Category Archives: Childhood Reminiscing

What I Learned This Week – 1/26/14

Posted on January 26, 2014 by funnygurl2

[Holy F*ckin’ Sh*t. This is my 300th post!]

This week I learned that JD Roth will be executive producing the Kitten Bowl on the Hallmark Channel, airing opposite both the Super Bowl and the infamous Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.

Why is this important?

Let me refresh your memory on who JD Roth is.

He was the super-cute host of the popular after-school kid’s show Fun House! Fun House aired from 1988 until 1991. Those were prime puberty years for me. If I didn’t fall asleep during DuckTales, then I was totally watching him be cute and dorky on Fun House.

JD Roth Photo: Seventeen Magazine

JD Roth
Photo: Seventeen Magazine 1988

Fun House was similar to the show Double Dare. They both had teams of kids competing in ooey-gooey slimy challenges to win prizes. I was so into these shows at the time, I even designed my own icky obstacle course. And it was so fun to design, that I kept going. And going. And going. Here is a picture of the course by the time I was done drawing it. I estimated it would take about 5 minutes and 39 seconds to get through the whole thing. I am pretty sure the kids would be dead by then.

The plans of my Double Dare course. I had lots of spare time and creativity as a child. Teenager.

The plans of my Double Dare course. I had lots of spare time and creativity as a child. Teenager.

Kids nowadays have no idea how easy they have it. With a flick of my mouse I can find out all the information I desire on a celebrity.

JD Roth (circa 1990's) Photo: TV Guide

JD Roth (circa 1990’s)
Photo: TV Guide

For example, I can tell you that “JD” stands for James David, and he is 8 years older than me. Which would have made me total jailbait for him back then.

These are trivial facts I have been DYING to know for years. (Ya, not really…)

He has done oodles of stuff since Fun House. Most recently he has been behind the camera executive producing such shows as The Biggest Loser and Extreme Weight Loss.

This did not surprise me. Every now and then I will catch his name in the credits of some show and I squeal, “JD Roth! I love him!”

FYI–He has held up pretty good all these years. Maybe a little too much sun, maybe. But I still wouldn’t kick that out of bed.

JD Roth today

JD Roth today

Thank you for allowing me to be the pop culture memory jogger that you need in your life. I love the role and will cherish it always 😉

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Kiddie City: Did It Really Exist?

Posted on January 8, 2014 by funnygurl2

My husband does not believe me that there used to be a toy store called Kiddie City, very similar to Toys’R’Us. In fact, there was a Kiddie City right in nearby Sylvania, Ohio, which still has a Toys’R’Us. I had to prove it to him by Google-ing it the other day.

Kiddie City Coloring Book

Kiddie City Coloring Book

I was correct.

My recent and short-term memory might be junk, but I can remember some things from my childhood very clearly.

Plus, Kiddie City is one of those things I have clung to all these years, so I would not forget it. Like that Punky Brewster’s dog Brandon was named after head of NBC, Brandon Tartikoff.

Plus, I have kept this all these years to remind me:

Official Kiddie City semi truck, from my personal collection, circa around 1980.

Official Kiddie City semi truck, from my personal collection, circa 1980.

My mom and I always shopped at Kiddie City. I always thought of Toys’R’Us as inferior (I still do). Apparently my tiny pre-schooler brain was pretty on-track, because according to Wikipedia (where any info I site here on out in this post comes from), Kiddie City was the second-largest toy chain in the United States. They were owned by Lionel, of model railroad fame.

I asked my mom where it was located, and her memories do not seem to match mine. That doesn’t really mean anything. We could both be wrong. She thinks it was in the shopping plaza where Major Magic’s was for many years. The location would make sense. My mom never traveled very far into Sylvania/Toledo on her own. That would be an easy location for her to get to and regularly find.

I have memories of looking at toy robots in a toy store when I was a kid. I remember blue, metal shelves (kind of like Cosco). I have no idea if that would have been Toys’R’Us or Kiddie City or just my imagination. I like to think maybe that was Kiddie City.

When I got my swing set when I was a kid, I know we bought it from one of those two stores in Sylvania, but my mom doesn’t remember which one. But I think maybe that was Toys’R’Us.

