My Toy Story

I recently saw Toy Story 3, and the emotional damage done to me by the movie was very unexpected. I SOBBED when Andy played with his friends for the last time. Not just "movie" tears, but true "this movie has messed up my mind" tears....

I come from a family of people who apply feelings to inadament objects. All my cars have had names. My sisters cars also have names. (BoBo...Baby....Hon-Dos) We all drove our beloved "Maurus the Taurus" All three of us went to college with stuffed animals/blankets from our childhood. (Puffy...Oliver....Caroly...) This attachments to Toys and objects is not something I came up with on my own.

At first, I thought my mom was the blame for our unusual feelings (as adults) towards our "friends". As the years went own, I realized I was wrong. My Dad is the sentimental one! My DAD is the one who saved every relic of his youth from his childhood home when cleaning it out a couple years ago. So with that being said, my Dad has begrudgingly allowed his home to become to havens for our childhood belongings. Maybe he does it because he knows we will be the one responsible for it all eventually. But I have always been comforted knowing where my things where...just in case. Until Toy Story 3.

When the credits rolled on the movie, I had to literally FIGHT the urge to get in my car and drive the 2 1/2 hours to my parents house to crawl into the attic and tell all my toys I still loved them. The only thing that made me able to resist that urge, was that I knew I would have to leave them there. And as much as it breaks my heart to know there are there in the first place, to put them BACK would be torture.

Me around age 3 with a friend I remember calling "Sissy" Is she in the attic waiting for me???

Is this a girl thing? Or is this an "Us" thing. I know my sisters feel the same. I know my husband does not. I am not sure which of us is the worst, but its a close tie between Cail and I. Anna has been able to detach herself from most objects with the exception of her beloved "blankets". But I was the one who wanted the border saved from our room when it was done. Yes, you read correctly. I made my father save WALLPAPER. And he did. What is wrong with me? This cannot be normal? Right?

I vividly remember Anna and I having to choose a toy to donate to a toy drive at our church one Christmas....and how we changed our minds 1000 times before finally deciding on two candy cane dolls...which we only agreed on because we wanted to make sure they ended up together.

With the news of the first grandchild, I had high hopes that some of our old friends might could come out and play again. But April came, and a boy joined our family. So it looks like the Barbies will be stored for awhile longer....

So, who was my "Woody"? The toy taken to college? For me , it was Oliver. Oliver was a stuffed clown I got at the circus when I was in the 3rd grade. Granted, to the outside eye, he was probably pretty creepy, I loved that clown. At first he had really soft hair, but he got ran through the dryer, and it shriveled up a bit. He had a red nose, and it was hard, and he had feet bigger than his head (he was a clown...so he had clown shoes...obviously) And Oliver has yet to be put in the attic. He didn't make the move with me, but I couldn't bear to put him away. So, he sits with Rebecca Leigh.

Ah, Rebecca Leigh. Rebecca Leigh is an antique doll that my Granny found in a dumpster when I was very very little. Rebecca Leigh had cracks all over her....and was deemed "fragile" by all the grown ups. To the naked eye, she was trash. She was dingy and the cracks made her look pretty bad. But man did I love her! I named her after myself and my best friend. Everytime I would go to Granny's house I would BEG to see her. Granny would get her down off the top shelf of the closet in the hallway and let me hold her. I had to have been 4 or under when Granny finally allowed Rebecca Leigh to go home with me. And I was soooooo careful with her. When I was maybe 7 or 8, the powers that be decided it was time get her repaired. So Granny flew her to Texas. (in her lap) where she dropped her off with a doll repair lady. This lady would call us and give us updates, and after what seemed like forever, she sent Rebecca Leigh home. Rebecca Leigh is not the type of doll you sleep with at night. She sleeps in her own cradle. My Granny made her all these custom outfits. She had her very own Christmas Dress. She even had her own stocking for spell there. She has afghans and blankets - some of which were made specifically for her. She had her very own waredrobe at one time. She wears baby clothes left over from my sisters and I. But even though she was special and antique, she got played with! One tragic night she was taking a nap on the floor on a pallet in mine and Anna's room, and I ran in to bedroom to get something...and I stepped on her little ceramic leg and crushed it. (lucky for Anna, I was the one who committed this crime...poor Anna might have never heard the end of it...like the time she broke my cat, but that is another story) Oh I was heartbroken!! I just sobbed and sobbed. But my Daddy took her into surgery....and with a little epoxy...and some rubber bands, he saved her leg. She now wears panty hose, as I think they aid in holding her little leg together. Rebecca Leigh will NEVER EVER go into attic...she can sit in the corner of my room at my parents house forever as far as Im concerned. Maybe one day, I will have a little girl who will love her as much as I do....

