First, the normal Christmas presents!

When Yasmin picked up Meygan at Sky Harbor after Meygan's holiday trip, she'd kind of expected to be "surprised" with her cousin Ynez, but the presence of Cloe and Shira had her completely gobsmacked.

Meygan is grateful that Yasmin brought her monkey to the airport.

When Meygan whipped out her phone, the first photo she showed was another newbie, Jane Boolittle, who's so shy that she snuck through the airport and took the tram home.

Are you my sister?

So the conversation while my parents were driving me to the train that would take me to the plane went like this.

Mom: Are you going to blog about how we spent the week?

Me: Yes, several posts, and the reason I put these specific gals in my luggage rather than in the box you're shipping to me is that I thought I'd start with the normal presents.

Mom: ...?

Me: Normal presents. Like, it's in wrapping and then the holiday comes, and you take the wrapping off, and there it is, and you're surprised. Totally normal.

Come, let us take a look at the totally normal presents and see how the newcomers take their places in society.

Hayden buys a car!

Hayden has answered a car-for-sale ad on Craig's List. Katie thinks a scooter would serve Hayden's needs, but Hayden says you can't really haul furniture on a scooter.

I never knew Chery made a convertible!

The real-life backstory is that last weekend, I followed a coupon to the Worst Michael's on the Planet (tm), found it predictably pointless, got a coffee at the kiosk in the mall, went to Kroger to look at the toy section, got a 59-cent pink donut because I cannot resist pink baked goods (it was peppermint-flavored). . . and at that point, hydrated and fed, there was no reason not to pay a second visit to the Kmart Going-Out-of-Business Sale.

Exclusive: Downtown with Chanteuse Ambiguous Brown

Our arts and entertainment reporter, Yasmin Muñeca, had the privilege of sitting down for an extended talk with pop-jazz singing sensation Ambiguous Brown. Here's what she learned.

My signature song is a jazzy cover of "Glitter in the Air."

"Ambiguous" is a stage name, right? You started as Dolores Daughtry...

My friends still call me Dolly. [laughs] I started out playing gigs and sending demos under my real name, but people kept thinking I was a country singer! Or they'd ask if I was related to Chris Daughtry and expect me to be doing post-grunge. After working housekeeping jobs to pay my rent, I've had all the grunginess I can stand. When I'm on stage, I want it to be all about the glam.

We had a cozy sit-down in the studio where Ambi is recording.

Skelita is proud of her new hat

¡Ole!

Sophie's been thinking of opening a boutique, but she's worried that rents in the Scottsdale Arts District will be too high. So she's checking out the neighborhood on a gray Friday afternoon. Skelita is along -- and is potentially the first employee -- because Sophie's heard that the fashionable women are all social skeletons.

Let's combine being a crazy cat lady and a crazy doll hoarder!

Somebody thinks he's had kittens.

Some of my kittens look similar and some look completely different because with kittens, you never know.

This is the first time the Feline-American member of the household has shown an interest in the dolls. He went so far as to lick the head of the brunette in front of him.

Grand opening of a new Goodwill!

Being able to browse for Neglected Fashion Doll Two-Packs while I have laundry in the dryer is obviously cause for celebration.

Indeed, the opening of a new Goodwill adjacent to the laundromat is such cause for celebration that I got permission to telecommute so I could attend the actual grand opening at 9 a.m. last Friday.

Then suddenly, everybody realized the parking lot lines made no sense.

There was a dancing Goodwill mascot. Show of hands: who even knew that Goodwill had a dancing foam mascot?

Miss Hanzo assigns a mission

Miss Hanzo interviews an Experimental Subject in the comfort of the spa's wardrobe room.

Your mission is to be fabulous.

This particular Experimental Subject was last seen in the company of Elena Rodriguez and Kayla, calling herself Teresa and claiming to be Elena's cousin from Mexico City, as they walked their alpaca on the beach. Since Elena's backstory was retconned by the spa, actually being her cousin is an impossibility, but Miss Hanzo has a new direction for her.

Panthea's adventure

These are hot stock picks from three weeks ago.
Also, after getting my headshots for my portfolio, I have only 39 cents in savings.

The darker Lovely Patsy seems to be in a waiting room. Is it an important audition for her acting/modeling career? A visit to the dentist?

Love your coat, girl. Nordstrom Rack?