Barbie is going through a midlife crisis. After (1)_____ with longtime boyfriend Ken earlier this year, she has (2)_____ refuge in shopping, surfing, bubble baths and partying with a crew of trendy pals on the beach in Jamaica. At 45, she even made a (3)_____ for the White House. Then there was the makeover: a new. (4)_____ of Paul Frank fashions, her own fragrance, a new musical and a new man-spiky-haired Australian surfer Blaine. But, she (5)_____ is going through a crisis, one that started at the cash register. (6)_____ the Barbie brand as a whole (7)_____ $3.6 billion in global retail sales this year, according to manufacturer Mattel Inc., Barbie has (8)_____ sales slide over the past seven quarters. In the past few years, rivals (9)_____ the edgier Bratz have upstaged the iconic doll. To re-energize its flagship brand, the world"s largest toy maker set out to (10)_____ Barbie and her pals in a (11)_____ of books, magazines and animated films, hoping the story lines would (12)_____ sales of the doll and her trove of accessories. For girls ages 6 to 9, Mattel crafted stories with preteen scenarios—dance parties, dating and shopping. Barbie"s look now (13)_____ reflects current fashion trends. Mattel signed diva Hilary Duff to (14)_____ the brand. "She"s the "It" girl for the Barbie set," said Chris Byrne, an independent toy consultant and editor of the Toy Report. Mattel is (15)_____ the story-line concept to new and existing doll lines across Barbie"s (16)_____, though only about two-thirds of the new toys will be in stores this year, with the (17)_____ arriving in 2005. "We need to make progress in regaining the confidence of retailers, and that (18)_____ time," Robert A. Eckert, Mattel"s chairman and chief executive, told Wall Street analysts last month. Perhaps a bigger (19)_____ for Mattel is persuading parents and children that Barbie is cool. That cachet has eluded the brand in recent years, particularly among older girls, many of whom either have lost interest in dolls or (20)_____ Bratz.