"Is that a Barbie on your desk?"

Welcome to the "just for fun" blog hosted by Paula Wethington of Monroe, Mich!

Here is the story behind the dolls on my desk. It was May 1997, and I was working as a reporter at The News-Messenger in Fremont, Ohio. I was given what was intended to be a temporary transfer for a few weeks to our sister paper, the News Herald in Port Clinton, Ohio.

I now had two workplaces and two desks.

In the spirit of marking my temporary spot, so to speak, I grabbed a Barbie doll from doll a collection I had started two years ago. I dressed her up in a summer outfit as if she was enjoying a day at Lake Erie. The inspiration for that outfit is that the newspaper office was just two blocks away from the lake.

This temporary assignment morphed into a permanent transfer and I spent the rest of my days with Gannett in Port Clinton.

The doll on my desk was traded it out with the seasons. I was particularly pleased with a Christmas display I did one year.

In January 2000, I took a job as a reporter for The Monroe Evening News in Monroe, Mich. On the first day in Monroe, I focused on learning the computer system, meeting my new co-workers and finding my way around.

On the second day, I brought a doll. I stood her up via a doll stand on my desk, just like I had done at my previous job.

One of my new co-workers walked by, did a double take, and exclaimed, "Is that a Barbie on your desk?"

"Actually, it's a Midge," I said, not skipping a beat.

I've always had a doll on my desk since. But when the work stations got moved around during an office renovation, it was not so easy for people to see the doll I had chosen for the week / month / season. That changed drastically a year or so ago, when I moved the doll to a slightly different spot.

My doll collection has since become quite a conversation piece.

I did host at one time a hobby web site called Paula's Barbie Dolls of the World. It was meant as a reference site for doll enthusiasts. I started it in 1998 and kept the information updated as new releases were issued for about four years. I took it down when it seemed that better resources were starting to launch on the web.

I've since discovered the blog format. Some of you know me as the Monroe on a Budget blogger where I talk about frugal living, couponing and money-saving concepts. And I've had a few Barbie collector posts on the budget blog.

But it's time again for a Barbie conversation all to its own.