Road Trip...Mom...and a Blurry Camera Phone Teaser

In a few short hours my Mom and I will be hitting the highway. We are heading up to Portland for the Dolls 4 All doll show tomorrow. The show is from 10-4 but they let early birds in at 8:30. This is in the AM people! I haven't done this show in a while but in years past my Mom and I would get up at the un-Godly hour of 4 am to be on the road by 5 am. Set up is at 7 am.

When I used to make reborn dolls I always did well at Dorothy's Dolls 4 All shows (there are several other show times/locations in the northwest). The last show I did was the first time I tried the show with my BeBe Babies. It was the Puyallup WA one which entailed getting a hotel and working two full show days. It was a bust! I sold nothing and came back with a very large negative funds hanging over my head. It has taken me this long to want to try again. But the BeBes are better now right? The dolls actually have ears this time...oh and noses!

I am giving Portland a shot and if all goes well and I come back in the positive I may try Washington again. The Washington show is bigger and a bit grander in my experience but like I said more expensive to attend.

This is why to spend the least amount possible on the Portland show we would rise at 4 am to avoid renting a hotel room. Luckily this year we shall be shackin' it up with one of our oldest pals Amy. She lives a mere 29 minutes (thank you mapquest) from the show. That way tomorrow morning we can get up at 6 am instead of 4 (although still early, for those of you that don't know that is what time I get up everyday anyway).

Last night I did my practice set up at my Mom's (forgot my camera) and packed everyone up. Look at my table! Makes my fingers hurt thinking about all the sewing I have done over the last few weeks.

So if you are anywhere near Portland Oregon tomorrow...and you like dolls (oh and I have safe ones for kids too) then come on by the Kleiver Nat'l Guard Armory at 10000 NE 33rd Dr Portland OR 97211 between 10-4 (or 8:30 if you want to pay to be an early bird). See you tomorrow!

Change...

I have been pondering change a lot lately as big things are coming down the pipe for me soon. It's nothing I can talk about just yet but let me just say I have been a bundle of nerves and battling dizzying nausea.

Anyhoo I have been really enjoying reading this blog the past few days. It's just so funny and the office commentary is so similar to my daily life that I can't help but love that someone is getting to say what I don't have the guts to. I have always wanted to have a similar blog as there are so many daily office annoyances I would love to rant about. But alas I am too much of a chicken that my ranting will lead to my firing. I am afraid I would not be able to keep things so unspecific.

But today I thought I might give it a shot. I thought I might rant about work...or at least an issue that is a bit relevant to life right now for me. Change. People freak when things change. I am no different...I am freaking let me tell you, but my freaking is not the same as other people's reaction to change. I get all sick to my stomach and nervous while some people call their insurance company and make up stories.

First a little background. My department at work made a big change earlier this week that affects a lot of people. So far everything that was supposed to happen to make this transition seamless has happened. To my surprise everything is going smoothly for all involved. But there will always be those special people that will throw a stick into the spokes when in reality if they just waited things would be fine. So this is how the conversation went:

Me: How can I help you?
Customer: I called *new company* and was told that unless I stand on my head and scream "I love Satan" they will not help me and this is a company you are making me work with so you should do something about it.
Me: Hmmmm that doesn't sound right

(at this point I just want to hang up...yes I am exaggerating on what the person actually said but trust me it was just as silly)

Because this person is on the phone and wanting me to do something I must resort to taking their info and complaint to research. I will then spend my time looking into it just to find out the that person was over exaggerating and the issue was resolved prior to them calling me. So why are they calling? Why the big stink over something that really wasn't a problem? Because people don't like things in their lives to change and when something does they go blind with fear. There is no reasoning with these people because you say, "hi can I help you?" and they hear "I am going to murder you".

And so I beg of you special people give change some time before you start losing your mind and calling me to complain. It will all work out...deep breaths...1,2,3 and all that.

In Case You Didn't Know....

Maisy is not the only furbaby in my life....

This picture cracks me up because he looks like he is trying to look tough when in reality he was trying to sniff the camera. He sure is getting old...still surprised he is kickin'.

Little Ole Me on MYM Blog

I did this interview awhile ago for the Meet Your Maker blog and they just let me know mine is up. Yeah me! And yeah MYM!

Parasol Craft Issue 1

I am a huge fan of the digital magazine Parasol . The pictures are beyond amazing. They are huge and open and make me feel like I could jump right into them. The best thing about the magazine is that it is such high quality but also completely free. This to me is some kind of miracle. So the other day when I got wind that there was a new spin off called Parasol Craft I nearly peed myself. I wasn't even in the slightest disappointed that Parasol Craft costs money (a measly $2.50) but I thought I would mention it before you get too excited.

If you are unfamiliar with either Parasols they are created by Yasmine Surovec of A Print a Day.

I just got done downloading and electronically flipping through the pages of Parasol Craft. This baby is 111 pages of inspiration. There are several interviews and plenty of pictures. The format is easy to read on a screen which is a big plus. But what's my favorite part you ask? The freaking Snow White and Red Rose dolls that you can make! The mag has plenty of other printable/usable goodies that make the $2.50 price beyond worth it. If you haven't bought it you should! I can't wait to spend the rest of my evening fully reading each page and maybe this weekend I will make the dollies for fun!

