My love for on-line shopping reached new heights yesterday. Ella and I had just finished seeing "Pinkalicious" at the Water Tower Theater. High off of her first play and trailing four of her gal pals, we braved the mall crowds to get to Mity Nice Grill for a post-play luncheon. There, standing guard at every entrance was an army of evil, so insidious, so sinister yet so irresistibly cute. American Girl Doll officially had Ella and I held hostage. For one second I found myself holding Ella up in front of a case of over thirty dolls with varying eye, hair and skin colors asking her which one she thought was the prettiest. Bi-racial kids fear not...there is a doll for you! A $100 dollar doll. I was actually considering the $30 "fiesta picnic set" because who doesn't need a 1 1/2 inch pinata? Luckily, the girls we were with were seasoned veterans to the American Girl scene. We would have simply self-combusted with magic, the whole entire mall, were they newbies like us. I plan to continue with my holiday shopping on Amazon. No lines, no snippy sales ladies and no ambush marketing tactics aimed at the innocent (and their mothers). Ella's narrow view of the world of toys was pried right open yesterday...still awaiting the fall-out. It's been over eighteen hours since the last mention of the dolls. I hope it will be much like the Halloween candy, forgotten in two days. Although she did ask for a "kitty cat" aka Kit Kat today.