My Little Pony Blind Bags

Now begins the huge lineup of review posts that have been waiting patiently to be published. :)  First up, we have the adorable and highly addictive My Little Pony Blind Bags, featuring ponies from the latest version of the popular children's collectibles and TV show.  

Before I start, I would like to say that a part of me will always love the original ponies that I grew up with the best.  These ones are a little funny looking with their huge heads and eyes.  They've kind of grown on me, though. :)  

As far as the TV show goes, I have mixed feelings.  The My Little Pony movie that I grew up watching would give my daughters nightmares enough to last a month.  It was full of magic and super scary bad guys (including a really creepy over-sized spider!), and Baby Lickety Split was really bratty.  I really loved that movie, though.  (My mom can still sing the "Nothing Can Stop the Smooze" song.) :}  I had a huge collection of G1 ponies and had all of their names memorized. :)

Then we have the My Little Pony movies that my girls grew up with, full of disgustingly sweet ponies who sang really sappy songs, let everyone be winners and always promoted fairness and kindness.  Not necessarily bad things to promote...just really hard to watch as a parent (ESPECIALLY the Princess Promenade movie...gag me with a sugar spoon!).  

So then we have the newest batch of ponies and their TV show.  

The pros?  

1. The ponies actually have fleshed out personalities that can entertain the kiddos and yet make the parents chuckle too.  

2. The stories are really interesting and funny.  

3.  Their are boy ponies, grandma ponies, married couple ponies, and adorable baby ponies. :)  

The cons?  

1.  The biggest issue for me is that these ponies argue and yell...A LOT (aside from gentle Fluttershy...one of my favorite characters, by the way).  So, while I enjoy the show myself, it's not one that I like to have the kiddos watch very often.  They really don't need the encouragement to be more argumentative than they already are!  

2.  There's a bit of an Eastern mysticism hidden in the history of Ponyville and Canterlot.  That doesn't concern me quite as much, because we usually talk about those sorts of things after watching a show.  I wouldn't want to let the girls watch it constantly, though.  I also know that this might be a real problem of conscience for some of you, so I thought I'd mention it.   

3.  This may seem a bit silly to some of you, but I really have a hard time with the fact that Spike the baby dragon has to belch up the letters from Princess Celestia.  Was that really necessary? (I can just see my brother rolling his eyes right now.)  4.  Once again, some of the stories are pretty scary for sensitive kiddos like mine.

I just figured I'd share my thoughts on the show, since some of you might assume that I absolutely loved it, seeing as I've purchased several of the figures. :}

Okay, now that I've spent half of the post rambling on about the TV show, on to the ponies!     

Each pony comes in a sealed foil package, so the pony you get is supposed to be a surprise (more on that later).  Each package includes a pony, a collectible card, and a small brochure showing all of the available ponies.  Above is a picture of three of my ponies:  Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle.  These three ponies are my favorites.  Fluttershy because she's so sweet, Applejack because I love her hard-working, "can do" attitude, and Twilight Sparkle because she's completely OCD (somewhat like me).  Seriously, there were some scenes where I was cracking up because she was acting just like I would in a similar situation. ;)

Hiding in some packages are special glittery editions of Rainbow Dash (shown above), Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie.  I don't always appreciate Rainbow Dash's attitude, but her athleticism and enthusiasm remind me a lot of one of my close friends in high school.

Close-ups of Fluttershy...

...Applejack...

...and Twilight Sparkle.

One of the things I love is that these ponies are the perfect scale for the Princess Celestia pony from McDonald's.  I believe this was from last year's Happy Meal line-up.  It really bothered me that Princess Celestia was the same size as the other McDonald's ponies (I'm big on scale!), so I was thrilled to discovered that she worked just right with the blind bag ponies. :)  Now if only they'd made her the right colors! 

And of course, the icing on the cake is that the blind bag ponies are the perfect size for the dolls! :)

Hayden enjoying her new ponies.

When I first found out about these, I discovered that there were several series, or "waves" of blind bags that have been released.  As far as I can tell, Wave 1 is the only series that has hit my area so far.  And the only place I could find these was at my local Walmart in the toy aisle.  They were $1.97 each.  

