#Diwali doll
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
The Juggernaut
Barbie’s new Diwali doll has sold out in less than four days.
The $40 doll by Indian fashion designer Anita Dongre came out October 4. Though Barbie has released “Indian” dolls before, this is its first Diwali Barbie.
“In a continued commitment to promoting celebrations of heritage, Barbie is unveiling its first Barbie Diwali doll,” Mattel wrote in a news release. “The Barbie Diwali doll celebrates India’s cultural richness with a worldwide audience.”
Diwali Barbie sports a dark blue Anita Dongre lehenga, golden bangles and jhumka, high heels, and a ponytail. She has no backstory.
Dongre told USA Today that designing the look took over a year. She first envisioned the doll having several outfits. “I wanted to have an entire collection,” she told USA Today. “Should it be a lehenga? Should it be a sari? Should it be a sharara? There’s so much one can do. Indian fashion is just so versatile.”
“This Moonlight Bloom look features a choli top, floral koti vest, and lehenga skirt lush with dahlias, jasmine, and Indian lotus, representing strength and beauty,” Mattel’s site reads. Though note: “The doll comes with a stand…Doll cannot stand alone.”
Last year, American Girl also got in on the Indian American market, America’s fastest-growing and richest demographic. It launched Kavi, a doll who loves Broadway, has a Western and Indian wardrobe, and celebrates Diwali and Holi.
Despite its 2023 blockbuster movie, #Barbie has long faced flak for shaping perceptions of what women should look like.
In 1996, Mattel created its first melanated doll for Indians. She had the same physique as white Barbie and wore a bindi. Yet, the box labeled her pink sari as a two-piece outfit with an optional shawl and noted that Indians don���t use utensils to eat. As Sadaf Ahsan wrote for The Juggernaut: “If you aren’t blonde and blue-eyed, life in plastic isn’t fantastic.”
#Barbie#Diwali#desi#Indian#jhumkas#anita dongre#mattel#doll#representation#toys#south Asian#Diwali doll#lehenga#traditional dress#Indian culture
128 notes
·
View notes
Text
Barbie Diwali 2024: A Celebration of Tradition and Elegance with Anita Dongre
This year, Mattel is celebrating the Festival of Lights with Diwali 2024 Barbie doll dressed in a stunning ensemble designed by renowned Indian couturier Anita Dongre.
The doll will be on sale on October 7, 2024, primarily on Amazon India, and later in other online stores and marketplaces around the world.
750 notes
·
View notes
Text
Kavi and Amara wish everyone a bright and happy Diwali!
94 notes
·
View notes
Text
Please note that I am not Hindu nor from any culture that celebrates Diwali. If I say something culturally insensitive in this post please feel free to bring this to my attention.
Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, and a cultural celebration for Hindu, Sikh and Jain diaspora. According to my admittedly very limited knowledge, it is a five day festival, with the midpoint of the festival taking place in 2024 from the night of October 31st to the evening of November 1st.
In 2024, Mattel made the decision to release a Barbie in celebration. This was described as "for the first time ever" and the "first Diwali designer collab", which seems to imply without saying outright that they intend to create these annually as they do with the Dia de Muertos Barbies and Holiday Barbies.
This Barbie was designed by Anita Dongre and Edna Vogel-Amezcua. Anita Dongre is a fashion designer, who founded the Indian fashion label House of Anita Dongre in 1995. In 2017 she opened her first international store in Manhattan; and she has dressed such celebrities as Beyonce, the Jonas Brothers, and the Duchess of Cambridge. She is also a vegan activist.
Edna Vogel-Amezcua, on the other hand, is much harder to find any information about; all I can find is that she is credited as a co-designer on this doll.
Although this is the first designer collaboration for Diwali, this is not the first Barbie that has been themed around Diwali. As part of the Dolls of the World: Festivals of the World collection, Mattel released a Diwali Barbie in 2006.
#barbie#barbie collectibles#dolls of the world#diwali#diwali barbie#anita dongre#house of anita dongre#festivals of the world
13 notes
·
View notes
Text
the new indian diwali barbie doll! 🎀
designed by anita dongre, her barbie wears a moonlight blue lengha with intricate dahlia, jasmine + lotus motif designs. 🪷
while pink is obviously iconic for barbie. anita wanted to bring something more meaningful to this collaboration, so the deep and rich hues of blue were the most natural choice. anita also stated that this barbie has a grace and elegance that all generations would appreciate. she is a timeless beauty that transcends age! 🪄
whilst sketching the personality for her barbie, anita designed the doll with the modern indian woman in mind - someone who is confident and proud of her indian roots, the young india. this barbie is a huge symbol of empowerment for brown girls across the world!
barbie reflects the stories that young girls see in the world around them, and this doll is a perfect representation of that. with her diwali inspired essence, this barbie encourages people everywhere to celebrate the beautiful heritage of indian fashion + culture! 🇮🇳
diwali is a festival that symbolises light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. it brings joy, hope and cheer to the community, so this doll is really special!
every young south asian girl across the world is now able to celebrate their culture + beauty with this barbie! 🪔
via vogue india.
#barbie#mattel#indian barbie#south asian barbie#diwali#south asian#desi barbie#desi#fashion dolls#fashion#beauty#rajasthan#diwali barbie#brown girl#designer#anita dongre
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
youtube
Hi everybody Happy Diwali I’ve posted a new video with Kavi to my YouTube channel to celebrate. Please check it out it would mean a lot to me. Image Description: a screenshot of a YouTube video featuring a photo of a Hindu American Girl doll dressed in a Bollywood dance outfit. There is a Diwali filter on the photo with a diya in the bottom left corner and rangoli in the upper right corner. The text reads BC’s Doll Place: Happy Diwali 2024! (With Subtitles).
#dolls#american girl#american girl dolls#american girl doll#ag dolls#dollblr#agig#doll photography#kavi sharma#kavika sharma#GOTY 2023#ag#diwali#Bollywood dance outfit#Mattel#american girl brand#diwali 2024#my youtube video#my youtube channel#happy diwali#18 inch dolls#Kavi#dolls of colour#doll collecting#doll collector#BC’s Doll Place#Youtube
0 notes
Text
Does anyone know if AG ever fixed the staining issue with Maritza's leggings or the Diwali top/do you know if just washing the items before putting it on your doll will prevent staining???
