A rainy day

-sigh- Rainy days are so dreary. Well, Tuesday was a rainy day where we lived.

I was so sad and disappointed. I was going to go out on a 'safari', and it rains! So frustrated. I leaned heavily against the screen with a sigh. The rain fell softly on our patio, and trickled off the overflowing gutters on our roof. Maybe the sound was relaxing to some, but it made me want to cry.

Then Jubilee came and put her arms around me. For a couple short seconds, I ignored her presence, until she whispered, "Ivy."

I turned my head. "Ivy, you like to find beauty in small things. Won't you try to find joy in those same small things too?" She squeezed my hand, and I smiled, ever so slightly. "How is there joy in rain?" I asked, quickly wiping my smile off my face. Jubi grinned. "Look at the polka dot pattern it gives! It's very beautiful. Ivy, you fashionista, I know you love polka dots." I smiled, and unconsciously stroked my polka dot shirt.

I looked at the little dots on the cement. "And, right now, the plants are singing for joy because of the rain. Can't you hear them, Ivy?" I looked at the red lilies swaying in the breeze, and the lantanas vibrating. "Why, they are singing!" I said. Jubi smiled. "Just because we can't have fun outside doesn't mean we can't have fun inside!"

For the rest of the afternoon, we played with my activity book and stuffed dog. It was fun, I agree. And don't YOU agree that Jubi is the kindest and most thoughtful friend there ever was? Friends through thick and thin! :)

~SuNsHiNy IvY

Landscaping update

Now that Mama's finally back (with her Blogger password), I can give you an update!

 Side yard 1!

 Rose bushes, red lilies, and yellow lantanas.

 Yayz!

 'Member what this used to be? Dirt! Now, purple crepe myrtles, red lilies, and some other plants I don't know. ;)

 Our Japanese maple. Complimented by yellow lantanas, boulders, rocks, and bark. :)

 This is right next to the hose. You can just barely see a bit of concrete.

 Nandina! I Love These.

 A pathway from the second concrete. Purple lantanas, nandinas, a bamboo-like-bush, and a fern. Thing.

A quite unfinished side yard! XD

So as you see, it's quite unfinished. But, to a doll, (and to anyone) it looks great, right?

Yay!

I'll come back later with some doll pics of Julie and I. I love my friend!

~Sunshiny Ivy

Welcome Summer and Bring on the Heat!

Bring on the scorching heat, it's summer! Woo-hoo!
In the mornings at 7:30 it's already 80 degrees! Ouch! But I'm cool with it. How can anyone mind when it's summer, and therefore water time?
Yep! I am using too many exclamation points. ^-^

Ha ha ha, well, this morning, we took some pictures for our Blogger readers, and here they are:

My 4 special friends and I. Marie and I forgot to look at the camera, silly us!
Now here's a funny picture below...

3 Friends guild! Except none of us looked at the camera. Whoops. XD Joy was looking at a dragonfly, Jubilee was getting squished, and I forgot that Mama was taking the picture. Hey, that's my banner! Do you like it? I worked hard on it.

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYBODY!

Yeah.

Low exposure. It was way too bright outside! You can see that Jubilee and Marie are still sticking with their barefoot thing. :)

Yep, put on your sunblock folks, for it's time for some fun in the sun! Hooray!

Holding hands. Awwwwwww. :)

Oh, remember how Joy was looking at a dragonfly? We snapped a pic of it before it flew away! Really!

How pretty!

Anyway, I must go. I gotta put on some shorts for wading! Since I'm a doll, I can't swim, but I can wade! So...see you later!

~Sunshiny Ivy

Tips for a Painless Summer

You know Chinese dolls. We're always a little competitive! Mama did a post on how to keep cool and safe this summer. My tips are slightly different. :)

1. Tips on Mosquito Bites
You've probably all gotten mosquito bites. You also know that the sun is murderous towards an insect bite! Along with a light layer of sunscreen, brush on some insect repellent (http://www.aromaweb.com/recipes/insectrepellent.asp)
This may seem weird, but swimming in a chlorinated pool helps to dry up the bite so that it's not as itchy, red, and moist when you come out. :)

