I’m a Barbie Girl

So today marks the 60th anniversary of Barbie! I am so excited as I love Barbie!

I know a lot of people complain about Barbie but I loved her. I used to save up my money and go buy new ones-I had a giant collection of them.

I never felt Barbie projected a bad image, I thought she was awesome as she was everything-and that I could be too.

Each one of my Barbies had their own name and personality, and did everything you could imagine. You see, I wanted to do and be everything-as a child I switched from day to day what kind of thing I wanted to do as a “grown up”. I don’t have all mine with me, they are in storage-for if I have kids one day-so here are all I can remember off the top of my head:

• Corduroy Cool Barbie-I really wanted the Daphne doll as I was such a big Scooby-Doo fan, but my mother couldn’t buy it as it was too expensive. Instead I got this doll, who I named Linda, and she was a private eye. Often I would put the scarf around her head or neck as part of her disguise.
• Teen Skipper: All Grown Up-She was my first doll and first Skipper doll, so she was the only one who kept the “Skipper” name. She was a teenager so she didn’t have a profession, but I do remember putting all those stickers on the headboard of my bed.
• Western Stampin’ Barbie-I really wanted to be a cowgirl when I was little and loved Dolly Patron. This one was Dolly, named after the sing-a country singer, rancher, and a ribbon winning rodeo queen.
• CEO Barbie-Her name was Wendy and she was CEO of a stationary company. This doll was cool as it came with a CD-Rom that let you make your own calendars, stationary, and design other paper products.
• Fashion Designer Barbie– Her name was Ashley, after my best friend, and she created cool, comfortable, and stunning clothes.
• Pilot Barbie–Spring was the pilot of Barbie Air and went all over the world. Once her plane even crashed and we needed to solve a mystery of who sabotaged the plane and killed a passenger.
• Totally Yoyo Skipper-I can’t remember what I called her, but she was the Yoyo champion of the world. That is until she was in a car accident and lost her hand (we got a new dog who ate it). Even though she faced tragedy, she never gave up but figured out a way to continue her dream.
• Cool Blue Barbie and Extreme Green Skipper– I think it was because they wore overalls, but I had the Barbie, who’s name was Julie, and her daughter, Janey, own their own contracting company. They would paint houses, fix any hardware issues, and were basically mechanics (even though that doesn’t fall under contracting. Hey I was a little girl-I didn’t know.)
• Birthday Party Barbie– Brittany was a party planner, birthdays being her specialty. As her lips were permanently fixed in that expression, she was also a part time lip model.
• Kitty Fun– Kathryn, (named after another best friend) was a teenage cat trainer.
• Glam ‘n Groom Barbie & Teresa– I received these two for my birthday one year. This was my first Teresa doll so she stayed with that name, while Barbie was Katrina. The two had an animal grooming business and had gone to school in Paris (because of the ruffles and tutu clothes.) I was heartbroken when my friend’s sister broke my Teresa doll. After her death, Katrina kept up the business, hiring Kathryn to help out.
• Jewel Teresa– My friend’s mom bought me a new Teresa to replace the one broken. I LOVED this Teresa as to me this Teresa looked like me. Teresa was Latino, like me, and had dark hair with lighter skin-like me. It was wonderful having something like that after being bullied by others for not “looking Mexican enough”. This became my favorite doll of all.
• Generation Girl Barbie– Her name was Gina and she wanted to be a director. She wrote and filmed her own movies; sometimes acting as well.
• Generation Girl: Dance Party Barbie– Sister of Gina, named Gia, she wanted to be a photographer for National Geographic, Vogue, or Life Magazine. Until then, she would photograph still lifes, her family, friends, and worked on the school yearbook.
• Generation Girl Tori– Tori was the national skateboard champion, and roller skated for fun. She was also a track star and excelled at all sports.
• Secret Messages Barbie: Leah was a teen who loved mysteries and spy stories. She wanted to be a writer or FBI agent.
• Sleeping Beauty Barbie– I fangirled so hard after watching the commercial for this doll. I loved Sleeping Beauty but there was nothing, no merch at all. Every year my Grandma used to give us $25 dollars for Christmas, which was a lot for pastor’s kids who never received allowance. I knew it was coming and begged and begged my mom to let me open it early and buy this doll. No dice. As soon as I opened the envelope on Christmas I constantly nagged my mom to take me to the store and buy it, but the answer was no again. The next day I woke up at the crack of dawn and continued to beg her to take me to the store. She agreed and we went to Walmart. I still remember running through the store, my mom tailing after me as I’m searching for the doll-of which there were only three on the shelf, grabbing it and trying to run to a cashier. After that I could not stop playing with it, and even had it sleep by my pillow.
• Beyond Pink-This was the only Barbie I called Barbie as that was also her stage name. International Rock Star, singer, songwriter, lead guitarist, and grammy winning star. I remember being so jazzed about this as it came with the cassette Think Pink. I think I annoyed everyone in my family playing this over and over again.
• Twirlin’ Makeup Barbie: Brenda, the beautician and owned her own salon.
• The Front Window Barbie– Collector’s Barbie and one my mom gave me when she knew I was old enough to understand this wasn’t for playing with. I named her Susan after Susan B. Antony, my hero.

