Happy Holidays Throwback Thursday Style

I figured I would celebrate the holidays by posting some Christmas related photos from my past.  It has been a while since I posted a Throwback post so enjoy. 

I challenge the other bloggers to post some holiday related throwback photos.  Let me know if you add any to your blog.  I love seeing them.
 

Just want I wanted... A CHIPS sitcom board game?!
You can see the enthusiasm running through my face.
MAJOR SANTA GIFT FAIL!
LAME!

  

My old dog, Buddy, and me.
That does was a serious pain in the butt.
GIFT DOG FAIL!!



This photo is payback for all those years my sister tortured me.

There nothing like a photo of your sister in a

bad 1980s pink sweeter and with bad hair.

She'd kill me if she saw this photo. Hehe!

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!



Throwback Thursday - November 1982

Throwback Thursday - November 1982

 

Nov 1982 - Pre-child labor laws

 

Remember the days when kids actually had to do the dishes and things around the house.   The new entitlement generation is going to be in for a world of shock when they move out of the house and find out THEY now have to do all the work and no one is going to pay them for it.

 I’ve seen this shock many times while interviewing new, young employees.  Right out of collage they all want 100K, a company car, five weeks paid vacation and never want to work more than forty hours a week.  Some of my friends actually had potential new employees using their parents to negotiate salaries and schedule interviews.  LOL!!  No joke!!

This is me and my stepdad (now passed away) in November 1982 (almost 29 years ago).  I was almost 5 years old and they already had me working like a dog.  I’m pretty sure this picture is proof why the government enacted child labor laws. 

My sister is almost exactly 10 years older than me.  When we lived together the dishes were her chore.  She would “subcontract” out her dishes to me for 25 cents or a butt whooping.  I choose the 25 cents (little did she know that I save all those 25 cents and build quite the savings account).  I think I had more money when I was 5 then than I do now. 

What chores did you have to do when you were a kid?

Throwback Thursday - Cereal Prizes

Throwback Thursday - Cereal Prizes

Rooom...Rooom!!

Look what I got in my bag of Cheerios at work. It reminds me of when I was a kid. You either got a racecar or a rubber Wacky Wall Walker purple octopus (my personal favorite).  The racecar even came with stickers, which I put on all by myself.  Just proving I am a big boy now.  It now sits on my desk at work.

I remember my sister beaming me
with these when I was a kid.



1. I do not remember the cereal boxes ever toys for the female demographic.  Only cars, wacky wall walkers, super balls, etc.  Do you remember any?  If so, what were they? 
2. What toys do you remember getting in the cereal boxes?  What were your favorates? 
3. What was your favorate cereal (my was Captain Crunch)? 

 BTW - According to Wikipedia in the 1980's over 240 million Wacky Wall Walkers had been sold, raking in about 80 million dollars.  God, why could I have not thought of that idea.

My Questions For You.  I double dog dare you to answer them.

Throwback Thursday - Frost Bite or Halloween?



Frost Bite or Halloween?  You be the judge!

 Throwback Thursday - Frost Bite or Halloween?

Wow, do I look frost bitten in that picture!  Needless to say this picture was not in FL.  This would have been taken when I lived Michigan.  I am either frost bitten or it was Halloween.

Training has been difficult lately.   Living in FL is nice except for when you have to heat train in 100-105F heat index (which we are currently facing).  After a bike ride the last thing I want to do is run in this heat. 

If the heat is not bad enough we now have forest fires in my area so it even smells like you are running in a smoker.  You are truly hickory smoked after training.

Due to the last two races my weight training has been slacking.  I did a small chest routine on Tuesday and my chest is still sore.  My next race is far enough away that I am going to kick the weight training back into high gear.

Are you slacking on your weight training?

Throwback Thursday - Lazy Days of Summer

Remember those 1980's old plastic chairs? 
Remember how they ALWAYS folded up on you?
Remember how your body would stick to them?
Remember how they never would fold out correctly?
Remember the horizontal marks it left on your body? (Thanks Christi)

The lazy days of summer are coming fast and the temperatures here in Florida are hitting the low to mid 90s.  I figured I would do a summer throwback picture. 

