Stop the World...I Want to Get Off!

This week has truly been a ride through crazy town. Between project deadlines, practices for the girls, late nights, and trying to get enough playtime in with Teddy so he sleeps well, I feel like I've been running in all directions.

Tomorrow afternoon, I'll head up to the mountains for another mini writing retreat with my writing buddies Sarah and Rosemary. While the preparations for getting away feel a bit overwhelming right now, I'm looking forward to a few days of nothing but writing, brainstorming, eating, and visiting. ;) I'll be sure to take some photos and let you know how it goes.

I have a couple of posts still in the works, but haven't had enough time to get them all polished and ready for you. So here are a couple of preview pictures to show you what you have to look forward to in the coming weeks:

And some puppy spam, just because Teddy's so cute and photogenic:

Talk to all of you again soon!

P.S. Sorry I never responded to comments on Teddy's post! I'll try to get to that next week. :}

I'm Still Alive...Honest. ;)

Hey guys! Sorry things have been so quiet around here. This month has been a lot busier and more stressful than I expected. I will respond to comments within the next day or so, and my Rapunzel/Belle/Kristoff Disney Store doll comparisons will be up by the end of the week (although they may be as late as Saturday).

This coming Sunday is my six year blogoversary (yay!), so stay tuned for a fun celebratory post.

On Monday, the 25th, our family will head out for a week-long vacation to the coast. I'm so excited! This far into the summer I start getting beach withdrawals when I've been stuck in the hot, northern California weather. ;) What will make this trip even more wonderful is that Hubby has the entire week off, so we'll get to spend a lot of time together. And the location is super special: we'll be visiting the beach where Hubby proposed to me fourteen and a half years ago. We haven't been back since that long ago, wonderful Christmas morning, so I'm so excited to return and share our special memories with the girls. :D

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer! I'll be back soon.

Crazy Week, a Big Change, and Upcoming Posts

These past couple of weeks have flown by. Here it is, already the middle of the first week of school. I can hardly believe it!

I have some review posts in the works, but I thought I'd give you another updatey post for today. Hope you don't mind. ;)

I snapped this adorable shot of my girls and my mom on their way to Subway after a day of school shopping. This was last Friday, when I was frantically trying to get all of my last errands before school done. :} We made it, but it was quite a long day.

On Saturday, the girls got new haircuts for school. Here they are before cuts (Little Gal, Middle Gal, and Oldest Gal).

Waiting for their turn. :) Kit came with us because Little Gal wanted a "Kit cut" for her new hairstyle. I figured the easiest way to explain it to the hairdressers would be to just bring her with us. Which, of course, gave us some cute photo ops. ;) 

And here they are after their cuts.

Middle Gal

Little Gal, with Kit in tow. ;) She does look very much like her special doll now. :) (Although she informed me she needs freckles to look exactly like her.) ;)

Oldest Gal

Oldest Gal also decided to get her bangs cut for the first time in about six years. She's enjoying them, but realizing that having bangs makes hair care a little more complicated. ;)

On Monday, the girls had their first day of school. 

Oldest Gal is in sixth grade and started her first year of Middle School. It's on the same campus, but is in a different building with different teachers. She was a little nervous at first, but is really enjoying Middle School so far. :)

Middle Gal is a fourth grader this year. She was sad that her best friend she made last year is no longer at the school, but she's having a good week so far and is making some new friends.

Little Gal is a big second grader this year. She's having a great time and enjoying her teachers.

I can't believe they're that old! Where has the time gone?

As for me, I've been enjoying having a bit of time to myself during the day. :) We had a wonderful summer together, and for the first time in the past few years, I felt an honest, bittersweet twinge as I dropped my children off at school. Usually, I'm the mom counting the days 'til school starts again. ;) 

I've been plugging away at my book and finished editing another chapter this week. Slow and steady wins the race, right? ;)

A picture of my awesome shelf by the computer, just because it makes me smile. :) I love filling my work space with things that brighten my day and inspire my creativity. 

In other news, I've taken a huge step towards good health and signed up for a gym membership and a class there that focuses on both fitness and nutrition. The class begins on August 31st. It will start out at two days a week and end up at five, and will last until November. In the meantime, I'm doing some small group training with a personal trainer there so that I have at least a slight idea of what to do when I start the other class. ;) I've decided to record a series of short vlogs, sharing my thoughts on the experience. Hopefully, someday I'll be able to look back on them and see how far I've come. ;)

 Here are the vlogs I've done so far. The first is a basic intro/update video I did, and the second two are my first two Gym Vlogs:

Random Updates Vlog

Gym Vlog #1

Gym Vlog #2

I've never been more nervous about anything in my entire life (and I get nervous about a LOT of stuff). But after surviving my first day of a small group session, I'm feeling a lot better about the whole thing. I didn't die! ;) I was actually able to do what my trainer asked me to do...aside from some minor beginner's mistakes on form and such. 