One thing I discovered was that there are tiny, embossed codes on each foil bag that reveal which pony is inside.  After doing a little more research, I discovered the following blog, which provides us with a complete list of the codes for the US ponies (wave 1):  http://www.toyreviewdaily.com/2012/01/17/code-number-list-my-little-pony-blind-bags-us-series-1-kiosk-ponies-2012-hasbro/

When I purchased my ponies around a month ago, the codes worked correctly!  I was able to get sparkly Rainbow Dash, sparkly Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie by following the codes.  However, when I looked at the blind bags again just last week, I couldn't find the codes anymore.  Instead, there was a long series of numbers.  (There was a comment expressing a similar problem on the blog I just linked to.)  I'm wondering if the toy company discovered that people had figured out the system and decided to change the codes.  If I find anything else out, I'll be sure to let you know!  I also hope we get some of the other Waves locally soon...I'd really like to get Big Macintosh! :)   

I found another site I found that has more info about the ponies that have been released in Europe and the US so far.  You can view it HERE.  It includes full color pictures of each pony. :)  

I've been awarded! :)

I'm finally taking the time to get to this post!!  I was recently (um...sort of recently!) :} awarded with the Versatile Blogger Award!  Thanks, everyone!  I'm honored! :)

When you are awarded, there are 6 things you're supposed to do:

1.  In a post on your blog, nominate 4 fellow bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.

2.  In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award.

3.  In the same post, thank the blogger (or bloggers!) who nominated you with a link back to their blog(s).

4.  In the same post, include 7 random pieces of information about you.

5.  In the same post, include this set of rules.

6.  Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination with a comment on their blog.

I'm pretty late getting to this, so if I nominate you and you've already been awarded and participated, you don't have to do it again! ;)

So, here goes!

Here are the bloggers I nominate for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1.  Mia from Mia's Musings:  http://themusingsofmia.blogspot.com/

2. Miss Elizabeth Bennet from Elegance of Fashion:  http://elegance-of-fashion.blogspot.com/  (By the way, Miss Bennet, I'm so sorry that I never did the post for The Sweetest Blogger award you gave me.  The timing  just didn't work out for me.  Thank you so much for the nomination, though!) :}

3.  Elaine from Musings of an Old-Fashioned Young Woman:  http://elaine-allthingsoldfashioned.blogspot.com/ (Have fun, Elaine!  I've really enjoyed your posts so far!) :)

4.  Jen from Dolls and Nachos:  http://dollsandnachos.blogspot.com/ 

And here is the Versatile Blogger Award that I'm supposed to include:

I'd like to thank  Nora and Maple from The Doll Wardrobe ( http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/ ), Phoebe from Love That Doll ( http://lovethatdoll.blogspot.com/ ), and...oh dear...Jessie?  Were you the third one?  If so, I can't seem to find a link to your blog.  Sorry!  You can include it in the comments if you'd like.  If I got my last nomination wrong, feel free to correct me!  (Yikes...how embarrassing!  Obviously I've waited a little long to respond to this!) :{

Okay, so now it's on to the 7 random facts about me.

1.  I've been doing a lot of rearranging in my doll rooms lately.  My dad is actually in the middle of making me a more permanent set of doll rooms that will stack on top of each other (I'd like to condense to one side of the bedroom), so I've been planning out which dolls will be roomies and what furniture they'll use. :D

2.  I have my fourth Weight Watchers meeting tomorrow morning.  My goal is to hit 5 lbs total lost!!  (I'm at 3.8 so far.)

3.  I'm singing in a trio on Sunday morning for our church Easter program.  The name of the song we're singing is called "Victory is Won", and it has some lovely three-part harmony that's really fun to sing!  

4.  I will celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary on June 29th. :D  We're planning on getting a sitter for the kids, going out to eat, and watching Disney Pixar's "Brave" in the theater.

5.  I have the songs from "Piglet's Big Movie" stuck in my head because that has been my 4 year old's movie choice every day for the past week! :}

6.  I still despise broccoli.

7.  I've been really struggling with making the time for my personal devotions lately.  I'm planning on reading through the book of John again for my devotions, starting tomorrow, using the Bible Knowledge Commentary to help me dig a little deeper. :)

Thanks so much, everyone!  This was fun, and amazingly easy once I just made myself sit down and do it. ;)  

Schedule for the Next 2 Weeks

Monday:  Do dishes and some other quick clean up; attend my niece's out-of-town bridal shower

Tuesday:  Make Oldest Gal's birthday invitations

Wednesday:  Go to Weight Watchers meeting...hopefully do some blogging!!!

