Alyrenee's Copious Spare Time

 Oh, 2020.  Bye girl.  So when thinking of my goals for 2021, I am taking my cue from Tiny Habits.  Little changes can add up. I have already seen how doing a bullet journal can really de-clutter my brain.  That move has truly been a game-changer in terms of productivity. Some of my goals are bigger though, so we will see how it all works. I am no longer calling these resolutions. Instead, I think of them as intentions.  I intend to do these things.  If I don't, I have not BROKEN anything and can pick back up where I left off.   2021 Intentions: #1 Grace.  Be kind to myself. Shush the inner mean girl. #2 A minimum of twenty minutes of movement a day.  I have managed to keep this up since Labor day with only two exceptions: Election day when I worked 18 hours and did a ton of legwork...i think that earns a pass and two weeks ago when I sprained my ankle and needed to rest it for a day.  Twenty minutes of movement can be as simpl...

Panic. Full on panic. That was the feeling that I and many other collectors felt when we got a recent shipping release update from IT. Several dolls that were expected in late spring and here like NOW! Poppy London Wave, Metamorphosis Erin, Golden Holiday Poppy, Alta Moda Karolin, Glimmer East 59th...umm i am sure I am mentally blocking out some to protect my fragile psyche. Luckily I only have two poppies on order...but of course I entered in the lottery for the caped Poppy...and Nordstrom Elyse...and the waitlist for Erin Metamorphosis. AHHHHH! Not to mention, the last wave of Jem dolls dropping. For some wackadoo reason, I ordered doubles. WHAAATTTTT!  Luckily I found some folks to take those extras off of my hands. I might end up selling Farewell Jem nude but will wait to see what her face looks like in person. In the promo photos, she looks a little....um boozey? I currently lack the space to display the extra holograms...but I have already pretty stripped down the J...

Well here we are in February. I have kept up with working out. I am getting to the gym at least twice a week and usually at least three times a week. I continue to hula hoop in the evenings to get a little more exercise. I have also made a make-shift standing desk in my office to stay a little more active during my office hours. I have made little to no progress in losing weight though. Ugh. On the doll collecting front, I have made a lot of progress. I have listed a TON on stuff on eBay...mostly old Tonner dolls and clothes. I am pretty much purging anything that is not related to my Tonner DC Stars collection. It feels good to lighten the load a bit as much of this stuff has not been on display or out of a storage bin in a couple of years easily. Of course, one step forward, two steps back. Even though I am purging a bunch of stuff, more comes in as always. After initially passing on Tonner's new Wonder Woman based on the prototype images. I caved last week and ordered...

Another week down. I had a root canal last week followed by the flu...so yeah...so little got done in way of exercising. Then we had two snow days and folks round here (NC) cannot drive on a good day let alone in ice and snow. So I had cabin fever like crazy combined with a lack of motivation/energy. I did manage to get two script proposals submitted to a theatre AND started an outline for another play.  I also sold some more dolls, deboxed some that were still in boxes, and changed the outfits on a few more. Go me. Still no new clothing purchases! Well no human clothing. I did finally hunt down the stripe Barbie fashionista fashion pack so I can chill for awhile on the obsessive toy aisle patrols.  This coming week I am getting the crown on the root canal tooth (BOOO). I am hoping it won't keep me down for long. I have a ton of shopping to get done for The Wiz this week and research to compile for Neverwhere at Lifeline. Weeee.

Another year around the sun. Time to make some new choices, start new habits, and make some changes. #1 Ethical Clothing Pledge It has been a while since I did the Ethical Clothing Pledge. I think it is time to try it again. The last time was 2010 (the year I got married). I was losing weight and my sizes kept changing...also I was trying to save money. The same goes for this year. I really need to shed the extra baby weight AND saving money is always good. Plus, fast fashion is so destructive to the world in so many ways. So I am resolved to only purchase recycled/upcycled/thrift clothing, ethically produced clothing, or make the clothing myself. (Note this does not apply to socks, shoes, and undergarments...because grody). I have tons of fabric to use for new clothes. I have all the workout clothing one could ever need and lots of good work clothes. In 2010 I made it the whole year only purchasing one Wonder Woman t-shirt from MAC, one backup wedding dress on clearance from An...

