Coming Soon-Disneyland Mania!

"Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls..."

It's been ages since I've posted on this blog, I've been busy updating the pictures on my other blog (if you're a fan of  all things topped with frosting, please go check it out!) and knew there would be some sibling rivalry if I didn't give this one some much needed TLC.  I didn't want to just slap something on here just to have a post that isn't as stale as the crackers in my cabinet, I wanted to give it the attention it was due.  My love affair with Disneyland started at the tender age of 3, so I knew I would get around to doing a post on Disneyland.  Having recently gone with my mom for a couple days, I knew I had fresh pictures to choose from.  But I'm going back on Monday with friends and figured I'd wait until after that trip to the "Happiest Place on Earth" to post what I'm sure will be an epic blog.  

"Remain Seated Please...Permanecer sentados por favor."

Tasty Treats of Yesteryear

A commercial I saw today got me thinking of the yummy and unusual food stuffs of my childhood. It was the iconic "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?" with the kid and the stereotypical graduate-cap-wearing owl. Ahhh, those were the days of creative commercials that didn't find it necessary to scream, force you to listen to mind-numbing jingles or assault viewers with visual effects that will make your corneas explode.  

Now, I can't say I remember every food commercial, or more than a handful for that matter. Quite frankly all you needed was to walk through the aisles of the local supermarket for something sugar coated or in a package featuring cartoon characters to jump off the shelf and into your basket.  

Of course there is the Trix Rabbit and the ever present "Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!" Poor bunny...and Lucky the Leprechaun still being chased for his Lucky Charms after all these years. A few personal favorite cereals of mine, not because of any catchy commercial, but because the contents were tasty and/or the long lost art of "special prize in the box" items totally rocked :

*Alphabits -oh the things we would spell...

*Corn Pops -what on earth made them so slimy? ewww!

*Sugar Smacks -I don't know what made less sense, the name "Smacks" or the frog for a mascot

*Apple Jacks -with a color not found in nature let alone associated with apples, and what were those freckles made of?

*Cookie Crisp -the only time you could get away with eating dessert for breakfast!

Now these are all great, but as I mentioned above, no matter how good the cereal was nothing beat the mysterious prize waiting inside. I have fond recollections of Wacky Wallwalkers (until they met their fate in the carpet) and vague memories of cardboard records that were attached to the box-anyone else remember those?!  I might just have to pick up a cereal box toting the latest movie tie-in promotional toy the next time I'm at the store.

Speaking of the store, for a few glorious years during my childhood, our local market was Alpha Beta. You may be wondering why that particular name crops up for this post, so let me tell you.  Every time mom took us to the store with her, the ladies who worked in the bakery department always gave my sister and I a free butter cookie-you know the kind with the little kiss of pink "chocolate" in the middle? It is my belief that if they still gave away free cookies at the bakery section, the world would be a more pleasant place. Happily on our way to the first sugar high of the day, mom would then hand us a bunch of quarters and deposit us at the two personal theaters (imagine a photo booth, properly big enough for 2 children but with a video screen) so that she could shop in peace.  It didn't matter that they only showed the same two films, a Mighty Mouse cartoon and Heckle & Jeckle cartoon that showed age and abuse from too many viewings each time we placed another quarter in the coin slot. Good times....

Back to the food! So I've covered breakfast, well, breakfast cereals. We weren't a big hot breakfast family and Pop Tarts became rather famously a road trip food that could be eaten (or in my sister's case-thrown up) any time of day. So on we go...

Chuck E. Cheese and Bullwinkle's were products of the Bay Area's pool of creative thinkers (I bet you didn't know that a former Atari employee was the founder of the first Chuck E. Cheese in San Jose) and were our favorite eateries for weekends and special occasions. Oddly enough, my favorite part of Mr. Cheese's establishment has long since gone-the second rate animatronic stage show featuring the "other" mouse and friends (my particular favorite being the not-PC-at-all Pasqualle with his poofy chef's hat and huge paisan mustachio). Bullwinkle's had something extra special-a water show to rival Bellagio's in Vegas, but only to the eyes of a 9 year old. For some reason I only remember going there with my grandparents-perhaps mom had reached her threshold with  the Big Cheese. But even with the water show and outstanding interior (meant to be like you're hanging outdoors with the Canadian Mounties in a log cabin with stenciled warnings of low flying squirrels) Bullwinkle's would not last beyond the early 1990s. Skeeball, pizza and going home with an armful of junk trinkets purchased with hard earned tickets-now that's a great day!

