Hair Play

I really like dolls with short hair, but seldom work up the courage to cut my own dolls hair. Since I have recently kit bashed a few Skipper dolls to give them fully articulated bodies I have some extra Skippers laying around, so I decided to play with their hair. 

Here are some of the haircuts I tried out:

On Flickr, I saw a picture of the new LA Girl Barbie that someone in Spain was able to purchase. Since she is not available in the US yet, I thought I would try my hand ad trying to do something similar to that haircut:

Not too bad, but I am thinking that if I cut the hair off on that side, I could flock it and she would look more like the LA Girl Barbie. Hey, if I can do this, then I wouldn't have to buy her and I would save some money!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms!

Me and my daughters forever frozen at ages 11 and 15 and me much younger than I am now!
Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day from my family to yours!

Hannah (far left) is an OHC doll rebodied on an extra small Pure Neemo body and Alyssa (far right) is a Puffi Ami Umi doll rebodied on a small Pure Neemo body.

Remember the Gordons?

I still haven't been able to work on my dioramas because of health issues, but I did manage to build up more of the Gordon family story. Grandma and Grandpa Gordon are planning a visit to Hanaly Corners soon to see Michael and Sharmaine's new home and visit other members of the family living here. 

Michael comes from a large family. His parents were hard working and did everything they could to give their children the best life possible. Michael's father, Keegan Gordon worked in a steel mill near Chicago for over 30 years. Keegan's wife, Dasia, worked hard raising 9 children and worked from home as a seamstress. They are both retired now, but still live in the humble home that they raised their family in.

Meet Keegan and Dasia Gordon:

Keegan is a 1993 Hasbro baseball legend (I can't remember who though). Dasia is a Big Beautiful doll.

As I mentioned, Keegan and Dasia have 9 children. There are 2 sets of twins in the family.

Back Row, L to R: Louvenia (31), Shemar (40), Dant'e (20), Michael (37), Victor (34), Veronica (34)
Seated, L to R: Danisha (28), Nichelle (24), Nia (24)

I will tell you a little more about each family member and introduce you to their families, if they have one.

Shemar's Story:

Shemar is the eldest of the Gordon clan. He is 40 and is married to Kimani, age 38. They have 3 children: Courtney (14), Tamika (11) and Kadeem (8). Shemar has a degree in Architectural Design and Construction. He met Kimani in college -- they both went to Chicago University, but she was from Hanaly Corners. He was a very talented architect and worked for a firm in Chicago.  When Carter-Winthrop Enterprises built their headquarters in Hanaly Corners, the Chicago company was hired to oversee design and construction. Shemar was assigned to the project. Because of the magnitude of the project, Shemar and Kimani decided to move to Hanaly Corners which brought them closer to Kimani's family.  Shemar did so well, that Carter-Winthrop made a substantial investment to keep him in Hanaly Corners and he started his own Architectural Design and Construction company. 

Back Row, L to R: Courtney (14), Kimani (38), Shemar (40)
Front Row, L to R: Tamika (11), Kadeem (8)

Victor's Story:

Victor went to undergraduate school at the University of Illinois and Law School at University of Michigan. He specialized in Corporate and International Law. He spent the summer after his junior year in India and met a beautiful young woman named Jasmine. They kept in touch, and while Victor was in law school, Jasmine came to the U of M to complete a master's degree in mathematics. They married shortly after Victor was hired by Carter-Winthrop as part of their legal staff and they moved to Hanaly Corners where Jasmine is a professor of Mathematics at the local college. They have 2 children, Asia (6), Kalani (3).

Back, L to R: Victor (34), Kalani (3), Jasmine (33)
Front: Asia (6)
Jasmine is the new Disney Store Princess Jasmine doll rebodied on an older Nikki Fashionista body

Veronica's Story:

Veronica is Victor's twin. Discovered by a modeling agent while in high school after winning a modeling contest, she embarked on a career in modeling while in college. She quickly rose to being a top model and moved to New York where she met and married Remi Townsend who is a news anchor for a national news network headquartered in New York. They have 2 children: Pasia (6) and Sidney (2). Veronica continues to model on a limited basis while she now heads a New York based modeling agency.

L to R: Veronica (34), Sidney (2), Remi (36), Pasia (6)

Danisha's Story:

Danisha graduated from Chicago University with a degree in Engineering. She accepted a summer internship starting in her sophomore year with Carter-Winthrop Enterprises. She met Henry Conlin who was also a summer intern with Carter-Winthrop. They married and both accepted positions at Carter-Winthrop Enterprises upon graduation from college. They do not have any children ---- yet! They live in Hanaly Corners.

Henry (27), Danisha (28)

Louvenia's Story:

Louvenia (everyone calls her Lou) is single and is a doctor. She is doing her residency at Chicago Memorial Hospital in Women's Breast Health & Surgery. She works very long hours and is very busy! She shares a house in Chicago with other residents.