Honestly, the hardest part was getting there over thirty minutes early and not knowing what to do. I spent a long time in the locker room, working up the courage to leave the safety of the lockers. (Yoga pants are not the most confidence inspiring attire, people!) ;) I walked around on the bottom floor for a while, watching some of the other members. I think I was making one gal uncomfortable, which made me feel bad. I just wanted to see what I should expect from my own class. Maybe standing off to one side, sipping my water and watching her work with her trainer was a bit too much. :} 

My trainer had told me it would be good to stretch before the workout, but here lies one of my other problems. I have no clue how to stretch correctly. I certainly have no interest in stretching in public, pretending I know what I'm doing. Not at this point, anyway. So instead, I walked back and forth a little bit more. A couple of people were watching my awkward attempt at blending in...which wasn't working AT ALL. One of them was an older guy on an exercise bike who seemed amused by my discomfort, in a kind way, not a "look at that sorry loser" way.

I finally decided to head to the upstairs section. It was empty, so at least I could be awkward without an audience. ;) I tried the treadmill for about a minute...maybe. I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing, though, and people on the bottom floor could see me again. (The middle of the top floor was open, looking down on the bottom floor.)  Besides, I was going just fast enough to make it move, and that's about it. Forgetting the treadmill, I went over to the exercise bikes. I have one of those at home, so I figured I could probably do okay on one of those. They were spin bikes, slightly different than mine, and the seats were so high I couldn't get on them. I tried to figure out how to adjust them, but I was afraid to fiddle too much. 

Since I didn't want to accidentally break a spin bike on my first day, I settled on walking back and forth upstairs. No one had to know I was in a professional gym and ignoring the equipment. ;) It killed time and got me loose and limbered up for the workout.

I headed downstairs about five minutes before the scheduled class time. The older guy who'd been on the bike was in the area where the class was to take place. He was very friendly and introduced himself. I instantly felt at ease. He wasn't the macho, too cool for you gym guy type I'd expected, but was very kind and down to earth. He even was a retired UPS driver! ;) 

It was just the two of us and the trainer for the class. Once the class actually began, everything was wonderful. I'm not the best athlete, and I mess up A LOT, especially on form since I've never trained before. But having someone right there, telling me what to do and demonstrating it for me first, was just what I needed. Having another member there who messed up every once in a while made me feel better, too. I wasn't the only non-perfect gym member. ;) 

And that about sums up the first day. Except for the fact that my thighs are protesting every time I stand up or sit down. I hope I can move tomorrow. ;) 

I'll try not to bog you guys down with too many details on the exercising thing. This is, after all, a doll and toy review blog. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. I just wanted to remember the awkward goofiness of this first day. Someday, I'll walk into that gym with head held high, a woman on a mission who knows exactly what she is supposed to do. 

And then, maybe I can find some other awkward newbie and let her know that it's all going to be okay. :)

***************************

I've got lots of actual doll and toy-related posts coming up, so don't despair if you're tired of hearing about me instead. ;) Stay tuned!

A Quick Hello

Hey guys! Just wanted to give you a quick update. I have several posts in the works and have some comment responses to work on, but I probably won't get to them until sometime next week. The temperature has spiked well over 100 degrees again for a few days, so we've escaped our house with our poor little swamp cooler that can't keep up and are staying with my mom and dad. They have a computer, but it's got a huge screen and gives me a headache when I stay on it for too long. ;)

I also will be spending most of the weekend at a college reunion, which should be lots of fun. I'm looking forward to catching up with some of my former fellow students and professors. :)

Just wanted to let you guys know I'm still alive. ;) My Disney Store order with the new Classic dolls is scheduled to arrive this coming Tuesday, so you can be sure I'll have a review post up sometime next week. :D I ended up ordering Belle, Rapunzel, Eugene, and the Beast. I'm just too curious about whether or not he transforms to pass him up. Plus, I did some doll restringing for a friend from the doll club, so I had the funds. ;)

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! :)

A Few Updates and Upcoming Posts

Hey everyone! Hope your week is going well. :) I thought I should take a moment and talk about what the next month or so will look like on this blog.

