2/3 of 2014 to go!

Can you believe that it's almost the end of April?  That means that we are about 1/3 of the way done with 2014.  Amazing how fast time is flying by.  In about two days, it will be my birthday.  I haven't been excited about birthdays since I turned 21 and could legally drink alcohol.  I don't know why, though, since I had been drinking my way (responsibly) all through college with (practically) no incidents.  There was one time where I was out with friends, and we did bar crawls.  By the end of the night, I don't remember how I got to my dorm.  I don't remember many things about that night, like where my favorite MAC lipstick ended up, or what happened to one of my shoes.  The main thing is that I got home alright.  There was another incident where I had too many drinks at a nightclub, and they would not let me on the dance floor.  Which is good because I don't like to dance, so I'm not sure why I was trying to get on the dance floor anyway.  (?!)  That's the worst that's ever happened to me, and nowadays, when I have any alcohol, it's maybe one or two beers a week.  An occasional glass of merlot maybe a couple times a month? 

I thought it would be a good time to review my resolutions from the new year.  Remember those?  If not, you can simply read my New Year blog entry, or I can summarize.  My first resolution was to be more punctual and to come in on time or early to work.  The good news here is that I've been doing exceedingly well with that!  I've been late maybe once since I made the resolution.  The second resolution was to not take things personally; I'm still trying to work on that.  I'm getting better, though.  The third resolution was to lose some weight.  That one, I haven't done much.  It's hard because food is a common way for my family culture here--it's the way we bond!  We bake, we snack, we go eat at different restaurants.  Family parties involve lots of good eats.  Very hard, but I've been implementing the "No going back for seconds" rule and I've been trying to not snack as much. 

My last resolution was to stop spending money unnecessarily on my doll hobby.  I even made a list of the items I was allowed to buy, so I wouldn't have to go "cold turkey".  Let's take a look at my progress.

Yeolume.  (I just bought one secondhand for cheap.  She hasn't been shipped yet, but I hope all goes well).

Four doll wigs.  A few of them didn't look the way I envisioned in my mind.  But I plan on selling the ones I'm not using, so maybe that helps a little.

Three doll face-ups.  I've got all three of my dolls back from their face-ups and I love them.

So it looks like I bought whatever was on my list.  I could stop here and call it good, but I think it's best I be truthful.  Here are some other things I've spent money on:

• Two Dal dresses from an etsy seller.

And this is what I've got on my wishlist:

• A Pure Neemo XS body for my incoming Yeolume.
• A wig for my incoming Yeolume.

It's obvious that an incoming doll leads to outgoing money.

In other news, I've had Penny the Traveling Yeolume for almost a month now!  I haven't put as many photos here in my blog, but you can find them on flickr.  It's almost time to send her back, it was such fun to have her around.  I will admit that having her around spurred me to purchase one of my own.  Gah!  What a cutie.

A very special guest has arrived!

Gah! Has it really been about a month since I last updated my journal? I can't believe I let the entire month of March slip by without writing another entry. I'm not sure why it is so hard to keep up. I always think about posting something, and then I don't. In late fall of last year, pixachii on Dolly Market put together a Traveling Yeolume project. Penny is a Yeolume Podo, who has been customized by Myufish. Stock Podo is cute, but once Myufish put a little smile on her face, the little doll became darn near irresistible! Penny's travels kicked off in December--she headed to her first host in California, then to her second host in Florida, and then she returned to California to stay with her third host. I'm happy to announce that she's here with me for her Hawaii home visit. Penny arrived on April 30, and I get to have her around for approximately a month before I ship her to her next host.

I am not sure what I will do with Miss Penny while she's here.  My main problem is that by the time I get home from work, it is late, and then crappy indoor lit photos are my only option.  I do want to get some beachy shots in...I just hope the weather cooperates with my plans.

Tsubaki returns home

Earlier this year, I made a list of what I am allowing myself to spend my hobby money on.  So far, I've bought two more wigs than I had said I would, but the reason for that is because the first ones I bought didn't work out right for the dolls I bought them for.  It would be so much easier if there was an actual wig shop so that I could try before I buy.  I figure I could always sell the wigs that I'm not using to get back a little bit of what I spent.

Other things in my list were face-ups for three of my dolls.  I got the one from Buff back a little while ago, and this past week, my pullip head returned from ~Akai Arashi~ in Spain.  Spain already has Poison Girl & Sheryl Designs.  I think ~Akai Arashi~ is making quite a name for herself as well.  I'm very happy with how my pullip turned out.  Here's my newest addition, Tsubaki....


