Mara: Ready for Adventure!

Mara just got this new-to-me AG Adventure Outfit!

I really like it.

I like that it has long sleeves, bad that it simulates a layered look.

The shoes are particularly realistic. They are a bit worn from age, but still better than many more recent AG shoes.

Not all of the pockets in the pants are real, but some of them are, and it's so cute.

Mara would be ready to go hiking if it were warmer. As it is, she needs a coat first.

But she's a Wisconsin girl, so she didn't mind going outside briefly to take a picture without a coat.

Geek Belle

I impulse bought this Belle action figure on clearance for $4.

I love her!

She is from Ralph Breaks the Internet, which I haven't seen yet, but clearly I need to.

I love the idea of a modern, nerdy Belle.

Belle and Moana are my favorite Disney princesses.  These girls don't need to be rescued by a prince.
They rescue themselves.

Belle is really cute. She has very narrow shoulders and wide hips, and I kind of like this different body type.

Her arms are articulated at the shoulders, elbows and wrists, but she still has rather limited movement. She can't get near to touching her face.

Her knees are not articulated, which disappointed me.

I was also disappointed that her feet are pointed. There is no reason for this. She is wearing boots, not heels.

She probably couldn't stand on her own even with flat feet, but it just seems so unrealistic.

Still, I like her face, and her hairstyle. I like that they gave her a widow's peek.

She is a fun and cute doll, and I am thinking of making her an armchair with patterned roses to sit in.

Obviously, she is not an expensive doll, and I am happy with her for the four dollars that I paid.

I am thinking of making an AG sized version of her outfit, and having Joss wear it for Halloween.

She is definitely a different addition to my collection.

Here is as picture of Belle in the box. She can fit a hand into the pocket on the front of her shirt, but it's not easy to do.

She came with her shoes off for some reason, and a little plastic purse I didn't bother to get pictures of.

Belle is definitely a cutie!

Welcome Home, Joss!

Joss Kendrick is here!

I love her.

I think she has a very cute new face mold, and I like her meet outfit.

Most of all, I am so excited that a doll has a hearing loss, like me.

Joss is going to have a new name here. I am naming her Jenny.

Her hearing aid is tiny! It's half the size of the old pink hearing aid.

It pops into her ear, kind of like a LEGO. I added a dab of tacky glue to help it stick.

It only fits in her right ear, because it is rounded on one side to fit in her ear, and flat on the other side.

In Joss's book, she is deaf in her left ear and has partial hearing in her right.

I like her meet, it feels like something I would wear. I did not know that the decals on her hoodie were shiny.

I also did not realize that there is embroidery on the front left pocket of her shorts. I like it!

Her flip flops are very hard to get on and off. I thought I was going to scratch the doll taking them off. They are not going back on her.

Jenny is not going to be doing any water sports around here for a while! Although there is a polar plunge in February.

It snowed last night, so I changed her out of her meet outfit so she could play in the snow with her bulldog!

I am really excited abut this doll. I usually wait months or more to buy a doll after it is released, but I know that this one had to come home with me.

I will write another post about her books!

Joss Kendrick and her Hearing Loss

There have been rumors for a while that the new American Girl of the Year is hearing impaired.

And here she is, Joss Kendrick!

I am very excited that Joss is hearing impaired. I'm not crazy about her name, her clothes or her hobbies, but I am very excited that she is hearing impaired, like me.

I haven't read her books yet. I definitely will, I just didn't pre-order because I plan to get the doll, who comes with the first book.

I am very hearing impaired. My hearing has been impaired all my life. It has deteriorated as an adult.

Therefore, I have things I would like to share with you about my experience, so you can understand Joss a bit better.

I was discussing Joss with a doll collecting friend, who reminded me that there was a Sweet Valley Middle School book about a deaf character. I loved the Sweet Valley books, but I have forgotten this one.

That book is Won't Someone Help Anna?

My friend shared a summary of the book on this blog: Link

As I read the blog, I fell in love with the quote, "The new girl’s name is Anna Reynolds, and she’s not heroically deaf apparently. She’s just regular f*g deaf."

That's me. I am not heroically deaf. I am just regular f*ing deaf.

I mean, I still hear some things, and I am so grateful for them. 

I can hear the sound of water when I am canoeing or swimming, and I love that.
I can hear crunchy leaves in the fall when I step on them, and I love that.

I can hear voices, usually. I have trouble making out the words.

On the phone, I can no longer hear my sister's voice at all.

Music that I have listened to for years doesn't sound the same. Like in Muppet Treasure Island, there is this song in which the pigs chant "Boom Chochackalacalacka" as Piggy makes an exciting entrance on the back of an elephant. I can hear the drums, and maybe some of the chanting. 

So there are things that are hard about being hearing impaired, and I really hope that AG shows at least some of them in Joss's story.

When I like a song, I have to look up the words and memorize them. I can't hear the words in the music. That seems really relevant to Joss as a cheerleader.

When Joss goes surfing, she has to take her hearing aids out so they aren't damaged.
It would be 100% realistic for someone to call out something to Joss in that situation and she doesn't know what they said.

I don't care how good you are at lip reading or how good your hearing aids are. 
If you are hearing impaired, there is a good chance that at some point you get into a situation where you don't know what the other person is trying to say to you, and it is both embarrassing and painful.

If AG does not show that at least once in Joss's story, I will be disappointed.

I was in speech therapy from kindergarten to eighth grade. I was lucky in that I loved my speech therapist and had fun in that class and didn't mind getting dragged away from my regular class. 
But that doesn't mean that maybe Joss wouldn't be potentially embarrassed at going to speech therapy or feel left out at what her class did while she was away.

I don't speak ASL. People expect me to, but no one ever taught me. And no one I know speaks it, so learning it would not offer me any further opportunities to communicate.
Deaf people are not born with an innate knowledge of ASL. 

It's not heroic being deaf.

It's great that AG is making character hearing impaired. However, it's important to not just do that, but it do it right.

Happy New Year!

Katie and I would like to wish you a Happy New Year!

Isn't she cute?

She's all bundled up for the cold weather.