Category: Iowa

A Murphy’s Law Kind of Post

Posted in Costco, dryer, estate sale, Fiestaware, humor, Iowa, judgment, Lladro, Monterey Bay, Murphy's Law, relationships, retail, sales tax, thrift store3 Comments

I love thrift stores. I buy pretty much everything there, which is great because that way I am not paying retail and usually don’t pay sales tax, either. I don’t get the extra packaging that is so hard to get off the retail things. It sometimes takes a team of rocket scientists to figure out… Continue reading A Murphy’s Law Kind of Post

Best Ed Sullivan Show Ever

Posted in Beatles, best, Colorado, crush, fame, friends, humor, Iowa, junior high school, memoir, music, phlebotomist, relationships, sister, TV1 Comment

Carol grew up in in Pueblo, Colorado. They called it the little Pittsburg of the West. Her dad was a steelworker. Her mom was a lab tech phlebotomist at the hospital. Whenever one of the kids got sick, her mom would bring home a hypodermic needle in her purse to draw some blood. “To see… Continue reading Best Ed Sullivan Show Ever

With Six You Get Eggroll

Posted in bi-coastal, Chinese restaurant, Facebook, humor, Iowa, mass shootings, Midwestern, racist, restaurant, Tide pods, Uncategorized, WASP1 Comment

My, how times have changed. The movie name in my title came out in 1968, and it’s a reference to how having a family of six can benefit you at a Chinese restaurant. Two of my kids are bi-coastal, having grown up on one coast and now working on another. They are quick to call… Continue reading With Six You Get Eggroll

That One Exciting Childhood Friend

Posted in butterflies, carnival, childhood, cornfield, grandma, hickies, high school, humor, Iowa, memoir, shopliftingLeave a comment

We all have one, the childhood friend that pushed us out of our comfort zone, for good or for bad. Mine moved in across the street in third grade. She was fun, she was daring, she was blond. That next summer before fourth grade we played and played.  Troll dolls were all the rage. I… Continue reading That One Exciting Childhood Friend

Is That a Mouse, Mr. Milkman?

Posted in best, Chicago, father, flashback, humor, Iowa, memoir, milkman, mom, mouse, parents, worstLeave a comment

The world is far different today than when I was a kid. How many generations have said the exact same thing? Cave Man:  Me cold. Cave Woman: Me cold cold. Next generation: Cave man:   Me cold. Me strike rock against rock. Fire! Me warm! Cave woman: Me cold. Move over! You get the idea. Every… Continue reading Is That a Mouse, Mr. Milkman?

The Day I Found my Voice

Posted in California, dog house, firsts, girlfriends, humor, independence, Iowa, jump off a cliff, junior high school, memoir, Midwestern, mom, popularity, relationships, retail, worstLeave a comment

When you’re in the dog house, you are in trouble. You’ve done something bad. As a child, I was never in the dog house because we didn’t have one. We didn’t even have a dog. My mother had her own strain of weird expressions that she said to us kids on a regular basis, probably… Continue reading The Day I Found my Voice