the kitties and me (not necessarily in that order)

I finally decided to take Solomon to the vet to insure nothing was wrong....overprotective mom here... ;) so this morning we went and thank the LORD, nothing is wrong. His ears seem kinda pink as does the skin by them, but the vet said it's nothing to be worried about but to keep an eye on it for the next 2 weeks to insure it doesn't get worse. She figures it could be an allergy or something. Solly's heart & lungs were normal, temp. was normal (101.2 which is normal for a feline), everything just fine. Well, not his teeth, they want to do a cleaning to see if there's anything else going on and I'm not sure if I can afford it financially. His teeth are in bad shape cuz he's got FIV, I just wish I could clean them myself. I know it wouldn't be as good of a job as they'd do but it might help. I am praying for the Lord to help in this area.

Solomon was a brave kitty and didn't put up a fight or anything, and he was happy to have me there for support, since he purred a lot. :)

OH he also got his shots updated, so right now he's kinda dumpy from them but that is normal.

I'm also trying to be more patient and calm around my kitties. I do (unfortunately) tend to get upset and find myself raising my voice at Daniel a lot of the time. Now that I have been reminded of how sensitive my kitties' hearing is, I will work at being more calm and at ease. Thank you LORD for the reminder and conviction of this. I welcome your conviction Lord.

I've decided to get Solomon, and Daniel, calming collars that have pheromones in them. They'd be a lot cheaper than investing in diffusers, and if they don't work I haven't lost a fortune to them. I think the collars are around $15 or so each, but I'll have to see.

Still nothing new on the accompaniment track front regarding my large order of custom made tracks. This is definitely a faith and patience building experience for me. LOL

Well, I really hate to close now, but since I'm having a sore throat and need to fix dinner, I better close. More tomorrow I hope.

iiiiiiiiiiiiicccccccccccckkkkkkk

Well I know I haven't posted again in a day or so...may not post again today....I have had some kind of stomach virus....have barely eaten anything lately cuz when I do it just comes back again (if you know what I mean). I was out sick yesterday and will be out today too since I'm still not 100% better (maybe 50%).

Weather doesn't look good either.

Solomon is acting more like himself, I am still being cautious about singing or raising my voice around him.

OK TTYL folks. Bedtime.

concerned

Hi everyone,

I don't know if anyone is even reading this, or cares, but if you're out there, could you please agree in prayer with me for one of my kitties? Solomon is acting very dumpy lately....he is an FIV kitty....he is eating & drinking well, and is somewhat playful, but doesn't seem as content as he usually does. He's one of those types of cats who purrs a lot, especially when he's with me. The last 2 to 3 days he will sit with me but doesn't purr much. Hopefully nothing is wrong, but I really do not have the funds to take him to a vet. I may be making a mountain out of a molehill, but I know the Lord cares if nobody else does. If any of you could be agreeing in prayer with me for God's will about Solomon....

surviving, singing, and so on

Hi there everyone!

I'm so sorry for not posting much Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. The weather made me feel lazy, and the energy I had Saturday seemed to be gone those days. Tuesday was back to work and that meant busy busy busy.

I did manage to find and record to DVD a marathon of "Survivorman" episodes on the Science Channel. It's a great show, and shows how if you're fit enough and had to, you could survive on the bare necessities in the wild. Not that I plan on doing that anytime soon, tho sometimes I've wondered what it'd be like.

I used to have a daydream growing up that I'd move to my family's old private campsite, its 100+ acres of trees, wildlife and "growed-up" pastureland, and would live off the land....literally. I kept thinking of naturally growing foods there that I could eat, aside from the wildlife. I figured I could probably eat wild berries, apples, and other things and could build fires from dried wood & things. Since there was an old watering trough that still worked, I could use that for my water supply. There also used to be a small "fort" type structure that my dad built for me to play in, and I could live in there.

Of course, being a child, I never stopped to think of what I'd do for clothes to wear, how to keep warm in the winter & cool in the summer, etc. And how would I get places, like to the store? The nearest department store is a good 30 minute drive...and that'd be quite a walk for me...I probably figured I could ride my bike there. LOL! Now that I'm an adult, I realize that I would miss things like a phone, TV, internet, etc. This was also before I learned about the Amish and how their lifestyle is similar to my daydream of living off the land. The Amish have to work hard though, don't use electricity or phones, and being a kid, I didn't want to WORK, I just wanted to live off the land, enjoy nature, & just play. But in reality, if you really want to live well, you will have to do much work. So, when I got older and learned these things my daydreams were crushed. Ah well, it was a nice thought.

Now of course, I could never be like Les Stroud, "Survivorman" himself, since he knows more about nature, plants, & wildlife than I ever will, so I don't think I could even SURVIVE on my family's campsite with nothing but a few things if I had to. I do enjoy watching him tackle the harsh climates, the challenges, etc. I have the first season on DVD thanx to my brother who got it for me for Christmas.

My boy Daniel has the honor of being a Daily Diary Pick on Catster! He's often been picked by them, I guess they really like his diary entries. I try to keep that updated too but don't always. My lagging behind on posts & blogs isn't just here. LOL

I don't really have anything new in the line of doll stuff to tell you about, except that I will be getting another cardboard case to customize (say that 3 times fast!) soon. Future projects!

