1-Year Blogiversary Giveaway!

Guys guys guys! Guess what? Oh, you’re never gonna guess. *snickers* I’m so good at keeping secrets.

McKenna: Uh, it’s in the title.

Oh, right. Well, if you read the title (I know, titles are boring, you probably never read them), then you know today is my 1-year blogiversary!

Yep, you read it right – it’s been a year already! I know, I can scarcely believe it myself. And, what’s even crazier is that I ALSO have 100 followers now! You guys are so, so awesome and I really appreciate all of your support.

A big thanks to Elysium for being my very first follower!

And thank you also Guyloup for being my 100th follower. My current tally is 102.

Yes, I am doing a stereotypical blogiversary giveaway, BUT the items I am giving away are actually for humans and not for dolls.

I am giving away two Alaska tee shirts! The way this will work is:

Step 1: Enter the giveaway. Rules are as follows:

• THIS IS A VERY SHORT GIVEAWAY. This is the most important rule – you MUST enter by Saturday, June 2 at 12 PM Alaska time/1 PM Pacific time. Because I will be buying the shirts from a store, I want to make sure there is still a good size selection so I can be sure to purchase your shirt in your size. Enter by leaving a comment below.
• You MUST have your parent/guardian’s permission to enter (please make sure you do not ask a random parent, but the one you are related to. 🙂 If you win, I will need your address to ship the shirt to you. And of course, if you are 18 . . . just enter. 🙂
• You must be a follower of my blog to enter. (If you are a new follower, make sure you hit “confirm follow” in your email, or I won’t see that you followed.
• Share about this giveaway on your blog or Pinterest. Make sure to leave a link so I can see!
• Make sure you are commenting with a valid email.
• You must live in North America to enter, due to expensive shipping to/from AK.

Step 2: If you are my first winner, I will email you and ask you for your shirt size and address. You will get first pick at the shirts.

Step 3: If you are my second winner, I will send you an email as well. You will get the shirt the first winner did not pick.

If you need more clarification, feel free to comment or email me at americangirlsak@gmail.com.

I feel like I’m forgetting something . . . oh yeah, the shirts! Here are what they look like:

Due to iPhone image quality, the colors did not turn out well . . . the pink is a bit more fluorescent (if that’s even possible) and the blue on the second shirt is more of a turquoise.

There are a few ways to gain bonus entries:

• Tell a friend about this giveaway! If they enter (and tell me you told them!) you can get an extra entry!
• If you have a YT channel, create a video about this giveaway and post it (again, please leave a link.)
• If you have more than one blog, reblog this on your other blog.

Please make sure in your comment to tell me which of these bonus entry methods you used.

I think that about wraps this up. Thank you again for supporting me in my first year of blogging, everyone! I can’t believe it’s been a year already. You guys are fantastic!

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A Memorial Day Tribute

Memorial Day is not just an extended weekend or time of year when Lower 48-ers go on fun road trips. It’s a special day not to celebrate, but to honor, those who have lost their lives fighting for the freedom of their fellow Americans. I decided to find a Memorial Day poem and add some of my pictures to it.

“I Came To Visit You Today,” by Shauna Ruud.

While you’re reading, please remember the bravery and sacrifice of our men and women who fought and died to protect our great nation!

I came to visit you today
To place this flag next to your grave.

The sacrifices you have made
Will forever be indebted this day.

I came to visit you today
To place this flag next to your grave.

It doesn’t matter if you fought or not
‘Cause with that uniform it doesn’t matter what.

I came to visit you today
To place this flag next to your grave.

The memory of what once was you
Still lingers true for those who knew.

I came to visit you today
To place this flag next to your grave

To just say thank you on this Memorial Day.

For those of you who have lost a grandparent, parent, sibling, cousin, aunt, uncle, or other relative or friend in a war, we thank you as well. 🙂

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/i-came-to-visit-you-today

Another Q&A . . .

Me to my grandma: I need to blog.

Me to myself: Maybe I should title this post “What Should I Blog About?”

Genius self to me: A Q&A A Q&A A Q&A!!!

So. I obviously HAD to listen to myself and do another Q&A. This time around, though, instead of the questions being Alaskan themed, the questions can be about anything.

Well, I say anything, but . . .

• Please keep your questions appropriate
• The questions must not be personal, such as inquiries as to my real name, birthday, or Social Security number
• You have until Monday, May 28 (Memorial Day) to question away!

