Monday, August 10, 2015

The Best Way to Spend a Lengthy Post ER Trip

Clear plastic wrapper with peach label has the word, Beautiful, written repeatedly on it.

I did not expect to spend my Friday evening and the early hours of Saturday morning in a local emergency room (ER) but sometimes duty calls. After a family member informed me of their illness and desire to go to the ER at around 6 p.m. this past Friday, with me in tow,  Hubby drove me to the person's home and we all took the short trip from their home to a local hospital ER. The trip there was the only thing that was short. We spent several hours in the waiting room before an examination room was made available. Another several hours in the exam room involved the collection of urine and blood specimens for laboratory tests, a portable chest x-ray, results' waiting time, and an IV of comforting medications for the patient. The patient was dismissed around 8 a.m. Saturday with followup instructions. Hubby and I were so tired.  I had been awake since 3:30 a.m. Friday, so essentially, except for the few nods I took in the examining room, I had not slept in over 24 hours. After taking the patient home, who felt much better and offered sincere thanks for our time, we went to a donut shop for coffee for him and a blueberry donut for me, both to-go, before returning home and crashing until about 1 p.m. (me). Hubby was already awake when I finally awoke.

After a bite to eat, I sat down at my desk to check email (without the lights on in my doll room/office).  Soon thereafter I heard the doorbell ring. A few moments later, Mr. G. asked, "Where are you?" and then answered his own question, "I should have known... playing dolls." When actually I was just sitting at my desk. He said, "You have a doll." Incredulously (because I was not expecting anything to arrive this soon), I said/asked? "A doll?"

About 10 days ago I ordered what was described by the seller as (word-for-word): Original Macmillan Germany Black Skin Doll / with 11 Joint Flexible / Africa Doll Black Curly Thick Hair For Barbie Doll Gift.  Is that a title or what?  The doll was included in my search results at Aliexpress.com for "African doll."  I used these search words because sellers on the site do not use the descriptive terms Americans generally use for black dolls. "Tan" to them is often considered black, but if you search for "tan doll," a multitude of non-black dolls will result.  I try to cut to the chase and use "Africa" or "African" in my searches on their site and sometimes, as in the case of this doll, I have positive hits. After finding her through the search results, I placed the order on July 27th and was not expecting an arrival for at least another week.

Marked ©2012 Macmillan Toys China, this lovely doll arrived just in time to provide a quick doll fix after I spent some 13 hours in a local emergency room.

This 12-inch doll arrived inside a clear plastic bag with peach self-adhesive label that contains the word "beautiful" repeatedly written across it (as seen in the first image of this post).  The plastic bag-filled doll traveled unscathed from China to me as a small packets delivery with only a rectangular shaped bubble wrap envelope to protect her.  As the seller's description indicates, the doll does have 11 joints, unfortunately the joints do not include any in her torso.  The joints are restricted to her neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and knees. Her head is disproportionately sized.  Her painted brown eyes are not very realistic looking, but this is usually the case with most manufactured, inexpensive playline dolls. The non-jointed torso, over-sized head, and generic painted eyes are her features that are my least favorite.  Everything else is a thumbs up.  She posed for several photos, which are shared and captioned next.

After watching a recent episode of America's Next Top Model (even though Tyra Banks now wears a pixie-style haircut), I decided to name this girl Tyra.  Tyra shows off the fact that she can do an impressive split.

The split is followed by a full-view pose.

Her sitting-like-a-lady pose is not accomplished very well, but she can cross her legs at the ankles.   Crossing them at the knees was not able to be done with such ease or grace so I did not bother capturing her attempt at this in a photo.

Whose shoes can she wear?  Her feet are slightly smaller than the new biracial Fashionista's and her arch is not as defined, but...

...Tyra can wear Barbie shoes made for high-heel Fashionistas and she can wear So In Style Barbie shoes.