In the music dept., I added several more new accompaniment tracks to my library by Brian Littrell, Michele Pillar, Crystal Lewis, Salvador, Ginny Owens, Sara Groves, Michael W. Smith & Helen Baylor. Some of these came as part of a "lot" I won on eBay for $1.75. This is the best way to acquire titles without paying a fortune. Another way is to purchase digital downloads. Which reminds me, I forgot that I also purchased some trax by Ben Glover. ;) (Had to include him.)

Well that's it for now. TTYL :)

lagging

I'm lagging behind in my projects and my blog posting. Sorry about that....

The weather is partly to blame....since I'm bipolar I also tend to get Seasonal Affective Disorder in the cold months too, making me not want to do anything. And with a visit to my therapist coming up, he knows about it but doesn't do much. Ah well.

Anyway, I did want to check in and let those of you reading this know I'm around. :)

TTYL :)

You're nobody til you've been ignored by a cat!

Hi there!

Well today has been semi-productive. It started out with my having sinus pain from the cold windy weather, so I took some meds, which made me sleepy so I laid down for a while. Then finally I decided I'd better get up and do some stuff. So I did some cleaning while listening to Gospel (black gospel) music on the Music Choice channel we get. I truly love black gospel music, there's nothing quite like it to get you motivated, in God's presence. There is such an anointing on the songs that I just love praising the Lord that way. I use that and also contemporary praise & worship to help lead me into God's presence.

I also took some pics of some items I am trying to sell....some My Scene (MS)heads & 2 nude dolls with the poseable bodies. I went on the puter to transfer the pics to my Flickr account, and was singing along to some Christian karaoke. Solomon was sitting next to the monitor. I try not to sing loudly when he's that close, since I know kitties have delicate hearing. Well I guess I was a little too loud again (oops)....Solomon got upset and tried to leave. I tried to stop him, and he kept resisting to the point where he began growling. So I finally let him go. That was over 5 hours ago, and he is still upset with me about it. He's sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwly getting over it, since he did come back up to the puter for some petting, attention & one on one with his mama, but he didn't purr like he usually does when he comes up for his time with me, so he is still kinda miffed. At least he's easting, drinking, playful (he was chasing the laser light earlier) so he's just ignoring me. He'll even turn his back to me, like a kid pouting. LOL Like the title says, you're nobody til you've been ignored by a cat! I feel so important! LOL!!!!

So, at least part of my projects are completed. I still need to take more piccies. I have an Olympus 8 megapixel camera that takes fair quality pics for the most part, unless you set the ISO to 64. Anything higher will result in grainy pictures...I've tried other settings and this is the only setting that works well. Ah well, I'm still grateful for this camera since it was a Christmas gift from my mom who found it used on eBay, and had all the accessories... we believe it was a blessing from the Lord, just waiting for us to find there.

I need to close for now. bye!

Praise the Lord, it's Friday! 3 Day weekend!

Hi there!

Long weekend is here, woooohooo! I am SO excited.

I definitely plan on spending some time with the Lord in prayer and praise. He is SO worthy, after all He is my source, my EVERYTHING...simply put, I am nothing but He is everything. Whatever I have came from Him and I give Him glory and praise for that. This morning I spent time in prayer and started to get distracted by something else, and God said He wanted me to focus on HIM first, not on other things, to spend time first thing with Him and I can take care of other things later. He loves that time alone, just He & I, and I love to be with Him. I could not ask for a better friend or "Husband" than my Lord, my master, my Creator, my MESSIAH Jesus! I praise God for being the I AM, for the gift of Jesus, and the precious Holy Spirit. :) The triune God 3-in-1!

I just unearthed 2 Dawn fashions I bought and completely forgot about: a cute pink minidress with red & white hearts, and a gorgeous green & silver gown made by Checkerboard Toys, with the cutest lime pink shoes. Oh I cannot wait to take pictures to show off all of these outfits!

I also got a new project - making a customized doll case for my Pippas.. A co-worker gave me the box, cardboard with plastic handle, that held candy bars for sale. It's the perfect size for Pippa, Dawn or Starr dolls. There are side flaps that tuck in to close it, but the case doesn't seal properly, so I need to think of something I can make or add to help keep it tightly closed.
I have wanted to create a custom Pippa case for some time...I know there are Pippa cases out there, but I wanted to make one a little different, something with more graphics like the vintage Barbie ones. Right now I'm thinking of finding some images of Pippa, the drawings like those found in trade catalogues, putting some of those together and creating a cool case. :) It will probably take some time to do all this, but it'll be something fun. First I want to finish my "fakey Gail"....I have such a tendency to start something and never finish it! So this time I want to focus on finishing Gail. She deserves it, and so do I.

Which reminds me...I need to take a pic of a Dawn doll case I want to sell or trade. Camera time fer sure!

So my projects this weekend are:
Bible study, prayer & praise
Maybe go to church (depending on the weather & other factors)
Cleaning up and sorting out junk
Taking pics of dolls, outfits & items for sale or trade
Finishing up w/rerooting Fakey Gail
HOPEFULLY transferring more cassettes to mp3 (an ongoing project)

I'll be in touch! :)

well...

Hi there again!

I'm trying to be more diligent in my posting but lately I get so busy I don't have time. My apologies.