Nichelle and Nia:

Nichelle and Nia are identical twins. They are both attending the University of Illinois. Nichelle is studying to be a nurse and Nia is attending Law school. They live together with 2 other students at the University in a house off campus. They are both very active and single.

Dant'e:

Dant'e is the baby of the family. He has taken after big brother Michael and is attending University of Michigan on a basketball scholarship. He dates, but no steady girlfriend.

L to R: Dant'e (20), Nia (24), Nichelle (24), Louvenia (31)

The Gordon's are a very close knit family. When they get together, they have a lot of fun and make a lot of noise. Hope you enjoyed this intro!

Here is the whole family all together for a photo session. This was very challenging for the photographer, but she managed to get a few good shots. Below are photos from the session. 

The clan with no spouses or grandkids

The complete Gordon clan!

Grandpa and Grandma with all the grands

All the grandkids!

A Few More New Dolls

Yeah, I know I said I was gonna have to curtail my doll buying. But, I got a gift card from Amazon from my daughter and I had some Discovercard credits that I just had to use up on Amazon! So, of course, I spent them on some new dolls. Here is what I got:

The 3 Resort Style dolls - Summer, Grace and Barbie

These dolls all come in bathing suits with coverups and sandals. Barbie has a big hat. they all have articulated arms, but they have stiff legs with flat feet. 

Here they all are out of the box and dressed

Don't they look cute? I think I like Grace's outfit the best, but I also really like Summer's pants.

Here are their sandals

Sorry this picture is a bit blurry, but the sandals are all really cute too. Again, I like Grace's the best. I also think the little black ones that Barbie is wearing are really cute too.

Close up of Barbie

Closeup of Summer

Closeup of Grace

Check out the Blond in the back of Grace's hair

Next I got Princess Power Ken and Barbie Style Nikki

I was disappointed to see that Ken's outfit was all one piece. I like for him to have separates as it gives you more options. I do like his glasses, but they stick in the side of his head. I cut off the little barbs that held them in place. Since he has a completely stiff body, I don't plan to keep him, just his clothes and glasses.

And now, out of their boxes!

I like Nikki's outfit, but her hair is not the best. It is uneven and kind of snarled. I will probably give her a shampoo or maybe a boil perm and try to restyle it. Oh, she also came with a pair of little black boots.

Closeup of Nikki

Closeup of Ken -- His clothes are not very high quality.

I also got a Barbie Style Grace!

Close up of Grace. I think she has a very pretty face

Barbie Style Grace has the full articulation including the jointed ankles. Since I wanted Resort Style Grace to be able to wear her sandals and have full articulation, I gave her this Grace's body. I had a Baby Phat Grace available as a donor, so Barbie Style Grace got that body. Here she is!

Barbie Style Grace with Baby Phat Grace Body

Here is Resort Style Grace with Barbie Style Grace's body

I really like Resort Style Grace with this body. I also love her hair. She may be my favorite Grace now!

I do have a few of the new Fashionistas on backorder from Barbiecollector.com. Starting last year, I stocked up on articulated bodies, so I will be able to give the new Fashionistas articulated bodies when they arrive.

Well, that is it for now! 

Thanks for stopping by. I love getting your comments!

Ladies in Pink (Long Post)

Today is October 1st and it marks the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness month, aka, Pink-tober. This holds some deep significance for me as my mother died of breast cancer in 1968 (I was 15 years old), my eldest sister was diagnosed in 1990 (she is a survivor!) and I was diagnosed in 2011. Additionally, I have many aunts and cousins on both sides of my family who have either survived or passed away from this disease. This post is to honor all my family members, friends and fellow bloggers who have been touched by this disease.

I felt today was an appropriate day to tell you a little of my personal story. I had been pretty diligent in getting my mammograms since I was 30 years old (now that was a very long time ago!) I have had multiple scares -- as a matter of fact, most of my mammograms required follow ups. I had what they called fibro-systic breast disease which meant I had many cyst type lumps in my breasts which made it difficult to distinquish any other types of lumps from a cyst. So, when I had my mammogram in February of 2011, it was no surprise to me that they called me back for more tests. Now I have also had multiple biopsies, so I was not even surprised when my Dr. referred me to a breast surgeon for a biopsy. My biopsy was scheduled in April, and it was negative, however, the Dr. felt because of my family history that they should surgically remove a lobe from the suspicious area within the next 6 months just as a precaution. This had me a little worried, so I decided to proceed sooner rather than later and that surgery was scheduled for May 9, 2011.  My breast surgeon (who has one of the best reputations in the area) told me that if he was a betting man, that he would bet that everything would be benign. I waited rather anxiously for the results to be back, but I was not overly worried. I mean I felt that now that I was in my mid-fifties and most of the women in my family had been diagnosed in their 40's, I felt that maybe I had dodged the breast cancer bullet.