Here I am in the mid 80’s chilling poolside with Bugs the bunny.   He’s enjoying a carrot and I was probably enjoying a cold strawberry soda (darn god I loved those as a kid).  I’m sporting the way radical (and stereotypical) 80’s sports shorts with the white trim.  It seems like everyone had those same shorts in the 80’s.  Look how blond my hair was.  I swam nearly every day as a kid so it was bleached out from all the sun and chlorine.  My god I was skinny.

This Sunday the whole family will be participating in the Clermont tri events.  Triston will be doing the duathlon (5K 20K 5K), Bonnie will be doing the Olympic and I will be doing the 70.3.  It should be a ton of fun.  How will you be enjoying this summer weekend?

Throwback Thursday - Johnny Depp Replacement

Throwback Thursday - Johnny Depp Replacement

Mr HalfTRIing on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean. 

This is me as Mr Depp's body double.

They desperately needed someone to make him look sexy.

Little did you know but I had a great acting career before I became Mr Half TRIing.  That was until that no talent Johnny Depp came along and stole my role in to major upcoming films.  I was supposed to be the lead pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean but he came along and offered the directors half the salary I was demanding.  Due to monetary constraints they had to go with the cheaper, less talented and less handsome Mr Depp.   If I was in the film the film it would  have made real big in the box office.  Oh well, there loss.

I know Silly Girl and Caution Redhead only wish
they could have hair like this.
(Note: I really was born with roster red hair so I should be
able to be part of their cool bloggers club)

Then he had the nerve to try out for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and again I got bumped out of the lead role.  They got what they deserved though.  Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post criticized Depp's acting. "The cumulative effect isn't pretty. Nor is it kooky, funny, eccentric or even mildly interesting. Indeed, throughout his fey, simpering performance, Depp seems to be straining so hard for weirdness that the entire enterprise begins to feel like those excruciating occasions when your parents tried to be hip." 

SIDE NOTE: I am wondering right now if this is not one of those parental excruciating moments?!  Nah… I know I am a hip parent. :-)

Throwback Thursday - I'm on a Boat

Throwback Thursday - I'm on a Boat


Dude, I need a serious sun!


Apparently my mother could afford to take me fishing but could not afford to buy me a haircut.  Dear lord, I look like a member of the Beetles.  The only kick butt part is I am rocking out with my Sesame Street life preserver. 

Ya, she thinks I'm hot!

Look at the expression on the face of the girl behind me fishing.  She got caught on camera checking me out.  Ya, even back then I had a way with the ladies.  (Or maybe she was just laughing at the dork in the Big Bird life preserver and the stupid haircut.  Naahhh...she was checking me out!!).



Plant Porn

Apparently my air plant thinks it is spring.  It is showing its red colors and blooming really late in the year this year.  It must be due to global warming.

Lots of lighting bolts this week.

Sunday’s race temperature keeps dropping.  Rock On!!  They are now predicting temperatures in the low 80s.  The bad news is the likelihood of rain is increasing.  Weather Channel is predicting a 40% chance of rain. Oh well...

FYI - do not forget to enter my 70.3 Ironman giveaway to win a $25 Gift Card to TriVillage.  See my post here

Throwback Thursday – Voltron PJs

Throwback Thursday – Voltron PJs

Peter and I are opening our Christmas gifts.  He is sporting the cool skeleton PJs and I have on my bad butt Voltron PJs.  He is showing off his new fishing leaders.  Back then he and I fished in the back yard every day.  If we were not fishing, we were playing sports in the circle or playing Nintendo (usually Zelda, Mike Tyson’s Punchout or some other cool 8-bit game).  

Throwback Thursday - 1980’s Powder Blue Polyester Suit

 Throwback Thursday - 1980’s Powder Blue Polyester Suit

Looked cool in my Trans-Am

Okay, so you wanted embarrassing.  Here we go.  This one was randomly picked from the photo box.

This was taken at my mother’s wedding.   How about this 1980’s, powder blue, polyester suit?  I think it was the same suit I wore in this throwback.  Do you think the powder blue polyester suit will come back into style?  I will bet $100 it will.

Close Up

Next to me is my “girlfriend”.  We had just gotten done taking the white Trans-Am for a spin around the playground when this picture was taken.  We had Van Halen cranked up on the 8-track.  This was the cool David Lee Roth era, not the loser Sammy Hagar era.  (Side note:  Mr. Hagar has recently admitted to being abducted by aliens (see here).  He says they downloaded software into his brain.  Something tells me he had too many non-prescription drugs when he was younger.)