Since I officially have someone interested in my books now, it's vital that I use as much of this last month and a half before school gets out to wrap up, refine, and rework my first book. As you can probably imagine, creating and editing a book is much easier when the girls are not home and I'm free from distractions. Even if that wasn't the case, I don't want to neglect my family while shooting for the chance to become a published author. It's going to take me a while to find that balance of carving out time for myself while still meeting my family's needs. Which is why I'm not exactly looking forward to summer just yet. ;)

Today I got 2,200 something words typed on my book and made great progress on my map. (Yes, my dear Kickstarter backers, I haven't forgotten you, and your maps are coming...I promise!) :} It was a great reminder of what I can accomplish when I sit down and discipline myself. Many writers I know would give anything to have the amount of free time I have.

So, because these next couple of months are crucial for my book writing time, things will be a bit slower here on Never Grow Up. My goal is to put up one "real" post (i.e. a post other than my "Hey, there's a sale on such-and-such's website!" posts) per week. There may be weeks where even that is a challenge, and I'll have to compromise with a quick "Hi, I'm still alive" post. ;) Please be patient with me. I don't want to waste this incredible opportunity.

I have a slew of draft posts I still have to sift through. I've waited so long on some of them that it seems rather pointless to publish them. Some of you might still find them interesting, though, even if it's not a doll or toy that's currently hot on the market. Maybe every once in a while I'll post the topics of three draft posts at a time and have you guys vote on which one you'd be most interested in. Would any of you enjoy that?

This week's post is in progress. I took a ton of pics for it tonight. Need a hint to tide you over? It's a Zelf-themed post. ;)

Next week's post will be a fun review (and giveaway!) of some adorable 18" doll clothes that were sent to me for review.

And for those of you who have been wondering, Tess and Maggie's last post is officially in the works, too. I'm a little frustrated with myself. I knew that continuing Jane Austen and Unicorns was getting to be too much, so I purposely planned on ending it last year before I started getting too far behind.

Ahem. Yeah, that was a brilliant plan. :}

Anyway, keep an eye out for Tess and Maggie's last post sometime this week. I'll miss "helping" them with their blog, but it's definitely for the best.

I guess that's about all for now. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week. I hope to get caught up on blog comments tonight, and I'd love to tackle some blog emails this week too. Aaarrghh!! I'm so behind!

Talk to all of you again soon. :)

P.S. Random fun thing for the day. Emily at The Toy Box Philosopher blog did a really fun review today similar to my Strawberry Shortcake Through the Years post. She focused on Blueberry Muffin. I LOVED the fact that she included an actual blueberry muffin in the review. You can see her post HERE. Be sure to stop by her blog and check it out. :)

Mini DAC Post Coming Soon and a Clothing Idea for the Hearts For Hearts Girls.

Hey guys!  Just wanted to let you know that my mini DAC post is complete except for the comments from my daughters.  I'll be working with them on their reviews tomorrow afternoon and will publish the post as soon as we're done. ;)

In the meantime, I thought I'd give a "heads up" to my fellow Hearts For Hearts Girls collectors out there.  I know we're always looking for more clothing ideas for the dolls, right?

Last week, my mom found a Melissa and Doug "Mine to Love" doll on sale for $10 at TJ Maxx.  She thought the doll looked just about the same size as the Hearts for Hearts Girls, so she bought it just in case.

This is the Larissa Princess doll.

Other views of the box: 

I'm not a real fan of this doll's face, but her dress and tiara are really cute.  (Interestingly enough, my girls thought this doll was adorable.  I guess it's all a matter of personal preference.) ;)

As you can see, though, she's just about the same size as a Hearts For Hearts Girls doll, with slightly different proportions.

The two dolls from the back.

Her dress fits the Hearts For Hearts Girls perfectly!  And $10 for a doll dress, tiara, and shoes is not a bad price. ;)

The fabric of the dress is durable and looks nice.

Interestingly enough, the sleeves are actually easier to get over the Hearts For Hearts Girls hands than they were over the hands of the doll the dress was made for! ;)

The shoes are a little big and therefore a little silly looking, but they stay on.

Hmm, that's not a very ladylike way to sit, Lauryce! ;)

After I took these pictures, I passed the dress on to the girls to play with.  Middle Gal tried it on her Nahji doll, and I thought it looked great with her coloring. :)

So if any of you have Hearts For Hearts Girls dolls in need of other outfits and have a TJ Maxx close by, you might want to check it out.  According to my mom, there was also a doll in a pink princess dress and one in a ballerina tutu.