#american girl doll#um so guess who just made some purchases???#guess two items i got??#like i know there were problems with both#but i wasnt not not gonna get Maritza over the staining issue#and like i wasnt gonna get the Diwali outfit but i needed to hit the free shipping mark#and i have really liked the outfit#i didnt totally know who ill put it on yet#but ive thought i might probaby get Kavi eventually#and i dont know when theyll retire the outfit its been like 2 years and i know thats like ags max time for some reason#so i just thought fuck it get it and well figure out who will wear it later#but like i wanna know if just washing out the items will prevent any staining#i think im gonna do that anyway with these items out of an abundance of caution#my post
1 note
·
View note
Text
Duel of the American Girl Dolls: Winners!
Elizabeth Cole's best outfit is : Riding Outfit
Cecile Ray's best outfit is: Meeting Outfit
Marie-Grace Gardner's best outfit is: Summer Dress
Caroline Abbott's best outfit is: Winter Coat
Nicki Hoffman's best outfit is: Red Vinyl Jumper
Isabel Hoffman's best outfit is: Year 2000 Outfit
Ruthie Smithens best outfit is: Play Outfit
Nellie O'Malley's best outfit is: Spring Party Dress
Claudie Wells best outfit is: Meeting Outfit
Courtney Moore’s best outfit is: Meeting Outfit
Emily Bennet's best outfit is: Meeting Outfit
Felicity Merriman's best outfit is: Riding Hat and Habit
Kaya's best outfit is: Pow Wow Dress
Josefina Montoya's best outfit is: Weaving Outfit
Kirsten Larson's best outfit is: Checked Dress and Shawl
Nanea Mitchell's best outfit is: Holoku Outfit
Maryellen Larkin's best outfit is: Poodle Skirt
Melody Ellison's best outfit is: Birthday Outfit
Rebecca Rubin's best outfit is: Meeting Outfit
Samantha Parkington's best oufit is: Plaid Cape and Gaiters
Molly McIntire's best outfit is: After School Party
Addy Walker's best outfit is: Tartan Plaid Dress
Kit Kittredge's best outfit is: Overalls
Julie Albright's best outfit is: Calico Dress
Ivy Ling's best outfit is: Chinese New Year Outfit
The best Truly Me Cute Dress is: Red Jumper
The best Truly Me Exploration outfit is: World Traveler in Ireland
The best collector doll is: Shimmering Silver
The best American Boy doll outfit is: Tartan Plaid Outfit
The best World by Us/Mordern Girl outfit is: Evette's Meeting Outfit
The best Truly Me Fun and Hobbies outfit is: Christmas Recital
The best Truly Me Beach Wear outfit is: Beach Outfit
The best Birthstone Collection outfit is: September Sparkling Sapphire
The best Truly Me costume is: Medival Princess
The best Girl of the Year outfit is: Kavi's Bollywood Outfit
The best Truly Me dance outfit is: Ruby Ballet
The best Truly Me winter wear is: Sugar Plum Coat
The best Truly Me casual outfit is: Plaid Skirt and Sweater
The best Truly Me bed time outfit is: Penguin and Robe
The best Truly Me sports outfit is: Ice Dancer Outfit
The best Truly Me holiday outfit is: Diwali Celebration Outfit
#duel of the american girl dolls#american girl#american girl doll#american girl dolls#polls#dolls#doll#doll collector#doll collection#doll community#dollcore#molly mcintire#ruthie smithens#ag dolls#historical dolls#doll clothes#fashion dolls#vintage dolls#historical fashion#caroline abbott#nicki hoffman#marie-grace gardner#cecile rey#elizabeth cole#isabel hoffman#claudie wells#felicity merriman#maryellen larkin#kaya#nanea mitchell
111 notes
·
View notes
Note
naoya's eating laddu and his mouth is dotted all over with the crumbs zen 😔 he looks so cute that I have to forgive him unfortunately, bet our men are looking super cute in their jippa's hehe
zenn my darling angel,, wishing you a blessed deepavali my love,,, thinking about you and sae dancing in the patio while it lightly drizzles outside and im lovesick over that actually :((
HAPPY DIWALI MY SWEETESTT BABYY!! STAWP COOKING THE SWEETEST SCENARIOS 🥹🥹 (the way my ass is studying i want this asap)
Did naoya steal the sweets from the kicthen or what now? he WOULDDD FAINT SEEING YOU DOLLED UP!!! are you home for diwali babe?
#txt's (-‸ლ)#its reminding me of Johnny johhny yes papa except im slapping the hell out of his ass for eating more than two laddu's 🤨#annd nooo im not home for diwali unfortunately:(( but its all good hehe !! love seeing my friends and fam all dolled up for the festival !!#its so beautiful and dear to me..really hope youre enjoying your day my love!#naoya
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Finding information on Jamila wasn't particularly easy, but from what I can gather...
(credit to @eepop-stuffs btw for getting her on my radar!)
Jamila was first released in 2006 by Simba Toys Middle East. According to an article published upon her debut at the 2006 Middle East Toy Fair in Dubai, her prototype initially intended to include fashions representing Turkey, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. However, these concepts never made it to final release, and we unfortunately have no photos of what they would have looked like.
Her initial lineup consisted of four dolls: herself, her male Arabic friend Jamil, her Indian friend Sunayana, and her Egyptian friend Kareema.
The name Jamila means "beautiful", and she seems to have only really been released with one outfit. She wore a black abaya with silver detailing with black shoes, and underneath wore a light blue tanktop with a white pencil skirt. Like her friends Sunayana and Kareema, Jamila has dark hair, brown eyes, and henna on her hands and feet.
(Credit to Bababolond on Flickr for the images)
For those unaware, Henna is a form of body decoration which originated from Africa and the Middle East, used with a natural dye from the Mehendi (lawsonia inermis). It is commonly tied to religious ceremonies such as engagements, weddings, Diwali, and Eid!
