#7-The Skating Rink

If you are a child that grew up in the late eighties, then the skating rink was probably like your second home. When I was a kid, I used to live for Friday night, because that meant it was skate night! And every first Tuesday of the month was my elementary school's designated School Night Skate Party. It was the one night that I got to stay out past my bedtime and skate til I was ready to fall out.

Then there was the designated skate sessions, where the DJ would announce that this song is a "Couples Only Skate". Every girl not skating would secretly wish they would get asked to skate by a boy, but to hide attempt to hide their envy, they would just whisper about the couples that were skating.

When I was in the 4th grade it finally happened for me. Jared Rowe and I were "going together" and he asked me to couples skate! Getting asked to couples skate was an event I had dreamed about for years, but when it finally happened I was terrified! There we were, skating to "Take my Breath Away" from Top Gun, barely able to hold hands because our palms were so sweaty, and I could feel every eye in the rink on me! I knew what they were saying, because I was normally on that side. This experience was supposed to be a dream come true, but I so desperately wanted to be on the other side again!

Then there were the boy/girl birthday parties at the Skating Rink. I remember my first boy/girl party. I had the biggest crush on the birthday boy, and I got invited to his party! I put on my coolest pair of hot pink leggings and crimped my hair-I was so digging on my outfit. I remember being so proud because I skated the whole night without falling. And I would look at my crush out of the corner of my eye, to ensure that he didn't know I was looking at him, because that would be devastating.

If only relationships and crushes were still so fun and innocent as the days of the skating rink...

#6-The Movie Purse

I recently went to the movies with a friend and brought the ultimate movie purse. I was like a freakin' Mary Poppins with my movie purse-you never knew what I was goingto pull out! Here's the list (don't be jealous, just take mental notes):

-Twizzlers. I've been taking Twizzlers to the movies since I was able to walk and my mom let me ingest sugar. However, I was only able to partake in consuming Twizzlers on special occasions, like going to the movies. So Twizzlers are always a must have. Hey, they "make mouths happy".:)

-Chocolate Candy Bars. My all time favorite is Reese Cups. I've loved them since I was young and discovered that the best taste to hit my tongue was chocolate and peanut butter.

-Bubble gum. This is for when I'm want to take a break from consuming large amounts of sugar and calories, but I don't have the will power to quit, so to satisfy my oral fetish, I chew gum. And not just chewing gum, but bubble gum to keep my mouth even more entertained.

-Bottle of Wine. This is a new edition to the movie purse that I never got to enjoy from Mom's movie purse. Now as an adult, I get to pack a bottle of wine, along with 2 solo cups for me and my lucky movie date to enjoy.

-Hummus and wheat thins. This is my favorite appetizer and a must have with a good bottle of red wine. Popcorn? No way! Give me hummus any day over a bag of greasy popcorn!

Whenever my mom or any friend's moms took us kids to the movies, they always had movie purse in tow. I'm really surprised that after all these years, the movie theaters have not come up with a system to prevent the movie purse. When a mom comes to the ticket window with a purse resembling carry on luggage, they all know that she's sneaking in snacks. Being that technically it's against their policy to bring outside food into the theater, I'm surprised they haven't installed a security check that your movie purse must go through to inspect for outside food and beverages.

Just wait, I wouldn't be surprised if movie patrons will one day have to go through a security line before entering the theater. Until that day comes, I will continue to go to the movies with movie purse in tow.