Have fun with this, guys. I love Q&A’s, in case you couldn’t tell. The weirder the questions, the better!

A sneak-peek at upcoming blog posts:

• A Summer Photoshoot, Round 2
• Lindsey’s Revenge (A Photostory)
• Review of Tenney’s Spotlight Outfit
• In Which I FINALLY Post The Trials of Tessa, Part 3
• And more, which are yet to be revealed!

See ya later!

A Day in The Life: Lindsey May

Hi, people of the Internet! ‘Tis I, Lindsey! Apparently, DITL posts are super popular with our followers, so I demanded a turn we decided it was time for me to have a turn on the blog. I have not gotten a moment in the spotlight since the founding of this blog, really. Not that I mind. I much prefer snooping around, spying on my sisters, etc. But I know you’re all dying to know about what my day looks like, so here we go!

4:00 AM: I know what you’re thinking. Lindsey gets up at 4 AM??? Short answer: yes. I need to be up super early so I can spy on my sisters while they’re still getting their “beauty rest,” as Crystal calls it. I spend the next couple of hours creeping stealthily around the house, noting what each of my sisters are doing as they sleep on my notepad. According to Emily, this is “creepy,” but what does she know?

7:00 AM: My sisters FINALLY start getting up and moving around. Since I have already been up for three hours, I just grab a bagel and start my homework. Obviously, I start with writing, so I log on to my online journalism class. We’re working on making observations around us, and I submit an exposé on Crystal’s weird snoring habits. Fortunately, she’ll never find out about this.

10:30 AM: Time for photography class! I hop on my bike and ride to the community center. Today we’re doing cell photography, which does not mean we are photographing cells, unfortunately. Very misleading title. Turns out, we’re using cell phones. I go to the library and take pictures of flowers. While snapping a shot of the green, a random man comes up and demands in a very rude manner if I have “permission.” Since he has an official-looking badge on his uniform, I reply in the politest way possible. Which is saying “uh . . .” and running in the other direction.

12:00 PM: After having Crystal come down to the community center (in pink sparkly heels, I may add), we finally get things cleared up with the security guard. Then, Crystal marches me home (she won’t even let me ride my bike) and lectures me all the way. Apparently, her feet are “killing” her. Well, she probably shouldn’t have been wearing heels. The girl will never learn.

3:00 PM: Since I have been “grounded indefinitely” by Crystal, I’m sitting in my room outlining a new novel and plotting my revenge. Grace brings me down a snack, a raspberry tartlet, to cheer me up. It works. But I’m still planning that revenge.

6:00 PM: Grace the sister brings me dinner and I gobble it up hungrily. Grace the dog, my roommate, helps. After dinner, I carefully open my window and remove the screen. Since we live in a split-level home, like many Alaskan houses, my room is in the basement. That means if I open my window, I can just climb out onto the ground. I sneak Grace out too. Then, we sneakily creep around the side of the house and I grab my rollerblades from the garage.

6:15 PM: I have been caught! Molly the Tattletale saw me leaving and had McKenna chase me down the block. Sometimes, it’s hard being the second-oldest and still getting grounded the most. But hey, it’s fun.

8:00 PM: As soon as we got home, Crystal sent me to bed. But I’ve been lying here for the past hour and a half in my pajamas dreaming up ways to get Crystal back for grounding me. Burning her shoes crosses my mind, but only once. Okay, maybe twice. OH FINE. ABOUT A DOZEN TIMES. Well, I have to get up in eight hours, so I’ll sign off.

For now.

Fifteen (A Lyrical Photoshoot)

Psst! Hey, you! Yes, you, person reading this post in your supposedly awful reader that I actually find very helpful but most people do not. In case you did not get the memo, today is Crystal’s fifteenth birthday. Yes, fifteen. Shocking, right?

