Weekend Fun Keyshia

I was beginning to wonder if I would ever have this one in hand, but she's finally here!  Weekend Fun Keyshia (part of the Kenya Fashion Madness line of dolls) has arrived.

She did not stay in her box for long.  She comes with a black and white scarf tied around her neck, a green top, blue jeans, and black sandals.  Her hair is long and well rooted.  She's a cute doll.

I noticed a couple of minor quality issues upon removing her from her box.  Her right earring sticks out slightly.  It looks like it did not completely pierce the vinyl of her head, and instead bent and came back out.  I've tried pushing it in but it will not budge.  There is also an area on her chin that is not completely smooth.  

Kenya has been awaiting the arrival of her little sister Keyshia for quite a while now.  They are finally reunited.

Keyshia has made new friends already.  The dolls pictured are from left to right:  Mattel Janet, Juku Couture Kana, Keyshia, Only Hearts Club Briana Joy, and V.I.P. A.N.T. farm Chyna.  Keyshia's head is a little bit oversized, but not alarmingly so, and she fits in well with my other dolls.  This one can keep her head (if I get another one, there will be head swapping).

Yay, she has articulation!  Keyshia has jointed elbows and knees.  Her feet are flat, and she is able to stand on her own.  She is pictured below in a swimsuit from another doll.

Here she is in a seated position.

Keyshia can wear most of the clothes from comparably sized dolls.  Below she is wearing Only Hearts Club Briana Joy's outfit.  She is able to stand without assistance in Briana Joy's shoes.

Keyshia is pictured in a Juku Couture Kana fashion below.  Her feet are the same size as Kana's feet. 

She can wear some Bratz fashions.  The jeans are a little too long on her.

Most Monster High fashions are too small for her.  Below, she is pictured wearing Clawdeen Wolf's jacket and skirt (too small for her and not a good look).

Here she is in V.I.P. A.N.T. Farm Chyna's clothes.  This fashion is a little large for her.  

My overall impression is that this is a good doll at a decent price.  Even with her minor quality issues, I am pleased with her and I think that she is a good addition to my collection.  I want to buy another one if I can find one at a discounted price.

Late Gifts from Me to Me

Judging by the empty shelves, it probably would have been best if I had waited a while longer before making my trip to Toys r Us.  The week after Christmas is probably not the best time to find a huge selection.  But, I did find a few items that caught my eye.

This Nikki doll will make a lovely body donor to another doll in the near future.  Can anyone guess which doll will receive this body?  She has 2 different outfits, which is a plus!

My male dolls are always in need of more fashion options.

I don't have Operetta and I have no plans to get her, but I thought that some of my dolls would enjoy items from this fashion pack.

Nikki remains in her box for now, but I have opened the other items.  I opened the Ken fashion first and tried it on several of my male figures.  The shorts are too small for most of them.  Also, the shirt has Ken's name written on it (sneaky how they covered the name with a sleeve in the packaging), so none of my action figures want to wear it.  Below, my Texas A&M Male Cheerleader models the fashion.

Some of my other guys also wanted to model their Ken attire.  From left to right, they are:  Marlon, Denzel, Texas A&M Male Cheerleader (I'm going to have to give him a name one of these days), Terrence, and Terry.  Ok, the only Ken attire that Terry is wearing is his undershirt because that's all he can fit, but it still counts right?

Next, I opened the Operetta items and the ladies below are modeling them.  They are from left to right:  Jenna, Clawdeen Wolf, and Howleen Wolf.  The dress and necklace that Howleen wears is from Clawd Wolf's box and I had not previously removed these items.  The box states that the dress and necklace are intended for Clawd's ghoul-friend Draculaura, but she will not be joining him here.  Clawd has a new girl-fiend Sashabella Paws.

Jenna models a 2-piece outfit that includes a blouse and a skirt.  The skirt is a good fit for her Juku Couture body, but the blouse is a very tight fit.  She is wearing Barbie shoes.  The dresses that Clawdeen and Howleen wear have extremely small sleeves and none of my other dolls can wear them.  It is necessary to remove their hands in order to get the dresses on them.  Clawdeen's purse opens and closes.  Howleen is carrying Clawdeen's original purse and she is wearing Sashabella Paws' boots.

I was tempted to purchase the following items as well, but ultimately resisted the temptation.

I don't have any Moxie Girls, but this one was so cute to me with her Martial Arts attire and inexpensive price.  But because of her large head and body lacking in articulation, I had to pass.

This Bratzillaz Illiana Honesty doll appealed to me because of her articulation and because she appears to have a different skin tone than Sashabella Paws.  Her large head does not appeal to me, though.  I thought about my Sashabella Paws that I have yet to do anything with, and I decided to leave the doll below at the store.

