Like Ryan Hall always says...

..."Don't be scared, be prepared!"  Of course when some poor town is about to get creamed by an EF4 tornado Ryan's not that chill (Mayfield), but the advice is still good.  Prepare for a catastrophe as best you can, and don't freak out unless it actually happens.  I can only presume that the New York State Department of Emergency Services is trying to get the attention of children in light of the Texas floods, but their campaign for catching girls' attention is...pretty darn clever.  They're using stock images of the various American Girls, and the items they'll need for various emergencies.  Nanea...I think this one's funny because Nanea is a historical, but Nanea is gearing up for a heatwave, kinda like the one we had in Missouri during Barbie Summer.

I dunno about y'all, but I think the best way to combat a heatwave is to stay inside as much as you can.  If you've got functioning AC, that is.  Also, what's that rubber duckie for?  I like rubber duckies, but do any of y'all know what that is?

JLY #112 is gearing up for a thunderstorm, something that we here in the Midwest have to do often.

She's got just about everything she needs, except for a can opener for that canned food.  Believe it or not, when I was in kindergarten I had a calendar from the Weather Channel that had the most epic tornado photographs you ever saw (yep, kindergarten!), and in the back they included some advice for putting together a survival kit for a storm or a tornado.  For the canned goods they included the advice "Don't forget the can opener!"  As long as #112 remembers to grab that she should be good to go.

Lila has her flood gear. 

This is a regular flood we're talking about, one that everyone could see coming like the one my neck of the woods had in 2011.  In a flash flood Lila's umbrella and boots sadly won't cut it.  Still, Lila is about as ready for excessive rain and the accompanying power outages as she'll ever be, except maybe for that cute little car.  Even then if there are roads that aren't flooded she can use that to evacuate, so it's all good.

Summer's disaster is an interesting one, one that I've only experienced once.  She's facing a power outage.

I'd include some caveats with this one.  If it's winter, add a heavy coat and some blankets.  If it's summer, add some of the stuff Nanea's got.  And if you live in a city, arm yourself!  Riots have been known to accompany power outages.

Lastly, one of my favorite Truly Me dolls, JLY #101, is making sure her critter is cared for.

Oh yes, I can relate to this one.  As I've stated before, Malden, Missouri is located on a very busy rail line, and downtown is a VERY sharp curve.  Trains have to slow way down to negotiate this curve, and...well, research Lac-Megantic, Quebec and you'll understand why I often give freight trains the side-eye.  As for pets, I've got six cats, two dogs, and a parakeet, and in the event of an evacuation the car's gonna be like Noah's ark on wheels.  But ANYWAY, #101 has what she needs, including medicine and toys, and that all-important ID.  Also note that Ms. Whiskers apparently pees in a heart-shaped puddle, LOL.

I don't know if New York State's efforts are gonna be successful at grabbing the attention of children, but dolly lovers of both genders will definitely take heed.  And let's be honest, lots of girls like dolls, so they'll likely take heed too.  So it looks like the state's emergency department is on the right track here.

Love,

RagingMoon1987 

My opinions on Lila

Yeah, I know Lila Monetti has been out awhile now, but when do I ever pass up an opportunity to make a post...or gripe?  LOL, here's Girl of the Year 2024, out three months before 2024.  Lila Maria Monetti, born May 6th, 2014.  Sheesh, 2014 feels like it was just a heartbeat ago, and yet here's Lila, aged nine years already.

Okay, bad stuff first.  She's a white doll with the Josefina mold, just like recent Girls of the Year Kira and Blaire.  Her gimmicks are horseback riding (done by Nicki and by Saige) and gymnastics (done by McKenna).  I kinda, sorta, REALLY hate her meet outfit, though in Lila's defense it's the perfect thing to wear at gymnastics class...except for those shoes.  Those look like platforms, and no one in their right mind performs gymnastics in platforms.  Lila probably takes those off before beginning practice, so I won't gripe too loudly about that.  I will, however, gripe that there's a LOT of pink going on in this doll's collection.

The pink is broken up with touches of orange, and I like that, but overall it looks like Lila is your stereotypical girly girl, kinda like Isabelle.  And oh Lordy, don't get me started on Hollyhock.

Hollyhock is Lila's horse, an apparent palomino.  I love the name "Hollyhock."  But unfortunately Hollyhock has a lot of frippery that very few real horses wear.  She reminds me a lot of the unicorn that the My Life bunch had once.  Is that a bad thing?  Not really, but I hope Lila doesn't make Hollyhock go around all dolled up ALL the time!

Admittedly my complaints about Lila are pretty petty.  She's a cute little doll with pretty brown hair, brown eyes...AND FRECKLES!!!  The wiki says that Lila's freckle pattern is the same as Evette's.  I think these eyes are amber, and if so then Lila is only the third doll to have this eye color, with #26 and #62 coming before her.

She also comes with little gems to stick in her hair.  Seven-year-old me would've been all over that like white on rice, and thirty-six-year-old me still likes sparkles in moderation.  Lila's dog of choice is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, one of my family's favorite breeds.  Oh, and get this:  y'all wouldn't know this simply from looking at the doll, but Lila's gymnastics coach is none other than McKenna Brooks.  According to the wiki McKenna is now studying to be a teacher, suggesting that she overcame her reading problems as a kid.  But some things never change, and McKenna clearly still loves gymnastics.  McKenna will never be my favorite Girl of the Year, but I love that tie-in.  I don't think AG has ever done anything like that before.

Sigh...I wanted to absolutely trash Lila for raining on Kavi's parade, but I'm finding it very hard to say anything good or bad about her.  The bad things I was able to dig up are piddling little things, and I've already run into several Italian-American fans who say their daughters are all over Lila for being "like them."  I don't like Lila as much as I do Kavi, and I doubt that I'll bring Lila home, but she's...not bad.  Kinda rehashy, kinda pink, kinda stealing Kavi's thunder, but she's not terrible.  

Much love,
RagingMoon1987