Complexion-wise, Tyra's medium brown complexion is lighter than So In Style Kara's and slightly darker than So In Style Grace's.  When standing straight, Tyra is also a little taller than the SIS girls.  She measures right at 12 inches.  (Her over-sized head is apparent in this comparison photo. Her appealing face compensates for this flaw.)

What to wear or what not to wear is the question in the case of this Sparkle Girlz aqua lacy party dress and gray heels.  The heels are okay, but the dress, not so much.  It is too short for her long legs, in my opinion.

Since Sparkle Girlz (SG) clothes are now my go-to fashions for playscale dolls, I searched through other still-carded SG fashions and found this two-piece one-shoulder top with stretch denim Capris.  Initially, Tyra could not decide on the light or dark pink shoes and matching purses.  I prepared a cup of ginger tea to allow her to contemplate the matter.

She ultimately decided to wear the gray heels that came with the aqua party dress and carry another gray purse that was found still carded but without its accompanying fashion.

Tyra models one last photo wearing her fashion ensemble selection.


As indicated, I purchased this doll from Aliexpress where, at the time of purchase, two blondes, a brunette with true tan complexion, and the version I purchased were available from this particular seller. There is also a version with the same complexion as my doll with blue eyes and straight dark brown hair.

In my opinion, my doll's thick, luscious black hair is her best attribute!




In addition to being a nice way to recover from a 13-hour ER ordeal, receiving Tyra was a great inside way to beat the current triple-digit Texas heat.

dbg

13 comments:

  1. Hi Debbie, I'm glad your family member is feeling better. I'm certain the doctors will found out what caused the problem and make things better.
    Your new doll, Tyra is cute. Knowing you a bit, I'm wondering if you are planning on finding her new body someday. Getting a new doll sure is a good way to recover from various stressful situations, not for for all of them, but it help. Have fun!
    Arlette

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    1. Thanks, Arlette. I hope the new prescriptions will cure the two different -itises the patient was diagnosed with.

      I'm leaving Tyra as is for now, but who knows what her future might hold. If I do anything, I'd like to repaint her eyes.

      dbg

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  2. Tyra is pretty. I love love her big hair! The big hair gets me every time. Lol! She looks great in the Sparkle Girlz fashion.

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    1. Thanks, GG. I have touched her eyes up and given her a beauty mark above her lip since this post was published. I am loving her even more.

      dbg

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  3. i ordered "tyra" immediately after viewing your message. i agree that her thick hair is selling point. i have dolls that may have only one feature that captures my eye. i am also glad to expand my shopping selections with sparkle girls fashions. your husband reminds me of my hubby with the "playing dolls" comment. he is supportive of my passion.

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    1. It is wonderful that you are adding her to your doll family, Darlene. You will have to share your opinion of your doll with me after she arrives. I am sure you will enjoy her.

      It is good that you have a supportive husband, too.

      dbg

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  4. What a night! Glad everything worked out well for your friend. Tyra is really cute, even with the bigger head. Speaking of Tyra, I am in love with her new haircut. I was already loving J. Hud's short cut. If I had someone to do my hair everyday, I would cut it off in a heartbeat.

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    1. What a night indeed!

      I really like Tyra, even more so now that I have darkened her eyes. I was flipping channels last week when I caught what must have been the first episode of season 22 of ANTM. I have been so out of the loop with the show and was surprised to have stumbled upon it. I guess I need to check the schedule because if season 22 is the current season, I need to DVR it. The ANTM wannabees are an interesting group for this cycle. There is one that I am already pulling for.

      dbg

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  5. All's well that ends well... especially if you get a new doll at the end! Her hair looks quite manageable.

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    1. Yes, well endings are always welcome. The storm that we go through to get to them can be a harrowing experience, however.

      I love Tyra's hair. There is not much if anything it will ever need.

      dbg

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  6. niezΕ‚a akrobatka z tej Nowej ;D

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  7. Thanks for this! I have ordered a few myself now.

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