Snacks were more interested in being fun and flavorful than healthy-Fruit Roll Ups, Kudos (the more-candy-than-granola-bars), Pudding Pops, Otter Pops, Pringles, and Food Sticks are the snacks that still have the ability to magically whisk me back to my childhood; although the latter has been off store shelves for quite some time. Out of all of these, I miss Food Sticks the most, in their space age wrapper and the Tootsie Roll-like consistency, so bizarre but so awesome! We made less than tempting treats from the Easy Bake oven and Snoopy snow cones with Kool-Aid. We fought over who got the last Louie Bloo Otter Pop and played with our string cheese.  Lunchables were just coming to stores but since there wasn't anything Lunch-able about it, we didn't miss them.

I have great memories of going to McDonald's or A&W for dinner on busy nights, particularly when my sister and I had sports or dance practice, for Happy Meals or Baby Burgers and root beer floats. My dad loves to tell stories about how he and his high school buddies would challenge each other to see how many Baby Burgers they could eat in one sitting. I loved coming home with a new treasure, or if we were really good one of those collector glasses-I think we still had the Great Muppet Caper glasses until I went to college!

Desserts were the cream of the crop-Push Up Pops, Klondike Bars, Oreo cookie ice cream sandwiches, Jell-o parfaits, ice cream sundaes with Magic Shell topping-YUM! I'll never forget the time we went to the Aerospace Museum in San Diego and I bought Freeze Dried Ice Cream-just like the Astronauts eat! I'm not sure which was weirder, the texture or the fact that it came in Neapolitan flavor-you know, chocolate vanilla and strawberry. But anything was possible in the 80s!

Taking this little stroll down amnesia lane will have me shopping a little differently next time I'm at the local market. Don't be surprised if you see some Sugar Smacks and Fruit Roll Ups in my cart if we should bump into each other on Aisle 4. I'll be making my way towards the bakery department to make a suggestion about some butter cookies...

"When my get-up-and-go, has got-up-and-went...I hanker for a hunk of, a slab, a slice or chunck of...I hanker for a hunk of cheese!"

~Time for Timer cartoon

P.J.s and Powdered Donettes...

...it must be Saturday Morning!  

If there was ever a time where I can appreciate lounging about in your favorite brightly colored p.j.s for several hours on end while eating breakfast fare of a sugary, questionable nature, it would be this week. I'm positively whupped and here's why~

This week (beginning with last weekend) started with the finishing and delivering of not 1, not 2, but 3 First Communion cakes. Then, of course, there was the clean up aftermath for the rest of the weekend...my favorite!  Then on Monday, I went back into the classroom for the first time this school year to substitute in a 4th grade class down the street. Normally, this would be no big deal, but on top of this I was planning and preparing for a tea party themed birthday party for 12 5 year-olds and their moms. Holy Mackerel!    

By Wednesday I was sleep deprived and I no longer recognized my own house past the piles of party supplies and bags of groceries. I had to just power through and rise above, remembering at the height of my exhaustion very late Friday night, that in just a few hours it will all be over and I could sleep all weekend if I wanted. The dishes can wait...

Having survived the party (actually, all went very well) I raced home (I never packed the car so quickly!) to my Hello Kitty p.j.s and napped the rest of the day away. It was GLORIOUS! It got me reminiscing about the days where this was seen as a normal Saturday behavior and not just submitting to "Couchpotatoland". 

I have always been a self-proclaimed night owl, but by some wonder, I would bound out of bed and rush to the downstairs t.v. on the Holy Grail of weekdays-Saturday! Smurfs, Carebears, Scooby-Doo, Voltron, Thundercats, Speed Racer, Hannah-Barbara, Rocky and Bullwinkle...the list goes on and on.  Towards the end of my childhood, there were a few missteps in the cartoon world-Snorks, Rubik the Amazing Cube, The Real Ghostbusters, PacMan? Really?!  And, sure there were a few memorable commercials thrown in between for things that would later pepper my Christmas list; Easybake Oven, Shrinky Dinks, Barbie Dreamhouse, Star Wars action figures, Cabbage Patch Dolls; but the quintessential, the ultimate in all Saturday morning regalia, is hands-down Schoolhouse Rock!

I don't think there is a single person from my generation who can't recite "Conjunction Junction" word-for-word at the drop of a hat. And who hasn't heard the melody to "I'm Just a Bill" floating around in their heads from time to time?  It's genius! To this day, I still have a soft spot for "Three is the Magic Number". 

