Remembering

Today I celebrate the 7th anniversary of my 33rd Birthday.

As I was sitting here thinking about just how old that makes me, my mind couldn't help but go back in time and remember....

Are YOU old enough to have these memories too?
(warning... LOTS of pics to follow!)


My brother and I would stay up late to watch...

Grizzly Adams

and...

EMERGENCY!

We LOVED those shows!

I cut out and mailed in countless box tops to get my very own...

They never grew...  

They never lived...

I was NOT impressed!

When my family needed to go shopping, we would all load up in our brand new "fancy"...

It was awesome! My brother and I had our own rear-facing seat in the back! 

No seatbelts!

When it got old and rusty, my brother would bring his ARMY man...

Tied to a string....

And we would slowly lower the brave soldier down through one of the rust holes and we would watch him bounce along behind us on the road. 

Mom was not thrilled when she found out!

When we got to the store, we bought our favorite foods!

It's what the astronauts drink in SPACE!!!

How cool is THAT?!?

Knox Blocks!

yes..  They were NOT "Jell-O Jigglers" back then.

Knox Blocks were all the rage!

If we were really good in the store we were allowed to pick out a snack at the check out!

I usually went for the....

Wax Bottles!

Not only did you get to drink the sweet drink inside..

BUT, you could chew the wax like gum when you were done!

If we wanted "real" gum,

It HAD to be...

When I was in the first grade, I got my very first pair of...

They were bifocals...

They were rainbow...

I was "cool"

My amazing rainbow glasses helped me see my favorite toys!...

I spent hours on end playing with these guys!

I had a gazillion!

Or my brother and I would try to break...

Stretch Armstrong!

It took all the strength we had to get this guy pulled to his fullest!

While I was playing with my toys, You can bet I was wearing my.....

Wonder Woman Under-roo's!

I was SO proud when my mom finally caved and bought them for me!

As I got a little older,

I got a little crafty!
We would turn on my amazing...

personal record player.

Mine was brown..

It was my favorite!

I kinda miss the crackles and pops these made with the music!

Then I would spend HOURS making....

I made sure everyone we knew had a few of these beautiful pot holders in the kitchen!

"God's Eye"

They hung in every house of every child I knew!

How "fancy"!

While all my friends had...

I had a stand selling.....

babies from my mothers Spider Plant!

Hey! I made $36 dollars in one week-end!

That was a LOT of money!!

I used a majority of that plant money to buy....

"Stickers"!!

Puffy stickers

Scratch-n-sniff stickers

Glittery stickers

a girl could NEVER have enough stickers!

If we weren't trading stickers, my friends and I would get together to do more crafts!

Of course we had to make lots and lots of....

Latch-Hook pillows!

I made a Panda one..

One with puppies,

and,  of course

a RAINBOW!

Rainbows were all the rage!

You were one of the "cool girls"

if you dressed like everyone else and wore the best shirt ever!...

You were literally "wrapped in a rainbow!"

AWESOMENESS! 

My amazing rainbow shirt made me aware of fashion...

I begged and pleaded for months before I got my first pair of....

Gloria Vanderbilt Jeans!

They were black..

They were tight...

and my life was never the same!

The jeans were not enough!

Any self-respecting girl wore.....

Dr Scholl Clogs!

I had them in white AND Navy!

I can still hear the loud clapping as hundreds of girls wore them while walking down the hallway in school!

Around this time I also got more "into" reading.

I loved reading ....

Little House on the Prairie!

Maybe this is where my love of all things Homesteading and my life-long dream of living on a farm came from?

I also thought of myself as quite the super-sleuth...

Because I read every single....

Nancy Drew Rocked!!

But!!

when these new kinda of books hit the market, I was hooked!...

They were "Choose your own ending" books!

They went something like this...

You hear a strange creaking noise in the basement...

Do you..

Go down to investigate? (turn to pg 134)

Run and get help? (turn to page 23)

One book could keep you busy for days!!

When I wasn't reading, I could be found playing outside with my friends.

There were countless games of "Kick-ball" and our favorite....

Chinese Jump-rope!

There were also plenty of 4-square games.

If it was raining, we could be found inside playing...

Simon!

We might be coloring and baking...

Shrinky-Dinks!

Or we might be in the kitchen whipping up our gourmet..

"No-Bake" cookies!

As if the cookies wern't sweet enough, we were thrilled if we got the chance to wash them down with a ...

Grape Nehi!

Yep.. in real glass bottles that you could take back to the corner store to earn money to buy your favorite candy!

The absolutely best candy bar ever was always on my list!...

The "Marathon Bar"

Oh how I miss it!

It was a full 12 inches long, braided, chocolate-covered caramel bar.

If anyone can find them anywhere today, I'll send you a MILLION dollars!

...or maybe a just million thanks. :)

Things sure were different back then,

We would hop on our bikes,

Or slip on our...

"Roller-Skates" of awesomeness!

We would be gone cruising around town for most of the day!

No cell phones to check in,

we just knew we had to be home by dinner...

And out mothers were just fine with that!

Dinners were cooked differently back then too!

Even the simple hot dog was cooked in a new and fancy way!...

We thought that this Hot Dog Electrocution device was the coolest thing ever!

it actually used an electric current to cook the suckers!

was that even safe?...

I was getting a little older,

Not only did I have a fancy new accessory to wear...

Headgear! UGH!

My taste in TV  shows was becoming more sophisticated as well.

I never missed an episode of....

"Silver Spoons"

Oh that adorable young Ricky Schroder!

I loved you!

I was SO in love with "Ponch" from CHIPS!

((swoon))

Fashion was changing too!

Every girl in my school had one of two hairstyles....

The "Dorothy Hamill" wedge

was ever popular!

and then it was

Farrah Fawcett "wings"

My hair was too curly to pull off either of those styles,

But I still wanted to wear the latest fads.

I begged and begged for this!....

Zipper-pull necklace..

My horrible mean mother didn't buy me one!

untill like 5 years ago...  

The statue of limitations had run out on its coolness by then!

Gee, Thanks MOM!

I also wanted to wear....

"Clogs"

EVERYONE had clogs!

...everyone EXCEPT ME!

my mother was certain I'd break my ankle!

she was sooooo unfair!

Oh!! and another thing that EVERYONE had that my mean mom would NOT let me wear???

These!!....

"Feather Roach Clips"

Ok... looking back, maybe she was right...

I didn't know what they were actually used for!

I just knew they were pretty and everybody wore them in their hair!

everyone... EXCEPT Dana!!

I DID, however have these!!....

Leg-warmers and leotards!

In every color!

sigh... I miss the leg-warmers!

the leotards?... not so much.

as  I continued to grow...

Movies became important!

My brother saw.....

36 times!!

I only got to go 8 times..

BUT!....  I collected ALL of THESE!!.....

Star Wars figures!

They were everywhere in our house!

Of course...

years later my mean mother sold them 

(along with my full set of Nancy Drew books!!)

in a yard sale...

Man MOM!!

we could be RICH now if you would have waited!!

geeeeez! 

I was SO mistreated!

The following years were filled with....

ANYTHING NEON!

Loads of "ugly" string art.

Jordache Jeans

"Grease"

First boyfriends...

First heart-breaks...

and countless life lessons.

I am looking forward to what the next 40 years has to offer.

Are YOU old enough to remember these things?

What are some of your favorite childhood memories?

Lay em on me!