I had a lot more, but if I keep going-I’ll be writing all night and the next day. My Barbies solved crimes, went camping, took trips around the world, got stranded on an island, reenacted all kinds of movies, were spies, superheroes, stumbled onto smugglers, were pirates, and more.

For someone growing up and the world saying you are limited in your choices, it was great having someone telling-you can be anything you want to be.

Happy 60th Barbie, Here’s to 60 More!

For more Barbie, go to I Made You A Bummed Out Box: Gone Glitter Part I, Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse (2012)

For more anniversaries, go to Maybe Christmas, He Thought, Doesn’t Come from a Store. Maybe Christmas…Perhaps…Means a Little Bit More: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Post Approved

So I was reading through my Emily Post’s Etiquette, the 14th Edition on gift giving.

I was going to a baby dedication and wanted to see of we are supposed to bring a gift or not. I mean I didn’t want to be rude.

So I read it, and yes I was supposed to. But then I continued reading the rest of the gift giving as it talked about weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, birthday parties, etc. As I read I noticed that Post kept mentioning one item as a suitable gift. And what was that gift?

A BOOK!

Yes, she says that a book is an acceptable gift for any occasion.

So there everyone! I have been Post approved. My idea of a book as a perfect gift is spot on.

So that is what everyone will be getting for their gifts. After all:

For more on how books make the best gifts, go to Crazy Book Lady

For more book-filled posts, go to What Are Your Priorities?

To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before

So I know I haven’t gotten to Star Trek in my fangirl posts, do you might not realize this about me:

And as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Original Series, I decided that how last year was on Back to the Future, this year will be on Star Trek. And next year can be Star Wars as it marks the 40th anniversary of that film. But enough on that, let’s get to our year in review!

This is a time to reflect on what the past year held for us, the big posts, what’s new, and what you all seemed to like the most.

This post will only cover a few things, you really should check out the year for yourself. To start at the beginning go here.

The Views

This year I had 68,000 views!

Last year I had 31,000 and I thought that was a lot. Thank you buzzfeed, pinterest, facebook, twitter, and readers who practically doubled my views.

The most viewed day of the year was June 19th, in which I posted Drug of Choice.

The Number One Post

Strangely, my top posts had nothing to do with anything posted in 2015.

But you all like what you like!

So the number one post was from my Romance is in the Air Valentine’s countdown from 2013. That post was Fulfilling the List: A Walk to Remember, and I think I need to post on it once again.

Second place went to A Monster Race: Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988), from 2012, and my first Horrorfest, theHalloween countdown. In third place was I Saw Goody Osburn With the Devil: The Crucible (1996), from 2013 and my Horrorfest II Halloween countdown. In fourth we had In Rhapsody Over Clint Eastwood, a post from 2013. And rounding them out in my fifth place, we had a post from 2014, Men What Happened?

The Followers!

So this community has really grown in numbers and I can not describe how pleased I am about that. We have gone from 14 followers in 2012 to 42 followers in 2013, 169 followers in 2014, and are now at 439. That’s amazing!

So enough about the statistics and numbers! Let’s move on to what was covered this year and what changes I have made to the blog

1)Back to the Future

So with it being 2015 and the year Back to the Future turned 30, we had a lot of Back to the Future love going on. It started with my first post of the year, Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Roads. On the amazingness of this film as it celebrates its 30 year anniversary, in Back in Time: Happy 30th Anniversary Back to the Future. My joy at watching all three films on the big screen, in The Future is NOW!: Happy Back to the Future Day!. On the importance of November 12th in The Back to the Future series, in The Temporal Junction Point for the Entire Space-Time Continuum. An episode of Supernatural that mimics Back to the Future, in Back to the Supernatural. And a list of everything Back to the Future got right about 2015, in We’re in the Future: Good-bye 2015.

2) Fandom Love

This year I continued my fandom posts, posting on Sundays. This year I wasn’t as faithful, as sometimes life would throw me a curveball, but I am getting closer to completing it. I just have to stop adding things.

