Celebrate the Small Things: A Better Doll for Our Girls - Lammily Dolls

I love dolls, don't you? I don't speak for everyone, I know, but I think the majority of women enjoyed dolls as girls. Some of you became collectors as adults.

Lammily Doll in middle

And not to the leave the guys out reading this, I know that some of you had your favorites. My son had a "Ronnie-Donnie" doll, a McDonald's rag doll version of Ronald McDonald. I washed it until it fell apart and disappeared one day never to reappear again.

A recent post on Facebook about the new Lammily doll brought back some fond memories of my experience as a girl.....

As a young teen, thirteen-years-old, my best friend and I decided one day we were "too old to play with dolls." At school all of the other girls it seemed were busy gossiping about boys and 'who liked who' etc., so playing with dolls just didn't fit into our worlds anymore.

But emotionally, my BFF and I were torn, unwilling to let go just yet.

We embarked on setting up a secret society of sorts known only to us. After school or whenever possible we would secretly smuggle our doll collections across the street in paper garbage sacks between our homes.  We also liked to play in a wooded area nearby. Fun days. We fired up our imaginations and had a ball, playing mamas with our baby dolls or 'mean headmistress' at the orphanage (our favorite) with our older dolls.

Although available, I didn't have Barbie dolls for some reason. I think my mother worried about those boobs and exposed legs, although my last doll was adult size, full-breasted and dressed in formal lace and black taffeta. She fit perfectly into any romantic scenarios I came up with. It all seems kind of silly now, this nostalgic glance back at the crossroad of becoming a young woman, yet role playing is how everyone learns, and it's just as important to girls and teens today.

[Click my post for  history of Barbie Doll: "B is for Barbie Doll,
Inventions by Women]
<http://shells-tales-sails.blogspot.com/2015/04/b-is-for-barbie-doll-inventions-by.html>

Unlike the pencil thin Barbie dolls with unrealistic body measurements, the Lammily doll is proportioned as a real girl or budding teen might look today. Cute, a bit on the pudgy side and without makeup. I grew up ultra skinny, reacting to my body shape in reverse, 'flat as a pancake' as a teen. Neither of the reactions, fat or skinny, did much for our self esteem growing up. Too many girls (and adults) struggle with low self-esteem based on their body weight and shape, so I want to congratulate the family and makers of the Lammily doll, Lammily, LLC 

 <https://lammily.com/special-offer-2/>

Interesting, the creator of this doll was an uncle who had purchased a
Barbie for his niece in Pittsburgh and thought doll makers could do a
better job. Click the below link for his story and a special offer (dolls
available only online).

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialLammily/videos/1100892270019074/

Below are kids' reactions on YouTube: 

 

Kids react in school.

 

 A Mom asked her girls what they think.

 

I'm celebrating
the return of spring,
blogging again, and 

this special story about dolls

 
Have a nice weekend everyone!

To join "Celebrate the Small Things:  visit Lexa Cain's blog
Co-hosts are: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

 

Celebrate the Small Things: Gathering Together

--Christmas Dinner at the Community Center last evening. A drawing, some good jokes, conversation, shared food, and bring your own wine. What's not to like? We are about five minutes away from the center. With a population under 5000, no one has far to travel. The Community Center is unofficially the Senior Center (according to some). Members are in their fifties on up, but we are all young at heart, so we downplay the "senior" part.

--Exercise Group. We meet twice a week for stretching, aerobic dance (hey, I'm John Trivolta!), and weight lifting. We follow Jane Fonda's Fit and Firm videos. Boy do I ever sweat. I have exercised on my own all my life, but it's more fun as a group. We recently topped it off, by going out to lunch together.

--Blog gatherings where you encourage me and boost my self-esteem as a writer, and I try to do the same for you. What would I do without your kind words when I need them most?

--Book Club next week at my home.  We are discussing The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man by W. Bruce Cameron. Suspense, romance and humor all tied into one. I highly recommend this novel. I can't seem to put it down, it's that good. It's been a fun break from the YA and Middle grade books I'm reading. As a writer, I am enjoying the author's humorous language and character development. Attention Dog lovers: this one's for you!

--Cozy Comforts, a group that meets to make blankets for the needy. I recently pulled out my crochet needles, tired of saying "someday" when I have time again. I can always find time in the evening when Vince and I watch TV. Why wait?

--Bible Study: we are studying the book of Ephesians, one of my favorite books. We pray for each other and share our life stories.

--Church on Sunday. Small is the key word with churches in Desert Aire, although I run into attendees everywhere I go. Attendance varies (we do our best). I consider myself a Christian first and a Lutheran at heart. I come from a long line of German and Norwegian Lutherans. One German ancestor (a great uncle) evangelized half the state of Missouri in the late 1800s.  