White On White

My stepdad is sporting the white pants, white shoes, white shirt, white tie, white jacket, etc (screams Miami Vice).  Did I mention he had a white 1980’s TransAm (damn that was a cool car).  Did I also mention he liked white?  With all that white you would think he would look like a dork but I think he looks pretty bad butt.  The shades make him look cool.  Funny those shades are coming back into style.

Throwback Thursday - Wrestlmania

Early 90s

So back in the 90's the Hulkster took me under his wing and taught me everything I knew about wrestling.  Back in high school I was throwing guys out of the ring and hitting them with steel chairs.  Needless to say my high school wrestling career did not last long.

In this picture I was about 130lbs, 5'11 and only about 7% body fat.  I was a little man back then.  Now, I am in my 30s and I am in the best shape of my life.  I would have NEVER thought I would (or could do) what I am doing now back then. Now I am much stronger and better looking!  :-)

Throwback Thursday on Friday

Throwback Thursday on Friday

Circa 1978 Christening

Sorry for the delayed Throwback Thursday.  I've been slammed for the past couple of days.

See proof that I was cute at one point in my life!  I do not know what happened after that!

 

Above is a picture of me in my christening outfit.  Everyone thought (more like hoped) I would be a girl so my christening outfit was really made for a girl.  My mother gave me that outfit a few years back and I still have it.  It was handmade by my Great Grandmother who lived to be past 100 years old.  Both my great grandmothers lived past 100 years old.  I would love to know their secret.

Throwback Thursday - 80's Big Hair

Serious 80's Hair

Throwback Thursday - 80's Big Hair

There some serious 1980's hair going on in this Throwback.  My mother's sporting the conservative big hair look.  My sister is going for the Motley Crue groupie look (with matching outfit).  And I am sporting some seriously feathered MacGyver hair.  I can still remember the days when my sister would throw me under the hair dryer and feather my hair till it would not poof any more.  She would than Aquanet the heck out of it.  Fun times!


Did anyone else spend too much time under the hair dryer and/or spend to much money on hairspray in the 80's?  If so, I want to see those pics on your blog and I want to hear your 1980's hair stories.  Please let me know if you do an 80's hair Throwback post.  EMZ I know you got some big hair stories to tell! :-) 

Throwback Thursday - How Others See Me

Throwback Thursday - How Others See Me

This is how other see me

My co-worker decided to express her artistic side and create a drawing of me.  Is this how people really see me?  Do I really have that small of a head with that BIG of a body?  I even have neck fat in this image.  I don't have neck fat!! Do I?

She said it was a great representation of me except for my nose should be bigger.  Apparently it should have been the size of the black nose to the left of my body.  She drew that black nose"to scale" to show me how big it should have been.

My drawing of her

How this whole issue started was I got really bored during one of our morning meetings.  While we were waiting to start the meeting I was "taking notes".  My notes included a drawing of her listening to music on her iPhone.  She got mad at me (not really) and she drew the image of me as payback.

I still think my drawing is much better.  She said I made her head look like a balloon.  I can not help it if her head actually looks like a balloon!  She made ME look like the hunchback of Notre Dame!

I'm a Winner!!
Alanna with Blood, Sweat and Cupcakes ran a naming "contest" for her new little cupcake buddy and I won.  You can read her two posts about her new buddy here and here. Her buddy is a cool, bad-butt biker looking cupcake with pink hair.

I thought a good name for the her little buddy would be Cool Whip. Whip for short. The name is hip and bad butt at the same time.  His pink hair also looks like a Cool Whip dollop and he looks kind of like a reformed bad butt biker cupcake turned runner.  If you make fun of his pink head he would whip your cupcake butt.

What did I win? I pick the prize behind door #1 but was surprised when I did not win the new car.  What I did win was the "bragging rights for naming the most awesome cupcake in all the land."

If you have not checked out Alanna's blog you may want to do so.  She has a pretty cool blog.  I just wish she would update it more often but she has been really busy creating/eating cupcakes, being in love (yuck) and finishing up her masters degree.