Thursday:  Go to "Grandparents Day" at the school to watch Oldest Gal and Middle Gal perform (Middle Gal has her first solo!) :D

Friday:  First day with all three girls home with me all day...'nuff said! :}

Saturday:  Attend a baby shower for one of my friends from high school days (I'm also organizing one of the shower games); attend practice for our Easter program; sometime in there have an Easter Egg hunt at my mom's with the three girls

Sunday:  Sunday School and trio practice; Easter program in the morning

Monday:  Weight Watcher's meeting in the AM (I'll be out of town on Wednesday); Writer's Meeting in the PM

Tuesday-Wednesday:  Spend some time at Hubby's sister's house out of town

Thursday:  Free...so far (more blogging and writing?); I also need to work on some illustrations for a story for the church kids that the Pastor's wife wrote for them

Friday:  Lunch with my best friend from high school! :D

Saturday:  Another bridal shower in the AM

Sunday:  Sunday School and Church

Monday:  Back to a normal school week....

Okay, I'm getting tired just reading through all of that!!  Just wanted to give you guys an idea of why blogging has been a little bit tricky lately!  I have so many posts in various stages of progress!  Sigh...hopefully by the end of the month I'll have a little more time.

Lord willing, I'll have a good chunk of time to set aside for blogging this Wednesday.  Talk to you then! :)

Adorable Items from Debonair Designs on EBay

Hey guys!  I just have enough time for a quick post for now.  I promise I'll get to my Movie Love tag post and my "Versatile Blogger Award" post...hopefully sometime next week.  Unfortunately, as the school year is beginning to wind down, I'm starting to feel the snowball effect of countless upcoming activities! :{  I'll do my best to keep up, though.  Oh, and Tess and Maggie were finally able to get a post up on their blog.  You can see it HERE, and you'll be happy to know that it finally features Jenna. :)

Anyway, I was browsing through eBay tonight and noticed that my friend Deb from Debonair Designs has 3 beautiful spring ensembles listed.  Two of them only have a couple of days left.  The colors she chose are absolutely stunning!  I really love the hats that come with the outfits, too. :)

Here is "Kimana III", modeled by the lovely Gotz Little Sisters Lily.  Click HERE to see the auction.

I love the beautiful shades of blue that she chose for this set! :)

Next, we have "Ahoy", modeled by Deb's beautiful Alexander Girlz doll, Hayley.  You can view the auction HERE.   

Doesn't she look ready to set sail? :)

And finally, we have "Jardin", once again modeled by Hayley.  Click HERE to view the auction.

I love the beautiful spring colors Deb chose for this set. :)

I have purchased Deb's work before and have been very pleased with her craftsmanship.  Her prices are very reasonable, too.  I always love seeing the creations she comes up with each new season. :) 

I'm Still Here!

Hey guys!  This week has ended up being really crazy...sorry for the lack of posts.  Thanks to The Doll Wardrobe and Phoebe for awarding me with the Versatile Blogger award. :D  I hope to get that post up soon, along with the others that I've had waiting on the back burner.

Yesterday was really fun.  Hubby and I actually got to get away for a bit for the first time in over a month. :)  My mom was really sweet and watched the kiddos while we went to see a movie together.  It was so much fun...it felt like we were dating again. :)

Today, I'll be visiting with out of town family, so I won't have much computer time.  Just wanted to let you guys know that I hadn't forgotten you. :)

Oh, and I'll let Belle, Maggie, and Tess know that they need to get a post or two up soon as well. ;)

Bollywood Songs that Make Me Happy! (or Bollywood Reviews 2...sort of!)

Okay, so here's the deal.  I procrastinated a long time on my second Bollywood Reviews post.  (Duh!)  And unfortunately, I haven't had Netflix, my major source for watching Bollywood movies, for about 6 months now.  I went back to work on my second Bollywood Reviews post and realized that it had just been too long for me to remember everything about the movies.  I didn't feel right reviewing them when it had been that long since I'd seen them.

I didn't want to leave everyone hanging, though.  So instead, I came up with an alternative:  the post you're reading now.

One of the things I love about the Bollywood films I've seen is the music.  While there are some songs that are too sensual for my taste and my conscience, there are a lot of really fun songs out there, too.  I've decided to share some of my favorites with you in this post.  Some are songs I enjoy because of the acting that takes place during the song.  Some are songs that have really fun choreography (which makes me wish I was way more coordinated!).  Others have beautiful melodies or chordal progressions.  And some just flat out make me smile! :)

You'll most likely notice that these songs feature many of the same actors.  That's partially because I tend to find the actors I like and try out their other films.  It's also because there are a lot of movies done by the same Bollywood actors in the same genre (romance, action, etc), so it's easy to find films starring the same people.  [I'd also like to take a moment to apologize to my aunt that there are no Hrithik songs featured in this post.  I know, I know, how dare I do a Bollywood Songs post without "Beautiful Man"...but hey, I've got some fun Shahid songs at least!  Sorry Mimi, you'll have to go back to my original Bollywood Reviews post and watch "Bole Chudiyan" again.] ;)

Another quick note:  I tried to find as many of these with English subtitles as I could, but for some of the songs it just wasn't possible.  So for those songs without subtitles, I'll try to give you a brief idea of what they're saying.