2. Tips on Sunburn
Some sunburns are red. Some sunburns are red and hurt. And some sunburns are red, sore, and even very painful! You don't want that, do you? No sir! Mama got a red sunburn without the pain on Sunday. She feels fine, but her shoulders look funny when they're red!
So! Choose sunscreen with at least 15 SPF. 50 is best. Also, make sure the label says "broad-spectrum" on it. This will give you best results. Be sure to reapply every couple of hours! 'Cause FYI, Mama had 50 SPF broad-spectrum sunscreen, and still got the sunburn (she didn't reapply). :) 
Here's the page I got this info from...
http://www.skincancer.org/Sunscreen/


3. Tips on Bruises
A bruise is so easy to get. I have a nice blue one on my arm, and Mama's whole lower left leg has a lovely line of dark bruises. It's hard to offer tips on this... except just don't do too many daredevil things. :) When you DO get a bruise here's a page full of tips for you all...
http://www.practicenaturalcures.com/2007/09/natural-cures-for-bruises.html


4. Sunstroke
Ooo, ouch! You don't want this. It feels like a flu, and comes when you get just too much sun exposure. Please limit your time in the sun! My recommendation if you want to spend your day outside: spend the morning outside, then come inside for lunch. Refresh your sunscreen, and hydrate! Big glass of water, dolls and people! Then go outside for a few hours, then come back in. :)


That's all the tips I have to offer! I'm sorry we haven't had any pictures lately, but we've been busy! I promise I'll post tomorrow with photos. :)

~Sunshiny Ivy





P.S. Okay, I just couldn't leave without giving you photos of...something!

 A great big red dragonfly. So noble!

And guess what this is? Yup, a hydrangea!
NOW I'm going. See you!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Dad's special day. :)
I hope every dad will have a

Happy
Father's
Day!!!!

~Sunshiny Ivy

My eye

I'd like y'all to know my eyes are doing great now. :)
This is how happy I feel...

Arizona in AGC had eye problems too. She has a surgery in July, then a short recovery stage before she can come home. We're excited!

~Sunshineeeee Ivy!

Pics of my Presents

At long last, I found time to photograph my gifts. I can't believe I just said a super fancy sentence.

Anyway, here you go!

 This is the heart-shaped basket I received from Jubilee.

 It's a perfect seat for Joy and I's dolls!

Marie made this creature. I bet you've guessed it! Yep, it's a tribble from Star Trek! Yahoo! With a strange rosette... :)

 Fidelia made this cute little chick.

 Naomi and Peace made this cat. :)

Joy made this hen. :D
I love all my presents!

~Sunshiny Ivy

What I did on my B-day

I'm gonna tell you all about my special day, starting with the very beginning.

 As usual, Mrs. Buchanan dropped off Jubilee and Marie promptly at 8:30 am. Marie greeted me quickly and cheerily, then ran inside to find Joy. I waved to Jubilee who had just hopped out of the car. "Hi!" She yelled.

"Hi!" I shouted, and grinned. She looked so small from across our long lawn. She then wasted no time in skipping across the dewy grass to give me a hug. "Ivy!" She squeezed me. "It's been a day Jubilee!" I laughed, and then I gave in. "Okay," I said, "I missed you too!" Us two are like sisters. Not to forget Julie of course! I do miss her. :(

We went into the backyard, and I showed her the progress. "Cool!" She said. It was just then that I noticed. Jubi had no shoes on! "Jubi!" I exclaimed. "Did you forget your shoes at home?" She laughed. "Goodness no! Our family has decided to try going barefoot everywhere for a week." She grinned. "Well in that case," I kicked off my own shoes. "There!"

 After a while of being outside, we went into my room to make posters. I felt silly for still having that "Happy Spring!" poster on my wall. I grabbed paper, pencils, a ruler, and some scissors. Jubilee grabbed my Reese's puffs cereal for snacking.

 In no time, I had the words "happy summer" written on my paper. Here's my half-finished post with a flower.

Jubi quietly wrote, "get ready for some fun in the sun!" Here's her poster half done. Needless to say, our posters look awesome now. :D

After we finished that, it was lunchtime. Mama said to me, "C'mon, we're going somewhere." I put my camera down in its place (unfortunately) I was curious, but said nothing. We all hoped into the van and drove to Chili's. By now, I was really interested! We were escorted to a big table where all the Rose Hollow Dolls were waiting!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY IVY!" They shouted in unison, including Jubi and Marie.
We had a GREAT time, even though I didn't bring my camera. :)

Oh well! I had a fun time.
Gotta go! I'm going to start working on a new post about summer. Summer IS right around the corner...literally!
And I'm looking forwards to it. Because on the 21st, I'm going with Mama to see Elliebob and Julie! Yayyyyy!