A couple of things I should mention - finally got a reply from mycustomtracks about the status of my order. (Thank you LORD.) They said they would finish my order "very soon" (however long that may be, LOL) and to be patient.....confirmation from the Lord IMO to have faith! Last time I asked them about the status which was in January they said the same thing. So it could be a month, 2, or more. The Lord is really trying to stretch my patience with this one. LOL When it comes to karaoke or accompaniment tracks, I never have much patience. That might sound like a boast, but it's not. Rather it's a flaw that I can't stand, and I'm sure the Lord can't stand it either. I pray that He builds up patience in me.

I also discovered Crystal Lewis' site now has custom CDR and album trax available to order. I may try to combine my order with a friend online so we can both save money.
The prices on their stuff is good but the shipping is very high - $10 for Priority Mail for one CD! EEK!

I'm really trying to get around to taking pics of new doll clothes, but I just haven't had the time. Between that and being super-tired and ending up going to bed early (like 8pm), it hasn't gotten done. I will be SO glad to have a 3 day weekend to try and get things like this done. Now I just need some motivation.

One good thing about getting to bed early...chances are good that one of my kitties will follow. Solomon has been coming to sit beside me lately. He loves to lay beside my pillow and just purr contentedly. He's helped me to fall asleep many times thanx to his soothing purrs. I am truly, truly grateful and blessed that God gave me such a special kitty.

Another special kitty is Daniel, whose "birthday" was yesterday! (February 17) I don't know if that is his actual birthday, since when I got him he was around 6 or 7 months old, but it'll do. Daniel is now three years old, so he's mellowing out more. His personality (purrsonality?) is changing too...he was sleeping with me in bed for a while, now he's happy to lay on the floor in the bedroom. He loves to look out the window, and relax by it. Our windows don't have much of a ledge, but there is an old TV table (with TV) next to it, so that's his "ledge." LOL Daniel is another one of God's blessings to me, and came to me unexpectedly about 2 years ago.

My 3rd and last (but not least) kitty is Greta. She's 11 years old, and has been with me the longest. She is definitely showing signs of aging...sleeping more, eating less, etc. I think she may also be a bit hard of hearing, since I have to call her with a loud voice for her to hear me. Greta is a sweet girl and a real blessing, since she's a black cat and at first, before I got her, I wasn't sure if I'd want a black kitty because the ones I'd met in the past were mean-tempered. But Greta is a sweetheart and loves her mama. I adopted her - or more like I rescued her - and her now deceased brother Buster back in 1999 when they were five week old barn kittens. The very first time I picked her up, she just purred her little heart out. That was all it took for she and I to bond instantly. :) (Buster died in 2008 of heart failure.) Greta would also prefer to be the only cat in the house...I discovered this after Buster had died and it was just her and I for a few months. She tolerated Buster, but I thought it was just sibling rivalry. When I adopted my 2 boys, she really didn't like the idea and barely tolerates them too. She is quite the independent lady and loves to be held but only for a short time (like 30 seconds). She does "ask" to be held so I know she enjoys it.

For the record, and some of you may find this hard to believe, I shouldn't technically say I adopted my 2 boys, because in actuality the Lord gave them to me in answer to prayer. I did "adopt" them by giving them a home, but the Lord was the one who brought them here. I had come very close to adopting kitties before their arrival, because I missed the close companionship and needful personality Buster had, and I prayed about whether or not God even wanted me to have another cat. Every time I considered adopting from a shelter, the Lord said to me "do NOT adopt a cat from the shelter. I will put a cat in your path." And just like the situation with my impatience about my accompaniment order, I was impatient in His putting a cat in my path. I even questioned whether or not He actually said this, and He confirmed it to me over and over again.

It took 10 months after Buster's death before the first of TWO kitties arrived....Daniel was the first, and Solomon followed 2 weeks later. Daniel actually was brought to me by a friend, and so was Solomon. Daniel had already been in 2 previous homes and the last ones who had him couldn't afford to feed him, so they were going to drop him outside. Fortunately that didn't happen and he came as a surprise. I asked the Lord if He wanted me to have this cat, since I wasn't really expecting him and He revealed to me that He wanted to surprise me, and that Daniel was one of two cats He was giving me.
As for Solomon, he was a stray cat (possibly partly feral) who kept coming back to a friend's home in search of food. The friend eventually took him in and fostered him, and she & I prayed about whether or not the Lord wanted me to have him. He told both of us (at different times) that yes, this cat was to be mine. Solomon finally arrived at his "furever" home a few weeks later.

I should close this for now...I need to try and rest.
TTYL :)

today's entry 2/15/11

Hi everyone!

Well today it's quite cold outside. Windy and cold, a real change from yesterday and the high of 52* (F). Today was a reminder that winter's here, but hopefully not for much longer. I don't usually put stock in the groundhog (or as I call him, woodchuck) on Groundhog Day and his predictions, but maybe he's right this time. Only the LORD knows for sure. ;)

I did strike "karaoke gold" yesterday when I discovered undiscovered tracks by Pocket Songs: Unpredictable, Behind The Scenes, & My Paper Heart by Francesca Batistelli; Going Home by Mylon & Broken Heart; Someday by Crystal Lewis; and Love One Another & Matter Of Time by Michael W. Smith.