What's so great about Saturday morning cartoons is that it allowed you to be awake but without the pressure of having to get dressed and start the day.  Well, that and the perfect excuse for that extra bowl of your favorite chocolate flavored or marshmallow-laced cereal (or both! Count Chocula anyone?). The best part? The "chocolate" milk at the end!

And then there were the Hostess Donettes-powdered or chocolate, yes please! The trick was making the pack last all morning-almost impossible unless you had a strategy.  If you had the ability to resist it's power, it is possible to have them for the duration of the Saturday morning marathon. With iron will, eating them only at the end of the episode, it could last 3 delightful hours. 

But it all came to a screeching halt when you heard that all to familiar choo-choo sound. As the Soul Train came in, the fun ran out and now that it was around 11:00, it was time to get dressed and go about your day. 

I know I made no mention of a few pinnacle moments in Saturday Morning cartoondom-PeeWee's Playhouse, Beetlejuice and anything Jim Henson related. But they're too fabulous for just a quick mention here-I'll give them their proper due on another post. 

It's time to kick up your bunny slipper feet in your favorite p.j.s, buy a box of cereal that has more color in the box than out of it or a package of powdered Donettes, click on Cartoon Network and get back to the best part of childhood-Saturday Morning Cartoons!

"Rrr-After these messages.....(ruff!) we'll be right back!" 

Update 5/12/08

I know it's no longer Saturday, but as I was flipping through the channels for something to have on while I cleaned the house this morning, I came across something that gave me a wicked case of giggles.  Brought to you by the lovely people at Boomerang (a "sister" channel to Cartoon Network that features the earlier generations of cartoon shows) I give you...

  

..."No Undies Mondays"!

No, this is not some degenerate underground cartoon show reserved for the hours between midnight and 3 a.m. This show features all those long treasured characters who, for whatever reason may be donning a shirt or hat, but seem to go through life sans pants. It's brilliant! Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "No Pants Dance" doesn't it?

Happy "No Undies" Monday!

Shiny and New!

Kinda silly, kinda whimsical, colorful and...are those CUPCAKES? I like it!!

So, I've been doing some work, you know, the old "ducks in a row" bit, and came to the conclusion that utilizing Blogger.com for my fledgling new business is the next best thing to an actual website. Realizing this, and not being terribly internet savvy, I thought I could just add on a new blog using the same account. I was half right! Turns out that what you put in your profile will follow you, wherever your new blogs take you! In the interest of keeping business (and hopefully gaining new business and not losing any), I decided to remove the old profile and just post it instead. So here it is, in all it's spectacular glory, for your viewing pleasure.

Of course, I'm sure those who know me, accept the silliness I embrace in my life, but I wouldn't want anyone to accuse me of not taking my job seriously-even if it is a child-centered business! :o)

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

ABOUT ME:
I find it harder and harder in the 21st century to behave like a grown-up. I long for the days when my age allowed me to ignore the bumblings of authority-figures, not having the pressure of voting them into office. Back to the time when the only thing that cut my playtime short was the setting of the sun, not late hours at work and an impending early morning alarm. Not to mention the blissful days of being able to eat unnaturally colorful foods without anyone stressing over their nutritional value...I mean, there was a reason Louie-Bloo Raspberry Otter Pops were the first to go from the box!

Much of the nostalgia of my childhood in the late 70's/early 80's, and the current recreation of it for my generation's children proves too tempting. If you have ever found yourself at any age beyond your formative years uttering the phrase "When I grow up..." grab your Speak N'Spell, break out Hungry Hungry Hippos and get the Shrinky Dinks in the oven-I'll add another section to the pillow fort-you're all welcome!

I may have the appearance of a sophisticated grown up on the outside (and have managed to fool others into thinking so as well), but childlike abandon is just under the surface.

Happy Hour @ ZooKazoo!

In a really strange, round-about way, I have Julie Andrews (yes, the very same brilliant actress who gave us Maria VonTrapp and Mary Poppins) to thank for this long overdue post.

How’s that? Do tell…

Alright, I will!

Yesterday, Julie Andrews was presented with a beautiful carousel horse at Disneyland Park to commemorate her Disney Ambassadorship; which also coincided with a book signing of her biography Home: A Memoir of My Early Years. After a morning of what can only truly be described as shenanigans, my friend and I were feeling doubtful that we would actually be able to partake in the fabulousness of the event. But bless the Disney people for keeping hope alive! A few nail-biting hours later, we were face to face with the stunning Dame Julie Andrews! It was the most spectacular experience-and I have the pictures to prove it really, truly happened!

