Sorry for the lack of posting. It's been hard these last few weeks. So much going on. I want to thank you all for sticking with me and following my blog. I love my dolly friends! I do reply to every comment even though they may not be right away. I'm here, I really am!
Before I get to my new little friend, I want to tell you a short story.
Everyone has dream jobs when they are growing up. When I was little I wanted to be a teacher. Then for many many years I wanted to work at NASA ground control Houston. In the movie Apollo 13, the team that did all the work to bring the astronauts home? I wanted to do that. Coolest. Job. EVER!
In high school I was dreadfully bad at math and sciences. I love those subjects, but I don't have the analytical brain. (I have the creative brain, I played the clarinet and saxophone in the band!) So I regretfully abandoned my dream of working at NASA to be an accountant. Not quite sure where the idea came from. It was like a revelation I had overnight. "I want to be an accountant." ha!
But my love of space and stars and planets never ceased. I had the stick on stars on my ceiling in the different zodiac constellations, static clings of the planets on my windows, the whole bit. My brother even found a clip art of a cartoon astronaut stuck in an asteroid and added the caption "My sister in space." Nice that he would think so highly of me that I would happen to get stuck in an asteroid if I went into outer space.
I was at a baby shower once and as a tiebreaker game, the person who could name the planet closest to the sun was the winner. The three of them couldn't do it. I was like "WHAT??"
I realized that there are a lot of us who can't name the planet closest to the sun, can you? :)
So a few weeks ago my husband took his middle school class to a place called OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. This is a child's dream place (and adults dream too!) It's a fun place to go and try new things and explore the world around us. And the planetarium with their laser light shows are intense. I bugged my husband all morning about buying me a souvenir. Later in the day he sent me this picture.
I had to ask him what it was...
It's a brain teaser game where you have to get the ball through all the tracks. That's the "100 Challenging Barriers" it mentions at the top. However at $30 USD, I was thinking of something a little cheaper. He said there wasn't anything good. So I looked at the Space Store online for something smaller and a little cheaper. I decided on this little guy. And at $10 USD, that's a bargain!
This is AstroNeil and he is SOOO cute!
He has his own little jet pack!
He is part of a group of dolls called "The String Doll Gang."
Each doll boasts it's own positive and helpful special power. AstroNeil encourages everyone to take the first step no matter how big or small. Love it!
I am so in love with AstroNeil. He's so miniature and cute! He will fit well with my other small collection of astronaut toys. An astronaut troll and a Mary Meyer finger puppet. :) They make me happy :)
So guess what else you get to see? My collection of space Barbies! Two have been featured on this blog! To recap, we have the fabulous Barbie I can be...astronaut outfit set.
And this one which I LOVE LOVE LOVE. The 1965 reproduction of the Barbie My Favorite Careers "Rocket Scientist"
Other Space Barbie's have been made that I do not have. I've seen a lot of this Barbie all over the internet.
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You gotta love the high heeled boots and the purse in outer space! This is the 1985 Astronaut Barbie. She even comes with a sparkly skirt and tights! You just GOTTA be fashionable in outer space!
Or this other version in the Barbie I can be..line. The Barbie I can be..Mars Explorer. I think I might pick this one up if I see her on the shelves again.
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But I have one we don't see TOO often.
This is the most beautiful 1994 Astronaut Barbie from The Career Collection. The best part about her? This cute hairstyle. Curls on each side. I didn't even train it to do that. It kind of did it on it's own from being held up with the plastic strips in the box.
Her astronaut uniform is said to be designed like a real space suit having her name and flight wings on the front, the United States flag on the left arm...
She even has a pocket on the lower left leg of the suit as well as silver space boots. (Which as we know are the same as the ski boots of Barbie's past.)
Astronaut Barbie comes with some cool accessories! Yay accessories! She has her own bag of glow in the dark moon rocks!
Her helmet was kind of a chore to put together. You had to fit the two plastic pieces of the shell into the neckband first, then snap the sides of the helmet on which were tough. It would be difficult for a little girl to try to get this on. And then Barbie's hair getting in the way? I figured I would just leave it off. Besides, who want's to cram the cute hair in a helmet anyway? Not me!
Kind of looks like the 1985 Barbie helmet huh? :)
Side view.
There is even a jet pack to connect to the helmet. To make it more authentic!
Also included is a commemorative disc that celebrates the 25th anniversary of Apollo 11 which held the team that first walked on the moon.
And you just gotta have the Barbie flag!
Barbie also give you some fun space facts as well as a diagram of our solar system.
The back of Barbie's box is asking you to celebrate space week, '94! It reads:
"To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moonwalk. Events will be held all around the United States to commemorate both the moonwalk and the United States space program. Space Week occurs from July 16 through July 24, this year and ever year as NASA encourages children of all ages to discover the past and future of the exploration of space."
The front of the box. I had opened her when I was little and she was held in by just one twist tie. Time to take her out and display on my shelf for a while!
Here are the Barbie astronaut friends...and AstroNeil!
Friends, what do you think of AstroNeil? Have any space dolls of your own? Share with me in the comments!
I'll have another post for you soon (and much sooner this time for sure!)
Until then!
2 comments:
I like the Vintage Repro Barbie best, closely followed by 1994 Astronaut Barbie, because their space gear looks most realistic.
Astro Neil is very cute, what a sweet little souvenir.
Hubby has an Astronaut Action Man with a moon buggy and his space gear is the most realistic I have seen so far on a toy.
I like the realistic outfits too. There are a lot of dolls that I'm attracted to that I don't have but for some reason the 1984 one never really struck me as being one that I truly wanted. I kind of like the details of the I can Be Mars Explorer one though.
My brother had an astronaut toy with a space shuttle that looked like a real astronaut. If I remember correctly the shuttle opened up on each side lengthwise to show the interior of the ship. Pretty cool how realistic some of those toys can get!
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