In November, I impulsively added another Taeyang to my collection.  I was captivated by Ruka from the Nightmare Set, and once I knew he would be a permanent fixture here, it was just a matter of time before my adherence to the even-number-of-pullips-and-taeyangs would come into play.  I stick to my own rules, after all.

I found this dent-box deal Alte in PullipStyle.  She had a busted eyelid, but it wasn't too bad of a fix.  I suppose I could have just bought one of those MIO blank pullip kits, but I really like the old, three-part heads with the rounder face shapes of the old girls.  

I think they are hitting it off quite well!
In other news, I was doing some grocery shopping and found hair dye with Blythe on the box. It was interesting to see Blythe hawking hair color. There were many different colors, but I didn't get any.

Who's watching the Academy Awards tomorrow evening?

Before I became a mom, I used to go to the movies at least a couple of times a week.  It used to be my personal goal to see all the contenders up for Academy Awards so I could have a legitimate opinion as to whether the winners deserved the award or not.  Unfortunately, after my children were born, my "free" time became less free, and less mine.  These days, free time is devoted to running errands, or keeping up with housekeeping, or watching my kids perform in their golf game, ballet recital or judo tournament.  I can proudly say that every lunch hour at work is all mine--that's when I eat lunch and play pokemon on my 3DS or catch up with my reading.  Sometimes if I'm really desperate, I'll take a power nap in my car. 

I am planning on watching the Academy Awards tomorrow evening--though I don't know if I can stay up for the entire thing.  I watch it every year, but once again, I've only seen a handful of the movies up for award contention.  I have a small contest going with two of my uncles and my husband--just to make it more fun.  My family really enjoys making small wagers.  We bet on the Superbowl, or who we think is going to win The Voice or American Idol.  Which team will win on Amazing Race or who will be voted Survivor.  It's not really anything big--most of the time, it's varying amounts of money (anywhere from $5 to $50), or a six-pack of beer, or a drink from Jamba Juice or Starbucks, or lunch.

For the record, here is my list of picks for the Academy Awards:
BEST PICTURE:  Nebraska (haven't seen this, but it sounds like an interesting story)

BEST ACTRESS:  Meryl Streep (doesn't she always win if she's nominated?)

BEST ACTOR:  Leonardo DiCaprio (why has this guy never won an Oscar?  IMO, he should have won for his performance in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?"  Hands down my favorite actor, and he's the same age as me.  OK, I'm about 6 months older.  Total Leo fangirl right here).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:  Julia Roberts (Haven't seen her performance, but my sister said she was good in the movie).

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:  Jonah Hill  (I only recognize him from his comedic roles--I LOVED the movie "This is the End" and I'm hoping he wins for his performance in the Wolf of Wall Street).

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:  The Wind Rises (Sad but true--I've seen mostly all the contenders in this category.)

BEST DIRECTING:  The Wolf of Wall Street--Martin Scorsese.  (Come on!  Scorsese is THE BEST director, right?!)

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:  Star Trek.  (It was hard to choose, but I went with this one...even though I was also torn between Gravity and The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug).

We'll see how I do!  I'm probably gonna tank really bad, but that's alright.  The main thing is that I'm invested because I have a small wager going on, and the possibility of winning a free drink makes the Academy Awards show more fun to watch.

Happy Mail Day!

The dolls are starting to return from their spa days.  Since I have limited myself as to what I can spend my money on, I really enjoy getting happy mail.  Yesterday, one of my doll heads came back in the mail. 

This is my custom Pullip, based on Tifa Lockhart of Final Fantasy VII.  She was originally a baity Craziia head that I purchased from someone (no longer active) on Dolly Market.  This doll has been on many different bodies--from Obitsu to Volks EB Beauty to a female action figure body.  I finally decided on this Dollmore plastic fashion doll body.  It is pretty, but also very frustrating because the strung elastic and the oversize pullip head makes for a poor combination.  She flops around like crazy and getting her to sit is maddening.  However, she stands up fine, and for the most part, I am fine with it. 


Sorry, I was having fun playing with the different effects on PicMonkey, hence the over-edited photo. I don't have photoshop, so please just bear with me. It's been a hair over two months since I'd sent this doll head to Buff (buffdolls.net). I imagine there must have many dolls on Buff's worktable and some needed time off during the holidays. Ordinarily, Buff takes about a month or so to work on and send the finished doll head back. She's always really professional and drama-free. With her, I don't have to worry about my doll head being kept or sent to the wrong address.
 

I wasn't the only one happy to have my doll back home--her Taeyang counterpart (custom based on Cloud Strife of FFVII) was glad to see her return. Here he is with a "Welcome-Back-&-Happy-Belated-Valentine's-Day" bouquet. Yeah....my doll shelf is looking closer to being complete! I'm looking forward to having every one of them back home.