May 17th I had a followup appointment with my breast doc, however, he apologized for the fact that the lab still did not have the results, but they would call me no matter what time. He again said that based on his experience, it did not look to him like I had cancer. So at 2:00 pm, when his assistant called me on my cell, I was not prepared to hear the words: "You have breast cancer." I was at work, so I gathered up myself to a private office so I could talk more freely. The words were a blur, ". . . invasive lobular breast cancer, only 10% of cases are of this type. Need to schedule an appointment to discuss options", and so on. It really didn't hit me until I got up to walk back to my desk. I stumbled as I came out the door and a couple of my co-workers could see the shock and tears in my eyes. My boss was called and I told her what was going on. I went home for the rest of the day.

The next several weeks were filled with appointments and research and tests. First, my surgeon scheduled an appointment for the end of the day the following Tuesday so he could spend uninterrupted time with me to go over everything. I brought along a friend so she could help me keep track of what was said. I had ultrasounds, MRI's, bone scans, and even had a suspicious looking lymph node biopsied ahead of any other surgeries. My diagnosis was: Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC), Stage 1, grade 2, hormone receptor negative. This started countless hours of on line research, appointment with oncologists, radiation oncologists, plastic surgeons and the like to go over my possible options so I could make a decision as to my treatment plan. It did not help, that without my permission, my boss told everyone at work that I had breast cancer and everyone chimed in with their opinions. This, BTW, was NOT helpful. I remember a comment by someone: "Oh, you have the good kind of cancer, you are going to be fine!". While I believe the comment was well intentioned, it hit me that many of them trivialized my diagnosis. What! No cancer is good cancer! They had no idea what I was going through. And they all had a opinion on what I should do. I was very angry with my boss for making this public. This should have been a very private matter for ME to discuss only with whom I felt comfortable discussing it with.

Bottom line after all this, ILC is diagnosed in about 10% of the cases of Breast Cancer. The most common type of breast cancer (80%) are ductal or Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC). What is know about ILC, is that it is difficult to detect. Most cases are advanced before that are diagnosed and in about 80% of the cases, it spreads to the other breast. They treat it the same way that they treat IDC because they don't know enough. While my Dr. said that the statistics showed that the success rate with lumpectomy and radiation was as good as mastectomy, he said if it was his mother or sister, he would recommend the latter. After a lot of agonizing and sleepless nights, I finally decided on a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. I had this surgery on July 25th, 2011. In the end, this turned out to be the right option as my other breast already had precancerous tissue. Luckily, there was no cancer found in the lymph nodes and I had a very low ONC score so I did not need chemotherapy. Since then I have had multiple follow ups and surgeries to complete reconstruction. 

Like I said, I had many sleepless night. I don't remember how I stumbled into it, but on one of those nights that I couldn't sleep, I found a Barbie story blog (it was called dollies series at the time). This was Adrian's blog which is now "The Waverlys".  It took a while, but I went back to her very first episode, and read every one of them. I was intrigued and couldn't believe how cool it was for an adult to play with their Barbie's and make dioramas and tell stories! I was hooked, and after completing all of the episodes, I was hungry for more. Next, I found Vanessa Morrison's blog and did the same thing. I read every post. I was so impressed with her sets, the furniture she made and her personal story touched me so much. I think the next one I found was Roville. Well, I will tell you that Ro is a master at diorama making. If you haven't seen her blog and photostories site, you should. It is well worth it. I fell in love with these blogs, and not only did they help to keep my mind from going totally berserk because of my health issues, they inspired me to want to do more with my dolls. Since then, I have discovered how to remove a doll's head to give her an articulated body (thanks Vanessa!), I had started making doll beds for my nieces and then began expanding my collection and making furniture of my own. I now follow many more blogs and have been a frequent commenter on several of them. And this year, I started my own blog and am enjoying my hobby even more.

Below is a picture of some of my ladies dressed in Pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.

Phyllis: Hi, my name is Phyllis Hanaly. My friends behind me have selected me as spokeswoman for our little "Ladies in Pink" group. I was selected because I am a breast cancer survivor. We want to remind all of you ladies out there that breast cancer is still a very serious issue for us all. With all of the money and research that has seemingly been poured into this disease, it remains as the second highest cause of death of all cancers for women. (Lung cancer is the number 1 cancer death toll for women).  In 2009, there were 192,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer with a little over 40,000 deaths. In 2013 there were 232,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer and just a little under 40,000 deaths. These numbers speak for themselves. So don't put off getting your breast exam. If appropriate for you, get a mammogram. Early detection is your best chance to beat this disease. Thanks for listening!