Raquel is the second Girl of the Year to tie in with a past character (Lila was the first). She is Samantha Parkington's great-great-granddaughter (or is it great-great-great, I've seen both?), and she's from MISSOURI!!! Kansas City, to be exact. Ooo, ooo, I hope that means she likes the Chiefs! She clearly likes pink and hair bows like Samantha does, she's learning pickleball (THAT'LL look dated in ten years, I'll bet!) and DJing, and she's biracial, being Mexican and white. She has Joss's head and Tenney's eyes, and despite the pink I think she's cute. Sounds like this one's gonna be fun! I just wish there weren't so damn much PINK!!! Almost all of the new Truly Me outfits released this year have been dominantly pink, and...yeah. I DO NOT HATE PINK! I just hate the belief that all little girls are obsessed with pink. As I've said time and time again, I love green and have since I was old enuff to name the colors. But I can overlook the pink since Raquel is bringing something new to the table...or semi-new. As far as I know, there has never been a modern girl with any ties to a historical. Technically, Raquel ties in with two historicals since Nellie was Samantha's adoptive...sister? Cousin? Samantha's aunt and uncle adopted Nellie and her sisters, so I guess Nellie and Sam were cuzzies.
I'm gonna break these opinions down into categories, since I ALWAYS have opinions.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE
*Too much pink. Y'all knew that already.
*Raquel is a very pretty little doll, but she looks a lot like Maritza Ochoa. Not exactly, mind y'all, as Maritza's hair is different. But Raquel and Maritza could be sisters or cuzzies if someone wanted to play it that way.
*This is a local gripe, but there's so much more to Missouri than the cities and Branson! Lea Clark hailed from St. Louis, and now the other city is getting represented. I kinda wish we had a girl from the Ozarks who liked to explore caves. Missouri IS the Cave State, after all, and caves can be stunningly beautiful.
*Treesa pointed out on Barb's post that there may be idiots who criticize Raquel for being Samantha's relative but also having a Mexican last name. I don't have an issue with it, but y'all know fully well how dumb people can be. Humans will get mad about anything.
WHAT I DO LIKE
*The tie-in to Samantha. I've said in the past that I think Samantha is overrated, but in Raquel's case I think it'll help her. Samantha is very, very loved by a boatload of AG fans, so the tie to her may boost Raquel's sales a bit.
*Her hobbies are unique. We haven't had a pickleball fan yet, nor have we had a budding DJ. DJing isn't the easiest thing to do.
*Is that dog a Pomeranian??? I freaking love Pomeranians!
Overall I like what I see. I don't know yet if I'll bring Raquel home, but I like her so far. She's not another dancer, not another blonde, not another Josefina or classic face.
I'm gonna break these opinions down into categories, since I ALWAYS have opinions.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE
*Too much pink. Y'all knew that already.
*Raquel is a very pretty little doll, but she looks a lot like Maritza Ochoa. Not exactly, mind y'all, as Maritza's hair is different. But Raquel and Maritza could be sisters or cuzzies if someone wanted to play it that way.
*This is a local gripe, but there's so much more to Missouri than the cities and Branson! Lea Clark hailed from St. Louis, and now the other city is getting represented. I kinda wish we had a girl from the Ozarks who liked to explore caves. Missouri IS the Cave State, after all, and caves can be stunningly beautiful.
*Treesa pointed out on Barb's post that there may be idiots who criticize Raquel for being Samantha's relative but also having a Mexican last name. I don't have an issue with it, but y'all know fully well how dumb people can be. Humans will get mad about anything.
WHAT I DO LIKE
*The tie-in to Samantha. I've said in the past that I think Samantha is overrated, but in Raquel's case I think it'll help her. Samantha is very, very loved by a boatload of AG fans, so the tie to her may boost Raquel's sales a bit.
*Her hobbies are unique. We haven't had a pickleball fan yet, nor have we had a budding DJ. DJing isn't the easiest thing to do.
*Is that dog a Pomeranian??? I freaking love Pomeranians!
Overall I like what I see. I don't know yet if I'll bring Raquel home, but I like her so far. She's not another dancer, not another blonde, not another Josefina or classic face.
In health news, I saw my doctor yesterday afternoon. She's very understanding and very professional, and I like her a lot. She did your routine pelvic exam and also did a mini-ultrasound, which was cool. She held the wand in her hand and it brought up the images on her phone. Right now the diagnosis is two large uterine fibroids; she doesn't know HOW large but she knows they're large. I'll need a more extensive ultrasound to know more, but the doctor did say that a hysterectomy wasn't out of the question. She also doubts that these fibroids are the cause of my lameness, and she suggested that I get tested...FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS!!!!!!! Drat, I don't want MS!!! I know it's not the end of the world, but I don't want it!