P.S. Thanks to everyone who sent prayers/thoughts/good vibes to my little furbaby Maisy. I am happy to report she is recovering from her Salmon Poisoning well. I was a little worried there for a bit when she wasn't moving and peeing herself. The pup is now back to following me around and getting in my way. Yay!

What Could it Be? Work in Progress

I am making a gift...well it started out as a gift but I don't know if I will be giving it now. It's one of those situations where I know I would love to receive said gift but I am not so sure the receivers will like it. I have until this weekend to decide and I thought I would take pictures of the process. Above is the first picture. Can you figure out what it is? I will post a new picture tonight as it is much closer to being done.

Plushstock 2009 with the Plushteam

I didn't participate in the most recent Plushteam challenge but it's super cool and you should vote for your favorites. Voting closes on August 30th so hurry up!

It's no secret the the above Jimi Hendrix by Moon's Creations is my favorite. However a close second would be this amp by Fluffy Flowers.

Also in exciting Plushteam news I received my official Plushteam aluminum liquid holder today. Yay! No more glasses of water on the nightstand covered with toilet paper to keep the dog hair out in the night. (I am neurotic and can't go to bed without a glass of water...even if I am not thirsty and don't drink it...you never know I might need it if aliens attack). Will have to take this bottle out in public some though otherwise what is the purpose of it's awesome advertising abilities??

Do you see the nasty headband holding the TP down? Otherwise the fan will blow it off duh...

I Think I'm in Love

Found this blog today and almost died from happiness. After tooling around I followed a link to an interview that had this question:

Tell us a little about the Town you live in... have you always lived there?
I’m Belgian and I grew up in the suburbs of Brussels, but last year I moved live to a tiny yet crazily picturesque village tucked away in the Northern Italian Hills. (I moved there for love of course…) Now, when I say ‘Tiny’, I really mean Tiny. We’re about 200 inhabitants, so everybody knows everybody and that makes our village a cute little Island, surrounded by an ocean of vineyards on one side, and forest on the other.

I think I died a little more. *Sigh* You can find her shop on Etsy.

One of my Favorite Places

Fall Creek is a very special place to me. I spent so much of my high school years here it is kind of hard to even visit without a flood of memories. Several years ago my favorite spot burned up. The trees are still black and kind of sparse but it is still very beautiful. I only seem to get out here every couple of years because everyone in my life that loves this place as much as I do has moved away... It's a shame because it is so close and not a long drive at all

Maisy looooved it! She ran around like a mountain goat all over the rocks. She's also good for pulling me back up the hill at the end ha ha.

Book Review---East of the Sun

Besides all the other things I like doing I also very much like to read. I don't usually have enough reading time but have found since I started working out at a gym I read every day. I just finished East of the Sun today. After a long spell of books I did not enjoy it was finally nice to blow through a book and really like it at the end.

East of the Sun is set in 1928. The story follows Viva Holloway, a chaperone to three young people traveling to India. The book is about so many things but most importantly friendship, love and family.

My favorite thing about this book is that it is very British...with super funny English phrases throughout. While reading all 587 pages in this book I kept cracking myself up by inserting funny English sayings into my every day life. My family and friends were getting annoyed with me by the end. They can be beasts I tell you wretched beasts!! haha

Hooray for Beanblossoms!

A new store is carrying BeBe Babies. They are called Beanblossoms and are in Wichita, KS. They have a ton of cute stuff. Check them out!

I love you most of all...

When you come home I will howl in excitement..
I will follow you everywhere including the bathroom...
When you sit down I will sit on your lap....
When you go to bed I will crawl under the covers....
When you ignore me I will bark in your face...
When you work I will lay at your feet...
When you cry I will lick your face...
When you leave I want to come with...
I love you most of all....

Work in Progress

I have been working on this monster turntable for-EVER... Just last week I snapped the first photo below. Back on the shelf it went...

Today I was able to make the progress below... This design/execution has been one of the most frustrating projects I think I have ever started. It has probably been around 6 months that I have been working on it on and off. I think I am in the home stretch now though. The body is made of very firm foam.

When I was a little kid I had an obsession with monsters... I had this notebook that I would draw all kinds of monsters in. The only running theme was they were every day objects as monsters. There were pencil monsters, chair monsters, rug monsters, etc. This is the first monster-object I have ever made in plush form. Aside from being very very frustrating I think I would like to make more in the future.

In case the pictures aren't very clear the dude is "playing" himself or his eyeballs to be technical. He only has one arm so far. The arms were what have been so frustrating. I think I have made three different sets out of several different fabrics. I finally purchased this grey fur last weekend while visting my pal in Portland...and I am finally satisfied with the outcome.

The turntables themselves were made and remade about the same amount of times I think. I couldn't get them right and I kept having to run to the store to get a new color since one was one color green and the other was a shade off.

What do you think?

Redheads?

I have red hair now....I wanted to get a picture to show it but the weather here is ghastly and overcast...a far cry from the 106 blazing sunshine we had a week ago. The windows are just not providing enough light and don't even ask about a flash...I detest flash...

I change my hair color a lot but it had been dark for some time...I decided I needed to lighten up...regarding my hair that is...or maybe lighten up on other things too who knows.

Bounty...

This is the first time in my life I have grown any food. I am proud of my little garden so far. Tonight I am making a stir fry with garden veggies (and some store bought ones). Hooray!