Speaking of Crystal Lewis, I checked her website recently. She'd stated on it back in December that there were some changes to the store (online). Since I like to check for accompaniment tracks or specials at artists sites periodically, I thought I'd visit. As of this writing, there are now only about 40 or so "downloadable" or MP3 accompaniments (about half as many as previously) and the section for custom CDRs and complete album accompaniment tracks is empty. I've sent an inquiry to the ordering department of the store, which I believe is Metro One Music (not sure). They may have decided to eliminate the custom CDRs & complete album accompaniment CDs (aka Vocal track collections, as they call them). Right now there's been no reply, but I hope to hear from them.

And again, speaking of reply, STILL nothing from mycustomtracks about my order....(sigh) when when when???? I feel so frustrated!

I do have my eye on an auction with some obscure MWS trax I don't have, so will be checking that. I really wish I knew other Christians who were into accompaniment and karaoke music also, I would love to be able to share, swap, and talk about it with them. I hope yall don't mind my doing so here. I don't even know if anyone reads this. I guess I'll see, huh?

OK, do you need some doll talk to go along with this post? :) Alrighty....I took some pictures of some "new" (to me) Bratz dolls I got from a friend at a board called My Scene Hangout.

Nevra and Sasha, both looking hot:

Meygan, with the most gorgeous eyes:

I also have 2 other girls I need to take pics of.

This next pic is of a My Scene (MS) Madison who I bought as a head only a few years ago...she came on a keychain! Her hair is only rooted once around the scalp, but she such haunting eyes beautiful curly hair:

I will try and take pics of my Dawns, Pips, and/or Starrs OR clones in some clothes I received.

That's all for today.

New things!

I have some new pics I want to share, but it's getting late tonight so I'll have to wait. One is a beautiful outfit for Pippa by my UK friend Elaine, some are some custom doll clothes from eBay, and some other neat things.

Goodnight :)

Valentines Day – Not just for couples

Hello everyone and happy Valentines Day! I hope it was a good one.

I wanted to encourage some of you out there who may be feeling lonely or even angry because you’re single and don’t have someone who loves you.

There are many people who hate the day because it’s a celebration of love and couples and marriage. To them, it’s a reminder of something (or someone) they can’t have or no longer have. There’s also many Christians who have a hard time with this day.

I choose to not let the fact that today is Valentines Day bother me. I’m single, partly by choice, but also because I know that I am not emotionally able to handle the companionship of a man. (I’m bipolar.) I tend to have wild mood swings and can be a plain and simple pain to be around sometimes…to put it mildly. This is something I am continually working on.

I treat myself special on Valentine’s Day, to cheer me up. I’ll buy something simple like a package (of 3) Ferro Rocher chocolates. Those are so good. Or listen to some uplifting music. Or be with my kitties.

Besides, I actually do have a boyfriend, and His name is Jesus. He’s more than a boyfriend though, He’s more like a husband and father to me.

If you are a Christian, and have accepted Jesus as Savior, you too have someone who loves you so much you will never be able to comprehend it. His love is SO full, rich, pure, forgiving, full of mercy and grace…there is no end to His incredible, amazing, unconditional love for us. Allow Him to fill you with His love.

If you don’t know Him, why not give Him a try?

Here’s some scriptures on love from the bible. These are all from the NIV.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)
This is so true!!


"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalms 37:4)
This is one of my favorite verses, in fact it’s what I call one of my “life verses.” God has granted me the desires of my heart so many times and I am always in awe and amazement over His willingness to do so.
If we love and serve Him, and choose to make the Lord our joy, our delight, our everything, He will bless and reward us richly. But we should not serve Him just to get blessings, but out of love and devotion to Him.


"To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." (Mark 12:33)
Amen. This is one of the greatest commandments Jesus ever gave.

"We love because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19)
I love this scripture too, because of His great love for us, we can love others, have compassion for them, and help others. There are so many things we can do, simple things like praying for (or along with) someone, providing a meal, offering to bring someone to church, helping the elderly and disabled, saying a simple “I care”, etc.

"My lover is mine, and I am his." (Song of Solomon 2:16)
This is just beautiful when you see it in context...Jesus is our Lover, and we are the beloved...Jesus is MINE!! And I am His. (And glad to be so!)

"Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
This is the perfect example of God’s love for us. I love to apply this scripture to Him and to my life, because He is love, and since He lives in me, I can be His love.

Well, enjoy yourselves and tttyl. :)

Just a quick note

Hi everyone!

Don't forget tomorrow is Valentine's Day....show your sweetie (if you have one) that you love them!

My valentine is Jesus. I consider myself "married" to the Lord. And lemme tell ya, He is the best friend and husband I could ever ask for! :) I love you LORD.

Gotta get to bed....work tomorrow. (ugh)

Bye!

It's Sunday...

That means it's the Lord's day. I don't have a church home at present, so I listen to ministers like John MacArthur. I highly recommend him! :)

It's also the start of Spring Training. That means baseball is back! WOOOOHOOO!

I'm a Yankee fan, and also a Mets fan. Since I live near NYC, I gotta root for my 2 NYC teams. :)

I know more about the Yankees, but would love to learn more about the Mets. We get SNY (for Mets games) and the YES Network (for Yankees games) so I also get to see features like their Magazine shows, kids' shows, etc. YES has Yankeeography, I am wondering if SNY has done any bios of their past or present Mets greats.