For Eid Al-Fitr, Henna would be applied towards the end of Ramadan as a symbol of the earthly delight of being alive. Jamila (and Sunayana if we're to believe they had identical Henna) seems to have eye imagery in hers, which represents protection from evil thoughts or wishes. It's also found on the top of her hands, also symbolizing protection, and on her feet, meant to soothe the nerves.
The name Jamil means "handsome". Jamil was initially released clean-shaven, but it seems later releases gave him facial hair. This might have been around the same time he was changed from Jamila's male friend to her husband, likely because (although opposite-sex friendships aren't explicitly forbidden) certain Muslims worry such friendships might result in inappropriate romantic thoughts. While this doesn't seem to be a unanimous belief across the board (many believing opposite-sex friendships are fine so long as you're careful), it might have caused enough controversy that Simba felt the need to marry the two so there weren't any implications. (Credit to Jan Unwichtig and Bababolond on Flickr for the images)
Ngl tho he is giving me major Kenergy...
Jamil comes with a white Thobe with silver buttons, a white Serwal ( undergarments traditionally worn beneath the Thobe), a white cotton undershirt, a white headscarf known as a Ghutra (tied with a black band called the Egal), black sandals, and a small dagger.
I'm actually not sure why his doll comes with a knife? The closest I could find was the Kirpan: a knife or sword which serves as a reminder to promote justice and protect the weak, mandatory for Amritdhari Sikhs to wear at all times. However, although non-Muslims sometimes confuse the two, Sikhism is a completely separate religion from Islam.
If anyone knows what this knife might be intended to represent, please let me know and I'll reblog an edit to this post!
After they were married, Jamila and Jamil had two children: Asad (meaning "Lion") and Almira (meaning "Princess"), both seen in the first illustration on this post. However, I can only seem to find one doll release for their daughter Almira, and none for Asad. Jamila comes in this playset in her base outfit, while her daughter (who cries when you press her stomach) wears pink pajamas. The playset includes a crib and several plastic accessories, including two hair brushes, a blow drier, and a baby bottle. Not only is this only release for Almira, but this also seems to be the only other release for Jamila aside from her initial core doll.
Sunayana means "woman with lovely eyes". She has long braided black hair, wearing a blue Lehenga Choli with a yellow Dupatta. Like Jamila, she also has henna on her hands and feet. She wears silver bangles, a silver necklace, and what I believe might be a Maang Tikka. Based on her images on the back of the doll boxes, I'm fairly certain she came wearing yellow sandal heels as well!
Honestly she might be one of my favorites of the line, since you sadly don't see many culturally-accurate Indian dolls compared to other ethnic groups. I especially love the use of color, and just how much jewelry she comes with!
Finally we have Jamila's Egyptian friend Kareema, whose name means "generous" or "kind". She has pale pink undergarments painted on beneath her clothes, which I assume Jamila has as well. Weirdly enough, however, she doesn't seem to have Henna like the other two.
Like Sunayana and Jamila she has long black hair, which is kept beneath a white hijab. She wears a long blue overcoat, matching jeans, blue shoes, and a multicolored striped shirt. As far as I can tell, her clothing doesn't seem to have Egyptian cultural roots like Sunayana's has Indian, however her modest style of dress and hijab are common for most Muslim women.
I've been meaning to make this post for at least a full week, and it's nice to finally get to share another beautiful yet obscure Muslim doll! It's a shame this doll didn't have more releases, since I'm honestly curious with the direction the might have taken with her and her friends based on the prior illustration! Regardless, I'm happy I got to share her and her friends with you all :)
Ramadan Kareem!
#FUCKING FINALLY IVE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG TO POST THIS#dolls#dollblr#muslim dolls#jamila doll#simba toys#jamil doll#sunayana doll#kareema doll#long post
97 notes
·
View notes
Text
Diwali Barbie is selling out -- and earning praise from Indian doll watchers : Goats and Soda : NPR
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
Some more doll sewing this week, this time specifically kurtas for Priya! One with long sleeves and a short skirt and another with shorter sleeves and a long skirt. I think the blue is my favorite, I think the color looks great with her skin tone! Next I think she needs a gold belt, and some new dupattas. She has the Diwali outfit so she does have a dupatta, but the hot pink isn’t really working with her other outfits. I will have to go fabric hunting though as I don’t have any currently that I feel would work. Even without it she’s still looking cute!
11 notes
·
View notes
Text
TRADITIONAL WORK CHANIYA CHOLI
Lehenga choli or ghagra choli, which is also known as lehenga choli and locally as chaniya choli, is the traditional clothing of women from the Indian subcontinent, The Chaniya Choli and Ghagra Cholis, a very popular apparel for girls, is a preferred during the festive season and family events. While shopping for Indian wear for weddings, most women find the lehenga choli modern, an outfit that changes the entire look of a lady, making it fit for an instant glam doll look. Now we all know that lehengas are not only worn for weddings but also for Parties in Indo western lehenga outfits and also for festivals like Diwali party or the famous Navratri celebration. Lengha designs today are meant for all women who wish to dress in a totally glamorous look.
Order your favourite color Chaniya Choli from our exclusive collections which offers you Chaniya choli in all price ranges and designs to choose from , order chaniya choli and adorn your self with this attractive color that symbolizes royalty. power, nobility, luxury and ambition.
#festival lehenga#wedding lehenga#bridal lehenga#lehenga choli#lehenga#lehengas#party outfits#wedding outfits
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2006 This is the second day we didn’t need the AC. Yes, it’s slowly cooling down, though we’re supposed to have a few warmer days coming up. Naturally, the cooler weather has the dog going off from 6 PM to midnight, and probably in the mornings too, though I haven’t been up during those times lately. God, how do the owners stand it?!?! Tom’s got to be right about us being able to escape it all! I can’t live like this for another 40 or 50 years, listening to other people’s music, dogs and kids, though kids haven’t been a problem so far in this place. Today’s stereos haven’t been as bad as yesterday’s. Yesterday we didn’t drop from every few minutes to every half hour till around 11:00. It’s after 8:00 now so it’s picking up a little. It seems to get bad around lunchtime, then again between 3:00–5:00. Then there’s a bit of a lull till 8:00, and then it picks up again for a few hours.