You can check out Cool Whip's friends at  Blame the Moon. My favorite is the Ice Cream Cone Thug

 

His name is Cool Whip or Whip for short.

He even has a pink iPod running armband

Lisa (Bake Bike Blog) - Iron Chef Spam
Why do serious posts never get comments but I mention silly things like SPAM and the comments go off the wall.  If you have not been to Lisa's blog Bake Bike Blog you should soon.  There is a little more BAKE than BIKE in her blog but she make some incredible food.

She has something called a Mystery Box.  The Mystery Box is a list of various ingredients she wants to someday use as a main ingredient in her food creations.  The stuff she makes is incredible and looks awesome.

She posted a comment about SPAM in on of my post so I made an open challenge to add SPAM to her Mystery Box.   She took me up on the challenge and created EmSPAMandas.  I have to say they look great and I would eat one.

Why does no one but me admit to eating SPAM.  "In 2007, the seven billionth can of Spam was sold. On average, 3.8 cans are consumed every second in the United States (SOURCE)". Apparently I am the only one who is keeping Hormel in business.

So will YOU take the Half TRIing SPAM cook off challenge?  What can you create with SPAM?  Can you do better than Lisa?  I would love to hear about your SPAM creations. 

Throwback Thursday - Stupid Sailor Suit

Throwback Thursday - Stupid Sailor Suit

My face explains it all.

Don't Laugh!!  I said don't laugh!! It's not funny!! Seriously!! Why do parents do this to their kids!!  I look like the missing sailor from the Village People.  I will have my revenge.  If I have kids its game on.  They are going to so hate me. Where is that pink bunny suit Aunt Clara gave me for Christmas?  I'll make them look like a pink nightmare!  I'll give them a Christmas story to tell their blog followers. 

Triston is a little old and big to place into a sailor suit.  But if I could get him into one I would surely get a picture of it!!


Throwback throwback..

Magical Musical Thing by Mattel

For those of you who read last weeks Throwback Thursday you will remember I had a mini giveaway for anyone who could remember the name of my old Christmas toy.  Surprisingly many people remember it being their favorite toy but only one person remembered what it was called.  Alanna of Running 42KM not only remembered the name of the toy but even sent me the old commercial. She picked the fabulous prize behind door number 1.  Stay tuned to see what she won after a word from our sponsors...

 

The name of the toy is the Magical Musical Thing by Mattel.  The marketing people at Mattel REALLY needed to work a little harder when naming this toy.  What a lame name for such a cool toy!  I can so see myself driving my mother and sister crazy with this toy (that is probably why it magically disappeared).  I can guarantee I did the head playing routine also.

Side Note: I think this commercial was filmed in the Netherlands because I would bet my next paycheck that the girl in the commercial is Silly Girl Running.  Look at the red pigtails, the cheese doodle hair pieces, overly bright clothing, etc.  Look at the evidence below and you decide for yourself.  I'm just saying...

Silly Girl Running circa 1978.

The Magical Musical Thing girl circa January 2011

Throwback Thursday - Christmas Present

God, please let it be a cooler pair of pants!!
Seriously orange pants ?!
I look like a clown. 

 

I don't know what it is but it makes a lot of noise and I loved it.



I got my foot up on a box and I am jamming with my noise maker thingy.
Remember when TVs where that big and had wood trim and VHF & UHF dials?

Okay, if you are the first one to tell me what the heck this instrument/toy is called I will give them a prize.  I do not remember and I am racking my brain trying to figure it out.  Please include a link with the answer. (You must be in the US or Canada to participate).  

The first two pictures were taken on Christmas day quite a while ago.  Apparently this was my favorite gift that year.  I'm sure I took great pleasure in playing it as loud as I possibly could to tick my sister off. 

Do you remember a favorite gift that you received growing up?  What was it and why was it special?

Throwback Thursday - The Day I Was Born

My First Day Alive

Throwback Thursday - The Day I Was Born

See I was cute at one time in my life!!  This is a picture of the day I was born.  I am not sure if I am yawning or crying.  More than likely I am yawning because that is the face I still make.  I wish the photo was in color because you would see my rooster red hair which quickly turned to blond in a few months.  Caution Redhead Running would have been jealous. 

