Like my blogging friend Stacey has also said, I think I could write a book about this one individual puzzle. So sit back, grab a Pepsi Free or a Tab and some Fiddle Faddle. It’s gonna be a long one!

I am a child of the 80’s, and every part of this puzzle brought back a great memory. One of my absolute favorite things to assemble in this puzzle was the Mix Tape in the top right corner. What kid in the 80’s, who had a “ghettoblaster” or “boombox”, didn’t spend every holiday weekend in front of the radio trying to hit record at just the exact moment a favorite song was about to play on one of the many “Top 100” countdowns Casey Kasem hosted. I know I spent hours upon hours making these mix tapes and then going back and listening to them over and over. Eventually creating my own mix tapes by rotating cd’s on my stereo and recording the one or two songs I really liked on each cd before switching it out with the next.

One of my absolute favorite shows in the 80s was the Dukes of Hazzard, and I looked forward to each episode and watching it with my Dad. Of course, I was hopelessly in love with Bo Duke too, along with many other iconic tv show protagonists like Ralph Hinkley (Greatest American Hero), Paunch (CHiPS), and Romano from TJ Hooker. Yes, I was boy crazy at a very young age.

While those were some of my favorite tv shows, I also loved all of the great movies the 80s produced. Many of which I ended up not getting to see until the late 80’s when we finally got a vcr and rented our first vhs videos from the local video store. One of my all-time favorite movies ever was Back to the Future. This movie was just so unbelievably cool and hip…and I just loved it. Honestly I thought all three movies in the series were pretty good, but none moreso than the first.

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I was pretty into dolls as a young child — even at two years old I was never far from my favorite pink and white polka-dotted doll I named “Jo Jo”. As I got a little older I had a stuffed Strawberry Shortcake doll, numerous Barbies and a boatload of Barbie-themed paper dolls that I played with endlessly. However, there was one Holy Grail of a doll I wanted more than anything in the world and I never got one. The Cabbage Patch kid dolls hit the market in full Mommy-turned-into-a-She-Beast mode. The shopping frenzy was insane and I was not alone — I desperately wanted one too. My mom said, “Those are the ugliest looking things I’ve ever seen!” and made it very clear she would never consider buying me one. What I didn’t know back then, and I’m sure was the bigger factor, was she and my Dad just couldn’t afford one. They were PRICEY back then when they first came out. I was upset for years that I couldn’t have one, especially when I saw my best friend Gina had one. Sooo not fair! LOL

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun was a favorite song as was Material Girl and Like A Virgin by Madonna. I rocked and sang my little heart out with my pretend microphone and teased up hair. Ahh the 80’s — how I still miss you. Take a peek at another walk down the 80’s memory lane I did a few years back on Puzzle Momma here.

This puzzle was a quick and easy assembly and oh so much fun. Just like with most White Mountain puzzles, the quality was great with thick pieces and a very nice fit.

If you are a child of the 80’s like me, I highly recommend getting your hands on this one. It is totally tubular!