I have been planning to do a photoshoot to the song “Fifteen” by none other than Taylor Swift. I am not really a fan of her anymore, I think her songs are getting a bit too edgy. But her old music is great! And “Fifteen” is a very sweet song. I’ll let Crystal’s adorableness take it from here. 🙂

You take a deep breath
And you walk through the doors
It’s the morning of your very first day
You say hi to your friends you ain’t seen in awhile
Try and stay out of everybody’s way

It’s your freshman year
And you’re gonna be here for the next four years
In this town
Hoping one of those senior boys
Will wink at you and say, “you know I haven’t seen you around, before”

‘Cause when you’re fifteen,
Somebody tells you they love you
You’re gonna believe them
And when you’re fifteen

Feeling like there’s nothing to figure out

 

Count to ten
Take it in
This is life before you know who you’re gonna be
At fifteen

You sit in class next to a red-head named Abigail
And soon enough you’re best friends
Laughing at the other girls
Who they think they’re so cool
We’ll be out of here as soon as we can

And then you’re on your very first date
And he’s got a car
And you’re feeling like flying
And you’re mama’s waiting up
And you’re thinking he’s the one
And you’re dancing around the room when the night ends
When the night ends

‘Cause when you’re fifteen,
Somebody tells you they love you
You’re gonna believe them
And when you’re fifteen

And your first kiss makes your head spin around

But in your life you’ll do things
Greater than dating the boy on the football team
But I didn’t know it at fifteen

When all you wanted
Was to be wanted
Wish you could go back
And tell yourself what you know now

Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine
And Abigail gave everything she had
To a boy who changed his mind
And we both cried

‘Cause when you’re fifteen,
Somebody tells you they love you
You’re gonna believe them
And when you’re fifteen

Don’t forget to look before you fall

I’ve found time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you’re supposed to be
I didn’t know who I was supposed to be
At fifteen

La la la la la
Your very first day
Take a deep breath girl
And take a deep breath as you walk through the doors

-Fin-

Guys, isn’t Tenney’s Spotlight Outfit so cute on Crystal? If you are considering getting it, you totally should! It’s one of the best outfits I’ve ever gotten.

Well, don’t forget to wish Crystal happy birthday in the comments! See y’all on Monday!

Travels With Grace #5: Texas

Hiiii, fellow travelers! It’s Grace again, with our last post from Texas! A big thank-you goes out to AGs in Alaska’s Texan friend, who helped her take some of these pics. Now, onto the photostory!

I am Grace, the fearless adventurer

Today I am on a search

A search to find a dangerous beast of Texas

The beasts are hiding today

I must remain silent and still

And creep stealthily

They hide amongst the shadows

And stalk their prey

I remain unnoticed

Waiting and watching

Every snap of a twig

Is an animal’s footfall

Every breath of the wind

Is the pant of a beast

I am Grace, the fearless wanderer

Out on a search

A search for a wild animal

Where are they today?

Still hiding

I am unable to find a wild beast of Texas

And so I will return

Aha! What is that I spy?

A wild beast of Texas!

Grace, the fearless adventurer, has succeeded in her mission

And so another journey ends, my friends. We have returned to Alaska. I hope you have all enjoyed “traveling” with me, Grace – the fearless adventurer.

5 Things You Can Relate To If You Have An AG Doll/AG Doll Blog/AG Doll YT Channel

Hey guys, what’s up? I am taking a break today from Travels With Grace to bring you a post anyone with an AG doll can relate to. I have seen this idea a lot on YouTube but I know not everyone is allowed to watch it, so enjoy!

#1: Aren’t you a little OLD for dolls?

Well, lots of people could say the same thing about your stuffed animal obsession. But I don’t, because there’s nothing wrong with liking toys once you’re over the age of twelve. My great-aunt loves AG! And playing with dolls and photographing them are two entirely different things, so don’t criticize. (And even if you still play with your dolls, kudos to you for not feeling the need to grow up too fast!)

#2: Your dolls look like they’re staring into my soul . . . 

Okay, what is with this? AG dolls are the most realistic dolls on the market, and I think they’re totally cute! It’s just an unfortunate stereotype that has come from horror movies featuring Chucky The Doll. (By the way, I wouldn’t recommend watching that film.)

#3: Why would anyone spend so much money on a doll?

I feel like this is just rude. It’s basically saying “Why would you spend so much money on a house/car/piece of jewelry?” It’s my money. I earned it, and I will spend it as I please.

#4: You have a DOLL blog/YT channel? I’ve never heard of those . . . 

I get this one ALL the time. Apparently, no one has heard that popular YT channels like Mixiepixie7 get ASKED by AG to do GOTY sneak peek videos . . . or invited to do meetups at the AG stores. It’s a real thing, people.

#5: And those are a thing?

Um . . . yes. Trust me. Google “AG doll blog,” or “AG stopmotion,” and you will get thousands of results.

Can you relate to any of these?