Book News and Upcoming Events

Well, folks, it's official: my first book is FINISHED! :D I just completed the final edit yesterday evening. Today, I've been formatting my manuscript and researching the submission requirements on the two agency websites.

Of course, "finished" is a relative term. If my book is accepted, there will be other edits to follow. But this is the last peer/beta reader/Hannah edit for now. ;)

I have to admit, I didn't think about how time consuming this last little bit of preparation would be. Even though I've finished the book, I still need to update my synopsis, create a short biography, and come up with some promotional sentences and "back cover copy" paragraphs (the promotional paragraphs you normally see on the back of a book that capture your interest...or not). ;) All of this is fun, but challenging, too.

I'm pretty sure I have my formatting down, thanks to some help from my writing buddy, Rich. Today I realized I have a lot to learn about Microsoft Word. For the past several years, I've been using Open Office instead, and the two programs are just different enough that it can get pretty confusing.

My hope was to get my book submitted by this week, but I may have to shoot for next week instead due to some other writing deadlines I received from my upcoming Mount Hermon class.

This past week was a little bit on the crazy side, but it was amazing, too.

Warning: Faith-based post here, people. ;) I know not all of you share the same spiritual background I do, so I like to give you a heads up when I can. But this was something I really wanted to share. 

Okay, back to our regularly-scheduled blog post. ;)

Last Monday, the 1st, I was still $400 short on my Mount Hermon tuition, which was due on February 19th. That was also the day I discovered my mom would not be able to do the cooking when I hosted the doll club at my house two days later (she was still getting over a cold). It was the day I found out I had to have the first twenty pages of my second book, plus a synopsis, emailed to my Mount Hermon instructor by February 15th. And the day that I tried to list my Disney Princess Singing Dolls, but half of them were having problems (see my previously mentioned Tone Deaf Belle YouTube Video for further explanation).

This was on top of my self-imposed deadline of the second week of February for finishing my manuscript and submitting to the two interested agents.

To say I was a tad bit overwhelmed would be the understatement of the year. ;)

The thing that stressed me out the most was the monetary deadline for Mount Hermon. Because of all my other obligations, I was hesitant to do a slew of eBay listings. When my dolls all rebelled and started singing off-key, it seemed to confirm that eBay was not a good idea. But I didn't know how else I would be able to get that kind of money together in a few short weeks.

That night, I talked things over with Hubby. I was super stressed, but I remember specifically telling him, "I know if God wants me to go to Mount Hermon, He'll provide a way for me to go."

I prayed about things that night and felt better. I figured if worst came to worst, I just wouldn't go to Mount Hermon.

The next morning, I went into the school office to pay the girls' tuition. Usually, I write the tuition checks at home, where I have a record of the monthly fee (roughly around $700 per month for the three girls). Oldest Gal drops them off at the office on her way to school. But whenever I go into the office to pay, I can never remember the exact amount, so one of the office secretaries usually prints off an invoice for me.

Coincidentally, this was the first time this year I'd gone in to pay.

When the secretary came out with my invoice, she said, "Um, it looks like you owe sixty-five dollars."

I blinked. That couldn't be right.

"Are you sure?"

She showed me the invoice. There it was, in black and white. Total: $65.

So apparently, back in July, someone anonymously paid around $700 on our school account. At the time they wrote the check to the school, I had already paid that month's tuition. The following month, forgetting about the gift, I sent a check in with Oldest Gal, and proceeded to do the same thing every month afterwards.

This is what amazes me. Not only did God provide for Mount Hermon, but He provided for it last summer. Thanks to someone's generosity and my forgetfulness, that money was waiting in our account for just the right time.

Of course, God doesn't always choose to answer prayer so specifically. But when He does, it's so incredible.

I paid $100 so we'd be a little ahead for next month, went back out to my truck, and cried. I was overwhelmed by this incredible, real manifestation of God's love for me. I was reminded again of the ways He'd provided opportunities and opened doors for my writing again and again over the past several years.

You guys have been a part of that amazing journey, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. :)

Things were still stressful and busy after that, but having that sort of emotional and spiritual boost gave me the added strength I needed to get through the week.



As you can imagine, this nutso schedule of mine has prevented me from doing much in the way of blogging. Every time I sat down to type, it was to work on my book. By next week, this should be different. :)

On that note, I want to thank all of you for your sweet comments on my last post. It was so nice to come back and hear from so many of you. You guys are the best! :) I'll be heading over to respond shortly after this.



And now, on to upcoming events.