Thorwback Thursday - Santa

Your never to old for Santa (Age about 21)

Mr Half Triing as Adult: [narrating] Strange. Even something as momentous as the Scut Farkus affair, which it came to be known, was pushed out of my mind as I struggled to come up with a way out of the impenetrable Rocket Science Rocket Bag web, in which Bonnie had me trapped.
Half Triing: Santa. Yeah, I'll ask Santa.
Mr Half Triing as Adult: [narrating] Of course. Santa. The big man. The head honcho. The connection. Ha, Bonnie had slipped up this time.

Santa Claus: Come on up on Santa's lap, here's a wet one. And what's your name little boy? And what do you want for Christmas, Billy? A toy truck? Get him off my lap and get my a towel.
[Mr Half Triingis pushed down the slide]
Santa Claus: Oh, I hate the smell of tapioca.

The picture is of me at about age 21. How says you get to old to sit on Santa's lap.  Sorry Santa about the tapioca!

Throwback Thursday - That's Just Not Right!!

Throwback Thursday - That's Just Not Right!!

Now that is just not right!!

Okay, this is not funny at all!!.  It's not even right!!  It was okay when they dressed Q on the Move like a girl (here and here) but NOT ME!!  I am much cooler than that!!  See, I was looking super sexy sporting my duckie jammies for a date with some hot baby at daycare.  I even had my yellow, convertible baby walker all gassed up and ready to go.  Then my sister and another group of thugs held me down by the hand and head.  Then continued to ruin my threads and fashion cred by placing what appears to be the same wig from Q on the Move's cross dressing post on my hairdo! When this atrocity was going down some thug in the background is adding insult to injury by doing yo-yo tricks.

BTW: who was dressing my sister on the right.  Seriously!?!? Blue hillbilly flannel with a rust colored, sleeveless jacket? My sister was sporting the Marty McFly jacket.  "Hey Half TRI-ing, get a load of this gals's life preserver. Dork thinks she's gonna drown."  Also look at those nails?  Did she get those done by a color blind person?  Seriously red in the winter.  That is so fall.   She should have taken fashion advice from her 1 year old brother.  She's such an L7.

Stolen from my sister closet.

Throwback Thursday - Gianni Versace

Mr Half TRI-ing At Around Age

Throwback Thursday - Gianni Versace

I am really not sure what age Mr Half TRI-ing was when this picture was taken. I would assume it was the real early 80's because the room on the left has what appears to be red shag carpet (in the original you can see it more).  That would put me around age 4. 

Apparently my mother was being cheap that month because I was in a serious need of a hair cut.  I do have to admit though I look better sporting the Beatles haircut look more than the Macgyver.  But I am still looking stylish in my white (with blue trim), Italian, K-Mart v-neck t-shirt.  This Italian handcrafted shirt is delicately paired with some hand stitched, indigo blue Sears slacks.  This outfit is completed with the Egyptian canvas, blue and white belt.  

In the early 80's Gianni Versace would call me weekly to see what new fashion trends I was creating.  With my fashion advice and some piggy bank loan money, Gianni started a little clothing store in Italy.  We continued to communicate over the years on my Fisher Price walkie talkies but we had a falling out one day when I caught him wearing white shoes after Labor Day.  I could not be seen with him after such a big fashion faux pas.

Throwback Thursday Terry Lane

Christmas Circa 1992

Stand back ladies!! Here is another picture with my MacGyver haircut and surfer shirt.

I was about 12 years old when this photo was taken.  The man on the right was Terry Lane.  Terry was a friend of my mothers who I spent many years of my life around.  He was a great man and he loved me more than any other man in my life.  He always treated me like his son.  He was around for nearly every Christmas. 

Terry unfortunately died on Decemenber 18th 1997.  Terry was a victim of a faulty space heater while camping in his van. He was a former merchant marine and an avid windsurfer.  If it was a windy day you knew Terry was going to be late to whereever he was expected to be.  Whenever there is a strong windy day I always laugh because I know he is late for whatever God has planned for him.  Today look at those you love and tell them you love them because you never know when they, like the wind, will pass.

PS: Yes that is an Old Milwaukee Light beer in my hand.  Terry was also "thrifty" with his money.  You will never see an Old Milwaukee Light beer in my hands ever again.  I would not even feed that beer to my plants.