So far this year I have covered: Amazing Phil/Phil Lester, Audrey Hepburn, The Baby-Sitters Club, The Beach Party Series, The Brady Bunch, Brotherly Love,  The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales, Captain Planet, The Cat Who Mystery Series, Cinemasins, Clint Eastwood, Daredevil, Death on Demand Mystery Series, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Dr. Seuss, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, 8 Simple Rules, Elvis Presley, Eureka, Everyday Sunday, The Fast & the Furious franchise, Foreigner, Full House, Gargoyles, Grimm, Growing Pains, Guardians of the Galaxy, Hans Christian Anderson, Harry Potter, Hawk Nelson, Hell on Wheels, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, The Highlander, How I Met Your Mother, How It Should Have Ended, The Hunger Games, Indiana Jones, James Bond, Jimmy Stewart, Journey, The Kinsey Millhone Mysteries, Las Vegas, Leverage, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Lord of the Rings, Madeleine L’Engle, Make It or Break It, The Mentalist, Michael Crichton, Michael J. Fox, Midsomer Murders, Murder She Wrote, My Chemical Romance, Nancy Drew, The Nanny, NCIS, North & South, The Nostalgia Critic, The Office, Once Upon a Time, The Phantom of the Opera, Pokemon, The Princess Bride, Psych, Ray Bradbury, The Riyria Revelations, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

To read more, click on these links: Fandom Love, It’s Fantastico!, A Fantabulous Post, A FANtastic Voyage, Please Excuse My Dear Fan Lady, I’m So FANcy!, Back to the Fandoms, Old Fandoms and New Fancies, Fantom of the Opera, Fun & Full of FANcy, The Fans and the Furious, It’s a Fan World After All, and Portrait of a Fangirl.

3) Buzzfeed Bust or Library Love

So I was trying to get a job with Buzzfeed and posted a few things as it was part of the application process. However no one was really interested in my lists so I decided to bring that style here. I only did one, Heaven on Earth, in which I listed the best fictional libraries; but I’m thinking of doing a few more in the future.

4) Story of My Life

So this year we once again had stories of my everyday life. First I shared about my horrible ex co-worker, Wanda in Five to Nine. Then there was the time my friend’s car started to overheat in San Francisco and we started to stall on the bridge, in I Left My Car in San Francisco. Meeting Dr. Sexy from Supernatural in real life, in Paging Dr. Sexy.  My spot issues that rivals Dr. Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang, in A Spot of Trouble. On how an ear infection wasn’t going to stop me from seeing the midnight showing, in Avengers Assemble. On living in a world that tries to get you to alter your appearance, in Small and Proud. It being so incredibly hot that I try to escape to England, in England Dreamin’ On Such a Summer’s Day. In which I do not learn my lesson and injure my legs again, in Walking on Pins and Needles. The fact that I will probably live out my life alone, in Crazy Book Lady. When I got caught in a crazy storm, in It’s Raining, It’s Pouring. The suffering of wisdom teeth, in Turn Your Wounds into Wisdom, and Your Wisdom Teeth into Wounds. How a baggy sweatshirt saved my life, in A Real Life Saver. Getting caught in a monsoon type rainstorm, in Every Month at the Quarter Moon There’ll Be a Monsoon. Chopping down the Christmas tree in Winter Wonderland.

5) A Sense of Sense and Sensibility 

So last year I talked about reviewing Sense & Sensibility, along with all those based on the works or rewritings. I talked about the girls’ older brother John, and how he severely let these girls down in Promises Were Made to Be Broken. The joys and horrors of sisterhood and how the two act as a unit in Sisterly Roles. Edward Ferrars’ arrival into the house and being the one that brings peace to the house in The Eye of the Storm. On Elinor’s views of Edward, in To Edward or Not to Edward? How young girl’s views of the perfect man haven’t changed in 200 years, in Some Things Never Change.

I also reviewed The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay and Diaries, a book on the behind the scenes look of the path of getting Sense & Sensibilty from book to screen.

6) Holiday Hijinks

So this year we celebrated a lot of holidays, real (recognized by the government) and fictional.

