Murf + time on her hands = this entry

In Sage's absence, Nevada Jack was kind enough to throw me an odd little birthday party last week that featured vegetables, dairy products, a dog on meds for psychological problems and American Girl dolls (minus the underage toys, it reminded me of the parties back in the dorm but you don't want to hear that story..).

I was past the American Girl target audience when they were released but somehow, I was always on their mailing list until recently. While Sage complains about the price, I think it's a rather smart invention and a good marketing ploy (like Starbucks and all the paraphernalia you have to walk through to get your grande hot chocolate). Each doll comes from a certain era and you get a book that has her as a main character and you get a glimpse at what life was like during that time. The three that were at my birthday party were (from left to right):

Kit circa 1934, Samantha circa 1904 and Kirsten circa 1854.

On the website, you get a synopsis for each doll like this:

Kit Kittredge is determined to help her family through America’s Great Depression.

As a girl growing up in 1934, Kit sees her dad lose his business overnight. Now her days are filled with worry about whether her family can save their house. Kit pitches in at home all she can, struggling with an endless list of chores that keeps her constantly busy.

To escape the hard times, Kit loves to write. Seated in front of her typewriter, she fights the Depression with words. But are words enough to keep hope alive? Can she help her family find a happy ending?

Recently, they added a Just Like You section where you can design a doll to 'match your spirit and look'. I couldn't find one that suited me so I came up with my own:



From left to right with a date and accompanying synopsis:

Dollie circa 1975. Dollie grew up as the only girl of the three children. Because of it, she had to endure things like barrettes in the hair for formal pictures or the one failed attempt at sleeping with rollers. Does she overcome these early attempts at forced feminization without any emotional scarring?


Murf circa 2007. After years of her hair being short, Murf decides to grow it out for a reason. What was this reason? Can she do it for those 365 days? Is their a happy ending?


Mena circa 1980. As a girl in the early 1980's, Mena was still living under the regime of her mother when it came to the hair. It was the longest it will ever be. While on the cusp of being Crystal Gayle-like (who she listened to on occasion in her room and on her Raggedy Ann record player after being sent there repeatedly during this era for having a smart mouth), can Mena survive this period and also convince her mother to drop the required age of ear piercing down from 14?

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Yes, I did take 6 vacation days off of work and spent a portion of it on this entry. No, I do not need a hobby.