollars!!!  For a set of 55 used dolls.  Wow.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I can understand if the person is trying to raise money for surgery or something as equally important and they are trying to do it through the dolls.  The dolls look like they are in good shape.  They are all dressed, some of them in the exact same outfits which I find kind of weird.  Most of them have shoes on which is seldom seen in used doll lots.  And while their hair needs brushing it still looks in good shape.  So it’s not like they are selling crap.  But do they really think they will get that much for all those dolls?  Honestly I’d be surprised if they got 100 dollars for the lot.  They are used dolls.  If anything they be bought for their clothes and experimenting by the doll community.  I am very curious about the high price for the dolls.  I also wonder what dolls those are.  And do you notice how a big bulk of them are red-headish brunettes?  Which is funny because for the last few years it’s been mostly blondes on the shelves.  Where did they get those dolls?  They don’t really look like Barbies even, so I am seriously wondering.  So what do you guys think?  Think it’s scam where you pay and don’t get the dolls?  Think these pictures are from an Ebay sale somewhere that they stole the pictures from?  Or think they are legit peeps just looking to make some money to help better their lives or make their kids Christmas happy…which I doubt or they wouldn’t be getting rid of their poor kids’ Barbie dolls!  LOL!

Ok, so I just wanted to share that with you.  Let me know what you guys think and I will talk to you all soon.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Loves ya,
Mouse

Be careful out there.

Black Friday sales have officially begun and I just want to wish those of you going out there a safe trip and I hope you find some awesome deals!

Loves ya,
Mouse

I am thankful.

I’d like to share a little with you guys about the things I am thankful for on this special day.

I am thankful for my family.  Yes we like to put the fun in dysfunction, but I’m quickly learning that’s the majority of families if not all families.  So I am very thankful to still have the little bit of family I do have.

I am thankful for Ariel.  He’s such a beautiful person and the love of my life.  I’ve known him almost 12 years and I can’t imagine life without him and I hope I never have to.

I am thankful for my house.  It’s the house I have lived in most of my life.  I remember hating living here because I wanted to “get out” and move on, and etc.  Well now through observing my people in my life and seeing my current situation with my stomach issues and anxiety I am seeing how lucky I am to even have a place to call home.  There are so many people right now who don’t have a home and I could easily be one of them if my parents weren’t as loving as they are to not mind that I am still living at home while I am trying to get myself healthy again.  I pray and hope no one is out in the cold tonight…well except for those of you nutheads braving the stores in a couple of hours.    But yes I am so thankful for having a place I can call home no matter what.

I am thankful for food.  Even though I have had to give up most of the food I love, I still have an abundance of it at my fingertips while others may go a whole day without.  I would some day love to be able to help out one day by either donating to our local food bank or helping out at a soup kitchen one day.

I am thankful for my friends.  Without you guys I would be lost and alone.  I know that some of us aren’t as close as we used to be, but I still consider you my friend and am so grateful to know you.  I’m even thankful for the friends I no longer talk to because they have also helped form my life in some way.

I am thankful for you guys out there reading my blog.  It’s nice to know that someone out there finds my words interesting.  In the new year I will be organized enough so I can return the love more often than I do.  Big cyber hugs to you guys.

And last but not least, I am thankful for my blog.  This blog gives me an outlet to talk about things I find interesting to people who may actually be interested in hearing instead of those who listen just be nice.    My blog has been my way of reaching out to the world and I plan to make it even more so in the coming year.  I’ve got plans people. 

Well that is just a small list of the things I am thankful for today.  I could go on, but I wanted to make it short and sweet.  I’ve got to return to cooking.  I had to put my bread in a the breadmaker, fingers crossed it’ll turn out good.  I’m off to work on my pie now.  Talk to you all soon.  Bye for now.  .

Loves ya,
Mouse

My favorite Black Friday commercial series.

Hey all, so I am sitting here watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and surfing the web and I keep coming across my favorite store’s commercials.  They crack me up every time I see them and I wanted to share some of them with you.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

I’m so jealous of this dog.  This is my first stuffing free Thanksgiving.  Oh I will miss you sweet sweet stuffing.  *tear*  Next year I will win you back my love.  This year I’ll be having mashed potatoes or just warm up a big sweet potato.  I’ll be making a pie, some special gravy, and some pumpkin biscuits.  I haven’t started anything yet, but I need to.  But I’m so tired.  Been up since 3 this morning because I was choking from this damn cold!!!  Ugh!!!  Guess I should get some sleep and then get up early and hit it before the turkey needs to go in.  *sigh*  Well peeps, I’m of.  I’m super tired.  Be safe during your journey over night and tomorrow and enjoy yummy food.    Bye for now.

Loves ya,
Mouse

Obsession I can’t help but love.

Have you guys seen this?  This guy is too awesome not to love.  Check it out. I’m still in shock.  LOL!

Loves ya,
Mouse

Dollhouse building with Darlybird.

picture source: link

Ok, so as some of you know, I’m desperately waiting for the day to come where I will be called mommy.  And during that wait I like to read mommy blogs and read their stories about how they raise their children…I consider it studying and note-taking while I am waiting.  Anyway, through one of these blogs I found my way to another mommy blog called Darlybird, where the lass/mommy who writes the blog decided last year to make a dollhouse for her little girls.  She first showed off the doll house which I really liked the look of.  She did pretty good considering she’s not a collector and she made a lot of stuff by hand by getting creative.  She then got some questions about how she made her dollhouse and decide to post how she came to make her house.  In one of her posts it kind of made me giggle how she came across “something called Re-ment” and she fell in love.  Remember when we all had that fall in love moment with Re-ment?   I know I do.    But yeah, she found them on Ebay and went to town with it.  She also did some shopping in thrift stores, dollar stores, and craft stores and created some very interesting pieces and interesting rooms.  I wanted to share her posts with you all, so feel free the click the links below to learn how she made the house in the picture above.