Breathe, Moon. You've got one friend with a broken neck and another friend who's fighting bone cancer, so things could be a lot worse. The young man who broke his neck is semi-quadriplegic, but he's slowly getting some motion and feeling back in his hands. I don't know if he'll walk again, but his arms and hands are recovering. But either way my life could be harder. Right now my main concern is hospital bills! If I bother with Raquel at all she'll have to wait.
Love,
RagingMoon1987
Sending heartfelt wishes for your recovery, and that you find the strength to endure in the meantime. Also, I appreciate getting to hear reactions on this doll from two different doll bloggers.
ReplyDeleteSigned, Treesa
Thank you very much! Right now I'm trying to get the ultrasound scheduled; it's impossible to reach a human these days. Everything is automated and I have to repeat myself a jillion times before they'll register.
DeleteI missed the DJ part of Raquel's interests. I wonder if she uses her DJ skills at the family reunion? The pickleball may become dated, but older similar games like handball and badminton are still around, so we'll see.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the pink, it was Samantha's favorite color, so I can defend it here. Also, it only makes sense for Mattel to make the GOTY appeal to as many little girls and doll collectors as possible. I don't remember the oldest GOTY really having such a specific color scheme, though. Maybe that's another Mattel thing.
I had a hysterectomy in my 40s, and after decades of endometriosis, it was one of the best things I ever did. I did have some aftereffects, but they're not to be discussed on a blog. I'm glad I was able to have two kids before the surgery, though.
I hope that you don't have MS, but you're right that just about everyone has some medical issue. At least if you get your problem diagnosed, you're well on the road to some help. Hopefully you will have some long periods of remission if you do have MS.
If I do have MS it's slow-moving. I deteriorated suddenly in April and have stabilized since. I've also got a buddy who has it and has had it for most of her life (she's in her early forties), but she's ambulatory and has three children. I think my doctor wants an MS test just to rule stuff out.
DeleteRegarding the pink, I remember that Samantha loves pink, and lots of little girls DO love pink, so I can live with it. Besides, that meet dress is adorable. But no, I don't recall the earlier GOTYs having a specified color either. And I may very well eat my words about pickleball! Like you said, we'll see.
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ReplyDeleteWhere do you get that from?
DeleteI am neutral on AG, too big for me. lol I like the mini ones; wish they would make more of them! I was happy to see she was not a blue eyed blonde. I was even happier to see she was ethnic. We ARE a melting pot here.
ReplyDeleteOn the medical front, I will keep the prayers and good wishes coming. Even if the answers may not be what you want, sometimes answers help us understand and can even result in treatment. Hang in there!
Thanks a bunch! I just want to get to the point where I can walk again unassisted. It's a huge downer to be thirty-seven and not be able to go to Wal-Mart.
DeleteBelieve it or not, I saw on Reddit that fans are freaking out that Samantha grew up and (gasp) HAD CHILDREN!!! I don't think anyone has said anything about Raquel's ethnicity yet, but then I've not been digging too deep. And yeah, I wish they'd do more of the mini dolls. They're just as good as the big ones but in a small package.
Uh... Samantha in 2025 would not be 10 years old anymore, in fact, she'd be DEAD. I understand not wanting to expose kids to too much, but I think they are well able to understand that people GROW UP and yes, that means they have families of their own. That is the stupidest thing to be upset about.
DeleteI know, right??? That was one of the dumbest things I ever read, and I've read a lot of dumb stuff! I always pictured Samantha as growing up to be the flapper type, LOL.
DeleteYou think we should gently remind them that most of the historical girls are either deceased or in nursing homes? And that they probably would have had families too?
DeleteI'm all for it!
DeleteMy mother is about the same age as Molly McIntyre, and yes, she's in a nursing home. She has difficulty walking, but is mostly there mentally. From the little notice she ever paid the dolls, she seemed to identify more with Kit.
DeleteOh, Kit's fun! I'm glad you still have your mom, and I'm glad she's still got her mental faculties. That physical weakness is no joke but it doesn't mean peeps are completely helpless.
DeleteOh no, Barb, you are going to upset the Reddit folks! Your MOTHER procreated and had you. Because you know, that's what happens with time. I am still so irritated with this. lol I am glad your Mom is still all there mentally, I meant no offense with the nursing home comment. Just pointing out that some folks need a dose of reality.
DeleteI wasn't offended, Michelle. I am sorry that my mother has to be in a nursing home, but for various reasons, it works out the best this way. Actually, I shouldn't have even said nursing, it's more like assisted living. I always found it fun that my mom was so close to Molly in age. My mom was born in October of 1934, and even though Molly's story starts in 1944, she doesn't turn ten until after Christmas 1944, so she would have been born in April, 1935. She would have turned 90 this year!
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