I thought of a few other artists I'd love to see more tracks by:

Bethany Dillon (aka Bethany (Adelsberger) Barnard, since she's now married to Shane Barnard of Shane & Shane) - no new accompaniment tracks from her latest album... :(

Bebo Norman - new album and so far, no new accompaniments. I want a track to "Here Goes" without the lead vocal!

FFH - another one who's with a new label and no new accompaniment tracks. Also now performing as a husband & wife duo. New album is good, but I miss the 3 & 4 part harmonies. I really wish someone would release a performance track to "Undone"...

Tobymac - until recently there were only 1 or 2 accompaniment tracks of his songs....am I the only one who wants karaoke versions of songs like "Lose My Soul" or "I'm For You"? Looking forward to obtaining the newest accompaniment, "Hold On" (by Christian World).

Plumb (aka Tiffany (Arbuckle) Lee) - there are some great songs here with messages good for today's hurting youth - yet there are only 2 songs of hers available as accompaniments. I'd love to be able to sing "I Can't Do This" (even tho it does sound more alternative/metal), "Better", "Cut" (a song about cutting), her rendition of the hymn "God Will Take Care Of You," or "Beautiful History". She has some great music, I sometimes wish she had more variety in her messages since after a while they start to sound alike to me.

Erin O'Donnell - yes, she's not released anything new in some time, aside from acoustic versions of songs from her previous albums, but I can think of at least 2 songs by her I would absolutely love to sing, "Even In My Youth" and "No Better Place" (not to be confused with Steven Curtis Chapman's song "No Better Place," which is entirely different). There are others I'm sure. I did have a track created to her song "Crazy", and I love it.

When I say I want to sing these songs, I don't mean sing along to the original version with the lead vocals still there. I mean, be able to sing them for solos at churches, events, etc. Since my calling is to sing for the Lord and encourage others, I like to have a large selection.

Ironically these are also artists whose songs, when trying to remove lead vocals with karaoke software, provide poor unusable results. If the cost of getting karaoke tracks to these songs wasn't so high, I would've probably done so long ago.

In other news....I found 2 rare tracks: "Beauty From Pain" by Superchick, and "Hymn" by Jars Of Clay. The company? "Soundmachine"....you might know their site....mycustomtracks.com ! They've taken songs they produced for others and now released them on compilation albums. Not much selection in the Christian, Gospel, or Inspiration dept. by them, but if you're interested, you can now obtain accompaniments in MP3 to songs I had created by them including "Deep Love" by Michelle Tumes, "Alice In Wonderland" by Susan Ashton (remember I mentioned that song?) and one of my all time faves, "Song To My Parents" by Keith Green. Go here and get em:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JZCGI6/ref=docs_ya_os_a

I need to stop going on and on about this....also need to get ready to go get groceries. Yippee! LOL

another evening entry

Hello again everyone!

Well another unproductive day for me here. Actually, it wasn't completely unproductive....I discovered Lisa Bevill (one of my fave Christian artists) has a page on Facebook now....she's got some great new and older songs out there....and also a really cool site of her own:

http://www.lisabevill.com

She is a sweet lady. She struggles with Lyme disease, but doesn't let it stop her from serving the Lord with all her heart. I've never met her, but her personality shines thru all the time.

I also dug out Lisa's newest cd, When The Healing Comes, and have been listening to it. This is one of her best CDs yet! She offers downloadable accompaniments to all of the songs from it, and I can see I'll be ordering several (if not all). LOL

Remember I was talking about Addison Road and their accompaniment tracks? I'd heard that the Daywind track to the song "What Do I Know Of Holy" was a different arrangement? Well I decided to listen to their version and the album version. I only heard 1 difference: Daywind added a cymbal intro, which I was able to edit out from all 3 keys of the accompaniment.

Daywind has a tendency to add instruments or other things to their trax, which can be a problem....for example I ordered their track of "I'm Not Who I Was" by Brandon Heath since they were only one of 2 companies who had it (iTrax had it but it was too synthesized and sounded like a deluxe "electronica" version), and Daywind's was better. Upon receiving and listening to it, the vocals were not that good, which would've been bad enough....but they also added a steel guitar to make the song have a more country or gospel feel. (sigh) They turned a contemporary Christian song into a country/gospel song and never mentioned the change. So, what did I do? The next best thing: removed the lead vocal from the original Brandon Heath version which came out quite nicely, and added in a drum beat, since part of the drums were removed along with the lead vocal. Much better. :) It's times like this, when a company releases a karaoke or accompaniment track to a song and it sounds almost nothing like the original, that I either try to find the original artist track, create one with vocal removal software, or give up. In some cases I have mycustomtracks.com create it.

I gave my Francies & friends some more cute outfits for their wardrobe....these were all purchased on eBay today:

This ensemble was called "Summer collection." Clearly the shoes won't work on Francie & I might not use the earrings or purses.(Remember, Barbie has arched feet so any pumps or heels made for her won't work on Francie, whose feet are flat.) I just thought the outfits themselves were cute.

This one they called "White Gold." The shoes won't fit Francie, but a pair of either white or clear Francie-size pumps will work in this case.

This one is "Casual Comfort", altho I think I'll just call it "Comfy Casual". It sounds more fun. I might just keep the earrings for myself, if they'll fit me. LOL!

