Surgeries & car accidents

Surgery Update: My dad pulled through, they had to remove almost all the organs in the belly except kidneys and intestines but he is (presumably) cancer free and predicted to live a long life with a urostomy.

My update: I had my first real car crash this afternoon. The guy in front of me breaked hard, I managed to stop in time but the guy in the back didn't and he crashed into me pushing me onto the guy in front (who took off because he had an illegal thingie on his car).

My new car (well, a year old so NEW) is wrecked front and back... ok not too much but we will need to replace both front and rear fenders. I am shocked and shaky and have a headache but I (think) I don't have a concusion, I feel ok, not sleepy or nauseous.

Also this morning John was signed up as a PSYCHIATRY patient :( He needs help with his behavior and I need help in helping him with behavior.. .my 5 year old sees a psychiatrist :(
I am not doing good girls, I must admit. My own psychology is in the pits. Too much too soon, all at once.

Will write more later.
Thanks for praying for my dad!!
T.

Still surgery...

.. he's been in there for 3 hrs already... how long is too long when removing half a person's organs?
I am only hoping this means the surgeon is dilligent rather than he ran into unexpected findings :(
Please keep praying for my dad!
Thank you, I will update you when I can...

Tomorrow's the day - Prayers appreciated

Tomorrow's the day... My dad is having his cancer removal surgery.
They will for sure remove his bladder and ureter, possibly the prostate and kidney and whatever else the cancer has affected, they are not sure what yet and won't be until they "go in".

Admist all this I have somehow remained functional even if by just barely. I can't imagine my life without my dad. He is the sweetest and most optimistic person on the planet. He does not think of his life afterwards as anything but a pleasure and a victory. He does not care he will have a urine collection bag for the rest of his life, all he is thinking about is he will be pain free and ready to move about...

He just turned 60 a few months ago.
The problem is, he might be able to go back to work but in Greece once you qualify for pension you don't get it right away. There is about 18 months' worth of waiting (don't ask me why, I am not sure, all I know is it is absurd!) before they start pay you... he will need my help financially (and in other ways of course) and this worries me a little because it's not that I don't want to help him... it is just that I might not be able to help him in that respect :(

Anyway, one thing at a time... we will cross that bridge when we get to it...
For now, please storm the Gates of Heaven with your prayer for my dad to make it through surgery and maybe, things won't be so bad in there... and please pray for a complete recovery and a long, full, cancer-free life.

Please forgive me if I am out of touch tomorrow, I am not sure if I will be home at all.
Thanks again!
Tina

Naunitta & Nono

A few years ago I became obsessed with Ball Jointed Dolls. I had seen a couple in the Ahoy Show in the Netherlands and I started researching them.... as usual, it wasn't long until I wanted to make my own... but of course adult dolls didn't really "do" anything for me so I turned to babies (c'mon you are not surprised at all are you?;))

I made my first one in 2007... her name was Miyadorie and I was SO in love with her!!

Now, you must understand that at the time, I had never owned a BJD and I "guessed" about how she was supposed to be. She moved and stood alright, but I hadn't yet figured out how to string such a doll so she had some... ehm, improviations...

I was hooked!! You see, realistic babies are my passion (and my greatest stress) but these BJDs are my FUN!! And I needed some fun... I could sculpt without worrying too much about realism, I could let my (limited I admit) imagination go wild because these were something between an anime cartoon child and a human child...

Then I created Meggie...

Meggie was a baby of about 2... and she was better than my Miyadorie, technically...
Then Mei Li Hua was born...

And she was better than all three :)

And the years passed and recently Harper:

 

And Gigi

... joined the ranks and by then I had figured out everything and no improvisations were made lol :)
I could now sculpt directly in polymer clay and string the dolls without missing a beat...

Except now I wanted one in RESIN.. you know... a real BJD... and over the years I made each one with the hopes of "it" being the correct one to reproduce... and I was looking and looking for someone, anyone to do it but doll companies were either asking a fortune (in the range of thousands) or weren't even answering and those who sculpted and casted did not have time (or wanted?) to do mine :(

But then... I found someone and he had done it before!! And he did not ask for a thousand dolls for the molds... and then again I waited for the right baby to be born... and one Sunday here she was...

And I was desperately in love with this cheeky, full of character little girl and her potential...
The tiniest I had ever gone, just over 4", her face the size of my thumbnail... She brought a smile to my face but most importantly to my heart...

And I can't wait to get her back in resin :)

And not only that... a few days later she got a twin brother. A big step for me to sculpt a face like this but I will tell you what...if he doesn't make you smile, I will refund your money lol :)

(PS this is before I changed her eyes for more realistic ones)

(I must warn you though, this little chunk, eats a LOT, bananas being a favorite!!)

I love baby BJDs... who cares if they not welcome on DOA? lol :)
I love them and can't wait to set up their nursery...

BTW if you make clothes for such tiny babies or furniture please contact me :)

Now tell me, don't they make YOU smile?? :)

Have a great week everyone.. and please keep my dad in your prayer list, he is going back to the hospital tomorrow and I wish I had better news :(

Depressed

Sigh... things have not been going well lately...
First this week wasn't exactly as I expected it... The boys were only kept in school for a few hrs instead of the full schedule...
On Monday (first day) we only stayed for an hour for blessings.
On Tuesday and Wednesday we took them home after two hrs.
On Thrusday and Friday they kept them until 12pm.

Their full schedule is 8.15am to 3.30pm which is what they were on last year as well, except Tuesdays and Thursdays when they have therapy and I must get them at 1.30 for our 2 o'clock class.
So this week went by and a) I couldn't get used to the early wake up (neither can the kids!). I've been DRAGGING all day every day because I am supposed to go to bed at 11pm but since I am not sleepy at 11pm, I end up going to bed at 2am which is my usual...and I get up 6.30am.... and then I am too tired to concentrate on anything during the day.