The Doll House

Preamble: The Dollhouse

Dollhouse Demystified--Part 1

Dollhouse Demystified --- Part 2

Dollhouse Demystified Part 3: RE-MENT

Dollhouse Demystified--- Part 4: Ideology and Clothing

In the first post about the dollhouse the mommy blogger mentioned that you could also make a “dollhouse” for your son too, and it got me to thinking.  How would you make a “dollhouse” for your son?  I was thinking you could make a military headquarters for them to play in, or a really neat car garage to play in.  But then again, I wouldn’t be against making an actual dollhouse for them, just with less pinks and focusing on more blues.  Maybe making a Ken doll or G.I. Joe a bachelor pad.  I think it would be fun and inventive to try to turn this around for a boy. 

So the mommy of Darlybird mentions in her last post about the dollhouse that she didn’t want her daughters to play with Barbie, but when she was pregnant with her second daughter she came across the highly controversial Pregnant Midge doll all that changed.  She thought it would be fitting for her daughter to have the doll since she was pregnant and it would be a nice teaching aid showing her little one how her new sibling would come into the world, in Barbie terms of course.    She didn’t want her girls to play with Barbie because she worried about image issues and the lack of clothing Barbie tends to be “not” wearing.  So her and her hubby came up with an idea, to buy all their Barbie clothing from Etsy.  I think this is a great idea.  It helps to support the handmade movement, you will get better quality items, and you get more conservative and nicer looking items for your dolls.  I think if I have girls I will go this way too while also making them clothes for their dolls too.

So yeah, just wanted to share Darlybird’s dollhouse with you.  I think she did a great job and was very crafty and creative with it.  She wishes she could make another one this year because it was so fun.  I was thinking instead of making a new one maybe she could have modeled it.  Freshen things up or change things around or add to it.  I mean, I don’t see a closet in the house, and we all know Barbie has a wardrobe that would make Mariah Carey’s wardrobe look like…well mine.  LOL!  She could go all out purchasing new clothing for her daughter’s dolls and making a fancy walk-in closet for them.  She could also consider adding a garage to the house.  And the top of the house looks naked.  I bet it would look nice with a rooftop garden or patio.  So much potential there.  I really hope I have a girl or two who's into dolls.  But heck, even if she’s into G.I. Joe we are SO making a dollhouse together.  LOL!  Ok, talk to you all soon.  Bye for now. 

Loves ya,
Mouse

The awesomeness of tilt-shift.

picture source: link

So I’m sure you have all seen those cool pictures out there of places and people that look like dolls or miniatures but they are actual places and pictures that have just been manipulated to look so.  That manipulation is call tilt-shift.

So basically what happens is that the manipulation, or miniature faking, used with cameras and photo imaging software causes a blur to real life images, I’m assuming like if you were using a macro lens, and it makes the item you are taking a picture of look slight distorted and more like a miniature than a real like thing.  If you google tilt-shift you will get a lot of images people have taken and done such a thing to.  One of the first places I got introduced to tilt-shift is through Uniqlo’s online calendar.  If you have not checked that out, you have to, it’s so awesome.  I first heard of Uniqlo due to the cool screensaver with Asian women dancing…it’s not as bad as it sounds, you can find that through the site too.

But back to tilt-shift, I found this interesting since I love miniature scale and love how the picture make things look mini replicas or dollhouses even.  Now if you don’t have the interest of trying this yourself with your own camera or don’t have to know-how to do it, there are programs online that will do it for you.

picture source: link

TiltShift Maker will take any picture, doesn’t have to be your own, and it with some pushes of some tabs you can make your own tilt-shift picture.  The pictures above are ones of an actual house I took from Google and manipulated with the TiltShift Maker tabs.  Try it out and see what you can come up with.  There can be people in the picture, it can be landmarks, or inside of buildings.  The only thing is the pictures tend to look better when you have a good distance between the camera and the focal point.

picture source: link

Now this last one I had a little bit of fun with.  It’s of an actual dollhouse.  When I first saw the picture I had a second where I wondered if it was a real house or dollhouse.  When I saw it was a dollhouse I wondered if there was a way I could make it look distinctly like a dollhouse and not allow for second guessing.  I think I may have succeeded, not sure how the dollhouse creator would feel about that though.  LOL!

So yeah, I just wanted to share my new fascination as of late.  I know I am behind on a lot of things online, as usual, but I’ve been busy crafting and writing.  I am way behind on my Nano count and I wanted to be done by Thanksgiving.  I only have a few days left.  And it seems on Thanksgiving that is when my sister and I will finally get to see the new Harry Potter movie.  I’ve been trying to avoid spoilers, no not about the plot but of things added to the movie or how they did certain things, but I find it to be so hard to avoid.  Damn you popular franchise.  Can’t wait to see it. 

Ok, I’m off people.  I have tons of writing to do, oh and I’m trying to get back into college and I need to get some forms signed for that as well.  Ugh!  Time is running out for everything!!!  *takes deep breath*  Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.  Just have a lot on my plate, and I’m not hungry but have to force myself to eat, if you get what I mean.  If I owe you a response to an email or comment, I’m super sorry and please know I will be getting back to you soon.  Next year my new year’s resolution is to become more organized and stay on top of things.  We’ll see how well that goes.   Ok, talk to you lovelies later. 

Loves ya,
Mouse