Ah, Carol... a girl after my own heart.
I loved those cartoons (GI Joe, Transformers, MASK, etc.) after school and I loved the original Transformers toys, though my brother wouldn't let me touch his for fear of breaking them instead of "transforming" them (well hey... having an arm missing counts as a "transformation", doesn't it???)
I also found out that it was much more interesting to just go and try to TALK to the boys instead of giggling over them... and if you were really nice to them, they might even let you look at their Legos, Transformers, and comic books!!