It's been a while, but I'm almost ready - Barbie's taken over half my living room!  I've spent tons of time and some money building a town for Barbie and her friends to have fun in.  As soon as I have the pictures, I'll post them, but I've had a blast building it up.  So far I have started the bank, post office, school, grocery store (that's almost complete), department store, beauty salon, a boutique, art studio, ice cream parlor, doctors' offices, pet/vet shop, music store, toy store and newsroom.  I have designated slots for the pharmacy, public library, zoo, police station, comic book shop, FBI field office, stable, and gym.  Thanks to ebay, I've got most of what I need for a whole town.  So anybody know how to build file cabinets for Mulder and Scully? 

I am a deboxer (if you hadn't guessed) and love Skipper the best of all of Barbiedom.  I've been collecting since I got that first Sun Set Malibu Skipper (hey, does anyone else have one with a hard head?) and as anyone in my family could tell you I have ALOT of dolls.  My barbies mostly live in families, have jobs, and love to read.  Toys are for playing with, and boy, some of my toys are REALLY played with.  I buy them that way.  I love the movie "Toy Story" where Woody goes on about how important toys are, and since I don't want any of my dolls to get all crochety like that poor MIB Prospector in "Toy Story II" I play with them!  And my barbies aren't elitist - they live together with, and in many cases marry, GI Joes, Star Wars figures (they hate being called dolls), and many non-mattel barbie style dolls. 

I'm an artist as well as a collector of many things.  I've learned to re-root and repaint.  But my favorite part is the playing.  I'm currently working on making a Weasley family - from the Harry Potter books - and am just short the oldest brothers - Bill and Charlie.  Still working on Mrs. Weasley, and have a pretty good idea on making Mr. Weasley.    I'm also working on making books for the library, and weird stuff to put in the Hogwarts classroom.  Which do you think will be easier to make, a Snape or a MacGonagal?  And what doll do I remake them from???  My current "holy grail" dolls are a Yellowstone Kelley and a Todd (African American from the wedding set) for Dean Thomas.

Besides Barbies, I also collect some fairies, Raggedy Anne (& Andy of course), 1970's dolls (well, they were mine as a kid), Fisher Price Little people (though I call 'um Mini people), a couple of china dolls, bunches of stuffed animals, Strawberry Shortcake, Herself the Elf, the Littles (in the littles furnished home, there's dolls and dollhouse fun for you), cows (in the kitchen, moo moo moo), and all most more than anything else -- BOOKS!!!  I love books.  Comes from being a fat kid who absolutely stank at any and all sports.  Heck, even when I was a skinny kid... I still was awful at sports.  But imagination - that I rock at.  I have other cool things that I don't collect (per-say) but I do play with.... like AD&D books, dice (man, I love dice), lead/pewter minitures, PS2 rpgs, my pretty ponies, seawees, and I have a cool dollhouse, and a nifty dollhouse store.  I also enjoy coloring way out of proportion to my age.  No you may not ask my age - sufficed to say I am a physical grown up, if not willing to become a "real" one.  And me a parent and stepparent and all..... 

I may grow old, but I refuse to grow up!