The Ballard Bunch

I was forwarded one of these “You're an eighties child if ...” lists the other day and it amazed me how many I really did relate to.

Kendra, I miss our Queens of Jr. High club – did you save any of those emails? I can’t find mine anywhere – they were SO funny!

Anyway, here’s the list…welcome to my childhood, people.

You're an eighties child if ...

You had a crush on one of the New Kids on the Block members.
(I was a Jordan lover, all the way.)

You wanted to be on StarSearch.
(And remember when they had an acting category – it was so weird!)

You ever uttered the word "Radical!"
(every day)

You wore jelly shoes and jelly bracelets.
(Blisters and all)

You thought "Ghostbusters" was by far the coolest movie.
(Even better was the music video for the song)

You remember watching shows like "Punky Brewster" , "Webster", "You Can't Do That On Television" , "Wild&Crazy Kids" and "Double Dare"
(I wanted to go on Family Double Dare so bad, but with divorced parents my hopes were shattered. The giant nose you pick to find the flag? Priceless.)

You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off. Or even when he had those freaky eyes in "Thriller" at the end of the video.
(I even remember when “Thriller” debuted on MTV – it was a totally hyped event that we waited and waited for. Steve and I even practiced moves)

You wore a banana clip in your hair or one of those slap on wrist bands at some point during your youth.
(Karen has a picture of us at a Jr. High dance with Justin Schneir, Todd Singleton and Aaron Tapking and I would almost bet I’m wearing one it that. I sported all the latest hair styles/accessories)

You rolled up the bottoms of your splatter painted jeans.
(It’s called pegged and, yes, I did it)

You wore loafers with everything, and you put the laces in those little rolls.
(No loafers, but keds were the bomb.com)

You had slouch socks, and puff painted your own shirt at least once.
(At one point in my life, I wore a few pair of socks to coordinate with my outfit and would roll each one over the other – think “Rainbow Bright”.)

You owned a doll with 'Xavier Roberts' signed on it's butt.

(To this day, if I were ever to get a tattoo, it would be the same signature on my own bum)

You knew what Willis was "talkin' 'bout." (Bonus – what was Arnold’s fish’s name? If you get this right, I’ll put you in a drawing and send you a bottle of puffy paint – your choice of color. Seriously.)

You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, Wax off."
(Ahhhhhhhh, Daniel-San. Serious crush on Ralph Machio)

You can name half of the members of the elite "Brat Pack."
(I can name them all)

You can remember watching Full House and Saved by the Bell for endless hours!
(I’ve even been known to play online trivia for SBTB)

You have seen at least 10 episodes of Fraggle Rock.
(My brother bought the girls a couple of DVD’s earlier this year)

You yearned to be a member of The Babysitters Club, and tried to start a club of your own.
(“Babysitters Club, this is Evonne)

You sat on your back porch, playing with your "My Little Pony" , "Rainbow Brite" , and "Strawberry Shortcake" dolls
(And I love that they’re back for my girls to play with!)

You know that another name for a keyboard is a "Synthesizer."
(And that you can select prerecorded “beats”. Samba, anyone?)

You hold a special place in your heart for "Back to the Future."
(“I'm your density. I mean... your destiny.”)

You thought Molly Ringwald was REALLY cool.
(Even in that hideous pink dress from “Pretty in Pink”. I wanted one)

You know what "sike" and "not!" mean.
(Even worse if you still use them on occasion)

You fell victim to 80's fashion : big hair, crimped, combed over to the side, big hoop earrings, and possibly the worst:you wore spandex pants.
(I’ve got the pictures to prove it)

You wanted to be a Goonie, or Elliot from E.T.
(I didn’t want to be a goonie, but the older brother was so hot. Do you know who that is? Josh Brolin. Just a little trivia for you)

You owned an extensive collection of Cabbage Patch Kids and trolls.
(Did any of you have “Garbage Pail Kid” trading cards?)

You knew "The Artist" when he was humbly called "Prince."
(Purple rain, purple rain.)

You ever wore flourescent -neon if you will clothing.... (Do the words Hyper-Color mean anything to you either?)

You could breakdance, or wished you could.
(Oh, how I tried.)

You know who He-Man and She-Ra are.
(I was seriously bummed when I found out that they were brother and sister – I wanted so badly for them to get married!)

You remember when ATARI was a state of the art video game system.
(Frogger, baby!)

You know all the words to "Ice Ice Baby".
(Alright, stop.)

You remember MC hammer well.
(You’ve got to pray, just to make it today)

You can still sing the rap to "Fresh Prince of Belair".
(I really can – on que)

You own any cassettes.
(Sadly, all my mix tapes have died. Remember taping songs off of the radio? Allyson Whitfiled and I used to call in requests and then stay up late to tape them)

You remember and/or own any of the CareBear Glass collection from PizzaHut.
(I totally forgot about this until I read it. I wish I had those now!)

Poltergeist freaked you out.
(Still does. Empty swimming pools? Ew!)

You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the ONLY female smurf.
(Did you know that Smurfette was originally created by Gargamel to cause trouble amongst the Smurfs? I admit, I looked that up but I was curious.)

You wanted to communicate with some being named Cinergy, or you wanted green hair like that lead singer of the Misfits.
(Don’t get me started on Gem. I was obsessed. Had the dolls, the stage, had it all)

You totally LOVED Barbie's cooler, punkier counterpart, "Jem" and her "Rockers"
(See above. This website is AWESOME http://www.jemunlimited.com/)

You wanted to have an alien like Alf living in your house. (He freaked me out)

You wore biker shorts underneath a short skirt and felt stylish.
(Karen, remember Magic Mountain?)

You layered your multi-colored slouch socks, and added suspenders to make your outfit complete.
(Please refer to #11)

You ever had a Swatch Watch.
(Remember “Parker Louis Can’t Lose”? “Synchronize Swatches”)

You actually spent countless hours trying to perfect the care-bear stare. (Tatum will do it with me now – haha)

You had WonderWoman or Superman underwear. (I wish I still had them. Correction, my husband would probably be happy if I still had them. They were so cute!)

You believed that "By the power of Greyskull, you HAD the power"
(I didn’t?)

You thought that Transformers were more than meets the eye.
(They were! Hello, it looks like a semi – but wait! – it’s Optimus Prime)

You ever owned or wanted any of the NKOTB action figures or dolls.
(Don’t get me started on this either. Sheets, posters, etc. And speaking of dolls, I had a Michael Jackson, too)

You remember when Deborah Gibson was "Debbie" Gibson.
(It still bothers me that she’s so against being called that now. Embrace the 80’s love, Debbie!)

Well, there you have it. I’m officially old. The 80’s were 20 years ago. J