Sometime before Tom goes to work we’ll be ordering those 4 Barbies – 2 swimsuit models that come with 2 spare outfits. One’s blond, and one’s got black hair. Also, a blond wearing a really nice gown for having shades of yellow and green, which aren’t my usual colors, that’s citrus-scented. I don’t care for that scent much, but it’ll fade fast enough. Especially with all the incense going. She’s called Citrus Obsession and is from the Flavor Obsession series. Because brown is such a dull color to me, I’m not the least bit interested in the Chocolate Obsession doll. Lastly, I’ll be getting the Diwali Barbie done up in an Indian theme with long black hair. The order will come to $122, a far cry cheaper than the $523 the 5 Tonners and Barbie just cost me! Next, I’ll save for a couple of vinyl Ashton-Drake baby dolls that will no doubt make any baby dolls I currently have seem utterly phony-looking!
The loud truck just drove out next door, but it wasn’t hauling anything. With Labor Day weekend coming up, I expect there’ll be all kinds of company, including animals on the swings. If they can have so much company when it’s not a holiday, then I can only imagine how it’ll be on holidays. I’m sure that dog will spend the long weekend over there, too. You know all our neighbors can rarely go to other people’s houses and that they have to have visitors nearly every day. At least I’ll be asleep through most of it.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2006 The mail’s been coming late lately, like at 6:00. I guess the regular mailman’s on vacation. Especially since whoever’s been delivering it has been putting mail in her box. She must be regularly observing the box to see if the flap’s up because she came to get what was in it after Tom made sure it wasn’t any of our mail. There was one regular envelope and some junk. Not surprisingly, she just took the envelope and left the junk, too lazy to drop it in the dumpster on her way to her place. Who knows? Maybe she’s decided to drop her PO Box or wherever the hell she’s been getting her mail figuring she’s met us a few times and feels she can trust us to get her mail here. I hope not, though, and I still hope she sticks around till we split. She hasn’t been as bad lately with the door slamming, so I can’t complain. It’s like she’d go out more at night during the winter which is weird.
My wins lately consist of bandanas, blinky lights and a $20 Border’s certificate. I hope they come through with the Border’s certificate cuz I’d like to order some old favorites by Ruby Jean Jensen. They have used books which saves a lot of money.
I’ll be ordering 4 Barbies tomorrow, and getting a miniature Barbie and an exercise ball from the grocery store this Saturday. I’d still like to keep fit although I am going to let my weight climb to its heart’s desire. I don’t know if I’ll gain 20 pounds or 200, but I don’t care anymore. I’m just sick of going hungry all the time just to stay 30 pounds overweight. I’m currently 130 pounds, so we’ll see where I end up. I’ll probably gain a pound or so a week for quite a while. I figure if your average American can survive life at 50 pounds overweight, so can I.
I also know that the weight will help the next time someone’s dumb enough to threaten me. Nancy and I were about the same weight when she threatened me. But had I been 30 or 40 pounds heavier, I may’ve been able to take her. Oh, I’d still have gotten charged and lost my visitation and commissary since I can’t get away with shit no matter how justified I might be, but I probably could’ve taken her nonetheless. It’s okay. I’ll get the next one.
If there are two big things I’ve learned over the last decade it’s that not all prejudice is on account of fear, misunderstanding or insecurity, but of certain people’s sick, evil behavior. Also, not everyone who’s big eats like a pig.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2006 Despite Tom’s always being overly optimistic, I have to give him the fact that I don’t know computers like he does. So if he says the program’s looking more and more promising by the minute, then I have to trust and believe him. This is a far different thing than when he’d tell me he wanted a kid when we knew he didn’t.
I had a funny thought earlier. Well, say our spirits really can float around and check on those who are still alive after we die, and say Doe and Art go belly up in a decade or so. Imagine them checking on their dogs first, which is what they’d do knowing them, then their friends, then family. Well, they sure as hell would be in for quite an eyeful when they got to checking on us! Especially if we really do get rich. This brilliant idea is all his, but I wonder if I “wrote a jinx” and helped? When I wrote Doe & Art I thought it’d be best to make like we were doing well financially so the real message – don’t forget to leave us some money when you assholes die – wouldn’t seem obvious. (though the Queen and Miss Perfect probably took the genuine pleasure of telling them how broke we were) I simply said we won a substantial amount in a sweepstake, though I didn’t elaborate. Besides, no matter what the real case was, I wasn’t about to be like – while you’re no doubt still living high off the hog, I’m still the same old underdog, a poor old loser, losing houses, losing land, getting shit on by society, living like a bum, sleeping on floors, scraping pennies, etc. Ah, but in the end, the underdog really does come out on top at times!
Meanwhile, do I regret the past? Well, sure it’s easy to say I wish I’d done certain things differently, but nah, I don’t think I really regret it because to say I did would be saying I wish I’d been perfect which would mean I’d have to be inhuman.
Tom didn’t see the dog when he went grocery shopping last Saturday, and he left late, which means that if by some freak chance they allow it indoors overnight, it certainly would’ve been out for the day by the time he rode by. So I guess it really does just visit a lot. Why people up here feel the need to take their dogs everywhere they go is still beyond me. Makes me wonder if they’re going to pass a law allowing them to be taken to work!
The animals are already back in school, I’m surprised to see. After all, it’s still August, and I know I never began school till right after Labor Day.
I made the stupid mistake of spending $30 on these pills called Hoodia, which is from a cactus plant, hoping against hope that they’d take my appetite away like the Claritin did and like they claim they do, but nope. Once again, my body’s completely out of my control. It’s either go hungry or get fatter, and I think I’m just about ready to eat a normal 1500-2000 calories a day and let myself gain another 30 pounds or so cuz I’m sick of stressing over it. Sometimes the best way to deal with a problem is not to deal with it at all. Especially when the aids that really work are either illegal or require a prescription. These Hoodia pills are backed by Oprah. Should’ve known better than to trust the word of a black.
