Authentically Nita

Who remembers waiting, with a blank cassette tape in the deck of your boombox, hoping that the radio station would play your favorite song so you could record it? My children found these tapes the other day and my 9 year old daughter asked, "What's this?" I replied, "Tapes." As if she should have already known what they were. "What kind of tapes are these ?" That was the question that interrupted what I was doing and lead me to explaining how CDs, MP3s and MP4s weren't around when I was younger. There were no MP3s to drag and drop files to in my childhood. We waited for our favorite songs to play on the radio, so we could record them, or we bought our favorite artists' tape from the store. The last time I owned a cassette player, I was around fifthteen years old. At that time CD players had already been introduced and my dad had a nice collection of CDs that he did not want me to touch. My tape collection included a variety of artists including

Ren & Stimpy Pinky & The Brain He-Man & She-ra Earnie & Bert Blossom & Six Bevis & Butthead Joey & Pacey

These days, some women are debating whether or not it is okay for their husband, boyfriend or men in general, to wear skinny legged pants. I've had this conversation on both Twitter and Facebook. I must admit that I agreed with some people stating, " Yeah I agree, I don't like the new skinny pants on men." But wait a minute, wasn't there a time when men walked around looking like this??? and this: Uh, yeah. In light of that throwback moment, I'm okay with the new look. (My mom has a photo of us at the park, some time in the early 80's and my dad has midriff shirt on, LoL)

The Smurfs , one of the best cartoons of all time! Well, one of my favorites at least. I loved this cartoon so much that I tried to convince my mother to name my little sister after Smurfette. That didn't work. She instead convinced me that we could combine Tracy with Smurfette, and that could be the baby's middle name. My sister's middle name became Tracette. (My mommy was so nice. I really believed we made that name up). My favorite Smurfs were Smurfette , Brainy Smurf and Papa Smurf . The show would not have been complete without Gargamel and Gargamel would not have been complete without his cat! I don't remember if the cat had a name. I do remember however, that the Smurfs had their own little Smurf language. I miss that show. I might not have to miss it for too long though. Just like the rest of our old favorites, the Smurfs are making a comeback. Watch out, because in 2011 they're coming out with a Smurf movie! Check it out: The Smurf's Movie Trailer:

Teddy Ruxpin, the talking Teddy Bear that included a cassette to put in his back. I thought this bear was amazing when I was little. I got him for Christmas and couldn't wait to put the tape in & watch him talk. He moved his mouth and blinked his eyes as he read you a story. That was one the best Christmas mornings I've ever had! If I remember correctly, it was Christmas of 1986 and our first Christmas in Oklahoma. I looked Teddy Ruxpin up online and they still make him! Check out this site: Teddy Ruxpin Store