--Finally, a family gathering for Christmas dinner on Christmas day. There will be eleven of us this year. Prime rib, last I heard.

What are some of your 

favorite gatherings?

Celebrate the Small Things: To join, visit Lexa's Blog for the rules. We post every Friday about something we are grateful for that week. It can be about writing, family, school, general life or whatever. Originated by VikLit, co-hosts are: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge and Katie @ TheCyborgMom

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Happy Thanksgiving: Memories Flood my Heart

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope all of you are tucked in nice and cozy somewhere, enjoying a special time with family and friends today. Memories flood my heart and mind this time of year and I can't help but reflect back. In America, this is the best holiday ever.

My memories grow and change with each passing year. Here are some of my favorites:

Sharing a Thanksgiving meal with international students, those that Vince and I met at the university in our jobs. How I loved the surprise on their faces and the gratefulness they always expressed. Harue and Akino from Japan; Federico, Corine, Pablo and Jose Juan, from Uruguay; Jose Angel and Daniela from Mexico; and many, many more who wandered in to share our table. I'm afraid I do not remember all your names. 

A snowy Thanksgiving morning. Vince was on the road, driving to Spokane to pick up our son. He had flown in from Oregon, where he had taken his first job after graduating from college. He was so excited to be home again. I filled the house with praise-filled music and scrumptious scents that wafted from the oven as the turkey roasted, pies baked, and pots boiled on the stove. How I cherish that memory. 

There is my first Thanksgiving meal as a newlywed in Biloxi, Mississippi. Not bad, as I recall, but no matter. We were thankful, oh so thankful to be alive. Vince and I had survived Hurricane Camille in August. The storm had killed over a 100 in our area alone.

So many more memories. Too many to count, I'm afraid. There are those of my childhood, when relatives gathered from all over the Tacoma area. The women and girls crowded in Mom's tiny kitchen to make a meal for ten or more. How did we ever do it, Mom? Your meals were pure perfection. 

And still, the tradition continues. With family far and wide, we will spend it with Vince's sister and husband this year. My apple pie is already in the oven baking. Sweet potatoes are boiling in a pot on the stove for the candied sweet potatoes, the family likes. 

Blessings to all of you, and if you are alone this holiday, my heart goes out to you in friendship. Huge hug to you! This is one time I would hate to be alone. God bless you and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Celebrate the Small Things: Daily Pleasures

 
A long walk down 
by the lake.

A wind-free day 
when fifty-something 
felt like seventy. 

Geese flocking together on the water.

Flying in for the 'honking' convention. 





 
Killdeer following me as I walk, leading me away from their family. 

Do killdeer really nest this soon? 

Tortilla pizza lunch with friends,

A nurturing talk with my writer bud

Helping another with her new blog. 

My Recipe for Tortilla pizza

1 flour tortilla
Meat topping
1 TB Tomato paste
Vegetable toppings
Mozzarella

Spread tomato paste on one tortilla. Sprinkle with oregano and/or other Italian spices. Top with meat (try cooked chicken breast and/or sausage). Add vegetable toppings (I like green & red pepper, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and one green olive, all chopped of course). Sprinkle mozzarella over all.  Place on one lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake in 400 degree oven for 12 minutes. If tortilla isn't crisp, bake longer. It's the crispness that makes this thin crust pizza so delicious. Also, I purchase freshly made tortillas, so try to buy fresh if you can. Enjoy!


  These are the kind of daily pleasures that filled my week. The only thing that sort of went wrong was not entering the Pitch Madness contest on Monday. Since word count was an issue, I spent up to the last minute deleting words in my book, but failed to make the midnight deadline. That EST acronym blew right past me. Yep, that's right, I forgot the Eastern Standard Time zone. But maybe it's just as well. The book was flabby in places, I discovered. ~Sigh~

How was your week? 

Have a nice weekend!

Thank you Lexa Cain for hosting this blog hop!

And co-hosts: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge  

and Katie @ TheCyborgMom

Happy Thanksgiving: A Surprise Blessing

I am so proud of our son this week. He has published his first piece of music. The title is "The Light Shines in the Darkness" by Chadwick Himsl. Chad started playing piano at the age of four. Unlike most kids, he seldom neglected his practice sessions. Honest, I am not just bragging. He loved playing the piano, and when he occasionally turned lazy in this pursuit, I would threaten to not pay for his lessons. It was so easy.