First up, another toy review post is on its way. :D I've been really good at not buying extras this past month. Almost everything has gone towards Mount Hermon, bills, and groceries. But today, Target had some new Disney Little Kingdom sets, and I decided I would treat myself to just one of them in celebration of finishing my manuscript. :D

This Aurora set was super cute.

I love that she comes with the three fairies...and what looks like a little book with Maleficent on it. ;)

The two Frozen sets I've been waiting for were there, too. This Ice Skating Set was darling...

...but I think the Frozen Fever Set is my favorite.

So cute! :D

As much as I wanted the Frozen Fever Set, I decided on Rapunzel's Royal Wedding set instead. I already have several Frozen sets, and one Belle, so I just needed some Tangled Little Kingdom dolls to have something from each of my three favorite Disney movies. ;)

The full review is not quite finished, but here's a better picture of the set. I can't wait to share the whole thing with you! :) 

I'm hoping I'll have a chance to get a post up within the next couple of days, but it might have to wait until next week.

In other news, our yearly combined birthday trip for Oldest Gal, Middle Gal, and Little Gal is coming up this weekend. We'll be going to the Disney Store, Build-a-Bear, Toys R Us, Hobby Lobby, Goodwill, and whatever else we find on the way. :) So be looking for a trip post soon. :)

I'm looking forward to finding some of the new fruit-themed Lalaloopsies. It would be wonderful to find some of the new Curvy Barbies, too, but I don't think those will be in stores until early March.

(P.S. For those of you who have been wondering, I'm loving the new Barbie bodies. I'm planning on getting at least one Curvy Barbie so I'll finally have one that looks like me. ;) Here's hoping they eventually release Tall, Petite, and Curvy dolls with Made To Move joints. Now THAT would be perfect.) :D

I guess that's about all for now. Just wanted to let you guys know I'm still alive and well...though very busy. ;)

I'll keep you posted on my book news, toy news, and travel news. Talk to you again soon!

Disney Frozen Little Kingdom Friendship Collection Set from Hasbro (Plus a Month-long Goodbye) ;)

 Well, I was all set to come do a plain goodbye post for the month, but when I got home today, my Frozen Little Kingdom set from Toys R Us was waiting for me on the front doorstep. So I thought I'd combine my goodbye post with a mini review of my new Little Kingdom set. :)

I won't do a full review with ratings since I just did a review on another set from this line. I'll share pics and a few basic thoughts, so this post will be more like a quick overview. :)

Here's the set in the package. Oh my goodness...they're so cute!! :D

This is the "Frozen Friendship Collection."

I love the artwork on the package: 

Especially cute little Kristoff. :)

The back of the box, featuring more adorable artwork.

Box details:

The package opens super easily.

The figures are held in place with a few minimal thin plastic ties holding the girls in place. It's so nice having easy-to-open packages. :)

Here they are! We'll go down the row and take a look at each of them.

Olaf is all one piece without articulation of any kind. He's got a glittery luster to his paint. I think he's pretty cute overall, although his eyebrows seem just a little thick.

Olaf's other angles:

I'm assuming the hole in the back of his head is there for attaching accessories.

Next up is Anna. :)

Anna comes with her outfit and three little accessories: two flowers and a headpiece.

Anna from the other angles: 

Here's how she looks with her accessories attached to her dress and head.

All of Anna's clothing is removable. Like my "Arendelle Treat Shoppe" Elsa, her bodice attaches with a little peg in front, but the bodice also has small arm straps. I'm hoping this will help it stay in place a little better.

Here she is without her cape. My only real complaint with this doll is that her outfit looks more like a combination of her coronation dress and her winter dress. I'm guessing they didn't want to paint her arms blue so she could swap clothing with the other dolls, but honestly, I almost would have preferred blue arms so it would look more accurate. What do you guys think?

I can't even tell you how absolutely adorable she is in person. I'm so glad I have her to add to my other Anna dolls. :)

Now we'll take a look at Elsa.

 I'm glad I get to have an Elsa in her ice queen dress as well as her coronation dress. :) This Elsa comes with two snowflakes and a crown.

Elsa from the other angles; 

Elsa with her accessories attached.

Like Anna's, all of Elsa's clothing and accessories are removable.

Oh, and I thought I should mention that another reviewer had problems getting the Elsa and Anna in this set to stand up, but as you can see, both of mine stand well unassisted. I had to work with Elsa a bit to get her at the right angle to stand, but then she was fine.

Elsa and Anna both have joints at the hips so they can go to a sitting position. However, Elsa would not sit by herself. She kept toppling over (which is why I'm holding her down with one finger in the picture).