This one is called "Dalmatian Dots" but I'll rename "Dog & Dots." I might alter the top, since it doesn't look quite right. I need some inspiration!

And lastly, here is an outfit the seller called "Pretty In Pink." Not sure if the belt will stay, go, or be altered. Right now I do plan on losing the earrings and possibly the shoes too. The outfit is cute on her, don't you agree? Even if you don't, I like it anyway. So there. LOL ;)

OK, I have to think about heading off to bed....**************

The asterisks are courtesy of Solomon, who just walked on my keyboard.

TTYL!

this might not be pretty

Well hello again everyone. How's your weekend so far?

Yes, I'm up early again...been doing some visiting of sites, checking out things. I have a couple of things I want to discuss:

1. Rude YouTube users. I watch classic television and some Christian karaoke music on there. It amazes me how many rude, selfish inconsiderate people there are on that site. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since it seems to draw a lot of young kids and adults in their 20s, for the most part. There is so much hatred in some of these kids and adults! I spotted several users browbeating others' opinions and comments, cursing and posting really rude remarks to them. One of them, a young man in his 20s (I won't reveal names here) seems to take delight in calling people morons and apparently has never learned the words "shut up". Of course I do realize Youtube has a lot of secular garbage on there, but as I've said, it's one of the few sites to offer classic television shows and rare episodes. Why can't people allow others to have their opinions, whether they agree or not? And if they post wrong info, do you have to be RUDE when correcting someone? That's just the way of the world, I guess.

2. The lack of accompaniment tracks by some Christian artists. This has been a problem for years, especially with some of the better known Contemporary Christian artists. There are a few companies that produce tracks to songs, and that's great, but there isn't as much of a consumer base for Christian karaoke. There are 2 popular artists who I would love to find more karaoke or accompaniment tracks of: Britt Nicole and Addison Road.

While Ms. Waddell (aka Brittany Nicole Waddell, aka Britt Nicole) does have a few tracks out there, she's also had a few radio singles that were never turned into trax - songs like "Safe", "Believe" and "You". Often, when an artist releases an album, I try to find whatever accompaniments are available to their songs. When that's not possible, I then try to remove their lead vocals using various software, such as a plug-in for Winamp. In the case of Britt Nicole, there is often a lot of reverb on her vocals so it sounds like virtually none of them were removed when using this method.

As for the members of Addison Road - there are only 3 tracks to their songs available, with a 4th on the way from Christian World. The tracks available are: Hope Now, Fight Another Day, This Little Light Of Mine (due out in March) and What Do I Know Of Holy. I've heard that the track to What Do I Know Of Holy isn't the same arrangement as the original, and since it is on Daywind they are known for doing this with some songs. Also, the only original artist track by Addison Road is of Hope Now. Like Britt Nicole, when you attempt to remove the lead vocals on their songs, the result is an unuseable track- the lead vocals are just as prominent and strong. :( In their case it's not because of the reverb but rather something else, either the recording method used or the effects added to the lead vocals.

I could have accompaniment tracks to these songs created at a site called Mycustomtracks.com, but I am now having second thoughts. For starters, their prices keep going up....they'd been charging $60 for easy songs without background vocals and $80 for most pop and other songs. Now they're charging $80 for some songs and "to be quoted" for others. This includes the high probability it will cost more than $80 depending on the song's arrangement and vocals. Additionally, if you want real female background vocals on your song (if the original has them), that'll be another $40 or more. Be prepared to wait 2 or 3 months for each song, and never get replies to your emails. I know this because I've dealt with them for a few years now. Yup, these are the folks who I've been referring to in my posts about my large 17-track order. They ARE good folks, and they are quite busy, but the fact that they don't respond in a timely manner nowadays is getting bothersome. I am beginning to have some concerns and doubts about this order. Yes, I know you're busy, mycustomtracks people, but couldn't you at least acknowledge my emails? And yes I know I must be patient, but still, how long would it take for you to say "we received your message" or at least give a possible timetable as to how long (or longer) it will be? Remember I ordered these in November, and I know you have other songs to produce but still communication is vital.

Ok, well hopefully I haven't done too much damage from my complaints and concerns. TTYL

update on the rest of the day

Hi again!

Time for an update as to how the day went. I did get to the Post office and mailed my package....finally! I'm glad that's done.

I was a bad girl and stopped at McD's just to get their hamburgers. (That's all I got from there.)

On the way, I tried to walk on the sidewalk, which was pretty tricky since it was just coated with ice. I am so tempted sometimes to bring some kind of ice melting crystals or whatever is safe for cement sidewalks. Noone should have to walk down block after block of ice-laden sidewalks.

Then a trip to the dollar store to pick up some dollmaking needles, deodorant and a couple other things. Then a quick trip to the grocery store to get some food for meals this weekend. For some reason they'd either pulled all their Tai Pei frozen chinese dishes, or sold out of them. Darn. And I was hoping to get a small container of their General Tso's chicken. Ah well....

When I got home, the sidewalks along the main road were also covered in ice, so that made for more treacherous walking. At least the sidewalks in this complex are treated.

I was so tired from my trip that I rested briefly. Kept getting interrupted by phone calls tho, from various places (I'd rather not say where for personal reasons). Between that and my kitties jumping on me, it was a fitful rest.

