Thursday, July 27, 2006
June 30th, 2006 My Twinn Doll
Running With Scissors
by Juli of Sew Weird Designs
I can't believe how quick
June has flown by, and we are already on our fifth newsletter.
We returned home from Cleveland,
Ohio late this past Sunday. It turned out to be a great trip, except for the
3 days of record-breaking bad weather…including an earthquake. I loved
Cleveland. The people were so friendly. The city is full of culture, and I was
surprised at how clean the city was. It was the kind of place where I could
easily live, earthquakes and all. But I will always be a Wolverine…GO
BLUE.
Wednesday Blayne was supposed
to fly to New York City to spend her 12th birthday with my sister. All flights
to New York's LaGuardia Airport were canceled due to bad weather. The bad weather
just seems to follows us. Blayne flew out this morning (Thursday) and is in
The Big Apple as I write this. Even though Blayne visits her aunt every summer,
this trip is an especially big one for her. This year she is going to buy herself
an "American Girl" doll. She has wanted an "American Girl"
doll for a very long time. I had refused to buy her one until she could prove
to me she could take care of her toys. This past Christmas we had decided that
she was mature enough and made plans with Santa for a very special Christmas
gift; an "American Girl" doll.
In case some of you are
not familiar with the "American Girls" doll, they are very popular,
each a different character, and all come with their own line of books. Some
are historical figures and some are set in the present. They are priced starting
around $85, with a multitude of accessories all just as pricey. If you are not
fortunate to live near an American Girl store you can only order through a catalog
or the Internet. While I was searching through some dolls I came across a "My
Twinn" doll. They are made by the same company that makes the American
Girl. The only difference is that a "My Twinns" is larger and custom
made to resemble the child, and of course they are more expensive. I thought
that was the coolest thing!
So I carefully filled out
the order form and found two good pictures that showed all of Blayne's features.
I was glad they didn't offer a voice box option because I don't think I could
handle a dual "WHINE". I got all the necessary information e-mailed
off and then waited. The doll arrived and I was so excited! Man…why didn't
they have this kind of stuff when I was a kid? I would have crawled though broken
glass to have one of these dolls when I was a kid. I opened the box and looked
at the slightly eerie vinyl version of Blayne. It looked just like her, and
all I could think of was the episode of "Twilight Zone" where the
little girl receives a doll that would come to life at night and kill people
that had been mean to her. Obviously, I used a generous portion of tape to reseal
the box and then put it out in the garage. I could not help wondering if buying
this doll was really such a good idea after all.
Christmas day arrived and
I was all "pins and needles" watching her open each gift. She got
to the doll and I began jumping up and down in excitement. She tore off the
wrapping paper and saw the "My Twinn" logo on the box. I squealed!
Then I noticed the look on her face…was that disappointment? I asked her
what was wrong, to which she replied "My Twinn is nice but I really wanted
an American Girl Doll". WHAT THE H-E-DOUBLE-TOOTHPICKS! "Can I send
it back and get an American Girl", she asks. "NO, you are stuck with
that very expensive custom made doll, so live with it", I reply.
Segue to today. She has
been saving all her allowance since January to buy an "American Girl"
doll. My sister has the whole day planned for Blayne to spend in the American
Girl store. She had spent the past 6 months deciding which doll and what accessories
she would buy. And all the while that creepy "My Twinn" just sits
on a chair next to her computer and stares at me. I swear those eyes followed
me when I walk by. Fortunately, she took the "My Twinn" to New York
with her, where she has an appointment at the "American Girl" store
to have the hair done in a salon. Yes, you heard me right. This store has a
salon for girl and doll. They will even replace the wig if the owner's hair
changes. This place also has a restaurant with doll-sized chairs for the doll
to sit at the table with you. They have four boutiques, a photo studio, and
a theatre with a small doll seat next to each regular-sized seat so you can
watch a movie with your doll.
That is just crazy!