I’m still having loads of fun with my incense, but am having an awful lot of sticks go out on me and I have to relight them. I wonder why?
My dolls came yesterday and look gorgeous all set up on display! The big 22” American Model is more impressive than I thought she’d be. The best of the 16” ones are definitely Aqua Angelina, then Carrie. Emme, the plus-size doll, is nice, too. The only ones that aren’t quite as dazzling as I expected are the Sydney and Barbie dolls, though they’re still plenty nice enough.
My palm tree died recently. I’m surprised. It had been doing so much better since coming to this state, so I don’t know what killed it. Maybe it got too big for its pot, though no roots were sticking out that I could see. Oh well. I’ll get new ones, probably fake, sometime in the future. Plants aren’t a high priority right now.
I wrote Paula a letter, but as I told her, I’m dropping my letters to once a month. I just don’t always have anything new to update her on every week or two, and she rarely answers any of my letters, so I think monthly letters will be sufficient enough. The cutback in stamps will help make up for the $9 package I’ll be sending in a few months consisting of unwanted incense, a few oils, that snot green bracelet I won, a dull purse, and a glow-in-the-dark celestial mobile.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 2006 Tomorrow we’ll have been in this house for a year. It’s been an incredible year, too! However, I’m starting to think we’re just being teased, as is usually the case when it comes to serious money where the horseracing thing is concerned. Tom’s still optimistic, but that’s just Tom for you, always optimistic, sometimes even when it’s more than obvious to the rest of the world that there’s no logical reason he should be. He said it’d take months and that it’s always looking promising, and while I’m glad it’s making at least a small profit rather than losing, I’m really starting to believe the joke’s on us. Again. This means we could easily be broke throughout most of our lives as I thought would be the case, and that we’re back to square one and with the same old questions – how long will we be stuck in Oregon? How long will we have to live with these fucking stereos, dogs and other shit till we can get into a retirement community? Who will help us when we’re old since we probably won’t have the money to hire anyone to take care of us?
The biggest discouragement is knowing that since before I was old enough to know about the DES, the effects of all the damn drugs they had me on could cause, etc., I was sterile. Or that it at least wasn’t in my cards to conceive. How could I know that practically all my life and be right about it despite Tom’s appointing himself to play designated birth controller, but be wrong about facing poverty so much of the time?
Another discouraging thing is how badly something up there obviously wants us in the mainstream by pulling us out of rural areas and trapping us in cities, something in which money would change.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2006 I got my incense today, but my dolls are still out there. He really went all out, that’s for sure, enclosing a few extra 100-packs. There are a few I don’t care for, but so far I especially like the Vermont Maple Syrup, Night Blooming Jasmine, Blue Nile, Agree Soap, Grape Jolly Rancher and many others.
My latest win is an advanced reader’s copy of a book that has yet to be proofread. I couldn’t get into it, so it’ll stay here if it doesn’t get sold. Instead, we went to that bookstore where I grabbed a few more mysteries. The guy there only wanted a few of the many books I brought in to use to trade for credit, so I think I’ll order online next time. There’s more selection online than in this little store we go to anyway, and the shipping on media mail is next to nothing.
As for movies, we decided to go with Blockbuster instead. They have better deals. The only sucky thing is the in-store coupons they send which we have no interest in. The whole idea of having them mailed to us is so we don’t have to bother going to the stores. We’re in the process of ripping/burning season 3 of Charlie’s Angels.
The animals were out on the swings today, but truthfully, I’d never have known they were there had I not seen them when I was taking the trash out. There were 2-3 little ones with that pregnant teen. The reason I didn’t know they were there till I saw them is that I had the music on. Between the dogs, the stereos, and the overall sounds of the city, I always have either music or the sound machine going during the daytime. Today was horrible stereo-wise. It was one after another and they just totally drove me fucking crazy!
As for that black dog, we saw it two days in a row chained by the back left corner of the house, the furthest from our place. We haven’t heard it in here since the back right corner of their place would block it, but if it does get to be a problem, we’ll let their rental management know. Them having it chained there makes me again think it is still a rental. Why would you chain it to that small area when you have a huge fenced-in yard? To be kind to your neighbors? I don’t think so! It tells me they want to keep it out of view of the road. The only way you can see it is if you’re walking by where they park their cars.
They haven’t been driving that truck with the loud motor in and out lately. Guess boating season’s just about over.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 19, 2006 At 2 PM a couple of days ago our power went out. I went over to see if Kim’s went out too, and it turned out the entire town went out, but not for long. Still, they have an awful lot of power failures here. I was surprised to see there wasn’t a huge pile of trash back there. Just an old TV and a bag or two of trash. I guess she’s been dumping it the night before the trash gets picked up. The midges have totally taken over like crazy, though, and the smell that wafted out from her door when she opened it was too horrible to even describe! I don’t know if it was rotting food or what, but it was totally gross.
Yesterday he really began to try out the program after doing a lot more work on it. It won 3 of 5 races and made a $30 profit. Still needs a lot of adjusting to turn that $30 a day into $300, but he now feels that the only way to do that is to really get serious about it and start betting regularly. It’s not going to happen overnight, but he still feels encouraged and that it will eventually happen. He’s gearing up to run some races later on today, too.
We rode to Fred’s early this morning and I got a Barbie I’ve had my eyes on for a while with brown hair and eyes that wears a lovely pink and purple glittery gown. For just a few bucks I picked up a pack of 7 lip/body glitter gels in different colors. They taste sort of funny and don’t moisturize well, but look cool. Tinkerbell sure had fun trying to lick it off.
Tom and I both got a kick out of this new Barbie that not only comes with a pet cat or dog but a litter box full of shit, too. Now that’s weird!
Kepa sent a message yesterday saying that due to an emergency move they had to make, although he never said what that move was, they were busy. I’m surprised no one died. However, he’s going to expedite my package to 3-day air at no additional cost to me so I’ll still get it on time as the 5-day ground would’ve been, which is so way nice of him. He said my order was looking great being the first customer and seeing the first finished set. I’m amazed at how psyched he is about this first customer thing since it’s not his first store, but I’m just as glad to be the first customer!