Happy shopping! :)  I'll be back soon with a mini DAC review.  Here are some pics to tide you over:

Christmas Craziness

Hey everyone!  Sorry I didn't get a post up on Friday or Saturday like I had planned.  The weekend ended up being a lot busier than I anticipated.  I wrapped up a fun doll photo shoot that will be part of my Christmas gift to a doll club friend.  Unfortunately, I can't share it with you yet because I'm not sure if she reads the blog, and I want it to be a surprise. ;)  After this coming Saturday (the 13th), I'll be sure to share photos with you. :)

Yesterday was one of those crazy Sundays where a million things were happening.  I sang in a triple trio for the morning service, and the girls sang with the "King's Kids" group as well.  Then, last night, we had a special, musical Christmas service in which the girls sang another "King's Kids" number and Middle Gal had a piano solo.  We got home rather late and enjoyed Popeye's with Hubby before getting to bed. :)

Today will be another full day.  I'm helping Mimi with some cleaning (and then watching a movie with her).  Tonight is my writing group's annual Christmas party, so I'm really looking forward to that, too.

All that to say, you probably won't hear from me until some time tomorrow, or possibly even Wednesday.

Here's a preview of the post I'm working on:

A long-overdue review of the Frozen Anna and Elsa doll set from JC Penney's.

I bought these cuties back in November during my blogging hiatus, and then had to put the review on hold because I wasn't sure if I would have to return them when things got really tight financially.  Thankfully, I was able to keep them, open them, and share a fun review with all of you...once I get it written. :}

The coming weeks are filling up quickly for me, as I'm sure they are for many of you, too.  I'll do my best to post as often as I can this month, but I can't promise I'll be the best blogger this December. I have to keep my sanity, all the while holding onto that "Christmas wonder" I was talking about in my last post. ;)

And now, I really must run so I'm not late getting my girls to school!

Have a blessed week! :)


(Aww, man...I just realized I haven't sent off my Christmas cards yet, either.) :}

Fun Finds Around Town

I'm not sure how things are looking in your own towns and cities, but things are definitely gearing up towards Christmas in my neck of the woods.  Here are a few goodies I've found locally that might interest some of you. :)  By the way, some of the photos in this post are not as high in quality, as they were taken with my cell phone (which is NOT a smartphone). ;)

My first recent find was at Walgreen's, of all places.  (Incidentally, it can also be a great place to find older mini Lalaloopsies.) ;)  My mom and I popped in to find some "Lice Shield" lice prevention shampoo after the whole head lice ordeal, and of course I walked through the toy aisle. ;)  I was so excited to find this ginormous Fluttershy brushable for just $9.99! :D

So cute! :) 

Here she is out of her box.  Hmm, I need to work on that mane a bit. ;) 

She stands at approximately 8 1/2" tall, which is a lot bigger than the standard Fashion Style ponies (like the Fluttershy in front on the left).  She towers over the regular brushable-sized ponies (like the little Fluttershy in front on the right).

She also looks ADORABLE on my Fluttershy shelf with my other Fluttershys:

Another great My Little Pony find this week was at Walmart.  They finally got in the Wave 11 blind bags! :D

I was so excited to see this overflowing box! :D  There was another box next to it, too.

Armed with my codes from the Strawberry Reef Blind Bag index, I started sorting through to find the ones I wanted.  I was even able to help another mom with a little pony fan of her own.  She saw me studying each bag carefully and asked if they were numbered or something.  We had a great visit, and she went home with three Breezies and Royal Pin. :)  I went home with Flash Sentry, Cheese Sandwich, Royal Pin, Cloud Chaser, and one Breezie (I'd found most of them before she approached me). :)

Here's a look at this series' packaging.

Here they are!  Sorry, I couldn't find Royal Pin and Cheese's collector cards. :}

I was really looking forward to adding Cheese Sandwich to my collection.  They did a great job capturing him in figurine form. :)  I would love to find one of these to give to my brother as a gag gift for Christmas.  (He's a big Weird Al fan, and was not that thrilled when he heard that Weird Al voiced Cheese Sandwich.) ;)

Here is Lilac Breezie.  I have to say, I'm not that impressed with the G4 renditions of the Breezies.  Especially when you compare them to G3's versions (which you can see HERE).  I don't care for the way these new Breezies' eyes are painted or the way they're designed.  It took me quite a while to get her to stand.  She's very top-heavy, and her legs are rather weak and flimsy.  I can't see the wings lasting very long with kiddos playing with them, either. ;)

Here's her collector card.

Flash Sentry in pony form.  Unlike a lot of MLP fans, I actually enjoyed Flash in the first Equestria Girls movie, so I was looking forward to adding him to my blind bag ponies.

His collector card.

Cloud Chaser shares a mold with Flash Sentry and the previously released Thunderlane.

Cloud Chaser's card.