First Head Swap of the Year

Meet Shawn.  He's just an average boy who enjoys sports, video games, and riding his bike.

 Here he is with his little sister Shae.  She annoys him because she follows him everywhere.  But she's pretty cool sometimes.

Here he is with new friends that he's met.  From left to right:  Ryan, Julian, Shawn, Buckwheat, and Todd.

What's interesting about Shawn is that he once looked like this.

His transformation was achieved by giving him a boil perm and haircut, removing the coloring from his lips and cheeks, and thickening his eyebrows (temporarily - I'll do it permanently at some point in the future).  His head was swapped with a Bratz Kidz Dylan doll.  Here are Shawn and the new Dylan.

Dylan is not thrilled about this exchange, but I'm sure that he'll adjust in time.

Calista's Diary Entry - New Year Wishes

Dear Diary,

My family normally goes to Watch Meeting on New Year's Eve, but this year we relaxed at home and watched the celebration going in Times Square on TV.

We did the countdown together, and then wished each other Happy New Year.  There were hugs and kisses involved.

I stayed up later than my parents.  I reflected on this past year, and I thought about all of the possibilities that the New Year brings.  I don't really have any resolutions, but I do have lots of wishes.  I'm just excited to see what the year will bring.

 Happy New Year!

Have a Merry Christmas

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas with an abundance of joy!

Calista's Diary Entry - Ice Ice Baby

Dear Diary,

This winter has started off with a bang!  We have had another winter storm that has covered us in a sheet of ice.

The trees are covered with ice and the branches are bowing and breaking under the weight.  The power lines are covered with hundreds of icicles.  Thousands of homes and businesses in our community are without power, and many are dealing with property losses due to trees falling on roofs and vehicles.

Road conditions have been hazardous, so we have not gone anywhere since Friday.  On Saturday, we lost power to our home.  We put our perishable food items into an ice chest and placed that outside.  The fireplace was our main source of heat and light.  We had candles and flashlights and cell phones for light (which we tried not to use much so that we would not run down the batteries).   My grandmother is here, and she cooked breakfast in a cast iron skillet on coals from the fireplace, and taught my mother how to make fireside stew.  We played bored games - I mean board games, and we talked a lot.  

Today I was ready to get out of the house.  I was beginning to feel trapped.  When I asked if I could go out, my grandmother jumped in and said "Don't go out there!  You could fall and bust your head wide open!"  My mother asked her not to say such things.  My mother let me go, telling me to be very careful and not to go far.

We have some impressive icicles on the house.

I don't recall ever seeing a cactus covered in ice before.

Bob saw me outside and asked if I wanted some company.  Of course I said yes.

I would be in SO MUCH TROUBLE if my parents saw me climbing this tree!

At least I wouldn't be in trouble alone.  Bob and Calista sitting in a tree... 

That's all, just s-i-t-t-i-n-g.  :)

Blogging on the Go

This is my first attempt at posting to my blog from my cell phone. Here are my dolls at work feeling festive.

Memorable Movie Moments

Here is my version of some memorable movie moments. Can you name the movies? 

1. "Here's looking at you, kid." 
 

2. "You told Harpo to beat me!" 


3. "I see dead people." 
 

4. "I want you and that young man to tie that knot. I'ma pray for you. And I want you to hold on to God's unchanging hand. 'Cause he helped Joshua fight the battle of Jericho! Yesssss! He helped Daniel get out the lion's den! He helped Gilligan get off the island!" 
 

5.  "NO WIRE HANGERS!!!!!" 


6.  "And I eee I eee I will always love you!" 


Give yourself 10 bonus points if you get the answer to #4 without Googling it.

I know that this is a blast from the past for a few of you.  Play along anyway.  If your memory is good enough to remember these all these years later, you deserve some points.

Calista's Diary Entry - Snow Day

Dear Diary,

There was a bad winter storm here, so school was closed today.  Yay!  I spent time hanging out with friends from school.

Kana and Briana Joy tried to make a snowman, but the snow wouldn't pack very well.  Their snowman looked pretty sad.

Dominique threw ill-formed snowballs at people.  Skipper was not amused.  Eventually, we all ganged up on her and threw snowballs that mostly fell apart before they hit her.

There was a layer of ice under the snow, so we had to be very careful when walking around.  Kiara nearly slipped and fell.  That would've been embarrassing for her (but funny for us).

The best part was that I got to spend time with Bob.  We spent some time just walking and looking around.  Everything was really beautiful with the layer of snow.

We made snow angels.  :) 

Today was a really great day.  Don't get me wrong, I like school, but I have to say that getting an unexpected day off was great.