So next week will be loads of fun with the incense on Thursday and the dolls on Friday! At least that’s when I think they’ll come.
I cut my bangs back again for variety. I look better with them, but get too lazy to keep up with trimming them regularly cuz of how fast my hair grows.
I got a free 10-day trial thing in the mail for Netflix. It’s for new customers only, but the card is in his name, so who knows if it’ll go through? If not, we might resume our membership even though half of their DVDs are filthy and won’t play. This way I could rent season 3 of Charlie’s Angels which is now out and about.
I won some Truth or Dare cards, a stupid kiddy game. I put them up on one of the highest molding ledges above the front bedroom window. Another fun tactic to make them really work for that $450 since they might have to use a ladder to get them down. I got them up there using tongs while standing on the bed. They’re almost 9’ up.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2006 Tom is still continuing to fine-tune the program and plans to run some more races this Friday. Assuming nothing’s teasing us and that we’re going to be able to escape the city animals, I won’t bother sending the legislative letter in about the car stereos. No one’s going to do a damn thing about the problem anyway. At least not until people start shooting each other over it.
Lately, I’ve won a leave-in hair conditioner, a candy bar, an ugly African beaded necklace I refused because they wanted to charge me shipping for it, and 3 Hallmark DVDs, one of which is broken. Fortunately, the one that’s cracked is of no interest to me. The other two, which are mysteries, may prove to be good.
I miss watching movies, but it’s a pain for Tom to record/send me movies, so I’m tempted to restart Netflix, even if half their DVDs are fucked up. For just $10 a month, I could get two at a time with no monthly limits.
For being the first official customer at Silk Splash (I placed a $50 order yesterday), Kepa said to just ask for free stuff with each order and I’d probably get some. How cool! And this is on top of a $10 discount for it being my first order and an additional $3 off because the shipping didn’t go through, so he said. The shipping was $12 and change, so I saved about $13 in all. I’m getting Green Leaf & Bamboo in a 1-oz. bottle of bubble bath, and a 16-oz. bottle of jasmine lotion. Everything else will be 10-packs. Aside from some old faves, I’ll be getting Agree Soap, Almond Joy, Apple Jolly Rancher, Bay Rum, Blue Raspberry Jolly Rancher, Bubble Gum, Bump & Grind, Butterscotch, Campfire & Marshmallows, Candied Apples, Caramel Coffee, Carrot Cake, Cedarwood, Cherry Jolly Rancher, Chocolate Decadence, Cola, Cucumber, Dark Chocolate, Dulce de Leche, Exotic Musk, Exotic Seabreeze, Frangipani (sweet), Ginger Ale, Gingerbread, Grape Jolly Rancher, Hawaiian Tropics Glade, Hot Buttered Rum, Jamaican Me Crazy, Krispy Kreme, Midnight Therapy, Midsummers Night, Navy, Night Blooming Jasmine, Ocean Water, Orgasm, Paris Hilton, Patchouli (Indonesian), Peach Jolly Rancher, Ponds, Psychedelic Dreams, Pumpkin Pie (sweet), Purple Rain, Rain (California), Realities, Red Musk, Rice Flower & Shea, Rye Bread, Sandalwood (sweet), Sex on the Beach (sweet), Southern Belle, Strawberry Jolly Rancher, Sugared Plums, Sun Tan, Sweet Green Grass, Sweet Milk, Sweetgrass, Cedar & Sage, Touch of Pink, Tropical Cream, Tropical Sunset, Vermont Maple Syrup, Walk in the Woods, Waterfall Mist, Wet Kisses, Wild Pansies, Witches Brew and Zen.
This Friday I’ll be making my biggest doll order yet of $500 at a place in Arkansas that I’ve ordered before, The Doll Peddlar, which is spelled wrong but that’s how they spell it. Still, they and Two Daydreamers in California are my main Tonner sources. I’ll be getting 3 regular 16” Tonners, a fat 16” Tonner based on Emme, a real-life heavyset model, a 22” Tonner and a Barbie.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2006 Things are still running smoothly though not without scare/annoyance #2 from the property management. Today we got a letter threatening to charge us the next time the drains backed up now that they suddenly know it’s “tenant-caused.” What took them so long to figure this one out is beyond us, especially since one of the workers told Tom it had been building up over many years, and I could clearly see tons of calcium buildup in my vision that confirmed that yes, it would’ve taken many years to build up. Nonetheless, they submitted a copy of the $500 bill, and we assume Kim got one, too. We know it’s just a ploy for the owner to try to extort money from us should the filthy pig living behind us jam the drains up again before we move, which we’re hoping will be by next June, but Tom’s going to tell them in person the next time he pays the rent not to expect us to pay them a dime as long as we share a drain with someone else. Someone the handyman himself referred to as being “filthy.” They may try to raise the rent out of spite, but we’ll move if they do since the place isn’t even worth the $450 we’ve been paying being so small, old, tilted and on a shared lot. I know one thing for sure and that’s that if there was the slightest shred of guilt over the idea of us leaving the place dirty, along with whatever we don’t want that we don’t sell, it’s all gone now. And if they do anything else, the place will be damaged along with trashed to ensure that they have to pay a hell of a lot more than our $450 deposit to fix it, if we pour syrup all over the floor and carpet, for example. We already figured that we’d not only not have an address to give them for the deposit once we do move or need the money if we’re making a ton of it through the program, but that we would leave shit behind and a little dirt as well to make them have to work for some of that money. I know that when I was slaving over trying to clean the duplex’s oven that wasn’t self-cleaning, I wished we weren’t staying with the same company and that they’d given us a reason not to bother cleaning anything. Well, this time they’ll be the ones slaving! Yes, we can cost them a hell of a lot more than they could cost us, and it feels so good to be the ones with the hold on someone else for once! What are they planning to do if it happens again anyway? Send us both a copy of the bill and end up with twice the amount? Well, the ball’s in their court as to how many costly and time-consuming yet fun memories we’ll leave them with, and believe me when I say there’s no end to what we could do. They’d have to practically tear down and build this place back up from scratch. We could write on the wall by the door, “Oh shit! I forgot my mama taught me not to write on walls,” then trail a string of dots to the door and add, “Or on doors.” We could clog up the toilet and write on the lid in permanent marker – always permanent – “NOW you can blame us!” We could trash or sell the doors, windows, heater, ceiling fan, oven and fridge, and take a hammer to the walls and sink fixtures. We could write “Fuck AAA” outside the front door, and jam the keyholes and outlets with something. We could punch holes in the ceiling with something and cut up the blinds. We could smash the brick around the heater, and coat the carpet/floors in syrup or paint or both, then bust the cabinets. If we left the heater, we could drill holes in back of the pipe out of view so the future tenants in here die and AAA gets sued. We could leave all the lights on and the hose running full blast under the house to tilt it some more or at least cost them even more money. But we will forget about bothering to fix the kitchen light, and we will leave the place unbelievably messy!
