Archive for the ‘90′s life’ Category
Christmas Track
One of my all time favorite Christmas tracks. It reminds me of two things that I love VERY, very much…Christmas and my dad. Aww. My dad used to make us laugh non stop whenever he tried to sing the Beach Boys. Sorry Daddy, but you could NOT hit those high notes.
One of my favorite Christmas memories, and there are MANY, is driving around listening to magic 95.7, which would play rock ‘n’ roll classics and Christmas carols, with my dad in the ol’ blue 1991 GMC Sierra. Usually after my dad picked my sister and I up from Gymnastics practice around this time of year, he would take the long way home, tunes blaring and make us count all the houses with Christmas lights.
The fact that we were going to be late for dinner and probably make mom angry didn’t really matter much. We were all having tons of fun. We loved hearing my dad try and sing those songs, listening to music too loud and the occasional driving tip from dad. Even though driving for us wouldn’t come for many years later.
We’d walk in to a starving little brother and and agitated mother, but Dad would just give mom a kiss and family dinner would resume as usual, with that much more merry in the air.
Tom Hank’s slam poetry session about Full House…OMG.
This is too funny!
If you grew up in the 90′s you definitely watched Full House (and are forever in envy of how Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are set for life.)
Tom Hanks is a riot and portrays a slam poet SO well. How he knows all these details from Full House episodes is amazing. This is an incredible parody but also incredibly accurate. All around 90′s amazingness.
The Badlands, South Dakota
The Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
I got some awesome photos form this unreal place in America. I’ve never been to an area in the United States with such a unique climate. Being in the prairie brought back great memories of playing the Oregon Trail and learning about the great adventure West. My covered wagon is now a loaded down 2004 VW Passat and the threats of dysentery and typhoid aren’t realistic fears, but still, the excitement of going west and exploring new lands is still relevant.
The park was also a unique place in that it seems to be a tourist hot spot. Lots of campers. We were one out of five or so tents in the campground. Almost everyone at the campground stayed in their air conditioned campers watching tv while we watched the sun set.
It definitely felt different camping without a fire, but given the dry climate, you can understand why it’s imperative. Instead of the usual camp night life around the fire, we did attend a presentation about the area creatures and the stars- I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many stars!
“Because I said so…”
Sarah, myself and John
Growing up there were frequent go-to phrases my mom or dad would say to us when we were misbehaving or doing something they disapproved of. Which, even though my brother, sister and I were three of the most angelic children to kick it in the 90′s, happened frequently.
Most of these phrases make no sense and/or are extremely hyperbolic, and yet kids still believe them. That’s probably why these phrases have become so cliché they actually work as a disciplinary measure. Do parents still say these things? I wonder. I will have to make note to listen to parents next time their kids are acting up.
Anyway, yesterday my brother, mother, father and I got to laughing pretty hard as we reminisced about some of the memorable phrases from our childhood. The most memorable and foretelling sign we were in trouble was not a phrase at all, but rather one of two looks from my father. My dad would either quickly remove his baseball cap (which he STILL always wears) and scratch his head or he would just run his tongue along his upper lip probably in attempts to bite it or distract himself from exploding in anger. One of my favorite childhood memories is when my sister called him out on this at the dinner table. We were all pretty young and my mom couldn’t help but hold in her laughter, which instantly lightened the mood and brought the whole family to laughs.
So amongst laughs and good cheer, here’s the list we came up with:
- “Because I said so…”
- “You’ll appreciate this later.” or “You’ll understand when you’re older.”
- “I can’t wait until you have kids of your own!”
- “If you don’t clean your plate, you can’t have dessert.”
- “Who wants to play the quiet game?!”
- “Don’t make that face or it’ll get stuck that way.”
- “If your friends jumped off a bridge would you?”
- “Do NOT make me pull over this car!”
- “Don’t run with a stick, you’ll poke your eye out!”
- “I was born at night, but it wasn’t last night.”
- “You better clean up that mess before your mother gets home.”
- “Don’t make me tell your father.”
