Favorite Toys from My Childhood

(A post brought to readers in an effort to keep this world light and fanciful in light of all the darkness around us at times. Join me and stepping away from our current reality from time to time.)

This was all the rage when it came out!
My whole family would play it together.

I loved building toys!

My big sis always won. To me, it was a very
frustrating game with all the skips and draw 4's and such!

I loved creative toys!

Dolls from the She-Ra Princess of Power series. I didn't have them all, but I had a few.

More building toys!

My sis and I were scared of the buzz!

My dad is the only person I knew who could complete a Rubik's Cube.

I didn't actually own this toy, but I always played with it at my neighbor's house!

My sister and I played quite a bit.

I really, really liked creative toys.

My sister, cousin and I all had one of these floppy-headed
Snoopy dolls. I think I still have the dirty, battered old thing
up in an attic box somewhere.

This is a Mr. T Snoopy doll. I don't know why this
was even made except that Mr. T was kind of a
big deal back then!

According to online sources, this doll was sold in 1982.
When I accidentally saw it in the back of my parents' car,
I had to say goodbye to Santa Claus. Sniff.

Today "My Friend Becky" is for sale online
for a mere $75.00. I'm sure she was less
than $10 back in 1982.
American Girl Dolls had yet to be created.

These are toys I most remember from my late 70's to mid-80's childhood.

I have read that the greatest distinction between Gen Xers and Millennials is that mine was the last generation to know what it was like to grow up without the Internet. Could be.

I remember how we were just beginning to be enthralled with computers and getting one in school

and learning to play "Oregon Trail" was a big deal.

I know that some kids still enjoy these kind of "old-fashioned" toys, and I'm sure that's kept alive by their Gen Xer parents! I hope they never completely go out of style!

Reclaiming Your Childhood: Priceless

This story might take a minute to tell. Bear with me. When my sister and I were little girls, my mother took us to a large baptist church in town. Even as a child, I never remember feeling welcome there. But I do remember the lovely older couple that kept my Sunday School class. They gave us saltines and kool-aid, and I remember thinking they would be nice grandparents to have. At Christmastime, the Sunday School class was set to have a random gift exchange. Every child was supposed to bring a gift that could be exchanged with any other child.....no specific gift designations. I received the gift of an Avon 7 bead necklace which was very popular at the time. I loved it so much and was thrilled to have it! I was somewhere between 5 and 7 at the time. (Back in the 1970's and 80's, Avon was a cosmetic company that was also known for it's inexpensive jewelry. I couldn't find a price on what this necklace would have cost back then, but apparently there is ...

My Week with Rumor

My dog Rumor was an experiment. A trial offer. And all parties knew that going in. Except for maybe Rumor. Rumor was an outdoor country dog. His given name was Ruger (named after a firearm if you don't know, I didn't) which made sense for a dog raised in hunting country. He was a stray that came to live with a loving family at about the age of 1. He lived outdoors, slept in a garage crate at night, frolicked with an older dog pack and had a lovely life. We think he was about 4 years old. He had been neutered, had vet care and was by no means a "rescue". His dad offered Ruger to me on a give-it-a-try basis. He knew I wanted a dog. He told me Ruger would be sweet to me and also be my protector. He was right on both counts. He told me if it didn't work out, I could bring Ruger back to him and his wife. I could tell they were a little sad when they dropped him off. It made me glad to see that Ruger came from such ...

NYE for $200, Alex

Can we all just agree that New Year's Eve is the worst of the string of winter holidays? I would even go so far as saying it's THE WORST of all the holidays. I loved when Stanford Blatch defined a party as feeling very "forced festive". To me, most NYE parties feel that way. The idea that this is a big year-end blow-out and we'd all damn well better make it awesome! The reason I hate NYE is because it combines two of things I most hate about celebrations: cold weather and crowds. Plus it's during a time of year when everyone has already spent all their money. AND you usually have to the leave the house. ADDITIONALLY, you have to stay up late. It's a big F.U. from me on all this. I would dare say that some of my happiest New Year's memories have been spent at home in my pajamas with either my child, an S.O. or happily alone. I remember one unforgettable year of moving into a 3rd floor apartment on NYE. I rememb...

Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

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