Sincerely 'Fro Me to You, baby dolls

Evidently I've had that mothering instinct for a long time. Here's proof that I was still playing with baby dolls at age 9. Is that unusual?? I was quite the "little mommy." I remember packing a diaper bag for church every Sunday, complete with a diaper, change of clothes, blanket, toy, etc. VERY prepared.

Here I am on what was probably my 9th birthday. I got this doll as a gift, her name was Jessica. The bike was a gift, too, I believe. Gotta love the "jogging suit" and the home perm. Oh, yeah.



This was from Christmas of that year, probably 1986. Here is what was my only boy doll, specially requested from Santa. The back of the picture says "Christmas Day, Alex & Tabitha, cute as can be" in my handwriting. We labeled our pictures, of course, to send to the proud grandparents! :) This doll came with swim trunks and was meant to go swimming, but naturally I preferred to bathe him in the sink. Another lovely sweat suit and fabulously terrible hair!



Did you play with dolls?? When did you give them up??

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You--Christmas memories

This one is a total classic.

#1, Talk about a FRO!

#2, Everything I'm wearing in this pictures, I received as Christmas gifts. So it was current and in style at the time! Really!



Let's start at the top. Yes, the "poodle perm." And the high, side ponytail to boot! WITH the silk scrunchie to match the blouse!!

Which brings us to the teal silk blouse. This was when "big shirts" were popular. Like dadgum lumberjacks wear, do you remember?? Long, over-sized and oh-so flattering!! UGH! I remember this blouse being quite comfortable--probably because it would have functioned better as pajamas!!

OK, now on to the off-white STIRRUP PANTS. See the stirrups?? Remember those?? What was the point, I ask you?? And tapered, naturally. Silky. With a pleat down the front. Finding these to fit me at 5'9" was challenging--I believe these were actually a tall from Lerner's. Mm-hmm. I think the blouse was from there, too. At Regency Mall in Jacksonville, Florida, if you're wondering.

Now for the feet. We have what are almost certainly black knee-highs with the black velvet flat with a silky bow on the top. Very festive, eh?

Anyone want to guess on the year here?? I'm thinking early nineties....???

Oh, and my cousin's outfit could lend a clue, too. When girls wore ties, vests and "palazzo pants."

And does anybody else think the mounted fish overhead just makes it?? :)

Check out lots of fun entries at the link below.

We are THAT Family

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You--birthday party #2

Yes, the "month of never-ending birthdays" continues, as does my "Sincerely" theme for the month--birthday parties! This one is especially appropriate because I just had my 31st birthday party two nights ago, and the theme color was also PINK! If you wanna check it out, it's just one post before this one.

Looks like I never have outgrown loving pink.

I believe this was my 9th birthday, 1986, judging from the house we were living in and the friends I had. Plus I was entering that awkward/chubby pre-teen phase. Hoo-ee!

For my 9th, we went GOOFY GOLFING!! I recognize these friends as Christina, Joy, Amber and Cheryl. We were so little (but I was, as always, the tallest)!



Here's me, seriously contemplating my next shot. I bet my loved ones would say I still take on this pose frequently, with the one hand on the hip.

I have to point out the jeans, of course. Acid washed and seriously pleated, baby! I still remember that sweater--a little itchy! But it made me feel grown-up because my mom and her friends wore similar ones, with the poofy sleeves and the band around the bottom. Gotta love the pink, plastic heart necklace.

And since this IS sincerely 'Fro Me, I must also bring your attention to the fuzzy, partly-grown-out perm. Did I even use mousse that day??



Here's what we returned to that day. Pink, pink and more pink!! My mom's blue country kitchen is a far cry from her current one! See the fake chicken hanging in the window?? Anyone else have one of those??



And here's my BIG present! A pink and purple bike!! I remember getting a lot of use out of this bike, until I got a bigger and better beach cruiser for Christmas 1989.



I couldn't NOT throw this one in. He will remain nameless to protect, y'know...total humiliation. But the back of the picture says he's "the 'cool' golfer." Mm-hmm.