Apparently Kiddie City declared Bankruptcy in 1982, reducing their store count from 150 down to 55 stores. This is most likely when the Sylvania store closed. They grew back to being the fourth-largest toy store in the country before the stores were all closed for good in 1993.

Gone, but clearly not forgotten.

I would so LOVE one of these shirts!

I would so LOVE one of these shirts!

Classic Kiddie City Commercial
(Ah, what it must have been like to be a mom in the 80’s. Awesome hair, awesome clothes…)

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Only Three More Days..

Posted on December 23, 2013 by funnygurl2

Only three more days left to play “Rocky Mountain Christmas” by John Denver. It is my favorite Christmas album. The following was originally posted on December 11, 2012:

To most, John Denver is a joke.

To me, he is the sound of Christmas.

When I was a kid, my mom had the record (large, round, vinyl black thing with grooves) Rocky Mountain Christmas by John Denver. She played it every year at holiday time. Christmas starts for me with the first few tinkling notes of Aspenglow.

Rocky Mountain Christmas by John Denver on CD & record, and John Denver: Christmas in Concert on CD

I would be happy if it was the only Christmas album I ever owned or played.

My mom didn’t own any other John Denver records. My crazy friend knew that I liked this Christmas album, so then on mix tapes she would put other non-Christmas John Denver songs. She didn’t understand. It wasn’t so much that I liked John Denver, it was that I liked his voice with this collection of Christmas songs from this period of time. From my childhood.

John Denver sings nice, straight-forward renditions of the classics: The Christmas Song, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the seldom-heard Silver Bells, Away in a Manger, What Child Is This, Oh Holy Night (a spectacular version), and Silent Night. There is no Mariah Carey warbling.

The original songs on the album are some of my favorites. I already mentioned Aspenglow. Christmas for Cowboys paints a wonderful musical picture of a lonely holiday on the snow-covered plains. My husband likes Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas). A Baby Just Like You is my favorite. John Denver wrote it for his own son Zachary. I love to belt out “MERRY CHRISTMAS LITTLE ZACHARY!” at the top of my lungs.

I know, I’m weird.

Sometimes now I change it to be my sons’ name.

Inside cover of Rocky Mountain Christmas, featuring the lyrics to A Baby Just Like You (I used to love to look at the details of this picture when I was a kid)

Several years ago my mom bought the album on CD, so it was very nice to be able to listen to it again. The problem was, we had only one copy that we shared. (I have no idea why I never thought about burning a second copy. Oh ya, because that would be illegal.;)

Last year I found my own copy of Rocky Mountain Christmas on CD. I even found a concert version of the same songs. My mom is very happy I am no longer hogging her CD.

I still don’t understand why none of the Christmas music radio stations play anything off this album. They play other seldom-played artists. They always need different artists singing the same 12 traditional songs. And it would make me so happy.

A Christmas Together: John Denver & The Muppets – Also a nice album, but just not the same for me

I kept my mom’s record of Rocky Mountain Christmas all these years, even though there was no way to play it.

Last year, my husband and I picked up a Fisher Price children’s record player from the 80’s at a garage sale and a handful of records.

So, while I totally enjoy digital clarity, the ability to listen to it in my car, and load it on my iPod, I am playing the original record for my son as I write this. Sure, it is scratchy from 37 years of use and improper storage and probably a pretty dull needle. But it takes me right back to being a preschooler myself in my living room in our house in Riga, Michigan. In the terrible 70’s clothes that my mom dressed me in.


When you listen to the CD, you don’t have to see his dorky appearance.

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Old Family Recipe

Posted on December 20, 2013 by funnygurl2

Today I will share with you an old family recipe. It is very easy to make. It is a good way to use up leftovers. It can be a breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or dessert. It is delicious.

Have I peeked your interested?

It is frosting on oyster crackers!

What?

Oyster crackers. You know, the little round salty soup crackers. Nabisco Premium oyster crackers are my favorite brand. If you don’t have any oyster crackers, Saltines work too. Using Saltines just makes getting the ratio of frosting to cracker more tricky to get right.

What?

