i don't trust a man with curly hair. i can't help picturing small birds laying sulfurous eggs in there, and i find it disgusting.

Well, I went and did it again.

Although this time I was fully cognizant.  I knew what I wanted, and I went out to get it. 

Thanks to Ebay, I now have my hands on the gym dolls that I loved so much when I was a kid!

14 is still a kid.

I mean, what gym fan in her right mind wouldn't want one of these??  They were bendy, and came with their own apparatuses.  THEIR OWN APPARATUSES!!! 

So the bars are a little 70s-ish.  And the beam's a little short.  And I have no idea what that girl is doing on vault.... but that's not the point.  The point is, these are radical toys, and I love them.

Unfortunately, the kind lady on Ebay was only selling two out of the three.  However, since I just happen to have a third on hand, I can still field a whole team!  Because as we all know, it only takes three gymnasts to form a team. 

My first order of business, after ripping them out of the boxes, of course, was to make them some leotards.  I seriously can't stand this unitard bullcrap.

I set off to make my first leo, sewn together out of a pair of my fiance's old boxer shorts (shut up.)  It should go without saying that I am a horrible seamstress, and have little to no experience with sewing at all.

So yeah... the cut is just a tad Ivana-ish.  And the edges aren't what we'd call "even."  So, I fixed it up a bit, added something to cover her boobs, and made some sort of strappy thing in the back to keep her leo from being all ASU-y.

Hmm, in retrospect, that actually makes it MORE ASU-y.  Oh well.  I suppose it's appropriate, seeing as how I went there and all.  That also means I can make fun of them all I want.

Well, that first leo was a bust, so I went on to make my second one.  This time, instead of using old underwear, I want for a crusty old used sock instead.  Luckily, I went through an argyle phase, so I happened to have a ton of these patterned socks.  A couple of snips and some loose thread later, and voila!

Her face is just a tad dirty, but her awesome leo makes up for it.  Now THAT'S how you do argyle, Texas Dreams!

Three girls with fancy leos, and I finally had my team!  Please notice that they all have the requisite Nastia hair-poof. 

The poof, in addition to being the trend de jour, can also aid in balancing.

Oh, the possibilities!  What to have them do first... I could hook them up to the rings/tramp...  but I like this equipment so much more.  I give myself one week before I break the grips on bars.  One of the new girls also needs to sit in her splits for like a month.  Being in that weird high kick position while in the box for the past 15 years has left her rubber bands a little twisted.  Nothing some middle splits won't fix.

Next up: makeovers.