In better news, my latest wins are a bottle of vitamins Tom’s going to try, $10 of bingo credit at an online gaming site (I didn’t win), a matchbox car, a DVD, a book, and a daily prize from this site that didn’t give me the last daily prize I won. That was okay, though, cuz it was just a magazine subscription for the year. Even so, I quit entering their contests.
The artificial neural network is going well. The computer has to literally “learn” the different things about each horse, each track, etc. He teaches it every day, then sees what it’s learned when he gets in from work. Let’s just say that this requires the best computer equipment money can buy! Had he gotten this idea a few years ago, we’d never have been able to pull it off. Computers just weren’t fast enough. He’s now got it down to an 8% error rate and would like to get it down to 3%. I think he’s going to take it for a pretend test run tonight.
I can’t wait to get out of here. Not just because of whatever other shit management may try to pull, but because I’m sick of the car stereos, the dogs barking, the people screaming, and of course, we’re both sick of being crammed into such a tiny dump. That’s another reason I’m putting Cheri off for now.
Despite any management troubles, cold, snow and noise, this last year since we moved out of the duplex has been incredible! Best year of our lives together, no doubt. If someone had told me a year ago that I’d get 2 mannequins, 2 porn star dolls, 9 Tonners and 13 Barbies, I’d never have believed it. And this isn’t counting clothes, a whole new bed ensemble, beauty supplies, incense/oils, wind chimes and other odds and ends. Definitely been having the time of my life despite how much I hate the cold, snow, noise and this house. It’s hard to believe that the girl who wanted to kill herself that summer of ’04 was me! It’s like we stepped out of our lives and into completely different ones. We were so, so dirt poor and no one gave a damn, and I was so sure we’d never ever have an extra dime to our names. If there’s any good poverty did us it’s that it makes us appreciate having money all the more, as opposed to someone who’s always had it and therefore doesn’t know anything else. I see it as a form of compensation, and Tom agrees with me. It helps to make up for every person that’s fucked us over that God knew would get away with it. Still, I can’t wait to own a place, preferably outright or close enough to it, and to work for ourselves instead of someone else so we don’t have to live with the threat of him getting fired or laid off over the next 15 years or so, so long as nothing’s teasing us with this potential money-making program.
My ankles have been giving me trouble when I jog, so I blew my exercise ball back up and am using that, along with doing my crunches.
I’ve decided to hold off on the debarker and mini washer I was going to get. For one, I don’t see how the debarker could be that effective at this distance, and secondly, if we’re going to have enough money for a real washer/dryer in the next year or so, why buy a cheap little piece of shit?
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5, 2006 It’s coming up on 10:00 p.m. yet still sounds pretty cityish out there. We got the pounding of bass, horns honking, sirens and voices. Yeah, they’re camped out on their porch from what I can tell, so with no background sounds I can just barely make out a cackle of laughter every now and then. I love the in-between temps when it’s not too cold or too hot, but it sure makes things noisier. When it’s too cold or hot, the attention-getters have their car windows closed, and the dog’s quieter. For now, even though it’s getting late I had to put the music on just now in order to drown out the circus outside. It’s sick, really sick, that one has to live this way unless they either go to a really remote place or can get into a retirement community.
The AC is the cheapest to run and the portable heaters are cheaper than the gas heater, so we may still move my office into the bedroom, even though it doesn’t seem like next door is going to do much more than annoy me with their loud truck motor, driving that boat in and out a few times a day. I think that’s why they have the swings set up in the middle of the yard too; to be able to drive around them easier. Of course, there’s no saying how it’ll be in a month or so over there. Anyway, with me in the bedroom all the time, I wouldn’t run the gas heater as much. Just enough to keep the rat comfortable and to keep us from feeling like we stepped into the North Pole when we go into the kitchen. It’d also get me further away from the dog, though I do still plan on getting the debarker, even though I doubt it’ll reach that far. I think it’s meant for dogs that are just a few feet from you. I could’ve used the damn thing at the duplex if they really do work! What I end up doing for sure will depend on how the finances are in a month or so from now.
Tom’s getting better and getting his strength back. He was so damn dehydrated there for a while that he could hardly pee or sweat. We’ll never know just what invaded his digestive system, but we just hope that why it happened isn’t connected to the program! He got a lot of work done today and may even be able to test it on some races as soon as tomorrow. Assuming there’s no further interference from above or from anywhere else, it’s just a matter of it being a waiting game from here on out, but at least there’s something to wait for and we now have a sense of direction. I planned to get the Cheri mannequin sometime in the late fall, but if we’re making money like crazy then, I’ll just postpone her till we get settled somewhere. Meanwhile, the Barbies, Tonners and Ashton-Drake dolls would be a lot easier to move than any 6-foot mannequin.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2006 Next door has me rather confused right now. Why would the truck drive in pulling the boat, then turn around 5 minutes later and leave with it? Maybe it wasn’t the boat it came in with. I couldn’t tell for sure with the leaves in full bloom, but I clearly saw him pull out with it after sitting with the engine idling for about 5 minutes. It’s a loud motor for such a new truck. That’s why it’s distracting. Kim’s car is almost silent. Anyway, I doubt they’ll be driving in back once it gets cold, and that’ll be starting in a month or so.