Now, you tell me...out of all the folks pictured, his is the best 'fro, yes?? :) The shorts, the sunglasses, the chicken legs...classic. Totally classic.



I hope you enjoyed revisiting my 9th birthday!! Next week's installment is a real doozy!!

Sincerely 'Fro Me To You, birthday party 1

November is finally here (my birthday month!) and in my family, we celebrate birthdays for the whole month! Mine isn't until the 29th but my party is the 12th this year, so I'm gearing up!

In that spirit, my "Sincerely 'Fro Me To You"s in November will feature birthdays past!

I have had a birthday party every year of my life, whether it be a full blow-out with all my friends or a family dinner with my favorite foods and cake. We aaaaalways celebrate!

Here's installment 1, when I turned 6 in 1983!

This was when we lived in the Florida panhandle while my father attended seminary. We lived in the landlady's farm house where she raised her family. She lived about 1/2 a mile away in the dream home her husband built for her, which included quite a bit of land and a (mostly dried up) pond. My birthday parties were often held in her back yard, where we played and had a fire where we roasted marshmallows and hot dogs.

That's me on the right and my mom is next to me in some serious "Mom Jeans." Our landlady is on the left, a very kind and lovely Southern woman.



There's me again, far left, with my mom. The two on the right were definitely related to our landlady but I don't remember who they are. You gotta love some nice nylon jackets!



This one features my big brother in the foreground. There's a nice 80s jacket!! I'm far left by the "fire" with my neighbor, Kelly. My dad is in the blue plaid.



We moved into her dining room for cake and presents.

Every year, even up until last year, I have gotten a figurine to go on the top of my cake. This year, I got the #6 girl you see on the table plus the pretty girl ON the cake with the pumpkins. I believe she was the November birthday girl from a different line. In the beginning, my mom tried to stick with the same brand of birthday girls but eventually just got me something to represent what I was "into" that year.

This year was Care Bears, evidently! I remember that pink nylon jacket, I loved it!



Just looking at these pictures gives me a happy, warm feeling!!

Sincerely 'Fro Me To You, mime costume

This certainly could be scary for some of you...

If you were part of a youth group (or just a church, particularly in the South) in the early 1990s, do you remember mime troupes coming around and visiting churches with their "act?" I do!

The one I remember did choreography to popular Christian songs (not dancing, of course. Southern Baptists can't dance, so we called it 'choreography'). I imagine that's what inspired THIS.



I remember that hair so well. The crunchy factor was high on this Halloween.

I believe the make-up consisted just of the red lips, black lined eyes, and little curly-cues with stick-on rhinestones next to each eye. Fabulous.

I think the one hand up, in mime language, was "I'm a little embarrassed but there's no turning back now, so 'hi'."

And that's all I have to say about that.

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You...costume #1

A mouse.

This was 1990. Braces, baby, gotta love it! My friend got cropped out but she was a hippie. I don't even know where we were headed, maybe just to school (I vaguely recall dressing up every year) or our church's fall festival. K, do you remember??

I wish I could figure out a way for a black sweat suit to count as a costume this year...maybe I need to track down some mouse ears!!

The make-up is interesting. Take away the ears and I'm not sure the face alone would say "mouse." Kinda cute, though! My mom, being a clown as mentioned last week, did the make-up.

An interesting tidbit is that my dad called me "Mouser" when I was a little girl. Why? Beats me. But maybe that's why I chose a mouse. Or maybe I just wanted to wear sweats all day!

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You...clown costumes

****Warning!! Warning!! Clown pictures ahead!! If you are afraid of clowns, DO NOT scroll down!!****

Welcome to my first installment of costumes in celebration of Halloween coming up!

I have a secret.

I hope this does not change your opinion of me negatively. It was a very different phase of life and it was a lot of fun at the time.

Here it is: I was a "Professional Children's Entertainer" for about six years in my youth.

I was a clown about 90% of the time and the other 10% of the time, went between Pocahontas, Minnie Mouse (a generic version, mind you), Raggedy Ann and even Barney.

I know there are people who don't like clowns. Are afraid of them, even. Thanks a lot, Steven King!! But the clowns we knew were wonderful people and, frankly, we were really cute clowns! And very friendly--not at all frightening! Kids loved us!