Here's Royal Pin, who shares Shining Armor's mold.  I really like the way they painted his eyes.

Little Gal asked me to take a picture of Royal Pin and Rarity together.  She's decided they make a good couple, since they're both unicorns and his card talked about how he liked making fashions for his friends. ;) 

For those of you into American Girl and other 18" dolls, Costco is the place for you. ;)  They have some great things in stock.

The first item I saw was their AG pet display:

The pet sets are $29.99 each, and include a food and water dish for the dogs as well as an activity book.  The three options are the "Funky Terrier", the "Fancy Pomeranian", and the "Preppy Sheepdog".  I'm not 100% sold on the names, but I do like the pets themselves. ;)

The Sheepdog and the Pomeranian are my favorites.

The other exciting Costco find has to do with BeForever.  I'm really bummed, because I took a picture of the BeForever display with my phone as well, but I forgot to save the photo before I put my phone back in my pocket. :}  Thankfully, my mom picked up one of the sets for herself, so I'm still able to share a few pictures.

This is what Costco has in stock: sets of all three BeForever books, a cloth and metal bookmark, and the coordinating mini doll with a plastic doll stand.  They are selling for $39.99.  If you're looking for both a new mini doll and the new books, this is a great deal.  The books sell for $10 each, and the mini dolls are $25 each, so you're getting a discount of around $15.  The only downside is you don't get the little mini book the mini dolls normally come with.

Here's a better look at adorable mini Sam (who happens to be on backorder until November on the AG website).

She came with her two regular books and her Journey book (the "choose your own adventure" story).

Here's a closer look at the bookmark...

...and the metal rose charm at the end.

My Costco had all of the current BeForever mini dolls with their books:  Caroline, Samantha, Rebecca, Addy, Kit, Kaya, and Julie.  If you're in the market for these dolls and the new BeForever books and you have a Costco in town, you might want to swing by and check it out. ;)

I was thrilled to see the return of Madame Alexander dolls with nice faces at Costco this year. :)  As many of you may already know, the "My Life As" dolls from Walmart recently changed their face molds.  For an excellent review on the new dolls, be sure to check out Emily's post on The Toy Box Philosopher HERE.  The two most interesting things I learned from Emily were that the My Life As doll heads now only turn from right to left instead of tilting at different angles, and that the Madame Alexander Company is no longer producing the My Life As line. :{

While the new My Life As faces are cute in their own way, I really prefer their previous molds...which just happen to be the molds used for the Alexander Girlz dolls at Costco this year:

So adorable!

Here's a closer look at this doll's sweet face.  My favorite Madame Alexander 18" doll face mold is still the previous Alexander Girlz mold (the same face mold as Maggie's), but this one is a close second.  I'm not surprised the former mold is not being used at Costco anymore since the MA company has now started using it for their Favorite Friends dolls.

The back of the box shows all four dolls available.  The six pieces mentioned under the picture include the doll herself, a raincoat, a dress (which is completely hidden under the coat), tights (or they  might be stockings...I'm not 100% sure), boots, and an umbrella (which seems slightly small for the dolls but looks great when folded up).

Each of the dolls have at least a slight wave to their hair, which means it will be harder to keep nice and maintain (these dolls are not known for their hair).  That being said, their outfits are adorable and they are priced quite reasonably at $24.99.  The other thing I see as an advantage is it looks like they do not have the odd, rubbery flexible legs and arms of the My Life As dolls.  This makes them easier to pose and less smelly. ;)  Usually when the dolls have this posable feature, it is advertised on the box, and the box said nothing about bendable arms and legs.  Yay! :) 

I hope I've helped you with some shopping spree ideas, either for yourselves or for some early Christmas shopping for others. ;)  

Next week and throughout the coming month I'll be plugging away at my draft posts.  Here are a few things you have to look forward to:

Mini BeForever Addy review! :D

Lalaloopsy Tinies Walmart Exclusive Set review.

A look at the three outfits my mom bought at AG Place.

Um, so I kinda caved when I saw these sets on Disneystore.com and went ahead and spent my Disney gift cards. :}  They just came in the mail today, and I can't wait to open them and take lots of pics! :D

Funny thing is, one of the reasons I got the wardrobe sets is that I missed this set.  Well, the day after I placed my order, my aunt happened to be at our closest Disney Store and they had ONE SET of these original mini dolls!  She agreed to pick one up for me, and my mom was a sweetheart and paid for them. :D 

So, reviews galore coming your way!!  Which one are you the most interested in reading about?  Which of my fun finds around town has you the most excited?  I look forward to hearing from you! :)