It's been awhile.  The new semester is well underway and I am both designing the costumes and directing our production of She Kills Monsters. In my limited downtime, I have been sewing and creating up a storm for our genuine molded plastic divas.  I started an etsy store finally because eBay has killed my spirit. I just had back to back ridiculous transactions and I'm hoping that etsy with restore my faith in humanity a bit. I will be attending the integrity convention next week and have a table in the friday night bazaar. More on that later.... https://www.etsy.com/shop/copioussparetime

I think every serious collector has done it at some point...misplace something from your collection. Often it is one of your favorite things too that you are sure that you put "some place special"!  Clearly it was so special that you you have out-foxed your future self.  It can really make you doubt your sanity the longer it takes you to find it..assuming that you do find it. You start to wonder if it even existed at all? Did you sell it? Was it stolen? Did the movers leave it behind? Etc...nightmare...etc... I moved to my current apartment in August of 2013. It took a month to get around to unpacking the dolls as I added some new shelves for my ever expanding Integrity Toy collection. I would slowly do a couple of boxes when I could and had to be clever about stashing the boxes in a closet, under beds, and in the storage room in our new basement. So for awhile, I assumed I just had not come across the boxes that had my DC Stars custom Joker and Lex Luther. I also noticed th...

So I got Birchbox and so far it has been fun.  I have had two boxes now and I am not disappointed.  The last two boxes have not had much makeup in them though...and I was sort of hoping that these little treats would keep me from going crazy on ulta or sephora on a regular basis.   My sister had just signed up for Ipsy and I decided to try that service as well. http://www.ipsy.com/r/7kzy It seems like Ipsy is more makeup driven while birchbox seems more about luxury hair and skin products.  I like that the Ipsy surprises come with a little makeup bag too....definitely a nice bonus.  So expect a review at some time in the future.

So, I decided to give myself a treat this year. I had heard about a monthly mystery box subscription for beauty stuff (birchbox) and also found one for babies (citrus lane).  I am a total whore for makeup and the box seemed like a fun way to try things out.  The baby box is customized to your kid...in both gender and age and based on reviews it seems like a good value.  I signed up for a year of Birchbox and 6 months of citrus lane. I found a discount code to get the first month at citrus lane for less.  My first birchbox arrived yesterday! I have only had time to try out the burt bees lotion (which was nice) and they had a good coupon to buy it in stores included. It also had some fancy shampoo and conditioner, some body lotion samples, and a travel size natural mascara.   I will try those out this weekend. As a part of my annual resolution to Make an Effort....I am also trying to be nicer to myself. I tend to buy things and then save them. I have heard ...

Found my next baby project. I am doing the Ike Sweater Best from What to Knit When You Are Expecting. They pattern is calling for Rowan Cotton Glace and I am substituting some stash yarn that I have instead....Debbie Bliss Cotton DK and Classic Yarns Cash Cotton DK instead. I plan to do a three color stripe instead of the two to make the yarn last and as apart of the new year destash resolution.  I plan to make the 3-6 size so he can wear it for the spring and early summer.

So every year these need to be made...some get left behind but others linger the whole year.  My thinking is that if I manage to stick with these even part of the time then there is a benefit. Finish a script. Get a script produced. Finish custom Action figures that have been back burnered. Ethical clothing challenge. Stash diet...nothing new and work it down. Knit four sweaters. Keep house respectable. Reduce clutter. Eat better. Exercise more. Write more. Create more. Waste less time. Be less fearful.

I make them every year...I stick to most of them usually... No new craft supplies or fabric. I have rooms and boxes and rooms of boxes filled with yarn, fabric, and craft projects.  It will be hard but I must resist the urge to splurge and shop my stash instead.  I have so much to choose from...I am also trying to include patterns and knitting/craft books in this.  But that might be a losing prospect.  Notions are allowed since I might need to get a zipper to finish a skirt etc. No new clothing. I did the ethical clothing challenge in 2010 and it was great. I only caved three times the whole year: a backup wedding dress in case of rain from Anthro, a pair of skinny jeans after I hit my weight loss goal, and a Trashy Diva Doris Day dress while on honeymoon in New Orleans (technically I could call this a souvenir).  I think I can do it again this year...especially if I stick to the next resolution. 52 Craft Challenge   I want to make something ev...