- “I’m going to count to 3…”
We had so much fun coming up with this list. I really want to hear the phrases you learned to roll your eyes to, so please comment below and share some of your favorites!
Crunchy Classics
From evaluating my industry as a whole to strolling down Kellog’s memory lane, yeah, that’s how my blog rolls.
The other day at work we were rehashing childhood summer vacation memories. I got on the topic of cereal and I remember the only time we were ever allowed to eat those fantasized-about sugary breakfast bowls of colors were when we went on summer vacations. We would get the variety of 8 or 10 different mini cereal boxes. We always fought over who got which ones, the ones with the highest sugar content obviously being of the highest value. Lucky Charms were THE gold medal. No one wanted the Raisin Bran. Poor guy.
Do any of these bright boxes spark some memories? Please share !
Our toys
The other day in that down time at work between 5 and 6 before anyone really comes in to the restaurant, we got on the topic of the toys we had growing up. I just called my sister and we relived some hysterical childhood memories that involve many of the following toys. The things we did just before Nintendo 64s and Game Boys stepped on the scene…
Who could forget the Beanie Baby craze?!
Polly Pocket. I always lost Polly and her friends. Given their size this is not surprising.
Trolls! Really quite a creepy looking toy looking back.
Outdoor activity. So simple yet so captivating.
Lisa Frank stickers, binders, pencils, etc. etc. My favorite Lisa Frank animals were the Orca whales and the dolphins.
My brother had the ENTIRE playmobil set I swear. Loved these little guys!
My older sister was more of a My Little Pony lover then I was. Which ultimately meant that I loved them too but secretly pretended not to as she was not always the best at sharing.
Not exactly sure what this game was called, but it was sweet. Except that if you missed the ball, Breezy, our family dog, ALWAYS got it.
Furbys were so UGLY and ANNOYING! I remember I hid mine in my closet one time because it wouldn’t shut up. And yet I remember there also being massive fights in department stores to buy these toys for Christmas the year they were released.
I found this the last time I was home. This was my actual tamagotchi.
When my sister refused to play Barbies with me, I turned to my younger brother and my only close friend at the time. Matchbox cars became our favorite after school activity.
Ninja Turtle anything! We had Ninja Turtle helmets, sleeping bags, figurines, skateboards, you name it! My favorite, as a pizza lover, was obviously Michelangelo. Also, do you know that the turtles were named after famous Renaissance artists?
The ULTIMATE 90s Barbie doll. Krimped hair. Ew.
LEGOS.
While most little girls had Easy Bake Ovens, I had a creepy crawler bug maker. And my mom wonders why I was such a weird kid.
SO COOL. Is there an app for this?! There needs to be. There goes my attention span…
This was the Leiter kids’ all time favorite toy. We only had Lincoln Logs upta camp in Brownville Junction so we only got to play with them during the week of February school vacation that we spent there.
One of my 90s favorites, made famous by a well known kid named Kevin, the Talkboy.
“…and they called him, Littlefoot.”
My all time FAVORITE movie growing up was “The Land Before Time,” or the LBT as I like to refer to it. THE ORIGINAL. I think the second was pretty good too, but I’m not going to bring up the 9845760 LBT’s they made post the first, and one and only, LBT in my mind.
If you are my age or if you are a parent who had a child in the late 80s/ early 90s in America, you have probably seen this one and only magical, prehistoric adventure AT LEAST five times.
I think I made my dad watch this with me a hundred times growing up. He still makes jokes at my love for dinosaurs and how badly I loved this movie. One of my earliest, fondest childhood memories came immediately after one of my least fondest memories of childhood. The day I rode my tricycle into the MASSIVE prickly bush at the end of my neighbors driveway. My dad, screaming down the street after me, pulled my hysterical bum out of the bush and carried me inside. I remember he pulled all the thorns out of my legs and then put cold wash clothes on them. And then, of course, we watched the LBT.
