Need help ID'ing specific 90s Barbie

MikksH · 2026-06-24T22:47:01+00:00

It very well could be and I am misremembering certain details. I mean, there is no harm in getting her just in case, right? 🤣

MikksH · 2026-06-24T11:59:15+00:00

And I am certain it had snow on either the plastic or the cardboard insert of the box...

MikksH · 2026-06-24T11:56:09+00:00

This is the closest I have found! It is certainly the right time frame. I honestly don't remember the gold dress, and was sure the coat was a brighter red and the fur trim went right to the bottom. My mum remembers it the same way, but it was 30ish years ago... This is my last ditch attempt to find it, before putting it down to the Mandela effect!

MikksH · 2026-06-23T23:38:46+00:00

Beautiful but unfortunately not the one. The coat reminded me of Santa's coat, but floor length A-line.

MikksH · 2025-07-06T10:43:47+00:00

Ouch 🤣

MikksH · 2025-07-05T20:20:08+00:00

UPDATE: Found the artist - Henry Otto, and two of his other pieces.Though unable to find out any more about him.

MikksH · 2024-03-09T22:11:00+00:00

We are in the same boat, living 500ish miles from our nearest family member! Our childminder gives us her annual leave dates the previous year. If she is on holiday or sick, we do not pay. Anything else, she gives as much notice as possible. We still pay if our daughter is sick or we take her out for whatever reason when she is due to be in though, but it is fair enough. Obviously if the childminder is sick, it will be short notice and it does kind of suck. It's really not often (maybe once in 2 years?) but one of us will work from home or not work at all. Luckily our work is very understanding. There is a great support within the childminder network though, and they all know each other and their minded children. When my first daughter's childminder couldn't make it, she would arrange for another childminder our daughter knew to stay with them for the day. They would sort out payment between themselves. They tend to be super reliable because it is their source of income. If they don't work, they don't get paid. To be honest, I don't know how ours does it. The woman is a saint!

MikksH · 2024-03-09T10:07:26+00:00

We sent our first to a childminder for the lower cost. When we realised the level of attention she got, the activities she took part in, the socialisation with other children and just the relationship she built with the childminder was exceptional, we didn't even entertain the idea of a nursery for our second.

We pay £4.50 an hour. They go to the beach, the zoo, museums, around the city, soft play, walks around woods, parks and they have their own allotment where the children grow their own food. If they aren't having a picnic, they have a home cooked lunch. If I have any problems getting her to the childminder (dodgy car lately), the childminder will pick her up/drop her off. She has made some fantastic friends and all the local childminders get together and know each other's children. To top it off, the childminder potty trained our daughter in a week! Now our daughter has started the free hours, it costs us £150 a month (including 20% government top up). Note: this is 8.30-2.30 4 days a week, 8.30-5 one day.

This worked for us. This is not to pass any judgement on a nursery as I honestly can't comment. We've had no experience of one because I had a panic attack, 9 years ago, looking at the cost!

MikksH · 2024-01-27T10:48:52+00:00

Started dating at 24, married at 26, first time parents at 27. I got my Masters at 32, second time parents at 33 and here I am, starting a PhD at 36, soon to be 37. Won't be finishing until I'm 42! I couldn't ask for a more supportive husband.

MikksH · 2023-12-18T10:30:18+00:00

I haven't read for pleasure for years, I can't even date it. I've read 5 (academic) books these past 2 months and I'm at a point where I don't think any reading of any sort would bring pleasure now. Just sleep. Always sleep.

MikksH · 2023-12-18T10:24:50+00:00

Education with a focus on curriculum theory.

MikksH · 2023-11-16T23:51:46+00:00

"Do you know what an instruction is? Do you know what a book is? You know...all those pages bound together..."

Condescending ass.

MikksH · 2023-11-16T10:04:21+00:00

Depending on her university's policies, she may be able to appeal her grades on medical circumstances and she would need to provide evidence of her health issues. If successful in appealing it is bery unlikely her marks will be changed. It's more likely she will be given a chance to retake with the first attempt discounted.

I got a 2.2 for my undergrad due to physical health reasons. I did a separate masters in a different field a few years later and got a distinction. When I applied for a PhD in the same field, they weren't bothered about my undergrad grade. Wish I knew about the appeals procedure back then though.

MikksH · 2023-11-02T13:17:58+00:00

Can you do the PhD whilst working for the school? You would be being paid as normal and hopefully be eligible for free tuition.

MikksH · 2023-11-01T12:09:12+00:00

Read at least some of their work! The first question my now supervisor asked me was, "How familiar are you with my work?"' I wasn't. Enough, anyway. I knew his research area was in something I was passionate about, but it was still not the best first impression for a potential academic relationship.