My mom was a clown, too, and very popular in the area where we lived. She was Patty Wack and I was Knick Knack. We even attended and graduated from clown school! We were in high demand for kids' birthday parties especially and I made more money on Saturdays than my friends made at the mall all week. For a kids' party, my Mom and I typically did a half-hour of face painting and balloons and a half-hour magic show. It was quite a life.

So this is how my look started. Simple, cute and not very exciting. I think my mom made the costume.



This was an alternative look, probably for the cooler months since I've got the long sleeves and turtleneck. This was at a church fall festival back in, oh, 1995??



This was on clown day during Spirit Week in my senior year of high school. Did they do "clown day" just for me?? Who knows. This was my more "casual" version of make-up and dress when it was too dadgum hot for all the clothes and make-up. Maybe a little less frightening??



This was my final look. That's my mom on the left. We were in an Easter parade in St. Augustine, Florida. It was one of the best times I've ever had! We had so much fun in the "staging area" and, hey. There's nothing like streets full of people waving and cheering as you ride by!! My purple hair was pretty unique and my make-up was sparkly and fun. I loved this look!



So there ya go. The secret is out.

Brace yourself...next week's costume is a doozy!!

Sincerely 'Fro Me To You...farm girl

It's fall so let's take a trip to the farm, shall we? Here's me circa, oh...1983?? Maybe age 5 or 6??

While my father attended seminary in the Florida panhandle, we lived in a little farm house on an actual farm, complete with hogs, horses and Brahma bulls (and lots of stray cats and dogs). Those were the best years of my childhood. I'm sure this shirt was second-hand and how do you like those fly-aways?? I still have them, by the way, when my hair is pulled back and it's humid. Not as cute now.

**Disclosure** the white streak is a tiny tear in the picture! :)



And this is the actual farm house. It's charming, isn't it? We had a wonderful fig tree, perfect for climbing. Across the street was a ditch and a corn field and our neighbors were a 1/2 mile away on either side. It had a tin roof and you could hear the squirrels jump from the front tree, run across the roof, and jump off into another tree in the back. We had bees in the walls, too, among other things. My mother made it cozy, though, and we shared a lot of amazing memories in that house.



Thanks for taking a little trip down memory lane with me!! Check back next Thursday for my first installment of "kookt costumes" in honor of Halloween!

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You...BFFs

I'd like you to meet Katharine, my BFF from waaaay back in 5th grade! She reads this blog and I know she knew she'd end up here eventually, because we had our pictures taken so frequently back in "the good ol' days!!"

This first shot is marked 1990. That's my mom's shirt but I'm actually lovin' my purple pencil skirt and wide belt with the gold buckle! Yeah, baby!! Good Lord, I was skinny!

K has on a classic early 90s belt, too, and you know I love me some polka dots!! Fabulous!! I bet we were headed to church.



These pictures must've been a little later, maybe 1991??

And what's not to love??

Remember those cute dresses with the tiered skirts?? Very Debbie Gibson. I'm surprised K isn't wearing her "teeny bopper hat" with this dress! She had fantastic bangs, don'tcha think??

Here's a funny story: she got new bedroom furniture back then and her vanity ended up with such a thick layer of hairspray from achieving this look, that her mother made her spray her hair in the garage!! Hilarious!! It was Rave hairspray, if you're wondering.

Then there's me in that awesome acid-washed denim skirt. That top had a matching skirt, 2-tiered, and similar to what K is wearing with the wide black band in the middle, but you could like unbutton it to wear it alone. Sweet.



I looooved my wardrobe during those years!! I believe I'm wearing the classic pink frosted lip gloss here, too.



We're pretty darn cute!! heehee

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You...formal wear

So this was a "Valentine's Day Banquet" for the youth group of the church my dad pastored back in...oh, 1989??

I believe this entire ensemble was borrowed because I don't remember shopping for it. Probably came from my older cousin, Chickie. I bet it was her prom dress from, like, two years earlier. I think we stuffed tissue into the shoes so they'd fit. I mean, you couldn't not have the dyed-to-match shoes!!



