I've Been Awarded!

I'm so excited!  I've just been awarded with my first ever blog award.  Thanks so much, Emma! :)



I'm supposed to answer a series of questions as part of this award, so here goes! :)

1.  Tell us why the idea of blogging popped up and why you still write it.
          For me, blogging was born out of a desperate need to get my troubled thoughts out in writing.  When I first came to Beast'sbelle's house, I was really struggling with my identity as a Disney doll.  Everyone expected me to be the Belle that I was modeled after, but I'm very different from the movie Belle.  As I've gone through various changes, from making new friends to feeling more self-assured to becoming a wife, it's helped me work through my thoughts and share with others who care about me.  Now, I can't imagine life without blogging! :)

2.  Describe a usual day of your life.
          Let's see, on a usual day I hang around the house, spend some quality time with Robby, visit with my best friend Rapunzel and my good friends Tiana and Isabella, play with Rapunzel and Eugene's daughters, take a walk with Robby, avoid Beast'sbelle's children (they're not supposed to know we're alive)...I think that about sums it up.  On extra special days, Robby and I try to make it outside at least once, but everything has to line up just right for that to happen.

3.  The best collaboration with a blogger.
          I suppose you could call my association with Tess and Maggie a collaboration.  I actually got my start on their blog thanks to Tess's graciousness.  There were a lot of great things about being a part of their blog. I got the attention of their audience, I was able to consult with them when I was still learning how to do things...a lot of it was wonderful.

4.  The worst collaboration with a blogger.
          Well, I haven't worked with anyone else besides Tess and Maggie, but I would say that the worst part about the collaboration was dealing with Maggie's attitude.  She has a real chip on her shoulder about "the 12 inchers", as she calls us.  I don't know if she doesn't consider us real dolls or what, but she was constantly making biting, sarcastic comments.  She especially despised the romantic aspect of my posts.  Of course, we didn't exactly start out on the right foot.  I mean, I did kind of start typing on their blog without asking first. :{ It's not something I'm proud of...I should have thought things through, but like I said before, I was so desperate for a way to work through my feelings that I tried to excuse my actions. :(  Anyway, things have gotten a lot better with Maggie since I moved to my own blog.  She still gets a bit testy when Tess asks her to mention that I have a new post, though. ;)

5.  Explain what blogging means to you.
          Blogging is a form of expression that allows me to share my thoughts, hopes, and dreams with an audience that, amazingly, seems to truly care about my little vinyl life. :)          

6.  Nominate 5 bloggers for this award and comment on their blogs to let them know they were nominated.
          Oh, this is going to be hard to decide!  Okay, I officially nominate:

-Emily at The Toy Box Philosopher

-Alice xox at A Doll's Life

-Spicemuffin at American Girl Doll Stuff and More

-Elliebob at It's a Doll's World

-Aimeebob at The Princess Corner

Emily's blog is one that Beast'sbelle and I just recently discovered that has a lot of great information on all sorts of dolls.  The rest of my nominees are faithful followers that leave me lots of comments (and they happen to have really fun blogs, too!). :)  I wish I could nominate all of you (some of you need to start your own blogs so I can!), ;) but I can at least thank all of you for making my blogging experience so much fun.  I've loved getting to know all of you.

I hope to be back later this week with a "real" post! ;)

Updates Galore

I'm back again, dear readers! :)  Now that Beast'sbelle has returned from her trip, we all have the chance to get caught up on our blogs once more.  And what a lot I have to tell you about!

First, Tiana did decide to email Naveen back.  She sent her first email with Beast'sbelle there watching to make sure everything was okay, and after that, Tiana promised Beast'sbelle that she would only email him when someone else was there with her (for security purposes).

At first, their emails were cautious and halting.  Tiana asked him a little bit about himself, and then started shooting him random trivia that only her Naveen would know.  What was the first thing you did when we first met?  she asked.  I winked at you, he replied, and I think it startled you a bit.

Okay, then what was my favorite song to sing at our all-night sing alongs? she quizzed him.  "Honor to Us All" from Mulan came the swift reply.

What about my favorite food?

Spaghetti, if I remember correctly.

My dream? she asked again.

To learn how to play the banjo.

The questioning continued throughout all of this last week, and every question was answered correctly.  Tiana was getting cautiously excited.