Oops...and one more thing:  some of these songs feature bare midriffs, and Bollywood dances involve a lot of hip action.  Just wanted to issue a warning for those of you who are offended by that.

So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite Bollywood songs for your viewing enjoyment, in no particular order:


"Aaya Re" from Chup Chup Ke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ECsSN3pHU
This film stars Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor.  While I didn't care for the film on the whole (it was a bit too over-the-top on the humor for me...plus I have a hard time enjoying films where the main character lies throughout the entire thing, even if they come clean in the end), I really love this song.  I think it does a great job of capturing the sweetness and innocence of young love.  An interesting bit of trivia, here:  this is one of the common fantasy sequence songs often found in Bollywood films, and incidentally the only song in which Kareena "sings" (although her voice is provided by a playback singer).  In the rest of the movie, she is mute.  Oh, and the guy at the end of the song is her brother, not a love interest.  I can't remember why he looks so upset...it's been a while since I watched it!

Sorry, this is one of the ones without subtitles.  Basically, he's saying:  "Fallen, fallen, my heart has fallen for you"...and a bunch of other sweet stuff. :)

P.S.  Use caution if you do a YouTube search for "Chup Chup Ke".  Apparently there was another movie with this title that was a lot more sensual.


"Balle Balle" from Bride and Prejudice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoLtHqS_LhA
This movie starred Aishwarya Rai (I still haven't figured out how to pronounce her first name!) and Martin Henderson in the title roles.  Also featured in this video are Naveen Andrews, Namrata Shirodkar, and Indira Varma.  I don't know if this film would be considered strictly Bollywood, since it was made in Hollywood, but it definitely has the feel of a Bollywood film (it was made by the same people who did "Bend it Like Beckham", which I never saw).   It's been a while since I've seen this one...I know there was some innuendo and at least one very sensual song.  As a Jane Austen fan, though, I really enjoyed seeing a Bollywood take on Pride and Prejudice.  The differences in culture worked really well for the well-known story line.

In this song, Balraj (Mr. Bingley...the guy wearing black), William Darcy (Mr. Darcy), and Balraj's sister Kiran (Miss Bingley) are at a wedding in India.  This is the moment when Balraj and Jaya (Jane...on the balcony in the pink) see each other for the first time.  And Lalita (Lizzy) is the one in orange and pink.

Unfortunately, I had to change the link, so this one doesn't have quite all of the song.  I've included another link that has the whole song but much lower picture quality:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnZRN1XBvDY


"Saj Dhaj Ke" from Mausam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C87WJjQKLNI
Another Shahid movie! :D  I must admit, while I really enjoy Shahrukh's work, Shahid is quickly becoming my next favorite.  This guy can dance!  His leading lady this time around is Sonam Kapoor.

I can't really say much about this movie, because even though I watched it, I wasn't able to watch it with subtitles...so I had no clue what they were saying!  I will say that there were some really fun moments, but the climactic scene at the end was a little too hard to believe, in my opinion.

Once again, this one doesn't have subtitles.  I found the translation online, and it sounds like Shahid's character and his friends are basically teasing the groom (the guy in the tux) for wanting to be all fancy and "English" instead of sticking to his roots.  I really love Shahid's acting in this song. :)


"Nagada Nagada" from Jab We Met:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4lNAOlvnWk
Shahid and Kareena again.  This movie was had some really fun parts, but also had some swearing and innuendo that I did not appreciate.  Oh, and the song during the end credits was really sensual.

Anyway, this is my favorite song from this movie.  Aditya (Shahid's character) has been asked to sing on the spot for the whole crowd by mischievous Geet (Kareena's character).  I chose the clip I did because it was better quality, but for those of you who want to know what he's saying, you can see a lower quality clip with English subtitles here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkq0eh-n08c

By the way, I dare you to watch this song without having the urge to move your shoulders. ;)


"Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3RlOzVeruE
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai stars Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji.  This is apparently a really well-known song, and the movie was a big hit too.  While I really enjoyed some parts of this movie and the idea of the story line, it was another one that had more swearing and innuendo than I was comfortable with.  It had some great moments, and this song is one of them.  It's just fun and lighthearted and catchy (warning, you may have it stuck in your head after watching it!).  ;)

UPDATE:  Sorry guys...this link doesn't work and I can't find another version.  For some reason, this particular song isn't available in the US.  If you ever get a chance to hear it, though, it's really fun. :}



"Aisa Des Hai Mera" from Veer-Zaara (you knew I'd get a Veer-Zaara song in here somewhere!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3e8x4NY6Hw
This one is still my all-time favorite Bollywood movie, and probably will be forever. :D  Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta play the main characters.