Their arms also move up...

...and down.

Sweet Elsa, back in her outfit. I prefer using a snowflake in her hair rather than her crown.

Here she is next to my Arendelle Treat Shoppe Elsa (who sadly is still missing her bodice...I sure hope it turns up). :(

On to Kristoff!

He has the cutest little face! :)

Kristoff from the other angles: 

Kristoff's clothing is not removable like the girls', but his hat comes off.

His legs move individually, and he can sit down. The bottom of his tunic is made from flexible plastic like the girls' skirts, allowing the legs to bend far enough to sit.

He also rotates at the waist...

...and can turn his head back and forth. However, his arms, are molded to his body and do not move at all. 

If you don't care for this design, I would suggest purchasing the individual Kristoff doll with his lute. From the pictures, it looks like his arms bend. He also doesn't have his sleeves rolled up (just in case that makes a difference to anyone). ;) I went ahead and ordered Kristoff with his lute because I wanted both versions. I also ordered Anna in her coronation dress so I would have coronation and regular dress versions of each of the sisters. But I'm drawing the line there. Honest. At least for Frozen Little Kingdom dolls. I mean, it's only logical that I should eventually purchase a Belle and a Rapunzel for my other two Disney collections, right? ;) 

Okay, moving on from my rationalization. ;) Let's take a look at Sven now.

Sven is cute, too. I kind of wish they'd added some gray to his brown, though, so he'd look more like he did in the movie. Like Olaf, Sven does not have any articulation.

Sven from the other angles: 

I do like the detail of his sculpt. :)

And finally, let's move on to Marshmallow.

This is the "good" version of Marshmallow, like we see him at the end of the movie. He is also unarticulated, even though there's a seam in the plastic of his neck that makes it look like he should be able to move. 

Marshmallow from the other angles: 

Just like Olaf, Marshmallow has a glittery tint to his plastic.

I wanted to compare him to my Funko Mystery Minis "mean" Marshmallow. I was thinking they looked about the same size. As you can see, though, the Little Kingdom Marshmallow is just slightly larger.

So that's the whole set! I'm very pleased with the quality and the just plain cuteness of each of the figures. The set was $24.99 on the Toys R Us website (with free shipping since my purchase was over $19). The price seems a little steep, but when you consider that each of the characters sell individually for $5, it's not bad for what you get.

I would highly recommend this set for any Frozen fans out there. It's currently available on the Toys R Us website HERE and on the Walmart website HERE. Both sites are selling it for $24.99. Toys R Us offers free shipping over $19, and if you have a local Walmart store, they offer free "site to store" pickup, so either way you'll be paying the same amount.

Happy shopping, everyone! :)

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And now, it's time to say goodbye until the end of the month. I thought you might like to hear some of the things I'll be up to this month. I'd really appreciate prayers from those of you who are my brothers and sisters in Christ, as I'd love to use this month wisely.

First and foremost, I'll be working on my book. I received the editing notes from my first editing friend today, and I'll be meeting with my second editing friend on Thursday to discuss her thoughts. I'll meet with my third editing friend sometime next week. Once I have my feedback from everyone, I'll get to work evaluating their notes and making the changes that need to take place. Then, Lord willing, I'll be able to submit my completed manuscript to my potential agents in February. Yikes! It's such an exciting and scary thing at the same time. :)

Other than my book, I'd also like to take a step back and organize myself, both online and in "real life." I love blogging and connecting with others on social media, but I'm finding it a bit overwhelming at times. I also don't want my online life to take over my family life. I'm hoping to come up with some ways to organize my blogging/social media time a bit more so I won't be so stressed about it.

My house is a disaster, so that will be a big part of my real life organization. I'll probably be downsizing some of my collections, too, as I have completely run out of room. I also feel like my collections have grown a bit excessive, especially considering our somewhat limited budget. That, and there are some things we'd like to save for as a family (and I'd like to save for individually). Downsizing will help with that as well. So eBay, Craigslist, and some local buy/sell/trade stores will be seeing me this month. (I'm not sure when my eBay listings will be up, or how many I'll be doing, but you can see my seller page HERE if you want to check it throughout the month.)

Other than that, I'll be catching up on email responses, filing the paperwork that's been sitting in totes for far too long, and starting up Skinny Jeans again at the gym. I already caught up on blog comment responses, so that's one thing I can check off of my list. :) (Sorry for all of you who had to wait so long for responses.)

I hope you all have a wonderful, blessed January, and I'll be back sometime in February, refreshed and ready to go. :)