Ok, yeah, she’s amazing, what does she have to do with a bizarre internet world called ZooKazoo?

I’m getting to it, keep your socks on!

So after a whirlwind day, I came home to look up information on the current remodel of “It’s A Small World”. *Note to Disney Imagineers: LEAVE IT’S A SMALL WORLD ALONE!
Sorry, it had to be said. Anyway…
It was at this point I came across sites with bio information on Mary Blair, a beloved and talented artist who designed art for several Disney movies, park murals and “It’s A Small World” (see, it all makes sense). By following this trail of internet breadcrumbs, I landed on a blog site called Fred World. The story goes that as a teenager, this guy met Mary Blair and her husband Lee in his hometown in Northern California, who then introduced him to the world of animation. Inspired, he attended art school and went on to work with Disney, Warner Bros. and has even written storyboards for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim show “Robot Chicken”.

Ok, sounds like a cool guy, so what?

So his latest project is a wacky interactive site called ZooKazoo.com!

Oh, you mean like Webkinz or Club Penguin?

Yes…and…no. It utilizes the interactive world format of those that came before, but WAY COOLER! I mean, do either of those sites let you choose an avatar from a half eaten apple, a monkey, a cob of corn or a roll of toilet paper? Yeah! Toilet paper!

In the great tradition of artists like SHAG and the creative minds behind The Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends (Cartoon Network), adventures abound in this newly developed site. Some of the elements are still tagged as “Coming Soon”, but you can interact in either of the current areas of Jungleloo or Hip-Hopolis. Jungleloo sports fantastic tiki culture items, games and a swingin’ tiki bar, what's cooler than a bar with a fez-wearing skeleton playing the upright bass! At Hip-Hopolis, you cruise up in a stretch limo and schmoose with the urban crowd, spinning trax at the club and making graffiti art. And did I forget to mention the arcade?

And, yes, once I got a peek at this craziness, I just had to sign up! You should, too!

ZooKazoo.com

In fact, I say we all get together at ZooKazoo.com after midnight and hit the Funky Tiki for some pineapple juice cocktails or party “Way Past Our Bedtime” at the Stylus club. It’s a night out without spending a dime! And no need to worry about choosing a designated driver-you can just walk back to your home in the Communi-Tree or at Mondo Condos!

Yeah, some of it’s kinda silly and parts of it are really just for kids, but some of it is begging 20 and 30-somethings to come out and play! Spectacular graphics and the more unusual elements up the cool factor that those 7 to 11-year olds just couldn’t begin to appreciate. So what do you say, first round’s on me! See you there!
Just look for the cob of corn named “Chester Copperpot”!

Dame Julie, for so many reasons, I thank you!

"...let's all fly a kite,up to the highest hight, lets go fly a kite and send it soaring..."

What's Not To Love About Yo Gabba Gabba! ?

So, I guess I should explain my unnatural obsession for a show on Nickelodeon called Yo Gabba Gabba! It is in fact the same show that is featured in the ~Eye Candy~ corner of this blog, albeit a little inconsistently. With it's bright colors, catchy tunes and creative segments, I was powerless against it. Imagine Sid and Marty Kroft with a heaping helping of PeeWee's Playhouse and a little Speed Racer on the side. I have truly lucked out, in that I happen to be taking a break from my previous career to start my own business, so I just happened to have a lot of free time during the day to catch this eye-popping, toe-tapping show. So as I continue down this path of anti-adulthood, let me introduce you to one of my current vises.

I love that this show is not only fun and educational, but smart. They know their audience very well-no segment of this 24 minute show overstays it's welcome but it's also not a series of images whizzing past the screen at ADHD levels. The songs will stay with you without driving you insane (there isn't a "I Love You" Barney song in the bunch), the animated videos feature a variety of musical artists, and cameos from celebrities and unique guests keeps you wondering "What's going to happen next?"

 

Yo Gabba Gabba...let me count the ways! Now, picking favorites, whether it's characters or episodes, would be like the much cliched "choosing a favorite among children". So I won't attempt it here. What I will do instead is highlight a few things that make this show a gem.

*DJ Lance Rock-This guy is the coolest cat on the block! DJ Lance is the unofficial host/caretaker of Gabbaland. His "construction cone" orange belted jumpsuit with matching shag carpet covered hat complete with yellow and silver embellishment reminds me of the attire worn by the band Deee-Lite from the 1990's and topped off with enormous black-rimmed glasses in the style of DMC. What's even wackier is the choice they made to (re)dub his voice over the vocals so that it's just a shade off point, giving it that Japanese anime feel. By far my favorite moment (and the only daily predictable part of the show) is when he ushers in the remix for the end of the show, "Yo! It's almost time to go! But first, let's go back and remember what we did today! Can you help me? Can we dance? Then let's do it, a-break it down!"