This song takes place early in the film, and is basically Veer (Shahrukh) introducing his country to Zaara (Preity), who is from Pakistan.

Whenever I watch this, I want to go to India! :)


"Ajab Si" from Om Shanti Om:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfGzxmLn400
This is another Shahrukh one (What can I say?  He's my favorite!).  Deepika Padukone plays the lovely Bollywood actress Shantipriya, as well as a modern character, Sandy.  I've already explained this movie in detail in my first Bollywood Reviews post, so I won't say more here.

This song happens towards the beginning of the movie (in the 70s sequence...which you could probably tell from the clothing!), when Om gets to see Shantipriya on the red carpet.

I love the beautiful melody and lyrics of this song. :)


"Haule Haule" from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwZQoqZfihU
This is one of my husband's favorite Bollywood films (and coincidentally, another film I reviewed in my first review post).  Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi stars Shahrukh and Anushka Sharma in her film debut.

I love how cute Suri (Shahrukh) is in this song (cute as in "Aww...", not "Wow!").  He's supposed to be kind of nerdy in this movie, by the way.  He wants nothing more than to win the love of his beautiful young wife.

I also like this song because it's the one Bollywood dance uncomplicated enough for me.  I can actually do this one without looking like a complete moron. ;)

Oh, and there is some very super mild sensuality in one short part of this song.  I'm probably being overly cautious, but I want to play it safe. :)


Okay, these next two are also in my first Bollywood Reviews post, but I had to include them anyway! ;)

"Hamari Shaadi Mein" from Vivah:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRJiJUwelRA
I love how fun and lighthearted this song is. :)  As I explained in the earlier post, the basic idea of this song is:  "My wedding is coming up and I'm super excited." ;)  Oh, and Shahid's character Prem is so excited that he keeps thinking he sees his fiance on the plane when she's not really there.


"Yeh Ladka Hai Allah" from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2kGpQ8_qAg
(I recently had to replace this link.  The video quality is beautiful, but there are no English subtitles...only Greek. :}  For a lower quality version with English subtitles, click HERE.)

Even though this one uses Allah's name in a way that I wouldn't want to use my God's name (for more on that, you can read my first review post, which I'm not going to link again, since I already linked it twice!!), I really love Shahrukh and Kajol's acting in this one.  They're so cute together. :)

This song always makes me want to dance...as long as no one's watching!  These dance steps are a little more complicated than "Haule Haule". ;)


And in closing, here's a great fan-made video I found set to "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun. The song recording is from the cast starring Bernadette Peters.  The video features Shahrukh Khan and Kajol Devgan, 2 of my favorite Bollywood actors, in clips from several of the films they've starred in together.   I think this YouTuber did a fantastic job...they even had Shahrukh and Kajol acting during the silences of the songs! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbGvm73XRlI


Well, that's it!  I hope it wasn't too annoying having to click all of the links. :}  Which songs were your favorites?

Charlie Love

As many of you know, my Charlie doll (formerly known as Mia St. Claire) had a pretty serious eye problem when I bought her on eBay.  Her right eye was broken and could not close properly (see pic below).

Thankfully, Charlie's eye was able to stay open when I fixed it manually.  She could never close her eyes correctly, though, and I had to be really careful about where I took her.  I didn't want anything getting stuck inside her eye socket and damaging the eye further.

Well, thanks to Jodybo on the AGPlaythings message board, Charlie had a little "surgical procedure" (aka eye swap), and now she's as good as new.  The hazel of her eyes is slightly different (it's now the same shade as Rebecca's), so I thought I would take some pics to play around with her new look.  I'm very pleased with the results.  I'm also seriously considering taking Charlie with me on vacation this summer since her eyes are now working properly.  I can't wait to see the photos I get! :) 

For now, I hope you enjoy the photo shoot as I share a little "Charlie love". ;)

Hayden and Emma were both happy to have their sister back.  Charlie was just relieved to have her head reattached to her body! ;) (I shipped Charlie's head by itself for the eye swap.)

More posts to come...slowly but surely! ;)