I went with my friend, Mike, who was very sweet and even gave me a kiss on the cheek before we headed home! He also gave me the wrist corsage I'm wearing on my left wrist--and even matched it to my dress!!



As I was editing this, I remembered another detail: stick-on pink fingernails!!!! Oh, my goodness, that was the only time I remember doing that--how funny~!! See them??



I was evidently "crowned" (or sashed) the "Dutchess." See the banner?? Now, here's the thing: There was three categories: Queen, Princess and Dutches. And, oh, maybe eight eligible young ladies?? I mean, the pastor's daughter had to get something. Third place is pretty pathetic. I think the two other girls were older than me so they won based on some sort of seniority. I recall just being glad to have gotten something.

Aaaaaahh, taffeta. The swish...the sheen...that lovely shade of blush pink...ya gotta love it.

Yes, it had crinoline underneath. So comfy. And check out those poofy sleeves--to match the hair!!



Good ol' church banquets!! Sometimes I miss the good ol' days.

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You...neon, baby!!

My BFF and I took these "modeling classes" together when we were about 12 years old. God bless our mothers. It was the modeling agency's way of making money, undoubtedly, and finding maybe one talented gal among the 50 of us. No, neither she nor I were one of them. You'll see why.

Neither of us really wanted to model...at least not beyond the dream all of us have of being models. Right???? :) But it did teach us a lot about hair and makeup, how to carry yourself, walking like a lady and looking good in front of the camera. I still get told how "photogenic" I am. I say, "Yeah, I look better in pictures than I do in person." It's a fact.

So. This picture. I just adore this pose. It's so natural! So sassy! I practiced that, too, BTW.



Let's start at the top, shall we?

Major bangs. A professional hair stylist over-saw this look so I can't take the blame entirely! Permed hair, of course. I think this perm was on its last leg. I recall a lot of mousse going into this.

And, um...I could've plucked those brows a little more.

Braces! Can't forget those!

Check out the plastic earrings. They match the shirt(s) and shorts, of course. Probably ran me about $2.95 at Eckert.

We've got the double-layered tees WITH the sleeves rolled up. Ya don't wanna miss the lime green underneath.

Then the shorts. Hmm. "Hot pink," yes? It seems like those were meant to be athletic shorts, but...who knows?? I don't recall wearing them aside from this photo shoot--I bet my mom said they were too short. They were definitely nylon. Classy.

Ah, the lace up sandals. Man, I have to admire those long, lean, tan legs. No cellulite yet!

Yup, this one is is a doozy, circa 1989. Can you relate to any of this?? :)

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You Thursday--Great Glasses

Welcome to my second installment!

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Yes, in 1991, those were my new glasses. For reading, I believe.

I do look more studious somehow.

The hair is definitely just "OK." The bangs were very typical of the early nineties, and it's permed, of course.

My question is, was that the best I could do on frames?? C'mon!!! I look like I borrowed my dad's glasses in the 1970s!!

I will also comment on the rolled sleeves. We did that!! And the Swatch watch, remember those?? I would go into the department store to get a new rubber band-thingy to go over the face of it--to protect it from scratches?? This particular one might even be a generic Swatch.

P.S. Katharine, do you remember loving this picture of me??

Sincerely 'Fro Me to You--Bathing Beauty

YES, I'm finally giving in and participating in this!! GOSH!! Peer pressure, you gotta love it!!

I'm following Kristin's lead here with the Bathing Beauty theme. Brave, huh??

To participate, or see more entries, visit Kristen at

We Are THAT Family

Ok, this picture is marked 1991, making me 14 years old. My dad is a car guy so I think the yellow Corvette was a loaner from a man we attended church with, who owned a Corvette dealership. I imagine I was sun bathing that particular day and someone suggested taking a picture with the car--like one of those manly auto magazines (except I didn't drape myself over the hood, I just scowled). My father was a pastor, for Pete's sake--so who let me do this?? Oh, well, it's harmless, I suppose.

MAN, I was long and lean!! What I wouldn't give for those abs now!!



Fun times.