*Gabbaland Gang-Each one more endearing than the next. In no particular order: 

Muno(Red) is a tenderhearted (he's afraid of the dark) guy who wants so much to do the right thing by his friends but is typically clumsy (crashing into block castles) and immature (biting friends) 

Foofa(Pink) is caring and nurturing and very much a girly-girl. She's encouraging and always there to lend a hand. 

Brobee(Green) is furry and diminutive in stature. Very unsure of himself, he tends to be moody which is visualized by the "fireworks" effect that occurs when he changes from sad to happy. He also happens to be the star of one of my favorite songs "Party in My Tummy".

Toodie(Blue) is a loud, energetic cat-like character. She struggles to find a balance between her enthusiasm for life and her friend's personal boundaries.

Plex(Yellow) is the wise, perhaps elder, robot who is the go-between for DJ Lance and the citizens of Gabbaland. He typically gets involved if there is conflict to help teach important lessons in friendship. Also, he has the power to "beam" guests (like Elijah Wood) to teach a "Dancy Dance" or participate in some activity.

*V.I.P.s-What other kids show can boast the likes of Tony Hawk, The Shins and Laila Ali? And could someone please give the person who hired Biz Markie to teach beatbox beats a raise! I dare anyone to not burst into hysterical laughter after trying to copy "Biz's Beat of the Day". There are a wide variety of musicians who perform on the "Super Music Friends Show" and the "Cool Tricks" segment has featured tap dancers, speedy cup stackers, gymnasts and even a guy who plays the Theremin, yeah, that's right, I said Theremin. (Google It) 

V.I.P.? More like F-U-N!

*The Kids-I'm assuming these are the offspring of the genius behind this show-but whoever they are, the segues that feature them dancing, superimposed making their way through "Atari" type video games or hitching a ride on a wind-up toy are priceless! There is one kid in particular who not only has his own corner of YouTube.com (all you have to do is type in his name!) and he's popped up on E! channel's The Soup, but Nathaniel is a dancin' fool and deserves to be shared with the world! If I were a kid today, being on Yo Gabba Gabba! would equate to my life-long desire to be on the set of Romper Room or The Mickey Mouse Club (the original). If only to be able to wear one of those groovy shirts!

*Silly Segments-There is so much variety to this show, it always has you asking "What will happen next?" There doesn't seem to be a set formula to each episode, and since it's a daily show, it's unpredictability keeps it fresh. Silliness is sprinkled between the songs and activities of the main characters like candy on cupcakes. Although some segments occur more often than others, "Super Robot Martian Girl" is on every couple episodes, Story Time features different tales done by different animators (Moochy and Pooty are particularly cute in their Hello Kitty and Friends style). Many times you'll see an animated video featuring bands like The Shins, GOGO13 and Low. The ska song "Pick It Up" and old-school hip-hop "Let's Dance" are hilarious (and if it's working, you can click the ~Eye Candy~ corner to watch) and the delightful and adoring heart animations for the Beatles-esque "Love Every Living Thing" gives off such a case of warm fuzzies!

*REMIX-Each show ends with a fan-tab-u-lous remix/mash-up that features every song and dance performed during that episode with a montage of dancers, human and Gabba-kind alike. You can't resist gettin' down with your bad self during the final moments of this show!

Now that I've had time to look over all the things that make Yo Gabba Gabba so spectacular, I'm finding some amazing similarities to a show that I hold dear to my childhood-Jim Henson's Muppet Show (and I mean the Muppet Show of the 1970's/80's not so much the revamped one of the late 90's). Music, comedy, celebrity guests, muppet-type characters; however on a much simpler level, you won't find marabou or feathers cluttering their costumes. Well, I guess you can't improve perfection!

It does my soul good to know that a show like this exists today, for the child in all of us. I hope more people see this show, young and old. Sadly, the recent writers strike did little good, and because it is a daily show, it's been like a never ending "Best Of" series as the 20-odd shows get recycled sooner than I'm sure they expected. Yo Gabba Gabba is a great remedy if you, like me, suffer from perpetual-childlike-behavior.    

Rated G for uncontrollable Giggling 

It's like NEW School Supplies on the First Day of School!

