My new doll

My Godi has been bugging me a little about my lack of posting, and while I feel bad that I haven’t gotten to it as much as I’d like, there are others who haven’t posted in several months, so, yeah.  Here’s one that’s long overdue but definitely one that I’ve wanted to write (I’m sorry for those who have heard this story already).  Hopefully it will to kick off what will turn into a 2012 posting trend. 

First, a little background.  When I was younger, I, and just about every other girl I knew, wanted an American Girl doll.  For those who are unfamiliar with American Girl and their products, they started off with three different characters/dolls, each from a different era.  There was Kirsten, the Swedish immigrant from 1854; there was Samantha, the “Victorian beauty” from 1904; and Molly from 1944 whose father was off fighting on the European front in WWII.  Each character has her own series of books, many of which have won awards since the characters are such good role models for girls today.  Did I mention the dolls are gorgeous and have the neatest clothes and cutest little accessories ever?

In any case, there was a period of time during which I was obsessed with Samantha.  I borrowed the books from the library and looked through the American Girl catalogue on a regular basis, something that continued until I was probably too old to be doing it.  Actually receiving a doll, however, was not in the cards for me, and since then I haven’t kept up with the company’s offerings much.

Fast forward to last month, when the Kindergruppe families gave me one of the coolest Christmas gifts I have ever received: an American Girl gift card, along with a little doll-sized dirndl.  You would’ve thought I was 10 years old again based on my reaction, although I think the kids in the group were just as excited as I was.  I spent much of the evening looking through the catalogue and taking recommendations from the girls.

Now, I received this gift card on a Friday evening, and I was so excited that I went to the American Girl Place at Water Tower Place at my first opportunity – Monday at lunch – to pick up my doll.  For those who are not aware, I work just down the street and can walk there in 10 minutes. 

Let me tell you that I was completely unprepared for the American Girl Place experience!  It’s CRAZY in there!   The collection of character dolls has expanded significantly over the past 20 years and there are large displays for each one (remember each has all kinds of cool outfits and accessories, including furniture).  Add to that the “Just Like Me” dolls and the myriad of stuff available for them and any of about ten specialty “shops” like the Doll Spa, and it gets just a little overwhelming. 

After a few minutes of walking around I started feeling a little dizzy so just decided to get my doll and get the hell out of there.  Since Samantha is now retired, I chose Marie-Grace, a girl from 1853 New Orleans who, in the story, has recently started taking voice lessons.  My main hang-up on the doll, as beautiful as she is, was that she came in a pink dress.  In the end I determined that it was more of a salmon color and picked her up anyway.  I also got some cute little Mary Jane shoes for her so she’d have the proper footwear for her dirndl. Here's a picture of her: 

I brought her to our last Kindergruppe practice, and all of the kids seemed excited.  As I was talking to the kids about the doll and thanking them again for the gift I also had parents taking pictures of me, so I guess they were excited, too.  It’s funny that even as people age there are simple things, like dolls, Legos, or any number of other childhood toys, they just never get old.

That’s all for this installment – posts in the cue include “Topics for Research Study” and a post about my wanting to learn more about firearms.