I did finally rest a bit and fed the kitties around 4pm, among other things. Also took a few pictures of some new Bratz stuff. My camera takes horrid pictures, and it's an 8 megapixel Olympus...the pics turn out kinda grainy which bugs me. I always thought the higher the megapixels, the better the images. Guess not.

But anyway, here's a pic of Ciara, who I've renamed Clara:

Since I already have a Ciara (one of my Wicked Twiins repros), I changed this girl's name to Clara. I don't understand why MGA recycles names....or why they have to have so many characters, for that matter. I've said for years that they only have 2 head molds for the girls but over 50 characters. They're starting to look alike now.

Then there's one of my former Cloes who I turned into my version of Rina, who I'm calling Rinna:

Before you say anything, I already know that she doesn't look that good. I tried to lighten her skintone and I didn't do as nice of a job as I'd thought. Same with the eyes. I'll probably end up buying the real Rina....who will be renamed as Rinna, just as this "wannabe" is. But again, please no comments about how bad she looks only because I know that already.

Ok that's it for tonight. TTYL tomorrow. :)

G'morning!

Hi folks,

Well I'm off work today, since today is Lincoln's Birthday. I have some plans for the day already. One is to go to the Post Office and mail out a package I should have mailed 3 weeks ago. Another is a trip to the dollar store, and maybe even a trip to the Chinese takeout place. It's only 7:12am but the sun is already starting to appear. Praise the Lord for sunshine, it makes the day so much nicer. :)

More later. :)

Prayer requests

I wanted to add a couple prayer requests:

1) Prayer for my mom's friend Ray, who is in his 80s and has (I think) the flu. He is taking some meds but of course he's susceptible to pneumonia.

2) Prayer for my mom- her white blood cell count is low for some reason, and she may also be anemic since her Iron levels are very low. She'll be 81 in a few months.

3) Prayer for a friend of an eBay seller I recently did business with. She is in a coma and needs prayer support.

Thank you! :)

Update on things...

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple days. I have been so tired in the evenings I am finding myself in bed by 8pm. Ah well, it is on work nights….sometimes even Friday nights! It's probably from the stress of work and such.

STILL no word about my custom accompaniment order. One thing I don't have is patience. I know the Lord's trying to get me to have more, but I'm just one of those who likes to hear from someone as to how things are going. Besides, since this place did forget to add background vocals to some of my tracks, the least they could do is send me a status email. I hope I am not going to be scammed, because I already paid in advance for these tracks and expect them to produce them...I guess they're just really busy. If you would, agree with me in prayer regarding this situation and also that the Lord works more patience in me. I will not let my flesh, or the devil, win!

In other news….I did find an accompaniment track to “Hope To Carry On” by Caedmon's Call! Yaaay!!! I'd been wanting it, and found it under “Modern Worship Soundtracks” on Praise Hymn's site. So, another new track to add to my list. I have sooooooo many songs that I want to sing…some I can get accompaniments and some I cannot…hence my having them “custom made.” For example, the first song I had an accompaniment track made of was Susan Ashton's "Alice In Wonderland," a song about being selfish and not caring about others. I am always saddened when I find Christians who are too wrapped up in their own little worlds to not care about others (hey, there's another good song about that – “My Own Little World” by Matthew West). We are not to be like this world, and when we are so engrossed in ourselves, our lives, etc. we are doing exactly that. Jesus does not want us to be this way. We are to let our light shine, let the world see that there's something (or should I say Someone) different and look for opportunities to share His light and Gospel with others. So what if they don't like it. The important thing is to plant seeds! If we do even that, then we've accomplished something. :)

Got the Bratz Boyz clothing lot yesterday, along with some clothes for my Dawns from my friend. Woohoo! I didn't have a Gary handy to show, but I did pick up one of my FC guys so he'll be our model.

This first pic shows that some tops fit them, and some don't.


This is supposed to be a hoodie (I think), but it’s so big and the sleeves too long.
The hood part isn’t really a hood – there’s a hole in back, prob so it'll fit the Boyz heads better. Aside from that, I like it. Too bad it doesn't fit well. I wonder if it'll shrink with a good wash.


Well, this one's a little better but it's still kinda big for him. Look at the size of that pocket! It takes up at least 1/3 of his upper torso!



This one fits very nicely. It's a black t-shirt, and it's not too long. Maybe a little loose, but not enough to keep me from putting it on my guys.

There's 4 other outfits included in this set: a light blue sweater, a winter jacket, a white tank top, and a brown suede-like jacket. Right now, from what I can tell, the tank top is probably the only thing that'll fit Gary and his pals nicely without shrinkage or anything. So, out of 7 outfits, 2 work well and 5 don't. I'll wash the rest and pray that they shrink.

Of course, there's also pants and shoes included, but the pants are way too big for Gary – he could easily get lost in them – so I might sell or swap those. I'm now wondering if the Bratz Kidz Boyz clothes would fit my 6.5” guys. They're similar in size, and I know the Kidz girls ones fit Dawn really well…have not had any luck getting Kidz Boyz clothes. Instead I have to buy the complete doll with outfit. Drat. I'm not really fond of the Kidz dolls. I like Bratz dolls, and I have many of them including nearly all of the new characters (still need the newest Twiins) but I don't care for the Kidz. They're cute, but not my style. Maybe I can sell the Boyz nude on eBay, or trade.

Now for my next arrivals: Mini Flatsys!