We started with celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday and the values he stood for in Color Blind. I also brought back the Chinese New Year post, this time on my favorite sheep/sheepy moments in film and literature, in Well I Feel Sheepish: Chinese New Year. Then we had my Saint Patrick’s Day post, 17 more Irish heroes from literature, film, and TV; in Lookin’ Over a Four Leaf Clover: 17 More Irish Heroes.  Couldn’t go through a year without celebrating the awesomeness of Star Wars with May the Fourth Be With You, in We Want You. I also did a post for Memorial Day, in Do the Right Thing.  Father’s Day, with love from The Terminator in Dear Dad. The 4th of July in Every Heart Beats True for the Red, White, & Blue. Talk Like a Pirate Day and free donuts, in A Pirate’s Life is the Life for Me. Going bats over Batman Day, in Na Na Na Na Batman!. Friday the 13th in The Horror!!!! And of course Thanksgiving, in You’ve Got to Accentuate the Positive. 

7) The Year of the Anniversaries

This year I honored a lot of anniversaries, it started with wanting to do something for Back to the Future and quickly grew to many more things.

I started with the 82nd anniversary of women’s right to vote, in Right to Vote. We also had The Breakfast Club turn 30 years, my post being Don’t You Forget About Me. The birthday of one of my favorite men, Clint Eastwood, in Classic Clint. The 40th anniversary of Jaws in You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Screen, On the amazingness of Back to the Future as it celebrates its 30 year anniversary, in Back in Time: Happy 30th Anniversary Back to the Future. My three year anniversary of being a blogger, in Year of the Anniversaries. The 10th anniversary of The Iron Giant, in A Giant Metal Man: The Iron Giant (1995). And the 200th anniversary of Emma.

8) Romance is in the Air: Part III

So once I again I celebrated Valentine’s Day with a countdown of 14 romantic moments from films I like. The films I reviewed this year were How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), Sabrina (1954), Gigi (1958), Making the Grade (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), A Room With a View (1985), While You Were Sleeping (1995), Hercules (1997), The Italian Job (2003), Why Did I Get Married (2007), Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008), What Happens in Vegas (2008), Up (2009), and New Year’s Eve (2011)

9) Commentary on Cinderella Cynics

With Disney’s new Cinderella live action film, I felt the need to call out to the cynics and naysayers, and prove that their smack was unfounded and Cinderella is actually a pretty awesome story.

To read go to If the Shoe Fits: Why Cinderella is Actually Awesome.

10) The Enigmatic and Enjoyable Emma

Like I did with Sense & Sensibility (see #4), I decided that I would begin going through Emma, along with reviewing any adaptations or retellings of this story.

So I started off talking about the uniqueness of Emma Woodhouse among the other Jane Austen heroines, in One of a Kind. How loneliness severely affects the character of Emma and explains her actions, in All By Myself. How easy it is for people and Emma to take credit for something they actually have no control over, in Credit Where Credit is Due. On how Mr. Weston is a great man but no one ever talks about him, in Unsung Austen Men: Mr. Weston.

I also reviewed the book Mr. Knightley’s Diary by Amanda Grange, a book that looks at the story of Emma from his point of view.

And of course, a post in honor of its 200th Anniversary, We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

11) The Painted Path of Christ

I brought back the painted portrayals of Christ, adding one more picture to my Easter countdown. This year I choose the following images: Jesus Enters Jerusalem by Giotto, The Last Supper by Dieric Bouts the Elder, The Taking of Christ by Carvaggio, The Lamentation of Christ or Foreshortened Christ by Mantegna Andrea .

12) Retelling Pride & Prejudice

I didn’t do any posts on Pride & Prejudice the book as I was going through Sense & Sensibility and Emma.  However I did review quite a few novels that are based on or retellings of Austen’s work.

There was Fall for You by Cecilia Gray, in which all your favorite Austen heroines attend The Jane Austen Academy boarding school in California together. This year the school was bought and has some major changes, allowing boys to attend! How would these girls get along in a modern world, follow this link to find out.

The Accidental Bride: A Romantic Comedy by Janice Harayda; is the story of a Jane Austen devotee set to be married soon, when she suddenly has second thoughts. With everyone pushing her in different directions, she relies on her love of Jane Austen to help her through. To read the review, follow this link.

Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, by Beth Pattillo, is the tale of a non-Austenite; filling in for her sister and taking a class along with presenting a paper on Austen. She also gets caught up in spylike drama when she becomes the owner of secret Austen papers. To see what I thought of it, follow this link. 

Pride & Prescience (Or A Truth Universally Acknowledged) by Carrie Bebris, is a mystery with supernatural elements. Caroline Bingley bags a wealthy American and marries him right away. But after the marriage she starts acting strangely. It is just nerves or something more nefarious at play? It’s up to Elizabeth to find out. Follow this link to read more.

Darcy’s Story: Pride and Prejudice Told From a Whole New Perspective by Janet Aylmer; in this Aylmer rewrites Pride and Prejudice but told from Mr. Darcy’s point of view instead of Elizabeth’s.

