Back in the day, we believed a lot of silly stuff and it’s fun to look back. Especially when this list, 11  Silly Things You Probably Believed as a Kid, was being passed around like crazy today. Kids really do say the darndest things. And while this list was great, I just knew there was more — and I was determined to add to it!

As I was making this updated post and asking my friends what ridiculous things they believed in when they were little, we were all cracking up. (And we then proceeded to reminisce about all of the awesome stuff from the ’90s.) While we know now they aren’t true, I still think blankets can save me from everything scary. Read More »

Doesn’t growing up suck?

It’s like when I turned 21, I had reached the point in my life where I stopped telling everyone that I couldn’t wait to grow up, and instead started looking for ways to roll the clock back on my years.

The holidays only make it worse for me. Instead of screaming from excitement because Santa brought me the Polly Pocket that I wanted, I now stare into the pit of my stocking where my mom put socks for me. Socks. The worst part of it all? I asked her to get me socks. Because I needed them. Because when you get old, practicality trumps pretend.

If you’re feeling a little down in the dumps about your age these days, don’t worry, it’s just seasonal depression. But seriously, with the holidays rolling in and your Christmas list looking a little slim, there’s nothing that’ll make you feel as young as a trip down memory lane with snapshots of the exciting, play-pretend kid you used to be.

So, go on, put your feet up on the table – because you’re the only grownup in the room that cares – and while you’re at it, pour yourself a big glass of wine. Because if you’ve got to be old, you might as well be old and buzzed. Read More »

Finally — summer’s over! It’s time for sweaters, boots, Starbucks’ signature fall drinks, and for those leaves to start falling. You could spend all fall hunched over your computer worrying about mid-terms, or you can get in touch with your seven-year-old self that took time to relish the changing leaf colors, the local pumpkin patches, and of course, the cooler weather.

Here are five things that you probably enjoyed during your childhood that you can still enjoy this fall. (Editor’s Note: especially if you add a little spiked apple cider.):

1. Go Apple Picking: Throw on some jeans, find a cardigan, and head to the nearest apple orchard. Now that fall is here, apple orchards should be open to the public. Not sure where the closest apple orchard is? Check out Pick Your Own for all the details of the farms and orchards near you. Not only will this get you outside to enjoy the nice fall weather, it will give you a reason to bake. Once you pick out those perfect apples, call your mom and ask for her apple pie recipe, make some caramel apples, or brew cider (feel free to add alcohol, of course). Baking isn’t your thing? Well, you know what they say: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” and that can’t hurt either. Read More »

Breathtaking.

Like most people, the years I spent with little metal boxes cemented to my teeth weren’t exactly my best. Not only did those years coincide with my awkward phase (no coincidence there), but my braces also hurt like crazy. And I’m pretty sure I spent 50% of my time in the bathroom picking food shrapnel out of my teeth.

The other 50% of my time was spent smiling for pictures with my lips closed and being thrown into the back of my mom’s minivan for those monthly adjustment appointments (ouch).

And I wasn’t allowed to chew gum or eat popcorn.
Yeah, it’s really not a time I want to relive.

Unless it has to do with other people.

Behold, one of my greatest Internet finds since TFLN:

When I had braces…

This website won’t help you become a better cook or organize your fashion wish lists, but it will make you laugh and that’s all you really need on a Wednesday morning, right? The premise is simple: readers submit their favorite (OK, most awkward) picture of themselves in braces along with a small anecdote about their experience with the little devils. For example, the photo above, which is pretty awesome in its own right but truly magnificent with this little ditty:  “When I had braces straightening irons weren’t yet perfected.” Read More »

Even if we’ve blocked out selective memories of our childhood (the dentist…I shudder at the thought), we all remember elementary school recess. Now that I’m through with my public school education, I’ve been taking the time to reminisce about my favorite memories from those days. Man, did I love that half hour of pegging younger kids in the head with kickballs (which they totally deserved, by the way, just for being there).

At the risk of sounding like a creeper with a window-less van parked 100 yards from a playground, here are some of my favorite games from recess that I wish were appropriate for eighteen year-olds to play. Note: I like the games…not the kids. Read More »

So far this summer, I’ve been having the constant desire to re-live childhood summer times, a.k.a hopping in my DeLorean and gunning it to 1999.  The days when I was 9 years old and the world was mine.  The days when the only thing I had to worry about trying not to hurt myself when I was Skippin’ It outside all day.  The days when I was bumpin’ “If You Steal My Sunshine” and getting a perfect tan from swimming all day at camp. Those last moments of childhood where you could run around naked without feeling an ounce of self-consciousnes (knowing next summer you might be gettin’ some new curves).

