Note To My Followers & Those I Follow

I just want to apologize in advance -- I am leaving for Florida today and will be pretty much without access to the Internet (other than my BlackBerry) on a daily basis.  I will also be unable to comment on your posts. I programmed a few post but as much as I had wanted to schedule a lot more, I didn't get the chance. My freelance editor needed a story on the fly, so that kept me busy on the day I planned to blog ... Not complaining - I welcome work!

Anyway, I'll miss you guys and I'll totally miss blogging. I hope to get online a few times in the 10 days I'll be away to post a bit.

'70s Shows With Grandma & Grandpa

When I was in first grade, we lived with my grandparents during that "in-between" houses stage. My parents were moving from Suffolk to Nassau because of Mom's teaching job. It's really odd because that one year honestly felt a lot longer to me as a little kid. I'm close to six years old in the photo above.

For some reason, I remember watching lots of TV with my grandparents. I have no idea where my folks were at the time. Maybe they were watching something else upstairs? Maybe they were taking classes for their Masters? Maybe they were sitting on the couch, yet for some reason I can't visualize them.

What I do remember is the smell of Sanka, a nightly handful of Hydrox cookies and my eyes glued to a small fuzzy color TV in my grandparents' basement. I remember back then the news included typing sounds simulating a newsroom. I was always an anxious kid and the sound of the typewriter and fast-paced music made my heart beat faster. I was a weird kid. I found Tom & Jerry stressful.

I remember names like Water Cronkite and Dan Rather. I remember laughing at Howard Cosell's nasally whiny voice. I'd make a funny face and whine in my Long Island accent,"This is Howid Coe-sell speaking of sports..." I don't think my grandpa found it very funny -- he just wanted to hear the lowdown on yesterday's game. Grandpa's famous line back then was, "You know, children should be seen and not heard?!" Grandma would scold him every time he said it. I looked it up, it's an old proverb. My mom would pull that line on me too. Guess she got it from him. In their defense, I was a chatterbox. What can I say?

For some reason, I have these visions in my head like old faded Polaroids. I see myself watching The Jeffersons and All In The Family with my grandma and grandpa. I wish I could ask Grandma if she remembers, but I'm certain she'll just smile and say, "What show? Oh I can't remember that." Her memory has faded pretty badly. It breaks my heart that this past Thanksgiving, she didn't know what turkey was.  Now if Grandpa were still alive, I bet he'd perk up in his favorite chair if I asked him about our TV watching. He'd probably say,"Yeah yeah, we always watched those shows. You have a good memory Allyson. A good memory."

Grandpa thought Three's Company was a filthy show, so we rarely watched that. I mean the premise of the show was that Jack was gay and living with two hot broads. Jack himself was hot by the way! Did anyone else think so? We did watch The Carol Burnett Show religiously. Oddly enough, I developed a strange crush on Tim Conway. Dude, I was five, he was like super old! Like really old, what was I thinking? I remember Grandma telling me that every time Carol tugged her ear, it was to relay a nonverbal "I love you" to a family member or something. I think today if I became a TV star, I'd tug my ear so my family would know that I love them.

I Never Wanted A Name Ring

I absolutely adore this photo of me. It's honestly one of my very favorites.

I loved that jumper with the cute stitching on the chest. I loved that I wore a little pink birthday crown. I love that my mom is clapping wildly behind me. I love everything about this photo.

I'm turning 7. It was a great year. I didn't hate school. I didn't hate my teacher. I didn't hate the kids in my class. I don't recall anyone calling me "corroded" that year.  In fact, I'm lookin' pretty cute at 7.

Another thing I loved about this photo is the "A" necklace I'm wearing. It was given to me by my Uncle Tony. He often gave me the coolest gifts from what I remember. I loved this enormous Colorforms doll house he sent me for my birthday. It was so awesome!

Hmm, now that I think of it, maybe it was his then girlfriend who was picking out all of this cool stuff. Duh! Anyway, he is my youngest uncle and my mom once told me he was secretly like her favorite little brother. Maybe that's why he's my God Father. Don't tell anyone I told you about the favorite brother thing. She'd get all mad at me for having a big mouth.

Anyway, back to the "A" necklace. I love how the "A" is sorta chunky like totally early '80s style. The reason I'm sharing this photo with you is because this necklace came to mind yesterday while I was getting my hair cut and colored at the salon.

While sitting in the chair, I noticed a girl sportin' one of those shiteous name rings. They were super popular in the late '80s growing up near the Nassau County/Queens boarder of Long Island. They usually were worn by girls with huge puffy hair, painted-on jeans and these ugly suede black boots that sometimes had fringe or other crap hanging from them.

Suddenly the ring and my necklace were all I could think about. As the stylist snipped and carefully combed, I kept my eyes focused on the mirrored reflection of the other stylist's ring. I couldn't take my eyes off it. Why was she wearing it? Did someone give it to her as a gift? Did she actually like it? When did these god-awful rings come back in style? Where have I been?

Trust me, I'm far from a "fashion plate" (that was my mom's famous term when I was a kid). I wear Doc Martens just like I did back in 1988. I haven't changed much. I refuse to wear Uggs or Crocs or anything popular. I just can't do it. I've never liked current fashion - though I did like some of the old Steve Madden shoes back in the '90s.

Googling the word "name ring", I was surprised to see Lauren Conrad from The Hills wearing one! I was also unaware that if the girl's name is long, the ring becomes a two-finger ring. How awful? I find it awkward just wearing my engagement and wedding ring. How does someone get anything accomplished wearing a TWO FINGER ring?

Well, thanks for letting me vent.

I'm sorry if you have a name ring on your finger right this moment. I apologize in advance for hatin' on the style. I guess it's just one of the many fads I simply don't "get."