I have no doubt if i ventured into my parents attic I would know the names of every toy. You dont forget things like that. I also know even at 27, if I looked in the eyes of my old friends, I would have a hard time taking putting them back in storage. But surely they would appreciate a brief reprieve from storage land.....right?

Top 5....

I'm a bit of a gadget girl. Over the years, I have bought many many things. Some of them 100% made an impact on my day to day life. Some of them, were a colossal waste of money (for example - my Palm Pilot bought around 2001....)

Below are the top 5 purchases I have made......

Top 5 Purchases I have Ever Made: (or have been made for me)

1. Chi Flat Iron

My hair is not curly. It is also not straight. I have these weird waves that don't do add anything the over all appearance, just help with the "just got out of bed" look, which I tend not to sport. My sister got a chi when she was in high school. It is a rather pricey gadget, and was pretty hard to justify spending that much on a HAIR tool. But OH. My. God. It is the most effective and easy to use tool for styling hair that I have ever bought. After I used my sisters for a couple a days, I got mine on order. I am relatively low maintenance, and thought I had a grip on my "non-straight" hair with my 20 dollar straightener from Walmart. I WAS WRONG. The Chi has ceramic plates, and gets REALLY hot. I didn't realize the Walmart version wasn't working until I tried the Chi.

2. Bose Speakers

Shortly after I got my first ipod, I realized it was sorta pointless in the grand scheme of "When" I listened to music. In the shower - Not an option. Cleaning - well, it was an option, but after awhile, those ear buds start to hurt. So I decided I would get a speaker for it pretty quickly. The Bose Portable Speakers have a great sound. They are light weight and the battery life is amazing. What is great about the Bose, is that anyone can pick the play list! We have taken it to parties before to have everyone throw their own ipod on at some point during the night. At this point, I have yet to have the battery die on me. It has gone at least 3 hours for us.... (another side night, I'm pretty sure my husband married me strictly for unlimited access to this device)

3. Kindle

Ah, my kindle.....love does not begin to describe my affection for my kindle. I am an avid reader. I will read the same things over and over again...and I will try new books. I could spend HOURS in a book store sifting through my options. With that being said, I was a skeptic when it came to e-readers. I did not want to contribute to the "death of the bookstore". I was convinced I would "lose" part of the reading process by not holding a book in my hand. I love everything about a good book. I like the way the book smells, turning the page ...flipping to the back to see how it ends ;) (I'm a "spoiler" type of girl) My sisters got me my kindle for Christmas last year, and all my doubts went away. The pages LOOK just like a book. There is no glare, which makes it perfect for outdoor reading. You can download samples for free to see what you will think of a book before you buy it. Your book shopping can be done from the comfort of your own home. For the most part, the prices are less than bookstores. While I am still a little sad about book stores becoming a think of the past, I am fully embracing the ereader...I have read 10 times more since Christmas since my Kindle was received than I ever would have read

4. iPhone

This one seems a little cliche, because everyone has one, but the iPhone definitely revolutionized my life. My older sister was the first person in my network to get an iPhone, and literally sang its praises. I didn't quite understand why she went from calling it just her "cellphone" to her "iPhone" Until I got one. This little guy does it all. Facebook? Check. Cookbook? Check. Entertainment during long car rides? Check. There is seriously an app for anything you can think of. The other night I discovered a mosquito repellent app (OK..I'm not so sure about that one...but still) It is AWESOME having all my contacts, my music, my email, and anything else I am missing in one hand. I was late to the iPhone band wagon and bought the 3GS shortly after the 4G was released. I have lots of friends and family who are exclusively "droid" followers, but I am officially on the iPhone bandwagon and am proud of it.

5. GPS

I have a horrible sense of direction. I know a lot of people say that, but for me it is painfully true. I remember being a teenager and calling my Dad anytime I went to downtown Augusta saying "Dad! I'm in South Carolina!! I took a wrong turn!! What do I do??" and Dad would say "Turn around" Growing up, I knew if I got lost in Augusta, all I had to do was follow the signs "To Atlanta" and I would end up pointed in the right direction. It was sort of a no brainer for me to get a GPS for my car when the technology became available. Surprise surprise, my parents got it for me for my birthday. (considering they had been on the other end of my "lost" phone calls for years) And suddenly, with one simply purchase, I knew where I was going. I moved to Atlanta shortly after I joined the GPS age, and I would probably still be wandering around if not for my Magellan.

So, there you have it. 5 Investments that revolutionized my life. I am now a girl with straight hair, music to read my kindle too, an iPhone to let my friends know about my books, and a GPS to make sure I don't get lost.