10 years later, there are so many questions.  What will my major be?  Do I have enough hours at work?  Do I need to take summer classes? Where da party at? When’s the next sunny day for tanning? Does he want a relationship or a hook-up? Did I text too much this month? Should I get that new iPod?  It obviously doesn’t get easier.

Preeeeeetttyyy sure I wasn’t asking myself those questions when I was a kid.  So I say, what the hell? Let’s worry less and bring more pre-pubescent nostalgia back into our summer lives with some fun old-school pastimes: Read More »

My mom does a lot of really annoying things.

She calls me really early in the morning, or really late at night. To talk about reality TV shows.
Whenever I’m on the phone with her, she hangs up abruptly to get another call…without saying goodbye.
She pees with the door open in the powder room on the main floor of our house.
She backed into my car when it was parked on her driveway…

But no matter how much I want to shake her and scream, “MOM IT’S 8AM ON A SUNDAY AND I DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU THINK OF RAMONA!” the woman has given me so much and I can’t forget that.

My mom is one of the most generous people I know, always giving her time and services to other people. She will do anything for me, including moving me and all my stuff from dorm to sorority house to house to apartment to apartment. She’s always in the mood for a trip to the mall and sometimes even throws her credit card down at the register. She’s an awesome cook, she’s pretty good at Scrabble and she did apologize when she backed into my car…

But the thing I’m most grateful for when it comes to my mom is the confidence and self esteem she has instilled in me.

I was a fat kid growing up. And not just baby fat. Fat fat. I was tall and big and had a perm – needless to say, I stuck out. But I never knew it. In fact, I didn’t realize quite how big I was until I looked at pictures from my childhood long after those years were over. At the time, thanks to my mom, I thought I was just like everyone else. You see, she was a plus sized woman, but I never realized there was anything wrong with that. I don’t remember my mom ever talking about her weight. I don’t remember her ever hiding herself or her body out of shame. Read More »

I know I’m lucky. Five of my best friends from childhood live within 5 minutes of me in the city. Most of us have been friends for 17 years (wow, that number scares me). I’m not going to lie and say it’s been easy for all of us to remain friends.

We all split up for 4 years of college, sometimes had sporadic contact, and occasionally went months without talking to each other.

Even now, living so close, sometimes a month or two will go by and we’ll realize we haven’t hung out. We’ve all grown into much different people than we were as kids, and if we met today, we wouldn’t necessarily all be the best of friends. But we grew up together and have enough in common that we’ve chosen to remain friends.

Key phrase: We grew up together.

In addition to my close childhood friends, I’ve collected friends from college and from post-college as well. These people didn’t know me as I was learning my multiplication tables, but they got to know me as a person much more like the one I am today. They chose to be friends with me, and not the childhood version of me.

I sometimes think about those friends from my past that I didn’t keep in touch with. Those girls I once referred to as my best friends. One in particular, I was best friends with from kindergarten all the way to 10th grade, when we slowly started drifting apart. We had sporadic contact in college, as in, “Oh my God, we so totally need to hang out!!” but of course we never did. Sometimes I get seriously sad thinking that someone who once knew me better than anyone else has no idea about what I’m like now. Sometimes I wonder why we let our friendship go when we had so much history together. Read More »

It’s time for the Summer Games. For a select few, that means it’s time to put years of hard work and determination to good use to try to win a medal for their home country. For most of us, however, it means it’s time to sit back and watch people far more athletic then ourselves participate in activities that we haven’t done since childhood — when our parents desperately tried to force us into different sports to see if we had any real ‘physical acumen.’ Pro-tip : We did not.

Here is a list of Olympic Sports most uncomfortable for small children: Read More »

When I was little, I wasn’t really a Barbie girl. Even as a young child, I was vaguely aware of the fact that Barbie was proportioned funny and had tatas that just couldn’t‘t be real. I hearted My Little Ponies instead, and had just about every single one (including the Flutter Pony with bug wings, bitch!), giving my time to fantastical creatures rather than mass-produced patriarchal dolls.

BUT. Had this Barbie been around when I was little, I’m sure I would have begged my mom for it until she eventually gave in. I mean, how could you not covet a doll with her own pooper scooper?!?

ps: not only do you get a pooper scooper, you get poop too! Little, plastic, miniature poops!