Now how could anyone resist these little cuties? They aren't perfect, but still cute. I enhanced them just a bit by giving them pupils in their eyes. They didn't look quite right without them, the eyes seemed to “glow”. Now they look more normal.
The blonde on the left is missing the trim from her dress, which is not in the best of shape. The brownette on the right has green thingys (patches?) on her overalls which are falling off from age.

From what I can tell, you can't remove these outfits either. Which is probably a good thing, since these dolls are so small that dressing them would probably be difficult.

I do have some larger Flatsys and I like them too, but these mini ones are appealing to me more at the moment.

One last update for today – my “fakey Gail” in progress:


This is as far as I've gotten with her. She may not look like much now, but in time she'll look fab. You will forgive her for not wearing any clothes, won't you? I wanted to get a piccy of her like this (in progress that is, not nude) for posterity.

OK that’s all fer now. Bye!

Today's news

Well nothing new to report AGAIN regarding the status of my "massive" 17 song accompaniment order. I really do need to keep trusting the Lord. I am just praying now that I won't be scammed. I must have faith!!!! I hear the Lord telling me that.

Which reminds me, I need to check a track I digitized recently. Apparently the track has a skip in it since the timing of the song is not quite right due to it. UGH. I hate when this happens, but glad I found out now before I actually tried to use the track.

I also need prayer about some things. One is a situation on my job that I don't want to get into here, in case some of the "higher-ups" at work find this blog. Another is for a friend. So for those of you who pray, please pray about these 2 things.

Found out my mom has really low blood pressure....the result of not getting enough fluids daily...she fights drinking water, tea, juice, any kind of fluid and she's also elderly, so I am praying that she does so.

Dolly news! My Flatsy clone "Linda" arrived and she is a cutie. She's the size of a regular Flatsy, and she's in her original, albeit beat-up, packaging.


She does look a tiny bit freaky, but hey she's a clone and her name is Linda, same as mine except I'm Lynda with a Y. I like her. Maybe I will make her less scary looking, fix her eyes or something. I'll see.

I also got some Dawn clones in the mail. Woooohooo! One is a Cara doll, who looks a lot like Dawn herself but has no head mold numbers. One is a doll still in her packaging (but not for long) who has brown short hair & face paint similar to Dawn....once I take pics of her I can find out if she has head mold information. Then there were three surprise dolls: Jeannie dolls by SS Kresge: 1 blonde, 1 brunette, and 1 "redhead"! They are so groovy!!! I want so badly to put them on Dawn bodies so they can wear her clothes. Jeannies are 7.5 inches tall - amazons in Dawn's world! But since I have three of these now, I am fighting the urge. Hoo boy, another doll who'll need her own set of clothes. Hmmmm....maybe I should...then again....indecision!

I need to make sure and remember some of my "quickie" doll projects to work on when I have time: I have a pair of reg. sized Bratz denim capris (I think?) that are the perfect length for Dawn as bell bottom jeans, but the waist is too big. I'll need to trim some excess in back and then attach either velcros or snaps. Many folks hate velcro but I find it easier than snaps, plus I don't have to worry about them getting stuck together and trying to pry them apart. That's happened a lot lately, and it's a bit dangerous for me. So, I'll use velcro.

I hate to say it, but I should get to bed early tonight. Maybe Miss Insomnia will not make an appearance. I'll see. I sound like a broken record, LOL!

TTFN and remember it is better to OBEY the Lord in all things, life will be easier for you!

Insomnia...know her?

I know Insomnia well. Being bipolar, it's just part of everyday life for me to have insomnia. Sometimes however it's pretty good to be an insmoniac. LOL

I found an old doll-collecting friend, and what a blessing that was (and is)! She's a real sweetie and I hope she & I can catch up sometime.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (aka my apartment) I am awaiting word on a large order I placed for some "custom" accompaniment tracks to be made to 17 of my fave Christian songs. I placed the order back in November, and it takes them quite a while to create the track due to the number of other orders they have. They've been sending me one or 2 tracks every 2 or 3 weeks, but lately I've seen nothing and it's been nearly 3 weeks. Not only that, but they didn't really give me a time frame as to how long it would take them to produce all the titles I ordered. But the Lord told me, "give them time." I just wish they'd give me a status report or something. For all I know I might not get all of them until next November! LOL!

Doll-related stuff: I got some cuter-than-cute Mini Flatsys. I just love these little darlings. They have real fabric clothes, are bendable, and of course flat.
Take a look at them, aren't they uber cute?



They're around 2 1/2 inches tall. Smaller than their "regular-sized" Flatsy counterparts, I find these much cuter than the others so I've been seeking them out. I might just add a small black dot to their eyes so they have pupils in the center. I know some collectors might gasp in horror, but since they are now my girls, that's what they'll get!

Speaking of cute, I've also gotten some new Polly Pockets. I got them mainly for their shoes...they have larger feet now, and I'm hoping I can put their shoes on Dawn without stretching them or the dye staining their feet. But aside from that, for $20 I picked up a nice long fashion pack of 3 dolls (Polly & 2 friends with freckles) with stretchy outfits, shoes, & other things.

And speaking of Dawn, I also purchased some Bratz Boyz shirts in hopes that I can modify them to put them on my Gary dolls. They might be too big, but we'll see....

Time for bed...TTYL!