He actually wore out the internal mechanisms that move the keys. I finally sold the piano to a woman who had lost her piano in a house fire. She didn't care if the keys were permanently out of tune without major repair. It reminded her of her old piano. Today Chad is married and has three young children. Where he found the time to compose, record and publish this piece just boggles the mind. Chad shares his motivations and the tune's background in the link above. You can also purchase a copy if you like. ~Sigh~ A proud week in the Himsl household.

I thank God for all my blessings this week, for the love of family and the joy they bring, a small group of friends who enrich my life in large ways, my church family and pastor who inspire, instruct and pray with me, a blog and an online community that continue to surprise and bless me, our lovely home in the beautiful Palouse region where we reside, zero balance credit cards (hoping they stay that way), food in the pantry, a safe water supply and no civil wars out my back door (unlike some in the world), improved health (losing those extra pounds helped (!) and so much more. 

God's mercy, grace, and protection over the years goes without saying. God has a way of getting through to me when I put up walls and forget how much our father in heaven through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit cares for me (and you) . . . even in the hard times. There really is light in a dark world.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl

Allegra by Shelley Hrdlitschka: Book Review

Allegra
Author: Shelley Hrdlitschka
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers, 2013
Reviewer: Sharon M. Himsl
Age: 12 up, Young Adult fiction
Pages: 268

Allegra Whitford is a budding musician (and dancer), and her professional-musician parents would love nothing better than for her to follow in their footsteps. But Allegra wants to dance, and they are trying to be supportive. Now that she is in a performing arts school in her senior year, Allegra needs as many dance classes as possible. Forced to take Mr. Rocchelli’s Music Theory class, a subject she has already mastered, Allegra is told she can test out of the course if she composes one piece of music. She accepts the challenge. It helps that Allegra happens to like writing music, and of course, her parents are thrilled. Meanwhile, Mr. Rocchelli is genuinely impressed with Allegra’s talent. He shares her song-writing ability and offers to help. He is also Deer Lake’s new young teacher that practically every girl in school thinks is hot. Before long, a mutual attraction develops between the two, and Allegra’s friends in school begin to talk. Life gets even more complicated when Allegra’s parents separate. Allegra goes into a deep depression and grows even more attached to Mr. Rocchelli. Talia and Spencer, the two friends who care most about Allegra, try to help, but Allegra has never been good with friends and pushes them away. She only knows that she and Mr. Rocchelli have done nothing wrong and their feelings for each other are real. What Allegra doesn’t realize is that Mr. Rocchelli could be barred from teaching; she could lose her chance to be a dancer; and that closing the door to friendship could have a snowball effect. Torn between love for Mr. Rocchelli (“Noel”), missing her parents, and listening to well-meaning friends, Allegra is about to lose everything she holds dear. Hrdlitschka balances well the importance of family and friendship in a difficult situation. I liked Allegra but found it difficult to describe. There is a lot going on in this story, and it does not end in a way readers might suspect--so much the better. I like surprises.     


Copyright 2013 Sharon M. Himsl 

Good Friends: Stereoviews A-Z

I was a Tomboy once. That could have been me on the left in the pink. I climbed every tree in the neighborhood. My favorite was a monkey tree on the University of Puget Sound campus in Tacoma (WA). I lived about 10 blocks away and would bike there whenever I could. Mishaps were inevitable. 

"The Young Tomboy" (ca. 1900)

I fell out of another tree when I was six years old, puncturing the bottom of my foot on something hard. Billie, one of my playmates, had just returned from boy scout camp and knew everything there was to know about first aid. He ripped his white tee shirt off, wrapped it around my foot, draped my arm over his shoulder, and walked me home. ~~Swoon~~ I have been a hopeless romantic every since.

"Seaside Sunbeams" (1894) 
(Underwood & Underwood/Jarvis/Littleton) 

I love the title "Seaside Sunbeams." It was too faded to read at first, but another stereoview online in better condition solved the mystery, and also gave the exact date. I am reminded of Point Defiance Beach as a girl in Tacoma. I liked to see how far I could travel jumping from one piece of drift wood to the next without touching the sand. Ever do that?

"Bobbing Party" (ca. 1900)

"Heavy Load"   (ca. 1890s)

 "Good Friends" (ca. 1900)

Good friends. Who are they really? For me, a good friend is someone who loves me unconditionally, in my best of times and worst of times. Emerson wrote: "I didn't find my friends; the good God gave them to me." I like that, too. Friends are a blessing, a gift from God. How about you? What does friendship mean to you?

Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl [stereoviews from Gravseth family archive]

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

The City's Son by Tom Pollock: Book Review

The City's Son (Book 1: Skyscraper Throne )
Author: Tom Pollock
Publisher: Flux, 2012
Reviewer: Sharon M. Himsl
Ages: 15 up, Young Adult fiction
Pages: 460


London is like any city of old, with its crumbling buildings and lost memories, buried in the wake of skyscrapers and change. But what if vintage lampposts, graveyard statues, junkyard rubble and its homeless remnants could speak? Would they fight back against the skyscraper realm? This is the centuries-old, magical underworld that Tom Pollock creates in his debut urban fantasy novel, The City’s Son. Beth Bradley, a high school student at Frostfield High, wanders into this monster-filled world accidentally, but the "real" world she leaves behind is no less monstrous. At home, her zombie-like father has been a mental basket case, catatonic ever since Beth’s mother died. Beth spends a lot time on the streets drawing graffiti and getting into trouble at school as a result. Beth's only real support is Pen, her Pakistani best friend. Pen, too, deals with "real" life monsters. A math teacher at school has abused her and she is under his control. The friendship splinters when Beth mistakenly believes that Pen has betrayed her in a school incident. Beth leaves home for good and meets Filius, the fifteen-year-old crown prince of the underworld. Beth finds a home never before imagined, complete with talking statues, pylon spiders, a junkyard character named Gutterglass, and other strange characters. A relationship develops between Filius and Beth as they pull together forces to battle Reach, a powerful monster who threatens to destroy the city. Meanwhile, Pen sets out to find Beth, along with Beth’s father, who has finally come to his senses. Pen is then captured by the Wire Mistress, Reach’s priestess, and her body is taken over. Mr. Bradley must persevere alone and find a way to help his daughter, while Beth is forced to fight her best friend in the final battle. The City’s Son is well-written, gritty and thought-provoking. Readers are advised of violence, language, and sexual content.

I have never read urban fantasy before. I was asked to review this book and said, "Okay," and to be honest, it took one hundred pages before I was fully vested in the story. This is the point where Pen decides to look for Beth. Symbolism and metaphors abound in The City's Son and it is what Pollock does with Pen that I found so convincingly developed. That Pen goes from being dominated by a horrid teacher in the real world to being controlled by the Wire Mistress in the fantasy world is no small coincidence. I won't spoil what happens there, except to say it worked for  me. Mr. Bradley's development, on the other hand, came up short. Perhaps Pollock intends to develop him in the sequel, but I found it dissatisfying that more didn't happen between Beth and her 'dead to the world' father, who has experienced some kind of transformation and returned to help her. What happened there? It is a subplot, but an important one.

Copyright 2013 © Sharon M. Himsl

Blind Spot by Laura Ellen: Book Review

 
Blind Spot
Author: Laura Ellen
Publisher: Harcourt, 2012
Reviewer: Sharon M. Himsl
Age: 15 up, Young Adult fiction
Pages: 332

 
Roz, a junior at Birch, Alaska’s Chance High, is haunted by the memory that something terrible happened at the loft party—where Tricia was last seen. When Tricia’s body turns up six months later, Roz struggles to learn the truth. Roz has macular degeneration, an eye disease that causes a blind spot in her central vision. And except for “quick snapshots,” her memory (too) of that night is foggy. Can she trust what she does remember? Ellen retraces the last forty days, before Tricia’s disappearance, beginning with day one at school.
Sad without Missy, once her best friend, Roz feels lonely and lost. Moreover, she is in Mr. Dellian’s special education (SPED) class, a huge mistake, she is positive. Even with poor vision, she gets good grades. She doesn’t need SPED. But efforts to transfer out fail. Furious, Roz is stuck in SPED and partnered with Tricia, a strange girl who “twirls” a lot and (oddly) calls Mr. Dellian, Rodney. Tricia, a recovering heroin addict, gets Roz to buy her some “weed” through Jonathan, a classroom aide. Roz’s crush on Jonathan clouds her judgment and they then begin to date. Greg, a childhood friend, worries about Roz dating Jonathan (others worry, too), but Roz ignores his concerns and flirtations. Greg likes Missy, not her—right? A party with drinking, sex, and possibly a date rape drug takes place. Tricia disappears. Jonathan, Roz and even Mr. Dellian are suspects. Only Roz’s trust in the knowledge she has, and her newfound friends, including those in SPED, can unravel the truth. Although interesting to read about living with macular degeneration and life in a SPED class, some of the plot details are missing. For one, Missy and Roz’s friendship is never developed. Why they are friends again at the story's end is never quite clear. Readers may also find Ellen’s jump in time confusing in the beginning (I did). Nonetheless, Blind Spot captures the teen voice and angst of life as a girl with macular degeneration.

Copyright 2013 © Sharon M. Himsl