Tree Change Dolls

This girl right here is THE reason that I carry on the way I do in life: pushing myself, making sure I have what she needs and am there when she needs me to be there. I bend over backwards to accommodate inconvenient schedules, awkward situations and any other uncomfortable place I've found myself - and will inevitably find myself in the future - so that she knows that I treasure her.

my girl ♥♥♥

In this day and age, it's next to impossible to repel the advances of the world, as it pertains to stealing the innocence of little ones. I have a daughter, and as a woman, I know the pressures that we as women create, fall prey to and impose onto other women. [Men, you do it, too, but unfortunately, we all know women bear the brute of the judgments..]. We are given the choice to follow or rebuke unrealistic standards for our bodies, our behaviors, our careers and our lifestyles. We are either blessed with strong examples of other women who've paved the way before us as balanced individuals, carrying the weight of career, motherhood [if applicable], single parenting [again, if applicable], social life and maintaining our sense of femininity and individuality throughout all of it. Again, I'm talking to men on the same scale, too; our society's built on a double-edged sword.

I'm an adult now, and thankfully managed to survive my child and adolescent years without the burden of an eating disorder, psychological disability, socially-inflicted emotional scars, etc. I had my ups and downs, don't get me wrong, but I only realized in my adult years that I had the proper support I always needed to feel confident about my body and my worth. Not every girl [or boy] is given that luxury, and are left to compete for their worth in an arena of others who arrived there ages ago. It's a vicious circle.

sonia singh

Ever heard of Bratz? You know, those mutated dolls that make Barbie look almost actually human?

Well, I strongly dislike them. Yeah, I do. I never put a single drop of stock into these things until I had a daughter of my own. I watch her with her own dolls now, dressing them in outfits, making them converse with each other,......... telling me that she thinks so-and-so is perfect.

What does that say? That says that a doll with a waist-size that's actually more proportionate to what her thigh could or should be, is beautiful. That beauty is 8 layers of makeup and hair that smells like cupcakes. That tall, stick thin and dressed like a prostitute is the image to model.

Seriously?

I stumbled across THIS the other day, and fell in love. Her name is Sonia Singh, and she re-creates monsters into gorgeous toys. She is on Facebook, Etsy & Tumblr: Search for her: Tree Change Dolls.

Here's a better intro:

Here she is on Facebook

Anyway, I borrowed some of the stills from her Facebook page, namely some that I particularly enjoyed seeing. I'm all about transformations, especially if that means turning something bizarre into something real.

Boys, don't worry, there are male versions, too! 

I'm more of a hippie than a yuppie as it is anyway, so of course these are going to appeal to me. I know there are plenty of folks out there who will see this and think that I'm shaming people who wear makeup. No. I'm not.

I wear makeup.
Sometimes I wear a lot of makeup.
I also wear fancy - and sometimes very fancy clothes.

But I know that's not how I'm defined. I am not a summation of how much mascara or lipstick I can wear in one outing. My self worth is not determined by the labels on my clothes. Yeah, those things are fun to have, and really I don't see a problem with all of that, as long as we, ladies & gentlemen, don't let it define us.

♥ this. 

♥♥♥♥

If there's one thing in this life I strive to teach my daughter, it's to HAVE FUN. Be careless when it's appropriate, but always remember who you are inside before you step outside to have fun. Always, always, always remember what you stand for, and that - per the old adage - if you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything. I want my daughter to live life to the fullest, but without the side effects of emptiness, regret and self-loathing for bad choices. I'm all about makeup, fancy clothes, shiny things.. but in moderation and within our means. These dolls, to me, are the perfect representation of children. I love their modesty, their innocence and their imperfections. It's what life is all about. It's where we start for a reason.

Thank you so much for this beautiful project you've created, Sonia!
I hope one day when you, Sydni, look back at this, you'll remember again just how imperfectly perfect you are.. and that's the way I love you.

xo | cmd 

REMEMBER POGS???

I had one of the most random dreams to date last night.

I dreamt that I alone was responsible for the security of the world's largest collection of POGS.

POGS??
Really?

I'm not sure what prompted this dream, but what I do know is that I did in fact have pogs as a kid and while my collection certainly is NOT here with me in IL, there are plenty of people who've posted some collection shots of theirs. I'll borrow for now. Thanks, Google.

I just had major, major flashbacks to elementary school. Haha.

My dreams might not make sense, but I'll have you know, I was doing an excellent job patrolling that collection. Haha. Weird, weird, weird.

What was YOUR favorite slammer? ;)

xo | cmd