Tom still feels weak, tired, and has been very dehydrated. He slept 12 hours yesterday, something he hasn’t done in years, and didn’t even feel like he had to pee when he got up! We got him some Gatorade which is said to help hydrate the system. He said that although he’s still tired and had to go to bed early, it does seem to help. He even ate more than he has over the last couple of days.
I just hope there’s nothing else going on and that this isn’t whatever’s up there trying to tell us, “Hey! I still want you to be broke most of your lives so every time you get the bright idea of trying to make money so you can own a house outright that no one can take from you unless it burns down, I’m going to get you for it!”
Tom said that if it is, then he must be much closer than he realized since he expected it to take weeks, even months before he started generating any serious money. Close or not, though, you can’t fight fate and win. It’s like me once trying to be a singer and then a mother. No matter how good I got, I couldn’t become the singer I wasn’t meant to be. And no matter how often Tom let himself cum, and no matter how many procedures I had done to help me, no child could’ve been conceived that wasn’t meant to be conceived, and if it had been, I’d have lost it probably long before I even knew of its existence. Either way, if there’s a connection, we’ll find out just as soon as he gets better because something else will just come up to delay us. This is turning out to be enough of a curveball, though. He had expected to have the program written by tomorrow, yet he got so sick, so fast. Well, sooner or later we’re going to find out if we’re about to be compensated for the hell we’ve gone through, or if something’s out to tease us bad, and I mean bad!
We’re still not even sure what’s caused this. He thinks it could be either bacteria in the water that only some people are sensitive to, or his hot dogs were bad. Whatever the cause, I just hope to hell there’s no connection to the handicapping program!
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2006 Although Tom’s exhausted and had to go to bed early, he made it through the day. He didn’t think he’d make it after he walked up to drop the rent off, but he did, and they only gave him 6 minutes of overtime. Now hopefully there won’t be many more setbacks.
They drove in with their boat yesterday evening, but are still being quiet.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2006 I can’t believe it’s August! It feels like we’re well into September. When I got up an hour ago it was 65º in here. It’s only to be a few degrees warmer today, but because it’s sunny today, the place should warm up nicely in a few hours.
Tom’s 99% sure we can make about $300 a day but doesn’t know if that’ll happen in a month from now or in 9 months, as he puts it. It’s hard to believe his income could more than triple! He makes about $400 a week, so to go from that to $300 a day would be utterly amazing! And of course, he only gets paid for 5 days a week and not 7. This would be a little over $100,000 a year! What a wonderful way to be wrong too, because I was so sure we’d be broke for most of our lives. I always used to say that it’d be nice if our struggles weren’t mere punishments, but simply compensation for future riches. Well, just maybe it was. I wouldn’t just get the things I slowly planned on getting on this income, but the things I’d never bother to consider that I’d like to have, but that weren’t high priorities on my list. There’s still a lot of work to be done, Tom says, but it’s way cool to know that there’s a way out of Oregon after all. The handicapping program won’t hit every single race, but once he goes through the motions of fine-tuning the steps he needs to complete, it should hit about a third of the races and then we can simply pack up and go. We can go anywhere we want that has an internet connection until we decide where we want to settle. Pretty neat, considering the fact that just a few weeks ago there seemed to be no way out of Oregon. I’d have had to stop shopping altogether and we’d have had to save which would’ve taken years without a big win or that partnership he’s never going to get. That’s okay, though, as far as the partnership goes because we’d rather work for ourselves than for someone else. We can’t get fired or laid off if we’re our own bosses, nor can anyone take our house away if it’s all paid for.
Later…
Tom came home sick after just two hours of work. He said he was up all night with the runs and throwing up. He’s been sleeping since he got in. He’s pretty sure it’s just a 24-hour bug. I hope that’s all it is and not something trying to punish or delay him from getting the programming done. I suggested it could be because he got run down by not sleeping enough, but he doesn’t think that’s it. They’ve also been giving him overtime lately because someone quit. We wish they’d either hire someone else or give him a raise, but that’s life for you. It’s when you don’t need/want the overtime that you get it. And it’s the person who wishes she could puke her weight off that can’t while the one who doesn’t want to can’t help it.
It’s been a little noisier today. Less Kim and more dog. There have been more animals going up and down the street too, on roller skates and skateboards, but they haven’t been a problem so far.
0 notes
Text
I will be very honest that I do not know much about the holiday of Diwali, but I have seen a handful of signs locally for celebrations occurring on November 12. I am given to understand that it is a light festival though this is approximately the limit of my knowledge.
In 2006, as a part of the Festivals of the World series, Mattel released a Barbie to represent Diwali.
The Festivals of the World collection was a bit of a strange one, as there are some tonal differences between different festivals represented in the collection. For example, on the back of the box you can see Diwali being displayed alongside Kwanzaa and Oktoberfest.
This was not the first time that Mattel explored this area. I have found multiple articles referring to Mattel creating a Diwali doll in 1998 as part of an attempt to expand the Barbie line into India; I haven't been able to find this doll specifically, but there are a number of Barbie in India and Expressions of India dolls from around this era.
The articles linked above are critical of Mattel for showcasing a stereotypical and at times inaccurate/disrespectful display of Indian culture, including the claim that the 1998 Diwali Barbie I can't find had blue eyes.
Of course, there's no way to know if Mattel were earnestly trying to showcase diversity and falling short, or if they were just trying to market to a new audience. We can make our assumptions, but we don't necessarily know for sure.
If anyone who has more knowledge and understanding of this area I would really appreciate their input. My apologies if any of the above is controversial or incorrect; please correct me if so.
#barbie#barbie history#barbie collectibles#dolls of the world collection#dolls of the world#festivals of the world#diwali#diwali barbie#stereotypes#racist barbie#i don't know if racist is the right word but that's my existing tag for culturally insensitive barbies#cw cultural insensitivity
22 notes
·
View notes