The things that are important?

It really is ridiculous, the things I've kept.  See, not only was my closet full of little knick nacks and kitsch that I didn't need, but I have a whole drawer of my dresser full of memories I decided to keep for one reason or another.

It's been listed on my 101 Goals list that I scan 100 of these memories for safer keeping and that I blog about 30 of them.  This is the first of those blog posts.

This is a collection of things I kept.  I think I kept those clothing tags and the MS Word text because I thought they were pretty.  I can't remember what the wrist band was from, and the small card shows that I took the gun safety course.  I'm pretty sure I kept that caribou picture just because it's awesome.

My time in Puerto Rico: A Snapshot

My family and I spent three years in Puerto Rico.  Dad wasn't a part of the service anymore, so we lived off base in a neighborhood on the beach.  Coco Beach.  House 3b.  Seven minutes walking distance from the ocean.  We had two balconies, one on the front of our house facing the rest of the neighborhood and the other on the back of the house with a clear view of the shore and the large field in between us.

Taylor and I went to school on base, but we went to church and I had 4H just outside of it.  I memorized plenty of Bible verses at Awana and worked on at least one Grand Prix car at church there, and I learned a lot about horses and somehow became the president of our 4H club.  My parents bought me books on horses and on how to draw them (I loved to doodle and to color), but I never did become a "horse girl."

We dressed as Bible characters for Halloween, of course.
Taylor was Esther, and I was Deborah.  I remember getting
very offended when people guessed I was Mary.

 

I'm pretty sure living in PR by the beach did a lot to lead me toward
a love for the marine.

 

A token I received from my 4H club one Christmas.
Roosevelt Roads was my elementary school on base.

 

Just a card I received from a classmate.  I'd saved it
because I was certain I was going to marry this boy.

Stuffed Animals, Part 2

This is obscene.

These are all my stuffed animals on the floor.  There are so stinkin' many, and, seeing them all together like this makes me think that no child should have so many stuffed animals.

Granted, this is a 21-year-old collection, and there have been many stuffed animal-giving opportunities during that time, but, this looks ridiculous to me.

 These two are special, though.  They used to belong to my dad.  We were visiting his parents' old farm house a couple of years ago and found them and rescued them.  My sister and I never slept with them (as was our custom).  We played with them gently, though, because they felt fragile.

(They're married.)

The games I played with my stuffed animals were elaborate.  Everyone had some relation to everyone else.  They would have weddings and parties and friends and enemies.  I remember a couple tea parties, too.

Most of my games revolved around my all-time favorites: a beagle named Cosmo (after our first pet) and a white seal named Crystal.  All of the other seals and beagle-looking animals were their children.  They had a lot of children.

Barbies

These were my fanciest Barbies that I got to take out of the box.  I have a couple others that stayed in their boxes, but these ones got to be with me.  The one on the left was very special because of her pretty Christmas dress, her brown hair, and her green eyes (like me!).

I loved the mermaid, too, because her tail was such a pretty color, but her hair was so long, she didn't get played with much so that it wouldn't get tangled.  That braid is the same one Mom put in the first year I got her.

I got the Sleeping Beauty Barbie near the end of my Barbie days, so she didn't get played with much, either.  Her eyes closed when you laid her arm down, and she played the "I Know You" song from the Disney movie when you pushed a button on her back.

It was a little sad sending this one off to Goodwill, because she was so cool to me, but I'm sure another little girl will enjoy her just as much as I did, and hopefully more.

See?  Brown hair, green eyes, sexy dress... this one was the stuff!

We should open a museum!

In this photo we have represented 9-10 countries. (Top left, going clockwise) The blue box has musical healing hand balls from China.  The satiny pouch (which contains a mirror) and the chopsticks are from South Korea.  The first doll is from Puerto Rico, the second, from Mexico.  The wooden turtles are from St. Kitts, I believe.  The boy doll is from Scotland, the doll in the yellow is from Siena, Italy, and the doll with the white hat is from Switzerland.  The blue shot glass is from Mexico.  The unique glass dish is from Venice, Italy.  I can't remember which county the leather wallet is from, but it's from Africa, and the spoon in the middle is from Russia.

Granny was a big world traveler, and she always brought us souvenirs.  My sister and I totally got the "My grandma went to Israel, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" shirt.  She brought us delicious chocolate from Switzerland, too, though, so all is forgiven.  : )  I found a fan from Spain and a pen from Russia she gave me, too.

I can't really throw or give away things from another country, can I?  But what else can I do with these things besides keep them in a box and keep an eye out for situations that require international displays?  What would you do with these things, and what things have you kept because you can't think of a reason to get rid of them?

Stuffed animals, Part 1

Yes, I had too many stuffed animals.  The above picture doesn't even show the half of it.  I had another smaller box of other favorites and one more of things I had set aside years ago as not to special.  The best part is, I now have only seven left in my possession!  Four of those are from a long, long time ago, and I know Mom would be upset if I got rid of them.  The other three are 1) a pretty fancy bear I made at a build-a-bear shop with my sister in Myrtle Beach about 8 years ago.  He just looks too good to toss. (See the bear formerly known as Prince on the right.)  2) a small bear my parents gave me during college to tell me they love me.  And 3) a panda given to me during the summer of the Beijing Summer Olympics.  :)

I've never thrown away or given away a single one of the stuffed animals I've received, so, naturally, there were a bunch to sort through.  There were a few weird ones I'd forgotten about.

That's supposed to be a crab.  I have a thing for sea creatures...

Most of these fellas are now sitting patiently in a Goodwill as they looked over by children hoping to convince their parents to get them a new toy.  It's an odd feeling knowing that things I loved so much are out of my hands and are about to be taken into new hands.  Remember the last scene in Toy Story III?  I wish I could know the kids who'd be playing with the critters I played with, but this is all the closure I get.  I played pretend so much with my stuffed animals, you know.  They had kingdoms and parties and families and friendships and enemies.  It could make sense that I'm sad to see them go, but I feel like I should be beyond that little bit of sadness because I'm "grown up."

Books and instruments

I don't know how you feel about throwing away books, but it would be heresy to me.  I'd never thought about it, but throwing away instruments is worse, even if it's just a silly plastic slide whistle you got from you Magic School Bus discovery subscription.  Needless to say, these guys are still hanging out in my closet.