In The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy: A Novel by Mary Street, another author tries her hand at rewriting Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy’s point of view

13) The Commendable Cecilia Gray

I reviewed the book Fall for You by Cecilia Gray, and while I didn’t completely roast the book, I wasn’t the kindest. But Cecilia Gray took it in stride and retweeted my review, urging others to check it out. I’ve given a shout out before, and just want time to thank her again.

14) 30 Years Has a Nice Ring to It

My post She’s Still Preoccupied With 1985 is an ’80s lover’s dream. In it I detail every amazing ’80 thing that I love that turned 30 in 2015.

15) 30 Day Challenge: All About Me

I brought back the 30 Day Challenge, but instead of Disney I did 30 days all about me. These were the different topics: 1) Put Your Music Player on Shuffle and Write the First 10 Songs that Play, 2) Your Most Treasured Item, 3) Bullet Your Whole Day, 4)A Quote You Try to Live By, 5) If You Could Go Anywhere, Where Would It Be?, 6) Your Views on Mainstream Music, 7) What You Ate Today, 8) One Thing You’re Excited For, 9) Something That Has Inspired You, 10) What You Wore Today, 11)Something You Want to Do Before You Die, 12) Your Celebrity Look-A-Like, 13)Something That You’re Proud Of, 14) Your Favorite Holiday, 15) Five Random Facts, 16)Five Weird Things You Like, 17) Five Pet Peeves , 18) Somewhere You Would Like to Move to or Visit, 19) Something That You Miss, 20) What You Night Was Like, 21) Last Film You Saw in Theaters, 22) Something You Never Expected, 23) Your Dream House, 24) A Book You Love, 25) Your Family, 26)Five Guys Who You Find Attractive, 27) Five Ways to Win Your Heart, 28)Something You Regret, 29)Things You Want to Say to an Ex, 30) Your Opinion About Your Body and How Comfortable You Are With It

16) My Family is Growing

My family is getting bigger! 2015 saw the inauguration of my sister blog Mysterious Eats; which reviews mysteries and recipes.

From Print to Screen was also born in 2015, and it compares the printed book to the screen version, declaring which was better.

17) Horrorfest IV: The Curse

This year’s Horrorfest covered movies, TV shows, music, and more.

For films, we had: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), A Study in Scarlet (1933), The 39 Steps (1935), Jamaica Inn (1939), Mystery of the 13th Guest (1943), Gaslight (1944), Dangerous Crossing (1953), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), The Screaming Skull (1958), The Bat (1959), Psycho (1960), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), The Stepford Wives (1975), Total Recall (1990), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), The Iron Giant (1995), Thinner (1996), Under Wraps (1997), Alien Vs. Predator (2004), The Brothers Grimm (2005), The Visitation (2006), The Girl He Met Online (2014), & Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).

Every Friday I reviewed a TV show. This year the ones I choose were: the episode Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up from The Twilight Zone; A Haunting We Will Go from The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries; On Leather Wings from Batman: The Animated Series; Ted  from Buffy the Vampire Slayer; & The Magician’s Nephew from Midsomer Murders.

I did a post on some cool Monster Movie action figures I found, in Monster Mash. And I listed five of my favorite song to listen to on Halloween, in Haunted Harmonies of Halloween. 

18) 25 Carols of Christmas

This year for Christmas, I did a Carol countdown. Everyday I posted on one of my favorite Christmas carols.

The carols I picked were: All I Want for Christmas is You, Angels We Have Heard on High, Christmas Don’t Be Late, The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You), A Cowboy’s Christmas, Do You Hear What I Hear, Fah Who Foraze, Dah Who Doraze, Welcome Christmas, The First Noel, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Here Comes Santa Claus, Holly Jolly Christmas, I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas, I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In), It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Joy to the World, Just What I Always Wanted, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Clause is Comin’ to Town, The 12 Days of Christmas, We Wish You a Merry Christmas,  When Christmas Comes to Town, and You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

19) When Disney Meets Austen

I wrote a post comparing all the Austen characters to Disney ones. It took months to complete but I think it was pretty awesome. You’ll have to tell me what you think. Check it out in Waiter, There’s Some Disney in My Jane Austen.

So what will this year hold? I don’t know. I guess you will have to join my expedition to find out.

Happy New Year

For 2014 in review, go to Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Roads

For 2013 in review, go to Looking at the Past, Focusing on the Future

For 2012 in review, go to Looking Back, Moving Forward

For more on Star Trek, go to Rock You Like a Hurricane