Being a girl in the 70s (or the early 80s in my case)

I got this email and I had to post it (without pictures, because bugger if I could figure that one out) as it really did bring back alot of memories...Holly Hobbie wallpaper and a Christmas party my dad's club used to have for all the members children at which I had just turned 9 and yet I received a gift for a 6-8 year old which just happened to be a Strawberry Shortcake game. To this day I hate Strawberry Shortcake and I have yet to totally forgive my father for this debacle. I will tell you why...the 9-12 year olds got walkmans and I got a friggin' Strawberry Shortcake game!!!!!!

I am assuming at least a few people reading this are near my age, and I should hope it inspires only fond memories.


If YOU WERE A LITTLE GIRL IN THE 70'S ...


You had that Fisher Price Doctor 's Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked.
(I did!)

You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it.
(Banana seat, no plastic basket)

You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels.
(I did, and at the roller rink I would always request David Bowie's Modern Love and everytime the bastard would play Let's Dance or My Little China Girl.)

You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!)
(He was a okay, but I really liked the doctor. I had a thing for doctors back then- I also had a huge crush on Doctor Baker from Little House, at least until Willie got older.)

You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island.
(No, but it was an odd show.)

You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days. YEAH! ~ You owned a "Slip-n-Slide",on which you injured yourself on a sprinkler head more than once.
We always had roober boots, but I never had moon boots. In the very early 80s though, I had the rubber cowboy boots. V. tacky.)

You owned "Klick-Klacks" and smacked yourself in the face more than once.
(Yep.)

You had either a "bowl cut" or "pixie," not to mention the "Dorothy Hamill". People sometimes thought you were a boy.
(When I went to England when I was 9 my great uncle asked "who are all the boys?" I was the only girl. Have yet to forgive my mum for that one. Again, this was the early 80s not the 70s.)

Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession.
(Had the bedding and the wallpaper, the paper dolls and those stick ons, a bunch of knick knacks and a light shade. No sleeping bag.)

You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers.
( I remember the knickers, they were green and from Marks and Spencers. I wore them on St. Patrick's Day.)

You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon.
(I did, but can't recall getting it.)

You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits.
(Nope, that was before my time.)

You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze. The swing set tipped over at least once.
(It did!)

You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color. (Oh yeah!)
(Don't recall those...yarn ponytail holders I remember.)

You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with hard sole & the buckle). You also had a pair of salt-water sandals. (is this an east coast thing??)
(No Doctor Scholl's sandals...do you think my parents were made of money? If salt water sandals are jelly sandals I had numerous pairs.)

You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture; and you despised Nellie Olson!
(I did, I did and I did. I was once Laura Ingalls for Hallowe'en.)

You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink.!
(No I was too young... my first real, proper kiss was on a canal boat in England with an "older" boy. Ach, the memories.)

Your hairstyle was described as having "wings" or "feathers" and you kept it "pretty" with the comb you kept in your back pocket.
(Like my daughter today, I was not a big fan of the comb, hence the reason my mother kept it short, but yep, I had wings.)

~ When you walked, the "wings" flapped up and down, looked like you were gonna "take off"
(Usually too short.)

You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie.
(Damn that Strawberry Shortcake.)

You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic. With the thermos inside!

You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend.
(The dark haired one- was that Bo? I never did like blondes.)

YOU had Star Wars action figures, too!
(Nope, totally my brother's domain.)

It was a big event in your household each year when the "Wizard of Oz" would come on TV. Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags!
(I remember the movie, I don't recall any great excitement.)

You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: "Who will I marry. Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or David Cassidy..?"
(Again, before my time.)

You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record album.
( I did love the Grease soundtrack, but never had it. In the late 70s I was still listening to Disco Duck on my little Mickey Mouse record player. Note: this is my second Disco Duck reference in this blog.)

You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom.
(Tried and failed.)

You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts!
(I did make Shrinky Dinks, but iron on kittens...come on!)

You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker.
(I think I may have.)

You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat.
(Never heard of Dynamite, but I did read Tiger Beat and Bop and all. But that was in the days of Corey Haim and Sean Astin and the lovely River Phoenix.)

You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books.
(I loved Judy Blume! Taylor has all her books now, along with a copy of Letters to Judy that I received one Christmas. It's a bit dated, but really kids questions don't change that much.)

You thought Olivia Newton John's song "Physical" was about aerobics.
(Maybe I was smarter than the average 7 year old. Or it could do with the fact that I had older cousins.)

You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs.
(Definitely the shoelaces.)

You wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer.
(No never! But I used to watch it every Saturday. I wanted to be an American Bandstand dancer.)

You drowned yourself in Love's Baby Soft - which was the first "real" perfume you ever owned .. .
(My cousin had that.)

~ you glopped your lips in Strawberry Roll-on lip gloss till it almost dripped off.
(I did have the lip gloss.)


I tell ya, the bloody memories.