~Sunshiny Ivy

My (late) birthday!

We-ell, it was my birthday yesterday, and I'm pretty satisfied 'bout it. :)

What we did: we did a surprise party at Chili's!

What I got: a heart-shaped basket, and pom pom pets!


So fun. I'm sorry I'm late, and pictures will come later. :)

Ooo, backyard pics!

I'm like so happy. The backyard looks so much better!
I decided to post some photos now, and some later. :)

So this morning, Joy and I woke up and rushed to the sliding glass door. The landscapers were here! Hooray!

 It's hard to get a good picture of Joy, so I had to post this photo!

 Rototiller!

Rototiller in action! Or, not.

Drain thingy.

 Headerboard/yard liner! Nice and curvy. Perfecto!

 Seriously. This afternoon, Mama and I took a nap. When we woke up, we looked out the window to see brilliant green! She grabbed the camera much faster than I thought was possible and snapped a picture! Here it is. Wow. I was stunned! How could this much progress occur in half an hour?!

 As I said, pebbles. And here are the boulders! Don't they give the area a strong look? So lovely. And you know what? Before you know it, the Rose Hollow Dolls are gonna be climbing all over the boulders!

 Ah, grass. Of course one of the workers stepped up as soon as I took the picture. Oh well!

Well, hope you enjoyed the landscape update. :)

~Very Sunshiny Ivy

Our Backyard

Wow, so far the backyard looks awesome, and waaaay better! The grass gives it an organic soothing feel, and the pebbles give it a river look. I LOVE IT! AAAAAAAH! XD
I can suddenly scream like that. Beware. :) XD
Mama said they put in recyclable headerboard. I'd rather call it a yard liner. Well, they put those in in curves.
Curves gives a yard a soft organic touch, do you not agree? Everything has curves, and it's simply beautiful.
Pictures coming later! I don't think the landscaper workers like me taking pictures of them anyway. I bet they're all creeped out.
A doll with a camera?!
Well, I'll be sure to just pop out later after they leave. :)

Birthday

I didn't want to say anything but...this upcoming Tuesday is my birthday! I wonder if anybody remembered...
I hope so!
I'm really looking forwards to it. I didn't really want any presents, just a get-together with all my friends! I wish I could see Julie though...I think she's vacationing or something.
And guess what?
This Saturday, we're continuing our landscaping journey. The landscaper guy is going to rototill the backyard and put in grass!
Well...see you gals later.

~Sunshiny or not, Ivy

Mama's Etsy

Mama is still trying to work out her Etsy shop. She wants to know: would you rather have single clothing items, or outfits?
I'll be putting up a poll on that. She just wanted to know.

Flower Quest with Joy

Most of you know my sister, Joy. Her real name is Joyce Eloise, but nobody calls her that unless she's in trouble. :) She totally lives for gymnastics, and she's an awesome (most of the time) sister!
Here we are!

Isn't that a sweet picture? I think so. I especially think it's strange that Joy is so much taller than me although she's younger than me! No fair!
By the way, like my bag?

This is the first flower Joy spotted. It's a lovely yellow wildflower! However, it was in the foreclosed lot. We didn't dare to go there! We weren't sure if there were any tramps there.

This is the first flower I found. It's a pretty pink rose! A rose is one of my favorite flowers.

Joy and I both spotted these pretty lilies simultaneously!

Here's a closeup. Isn't that lily stunning?

Well, this flower IS very pretty, but the darn camera wouldn't focus. It was set on focusing on the flower in the middle. :(

When I finished staring gloomily at the camera, Joy pointed. "Look!" She exclaimed. "How pretty!" I rushed up and took a picture.

And then I posed! I have no idea what these are, but they're delicate pink flowers. They almost look like little tulips hanging from the stem. :D

Joy posed too! She's so funny. ;)

That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed my flower quest. 

Blog with ya later!

~Sunshiny Ivy