Today was a rough day. I had a horrible, horrible fight with George. He wanted the boys NOT to be picked up from school at 1.30 but instead push their therapies at 4 (until 6!!). Remember my boys go to bed at around 7.30 to 8, so basically because it "didn't fit his needs" he wanted the boys to be working from 7am to 6pm...
I won after a good hour of screaming and crying which left me with red eyes and drained.

Then my dad who as you remember has cancer, had more tests with a new doctor and they are NOT good :(
God please I don't want you to take my dad!!! Please!!! :( :(

Then today we sterilized our kitten because he was starting to look for females (he is 6m).
Cody had a fit, even though we discussed in advance how Merlin would look and act post surgery. He was howling (Cody not Merlin) that we were killing his "brother" and we had to go back in the Vet's so he could be re-assured by the Vet, his cat would be fine.

I am SO tired and drained today. I want to crawl under a rock.. I am depressed :(

Not even my new BJD can cheer me up :(
(which btw you can pre-order but I will make a post of her own)
Sigh....

School starts! School Starts!!

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow, you're only a day awaaaaay!!

School starts tomorrow!! We have blessings (uhm, a Christian Orthodox thing) at 9.30 am and we will "pop in" to meet our teacher and say hi... then we go home. And then Tuesday they go in full day...
I reckon I won't get much done tomorrow but come Tuesday, I am planning big :)

Oh and after 3 days of relentless pain and careful juggling of pain medication, anti-inflamatories, protective pills for the stomach (because I already have one ulcer from stress), binding my wrist and just moaning and groaning and not sleeping, today I feel much better! The swelling has gone down, my elbow is semi-bending now and I must have gotten at least 5 solid hrs of sleep last night! YAY FOR ME!!! :)

Oh and my PC broke down AGAIN... but this time I think I got it figured out. It was the graphics card all along because it finally died 2 days ago, the next day I went to the PC stock house and got a cheapie one and now said PC (his name is Orion btw) works FINE!!!

Still, I can see an upgrade is in my future. Since June one by one things have been failiing in my PC (remember I've already replaced a Hard Drive, fans and now the graphics card) ... I will think about that later!

Hope you all have a great Sunday!
Tina

Death by mosquito bite...

OMGosh, you can't believe the pain I am in right now!!
You see, I am deathly allergic to mosquitoes... I haven't always been... it started last year, when each mosquito bite would turn into an ugly welt... then this year, I am even more allergic, each bite growing and growing until it is the size of a small plate on my skin.

Two days ago I got bitten several times... one of them, right in the elbow joint. My arm is burning hot, red and angry. I can't bend my elbow very well and did I mention the PAIN??
I didn't get a wink of sleep last night!

My arm is so swollen, not enough blood gets to my hand and my fingers are tingling... It's one of those "please kill me now" moments...
Yesterday, while the welt wasn't quite so big as today and when I still had use of my arm, I got a migraine which is super common for me.
Because the only pills that work (Excedrin Migraine), kill my stomach I had to chose between treating my ever growing migraine OR my ever growing welts, because you know, the OTHER pill that I could take, an anti-inflamatory, ALSO kills my stomach. And I picked the migrain... BIIIIIG mistake... because my stomach was ok BUT I didn't get a wink of sleep.
I couldn't get comfy and I went numb several times.

As I am writing this, I have taken the anti-inflamatory this morning... it killed my stomach. I really wanted to RIP IT OUT (the stomach)... I was semi-ok for about 8 hrs and now the drug was left my system and I won't get a wink of sleep tonight either.
Ice only helps for a little while and now my fingers are going numb too..
Curse you mosquitoes!!!

(oh and btw wanna hear a good one? The doctor said "take an anti-inflamatory and REST"... HA!!!! Rest! HAHAHAHAHA... Doctors are SO stupid... I've got two small kids and a big kid (hubby) and it's the weekend tomorrow.. Rest... yeah right... I can hear them already "Pancakes mommy! Toast mommy! Coffee honey! What are you cooking for lunch honey? Will you take the kids out? Will you go to the fresh produce market? Sorry I can't help, I need a nap, be a good wifey and do everything like you always do...)

Curse you Dremel!! I have irrevocably spoiled!!

There was a time when I could sculpt WITH MY BARE HANDS... Yessir! I could just grab that clay and using only the tip of my fingers and a toothpick, fashion out critters, no problem...
But then, I started buying TOOLS and that was all fine and dandy for a while because now I could sculpt smaller, more detailed and all around nicer...

One day I was just going about my business visiting one of my favorite places, Praktiker (where they sell everything and anything including a million things I can get creative with!!) and I saw it... THE DREMEL...
And I bought it... and then I bought ... PARTS for it and whaddayaknow, doing BJDs suddenly became a walk in the park...

Oh the equal, perfectly round holes I didn't have to do by hand (using a toothpick) before I baked... How the pieces fit together... It didn't even matter that it took me DAYS to put the darn thing togethere or the fact I was covered in clay dust from head to toe... I just LOVED doing it...

And now... now my Dremel is in The Studio..and I am home and it's Sunday and George is on duty and I can't GO to The Studio to get it AND I HAVE A CRAVE TO FINISH A BJDDDDDD WAAAAAAH!!
And I can't do it anymore without my Dremel... because it's perfection and I am not and now I saw perfect round holes I can't live without theeeeeeem!!!!

CURSE YOU DREMEL FOR BECOMING MY RIGHT HAND IN BJD SCULPTING!!!! You and your hundred tips and bells and whistles... AND YOUR PERFECTLY ROUND HOLES!!!!

A preemie...

... from my own heart... my little John, as I remember him... (not available)

And yes he was that smal :)