Congratulations, Zac!

Remember all that nostaglia stuff? Well, it goes for music too. Last Christmas my parents gave me an iPod... I've got it packed with every Pop and R&B hit I loved in the 90's. Guess I know what they mean when they say, "You can take the kid out of Generation X, but you can't take the Gen X out of the kid". Okay, maybe no one says that.

Anyway, my first musical love struck me in 7th or 8th grade when I stumbled across Hanson's MMMBop music video. Thus began a borderline-unhealthy obsession that lasted ever since (though I would have denied this in my high school years). Zac Hanson, they youngest and seemingly more attainable portion of the trio was my favorite. My parents didn't allow me to date then, but I was even smart enough to striked a deal with my dad that I could date Zac, if he ever asked.

Well, we've all grown up... even little Zac! He and wife, Kate, welcomed their second child, a girl, last Wednesday. Congratulations!

Don't Wake the Dragon and Pizza Party.

I'm nostalgic, to a fault. I love anything and everything I grew up with, or I can somehow link to a childhood or family memory.

Last Christmas I took advantage of the internet and re-purchased an enormous collection of original Polly Pocket compacts and vintage Littlest Pet Shop toys... the first and "better" versions of toys that are still made today, but are far different from the versions I cherished in the 80's. My daughter was thrilled, and we have since often enjoyed my old toys together.

Sell.com, Amazon, eBay, and my personal favorite, Craigslist, can help you find and purchase many of your favorite things. A few months ago I bought a DVD with original episodes of Strawberry Shortcake (again, the show from the 80's... not the weird, modern-day computer generated version). Another new favorite of my daughter's. I found my favorite Charlie Brown movie, and of course, my Saved By The Bell collection.

My newest quest is for the 1986 Don't Wake the Dragon and 1987 Pizza Party board games.

I receieved Don't Wake the Dragon for Christmas, and have vivid memories of playing it with my Mom and friends. The premise of the game is to rescue your stolen penguin eggs from the sleeping dragon, Big Snore. Land on an egg space and collect an egg; land on a dragon space and you're forced to shake Big Snore and risk everyone losing the eggs they've collected atop their penguin's hat.

In Pizza Party, each player aims to collect the pizza toppings that match the color of their handle. Occasionally a player will draw a "Switch" card, forcing them to swap pizza slices with an opponet. First to fill their slice, wins.

So far these two board games have been difficult to find, and those in good condition are quite expensive. I look forward to finding these gems while my kids are still young enough to enjoy them with me :)