     Since this is my first blog (that's pretty sophisticated and hi-tech, right?), and due to the fact that it's taken me hours just to get what little there is on here, I'll start with a topic I could go on for ages about and make it worth your while to read. Anytime I get to do something new and exciting, I'm reminded of getting ready for the First Day of School. That was the BEST! Now, I went to a Catholic school, so there was no ceremonious picking of a First Day of School Outfit. But, better than that, were the fresh smell of school supplies. 

     I grew up in the days before Target and Walmart, and not that it mattered anyway, but I couldn't begin to tell you where we went to pick them out. The store wasn't important. I don't know about my sister, but for me, that glorious list of school supplies, was like a vision into the heavens. 

     No. 2 pencils, which were cropping up in a festival of outrageous colors and design, were coveted to ensure they would last the whole year. Those Pink Pearl erasers, with their odd slanted edges (can anyone please explain why they weren't just rectangular!?) were held in high esteem because of the fancy cursive script printed on them; any company who embellishes their product with that little touch of fancy is #1 in my book! No, I haven't forgotten erasable pens, but I think we all know that was never meant to be. The promise of never having to empty out another pencil sharpener, the reality of bright blue smudges across your paper....

     Although notebooks were probably the first item I went for, their stock rose as I got older and teachers began requesting the notebooks that had separate pockets to distinguish subjects. Folders and binders were not as exciting back then as they are now; so they were usually second in order; I was lucky to find a folder with a cute kitten or a solid color other than something in the primary range. The jackpot was around junior high, when binders started showing up with clear plastic covers that allowed you to place personal items on your binder without worrying about their eminent destruction! Those coveted oilies and puffy stickers you traded half your collection for, the class photos, doodles from friends, etc. were now outliving the binders they were trapped in. 

 

     But the ultimate was when I got to the "art supplies" aisle.::pause to revel in the memory:: Of course, there was that savored moment when I was finally victorious and my mom ceased her resistance to my desperate need for the ginormous box of 96 crayons with the sharpener in the back (I was never dumb enough to use it, I witnessed enough crayon carnage by my friends to know better).   Colored pencils, although exciting, saw a short novelty span. Why use colored pencils when you could use MARKERS! I still remember the squeak of the styrofoam when I pulled off the flimsy cardboard sleeve to my first set of Mr. Sketch scented markers. 

 

     The Holy Grail of school supplies was of course when an insightful and inspired teacher would request a set of watercolor paints. How awesome was the promise of a school year with watercolor paints on the supply list! At the opposite end of the spectrum, were the teachers who would begrudgingly pull out ancient watercolor paint sets with crunchy brushes and paint pots with holes burrowed into the centers; and don't get me started on the doofus who had the set before you and let the yellow turn a puke brown or florescent green! 

    Finally, there were the containers to keep watch over the precious cargo. Plastic zipper pouches were useless, the plastic slide closure came off within weeks if not days, allowing everything to spill into your desk and have to duke it out with your textbooks. Proper metal zipper pouches were good, but lacked penache and heft. Cardboard "cigar" boxes were laughable, the tops were always  prone to rippage. If you could get plastic, it was great, but scarce when I was in grade school unless you wanted it adorned in Hello Kitty. Oddly enough, most of my supplies ended up housed inside boxes that were not intended for the use I so greatly desired. Random wooden boxes with slide top closures were the kind that accompanied me to school with my valuables. At the time, I couldn't have told you what their original cargo was, but a few years ago I found a similar box at my parents house in the hall closet that is part liquor pantry, part kitchen supplies. I'll let you guess which part of the closet my old school supply boxes came from...but what did I care where the box came from-it was the magic that was contained inside that mattered! 

     Of course, being the sophisticated grown-up I am now, I would gladly take the original contents from that box, but only if we can hit the school supply aisle on the way! Hey, it wouldn't be the first time in my grown-up life that I had purchased crayons and a coloring book, you'd be surprised how much fun you can have with a crayon tower that holds 150 (yes! 150) and a PowerPuff Girls coloring book...wait, how old am I?

*ok, ok, I know, I forgot scissors and rulers and glue...I'll sum up. Scissors were metal and supplied by the school-there was always a fight over who got the sharp pointy edged scissors or got stuck with the round edged "safety" scissors. Rulers were wood with slick metal edges (that always gave your fingers zebra stripes if you used markers) or the plastic kind that shattered into a million dagger-like shards when you shoved your books in too forcefully...hey, no one said math wasn't dangerous! Glue, what can I say, it came in white.