I wanted to BE Littlefoot. Or at least be part of this super cool, now extinct, gang of young dinos that got to go on a sweet adventure to the Great Valley- unsupervised! No parents, loads of danger and fun with your friends on a seemingly impossible adventure to the most perfect place in the world? Duh. Count me in.
How cute was Ducky?
I WANT a tree star.
I still think Petrie is HILARIOUS.
Probably my all time favorite scene, though it’s impossible to pick just one.
WORD OF ADVICE: If you see this post and are inspired to YouTube other LBT clips, beware of the LBT montage. It’s a tear-jerker!
Ma’s meatloaf
Now, I love my mother dearly, but cooking is not one of her fortes. 
There were several standard go-to meals we had growing up, mac ‘n’ cheese and hot dogs, breaded chicken with pasta, the infamous rubbery, grey steaks and potatoes, fish sticks and on special occasions, meatloaf. Always with a canned vegetable of “our” choice, more often then not, peas, as they were my brother’s, the baby’s, favorite. On the rare chance we went to McDonalds or got pizza, we were all ecstatic, I think mostly at the change in routine.
Fishsticks and peas were John’s favorite, I don’t think Sarah really had a favorite and my absolute, all-time favorite, was my Ma’s meatloaf. I absolutely loved it! Dreamed of eating half the loaf pan. She made it on special occasions for me.
Last night, as I was home in the midcoast, my mum thought it would be nice if we all had family dinner
and she would make meatloaf. While we all initially laughed at the idea as this is a tradition of many moons past, we gladly accepted. Usually when I make my rare appearances up the top of the hill on Beech Street, we go downtown for a nice, leisurely dinner out. However, I really liked the idea of getting back to our old ways, sitting around the table having “family dinner.” (minus Sarah) Despite the fact that the kitchen dinner table is predominantly covered in my dad’s paperwork, we made room.
As we sat down, I noticed not much has changed. My mum made the meatloaf and we all anxiously awaited, me more so then others, for dinner complaining and begging the questions, “Is dinner ready yet?” As we all sat down eager to eat our feast of meatloaf, potatoes, and boiled carrots, wide, mouthwatering grins and eyes smiling with nostalgia crossed our faces.
Ketchup and sour cream are two necessary condiments when it comes to meatloaf and potatoes. My brother, 21-years-old, still insists on putting applesauce, preferably Motts, on just about everything.
Anyway, curious as to what goes into the hamburger, loaf-shaped dish I loved so much growing up, I asked my mom for the recipe. Apparently, not surprisingly, it’s pretty simple.
- 1 to 1.3 pounds of ground beef
- 1 cup of bread or panko crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of milk
- 2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tsp. thyme
- 1 Tsp. dry mustard
- 1 clove crushed garlic
- 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese (Ma’s secret trick)
After my mom rattled off all the ingredients I asked her how to prepare the dish. “You just mix it all together and put it in the pan!” Right. Obviously. You then bake the dish for 1 and a half hours at 350 degrees, and viola!
before
after
“I’m so excited…I’m so excited…I’m so scared!”
Wednesday night after work, me and some of the girls went out for some, often necessary, girly conversation that somehow involved reenacting a certain Jessie Spano freak-out. YOU KNOW THE ONE!
I’m sorry but if you grew up in the 90s, girl or boy, you loved Saved By The Bell and you most likely have seen every episode, at least once. Those of you who did, know the episode I’m talking about…
Ohh Jessie, you just HAD to be valedictorian. Chill on it, girl and lay off the NoDoz!
While the episode, like most Saved by the Bell episodes, is trying to get at an “important lesson” you can’t help but look back in hysterics.
The other night as Jackye PERFECTLY reenacted the skit we all started deep belly laughing. I haven’t had a good, uncontrollable laugh like that in a long time and it was much-needed, welcomed and relived again and again throughout the night and the next day.
So to all you once-upon-a-time Saved by the Bell lovers, hope you are now enjoying a good hearty Friday laugh and sharing with your friends!
In the meantime, I’ll be sitting here day dreaming about Zack Morris and the 90s.