A dolly update of sorts

Can it be--a second blog entry from me in February?  I'm entertaining houseguests again, but I managed to steal away a little bit of computer time.  Here's a short doll update of sorts:

Tekka-Maki participated in a Valentine's Day swap over at The Dal House forum.  The Dal House isn't as busy as Dolly Market which in turn is not as busy as the Den of Angels.  I spend most of my online time at Dolly Market, but The Dal House is my second home.  It's more cozy there--and the active members are all wonderful.  I try to participate in the monthly photo contest several times a year, and I definitely make it a point to get involved with the swaps.  I just feel like it's a place where I trust everyone...I've been burned in swaps on other forums before but *knock on wood* not at the Dal House.

 

 

Here's Tekka-Maki modeling her sweater from Byronic Heroine and Soraya.  Soraya is pictured in that photo over there on the right.  Look at her tan--I'm jealous.  I've been coveting one of these hand-knit sweaters ever since I saw Byronic's own dolls wearing them.  Saying that I'm happy with the sweater is a total understatement.  I also love the way the sleeves are long and cover Tekka-Maki's hands--it's a very cute look on her.  This is the third time Byronic Heroine has been my sending swap partner, and she's all kinds of awesome. 

 

A few months ago, a couple of my dolls suffered some sharpie marks on their faces courtesy of my cousin's toddler.  It was painful wiping the custom face-ups off, but I didn't want the sharpie ink staining the pullip plastic and making a bad situation worse.  The next thing I did was contact a few customizers.  All of them were willing to work on my dolls' face-ups. 

 

This is the photo I got back from Buff.  She was kind enough to try to replicate the original face-up she did back in 2010.  I supplied a photo, and Buff did a great job on recapturing the face-up that I love so much. 

 

One of the rules I have for my collection is that my dolls MUST be paired up.  And since I acquired Ruka Taeyang in November, I felt like he should have a Pullip to keep him company.  I found a good deal on a dent-box at Pullip Style, and asked ~Akai Arashi~ if she'd be willing to work on my doll.  I recently got the progress photo back and I think that Ruka will be happy to have such a lovely girl as his other half.

 

And  now there's just one more pullip who needs to get her face-up fixed.  She's on her way there as I write this.  I have a soft-spot in my heart for Pullips and Taeyangs with custom face-ups.  Funny how I think Dals and Isuls look just fine with their stock face-ups.  Do you have any special rules for your collection?  Who is your favorite customizer?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Am eye sick?

So I've let another month lapse by without updating my blog.  It's mid-February now, and this is my first entry for the month.  I wonder if this is going to be my regular pace of blogging...one entry per month?  I guess my lack of updates is because there hasn't really been any "blog-worthy" news.  I've been spending lots of time taking care of my ailing family--in the middle of January, my two children came down with nasty, hacking coughs.  Then my husband caught it.  He went to his doctor and got anti-biotics straight away, and I also had the kids see their ped, who made them go on antibiotics as well.  I was fine all this time and feeling rather smug that I was immune to their bug.  However, maybe I spoke too soon?  I've been coughing so much, and it feels like there's a sea urchin in my throat.  I just have this prickly feeling when I swallow--it's not painful, just a bit itchy--and when I cough, it goes into this coughing fit.  Other than that, I feel alright.  I've been popping Halls cough drops like they're candy.  That seems to help with the coughing.  I don't feel like I need to see a doctor just yet, but maybe I'm just in denial.  I'll see how I am next week.  If my cough gets worse, I'll definitely make an appointment, but at this point, I'll just wait it out.

Part of why I'm hesitating on seeing my doctor is because I don't know if it's some kind of bacterial infection or virus, or if it's just the way my body is being affected by the vog.  Depending on the way the winds blow, the vog (volcanic ash smog) from the Big Island of Hawaii affects me differently.  Usually, if it's really bad, my sinuses feel tender and there's upper respiratory congestion.  Sometimes I get this prickly feeling in my throat (similar to what I have now).  The coughing makes people around me think I'm sick...but I'm not, the vog is just being mean to me. 

In dolly-related news, I just donated a sizeable batch of eyechips to PUDDLE.  I wish I could go--this year's theme is RAINBOWS.  I feel so isolated here in Hawaii.  It would be neat to meet up with other doll collectors.  Unfortunately, I cannot afford travel to IL right now. 



I seriously wish I had a doll for each different pair of eyes I have.  I enjoy making the eyechips, but it takes a lot of time to get them centered and bubble-free.  Also, filing the taxes is a pain.