Fun at the office, with a new friend.

And here we are at Charlie's office! One of these days we'll take this sign down. For now, it still makes Charlie smile, and so it stays. Come on in!

Charlie's my name. Advising's my game.

I landed a full-time job! I'll be the undergraduate academic advisor at the University of Pittsburgh's highly-ranked School of Nursing, beginning Tuesday, January 22nd.

I could not be happier to have gotten this position. For the first thing, we need the money! But more importantly, I'm so happy to be starting this job. The staff I met at my interview were really nice, and sharp, and asked me interesting questions. The school is ranked #7 in the nation, and turns out top-notch nurses--some of whom, in years past, were my Student Support Services students before they transferred into Nursing. I'm also looking forward to working with students again, especially with a different population that will keep me on my toes. I'm actually excited about my first day! Imagine that!

I'm especially glad to have gotten this job despite the fact that I had only roughly 25% of my hearing on the day of the interview. I've mentioned that I've been ill for most of the autumn through to early winter, and over the Christmas holidays I got a middle ear infection that made the doctor say "Oh, my goodness!" when she looked into my ear canal (I took my husband with me to the doc's to be my hearing; I only caught about 3 words in ten). The left eardrum ruptured and the right ear was completely congested. I hoped like mad that the antibiotics would work in time for the interview, but....no.  I did tell everyone I met with that I had a ruptured eardrum, so they kindly spoke up and were very patient when I asked them to repeat themselves. I must have looked sufficiently serious throughout, because I was working so hard to hear what everyone was saying.

Now, for dolls Behaving Badly, this means Good Things. Martie is as excited to go to work as I am, and I'll expect a few office hijinks for her and her dolly siblings. I'll be out of the house, which can only be good for DBB and my photography (and the dolls). And, with a good steady job in these tough times, I'm just going to be a lot happier with the world.

So, huzzah! New adventures await!

Martie's ready! LET'S GO!

I'm gonna buckle down and concen...ooooh, shiny things!

Popular demand has spoken, and I'm working on a "Meet the Dolls" page for DBB. I have no idea why it's going so slowly aside from my finely-honed ability to be instantly distracted by sparkly things on the Intartubes. I spent most of yesterday evening reading about Scientology and how utterly jacked up it is, which is certainly not news to me, but I'm enjoying reading all the dish. Today I'm getting pulled away by The Purse Forum and Ancient Egypt sites. Tomorrow it may be hand embroidery patterns and the Black Plague, who knows? I just love learning stuff.

And now Robin offers you a Gummi Bear!

New year, new ideas, new dolls (I hope!)

I'm still recovering from this ridiculous ear infection, can you believe that? One ruptured eardrum, one seriously congested inner ear. I went to a job interview last week with only about a quarter of my usual hearing; thank goodness it was in a nursing school, so all I had to say was "My eardrum is ruptured, please forgive me and perhaps speak a bit louder," and I got four or five "Have you seen your doctor? Do you have an otolaryngologist?" (Type that five times fast....) VERY nice people. Plus, if the other eardrum had ruptured, I was surrounded by nurses and one building away from a major hospital. Score!

I think I need to add a "Meet the Dolls" page to this blog. Whatcha think? Most of the folks who come here know Martie, perhaps Elizabeth, and a few of the others, but clicking in from an outside link might appreciate some background info on these vinyl and resin characters of mine.

My one blogging resolution for 2013 is to get back into posting here more often. I've been sick, off and on, since late September, and trust me, that can grind a person down. BUT--things are looking up, I think, so I'd like to reflect that here.

Besides, Martie's getting grumpy about the lack of attention. Here's an older pic to pacify her. I made her entire outfit, except of course the shoes. And the cat hair.

REVIEW: Harmony Club Dolls "Lyric"

You may remember that in October, I wrote a review of Harmony Club Dolls special edition doll "Summer." If you don't remember, click the link--I'll wait here while you read it. *hmm hmm hmm la la la* Good, you're back! Harmony Club has recently released their own designs in a new doll, and Karen of HC asked me if I'd like to review one of these dolls. Yes, indeedy, I said, and shortly afterward a great big box arrived on our doorstep.

Jake is, of course, our resident Box Inspector.