Oh, you meant that this concoction sounded gross? My husband thinks so too. But I try not to judge him too harshly for it. I will do the same for you.

Ta-Da!: I present to you Frosted Oyster Crackers

Ta-Da!: I present to you Frosted Oyster Crackers

My mom used to eat this when I was little to use up leftover frosting. Because, of course, you cannot throw out extra frosting. It is sugar and fat in spreadable form. A precious commodity!

My mom often used chocolate frosting for this dish. I think I prefer vanilla. This is one of my most favorite desserts. Sometimes, if I haven’t had it in a while, I will just buy a can of frosting especially to make it.

I tell you, there is nothing quite like the combination of sweet and salty, unbleached enriched flour and hydrogenated oils (that is for you, LazyHippieMama!). That perfect little dollop of frosting smeared onto the cracker.

Hey, I wonder if I could turn them into a party snack. If I used a pastry bag (a.k.a. Ziploc bag with the corner cut off) I could make an attractive frosting peak on every cracker. Maybe I could run a toothpick into them. I wonder if my in-laws would eat them? That would mean I would have to stop double dipping though. But frosting might make the cracker soggy. Then it would not have the desirable crispiness that is required.

I am not one who usually shares recipes on my blog, and now you know why 😉 I currently have a whole can of red frosting leftover from my son’s caboose birthday cake. My waist line is already expanding. I should just throw it out. Will I?

Well, the jury is still out.

I did have to make up some crackers for the photo for this post.

And Betty Crocker frosting does last in the fridge for 30 days. (Damn it, I thought I bought Duncan Hines. I like DH better.) 6 more days to go…

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Deep Philosophical Question from First Graders

Posted on November 7, 2013 by funnygurl2

A lot of people seem to be impressed with the things I can remember from my childhood. I always figure this great recall comes from the fact that I was bored and didn’t do much the first 21 years of my life, so I could replay memories of those years over and over in my head. It sort of cemented those things in my head–the good, the bad, the inaccurate.

I might be able to remember character names from Jem & the Holograms from 1989, but let me assure you that I cannot remember what I just walked into the kitchen for. I blame my son for my current state of not being able to remember even the simpliest of information.

So, how crazy is it that a joke I first heard in first grade still haunts me to this day? It is a deep philosophical question with NO GOOD ANSWER!!! And therein lies the beauty of the joke. No matter how you answer, there is a way for your classmates to laugh at you. In fact, this may have been what cemented in my mind that the world is full of a**holes.

Are you ready?

Here goes…

ARE YOU PT?

Well…Are you?

Answer “no”. No always seems like a safe assumption, right?

YOUR RESPONSE: No.

JOKE TELLER’S RESPONSE: Ew, you aren’t potty trained?!

So, the next time you get asked, you go for yes. Because if you are like 7 of course you are potty-trained (or else would lie and say that you are).

ARE YOU PT?

YOUR RESPONSE: Yes.

JOKE TELLER’S RESPONSE: You are a pregnant teenager!!!

Now, I have no idea why this joke still bothers me. I mean, in first grade no one really understands how anyone even really gets pregnant, except the teacher. And her uterus is shriveling up at an alarming rate from being around a whole classroom of other people’s snot-nosed kids everyday. And if your age is still in single digits, there is no way anyone is going to consider you a teenager.

But I think it bothers me that the question poses a no-win outcome.

And it is so advanced, you know no first grader made it up. They probably got it off the Internet. Oh, wait, no….early 1980’s…  They probably got it from an older sibling.

I always thought I should come up with an original idea of something good that “PT” could stand for to outwit them, but I never did. I am not naturally very smart-alacky. But if I spend a few hours around someone who is, I can usually pick it up and almost hold my own. (Like my brother-in-law. Or my husband’s best friend. Man, I am glad my husband isn’t like that. It is mentally draining to try to keep up with people with those gifts.)

Physics Teacher. (No wait, I HATED the physics teacher at our high school.)

Pony Trainer. (Oh, that’s just lame. See, this is hard!)

Parrot Tracker. (OK, now I am just giving up.)

So, how about you?

Are you PT?

C’mon, are you?

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