My first Cutie Reveal...and our crap weather

I WAS gonna dive right in today, but the first big winter storm of the season is on its way.  The Weather Channel has taken it upon itself to start naming winter storms, with this one apparently being Winter Storm Blair.  I never have liked the names that the Weather Channel picks; one year we had Leon and Cleon back to back.  Anyway, we've known Blair was coming for a week now, but early this morning was the first time the Bootheel got put under any sort of advisory.  Here's what the weather map looked like early this morning; my hometown is the blue dot.  

For some context, the pink, which stretches from Ste. Genevieve County northward, is a winter storm warning.  All conceivable types of winter precip are expected there.  My uncle (the one I like), his significant other, and her mother are all in the crosshairs of this.

The purple is an ice storm warning, and that to me is the scariest of all of it.  I love rain, and I can tolerate snow, but I hate, hate, HATE freezing rain!!!  The National Weather Service is encouraging everyone in this band to stay the hell off the streets.

As for Malden and surrounding areas, we're under a winter weather advisory.  I make note of this because yesterday we were expected to get nothing but a lot of rain.  Now they're calling for a little snow as well.  Some ice may also fall, but thank God, NWS says it probably won't stick.

Xanadu, I think it was you that commented on our iffy weather here in my neck of the woods, and I have to admit that yes, it can be VERY rubbish at times.  But thankfully we have far more good days than bad, and after this storm buggers off we should be in for smooth (but very, very cold) sailing.  The lows next week are predicted to be in the mid-teens, so anything that does fall should hang around for awhile.  As for y'all...let's see, I have readers in Ohio and in Pennsylvania...<glances at the map>...looks like southern Ohio is gonna get a dose of this crap too, and extreme southern Pennsylvania may get a taste too.  So if you're gonna be affected by ice or snow, BE CAREFUL!!!  How do I hate January?  Let me count the ways.  

Okay, I'm done bloviating about the weather.  I like to post when excrement is about to hit the fan, and now that I've done that, on to today's doll.  I've been tempted by Barbie's Cutie Reveal bunch ever since the line that had the elephant and the sloth in their lineup, but the Care Bear wave was what finally forced my hand.  I was a fairly big fan of the Care Bears growing up, and lately they have been something to laugh about as well.  Back during the summer I woke up in the middle of the night, but not all the way...and when you're half-asleep anything can come out of your mouth.  So I turned to Mama and had a brief but detailed conversation about Secret Bear, one of my childhood favorite Care Bears.  Secret Bear NEVER talks, only communicating through pantomime and Charades-like behavior, and as  a result it can be a pain in the posterior to understand her unless her bestie Friend Bear is around.  Friend Bear understands Secret Bear perfectly and usually serves as translator.  Anyway, morning rolled around, I had only a hazy recollection of the night's events, and I had to ask Mama:

ME (slightly bemused):  Did we or did we not have a conversation about Care Bears in the middle of the night?

MAMA (Dumbledore-level calmness):  Yes, we did.

ME (even more nonplussed):  ...o-kay...

I was left shaking my head at that one since it was so out of left field, even for me.  But anyway, I've kept the Care Bears close to my weird little psychie ever since, and when I saw this line of Cutie Reveal Barbies I grabbed one.

There are are at least three characters involved in this line:  Grumpy Bear (blue), Cheer Bear (pink), and Share Bear (lavender).  I also saw an image of a white Bear with rainbow polka dots, but I think that was a photoshop job...no, it's not.  It's not even a stinkin' Care Bear, but rather a dream Dalmatian. 

My favorite of this dreamy series is the penguin; she may have to join my little party of furries, along with the sloth and the elephant.

Anyway, this infernal sciatica pain often leaves me feeling grumpy and frustrated, so I picked the doll dressed as Grumpy Bear.  According to this link the word "Vex" has gained some traction as a name, so I'll use that for the doll's name...though I know dern good and well she's gonna be smiling.

Cutie Reveal dolls come in a tube, just like those old Color Reveal dolls did...

...but no water is involved like it was with Color Reveal.  Just slide the doll and her packages out of the tube...

...and she's free!  

The packages hold outfit pieces so that Vex doesn't have to eternally cosplay as Grumpy Bear or pose in her panties.  Part of the costume also doubles as a reversible jacket.

Fittingly, all the pieces are either blue and/or white, and the jacket is a little fuzzy. 

I like fuzzy.  But I don't really like the painted shine marks on her lips.  I haven't seen doll lips like that since Wild Hair Sindy.

Vex makes up for it with her eyeshine...done up like little hearts!  And now that I look closer, I can see little hearts on Vex's lips as well.  I love it!  I also love this doll's highlights; the color reveal gimmick hasn't been completely abandoned...just heavily modified.  My Color Reveal doll (whereabouts unknown) had hair and makeup that would shift colors with warm or cold temperatures, and Vex is the same way.  As far as I know, all of the Cutie Reveals have this feature.

Right now the room is a little cold, so Vex's highlights are on full display.  When it's warm her highlights are more blonde in color. 

Online posts suggest that I can use the costume head as a bed for Vex's mini Grumpy Bear, but usually she just holds him since he's the size of a regular teddy bear.

Not half-bad.  I do wish Vex's legs were more limber like a Made to Move doll's, but then that would probably drive the cost of these Cutie Reveals up.  Vex has more joints than the Fashionistas do, so I'll just let that baby sleep.  Overall Vex is pretty cute.  She's a little more limber than the Fashionistas, but she still can't hold a candle to the Made to Move bunch.  She's dressed pretty cute, though those legs look cold without something on them.  Her face is a little pixeled, but not terribly so.  I can see how these dolls could get addictive, with those cute costumes and their colorful hair.  

Now I'm going to find my warm pajamas and pray that we don't get ice!  On the plus side Im wearing new winter pajamas, and Mama made potato soup earlier today so we have that to look forward to tomorrow.  Heck, I already had a big bowl of it!  Despite the specter of foul weather ahead, I'm feeling pretty positive and that's an epic feeling.  Love y'all!

Frosty love,

RagingMoon1987