"I really think it could be him, Belle," she said in her soft drawl.  "He knows things that no one but Naveen should know.  I mean, he's answering questions that you wouldn't even know the answer to!"

"So what are you going to do?" I asked her.

"I don't know yet," she admitted.  "I don't want to rush into anything.  I think I'll probably just keep emailing him for a while."  She gave me a light smile.  "I've waited this long for him...it won't hurt to wait a little bit longer."  Even as she said it, though, she couldn't disguise the excitement in her eyes.  I really hope everything works out for her.

I haven't had a chance to ask Beast'sbelle about the Naveen she was ordering from the Disney Store yet.  Hopefully I'll get a chance in the next day or so.

In other news, Cordelia will be finding a new home.  Beast'sbelle said that she's just not a good fit, and she wants Cordelia to find a place where she can be really happy.  In a way, it's sort of a relief.  She's never really meshed with the rest of us, and it's been a bit awkward at times.  I feel sorry for her, though.  Hopefully Beast'sbelle will be able to find her a good home.

Beast'sbelle also informed me today that she brought a new Belle doll home from the Disney Store.  I'm a little bit nervous to meet her.  Overall, I feel pretty secure here, but I can't help that slight panicky feeling I get every time a new Belle doll is added to the collection.  One of these days, I just know Beast'sbelle will find one that she likes better than me.  Then what will happen?  I'm trying not to borrow trouble, like Robby says, but it's hard not to live in my imagination.  The life of a doll is full of many unknowns.

I guess that's about all for now.  Sorry about the lack of pictures for this post...I just wanted to get you all updated with as much news as possible.  Next time I'll try to have another "real" post for you. ;)

Talk to all of you again soon!

An Email for Tiana

This morning, Beast'sbelle let me know that I had an email on her Gmail account for the blog.  I was pretty excited about it!  I normally don't get fan mail like the 18 inchers do.  So, of course, at my first possible opportunity, I confiscated the laptop (our desktop isn't working at the moment...Beast'sbelle somehow killed it while signing up for a free month of Netflix) to read my email.

The subject line said "Attn:  Belle of Belle's Bulletins".  My eyes went down to the email and scanned its contents.  Here's what I read:

Belle:

  Greetings, my name is Naveen.  I happened to come across your blog while surfing the Internet, and read your post about your friend Tiana.  I went through an identical situation myself and am wondering if perhaps your Tiana is also MY Tiana.  I was sold three days after she was and have been looking for her ever since.  

  I realize that this may seem fishy coming from an online source, but I'm desperate enough to seem suspicious.  If you would be so kind as to pass this message on to Tiana and ask her if she'd be willing to email me back, I would greatly appreciate it.  I am hoping against hope that she truly is the doll I've been looking for all of these months.

Sincerely, 

Naveen

I chewed my bottom lip thoughtfully (a habit I've picked up that I really need to break...I don't want to chew through my plastic!) and wondered whether I should pass the message along or not.  If it was a serious lead, then of course I wanted Tiana to see it.  But I also didn't want my friend to get hurt by some mysterious online scammer.  Beast'sbelle had warned me before that not everyone on the Internet was trustworthy.

After debating with myself for a while, I finally decided that Tiana had a good head on her shoulders and would be able to make the decision after seeing the email for herself.  Before I could change my mind again, I went and got her.

My friend was very quiet as she read over the email.  When she finished, she got up and slowly paced back and forth in front of the laptop.  Finally, she sat down on the laptop's edge, deep in thought.

I carefully took a seat next to her.  "Are you okay?" I asked her gently, putting my hand over hers.

She nodded but continued staring off into the distance.

I didn't say anything else, but I began to doubt that I'd made the right choice.

"I'm not sure what to think," Tiana said softly, finally breaking the silence.  "I miss him so much, Belle.  I'd take any risk if it meant finding Naveen again."  She paused, her face troubled.  "I just want to be careful, though.  I mean, this guy could be anybody!"

I nodded.  Her thoughts mirrored my own.

"Maybe I'll talk to Beast'sbelle and see what she thinks," she said.

"I think that's a great idea," I agreed.  "Tell me what she says..." I blushed as I realized how nosy that sounded.  "That is, if you want too."

Tiana smiled.  "Of course I don't mind.  And thanks for telling me about this."  Without another word, she went off to find Beast'sbelle.

I turned back to the email and read it one more time.  And I found myself "hoping against hope" that this guy was legit.  Tiana deserved it.