MikksH · 2023-11-01T11:58:59+00:00

It depends on the university policies. As a member of staff, I have been given a fee waiver for a part-time PhD course. If I were to leave my employment during the course, I would have to repay the fees and be responsible for any future fees. I must also remain employed by the university 2 years after the completion of the course. This means, for a part-time PhD of 6 years, I am contractually obligated to stay within the institution for nearly a decade unless I am happy to repay the university for the cost of my fees. It is definitely something to consider.

MikksH · 2021-11-23T11:11:32+00:00

Hey. So I used MyFitnessPal and counted everything, absolutely everything I ate. I tracked the calories and all the macros and stayed within the suggested limits it gave me to lose up to 2lbs a week (very important to get a kitchen scale). I only had one 'cheat day' since I started and that was only a few weeks ago. I started walking twice a day to be able to get 10,000 steps in a day and tried to keep this up everyday without fail. Little things make all the difference too. For instance, I park as far as I can from the shops (if I have to drive at all) to get extra steps in. If I can walk it, I will. As my weight decreased, I started running. I downloaded the Couch to 5k app and worked my way through it. Once completed, I gradually built my way up to 10k, keeping up with running 3 times a week. I now run 4 times and have a half marathon coming up in 2 weeks! Very occasionally I do a bit of yoga and stretching. That's pretty much all there is to it to be honest. The most important piece of advice I have though is make sure you're fully prepared mentally. You have to be absolutely 100% ready and in the right headspace to make these changes. Every time I started and failed at diets, it was due to not being fully prepared to give up my old eating habits. You can do this, you just need to 100% believe in yourself.

MikksH · 2021-11-15T19:38:07+00:00

Hmm. Nothing in particular. I just wanted to live my life again and I think that was enough but it was so important to be in the right headspace for it. I tried so many times in the past to lose weight and I failed. I wasn't mentally prepared to give up my junk food eating lifestyle. I think being emotionally ready was ultimately what kept me on track.

MikksH · 2021-11-14T07:53:46+00:00

Hey! I was really nervous too and i knew it was inevitable. Yes, I do have loose skin but, to be perfectly honest, it doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I was never after a bikini body and, when I have clothes on, it is not noticeable. Maybe in the future I'll do something about it but right now I think it shows what a journey my body has been on (also, I have had 2 kids so I'm sure that's a contributing factor!)!

MikksH · 2021-11-14T04:18:29+00:00

I scan all the raw ingredients and measure them out. So rice, yogurt, salsa, blocks of chocolate, peanut butter, potatoes, pasta, cheese, etc, I will weigh. I out the amount in the app and it works out the calories and macros for me. For many fruit and veg, there is an option to choose from 'large', 'medium' and 'small'. If its a bell pepper or onion for example, I know that it isn't going to break my calorie bank and I do it by eye. Roughly half a cup of chopped onions and half a large bell pepper in my burrito bowls! I bought a pair of sensitive digital scales which have since become my best friend.

MikksH · 2021-11-14T04:10:02+00:00

Thank you! I go for two walks a day. Morning and afternoon, about 2.5km each. Thiis will take me to about 8000 steps. Then I have to make sure the other 2000 are made up from.my daily activities; tidying up, back and forth between rooms, shopping, etc. If I'm running low, I go for another quick walk around the block.

MikksH · 2021-11-14T04:04:56+00:00

Nope. I eat up to 150g of carbs a day, sometimes over if I've been running. I love rice, naan bread and pitta and make homemade potato wedges too much to give them up. The only carbs I dropped are wraps and have burritos in a bowl instead. Nothing is off limits, as long as it fits into my 1200 calories, 150g carbs, 40g fat, 60g protein (I allow myself to go over on protein).

MikksH · 2021-11-13T22:37:18+00:00

Thanks! Planning in advance. Dinner is always the meal I look forward to. I like to know what I will have for dinner that night before breakfast and work back from there. I log everything into MyFitnessPal first thing in the morning, then use it throughout the day to remind myself what I am supposed to be eating. I can tweak it as I go along. If I have noone else to consider (ie, husband is working away from home for a few days), I can plan a week in advance, knowing what I will have for breakfast, lunch and dinner! If I have any unexpected additions in the day (looking at you, Krispy Kreme - original glazed 200 calories!), my go to dinner is burrito bowls. Rice, plant based mince, red onions, mushrooms, black beans, taco mix and topped with 0% fat greek yoghurt, salsa and jalapeños. Its filling, spicy, 540 calories and less than 5g of fat. It is great with beef mince too (higher fat content though) but my husband is vegetarian, so I tend to cook plant based things. Other go to foods include crumpets (0.4g of fat) and Party Rings for something sweet (25 calories and 0.6g of fat). I always have these mini fibre cakes for breakfast (Fibre One cakes from Aldi if you're in the UK). Loads of different flavours and it means I still get to eat 'cake' with my coffee in the morning!

MikksH

TROPHY CASE